CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"What do we want to avoid more?" Enfri asked, "a legion of soldiers or the assassins?"

She rode west, knowing that each step brought her closer to her pursuers. Every instinct Enfri had urged her to turn around and go east, because she knew with absolute certainty that Jin was waiting.

"Don't be silly, Enfri," Deebee scolded from ahead. She led the way through the countryside once again, always being conscious of if her charge could keep within sight. "We avoid both as much as possible."

"But we're heading back towards Jin and the others," Enfri insisted. "We'll run right into them."

Deebee swooped in a wide circle to turn around. She landed on the horn of Enfri's saddle. "Stop here a moment, girl. Remember what we spoke of earlier? We must think like the hunters to evade them."

"What good does that do us when we're heading towards them?"

"Trust me. The assassins are hoping we'll go blundering into the village and get snapped up by the Merovech. Either that, or that we'll try to hide on the outskirts until they sniff us out."

Enfri put a hand to her brow and suppressed an anxious moan. "Doesn't that mean they'll be wary of us doubling back like this?"

"Quite so," Deebee agreed, "but we're not going to do it like they think we would. Right now, there's likely an assassin already in the village. They'd be sent ahead to inform the Merovech to be ready for us. That leaves five behind us, but we have an advantage."

"What advantage?"

"The size of your father's awarded land. The assassins will be worried that you may have boltholes, concealed places you or I have kept stocked with supplies for an emergency."

Enfri perked up. "Are there any?"

"If only there were. With the ward in place, I thought there wouldn't ever be a need for one. Besides, in a flat area like this, there isn't much in the way of hidden corners to hide in."

It was probably too much to have hoped for a safe hideaway to miraculously become available. Enfri motioned for Deebee to continue laying out her plan.

"Boltholes or no," Deebee said, "They won't leave the possibility to chance. The assassins will spread out to cover a wide area. They'll be searching for tracks, hiding places on your property, or any sign that we're near."

"They'll certainly find our trail," Enfri said. "I was crashing through the brush like a bull."

"Find our tracks heading east, yes," Deebee said with a wink. "Once they follow them to the village, they'll already be behind us."

"Unless we walk right into their net."

"I'm confident that won't happen."

"Why not?" Enfri asked. "You seem proud of yourself, but I don't understand."

"Haven't you noticed where we are?" Deebee asked.

Enfri narrowed her eyes as she peered into the surrounding darkness. Where could they possibly be that she'd recognize it? Enfri was about to give up and ask Deebee to be more plain, but then she caught sight of the ground beneath them. It wasn't brown grass or loose topsoil. They rode on hard-packed dirt.

"The road?" Enfri asked in disbelief. "You brought us back to the road?"

"The assassins wouldn't dream of looking for us here."

"Because that would be insane."

Deebee nodded happily. "Yes, exactly."

"Why not just light a fire or start singing bawdy songs?"

Deebee clucked her tongue and did an about face. "I don't appreciate the sarcasm, girl. We must be silent as stones and twice as careful. I'm convinced that the assassins won't risk watching the road when their eyes can be used elsewhere, but that doesn't mean they'll be far. I would like to be miles away before they realize their mistake."

Enfri let out a slow breath. She didn't like this plan, but she trusted Deebee's experience. Everything about this night was leagues out of Enfri's realm of expertise, so she saw no choice but to put her faith in her guardian dragon. Enfri tapped her heels against the horse's flank.

There were more questions she wished to ask, but Enfri didn't want to risk making more noise than necessary. As it was, each step of the horse's hooves seemed like a hammer strike ringing into the night that would bring the assassins running. She tugged on the reins to slow the horse's pace, hoping that it would limit the sound of her riding. Enfri looked ahead and to the sides, wary of shadows.

Deebee hopped to Enfri's shoulder and put her mouth close to her ear. "Carefully now," she whispered. "Stop here. They're close."

