Terry Simpson - Etchings of Power

Short for an Ostanian, but like any other Alzari, rife with languid muscles and sinew rippling beneath his fitted clothes, the assassin swayed from side to side. Eyes like burnished gold stared out from behind the war paint. His daggers remained raised, but he kept silent, gaze flickering from side to side.

“Sakari, let her up,” Ryne commanded.

Sakari lifted his foot from the woman and stepped back. She crawled to her feet, her right arm limp as she bent and picked up her knives, sliding them into sheaths at her hips. Hands on her stomach, she limped over to the roots.

The Alzari male’s eyes shifted from Ryne to her. Flinging a leg up onto the root, she attempted to crawl over, her body leaning precariously to one side. The man’s hands flashed, and his knives dropped into hidden sheaths along his forearm. Before the woman fell to the ground, he caught her and set her down next to the crying children.

“Why are you out here?” Ryne asked in a level voice. “This is well outside your territory. Why are children with you?”

Groaning, the woman propped herself up beside the infants, cradling the baby in her arms as the young boy stumbled over and hugged her. Their sobs dwindled to whimpers. The Alzari male kept himself between the woman and Ryne, his gaze flashing to Sakari for a moment before his attention returned to Ryne.

“He won’t hurt you,” Ryne said reassuringly. “Neither of us will. Why’d you attack us?”

Eyes hardening, the man crossed his arms. “You chased me. I had to protect my family.” His voice was smooth and soft.

“You wanted us to chase you, and we did. Throwing the daggers was something else entirely.” Ryne tilted his head toward Sakari. “My friend only defended himself against your mistress.”

The Alzari’s lips pursed. “Melina thought you were going to kill us. Try to claim our heads for bounty. Your reputation precedes you among our clan, bounty hunter. You’re Ryne the Shadeslayer or for some, the Deathbringer.” He nodded toward Sakari. “And he’s Sakari the Stone. Together you’re unbeatable.”

“And yet, we didn’t wound either of you once,” Ryne countered.

The assassin nodded and uncrossed his arms. “I’m Jaecar. Our little boy is Kass. Our baby girl is Blas. Thank you for saving their lives. We’re forever indebted to you.” He bowed to Ryne.

Lines creased Ryne’s brow. He revealed their names. He knew the truth of such a revelation. A sign of trust. Ryne’s gaze followed Kass’ to the animals’ remains. Already, tiny foragers, worms, and many-legged insects gorged on the dead animals. The boy glanced wonderingly at Ryne while his sister quieted and played with her mother’s face.

Finally, Ryne spoke, “It’s nothing. I did what any man with honor would do.”

Jaecar’s lips twitched. “It’s strange hearing such from you.”

“And that means?”

“I’ve watched you kill from afar for many years. Like the storms, you didn’t separate the young from the old or woman from man when you killed. Now you speak of honor and spare our lives.” Jaecar gestured to himself and his family.

The pain of memory burned in Ryne’s chest. Another time, another life. He shrugged. “Maybe today the gods shine on you.”

“Then I shall remember to praise Humelen,” Jaecar whispered.

Overhead, thunder rumbled. The forest already no brighter than early dawn, darkened. Seen through gaps in the canopy, gray clouds blanketed the sky in rolling waves. Lightning illuminated the thunderheads and the leaves and vines a mild blue. Through the same gaps, rain fell. Jaecar’s aura appeared to give off a subtle shift and grow darker, but the next instant, it was whole and perfectly normal again. Ryne squinted, but there was no change, so he dismissed it as the effects of the storm.

“Come,” Jaecar said. “We have a shelter not far from here.”

Jaecar helped Melina to her feet before picking up Kass. Without a backward glance, he made his way deeper into the forest. Ryne nodded to Sakari, and they followed.

Rain smattered harder and harder as they trekked through the evergreens, the water a welcome respite in the baking forest. Breathing in deep, Ryne savored the rich earthy smells the downpour imparted.

“There’s a woman following you,” Jaecar stated without looking behind.

“I know.” Ryne gazed out into the dim forest where Mariel’s light aura hovered at the edge of his range. “I’m surprised you haven’t killed her.”

Jaecar chuckled. “I would say the same about you. For me, it wasn’t from a lack of effort.” He raised his shoulders. “She has a rockhound with her. It’s what has the lapras so upset.”

Ryne frowned and glanced as Sakari. “It was chasing her?”

“No. Not at all. This woman speaks to the beast. It attacked a few lapras that threatened her. They couldn’t take her, so I guess they thought me and mine would be easier.”

“Hmmm,” Ryne said, masking his surprise. What Forian had said was true after all. Mariel could tame animals. The confirmation brought his suspicions roaring to the surface. He bit back on the sudden anger before it bloomed into something much worse.

“We’re here,” Jaecar announced.

They arrived at an ancient rosewood that dwarfed any others close by. The trunk spanned twenty paces across and leaned slightly to one side, its massive buttress roots stretching across the ground in rounded humps. Jaecar passed Kass to his mother and strode to the side the tree tilted toward where small branches and vines hung in a thick mass. After dragging the foliage away, he revealed a hollow, the size of a tiny room, carved into the trunk. Inspecting it briefly, he ushered Melina inside.

The small room contained piled dry leaves, several blankets, an iron bucket filled with water, and two saddlebags. Two swords leaned against the dark brown bark. Melina eased into a corner and laid the baby down with care. Blas’ eyes were closed in a contented sleep. Kass snuggled next to his sister.

Ryne’s hand made an involuntary clench at the sight of the enclosure. A memory blossomed of him locked in a cell just as small by the Tribunal’s command. Pain from long healed lashes tore across his back and sides as if he suffered the whipping right there and then. Stepping away from the trunk, he closed his eyes, and allowed the pattering rain to fall on him.

“You still haven’t told me why you’re out here,” Ryne asked as he calmed.

Jaecar watched his family for a moment more before he turned to Ryne. “Our clanhold was destroyed.”

“What?” Ryne brushed water from his eyes and returned under the trunk’s shelter.

“I don’t know how many survived or if any others did. We were lucky to escape.”

“Your entire clanhold? How?” Ryne found it difficult to picture anyone destroying an Alzari clanhold. Even the artisans among them fought with enough skill to be worth three soldiers in any other army.

Jaecar’s eyes shone wetly as he spoke. “They came in the dead of night. I had started Kass on his survival training, so we were in the woods. I smelled the smoke and heard the fighting. Melina, she always comes with me, hates to be alone. Even when she was pregnant she helped on missions. I sent her away with the children to one of our secret places like this one, and I went to see what was happening. When I reached the clanhold, it crawled with soldiers. Our clansmen had no chance. These invaders were dressed in all black armor I’ve never seen before. They didn’t fight as well as we, but they were too many. For every clan member, there must have been five to ten men. At first, I thought we had a chance to beat them back. But then I noticed they were not all men.”

“What do you mean?”