Once We Were Kings (Young Adult Fantasy) (The Sojourner Saga) (22 page)

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Wait here." The lady placed her hand upon Bai Juang's chest and it almost felt as though he could not breathe until she removed it. 

"I want to see my daughter."

"And so you shall.  But you must wait."  She pulled out a wine flask, removed her hood and unfurled her glistening black hair.  "Remain here until I return for you.  Then you shall see your precious daughter."

That was all he needed to hear.  His breath returned to him and he lowered his arched shoulders.  "When I opened the portal...did that prove...?"

"You have manifested, yes.  And you have proven most helpful."

"My Lady, of what do you speak?"

Without another word, the lady walked into the dark corridor, leaving Bai Juang anxiously awaiting his reunion with Ahndien.

My Lady?

What did that Sojourner fool know of Lords and Ladies?  Bai Juang believed that she had rescued him for the purposes of the Sojourner's Council, but had he known how she'd played him for the fool, he might not be so courteous as he had been heretofore.

She'd killed the Sojourner named Lucretia and taken on her form, but she needed another Sojourner—like Bai Juang, to help her open the portal and infiltrate the council.

She lowered her black hood, gripped the flask of ceremonial Dragon'sblood Wine in her hand, and walked the long corridor to the courtyard where the Elders had assembled.  Her head grew light from the Shikar stones sapping her energy.  She had to carry out her mission quickly, for if she kept them on her person much longer, they would drain the very life from her.

A couple of more steps and she would soon be upon the council.

Her heart fluttered, faint from weakness and afloat with anticipation for what she was about to do.  She thought of Bai Juang, waiting for her like a foolish child, believing every lie she fed him.  Perhaps she would keep him around, in case she had not regained her strength enough to operate the portals.

From the mouth of the corridor, a voice, strong and commanding resonated in the courtyard.  She hid behind a stone column and listened to him speak.  Oreus, the old fool.

He was addressing the entire assembly, prophets and elders, with joy in his countenance.  And why not?  The time for which they had all waited so many years drew nigh.  Their deliverance from exile would soon be upon them.  Their hope for generations.

If not for tonight.

Holding the ceremonial wine—Lucretia's part in the celebration—she entered the courtyard.

From what Bai Juang could hear—words of hope, hearty cheers, the Sojourner's Council had reason to celebrate.  One phrase rang through that courtyard in the center of the edifice.  A phrase that confirmed all he and the faithful remnant—wherever they had been scattered—had hoped for.

"The Great Deliverer!" They cried in unison.

Goblets and chalices clanked.  Such an auspicious occasion.  But more importantly, Bai Juang could not wait to see Ahndien—the last remnant of his family—to hold her close and not let go.

He leaned back against the rough stone wall, barely noticing its warmth to his fingertips.  With his eyes shut, he sank down to the floor, exhausted from the long journey since his captivity.  The voices of the Elders faded like an echo into the darkness of the corridor in which he sat, crouching.  Resting.

At first, he did not notice the sound of words cut short.

Interrupted by a horrible strangling sound.

Strained groans.

Cries of agony.

Bai Juang sprung to his feet.  Drew his sword.

"Ahndien!" His heart hammered within his chest as he dashed through the endless corridor.  What he saw when he finally entered the courtyard nearly caused him to drop his sword.  His knees felt like pillars of sand.

Before his eyes, the great elders, Oreus, Timea and Hephesta, lay on the ground, their eyes wide and mouths agape.  Their limbs twitched perversely but death had already enshrouded their faces.

Kneeling above Oreus, her back facing Bai Juang, the lady in black drove a carved stone dagger into the chief Elder's chest, which rose and fell two more times then stopped.

Just then, a shadow so large it covered the entire outdoor courtyard in the center of the edifice darkened the entire area.  The lady looked up and smiled.  A mighty whoosh-woosh threw clouds of dust into the air, which got into Bai Juang's eyes, nose and throat.

The oncoming sound was so great it masked the sound of his coughing.  When finally he opened his eyes, the shadow was gone.  The moonlight struggled to penetrate the dust floating around him.

A mail clad knight robed in black stood by the lady.  Neither of them took note of Bai Juang's presence.

"My Lady," said the Knight.  "You have accomplished what no one else could have imagined."

"With your assistance, of course.  The Shikar stones proved most effective."

"Had you any doubt?"

