Emergence (Book 2) (13 page)

"Now where's he going?" she asked, when she caught up to Garek.

He looked in the direction of her gesture. "Scouting, most likely. He likes to know what's ahead." And then he added, as though he'd read her mind, "Don't worry, he'll be back. Wouldn't leave without this one."

He dipped his head toward Sandeen. The stallion had been watching Bolin ride off as well, but now swung around to nudge Ciara. She reached up and massaged his velvety nose as he blew warmly against her hand.

"I'll take him," she said. Garek looked skeptical. "I was trained by a horse master, Commander. I've handled stallions before."

He raised a bushy, red brow. "He's been a bit proddy."

"It's likely the mares," Ciara said. "I'll take him downstream a bit."

Garek still didn't look convinced but he let her lead Sandeen away. The stallion slurped noisily from the river as Ciara stripped him of packs and saddle. She pulled some of the longer, coarse grass along the riverbank and twisted it expertly in a wisp, then, slipping her boots off and rolling her trousers up over her knees, she led Sandeen into the cool water. He stretched his neck out and twisted his upper lip over his teeth in obvious appreciation of Ciara's ministrations. She cupped her hands and scooped up water to splash across his back, rubbing with her grass brush to work the sweat and grime out of his coat. When she finished, she drew him toward an open patch of grass and stepped back as he dropped down to roll.

"There now," she said, as he stood and gave himself a shake that sent bits of grass and droplets of water flying. "Don't you feel better?"

"You're going to spoil him."

Ciara turned around to find Bolin leaning against a nearby tree
, arms folded across his chest.

"He deserves a little spoiling every now and again
," she said.

Bolin pushed away from the tree and came to stand next to her. Sandeen bumped him in the shoulder with his head, then went back to grazing. Bolin indicated the tree line. "That's the border of the Greensward."

Ciara had thought as much. Sandeen's impromptu grooming had been her way of keeping from dwelling on the fact they weren't making camp. "We're crossing it tonight?"

"Aye."

"Where did you go?"

"To make sure nothing's waiting for us."

She sucked in a quick breath. "And?"

"I think we'll have a couple days. Ciara," he took her gently by the arm and turned her to face him, "he will come for you."

"I know." She looked down at her hands. "That's why Nialyne came along, isn't it?"

She felt him tense. "Her motives remain a mystery to me."

Ciara rolled her gaze up to meet his. "I don't want her getting hurt, Bolin."

"Nor do I."

"If she tries to stop Donovan--"

"I will do everything in my power to see that doesn't happen."

She looked at the tree line: an abrupt end to the lush forest, beyond which stretched a wide, undulating plain of tall grass. Once they set foot on it they'd no longer have the protection of the Greensward's wards. No amount of swords or crossbows were going to deter Donovan. He wouldn't hesitate to kill everyone to get to her. There had to be another way. She refused to have more lives lost because of her. Berk and Garek hadn't asked to be here. The Emperor had sent them. Ordered them to escort her to Nisair, and for what?

S
he'd never be safe as long as Donovan lived. Worse, she wouldn't be safe to be around. She couldn't lay that on Bolin, regardless of his oath to her aunt. Ciara refused to be anyone's
duty
. As much as she hated to admit it, she shared a blood bond with Donovan. That made him her problem. No one else's. If she could get close to him, could convince him she had taken his side--once she learned to control her power she could move against him. Donovan had told her as much.

"Ciara?"

Bolin's brows met in a sharp downward 'V', his eyes darkening to the color of storm clouds. His fingers tightened around her arm, and Ciara could see his pulse pounding in the tense lines of his neck.

She waved
her arm toward the rest of the group. "They're going to die because of me."

"They are
Imperial soldiers. Their lives are the Emperor's."

"And he's throwing them away. For what? What does he want with me anyhow? And what about Nialyne? Is her life the Emperor's to discard at his whim?"

Bolin's jaw ticked. "The Emperor is not in the habit of discarding lives."

"Please, Bolin." Ciara clenched her hands together and brought them up to rest against her chin. "Let me go to him."

Bolin jerked as though he'd been slapped. A look of shock crossed his face, a fleeting glimpse of…fear? He settled on anger, and his fingers bit into her upper arms as he grabbed and shook her. "That will never be an option as long as I live. Never."

"But I can save their lives."

"At the risk of your own, and potentially thousands of others."

"If I can get close to him, I can end this."

Bolin wet his lips and looked away. "Goddess's light, Ciara."

"Why is it
acceptable for you to want to hunt him down, but not me?" Her own anger and frustration began to flow to the surface.

"What would you do?" he asked, his voice soft. "If you did go to him, what would you do? Slit his throat in his sleep? Poison his wine?"

"He'd teach me to control Andrakaos." Ciara pulled her shoulders back and locked her gaze on Bolin's. "And then I'd kill him."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Stillness. Utter and complete stillness as though the moment had frozen. Nothing but the quiet munching of Sandeen tugging up grass beside them. Bolin couldn't breathe. Terror ripped through him at Ciara's calm declaration. So devoid of any emotion, even the heat of anger. Cold. As cold as the most hardened veteran he had ever fought alongside. An emotion he had a great deal of familiarity with, but not one that should ever have come from Ciara. Icy fingers of dread wrapped around his chest and sent a tremor through him. He blinked, and his hands slid from her as he took a step back.

