Chapter 28

28

A hound on the trail of a rabbit, detoured only by the chattering of a squirrel.

~ Ranger Founder Saruk

Two dogs came racing out of the dark tunnel ahead of the men, ears flopping as they bayed and ran toward Vlerion, Jankarr, and, behind them, Kaylina. She hated the idea of harming animals and willed her power to turn them away.

Go back to your men. Only death waits for you here.

But their hunting instincts drove them toward the prey their handlers had commanded they find. Vlerion.

He crouched with his sword, waiting calmly. Again, Kaylina willed the dogs to run away. No, to find better prey. She tried to put the image of a rabbit in their minds, one waiting farther down the tunnel. Such a tasty rabbit!

The brand warmed her skin. A sign that her magic was working, she hoped.

“Come on,” she whispered.

Baying even more eagerly, the hounds veered to run past the group. They breezed by close enough that Vlerion could have struck them, but he merely kept his blade ready and tracked them with his gaze.

The dogs ran through the intersection and continued on into the catacombs.

“Guess they sensed you could turn into a deadly beast and wanted nothing to do with you,” Jankarr said.

“Indeed,” Vlerion murmured, but he gave Kaylina a long look over his shoulder.

She smiled, happy that he knew she’d helped. She might never be as skilled a sword fighter as they, but she could do something.

“There they are!” A man in a green uniform came into view, carrying a lantern in one hand and a sword in the other.

Six more uniformed troops accompanied him. The prince’s mercenaries.

If they thought anything of the dogs running past their prey, they didn’t show it.

“A bonus to the man who kills him,” an older mercenary in the back said. He carried a blunderbuss, his lantern hooked over the firearm.

“These guys aren’t as smart as the dogs.” Sword raised, Jankarr stepped up, crouching to the right side of the tunnel.

“Indeed,” Vlerion repeated, taking the left.

Their stances meant they didn’t intend to let anyone get past to Kaylina. She appreciated that, but it also meant they blocked her view, and she couldn’t use her sling without risking hitting them. There weren’t any more dogs or other animals, only the men, greed in their eyes, the thoughts of earning a reward propelling them into a foolish battle.

Vlerion hummed as he lunged in to greet the mercenaries who charged at them. Jankarr sprang forward at his side, keeping enough distance so they didn’t risk hitting each other.

Metal clanged as swords met. In the confines of the tunnel, the rangers opted for stabs more than slashes, but it grew clear that they had plenty of experience fighting that way. Their swift parries and ripostes kept the mercenaries at bay, though those men weren’t inexperienced themselves. They also had practice fighting together in close quarters, and they deflected most of the rangers’ attacks, even making room for their allies behind them to lunge through gaps and try to strike Vlerion and Jankarr.

Though her allies were outnumbered, Kaylina believed they would eventually be victorious against the mercenaries, especially since the tunnel limited how many could come at them. She did, however, worry about the mention of potions. Which one had something that could knock out the beast—or maybe knock out both men, whether Vlerion shifted or not?

While searching for someone delving into a pocket, she spotted the older mercenary raising his blunderbuss. Like Kaylina, he had to wait for a clear shot, lest he hit his own men, but his height made it more likely he would find an opening.

She glanced around for something to stand on, needing height herself to target him. Rubble near the walls caught her eye. She had to run back several paces to reach a pile large enough to climb. The blunderbuss fired as she scrambled up, and she swore, glancing back.

As he fought, Vlerion must have been keeping an eye on the gunman. He crouched low, and the spattering of lead pellets clattered off the wall near his head.

One of the mercenaries swore and staggered away from the fight, grabbing the back of his shoulder. The idiot gunman had caught one of his own troops.

Another mercenary surged forward and took his place, lunging toward Vlerion while he crouched low. But Vlerion deflected the series of attacks and resumed his natural stance, even disarming one of the mercenaries and stabbing him in the abdomen.

The man cried out and staggered back. Another swordsman in green took his place.

