Sanctuary (65 page)

Abeliode’s two seconds circled them. Tobazim lowered Ardonyx, put the lantern down next to him and drew his knives. Hueryx unsheathed his knives, putting his back to Tobazim.

‘Over here!’ Hueryx yelled. ‘To us, Reyne.’

His hand-of-force called in response, then called again, but this time he was further away.

Abeliode’s voice-of-reason darted in, slashing for Tobazim’s groin. Tobazim avoided the strike and pinned his attacker’s knife-arm against his body. They were so close he could see the sweat on the warrior’s top lip. Tobazim headbutted him. It had been one of his choice-brother’s favourite moves. He heard the other man’s nose break.

Releasing him, Tobazim pulled back. As Abeliode’s voice-of-reason doubled over, trying to stop the blood gushing from his nose, Tobazim drove a knife into his belly.

He staggered a few steps and fell to his knees.

Tobazim turned in time to see Abeliode’s hand-of-force trip over Ardonyx’s unconscious form. Tobazim followed the man down, giving him no time to recover. The back of the warrior’s head slammed into the cobles, and a heartbeat later, Tobazim’s knife slid into his chest.

He looked up to see Hueryx climb off Abeliode and wipe his knives. By now the miasma of roused gift was so pervasive, Tobazim was numb to it. He stripped off his vest, folded it up and pressed it against Ardonyx’s wound.

Somewhere nearby a man screamed. There was a scuffle, and then nothing. A moment later Haromyr, Eryx and Ionnyn returned, dragging Dretsun’s hand-of-force. They dropped him next to the other bodies and ran off again.

Meanwhile, two of Hueryx’s warriors came back with Saskeyne’s voice-of-reason. One of them was injured. They added Saskeyne’s second to the growing pile of bodies.

Iraayel ran into the pool of light. ‘Any sign of Imoshen?’

‘No.’

‘Look what I found.’ Hueryx’s voice-of-reason returned with two Malaunje.

‘We were waiting to take the causare back to her ship,’ the youth said.

‘They were creeping around –’

‘Redraven?’ Iraayel grabbed the youth and hugged him. ‘And... Meloria.’ He turned to Tobazim. ‘I can vouch for them.’

Tobazim nodded and Iraayel took them with him as he went in search of Imoshen.

Hueryx’s hand-of-force approached from the other direction. His devotee lit the way for two T’En warriors, who carried Saskeyne and his hand-of-force.

‘Funny thing is,’ Reyne said, holding the lantern over the bodies, ‘there’s not a mark on them.’

‘Imoshen,’ Tobazim said. ‘I’ve seen her rip a Mieren’s life force from his body with a single touch.’

‘These were not Mieren,’ Reyne objected.

Hueryx grimaced. ‘If you see Imoshen, don’t approach her. She’s dangerous and she won’t trust us. Dretsun and his voice-of-reason are still out there.’

Someone screamed.

‘That’s one less,’ Reyne muttered.

‘Unless it’s one of ours,’ Hueryx said. ‘Go carefully. Search the port street by street.’

Iraayel returned, lighting the way for the two Malaunje carrying Sorne’s body.

‘Dead?’ Tobazim asked, heart sinking.

‘Not quite, but there’s not a mark on him,’ Iraayel said.

Tobazim met Hueryx’s eyes. Had Imoshen mistaken him for an attacker in the fog and almost killed him before she could stop herself?

Iraayel looked around. ‘Any sign of –’

‘Imoshen, no. I need to get Ardonyx back to the healer,’ Tobazim said.

Just then Haromyr and the others returned with Dretsun, wounded but alive. They were followed by Reyne’s warriors, who carried the body of Dretsun’s voice-of-reason.

Tobazim gestured. ‘I want the all-father here.’

Ionnyn drove Dretsun to his knees.

He glared up at his captors. ‘Fiant take you, Hue. I should have known you’d take the causareship for yourself.’

‘Why did you want him alive?’ Hueryx asked Tobazim.

‘I just want to know one thing,’ Tobazim said, coming to his feet. Eryx knelt to keep the pressure on Ardonyx’s wound. ‘Come here, Iraayel. I’m going to ask him a question and you can tell me if he’s lying.’

‘He can taste the truth?’ Hueryx asked, coming over to join Tobazim.

Iraayel put his hands on Dretsun’s temples. Ionnyn and Haromyr held him still.

Tobazim stood over him. ‘Did you break your vow? All-father Egrutz gave your brotherhood safe passage on his ship. Did you use the sea-vermin attack as an excuse to kill him and steal his brotherhood?’

Dretsun just stared up at him.

‘He’s laughing at you,’ Iraayel said and pulled back, wiping his hands, then his mouth. ‘He tastes foul.’

Tobazim reached for his knife.