Enfri pulled the reins and clutched at her chest. She feared that her heart was pounding loud enough to be heard.

"There," Deebee said. She was subvocalizing, only heard because she was right next to Enfri's ear. "I can see him. Hundred yards north. It's Dashar."

A thin whimper came out of Enfri. She slowly turned her eyes north of the road, but she could see nothing but blackness. Everything was still and silent.

Then, a distant shadow moved when there was no breath of the wind to accompany it. The shape darted from one tree to the next without making a sound. For the brief moment she witnessed it, the shadow appeared to have the head of a wolf.

"His eyes are turned ahead," Deebee murmured. "To the ground at his feet. He looks for trail signs and doesn't look towards the road."

Enfri clamped her eyes shut. She couldn't bear to watch. If Dashar was close enough for Deebee to see him, his beast eyes might be keen enough to pierce the darkness that separated them.

"Another," Deebee warned. "South and ahead, eighty yards. A woman. Not Maya or Jin."

Jin had said the name. Josy. Enfri wondered how this other woman assassin fit into this family of killers. Another sister of Jin's, or a child of Gain?.

The family that slays together, stays together, Enfri thought with black humor.

Josy was closer than Dashar. She had a better chance of seeing a horse and rider frozen in fear on the road.

Deebee crawled down Enfri's torso and up to the horse's head. She whispered something to the animal before returning to Enfri's shoulder.

The horse tensed between Enfri's knees. It felt like the animal had become a coiled spring, ready to burst forward at a moment's notice. Other than that slight movement, the horse was motionless.

He's a trained warhorse, Enfri remembered. I chose well, at least.

"Hang on tight," Deebee cautioned. "Be ready to run."

The assassins weren't mounted. They tracked her on foot. Enfri could outrun them. If the road ahead was clear, then she would be free as soon as Dashar and Josy passed by her.

"Dashar stopped," Deebee said. "Considering. Josy moves south. Further away. They do not see us."

Sweat beaded on Enfri's brow. She refrained from wiping it away, and it dripped down the bridge of her nose.

I am a shadow, she told herself. I am silent. They won't see me.

Enfri made herself breathe through her nose. Slow and steady. Calm and fearless.

She had seen this before. A fox would prowl through the underbrush, ears raised and alert. Then, a hidden rabbit would give in to its fear and bolt away, and the fox would snap it up into its jaws.

The courage to endure fear, to deny the instinct to flee. Fear was the enemy. It would kill Enfri if she let it. She opened her eyes towards the road ahead, towards freedom and safety. If she could endure only a little longer, she could escape.

A shadow stood on the path ahead, a shadow with softly glowing, blue eyes. Gain came up the road, and moonlight reflected off the sword in his left hand. He saw Enfri in the same moment she saw him.

Discovered, a dozen thoughts spiraled through Enfri's mind at once.

Deebee had been wrong. They were watching the road. The assassins must have anticipated this gambit.

Enfri felt as if the sight of an assassin ahead, watching her, should have brought with it a stab of terror. Instead, she felt a burning anger. Enfri bared her teeth.

Murderers.

Enfri slammed her heels into the horse's sides. She leaned forward as the animal shot towards Gain like a crossbow bolt.

A frantic squawk came from above Enfri's shoulder. Deebee latched suddenly around Enfri's arm. Her claws pierced through the linen of the dress, biting hard into the skin beneath.

Enfri didn't feel the pain. Her eyes were open as she galloped towards Gain. She snarled and urged the horse to run faster.

How dare they? she raged. They invade my home, they mean to kill me, they killed my father, and still they dare to underestimate me?

Gain fell into a stance, his left foot forward and the right planted firmly behind him. His arms were held wide. He blinked, slow and unconcerned, as a dim light began to surround him.

"Girl, no!" Deebee cried into Enfri's ear. "He's a sorceror. An osteomancer!"

