The Channel (The Gifted Book 2) (4 page)

They unloaded the backpack and the canvas sack. First, they loaded the sack with the items least likely to be needed and kept her food and personal items near the top.

The sack had a strap that allowed Rhea to hang it across her shoulders. It wasn't light, but she'd carried a heavier pack when loaded down with books. Once she had her sword belt wrapped around her waist, they returned to the road and continued towards their rendezvous point.

4
Others

Bestian and Gauvin kept their heads down and their faces turned away from travelers who passed them on the east-west road. Bestian had set the pace, of course, causing Gauvin to run beside him, on
occasion. The beast that burned inside Bestian felt no pain and seldom tired, but Gauvin was close to dropping.

Finally, Gauvin couldn't take it anymore. He stopped, bent over, hands on knees and gasped for air. The muscles in his legs burned and cramped. He needed to rest.

"What are you doing?!" Bestian growled in disgust, resentful of having been saddled with such a weakling. "We have to keep going or we'll never catch them." Secretly, Bestian was relieved when Gauvin stopped. He didn't know how much longer he could keep up the pace he'd set. But, whether he was tired or not, he was right. They needed to keep going.

Between gasps for air, Gauvin sputtered, "We need ... horses."

"I know. But do you see any?"

Gauvin shook his head. Plenty of riders had passed them, but they hadn't had a chance to take down two riders without either being seen or having to deal with the rest of the riders' party.

"Come on!" Bestian commanded.

Gauvin straightened his back slowly, pushing his way through the aches and pains that resulted from sitting in cold wet clothes on the hard ground. From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed two black riders skirting the edge of the woods that bordered the north side of the road.

Bestian had already started walking again, but Gauvin didn't move. He didn't look straight at the black riders, but watched from the corner of his eye. They were slumped over in their saddles, either sleeping or injured. This was their chance.

Gauvin did a quick sprint to catch Bestian. "Slow down for a second. Don't look now, but there are two riders in the woods to our left. What do you say?"

Bestian slowed his pace and quickly glimpsed the riders. He rotated his head like a light in a lighthouse, casting his gaze on everything around them. They were alone ... except for the two riders.

Bestian took off down the road, practically running.

Gauvin, ticked off because Bestian seemed to be ignoring the one chance they might have to c
atch a ride, tried to keep up. He
watched his partner reach the small bridge that spanned a raging rocky river—too wide to jump and too treacherous to swim. Before Gauvin realized what Bestian was doing, he'd disappeared down the bank of the river, slipping under the bridge.

Gauvin delighted in Bestian's plan. He glanced at the riders who seemed oblivious to their surroundings and ran to join Bestian. Now, all they needed was for the riders to use the bridge versus turning north to border the river.

Time seemed to slow, and the waiting taunted them, but in the end, it was worth it. The riders crept out of the woods, scanning the road on either side of the bridge. All was clear. It would only take them a few minutes to reach the other side and seek cover in the woods again.

When the riders were within a few feet of the bridge, Bestian made his move and Gauvin followed. Swords drawn, they caught their prey by surprise. In seconds, it was over. Bestian and Gauvin secured the reins of the horses to a railing and dragged the bloody bodies of the two riders under the bridge.

They cleaned the riders of their weapons and other valuables and took inventory of the supplies in the saddlebags. Gauvin found a hunk of dried meat and moldy cheese. He didn't care if it was nearly rotten. He turned his back to Bestian and wolfed down a bite of the yellow brick, avoiding the mold, of course, and chased it with a bite of dried meat. He chewed as fast as he could, needing to get something into his stomach before he was forced to share.

Bestian found similar rations in the saddlebag he was inspecting. He also turned his back and proceeded to ingest as much of the food as he could without Gauvin being the wiser.

Gauvin glanced over his shoulder and saw that Bestian's back was turned. Taking advantage of the moment, he greedily shoved more food into his mouth, chewing just enough to swallow before Bestian turned around.

"I found some rations," Bestian declared a moment later. "What about you?"

