“Do you mean you wish to face me?” Leelan’s “friend” asked the triumphant guard, the wall of innocence in her mind hiding what was behind. “You would draw a weapon against one who is unarmed?”
“For what reason should I not?” the woman retorted, standing with her left palm resting on her sword hilt. “As I am to lose my life, it will give me great pleasure to be accompanied by another. Take a weapon and face me, woman, else shall your noble friend be forsworn.”
“There is naught else for it, my friend,” Leelan said to the older woman, working hard to feel resigned as she put a hand to her shoulder. “You may use my sword to face her.”
“Very well, Leelan,” the answer came-much more successfully resigned-along with a sigh. “I will be honored to accept your sword. When one is challenged, one must answer.”
The sword in question was solemnly handed over and as solemnly received, and then everyone else stepped back. The guard woman was faintly surprised that Leelan was going to let it go on, but she was also much too satisfied to complain. One way or the other she was determined to hurt Leelan, and she drew her blade with a good deal of relish, anticipating some fun before she had to give up her own life. It didn’t bother her in the least that she was about to slaughter someone who was helpless, but she did feel a bit puzzled when her opponent stopped in front of her and lowered her point.
“Before we begin, I feel I should correct one small misconception on your part,” the helpless victim said in a very mild way, looking at her opponent with steady blue eyes. “We and you know that you are unable to match Leelan with a sword, therefore do you seek to give her harm in another manner. One who would do such a thing is a craven, and totally without honor, and were my sister here even she would have little difficulty in besting you. / shall have no difficulty whatsoever.”
“Your sister?” The woman laughed, still not getting the point, her fist tightening around her hilt. “Your sister is not one I would care to face, yet is it you I have before my blade, Relgon. Your days of accompanying Leelan are done.”
“My days of accompanying Leelan are merely beginning,” the older woman said with a faint smile, tossing her head to rid her shoulders of long blond hair as she raised her point again. “And Relgon is the sister I so recently referred to. I am Deegor. ”
I couldn’t see if the guard woman’s face paled, but her mind certainly did. Deegor was now allowing her grim pleasure to show through, and her opponent was surely able to feel it. The next instant the guard attacked, trying to get with surprise what she couldn’t get with skill, but Deegor was ready for her. Effortlessly the w’wenda blocked the attack, drove the guard back with hard, slashing blows, then knocked her weapon aside and ran her through. I had already shielded against such an end, so I was able to watch the body crumple to the floor fur without doing more than tightening my hold on Tammad just a bit. There was momentary silence while Deegor looked down at her erstwhile opponent, and then we all heard a voice we hadn’t heard in quite some time.
“What occurs here?” the voice demanded, causing us to look around or over toward the wall we had come through. Dallan stood there with his sword in his hand, some small amount of confusion still in his eyes, but for all intents and purposes back to his original self. The sword looked strange with him still in a slave wrap, but no one felt the urge to laugh.
“I see you have released him, Terril,” Leelan said in approval while everyone else began moving purposefully in different directions, Deegor to clean the sword she had just used. “It will save a good deal of time we are now badly in need of. We must reach Farian before she attempts to flee.”
Dallan began again to demand to know what was going on, but then he saw Tammad where he still stood in his chains, and understood that explanations would have to wait. He came over to stand with us while Leelan’s women moved around the room, two of them grabbing the drugged guard where she cringed against a wall, then forcing her to show them where the keys to Tammad’s shackles were. Happily the key was right there in the apartment, hanging on a peg under the spot where Tammad’s sword had been mounted on the wall, and it took only another minute to get him loose. Although he didn’t actually stumble, he was a good deal less steady on his feet than he should have been, but when he wrapped those mighty arms around me that was all I could bring myself to care about.
“How do you fare, brother?” Dallan asked him while the women took off again on errands of their own. “Later you must certainly rest a good while.”
“Later I shall certainly rest,” Tammad answered, his mind vaguely curious. “For what reason are you clad so, brother? I had not known that they had taken you as well.”
“I was not taken,” Dallan answered, giving me a low-browed scowl where I stood with my cheek against Tammad’s chest. “More accurately, I was not taken by those who first took you. We shall speak of the matter-at length-when the attack has been successfully concluded. ”
“We will speak of the matter then,” Tammad agreed, still seeming understandably confused and vague, but that was all the time we had for talk. Leelan’s w’wendaa brought over Tammad’s sword and the dark green haddin they’d found, and Deegor and Leelan pulled me bodily away from the arms I didn’t want to leave.
“Terril, we must now hurry on,” Leelan said without giving me the chance to do more than make a single sound in protest. “Your memabrak must dress and join us, and then we shall seek out Farian. There are no others of her guard remaining in this apartment.”
She seemed rather disappointed at that, something that made Deegor grin, but I was forced to admit I understood how she felt. I now had what I wanted, but there were others who didn’t.
So I stood and waited while Tammad dressed himself and added his swordbelt, during which time Dallan returned briefly to the other apartment to retrieve his own swordbelt. It didn’t take long before everyone was ready, but when Tammad came over toward me and said, “Terril,” Deegor stepped between us and raised a hand in his direction.
“You may not have her,” she said in a firm but kindly voice as she looked up at him. “There are others who now need her more, as you can surely understand. There is a battle to be fought and won.”
“Yes, battles must be won,” Tammad agreed, terribly disappointed but feeling no urge to argue. He was struggling weakly against the confusion he still felt, but everything was happening so fast around him, and he was so tired after all he’d been through.
“For what reason would it be detrimental to our battle if I were to simply walk beside him?” I asked, annoyed that I was being positioned between Leelan and Deegor as we began to leave the apartment. “Are you of the opinion that your efforts toward my safety would be greater than his?”
“His great fatigue aside, certainly not,” Deegor said with a distracted nod of agreement from Leelan, a reassuring touch on the shoulder coming from the older woman. “Were the matter one of your safety alone, you might certainly walk beside him. Fortunately or unfortunately we shall likely find fighting in the corridors, and you are the one who bears the only sword I might use. I would take it now to free you of the necessity of remaining beside me, yet might we well require again the belief that I am Relgon. The time should not be long. ”
The time should not be long. It seemed to me I’d already had to wait far too long, but I couldn’t really argue with Deegor’s need. I cast one longing look back at Tammad where he followed with Dallan, then let the two w’wendaa from Vediaster navigate me through the door.
The corridor we exited into was empty, but all of a sudden we were able to hear the sound of swordplay, an unguessable distance off. The battle really was on, but inside the apartment we hadn’t been able to tell. Despite the way all of me had wanted to concentrate on nothing but Tammad, I’d still kept a good portion of my mind alert for any attempt to replace the Hand of Power. Now I realized consciously what I’d known all along: that there hadn’t been even a whisper of a try at replacing them, no matter who had or hadn’t been there when they’d gone down. Their room was located somewhere in the center of the palace, I’d been told, and they must have had guards around them—or maybe not. Siitil had thought they were guarded, but maybe it was only from the outside of a room. Inside-who could hurt the Hand of Power?