Woman of Silk and Stone (20 page)

Seeing all their faces now, I felt a little
foolish for attributing hostility to those we passed earlier. I
seemed to be in high battle mode, which was new for me; the biggest
fight I'd ever partaken in back home was with my college roommate
over the last slice of pizza. Although I had to believe in myself,
believe that I really was meant to be here, doing this, I'd never
faced anything of this enormity before, which probably made me
pretty damn paranoid.

Based on what the council members had
explained, Ninna had most likely taken Tam to an outpost outside
the city. Though it had never been used in this manner before, it
was where the royal family was to be taken in an emergency. If she
was still trying to play this as a terrible accident and not a full
military takeover, then she would have followed the procedure, and
Tam would likely meet his untimely end somewhere on the ride to or
at the outpost.

Logic made me hope Ninna would wait until
they had gotten to their destination because too many things could
go wrong on the road. Tam could escape, run back to the city, one
of the city guards might see from the wall; any number of
factors.

But I just didn't know. If Ninna had taken
Tam to some other location, then we were wasting a huge chunk of
time on a wild goose chase. Already, it had been over two hours
since the attack, and I was sick at the thought of what Tam might
be going through.

So as I looked over the townspeople,
uncertainty and resentment painting their tired features, I
couldn't bear to spend any more time talking. But it had to be
done.

"People of Solis! Your king has been
abducted!" I shouted, ignoring the cries of dismay from the council
members riding with us. No doubt they'd hoped to keep all of this
under the table, but I wasn't willing to risk the chance that one
of the townspeople knew or had seen something.

"We go to retrieve him, and we will. But
tell me now if any of you know where he has been taken or what
condition he is in. Remember that apart from being your king, he is
a young boy, one that lost his parents at an early age and was
forced to take on responsibilities far beyond his years. Remember
too that he is at the mercy of his advisors." Yet another appalled
gasp from the council members.

"And remember that he loves you, loves all
of Solis. He needs time to grow into his role, and patience and
advice from you, his people."

I gazed around, taking in the shift in
expressions, the knowing glances at the council. Quite a few of
them were also staring at Adar, probably never having seen a
Darisam in person before. Finally, I allowed the urgency to read in
my voice. "But he won't get that time if he is killed."

Shocked gasps and angry mutterings followed
that statement, but at least I'd impressed the seriousness of the
situation on them.

"So please, if anyone knows where they have
gone, where he was taken, speak now. Help us to return
Ensi
Tam to his rightful place," I pleaded, knowing
that I was, yet again, on the edge of tears. I had cried more since
coming to Edin than I ever remembered back home, but then I'd never
felt quite so alive either.

There was some shuffling and murmuring and
some people simply turned and walked away. I really hoped the
guards were noting who those people were. Finally, a man stepped
forward, his elderly face lined in concern. He was probably four
centuries older than me, which was pretty daunting. In fact, the
idea that I was sitting on horse-thing with an immortal fire
creature at my back, telling people who were likely much,
much
older than me what to do was
beginning to make me feel a little nauseous.

Damn that overwhelming surrealism.

"The
Ahatki
left
several guards behind to follow them. I overheard them say they
would reach the outpost in time for the main event," the man said,
his voice shaky with age, but confident.

An uneasy feeling roiled in my gut. "When
did they leave?" I asked, dread clutching my heart.

"About twenty minutes ago," the elder
replied, making my knees turn to water.

"Thank you," I said, and then urged the
sisu
onward, letting Adar take over the
reins so we could make better time. The rest of our group followed,
and we thundered out of the gates without another backward
glance.

No doubt the guards left behind were meant
to arrive at the outpost just in time to witness Tam die in some
accidental way that couldn't have been avoided.

And they had a twenty minute lead.

Shit.

"We can't take the time to ride out," I told
Adar, chewing my fingernails nervously. Glancing over at one of the
few
Litum
who had recovered enough to come
with us, I asked, "How far is it to the outpost?"

