Shadows: Book One of the Eligia Shala (46 page)

 CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

The Shadow Flight’s journey to Mirizir was a far happier one for most of the Flight this time. Although Kian Menzetti still lay in a carriage, weakened severely by his fight with Jai-Nimh, he was now conscious, and there was no real urgency about getting to the Menzetti estate; unlike the Flight’s previous frantic gallop when Jenevra and Mikhail Dhorani had been near death. The company that traveled was larger, including one squadron of Captain Tessier’s men, and the Personal Guard of Prince Baran Wargentin of Lorthia traveling south back to his homeland.

Tormented by nightmares, Jenevra struggled not to fall asleep. Not wanting to disturb anyone, she moved away from them whenever they stopped, wrapping her cloak around her and settling against a tree or a rock, just trying to rest. Descending the last edge of the Maressian plateau three days ride from Mirizir, Jenevra’s eyes fell on the white sands of the dunes with a taunting mix of pleasure and pain. She and Misha had spent a peaceful day escaping from their duties and responsibilities on similar dunes closer to Mirizir. Jenevra bit her lip remembering how deeply she’d thought Misha had cared for her then: a stark contrast to the hatred she had seen in his eyes on that northern beach when she had taken his head and his talisman in retribution for his betrayal of her and the Order. Had she ever really loved him? She wasn’t sure. If not, it was certainly the closest she had come to it—and then she had killed him. Thinking about the dramatic reversal in their relationship, the princess worried over the idea like a sore tooth; how Misha had swung from loving to hating her so swiftly. It hit her anew how alone she was; had to be.

The soldiers of Shadow Flight, unaware of their young Captain’s dark thoughts, were vastly entertained, by the simmering relationship between the princess and Captain Tessier. Apparently indifferent to her stated aim of avoiding him, wherever Jenevra rode, Captain Tessier found his way to one side of her, with Baran Wargentin appearing on the other; making outrageous statements designed purely to annoy or challenge the princess. Piling on top of the emotions she was feeling about Misha’s betrayal, her embarrassment over her behavior under the influence of laowenton, and her confusion over the feelings Tessier was causing in her, Jenevra’s temper had worn thin on several occasions: riding at the head of her Flight in an almost constant cloud of irritation, aware that she was dangerously close to seriously damaging something, or someone.

Each time they stopped, Tessier found some way to be the one who helped the princess down from her horse, despite her best efforts to call on any member of her Flight for assistance. They, in turn, took an almost defiant delight in devising reasons why they couldn’t help, leaving her to Captain Tessier’s smirking aid. Almost to a man, the Shadow Flight approved of Captain Tessier, where their grudging acceptance of Prince Mikhail had been based solely on their Captain’s friendship with him. There were still only two of them—Spider Baudoin and Finn Corrigan—who actually knew that she had killed Misha on a stormy beach several nights ago; injuring herself quite badly in the process.

The sword wounds in Jenevra’s side were starting to close cleanly: still restricting her movements significantly, and the bruising and scratches were beginning to turn colors, but the stiffness was lessening marginally she thought. She’d explained her restrictions away by sticking to her story that she’d ripped a muscle in her back during the battle against the Diruthians. It didn’t stop her sending the Flight out on their daily training run though. By now they were well enough aware of her own preference to be active that they understood it hurt her more to stay behind while they ran.

When Ki-Nimh was awake, Jenevra could escape the tormenting banter of Baran and Tessier, riding next to the wagon he was being carried in. The weather was warm, so Laio had the canvas sides rolled up to allow the fresh air in at Master Ki’s request. As they traveled, Jenevra talked through the events of the last few days with her mentor, avoiding outright mention of Misha’s death within anyone else’s hearing. Ki-Nimh had held the cut red cords and the talisman up in his hand as they rode, and she had simply nodded to his questioning look. He knew there was only one way to remove a talisman once the bearers had been bonded by oath, and his piercing gray eyes had softened in sympathy, understanding some of what she was suffering silently. “Anyone know?” He asked quietly.

“Baran, Tessier, Corrigan and Spider.”

