The Brightest Shadow, page 13
He started to turn away and Tani spluttered before recovering. "W-wait! I come bearing this letter from Commander Kolanin!"
That got his attention, and though he still scowled, the man at least turned back. He accepted the letter from Tani's hands, unsealed it, and read it slowly. By the time he was done, the wagons had pulled away from them, but eventually he shook his head.
"Very well. They're probably just locked in the Keep. I'll get them."
The scorn in his voice made Slaten wonder if he actually would, but there was little they could do. The mansthein turned away and moved to the wagons, speaking with some of the others before running on ahead. Had it been that easy? Kolanin's orders certainly carried weight, but that didn't mean they would receive all the texts in good condition.
Tani clearly had similar thoughts, nodding thanks to him but otherwise not speaking. They ran to catch up to the wagons.
As they approached the keep, he focused on trying to pick up as much of the conversations in Futhik as he could. Complaining about military rations, he thought. The mansthein from Bundlin had better things to say about the food in the city. Nothing about the rumors or danger from earlier, though he still wasn't sure he'd entirely heard that correctly. Eraes was talking to one of them in what sounded like fluent Futhik, giving instructions in too low a voice for him to hear.
Eventually Keep Aryabaus appeared ahead, a tangle of slanted roofs and fortifications with a central tower like a spear plunged into the heart of the grasslands. The tower was built from dark stone, though not as dark as the jet black stones they had passed before. It was one of the tallest buildings Slaten had seen in his life, and the collection of roofs of varying heights surrounding the central tower puzzled him.
He wondered why it needed to be so tall, though he imagined it had a commanding view of the area surrounding it. There were several mounds of boulders in the region, one of them as dark as those before, though he doubted they could hide many people. But before they drew close, the mansthein from before emerged from the keep and headed toward them, something in his hands. Tani rushed ahead to go meet him, so Slaten joined her.
The object proved to be a flat wooden box, finely crafted of a light wood and inlaid with silver that also formed a latch. Though it looked like a masterwork, the mansthein hefted it in one hand carelessly. "This what you wanted?"
"Yes!" Tani smiled and moved forward, both hands raised. "Please allow me to confirm that the texts ar-"
"This is all we had. But if you want to check, here you go." The mansthein thrust the box forward, intentionally holding it at the wrong angle. The wooden cover unlatched and slid from its grooves, tipping out of the mansthein's hands. It tumbled as it fell, opening and spilling pages of what seemed to be fine animal hide all over the grasses.
Everyone stood still for a moment as the pages scattered and the box hit the ground, raising a puff of dust. The mansthein gave them a scornful glance, then turned away. Tani seemed to have no expression on her face. Slaten had expected to see sorrow or anger, but was completely unable to read her at that moment.
All he could do was bend down to help pick up the scattered texts. The animal hides were covered with densely packed Rhen script, a few drawings showing physical forms swimming within the Rhen characters. Though rougher than paper, the hides also seemed more durable, perhaps a good format for texts that would be passed from generation to generation.
"I can get the rest." Tani's voice was as flat as her gaze. He thought he saw a bit of gratitude in her eyes, but her words were clearly a dismissal. Slaten handed her the texts he had collected and moved away, letting her pick up the rest. Fortunately, there was little wind, so they would not scatter far.
To give her privacy, Slaten turned away to look toward the wagons. Strangely, they hadn't made much progress, still far from the keep. He frowned and looked more carefully, seeing that the guards had drawn weapons and focused in one direction. There was nothing there as far as he coul-
A green cloak rose out of the grasses, shimmering like a mirage from the dust. He had a glimpse of someone within, an object sparking and flying out toward the wagons, and then...
One of the wagons exploded, a column of flame erupting into the sky. The driver was caught up in it, screaming as his flesh burned. The explosion sent the soldiers nearest the wagon tumbling to the ground and the others were taken off guard. Aurochs bellowed in fear and began to charge forward, ignoring their handlers. Slaten spotted several Coran men emerging from crevices in the nearest boulders to attack them, but his body refused to move, only witnessing.
