The Heroine - Sydli
Sydli clenched her hands and tightened her barriers. Someone brushed her thoughts. She couldn't tell if the seaker was friend or foe. She pressed against the passage wall. The barrier was her only protection against an invasion of ther thougths. Had Emlu been able to block hers?
Not that Lodar, the target of today ahd the ability ro read thoughts. He had wormed his way into their father's confidence. Why couldn't her father see Lodar craved to be named when he wasn't entitled to the position?
Seek the Rangers. They will help.
A double voice sounded in her head and brought a startled cry she muffled with her fist. Who had managed to breach her barrier? What did the message mean?
What?
A different voice raised the question. The call to seek the Rovers came again. The double voice sounded friendly and the promise of a refuge pleased her. Could she convince Emli a flight was their only choice? Anything would be safer than here where Lodar laid plans to take the throne. Perhaps the Rovers could help them locate their mother's highland kin.
Sydli pushed away from the wall and scurried along the narrow hall to the kitchen area. She opened a part of the wall and entered the pantry. For a short time she remained behind the shelves and listened to the clatter of pans and the loud voices of the cooks and their helpers. Satisfied no one was about to enter she moved quickly. Into a sack she put a wheel of cheese, packets of journey food, flatbread, kaf and sweetener. She dragged the heavy bag to the circular room.
She had found the room during her exploration of the inner ways her mother had shown her. When she'd looked for the area in the basement of the palace she had discovered only a stone wall with no possible opening.
The Hero - VALCON
Sydli clenched her hands and tightened her barriers. Someone brushed her thoughts. She couldn't tell if the seaker was friend or foe. She pressed against the passage wall. The barrier was her only protection against an invasion of ther thougths. Had Emlu been able to block hers?
Not that Lodar, the target of today ahd the ability ro read thoughts. He had wormed his way into their father's confidence. Why couldn't her father see Lodar craved to be named when he wasn't entitled to the position?
Seek the Rangers. They will help.
A double voice sounded in her head and brought a startled cry she muffled with her fist. Who had managed to breach her barrier? What did the message mean?
What?
A different voice raised the question. The call to seek the Rovers came again. The double voice sounded friendly and the promise of a refuge pleased her. Could she convince Emli a flight was their only choice? Anything would be safer than here where Lodar laid plans to take the throne. Perhaps the Rovers could help them locate their mother's highland kin.
Sydli pushed away from the wall and scurried along the narrow hall to the kitchen area. She opened a part of the wall and entered the pantry. For a short time she remained behind the shelves and listened to the clatter of pans and the loud voices of the cooks and their helpers. Satisfied no one was about to enter she moved quickly. Into a sack she put a wheel of cheese, packets of journey food, flatbread, kaf and sweetener. She dragged the heavy bag to the circular room.
She had found the room during her exploration of the inner ways her mother had shown her. When she'd looked for the area in the basement of the palace she had discovered only a stone wall with no possible opening.
The Hero - VALCON
The midday sun of the late summer
day beamed on the caravan consisting of three Rover wagons, several extra
coursers and eight riders. Val tugged off his neck cloth and wiped his sweaty
brow. Today he rode as rear guard and used his affinity for Water to search for
emotions that spoke of strangers. As yet, the group seemed to be the only
travelers for miles.
He scanned the horizon. The grassy
plains stretched to the east and the west of the old rutted road leading toward
a distant grove of trees. The forest could hide attackers, but as yet he sensed
no unknown enemies.
The heavy loads stored in the wagons
caused the slow progress. Val had to admit Doma Jandia was the best trader he
had ever encountered. Not only did they have extra mounts there was enough food
and grain to last a month or more along with the tools they needed to repair
the abandoned keep. He grinned. They still had credit with the Rovers.
An outburst of angry emotions
impinged on his peace. Val’s hands clenched. Four days of travel beneath a hot
sun had brought tempers to the fore, especially from those whose affinity for
Fire guided their actions.
Ky and her courser tore toward him.
With one hand she held the reins. The other hand held a raised sword that
blazed with flames. Behind her, Zand galloped. His sword showed a plume of
fire. “Take that back,” he shouted.
Val rode toward the pair. “Enough,”
he cried. “Dampen those flames. Do you want to set the grass aflame and
endanger us all?”
“She called me a baby,” Zand said.
Val sucked in a breath. “What did
you say to her?”
“That I was better with a sword.”
Val nodded. “Since you have been
practicing with one since you could hold a blade, how else could you be? I say
you’re both acting like children.” In some ways they both were, not only in age
but in experience. “Why don’t the pair of you spar after evening meal when
Dragen can watch and comment?”
The flames on Ky’s sword died. She
turned to Zand. “A good idea.”
The Villain - Dom Senet appears in the other Affinity series books but in Searches more of his plans unfold.
She searched the winds for traces of the particular aroma of Dom Senet’s thoughts. He wasn’t in Cedris. Nor was he in the highlands. She continued to scent the winds until she smelled his essence. Cautiously, she slipped into his head.
He spoke to a pair of doms. Malera, Mandir and Lodar are in place and ready to do my bidding. They will seek the heirs of Easren, Nortren and Soutren. His laughter filled the wind. Ash felt cold.
They believe I will help them become the rulers of these princedoms. They will do all I ask until the day they learn there can only be one ruler. I am that one. You will remain hidden here. Two of my faithful will be sent to each of the other princedoms. I will tell you when and how to act. Though time will pass, you must remain alert.
Just as she was about to leave his thoughts, she caught a tendril leading to his plans for the four young men Zand and her brothers had met. She wanted to know more about them so she delved deeper. As she had suspected, the four were being trained to face her siblings and her. A sliver of fear sliced through her thoughts.
Ashlea?
Dom Senet’s voice. A surge of fear that wasn’t hers startled Ash. She broke the connection to the dom the way Doma Jandia had taught her. Come, she called to Kirlon. She felt him flee on her trail. Yet someone remained.
Who? Ash asked.
The Heroine --Sydli
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