“It probably didn’t hurt that he knows how much I loathe him. That made the risk all the sweeter.”
Hettie nodded. “He is always trying to gain leverage over someone. A way to turn them to his will. Once he could see that I cared…” She clamped her mouth shut, frowning fiercely at the word that had slipped from her mouth.
Paedrin’s heart shuddered at the slip. He wasn’t sure how to take it, and the silence became awkward and fraught with energy. Well, it should not surprise him that she cared. He had saved her life, after all. Their long talks had been something he had enjoyed much himself. He cared for her, with no doubt. Probably much more than she did him, but he would never have admitted it openly like that.
“Well, I am grateful that you did rescue me,” he said, coughing into his fist. He showed her the Kishion ring. “I hope your uncle can find a way to remove this. I would not want to use goose grease on it every day. But better than the alternative of having no control over myself.”
She said nothing, and an icy silence fell between them.
The wind was mild that night. They walked firmly, keeping a strong pace to pass the time. To the south, light glimmered on a hill, many leagues away.
“Is that a town?” Paedrin wondered.
“Minon,” Hettie replied. “It is a border village between Kenatos and Wayland. A walled place where shipments are protected. We are approaching the road.”
“Have you ever been…?”
The sound of baying hounds trumpeted in the distance behind them.
Hettie frowned. “They found our trail too quickly. I hid our tracks very well. The only thing that would have made it better was to kill a skunk to completely mask our scent.”
The sound of horns filled the air next.
“Persistent,” Paedrin said.
“They are calling to Minon to box us in. We should probably run. If we can clear the other side of the road, it will get easier. How did they find us so quickly?”
Paedrin frowned and started to jog. “Maybe they can track my ring?”
Hettie shook her head. “If that were so, they would not have missed us at the hill.”
“Their Finder must be better than you thought.”
Hettie was quiet a moment. “But how can they track us? Is someone following us? Can you see?”
Paedrin looked back the way they came and could not see anyone in the distance. Not even the lantern was visible yet. A shape flittered past his vision up above, startling him. Looking up, he realized the sky was circling with birds.
“What sort of bird flies at night?” he asked aloud. “I thought only bats did.”
Hettie looked up and let out a sharp breath. “Owls! Of course, I should have thought of that. They can track us better at night than during the day. Owls have great vision in the dark. We are being followed from above.”
Just then a snapping sound struck nearby, the small rumbling sound of thunder. They recognized it immediately, for the same sound preceded the Kishion’s arrival. Paedrin grabbed Hettie’s arm and pulled her to a halt.
Three men appeared.
They were Aeduan, by the look of them. Each wore a black jacket buttoned down the front with a small white ruff at the collar. Each also wore an intricate gold chain around his neck with a multifaceted gem embedded in a medallion. White ruffles appeared at their wrists too.
“Paracelsus,” Hettie said.
The three men said nothing, but as one they touched the medallions and a streak of red light shone from each, connecting the three medallions in a triangle of light, trapping the two of them inside.
Paedrin rushed toward the nearest one. As he approached, he felt a rush of air shove him backward. The air in front of the man was hot and jarring, forming some sort of force that prevented him from approaching the man. His ears rang with pain, and he backed away. The pain lessened.
“We have you caged, Bhikhu,” one of them said. He had a short gray beard, cropped close to his jawline. He motioned for the other two with his free hand. “Close ranks.”
The other two Paracelsus each took a step forward, shrinking the size of the triangle.
Hettie whipped out her bow and quickly nocked an arrow.
“Hettie, no!” Paedrin warned.
She loosed the shaft at the lead man. The arrow raced toward him, only to be repelled right back at her. She managed to sidestep it in time, but the three men continued to close on them.
Paedrin felt the force looming, pushing at him from three sides. If they got too near, he knew he would be immobilized. Being captured again by the Arch-Rike was not something he intended to let happen.
He took a forceful stride forward, sucking in his breath. His body lifted in the air, soaring up past the streaks of red light. The cage, he discovered, did not have a top.
“Stop him! Use the ring charms!”
As Paedrin hovered in the air a moment, he watched a blade emerge from the leader’s chest as Kiranrao appeared in smoke-like coalescence. The look on the man’s face was contorted with agony as he slumped to his knees and then pitched forward.