The Destroyer Book 3 (48 page)

Yillomar had intended to kill me, and if it was him sitting on top of my unconscious body, he would have driven his ham-sized fist through my skull and ended me. I should have done the same. I should have ended him. I should have covered the grass with his brains and left no doubt in the empress’s mind that I could destroy her people now, as I had so long ago.

But my hand came down and wrapped around the back of his large neck instead. I stood up and yanked his body over as a mother wolf might pick up a puppy by its scruff. I walked over to the side of the arena where the Elvens and O’Baarni sat. Their food lay untouched and there wasn’t a face in the audience that didn't wear an expression of amazement, including Kannath, who looked completely dumbfounded, as if I had pulled the sun down from the sky and then taken a large bite out of the fire.

“Looks like I win.” I tossed Yillomar unceremoniously against the stage. His head thunked against the wood and he draped over the side of the ledge like a red rag doll.

“Well done.” Kannath smiled and clapped his hands together.

“Shut the fuck up,” I silenced him and got another look of fear from everyone else. “He was unskilled and ill-suited to fight me. It took me more effort not to kill him.”

“You cannot speak to Kannath that way, Pretender,” the O’Baarni woman said with unbridled malice. Her hand drifted down to where a sword should have hung, but the three were unarmed.

“I just did. Would you like to step in here and silence me?” I flicked my fingers at her and sprayed Yillomar’s blood on the table where she sat. A few drops landed on her plate of food. She fumbled a reply but the answer was obvious to those observing. Even the expression on Kannath’s face was telling. The large man did not want to battle me.

“You,” I pointed a bloody finger at Telaxthe, who had recovered from her bout of shock and wore a calm expression again, “and I have an appointment in your tent. Alone. Let’s go.” I turned and walked south toward her pavilion. Yillomar’s group of commanders stood at the edge of the arena and they all had hands on their weapon handles. Their eyes were dancing between the empress and my bloody body. Telaxthe must have given them a signal behind my back, because the red clad warriors parted to let me pass over the fence. I heard the soft rustle of silk and small bells ring behind me as Telaxthe rose from her seat.

“You cannot be alone with that monster!” I recognized Jayita’s voice whisper.

“The boon will be granted.”

“I will attend you,” Fehalda said. I was about fifty feet outside of the arena now, about a quarter of the way to the empress’s pavilion.

“No. Remain here. Kannath, please enjoy your Mastkur. We will talk more when I return.”

“Aye,” he grunted.

Half a minute later I strolled into the empress’s tent. There were no guards or servants inside and a few of the lamps had gone out, casting the beautiful pavilion in an eerie orange glow. Off to the side of the pillows sat an uncorked bottle of red wine in a silver etched bucket of chilled water. I grabbed it and took a long swig, washing the taste of blood and combat out of my mouth, and then carried it with me to the pillows.

Telaxthe’s cushions smelled like her: lavender and pine needles. I sat down at her place so I could get a clear view of the rest of the room. My back was to the curtain that separated the rear half of the large tent but I did not hear the heartbeats of anyone.

The empress’s short sword lay discarded to the left of her pillow. I picked up the slightly curved weapon and pulled it halfway out of its green and white lacquered wooden sheath. The metal of the blade was the same odd gray of Isslata’s sword. It looked similar to the weapons and armor that most of my troops eventually had taken possession of but my uneducated eye could not tell if it was exactly the same. I heard Telaxthe descend the wooden stairs into her pavilion but I continued to study the elaborate flowers that were etched across the business side of the blade. I didn’t know much about weapon crafting, but I imagined that this had taken a long time for a smith to make.

“You are in my seat,” the empress said flatly.

“So I am.” I looked up and saw the smile she normally wore was missing.

I pointed at the pad where I previously sat. “Sit down.”

“Kaiyer, do you wish to speak or to fight?” Her arms crossed, and I was struck again by how much she looked like Nadea. Or how much Nadea looked like her.

“I wish to speak with you.”

“Then get your ass out of my seat!” she commanded with a growl.

“Very well.” I grinned and moved over to the next pad, turning it around so that it faced her seat.

“And my sword?” she asked.

“It is beautiful. Too light for my tastes, but it looks effective.“ I slid the blade back into the sheath with a sharp snap and then tossed it to the bronze-haired woman. Her hands were fast and the motion she used to catch it was a graceful blur of her ornate robe.

“It is effective.” She pushed the sheath into the sash at her waist, walked toward her pillow, and sat. Our faces were a few feet from each other now and if she had chosen to draw her sword, our meeting would get ugly fast.

We stared at each other for a few seconds. Most Elvens were beautiful, with chiseled angular features, smooth skin, almond shaped eyes of bizarre colors, and wondrous hair that looked to be made of liquid metal. The empress’s eyes were a light amber color and her hair was a dark shade of metallic bronze that any artist would have loved to touch. Her skin shone a few shades lighter than Nadea’s but the resemblance was uncanny and transcended their races. They were both extremely beautiful women.

“Why didn’t you kill him?” she asked finally with a raised eyebrow. Her voice was soft and silky. I couldn’t help but smell her intoxicating breath as we sat so close to each other.

“Sometimes, life is worse than death,” I said. Her eyes opened a bit at my explanation and I wondered if it would be true for Yillomar. Would his loss to me ruin his career or would he train harder and become stronger because of it?

“I could guess you would feel that way.” Her voice was emotionless. “But you only have a few minutes left alone in my presence, so I would recommend you begin the conversation you intended.”