Bestian's voice startled Gauvin. He quickly swallowed everything in his mouth. "I found a few morsels." He offered up the remainder of his find.

Bestian returned the gesture and took note that Gauvin's morsels were much larger than his own. "We should put all our rations into one bag."

"That's all right. I've got plenty of space in my saddle bag." Gauvin knew what Bestian was about. He'd join their food and then parcel out a minimal amount to him. He had spent months with Bestian and had almost starved, eating what Bestian felt was his fair share.

"Give it to me!" Bestian's upper lip quivered into a snarl.

"No." Gauvin mounted quickly and took off. Over his shoulder, he shouted, "I'll share at our next meal."

Bestian mounted as well, and took off after him.

~~~

Commander Gaibel Gaulette stood watch over her First Lieutenant Beth Annaul and her cousin Lanne while they ate and their horses rested. The trickling sound of the small stream a few feet away would have been a relaxing sound if Gaibel had reason to relax, but she didn't. Instead, it was a distraction as she tried to process what had happened.

"Commander, please eat something." Beth handed her a small sandwich of cheese and a slice of fruit.

Gaibel glanced at the food. Her stomach ached of hunger at the same time it turned with the anxiety that her daughter was out there somewhere in possible danger, danger from what she'd just seen.

"Commander, with all due respect, you're only going to make yourself sick if you don't eat."

Gaibel took a quick deep breath and took the food Beth had prepared. "Thank you." She continued her watch as she forced herself to eat. Beth was right. She would feel better with something in her stomach, but she couldn't shake the adrenaline that was pumping through her system. Between her fear for her daughter and the rush of being forced to hide from a group of Laundan warriors, she was a bundle of tinder ready to ignite.

How dare Laundan send warriors into Taulomi without permission?
If she didn't have Lanne with her, she'd have stopped them. Between Beth and herself, they could have easily taken them, but she couldn't risk it with her cousin present. Civilians came first. She would report the invasion at the next guard station.

Beth and Lanne packing up and readying the horses brought Gaibel out of her thoughts. Without a word, she mounted, shoving the last bit of her sandwich into her mouth.

"Ready?" Gaibel watched Lanne settle into her saddle.

"Yes. Let's go." Those were the first words Lanne had spoken since their close encounter with the Laundan warriors. She knew her cousin was torn between dealing with an immediate threat and carrying out her mission. She wanted to offer something that would ease her frustration, but what could she say?

Once they cleared the trees and were back on the road, Gaibel announced, "We need to get to the next station before nightfall. I need to send a bird to the king." She nudged her horse into a trot, then a canter, and soon after a full gallop with Lanne riding next to her and Beth taking the lead.

Lanne shouted over the thunder of their horses' hooves. "Does this mean we're at war?" She tried to hide her concerns, but she knew she was failing.

Eyes forward, Gaibel was pure grace on a horse. "I don't know."

~~~

King Argeon sat across the table from his queen. Queen Aubuel's arms were folded over her chest while she glared at her husband.

"What do you want from me?" Argeon knew his wife wasn't happy with his decision.

"One warrior? That's all you could spare to help one of your most loyal commanders?"

His queen was seldom included in strategic meetings and the meeting with Gaibel and Lanne had been no different, but when she saw Gaibel leaving with only Beth as her guard, she marched to her husband's strategy room to
discuss
her concerns.

Aubuel had become attached to Gaibel over the years. She'd taken it upon herself to ensure reports on Terrwyn were delivered frequently so Gaibel would know her daughter was safe.

"Sometimes covert missions are safer for everyone involved. If we draw attention to Terrwyn by using the royal forces, the wrong message could be construed." He stood and reached for his wife's hand, watching as his explanation sunk in. "Let us check on our own daughter. Terrwyn is in good hands."

Aubuel reluctantly lowered her arms and took his hand.

"Kiral should be on the practice grounds right about now." Argeon had agreed to allow Princess Kiral to train as a warrior, he couldn't deny her gift. But whether he would allow her to use her gift in a real battle was another story. He wasn't ready to add her to the ranks, especially if war was so close at hand.