‘No...’ Hueryx drew his blade and stepped around behind Dretsun. ‘We were choice-brothers. I always knew this day would come.’

‘Oh, get it over with,’ Dretsun sneered, ‘before I tell them what an irritating little sh –’

Hueryx cut his throat, then stepped back.

‘What’s going on here?’ Hand-of-force Cerafeoni demanded.

They turned to see a dozen sisterhood T’En warriors and a dozen Malaunje. The fog had lifted a little. The women’s gifts were roused and dangerous.

The brotherhood warriors reached for their weapons.

‘Where’s Imoshen?’ Kiane asked, drawing her knives. ‘If you’ve hurt her...’

Iraayel stepped between the two groups. Unarmed, he walked towards Kiane. ‘We can’t find Imoshen. We’ve put down the uprising, but Ardonyx is wounded. Sorne looks half-dead and no one’s seen my choice-mother.’

‘You put down the brotherhood uprising?’ Cerafeoni repeated.

‘All-fathers Hueryx and Tobazim did,’ Iraayel said.

Cerafeoni and Kiane exchanged looks.

‘I’ll take the injured back to the ship,’ Reoden’s hand-of-force said.

Kiane nodded. ‘I’ll look for Imoshen.’ She glanced to the pile of bodies. ‘Get rid of those and clean up all the blood. We don’t want to frighten the Mieren.’

Hueryx started to laugh.

Chapter Fifty

‘I
T’S THE CAUSARE
!’

A dozen hands helped her over the ship’s side onto the mid-deck. Imoshen found she was shaking so badly she could hardly talk. At least the blood wasn’t dripping into her eyes anymore.

Egrayne called for Reoden, who came running and knelt next to her.

Imoshen pushed her healing hands away. ‘I’m fine. It’s Sorne and Ardonyx I’m worried about. They’re still out there. I know Ardonyx was stabbed. Dretsun ambushed us. We have to –’

‘We know. We’ve already sent a party to rescue you,’ Egrayne said, then hugged her. ‘I swear you have more lives than a cat!’

‘One of the boats is returning,’ the lookout shouted, and everyone ran to the ship’s side.

Imoshen thought about getting up, but she felt too shaky. Frayvia knelt next to her with a bowl of water and bandages, and started to clean her face.

‘I don’t know if Sorne got away,’ Imoshen confessed. Tears filled her eyes. ‘They stabbed Ardonyx, and then Sorne told me to run...’

Frayvia wept softly as she wiped the blood from Imoshen’s head wound and bound it. Her touch gave Imoshen strength.

What Egrayne had said finally sank in. ‘You knew about the ambush? How did you know?’

Her devotee tied off the bandage then gestured to a Malaunje girl who was standing with Ronnyn and Sardeon. ‘Aravelle swam across to warn us.’

Imoshen got to her feet and beckoned the youngsters. She took the Malaunje girl’s hands, gift-infusing her. ‘Thank you. That was very brave.’

‘I hate him,’ Aravelle whispered, and Imoshen read the heartbreak in her. ‘I thought I could trust him, but I hate him.’

‘Hueryx?’ Imoshen asked.

Aravelle nodded.

‘He wasn’t with Dretsun.’

‘But...’ – Aravelle looked confused – ‘he said he’d see Dretsun there!’

‘Iraayel!’ Saffazi ran to him as he climbed aboard.

He laughed, hugged her, then drew her out of the way as Reoden’s hand-of-force climbed aboard with her warriors.

‘You!’ Iraayel strode over and enveloped Imoshen in a hug. ‘I should have known you’d be all right. And there I was, running all over port, afraid I’d find your body around the next corner.’

Imoshen felt his hot tears on her skin. She kissed his cheek and pulled back with a shaky laugh. ‘How did you know I was in danger?’

‘Hueryx came to Tobazim, revealed Dretsun’s plans. We went to stop –’

‘That’s what he meant?’ Aravelle gasped in horror. ‘And I betrayed him. He’ll never forgive me.’

She was right. Imoshen caught Ronnyn’s eye. ‘Take your sister up to my cabin.’

Several brotherhood warriors had climbed aboard while they were speaking. Ronnyn and Sardeon avoided them, as they guided her to the far set of rear-deck stairs.

Aravelle had betrayed her all-father to the sisterhoods. Imoshen didn’t know what she was going to do with the girl. Malaunje had been executed for less.

‘Gently,’ Tobazim said.

Imoshen turned and spotted him, guiding the sling into place as a wounded man was lowered onto the deck. She knew it was Ardonyx. Still alive, but...

She looked around for Reoden.

The healer dropped to her knees at Ardonyx’s side as the sling was removed.

Imoshen knelt beside her secret bond-partner. Reoden ran her hands over his wound. Imoshen reached for Ardonyx’s hand at the same time as Tobazim. He beat her to it and didn’t even notice that he had, his attention was so focused on his shield-brother.