From the top of the rock pile, Kaylina aimed her sling at the mercenary leader in the rear, the man reloading his blunderbuss.

Jankarr glanced at Vlerion as they fought. Because he hoped Vlerion would turn into the beast? Jankarr, dealing with a difficult opponent, kept being forced to step back.

Kaylina almost fired, but Vlerion jumped over a leg sweep, and she paused, afraid of hitting him. Even from the rubble perch, she struggled to get a clear shot over their heads.

Vlerion deflected a combination of slashes and stabs, then kicked his attacker’s sword arm aside. The man fumbled his weapon and stepped back. Vlerion used the pause to dart closer to Jankarr’s battle and slash at his foe’s head. The mercenary glimpsed the blade coming and ducked, but that gave Jankarr an opportunity to rush in and stab him in the chest.

In the back, the leader raised his blunderbuss. For a couple of seconds, Jankarr and Vlerion were both to one side of the tunnel. That gave Kaylina a clear shot, and she took it.

Her round slammed into the leader’s forehead. He jerked to the side, the blunderbuss firing wide again, shots striking the wall and ceiling. One clattered not far from Kaylina’s side, and she ducked as shards of stone broke off.

Attempting to remain calm, she reloaded as the skirmish continued.

“Use the potion,” a man fighting Vlerion yelled. He glanced back at his leader, his eyes wide and desperate, as Vlerion pushed him with an unrelenting series of attacks.

The mercenary wasn’t quick enough to deflect one, and Vlerion’s sword cut deeply into his cheek.

“Sergeant!” the man blurted, a plea.

“He’s not the beast.” The leader reloaded as he glared at Kaylina. “It won’t do anything.”

“It might help,” someone shouted. “Try it. On both of them. We’re outmatched!”

As if to lend evidence to the statement, a mercenary screamed as he went down to Vlerion’s deadly blade.

The leader snarled, but he leaned his blunderbuss against the wall and delved into a belt pouch. Kaylina took careful aim above the heads of her allies, rising on tiptoes and lifting her sling to make sure her round didn’t hit them.

The man pulled out a vial of familiar blue liquid.

Kaylina rushed her shot, afraid to let him throw it, afraid the side effects that hadn’t stopped Vlerion’s heart when he’d been the beast might do so when he was a mere man. Or what if it hurt Jankarr?

Her round sped past Vlerion’s head, less than an inch from his ear, but it hit her target, thudding into the leader’s chest. Unfortunately, it only pissed him off.

“Bitch,” he snarled and hurled the vial.

It sped toward Kaylina instead of Vlerion.

Cursing, she leaped off the rubble, or tried. A rock shifted under her heel, and she flailed, barely keeping from falling on her ass.

Vlerion, without a break in his fight, reached up and snatched the vial out of the air. Kaylina almost laughed in relief—and admiration for his athleticism. Had he even looked at the vial as he caught it?

Without hesitating, Vlerion finished off the mercenary in front of him. As Jankarr defeated his own opponent, the leader, the last man standing, grabbed his blunderbuss and spun to run.

Vlerion lowered his sword and looked like he might let the man escape—he had to be tired of killing kingdom subjects—but Jankarr drew a throwing knife and hurled it. It sank deeply into the back of the leader’s neck, and he pitched to the ground, the firearm clattering from his grip.

More voices sounded in the distance, someone yelling, “Sergeant Taymorak?”

Was that the older mercenary? It didn’t matter. They were all down, dead or dying.

Vlerion and Jankarr calmly cleaned the blood off their swords as they watched the tunnel, ready if more men charged into view, though Jankarr also wiped blood out of his eyes. He’d taken a gash to his forehead, and several cuts in his sleeves pointed to other minor wounds.

“Sergeant Taymorak?” came the call again. “Do you want us to come help or keep guarding the exit?”

More voices followed, but their uncertain questions were too quiet to make out. The men were around at least one bend more than a hundred yards distant. In the maze of tunnels, it was hard to tell.

