Chapter Eight

Are You With Us?

Part Two

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Alarms were sounding all over the village now. Two soldiers emerged from the house with the body of another mercenary slung between them. Lenna appeared behind them, her infant son in her arms, and stood in the doorway watching as they carried the dead man to the stable and dropped him on the ground to bring the wagon out into the drive. Another soldier came behind Lenna and startled her as he softly nudged her to allow the rest to make their egress.

Most of the soldiers began to disperse in groups toward the various clamoring bells, leaving a few behind to help Kelvaran haul the now bound mercenaries and their deceased comrade into the wagon. Lenna dazedly wandered across the drive to where Kazia and Amelys stood together. An angry purple bruise was spreading on her cheek and Kazia sucked in a breath as she tried to gently examine it. The baby laughed at Kazia and made a misaimed grab for her hand.

“There was a dead man in my house,” Lenna said absently. “He hit me.”

“It's all over now,” Kazia said.

“No,” Lenna said, looking after the soldiers clearly running toward more danger.

“It is over here, and you are safe,” Kazia assured her. “Look, your baby is safe, and the rest will be safe soon enough.”

“Where is Neiphi?” Lenna demanded, her bewilderment broken now and a panic rising in her voice.

“Nearby, and safely protected, I promise. Look, here she is now.”

A clattering of hooves brought the carriage down the drive then, with Ardel riding alongside on a visibly spent horse. He dismounted at once and ran to Lenna, tenderly embracing his wife and son.

“The dead man hit me, Ardel,” Lenna was saying. “He wasn't dead yet, though. No one has ever hit me before!”

As Neiphi jumped down from the carriage and ran to her family, Kazia and Amelys withdrew a distance to give them the moment. Soldiers drove the wagon away, leaving a guard of four taking up positions in front and back of the house. Kelvaran went to the carriage to hand Brandra down, as the driver was tending to Ardel's horse.

“Let's go inside,” Ardel suggested to everyone present. “We have much to discuss.” But Lenna hesitated, fear contorting her face as she looked up at the house, her eyes filling with tears and her demeanor becoming unfocused again.

“I can't,” she said.

“Mrs. Gewalt,” Kelvaran said then. “You are the mistress of this house, yes?” His voice was stern, but Kazia was surprised to detect an unexpectedly warm compassion in his aura.

“I am,” Lenna said sheepishly.

“These men tried to take it from you today, but they have failed,” Kelvaran continued. “This house has been won again fairly through a trial of arms. Do you understand?”

As he spoke, Lenna seemed to stand a bit taller, her shoulders slowly squaring, her chin rising.

“I understand,” she said, her voice strong.

“Go now and claim what is yours,” Kelvaran said, pointing to the front door.

“Right,” Lenna answered firmly, turning on her heel and striding toward the door. “Neiphi!” she called over her shoulder.

Ardel smiled and Neiphi took his hand to pull him along. Kazia stared in wonderment at Kelvaran, looking quickly away when he turned to wave the rest of the company on, also signaling the driver of the carriage to come inside for his safety.

“That won't be the end of it for her, but it's a good start,” Amelys said. “That was well done, Kel.”

The first order of business was to find the house maid. She and Lenna had been alone in the house when the mercenaries entered through a back door and found them in the kitchen. The maid had fled, and they found her now hiding in a pantry.

Ardel ushered everyone together into the drawing room. Lenna handed the baby off to the maid, who took a seat with the carriage driver near the archway, and Brandra stayed with them to comfort the terrified girl. Everyone else took seats around the room, and Ardel stood before the fireplace, looking exhausted and thoughtful.

“Lady Kazia,” he said finally. “We know that you are to leave us.” Kazia opened her mouth to object, but Ardel raised a hand. “I believe it is certain.”

“This happened because of you!” Lenna interjected. “They told me. They were looking for you, and wanted me to tell them where to find you.” Ardel bade her calm down.

“It is not Kazia's fault, and we will not turn from her,” he said to Lenna. “She has been our friend and a great help to us.” Lenna sighed in agreement, and looked sadly at Kazia.

“And she is not their only purpose,” Ardel continued. “Valesk would not break treaties only to find one woman. I spoke with the Mayor this morning. These soldiers came here to establish a garrison for our protection, as they have in other border towns. The Crown believes these raids to be only an opening gambit to future escalation.”

“That is our understanding,” Amelys said. Ardel pursed his lips and gazed at Lenna for a moment, and then to Kazia.

