Prince of Magic (24 page)

No, his obligation was not to Arik. Not now. His obligation rode well ahead of him, at the front of a column of solemn sentinels. Sian rotated his head slightly. This damn green vest was made of the cheapest, roughest fabric that had ever touched his body, and the trousers were not much better. He wore a hat with a wide brim which shadowed his face, and his braid remained tucked down the back of his vest. For now he had no choice but to wear the uniform, as the other sentinels did. More suitable clothing was packed in his saddlebag, in case the opportunity arose to shed this costume and confront Ariana with his presence.

She and Merin led forty-one soldiers, not forty, and if Arik's tale of Sian's birth was true, they were headed toward a battle with his own half-brother.

Merin offered to construct a tent for Ariana's use, but she declined. The night was warm enough so that sleeping under the stars would not be detrimental to her health. Besides, she would not demand comforts others in her party would not enjoy. That was not the way to build loyalty, and she would need the loyalty of each of these men before the battle was over.

Ariana informed Merin that she'd be happy to sleep on the ground like everyone else, and he reluctantly agreed that was best. Finding a private place to empty her bladder was not quite as easy, since she didn't want to be one of the men in every way, but she managed. The area just beyond their camp was thickly wooded.

Some soldiers slept, while others were taking the first watch. Merin paced by the fire, waiting for Ariana as she emerged from the woods. She knew he was waiting for her by the tension in his body and by the way he watched her so intently as she strode toward him.

A fine figure of a man…

"Go away," Ariana whispered, and the thoughts that were not her own faded. She didn't like to admit as much, but apparently Diella was not entirely gone. Without Sian to watch over her, how would she maintain control? What if Diella regained enough strength to take over, so that all that was left of Ariana was the faint rumbling of thoughts which were easily ignored?

"A word, my lady," Merin said as she came into the light of the fire.

Ariana smiled. "My lady? I have always been Ariana to you, Merin. There is no need to be formal."

He sighed deeply before answering. "Ariana is my friend's sister. My Lady Varden is my leader. Our leader."

Ariana sat on the ground, near enough to enjoy the fire without taking on too much warmth, far enough away to feel the faint chill of the night on her back. She invited Merin to sit beside her, and after a momentary hesitation he did so.

"I'm still Duran's sister," she said softly.

Seated on the ground beside her, Merin twitched with apparent unease. He stared into the fire for a moment, and then turned to her. "The situation is unprecedented. The men are here because they know they're needed, and they will fight for you, Ariana. But tonight there are rumblings of confusion, I'm afraid. Confusion and fear. Many of them say they agreed too quickly, getting caught up in the call to duty without knowing what might lie ahead. Some, a few, have even spoken of turning back. They all heard rumors before leaving Arthes, rumors about what sort of war this might be. We have no general to lead us, no imperial edict to obey. We have been told that this battle is necessary and that it is a battle against evil itself, but… I must admit, I'm confused as well. What awaits us at the end of this journey?"

She could not argue with him. "I wish I knew more clearly what awaits us. I'm as confused and afraid as any man here. The prophesy speaks of monsters, but gives no details. If I could give the men more, I would." Looking into the flame of the hearty fire, she sighed. "I wish I knew what waits for us, but I don't. If anyone wants to turn back, they should do so now."

"There are just a few men who're grumbling." Merin said defensively.

"I'll speak to them in the morning, before we ride out. I'll give any man who feels it's best the opportunity to leave. At least then we'll know who's with us and who is not."

Merin nodded, and shifted his position in readying to stand. Ariana stopped him with a hand on his wrist. "One moment, please. I have a favor to ask of you."

"Of course." He resumed his seated position, and yet he still seemed to be at attention. Every muscle in his body was tense.

She could not explain Diella, not to Merin or anyone else here. Only Sian would understand. Still, she could not allow the empress to rise to the surface and take command. "If at any point I begin to behave oddly, I want you to restrain me. Use whatever means necessary. Chains, if you have them. A sturdily tied rope if you do not."

