Elsewhere

              Gwaynn bent and kissed Samantha deeply, uncaring who watched. A great cheer rose up from the soldiers who were within sight, but Gwaynn tightened his hold on Samantha urging her to hold the kiss. When they finally broke apart, the cheer grew to a roar, and both turned and smiled down at the soldiers. Gwaynn waved to them.

              “Agreed,” he said still looking out at his army. “Laynee stays with you.” He was standing on her left side, then reached out and took hold of her handless arm. He raised it up and the soldiers below cheered once more.

Gwaynn embraced Samantha one last time then quickly turned to Lonogan. “It’s time to move,” he said. General Bock smiled and shouted an order and the gates of Manse slowly began to open.

Samantha watched nervously, her good arm wrapped around Laynee’s shoulders as Gwaynn gracefully pulled up onto Eve. He gave her a quick glance and a smile before moving off and out the main gates. Once through the city walls he did not look back and it wasn’t long before the front of the army receded into the distance. It would take them four long hours to reach the open fields outside of Claymont and it took all of Samantha’s will power to keep from asking Laynee to project and scout the way ahead. Daniel stood a few feet to the left of the girls, leaning over the gate. He wished he could ride off with the others on one hand but on the other was relieved to be staying behind and out of danger.

As if reading Samantha’s mind Laynee said. “The Knights are miles away. They’ll be fine”.

Samantha smiled but still her stomach was churning. ‘This is worse than marching to war,’ she thought.

“Come,” she answered pulling Laynee toward the nearest stairs. “Let’s get you two some sweets to eat…get your strength up.”

Both Laynee and Daniel smiled. ‘There were definitely advantages to being a Traveler,’ Daniel thought and the three of them carefully made their way down the ladder and into town.

?

When they were only ten miles northwest of the Scar River Crossing Captain Gaston asked na Gall to once again check the main position of the Temple Knights. Just to be sure; just to be safe. He and Captain Kerr waited impatiently as na Gall worked, still sitting on horseback. She closed her eyes and moved her arms rapidly about as if she were in the midst of a wild dream. Despite the Traveler’s obvious beauty, watching her made Gaston shiver slightly in disgust; she possessed what seemed to him an unnatural ability and it tempered any attraction he might have felt for her physically.

This time na Gall moved quickly over the land, first checking on the scouts near the river, but though she spotted the thirty Massi horsemen sent to destroy the threat, she failed to locate the scouts. This did not greatly concern her however, and she continued on until she came to the dusty trail left by the army of Knights. They were now moving quickly to the east just a few miles to the southeast of Claymont. The Knights were still some twenty miles to the west of their position and perfectly situated to be circled and then trapped on the plains outside the small town. na Gall returned quickly and reported her findings just as a small group of enemy scouts presented themselves before Captain Hothgaard and reported on the presence of the Massi cavalry.

“Perfect!” Captain Gaston and Captain Hothgaard said nearly in unison and both altered the course of their horsemen, each heading to a position about five miles northwest of Claymont, but because the Knights were much closer they would reach the vital hills overlooking the town much sooner than their Massi counterparts.

“They plan to loop around and hit us from the north, an unexpected direction,” Hothgaard said to Tramm once they were riding toward the northeast and his Captain agreed. It’s what he would do if he were in the Massi’s predicament.

“So we’ll be waiting for them,” Tramm replied and Hothgaard nodded.

“Yes, we’ll be waiting for them.”

“But what of the Travelers?” Tramm asked. “We have to assume they’ll know where we are. No one can hide from the Zars of Light.”

Hothgaard frowned. ‘Yes it was true; the Travelers presented a formidable problem, which was why they needed their own reconnaissance…in force.”

“Send out scouts…all of them,” Hothgaard said in answer. “We have our own eyes, and we’ll use them. Speaking of scouts…any word from Sergeant Vutek? Will the Massi fall into our trap?”

Tramm shook his head. “No word from Speaker Nadler as yet,” he answered. The lack of any news seemed to confirm his belief that Gwaynn Massi would never be so foolish as to leave the safety of his walls at Manse.

Hothgaard smiled guessing his friends thoughts. “Gwaynn will meet us eventually. Our presence is like a burr caught in a very sensitive place…sooner or later he will have to try to pluck us away.”

“But if the Massi cavalry are now on the plains to the east…” Tramm countered.

“Then we may very well find ourselves between two armies,” Hothgaard said briskly and Captain Tramm fell silent, not having considered this possibility.

“We should send some of the scouts to the west as well,” he answered, suddenly reversing position, losing faith in his old beliefs.

Hothgaard smiled at him. “Very well…but our real concern is the cavalry. I’d not want them at our backs.”

?

“In the hills five miles to the northeast of Claymont,” Monde reported and Gwaynn frowned. This was not where he would expect the Knights to be if they were going to make a feint on Lynndon.

“Northeast?” Gwaynn asked, wanting clarification. Monde nodded.

“What of the Massi cavalry?” Bock inquired, becoming alarmed. The Massi army was only about a mile from Claymont in the empty hills to the west of the town, not far from where Gwaynn once hid from the Deutzani as they advanced toward Manse. They were in a perfect position to lure the Knights into attacking.

Monde shook her head. “I did not catch sight of the Massi horseman,” she answered, though in truth she did not even look for them. Projecting, though not as draining as the act of Traveling, was still very challenging especially when asked to repeat the process several times in the space of a few hours and she was growing exceedingly tired.

“We need to know,” Bock stated with growing panic, concerned for his cavalry and Jess at the same time, but Gwaynn seeing the exhaustion in the High Zarina’s face shook his head.

“Position the army first,” he ordered, “then send for the Speaker Nadler. We’ll try to coax the Temple Knights down from the heights. If necessary I’ll search for Gaston.”

It took almost an hour for the army to set itself in the rolling fields west of the town and as they worked, Gwaynn stood between the Zarina Monde and Tar Kostek and watched closely as the enemy Speaker Nadler worked. There were several guards standing near the man with their kali drawn, instructed to cut the Speaker to pieces if he showed any signs of treachery.

“Just report to them that we are marching quickly toward Claymont,” General Bock ordered. Nadler, who was sweating profusely paused momentarily, nodded once and continued. He was much too frightened to refuse, much too frightened to devise a plan, but even if he had one he was too much of a coward to ever carry it out in the face of drawn swords.

Nadler reported the movements of the Massi army to Speaker Worlund just as he was ordered to do and afterwards he was ushered off, his hands securely tied behind his back least he gain courage and try to reestablish contact with his own side.

“Now we just have to wait and see if they take the bait,” Gwaynn commented as Bock paced about the tent.

“Will you check…will you check for me?” Lonogan finally pleaded and Gwaynn, understanding the torment his friend was in, agreed.

He took longer to project than the High Zarina but not by much. Gwaynn felt a thrill of freedom as he left his body and moved up and out of the camp. He moved quickly, far quicker than anyone or anything could hope to move while trapped inside flesh and bone. He streaked toward the Knight’s position, arriving in moments. Gwaynn