Book 3: Chapter Thirty-Four

The battle was over, but Katrin and Shavala hadn’t made an appearance yet. As soon as Corec could get away, he went looking for them, heading into the building where they’d been positioned, taking the stairs as quickly as he could in his armor. Reaching the top, he found Marco sitting alone on the floor with his head in his hands.

“Where are they?” Corec barked. Had something happened?

“Katrin’s helping Shavala back to the camp. She got hurt during the fighting.”

“Hurt how?”

“I don’t know. She said she’s fine, and that Katrin’s worrying about nothing.”

Corec let himself relax. It couldn’t have been serious, then. “Where’s Nedley?” he asked in a calmer tone.

“He went with them.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

Marco’s eyes met his. “Are you serious? We could have all died today! I work for a trading company, not a bloody army! What the hell is going on?”

Corec couldn’t blame him for his reaction. The mercenaries had been more capable than Corec had expected, and the rest of their opponents had been completely unwilling to surrender or flee. He’d underestimated the true scale of the battle, and only the arrival of the Travelers had saved the day.

“Hopefully we’ll find out soon,” he said. “Boktar and Treya are looking for any wounded that we might be able to save. We should have some prisoners.” And, with any luck, perhaps the Travelers had been successful too. If they’d managed to catch the Seeker, he was likely to know more than the mercenaries did. The priests wouldn’t be an option—they were both dead.

Marco grunted but didn’t say anything.

“I need to go back down and help. Can you get back to camp on your own?” They’d positioned the battle several blocks east of the structure where they’d set up their camp.

Marco sighed. “Yes,” he said, getting to his feet.

Corec nodded and left him to it, returning outside to find Treya checking on Bobo again. The other man was still sprawled out, unconscious, in the cross street.

“How is he?” Corec asked.

“I still don’t see any major injuries,” Treya said. “He’s just asleep. Razai insists it’s drain shock.”

“What? He’s not a mage.”

“She says he’s a priest.” Treya hesitated. “Or, at least, that he was using divine magic.”

Before Corec could respond, Nedley came jogging up. “I found the carts and their packs,” he said. “They left them in the plaza.”

Corec grimaced. “Ned, some of the mercenaries escaped. What would have happened if you’d run into them? I thought you were with Katrin.”

“I was careful!” the boy insisted. “Katrin didn’t need me, but on my way back here, I saw some of them getting away, so I followed them. They grabbed their packs and some things out of the carts, and then went east. They didn’t see me.”

Well, Corec had wanted Nedley to start taking more initiative. And regardless of the boy’s questionable judgement, the information was useful. “How many?”

“Three.”

“I’m sure more than that got away. You didn’t see any others?”

“No.”

“That must have been the last group, then,” Corec said. “Or maybe some of them forgot to stop and grab their things. They’ll have a rough trip back to civilization if they didn’t take any food. We’ll need to watch and make sure they don’t try to sneak back here.”

Sarette would know more once she returned. She’d gone up the mountain slope for a better view, to count how many mercenaries were fleeing and track which direction they were headed.

Just then, Josip returned from checking on the wagon drivers. “That woman from the ruins was there,” he said. “I thought she was going to take my head off. Couldn’t understand a word she was saying. Looks like a group of mercenaries tried to head her way and she dealt with them.”

“Well, that’s something, I suppose,” Corec said. Ariadne had done as he’d asked after all. “The drivers are safe?”

“Seemed to be, but I don’t know what I’m going to tell their fathers. The boys are all excited—I guess they watched the woman fight—but something scared them enough to keep them hiding in the building, at least.”

Corec sighed. “I should have figured out a way to get them home. At least they’re alive.”

Leena joined the little group then, but before she could speak, there was a shout from the far end of the block.

“Hey!” Boktar called out. “I’ve got another live one here!” He’d been checking through the bodies.

Treya looked worried. “I’m about to pass out. I don’t think I can do much more healing.”

“Then stick bandages on them and see if they make it until morning,” Corec said. “Focus on the ones who have a chance, and check on Shavala as soon as you can. She might have been hurt, but it doesn’t sound serious.” It was standard battlefield triage—help the ones you could help, and help your own people first.

She nodded. “I wish Bobo was awake. He’s better at this sort of thing.” She headed in Boktar’s direction.

Leena got Corec’s attention then. “We captured the Seeker,” she said.

