Lines of Fire (The Guild House - Defenders Hall) Read online

  “What?”

  Lasara nodded. “That’s what he said. He’ll won’t tell me more, he’s not taking chances this time.”

  Kalia drew a deep breath. Surely their father couldn’t mean to bond his younger daughter to Petan. But Petan was gone and banished. “Did he say who?”

  “No.” Lasara walked away. “I know this much. If I don’t like who he chooses I’ll run and I won’t be caught like you were.”

  “I’ll help you.” Kalia caught up. “When I return I’ll visit and we can make plans.”

  “Good. All I want to do is join a patrol and duel.”

  Kalia patted her sister’s arm. Though she didn’t understand Lasara’s love of the duel she would support her desire to become a functioning member of a patrol.

  As they walked down the hall to Kalia’s sleeping chamber, Ilna emerged from hers. She halted with her hands on her hips. Kalia noticed a silvery sheen to Ilna’s pale pink lines.

  “Thief.” Ilna spat. “You took the mate promised to me. You won’t have him for long.” She laughed. “He can’t even stand to kiss you. You’ll be sorry when I’m the Swordmaster’s mate.”

  “Why would my father want to choose you?” Kalia asked.

  “Who wants an old man past his prime? He won’t be Swordmaster forever and Robec doesn’t have the nerve to fight for his right. You’ll learn who will rule here. Won’t be long before there’s a change.” She stepped closer, grabbed Kalia and kissed her. “Pass my gift to your bondmate.”

  For a moment Kalia was too stunned to move. She wiped her hand across her mouth. “I’ll do no such thing.” She pushed past and dashed into her chamber. Ilna’s laughter followed.

  Lasara scowled. “That was ugly. Why did she kiss you?”

  “I don’t know.” Kalia sank on the bed. “Oh, no.” Was that a dark spot on her lines like the one she’d seen on Robec’s? Anger and fear spouted like water from a broken pipe. The darkness spread. Slowly she calmed her escalating emotions and the spot stopped enlarging.

  She filled her pack with Lasara’s help. To the clothes she added a record book she’d taken from the Archives in hopes of learning more about the lines. Maybe there was something about the infection Ilna had passed to her.

  “Is there anything you don’t want taken to Alric’s suite?” Lasara asked.

  “Leave all the bedding except the quilt here. The rest of my clothes and things from the closet go. Pack all my soap, lotions, jewelry and knickknacks. She lifted the box containing the tarnished bracelet. “Don’t take this.”

  Lasara peered inside. “Where did you get this?”

  “Father. He wanted me to give it to Alric.”

  “How odd. It’s ugly. I’ll toss it in the trash heap.”

  Kalia laughed. “A fitting place. While I’m gone, be careful. Don’t fight with Father. Where’s Mother?”

  “Visiting him.”

  Kalia shuddered. “So soon after her last time.” Though she feared for her mother, nothing would change the older woman’s devotion to her bondmate. She hugged her sister. “As soon as we return I’ll visit you. Take care of Mother.”

  “I will.”

  Kalia hoisted her pack and hurried to the stable. Alric led two bihorns outside. Mist had been saddled.

  “Am I late?”

  “No. We’re meeting the others at the Artisan’s gave.” He stowed her pack and blanket roll behind the saddle before giving her a leg up. He handed her a cloth wrapped packet and a flask. “Nooning and kafa.”

  “Thank you.”

  A stableman led a string of loaded pack animals to where they waited. Alric tied the lead rope to Storm Cloud’s saddle and led the string into the tunnel. Kalia followed the train.

  By the time they reached the Artisan’s gate the rest of the party had arrived. Alric transferred the lead to one of the Artisans’ steed. He led the group onto the road with Kalia at the rear of the procession.

  As they rode, she wondered what the assignment would bring. Could she and Alric find a way to break the uneasy truce? She liked him. With the sting of a biting bug a thought struck. More than liked but she had to blunt all her emotions, especially now. Still, her thoughts centered on her bondmate.

