Besieged (10 page)

Heart thundering, she came to her hands and knees, wiped her mouth, and turned to face the person she’d tripped over. Whoever it was, they appeared to her as a negative space; his, or her, gift essence had segued to the higher plane

Please don’t let it be Egrayne.

‘Who is it, Roskara?’ she asked, fearful of touching the body in case she was pulled through to the empyrean plane.

‘The lad.’

She cursed.

At a guess, Graelen had slipped out of the tent and gone for a walk in the moonlight. T’En had a natural affinity for moonlight. It was soothing when the gift troubled them.

She suspected that Graelen had found the tree and been fascinated by its tangled lacework of branches. After that, he must have called his gift, or it had surged beyond his control, creating a breach in the wall between planes.

But that didn’t explain why Arodyti had screamed. Had the initiate tried to bring him back herself? No... she’d be beside him, lost on the higher plane.

‘I’ve found Gift-warrior Egrayne,’ Roskara called.

Her voice echoed hollowly to Vittoryxe’s distorted perception, and she couldn’t tell which direction it had come from. ‘Don’t touch–’

‘I know that. I’m not stupid.’

Vittoryxe let the insolence slide, her mind racing. If Egrayne had gone through and failed to return, it meant the big warrior was in trouble. Only one thing for it.

‘I’m going after them. Watch over our bodies, Roskara.’

Reaching out into the darkness that was the lad’s form, she searched for a patch of bare skin. One touch and she would be dragged through.

Roskara screamed.

Vittoryxe lifted her head. Saw an empyrean predator lumber up the slope. Its form must have been cloaked by the power leaking from the tree. Now that it was on the move, she saw its thick shoulders, its four short legs and sensed its driving hunger. This must be why Arodyti had run to fetch the gift-warriors.

Vittoryxe sprang to her feet.

The predator stopped, massive head swinging from side to side. Out of its natural element, it was confused.

Roskara froze. If she ran, the predator would target her. If she didn’t run, it might take her down and devour her essence. It only hesitated now because it could not decide which of them to attack.

Vittoryxe leapt between Roskara and the beast. There was no time to do more than tackle the thing and drag it back to where it belonged.

The passage was instantaneous. One moment she was on the earthly plane, the next, the empyrean. Releasing the stunned beast, she stepped back. The ground fell away behind her and she tumbled down the slope, somersaulting and rolling to her feet.

Here she was powerful, but her gift would attract other predators. She had to kill this one quickly.

Here the very plane itself was hostile to her kind, and hungry for her gift. She could feel the cold leaching up through her feet, stealing her life force, draining her power. Here she existed through the force of her will alone. Her boots were an extension of her and offered no protection from the cold.

An untrained T’En would not last long. Either the predators would tear him apart, or his power would leak away until he slipped into unconsciousness. The lad didn’t have enough training to focus his essence and escape, which was why Egrayne had come after him.

She spun around, looking for them. Nowhere in sight.

But Egrayne had been here. Someone had given the empyrean plane form, forcing it to adhere to the layout of their campsite, though there were differences. She saw no trees other than the one misshapen growth, and no stream flowed through the hollow. Only mist gathered down there, cloaking any manner of thing.

The predator had a more substantial form here. She recognised a bane-boar. With her fall their positions had been reversed, and now it held the high ground. Its broad shoulders were as high as her waist and it stood on the crest of the rise, silhouetted against the brooding blue-black clouds.

She’d heard that powerful T’En could bring sunlight to the empyrean plane, but whenever she’d come here, the atmosphere held the menace of the last breathless moment before a summer storm.

The bane-boar lowered its head.

It would charge her, relying on its weight and the steep slope to knock her off her feet. If she fell, she’d die.

She reached for a spear, creating it by the force of her will, drawing on years of training and her innate power. But every act drained her, and too much use of her gift would make her lethargic and vulnerable.

Letting loose a wave of malevolence that would have knocked an untrained T’En to his knees, the beast charged.

She waited, balanced lightly on the balls of her feet. At the last moment, she stepped sideways, letting the bane-boar rumble past her. Quick as thought, she drove the spear into the creature’s torso, behind its fore-leg, deep into its chest.

She felt the impact through her whole body; felt the bane-boar’s lifeforce surge up the spear and into her.

Before she could reject the tainted power, the spear was ripped from her hands, leaving a raw ache in the centre of her body.