He blew out his breath. “That’s a relief. I’m not sure any of the others we’ve found will know anything. Is he talking?”

“Not yet, but we were going to try again. Do you want to be there?”

“Yes, but …” he gazed around the battlefield. “Josip, Nedley, we need to start getting these bodies farther away from our camp. Help Boktar look for live ones, but don’t get too close to any buildings until he checks to make sure no one’s hiding in them. Drag the dead ones as far as you can manage. Take them to the plaza if you can, and bring the carts and packs back here. Belt pouches, too.”

“What about the rest?” Josip asked. “Armor, weapons?”

“Leave the weapons where they are; I’ll look them over later. If the armor’s heavy, you might as well take it off before you try to drag the fellow. See if you can get Sarette and Razai to help you. Sarette’s looking for high ground to watch the mercenaries who got away. I’m not sure about Razai. She was here earlier.” He tried searching for Razai through the warden bond, then remembered her bond was no longer active.

The guide shrugged. “I haven’t seen her either. We can get the mules and some rope, though. That’ll be easier than dragging the bodies ourselves.”

“Oh, right. That makes sense. I’ll join you as soon as I can.” Corec turned to Leena. “Let’s go find Ellerie and then see what your Seeker has to say.”

#

Leena introduced Corec and Ellerie to her Uncle Rohav and to Pavan, the younger Traveler who’d helped catch the Seeker. The rest of her people were gone. Those with enough strength remaining had teleported the others back to Sanvar.

“Thank you for coming,” Corec said. “Without your help, I don’t think we could have succeeded.”

Rohav stared at him expressionlessly. “We didn’t come here to help you, northerner. We came because these men, or others like them, slaughtered hundreds of our people.” Then he sighed. “But for your aid, you have our gratitude.”

“And the gratitude of all the Zidari people,” Pavan added.

Corec nodded, then glanced down at the prisoner, who was lying on his side, still tied up. “Have you learned anything?”

“The traitor refuses even to tell us his name or what camp he’s from,” Pavan said. They’d checked the man’s tattoos before Leena had fetched Corec and Ellerie, but the ones to identify his camp and family had been removed, scarred and abraded enough to leave only indistinct smudges.

Ellerie drew her rapier and rested the tip against the Seeker’s throat. “What if, for every question he answers, he gets to live a little longer? If he stops answering questions, he dies.”

The prisoner swallowed, and his eyes darted back and forth between those standing over him, but he didn’t speak. Ellerie pressed down just enough to draw blood.

“If he’s dead, he won’t be able to talk,” Corec pointed out. “We can find a place to lock him up inside the ruins. He’ll have plenty of time to change his mind. There’s nothing else to do down there.”

Leena wasn’t sure whether Corec was playing along with Ellerie’s bluff, or if he didn’t realize it was a bluff. Was it a bluff? Leena had grown closer to the elven woman, but she didn’t actually know that much about her. They spoke frequently, but they’d always kept their conversations from becoming too personal.

“That won’t be necessary,” Rohav said. “We’ll take him back to Sanvar. The empress’s palace has warded cells. He won’t be able to get out, and no Traveler will be able to get in. No Seer or Seeker will ever be able to find him. In the meantime, our own Seekers can track down his family and friends. I’m sure they’ll be interested to know he’s responsible for murdering so many of our own people. They’ll probably be willing to tell us what else he’s been up to.”

“No, wait!” the man said, his eyes going wide. “I’ll tell you anything you want! Just don’t tell my family what I did!”

Ellerie pulled her sword away from his neck.

Rohav glanced around at the others, then back down at the prisoner. “Then who are you?” he asked.

“Davir of the Parsha camp, but I grew up in Sebin Township,” the Seeker replied in Zidari. Sebin was a rural region in western Sanvar.

“Trade tongue,” Pavan said sharply, “so our new friends can understand you.”

The prisoner repeated his statement in the trade language.

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“Who are the people that attacked us?” Corec asked.

“You attacked us!”

“Don’t be stupid!” Ellerie snapped. “We knew you were trying to kill Leena before you ever got here.”

The man’s eyes darted to Leena, but he didn’t speak.

Rohav said, “If you lie, the deal’s off. Shall I head back to Sanvar now and look for your family?”

“Wait! I’ll tell the truth, but you have to protect me! They’ll kill me if they know I told you!”