  Alric was the only man she could join her life to forever. So many problems loomed. Her father’s threats against her family, Petan’s continued existence, Ilna’s passing of the infection. How much more trouble would buzz into her life?

  When they reached the side trail she caught up with Alric. “Along this road we’ll pass two farms where the peddler stopped and three where he didn’t. There is a small village where I left them.”

  Alric motioned to the Justicar. He relayed what Kalia had told him. “She can show us which farms.”

  “Our complaint came from a village,” the Senior Judge said. “We’ll listen to the farmers and see if there are other unjust actions. The more we have, the more justified a duel will be.”

  At the first farm Kalia was surprised when one of the farm workers tried to make a false claim.

  “Sold me a belt that broke the third time I used it,” the man said.

  “False,” the Junior Judge said.

  The man opened his mouth and only garbled sounds emerged.

  Kalia turned to one of the Justicar trainees. “How did he do that?”

  “Guild secret,” the girl said.

  Before long they left the farm and made camp in a clearing beside the road. Kalia watched how Alric organized the camp, assigning each member to a different task. She went with him to set snares.

  “Won’t our catch spoil during the day?” she asked.

  “We’ll cook what we find before we leave and the meat will be our nooning.”

  “That’s a good idea. The peddlers traveled slowly and every day stew was cooked for the nooning.”

  “Then we should catch them before too long.”

  As he straightened she admired the way he moved. Her thoughts filled with what ifs. She had a year to find answers and perhaps one of those what ifs would come true.

  * * *

  At the end of a week of travel with stops to collect complaints, they drew closer to the peddler. Kalia noticed more black spots on her lines of fire. Should she tell Alric she had been infected? What would happen if she gave in to her desire to be in his arms? Would she infect him? She decided to isolate herself more completely from the others.

  “We should catch up with the peddler within a day or two.” Alric sat beside her. “According to the map there’s a large village about that distance away.”

  They had been on the road for seven days. “Then you’ll duel,” Kalia said.

  He nodded. “It’s the way. What troubles you? You’ve grown so quiet.”

  She stared at the ground. “I’m worried about my mother. She was with the Swordmaster when I left. I told you how faded her lines are when she returns. She insists she can’t do what she should in the right way because he’s not heart bound to her.”

  He reached for her and she evaded him. “Does she love your father?”

  “Yes and he believes he’s heart bound to a dead woman.” She closed her eyes. “There are things I should have told you but there hasn’t been a right time.” She leaned back and told him of Ilna’s meeting with Petan and his orders. “He knows how to enter the Hall through a secret entrance. I followed him once years ago.”

  “When we return show this entrance to me and I’ll tell Sando.”

  “There’s more.” Would he recoil with horror? “When I went for my clothes Ilna attacked me. Look at my lines.”

  His expression made her want to cry.

  Chapter 9

  Alric couldn’t stop his reaction. A chill rolled along his skin. His mouth gaped. The flowing lines on Kalia’s skin showed several dark spots, the same shade of dried blood as on her father’s and Petan’s lines.

  “Are you sure Petan is behind this?”

  “Who else? He named you, Robec, Sando and Ganor. She failed with ev
eryone but Robec and now me. What am I going to do?”

  Her voice became a shrill whisper. Alric watched the darkness spread. What he saw was perhaps deadly. He felt helpless. There had to be a cure. “Let me think about what to do. For now, we need to solve the matter of the peddler.”

  “I could stay here until you finish this assignment.”

  “I can’t let you do that. Is there anything that triggers the darkness to spread?”

  “Emotions.”

  “Then try to remain calm.”

  She nodded. “I’ll try. I don’t want to become like them.” Tears flowed over her cheeks.

  Though Alric was tempted to take her into his arms he feared her reaction would cause a rapid spread of the spots. He went to the fire and filled a mug with kafa. He sweetened her cup with honey and added a small amount of salopa. If she slept unless she had a nightmare, the spread of the taint should halt.

