LW Browning - Krystile Warriors 01 - Warlord's Honor (8 page)

A
fter the camp was broken, Koda pulled her up behind him on the paccar. She was beginning to learn some of the customs and ways of this culture. Despite her clumsiness and lack of knowledge of their society, she was feeling a little more comfortable with these people. She continued to have flashbacks from the lovemaking, but it was easier to maintain her control and not project her feelings.

Var rode beside them. He was one of the scarier looking of the warlords. His features were angular with one long scar that ran down the side of his face. Many smaller scars showed on his arms and chest. Claire felt Var's distrust of her, but she read enough of him to know he had trusted few in his life.

At midmorning they met a group of mounted warriors. Koda and his warlords greeted Tribal Chief Kurt.

After they dismounted, Koda leaned down to whisper to her. She stepped back just a bit when he came closer to speak to her. His gesture was intimate and something inside her moved. Her core was... How could he do this to her?

"I would have you use your gift and tell me later as much as you can about the emotions of Kurt and his warriors," Koda said.

"Of course, Warlord Leader," she said. 

Koda smiled at her and she wondered if he knew how his presence affected her. He said something to Osiria, before he and Kurt walked to the other side of the trail to have their meeting.

Osiria and Claire found a tree apart from where the others sat. They were close to the stream and cool under the shade of the tree. After taking a few moments to ground herself, Claire looked out across the open field on the other side of the trail where the warlords gathered with the rising peaks of mountains as a backdrop. She opened her mind to the males who were gathered to talk.

The emotions of Warlord Kurt were open and honest. The tribal chieftain was very pleased with whatever information Koda shared with him. She read strong agreement, support, and trust between them. The males liked and respected each other.

Claire concentrated on Kurt's warriors. She closed off everything else to read the emotions and even some thoughts.

Whatever Koda presented to them was appealing. The warriors of Kurt's tribe were hopeful and satisfied with their plans. They felt a fierce allegiance to Koda. So many strong males thought so highly of him that her opinion of Koda grew. They saw him as someone they trusted with the future of their race, he was fair, honest and tough. He and his warlords and warriors protected their people from raiders and foreigners who came to steal and harm them.

The warriors' thoughts changed. They were all thinking of food when they stood to take a break.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head. It was difficult to withdraw from so many minds. She felt Osiria's concern and realized she was shivering. She opened her eyes. 

"We should go and serve our males," Osiria said.

Claire experienced the sense of disorientation and missing time that always occurred when she was open and reading a large group of people. The warriors and warlords were up walking around, getting food and visiting with each other. She followed Osiria back toward the group.

Still trying to disengage from so many minds, she moved in a daze. Lethal thoughts brushed her mind. Apprehensive, she searched for the source of emotions she had just received. She turned to scan the trees, searching. They were close and getting closer.

A sharp pain stabbed through her. She doubled over in agony as she crossed her arms over her midsection. Struggling to breathe, she staggered, whimpering, trying to get enough air to scream. She projected her pain and terror to those around her. The warriors were instantly alert. Something was wrong. Claire ran toward Koda. She pushed people out of her way in her desperate search for him. Why were they all so big? Where was he? She stopped and screamed again as a sharp blade drew across her throat. Pulling her hands away she saw there was no blood. Finally, she drew in a deep breath and screamed. The warriors were alerted now, even though they saw no danger.

The crowd parted as Koda waded through them to get to Claire. She whimpered and let out another small scream that sounded as if she was dying.

Just as she saw Koda coming through the crowd toward her, she gasped and doubled over. The pain was visceral. Death was closing in fast. She dropped to her knees.

Then Koda had her, held her steady.

"They are killing us."

"Raiders!" Koda shouted. 

The warriors, already looking for the cause of alarm, had formed up to fight off the attack that they were sure was upon them.

"Where?" Koda's voice came through the pain.

"Behind me, many."

