A Warrior's Path Page 20

  Suddenly, the creature on her lurched, and the pitch of its screech increased to a surprised squawk. It jumped back and continued squawking loudly, its forelimbs flailing before it wildly. Su-Ni had to blink several times before the blood and tears cleared enough for her to see what caused the commotion.

  An arrow protruded from one of the beast's four shiny black eyes. The other creatures skittered back uncertainly, turning their heads from side to side to consider their injured companion. Another arrow thudded into a second eye and went even deeper than the first. The creature flopped onto its back and writhed around violently, forelimbs desperately clawing for the painful missiles. One of the limbs did hit an arrow, but it did little to ease the creature's pain, at least at first. After a few more wild thrashes, its limbs shuddered sickeningly, then twitched a few times, then lay still. Both arrows had embedded deep within the beast's small brain. Needing no further prompting, the other creatures bounded out of sight in a few quick leaps.

  Su-Ni dropped her head back to the ground and continued to sob quietly, holding her lacerated arms against her chest. She jumped slightly when a figure appeared in her tear-filled vision, but she was relieved to note that it was more human shaped. She sniffled a few times and took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself, but she was very shaken by her brush with death.

  “Odd prey for the meilif-danar,” a familiar voice said. “I doubt they are accustomed to diplomat, a delicacy to be sure.”

  Su-Ni sat up and shakily wiped her eyes. “Marui?” she asked.

  “Yes,” answered the elf, offering the woman an open hand.

  Su-Ni looked at that hand, but did not take it. She could not bring herself to take her arms away from her chest, though keeping them there did little to lessen her pain. Moving them, it seemed, offered only more pain, so she simply rolled onto her thigh and bent her legs under her. Marui slung her bow over her shoulder and knelt to lend a steadying hand.

  “Thank you,” the diplomat offered, then after a thought, a more heartfelt, “Thank you...”

  Marui nodded, but grimaced at the young woman. “You are fortunate it was my watch,” she said. “If one of your kin had been at that duty, more than your horse would have perished tonight.” Her voice was scolding, though in truth, even if it wasn't the elf's watch, she would have heard the struggle in the quiet meditation that served as her race's sleep. “Why have you come out here?”

  Su-Ni hung her head, her sobs returned at the loss of the horse. “I was following you,” she admitted shamefully.

  “Obviously,” came the reply, but Marui didn't question any further. She understood that the young woman was not in much of a condition to talk. “Come. We must tend to those wounds quickly. You are poisoned, but fear not, I have the remedy,” she explained.

  The two of them walked as quickly as they could manage to the camp, elf supporting human. They spoke no other words as they walked, for Su-Ni was lost in the contemplation of what the consequence of tonight might be, and Marui simply let her think. That knowledge, the fact that she would not have drawn another breath, and the fear that it inspired would be all the punishment the diplomat needed. The gashes on her arms were painful, but they would heal, and those scars would be a poignant reminder of the hard lesson she had learned today. So thought Marui, and it helped her to feel some measure of sympathy for the frightened woman.

  She brought Su-Ni to the camp and bandaged her wounds tenderly. She administered a small sprig of some herbs to the young woman to help her sleep, though she was clearly exhausted, and to help counteract the dangerous poison that the meilif-danar exude from the tips of their sharp talons. Once the woman was resting soundly, the elf fed a few twigs into the fire and sat watching for the rest of the night, not bothering to wake anyone else in the camp. Let them rest, she thought, they would need the strength.

  * * *

  A quarter of the distance from the heart of the wetlands back to Niele'itio was through that plant-choked and treacherously muddy ground that made up the bog. Any man, no matter how road hardened, would have spent at least as much time navigating the swampy mire as traveling the longer open plain straight to the dark city. But Agucho was no man, and he walked and slithered and hopped his way through those lands he had known as his home for so many years of his life. He did not wish to so quickly be away from home again, but he knew better than to tarry. He knew the consequence of denying Orbein and his queen both.

