There was no question in her mind now. She knew what she had found. Her gaze dropped back down to the dead Blight and the intoxicating scent of blood filled her nostrils once more. The scent of blood carried a long way on the wind. She knew that as well as any predator. She remembered the creature’s scream and how it had shattered the silence of the forest. Slowly she backed away from the corpse and kept her senses focused on her kin, there were twenty or more perhaps. She had wanted to find the hive, of course. She simply hadn’t wanted to find it alone and wounded.
Turning quickly she sprinted for the gardens, not caring if she made noise. The possibility that the Blights were already hunting her was too great and she had to warn the others. A crawling sensation ran down her spine and she told herself it was simply her imagination, nothing was watching her, or stalking her. Even if they were stalking her she could lose them in the city. At least she hoped she could. Biting her lower lip, she pressed herself for more speed as she turned on the path that led to the Merrodin hall. Memories of Valor riding hard from the stables filled her mind and she silently prayed that she wasn’t too late.
Chapter 21
Rivana
Shade watched the morning sunrise with quiet resentment. He had hoped to catch a few hours of sleep after equipping the ship with weapons, but that hope had died with the first rays of light. Lord Rivasa had said the Avanti would be arriving first thing in the morning and he had no doubt that they would be. Yawning he looked over The Shade, taking mental inventory of the guns and the ammunition he had available. As long as the Avanti didn’t send an armada he should be fine.
Birdsong began to fill the morning and he glared in the direction of the noise. That had always been his least favorite thing when he had stayed up too late. It was almost like a herald for a very bad day. He fought back another yawn and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. He had barely gotten it lit when the glint of metal in the sky caught his attention. With luck the feeble illusion he had cast on his ship would hold. From the air it should resemble nothing more than a pile of rocks. If the Avanti didn’t study the land too closely it should work.
He watched as the ships grew closer and counted them silently. Six escorts and one transport. The escort ships were painted in the Avanti house colors which meant they were military, and so they would be armed. He let out a long sigh and took another drag from his cigarette. It was, of course, likely they would be armed with standard ammunition. While this was deadly enough, it wasn’t as bad as it could be. He hadn’t planned on six, though. At best, he had guessed there might be three.
His gaze flicked back to The Shade and the newly attached guns. Standard military issue was four guns for a typical spell hawk. He had eight and they were not standard issue. Each gun had been designed and built by him. That had to count as an advantage as far as he figured it. He should have an advantage over the pilots as well. They were likely half-bloods and his reservoir of magic would be larger, which meant he would be faster.
They are coming, Charm’s soft voice broke through his thoughts and Shade nodded as he watched the ships preparing to land in Kedravon.
I see them, Shade replied and fought down the urge to scry on the ships for a closer look. It wasn’t worth the risk that they would sense him, simply to get a better look at the weapons. Though in truth it was a glimpse of the pilots that tempted him the most. He knew most spell hawk pilots and a good look would tell him clearly what his odds for success were.
Do you have a plan? Charm asked, his tone sounding a bit worried.
Of course I do, Shade answered filling his mental voice with as much confidence as he could muster. He did have a plan, it just wasn’t a plan Charm would be impressed with.
Are you going to tell me what it is? Charm pressed after a long pause.
You get on the ship, find Remedy and secure him. I will give you a way out. See, simple, easy and very few steps to this plan, Shade replied.
How will you give me a way out?The rogue’s tone held even more worry in it now.
Can you see a way onto the ship? Shade asked wondering if Charm would actually let him sidestep the question so easily.
I can get on the bloody ship, Shade, but how are you going to get us off of it? Charm pressed once again.
Better keep the chatter to a minimum, Charm, I’m not sure if they have Mind mages with them and we don’t want to give away our rescue before it even gets under way. Let me know when you get on the ship and I’ll see you soon. He felt a surge if irritation from the rogue as he cut off the mental link and chuckled lightly. He would hear about this later. There was no question about it.
He made his way onto his ship and dropped lightly into the pilot seat. The newly added runes glowed faintly along the controls and he ran through their pattern again. Four on the right and four on the left. Each rune controlled a single gun and each gun was loaded with a different ammo of his devising. The Avanti ships were in for a very bad day. He smiled at the thought and reached under his seat for the hidden bottle there.
“Thank you Sovann,” he said quietly as he carefully pried the cork from the bottle of essence wine. He had sworn off drinking while flying shortly before meeting Jala in Brannaford, but this time it was different. Taking a long pull from the bottle he closed his eyes and felt the surge of magic wash through him. Today he needed every advantage he could get, and a bit of liquid courage never hurt.
“Well I’ve always said I’m the best pilot,” he mumbled and took another pull from the bottle. His magic reserves were already full and the added energy from the wine sent a tingle through his skin. He tapped his fingers along the bottle for a moment and then rose from his seat.