Splintered Fate (9 page)

Soundlessly Lana moved between the
trees, highly alert so to not accidentally run into another Rami
sentry. Moving with ease between the forest brush and growth, it
wasn’t long before Lana found the Rami camp. It pleased her, how
relatively easy it was for her to get so close. Besides nearly
running up on that one sentry, she was able to get to the camp
without any trouble.

Tiptoeing closer, Lana observed
the camp from behind a large tree. They had tents set up, hundreds
of them. In the distance she could hear the muffled sounds of
people talking, but they were too far away to clearly hear. No one
was near the outer tents.

Sounds were coming from farther
within their camp. They must have been having some sort of
gathering. Unable to make out much of what was happening, Lana
decided to get a closer look, so to try and be able to at least
hear some of what was being said.
She took
a cautious step from around the tree. Her heart beat strongly
against the wall of her chest. Goosebumps ran up her body. She
paused with every step, listening.

“Well hello there, and what are
you doing around here?” A calm and clear male voice came from
behind her.

With a sharp inhale Lana turned to
see where the sound came from. Two men were approaching her from
the woods, it was clear the words were meant for her as there was
no one else around. Her heart thundered at the sight of them, her
body tensing, every muscle suddenly tight.

What were the two of them doing in
the woods? A chill touched her skin. Lana hoped that she had not
left Donn and the children too close to the Rami camp. At least
they had Ardin with them. He would protect them, he would be able
to hear if someone approached and keep them out of harms
way.

Both of the men approaching her had dark hair.
One however was short and stocky, the other taller. The
shorter one stopped in the near by distance while the tall Rami
took a step closer towards her.

He spoke, “A lovely girl such as
yourself should not be wondering about this part of camp, so close
to the edge.”
Lana instinctively took an apprehensive step back, keeping herself
carefully out of his reach. Ardin suddenly became very present in
her mind, filled with worry. She shoved a wall up in Ardin’s face,
trying to keep him from coming to her before her cover was
blown.

A wicked smile spread across the tall man’s
face as he brought his hand to something at his neck. That was when
she noticed the gold coin hanging around his neck. The Rami rubbed
the coin a moment before releasing it, his blue eyes never leaving
Lana.

He continued speaking, “You see,
most people know me around here, for I am the Lieutenant General to
king Zakran. I am the one in charge of this camp. But you taking
that timid little step away from me tells me you fear me. Rami
warriors do not fear me…” His head tilted as his eyes moved over
her cloths and body. “Perhaps you could fool most into believing
you were one of us but I am not one who is easily fooled. Or maybe
our sentry spotted you and we let you come this far? Just a few
things for you to ponder.” He finished with a bright
smile.

Dammit. I knew it seemed too easy
to get this close.
Lana's heart skipped a
beat as panic shot through her. She hadn’t even said a word and it
was already clear to them she did not belong. She could feel
Ardin’s panic, he was fighting against her control.
I need to concentrate, if you come now they will
surely attack.
Lana shot at Ardin as she
cut off the ties she had to him.

“Look" she said glancing at the
shorter man before looking back at the tall one who seemed to be in
charge. "I mean you no harm I was just…" The men's laughter broke
her train of thought.

"Well of course you mean us no
harm, honey.” The short one said in a scruffy voice, taking a step
towards her. His brown eyes filled with excitement. Lana took
another cautious step back. She could feel cold sweat beginning to
trickle down her back.

The tall Rami turned to the short
one. "Well Seff, what shall we do? Let her go so she can warn her
beloved people we are here? Or keep her as a little Madonian pet? I
will let you decide."

There was satisfaction in them
thinking that she could warn the Madonians. This meant the Rami had
no idea they were already found out, that Abder was already busy
preparing for them.
"She is awfully pretty for her washed out and
frail looking race." Seff commented, looking back at Lana with
dangerous eyes, sending a shiver through her. She tried to calm her
breathing, not wanting them to know how panic was coursing through
her.

Lana forced herself to stand tall
in an attempt to look confidant even though fear gushed through her
veins. Her heart was no longer steadily beating but was vibrating,
un able to keep a stable pace.

She needed to get out of this
before things escalated. If she let Ardin come to her aid, then he
may be spotted by other Rami and risk drawing even more attention
to them. She had to get out of this quickly and her own.

I WILL NOT BE SEEN, YOU STUPID
GIRL!
The voice shook inside Lana’s head.
She had cut ties with him, how did he manage to get into her
thoughts? She didn’t have time for this.

“I don't want trouble...” Lana began to
say.

“Oh but darling, you found
trouble”. Seff replied grinning. He took three large quick strides
towards her.
Lana ducked back when Seff went to grab her, it was a sloppy
move on his part. He stumbled.

"She would have been taught some
defense, being the daughter of a council member. Though a stupid
one to come here alone, and without protection of a spirit beast."
The tall Rami plainly said to Seff.

Lana’s eyes flashed wide to the
tall Rami. How did he know? Her skin felt cold at the realization,
if he knew who she was than she wasn’t getting out of this, they
would never let her go.

He smiled ever so slightly. It was
a cruel curve of his lips. “How did I know you were a part of the
council?”

How was he doing this? Could he
read her mind? Lana instantly dismissed the thought as
nonsense.

The Rami went on, “You carry
yourself very nicely also your hands look to never have been used
for chores, suggesting you were of a high born family. Your outfit
is probably the cheapest and most common looking one you own though
it is still made of fine material. It has no wear on it indicating
that it has hardly ever been worn so you do not normally dress in
such a form. This leads me to assume you may be of a council
family. But your facial expression after I stated you were is what
gave away my thoughts as true.” He finished with a slight smile on
his proud tan face. His blue eyes were sparkling at her, as if he
had just found gold. She was a prize jewel that just strolled right
into his hands.