  So, the shapeshifter hurried through the saturated earth that felt so good against his feet, by the shelter of the plant life that made him feel so safe, and out into the sun as easily as if he had been walking on open ground. As soon as the ground became firm beneath him again, he ceased ambulatory travel and took to the sky, knowing that he could be back in Orbein's city before the closing of the next day if he flew rather than walked. Indeed, before he had been gone even a week, he saw the looming pillars of the temple gate of Niele'itio rising before him.

  Flapping his wings to pick up some speed, Agucho circled the Dark City and saw the masses of Vethisir's army still training on the field of Ionotu. He watched them roll up one of the three small catapults and fire it. He saw another more massive siege weapon being assembled not far off. The huge counterweight identified it as an impressive replication of the trebuchet design that the shapeshifter had also given to Orbein. He grinned at the surprising efficiency of the general's men. In the week since he had last seen him, Vethisir had gotten his army to assemble three siege engines, and they were well on their way toward completing the fourth.

  Satisfied with the progress he witnessed here, Agucho turned toward the palace. He circled briefly. Then, seeing an open window, he flew in. The occupants of the room, two young women draped in sheer fabric, both obviously concubines of Orbein, jumped at the sudden appearance of the large bird. They paused in their obviously private moment of feeding grapes to one another in lewd and suggestive ways to gape at the intruder.

  The shapeshifter heeded them not, as he found human women to be featureless at best, hideous at worst. He simply flew out into the corridor and continued making his way to the king's chamber, though he knew he would just as likely find him along the way.

  And so he did, quite literally, bump into the king as he turned a corner. He bounced off Orbein's chest and fluttered to the ground, shifting instantly to his normal shape, already prostrating himself at the ruler's feet.

  “Your pardon, highness,” he begged.

  Orbein sneered at the groveling Fiu-Het. “Get up, fool,” he commanded.

  Agucho stood and looked up at the king. “I have returned, highness.”

  “So I see,” the king said dryly. “Follow me, we must speak.” With that, he stepped off down the hallway at a brisk pace.

  Agucho realized they were headed back the way he had just come, and in short order, they entered the room where the two women waited. They had obviously already forgotten about the shapeshifter's odd entrance, as they had resumed their activities. They jumped again as the king entered, but this time they smiled seductively at Orbein and patted the large bed upon which they were stretched.

  “You, you,” he said pointing to each of them, “out.” The two women pouted briefly, but they quickly exited the room when Orbein snapped, “Now!” He went to the doors behind them and slammed them shut. He stood at those doors for a moment, then turned to Agucho, a telling gleam in his eye. He walked over to the bed and sat down.

  “Tell me, Agucho,” he said eagerly, “what news from the swamps?”

  Agucho bowed and licked his eyes briefly before starting. “I saw my queen, highness. She has agreed to send allies to fight at your side, though she is suspicious. She does not entirely believe the reasons I gave her, but she knows there will be great danger to her should she choose to wait this battle out,” he explained honestly.

  Orbein smiled. “I see that you have interpreted the situation quite well. And when should we expect her warriors?”

  “She is rallying them
as we speak and will send them at my request,” Agucho replied.

  The king grimaced. “She will send them at my request,” he corrected the Fiu-Het. “In fact, I am very disappointed that they were not immediately behind you.”

  Agucho's skin began to ooze. He once again moistened his eyes. “Highness, you must understand. She yet needs to send out the call. We are scattered thinly around the wetlands. We do not gather together in dense cities as you do,” he defended.

  The king’s eyes narrowed. “Well then, you should have waited to return to me. I am very disappointed,” he said again.

  The shapeshifter bowed low. “I humbly beg your pardon, sire,” he groveled.

  Orbein grinned amusedly and said, “Perhaps, but there is something else that weighs upon my mind, my friend.”

  Agucho caught his breath. He had never heard the phrase 'my friend' uttered so insincerely. “Yes, my lord, what is it?” he asked hesitantly.

  “I fear my castle must be an incredibly dull place compared to your swamps and bogs,” the king said wistfully. “I wonder what you do in my kingdom when you are not by my side dealing with the tedium of court life.”

