“Flent? Can you hear me?” Ticastasy knelt by her friend.
“Yeah,” he muttered angrily, sitting up. He mopped the blood on his face with his sleeve. “Banned Krag. As ugly as I’d heard they were. Never thought I’d get a chance to fight one.”
“Here, take some of this,” Thealos said, breaking off another stub of Everoot. “Chew it quickly. It will take away the pain.” It was dark now, blacker than ink.
The knight crunched through the pine needles. “So the Sleepwalker abandoned you out here, did he?”
“We weren’t abandoned. The Krag stumbled onto our camp. The fire was still pretty bright, so it wasn’t that difficult to see us. Foolish to light one in the first place.”
“You know what they say about a Drugaen’s eyesight. They’d have seen you in the dark just as well. There will be at least five or so more.” The knight took the charger’s reins and patted its neck. It grunted and snorted, stamping its hoof. “A Sleepwalker would have avoided the whole company.” He swore under his breath. “Never had to fight off more than three before.” He looked over at Flent. “But you’re a sturdy lad, and the Shae has a decent weapon. That might count for something.”
“Why did it want to kill Flent?” Ticastasy asked. “He…he just came into the firelight and attacked us.”
“The Krag hate other Drugaen,” Thealos said. “They’ve been fighting in the Ravenstone for years. I thought they were just a political faction trying to take over the government. I had no idea they’d be involved in something this far south.” He watched Flent approach the body of the Krag warrior. The tapered short sword lay nearby.
“Don’t touch it,” Thealos warned. “It’s Forbidden magic.” He walked over and crouched near it, feeling his stomach revolt. “I don’t see any ornamentation. They must have used blood in the tempering.” He shook his head with disgust. “I can’t just leave it here.”
“You can do all the rites you want later,” the knight said. “They’ll kill you and the Drugaen lad without so much as a whisper.”
“Why?” Ticastasy asked, her voice fearful.
“We supported the Drugaen Nation at first,” Thealos replied, “But the fighting is fiercest deep down in the mountains. That’s not our best ground. The Drugaen resent us now for not helping them drive the Krag out, and the Krag hate us for selling weapons and armor to their enemies.” He glanced over at the knight. “I wasn’t aware that Owen Draw even knew about the Krag.”
“There are caves in the Kingshadow too, and they openly support the Bandit Rebellion. That makes them our enemies too, doesn’t it?” Using his boot, he kicked the Krag over on its back. “Shadowoak,” he muttered. “Their best.” The white gold symbol on its buckle glimmered. “But you’re right, Shae. They shouldn’t be this far south. Unless Ballinaire is drawing in all his forces.”
Thealos stared at the knight in the darkness, his vision good enough to see the lines on his face. He remembered the man from the Foxtale Inn in Sol, and how he had challenged Secrist and the company of Kiran Thall. Obviously, the knight had been tracking them across the coast. The oppressive stink of Forbidden magic wafted in the air again, coming from the woods. Like cinders and spoiled meat. “You’re right. More are coming.” Thealos stared off into the dark folds of the forest. The smell of Forbidden magic wavered in the air like smoke, difficult to tell which direction it came from. He did not want to leave the body and the weapon untended, but he did not have time to dispose of them both properly. “We’d better leave.”
“Oh, it’s too late for that,” the knight answered, yanking the tether and dragging the horse towards Ticastasy. “Mount up, girl. We’ll hold them here. Better be away from here in case we can’t.”
“What?” she demanded.
“No time to argue with you,” he said, hoisting her by the waist onto the saddle. “The Shadowoak fight in sixes. There are five more coming. Maybe more. Got to find out why they are down here and you’ll only get in the way.”
“Get in the way?” she seethed. “You don’t have to…”
“Wait a minute. If we hurry…” Thealos interrupted. He didn’t like the way the knight had charged in and started ordering them around. “We might be able to gain ground. They’re short and can’t match our stride.”
“Is this the first Krag you’ve faced, Shae?” the knight asked, pointing at the dead one.
Thealos swallowed and met his stare. “Yes.”
The knight shook his head and muttered impatiently. “You’ve got to kill all six,” he warned. “You leave one alive, and they’ll hunt you down to the last man with as many Krag as it takes. They drink revenge like Spider Ale. We’ve killed one – their point scout. Even if we tried to run, they would catch us before the night is through. If we have to fight, I’d rather it be on our terms. Not theirs.”