Rhuvab reacted first, unhooking his over-sized maul and moving to strike down the figure in green. The man in green raised a hand in his direction... and to Slaten's surprise, there was a flash like thunder and Rhuvab slammed into the ground some distance away. The Catai rose up the next moment, roaring in anger, but there was a bloody burn across his chest.
"Betrayal!" The word was spoken in Futhik, but Slaten heard it clearly. For a moment he didn't comprehend, still trapped in the moment of shock, then everything tumbled together.
Mansthein guards and human attackers clashed around the wagons, but there were more guards. Some of them turned on Eraes, seizing her and pinning her in place. Others moved to assist Rhuvab, while more turned back toward Slaten. The warrior who had scattered Tani's texts turned with them, hatred in his eyes, and drew his sword.
This was his moment to act, but Slaten did nothing.
Instead he froze, his hand partway to the sword at his waist that wasn't there. His world seemed to be wrapped in heavy fog, preventing him from acting. When a mansthein warrior crashed down near him, dropping his sword to claw at his burning skin, Slaten could only stare at him. He could have picked up the sword, but...
He had told himself that he had no future as a warrior and tried hard to leave that behind him. There was no meaning in killing each other, not when it was possible for both sides to live in peace. What little strength he had meant nothing compared to a Catai, much less compared to the horrors he had seen...
Still, he should have done something now. Lives were at stake and he could have helped. Yet he felt certain that if he picked up that sword, even to protect others, he wouldn't be able to put it down again. This was a misunderstanding, after all. Those who had attacked the wagons were the ones responsible. It had nothing to do with humans and mansthein. Yet he couldn't find the words to say anything.
There was a Deathspawn warrior approaching him, wielding a spiked club. Slaten watched him.
~ ~ ~
None of her master's mental techniques had done any good. While Tani slowly brushed off and replaced the texts, she had tried them all, yet the cold fury still burned inside her. She could claim no deep connection to the Yevee, but to see all of their knowledge simply tossed away...
Then she heard the shouts and saw the warriors, and her rage turned red hot.
Tani took a deep breath and drew up all the sein within her, abandoning specific techniques. Though she longed to use it, the rush of strength brought her to her senses and several things became clear to her.
First, this conflict was based on a misunderstanding. Second, if that Deathspawn attacked her, she did not care about the cause. Third, there were two opponents nearby and three more approaching - she couldn't fight them all alone.
"Slaten!" He stood with an empty look on his face and didn't seem to hear. "Slaten! Help fight!"
Nothing. It was too late, the first two Deathspawn were already getting close to her. Tani set down the case carefully and rose to face them, focused on the one who had discarded the texts. He said something scornfully in Futhik and the second Deathspawn laughed.
Tani drew two knives on instinct, realizing too late that her body still followed the habits of practice. There was no time to do the technique correctly now. She threw the first knife without any effort at the sein technique, a weak throw that wobbled and bounced off the Deathspawn's shoulder. He seemed surprised, then laughed.
Her second knife took him in the chest with all her power behind it. He cried out and dropped.
The other Deathspawn roared and charged at her, his blade swinging in a series of ferocious strikes. Tani didn't dare try to deflect them, just dodged backwards, drawing her sickle knife in her right hand and another throwing knife in her left.
His next swing was horizontal and overextended, letting her duck underneath the attack and into range. She stabbed out but he managed to twist to the side, her blow cutting across his muscles but not going deep enough to disable. With little hesitation at the injury, he hacked down at her and she barely managed to deflect it with her sickle knife, sending his blow biting deep into the earth.
Her hand went numb from the impact, but he was open. Yet as Tani moved to stab him, she saw someone coming at her from the side. On instinct she threw her knife at him and dodged back, getting out of range.