“That’s not something you need to worry about. If the empress allows you to live, no one will ever find you.”

Davir swallowed, and screwed his eyes tightly closed. “They’re followers of the Snake.”

Rohav and Pavan exchanged confused glances. “Who?” Pavan asked.

“It’s one of the countryside sects, but bigger than most,” the man said, opening his eyes again.

That made sense—there were always little religions springing up outside the cities. The empress had functionaries dedicated to tracking them to make sure they weren’t up to any mischief.

Pavan seemed to realize that too. When he spoke next, his voice was cold. “If there’s a cult that worships a snake, why didn’t anyone in Sanvara City tell us that when we found those knives?”

He’d been talking to Rohav, but it was Davir who answered. “Their wizards and priests have warded all their members. No one can find them.”

Rohav shook his head. “That would stop us. It wouldn’t stop her Imperial Majesty’s government. Not for a cult that’s large enough to have wizards working for them. Either our questions didn’t make their way to the right people, or …” He left the obvious unsaid. If someone in the government was a member of the sect, he or she could have made sure the Zidari didn’t get the answers they’d sought.

“Where did the priests come from?” Corec asked Davir. “Which god did they follow?”

“They said they followed the Snake. Their people believe there were four old gods, not three.”

Corec snorted. “Even if there were, the old gods don’t have priests.”

“I only know what they told me.”

Rohav’s voice cut through the conversation. “Why murder the Travelers?”

Davir’s face grew anxious. “They didn’t tell me what they were going to do! I swear! They just wanted to know where they all were.”

“That’s not what I asked!”

“They didn’t say why! The priests said it had to happen, but they wouldn’t tell me anything else!”

Leena spoke up for the first time. “You claim you didn’t know they were going to kill the Travelers, but then you kept working with them afterward?” She had to discover what he knew, and when he knew it.

“They forced me to! They would have killed me if I didn’t!”

“What did I tell you about lying?” Rohav asked him.

“We found this on him when you went to get the others,” Pavan told Leena, holding up a coin pouch. He untied it and turned it over, letting dozens of golden coins fall to the floor.

“Money?” Leena asked, feeling sick. “You betrayed the Zidari for money?”

“It was that or a knife through the ribs!” the Seeker said.

“Then you picked the wrong choice,” Rohav said.

“Razai overheard part of a conversation while she was scouting their camp,” Ellerie added. “From what she told us, it didn’t sound like he was there against his will.”

Rohav nodded. “Men like him will spin any lie they can, even to themselves, if they think it’ll make them look better.”

“It’s the truth!” Davir protested.

Pavan said, “Why did the attacks in Sanvar stop? Why did you come here?”

“The Travelers killed most of the church members the priests had recruited for the job in Sanvar,” the Seeker said. “And something scared the priests when she went to Cordaea.” He pointed his chin in Leena’s direction, his hands still tied behind his back.

“What was it that scared them?”

Leena ran her fingers over the bracelet that was still hidden under her sleeve. But Razai had thought they’d come for two things, not one.

“I don’t know, but they decided to send me here,” Davir said. “I didn’t even know they had people in Cordaea until then. My cousin’s a Traveler—I didn’t include her on the list when they asked me to find them all. She brought me to Renfar, on the east coast, but I didn’t tell her why.”

Leena tensed. If he hadn’t mentioned his cousin to the priests, then he must have known something bad might happen to the Travelers despite his protestations to the contrary. That meant he was responsible for her parents’ deaths. She clenched her fists tightly, her fingernails biting into her palms.

Corec frowned. “If you started in the east, how did they catch up to us outside Tir Shar?”

“They have some way of talking to each other from a distance. They didn’t tell me how.”

“Then you’re not strong enough to Seek something in Cordaea from Sanvar?” Rohav asked.

“I am!” the man said, sounding offended. “It takes them time to talk from a distance. Days, maybe more. They wanted me here so they could track her more quickly.”

“Then you should have said that! If you hold back information, I’ll consider it to be the same as lying.”

“I’m just answering your questions! I don’t know what you want to know!”

“I want to know something,” Corec said. “Why send farmers? Villagers? Those men died for nothing. They had no business being on a battlefield.”

Davir sneered. “How many people do you think are stupid enough to worship a snake? The priests recruit from areas with no schools or real temples. None of the men have any education. Most can’t read. All they know is what the priests tell them.”

