Into the Fray: Volume 1 of The Sorcerers of Jhanvia Series (26 page)

The assistant placed his hands on the side of the well and closed his eyes. There before them within the calm water were the images from the perspective of one of the soldiers on horseback that had engaged Kidreyli and Kaitra earlier.

Dulica pointed to the image of Kaitra and said, “Please, my lord, pay particular attention to this one.”

Satreka stood next to Zakrell and watched as she used her magics in battle. When she destroyed the soldier with fire, Satreka laughed and exclaimed, “Oh, that was beautiful!” He watched until she had successfully defended Kidreyli and then said, “Dulica, is this what it appears to be?”

“Yes, my lord. She commands immense power. She could be the catalyst that helps us achieve our goals.”

“Us?” Satreka questioned.

“I mean you. She could help
you
achieve
your
goals,” Dulica corrected himself.

Satreka could barely contain himself. He paced about for a few moments in contemplation and then said. “Did you see that, Zakrell? She has such a passion for evil that it manifests itself as fire. That was one of the most astonishing things I have ever seen.” He walked over, put his hand on the warlord’s shoulder and continued, “My friend, this
is a defining moment in our quest. I don’t want any mistakes. I want you to personally bring this woman to me alive, and
I do mean alive
. Do you understand?”

“Yes, my lord. What of the Valtyr?” Zakrell asked.

Satreka sloughed off the question, “Capture her if you can, but your overriding priority is this woman. Do whatever is necessary to bring her to me.”

Zakrell stood tall, “I understand. It will be done.”

Satreka patted Zakrell’s wide shoulders twice. “This is a good day. Come, my friend. Let us drink in celebration.”

As Satreka and his military contingent started up the stairs, he yelled back over his shoulder, “Excellent work, Dulica. Keep it up.”

The Sorcerers of Jhanvia walked over to the petty magician who was still reveling in his moment. Juun said in an emotionless voice, “We wish to see the images you showed to his lordship.”

“Of course. Please come.” He led them to the well and had his assistant revisit the images.

When the images had run their course, Juun said in nondescript fashion, “Thank you.” The Sorcerers of Jhanvia walked quietly back to their end of the room.

“You’re welcome,” Dulica replied to their backs as they walked away.

Within their minds, the sorcerers conversed.

“She is the one Nalim described in his visions,” Juun stated.

“You are correct,” he confirmed.

Aliko stated. “We must take charge of her. She will be the vessel through which our rites can be filtered and amplified.”

The sorcerers returned to their incessant chanting and processing.

idreyka waited until the village was quiet before making any effort to investigate her friend’s relationship. She carefully slipped her arm away from Dikaylia, who shifted positions slightly, but did not wake. She stood, and with great care not to disturb, made her way over to Tyral who was standing at the edge of the village. Other than the stars above and a lamp in the hut where Kidreyli and Kaitra were, it was deep into the black of night. A light breeze rustled the leaves just enough to cover any noise she might have made. If that wasn’t enough, the insects on this warm might did their best to mask any noises that would try to slip through.

She whispered, “Tyral, its Nidreyka. I wish to speak with you privately.”

“I don’t know…,” Tyral’s thoughts entered Nidreyka’s mind.

“Please. I need to know about Kaitra.”

“Very well,” Tyral conceded. “Do you realize how late it is?”

Nidreyka laughed quietly to herself at obvious attempt at humor and explained, “It’s the only time I can talk to you about this. You know the dilemma I’m in. What can you tell me about this woman that will convince me that she should be allowed to live.”

“You should be asking those questions of me,” Kidreyli interrupted quietly.

“I wanted to get an unbiased perspective.”

“We’ve been friends all our lives. You know that you can come to me with anything.”

“Then tell me what you were thinking when you performed our most sacred ritual with her,” Nidreyka demanded.

“I love her with all my being.”

“I understand that, but in performing this ritual, you have betrayed our culture by sharing all there is to know about us with an outsider. There is little room for me here. Our laws are clear.”

Kidreyli sat down and silently contemplated a path for this discussion.

Nidreyka sat next to her and said, “You know that I still love you.”

“You love me?” she feigned surprise.

Nidreyka slapped her shoulder hard with the back of her hand and confirmed, “You know I do. And you love me.”

Kidreyli just laughed quietly.

“The reason we could never be together is because you do not feel comfortable in our world. But I love our world, and your actions in this matter pose a threat to it. I need something from you that I can grab onto that will help me support you in this. Please, help me.”

Kidreyli looked at her deep blue eyes and said, “I do love you. I always will. So I’m going to tell you something that you must promise to keep to yourself. No one can know of this.”

Tyral interrupted them, “Kidreyli, don’t do this.”

“It’s the only way Tyral.”

Nidreyka took her hand and demanded, “Tell me.”

“Our culture is under direct threat from forces that are gaining strength just north of us in Fadlis. There is a man, his name is
Satreka. He is in the early stages of the creation of a military force using Vydarrun as his elite soldiers.”

Nidreyka stared at her blankly and said, “I don’t believe you.”

“It is true,” Tyral confirmed.

“Then we must prepare an all-out assault and destroy this human and all who follow him,” Nidreyka stated with conviction.

Kidreyli continued, “He is hold up in Castle Caerlyk. Its walls cannot be breached by such an effort, and that is why we are planning a more discrete attack. The Clannya believe, and Tyral concurs, that Kaitra’s sorcery will vanquish this evil. We believe that she is crucial to the success of our efforts.”

