Chapter 16

16

"I wanted to ride a taybarri."

~ Princess Sergeant Zhaniyan

Despite the numerous suggestions that Kaylina take up residence in ranger headquarters, nobody had shown her to a room. After Vlerion departed, she found a lavatory on the floor that wasn't being used by any of the men—many had gone out to look for the assassins.

Inside, she risked removing her clothes to scrub off the salty harbor water—and the taint of the creepy guy scraping his dagger all over her. She didn't linger, not wanting anyone to walk in and ogle her, and wrapped the towel around herself to hurry back down the hall to Vlerion's room.

She'd assumed he had forgotten saying he would get her some dry ranger blacks, but Sergeant Zhani stood in front of the door to his room with clean clothing folded in her arms. She looked like she'd just knocked. At Kaylina's approach, she turned, her eyebrows lifting.

"Ah, that makes sense." Zhani pointed her chin in the direction of the lavatory. "Lord Vlerion said I'd find you in his room, but I didn't want to presume and walk in to leave these."

"Thank you for bringing them." Kaylina accepted the clothes. "I'm sorry you got pressed into errand duty though. I'm sure sergeants aren't supposed to tote clothes around for people. And I'm also sorry you didn't get to ride out with the others."

"Oh, you get assigned menial chores often in the rangers, no matter what your rank. It's more frequent in the beginning, as you'll see. Expect lots of extra duties if you don't care for your taybarri properly or keep your room clean. Oh, and if you can't quote long passages from The Ranger's Guide to Honor, Duty, and Tenets. "

"That book makes for dry reading."

"Indeed it does. Later on, you also get extra chores when younger rangers serving under you fail at things since you didn't properly school them in the ways. I don't mind chores. It's better than the life I would have had if I'd stayed at home." She shuddered.

"Do you have a perfect older sister and family members with impossible standards?" Kaylina asked lightly, though she doubted anyone else would have left home for reasons similar to hers, reasons that seemed silly in retrospect.

"No, I have… had … an arranged marriage to someone loathsome."

"Oh. I can see where that would be rough. It's been canceled?"

Zhani hesitated, then lifted her chin. " I canceled it."

Had she? Or had she run away from it? Maybe that was what had brought her to Zaldor.

Either way, Kaylina couldn't blame her. She thought of Lady Isla and how she'd had an arranged marriage to Vlerion's father and hadn't learned about the family curse until after ward. Women should not be forced into such things.

Zhani waved at Kaylina's towel-covered torso. "You might want to put on clothes."

"So we can resume training?" Kaylina couldn't keep from twisting her lips into a grimace, and she groped for a way to get out of that, at least until after the grand opening. She needed to return to Stillguard Castle. By now, her siblings would be worried about her. Of course, as long as the assassins remained out there, it would be dangerous for her to go anywhere alone.

"We can if you like. If you're… feeling all right. I couldn't tell in the courtyard but, ah, saw your clothes."

"I'm all right, but I'd like to return to Stillguard Castle. Would you walk there with me?" Kaylina always hated to impose, so she added, "I'll give you some mead." She made a mental note to also take some of her honey-water fertilizer to the park the next day. She owed that willow tree for its distraction.

"You don't have to give me anything, though I have heard your mead is good."

Taking that as acceptance, Kaylina said, "I'll dress," and turned back toward the lavatory.

But a naked man wandered out of his room and ambled toward the door while scratching his balls. He noticed them, jerked his hand away from himself, and bellowed, "Female on the floor!" That warning voiced, he sprang through the door and into the lavatory as if fleeing from an overseer with a whip.

"Men are an interesting species," Kaylina said.

"I believe we're all the same species." Zhani smirked.

"I wonder about that sometimes."

Since the lavatory was occupied, Kaylina stepped into Vlerion's room, trusting he wouldn't mind if she changed in there. He wouldn't even know. He was out… She glanced toward the window, full darkness having long since fallen outside. If he went through with what he'd seemed to be planning, he might even now be in the park and tracking his enemy. In his furry form. Would it be safe for Kaylina and Zhani to ride through the streets with the beast, assassins, and kidnappers about?

Maybe she should send someone with a message to let her sister and brother know where she was and that she was fine. But who would she send? The rangers couldn't get close to Stillguard Castle. If Zhani rode back with her, Kaylina would have to make sure she stopped a couple of blocks away. It would be hard to reward her with mead then.

Her shoulders slumped as she second- and third-guessed herself. But what if the assassin did enough research to learn that Frayvar and Silana were Kaylina's siblings? Would he think to kidnap one of them to draw her in as bait, thus to be able to use her as bait for Vlerion?

Kaylina groaned and dropped her forehead into her hand, a headache forming behind her eyes.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Zhani stood in the doorway and hadn't departed. She probably worried Kaylina was hiding an injury. "I trained for years—my entire childhood—as an herbalist and a healer under my grandmother's instruction. I help Doc Penderbrock in his infirmary sometimes, especially when it comes to our handful of female rangers."