“I would like you to tell me a story,” I said with the wine on my breath.

“I know plenty of stories, Pretender. This seems a waste of your time. Do you have a particular story you want to hear? A children's tale? Maybe one about your namesake? Perhaps you’d like to hear about Lenaan, since you were muttering it in your sleep.” She laughed and shook her head slightly. She must have thought I was completely insane.

“Tell me the story of how you lost your half-human daughter,” I said.

The woman stopped mid-laugh. Her hands dropped to the sides of her robe and I heard the sound of all the air leaving her lungs. But her face was the most telling of all, and the expression was one I had never seen from the ruler of the Elven people. In our brief encounters she had seemed to dance from control to contrived joy so quickly. She was someone who I was sure had mastered her emotions and physical abilities to their absolute peak.

It was an expression I had seen once before, in the middle of the campaign to rid our lives of the Elvens. I had battled the leader of one of their large battalions, defeated him in combat, yanked apart his chest piece, tore off part of his rib cage, and then ripped out his heart. While the man was still in his death throes I had pulled off my helm and eaten the red pulsing muscle. The look on his face as he watched me rip the very life from his body and mercilessly take a bite was the same expression the empress had on her face now.

That night my moon flow began.

The occurrence was always frustrating, even when I had lived in an opulent castle with four handmaidens and servants to assist with the process. Being the only woman with a group of men in the wilderness made it uncomfortable and embarrassing. I recalled that Kaiyer had a keen sense of smell, so I reasoned that the other O’Baarni could sense the blood. I had to make frequent trips into the oak trees to clean myself and they didn’t seem to inquire or care about my whereabouts.

Maybe I was more concerned about it than I should have been. After all, there was another woman they had been traveling with and I imagined she also had a moon flow. The men were probably used to such occurrences and left me to my personal time.

Maybe I was more embarrassed that I had thought that I was pregnant with Kaiyer’s child. I had not wanted to believe the herbalist, but here was the bloody proof. She had been right of course; stress must have contributed to the tardiness of my flow.

There was little to do in the camp. My uncle had continued to talk to the tattooed warriors about their clans, culture, training methods, and any suggestions they had to appeal to Kannath. I helped Iarin prepare the meals and tried not to draw too much attention to my condition. But nothing we did eased the tension that set in with the three men after two days had passed.

“They should be back by now,” Jazen whispered to his clansmen late on the second night. My stomach been cramping and it was difficult to slumber on the thin blanket. I guessed that they probably thought I slept and I did my best to steady my breathing so that they would continue to think so.

“Aye,” Anax said simply. The big man had stopped giving me hungry looks after our discussion about Kannath.

“I am not comfortable waiting,” Jazen said. “Iarin, tell me more of this Pretender. He couldn’t give Kannath any trouble?”

“It was good that he brought Gaizka and Naom,” Iarin whispered.

“I can’t imagine anyone could give Kannath trouble,” Anax said. Iarin grunted and said nothing else. There was silence for a few moments.

“What if they are not here tomorrow?” Jazen asked with urgency to his question.

“Then we follow the plan,” Anax growled. His voice was dark, and it almost caused me to shiver.

“I say we follow the last part only,” Iarin said. "No need for the first part."

“I outrank you Iarin,” Anax stated. I felt the anger in his voice. It made my ribs rattle from across the fire pit, though the big man only whispered.

“This is true, but I’m sure you know we only needed to hold them so that Kannath would have leverage over the Pretender. If he doesn’t return than what use are they to us?”

“Kannath gave an order. This world has made you soft.”

“I know I’ve grown soft.” Iarin laughed. “But that doesn’t mean I am wrong. The girl and her uncle probably won’t live long once the Elvens get a hold of them anyway. No need to get your hands bloody.” My body started to shake and shiver as a chill worked its way from my hair to my toes. They would kill us if Kannath did not return.

“Listen!” Jazen hissed. The warriors suddenly stopped their conversation. I tried not to gasp, cry out, or make any other noises through my terror. They must have heard my breathing and figured out I was awake. Kaiyer had told me that he could hear a mouse’s heartbeat a few hundred yards away, so I imagined that these three men easily heard the panic echoing through my body like broken glass down a stone set of stairs.

“Sounds like four horses,” Anax whispered.

“I’ll go. I am quieter than you both,” Iarin said. My eyes were closed, my back to the fire and the three men. A slight shift of dirt came to my ears, and I assumed the lanky woodsman had crept from the campsite. I was thankful that they didn’t suspect I was awake, but now I was even more terrified about the possibility of Kannath returning with Kaiyer.

I was growing weary of the constant fear. I thought I had taken control of my emotions and beaten back my dread. I knew what had to be done with Kannath, but I still feared doing it. More than that, I was afraid of seeing Kaiyer again. I was afraid he would not want me now. Or worse, that he would and that this would interfere with what I needed to do to save my kingdom.

“It is them,” Iarin’s voice was excited and no longer whispering. Beltor rolled over and sat up.

I heard an owl hoot from beside me and a matching one echoed from a distance across the pond. It was loud enough for me to end my sleeping charade and I sat up and feigned a startled expression accompanied by a gasp.

Iarin, Jazen, and Anax busied themselves with cleaning up the camp, although I had already done most of the work a few hours ago. The warriors seemed nervous about Kannath’s return. I made sure that my bedroll and blanket were arranged neatly and then ran my hands through my long hair to remove some of the tangles.