Tyral stepped in, “He is also using sorcery to diminish our mind links. My abilities have been significantly affected. We fear it could also begin affecting the Valtyr bonding, which could have severe consequences for your people. Your diminished abilities to sense other Valtyr may be the first indication of this.”

Nidreyka summarized, “So, he is planning to use the unique characteristics of our species to destroy us for his own personal gain.”

Kidreyli replied, “Yes.”

“His plan is cunning. I can’t wait to sink my claws into his throat. You are convinced that Kaitra is the key to his undoing?”

“Yes, we are,” Tyral answered.

Nidreyka looked up at the stars in silent contemplation. Kidreyli nervously played with her fingernails while the sounds of the night dominated the air. More than two full minutes passed before Nidreyka took a deep breath and announced, “I will stand in defense of Kaitra. In exchange, Dikaylia and I will be part of your plan to destroy Satreka.”

“Agreed,” Kidreyli was relieved. “It is imperative that no one know of Satreka and his plans. If word gets out, it could cause panic and confusion. Without disclosing what we know, how will you argue your defense of Kaitra to the elders if you’re challenged?”

Nidreyka smiled. “I’m still conjuring a plan for that. I’ll let you know if and when I come up with one. What of your mother?”

“We should leave as soon as Kaitra is able. The quicker we get there and back, the better.”

Nidreyka held open her arms and Kidreyli fell into them, sharing a great hug.

Kidreyli whispered, “Thank you, my friend.”

“I could do no less for my favorite misfit,” Nidreyka spoke softly into her ear. “Now go and take care of Kaitra. We’ll come together again when the light returns.”

Kidreyli held on to her hand as long as possible as she started back toward the hut.

Nidreyka called out in a whisper, “By the way, I like your hair that way. Showing off your ears becomes you.”

Kidreyli answered back in a whisper as she continued walking, “It was Kaitra’s idea.”

Nidreyka laughed quietly to herself and patted Tyral’s neck gently, “Good night, my friend.”

An hour or so had passed. Kaitra still labored under the effects of her injuries. Kidreyli had pulled a stool up next to the bed and frequently wiped the ever increasing sweat from her lover’s face with a cool damp cloth. The sorceress was straddling the realms of the conscious and unconscious, frequently allowing words and incoherent sounds to cross her lips. It looked to Kidreyli that she was being tormented by some unknown entity, and seeing this tore through her heart. She alternated holding both of Kaitra’s hands firmly in hers, in an effort to pass some of her life force to her, and gently caressed her face with her fingers to let her know she was not alone in this. For the rest of the night, Kaitra was caught up in the throes of this battle, and it seemed she was only able to hold her own against the constant and determined onslaught. An hour or so before sunrise, Kidreyli’s body and mind had finally given out. She laid her head on Kaitra’s chest and let her arm fall across her. Sleep came in an instant.

A quarter-hour passed before the warrior crossed into the deepest realm of sleep. Once there, her mind synchronized with Kaitra’s, where she entered the farthest levels of her lover’s subconscious. All the visions that seemed to be tormenting the woman were now in her mind, but strangely enough, she was seeing them from her own perspective. She could see herself looking down at a male baby in a bassinette and she could feel the hilt of her sword in her hands above her head. Nidreyka and Dikaylia were keeping Satreka and Natilya at bay.

“Hold, Valtyr!” Kaitra commanded as she raised her left hand, using her magics to stop Kidreyli from moving the sword from its suspended position. “I will not let you kill this child.”

Kidreyli responded, “Please, Kaitra. His existence portends the end of all we cherish. You must allow me to finish this.”

“No!” she commanded, and with one sweeping motion of her right hand, her magics knocked the swords from their hands and with great force caused Nidreyka and Dikaylia to fly uncontrollably into the back wall, knocking them unconscious. The sorceress walked determinedly toward Kidreyli, using her magics to push the warrior away from the child and firmly against the wall. “How dare you defile this place? The son of our lord Satreka is destined to rule over this land.” Kaitra passed her left hand in front of Kidreyli’s face and said, “Sleep.”

Kidreyli felt herself drift into unconsciousness.

Sometime later, the Valtyr awoke to find herself naked hanging from metal shackles that were chained to the ceiling of a dark, dank room. Her feet were touching the cold stone floor, but just barely. She pulled on the chains in a futile effort to free herself. She looked to the other end of the room, where Dikaylia was in a similar circumstance.

“Where’s Nidreyka?” she called out.

Dikaylia raised her head displaying her tear-stained face, “They killed her. The bastards tortured her to death.”

Kidreyli looked over to see Kaitra standing silently in the doorway. She was dressed in the finest of black dresses with gold trim. “Kaitra, why are you doing this?”

The sorceress remained silent as a man made his way past her and walked up to Kidreyli.

“I see you have awakened from your beauty sleep,” the man remarked. “My name is Klur. I have been given the task of convincing you to join us in our efforts.”

“You understand that will never happen?”

Klur’s diabolical smile came out, “I hope you are right about that. If at any time you wish to reconsider, please call out.” With that, he began with the leather whip, laying a track across Kidreyli’s back up to her right shoulder. He relentlessly continued, diligently carrying out his task, obviously enjoying each moment to excess. Kidreyli held out for an extraordinary amount of time, but the pain finally took her over. Her screams echoed endlessly through the stone halls. He had many tools at his disposal and he alternated when it seemed the one he was using had achieved its maximum effect. He took out a leather strap with embedded sharp pieces of metal.