The guard, whose name I thought was Redu,
frowned and looked thoughtfully back at the gates. "An hour's ride,
perhaps less if we pushed it."

That was better than I'd hoped for, but
still wasn't great. Still, any small advantage I could get, I'd
take.

"Okay. How fast could we get there if you
turn into smoke?" I asked Adar. He appeared mutinous for a moment
before his expression turned considering.

"I could reach the outpost in perhaps thirty
minutes carrying you. Perhaps fifteen without."

I still hadn't figured out how to read his
eyes for clues, but I had a feeling he was exaggerating a bit.
Clearly he didn't want me going on ahead of what small force we had
mustered, which simply made me more determined to do so.

"If you go by yourself can you get Tam out
of there?" I asked, knowing I had to consider every option. If that
meant sending Adar in alone for a snatch and grab, that worked for
me. God knew I wasn't exactly qualified to be planning this little
sortie; all I was good at was crisis management.

"I cannot travel with him by smoke,
Honey-
sa
. But I can shield him, keep him
safe. I can also simply destroy the outpost and everyone in it," he
added calmly. More than a little stunned by his cavalier attitude
toward destruction, I shook my head.

"Let's...just use that as a last resort,
okay?" The more I thought about it, each second was precious. I had
no idea what might set Ninna off, or what her plans were, and if
even ten minutes could be shaved off of getting Tam help, I had to
do it.

"Can you go to him?" I asked, hating that I
had to rely on someone else for something so important, but I
believed Adar would save Tam. I just wasn't sure what else he might
do.

He smiled down at me, brushing back a lock
of my hair affectionately. "I will keep Tam safe,
Honey-
sa
. The
kashaptu
will not touch him," he growled, the red
flecks in his eyes amplifying and taking on a fierce smolder.

Hesitating, I leaned closer and lowered my
voice. "Will you be safe? I mean, I know you're immortal and can
set things on fire and all, but can you keep yourself out of harm's
way?"

He stared down at me for a moment and then
wrapped me in his arms, driving his mouth down to meet mine in an
explosive clash, firing my blood and stoking my need higher and
higher. When he released me, I was gasping for air and wondering
just why it was I had said I wouldn't immediately hop into bed with
him.

"You are my only weakness,
Honey-
sa
. Do not get involved in the
fight. Bring the Horde and then stay back. I will bring the boy to
you," he ordered, no leniency in his tone. Still, I found that I
was okay with hanging back if Tam would be okay. And really, it's
not like I was battle trained, so despite my wicked right hook, I
would just be in the way.

"Okay," I said, shrugging. Adar looked
surprised at my capitulation, but then just grinned and kissed my
lips hard once more.

"Okay. Be safe,
ti
arrami
," he whispered, and the man faded into a dark figure
of smoke, those miraculous, remarkable eyes glowing at the center
the only trace of Adar's form. And then he was gone, riding the
wind, a cloud of black silk on the horizon.

Around me, the council members and remaining
guards shifted on their
sisu
uncomfortably, clearly eager to be off. "So where do we meet with
the Horde?" I asked, ignoring the voice inside my head telling me I
was fool to send Adar away, that no one would take me seriously
now.

"We are here, beautiful goddess," a familiar
voice called, sparking a grin. I squirmed around until I could see
them approaching from the opposite direction.

So, they were called a Horde for a
reason.

A sea of giant, blue painted warriors on
sisu stretched out like the grasslands I'd been found in, the sound
of hoof-beats nearly deafening as they drew closer. And out in
front were my Easter Island buddies, Temuk and Khenti.

Despite the severity of the situation, I was
so delighted to see them again I waved like a little kid spying the
ice cream truck and nearly bounced out of my saddle. "You guys
came!" I shouted, irrationally believing that everything was going
to be fine now.

I mean, there was a freaking
Horde
on our side.

