“Gwaynn,” Tam said and moved forward to give him a long hug. She was taller, and her dark hair was longer, but otherwise she looked just as she had the last time he’d seen her. William followed with a strong handshake and a pat on the shoulder. He looked much the same. Gwaynn was of the mind that he did not know any of the other students until Kostek introduced the Lady Bethany of Massi…Noble’s other student from his country. She was taller than he remembered, though far from tall, standing just over five feet. Her hair was long and dark, her cheeks were round and prominent and her eyes were wide brown pools. She was growing into a very lovely young woman.
“Majesty,” she said with a graceful bow.
“Gwaynn please,” he answered and reached out to guide her to her full height. He looked down at her with clear affection, though they’d met only briefly before. “Welcome home.”
“Thank you…Gwaynn,” she said and stepped back.
The other students, Saran and Jinja were both seven year male students from the Mneme quarter, and a small dark skinned girl named Indira from Aoede quarter. It was only later that Gwaynn learned she was the eldest student of the group…and aside from Vio, the most talented.
“What’s the situation?” Tar Kostek said after all the introductions were made. “I see the Temple Knights are preparing for battle,” he added glancing off the Scar and out across Manse to the plains below.
“Yes…” Gwaynn began but was interrupted as Emm rushed up to them, the expression on her face made it plain that she’d already heard the bad news. Gwaynn groaned, inwardly berating himself for not going to the girl first.
“Gwaynn where’s Krys?”
Gwaynn hesitated and Emm face went from panic to anguish in an instant. She cried out and staggered slightly, then she crumpled and would have fallen but Gwaynn moved forward, caught her and lifted her into his arms. He carried her easily, surprised by just how physically insubstantial she was. He held her close and whispered words that would not, could not help. But it mattered little, she was unconscious but even so her dark brows were furrowed in pain.
“Krys was killed this morning in the fighting on the Plateau,” Gwaynn explained. Vio gasped in disbelief and Tam actually cried out in shock, and Gwaynn saw his own sadness mirrored in the expressions of every Tar from Noble Island.
IX
‘She saw me! She knows or will remember soon enough’ Tarina Cyn de Baard thought as she hastily shoved her belongings into several bags. She had to leave…leave now before the girl placed her, and she eventually would, undoubtedly when her facial bandages finally came off. de Baard’s heart only began to slow when all her belongings were packed away and waiting on the bed.
‘I’ll have to be careful with the horse or it will cause suspicion.’ She moved to the door of her room and was almost off to garner a mount when she suddenly stopped, her hand resting lightly on the latch. She flopped down on the bed, trying to think, trying to be calm.
‘But she didn’t recognize me…and like a young fool you ran away…I should have stayed. But there were Tars…two Tars.’
de Baard, though she was confident of her skills, had no illusions about what would have happened to her if she went up against two Tars from Noble. She would die…and quickly, and that was not even taking Gwaynn into account. He was so skilled, so fast, so deadly, he had to be fighting on Tar level…if he was not, then the fate of Sinis was assured.
‘But she did not recognize me,’ de Baard reminded herself.
Her heartbeat slowed even more and she finally got control of her emotions. Even if the girl didn’t recognize her, the presence of Tars now hampered her plans all the more.
‘I could add the Noble girl to the list of those who will die,’ she considered with as smile, but it soon fell into a frown. The list of people she planned to kill but had not, was growing very long.
In the end, de Baard only had two real options; she could run, or she could kill Vio along with the bitch…and possibly Gwaynn. Of course if the opportunity presented itself she could just kill Gwaynn and his whore and then flee, but perhaps…yes perhaps poison should be brought to bear.
‘With poison I could kill them all…all the Tars and all the students.’
de Baard quickly sat up and considered the idea a moment longer and then she smiled her sweet, warm smile.
‘To kill Tars would go a long way with Sinis…I would be welcomed back and then I could deal with Nacht.’
de Baard stood and began to unpack once more. If she was to succeed she must be calm; she must not lose her head. She pulled her two needle knives from the pack and attached them carefully back to the underside of her bed, making sure that they were out of sight and then she pulled a small bottle of scented oil from her pack. On impulse she pulled the stopper and placed her left index finger over the opening then tipped the bottle once, then twice and touched the oil to the base of her neck. The scent of cherry blossoms suddenly filled the small room and instantly de Baard felt at ease and in control once more.
‘I’ll kill the bitch first. If I fail with the others so be it, but Samantha must die.’
de Baard frowned again and tried to exercise her shoulder. Pain shot through it, but she ignored it and continued to rotate it, gradually loosening the muscles and improving her range of motion.
‘I’m healing…but I must act soon. When Gwaynn leaves to fight the Palmerrio…he’ll take the Tars and then she’ll die. It will be very easy to kill a one armed whore.’
Again de Baard smiled. ‘Perhaps Gwaynn will even be relieved to be rid of the cripple.’
The thought came unbidden, and de Baard mentally brushed it aside then continued to unpack the rest of her things.
ǂ
“No Gwaynn…I’m going with you,” Vio insisted, determination etched on her face.
“As will we,” added William, holding tightly to Tam’s hand.
“There’s not a question of any of us staying behind,” Saran said and the rest of the students nodded.
Gwaynn stared at them all in exasperation. He knew they had skill, and he knew they would be a tremendous help against the Palmerrio, but they were young and untried. He doubted any of them had ever killed another human being. War was not like sparring. They were not truly aware of the danger they would be in, he was utterly sure of that.
“Krys died!” He finally said, using his last argument. He hoped that Kostek and the other Tars would rally to his side, but to his surprise they supported the students’ view.
“They’ve come to fight,” Kostek said, “and I have no power over them any longer. We’ve all left Noble behind.”
“I’ll stay in Manse,” Tar Grace finally spoke up, knowing that as the eldest she would be hard pressed to survive an extended campaign, “and see to the defenses here. Take the rest, you will need them. From what you’ve told us, the Palmerrio must be defeated quickly if we are to trap the Knights on the plains. They,” she added with a sweeping gesture which included all the students, “can help you. They’ve been well trained.”
“Very well,” Gwaynn finally agreed and shook his head when Vio’s face erupted into a smile. A quick look around showed that her expression was shared by all of the students except Saran, who looked thoughtful. ‘They will soon learn what it is to kill a man,’ Gwaynn thought but said nothing more on the subject.