us to stay.” Something in the human’s voice, a quality of sadness and loss, convinced Ashinji that, in this, he spoke the truth, although Ashinji felt certain that there was much more to the story than the man seemed willing to tell.
“ I believe you,” Ashinji said, relaxing and hunkering back down so that his face and the human’s were on the same level. The girl stirred and whimpered, and Ashinji’s heart skipped a beat. Involuntarily, he reached out and touched her shoulder. He could feel the human’s eyes boring into his skull like a surgeon’s trephine.
Slowly, he withdrew his hand. “I will take your cousin back to my father’s house. Kerala Castle is about two days’ ride to the northwest, but it may take us longer since we have two extra to carry and no spare horses. We have an excellent doctor there. I suggest you allow me to do this, since she does not have much of a chance otherwise. You, of course, are welcome to accompany her.”
A sudden flare of bright orange light splashed outwards, illuminating a broad stretch of the riverbank and woods. The pyre was lit. The hungry, cleansing flames rapidly consumed the bodies of the dead bandits. In the morning, Ashinji would order the ashes and bones to be scattered.
“ I won’t leave my cousin,” the human stated flatly.
Ashinji nodded. “I did not think that you would. When my troops are finished, we will move upstream to the fords and camp for the night.” He stood up again and turned to go.
“ Lord Ashinji,” the human called out. Ashinji turned. “Thank you.”
Ashinji nodded wordlessly and went to find Gendan.
Chapter 13
'Are we your prisoners?” Magnes asked bluntly.
The elf named Ashinji Sakehera smiled slightly and shook his head. “Quite the contrary. You are my guests, and under my protection. When we arrive at Kerala, you will be my father’s guests. Perhaps you were expecting us to be… not so hospitable.”
“ I really don’t know what to expect of you, Lord Ashinji. So much of what I have been taught about your people, I’m ashamed to say, is very negative.”
“ Do you believe what you have been taught…about my people?”
Magnes answered without hesitation. “No,” he said.
“ How is your head?”
“ It aches a bit, but that salve you gave me took away the worst of the pain.”
“ Good. I have tried to make your cousin as comfortable as is possible under the circumstances.”
“ I’m grateful,” Magnes replied.
After the elven soldiers had finished their gruesome task of burning the corpses of the slain bandits, the entire party moved upstream and made camp by the fords. Lord Ashinji ordered one of his troopers to see to Jelena’s injuries. Magnes was impressed by the man’s gentle handling of his cousin, and some of his apprehension began to dissipate. Now heavily sedated, her arm splinted and her torso tightly bound in order to stabilize a suspected rib fracture, Jelena lay close by the campfire, cocooned in several blankets with another folded beneath her head as a pillow.
Ashinji Sakehera sat down opposite Magnes and held out a wooden bowl and cup. “Cold rations, I am afraid. No one in my company likes to cook,” he explained, smiling ruefully. Magnes took the proffered food with a word of thanks. The bowl contained a round cake of some kind and a hunk of pale yellow cheese. He sipped cautiously at the brimming liquid in the cup and discovered it to be beer, and quite good. He took a bite of the cake and smiled in pleasant surprise. It was delicious, and he eagerly crammed another large bite into his mouth. He looked up to see the young elf lord laughing.
“ What is this? It’s wonderful,” he said, chewing enthusiastically.
“ It is journeycake. There are many ways to make it, but this particular batch is made of oats, dried venison, elderberries, and sweetened with a little honey. My mother’s recipe. I am glad you like it. We have more, if you want.”
Magnes washed down the cake with a swig of the excellent beer. As he ate, he surreptitiously studied the face of his host. These were the first full-blooded elves he had ever seen, and he found himself completely fascinated by them. He had always heard that they were extraordinarily beautiful, and now he saw with his own eyes that that particular rumor, at least, was true. Being no astute judge of male attractiveness, nevertheless, even Magnes could see that the elves’ young leader stood out, even among so comely a group.
Magnes estimated Ashinji’s age to be somewhere between twenty and twenty-five years although he couldn’t be sure; he knew that elves had a much longer life span than did humans. The elf lord moved with the fluid grace of a forest cat and his hair, worn in a long queue down his back, shone like gold in the firelight. Magnes couldn’t help but admire the graceful lines of the other man’s ears-like Jelena’s, except sharper at their tips. A strange, uncomfortable rush of emotion caused Magnes to lower his eyes, worried that the elf would witness his confusion. He took a deep breath to slow his racing heart and drained his cup in one gulp.
Through sheer force of will, he made himself look at Lord Ashinji’s face again. The other man seemed unaware of Magnes’s inner turmoil. He, too, sipped at a mug of beer and chewed a mouthful journeycake, but his eyes were on Jelena, and Magnes was startled at the intensity of his gaze.
Magnes cleared his throat, and the other man looked up inquiringly. “Your knowledge of Soldaran is excellent, Lord Ashinji,” he commented, and silently gave thanks to the gods for keeping his voice steady.
“ Does that surprise you?” the elf asked, one eyebrow arching upwards in amusement.
“ There will be many things about your people that are going to surprise me, I think,” Magnes answered.
“ Most people here in the borderlands know a little Soldaran, but I am a bit of an amateur scholar in my free time,” Ashinji explained. “I am fluent in your language so that I may study your great mathematicians.”
Magnes nodded, impressed.
Just then, the much older man, whom Magnes surmised to be Lord Ashinji’s second-in-command, walked up and spoke to his lord. He carried a helmet in his hands.
Ashinji, smiling, reached up and took the helmet from the other man. He spoke a few words and waved his hand in dismissal. “Gendan found my helmet, finally. I was afraid I would have to go searching for it first thing tomorrow morning,” he said, switching back into Soldaran. He laid the helmet down beside him and fixed his brilliant green eyes upon Magnes. “Now, Magnes Preseren. Tell me who you really are, and what you and your cousin are doing out here so far from Amsara Castle.” The look on his face told Magnes that he would brook no more evasion.
“ I didn’t lie to you, Lord Ashinji. I just… failed to tell you the entire truth, but I felt justified in holding back until I could figure out what your intentions were. You must admit that our meeting was not exactly under ideal circumstances. Your people attacked my cousin and me. How was I to know that you weren’t going to kill us later on?”
“ Point taken. Go on.”
“ My name really is Magnes Preseren, but I’m not one of the duke’s retainers. I’m his son… his Heir, in fact. My cousin Jelena is the daughter of my father’s dead sister.”
Ashinji’s eyes widened slightly at this revelation, and he glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping form of Jelena. “Why would two noble-born humans disguise themselves as servants and flee their home? Why did you come here, rather than go somewhere else in the Empire? Did you lose your way and wander this close to the border by accident?” The elf lord seemed genuinely puzzled, yet, there was a probing quality to his questions, as if he were seeking information of the utmost importance.
“ It’s a long and complex story,” Magnes sighed. “It could hardly have escaped your notice that my cousin is a half-elf. Her mother had a liaison with one of your people and suffered mightily for it. The family disowned her, and she died giving birth to Jelena. My father refused to accept his sister’s bastard as a member of his house and so allowed my cousin to be raised in the servants’ hall. She’s lived her whole life as an outsider, despised and abused by most everyone at Amsara.”
