Kethril (25 page)

Grooms held two horses for Tathan and
Anilyia. They looked to be of fine quality as were the saddles and
tack. It was likely the king had taken them from his personal
stables. A packhorse carried supplies for their journey.

After they mounted, a self-important
official approached and handed them each a pouch. “These are for
your traveling expenses.” Tathan hefted his and guessed there was
at least fifty gold in it, quite a hefty sum. If he wanted to, he
could probably afford a small barony on the outskirts of any
kingdom with all the money he’d earned . . . and stolen in the last
few months.

It was a credit to his skill that none of
his companions had noticed the numerous items pocketed in their
travels from Puujan to Alluu to Kethril. He had a beautiful bottle
of perfume stolen from Princess Chirelle’s chambers that he
intended to give to Anilyia once he had the chance.

He didn’t keep many of the things he stole
because they were unnecessary and took up space. Occasionally, he
would steal something and replace it with something he had stolen
from somewhere else. It was a fun game and Tathan always imagined
the looks on people’s faces when they noticed the switch.

Tathan looked around the courtyard. It was
an hour after midnight and stars sparkled in the sky. The smell of
ocean air wafted under his nostrils on a slight breeze. Piohray and
Siahray were thick slivers in the sky, adding dim light to the
torches around the courtyard. The groom holding his horse stifled a
yawn. Most of the activity came from royal guards searching the
grounds for any sign of how the men had penetrated the castle.
Their shouts had everyone in the castle up.

King Cranwer came down the steps followed by
a man in his early twenties whose small crown showed his rank to be
prince, as did his resemblance to the king. The captain of the
royal guard followed the two men with his head hung low. Assorted
wizards and advisors also followed.

The king reached them and took Anilyia’s
hand in his. “Fair Princess Anilyia, you have my deepest apologies
for the risk to your life and I pray you forgive me.” He kissed the
hand.

“I’m not mad and I most certainly forgive
you,” Anilyia assured him with a smile.

“Thank you. It is more than I deserve.” He
released the hand. “I want you to know that we’ve identified the
men’s nationality. They are of the Iynath Empire.” Anilyia nodded.
It wasn’t a surprise to anyone. King Cranwer continued. “There are
many people of every nationality in Tillg. They come by ship from
all over the world. It is part of doing successful business and
Kethril has become a rich nation for it.”

“I do not begrudge you that, Your Majesty,”
Anilyia replied. “Kethril’s rising power is noted even in
Mayncal.”

“You should mention that to your father. I
have land set aside for an embassy should he wish to do trade. I
believe only one small merchant from your country is in our city,”
the king hinted.

Anilyia set her jaw in frustration. “Our
navy has suffered losses and trade by sea is severely limited, else
we would have an embassy here. In any case, I will see to it
personally if I must.”

“Of course, but this is not the time for
politics.” The king waved the subject off with his hand. Tathan
knew that meant he had already brought up the one thing important
to him. “The men who attacked were well trained warriors. I
wouldn’t doubt they have groups like that in many cities around the
world. I would be most careful in your travels.”

“That is disturbing news,” Anilyia replied
with a frown. She glanced at Tathan in worry. He gave her his most
reassuring smile. She didn’t look reassured though. “Do you think
there are more in Tillg?”

“Yes. My sources tell me they have three
separate groups and even a small village south of the city. The
groups here are being exterminated as we speak and General
Bormann’s regiment is on its way to clear out the village. We’ll
spare the women, children and elderly. They’ll be sent on a long
boat ride back to Iynath.

Tathan was impressed by the hard and fast
response. Anilyia nodded and leaned over to kiss the king on the
forehead. Cranwer smiled happily. “I’ve made certain you have
plenty of supplies and gold. I wish you the best in your travels.
Please know that you always have a home here should you need it.”
The last was only said to Anilyia. People generally didn’t welcome
Tathan into their homes for some reason.