As soon as they caught up to us, we began to
ride in earnest. Temuk plucked me off my mount and dropped me in
front of him; I was thankful, since it was pretty unlikely I would
have been able to keep up on my own.

"I see you wasted no time fulfilling your
destiny," he said as he leaned forward, urging the
sisu
to move faster over the flat, sandy wasteland
than I imagined possible. I laughed, caught up in the sheer thrill
of the moment, and I even managed to catch the flask that Khenti
threw my way, taking a deep slug of the fiery liquid, allowing it
chase away any residual doubts that I had chosen the right
course.

"I'm so glad you came," I said again,
suddenly giddy. "I wasn't sure what the Horde's politics were, but
I knew you wouldn't want Tam hurt."

He gave me an odd look, which, for a
blue-faced Easter Island head, is saying something. "Of course we
came. The Horde is the
Halqu's
to call on.
And to find out that you are Sarrim Adar's
arrami
merely adds to our duty. We are the army of the
Darisam
, if they ever need one."

"Historically, not so much. It's more an
honorific title than anything because the
Darisam
are indestructible," Khenti added, tossing his
stoic version of a smile my way. I shook my head and tried to get
my mind straight.

"So, basically you're saying you work for
me?" I asked impishly, so glad to have the two of them back I could
have danced.

Temuk laughed out loud and nodded his giant
head. "More or less. Definitely more on the
less
side. But we are bound to aid any
halqu
. Besides, we don't wish to see
Ensi
Tam hurt. His father was a good king, and had
good relations with the Horde. We will protect his son if we
can."

I sighed in relief, feeling as though a huge
weight had been taken from my shoulders. There were people here now
that knew what they were doing, and I didn't have to try to fight
for authority with the council. The Horde was a pretty big stick to
throw at them.

"Adar's indestructible?" I asked, now
shifting to my other concern. It was hard to imagine anything that
could hurt him; he was so big, so forceful in presence that I
couldn't picture anything less than a hurricane taking him down,
but I was still apprehensive.

Temuk looked down at me incredulously.
"Honey, he is
immortal
. He can't be killed
or harmed. You could swing an axe at his neck and it would simply
pass through without drawing blood."

There was a strange mixture of emotions
going on my head at hearing Temuk's assurance; on the one hand,
yay! He'd be fine and I didn't have to worry about him getting hurt
when he went in after Tam. On the other hand, the whole concept of
immortality took on new connotations. Back home, in popular
literature, immortal meant the vampires lived forever, not that
they were completely invincible. There was always a weakness, a
vulnerable spot. Always.

And Adar had said I was his only weakness.
So what exactly did that mean about my new status?

I didn't get a chance to ask. There were
shouts ahead of us and I looked up to see a fire in the distance, a
blaze of color in an unrelieved vista of sand. Dark specks were
moving away from the flames, so I assumed that something had gone
wrong and Adar had been forced to set fire to the outpost.

I just hoped it wasn't in retribution
because he found Tam already dead.

Temuk let out a wild war cry and the Horde
pushed forward, overtaking the council members and
Litum
, hurtling toward the fire at dizzying speeds. I
clung to the
sisu's
back, lowering my head
to avoid the buffeting wind screaming around me, tears pricking my
eyes in response to the heated air blowing past. By the time we
finally came to a stop, my arms and legs were numb from holding on,
and my right hand had pulverized the edge of the saddle. Releasing
the crumbled leather, I shook out the hand, glad I hadn't been
gripping onto the poor
sisu
with it.

Temuk lifted me down into another Horde
member's arms, and then he and Khenti went charging forward after
the disappearing
Litum
that were still
fleeing the burning outpost. My heart was lodged somewhere in the
center of my throat as I took in the devastation.

The outpost had stood on a small, probably
man-made rise in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. It
couldn't have been more than a few rooms, one story, but it was
impossible to tell now since only crumbling walls still smoldering
remained. We were still about half a mile away, but I could see
clearly enough that there were several bodies scattered around the
ruins.