The doors spread open at our approach and the guards led us in. Thankfully, the snow mounds stopped as we entered, since there was a vast roof built over the pathway through the mountain hold’s hallways and markets. We stomped our feet to clear the snow patches on our clothing and boots and continued to follow our armed escorts.
People bustled out and about in the streets, doing their daily duties, going about their lives. I couldn’t imagine living somewhere so frigid. I much preferred the coasts of Bristola at home on Farian. I looked forward to being there soon. As the people bustled, they looked at us with those same wide eyes of people who did not often see off-worlders, or maybe did not often see visitors at all.
The soldiers led us up through the winding maze of narrow passages and I wondered, if things went south, would I be able to navigate my men and women back down the steep cobblestone streets. We certainly wound in and out frequently enough. I wasn’t sure if they were purposely trying to make it complicated or if it really was that intricate of a roadway. We could always just blast holes through walls and run.
But, this was a treaty assignment. We were here to convince Skarde to come back with us. I would be my most pleasant possible. That wasn’t necessarily something I was known for. I was not sent as a public relations emissary. I was a warrior. A first line of defense. A Bravo in an elite Special Operations unit. Sent by Kajo and Commander Axis on this mission to help Cartari because all three of them trusted me to bring Cartari back alive and get things done. Sucking up to a Berserker wild warlord of a foreign land did not seem like the right fit for me…
Kala nudged me in the arm, as if she could sense my thoughts.
“It will be all right. We just have to show Skarde what his General is commanding. If he has any resistance, we just deflect back to that. It is our job to get him back to Farian, but we aren’t the ones commanding it. He may be rumored to do things his own way, be a lone wolf and a wild soldier, but he was a soldier in her army. He will obey the command.”
I smiled at her. The reassurance did help.
Finally, wide doors that seemed authoritative enough to lead to somewhere important opened before us. Warmth rushed to greet us from a roaring fire and the blaze of the flames on my face was such a welcome respite that I actually smiled, my lips cracking through the frozen frown that had grown there.
I can do this…
There were three men and two women seated at a table in the far end of a short hall. There were tapestries draping down the sides and aisles of chairs arrayed, slightly askew, as if they were there for special occasions but just usually got in the way. The five people at the end of the hall near the fire fell silent as we approached. I looked from the tapestries, gorgeous colors depicting everything from gory war scenes to frolicking flower picnics and cascading waterfalls, to the cases upon cases of weaponry arrayed on the walls back in the alcove, fit to defend this fortress if needed.
“Lord Skarde,” the main soldier who had confronted me said, with a slight bow. “These are emissaries from the planet Farian, who come at the command of General Truloy. They need to speak with you.”
None of the men responded immediately, but it was clear who was Lord Skarde. He was significantly bigger than the other two, bigger than almost any other man I had ever seen, except for King Kajo, our Beast King of Farian. He had long black hair, currently tucked back in a sloppy bun, some of the strands falling out in waves around his face. He had a gnarled scar slashed across his chin and through part of his cheek on the right side. His shoulders were immense, his short-sleeve shirt not able to hide the swell of muscle of his biceps, triceps, pecs, and deltoids. A slight stir of animal attraction whirled within me that I growled away, but couldn’t help. He was clearly a pristine physical specimen, capable of combat and athletic ability. As a warrior and athlete myself, I respected that, I rationalized the attraction immediately. That was all that attraction was. After all, he was from a planet where they didn’t know telekinetics. He was beneath me.
Then, he stood, and he towered above me. The firelight only gave so much brilliance to the scene, making the left side of his face a complete shadow, but his right eye glinted red in its flames and lasered straight through to my soul as he surveyed us. “Thank you, Hastings. Please warm your soldiers and help yourselves to some of the wine and food.”
Skarde crossed his arms, making his muscles bulge even more, and darted looks from all of us. “Who is in the lead for you?”
“I am. I am Bravo Ilisa, from Bristola on Farian.” I held my hands up, fingers spread wide,
