The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3 (30 page)

“
Good,” she smiled.
“Things were getting a little too sappy around here.”

Chapter
26

All around us the
forest seemed alive. The sound of leaves came from everywhere and
nowhere at the same time as we watched for movement. We didn’t know
how long the creature had been stalking us, but we guessed it had
been a while.

A flash of tan
streaked through the trees and I turned my palm towards it, ready
to launch a spell. I couldn’t see the tan anymore and quickly
searched the area for another sign. When I thought I saw another
flash of tan, I launched a Pulse at it without hesitation. A tree
shook violently, but nothing cried out or became visible. I scanned
the trees again.

“
Can your mental scan
pick up anything?” Cathy asked.

I shook my head. “Even this close to
the town, there is too much insect and small animal life that it
would just fill my head with nonsense and not help us.”

“
So, no change
there?” Cathy joked.

I smirked and
launched another Pulse into the trees. I sent more at various
branches until an animal dropped onto the ground. It walked onto
the path and stared us down. I was shocked to see that it was cat.
A very large and angry cat, but still a cat.

It had tan fur with
white around the face and stomach. I didn’t recognise it from any
book or class, but that was hardly a surprise. I had been a
terrible student. I looked to Cathy, but even she looked a little
confused by the sight of it.

It started walking
towards us slowly. The sleek, lean body, elegantly in motion as it
closed the gap between us. Its sharp teeth and claws served as a
warning for the harm it could cause if I was careless and it had a
look in its eye that said I had been selected for its next meal. It
reminded me of the older women that frequented the pubs, only there
wouldn’t be any drinks or awkward conversation first. I suspected
the breath would still smell the same.

“
How’d you want to do
this?” Cathy asked.

“
We have the
advantage but it wouldn’t attack us if it didn’t have a strategy,”
I answered. “Let’s see what it does.”

It made a low
growling sound and I covered my body in scales. The robe hid my
appearance from the cat and it started to circle around, looking
for an angle to attack. Its eyes were locked with mine and I saw
Cathy start to drift away from me, hoping its attention stayed on
me.

Cathy stepped forward
and in a flash, charged the beast. The cat skilfully dodged and
bounded up the tree, disappearing amongst the leaves. I launched
Pulses to knock it down, but it was too quick. It leapt out of the
tree and landed on my chest, knocking me to the ground.

The weight of the
beast pinned me to the ground, but the scales protected me from its
claws. When it went to bite my head, I grabbed its neck with both
hands and pushed it back. It snarled and bit down towards my face,
its rancid breath making me gag.

“
Looks like I was
right about the breath,” I groaned.

The cat screamed as Cathy’s boot
connected with its body. The weight lifted off of me as the cat
rolled away. I stretched my arm towards it and a stream of fire
launched from my fingertips. The cat screamed again and took off
like a shot back into the forest, the smell of its burning fur
lingering in the air.

I groaned again and Cathy lent me her
hand to help me get to my feet. “What was the point of that?” I
asked.

“
We must have pissed
it off with our hug,” Cathy said. “It won’t bother us again though.
It learnt its lesson.”

“
I meant charging
it,” I said. “We were waiting.”

“
And so was it,” she
said. “I just forced it to make its move. I knew you would be fine
until I could help you.”

The scales slowly returned to skin as I
brushed the dust off of my newly shredded robe. “Well thanks,” I
said, brushing the dirt off my now tattered robes. “It’s strange
that it would attack us. It didn’t seem corrupted like the wolves
and foxes.”

“
Random animal
attacks happen,” Cathy shrugged. “What do you say we continue on
before a toucan decides to give us the business next?”

I chuckled. “If that happens, I’ll
consider retiring from adventuring.”

Cathy laughed. “Right there with
you.”

The village of Bauna was in a clearing
along the north edge of the forest. The villagers had set up
torches around the perimeter to keep out the local wildlife and
travellers used them to help find the village in the night. The
patrolling guards stopped us as we left the forest and I introduced
myself with the key phrase to gain entrance to the village.

The way to the outpost was on the other
side of the village but I wanted to stop and visit Donkor’s friend,
Abuya, first. She would be upset if I didn’t stop by and there was
a good chance Donkor would be visiting her anyhow.

As we approached the house, Cathy
groaned. She had never been a fan of Abuya because she had become a
bit crazy in her old age and likes to ramble about weird topics. I
explained why we were visiting to Cathy and she reluctantly
agreed.

I knocked on the door and a small crash
could be heard from the other side. There was shuffling and what
sounded like pots clanging together before an old woman answered
the door. She was still looking good for whatever her age was but
she always looked frailer than I remembered every time I saw
her.

“
You spooked the corn
rattles out of me,” she said before really looking at me. She
smiled. “Well if it isn’t Donkor’s imaginary friend Mandy. How are
you doing? You know, Donkor really should have given you a manlier
name. Even though Mandy has ‘Man’ in it, it still sounds like a
girl’s name to me. Do all the other imaginary people make fun of
you?”

I chuckled. “I’m
doing okay and you got my name wrong. It’s Andy.”

“
Sorry about that,
Candy, the memory gets a little slippery in your old age,” she
said. She turned and looked at Cathy. “And who might you be? Don’t
tell me your Candy’s imaginary friend. An imaginary person’s
imaginary friend would be just too much for me. I can’t keep up
anymore.”

“
My name is Sandra
Middleton,” Cathy said.

“
Landra Fiddlehen?”
Abuya asked. “What a peculiar name? You sure you’re not
imaginary?”

“
No,” Cathy
said.

“
We are here to see
Donkor,” I said, taking control of the situation. “We were heading
for the outpost but wanted to see if he was here first.”