Ki-Nimh had nodded and they had moved on to discuss the various impulses Jenevra had been feeling, and the dreams and visions she was having. She wasn’t sure how much, if any, of it she could put down to the talisman. She’d never been told it could work like that, but they couldn’t discuss it too freely except when they stopped and the two of them could move away slightly.

The undulating grasslands of Maressia Major rolled south before them, ripe with the promise of summer. Slopes and plains of sweet meadow grasses full of wildflowers, were dotted with small copses of broad leafed oak and maple, slender limbed birch and dozens of clear, cool ponds. West lay the vast Lake of Essern where one of Jenevra’s youngest Flight members had grown up. Sasha seemed happy to be in an area he recognized, casting longing looks towards the road leading to Eastlake as they passed it. Keeping more or less to the coast, they stopped just short of the small port of Virat mid-morning on their second day of travel. Laio was feeling something wrong with one of the wheels on the wagon carrying Ki-Nimh and wanted it checked rather than risk it coming off while moving.

Halting in a gentle hollow, the men dispersed to various tasks as they always did; some scouring the nearby woods for firewood, small game or rabbits, others collecting small rocks to build their fire circles; and others tending to horses or preparing food.

Finn, Brogan and Danya came back fairly swiftly, with rabbits and seven or eight large ducks. Catching Jenevra’s smile at their enthusiasm Brogan walked across to where she was sitting, talking intently with Ki-Nimh. Hunkering down next to them, the burly sergeant leaned his elbows against his knees. “There’s a large pond over the other side of that slope,” he gestured to his right. “We got to the ducks before the others did.” He grinned as his Captain smirked, flicking a glance under her lashes towards Tessier’s Flight. “I thought it might be a good chance for the lads to have a bit of a clean up after they’ve eaten, Captain.”

Jenevra looked thoughtful. “A pond? You know, I think that’s an excellent idea. You tell them all they can take their time.”

As Brogan nodded agreement and walked back towards the rest of Shadow Flight gathering near to Bernardo’s cooking fires, Jenevra turned to Ki-Nimh, a strange look crossing her face.

Ki-Nimh leaned back against the thick trunk of the elm they were sitting beneath, folding his arms up inside his loose sleeved gray jacket. Saying nothing, he simply raised his eyebrows at the slight girl next to him.

“What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me, Nimh’a. What mischief’s brewing in that head of yours now?”

“Not mischief, Ki-Nimh,” she said, raising innocent eyes to meet his. “Discipline.” She hesitated just slightly before continuing. “I don’t think you’ll approve of what I’m thinking of doing, so I thought I just wouldn’t bother you with it.” At Ki-Nimh’s instruction to explain, Jenevra sighed, knowing a prohibition was coming her way. Pulling her feet in towards her; soles together and tapping her fingers on the toes of her soft boots, the princess told her mentor her thoughts. Expecting an angry outburst, she finished, staring doggedly at her feet and picking at the grass in front of her. A sharp slap to the back of her hand warned her.

“Must you always fidget?” Ki-Nimh growled, his craggy features as stern as ever. “I think you should follow your plan through.” He held up a silencing hand as she opened her mouth. “Your reasons are right, and for that alone I think we should trust your instinct on this. Under other circumstances I might question your method, but I feel you may be correct for this situation. Just be careful. Keep it simple and non-personal.” A smile almost flitted across his face as he saw Jenevra’s eyes widen in astonishment. “Once only, Nimh’a. It won’t work a second time.”

All of the men were making the most of this extended rest period. Baran’s men had apparently already been to the pond; the forty hulking Lorthian knights that made up Baran’s personal guard, all built to the same hugely muscled stature as their Prince, were wandering around without shirts, long hair dripping.

“Scenery’s improving,” Jenevra muttered, lying on her uninjured side, propped on one elbow in the grass. Picking at the petals of a bluebonnet, she closed her eyes, letting the summer sun warm her through. She swatted at a tickling sensation in her ear, opening her eyes to swat again when the irritation returned. Captain Tessier was sitting next to her, swinging a long stalk of wheat grass in one hand.