Imoshen felt the healer’s gift at work on Ardonyx’s injury. After a moment, Reodeon’s power eased.

Tobazim looked up. ‘Will he...’

Reoden nodded and left them to see to others. Someone came by, distributing blankets and Tobazim gently tucked one around Ardonyx. Imoshen wanted to weep with relief, but she had no right to intrude. Tobazim met Imoshen’s eyes across Ardonyx. She should go before he began to wonder.

‘How is he, Fray?’ Reoden asked and Imoshen spotted them with Sorne.

Frayvia knelt over him. She’d been listening to his chest, now she lifted her head. ‘He’s breathing and his heart is beating, but only just. There’s not a mark on him.’

As Imoshen joined them, Reoden rubbed her hands together and ran them over Sorne. She pulled back. ‘I recognise this. Valendia was in the same state when Graelen died.’

‘But Sorne isn’t a devotee,’ Frayvia protested. ‘He would never –’

‘Then someone forced their gift on him.’ Reoden wrinkled her nose. ‘There’s so much residual male gift, I can’t tell...’

Imoshen opened her senses and grimaced. ‘It was Dretsun. I know his taint.’

‘Dretsun’s dead,’ Tobazim said. He was helping Ardonyx to sit up and lean against the ship’s side. ‘Hueryx executed him. He’d broken his vow and betrayed Egrutz’s trust.’

‘How can you be sure?’

Tobazim gestured to her choice-son, who was over near the mast with Saffazi. ‘Iraayel can taste the truth.’

‘But he’s a gift-warrior,’ Imoshen said, then heard herself. She, of all people, should know a T’En could have more than one gift.

‘Imoshen.’ Frayvia caught her arm. ‘You have to save Sorne.’

‘She’s right,’ Reoden said. ‘Only a powerful infusion of the gift will bring him back.’

‘But then he’ll be my devotee,’ Imoshen said. ‘He’d hate that.’

‘He’d hate being dead,’ Frayvia snapped. ‘Do it now, before it’s too late.’

Imoshen hesitated.

Frayvia took her hand and placed it over his heart, palm to skin. ‘Do it for me.’

‘Let’s try this.’ Imoshen removed her hand and replaced it with Frayvia’s. Covering her devotee’s hand with her own, she gift-infused Sorne through Frayvia until she thought she’d pass out.

‘Will that prevent him from becoming your devotee?’ Reoden whispered.

‘I’ve no idea,’ Imoshen admitted.

But Sorne did not stir.

They knelt in silence, watching for any sign of consciousness.

Finally, Frayvia took Sorne’s shoulders and shook him as she berated him. ‘I told you not to do anything brave. How could you –’

Sorne woke, rolled her under him, pinned her and reached for her throat, before he registered who she was. ‘Fray?’

He slid off her, stunned, and she came to her knees to embrace him, weeping with relief.

Imoshen glanced to Ardonyx. He leant against the ship’s side, watching the gathering. Thankfully, Tobazim was not with him.

As she approached Ardonyx, he gestured behind her. ‘Looks like you’re about to hold an impromptu all-council.’

She saw Egrayne, Reoden and Athazi making their way towards her from one quarter, and Tobazim and Paragian from another. Hueryx had just climbed aboard.

The all-father appeared tense. Her gift surged as she read him: he was furious. Someone must have told him Aravelle’s part in all this.

‘It’ll be a small council with three all-fathers missing,’ Ardonyx said and tried to get up.

She helped him, then turned just in time as the others reached her.

Paragian gave the obeisance of contrition. ‘Causare, I swear I knew nothing of Saskeyne’s plans.’

His emotion was transparent to her gift.

‘I know,’ Imoshen said. She gestured to the three all-fathers. ‘I want you to go to the three brotherhoods that lost their leaders tonight and ensure there’s a smooth transition of power. Then come back here with the new leaders.’ They hesitated. ‘We have to be organised, if we are to make the most of sanctuary.’

‘Sanctuary? The Sagoras have given us sanctuary!’ Reoden hugged Egrayne, then Athazi.

Imoshen smiled, but the three brotherhood leaders didn’t and she realised they expected her to exact retribution for the attempted coup. ‘Tell the new brotherhood leaders; if they come with contrition in their hearts, there will be no punishment. There have been too many lives sacrificed on the altar of stature and ambition, both ours and King Charald’s. We must look to our people’s future.’

‘Causare T’Imoshen.’ Tobazim gave the deep obeisance, then lifted his head. ‘I’ll see to Abeliode’s brotherhood.’

He strode off, calling for his hand-of-force.

‘And I’ll see to Saskeyne’s brotherhood, Causare T’Imoshen,’ Paragian said and headed off.

‘I guess that leaves Dretsun’s brotherhood,’ Hueryx said, turning to leave.