  * * *

  At dawn the members of the party stirred. Before long they’d eaten the morning meal, loaded the pack beasts and prepared to leave.

  Alric helped Kalia into the saddle and took his place at the head of the group. “I’ll ride ahead to see how far the village is. The map isn’t very accurate.” Being alone might give him an idea to chew over about this new development.

  Petan and the Swordmaster’s lines held no glint of scarlet. Kalia’s sported only a few dark spots. How many days, months or years would be needed for the process to be complete?

  Since Petan was much younger than the leader of the Defenders, Alric tried to remember when he’d first noticed the change in Petan’s lines. He couldn’t recall a time when his enemy’s lines had been scarlet rather than darker.

  That meant nothing. He hadn’t known Petan since childhood and even during the training days there’d been little contact. Petan had been two classes ahead. Alric forced his thoughts away from the other man.

  What could he do? He was heart bound to Kalia. The moment their gazes had meshed he had known. They had a year before she must make a choice. The thought she might walk away caused a lump to cluster in his gut. If she broke the bond he would flee and join the desert riders.

  Heart bound. Why did those words bring a flash of hope for Kalia? Her mother was tied by love but the Swordmaster wasn’t. Alric searched the information Kalia had told him about the lines. When the older woman returned from her visits to her bondmate her lines were drained of vitality. Did he take something from her he needed to survive?

  A frown tightened his brow. Petan had the same lines. How did he feed his needs? Alric wondered if Kalia knew.

  What would happen of both people were heart bound? Had Kalia made a choice she feared voicing? Her father’s threats against her family might force her obedience. Alric wondered if he could persuade her to admit her love for him.

  Not yet. She didn’t trust him. When they were alone they could talk. He would observe her lines. If he must he would give her essence from his lines. He halted the bihorn and waited for the others. “The large village is just ahead on this road. If we’re lucky we’ll find the peddler.”

  “Are you sure?” one of the Artisans asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then we ride,” the Senior Judge said.

  As a unit they galloped down the road. When they reached the first house shouts spurred Alric ahead of the others. He reached the village commons and encountered a milling mob.

  “What’s happening?” he asked.

  Several men stood beside saddled bihorns. “Thieves,” one yelled.

  “Justicars are on the way,” Alric said.

  Moments later the rest of the party arrived. Men and women shouted.

  “Silence,” the Senior Judge shouted.

  “The peddlers cheated,” a woman cried. “Took my honey and traded for spices with a false bottom in the boxes.”

  “Jewelry went missing from my shop,” a man said.

  “When did they leave?” the Judge asked.

  “Camped outside town last night. Finished trading at sundown. Was late when they left the tavern.” The older man took a deep breath. “I’m one of the village elders.”

  Alric gestured to Kalia. “Come, we must force them to return.”

  The Junior Judge nodded. “I’ll ride with you.”

  Alric turned his bihorn toward the road. When he spotted three wagons in the distance he prodded Storm Cloud into a gallop. He reached the first wagon and turned his steed to halt the wagon.

  “By order of the Justicar you are to return to the village for judgment.”

  “Why should we?” a sharp-face driver asked.

  “If you fail to obey, the Defender will kill your animals,” the Junior Judge said.

  Kalia rode to Alric’s side. “Will you?”

  “If forced but don’t worry. I doubt they will try to force me to act.”

  The driver of the rear-most wagon complied with the order as did the second one. The sharp-face man scowled. “Move and I will turn. Cart beasts are too slow to get away. We have done nothing wrong.”

  “False,” the Junior Judge said.

  Alric edged Storm Cloud to the side of the road. Kalia rode to the Junior Judge’s side and led the caravan back to the village.

  By the time they reached the commons many of the villagers had gathered on the grass of the benches surrounding the dueling circle. The Senior Judge gestured to Alric. “Food is available in the tavern. Once you’ve eaten we’ll start the investigation.”

  Alric nodded. He followed Kalia and the Junior Judge into the log building. He waved away a large nooning platter of meat, cheese, bread and a variety of salads.