“The rest of the platoon could be up there.” Vlerion backed away from the bodies, waving for Jankarr and Kaylina to do the same. “Unless we want to fight even more men, we’ll have to find another access point.”

“Will any others be unguarded?” Kaylina asked.

“I don’t know.”

“I never thought I’d say this—” Jankarr used his sleeve to wipe sweat from his brow, “—but I wouldn’t mind seeing the beast pop out and help with these guys.”

“If the beast pops out , he would be as likely to kill you as our adversaries,” Vlerion said.

“That’s dreadful. The newspaper didn’t mention that.”

“The newspaper is propaganda put out by someone who wants a regime change.”

“But Korbian has seen the beast, hasn’t she? And she lived to tell about it.” Jankarr looked at her.

Kaylina still hesitated to speak of it, since she’d kept Vlerion’s secret for so long, but, with the way things were going, it seemed likely Jankarr might witness a change. He should know at least some of what to expect so he would be prepared.

“He only changes if he’s inundated by strong emotions,” she said when Vlerion didn’t answer.

He was gazing down the tunnel, probably contemplating if they could get by the men ahead. And contemplating if they would get in trouble for killing the mercenaries. Since those men were after him, it seemed fair, but what if Prince Enrikon and his forces came out on top? What if he ended up the king and commander of the rangers? He would drive Vlerion out if not put him to death, with the latter seeming far more likely.

“Men trying to kill him doesn’t elicit strong emotions ?” Jankarr whispered.

“He’s used to that.” Kaylina didn’t explain the humming.

“Go.” Vlerion gestured them back down the tunnel they’d come through. “We’ll find another access point.”

Jankarr went with him but whispered, “Vlerion, if the mercenaries believe you’re down here, they’ll have them all guarded.”

Once full darkness ensconced them again, Kaylina willed the light to emanate from her hand. It obeyed almost cheerfully, as if her blood was happy to have her call upon her powers. Something told her she would call upon them a lot more before the day was through.

“Let’s go to Stillguard Castle,” she suggested.

Another hound bayed behind them. Great.

“ Everyone knows about that access point,” Jankarr said. “It’ll be guarded too.”

Kaylina winced, fearing that was true. The Virts had been using the passageway before she’d ever come to Port Jirador.

Vlerion looked at her as they walked, picking up the pace when the hound bayed again. “Will the plant guard what’s below the castle?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think it ever attacked the Virts when they were using the root-cellar entrance.”

It was possible they’d learned to go swiftly up the ladder and out the back door before any vines appeared.

“I might be able to convince it to do so, even if it doesn’t usually,” she added.

Jankarr gave her a weird look.

“Are you going to call me handy again?” she asked.

“If vines pop out of the walls to strangle our enemies, I might.”

“If that happens, you’d better offer to stock her pantry and wash her dishes,” Vlerion said.

“The plant’s power has grown since I started feeding it the honey-water fertilizer.” Kaylina waved away the other comments. “I bet it could send vines out underneath its foundation.”

“Do you feed Vlerion honey-water fertilizer too?” Jankarr asked.

“No. He won’t even drink my mead.”

“Vlerion, that’s rude.”

“You talk a lot for a man bleeding from four wounds.”

“It’s at least six wounds, and I’m using my tongue to keep my mind off the pain.” Jankarr dabbed at the cut on his forehead.

They reached an intersection, and Vlerion pointed down the tunnel that led toward Stillguard Castle. “We’ll check it. It’s closer to ranger headquarters than most of the other access points, so it’s a good choice. If we can get through.”

“If we can, and there’s a lull in the fighting tonight,” Jankarr said, “one of us might be able to sneak away and report to Targon.”

“Yes.” Vlerion nodded to him. “Good of you to volunteer for that.”

“By then, my wounds will be festering, and I’ll need the doc to look at them.” Jankarr considered Kaylina as they jogged down the new tunnel. “Will you bathe me before I go?”

“With honey fertilizer?”

“Or warm sudsy water and a gentle sponge.” He winked at her.

Well, at least he wasn’t avoiding her eyes anymore.