“Lady Kazia, would you take Neiphi to the castle with you?”

“Ardel!” Lenna cried out. Neiphi gasped beside her. Kazia glanced at the girl, who stared wide-eyed and agape at her father.

“She would be safe there,” Ardel said to his wife. He looked over to the baby in the maid's arms at the door. “Our little one must stay with his parents, but Neiphi could be secure. It would be like sending her away to school. The noble people send their children away to school all the time, don't they?”

Kazia turned to Amelys. “Would that be possible, Mistress?” she asked.

“I don't see why not,” Amelys answered. “And it would be exactly like sending her to school, Mrs. Gewalt. The Queen keeps a staff of first-class tutors to educate all of the castle's children.”

Lenna appeared to perform some silent calculation in her head, looking from Neiphi to Ardel, to Kazia and Amelys, biting her lips to still them from whispering to herself. Finally she said, “Well, I certainly couldn't deny my daughter such an education.”

“Now, Neiphi would be there officially as Apprentice to Lady Kazia and would spend part of her day assisting her work. Miss Gewalt, have you any interest in Alchemy?”

An impish smile began to spread across Neiphi's face.

“Are you prepared to leave your home, Neiphi?” Kazia asked.

The girl's smile faltered, but she nodded resolutely.

“Are you prepared to leave tonight?” Kelvaran said, more to the room than to Neiphi herself.

“Why, Kel, have you come around?” Amelys asked him.

“If only to safekeep these people from the immediate menace,” he answered, shooting a dark glance at Kazia.

 

 

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Kazia leaned her head against the window, looking out into the black of night. She wished she could sleep, but her nerves were still on edge. The sway of the carriage along with the rhythmic clank and sigh of the pistons of its magical enhancements could only lull her into a daze. The day had been exhausting. She had pulled a few muscles, her hands hurt from falling on the drive pavement, and her feet from running around in her tight dress boots.

A soldier's horse pulling up alongside her window startled her. Four of them accompanied the carriage on horseback. All ten horses were outfitted with lanterns to light the road, glowing with ethereal energy, and Kazia watched the lantern swaying on the tack with the horse's lively canter. It was mesmerizing. She tried not to think of what she was leaving behind, to turn her aspirations to what was sure to be satisfying work with the Artifacts. She closed her eyes.

They had departed Essyl in the early evening. The village was quieting down then, the fires extinguished and hopefully all mercenaries killed or captured, although some may have escaped. Lenna had packed a case for Neiphi, and they had made stops at Kazia's cottage to retrieve her few sentimental belongings and then at the public house where Amelys settled her company's bill and saw their belongings packed into the carriage. A team of soldiers would bring the captive mercenaries to the capital tomorrow. Kazia was at first inclined to seek any loose end they may be leaving, to delay their departure, but there did not seem to be any.

Half an hour into the trip, Neiphi had begun to weep inconsolably. Brandra sat with her in the back compartment to comfort her until she cried herself out, and Neiphi had since been asleep across the cushioned bench. In some way Neiphi's fit had been somewhat cathartic for Kazia. She wished she could do the same. You are no child now, though, she told herself. If only she truly felt it. As she half-dozed against the window, a fear began to creep over her. Her chest tightened with it, and her breath shortened. A chill settled over her as if death were imminent. She forced herself awake and looked around the carriage.

On the bench opposite her, Kelvaran sat across from Amelys, also sleeping against the window. He was so still and appeared so serene that he barely looked like himself, the usual hard set of his face having softened in slumber. But now and again his face twitched, and then his hand.

“Alright, Kazia?” Amelys whispered, reaching a hand out to Kazia's arm. Kazia nodded.

“It's not me,” she murmured back, and flicked her head toward Kelvaran.

He was dreaming, and whatever he dreamed terrified him. She wondered what could so frighten such a man. She had seen all day how expertly he wielded energy orbs, and had even seen him conjure a portal. That was big magic, and the discipline required for such was daunting. Kazia had always thought that level of magic would require mastery of one's whole self. One need only look at Amelys and the enormous work of energy she had demonstrated. But Kelvaran did not seem capable of controlling his own emotional state. Perhaps the theory was lacking.

Amelys moved to the seat next to him and took his hand in hers. His eyes flew open, then he released an audible breath as he saw Amelys next to him.

“Sorry to wake you, dear,” Amelys said to him, patting his hand. “I just needed a bit of movement. Go on back to sleep.”

 

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