How The Warrior Fell (Falling Warriors series Book 1) (18 page)

S
LOWLY, LEAWYN’S BODY
began to heal. Each day Namoriee came to help her recover, and it was with her encouragement Leawyn finally left the shelter of her hut.

“The village knows who their chief is,” Namoriee said. “They know nothing of the woman who now runs the Izayges.”

“They know who I am! I’ve been here for a while,” Leawyn defended, a bit insulted.

“No, they don’t,” Namoriee flatly disagreed. “They might have seen you, but they don’t know
who
you are. Do you even know how long it’s been since the Izayges have had a lady chief?” Namoriee skewed her with a pointed look.

Leawyn slowly shook her head. She had a feeling it had been a long time.

“They are desperate for you, my lady. There was great excitement when the chief announced his intent to marry. You need to stop hiding.”

Leawyn knew Namoriee was right, and it was with that sole reason Leawyn went out to meet the people of her new home.

Just because her husband was a cruel and heartless man, didn’t mean all of Izayges were the same.

Weary at first, the village people stayed clear of her the first few days she walked around the tribe with Namoriee by her side explaining their way of life and pointing things out. It made Leawyn’s guilt mount because she knew it was her fault.

Namoriee was right, Leawyn was hiding.

But, Leawyn didn’t give up. Every day she went out, with or without Namoriee, and made an effort to try and be involved in the day-to-day activities of the village whenever she could. The villagers noticed, and bit by bit they became more willing to interact with her.

One thing Leawyn noticed right away was there weren’t many children in the tribe, even though there were quite a few women with child. When she asked Namoriee about it, the girl’s face grew pained.

“Without a proper midwife, it is hard to give birth to a child and have them live,” Namoriee told her sadly.

Leawyn did not ask again.A week later, Leawyn arranged for a healer from the Asori tribe to come and teach her the ways of being a midwife. She couldn’t stand the thought of the pain the mothers must have gone through to have lost their children, and she was determined it would not happen again.

The village didn’t say anything publicly, but the next day the women of the tribe showed their appreciation the only way they knew how: making her a beautiful sword and bow and secretly training her in the ways of being an Izayges shield maiden of old.

“Lady Chief! Lady Chief!”

Leawyn turned her attention to the voice shouting her name, rising quickly when the young boy, Castic, came running to her.

“Castic? What’s the matter?” Leawyn asked in alarm, meeting him halfway.

Castic heaved lungs full of air, winded from his sprint. In between panted breaths, he tried to calm himself enough to speak.

“Come . . . help . . . Garnette . . .”

Leawyn’s brow furrowed, not at all making sense of what the eight-year-old was trying to say.

“Calm down, Castic,” Leawyn soothed as she brushed his dark hair away from his sweaty forehead. “Tell me what happened.”

“Garnette is missing!” Castic finally burst out, panicked.

Leawyn sucked in a sharp breath as her heart sped up in fear. Keeping her face neutral so that she did not frighten the boy more, her voice came out calm when she asked her next question.

“What happened?”

“We were playing hide and seek, and it was her turn to hide,” Castic explained hurriedly. “I was done counting and went to find her. Garnette always hides in the same spot,
always,
” Castic stressed, causing Leawyn’s lips to twitch in amusement. “But when I went to find her, she wasn’t there!”

Leawyn sighed in relief at that explanation. It wasn’t as serious as she feared.

“Castic, maybe she simply hid in a different spot. Did you look for her?” Leawyn suggested, but even as she was speaking, Castic shook his head.

“You don’t understand!” Castic cried. “I went over there and there were markings—
foot
markings!”

Leawyn’s blood ran cold. She thought about the mysterious army that had attacked and almost killed Xavier. Leawyn crouched down so she was eye level with Castic.

“Castic, are you certain?” she asked, her usual carefree tone gone.

Castic didn’t hesitate in his answer. “Yes.”

Leawyn needed no further confirmation and quickly sprang into action.

“Where is her hiding place?” Leawyn asked as she walked with hurried steps to the horse pasture.

“Between the three trees and the rock that looks like a sword,” Castic explained, trying to keep up with her long strides. “She always climbs the lowest branch of the third tree and hides there.”

“I want you to go to your mother and stay with her,” Leawyn ordered. She whistled loudly. Deydrey’s head snapped up, and when she saw Leawyn, the mare trotted her way obediently.