Gain's arm changed, the flesh writhing into unnatural shapes like scar tissue. His right arm stretched to twice its original length. The fingers became like scything blades. Moonlight shone off of the white plates that grew into place over the length of his arm. They looked to be made of bone.

"Flames!" Deebee shouted. "Enfri!"

Gain's arm became like a lance. He thrust it in front of him, his entire body braced behind it. The horse's charge picked up speed.

"I am not afraid!" Enfri roared as she bore down on him.

Gain blinked, his lips parting as if astonished. He narrowed his eyes and stabbed forward as Enfri reached him.

But she wasn't there. With drilled and honed skill, the horse planted its front legs just short of Gain's reach and spun its body round. Enfri was whipped about, and she imagined that if she held a sword, its slash would have had the power of a scale lion behind it.

For a brief moment, Enfri's face was inches from Gain's. She was close enough to see the individual hairs of his graying beard. Their eyes locked, and she was pleased to find that his shining beast's eyes were wide with amazement. He thrust his lancing arm towards her again as she passed, attempting to follow her wild change of direction.

Gain's stabbing arm missed Enfri's throat by a mere inch. She howled with fury while the horse came to an abrupt halt past where Gain stood, the assassin directly behind him.

There was just enough time for Gain to see what was coming before the horse's kick lifted him from his feet. He sailed three yards and rolled across the dirt, coming to a rest well off of the road.

Enfri was tossed about in the saddle like a sack of grain. It was a miracle that she was still mounted. Gain shook his head as he tried to stand, slowed by the horseshoe shaped imprints in his leather breastplate.

Only a few dozen yards to the south, a horn blasted two sharp and clear notes. The assassins knew where Enfri was, and they were going to come in force.

"Blazing girl," Deebee shrieked. "Go! Now!"

Gain swung his malformed arm and the scything claws flew off of it and towards Enfri. She dug her heels into the horse's flank and was away before the blades struck her.

Deebee stood on Enfri's shoulder, looking backwards. "Gain collapsed, and he's not getting back up. You injured him, girl."

"Is he dead?" Enfri called out.

"No, but hurt."

Enfri wasn't sure what to think about that. Part of her wished that the horse's kick could have crushed his skull. However, there remained a strong part of her that remembered Grandmother's teachings.

A sky woman must never harm a living thing.

Tonight, Enfri thought, I'm not a sky woman. I'm a survivor, and I'll do what I must.

"On the right!" Deebee cried out in warning.

Enfri looked north and saw a shadow with a wolf's cowl matching her speed. The assassin ran as if all the winds were at his back. Dashar unslung his bow from his back as he ran and knocked an arrow.

"An enchantment of speed," Deebee shouted. "He's outpacing us."

Dashar pushed himself to run even faster. He was ten paces ahead and twenty to the right when he came to a stop. He drew the strung bow to his cheek and dropped to a knee as horse and rider flew past him. The creaking sound of horn and yew wood being pulled taut carried over the thunder of hooves and the pounding of Enfri's heart.

Enfri pulled the reins left, and the horse whinnied as he changed course. Her shawl was ripped off her hair by the arrow that nearly took her in the back of the head.

The horse's rapid pace bounced Enfri around. Her back screamed at her, and the brace rubbed her flesh raw. She leaned forward and clung to the horse's neck, desperate to stay in the saddle.

Deebee jumped to stand on the horse's hindquarters. She called out when two riders appeared behind them on black steeds. "Maya and Gooseslayer. They're gaining on us!"

Enfri begged the horse to run faster. "What do I do?"

"Ride straight," Deebee said. "I will handle them."

A blinding flash of light, accompanied by a crash of thunder, struck the ground on Enfri's right. Enfri cried out as her horse charged forward dauntlessly.

The assassins called lightning out of a clear sky. Their sorcerous magic would strike Enfri dead if it hit its target.

"Winds and flames," Deebee swore. "It's everything I have just to deflect their spells."