"Never." His voice sounded strangled
to his own ears, as though he had to force the word past his lips.

Goddess's blood, the very thought of her in Donovan's hands, willingly, allowing him to turn her into exactly what the
Imperial Mages feared--Bolin spun away from her. He should have been furious. Desperately wanted to be. But he couldn't work past the fear. She would kill Donovan. He had no doubt. But she wouldn't stop there.

He would lose her.

And that thought, above all the others, twisted in him like a knife to the heart.

Nialyne caught his eye from across the way where the men were preparing a light meal. She looked a question at him. Bolin shook his head
, but she came anyway.

"Lieutenant Sully is preparing quite the feast," she said as she neared them, her tone had a lightness to it that didn't match the penetrating gaze that worked right past the block Bolin tried to put up. "Sandeen looks like he's been getting his fill, time the two of you got yours."

Bolin looked past her. He sucked in a lungful of air and held it until his pulse stopped its frantic tempo. "Talk some sense into her." His voice shook. "Or, by the Goddess, I'll bind her hand and foot and keep her drugged until we reach Nisair."

He walked away, every muscle clenched, anger finding fuel in his fears and raging through him until his entire body shook with the force of it.

It made perfect sense, Ciara's plan, when he could give rational thought to it. How better to eliminate an enemy than to feign alignment and move on them from the inside? Of course Donovan would suspect something, but his ambition would cloud his judgment. Eventually he would let his guard down just enough--

Bolin thrust his arm out and braced against the nearest tree. Bile rose in his throat and he fought it down with effort, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. He kept moving, slipping from under the shelter of the trees. The Greensward's wards shimmered over him as he passed through them. Behind him, blocked by the forest, the sun sat just above the horizon. He would need to return soon or Garek would come looking for him.

If nothing else, Ciara had made his next move much clearer.

***

By the time Bolin returned, Garek had the men breaking camp. Someone had saddled Sandeen, and he stood waiting, tied to a low shrub next to Garek's sorrel gelding. Nialyne and Ciara were off to the side, the men bustling around them. Bolin kept his gaze away from Ciara, and motioned Nialyne to him, pulling her aside to give them privacy.

"Did she tell you what she intended?" He spoke in Galysian, just to be sure no one could eavesdrop, his voice flat.

"That she asked you to allow her to go to Donovan? Yes."

"Do I need to bind her and throw her in the cart?"

Nialyne scowled. "I wouldn't allow such a thing. She is scared, and worried for our safety, just as you are. Like you, she takes everything upon herself."

Bolin shook his head and started back toward the others but Nialyne stop
ped him with a hand on his arm.

"And what of you?" Nialyne said.

"Excuse me?"

"Do I need to bind you? I'm sure Garek will help me, if need be."

"I have a duty, Alyne. I will do what is necessary to see that honored."

She faced him fully, her eyes bright in the gathering dark. "Tell me, when you make your self-sacrificing plans, do you stop to consider the effect they will have on those who care most about you? Or are they made to ease your own turmoil?"

His mouth opened, then snapped shut. He started toward the horses, but turned back to her within three strides and spread his arms to the sides, his fingers splayed. "What would you have me do?"

"Don't bear this alone." When he looked away she caught his face in her hands and brought it back to hers. "You have spent your entire life believing you are responsible for the lives of everyone around you. Holding yourself above the rest of us, and wearing your sense of duty and honor like a shield. Despite your arrogance and your brooding nature, you have friends, Bolin. And they are not without skills. It is not a sign of weakness to rely on someone else."

Bolin laid his hands over hers and drew them down, holding them against his chest. "I
am
responsible for the lives of those around me. And I will do whatever is within my power to see them safe. I don't know any other way."

He kissed her forehead and went to where Sandeen waited.

"Mount up," Garek called. "Sully, take the point. Keep your eyes and ears sharp, lads."

Bolin swung into the saddle as Garek's lieutenant came up alongside him. "Due north, General?"

"Bear east for a few leagues. There's a finger stone on a low hillock. North from there."

"Aye."
Sully saluted, wheeled his horse, and cantered into the night.

Bolin watched him go and sent a quick prayer to the Goddess that for this night, at least, they had peace.

***

They rode in silence. None of the usual banter passing between the men. Only the steady beat of the horses' hooves, the jingle of the harness
, and creak of the saddles told of their passing. Ciara chewed at a hangnail and stared at Bolin's rigid back. Sully had ridden out ahead, and Garek had fallen to the rear. Duff rode alongside the cart, a line from his saddle to the horses pulling it. Salek rode behind Ciara and Nialyne, and Berk rode between them and Bolin. Ciara didn't fail to notice that Berk had loaded his crossbow and rode with it balanced in his lap.

