The Channel (The Gifted Book 2) (25 page)

"But, sir?" There was desperation in the young man's voice.

The commander sighed and spun around to the opening in his tent. "What is it?"

The tent flap started to open, and that was Rhea's cue. She lifted the veil and disappeared as the warrior stepped in.

"Well?" the commander demanded.

Rhea couldn't help feel a little sorry for the young man. He had no idea why his commander was so agitated. "Laundan warriors, coming this way," he stammered.

The commander glanced to where he'd left the woman standing, thinking she'd still be there, but she was not. His need to figure out where she went conflicted with the need to address the immediate threat.

The young man watched as his commander hesitated. "Sir?"

"Coming." He didn't have time to deal with a woman in his tent, if she had truly been there, so he followed his man out into the camp.

Rhea followed the commander and went straight for her friends. She pulled her dagger and cut their ropes. "Laundan warriors are coming."

Randell wriggled from his ropes. "We heard."

Rhea barely finished cutting them free when a battle cry echoed around them and time slowed. It was happening again. The tingling sensation flowed over and through her body without her having to reach for it.

She scanned the area and saw three men charging from the north and two from the south. As if on autopilot, she raised her hands and released a wave of energy towards the attacking warriors, picking them up and throwing them backwards to ground.

The Sentran warriors that had been searching for the missing rider, for Rhea, came running with swords drawn, just in time to join the other Sentran warriors in stopping Rhea's friends from reaching their weapons. They encircled Randell, Daen, and Taulin and were about to recapture them when Rhea reached for the Sentran warriors as if to hold them back. "Stop!"

The warriors froze in place, unable to move, giving Daen, Randell, and Taulin time to pick up their weapons and head into the woods after the attackers she'd just sent flying.

At first glance, someone coming upon the scene would assume the Sentran warriors were extremely disciplined, but upon closer inspection, they would see they'd been capture by an invisible force. The expressions on their faces, a look of surprise and frustration as they realized they couldn't move.

The commander marched towards Rhea.

"Please call them off," she politely demanded.

The commander didn't move as he stared at Rhea's hand and his men standing as still as statues. It dawned on him then, that she was responsible, she was controlling them.

Rhea repeated her request. "Commander. Please do as I say. We are not here to harm you, but I will not release them if they're going to attack my friends."

The muscles in his jaw flexed as he bit back the words he wanted to say to her.
How dare she keep his men from their duties?
He wondered if he could capture her, but after what he'd just witnessed, he decided against it. "Stand down, men."

Rhea released them from her hold as promised and waited for the presence within her to flow away, but it didn't.

The Sentran warriors stepped and stumbled, trying to regain their footing and shake away the disorienting sensation from being controlled.

Daen and Randell returned and took the rope that was hanging from a saddle and headed back to the attackers and Taulin.

She watched as the Sentran warriors did the same with the attackers to the south of camp, but something wasn't right. She could feel it. "It's not over."

She closed her eyes and searched the area around the camp. It didn't take but seconds to know their next problem. They were surrounded, arrows pointing towards her, and one man standing alone, watching the scene play out. He looked familiar to her, but she couldn't place him before he signaled.

Time slowed, and she sighed. "Not again."

The thump of the bowstrings being released seemed to echo around her as the arrows leapt forward. She watched as they flew through the air towards her, and just like before, she raised her hands and willed the arrows to stop, and they did. They hung in midair for a few brief seconds before dropping to the ground.

"Stop!" she shouted. "I don't want to hurt you."

Like idiots, the archers released another round of arrows. This time, her friends and the Sentran warriors were already taking cover as she brought the arrows to a halt, but instead of letting them drop to the ground, Rhea clenched her mind around their shafts, as if to squeeze the life from them. They floated before her waiting for her to give them a new purpose.

She didn't want to do what came next. She hoped that this time the men shooting at her would stop and reconsider their fate, unlike Bestian and Gauvin.