Vlerion glared at Jankarr. “Are you no longer finding her odd ?”

“Oh, she’s terribly exotic, but the pain, remember.” Jankarr touched the back of his hand to his forehead and pantomimed fainting. “I’m distracting myself.”

“Why couldn’t Sergeant Zhani have come to warn me about bounty hunters?” Vlerion grumbled.

“She’s feeling guilty about providing an elixir that didn’t fully work,” Kaylina said.

“It’s not her fault I was too…” Vlerion waved vaguely, glancing at her curves but quickly turning his focus back to the route ahead.

“Virile?” Kaylina suggested.

“Horny.”

“That too.”

Jankarr looked back and forth between them. He didn’t seem to have figured out that Vlerion’s lust was more likely to rouse the beast than having people try to kill him. Kaylina wouldn’t be the one to explain it to him.

When they entered the first chamber near the root cellar, a voice came from that direction. It didn’t belong to Frayvar or anyone else Kaylina had heard before, and she squelched the glow of her brand.

Vlerion and Jankarr stopped, Vlerion sighing faintly.

Kaylina also wished it could have been easy. She knew Vlerion never minded fighting, but he didn’t want to kill more people. She pulled out her sling while hoping the mercenaries, or whoever stood guard, hadn’t ventured up into the castle and done anything to Frayvar or the staff.

“I’m bored,” someone said. “Vlerion isn’t going to show up here. He’s probably not even in the kingdom anymore. Why can’t we go up into the inn and get a drink?”

“It’s a cursed castle,” someone with a gruff voice said, “not an inn .”

“They’ve got drinks, don’t they?”

“The mead is delicious ,” another man said.

It wasn’t the time for Kaylina to feel proud or pleased by a random stranger’s accolade, but she promptly decided she didn’t want that man killed.

“The girl who makes it is delicious. You think she’s up there? We could alleviate our boredom on her.”

The men guffawed—there had to be at least six of them—and made comments about how exactly they might all do that.

Kaylina rescinded her desire for any of them to be spared.

A soft growl came from her side. Vlerion.

She found his arm and rested her hand on it, his muscles tense beneath her grip. An irritated part of her wanted to sic him on the mercenaries, but there’d been enough killing.

“I’ll handle this,” she breathed.

Vlerion planted his other hand on hers, as if to capture her. That was fine. She hadn’t intended to spring into the middle of the mercenaries and challenge them to a sword fight.

Are you awake? Kaylina called silently up to the sentinel.

A sense of sarcasm wafted back to her along with a view from the tower of men fighting in the streets around the castle, fires burning in nearby buildings, and explosives going off all over the city.

It is a little noisy tonight, she agreed. Are you aware of a group of men between me and the root-cellar ladder?

Since I am potted instead of planted in the ground, my senses are less effective at discerning what is occurring below the castle, but I can tell you are there. The fertilizer you instructed your inferior half-sibling to make was not as refreshing as yours, else I would have more power.

Apparently, not everyone thought Frayvar was a genius.

Kaylina didn’t know if it would work when they weren’t touching, but she attempted to send some of her power up to the tower, enough to enhance the sentinel’s reach.

Ahhhh, it breathed into her mind. Excellent. I sense eight men.

Good. Can you lock them up behind vines? Without killing them? They’re not done fantasizing about sexual acts, so it would be impolite to slay them.

Humans have a strange notion of courtesy.

Yes, we’re a quirky species.

You are not one of them, not fully, else I would not desire to soak up your power and serve you.

Kaylina kept herself from saying what a shame that would be. She needed the sentinel’s assistance.

“Are you doing something now?” Vlerion murmured, his arm still tense under her hand. “Using your power?”

“I’m chatting with the sentinel about using its power.”

“I feel you doing something,” he murmured, easing closer so that his shoulder brushed hers. Drawn to her power?

“Lending it support.”

“Did you hear something?” one of the men barked.

Kaylina winced. She had thought they’d been speaking quietly enough that the mercenaries wouldn’t hear.