"Have you received any more reports?"

Argeon knew Aubuel referred to the reports about attacks by bands of Laundan warriors. "There are reports of more attacks, but who the attackers are is reported inconsistently. Until I have proof they are Laundan warriors ..."

"I know, dear." The queen nodded and squeezed his hand.

"I've sent more guards to the borders to keep watch. So far, no word has come from the border patrols to say that Laundan is attacking."

Clang! Clang! Clang! As the king and queen approached the training grounds, they could tell that practice was well underway.

"I wonder if anyone has been able to best her." Argeon tried to hide the pride he felt for his daughter. Her gift made her near impossible to beat sword-on-sword.

5
Travels

About an hour outside of Brauns, the sound of thundering hooves to their left caught Daen's attention. He looked around but couldn't see them, however, that would soon change. He took Rhea's elbow and nudged her towards a large boulder. "Quickly, hide behind here."

Randell was fast on Daen's heels. "What's wrong?"

"Riders." Daen watched carefully to see if he could ascertain who they were. They'd been passed by people of Taulomi on several occasions already, but something about the sound of several horses being ridden hard in their direction didn't seem right. He was not going to take any chances.

Daen's body suddenly go stiff and he draw back further behind the edge of the large rock.

"What is it? Who are they?" Randell started to lean forward to look, but Daen held him back.

"Warriors. Laundan warriors." His face said the rest. Apparently, their presence was not a good thing.

Randell started to speak, but Daen stopped him, pressing his finger to his lips.

The ground shook as the horses, carrying riders cloaked in black, pounded by—kicking up a small dust storm.

Rhea couldn't help notice the similarity between the riders that just went by and the riders she'd dreamed about before coming to Luxatra.
Was this a sign?
The setting wasn't the same but still she wondered.

Daen took notice of how Rhea had paled; her eyes had the look of fear and concern. "Rhea, what is it?"

She shook her head, struggling with her memories, arguing with herself that the dreams and what she'd just witnessed weren't related.

"Rhea?" Randell placed his hand on her shoulder, bringing her back to the present.

Before she could respond, Daen realized what was happening. "Are they the same, the riders from your dreams?"

Randell's head snapped up from looking at Rhea. "You don't think ...?"

Rhea pushed up to her feet, her fingertips pressed to her temples. "I don't know. The surroundings aren't the same. Even if they are, I don't know what it would mean."

Randell stood. "Daen, you said they were Laundan warriors? Which way is Laundan?"

Daen pointed east. "It's the realm that shares the eastern border of Taulomi. It's ruled by King Craen."

"I take it their presence in Taulomi isn't normal," said Rhea.

Daen watched as the black riders disappeared in a trail of dust. "Warriors tend to stay in their own territory unless they've been given permission to cross the border, typically in pursuit of someone. When that happens, they're usually accompanied by the border guards from the host realm, in this case Taulomi."

Randell brushed some weeds from his pants. "Did you see any Taulomi warriors?"

Daen shook his head.

They stepped onto the road and continued north, and Rhea ran through the images she remembered from her dreams.

Daen tried to think of a reason why Laundan warriors would be charging through Taulomi.

Randell kept a lookout for other unwanted travelers that might be fast approaching from behind.

Travelers passed in both directions a few more times over the next couple of hours, but they approached and departed calmly, nothing like the dark thundering force from earlier. Nothing exciting happened, much to their relief.

A couple of hours later, a small tavern started to materialize on the horizon. They could see people coming and going from two roads: the one they traveled and another running west and east. Before they reached the intersection, Daen stepped off the road.

"Why are we stopping?" Randell was looking around.

"We can stop to eat at that tavern, but I need to warn you. Although it's not unusual for a guardian to be in any of the realms, especially this close to the Libraim territory, not everyone feels comfortable in our presence."

"What do you mean?"

He pushed his cloak open to reveal the vest underneath. "In the past, the crest on my vest tended to draw attention. There was a time when some felt threatened by the
authority
we have. I don't know how it will be received now. I've been gone for so long."