The Eighth Warden Ch. 015-016

"You're hurt," Treya said. She rushed over to him, the white light on her hands and feet fading. Then it returned as she reached for his arm, but this time only on her hands. As she touched him, the glow grew brighter and the pain faded. She wiped away the blood, revealing the pink of newly healed skin.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"I'm a priestess. Sort of."

How could someone sort of be a priestess? He decided it would be rude to ask right after she'd healed him.

"I thought you were a mystic?" Katrin asked.

"That, too."

"What's a mystic?" Corec asked.

"It's...I'll explain later. Is everyone else all right?"

"Well," Bobo said, "if you're a healer, do you mind taking a look at my ankle?"

While Treya attended to Bobo, Corec tried to get a handle on everything that had happened. There were five dead men surrounding him, and apparently two more nearby.

"Does anyone recognize them?" he said, as he picked up his right greave to strap it back on. He'd need his armor if there were any more of the men around.

"Are they raiders?" Treya asked in a carefully controlled tone. "Hillfolk bandits sometimes form up into groups and attack east."

Corec shook his head. "Not this far east."

"It looks like soldiers' brigandine to me," Bobo said. "I don't recognize the colors, though. Larso's the only kingdom nearby with much of an army, but they use brown. The hillfolk don't go in much for uniforms—and I never met one whose eyes glowed red."

"Check the bodies," Corec said. "See if they've got anything to identify them."

Bobo appeared squeamish, and Katrin and Treya were trying to look anywhere other than at the dead men. Shavala went to one of the men she'd shot and carefully pulled her arrow out, grimacing as she saw the tip. Setting the arrow aside, she searched the body.

"There's just a coin pouch and this," she said, holding up a badge with an eight-pointed black star.

"I don't recognize it," Corec said.

"Neither do I," Bobo added.

"If they aren't bandits," Treya said, "could they have been after us, specifically?"

"I can't think of why," Corec said. "We haven't done anything that would call for us to be attacked. Certainly not by a group like this. What about you?"

"I had some trouble with a couple of mercenaries on the road, but they weren't dressed like this, and I tried not to hurt them any more than I had to."

Corec shared a glance with Katrin, but the men hadn't seemed like bounty hunters, so he didn't mention it. "Bobo?" he asked.

"I'll admit there's a wizard in Matagor who may be a trifle annoyed with me, but I don't think she'd send seven men to kill me. Maybe one, at the most."

So that was why Bobo never talked about his life before the hills.

"What about the man in Tyrsall?" Katrin suggested. "His rune was red. Could it be related?"

"I don't know," Corec said. "These men didn't have runes, and I haven't seen anyone with glowing blue eyes that match our runes. Can demonborn have glowing eyes?"

Bobo shook his head. "Even if they can, seven demonborn working together, all with identical stigma? I can't imagine that ever happening."

Once Corec had his armor and sword back on, he helped Shavala search the rest of the bodies in the camp. They all carried the black badges, but nothing else that might suggest where they'd come from.

When Treya led them to the other two, Corec glanced at Katrin. Her dagger was sticking out of one man's neck.

She shrugged. "He was getting back up again, and Treya was facing the other direction." She looked away and started retching.

Corec retrieved her dagger and cleaned it off, handing it to her once she'd composed herself.

These two men had the same badges, and one bore a pin on his collar with some sort of rank insignia.

"A squad leader and six soldiers," Corec said with a sigh. "Standard squadron size, so there are more of them. They don't have a standard weapon, though, which is unusual for an army. Let's take the swords and sell them when we reach Four Roads. Leave the other weapons—they're not worth carrying around. The armor's worth some money, but I don't want to be caught with it if we run into any more of these fellows."

He wasn't sure whether his companions were listening to him. The night was growing dark, and everyone had worried and haunted looks on their faces.

Hoping that giving them something to do would help, Corec said, "I don't think we can bury seven men. Not with just a camp shovel. Bobo, will you help me drag them away? Shavala, could you get a fire started, so Katrin can put together something for us to eat?" He didn't ask Treya to do anything, figuring she could come up with a task on her own if she wanted to.

#

It was late, but nobody seemed interested in going to sleep. Katrin stepped away from the light of the campfire to peer into the darkness surrounding them. She'd normally have been practicing with her flute or harp, but she wasn't in the mood. And anyway, it seemed wrong to think about playing music after killing a man.

Corec appeared next to her and stood silently, joining her in watching the darkness. He'd eventually removed his armor again, but this time he'd kept his chain shirt on. He carried his sword sheathe in his hand.

"Who were they?" she murmured, but he didn't reply. Their conversation during the evening meal hadn't gotten them any closer to discovering the men's identities.

Instead, he said, "Are you all right?"

"I didn't mean to..." She paused, not finishing the sentence. "He was going to hurt Treya."

"He was going to kill you both. You didn't do anything wrong."

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. Katrin stayed there, feeling the cool metal of his chain shirt pressing against her cheek.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"We'll need to start keeping watch," he said.

"What does that mean?"

"Shavala, Treya, and I will take turns staying awake. And when I sleep, I'll keep my mail on."

"What about me?"

"You and Bobo can help watch if you want, but if more of them sneak up on us in the middle of the night, I'd like at least one of the three of us to be awake." He was obviously referring to the three that could fight back in some way.

Katrin considered being offended, but she couldn't argue with the logic. "So you do think they're after us?"

"We should at least be cautious." He handed her a coin pouch. "Here, this is for you."

"What is it?" she asked, hefting it and peering inside.

"I gave Treya the two belt pouches from the men that came after the two of you. I don't think it occurred to her to take them. I split the others up between the rest of us. It's all silver and copper, but it comes out to over two gold each. My share covers everything I've spent since we met, other than the animals, and Bobo gave me back enough to pay for Rose."

"Do you want me to pay you back for Flower?"

"No. Keep it in case you need it for something." He changed the subject. "If Treya's idea works out, and she finds a priest that can help us, or if we find a wizard in Circle Bay, what are you going to do after the runes are gone? After we get your brother out, I mean?"

"I don't know. I always thought I'd stay in Circle Bay, but I'm not sure anymore. I want to find a bard who's willing to teach me. Or find a bardic school—I've heard there's one down south that accepts women."

"If you find a teacher instead, how would you feel about staying here?"

"Here?"

"The free lands, or Tyrsall. You could come back with us after we're done in Circle Bay. Or back with me, anyway. I'm not sure what Shavala plans to do."

Katrin's heart pounded in her chest. "I hadn't thought about that. Maybe."

She'd come to enjoy Corec's company, despite the circumstances. While she had friends in Circle Bay, there were none that she was particularly close to. Did she really want to stay there simply because Barz and Felix were there? She wasn't happy with either of them at the moment, and it might be good to spend some time away.

They stopped talking then and stood silently, Corec's arm still around her. Katrin spent the time wondering what it would mean to come back north with him. And wondering whether he knew Shavala was interested in him.