Jommy and Kaspar were people to whom she trusted her life, and Kaspar had worked hard to gain that trust.
Creegan she had reservations about. Not his character, though she generally tended to mistrust the politically ambitious type, and he clearly intended to be the head of the Church of Dala someday. It wasn’t even a case of his dedication; Pug never would have recruited him for the Conclave had there been any doubt of that. It was the liability. He was not a brawler, not someone who had been tested in battle, in her opinion, though he claimed to have faced demons in his youth.
And, there was always the complication that the Conclave could encounter some serious issues with the Temple if she managed to get one of their Father-Bishops killed along the way. Had he known, Pug would have forbidden his coming, she knew. But then Pug wasn’t here. He was on another godforsaken planet, who knows where.
She tried not to worry, but couldn’t help it; she was a wife and mother.
Miranda signalled again and Sandreena, Jommy, and Kaspar took the lead, moving in a rough v-shaped formation, with Sandreena in the vanguard. As the heaviest armoured of the three, she was the most likely to survive any unexpected attack. Miranda and Amirantha were close behind, with Brandos serving as a rearguard.
Slowly, they made their way along the narrow trail, into the cleft that led into the clearing where the sacrifices had occurred before. As expected, they encountered another sentry, but this time they weren’t concerned with stealth. Kaspar threw a dagger that took the man in the throat and he died before he could utter a sound.
From that point on, they crouched, and moved slowly to avoid alerting any second sentry. As Miranda anticipated, there were two additional sentries stationed, but ironically on the very ridge they had planned to watch from.
Miranda motioned to Jommy and Sandreena to follow Kaspar’s lead. He was the most experienced soldier in the group. He knelt and whispered, ‘Can you attract the sentries over here without alerting those on the other side of that ridge?’
‘I have a trick,’ she said, thinking instantly of Nakor. How that funny little man would have loved this sort of madness. It was exactly the sort of insanity that seemed to bring out the very best in him.
She whispered, ‘I’m going to get them over here in a hurry, so you’ll need to subdue them before they can alert anyone. Now, we need to wait until their attentions wander for a moment.’
The air was suddenly filled with chanting, more rhythmic and lower than the sound they heard four nights before. Miranda waited, patiently, watching as the two guards stood their post.
She would occasionally glance at Kaspar and the others, and was gratified to see that not one of them was losing focus or letting the tedium dull their readiness. There was too much at stake to grow lax even for a moment.
Time passed slowly, then a scream of absolute horror and agony caused the two sentries to look towards the source of the sound for a moment. Instantly Miranda was on her feet and with a short incantation she mystically reached out and seized both men by the scruff of their collars and brought them flying backwards in a high arc, to land at her feet. Instantly Kaspar, Jommy, Brandos, and Sandreena were upon them and they died without a sound.
‘Now we go!’ said Miranda and she led the way to the ridge from where she had plucked the two sentries.
They hurried, less mindful of the noise they made as the chanting had reached a crescendo of screams and chants. They breasted the rise, and Miranda instantly knew they faced obliteration.
This was no ceremony. Two hundred armed warriors stood ready, poised to charge, and behind them on a large rock, stood Belasco. The chanting was only an illusion, cast by a robed magician at his side, and at his other side was the nude figure of Darthea, clutching him as she would her love. She looked at Amirantha with contempt as Belasco shouted, ‘Brother! You’ve brought friends! How considerate!’ To his warriors, he shouted, ‘Kill them!’
‘Hold!’ shouted Miranda to Sandreena and Brandos who readied themselves for a charge.
With a sweeping gesture, Miranda sent a wave of flame rolling towards the attackers. Men screamed as flames rolled over them, and several fell to the ground, only to trip others or be trampled on. Amirantha began to conjure, but Sandreena shouted, ‘Don’t!’
He paused and shouted back, ‘Why?’
‘Isn’t that your lady love over there with your brother?’