"Sorry, I am all right. I'm just thinking of… my complicated life." Kaylina moved farther into the room and shucked the towel so she could dress. "If you had all that training as a healer, why did you become a ranger when you came to Zaldor?"

"I wanted to ride a taybarri."

Kaylina laughed. "Me too."

"They're amazing."

"Absolutely."

Zhani hesitated, then glanced down the hall as someone walked through singing—someone else naked, though this man had a towel wrapped around his waist. Zhani stepped into the room and closed the door.

"There's something I should tell you, Kaylina. Actually, I shouldn't tell you, not if I value my life and my career, but…"

"I trust this isn't about your love of taybarri?"

"Sorry, no." Zhani lowered her voice. "Earlier, Spymaster Sabor approached me. He wants me to watch you carefully during our training sessions and report anything unusual to him."

"That's… not surprising."

"No? I felt affronted and appalled that he wanted me to spy on a fellow ranger. We all serve the crown, and we—I thought—were above reproach, above suspicion."

"I doubt anyone is above suspicion these days. Not here." Finished dressing, Kaylina waved toward the window to indicate the capital city. "Since I can't seem to say my lord without sarcasm when I'm talking to my superiors, I'm especially not above suspicion."

"Is that really it?" Zhani cocked her head. "Sabor can't care about that."

"No, this is what interests him." Kaylina held up the brand, then grabbed her boots to put them back on. The leather was still wet, and she had to extract seaweed from the laces.

"Is there anything you want me to tell him when he asks for a report? I resisted his attempt to recruit me, but he reminded me that I'm… something of a refugee here and could be kicked out of Zaldor any time he wishes. It was irritating, since I've served the rangers and your king for six years, and I was tempted to openly defy him, but… I decided it might be best to…"

"Closedly defy him?"

"Is that a word?"

"We can ask my brother. He reads dictionaries as a hobby."

"He may not find that word in one, but, essentially, yes." Zhani shrugged.

"You can tell him I'm a dim-witted slow learner who can't tell the difference between a longsword and a rapier and whose only hope of winning battles is to thrust my boobs at men."

"I… feel it would be less of a betrayal to report on your actual activities."

"I'd like him to underestimate me." Kaylina was glad the sage assassins had. If the women in their culture predominantly raised children and tended their homes, it made sense that they hadn't expected a fighter—however novice she was. She doubted the assassins would underestimate her a second time.

"I see. Perhaps I'll consider other words to convey that."

"You're a polite refugee."

"Yes. I also don't want to discuss boobs with Spymaster Sabor."

"Wise." Kaylina led the way to the courtyard but halted a couple of steps after walking out the door.

Not only was Levitke standing on the cobblestones, ready to head out, but numerous other taybarri waited, their eyes all swinging toward Kaylina. Drizzle fell from the night clouds, but they all appeared ready to go on an adventure.

"You might not need me to escort you home." Zhani pointed at one of the male taybarri with a torn ear. "But Bludashar is there too, the one I ride, so I guess we're going."

"He's handsome."

A ripped ear couldn't detract from the appeal of a furry taybarri face, and Kaylina touched her own recently maligned ear in sympathy.

Bludashar swished his tail, raised his jaw, and padded over to stand beside Levitke.

The gate guard, someone new on duty since Kaylina had entered, frowned as he watched Kaylina and Zhani mount. With eight other taybarri padding along beside them, they approached the gate.

"Captain Targon said you're to stay in ranger headquarters tonight, Trainee Korbian. He said you and Sergeant Zhani would be busy with weapons practice."

"We're going to practice how to ride across the city flanked by a herd of taybarri," Kaylina said.

"Step aside, please, Corporal," Zhani said, emphasizing his rank. To remind him that she was his superior? Bludashar and Levitke continued toward the gate as she talked. "I'll keep an eye on Trainee Korbian."

The corporal shook his head. "Captain Targon distinctly said?—"

The taybarri hadn't slowed, and he had to jump to the side to avoid being trampled. Levitke also roared, drowning out any further protests he might have made.

Kaylina remembered the taybarri ripping the portcullis open at the royal castle and feared they would do the same here—Captain Targon would have snippy words if she was responsible for that. But Levitke sashayed up to the gatehouse, leaned her head inside, and used her snout to push a lever. The gate swung open, and the herd ambled out.

"This is highly unorthodox, Sergeant," the corporal called after them.

Zhani waved at him but didn't otherwise respond.

"Thanks for the help," Kaylina said.

"Are you thanking me or the taybarri?" Zhani touched her chest, perhaps pointing out that she hadn't done much.

"Everyone who supports me in my endeavors."

"Ah. I'll accept that gratitude. And the mead you promised." Zhani winked. "I'll even trade you this." She delved into a pouch at her belt. "I wasn't sure when I went up to see you if you'd need them."

"Uhm?"

Kaylina accepted a small packet that reminded her of some of the wrapped pills in Penderbrock's office. Since her brother had shown off the infirmary cabinets he'd organized when he'd stayed there, she had seen all manner of medicines.

