“She fears losing HawkShadow,” nodded Goral, “whether it is through death or some other means does not make much of a difference to her. The end result is the same.”
“We all may die before this over,” shrugged DarkBlade. “If she truly feels that strongly about HawkShadow, she should be spending every single moment with him while they are both alive.”
“She would not argue that point with you,” replied Goral. “Nor would I. When they are together is the only time that she smiles.”
“Where is HawkShadow?” asked DarkBlade. “I know I saw him earlier today.”
Goral nodded towards the spot where the assassin sat reading the map with StarWind. DarkBlade saw the couple sitting and frowned. Without a word to Goral, DarkBlade turned and strode over to HawkShadow.
“Tayo, HawkShadow,” said DarkBlade. “I think SkyDancer was looking for you.”
“Tayo, DarkBlade,” HawkShadow replied, tearing his eyes away from the map only for a second before returning to it. “Could you tell her where I am?”
“I think she knows where you are,” replied DarkBlade.
HawkShadow frowned in confusion, but StarWind nodded knowingly.
“I think that I have enough to dwell on, HawkShadow” smiled StarWind as she rose and started folding up the map. “Why don’t you go rest and enjoy our short stop while you can.”
“I would rather finish our discussion,” protested HawkShadow.
“Another time,” StarWind said definitively as she turned and walked away.
HawkShadow turned and frowned at DarkBlade. “Did I say something wrong to her?” he asked. “Her leaving was rather abrupt.”
“No,” DarkBlade sighed as he shook his head. “You said nothing wrong. Why don’t you go and find SkyDancer. She is feeling pretty low right now. I think you could cheer her up.”
“I imagine that she is dwelling on SilverEdge’s death,” frowned HawkShadow. “She liked him a great deal. His death must hurt her quite a bit.”
“Something like that,” replied DarkBlade. “Losing you would hurt her a lot more. Go and spend some time with her.”
HawkShadow nodded and strode off. A feeling of satisfaction filled DarkBlade as he watched the assassin walk away.
“You should not have done that,” came a voice from behind DarkBlade.
DarkBlade whirled to see MistyTrail standing behind him. “Why not?” he asked. “She needs him right now. She loves him.”
“You do not understand HawkShadow as I do,” frowned MistyTrail. “You may just have endangered his life.”
“What?” balked DarkBlade. “What a nonsensical thing to say. By telling him that SkyDancer loves him? Surely, he must already know that?”
“He knows that she loves him,” nodded MistyTrail. “She has said so to him, but he does not feel the same towards her. He likes her a great deal, but his heart belongs to another.”
“Who?” asked DarkBlade.
“That does not matter,” replied MistyTrail. “Like SkyDancer, HawkShadow’s love is not returned by the woman he loves.”
“Then he should tell SkyDancer the truth and let her deal with it,” retorted DarkBlade.
“She is incapable of dealing with it,” countered MistyTrail. “That is why HawkShadow says nothing. He will not lie to her, yet he will not destroy her with the truth either.”
“Well,” shrugged DarkBlade, “that is his prerogative, but I don’t see how that endangers his life.”
“No,” replied MistyTrail, “the mention of love does not endanger him, but your insistence that she needs him does. It tells HawkShadow that SkyDancer has become unstable. He can handle her love of him, but he also is responsible for sending her on missions. Now he must second-guess every assignment that he gives her. Few know HawkShadow as I do. I spent years with him as my tutor. I know him well.”
“Which means what?” asked DarkBlade.
“Which means that HawkShadow will try to do her work as well as his own to protect her,” answered MistyTrail. “He could not bear the responsibility of her death if he sent her on a mission that she was incapable of handling, and in her state of mind, that would be any mission that he gave her.”
“Then he should talk to Lyra,” frowned DarkBlade. “Get her removed from working under him. You could take her place. You just said that he tutored you for years.”
“My time in the Sakova is at an end,” MistyTrail said. “I must return to Elvangar. In fact, I am hoping to meet Myka when she returns with the Star of Sakova. She could take me home.”
“Then I will speak to Lyra,” decided DarkBlade. “I did not mean to cause trouble. I was only trying to help.”
“I understand,” MistyTrail smiled tautly. “Talk to Lyra about it. I am sure she will understand.”
Chapter 8
Hand of Kaltara
Premer Cardijja marched down the gangplank and watched as thousands upon thousands of Motangan soldiers marched through the newly built city of Meliban. The first troops to be offloaded were ordered to march completely through the city. Once outside the walls, they began setting up camp. The premer walked to the city center to observe the troop movements. As generals unloaded their armies, they made their way to the premer for instructions. General Luggar arrived in a huff.
“I caught some men preparing to burn buildings,” the general scowled. “Is that an order that you gave?”
“Absolutely not,” frowned the premer. “There is no reason to destroy this city. It will make an excellent port for receiving supplies. Have those soldiers executed in front of the men still disembarking. Make sure that the message is spread that I will not tolerate unnecessary destruction. We were fortunate to have landed unopposed. This city in now Motangan.”
“What about use of the buildings?” asked General Luggar. “May we take them over for our own use?”
“Yes,” nodded the premer. “I will assign sectors to the generals. The generals can utilize the buildings as they see fit. The administration building down the street will be reserved for me and my staff.”
“You sound as if we are going to be here for a while,” commented the general. “What is our plan of attack?”
“The first step is to get situated here,” answered Premer Cardijja. “We will send out scouts from the mounted corte to search for clues as to the whereabouts of the enemy. Then we will kill the Fakarans.”
“You make it sound so simple,” replied the general. “What about Vandegar and Angragar?”
“Those problems belong to Premer Tzargo,” shrugged Cardijja. “It is my understanding that Tzargo is in charge of securing Vandegar for the Emperor. Once Vand is installed in the temple, the search for Angragar will begin in earnest. Of course,” he added, “it would be quite an accomplishment if we can determine the location of Angragar before Tzargo. I might even be promoted to First Premer. Keep that in mind when we engage the Fakarans. Any captives must be interrogated painstakingly.”
“Tzargo only has fifty thousand men,” frowned General Luggar. “Can he hold Vandegar with that small an army?”
“He has more mages than he knows what to do with,” shrugged Cardijja. “What he lacks in manpower, he makes up for with magic.”
“When does he arrive?” asked the general.
“After we have secured Meliban and located the enemy,” answered the premer. “While he can defend Vandegar, he doesn’t want to be attacked on the way there.”
“So he is waiting on us,” frowned the general. “I don’t care to have that kind of attention on me. I prefer a slow and steady approach.”
“That is why I brought a corte of cavalry with me,” replied the premer. “Fakara is a large wasteland and I don’t want to waste time locating the Fakarans. I have also arranged to have more horses shipped if we need them, but I don’t think that will be necessary just yet. Our trackers are excellent. We will find the Fakarans in a short time.”
“Or they will find us,” warned the general.
“Let them come,” smiled the premer. “That would make this much easier. Our archers are the finest in Motanga. Why do you think I chose Fakara? The land is mostly flat. You can see forever on these plains. Let the savages charge us. They will fall to our archers before they ever reach us.”