She shook her head and with her foot shoved Oreus' body such that it rolled onto its back, revealing a man of countless age.  Now dead.  Bai Juang could not imagine how this was possible.  And why hadn't he transformed?

"Come now," said the Knight.  "Let us return...fair Lucretia."

At this she smiled.  "I no longer need that vile Sojourner name.  And I do so prefer you address me by my own."

"But of course."  He inclined his head, took her hand and kissed it.  "Shall we take flight then, Lady Volfoncé?"

"As it please thee, My Lord Mooregaard."

Bai Juang hid behind a stone column trying to keep still.  He could not permit his shaking breath to give him away.  However, his leg cramped and he could not help but shift his weight to the other.  That slight motion caused his sword to scrape against the column.

He clenched his teeth.

In the dead silence of the courtyard, the tiniest scrape was loud as a heavy book dropping in a library.

The dark lord and lady both spun around.

Bai Juan swore silently.

If he ran, he would reveal his position.  If he remained, they would find him.

Mooregaard murmured to Lady Volfoncé who replied, "The portal remains open, I no longer need him." 

"The effects of the Shikar?"

"All but one piece disposed.  I shall recover quickly."

Then with a series of heavy beating sounds, followed by the same wooshing wind that preceded his arrival, the sound faded into the night.

A cold bead of sweat rolled torturously down the side of Bai Juang's face.  Right into his eye, where it stung wickedly.  But he could not lift even a finger to rub it.  He clenched his fist around the hilt of his sword, but there was no sound coming from the courtyard.

It was as though Lady Volfoncé and Lord Mooregaard had vanished.

He waited a moment longer.

Until he felt it safe to look.

Slowly, he moved around the column.

Quietly.

Steadily...

A sharp pain seized his neck.  Before he could say a word, his throat collapsed in the fierce grip of Lady Volfoncé's claw-like fingers.  She smiled in a way that looked more like a snarl.  "Did you really think I'd forgotten?"

Still grasping him by the throat, she lifted him off the ground, his legs flailing.  His eyesight began to dim.  Unable to turn his head, he tried to search for Ahndien.  His eyes swept the left-then right, left-then right. 

But it was no good. 

Wide as his eye were, he could only see blackness coming over him.

With his last bit of strength, as the air stopped flowing, he lifted his sword.  No sooner had he raised it, than Lady Volfoncé plucked it out of his hand, as though it were a mere toy.

With her left hand, she reached into her cloak and pulled out a star shaped stone, its points sharp enough to cut through leather.  "Behold, the bane of all Sojourners."

His sword fell into the dirt soundlessly.

The last thing he felt was a small cut in the side of his neck.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Day broke with the shrill cry of a hawk flying over head.  Render awoke with a jolt.  His clothes stuck damply to his back.  The sweet scent of morning dew clung to the air, belying the horrific events of the night before.  Above him, small song birds warbled.  Before him flowed a prattling stream.

It took a moment to regain his bearings.  He sat up, shook the slumber out of his head and squinted as a sharp golden ray of sunlight cut through the tree branches and into his eyes. 

"Where am I?"

The sudden realization that he was out of doors left him feeling vulnerable.  Frightened.  His dreams had been haunted by faces.  Dead faces.  Edwyn, Folen, Stewan.  Kaine.  It hadn't been a nightmare after all.

// ARE YOU AWAKE?  //

"Greifer?"  He wanted to turn in the direction of her voice, but her words rang not in his ears, but within his thoughts.  Turning around, searching in every direction, he could not find that tall, slender figure enshrouded in black.

What he did find, however, was the black cat approaching with silent steps.  With the agility of an acrobat, she leapt over a fallen tree trunk.   She seemed larger than he'd remembered.

// YOU MUST EAT //

Within in her jaws, she carried an enormous fish, fresh as the morning itself.  Her tail high and proud, she ambled past him and stopped by a fire which she must have started while he was asleep.  While in her human state, no doubt.

"Why are you...?  That is to say, why do you not...?"

// MY JAWS GROW WEARY FROM THE WEIGHT OF THIS LEVIATHAN.  IF IT IS A QUESTION YOU HAVE, PRAY ASK IT QUICKLY  //

 "But I have so many."  Render stood up and followed her to the fire ring.

As soon as Greifer set the fish down, it flapped violently and began to bounce towards the edge of a hill.

