Talis was starving and couldn’t wait for the soldiers to cook dinner. He rummaged through his packs and found a bag of dried meat. He smiled, and thanked the gods for giving him such a wonderful mother. He ate a few pieces until his stomach stopped complaining.
“What’s this?” Jarvis said, eying the dried meat. “No acting the noble brat out here with the troops hard at work. Pull your own weight… Do something useful like starting a fire.”
Withering from his harsh words, Talis nodded and marched over to where several soldiers were assembling wood for the fire. The men regarded him suspiciously, but moved away as Talis raised his hands at the wood, attempting to cast Fire Magic again.
But before he even had a chance to try, a spidering flame illuminated the dark night and engulfed the wood in a whoosh, then the magic disappeared, leaving only the brightly burning campfire.
“Can’t even cast a simple flame to start a fire?” Rikar said, his voice filled with contempt. He emerged from the shadows, chuckling with Nikulo.
“That’s what I was about to do…” Talis muttered.
“No, what he was about to do was lose control of magic and kill himself and everyone else around him!” Rikar said, his face turning suddenly wrathful. Talis knew he was still furious at him over Cassis’s death.
The soldiers went silent, staring at Rikar and Talis like they were about to fight. Some even stepped back into the shadows, as if wary of wizard duels.
“I ask you to start a fire, not start a fight!” Master Jarvis marched up and glared at them. “Now do something useful…preferably in difference places, you hear me?”
Talis nodded, and Rikar skulked off towards his horse, Nikulo trailing gloomily.
“And did I give permission for the rest of you to just stand there gaping at these fools?” Jarvis shouted.
Soon the soldiers went back to bustling around, setting up a cooking pot over the fire and preparing dinner. Talis helped them unload the food bags and one of the soldiers thanked him and said they could do the rest.
After eating dinner, Talis retreated with his blanket to a place behind several bushes, shielded from the northern wind. He thought about all that had happened…had it only been two days since the Jiserians had attacked Naru? Where was Mara now, locked up someplace in the Lei mansion, furious at her parents?
Talis let his thoughts drift away, and he leaned back to stare at the stars flickering in the sky. He dozed off to sleep, but was awakened by a rustling sound in the bushes. He tensed, finding himself completely awake in an instant. When the sound came closer, Talis gripped his short sword, feeling the fire crawl up his arm.
“It’s me,” Mara whispered, holding her hand out to stop him. “Put your sword away.”
“Mara? But…how did you get here?”
“I’m in disguise.” She pulled her hood down and grinned. “Proper soldier of House Lei… Did you miss me?”
“Of course! I can’t believe you escaped from your father. Everyone said he locked you away.”
“He did…but he doesn’t know I can pick all the locks in the house. I sneaked out in the middle of the night while everyone was sleeping…including the guard at the front gate.”
“Good secret to keep.” Talis grinned. “I’m glad you came-”
“Somebody had to keep you from getting yourself killed. When I heard Rikar and Nikulo were selected for the party, I was furious. I couldn’t let you go alone…especially not with grumpy Master Jarvis and those two fools…”
“Did you eat?”
Mara shrugged. “I packed chocolate and sweet bread.”
“That’s not food!”
“I didn’t want Rikar or Nikulo or Master Jarvis to recognize me by the fire…”
“Here, eat some dried meat.”
Mara nibbled on the edges. “This is delicious… You know, I really love your mother’s food. Why can’t I have your mother? My mother never cooks. Can we swap?”
“Not in a million years,” Talis said, and grinned.
They went quiet for awhile, listening to the droning sounds of insects in the oasis. Talis’s mood darkened, knowing that sooner or later someone would recognize Mara. “But what are we going to do when they find you’re here? You know they will, eventually.”
“Worry about that when the time comes.” Mara lay next to him, pulling his blanket over her, and stared at the stars. Twin meteors shot across the black sky, sending a pulsing thrill shooting through his body. Mara was really here with him… For the first time since leaving on the trip, hope blossomed in his heart.
After three grueling days north through the desert, Talis stared out across the stormy horizon, wishing they’d leave this bleak place. How far was it to the northlands? Jarvis was sullen and quiet, refusing to answer his questions. They’d stopped to rest in a gully underneath a massive sand dune.
Rikar was entertaining the soldiers-again, at Talis’s expense-telling stories about Xhan, Talis’s older brother, and what a tremendous fighter Xhan was (as opposed to Talis). It didn’t matter that Talis had beat him in the Blood Dagger competition, Rikar always chose to tell stories about older fights in which Talis lost. Rikar whispered something in a younger soldier’s ear, and they both scoffed and shook their heads at Talis.
This was the worst expedition possible. Talis wished he’d gotten to know his father’s men better, as they seemed to have the same challenging attitude towards him that his father had had for all these years. Especially the younger ones.
Mara kept quiet, keeping her face covered in disguise; she wasn’t about to get escorted back to Naru by one of the soldiers. Talis caught her gripping her dagger as Rikar was deep in ridiculing Talis. This wasn’t easy for her either.
Talis opened a pack and withdrew more dried meat from his dwindling supplies. He was getting sick of dried pork and dried beef. With the wind and storm as strong as it was, they didn’t even attempt to start a fire. He knew he couldn’t expect much in the way of variety on the expedition, especially the farther they went north and the colder it got. But still he missed the ovens of Naru filled with sweet bread and pies, dumpling soup from Fiskar’s Market, and most of all, his mother’s cooking.
But after an hour or so of waiting out the storm, the wind slowed and the clouds dissipated. An eerie calm possessed the desert as the soldiers stared around in wonder. Then one of the soldiers let out a shrill whistle, and Talis turned and noticed that the others behind him were staring at the western horizon.
“Raiders,” shouted Jarvis.
Talis squinted. Far away, a dust cloud swirled towards them.
“Prepare to ride!” Jarvis yelled, charging around his men. They gathered their gear and mounted up. “Battle formation, but keep it loose and fast, I’d rather not engage whoever is out there.”
Talis scrambled onto his horse, and rode after them, the wind stinging his face as they sped north. The horses of Naru were famous across the western world. Bred for speed and endurance, the thoroughbreds selected for the expedition were among the finest champions of Naru. But as Talis glanced back, whoever was chasing them rode like demons…
An inky-black sandstorm swirled behind the group chasing them, the fringes of which reached up to the zenith. The storm rose higher and higher as they gained on them, until it seemed that darkness would blot out the sky. White uniforms against the blackness. Jiserians.
The enemy soldiers on horseback didn’t travel alone. A hundred feet in the air behind them flew three figures in blood-red cloaks. Shadow tendrils lapped at their legs, shrouding their feet. Outstretched hands creating the power of the storm. Talis watched as the figure on the left dove from the sky and brought a spiraling arm down, a black lance of shadow and sand. The storm aimed directly at their party.
Talis stopped and gaped. His horse reared, spooked by the fury of the elemental assault. They would die out here. Or be captured and taken as slaves. Or worse, tortured for information. How could the Jiserians know they were out here?