A moment after the lieutenant
finished speaking, Seff came at Lana again, lunging towards her as
she ducked out of his reach. Seff stumbled to his knee when he
missed her. In that moment Lana grabbed the back of the Rami’s
broad shoulders, bringing his face into her knee, like a move she
was shown as a child.

After Eveline’s death Valdor had
put Lana in defense classes. Some of the best fighters in their
lands would come to their capitol in Olbi and would give Lana
pointers and practice. She despised it, as a child. She did not
like the strange men and fighting them, the soreness and bruises
she was left with after each lesson. It kept the image of her
mother, lying in a pool of blood, from ever fading away. Every time
a trainer would try and attack her, thoughts of her mother would
creep into her mind. How Eveline must have felt, how she must have
been attacked, how she must have fought. However, in this moment,
for the first time, Lana thanked her father for forcing her to
train.

It surprised Lana how heavy the
Rami was and how much that move had actually hurt her knee. It
throbbed beneath the surface while she stepped out of Seff’s reach.
Adrenalin coursed through her body. It was like a surge of energy,
her senses heightened and the tips of her fingers went numb, and
the pain in her knee instantly muffled.

Seff rolled on the ground, quicker
than Lana had imagined possible, and grabbed her legs when she
tried to step away. She fell to the hard cold ground, his hand
still gripping her leg. Strong arms kept her from getting away,
pulling her towards him. She shoved her hand in his face, trying to
push him away. Suddenly she was very aware of the feel of the
Rami’s warm blood on her hand. It was pouring from his nose in a
flooding red river, where her knee had hit him. The feel of his
blood made her stomach twist with nausea.

While keeping one hand pushing
Seff away Lana began bringing her strength into her other palm.
Silver dust swirled around and a sword began to form. Abruptly the
pressure of Seff’s body disappeared from on top of her and a
heartbeat later a hand sharply hit her across her face, stunning
her. In the moment of shock, Lana lost hold of the sword she had
been forming, leaving her defenseless, except for the small blade
still hidden in her boot.

“Can you really not take care of a little
Madonian girl without bleeding everywhere!” The lieutenant barked
at Seff.

In a dazed state, Lana tried to
reach for the blade in her boot. It was a feeble attempt. The
Lieutenant swiftly grabbed her by her throat, raising her from the
ground and pushed her up against the side of a tree. Abandoning any
hopes that she had at getting to the blade, Lana’s hands flung to
the Lieutenant’s arm. Her fingers gripped his, trying to pry them
from her throat.

He meticulously gave her enough
room to not lose consciousness, but little enough to make her body
panic for breath. Lana understood that she wasn’t going to get out
of this on her own. She gasped for air as she grabbed the
lieutenant’s hand, trying to wrench it from her throat, but it was
as if his arm was made of stone, it did not budge. She felt her
mental wall break apart, letting her Aorra in.

I’m coming for you. Hold
on.
Was all Ardin said to her and then
there was terrifying silence.

"Now, you are going to wish you
were a good girl and did not make trouble for my man," the
lieutenant glared.

His face was mere inches from
hers. There was something about his eyes, they were blue and
dangerously cold. The way he looked at her was enough to make her
skin crawl, it was the darkest of stares. A crippling hatred poured
out of him. Yet there was something more that she could see in his
cold gaze, something that she could not quite put her finger on,
something almost familiar.

With his left hand around her neck
the lieutenant general brought his right hand into the small space
between the two of them and blue lightning broke through the
surface of the skin on his hand. The lightning stayed in his
hand.

What? How does he have such
control?
Lana thought as she stared at the
fiery blue lightening with wide eyes. Her body thrashed, doing
whatever she could to get away from him. She had only enough time
to see the corners of his lips turn up before he pushed the ball in
his hand into to her stomach.

Every nerve in Lana's body ignited
as if on fire. Her knees buckled and the only thing holding her up
was the lieutenant’s grip on her throat. She couldn’t breath,
couldn’t see, couldn’t speak.

Hot coals were scorching her from
within. Intense, blinding pain ripped through her entire body. She
had never felt anything like this before. Lana couldn't feel where
Ardin was, she could not sense anything besides the penetrating
agony ripping her from within. Tears uncontrollably swelled behind
her tightly shuteyes. Finally, her body forced her to take a
scorching breath into her lungs, but filling them only forced her
to release a horrendous scream. At least she thought she creamed,
she couldn’t hear it. Couldn’t hear anything.

Red droplets fell from her nose on
to the lieutenant’s left arm and Lana’s eyes began rolling into her
head. Suddenly the pain subsided and she began regaining some
senses. Her green eyes slid open, her vision blurry. Blinking away
a tear, her vision cleared enough only to see the Lieutenant
holding another charge of lightning in the palm of his
hand.

Hurry.
Was all Lana could get out before her senses were once again
over powered as the lightning ripped her body from within. Another
scream forced its way out from her lips before everything went
dark.

Chapter

Four

The scent of the salty air mixed
with the forest pine was calming. Kaiden took in a deep breath,
filling his lungs with the cool air. Stretching out his arms, he
took in the view of the ocean and their war ships that littered the
foreign coast. Men down below could be seen like little ants
running about, diligently doing their duties, preparing for what
was to come. He let out a small sigh.

A snap of a twig from behind broke
his serenity. The Rami placed a hand on the hilt of his sword
drawing it and spun around to see a tall muscular man leaning
against a tree, watching him with a smirk on his face. In his hand
he held a small stick that was broken in two.