His cavalier attitude toward the cult members would have been unsettling, except those were the men who’d wielded the knives against the camps. Those were the men who’d burned Leena’s mother and father to death. They were just as much targets of Leena’s blood feud as Davir was.

“Are the priests the ones that poisoned them?” Corec asked.

“What?”

“The poison! The injured ones died of poison! Who did it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“It happened to dozens of them. You didn’t see it?”

“I’ve been here the whole time!”

Corec scowled and stepped forward to loom over the man. “If I find out you’re lying …”

“I’m not!”

“What about the wizards?” Ellerie asked. “If they’re so uneducated, where are the wizards coming from?”

“They’re just hired to do a job, like me.”

It seemed unlikely that a rural cult would be able to hire multiple wizards, but before Leena could question the statement, Pavan held up one of the knives with a snake etched into the hilt.

“Why the knives?” he asked. “Why risk losing a weapon that identifies them? Why use a knife at all if you’re going into battle?”

Davir hesitated.

“Answer the question,” Rohav said.

“I don’t know for sure, but I overheard some things. The priests gave them the knives and told them to leave one at each attack. I guess they left a lot more than one once they started dying. Nobody told them not to take other weapons, but other than the hunters with their bows, most of them didn’t have any. They can’t afford swords, and they wouldn’t know how to use them anyway. The priests didn’t care what they brought—the Zidari don’t fight, and the knives were enough. Here, they hired the mercenaries to do the actual work.”

“They wanted people to know who they were?” Ellerie asked. “Why else would they leave the knives on purpose?”

Davir shrugged. “The knives are warded. I tried Seeking them but I couldn’t. Nobody could find them that way.”

“They wanted someone to know,” Rohav said. “A message for someone who’d recognize it without a Seeking.”

“Who?” Pavan asked.

No one had an answer.

“We’ll ask all the camps again,” Rohav said. “And the palace. Perhaps somebody will have an idea.”

“Is there another group headed this way?” Corec asked Davir. “Are we going to be attacked again?”

“Not from Renfar,” the prisoner said. “Mercenaries don’t come cheap, and you just killed most of their own people who were of fighting age. I don’t know how many members they have in the rest of Cordaea. The other group that attacked you, they might still have more people. They didn’t tell me how big that church was—they just wanted to know how to find you.”

Leena’s uncle turned to Pavan and cocked his head to the side. The younger man nodded.

Rohav spoke to Corec. “If that takes care of what you need to know, we should be getting this one back to Sanvara City. There’s a cell waiting for him.”

Pavan leaned down, about to help Davir to his feet. They were going to take him away.

“No!” Leena shouted, grasping her own snake knife—the one that had been left behind in her family’s camp after the attack. Razai had insisted she keep it with her during the battle. “I claim right of blood feud! By his actions, he killed my mother and father!”

“Put that away!” Rohav snapped. “He needs to return to Sanvar and face justice.”

“He killed Rima!” she said, to remind her uncle of his own pain. “He deserves to die!”

A look of sorrow passed over Rohav’s face, but he held firm. “The empress will make that decision. Either way, he’ll never see the light of day again. Killing him now would be foolish. We may need him to answer more questions.”

“Blood feud takes precedence by the old laws!” Leena said, her heart pounding in her chest. She crouched down over the traitor and held her knife to his face. Her hand wouldn’t stop trembling. Despite Rohav’s words, her uncle didn’t make any move to stop her. Neither did anyone else. She traced the blade down Davir’s cheek to his neck as he cringed back. But staring into his frightened eyes, Leena realized she couldn’t bring herself to kill him in cold blood, regardless of the reason. She stood up, her body feeling as weak as if she’d been running for hours. “But I’ll let you take him if he does something for me.”

“Does what?”

Leena looked down at Davir. “You’re a Seeker. Tell me where the priests of the Snake are. All of them!”

“They’re warded! I already told you that!”

“Then the ones you know. Their names, locations, temples, everything.”

His jaw worked as he thought through that, and then a small smile crossed his face. “I can do that.”

“And the wizards,” Leena said. She turned to Ellerie. “The warding spells will go away, right? They’re not like the doors we found?”

“Yes. Warding spells fade over time if they’re not renewed. Some can last years, like mage locks and preservation wards, but most will fade much faster than that—days or weeks—unless they’re permanently enchanted, and no one knows how to do that anymore. Well, almost no one.”

