“How far away are we?” he had asked.
“Three or four more nights walking to the foothills, then several more to climb into the mountains.”
Now he looked at the area surrounding the hill, checking for signs of life.
“Mind if I have a look around?” he asked as Tyvara rose to her feet and stretched.
She looked up at the sky, which was now a deep scarlet, but the night was not quite dark enough for continuing their trek. “Go ahead. Just keep out of sight of the road.”
“I will.”
They’d sheltered within an open square of walls. He rose and headed for one of the gaps, intending to have a closer look at the outside of the building.
A woman stepped into the gap.
He skidded to a halt. The woman was dressed as a slave, but her demeanour was all wrong. She was smiling at him, but the smile was not friendly. She took a step toward him, her eyes narrowing. Instinctively, he strengthened his shield.
His instinct proved correct. The woman’s nose wrinkled with concentration, and his shield vibrated violently as magic battered it. The air between them shimmered. He backed away.
The woman’s stare was cold and intent. He had no doubt she meant to kill him. Fear set his heart pounding. He felt a growing urge to run. Which would be sensible, he thought. She’s got to be a Traitor, which means she’s a black magician, which means she’s a lot stronger than me.
But before he had even finished that thought, Tyvara stepped past him. The woman’s gaze shifted to her. He felt a giddy rush of relief. Tyvara stopped a step in front of him and he felt her shield envelop his own. Though the battering stopped, he kept his shield strong within hers, in case her own faltered.
“Stop this, Rasha,” Tyvara said.
“Only if you do,” the woman replied.
“Do you swear you will not strike at me or Lorkin?”
“I swear I will not strike you. But he,” the woman’s gaze shifted back to him, “must die.”
Lorkin shivered. But he also noted that the woman had stopped striking at Tyvara.
“The queen ordered that he was not to be killed.”
“She has no right to tell us we cannot have our revenge,” Rasha hissed.
“Ishira was the first to die.”
The woman’s eyes flashed with anger. “First or last, what does it matter?”
“She was my playmate. Do you think I didn’t miss her? Do you think I didn’t grieve?”
“You don’t know what it’s like to lose a child!” the woman shouted.
“No,” Tyvara replied, an edge to her voice. “But I would consider the queen an example of how to live with the loss, not those who would murder someone else’s child for their parent’s mistakes or crimes.”
Rasha stared at Tyvara, her face a mask of hatred. “Not everyone can be so forgiving. Not of that. And not of you murdering one of your own people.” The woman’s eyes gleamed. “You’re wasting your strength protecting him. Let me have him.”
“Once you kill him, what will you do with me?” Tyvara sounded remarkably calm, Lorkin noted. But she stood braced as if she expected another attack any moment. She’s trying to keep the woman talking. Well, I hope she is. She could also be about to start bartering my life for her own.
“You’re coming back to Sanctuary with me. All Traitors need to know that the queen would rather one of our own died than the son of the man who killed her daughter.”
“Actually, the queen would rather people obeyed her orders. Then nobody would get killed,” a high voice said. “It’s quite a reasonable order, and good for everybody.”
Rasha stepped to the side and turned in one movement. Another woman dressed as a slave stood within the gap, leaning against the wall in a deliberately nonchalant pose.
“Chari,” Tyvara said, relief and warmth in her voice.
The newcomer gave them all a cheerful smile, then stepped into the building with all the poise of a young Kyralian woman making a grand entrance at a ball or party.
“I have fresh, shiny orders from the queen,” she told them. “Lord Lorkin is not to be harmed. Tyvara is to be brought to Sanctuary to be put on trial for the murder of Riva.” She turned to Rasha. “Since I outrank you, this little task falls to me. You had better run along, before your master realises you’re gone and sends a whipping party after you.”
Rasha stared at Chari for a moment, then she hissed and stalked through the gap in the wall. The snap and crack of the woman pushing through the spiny bushes covering the hill could be clearly heard.
Chari turned to regard Tyvara. “You’re in so much trouble.”
Tyvara smiled. “Thanks for stepping in. How’d you know where we were?”
The young woman shrugged. “I didn’t. I was keeping an eye out for you, of course, but I didn’t think you’d come here. It’s the most obvious hiding place in this area. What were you thinking?”
Tyvara shrugged. “I don’t know.” She rubbed her face, her weariness suddenly plain to see. “We’d done so well... I thought maybe people were assuming we wouldn’t head for Sanctuary.”
Chari shook her head. “It’s just as well I was keeping an eye on Rasha. She’s head watcher at the estate next to mine and she’s been sweating on catching you. When I heard she’d gathered together a group and was heading out to get you I slipped away and followed.”
“A group?” Tyvara frowned. “Where are the others?”
“Fortunately for you, she told them to wait so she could go on ahead and knock off your new friend here.” Chari glanced at Lorkin and smiled. “I got to them first and told them to go home.”
“I outrank you,” Lorkin recalled her saying to Rasha. She’s obviously a fairly powerful Traitor. And if they have ranks then they aren’t as equal as Tyvara says.
“Well... thank you for that.” Tyvara paused. “So what are you going to do with us?”
Chari did not answer. She looked down, pursed her lips and walked a few steps closer. She stopped a few steps away, then looked at Tyvara searchingly. “Is it true?”
“Yes.”
Chari nodded and sighed. “Riva was a troublemaker. If anyone was going to give you reason, she would.”
Tyvara shook her head. “If there had been any other way...”
“Well, good for you for not denying it. What are your plans?”
“To go home and sort this out.”
Chari’s gaze shifted to Lorkin and moved from his head to his feet and back again. “What about him?”
Lorkin decided to ignore that he was being discussed as if he wasn’t there. He inclined his head politely. “Honoured to meet you, Chari of the Traitors.”
The woman grinned and walked over to face him. “I like him. Honoured to meet you, too, Lorkin of the Guild.”
“He has offered to return with me, to speak in my defence at the trial.” Tyvara’s words were quiet.
Chari’s eyebrows rose. “And are you wanting to go with her?” she asked of him.
“Yes.”
Her expression became both approving and appraising. “You’re a brave man. Are you going to give us what your father didn’t?”
“We’ll discuss that when we get there,” Tyvara replied before he could respond.
The young woman chuckled. “I’m sure you will. Of course, that’s not what’s supposed to happen,” she told him. “You’re supposed to be returned to Arvice. We’re certainly not meant to bring you back to our secret home. I’ll have to get permission for that.”