  Agucho felt he knew where this was headed, and he eyed the king warily. “I am not bored in your court, highness,” he said slowly.

  “Ah, of course not,” he said with a chuckle. “Not when the training field of Ionotu is so close by. Tell me, Agucho, do you feel some sort of kinship with the only other foreigner in my city? Or do you perhaps envy him for the excitement he finds among the ranks of my army?”

  “Laernus,” reasoned the Fiu-Het.

  “Yes, the seer,” the king replied. “Perhaps, there is another reason you go to visit him.”

  Agucho grinned in spite of the situation. Truly, he thought, Orbein should have just come right out with it, rather than taunting the shapeshifter. He did fear the king, but his sense of self preservation was a much stronger force. As the ruler sat there trying to play on his fears, Agucho had perfected the lie he had been working on since he first met with the seer. “Yes, highness, I have visited Laernus on the field of Ionotu and have held private conference with him,” he said honestly.

  Orbein raised his eyebrows. “Do tell,” he said smugly.

  “You cannot deny that the seer has a valuable skill, especially given our current plans. Though he has a foul attitude and a tendency to be uncooperative, it seems a shame to let that skill go to complete waste. Besides, he has learned some humility among the merciless soldiers of Vethisir,” Agucho explained.

  The king listened with a growing look of interest upon his face.

  “Though I still say,” Agucho went on, becoming more confident, “keep him where he is. He may yet have lessons to learn with his new comrades. But let us not ignore him. He has made it clear that he will not obey you, and were it not for his talent, I would say kill him. Let us instead glean what benefit we may from his talent and be rid of him when he is no longer useful.”

  Orbein's expression had now completed the change from accusation to intrigue. “I take it you have already begun this process,” he stated more than asked.

  “Yes, sire, I have,” the shapeshifter said with a twisted grin, “and with the information given to me at our first meeting, I understood my people would join us on the battlefield long before I spoke with my queen. It will be a great force gathered for the march to the east, greater than any seen since the days of your ancestors.”

  Any lingering doubt in Orbein’s mind about the shapeshifter was banished at this vision of supremacy. The man stood and gave a great cheer and ran for the doors. He pulled them open and yelled for the women. Wisely, they had not gone far and came running into their king's arms at his call. He kissed both of them lustfully and pulled them into the room.

  “Would you like one?” the king asked Agucho, giving both girls a tap on the bottom.

  Unlike the two women, the shapeshifter hid his disgust well. “Nay, highness, I have other business to attend to.”

  Orbein laughed loudly. “What's wrong, girls, don't you know what our friend Agucho is? He is a shapeshifter, a Fiu-Het. He can be anything you want him to be!” And with that statement he pushed both of them toward Agucho.

  The shapeshifter noticed that the statement only increased the look of revulsion on one of the girl's faces, but the other walked up to him with a look of suggestive fascination. “Anything?” she whispered seductively.

  Agucho eyed her warily and sent his sticky tongue out over those eyes even as she stared, hoping it would unnerve the woman and send her away. To his chagrin, it seemed to have the opposite effect. “I must be going,” he said tonelessly, stepping around the excited woman.

  Orbein laughed all the louder and said to the women, “But why would either of you want anything more than me?” and to Agucho, “I'll allow you this reprieve. Go to our seer friend on the field of Ionotu. See what benefit you can glean from his talents.”

  The Fiu-Het bowed deeply, then hurried out of the room, the king's boisterous laugh and the giggles of the two girls following him out. Heaving a huge sigh of relief, Agucho stepped quickly down the hallway, grateful to put that room far behind him for more than a few reasons.

