The Way of the Blade (13 page)

Druzane’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yes. There will be an excitement around the whole event. It’ll make you seem even more special.”

Javery pressed his hardened groin against her. “You see, then. I haven’t forgotten my promise to you. But as you have shown me, we must take advantage of every opportunity.”

“You’re right,” she said and escaped his grasp. “That’s why you need to put on a dark robe and come with me outside.”

“Outside?”

“Knowing your enemy is a key to any success. We must go learn more about ours.”

Even as Javery donned his black, winter robe, he said, “I can’t abandon the defense preparations. If we go spying on the Scarites, we’ll be out for days, maybe longer. What if they attack while we’re gone?”

“I’m not speaking of the Scarites. By Carsite and Pali, how would we ever cross the ocean undetected and sneak onto their land? That’s crazy.”

“Then what enemy are we going to?”

“Malja, of course.”

“Malja?”

“You forget that she is still not one of us. Not Carsite. We would be fools to fully trust her.”

At the doorway, Javery paused. “You want to go spy on our one savior in this coming battle? If she catches us, we’ll lose everything we’re building towards.”

Druzane brushed her lips against his. “Nothing worth having is given freely. And knowing what she and her two boys truly are thinking is very much worth having.”

Javery followed Druzane out of his home and around the back. She held his hand and guided him through the darkness, around trees, and over rocks. She moved as if she had no trouble seeing, as if she had traveled this path before, and if not for her hand, he would have been lost within minutes.

Voices rose and fell as homes passed in the distance. He couldn’t pinpoint where the homes were as the sounds circled him — or perhaps they had circled the sounds. Druzane never kept them going in a straight line for long.

Since the guest house stood on the opposite side of the town’s main road and on the other end, he knew they would have to skirt around the entire town to reach the back of the guest house unobserved. At least, that was what he thought they were doing. In the end, he stopped worrying about any of it, and simply focused on keeping his feet moving and his hand clasped inside Druzane’s hand.

At length, they came upon the guest house. A dim light flickered near the back window. Druzane motioned for him to crouch as they approached the wall.

Only a few feet from the window, they could clearly hear Fawbry ask, “You hungry?”

“No,” Malja said. “Go ahead, though, if you are. Tommy?”

An hour passed like this. Inane talk of food and long passages of quiet. Despite the silence, Javery heard tension in that room — the way Fawbry breathed, the way people shuffled around, or how items were set down a bit too hard. Fawbry attempted to break through by making a quiet remark on the beautiful women which nearly started a fight with Malja. Tommy never said a word. Now that he thought about it, Javery couldn’t recall Tommy ever speaking.

He leaned towards Druzane and whispered, “It doesn’t seem we’re getting much.”

“Be patient.”

“My back hurts horribly.”

“Be quiet. If they hear us ...”

Another hour went by. Javery stretched his legs out, starting with the left, and tried not to groan as the muscles found relief. He rubbed his neck and cracked his knuckles. Druzane held still. She had become a statue — her determination keeping her still and focused on listening to every creak of wood, every cough, every breath, every word. She would miss nothing.

Javery opened his mouth, but Fawbry spoke the words for him. “I can’t take it anymore.”

Both Druzane and Javery tensed as they pressed closer to the wall.

Fawbry’s feet pounded on the floor as he paced the room. “I don’t know what’s got both of you acting like this, but clearly something is wrong. Considering that we’re sitting around here like idiots waiting to be attacked, my guess is that whatever the problem, it’s got something to do with this little war we’ve stumbled into. So, one of you give me a clue, please.”

“It’s my fault,” Malja said. “Don’t take it out on him.”

There was a moment where Javery only heard the rustle of clothing.

Fawbry said, “Looks like Tommy thinks it’s partly his doing, too.”

“That’s not true. I brought this to him. He didn’t have to —”

“It would really help to know what
it
is.” Javery had never heard Fawbry speak so harshly. And to Malja, no less. Fawbry must be more of a danger than he realized.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Another silence.

Something slammed on the table, and Druzane jumped a bit. Fawbry said, “I gave up my home for you. I’m here because we’re supposed to be family now. My possessions, my safety, my entire existence is at risk because of you, and you want to keep a secret from me? How are we going to survive this, let alone any of the other worlds we’ll be traveling to, if you don’t trust me?”

Javery mouthed the word
worlds
to an equally surprised Druzane.

“I do trust you,” Malja said. “I simply wanted to wait for you to calm down. But it seems the more I wait the worse you become.”

“Are you trying to —”

“I’m luring Harskill here,” Malja said, cold and firm.

Silence. Not even breathing could be heard.

“I see,” Fawbry said.

Malja went on, “We know too little about our enemy. I think if I can get Harskill here, his pride will allow me to get more information.”

“When you say ‘our enemy,’ do you mean the Scarites or Harskill?”

“I’m always after Harskill. I don’t want to see these people hurt, and you know I hate an unfair fight, so I’ll give the Carsites everything I can, but Harskill remains my sole objective.”

“Remember the black beast. Don’t let it tear you apart.”

“This isn’t vengeance, and you know it. This is about stopping an insane Gate from destroying countless worlds. This is about freeing these people here and saving those worlds that have yet to be touched.”

“Isn’t this more about you finding out about the Gate, and —”

“They’re just called Gate, and yes, I want to find out as much as I can about them. They’re my people, and I know almost nothing.”

“Okay, then,” Fawbry said, relaxing his voice. “Why do you make this so hard? I’m on your side. You want to lure Harskill here, then fine. No need to hide it from me. Tell me what I can do to help. How exactly are we going to lure him?”