It was the first Deathspawn, her knife still sticking out of his chest. Though it had gone deep, that wasn't enough to stop him. As she stared, he pulled it out and dropped it to the ground contemptuously. He and his partner began to move to the sides, aiming to surround her.
Tani took a deep breath, realizing that if she acted in anger, she would die. Though she was fast, against two soldiers with some sein training, she didn't have enough of an edge. If they successfully flanked her, she was dead. But they would also be alert for her to try to attack one of them. Her other option was to retreat from between them, which Tani did while she desperately examined their movements. She backed up toward the nearest cluster of boulders, another pitch black set, as if she wanted to put them at her back. Not that they would be enough.
Though the rush of sein through her body had let her compete with them, Tani smelled burning mint. She couldn't fight like this for long, especially if it wasn't over after these two opponents. Besides, they seemed more experienced than her. She had to end it quickly.
Pretending to move in the wrong direction, Tani let one of them get behind her. She looked back at him with a hint of surprise and then leaped at the one in front of her, a wild attack with a throwing knife that he easily batted aside.
The Deathspawn behind her charged directly at her back.
Directly into her sickle knife as she reversed direction without turning and stabbed it behind her.
It went through his stomach and he roared in pain. Though he thrashed and struck at her, his movements lacked focus. She easily turned aside the swing that got closest to her, then stabbed a throwing knife directly into his eye.
He shuddered in place, wild attacks faltering. Tani had expected to enjoy seeing his arrogant face surprised or in pain, but she felt little. It changed nothing. The emptiness didn't stop her from knocking his body over as she pulled out her sickle knife, but it left her numb.
In that moment of hesitation, the other Deathspawn attacked her from behind.
There was no time to block, Tani could only spin away. Most of the force glanced off her jacket, tearing off one of the plates, but she felt part of it bite into her skin. Combined with her spin, it was enough to knock her off her feet. Tani managed to land on her back, getting her knives into position, but the second Deathspawn was already on her.
The first blow she barely intercepted, her hand shaking as her sickle knife was knocked away. He landed on top of her heavily, lifting his sword overhead to stab down at her.
There was no way a throwing knife could deflect a thrust like that, and she doubted stabbing him would be enough to stop the blade from coming down. If he aimed at her head she might be able to dodge, but his weight had her pinned, he could just attack again until-
A sword emerged from the center of the Deathspawn's chest. His eyes went wide and he froze, his blood pumping out over the already coated sword.
Slaten stood behind the Deathspawn.
The sword was a rough one and could have easily become stuck in the Deathspawn's chest, yet Slaten pulled it out smoothly and kicked the body to the side off her. His movements were completely different from the uncertain fumbling she'd seen when he wielded bandages. Though the Deathspawn had been fatally wounded, Slaten followed with another swing going through the back of the neck.
Freed from the weight, Tani hopped to her feet and recovered her sickle knife. She smiled at Slaten and he didn't smile back. His eyes turned toward the next enemies.
~ ~ ~
It was like no time had passed at all. The sword was a thick and clumsy one, yet it moved correctly in his hands. Slaten stepped toward the enemy, pulled back with a half-step to avoid the expected attack, and countered with a blow that cut into the mansthein's forearm - all as if he had never laid down his sword.
The second soldier moved in on him, forcing Slaten to retreat, but at that moment Tani threw. Her knife stuck deep in the mansthein's shoulder, making him roar with pain. He tried to keep attacking, but the pain from the knife hindered him. Slaten forced back the first soldier while Tani hit the second with another knife, then he turned back and sliced through the soldier's throat.
He was good at this.
Another mansthein approached, forcing both Tani and Slaten to retreat for space. Slaten shifted his grip on the awkward hilt of the sword, reflecting on the exchanges so far.
It wasn't entirely the same as it had been before. He had been exploring his sein in different ways that made the old techniques flow strangely within him. Learning the Coran arts had left his body stronger, yet he was unfamiliar with that strength. Though he could move easily enough, he no longer fully knew himself.