She rotated the arrows, pointing them back towards the woods, to demonstrate she could make good on her threats. "Last warning! Stop your attack now or you will die!" The arrows quivered before dropping to the ground.

At first, she thought they'd heeded her warning, but when she saw the lone man wave his hand again, she knew it would not end.

The third round of arrows took flight, and this time they were returned to sender. The air around the camp filled with the sounds of the arrows striking tree trunks, feet running and stumbling away from the camp, and screams of archers as the arrows reached their owners.

Rhea stood rigid and glared with fury at the man with the long dark hair, his face an image that flashed through her memory, and then he was gone.

Time returned to normal, and she felt the tingling sensations start to subside, leaving her legs wobbly and her head light. Without a word, she forced herself to walk to her horse where she retrieved a snack bar from her bag and stuffed it in her mouth. As the tremors of hunger began to fade, she noticed she didn't feel like she wanted to be sick to her stomach, but of course, she had yet to look upon what she'd done.

Just thinking about what lay in the trees beyond the camp caused the pain in her heart to take her breath away. Taulin had been right. She needed to own the guilt that burned her from the inside, but not let it disable her. She clenched her jaw, repeating in her head:
I gave them fair warning. It was self-defense.

The commander stepped in front of Rhea, forcing her to quickly swallow the last bite of her bar. "What just happened?"

"I'll tell you shortly. Until then, can I suggest we check on the men shooting at us? I think I got a couple. Maybe someone is well enough for questioning."

The commander waved his hand to the men who were close enough to hear her request. "The rest of you, bring the Laundan warriors into camp. Make sure they're secure."

As the unconscious warriors were dragged from the woods, Taulin started his inspection, wanting the commander to witness what he was doing. He ripped open the uniform of one of the attackers at his feet and examined the exposed chest. "They're like the others. Impostors."

The commander looked down at unconscious man. "How do you know?"

Taulin met the commander's stare. "Some things should remain our own." He assumed the other realms had their own way of telling a true warrior from an impostor and relied on the man's understanding.

Before the commander could challenge Taulin's declaration, Randell stepped closer. "He tells the truth." He gave the commander a knowing look. "I can see if someone is lying."

The commander thought about the implications of what this stranger was saying. He wasn't just backing up the prince's claim. He was telling the commander he wouldn't get away with trying to deceive the foursome. He took half a step back from Randell before turning to his men. "Haurld! You and Danbr get ready to ride to Cauhill."

The commander entered his tent, returning a moment later with two sealed messages. "Send this one to the palace." He handed Haurld a bird message. "Give this one to the captain at the guard station. Return with his reply, and be careful. Whoever is behind this will not want that message getting out."

Haurld and Danbr mounted up and took off.

26
Questions

Two Sentran warriors dragged an archer into the camp and dropped him at their commander's feet. "We found this one alive. He tried to get away, but he wasn't moving fast enough."

"For someone with in an arrow in him, he put up quite a fight," the other warrior gently rubbed his bruised jaw.

The commander sneered at the body lying at his feet before using his foot to roll the man onto his back. The broken shaft of an arrow protruded from under his left collarbone. His lip was bloody, and his left eye was starting to swell shut.

Rhea knelt next to the semi-conscious man and placed her hand on his chest while the others looked on. Just as she'd done with Sedare, she reached to feel his life-sustaining energy, but there was barely any there. She looked up to the commander. "He doesn't have a lot of time."

The commander bent to look the man in the face. "Who sent you?"

The man tried to say something but drifted in and out of consciousness. Only the contemptuous sneer on his face confirmed he would not be a cooperating witness.

Rhea observed his wound. "He's losing a lot of blood. He'll be gone before we can get any answers from him." She reached for the arrow's shaft but felt Daen's hand on her shoulder.

"If you plan on pulling it, you'll need a way to stop the bleeding."

Rhea nodded. "Help me get his shirt off."