King Cranwer turned his attention to Tathan.
“I had my wizards figure out how you escaped. I must say that I’m
very cross with you, but at the same time grateful for your rescue
of the princess. Now please go away and don’t come back, Tathan of
the Shadows,” he said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Without responding, Tathan took the reins
from the groom as well as the packhorse’s reins from the man
holding them. He trotted to the castle gate. Anilyia and the king
said goodbye formally and she followed Tathan into the city.

He slowed to let her come up beside him. For
the first few minutes, neither of them said anything. Tathan didn’t
know what to say, but he got the impression Anilyia wasn’t going to
talk first no matter what.

A few people looked toward the castle from
windows, wondering what the clamor was about. As Tathan and Anilyia
rode down the road, it grew quieter and the loudest sound was the
clopping of their horse’s hooves.

He decided to use the ultimate apology. It
was one that couldn’t be pulled out too often, but was vital for a
man to have in his arsenal.

“I’m sorry for everything I did wrong. I
know that’s a lot to be sorry for, but it put you and everyone in a
terrible position and I’m sorry.”

Anilyia didn’t respond. She stared straight
ahead, digesting his words as the horses walked down the empty
street. He gave her some time before saying anything else. “I don’t
know what else you’ve been told about me. A lot of it is probably
true though.” He paused, not sure how to say the next thing. “The
part about me being a seducer of women . . .” Anilyia turned to
him, waiting. The motion let him know it was the thing she was most
upset about. “. . . I’ve been with a lot of women, like I told you.
I’ve even loved one or two . . .” She waited without expression. “.
. . whatever else I may have done, or who I’ve been with . . . I
love you.”

Anilyia looked in his eyes, searching for
any hint of a lie. It took no effort to hold the gaze because he
was telling the truth. Tathan
did
love her and would die or
kill for her. She saw the truth there and leaned over, throwing
herself in his arms. Their horses weren’t quite close enough, so he
had to catch her and they both came close to falling off.

“I love you too, Tathan,” Anilyia whispered
into his ear. “I was so scared.”

He held her tight. “I know. I was too.”

“You were?” she asked, straightening.

Tathan nodded. “Being in jail has always
scared me more than anything until I saw those men holding you. The
thought that you might die or be kidnapped again made my heart grow
cold.” His jaw was set in anger. Anilyia put a comforting hand on
his.

“How did you escape?” She narrowed her eyes.
“And don’t try to sidestep the question. It’s late and I’m still
cross with you.

“Me? Sidestep?” Tathan asked with the
innocence of a cherub. Her eyes narrowed further. He laughed and
told her how he had found the secret tunnels and his equipment. She
shook her head in disbelief at his incredible luck.

“So I continued down the passage and a
number of others. There were rooms that hadn’t felt the presence of
a person in centuries, but I didn’t take the time to explore. I
wanted to get to you and get out of the city as fast as possible if
you would go with me.”

“I kept waking up, expecting you to be lying
next to me,” she said. “Of course I was going to go with you. You
told me about the other women you’ve been with, so I wasn’t
surprised when that was said.” Anilyia encouraged him to continue
the story. “That must have been exciting to explore those
tunnels!”

Tathan grinned. “It was. I may have to come
back here some day just to do it, though the king knows about them
now and his people will probably clean them out.” A small squad of
royal guards looking for any sign of trouble passed by and gave
them a quick looking over, but didn’t stop them.

“How does he know?” she asked with a
frown.

“He said he had his wizards find out how I
escaped,” Tathan answered. Anilyia nodded in remembrance. Tathan
continued the story. “After a while, newer sections of the castle
blocked the passages. One opening led to a little-used basement
filled with dusty crates. I had to pick a few locks to get to
populated areas.”

“You used the ring of invisibility to avoid
being seen, right?” Anilyia guessed.

“Not right away. I found some kitchens for
the servants. It was empty except for one of the cooks drinking his
dinner.”

“Drinking his dinner? He had soup then?”
Anilyia asked.