“Tell the first warrior you see that I ordered you to tell everyone to go inside their huts and stay there until I return. Have them set up perimeters around the tribe.” Castic nodded and started to rush off to follow his lady chief’s orders. He was quickly yanked backwards by his shirt.

“If I do not return by the time my husband and his company arrive, tell them the same thing you told me. Understand?”

She could see that Castic grew worried, as if he was getting the feeling that something more than his friend missing was happening.

“Yes, Lady Chief. I swear I will.”

Leawyn smiled tightly, running her hand down his cheek. “Good, now go.” She nudged him towards the village.

Castic hesitated, his face contorting in worry. “What are you going to do?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Leawyn smiled to help ease his worries. “Now go.” She pushed him again, finally getting him to run back to the village. When he was far enough away, she dropped her smile.

Without wasting any more time, Leawyn climbed onto Deydrey’s back and rode fast to where Castic told her to go, grass and dust flying behind her from Deydrey’s speed, all the while hoping her feeling that something horrible was about to happen was nothing more than nerves.

Xavier held in his urge to growl at the Asori tribe leader.

After Xavier left Leawyn that night, Tyronian, Tristan, and himself had been traveling to all the other tribes to warn them of the oncoming threat and potential war. It seemed the other tribes were not as willing to risk their lives when it came to protecting their land.

“How do you know this army is a threat?” Yoro, the chief of the Asori, asked.

“Besides the attack on me and my men and the message of a severed head, you mean?” Xavier bit out angrily. He was quickly losing his patience with this useless talk and the dim-witted Asori.

Yoro looked at Xavier, his eyes masking how uncomfortable he was to have Xavier in such close proximity. “As it sounds, it seems they only threaten 
you.
”

Xavier shot out of his chair so fast it toppled over. Tristan quickly held out his arm to keep Xavier from attacking.

“Just what do you think will happen if we’re not able to hold them back?” Tyronian asked Yoro calmly, glancing between the Asori chief and his own.

“They will not simply walk away. They
will
come after you.”

Xavier shrugged Tristan’s arms off him with an angry jerk of his shoulders.

“The Asori have no reason to go into battle and attack an army that might not even be a threat,” Yoro said firmly. “We haven’t been to war in years, and I will not blindly lead my men into battle without the right cause.”

Xavier scoffed, his fists clenched with his anger at the naiveté of Yoro.

“Yoro,” Tyronian began, barely able to keep the steel out of his voice. “You are placing your men, women and children in danger by not acknowledging this threat.”

Yoro turned his attention from Xavier to give Tyronian a cold look. “It is your job to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

“You fool!” Xavier yelled. He got some satisfaction when Yoro jerked at his raised voice.

“We have been protecting your tribe and the others for years, and now that we call upon you, you cower away? You are a coward!” Xavier hissed out between clenched teeth. Yoro’s expression grew stormy, but before he could utter a word, Xavier turned his back and stormed out.

He had tunnel vision as he marched to Killix. Tyronian and Tristan caught up with him.

“If that fool won’t help us, then we shall not help him!”

Tristan and Tyronian shared a look over his shoulder. Tyronian cleared his throat.

“Xavier, he’s blind, but soon the fog will lift from his eyes. We cannot leave the women and children to fend for themselves.”

“Then they can go to a different tribe!” Xavier growled before he lifted himself up on Killix.

“Xavier, you’re angry, don’t make any rash decisions.”

“No! If they were to fall, it would be because of their coward of a leader! Izayges shall not help the Asori until they help us!” Xavier glared down at Tyronian and Tristan one last time before he spurred Killix roughly, which caused Killix to rear before galloping away.

“Well, that went well,” Tyronian sighed, rubbing his temples, which were starting to ache.

“I will follow him, you work on Yoro,” Tristan ordered Tyronian, climbing up onto his own horse.

When Tristan was settled in his saddle, he said to Tyronian, “If he does not come around, make him.”

“I will see it done.” Tyronian’s grin was all teeth.

Tristan jerked his head in response before he galloped after his brother.

Leawyn jerked Deydrey to a sliding stop when she finally spotted the place Castic described.

Right away she knew something wasn’t right. Castic luckily hadn’t noticed what Leawyn did. There were foot marks all right, but the lower branch where Garnette had been hiding was an even more alarming sight. It was snapped, and there was a weird line that ran below it.

They must have dragged her down, then picked her up to stop her struggling,
she thought.

Leawyn’s heart sunk, thinking of what the young girl must be going through. Knowing she couldn’t wait for her husband to come and save the young girl, Leawyn urged Deydrey into a gallop again.