Lines of Fire (The Guild House - Defenders Hall) (9 page)

“Fortunate for you. For my first tour I rode a stack steed and saved to purchase my own. During the return to the Hall we stopped at a farm that breeds bihorns. Storm Cloud’s dame had problems. I helped the farmer save her and he gave me a deal on her colt.”

For a time they rode in silence. Alric noticed places where the carts had torn brush and weeds from the side of the lane.

Robec drew even. “Do you think my sister has joined the peddlers?”

“She was at least a day behind but unless she finds a different road she will meet them.”

“Will they harm her?”

“I don’t know.” Alric’s shoulders slumped. Had he chosen the right road? Though his lines of fire had indicated this was her route, how could he be sure? Three days was a long lead.

At dusk they came upon a forest glade. The fire circle and the tracks showed the site was well used. Alric dismounted and helped Robec to the ground. Lines of pain etched his face.

“Leg hurting?” Alric asked.

Robec closed his eyes. “My rear, too. I’m not used to riding for hours.” He groaned. “Have we really found Kalia’s direction?”

“I believe so. I want you to try something. Hold out your hands. Think about her and watch your lines of fire.”

“Why?”

“See the direction they point.”

For a moment Robec stared at his hands. “I see what you mean. Don’t ever tell anyone you can do this.”

Alric laughed. “Not until the time is right.” He added meat and vegetables to the bubbling pot. Once the stew thickened he dished it into two bowls. “Eat and then sleep.”

By the time they spread their blankets, the fire burned low. Alric closed his eyes. Was Kalia safe? How long before they found her?

* * *

A touch on his shoulder followed by a hand pressed to his lips woke Alric. “Who?” he whispered.

“Ganor. Rouse your companion quietly. Bihorns are saddled. Packs loaded on Storm Cloud. Swordmaster sent Right Hand and selected men after heir. About half hour away. Head through the forest to the main road north. Rila and I will follow and then we’ll set our plans to find your mate.”

Alric pulled on his boots and donned his sword and knife. After rolling his blanket, he woke Robec. “We need to leave. Your father sent men.”

Robec groaned. “Can’t. Leg swollen. Find Kalia and send her back alone.”

“The pair Sando sent will follow. Are you sure you can’t ride?”

“Yes. I’ll delay them.”

Alric bolted to his feet. He grabbed Storm Cloud’s reins and led the bihorn away from the glade. Would Robec manage to delay the searchers? What would he tell them about the reason for choosing this road?

* * *

For two days after leaving the peddler, Kalia rode from dawn to dusk heading through the forest hoping to find the main road north. She believed she was far enough from the Hall to ride through a more settled area. As she rode, she puzzled over the identity of the driver who had seemed familiar. Finally she remembered. He was the Defender who had drilled Petan and Robec before they became trainees. He had also vanished from the Hall but she didn’t know why. Had he recognized her?

Near sunset she crossed a rushing stream and saw a fire pit in a clearing beside what she hoped was the road she sought. After unsaddling Mist she started a fire and stared at the flames. What was she going to do? She had no idea where she was or where she headed. She had planned to join the rebels, but how could she find them?

Why had her father tried to force her into a bond with Petan? Before many days of the bonding would pass, she would have been drained the way her mother was every time she returned from a visit to the Swordmaster.

Petan wouldn’t stop before he had completely taken all her vitality. Why couldn’t her father see Petan’s true nature? Did the dark lines blur his vision? What had caused the taint to invade their lines?

She sent her thoughts into the past. Petan had been the only survivor of a tragedy the year Lasara had been born. The Swordmaster’s anger over the birth of a second daughter had been strong. Not long after Petan’s arrival, Kalia had been sent to the Women’s Quarters with her mother and sister. Had Petan been responsible for the changes? There was no reason to continue the speculation. She would never know.

She left the fire and walked to the stream. She stared into the water and saw several fat chubs swimming near the bank. One of the fish would make a good meal, especially since few rations remained in her pack. After removing her scarf she used the cloth as a net and captured two. She laughed. Two would provide food for tonight and for breaking her fast in the morning. She cleaned the pair at the streamside and carried them to the fire.

With a knife she cut filets and poured oil on a flat metal plate she’d acquired while traveling with the peddlers. She placed it on the grill over the stones forming the sides of the fire pit.

“Enough for two?”

She shrieked and nearly knocked the fish into the fire. When had he arrived? She hadn’t heard the bihorn approach.

“Didn’t mean to scare you.” Alric slid from the saddle.

“How did you find me?”

He unsaddled his steed and removed the packs. “Used the lines of fire and what I learned from an Artisan who saw you ride off. Robec insisted on coming but when a friend warned us about men sent by your father he stayed behind to give me time to follow you.”

She used a cloth to pull the plate away from the flames. “Will my father punish him?”

“Why would he harm his heir?”

She stared at her hands. “For now, there’s no reason.” She turned the fish and returned the plate to the fire.

“Do you fear your father?”

“He has changed since I was a child. He schemes to make everyone act as he wishes. He ordered me to accept the bond with you and break it on his command. If I refuse my mother, sister and brother will die. He wishes to bond with another woman and have only sons.”

“There’s no guarantee that will happen.” Alric opened a pack and filled a pan with water and kafa powder. He placed trail bread and cheese on a cloth. “Why didn’t you agree?”

“I won’t let him control me.”

Alric removed the platter and set the fish on the cloth. “Could you let him think you’re doing just that? We would have a year to find a refuge for your family.”