Violent emotions overwhelmed her. Claire felt someone else die. She used all of her energy to withdraw from the minds of the dying before they pulled her too close to the death that was claiming them.

"Behind me," Claire repeated.

Koda nodded to her. "Stay." As he turned, she doubled over in pain, barely aware that Osiria was beside her.

***

A
cloud of arrows flew toward them. They sounded surreal in the air.

Koda gave a signal, Claire received a thought... 'counterattack'. The warriors spread out as some of them blended into the woods to seek out their attackers while another group gathered the females together in the center and surrounded them with their own bodies.

She watched as Koda's whip hissed through the air. It never stopped, but continued moving like a living thing that snaked out striking at the arrows and pulling many of them out of the air.

An arrow came from nowhere, moving fast toward Lodi's chest. Koda was faster. His whip snapped the missile from the air. A second and third arrow flew toward them. Again, Koda's whip plucked the deadly menace from the air and rendered them harmless. The whip flew on either side of him, too fast for the eye to follow. She had never seen anything like it. It was as if the whip had a life of its own, it snaked out again and again as it sang through the air deflecting the deadly arrows of the enemy.

Part of her mind shut down as the images flashed before her like a vid. Emotions, violent, raw, and overwhelming flowed into her. They pulled at her, some dragging her down to death. She shuddered as she detached from them. 

Koda drew his sword to engage some of the attackers who were suddenly closer. She was entranced by his grace and speed. His sword that had flashed so bright in the sunlight was now covered with blood. He cut down three raiders in quick succession, one after the other.

The scene was a melee. Three arrows came toward Lodi as he tried to knock them off course. One arrow made its way straight and true and embedded in Lodi's chest. His legs folded as he sank to the ground.

Beside her, Osiria screamed, "No!"

Claire lost her breath.

Koda was standing over Lodi, brandishing his sword, defending his fallen friend. Var and Dren closed in, shielding Lodi. Koda swung his sword and stopped an attacker who ran toward them. Koda continued to turn around, alert for an attack from any angle. He beheaded the next male who got close enough. The attacker fell dead at Koda's feet. His forward momentum caused the sword he still held in his hands to cut deep into Lodi's leg.

Claire shrieked with pain. She watched, horrified, as an arrow pierced the throat of one of Kurt's warriors. Blood sprayed out like a red geyser. She pulled her mind back in an act of self-preservation. Too many were hurting.

The warriors and warlords were quick to deal death with their swords and arrows. The crack of the whips as they broke the sound barrier of the heavy afternoon air gave way to the sounds of metal against metal as they moved into closer combat with their swords. Claire watched Koda in awe.

When several of the raiders tried to attack, Koda used his whip again. It moved faster as he guided it from one attacker to the other. When one got close enough to him, he changed his grip to the middle of the whip so fast Claire did not even see it happen. He looped the whip around a raider and pulled the male to him, then delivered a skull crushing blow to his head with the handle of the whip. The second attacker turned to run, but Koda tossed the handle of the whip to wrap around the male's legs. He hit the ground hard and Claire gasped as Koda let the whip snake out and used the handle of it to hit the male's head. She heard the sickening crack of his skull.

With the handle back in Koda's hand, the whip resumed its lightning fast dance from one side to the other as Koda kept the attackers at bay. Finally, he let it fall and drew his sword again as the next wave of the enemy closed in.

Swords slashed through bodies; the fallen gushed blood. Some of the arrows found their targets, some did not. Claire's warning caused the raiders to lose the advantage of surprise almost before the attack began. Koda's people drove them back. When the leader of the attacking warriors fell under Koda's sword, the remainder of his raiders disengaged and ran back into the woods as if they had heard a signal. Koda and Kurt's warriors ran after the retreating raiders as they fled.

Claire reached out with her mind for Lodi. He had only moments left to live. Even now he spiraled into the abyss of death. Claire fought her way out of the protective circle of warrior guards and ran to Lodi, tearing her gloves off as she went. Claire fell to her knees and crawled between the legs of the warlords until she was beside him. She gasped when she touched her bare hands to his chest on either side of his wound.