  * * *

  Standing on a tiny hill, no more than a natural mound of dirt, Laernus looked out upon the construction of the enormous trebuchet. It seemed to be going well, but the seer was worried. The mishap with the third catapult was not far from his mind as he watched this larger and more complicated engine being assembled before him. The supporting structure, with heavy beams that went well into the earth for stability, was in place, and even the counterweight had swung freely in a preliminary test that had the men jumping and cheering. But Laernus knew that once the large throwing arm was secured, and ammunition was loaded into the sling, their mastery of physics would be put to the test. With an image of the catapult crosspiece almost crushing a soldier flitting through his mind, the foreign wizard glared sternly at the hammering, lifting, and sweating workers. One of those workers, a man hammering iron plugs with a large mallet, stopped his labor for a moment and looked over at the hill. The mallet fell to the ground, and his jaw hung open.

  Laernus turned his glare to the man and scowled. “You there! Get back to work!” he yelled. Then, his keen intellect catching on, the seer understood the only possible reason for the man's agape expression.

  “Good afternoon, Agucho,” he said without even turning to confirm the shapeshifter's presence.

  “Laernus,” was the Fiu-Het's reply, punctuated by a serpentine hiss at the end. “It seems you are much better off than when last I left you.”

  The seer gave a smug chuckle. “It seems strange to me that I feared these men. Now I see them for the inept fools that they are,” he said.

  “Inept?” Agucho asked curiously. “It seems not long ago they were not so inept to you, when you stood bruised and battered in their midst.” Laernus shifted uneasily at that. “I do not see many fresh bruises. Could it be that you have learned the way of the sword so quickly to put the fear of Laernus in them?”

  Sticking out his chest, the seer grinned. “I have, indeed, learned the way of the sword.”

  The loose skin of Agucho's face tightened in disgust. “Or could it be that they fear something else? Yes, I think that is it. No matter how attentive a student, no one can so quickly learn to earn a man's fear or respect. If they thought I had no use for you, they surely would have killed you by now.”

  The blank stare on the face of Laernus told the shapeshifter that, not only was his assessment correct, but it was also the first time it had even occurred to the seer. So, once again had the Fiu-Het taught him humility. But that look was quickly replaced by something else: angry determination. Agucho had helped him survive his stay thus far. He had even given him an opportunity for advancement by getting Vethisir to agree that the seer should supervise the building of the siege weaponry, seeing as how he was the only one in the army familiar with the machines. T
his day would mark the end of that dependency. Laernus decided from that moment on, every gain he made in Vethisir's army would be by himself, for himself, and to spite the smug creature that now scowled at him.

  Agucho recognized the set of the seer's jaw and its general implication. He smiled, the expression a nightmare of flesh in broad daylight, and said, “Good! I think you see my designs for you clearly now. Take your anger and harness it. It will be a powerful tool for you in the future.”

  Laernus snickered and looked back at the trebuchet. “The future...” he said.

  The Fiu-Het clapped his hands. “Ah, yes!” he exclaimed. “That reminds me. If you could spare a few moments away from your duties.”

  The look the seer gave him now was quite different. He seemed pleased. “I believe I could be convinced.” And with that he moved to follow Agucho.

  A short distance away from the hill they met Vethisir. The general stood in their path with his arms folded across his chest and several large soldiers behind him. The man seemed to be in a foul mood. “Hold!” he commanded.

  Agucho bowed to him. “I must ask you, good general, to step aside. I have pressing business to attend with this soldier.”

  “Business?” spat the incredulous Vethisir. “Any business you have with this soldier is my business and the business of the king!”

  “Yes, indeed,” Agucho replied without missing a beat. “Unless the king does not wish it to be your business.”

  The general sputtered out the beginning of a few responses before he finally came up with, “Then I suppose the king would not be at all surprised if I went and asked him of this right now?”

  The shapeshifter waved a dismissive hand. “Please, go quickly. The sooner you leave my sight the sooner we can proceed with the king's business. In fact, you will find him in a private room far down the east wing corridor of the upper level. I told him to expect you.” This was a dangerous game, Agucho knew, but one he could not help but play. He almost laughed out loud as the general instantly stormed off toward the castle. Without Vethisir there, the other soldiers quickly dispersed at the shapeshifter's frightening glare. With no further impediments, the two walked on to their conference.