The bane-boar lumbered down the slope, crashing into the tree. At the impact a shiver shot up the tree, racing out to the tip of every torturous, tangled twig.

With a shudder, the bane-boar dropped to its knees, then toppled sideways. She needed to retrieve her spear and absorb it, to heal the wound in her chest, which ached with every breath.

But the tree gave another shudder and she caught her breath as the branches quested blindly until one found the bane-boar; then the tree enveloped the beast. The branches writhed like a pile of maggots devouring a corpse, insidiously single-minded.

Vittoryxe backed up one step, then another, tripping and falling on her backside. A hoarfrost covered the earth. It stung her bare palms as power leached from her.

Sensing a presence behind her, she scrambled to her feet and spun around.

Egrayne and the lad had reached the crest. Untrained, he didn’t know how to shield his gift; he burned bright, a beacon to all predators.

In fact, they must have already been attacked. Egrayne was wounded in several places. Power bled freely from her body, weakening her by the moment.

On the empyrean plane, a person’s true self could be revealed. In Egrayne, Vittoryxe saw the-way-of-the-warrior. Such purity of purpose – she both hated her and wanted her desperately. Egrayne’s gaze slid past her, making Vittoryxe wonder what the gift-warrior sensed in her.

Egrayne gestured to Vittoryxe’s chest.

She looked down to discover her wound was weeping power. She shrugged and gestured to the tree. It had settled down now, and there was no sign of the bane-boar. She had the distinct impression that if she ventured too near, the same thing would happen to her. They had to get out of here.

Looking back, she saw Egrayne shove the lad towards her and turn to face something over the rise. Graelen stumbled down the slope, colliding with Vittoryxe.

All that unshielded male power. Delicious. Her first instinct was to feast on him. He was without defences, and she could have drained him in an instant.

But she was covenant-sworn to protect him until he joined a brotherhood. And besides, she feared what would happen to her if she developed a taste for male power.

Egrayne glanced over her shoulder, gesturing for them to keep back.

Something from beyond the rise grabbed the big warrior, wrapping around her calf. Before Vittoryxe could disentangle herself from Graelen, the thing jerked Egrayne off her feet and slammed her onto the ground. In a flash, she was dragged over the rise and out of sight. Graelen shook with fright, shedding power. He would have gone after Egrayne, but Vittoryxe enveloped him in a hug and segued back to the earthly plane before his lack of control could get them both killed.

She regained consciousness to find herself sprawled across him, the pair of them at the centre of a concerned group.

Vittoryxe sat up, head spinning. She felt like she’d been punched in the chest but, when she touched the spot, there was no blood. This time.

‘She left Egrayne,’ Graelen croaked, voice gathering power. ‘She left her to die.’

‘You have no idea,’ Vittoryxe snapped. She spotted Gift-tutor Lealeni and the initiates, amidst half a dozen Malaunje warriors with torches. Down in the dip, behind the Malaunje, the twisted tree’s highest branches stood silhouetted against both full moons. She had a flash of the tree reaching for the bane-boar. ‘Get away. Get away from the tree.’

Infected by her fear, the Malaunje clambered up the slope, slipping in leaf litter. Vittoryxe grabbed Graelen’s arm and dragged him up the rise, not stopping until they were a safe distance from the twisted tree.

‘Why?’ Gift-tutor Lealeni asked. She frowned. ‘I sense no power coming from the tree.’

‘It’s sated,’ Vittoryxe guessed. When she put her hand to her face, she found frost crystals had rimed her mouth and eyes. Every muscle ached, and her skin stung as if she’d been slapped repeatedly. ‘It...’ – she glanced to the gathered Malaunje – ‘it’s a nexus point between the planes. We need to leave a warning.’

‘See to the signs before we leave tomorrow,’ Lealeni told the oldest of the warriors.

‘Are you all right, Vittoryxe?’ Arodyti asked. Her head was bound, and she was supported by the other initiate, Kiane. ‘What happened to the empyrean predator? I was coming to get you, when I–’

‘Gift-warrior Vittoryxe saved me,’ Roskara spoke up, from somewhere behind the others. ‘She tackled the empyrean beast and dragged it–’

‘She left Egrayne behind.’ Graelen’s voice shook. ‘Egrayne saved me from...’ He had no words for the horrors he’d seen.