Leena nodded, then spoke to Davir again. “The wizards and the priests. We’ll kill them, and after the wards go away, you can Seek every single person responsible for the attacks on our people.”

“I don’t know all the priests and wizards. There have to be more than the ones I met.”

“Then the ones you do know will have to tell us about the others.”

“Ask the priests,” Corec suggested. “Wizards are too dangerous to take alive.”

Leena shrugged. “Whoever can tell us. We’ll keep them alive long enough to find out what they know.” Despite the bravado of her words, she doubted she’d be amongst those doing the hunting. If she couldn’t kill Davir, how could she kill anyone else? But there were plenty more of her people who would want vengeance for their losses. She wasn’t the only one who’d sworn blood feud.

Rohav gave her a grim smile. “We will. And we’ll find out if they’re working for anyone else or if the priests took action on their own.” He sighed, glancing around the room. “But for now, we should be going. If you Travel directly to the camp, I can join you there once I’m done at the palace.”

She switched to the Zidari tongue. “I can’t return yet, Uncle—I’ve still got responsibilities here.”

He frowned. “I thought this was the reason you’d left. I thought you were coming back with us.”

“It’s why I left, but I promised to help out here.” And, in truth, exploring an ancient city had been exciting. Perhaps she could enjoy it more now that she knew her brother would be safe. “I’ll visit home each week. If you need my help tracking them down, I’ll try to come back sooner, but I’m not much of a Seeker.” She could accept it if her revenge was meted out by other, more competent hands, just so long as it was done. She did need to ask Rohav about the bracelet, but she couldn’t do that here where someone else might see them.

“You should learn from this man’s mistake,” Rohav said, glancing down at the prisoner. “There’s a reason why the Zidari don’t work for outsiders.”

“I’ll be careful,” she promised.

He nodded. “I suppose you’ve earned some leeway, but don’t forget our laws. Our gifts are too dangerous in the wrong hands.” He turned to speak to Pavan.

Leena faced Ellerie with an embarrassed grimace. “I couldn’t do it,” she admitted quietly, so only the elven woman could hear.

Ellerie held Leena’s hands in hers for a brief moment. “That’s not a bad thing.”

Leena wanted to say more, but she wasn’t ready to make any promises. Not yet. But the Seeker was captured. Soon, everyone responsible for the attacks on the Zidari would be dealt with. Perhaps they’d be arrested by the authorities, or perhaps they’d be killed out of hand by angry Travelers. Either option was acceptable. Leena’s blood feud wasn’t over, but the end was within her reach. Once it was done, she’d be able to look to the future, and perhaps have a more personal discussion with the elven woman.

Pavan joined them then. “We’ll be leaving soon, but could I speak to you for a moment first?” the young Traveler asked in Zidari.

“Of course.”

Pavan nodded to Ellerie, then drew Leena away from the others. “Your uncle tells me that, even half-trained, you managed to teleport from here to Sanvar in a single jump. That’s impressive.”

“Oh, uh, thank you.”

“Even among the fully trained Travelers, fewer than half of us can manage that. We should consider positioning our two families better for the future. I would like to propose an alliance.”

His expression was sincere, and Leena wasn’t sure how to respond. It was obvious he was referring to strengthening the bloodlines by marriage. She’d never considered marrying a man before—she’d known since she was young that she preferred women. She glanced at Ellerie, but the elven woman hadn’t heard, and, in any case, didn’t speak Zidari.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“I wouldn’t expect an answer so soon, of course. Even if you were in agreement, the families would still have to discuss it. Your uncle wasn’t aware if you were entertaining other offers.”

She could have just told him she liked women, but that was her personal life. She shouldn’t have to talk about it with a stranger. Besides, if she ever wanted to have children, it would be something to consider. When the clan intermarried to merge their bloodlines, it wasn’t unheard of for those to be marriages of convenience only. It would be up to Leena, or her family, to return to Pavan with terms for negotiation.

“I’ll think about what you’ve said,” she replied. “I have obligations that will keep me busy here for the near future, though.”

“Certainly,” Pavan said with a ready smile, “but I do hope to hear from you soon.”

He returned to Rohav and the prisoner. Rohav gave Leena one last nod, and then Pavan laid his hands on their shoulders. The three men disappeared, either back in Sanvara City already or at some point in between.