"I hope you won't need them, but should you involuntarily have intercourse with a man, those will keep you from getting pregnant."

"I— Oh." Kaylina's first instinct was to hand the packet back.

"Also if you voluntarily do," Zhani added. "Given your business aspirations, I assume you might not be ready for motherhood."

Kaylina's cheeks warmed. Zhani had to be thinking about the comments Kaylina had made about Vlerion—and the looks of longing she'd directed across the practice arena toward him.

"Thanks," Kaylina said and tucked the medicine into her pocket.

"You can take them continuously if you're having sex, or one for three mornings after if it was a chance event." Zhani's worried frown suggested she was imagining chance events with the assassin who'd cut up Kaylina's shirt.

Kaylina hoped not. "Thanks," she said again. "Do you know of any herbs that can keep assassins away?"

"A traipse through the sewers might be your best bet for that."

"I've taken that traipse before. It was unpleasant."

"Any herbs potent enough to keep assassins away would have to be similarly aromatic. Unless… did you mean poisons?"

"No. It was a joke. I couldn't convince that guy to let me go, so I'm positive I couldn't have convinced him to ingest something."

"In my homeland, there are historical tales of female assassins who took an antidote or built up a tolerance to a certain poison, and then mixed it into their lip paint and killed their victims by kissing them."

"Your homeland sounds interesting."

"The sandsteaders have been at war with the nomadic tribes for centuries if not millennia. The tribesmen are particularly cruel and ruthless, but both sides have learned to kill."

"Odd that you were so eager to leave home."

"Yes. Odd." Zhani smiled, but emotions other than humor lurked in her eyes. Regret? Homesickness? In the dim lighting, it was hard to tell.

Kaylina decided to cross the eastern side of the Evardor Mountains off her list of potential places to visit and sell mead. Northern Zaldor was a forbidding enough environment in which to do business.

When they passed the park where the assassin had accosted her earlier, Kaylina peered into it, probing the shadows for signs that the man lingered. She also worried that the beast might be lingering, seeking his trail.

That turned into more of a concern when several taybarri sniffed the air and started swishing their tails in agitation rather than their easy contented sway. Had they caught the scent of a predator? Of the beast?

Despite the twitching nostrils, the taybarri hurried through the park without pausing. Kaylina didn't object. After her encounter, the city parks felt more menacing to her, especially at night.

Soon, the castle came into view, the purple glow of the tower not diminished by the drizzle. What were the odds that Silana had stayed inside all day, hadn't noticed it, and also hadn't heard more about the curse?

"I'd better stop here." Zhani brought her taybarri to a halt. "Targon forbade the rangers from coming within two blocks of that castle."

"I know."

"Normally, I might risk extra duties to bend the rules for a good cause, but…" Her gaze was locked on the glowing tower.

"Oh, I understand completely."

"And yet you're going to spend the night there." Zhani nodded toward the castle. "Even though it hates rangers, and you're training to be one."

"It's protecting me."

"Because of your druid ancestry?" Zhani glanced at the brand.

"I guess so. I don't know for sure about any of that. Not really. I..." Kaylina trailed off, realizing she might, for the first time, have a resource she could consult. Someone old enough to remember the events around her birth—no, her conception .

Maybe. Silana was a little over five years older than Kaylina. Little more than a toddler back then, she wouldn't have been Mom's confidante. Still, maybe she recalled something. Such as if someone besides the father Kaylina had always assumed she shared with Frayvar and Silana had been around back then?

"I need to go. Thanks for the escort." Kaylina waved to indicate the taybarri as well as Zhani. She assumed the sergeant would take the herd back with her. After all, Targon's forbidding had included the furry ranger mounts.

"You're welcome."

As Zhani departed, Kaylina slid off Levitke's back and patted her side. "You may want to go home too."

The taybarri gave her a solemn look. Though Kaylina hadn't attempted to call upon her power to communicate, Levitke's soft voice sounded in her mind. No leave I .

"You're going to stay here? In the rain?" Kaylina wished she had a stable in the courtyard that she could offer, but it wouldn't be safe for the taybarri anyway.

Levitke whuffed and walked toward the castle. Surprisingly, the rest of the taybarri, all save the mount Zhani was riding, also padded off into the rain around the castle. They didn't attempt to enter the courtyard but spread out and took positions around the outer wall, each within view of at least one other. Once arranged, they lay down, heads resting on their furry forelimbs, and watched Kaylina.

"You're staying to stand guard?" She touched her chest. "For me?"

Only Levitke, the closest taybarri, answered, giving an affirmative whuff.

Emotion tightened Kaylina's throat. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve their faithfulness, their willingness to sleep out in the rain to keep an eye on her.

A part of her wanted to argue that they should go home to the safety of their stable, but the taybarri could take care of themselves if trouble came. The memory of Crenoch dropping a dismembered human hand on the ground at Vlerion's feet came to mind.

"Thank you," she whispered, patting Levitke again before she headed for the gate.

With her jaw set and her back straight, she braced herself to ask her sister about her heritage.