Unicorns' Opal (19 page)

“Certainly not,” agreed Yolinda, “but you could have shared these thoughts with me. How is it you know where he is?”

“I am not certain that I do,” admitted Mikal. “I was the only one he told about the location he was sending Callie and the baby to. I assumed that he followed them after the Collapse. We will know for sure when I go looking for him.”

“And where will you look?” pressed Yolinda.

Suddenly the door to their room splintered and men in black poured in. Mikal whirled and threw a Lanorian Star as the men came charging into the room. The Star impacted the first man’s forehead and Mikal dove towards the door. He flew into the men as they were trying to squeeze through the doorway. The force of Mikal’s body temporarily halted the advance of the men, but he felt them gaining the advantage. He grabbed the shirt of one of the men and rolled backwards, flipping the man over his head. Swiftly, he reached into his pouch and grabbed another Star.

Yolinda watched as Mikal fell backwards, pulling one of the assassins with him. As soon as he was out of way, Yolinda hurled a fireball into the mass of men at the doorway. The fireball exploded and flame engulfed the men. Mikal rolled to his feet. The man he had flipped was just gaining his own feet and Mikal raised his foot and kicked the man out of the window. Mikal turned and tossed the Star into the burning men. He pulled his sword clear of its sheath and strode towards the doorway.

A fireball erupted from the crowd of black-garbed men and Yolinda rolled to the floor as the fireball struck the bed and it burst into flames. As Yolinda was getting up, Mikal jabbed his sword into the burning men. Repeatedly, Mikal jabbed at his opponents in the narrow confines of the doorway until he was able to step through it. In the hallway, Mikal saw two unburned men that had broken down the door across the hall, the door to Tanya and Niki’s room. They saw him as he emerged from the room and turned to magically attack him, but Mikal was swift with his sword and pierced both of them with one thrust.

“Revenants!” screamed Yolinda. “Cut off their heads.”

Mikal whirled and saw the burning men starting to rise from the dead. Mikal brought his sword around and sliced through the neck of the first Revenant. The burning head bounced off the wall of the hallway and Mikal swiftly sliced through the neck of the next one.

“Get our stuff together,” called Mikal as he attacked the dead figure on the floor of the hallway. “The girls are gone and we are getting out of here.”

Other patrons of the inn were looking out of their doors. Some ran screaming down the hallway to the stairs. Others, who were blocked from the stairs by the fighting, retreated to their rooms and slammed the doors. Mikal finished severing all of the Revenants’ heads before they could get back up. He turned and entered his room. The bed was covered in icicles and he grabbed his belongings from the floor and followed Yolinda to the stairway. People were shouting in the common room and pointing at Mikal as he descended the stairs. He ignored their shouts and headed out the back door with Yolinda right behind him. They raced to the stables and got Kaz and Yorra. Mikal gave a final look at the people sticking their heads out the back door of the inn as they raced down the alley and into the streets.

They raced for several blocks and then slowed to a fast walk. Mikal led the way to the Pawn Shop and they entered together. Once inside the shop, Mikal approached the proprietor and asked for a book about growing turnips in a sandy soil. He told the man he wanted to review it before purchasing it. The man led them into a back room and handed them a book.

Yolinda asked for a bucket of water and the young man nodded and returned moments later with a bucket of water. Yolinda began stripping the black from her hair while Mikal scribbled furiously. A few moments passed and a black man entered the room from the rear.

“I am glad you stopped by,” greeted the black man. “The guards have been alerted to your presence in our fair city.”

“Will!” smiled Alex. “It has been a long time.”

“Indeed it has,” Will Stanton returned the smile. “I heard you were indeed alive.”

“Is the alert just for Jenneva and myself?” queried Alex.

“Yes,” frowned Will. “Are there more of you?”

“There are,” nodded Alex. “Five children accompany us.”

Jenneva dried her hair and handed the towel to Alex so he could get rid of the black in his hair as well. “They are not children,” she said. “They are the Children of the Prophecy, but I would regard them as anything but children.”

“Well there is no alert regarding them,” declared Will. “You will need help getting out of the city.”