“Guilty,” he announced, without apology.

Fixing him with what she hoped was a frosty stare, Jenevra clenched her jaw. “Shouldn’t you be with your Flight, Captain Tessier?”

Bernardo approached, pushing a plate of roast duck into the princess’s hands. He’d given the hunters instructions long before that if they ever found duck they should get it; it was one of the things he was almost certain to be able to get the princess to eat. He was relieved when she stood up to walk back to the Flight with him; although the feeling evaporated as Tessier followed them. His annoyance grew as Tessier continued baiting Jenevra while she ate, although the princess appeared slightly detached, treating the Captain with a bland impassiveness they hadn’t seen for some time.

Sitting in the shade, Ki-Nimh made a small nod of approval as her eyes sought his. Under cover of picking up another piece of meat, the princess had made a gesture asking permission, and Ki-Nimh had agreed. It was becoming apparent that, while her own Flight accepted her, and in all honesty adored the young girl; they didn’t really believe in her. He thought it was time they all began to see exactly what she was capable of.

Delicately folding the crispy skin from the duck, Jenevra popped it into her mouth and began sucking the juice off each finger in turn.

Captain Tessier had rolled onto his back on the grass next to her, facing her. “I could do that for you, Princess,” he bantered softly. It was the most blatant suggestion he’d made in front of her Flight, and they all tensed; slightly confused as the princess didn’t immediately respond, but placed her plate carefully on the ground, a very slight smile on her face. “Really, Captain Tessier?” The sun reflected in her eyes, turning them the vivid sapphire blue that Tessier was hypnotized by. Just as she’d done with Will Theiss, her hand shot out, and the fingers Captain Tessier had been so keen to lick removed his ability to breathe. As he lay there choking, Jenevra slowly placed her little finger in her mouth, holding his gaze the entire time. “You know, Captain,” she said, sucking each finger in turn. “They say that suffocating enhances a sexual climax.”

Ki-Nimh clapped a hand over his eyes. He had not anticipated that.

Brogan choked on the mouthful of food he’d been eating.

Jenevra popped the last finger out of her mouth with a satisfied sigh; reaching down to push Tessier’s airway open again. “Tell me, Captain … how was it for you?” Bounding up and away into the trees, she was gone before her stunned Flight could say anything, or a discomfited Captain Tessier could sit up.

Bernardo stamped across, glaring at the meat still left on Jenevra’s plate. “Nice work, Captain!” he stormed. “You know how hard it is to get her to eat anything. Why can’t you just leave her alone?”

Brogan put his hand on Bernardo’s arm. The tall man shook it off, deeply angry. “No,” Brogan waved at Wulfgar and Spider who were already jumping up to follow the princess. “Just let her be for a while. She’ll come back when she’s ready.” Shooting a dark look at Captain Tessier, he pushed his sleeves further up his arms threateningly. “If you hurt her in any way Captain, rank notwithstanding, I’ll castrate you myself … sir.”

Noting Jenevra’s sudden departure, Baran strode across to see what had happened. After a grinning Gervaise D’Agostino had filled in the details, leaving nothing out and adding a few embellishments of his own to the tale, Baran grabbed Tessier’s arm and dragged him away from Jenevra’s men, exhaling noisily. “Tore’s teeth, Blaise, I swear I don’t know what’s wrong with you! Why do you always have to go a step too far?”

“Not my fault,” Tessier choked, still massaging his throat with one hand; his voice husky. “She almost killed me.” He coughed and smiled. “I’d really like to—”

“No! Don’t even think it, Tessier!” Baran slammed his hand over Tessier’s mouth. “You simply cannot go around talking like that about the princess. You know that. Her Flight’s been pretty tolerant up to now, but you’re really pushing your luck with them. Just leave her alone for a couple of days; until we get to Mirizir. If nothing else it’ll give Jenevra time to wonder why you’ve suddenly lost interest.” Keeping a tight grip on Tessier’s arm, Baran snatched up towels and a cake of soap from one of his men and pulled Tessier towards the pond. “Clean body, Blaise, clean mind.”