Vlerion released her, stepping in front of her and drawing his sword. Jankarr also brushed past her, and they strode toward the root cellar.

“There!” someone yelled.

Reluctantly, Kaylina drew her sling and followed the men. Vlerion and Jankarr stepped into the influence of the lanterns the men had lit in the chamber outside the root cellar. Surprisingly, nobody sprang out at them.

Wary, they glanced at each other and eased forward. Coming behind them, Kaylina couldn’t see much. When Vlerion halted, standing up straight, she got an inkling that an attack wasn’t on the way. After a long look from side to side, Jankarr gazed back at her with his mouth dangling open.

“You still want her to give you a bath?” Vlerion asked him, twitching his fingers to invite Kaylina to join them.

“Maybe not. She’s a little too… uhm.” Jankarr looked apologetically at her without finishing.

“Handy?” she suggested.

“Yeah.”

Vines had captured all eight men, not only securing them to the stone walls, their feet dangling inches above the ground, but also smothering their mouths so they couldn’t yell for reinforcements. Or comment on how delicious Kaylina was.

Looking proud, Vlerion clasped her shoulder and guided her toward the ladder. The mercenaries stared at her instead of Vlerion or Jankarr as they passed, several of their gazes locking onto her hand. Her brand had started glowing again. A side effect of lending the sentinel power?

She was glad the men were gagged. They would have harsher words for her weirdness than handy .

In the root cellar, Vlerion went first up the ladder. The flagstone trapdoor was askew, and voices floated down.

Fortunately, Kaylina recognized these voices.

“One of them is coming,” Frayvar blurted.

“Are you ready?” Sevarli asked.

“I’ll crush their heads in,” Frayvar said with surprising vehemence.

He was the least aggressive person Kaylina knew.

“It’s us,” she called up to forestall head-crushing.

Frayvar had to be poised with his cast-iron frying pan again.

“Thank all the warring gods for peace,” Frayvar said with such relief that Kaylina worried they’d had a fraught time since she’d left.

Vlerion and Kaylina stepped out of the pantry and into the kitchen, Jankarr coming behind. He shoved the door shut and dragged a crate full of sacks of flour over the flagstone.

Frayvar stood near the hearth and was, indeed, holding the big pan. His shirt was rucked and hanging out, and a bruise darkened his cheek. Behind him, Sevarli stood with two huge butcher knives in her hands. Her shirt was ripped at the shoulder seam, and two of her buttons were missing.

“You kids having a good time up here?” Jankarr asked.

“ Hardly ,” Sevarli said. “Those goons groped me when they came through. Did you kill them?” Her voice was savage, her eyes promising she hoped the answer was yes.

“I hit one in the head,” Frayvar said, “but two others jumped on me and punched me. I thought I was dead, but vines shot out of the wall, and their commander ordered them to hurry up and get down there in case Lord Vlerion came that way. They’re trying to kill you, my lord.”

“I know.” Vlerion waved at the pan. “Good work defending your castle.”

“The vines scared them more than me with my pan,” Frayvar admitted.

“You clubbed one good though,” Sevarli said. “I appreciate that as much as appropriately timed vine growth.”

Frayvar smiled at her.

“What now?” Kaylina asked Vlerion while firmly shutting the pantry door.

“Probably nothing until one of us can sneak away to talk to Captain Targon.” This time, Vlerion didn’t look to Jankarr. Maybe he’d decided he would have to risk that errand himself.

Since so many people were hunting him, Kaylina would have preferred Vlerion to stay in the castle with her. They could hide out and let Petalira and her son fight things out for themselves.

Except that it hardly mattered which one won. They both wanted Vlerion dead.

Kaylina gripped his arm and leaned her forehead against his shoulder, exhaustion seeping into her. “When did my life get so difficult?”

“The day you met me,” he murmured, stroking the back of her head. “Do you regret it?”

“Yeah.”

He snorted softly. “But you still love me.”

She slumped against him, too tired to tease him for being pompous and overly self-assured. “Yeah.”