"We can't go any faster." Enfri called back to her.

A bolt of roiling spellfire flashed over Enfri's shoulder. The light and heat of it made her flinch away.

"Five point single somatic," Deebee murmured. "I'm not sure if I have enough ether left for a spell that big, but I'll try."

Enfri wished she knew more of the bond between her and the dragon. She tried to push her strength into Deebee through force of will. Enough to give her the power she needed to do what she planned.

"Enfri," Deebee whispered. "You're doing it."

The ground behind them erupted into a fountain of stone and dust. Enfri looked back in time to see Tarlus' horse crash into a rising pillar of rock. Maya reined in short of a collision, but the sudden stop pitched her over the head of her horse. Jin's elder sister rolled across the ground, screaming in fury and frustration.

Then, Dashar leapt to the top of Deebee's stone pillars. He sighted along the shaft of his arrow and let it fly.

Enfri felt the horse stumble beneath her. It didn't make a sound, but Enfri could feel a tremble course through him every time his hind legs struck the ground.

"The horse is wounded," Deebee said as she jumped back on Enfri's shoulder. The dragon wrapped her tail around Enfri's neck to steady herself. "The arrow hit the saddle, but it struck hard. He's bleeding."

"A little further," Enfri panted. "We can outrun them now. Just a little further."

She looked over her shoulder, fearing another arrow. Dashar had jumped down from his perch on the stones and ran forward a short ways. He then knelt down and touched his fingers to the road.

Deebee clung tight to Enfri. "Girl, we must..."

A loud snap rang out beneath Enfri's head and the horse screamed in agony. The animal pitched forward, and Enfri was flung from his back. She skidded across the hard-packed dirt of the road.

When she groggily raised her head, ringing from when it struck the ground, she saw her home ahead at the end of the road.

So far, so quickly, she thought in a daze. Even Haythe isn't foolish enough to ride like that in the night.

"Get up, girl!" Deebee shouted. "That was no gopher hole your horse stepped in. It was bone magic. Once they have a drop of your blood, they have power over your bones. He broke the horse's leg with osteomancy!"

A magic that could reshape the skeleton of an arcanist into weapons and armor, that could crush the bones of their enemies. Enfri now understood why the king's assassins had been a match for the dragons of Shan Alee.

The horse's piercing screams echoed around her. The shrieking whinnies tugged at Enfri, begging her for help. She couldn't. The assassins were almost upon her.

Enfri's back protested as she clawed her way back to her feet. Her ankle throbbed; she must have twisted it in the fall. She limped as she started to run again.

Another horse ran towards her. Its rider rose to stand in the saddle and leapt. She spun over Enfri and landed in her path. Enfri pulled up short and nearly lost her balance.

"No further, Sky Woman," the assassin ordered. She wasn't at all out of breath. "You won't go another step."

Deebee stood between Enfri and the woman assassin. Her back was arched, and her teeth were bared as she snarled. She didn't change forms, perhaps too tired or drained of ether.

Josy was as pale as the other assassins. She couldn't have been older than eighteen, her smooth skin and large eyes at odds with the feral ferocity of her expression. Josy's hair was tied back into two long ponytails, and her face was marked with vertical streaks of black warpaint. She wore a tiger pelt across her shoulders, and her minimalist leather armor left her arms and midriff bare.

She raised her fists in a pugilist's stance. Her metal gauntlets were thick and broad, and iron spikes were arrayed over her knuckles like a hunting cat's claws. Josy's full lips were pulled back into a predatory grin, a wild expression devoid of restraint.

"You took my brother's eye," Josy growled. "I won't let you live, but I'll show you a mercy and kill you quickly if you kneel."

Enfri backed away. Her hand went into her pockets, searching for anything that she could use to defend herself. She didn't carry a blade, not even a scalpel. The only thing she found was some dried herbs she stashed in her dress.