“They should be looking for Mikal and Yolinda Obanik,” Jenneva said. “We should be all right.”

“Not true,” informed Will. “They know Tork and Obanik to be one and the same now. Your cover has been blown.”

“How could that be?” questioned Alex as he dried his hair.

“That I cannot answer,” replied Will. “Will the children know enough to come here?”

“They should,” answered Alex. “If they have not checked in by the time we leave, I will have to depend on you to find them.”

“Who knows what they look like?” inquired Will Stanton.

“The General and his sergeant know,” stated Alex. “Also Jaynes and Vidson. No others that I know of. Their descriptions are also know by the Palace and the Black Devils.”

“That includes a lot of people,” frowned Will, “and most of them bad. We will do what we can. Where do you want to meet up with them?”

“Danver Shores,” answered Alex. “The children are more important than we are, Will. They must be found and gotten out of the city.”

“We will do what we can,” assured Will. “First we have to get you out.”

“Don’t worry about us,” stated Alex. “Have someone bring our mounts around back and out of sight until nightfall. Jenneva and I will leave the city without help.”

***

Tanya raced around the corner and halted. A crowd was gathered in front of the Grand Boulder Inn and smoke was coming out of one of the second story windows. She paused for a moment to catch her breath and then pressed through the crowd. The common room was crowded and everyone was talking at the same time. Several people stood hesitantly at the bottom of the stairs and Tanya squeezed between and started up the stairs. People shouted at her to come back down, but she ignored them and raced up the stairs. She turned the corner and stopped. The hallway was littered with bodies. Blood was splattered all over the walls and was pooling on the floor. Scorch marks testified to the use of magic projectiles and smoke gathered at the ceiling.

Tanya saw that her door was broken as well as the door to Alex’s room. She moved cautiously towards her doorway and stepped over the bodies to get into her room. She moved to the window and looked out. She could see nobody outside the inn and she gathered her belongings and dropped them out of the window. After a moment’s reflection, she gathered Niki’s stuff and also dropped it out of the window. She left the room and headed towards the room across the hall where Alex and Jenneva had stayed. She looked around the corner of the door and saw the icicles on the bed melting and pooling water on the floor.

Slowly, she stepped over the bodies and into the room. Her peripheral vision picked up movement and Tanya dove towards the window. She rolled into a ball and came out of the roll standing with her hands pressed against the wall. Swiftly, she drew her sword and turned around. She saw a man dressed in black coming towards her. One of the man’s arms was limp, but the other held a sword and it was raised over his head as he slowly came closer. Tanya swung her sword powerfully at the man. He brought his sword down to defend himself and the two swords clashed loudly. Tanya knew that the attacker could not hold against her with only one hand on his sword and she pushed hard. The man stumbled backwards and Tanya shoved the point of her sword into the man’s heart. He dropped to the floor, his sword clattering as he released it.

Tanya looked around the room for any sign of Alex, Jenneva, or their belongings and found nothing. Figuring that they had managed to kill most of the attackers and escape, Tanya decided to retreat to her room and exit through the window to avoid the crowd below. Tanya jumped and screamed when she felt the hand grab her leg. She pulled her leg free and turned to see the man she had just killed trying to rise. Her eyes took in the other headless bodies and she suddenly realized that she was facing a Revenant. Without hesitation, Tanya swung her sword and lopped the head off of the rising man. She wiped her blade and sheathed it as she entered her room and crossed to the window. She climbed out of the window and hung from it as she dropped to the ground. She gathered up the things she had dropped and carried them to the stables. She tossed Niki’s belongings into the stall with Niki’s horse.

Tanya mounted Frea and rode casually out of the alley. She saw members of the army coming from three directions. She ignored them and left the area.

***

“What is going on out there?” Arik asked.

“Something has happened at the Grand Boulder Inn,” answered Tedi. “A large crowd is in front of the place and there is some smoke coming from one of the windows.”

“Midge,” called Arik, “go check it out. See if it involves any of our people.”

Midge darted out of the window and Arik turned to gather his belonging together. Tedi turned to see what he was doing.

“Are you planning on leaving this place?” Tedi asked.