Merin had been looking into the fire, not at her, but his head snapped around and he glared. "I cannot!"

"
If
I begin to behave oddly," she said again in clarification. "It is a necessary precaution, believe me."

Merin leaned back on his hands. "Oddly how?"

How could she tell him that if she began to ask the soldiers… him, more specifically… to lie with her, it would be most certainly odd? "You will know," she said. "I promise, you will know." From everything Sian had told her of his encounters with Diella, she and the empress behaved nothing alike. Merin would realize something was wrong.

At least, she certainly hoped so.

Ariana waited for a stray thought about what she was missing in denying the idea of quickly taking another lover. She expected a few observations about how Merin or this soldier or that one would do in Sian's stead. The thoughts did not come.

Maybe Diella did continue to lurk inside her somehow, but Ariana was in control. She made the decisions, and if she had to fight constantly to retain control, she would do so.

Pity. Your life is so dull.

Ariana began to laugh. Dull? She wished with all her heart for dull at this moment. She wished for ordinary, dreary, boring days. She had experienced many of those days in the past. She suspected she had none ahead of her. Not even one.

"Ariana?" Merin asked, concern in his deep voice. "Are you all right?" He studied her face as she laughed. "Is this… odd?"

"No, no." Ariana lifted a stilling hand to him as her laughter stopped. "It's just been a very long day." From awakening to discover the truth of the prophesy, to leading an army of her own away from the capital city and toward an unspeakable darkness. Yes, she believed this qualified as a
very
long day.

Sian slept a few hours. Only because he did not know when the opportunity for sleep would come again. He took his turn at watch when ordered. Luckily these men Merin had gathered had come from different assignments and were not all acquainted with one another. No one was shocked to see a sentinel they did not know in their ranks. They simply assumed that he had been assigned elsewhere before taking on this duty. He gave his name as Sayre, which was true enough as it was his middle name, to the one sentinel who had bothered to ask.

The sentinels varied widely in age and experience. A few were mere boys, some were scarred veterans with weathered skin. Some were thin and lanky, others sported bellies that marked them as well fed. All were well armed.

It was bothersome that a stranger—like him—could so easily join them, but Sian was not overly concerned.

Ariana, if she used her empathy correctly, if she concentrated as he had taught her, would've been able to spot a dark intruder at the outset.

A less-than-cheerful sentinel tossed Sian a biscuit and some dried meat. The offering was unappetizing, but he took it anyway. With a wave of his hand, he could make the simple food appear to be a feast, for him and for the somber soldiers around him. They needed a bit of cheering up. But such an act of enchantment would give him away. He wasn't ready for that to happen. More truthfully, Ariana was not ready to see him. Not yet.

Soldiers rolled up their bedrolls and ate their meager breakfast, Sian among them. He had been so tempted to move closer to Ariana last night, to look upon her simply to assure himself that she was well.

That was a lie. He knew she was well. Her most trusted soldiers surrounded her, and the night had remained quiet and still. To move closer just to look at her, and in doing so taking the chance of giving away his presence, would be foolish.

So he had done so only twice.

He watched Ariana step into the forest with a bundle in her hands. She should enjoy her moments of privacy now, while she could. When they reached the mountains, there would be no convenient stands of trees for cover, not for long stretches at a time. When the battle was more certainly upon them, he would not allow her to secret herself even for modesty's sake.

He knew she was safe now, and still he waited anxiously for her to reappear. When she did, stepping almost haughtily through the same space in the trees where she had exited the camp, Sian cursed.

Fool woman. What was she thinking? She might as well ride along this road alone with a target painted on her back. She might as well ride headlong into the fray, shouting, "Here I am!"

Ariana was no longer dressed exactly as the sentinels were. No more rough green uniform for their leader, no. She had surely made the outrageous outfit herself, but when? Early on, before he took to sleeping in her bed? During those hours while he'd been lost in his research? While he slept? He did not know, and in truth it did not matter.