  “Soup and citren will be enough,” he said.

  Kalia frowned. “Why aren’t you eating more? We broke our fast at sunrise.”

  “A hearty meal makes a fighter sluggish.”

  “What about your recent injuries. Will they impede you?”

  The concern in her voice heartened him. He began to believe there was hope the bonding would last.

  “Depends on my opponent. Could be you. If so I’ll quickly disarm you.”

  Her eyes widened. “You would fight me?”

  “Happens when there’s no one else.”

  “Then I’m in luck. One of the drivers is a former Defender. I thought I recognized him when I traveled with the peddler. Before Robec and Petan entered training classes he taught them.”

  “Then he’s sure to have some skill with sword and knife. Didn’t he teach you?”

  “The Swordmaster’s daughter received no special training. Lasara’s abilities have confounded him.” She leaned closer. “Can you win?”

  “I believe so.” He felt positive but bragging often led to mistakes. “Good thing Petan didn’t cut my sword arm.”

  “Just be careful.”

  “Always.” Again, the concern in her voice encouraged him to hope. He finished the soup and drank the citren. Then he waited for his companions to complete their meal. They left the tavern and joined the Senior Judge.

  The man rose from a bench. “The investigation of the charges against Peddler Hosar will begin. May truth and justice prevail. First I will hear the complaints.”

  One of the trainees read the list of verified complaints gathered during the journey. Then he called on the villagers and heard from them. “Truth,” he said to each complaint.

  One of the Artisans rose. “This is the third time Peddler Hosar has been accused of the same crimes. We know he’s working with one or more members of our Guild. The Artisans want the name or names of these traitors.”

  The Senior Judge nodded. “Peddler, what do you say about the charges? Are you willing to provide the information?”

  “Yes.”

  “False,” the Junior Judge said.

  The Senior Judge approached. “Give me the name of your Artisan supplier.”

  “Can’t give a name.”

  “Truth.”

  “Can’t or won’t?” the Artisan asked.

/>   The peddler shrugged. “Never saw him. Leaves notes for me with instructions to burn them.”

  The Junior Judge nodded. “Truth.”

  “Describe the notes,” the older Artisan said.

  “Say where the goods will be left.”

  “How do you pay?”

  “Leave coins beneath a rock. Other goods like honey, salt, gems and metals are put in a box.”

  Each of his statements was accompanied by “truth” from the Judges.

  The Senior Judge faced the peddler. “Twice you have been warned about selling shoddy goods and using false weights. You know the penalty for a third offense.”

  The older Artisan turned to the Judge. “Since our information hasn’t been provided I call for a duel.”

  “Agreed.” His companion joined him. “If he loses he will help by setting a trap for the traitor.”

  “If I win, I will go free.”

  “That is in accordance to the rules of Investia,” the Senior Judge said.

  The peddler grinned. “Worth a try. Valdon, present yourself.”

  The tall, lean, broad-shouldered man stepped forward. He wore a sword and knife. He moved with the ease of a trained Defender. Though he was older than Alric, he remained in his prime. Alric had no memory of seeing the man since his arrival at the Hall. Kalia’s quick intake of breath brought a realization. This was the man who had trained Petan and Robec.

  A sly smile crossed Valdon’s face. “I’ll fight her.”

  “You don’t have the choice.” The Senior Judge turned to the Artisans. “Your champion.”

  “Alric.”

  Alric removed his shirt, vest and chain. He folded them and left them with the trainees. He faced his opponent.

  Valdon kept his shirt on. He unsheathed his weapons.

  Kalia moved to Alric’s side. “He won’t fight fair. Years ago, he cut Robec and the wound festered. Be careful.”

  “I will.”

  Valdon laughed. “So the Swordmaster’s daughter remembers me. Is this man your bondmate? I thought Petan wanted you. How happy my favorite student will be when he learns I killed the man who took what was his. I’ll be a Defender again as a reward.”