Her fingers rustled against a bundle of dried sunwillow. Why had she even brought that? It was only useful to treat respiratory inflammation. Too much, and it would...

Enfri crushed the leafy heads of sunwillow in her fist. She worked her fingers to grind the herb down to a powder.

"Flames take you, monster," Deebee roared. She thrust her head forward, and a plume of fire erupted from her throat. The heat was enough to make Enfri recoil from it.

Josy put up her arms to shield herself as the dragon fire reached her. The flames parted around her as a stream parted around a stone. She was unharmed by the blaze, though it made her angry. Josy growled from deep in her throat as she took a step against Deebee's flaming breath.

Deebee kept breathing fire, a continuous stream of flames. It seemed impossible for a creature so small to produce a blaze so large and powerful. As strong as it was, the fire wasn't enough to hold Josy back.

"The mighty are as arrogant as the stories say," Josy said. Her lips twisted into that wild grin again, and she laughed. "So convinced of how far above humans you are, incapable of recognizing our power."

The flames froze motionless around Josy's body. Deebee choked, and her fire breath subsided except for the flames held in place around Josy. The assassin held forth an open palm, a red light shining from her hand.

"My talent lies in pyromancy, creature. Your flames are mine."

The captured flames coalesced in Josy's palm. They became a single orange light that hummed with pent up energy. Josy thrust out her hand, and the light streaked for Deebee. It hit with a deafening roar. Dust and debris exploded from the impact.

Deebee roared in pain. She was thrown back by the blast and lay on her side. Her wings trembled as she tried to stand back up.

"Arrogant," Josy scoffed. "I wish you weren't already half-dead. You might have been a challenge."

She turned her attention towards Enfri. Every detail of her face spoke of unspent fury. Josy advanced on Enfri, and her gauntleted fist pulled back to deliver a killing blow.

Enfri raised up a hand filled with crushed sunwillow, and blew.

Josy recoiled and took a sharp intake of breath out of reflex. She coughed as granules of crushed leaves entered her airways. Her hacking continued, and Enfri saw the pupils of her eyes dilate until they were almost round.

"What..." Josy murmured. "What did you do? Stay back!"

She looked behind her and punched at the air. The strike unbalanced her, but she quickly reset and punched again. Her breathing became labored and her movements more hectic. The hallucinogenic herb was taking its toll on her.

"Not here," she said. "Not now. You're dead. You're all dead. I'll kill you again if I have to!"

Enfri rushed to Deebee. She gathered the tiny dragon up in her arms while Josy continued to flail about. The assassin's mutterings rose in volume until she was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Tarlus, help! Maya! Jin! What did she do to me?"

Enfri ran. The shouting would let the other assassins know where she was. She had to get away now. Enfri turned west towards the desert.

She chanced a look behind her. Josy curled up on the ground, her hands covering her head as she screamed. No other assassins were in sight.

Enfri clucked her tongue as she turned to face forward. "Arrogant," she scoffed.

She picked her way carefully through her tended patches of scalethorn, mindful to leave as little sign of her passing as possible. Once through the thorny brush, she put every ounce of strength she had left into moving her feet.

"Enfri," Deebee said as she came back to herself. "What's going on?"

The dry, brown grass was becoming more sparse. The ground became less firm. An icy chill surrounded Enfri as she entered into the outermost part of the desert. The vast wasteland of the Espalla Dunes was ahead of her.

"We got away," Enfri replied. "For now."

A cry rang out behind her. It was a young woman's voice, and it wasn't Josy's. Enfri was certain that the enraged cry belonged to Maya. She must have gotten back on her horse and followed the road to where Enfri had left Josy in a delirium.

Lightning split the sky and thunder boomed. With no focus for her rage, Maya unleashed her magic upon the winds.

"They'll regroup," Deebee said. She crawled up to Enfri's shoulder and nestled against her neck. "They'll try to track us."

Enfri didn't waste energy on a reply. She kept running and worried that she would never be able to stop.