“
Nope, haven’t seen
him in a while,” she answered, before looking down at my shredded
clothes. “Great gravy boat of Nassu. What happened to your
dress?”

Cathy giggled.

“
We were attacked by
a cat in the forest,” I said.

“
A cat?” she asked.
“What did it look like?”

“
It was big,” I
started. “About my height if it were to stand on its hind legs and
tan fur, all... teeth and... attitude.”

“
Sounds like a
cougar,” Abuya said.

Cathy giggled.

“
A cougar?” I
asked.

“
Surly things,” she
explained. “Very territorial. They come out at night and will stalk
their prey for hours before catching it, dragging it back to their
lair and devouring it all night long.”

“
We’re still talking
about the animal, right?” Cathy asked.

“
It’s strange to see
one this far south,” Abuya continued. “They usually can be spotted
in the Archanion Field, close to the mountains. Something bad must
be happening in the north. Then again something bad always happens
in the north.”

“
When you’re right,
you’re right,” Cathy said.

“
Well I wouldn’t be
left,” she said, causing Cathy to roll her eyes. “Though I could be
left without. Not likely though. That’s why I have so many
things.”

“
Yes, we are here
about the troubles,” I said to Abuya, trying to get her back on
track. “We should hurry and find Donkor.”

“
Then don’t waste
your time prattling on to me,” she said. “I’ve got to finish this
painting. Send Donkor my love.”

We exchanged goodbyes
and she shut the door. Cathy and I turned away. “Painting?” I
asked, confused. “What could she be possibly be painting that
requires pots?”

“
Don’t ask,” Cathy
said, walking away. “For the love of creation, don’t
ask.”

*****

The old outpost was more a castle than
anything else. Tall stone walls, heavily armed watch towers around
the perimeter and a fortified gate protecting the only way in or
out. It was designed to protect the border against anything and the
fact that it still stood proved its strength.

Donkor and I had to
assault the outpost during our quest to save Empress Morowa from
blackmailing bandits. With the use of my magic we were able to
sneak right in through the wide open front gate and assault the
bandits from within. The memory of the bandits finding the
invisible Donkor by smelling him flashed into my mind as we
casually approached the gates.

“
Identify
yourselves!” A guard called down from the top of the
gate.

“
I am Moumno,” I
started. “And the Red Sun will set when the Okoro dynasty comes to
an end.”

“
Alrighty then,” the
guard called down. “What brings a Moumno to the Ghanlar
border?”

“
We wish to speak
with Donkor,” I called up.

“
Open the gate,’ I
heard Donkor yell from the other side. The gate slowly opened and
Donkor ran through the crack. He opened his arms wide for a hug and
I panicked. “ANDY!”

He closed the gap
between us quickly and scooped me up into a hug. My feet dangled as
the gentle giant squeezed me into a bear hug and laughed. I groaned
as the air was squeezed out of my body. I quickly covered my body
in scales to prevent any damage to my ribs.

He pulled me away from him but still
held me off the ground by my shoulders. “I thought you would never
come back.”

“
I said I would,” I
said weakly, still catching my breath. “Unfortunately, I’m not here
for a social visit.”

“
You are here for the
Evenawk camp on the border,” Donkor guessed. “As soon as I saw the
reports they were setting up, I knew you would come sniffing
around. This has the feeling of something big and you always seem
to show up around big, fun events.”

“
Saving your cousin
wasn’t that big,” I said, wiggling a bit so he would put me down
onto my own feet, “even if she is the Empress now.”

“
What about when you
came back and we investigated the missing caravans?” Donkor
asked.

“
Again, not THAT
big,” I said.

“
But fun,” he
chuckled, turning and realising that Cathy was there for the first
time. “Oh dear. You have my sincerest apologies.” He bowed. “Chief
Instructor Donkor, at your service. Please forgive me for not
introducing myself earlier.”

“
That’s okay,” Cathy
said. “I’ll just blame Kairu.”

“
Kairu?” Donkor
asked.

“
Means Moumno,” I
answered.

“
Ah,” he
said.

“
Done?” Cathy asked
me. I motioned for her to continue and she turned to Donkor again.
“I am Lady Sandra Middleton of the Court of Balendar.”

Donkor bowed again. “Now I feel really
bad ignoring an official of the Balendar court. How can this simple
warrior assist you?”

“
Do not worry about
it,” Cathy smiled. “Kairu told me you were an excitable person.”
She became more serious. “We need your help.”

She explained everything that had
happened right from when we met Lady Middleton in the forest.
Donkor listened carefully to everything with polite nods. After
explaining our time with the Empress, Donkor grew sad.

“
I don’t know why she
is acting the way she is, but it doesn’t make people happy,” he
said. “I worry that her reign has a time limit.”

“
When she hears about
the fight with the Evenawks, she might snap out of it,” I assured
him.

“
That’s why we need
your help,” Cathy started. “We know there are a few Nesqian that
would join with Balendar in this fight and we need someone who can
organise the volunteers.”

Donkor nodded thoughtfully. “Then
General Kobo is your man. He is already planning a defence against
the Evenawks and has many friends amongst the officers in the army.
Unlike the Kays, we’ve seen first-hand what is happening in the
world.”

“
Then we should hurry
and meet him,” I said. “The sooner he is clued in, the sooner we
can take down that Evenawk camp and reunite with the Balendar
forces.”

“
This is exciting,”
Donkor smiled.

He led us into the
outpost. The layout was still the same as I remembered it. The
forge and blacksmith were up front with the training area close by.
There was a slight incline leading up to the command centre with
the barracks and armoury close by. Warriors and instructors ran
around the ground between the training area and the ramp to the
upper wall of the outpost. Donkor called out to a recruit to get
the general and the young man ran up to the command centre and
disappeared within.