What he had would be enough for this. Their opponents separated to surround them, but that was a mistake. Tani's warrior instincts were strong, allowing the two of them to work together, pressing her advantages of range and speed while trusting him to intercept their attacks.
Their teamwork was far from perfect. She nearly stabbed him with one misplaced throw, and some of his wide swings clearly impeded her movements. But they understood one another enough to work together, which made their separated opponents very vulnerable. Slaten didn't overextend himself, letting the small injuries wear down their opponents until it was easy to step in, deflect a reckless stab, and slice upward through the man's chest.
Behind him, Tani had stabbed the other through the jaw. She pulled out her knife and stabbed in the center of his ear ridge, just to be sure. Though she shot Slaten another smile, he was still too absorbed in the sensation of the fighting. While Tani retrieved her knives, Slaten found calm within himself and looked back to the main battle.
The true conflict had ended. He saw several bodies of human attackers, but no green cloak. They had taken down more mansthein than they lost fighters, but Rhuvab remained standing, little worse off than he had been before. It was over...
Except for the fact that they had seized Eraes. One of the warriors kicked at the back of her legs, dropping her to her knees, and then raised his sword. Slaten and Tani both rushed toward them, but he was too far away to act and realized too late that his voice would be a better weapon than his blade.
A roar broke through the air, stunning everyone.
Slaten turned toward the source and saw someone approaching who he immediately knew was Koreinan Aryabaus. Nearly as tall as a Catai and wrapped in black armor, Aryabaus made an imposing figure. Nothing of his body was visible except for his eyes, which burned red inside his helmet. At first Slaten thought the helmet had horns, but then he realized that the horns extended through it from Aryabaus' head, long and ending in a spike almost like an aurochs.
His shout had stopped everyone, and now his presence kept them bound in place. Slaten had known a few elders who were so far advanced in sein that it seemed to extend beyond them, but their presence had been an aura of calm, or the quiet power of a deep river. Aryabaus radiated a savage heat that left Slaten tasting blood.
"You fools turned aside from the true enemy." His voice was an impossibly low rumble. "One of the resistance leaders was here and you let him slip away!"
Rhuvab opened his mouth to object, but was silenced by a glare. Aryabaus advanced toward the men holding Eraes and they quickly let go of her. She winced and rubbed where they had gripped her, but didn't back down from the mansthein towering over her.
"You're the Teralanthan. They destroyed the shipment?"
"Only part of it." Eraes gave him a grim smile. "After the attack in Bundlin, I suspected they might try again. So I separated the boxes between all the wagons. As soon as the wagon was destroyed their goal shifted to a strategic retreat, so they might believe they were successful, but four-fifths of the explosives remain."
"Good." Aryabaus reached down and grabbed Eraes by the collar, lifting her to her feet without effort. "I will send word that the debt is paid."
Though Eraes didn't back away, she stared up at the looming figure with a cautious look. "I must tell you, I am not an explosives specialist. I may be able to teach a little, but th-"
"I know what needs to be done." Aryabaus swept his gaze over the entire field of battle, then closed his eyes. "I might have had use for you, but it seems my men cannot be trusted to work with humans. Go back to Kolanin's experiment and negotiate your way from there."
"I... thank you." Eraes brought two fingers of both hands together against her forehead and bowed. Slaten had not learned that gesture, but the meaning was clear. Aryabaus didn't respond to it, simply turned away to address the mansthein soldiers.
"Get the wagons into the keep and secured! The rest of you, stay on guard and stop squabbling with one another. I want corpses from the Coran resistance, not random humans."
The soldiers scrambled to obey, heads down. Rhuvab didn't look chastened, but did nothing more than glare. When Aryabaus met his gaze on the way back to the keep, the Catai nodded in grudging respect.
So it was over. Slaten let out the breath he had been holding and allowed his sein to flow normally again. He had used the blade in his hands poorly, crude as it was, and several pieces had been taken from its edge. Lifting the sword in front of him, Slaten thanked the blade and then set it aside.
