“Are you hurt?” he asked softly as he gently turned her over onto her back. “I know how to heal. Just tell me what is broken, and I will mend it.”
“My heart is broken,” cried Lady Mystic, “and you cannot heal it. Go away and leave me alone. Please, go away.”
Xavo stared at the woman. He knew Lady Mystic to be an extremely powerful mage, yet this woman had no resemblance to Vand’s daughter. Her faced carried the stains of a thousand tears, and her eyes were the eyes of the dead. They stared right through you. Her lips quivered in fear, and her legs didn’t have the strength to hold her body upright.
Xavo removed his pack and dropped it on the beach. He sat down next to Lady Mystic and lifted her up until her head rested on his lap. She did not fight or waste her breath by telling him to leave. He reached for the pack and drew it nearer to him. He reached into the pack and withdrew a potion. Bringing the bottle to her lips, he made her sip some of the liquid. Lady Mystic moaned unintelligibly.
Xavo brushed the sand from her face and made her sip some more of the potion. When he had succeeded in getting half the bottle of potion into her body, life began to return to Lady Mystic. Her breathing became regular instead of ragged. Her eyes seemed to be able to focus as she stared up at Xavo’s face.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked
“You need someone to do it,” Xavo shrugged. “Why shouldn’t I be the one?”
“Why should you be the one?” Lady Mystic persisted. “You are the most pompous self-absorbed person that I know. What do you want? What will this act of kindness cost me?”
“I am self-absorbed,” admitted Xavo as he fished in his pack. “I always have been, but who isn’t? One does not have friends on this island; one has competitors. Here, eat this orange. It will do wonders for you.”
Lady Mystic grabbed the orange and began devouring it as if she had not eaten for days, which she had not.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Lady Mystic pointed out. “What do you want with me, and what will it cost me?”
“What I want is some information,” smiled Xavo, “and it will cost you nothing.”
“I knew you wanted something,” huffed Lady Mystic.
“Of course I do,” admitted Xavo. “I never said that I didn’t want something, but I am glad that I came even if you refuse to help me. You would not have lasted much longer.”
“And what would that matter to you?” scowled Lady Mystic.
“Oh,” shrugged Xavo, “I would survive, but I would miss you. You are probably not aware of it, but I have always admired you. In fact, you are the only person on this island that I have admired.”
“Clova chips,” Lady Mystic shook her head. “You have never admired anyone except yourself.”
“Almost true,” smiled Xavo. “What I admired in you were the characteristics that many see in me. You are also self-absorbed and pompous, as you so aptly labeled me a few moments ago. Of course your reasons for being so smug were not only your skill and power, but also the fact that you were Vand’s daughter. I could never compete with that. Yet most people viewed us in the same light. That is why I admired you.”
Lady Mystic frowned as she thought about Xavo’s words. There was a ring of truth in what he was saying, although she had never recognized those traits in herself before, perhaps because she had never honestly examined herself. She began to understand Xavo in a way that had never dawned on her before.
“What is it that you came to me for?” Lady Mystic asked calmly.
“I have been promoted,” declared Xavo. “Vand has named me as one of his disciples. My problem is that I have no idea how to behave as a disciple, and I don’t want to appear foolish by asking someone. I was hoping that you could enlighten me.”
“And you are not afraid of appearing foolish to me?” questioned Vand’s daughter.
“No,” Xavo shook his head. “You are nobody now. You have no standing in Vand’s organization.”
“Brutally truthful,” smiled Lady Mystic. “I like that. That is another characteristic that we share. Am I to assume that your promotion is a reward for killing Aakuta?”
“It is,” nodded Xavo. “Vand was extremely pleased.”
“I can imagine,” spat Lady Mystic. “I will find a way to repay my father for that.”
“Did you really love Aakuta?” asked Xavo. “I mean, I know that you think you did, but you truly did betray him twice. I have a hard time reconciling that.”
Lady Mystic turned from Xavo’s face and stared at the sand for several moments before answering.
“I truly did love him,” she said softly. “My problem is that I truly loved my father as well, yet they were starkly at odds with one another. Twice I made what I thought was the best choice. Twice I was wrong. I wish I could have those chances back.”
“Would you truly do anything different?” asked Xavo. “Sometimes we paint a picture of ourselves that is much too rosy.”
“I understand what you are saying,” nodded Lady Mystic, “but of this I am sure. It took me far too long to realize what an animal my father is.”
“Careful,” warned Xavo. “Words of that nature will bring harm upon you. I will forget that I heard them, but you must not repeat them to others.”
“I no longer care,” shrugged Lady Mystic. “Vand has already taken my life from me. He can do no more damage to me. He had better kill me quickly, because I will most certainly kill him if I get the chance.”
Xavo inhaled deeply and swallowed nervously. He shook his head and stared at Lady Mystic.
“I would prefer that you do not say such things,” Xavo said softly. “You may be without status, but I still admire your courage and skill. I am not ready to see you die.”
“Forget it,” Lady Mystic said brusquely as she sat and moved away from Xavo. “Let me tell you what you have come to learn. By the time you leave this beach, you will know all there is about being a Disciple of Vand.”
Chapter 15
War Plans
The large room in the Imperial Palace in Okata was awash in uniforms. General Didyk spread a large map out on a long table, and all of the generals crowded around it. Lyra and StarWind moved through the crowd to stand at the Didyk’s side.
“We had thought that Duran and Zaramilden would be fairly safe from attack because of their remote locations,” Didyk began. “We could not have been more wrong as the devastating attack on Duran shows. On the face of it, the attack on Duran makes no sense from a strategic standpoint, but I suspect that Emperor Marak is quite correct in his assessment. I think Duran was attacked to gauge our response to it.”
“More likely,” interjected General Papper, “it was to test the Khadoran response. Khadora has what might pass as a navy, while Sakovan vessels are mostly fishing boats.”
“Emperor Marak has made quite a show of moving large armies to our border,” declared the Star of Sakova. “It would be impossible for Vand’s spies to have missed it.”
“Yes,” nodded General Papper, “but did he move his fleet? I suspect that Vand’s generals are more concerned with naval battles because their forces will be most vulnerable at that time. If each of those ships carries a thousand men, lost ships will have a large impact on the army that lands on our shores.”
“Not only is it a worry about losses at sea,” interrupted General Smythe, “but reconnaissance as well. The boy from Duran who survived the attack mentioned six large ships that participated in the attack. Those ships were able to successfully cross the ocean, conduct a full-scale attack on a city and depart without us knowing about it. Had the boy not survived, we might still not know about it.”
“So Vand knows that we are not effectively patrolling the sea,” nodded StarWind.
“At least we weren’t at the time of the attack on Duran,” nodded General Didyk. “I think General Papper is onto something, though. If Emperor Marak did not also move his fleet as well as his armies, Vand will know that we do not intend to interdict his ships when he crosses the ocean. I would prefer that he be a little nervous about sailing to our shores.”