Tathan barked out a laugh. “No, drinking
your dinner means having ale or wine instead of food. It’s what
drunkards do.” A well dressed, but disheveled man burped while
staggering along the side of the street as if to lay emphasis on
Tathan’s words. Tathan glanced at him with twitchy fingers. The
idiot was an excellent mark for any thief with the slightest
talent.

“Oh! I’ve known a few people like that. Some
nobles have more money than sense and drink their fortunes away,
but I’ve never heard the expression. I like it,” she replied.

“It’s a good one,” Tathan agreed. “Because
he was drunk, he didn’t know who I was or have the good sense to
keep his mouth shut. I was able to get the location of your
quarters, the habits of the guards, the location of the treasury .
. .”

Anilyia cut him off. “The treasury?”

“Well yeah. It’s good information. Just in
case, you know?” Tathan said innocently.

“I’m sure,” she responded flatly. “Go
on.”

“Once I got to more populated areas, I used
the ring. It wasn’t difficult to get past anyone.”

“Maybe that’s how the kidnappers got in?”
she suggested.

He shook his head. “No. They got past some
other way. I know for a fact they killed some of the guards. When I
saw the bodies, I ran at full speed for your room.” Anilyia paled
at the knowledge that more people had died in another attempt to
kidnap her. Tathan saw the reaction. “There wasn’t anything you
could do. You were born a princess and have to deal with all that
comes with it. Those men didn’t die because of you, they died
because of how people act. It’s crazy sometimes and doesn’t make
any sense.”

“That actually helps a lot, Tathan. Thank
you.” She smiled gratefully.

“No problem. I think that people can only be
responsible for so much. Trying to save the world will only lead a
person to failure after failure.”

“Did you try to save the world? It sounds
personal.”

Tathan didn’t respond right away. He didn’t
know why he had phrased it like that. “I’ve seen a lot and tried to
make a difference, but nothing ever went right. People don’t change
easily and they’re always hurting each other. Instead of making
people change, I’ve ended up killing a lot of them.” Tathan sighed
deeply. “I don’t like killing the way Sir Danth does, but it seems
easier when people won’t change.”

“I think there’s a lot more to you than
you’re telling, Tathan. Things happen around you that don’t make
sense.” Anilyia started putting her hair in a ponytail. “You were
put in jail, escaped through a secret passage that no one had seen
in centuries, found a man to tell you everything you needed to
know, happened upon the bodies in time to rush after me and showed
up just in time to kill my attackers. As a result, you were given
your freedom and we’re on the road to join the others.”

She finished with the hair as they reached
the outer wall and rode through. The guards saluted her as she
passed. There were three times as many as when they had ridden in.
It looked like the king had mobilized all the soldiers in the city.
“There is something extraordinary about you, Tathan. I won’t hold
your past against you. I think it’s an important part of who you
are, and I love who you are.”

He returned the smile. “I love you too. I’m
so glad I met you, Anilyia.”

They reached out and held hands until they
reached the intersection to the highway going south. Tathan enjoyed
the cool night air and wished he had time to go exploring the city.
Tillg seemed like a fun place with lots of adventure for a rogue to
find. The upper city appeared tame, but he was certain the lower
city would have all sorts of characters to match wits with.

Something made the hairs on the back of his
neck tingle after they had ridden a short distance along the
highway. He turned to see a rider coming hard around the corner of
the intersection. The main roads of Tillg were well lit by lanterns
hanging from poles, but the figure was dressed in a dark cloak and
Tathan couldn’t make out details.

Right behind the figure came another small
horse . . . or . . . a giant squirrel. Tathan realized who was
following them. “Ride hard!” he shouted at Anilyia, smacking her
horse’s rump. The steed jumped forward and Anilyia leaned over its
neck, holding on for dear life. Tathan dug heels into his own horse
and pulled on the packhorse’s lead to get it to follow.

Tathan was afraid of the green-eyed bounty
hunter and Steve the Squirrel. The fact that they had been the only
ones to physically hurt him in a long time contributed to that, but
he also believed that they were insane and willing to do anything
to hurt him. Crazy people were best left alone no matter how
capable Tathan might be.