She wore white trousers—
white
!—and pale brown boots. Her blouse was loose and feminine, and allowed freedom of movement. The blouse was also white. The vest she wore was made much like a sentinel's with pockets in the front and plain buttons for fastening. This vest, which was also
white
, was adorned with ornamental
sparkly
things, as if she were headed to a blasted party. Her hair was loose, blond curls falling over her shoulders and down her back, wild and untamed as if she had just risen from his bed. She wore no hat, though he would not be surprised if there was one waiting nearby. If so, it would probably sport a tremendous white feather or a silken rose.

Sian took a step forward, but he forced himself to stop. If he revealed himself now, Ariana would send him away. Probably not alone. Had any of these sentinels heard that the wizard Sian was not to leave the palace unescorted? Unlikely, but not impossible. It was a chance he could not take.

Ariana stepped into the stirrup of her horse—which thank the heavens was not snow white but was instead an ordinary gray—and looked over the men, her soldiers who watched her so closely. She had to know what a spectacle she was making of herself. She had to know that if she rode into battle dressed like this, she would not last long. Every enemy combatant would be guided to her simply by the uniform she wore.

She rode forward gently, until she and her horse were positioned in the middle of the camp. Men surrounded her. Sian pulled the brim of his hat down so she could not see his face when she glanced in his direction.

"Many of you are asking what it is we go to fight," she said in a voice that was clear and loud enough to be heard by everyone. "You're afraid, and I can't say that I blame you. I'm afraid, too."

Heaven above, she did not look at all afraid.

"I will not lie to you," she continued. "I have never lied to you. There are monsters waiting for us at the end of this road. For all I know they are lurking along every step of this trail we travel. I do not know what form they will take. I don't know if they will look like monsters or if they will look very much like you and me." Morning sunshine glimmered on her blond curls and her glittering vest, making her look as if she were more than human. She was a blazingly white angel, come down to earth to lead these men to their deaths.

Every man in the camp was captivated by her, in a way they had not been on the day before.

"I have been told that I'm going to die in this war." She did not shake in sharing this news. She did not shed a tear or tremble, but the way she mindlessly caressed the cord at her throat told him she was not unaffected. She reached for that connection when she needed comfort, he had discovered.

A few soldiers whispered "no." Some shouted. She ignored them all. "Perhaps that is true. Perhaps not. Only time will tell. I plan to fight very hard, and if it is my time to die I will take with me as many of the monsters as I can." There was a harshness in that promise that touched Sian to the bone.

"I do not know if you are meant to die as well," she said, her voice less soft. "I do know that every man here is destined for this battle, just as I am." Her horse nickered, danced on nervous hooves, and turned about. "Every man here is a hero, or soon will be! If darkness wants to take this land and the good people who live upon it, if they want your friends, your families, your loved ones, then they will have to come through us to take it!"

A shout went up from many of the soldiers. Sian felt a shiver pass down his spine.

"No, my brothers, I do not know what form these monsters will take, so I tell you this. In the days to come, you must learn to see not only with your eyes but with your hearts. You must learn to see the evil in those we face before they choose to show it to you. And you must pray for God to be with us," she added in a lowered voice that still carried quite well, as if her whisper were carried on the wind to every ear.

"I won't think less of any man who chooses to leave us now," Ariana said, her voice rising once again. "All we know of what lies ahead is frightening and uncertain. It is the stuff of nightmares." A few men mumbled at that statement, but no one made a move to escape.

"But I promise you this," Ariana said as her horse danced skittishly once again. "If you stay with me, if you ride into this battle at my side, I will fight for you as if you were my brother. From this moment on, you are my brothers, each and every one of you, as if we shared blood. Come with me and together we'll make history."

Merin appeared at her side, and he handed Ariana a hat. A fucking
white
hat. At least there was no feather. Or rose. She slapped the hat on her head, took control of the reins, and spurred her horse onto the road. She raced away, and the soldiers… each and every one of them… scrambled to follow. Not one man headed back toward Arthes. Not one.