“I don’t know what to expect,” replied Arik. “I am just making sure I am ready to leave quickly if we have to. Things are not working out well on this trip at all.”

“Hey, there is Tanya,” reported Tedi. “She is riding away and it looks like she has everything she owns with her.”

Arik rushed to the window and leaned out. He stared down at Tanya and noticed the brown cloak and the leather cap.

“She is trying to be disguised,” he said softly. “Something very strange is going on here, Tedi.”

“I wish Midge was here to follow her,” Tedi said. “We can never get downstairs and to the stables quick enough to catch her.”

“Get your belongings together,” ordered Arik. “I will keep watch while you do. I am getting a very bad feeling about staying here.”

Tedi nodded and started packing. Arik watched as the army arrived and surrounded the building. They quickly dispersed the crowd in front of the Grand Boulder Inn. People tried to leave the inn and were shoved back inside by the army. Another group of the army arrived and marched inside. Arik pulled his head in as Midge returned.

“The two rooms used by the Rangers were attacked,” reported Midge. “There are six men dead inside. All of them have been decapitated. There are also signs of magical warfare. Scorch marks on the walls and the bed in one of the rooms. Someone must have put out a fire on the bed with a magical freeze spell of some type because the bed was covered in icicles. None of our people are there and neither are their belongings.”

“We saw Tanya leave while you were over there,” interject Arik. “It looks like she had her belongings with her. Did you check the stables?”

“Yes,” nodded Midge. “Only Niki’s horse is there. The others are gone.”

“Were any other rooms attacked?” asked Tedi.

“No just the two rooms our people were using,” answered Midge. “The attackers knew where to go.”

“Sounds like we might have a spy among us,” frowned Tedi. “I suggest we get out of here immediately.”

“I agree,” stated Arik. “It bothers me that Tanya was disguised. Plus she is the only one we saw leave there and she did not appear to be in a hurry.”

“Maybe she was the one who killed the assassins,” suggested Tedi. “Remember, Fredrik and Niki are missing too. One of them might be the spy.”

“Tanya is not a mage,” reminded Arik. “Midge said there was a magical fight there so I doubt that Tanya defeated the attackers. I suspect that Mikal and Yolinda defeated the attackers and then left. More likely Tanya was checking to see if the job was done completely and to collect her belongings. Besides, you were the one who mentioned her sneaky ways.”

“I know,” frowned Tedi. “I guess I just don’t want to believe it could be one of us.”

“Let’s get out of here before they come for us,” sighed Arik.

Arik and Tedi rode the streets of Tagaret looking for the Pawn Shop. Neither of them had been there before, but they had remembered the instructions Alex had given them the last time they had come to Tagaret.

“It has to be around here somewhere,” sighed Arik. “Maybe we should ask someone for directions.”

Arik received no response from Tedi and turned to look for him. He did not see Tedi and a shiver rippled up his spine. He turned Chaco around and started back the way he had come. He finally saw Tedi a block away and he was just sitting on his horse in the intersection staring down the cross street. Arik rode up next to him.

“You really should say something when you stop,” complained Arik. “What is wrong with you?”

“I have this tremendous pain in my head,” responded Tedi. “All of the sounds are so loud and they are all jumbled together. I can’t shut them out.”

“Maybe we can find a healer,” suggested Arik. “Still you should not just stop in the street.”

“It has been bothering me since we got into the city,” explained Tedi, “but that is not why I stopped. Look up the street.”

Arik gazed up the street. It looked no different than most other streets in the city. Perhaps it was a little busier with a lot of people moving about, but he saw nothing odd.

“I don’t see anything odd,” stated Arik. “What is so special about this street?”

“The wagon,” answered Tedi. “Look at the wagon.”

Arik’s eyes sought the wagon that Tedi was pointing to and he gulped when he saw it. It was a typical merchant wagon and did not look out of place on the busy street, but the words on the side of it struck a familiar chord.

“Boris Khatama Merchant,” read Arik. “That isn’t possible. Maybe somebody found his wagon and is using it now. Her uncle is dead. Or maybe there is another Boris Khatama.”