Nialyne had been almost as furious with her as Bolin. But at least the Galysian elder expressed herself in an intelligent and calm manner. She didn't just turn her back and storm away, or threaten to
tie her up. And Ciara had thought that Bolin, of all people, would have seen the sense in her plan. After all, he'd been ready to hunt Donovan down himself and do much the same thing. Donovan would kill Bolin this time. At least, Ciara knew with some certainty, that he wouldn't hurt her. Not when the possibility of turning her to his side existed.

Well, not
her
, exactly.

"Your power is as great as mine," Donovan had told her.

Ciara had been surprised he would make such a confession. "Don't you think it's dangerous to tell me that? What if once I learn to control it, I use it against you?"

His dark eyes had glittered in the chilling way she had come to know far too well. "I would be disappointed if you did not try."

And, Goddess knew, Ciara wouldn't want to disappoint her father.

***

They'd traveled for quite some time when a rider emerged out of the darkness in front of them, and Bolin held up his fist to call a halt. Ciara tensed until she recognized it as Sully. He reined in next to Bolin, and said something quick and low. Ciara leaned forward in the saddle, wishing she could hear the exchange, or at least see the expression on Sully's face. Bolin asked him a question, and the Lieutenant shrugged. They talked a bit longer, then Bolin turned and gave a sharp whistle. Moments later Garek cantered up the line to join him. The three men discussed something at length, then Sully and Bolin rode off the way he'd come.

"Berk, take the rear," Garek said over his shoulder, keeping his voice low.

"Aye, Commander." Berk gave Ciara a reassuring wink as he passed by.

Ciara pushed her mare alongside Garek's horse. "What's wrong?"

"Likely nothing at all," Garek said. He started them moving again, trailing along after Bolin and Sully who had long since disappeared into the night. Although he seemed relaxed, his eyes constantly searched the shadows around them, and if he could have pricked up his ears, Ciara had the impression he would have. "Sul's just being careful is all. No worries."

Ciara found it hard to take comfort from his words when his hand had drifted to his sword, his fingers drumming against the pommel. "Did he see something?"

"Thought he might have. The lads are a bit on edge, though, so I'd put it out of your head if I were you." He sniffed and cast a glance skyward. Only stars lit their path, the moon would keep her face hidden for most of the night. "Like as not we'll be making camp soon enough. Give the horses a nice long rest and get some food. I'm hungry enough to eat a wild boar."

A sharp screech cut through the night and Ciara startled an instant before she recognized the call.

Garek rubbed his jaw. "Damn owls."

Ciara fell back beside Nialyne after that. Garek made her nervous the way he kept watching everything. She expected swamp hounds or worse to come bounding through the tall grass surrounding them. Though what could be worse than swamp hounds, she didn't know. Nor did she ever hope to find out.

"Did Commander Garek put your mind at ease?" Nialyne asked.

Ciara frowned. "He tried."

"And failed?"

She shrugged. "He's not very convincing."

And then Garek rose up in the saddle. Ciara tensed, trying to peer past him. A single horse and rider waited in their path. When he caught sight of them he raised his hand, and rode to meet Garek. Ciara let out a breath. Sully, but no Bolin. She moved closer to hear their conversation.

"... said he'd wait for us there," Sully said.

"Damn him."

"I suggested we stay together, but couldn't rightly tell him flat out no, could I?"

Sully's glance flicked past Garek and the big man followed it to Ciara. His brow furrowed and he nodded at the other man. "Good enough, then. Lead on then, Lieutenant."

"Garek?"

He turned back to look at her. "The good General has found us a suitable campsite and awaits us therein."

He sounded irritated by that, but Ciara didn't pry as the news obviously didn't sit well with him. But then Nialyne came up on his other side, her expression as sour as Garek's, and Ciara's stomach knotted.

"Commander, where is Bolin?"

Sully glanced over, then slid his eyes back to the front.

"Waiting on us, apparently," Garek replied.

"Waiting? Where?"

"He and Sul found a suitable place to camp."

"How far?"

"How far'd you say, Sul?"

The L
ieutenant cleared his throat. "About a league or so."

"I su
ggest we make better time, then," Nialyne said, and put her horse into an easy canter.

G
arek swore and gestured Sully to go with her, then spun to ride down the line. Ciara hesitated for the space of a heartbeat before heading after Nialyne and Sully.

***

Garek's lieutenant hadn't been happy when Bolin sent him back alone. He'd gone so far as to respectfully voice his disagreement with the order, though he wouldn't flagrantly disobey it. As soon as Sully got back without him, Garek would undoubtedly hurry them along, as much as the supply cart would allow.

Hopefully
it would be long enough.

Even wrapped, the crystal with the Dominion witch's magic trapped within it made Bolin shudder. The familiar sting
ing sensation crawled up his arm as soon as he drew the crystal from the pack. He carried it well away from Sandeen before unwrapping it. He knelt and placed it on the ground, then sat back on his heels, hands on his thighs, and took a moment to contemplate the wisdom in what he intended to attempt.