Dren was standing over Lodi to guard the warlord from further attack. He knelt down facing Claire, Lodi between them. Claire's hands were on either side of the arrow.

"Pull the arrow," she said. Dren pulled the arrow out of Lodi's chest. The pain cut through Claire and she uttered a short scream. Lodi's feelings were an echo to her own as she used her empath ability to close his wound.

Dren looked between Lodi and Claire as Lodi's bleeding slowed. Claire felt the blood begin to flow from her chest. Lodi's wound began to heal. His blood loss slowed and finally stopped. Blood flowed from Claire as her body fought to heal itself. Lodi's chest wound disappeared as though it had never been. Claire's wound stopped bleeding onto the front of her khaki shirt as her wound healed also. Dren looked on, his mouth open, unable to form words.

Koda was close. Claire felt him.

The warriors who remained to protect the females and their fallen warriors gathered around as well. Claire knew her eyes were violet now and glowing.

She heard Reaf's harsh whisper to Osiria, "Give her room. She is – healing him..."

Lodi still needed help. Dren had cut the leather pants away from the wound on Lodi's leg. He was trying to stop the flow of blood. Lodi was still in danger. He had lost too much blood from the chest wound and could not afford to lose much more. Death was ready to claim him. Claire moved her hands to the leg wound. She gasped at the pain when the wound on Lodi's leg appeared on hers. It looked as though her leg was opened by an invisible sword. Osiria lifted Claire's skirt away from it. Blood poured from the wound even as it stopped flowing from Lodi.

After Lodi's leg healed, Claire's leg wound closed as well though much slower. At last, the blood flow stopped. Both of them were healed. Claire removed her hands from Lodi.

The blood loss had been significant. Lodi lay on the ground where he had fallen. His eyes fluttered open and he blinked up at her in wonder. When he tried to rise, Dren held him down.

"Be careful with him." Claire heard her voice as though in a tunnel. "He needs to rest and drink a lot of water."

She looked around to see if anyone else needed her. All she saw was blood. Var and Lars, efficient as ever, had finished off the enemy who were still breathing when the attack was over. Claire looked up at the group of people who surrounded her. She closed her eyes for a few moments. When she opened them again, she knew they were once again deep green.

Her clothes were covered with blood. She had healed before this, but they  all had an illness, never open wounds. She had never seen so much blood, had never seen a battlefield. She could never have imagined the things she just witnessed. Koda was standing over her. Behind him, the headless body of an enemy he had killed. The blood from the body soaked into the ground.

Droplets of blood made their way down Koda's sword into the dirt and grass. The pungent smell of copper was so strong she could taste it. 

Osiria knelt beside Lodi and touched his forehead. His breath was steady and even now. He opened his eyes again.

Claire looked at the people who had gathered to see her heal Lodi. They stood in stunned silence. After the noise and confusion of the battle, the wind itself decided to be still. The quiet was eerie. She shivered, and then began to shake violently. Cold.

Detaching from everyone left her alone with her emotions. She used much energy to heal Lodi and was now weak. Her shields were almost gone. She had shut them all out except Lodi when she healed him. Then she detached from Lodi.

Lodi groaned. "I am fine. Tired, but fine." He sat up and looked around at the sea of astonished faces. "What happened? Oh, you..." Lodi looked at Claire, at the blood on her clothes and then at his chest. "How?"

Lodi's voice sounded as though it came through a cloud of cotton blankets. His mouth was still moving and he was close, but the sound was farther and farther away.

Her hands, covered with blood, were sticky. She looked up to see the blood still running down Koda's sword. It seemed an eternity since she had last noticed the blood on his sword. She heard nothing now. Her vision grew dark. There was so much red and now everything was going black.

"And she is in shock." A deep male voice spoke from far away.