Daen knelt by Rhea and cut open the shirt around the arrow. It was in deep. She
looked at Daen, and he nodded as he held the man down. She reached for the heat of the fire, creating a tiny hot energy ball in her hand
, as she prepared to cauterize the wound.

She took a deep breath. "Don't let him move." In seconds, the arrow was out.

The man released a horrible scream as his skin was ripped open even more.

Rhea quickly cauterized the opening and leaned over the man. "Better?"

The pain had gotten the man's attention. He was seething, his breaths ragged and short. "Screw you."

Rhea's head jerked back in surprise as she raised a brow. "Seriously? We just saved your life, and that's the first thing you can think of to say?"

The corners of the man's mouth started to turn upwards slowly, forming a nasty grin. "Why don't you come here and I'll show you how I thank a woman like you?"

Rhea forced a smile and used her best care-free tone. "No, thanks."

The man attempted to lunge at her throat, but Daen grabbed him and pushed him back to the ground.

Randell knelt by his old friend, ready to lend assistance if the man on the ground tried to get up again.

Rhea shook her finger and gave him a sweet smile. "Now, now. You're going to open your wound."

He spat at her. "Bitch!"

She pretended to pout. "Ah, I see. You're scared. That's it, isn't it? You're afraid, so you're trying to act all tough." She tipped her head coyly to the side and smiled at him. "There's no need to be afraid. Haven't I just demonstrated that?"

He twisted against Daen and Randell. "Let me up, and I'll show you
scared
."

Rhea studied the man for a moment. She knew she was in the midst of battle-trained warriors who didn't hesitate to inflict harm on the enemy, and that was exactly what would happen if she couldn't get him to talk. She needed to try.

She leaned over the man. "Who sent you? And skip the part where you whine about him killing you if you tell. I already know that. Answer me, anyway."

He spit at her again.

The direct approach didn't work so she tried another angle. "All right. How about why? Why do it? Why try to kill someone you don't know?"

When he laughed, there was an evilness about him that was almost chilling. "For the money. Why else?" He laughed again. "But now that I've met you, I'd do you for free."

She rolled her eyes thinking, how cliché. This was getting old. He wasn't threatened by her. He wasn't weak like the spy Gaibel interrogated. "Commander, what do you do with people who won't answer your questions?"

The commander considered her inquiry, debating how truthful he should be. "Let's just say they usually don't live long after we try to convince them otherwise."

Rhea turned back to the man on the ground. "The way I see it, you don't talk, and they try to make you talk. I doubt that will be pleasant."

"What's the matter? Can't you fight your own battles?"

Now, it was her turn to laugh, and it wasn't a happy laugh. "Oh, you don't want what I can do to you."

She knew she had the power to crush this man, to burn him, to suck the life from his body. None of that gave her any comfort. But those tortures were far beyond what was needed here ... or at least she hoped.

He licked his lips and ran his eyes down her body. "I doubt that." He looked Rhea in the eyes. "Free me. Show me what you have and when I'm done with you, I'll be sure to kill you slowly."

Rhea rolled her eyes again. "I'm really getting tired of your attitude. I'm trying to save you from what I can only guess will be a very painful attempt to forcibly extract the information we need."

He jerked up against Daen's and Randell's grip and snarled. "Go to hell."

She leaned down and whispered in his ear. "You first." She was done. She'd tried. She hated the thought of what would happen next, but she wasn't in the world of shadows where the authorities have to play by a certain set of rules. She stood and faced the commander. "He's all yours."

"Mearlin, Barty, see if you can make him want to talk," the commander ordered. "When he's ready, let me know."

The two Sentran warriors smiled and heaved the man to his feet, dragging him into the woods and out of sight.

Free from holding down the prisoner, Daen and Randell joined Taulin and helped him cut open the uniforms of the remaining unconscious warriors.

"They're all impostors," Taulin announced.

"How long before they come to?" the commander asked.

Rhea thought back to when she knocked out Bestian in the world of shadows. "It took about thirty minutes for the last one I knocked out."