“How? He keeps them confined.”

“You escaped.”

“I know little used ways in and out of the Hall.”

He placed a piece of fish on the trail bread and removed the kafa pan. “Before a year ends someone will challenge him. Can you wait that long?”

“If I must. Will you be the one?”

“I hope there will be someone else. I’ve no desire to become the Swordmaster. I’ve had no training for leading the Defenders. One of the Seconds or your brother is better suited than I am. Even if your father is defeated his control over Robec could keep him as the leader.”

“What do you mean? How does he control my brother?”

“When Robec saw us in the stable and after you ran off, he listened to me. Then Petan arrived and grasped Robec’s arm. Your brother spoke in a dull voice and echoed all Petan said. Robec followed Petan’s orders.”

Her eyes widened. Was that what happened to her when her father touched her hand? She had meant to say one thing. Instead she had repeated his words. What about when Alric touched her? The only change she’d seen was in her lines. But after Alric’s touch she had quietly defied her father. Did Alric’s touch place her under his control?

She rubbed her arms. “Something odd happened after we touched. What?”

Alric shrugged. “I don’t know.” He lifted his bread. “Eat before the food grows cold.”

For a time they were silent. Kalia drank a mug of kafa and sighed. Nearly three days had passed since her last taste of the sweet yet spicy brew.

Alric finished his share of the food. “Will you listen to what I propose?”

“Yes.” If he had a plan to thwart her father she would listen and even follow his suggestions.

“You must return to Defenders Hall with me. We will exchange bracelets.”

“But I’m your last chance to remain as a Defender. You know what my father ordered me to do.”

“If you don’t accept the bond the Swordmaster will make his threat become true. In time we can find a resolution. If we fail I’ll make sure you and your family are safe and I’ll vanish.”

“Where will you go?”

“To the desert riders.”

“Why?”

“My last duel before the one here was with a young man I believe is my brother. I never knew I had sibs until my dying father spoke of them. He failed to tell me their names but he asked me to find my brother and sister. The records in the Archives gave no clue to where they had been fostered.”

Kalia smiled. Here was a way she could help him. “Did you search the birth records for information?”

“Didn’t find records like that. Just lists of bondmates and the number of children they had. In one book, my father’s name was scratched out.”

“I could look for you and also talk to my mother. She might know something.”

“You would do that?”

“Yes.”

He leaned forward. “Will you pretend?”

“Yes.” She wanted him to touch her again. She wanted to form a permanent bond with him. But the way her lines of fire responded to his frightened her.

Chapter
6

Alric stared at his lines of fire. What had just happened to them? He recalled what she’d said about her father draining her mother’s vitality. Had that occurred when they’d touched? His lines remained vivid. So did hers. Something else had just taken place, but what?

He walked to Storm Cloud and stroked the steed’s silky coat. For five days he had pushed the bihorn hard. On their return to Defenders Hall he planned to reward the steed.

The sensations storming his body had also happened in the stable when he and Kalia had touched. There had been no change in his lines when he’d touched his other bondmates. Those bonds had lasted for less than four years with nothing beyond casual courtesy. He dare not let the Swordmaster know of the potential of a heart bond. Even Kalia couldn’t know. Since she believed her father’s threat, she would panic.

With a groan he led his bihorn to the stream. Could he and Kalia convince her father that his plan had worked?

While the bihorn drank Alric struggled to harness his errant thoughts. Wind whispered through the trees. Moonlight shone on the clear water of the stream. He knelt and splashed water on his face. Tonight he had to keep alert. How could he be sure the men the Swordmaster sent after Robec had returned to the Hall? Being caught alone with Kalia, even though they were to be bonded could be looked on as an insult to her.

When he returned to the fire, Kalia cradled a mug in her hands. In the glow of the flames fear flashed in her leaf green eyes. He halted across the pit from her. “I will not harm you.”

“What did you do to me?”

“I’ve tried to understand what happens when we touch but I have no real idea. Happens to me, too. Look at your lines. If anything they’re more brilliant. So are mine. When we return to the Hall we must visit the records and read what is written. Maybe we’ll find answers there.”

She drained the cup. “What if my father learns about the strange reaction? What if it’s the same that occurs between him and my mother?”

Alric shook his head. “Unless he can control us with a touch, how can he know what we’re doing? I believe what happens with our lines is different from what he and Petan do. Our lines neither fade or darken.”

She looked away. “When I was young I remember how bright my father’s lines shone. He laughed when I told him. Then they changed. I’m not sure exactly when but I remember how he forbade me to speak about seeing them.”

Alric wished she could remember when the change had occurred. Would speaking of the past allow her to remember the day?

He leaned forward. “Maybe Sando can tell us. He chose me for his patrol because he remembered taking my father’s classes during his training days.”

“Wouldn’t he speak to my father?”

“I don’t think so. He doesn’t always agree with your father’s decisions. One of Sando’s daughters wants to join the Artisans. Your father said no.”

“He said the same to me when I wanted to become a Healer.” She put the mug down. “He told me I would become a Defender or I would be sent to live on a farm.”

Alric opened his blanket roll. “Why force someone with no desire to fight to become a Defender? When I was chosen to come to the Guild House two girls with no skills or desire were taken for the Defenders. When they were bonded, they broke the bonds and returned to the village.”

“There were three girls in my class like that. One was your last bondmate.”

Alric removed his sword and knife. He took a honing stone from his pack and checked the edges of his weapons.