// CATCH IT, LEST IT FALL BACK INTO THE STREAM! //

Render grabbed a long stick.   With three long steps, he overtook the fish and speared it just before it could roll down the hill.

// WELL DONE.  SURELY YOU CAN PREPARE IT, AS YOU HAVE SO OFTEN //

"Just how long have you been watching me?"  He took out his knife, held the blade over the fire.

// LONGER THAN you CAN REMEMBER //

After scaling and gutting the fish, which was surely as large as his thigh, Render hefted it over the fire, the ends of the stick suspended by two other tree branches driven into the soil.  The salty aroma made his mouth water in anticipation.

Before partaking, Render cut the fish into small pieces.  With respectful care, he placed a few onto a large leaf, and rested it on the flat surface of a rock.  Greifer nodded her appreciation.

If Render had ever eaten a sweeter, more succulent fish, he was hard pressed to recall when.  He shut his eyes and savored each bite.  Perhaps this was no more than a renewed appreciation for life, this unexpected enjoyment of a simple meal. 

"First question."  Render wiped his mouth with his sleeve.  Griefer lifted her head and began to wash her paws and face.  "Mind you, it's not the most important one, but it's the one that comes to mind most presently."

// PRAY ASK //

"Why have you chosen this feline form, when it seems you can easily become a woman, as you were last night?"

// EASILY?// 

She sat with regal dignity and gazed directly into his eyes. 

// ON THIS SIDE OF THE VEIL, THE FORM IN WHICH I NOW APPEAR, IS THE ONE WHICH REQUIRES THE LEAST EXERTION.  I RESERVE MY STRENGTH IN OTHER FORMS, A PANTHER, A HUMAN, FOR WHEN IT IS MOST NEEDED //

Render took another bite and forgot his manners as he spoke and chewed concurrently.  She was, after all, a cat.  "I suppose what I'm asking is, what is your natural form?  Human, a cat, a panther?"

// A SPIRIT //

"A spirit!"  He almost choked on his food.  When he stopped coughing he said, "You mean, you're a ghost?"

// NAY, FAIR RENDER.  A SPIRIT IS NOT SOMETHING WHICH CAN be TOUCHed WITH THY HANDS.  NOR IS IT SOMETHING you CAN ONLY SENSE, SUCH AS A FOREBODING FEELING, OR A COLD BREEZE.  AS A SPIRIT, I AM EVERY BIT AS REAL AS YOU, IN YOUR CORPOREAL FORM.  I DARESAY, MORE REAL  //

It took a while for Render to ponder this.  Meanwhile, he continued with his meal until it was finished.  He did not wish to trumpet his ignorance by saying anything else until he'd figured out what she meant.  But he couldn't quite grasp her explanation.

"Greifer, would you favor me by taking your human form?  I still find it difficult to believe I am speaking... or thinking to a cat."

// TO DO SO WILL EXHAUST ME, AND I SHALL BE LESS ABLE TO PROTECT you //

"Thank you, but I can take care of myself." 

She gave off something that seemed like an ironic laugh.

// AS you wish.   TURN your EYES AWAY, THEN //

He did so, wondering if perhaps in the daylight the transformation would compromise her modesty in anyway.  From the corner of his eye he looked and noticed soft white arms and legs.

"I did ask thee to turn thine eyes, did I not?" Greifer said aloud.

Embarrassed, Render spun his entire body so that his back faced her.  "I... I'm sorry."

"You may turn around now."

In the morning light, Greifer looked many times more beautiful than he could have imagined.  She wore a flowing black cloak over a mail shirt and black pants.  Her verdant eyes shone every bit as bright and sharp and enigmatic as when she prowled as a cat.  Long ebony hair rested over her shoulders.  She smiled.  "Does this form afford thee better comfort?"

Render's mouth hung slightly open.  He meant to answer yes, but ended up nodding dumbly.

"Very well, then.  If thou hast had thy fill, let us continue our journey as we converse."  Her voice soothed him in a way that he could not explain.  "I have as many things to tell thee, as thou must have to ask."

"How long will it take by foot?"  Render gathered the remaining fish and wrapped it in leaves.

"To the Sojourner's Assembly?  Five and thirty days, by my estimation."

"We'll be dead by then!  If not by the hands of Torians, then the Tianese for sure.  And who's to say that the Sojourners won't kill us?"