She kept as calm as she could. She had everything she needed. She ran through a side door, down the hall, and into the small room near hers where Elden slept when his father was away.
She opened the door to find his shutters open and the room bathed in the light of the barracks fire. She scanned the room, saw his bed, the side table, the wooden toys carved like horses, but she did not see him.
"Elden?" she hissed from the doorway.
She heard a soft moan and saw the pile of furs on his bed stir. She hurried across the room and gently lifted the covers.
He was curled up in the bed, eyes squeezed shut, arms around the tiny brown puppy he fancied from Dors's litter. He was humming to himself, as he often did when frightened.
"Elden," she said softly, and touched his leg. "It's Kaesa."
She felt his body release some of its tension but he did not open his eyes.
"Fore," he said, and Kaesa understood him to mean "fire."
Elden had been born dimwitted, with a body that answered his commands only awkwardly. Only those who knew him well-Kaesa, Regg, Lord Corrinthal, and Master Corrinthal-could understand all he said.
Kaesa had long considered him a gift from Lathander. What he lacked in wits he made up for in love. He was a lesson to all of them. The thought of something happening to him…
She sat on the bed and stroked his face with her fingertips. She had to calm him. He stopped humming, opened his eyes, and smiled. "K'sa."
"Shh," she said, and touched his lips. His tongue stuck slightly out of his mouth, as it always did, and she playfully poked it with her finger. He giggled. Sleep had mussed his hair.
"It will all be fine, Elden. The men have the fire under control. No horses are hurt. And you and I are going on a trip. We will see your papa."
He perked up at that, brown eyes hopeful. "Papa?"
She nodded, hating herself for lying. "Yes. But we must leave right now. We are going to play hide and find in the stag woods." She took his hand. "Come now."
She tried to pull him from the bed but he resisted.
"Bowny come," he said, and held up the puppy for her to see.
It looked at her in the longsuffering way of all puppies.
She knew better than to dispute with him over the dog. He would have a tantrum.
"Yes, Brownie can come. Let's get you some clothes and shoes."
Sounds of battle carried through the walls. Elden's eyes widened with fear and he clutched at her. She embraced him, careful of the puppy, and stroked his back.
"It is all right, Elden."
She could not wait for him to calm down. Carrying him on her hip, she found his clothes, set him down, and hurriedly dressed him.
"Elden Corrinthal!" shouted a voice from somewhere down the hall. "Show yourself, boy!"
Elden squealed with fear. Terror gripped Kaesa. She was sweating, breathing too heavily.
"Forget the shoes," she said, and picked him up. She was able to carry him with ease. He was not a large boy, and fear lent her strength. The puppy nestled between them. She held her dagger in the other hand.
"Here we go, now. You must stay very quiet."
"Elden Corrinthal!"
She heard the thumps of doors being kicked open, the screams of those caught by the attackers.
She went in the opposite direction of the sounds, picking her way through quiet halls, parlors, and finally down the rear stairs to the dining hall.
"It will all be fine," she whispered to Elden.
Sobs shook him. She was crying, too. She had not noticed. "It will all be fine."
She hurried through the kitchen. Screams, shouts, and the light from the fire carried through the windows. Elden buried his head in her neck and whimpered. The puppy squirmed.
She looked out a window. She saw fighting near the barracks, men moving around the stables, and a few small combats here and there on the grounds. The wind blew embers and sparks from the fire, making the sky look aflame. Battle cries sounded from everywhere. The dead littered the grounds. Men on horses moved among the carnage, shouting, killing.
To Kaesa, it looked like an image of the Hells. She maneuvered Elden so he could not see it.
She looked out the window to her left and saw a clear path between the village and the stables. The fire cast little light there and patches of shrubs and trees would provide cover. If she could make it to the stag woods, she knew a place she could hide. They would never find her.
Her legs felt weak and she feared they would fail her. She was breathing but did not seem able to gulp enough air. Elden's fingernails gouged her skin. She asked Lathander for protection and said, "Here we go. Be silent, now."
She cut across the kitchen and down the rough stairway that led to the large root cellar. The smell of spices and loam filled the air. She felt her way through the large, dark cellar until she reached the stairs that led outside. She climbed them, listened for a moment with her ear to the door. She heard only her heart, only her breathing. She shouldered open the door and ran. Panic lent her speed. She stumbled but did not fall.
A surprised shout greeted her exit. Someone had spotted her. A soft scream slipped between her lips. Tears flowed down her face. Elden held her so tightly around her neck she could hardly breathe.
"Stop, woman!" said a man's voice.
She did not stop, but she heard footsteps, heavy breathing, and the clink of mail behind her. Elden was crying on her shoulder. The men behind her-more than one-were closing.
She made up her mind. She swung Elden around in mid-stride, threw them both to the ground, and brandished her blade, intending to do what Erthim had commanded. She held her blade above her head.
"I am sorry, Elden."
Elden's innocent eyes went wide and he mouthed her name.
She hesitated.
A hand closed on her wrist and jerked her arm almost out of its socket. She screamed.
"I said stop, wench," growled a man's voice in her ear.
She felt a pinch in her back and lost her breath. Her vision went blurry for a moment. She looked at Elden, smiled, but he stared at her with terror in his eyes. She looked down, surprised to see the bloody end of a sword's blade sticking out of her stomach. Warm liquid filled her mouth. She tried to speak, to tell Elden that everything would be fine, but her voice failed her.
Elden screamed and Kaesa fell.
Reht exited the manse, bloody, tired, and pained with a few sword cuts. He would be damned to the Abyss, however, before he would stoop to asking Vors to heal him. The estate was secure. Corpses dotted the grounds. A few pigs, freed from their sties, rooted at the bodies. Reht's men moved about in groups of two and three, searching for survivors, collecting loot. A line of men, women, and children from the village sat in the grass, hemmed in by several of Reht's men.
The relative quiet, after the din of combat, was marked.
Reht had not found the boy. He did not relish explaining his failure to Forrin.
Smoke from the burning barracks had reached the stables and panicked neighs and stomps sounded from within. He could hear several horses beating against their stalls. He turned to the man nearest him.
"Get someone to calm those horses and get them out of the stables. All of them come with us."
Reht knew Saerbian horseflesh to be among the finest in Sembia. He would have at least something to show for tonight's slaughter. To another man, he said, "Get a headcount and report back.
Reht guessed he had lost fewer than a dozen men, but the combat had been so dispersed that he could have lost more.
Norsim and Rolk came around the corner of the house. Norsim roughly pulled a small boy along behind him. Spotting Reht, he waved his other hand.
"We have him, commander!"
Reht grinned like a fool.