“We’ve already started. The last few days, Tommy’s been opening portals.”

“Is that wise? Can he handle it?”

Somebody thumped a chest and moved about rapidly.

“Okay, okay,” Fawbry said. “I believe you. But come on, Tommy, you can’t blame me for asking. I was there at the Dish. I saw what happened —”

“Let’s not rehash our past. You know now what we’re up to. Harskill is dangerous. Bringing him to the battle could create serious problems. If he doesn’t want to talk with me, he might raze the entire country and forget these people ever existed. Which means I’ll have to be ready to fight my best, enough to keep him from doing any real harm to the town or worse, and if I’m to face him in a fight, then I need to be rested. So both of you, get out. Go to sleep.”

“We’re not tired. Maybe we’ll go see if we can get a drink somewhere.”

“I don’t care,” Malja said, a hint of bitterness, a hint of amusement in her voice. “Just go, so I can sleep.”

Even before the bedroom door shut, Druzane took Javery by the hand and led him back through the darkness. The cold night air closed around him like a Scarite snake crushing his chest in a tight coil. His breath shortened, then stopped altogether. Pulling his hand loose, he hunched over, placed his hands on his knees and wheezed.

Druzane rubbed his back. “I know that was a shock, but pull yourself together.”

“She’s going to bring back that god. He’ll kill us all.”

“You’ve seen her fight. She can handle him.”

“No.” Javery dropped, hitting a rock with his knee and ignoring the pain. “When Harskill came the first time, I saw what kind of god he is. I was there. Just a boy, just a little kid, and I saw what he did to my brother.”

“I didn’t know you have a brother.”

“I don’t anymore. Harskill killed him. Like he’ll kill all of us when he finds out that he’s been brought here to face Malja.”

“You poor thing.” Druzane rested her head on his back, and the warmth of her body soaked through his skin.

He saw his brother’s face before him. Ronnic’s sad, mournful look as Harskill peeled him to the bone. “I have to do something. Warn our people, make peace with the Scarites, something, anything to stop our demise.”

He tried to stand, but Druzane hung on him with her full weight. “If you say anything,” she said, “you’ll cause a panic. More people will be injured and frightened than now.”

“At least, they’ll be alive.”

“If the Scarites are gutsy enough to attack us here, then they’ll have no fear of hunting down the strays no matter how deep inland we go.”

Javery allowed her to bring him back to the ground. “Then what do we do?”

Stroking his cheek, she said, “Nothing. For now.”

“Nothing?”

“This is how you use information, my love. We hold on tight to what we know, and we wait. Fools give up all they know right away, but we will be smart and patient. We use what we’ve learned when it will help us the most. Help us get the power to protect the people.”

Javery could smell the sweet perfume of Druzane’s skin as her hand caressed his face. He held her palm to his nose and inhaled. Kissing the center of that same palm, he held back the tears that threatened to start and never stop. “I don’t know if I can do that,” he said. “I don’t see how we can help the people by being quiet. Malja’s plan isn’t for our defense but for her benefit.”

“It’s both. She’s using us, but we’re using her, too. She’s our muscle, our guide, and for you specifically, she’s a badge you’ve been wearing to enhance the way the people see you. We’re not innocent in any of this. And if you go telling the people what you overheard, you’ll have to admit those truths. My way means that we continue to help Malja, she continues to help us, and when the time presents itself, we use what we know to exact the most profit for us.”

“But —”

“Javery, enough. Trust me.” Druzane kissed him, letting it begin with soft touches of the lips and quickly growing into needy groping of their mouths.

His hands went straight to her breasts, and he hardened in seconds. Part of his mind stepped back and called attention to the idea that she was trying to distract him, but the rest of his mind shut down all objections. He had been without her body for weeks. Why she offered herself didn’t matter. He wanted what he could have.

When her hands reached between his legs, all arguments ceased. His mind drifted in the night sky; his pleasure the breeze pushing the clouds passed the moon. Her mouth was everywhere. His hands discovered one soft delight after another.

She mounted him, pushing on his chest for him to rest back while she raised and lowered upon him. He looked up and saw only darkness. He felt her body on his, her skin in his hands, but her face was obscured by the night. Only the shadowy outline of her made sense.

Javery closed his eyes and allowed her to take him wherever she led.

Javery awoke. Squinting against the morning sun, his body ached from sleeping on the hard ground. To his right, he saw Druzane, her robe open to her hips. Her breasts poked out, and he felt his desire rise again. He leaned over to suckle her awake, to lose himself in her flesh one more time before finding a false face to wear the rest of the day. How else would he be able to look at Malja and pretend he had no idea of her full plan?

He opened his mouth, ready to enjoy Druzane’s intense pleasures, when he heard a sound —
tut-tut-tut-tut
. Pausing, he listened close. It came again —
tut-tut-tut-tut.

Druzane woke and also listened. “Is that?”

Javery stood and fixed his robes. “The Summoning Horn. The Scarites are attacking.”

Chapter 13

Malja

Although Malja had managed to get Tommy and Fawbry out of her room at a decent hour, and even felt some relief after having confessed her plan to Fawbry, she hardly slept that night. Her mind tossed over her defense plans for the town and how it worked (or failed to work) with her plans for Harskill. The biggest problem she had was that once Harskill arrived, she would no longer be able to run her army. The Carsites would be on their own while she dealt with him. As a result of the turmoil in her brain, Malja was fully awake, in the middle of warming up and stretching, when the Summoning Horn sounded.

She grabbed her long coat and Viper and suited up as she headed out her door. Fawbry stumbled into the hall bleary-eyed and smelling of fermented fruit. “Had a good night?” she asked.