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It is not my place to speak of the next world, Shan answered. I do not know
if you see it the same way I do.
Taischek s joyous expression faded. I am dead then, he said simply.
Yes, Shan replied.
Where is this? Taischek asked.
We are still in the living world you have known. But you must keep going,
Taischek. Spirits are not happy to stay. Soon you would despair for your
flesh, Shan explained.
Very carefully Taischek glanced over his shoulder. The rippling silver energy
beckoned him.
What is there? Taischek whispered.
I do not know. If I looked, I do not think I could go back to my body, Shan
said.
Then I will be pleased to know something before you do, Taischek joked.
I should go with you. I cannot forgive myself for killing you, Shan
admitted.
No! Taischek snapped. The Temu still need you.
Shan thought of the loyal tribe. He could not leave them to Onja s fury. He
really owed Taischek that.
My friend, I am so sorry, Shan said.
Sincerely, Taischek comforted, Shan, you did not kill me. You gave me life.
Without you, I would have been killed by the Sabuto long ago. Three decades
may not be much to you, but it was my life.
You gave me all my children. Shan, I thank you. You have done me no wrong.
I will miss you, Taischek, Shan said miserably.
Maybe in my next life, you will still be alive, Taischek proposed
cheerfully.
The young Taischek began to recede into the light. Shan held his spirit away
from the pull of
Taischek s departure.
The world will be boring without you, Shan called after him.
With a grin Taischek disappeared. Shan let his spirit plummet back to his
body, where the ache of his broken heart redefined his grief. The loss of a
human friend always seemed to happen so suddenly.
Kalek s sharp cries of denial assaulted Shan s ears. The Temu heir shrieked at
the heavens with the rage of a war cry and the sorrow of a devoted son. Many
Temu warriors heard the keen wail of their Prince and knew he was now King.
~
Tytido rode deeper into the slowing ranks of the Temu army. When the heat
lightning glowed, he scanned for Dreibrand. Finding him quickly in the gloom
would be impossible, and the lieutenant starting calling out for his general.
Sometimes a Temu warrior would respond that he had seen
General Veta behind him, and Tytido would move on.
Tytido!
Someone seized his leg and the lieutenant flinched.
It s me.
Damn, Dreibrand, you scared me, Tytido said once he recognized the foreign
accent. He had been looking for Dreibrand on a horse.
Is Shan hurt? Dreibrand asked, and the heat lightning revealed the face of a
man who had just faced death many times.
No, he is here, Tytido answered.
Dreibrand sighed with relief and then asked about Miranda, and was equally
relieved by good news.
Do you need my horse, Sir? Tytido offered.
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Not unless you lost my other one, Lieutenant, Dreibrand said. Just get the
Yentay on the rearguard. The Sabuto might come after us yet. And I will try to
get things moving. We are slowing down. I have to find King Taischek.
I think the King is hurt. Shan is with him, Tytido said.
Taischek hurt? Dreibrand whispered.
A scream came through the night and turned into long terrible cries of grief.
Dreibrand did not want to believe what it might mean even though he had not
seen Taischek or Xander since the river bottoms. During the battle he had been
busy fighting and commanding the retreat, but now he realized that the Temu
leadership had been absent and the army had basically been his.
I have to go, Dreibrand said and walked away.
Fatigue owned his legs but he plodded quicker. Because of the wet, few torches
could be lit, but he saw a cluster of them ahead, in a ring of smoky bleary
light. The Temu warriors had stopped moving, and Dreibrand picked his way
through the immobile mass. The cries had stopped and a rumor rushed through
the army like only bad news could.
The King is dead, a warrior said.
When he heard this, Dreibrand automatically shook his head while pushing
through the crowd. He hit a ring of mounted warriors, mostly Shan s
bodyguards, who made a barricade at the center of the crowd. He strained to
see past the horses.
Dreibrand.
He looked up and saw Miranda on a horse moving toward him. Is it true? he
whispered, too numb from stress and denial to greet her.
Although she regretted Taischek s passing, it was good to see Dreibrand alive
and uninjured.
Yes, she replied. She bent and brushed a hand on his cheek.
He reached for her hand but decided against it and set his hand on the saddle
by her leg. Blood and mud encrusted his gauntlets, and he did not want to
touch her with such filth. Dreibrand looked over her horse and finally saw the
awful scene. Xander, Kalek and Shan were huddled around a prone figure.
Thunder rumbled and Kalek lifted his head from his father s chest, and
Dreibrand saw the unmoving body of the King. He knew that the career of a
warrior could end quickly, but he simply had not expected Taischek to get
killed.
The death cry announcing the King s passing still lingered in Dreibrand s mind
and he saw the grief on Kalek s face. Dreibrand almost pitied Kalek in his
suffering and wondered what it would be like to even care about his father
that much.
The Temu heir looked at Xander and Shan and then all around. Kalek did not
know what to do but realized he was expected to speak.
Woodenly, he rose to his feet and pushed back his ragged braids. His helmet
had been lost in the battle. He cleared his throat that now hurt from his
yelling. On his first word, his voice failed him and he had to try again.
Kalek struggled to think of what his father would say.
Taischek, King of the Temu& my father& has fallen on the noble warpath. I,
Kalek, am King of the
Temu now. My father will be conveyed back to Dengar Nor for burial. Now, even
with our broken hearts and weariness, we must march. Our enemies will not
wait.
Kalek knew his words had been sparse and uninspiring, but at least he had made
his first decision.
16 ~ The Fate of Captives ~
When I saw that my leader was a fool and would lead us to our deaths, I
decided that he would die first and I would win the day Galmonlay, hero of
Atrophane s classic age.
Onja commanded Quylan to bring a lantern. Obediently, she followed her Queen
through the corridors of the Keep, wondering what lesson Onja planned for
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today. Over the winter, Quylan had acquired many skills and passed many tests.
A few months with Onja had expanded her knowledge tenfold and Quylan felt very
powerful now, except around Onja.
Descending level after level, Onja led Quylan down halls the young female had
not been in before.
This made Quylan nervous, and to mask her fear, she tried to think only loyal
thoughts.
She was following Onja into the dungeon.
The delicate nostrils on Quylan s face fluttered against the musty odor. They
were below ground now in a cavernous stairwell. High above, light peeked in
barred windows but did little to lessen the gloom.
A flame flared inside the lantern as Quylan released a satisfying little burst
of energy. Onja glided down the steps of smooth stone without pausing. Down
here the Keep had never been remodeled and did not receive meticulous
maintenance, and it showed its age. The Keep was over two thousand years old,
built shortly after the war with Nufal, and an ancient funk of mold and damp
creeped up from the deeper levels.
Quylan resisted the urge to ask questions. She sensed in this place that fear
was better than answers.
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