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“Did you see them?” Bock asked as the High Zarina Monde opened her eyes. She looked at him in exasperation as if he were a small child who’d asked her if she could walk.
“Of course I saw them,” she snapped. “They’re a bloody ten thousand man army…not an easy thing to hide from a Traveler.”
Gwaynn smiled but did not laugh; he could still understand the mystery of the Travelers and remembered his own awe as he watched his first citizen of Light in action. He thought about that day…the day Gwynn and his mother died. Why did Navarra kill them first? Was it the fact that they were women? He didn’t know, but from what Samantha told him, the Executioner intentionally saved her for last…saved her for the rape. Why then had Navarra not killed him first or at least right after his mother and saved Gwynn for the having? After all, his sister was beautiful. Maybe it was because she’d already been raped multiple times throughout that day. Perhaps Navarra believed her to be tainted…a common man’s trophy. Gwaynn scowled, realizing there was no way to know the thoughts of providence.
“What’s wrong?” Samantha asked him but he only shook his head and gave her a half smile.
“Where are they? Did you see anyone left behind…anyone at all?” Bock asked, pestering the Traveler for information. The day was cold and growing colder and Gwaynn could almost see his General’s impatience in each visible puff of breath.
N’dori laughed as Tar Kostek put a calming hand on the General’s shoulder. But Monde ignored them all and turned to Gwaynn. He would always be the one she would report to, always be her King, even when they reoccupied Light…and now the High Zarina was actually beginning to believe that they would someday.
“The Knights have split into three large groups…all moving east or northeast. They’re all about five miles away right now,” she said.
Gwaynn nodded and turned a wry smile on Lonogan. “Let’s be patient. If we’re to reach the hilly region west of Claymont, I’d like the Knights a bit farther on,” Gwaynn said then turned to Monde.
“Any visible scouts?”
Monde shook her head. “Not that I was aware of, but you can bet they’re out there.” She turned to Laynee who stood beside Daniel, the young man who practiced with Gwaynn under na Gall nearly a year prior.
“Daniel can project now,” Laynee piped up in her singsong voice. “He’ll be a Traveler soon…he’s going to search with me,” she informed Gwaynn happily and together they moved slowly through the twenty-nine steps.
Gwaynn looked out across the deserted field that had so recently been the Knight’s camp while the others in the group watched the two young people with interest.
‘Perhaps I should project with them just to be sure,’ he thought but changed his mind. He would need all his strength for the coming battle. The Temple Knights had not been defeated for nearly a thousand years. Gwaynn was far from deluded and realized that the coming conflict would not be easy and not without cost whatever the outcome. Lives would be lost, maybe his, maybe Lonogan’s or Vio’s, people were going to die in this battle, many people. But Gwaynn also understood that the Massi did not actually have to defeat the Knights completely. Without a way to reinforce, the more the Knights were weakened the more tenuous their hold on the plains would become. As he fretted, Samantha walked over close and slipped her hand in his, pulling him out of his thoughts.
“Daniel showed them to me,” Laynee was saying before Gwaynn even realized they were back.
“Where?”
“Not far…maybe two miles to the east hiding in a thicket on top of a long hill,” she answered.
“How many?” Bock asked.
“Six,” Laynee said. “I think five soldiers and a Speaker,” she added with a look at Monde.
“He can’t be trusted,” Gwaynn blurted quickly, catching the look on her face.
“Nadler…” Monde said. “Capture him and he could be used to feed false information to the Knights. His ultimate loyalty should still be to Light.”
Gwaynn considered this a moment. “Very well,” he finally agreed. They only had to keep the Speaker quiet for a couple of hours before their army would be in position to meet the Knights on their own terms.
“Can you take me?” Monde asked Laynee, who nodded as she shoved a handful of sugar cubes into her mouth.
Gwaynn looked from N’dori to Kostek, both appeared ready then he turned and signaled Tar Endid who was standing on the ground below talking with Tarina Grace, Vio, William, Tam and Bethany. They all climbed to the ramparts quickly.
“We’ll handle the scouts,” Gwaynn told Lonogan. “Assemble the army…we’ll be marching out of Manse before noon,” he added and felt Samantha squeeze his hand.
“I’ll be careful,” he said and was grateful that she did not insist on going. She stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek. His skin was cold and fresh. Gwaynn was very aware of Vio watching everything very closely with her large, dark eyes. But she was smiling, and it was a true smile, which was unexpected.
“I know you will,” Samantha whispered and stepped back next to Daniel who was carefully watching Monde as she moved through the final steps. The group was ready, four Tars and as many students, plus Gwaynn. Vio was bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet as if anxious to get back into the action. She didn’t have long to wait, Monde opened the bridge rapidly.
“Travel!” She shouted once the connection was complete and the group from Noble rushed through. Samantha actually felt a twinge of sympathy for the poor Knights on the far side, having to face such a formidable group.
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“Sunk!” Audra Mastoc, Queen of the Inland Sea said incredulously, utterly horrified. “Dead?”
King Donnis Rhondono kept his head down as he kneeled before the young, beautiful queen. She was heavy with the King’s second child by her and he did not want to be the bearer of bad tidings, but he could see no way around it.
“It is not certain my Queen,” he answered solemnly. “It’s possible, though not likely that he was picked up by a passing Toranado ship…or maybe one from the treacherous Cassinni.”
“Caiman…” she said softly and was surprised by the wave of sadness that rushed over her. In the beginning, during her first months of marriage, the High King had been only an old, slightly disgusting man to her. He was someone she could never, ever love, but after Aiden was born, and she came to understand that the King shared her unconditional love for the baby boy, her feelings for him began to change. Of course love never entered her mind, for how could she possibly love someone over twice her own age, but now she had to admit that a fair amount of affection seeped into her heart for the man. And now he was dead!