“Coming down here wasn’t my idea,” the justicar said. He glared at Sallah.
Deothen’s lips spread in a smile that spoke of the weariness of all his years. “She is sworn to defend the helpless and to come to the aid of her fellow knights. You have no such duties, yet here you are. It was brave.”
Kandler shook his head. “Just stupid.”
“You got that right, breather,” Superior said. He threw a heap of swords in front of the prisoners. There were four of the knights’ swords, with Kandler’s own blade mixed into the lot. “You just added your own head to the tally.”
The warforged named Xalt stepped forward. “Superior,” he said. “This must end. We were built for violence but are not compelled to perpetuate it. We have free will. We have a choice. We can choose to put an end to this.”
Superior clapped Xalt on the back. “You speak well,” he said, “but we have lost many of our own the hands of these breathers. For that, they must pay.”
Xalt looked down at Levritt’s head, which had rolled near the fire. “This is barbaric. We cannot build a new homeland on the bones of our neighbors. How will we ever live in peace?”
Superior laughed. “We were made for war, and in war we shall live forever. Don’t deny your pattern, Xalt. We are all soldiers here, and soldiers are good for only one thing-killing.” He looked down at Kandler and the knights. “Or dying.”
Superior glared at the captives, each in turn. “You fought well, breathers, but your time has come to an end. Someday, your kind will know better than to invade this land. The first of our messages to them will be written in your blood.”
The warforged leader stepped back and nodded at the war-forged standing guard over Kandler and the knights.
“Kill them.”
Chapter 38
The moment the justicar, the shifter, and that lady knight left the airship, Te’oma saw her chance. She’d spotted the airship scudding across the gray Mournland sky toward her soon after it entered the air over the hills north of the crazed wizard’s tower, and she’d hidden under some low brush until the thing sailed by.
So far, this had turned out to be a lucky day for Te’oma. First, the old elf wizard had rid her of Tan Du. He’d been a useful ally in the Mournland, but entirely too unstable. One more mishap on their mission, and Te’oma knew she’d have been the vampire’s next meal. Then the justicar and the lady knight arrived at the tower and provided her with cover for her escape. And when racing away from the other knights, she’d spotted the warforged patrol before they found her. Dismounting and sending Te’oma’s horse on alone to gallop past the patrol had been a stroke of genius. It left the changeling without a mount, but it alerted the patrol to the presence of the knights in time for them to form a hasty ambush.
Once the knights had all been captured, Te’oma had been at a loss for what to do. Without Esprл, she had failed at her mission, so going home was out of the question. In any case, without a mount she faced a long, hard walk out of the Mourn-land. More than one traveler had stepped into the mists around the borders of the place never to be seen again.
Then she spotted the airship. She didn’t know who was driving it, but she decided against hailing the captain and pleading for a ride. Using her mental powers, she projected her senses aboard the ship’s deck for a look around. Once she saw Esprл and Kandler behind the wheel, she knew her instincts had been good.
The ship moved slow but with purpose. Te’oma guessed that the people aboard were hunting for the other knights. Once the ship had passed overhead, she followed, trying to stay as close as possible without being seen. This soon proved impossible, but no one ever looked back to see her sprinting after the ship, racing up and down the hillsides as she worked to keep them in sight.
When the ship came to a stop, Te’oma crept up the side of the hill and peered over the edge. She watched and listened as the adults threw the rope ladder down and disembarked from the airship. She waited for them to disappear over the crest of the next hill before she stood up.
The changeling padded down into the hollow in which the airship was nestled and then up the other side to where the end of the rope ladder had been. When she got there, she morphed her form until she looked something like one of the Knights of the Silver Flame that had chased her out here-the young one with the blond hair. Her clothes wouldn’t change, but she’d just have to deal with that.
Te’oma peeked over the edge of the hill to make sure that Kandler and the others were long gone, then she whistled up to the ship’s deck. “Hello?” she called. “Anyone there?”
The changeling had to call out three times before Esprл poked her nose over the ship’s railing.
“What do you want?” she said.
“Thank the Flame you’re there!” said Te’oma. “I just ran into your father, and he sent me back here. They’re off to rescue the others.”
“Why aren’t you?”
The changeling patted her leg. “They cut me pretty good. I can’t move well enough for a fight. I barely made it here.”
“Why are you dressed like that? What happened to your armor?”
“Warforged took it,” said Te’oma. “They’d already killed the changeling, so I took her clothes.”
The girl chewed on her lip for a moment, thinking all this over.
“What do you want?” Esprл asked. Te’oma could hear the suspicion in the girl’s voice.
The changeling gazed up at the girl as innocently as she could. “Could you throw down a ladder? I think I could make it up. Once I get on the ship, I should be all right.”
Esprл narrowed her eyes at the knight standing below. “What’s the password?” she said.
Te’oma had heard Kandler’s parting words to the girl. The psion thought she remembered the name of Esprл’s mother from when she’d scanned the girl’s mind before, but she did it once more to be safe.
“Esprina,” the changeling said.
Esprл frowned, thought a moment more, then finally picked up the rope ladder and unfurled it over the railing. It landed right before the changeling’s feet.
Te’oma climbed up the ladder and bounded aboard the airship. She gazed all around and took it in. “What an amazing craft!” she said. “I’ve never been on anything like it.”
“What’s your name?” Esprл asked.
“Mardak,” the changeling said as she pulled up the ladder behind her.
The girl’s jaw dropped.
“Wait,” Te’oma said. “That’s not right, is it?” She looked at Esprл. “It’s, um, Levritt.”
Esprл screamed.
Te’oma snatched up the girl in her arms and clamped a hand over her mouth. Esprл kicked and thrashed about like a beast in a net. Te’oma reached out with her mind and tapped the girl’s brain hard. She fell limp in the changeling’s hands.
Te’oma lay the girl down on the deck and said to her. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be. I can keep doing that all day if you like.”
Esprл blinked and sat up. She looked at the changeling, still in the form of a blond knight, and said, “It’s you again, isn’t it?”
The changeling smiled at the girl. “You just can’t get rid of me, can you?”
Esprл stuck out her bottom lip. “Am I your hostage again?”
Te’oma shifted back to her normal form as she reached out and tousled Esprл’s hair. “Let’s just say we’re going for a ride together.”
“What about Kandler and Burch and the knights?”
“They’re not invited. This trip is just you and me.” The changeling glanced around at the airship, at the ring of fire that encircled it. “At least we’ll be traveling in style.”