Koda caught her before she hit the ground. He lifted her in his arms and walked back to his tent with her. He laid her inside and left guards before he returned to the group that still surrounded Lodi.

Reaf and Dren helped Lodi back to his tent.

"I will take care of the raiders we captured," Var told Koda. 

Warlords reported to Koda on their losses. When he was finally satisfied the camp was secure, the warlords gathered around him.

"What did the MX girl do?" Revi asked.

"She healed him. She touched him and healed him," Dare said.

"No, she touched him and his wounds became hers," Ache said. "She bled where Lodi bled. She had the same wounds, but – no one touched her." Ache shook his head as if to clear it.

"After Lodi's wounds stopped bleeding, her bleeding stopped as well." Dren stared into the forest.

"Did you know she could do that? Is that one of the mysterious abilities?" Reaf asked Koda.

Koda shook his head. "No, I did not know she was capable of that."

"I have heard rumors," Dare offered. "So much of what I heard was too bizarre to be believed, but some of it must be true."

“Aye, but how much is truth and how much is not?” Ache asked.

"Are her abilities dangerous to us?" Var asked.

"Aye, and what else can she do," Mack said.

"Whatever else she is or can do, my son is alive because of her," Reaf said.

Koda sighed. "Dare, get Calks on the com," he said. "I will have answers for this."

Inside Dare's tent, he set up a com link to Calks. Koda and Var and Dren waited while Dare made the connection.

A sleepy Calks appeared on the vid. "Greetings, Warlord Koda. Is there a problem?"

"We have had an incident that requires further information," Koda answered. "The girl healed one of my warlords. He was wounded."

"Ah, yes." Calks cleared his throat as his left shoulder jerked up. "The MX are very compassionate creatures. Did they both survive?"

"She passed out. I would know if you expect her to recover."

We used Claire to heal many times," Calks answered. "Is your warlord alright?"

"Yes, the warlord is fine," Koda replied. "I would know more of this healing ability."

Calks' smile was tight. "Healing is one of Claire's abilities. We did not advertise that gift. The people she healed were high government officials. It can cause harm, even death to the MX. We were careful in our selection of subjects for her."

Dare frowned.

Calks continued. "You said the warrior was wounded? She's never healed anyone who suffered from a wound. We used her to heal those who were diseased. Did his wounds appear on her body?"

"Yes, they did, and she bled from the wounds just as he bled," Koda said.

Calks lifted his left shoulder. "I see. She'll need to rest, but she should be fine. If she did not die during the healing, she will probably recover. She won't be able to operate at full empath power until her strength returns."

"Is there anything else I should know about her?" Koda's jaw was set. They waited as a facial tic overcame Calks.

"Nothing that I can think of," Calks said.

"Signing off," Koda said as he motioned Dare to kill the com link.

"He should have mentioned this talent when you rented her," Var said.

"Yes, he should have. I wonder what else he neglected to mention," Koda said.

"He knew she would die if she wasn't strong enough. That means they have lost MX by making them heal their political officials," Dare said.

"What else can she do?" Var asked. “I think Calks knows more than he is telling us.”

Koda sighed and shook his head.

They walked out of Dare's tent to find the rest of the warlords waiting.

"Anything from the raiders we captured?" Koda asked.

“There were a lot more of them this time,” Foord said.

“Maybe they decided to organize,” Revi smiled.

"There are four," Ache replied. "We got no new information from them. They refuse to swear allegiance to you, Sire."

"Kill them," Koda said.

"On my way," Ache replied, though he did not move. He did not want to miss this meeting.

Koda looked at Reaf's frown, "You have something to say?"

"The MX is powerful. You need to claim her. If the prophecy is true, claiming her will give you some control over her and some protection from her as well."

"The prophecy," Var snorted and turned his head.

"The guards are reporting the meteor showers began the first night you took her,” Dren said. “They have continued every night. I have seen them."