‘Of course she did. She swore a gift-bound vow, and so did I.’ Vittoryxe turned to Lealeni. ‘If anyone killed Egrayne, it’s the lad. He opened the nexus point between the planes.’ He tried to protest that it was an accident, but she spoke over him. ‘He was shedding enough power to attract a dozen predators. Egrayne turned back to give us time to escape.’

Someone made a sound of pain in their throat and Gift-tutor Lealeni stepped aside to reveal Roskara standing guard over Egrayne’s body, as she’d been instructed. Judging by her stricken expression, Roskara was carrying a torch for Egrayne.

The big gift-warrior lay neatly on the leaf litter. A fine hoarfrost covered her skin and clothing, and crept outwards, glowing ice crystals decorating leaves and twigs.

‘You must go back for her,’ Lealeni said.

‘What?’ Vittoryxe turned to the gift-tutor. It was on the tip of her tongue to point out that Egrayne was already dead. But if she didn’t go back, she’d be branded a coward.

‘Of course.’ Resentment raced through Vittoryxe as she gave a deep obeisance, hands going to her heart and out. ‘I live to serve.’

Almost blind with fear and fury, Vittoryxe walked across the slope towards Egrayne. The Malaunje parted, eyes downcast to show respect. Her knees felt rubbery, and a strange rushing sound filled her ears.

One thing was certain, she was not going to die tonight.

Sure, she’d go back, but she would not waste her life on pointless heroics. She’d be in and out again before the predators realised. Egrayne had made her choice. No need for them both to die.

She’d almost reached Egrayne’s supine body when, without warning, Roskara crumpled.

The Malaunje warriors and servants gasped. Vittoryxe glanced to the gift-tutor for an explanation, but Lealeni looked stunned.

Vittoryxe was infuriated. Everything must follow the rules. Without rules, they had no certainty. They were scrambling in the dark, blind as ignorant Mieren.

‘What’s going on?’ Graelen asked, his deep voice breathless with fear. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘Egrayne’s still alive.’ That much Vittoryxe could guess.

‘Yes, but she’s too weak to make the passage. I’ve seen this once before, seventy years ago, when I started my training,’ Lealeni said. Vittoryxe made a quick calculation. Lealeni must have been barely seventeen. ‘Egrayne has anchored herself in Roskara in an attempt to return to this plane.’

Two lives at stake. Vittoryxe looked to Lealeni. The gift-tutor was older, more experienced; she should be the one to attempt this. But Lealeni indicated that Vittoryxe should proceed. Giving her a chance to shine and win stature.

Determination filled Vittoryxe, as she dropped to her knees. She raised her hand, noticing its slight tremor. Before she could touch Egrayne, the gift-warrior sat up. Roskara’s head slid down her chest to rest in her lap.

Cries of joy greeted her return.

‘Get back,’ Lealeni warned, voice shrill. ‘It might not be Egrayne.’

Fear speared through Vittoryxe and she lurched back, scrambling to her feet. What was Lealeni thinking? Why hadn’t the gift-tutor prepared her properly?

‘It’s... it’s me,’ Egrayne croaked. She swallowed, grimacing as if it hurt. Then she looked down at Roskara and wonder filled her face. Gently, she smoothed copper strands from the Malaunje warrior’s forehead. ‘Roskara?’ But she did not stir. Egrayne looked up. ‘Lealeni?’

‘You’ve imprinted your gift on Roskara.’

‘Devotee?’ Vittoryxe repeated, stunned. ‘Roskara is Egrayne’s devotee now?’

‘Of course,’ the gift-tutor said. ‘What did you expect?’

Egrayne lifted her hands. ‘But I didn’t mean–’

‘You survived against the odds. That’s what’s important. Too few gift-warriors are born, and we don’t want to waste the years of training.’

Vittoryxe hardly heard Lealeni. Envy consumed her. Egrayne had a devotee. Before this, Egrayne’s stature was only one step ahead of hers, and now it outstripped hers. Now, more than ever, she needed to seduce Egrayne and find something to hold over her. But the devotee complicated things.

‘...and carry Roskara back to camp,’ the gift-tutor was saying. She gestured to the Malaunje. ‘Leave us. You initiates, take the lad with you.’

By the time the Malaunje had left, Egrayne was also on her feet, swaying slightly.

Tonight, Vittoryxe had banished an empyrean beast and saved a lost lad, but the big warrior’s miraculous survival and imprinting of Roskara had robbed Vittoryxe of her glory.