With all the trust of a true soldier for his beloved leader, Corsin stood up straight, as confidently as he could, being suspended against his will, and held his hands up high above the smoke. He howled above us.
Jalasa, Nessi, and I echoed his cry.
With a swift intake of breath, I cushioned Corsin back to the ground. As he settled, he stood and bowed low to me, then crossed his sword in front of his face.
“Our strength with your strength, Lord Skarde.”
“Our strength with your strength,” Nessi and Jalasa echoed.
I held up the pipes for them to smoke again.
A trumpet rang out from the other side of the palace and we all looked in its direction. It was Damox, telling us that we had been long enough at our traditions. I had told him to alert me when it reached eight o’clock. I looked toward the setting sun and realized that the stars were well stretched into the sky, beaming down with no sign of daylight.
We had been lost in the klastani, as was typical for the tradition.
“Here,” I held out a stein filled with tea from a type of aloe plant. “It will give us some clarity. We have a job to do that requires stealth.”
My Vailstorans drank and then we settled into a circle on the ground. We would have ten minutes of meditation and then we would join the Farians. I know knew how strong the klastani could make me even in their world. Our traditions could merge harmoniously. Plus, I could take the best of their weaponry, their tele arts, and use it for my own devices.
I was a Berserker, after all.
Eighteen
Ilisa
The Kall’s log cabin homes were set back in lightly snow-capped trees, spread out amongst holly thickets and laced down charming lanes lined with winter flowers and lamplight. They were charming in the early dawn. It had taken us three days to get there by horseback along the mountainous roads above the mining routes. We hadn’t been able to take the train, for fear of word getting to Fenvitz before we reached him.
The journey had been cold, but enjoyable. I had spent most of my time riding beside my Destin, but I had also gotten to spend some time reengaging with Renin, whom I had trained alongside under Commander Axis and served with under Cartari. I had been able to express to him just how important it was that we stand beside Skarde, trust in him, acknowledge him full-heartedly as our leader. I had also been able to confide in him as my friend and ally that I was, truly, and for the first time in my life, one hundred percent in love.
Renin was not perhaps buying into the Destin concept, but he couldn’t argue that it had been touching Farian a lot of late between off-worlder and telepath. I could tell he was going to do his good duty as a soldier and defend Skarde. It had meant a lot to all the Farians under Damox that Skarde was seeking a relatively peaceful solution to the battle with Fenvitz. It certainly stood with what they had heard of him from Vailstor as a protector of his people in Astrida, providing a safehaven for those running from despots and warlords, from slavery and attack. Skarde was finding a way to make sure people he had no reason to care about would survive.
We threaded our way through the back lanes of the Kall’s village before anyone was up for the day. Miners began their day early, but they all headed to the entrance at the opposite side of town, so we were unlikely to run into any of them as they started their shifts.
The lake spread out before us as we reached a clearing, a crystalline pool with frost across the top, spider webbing out in the glints of the first sunrays. However, the lake was heated geo thermally and the ice never went down further than an inch. It was why the calasis would need to flash freeze the masa with a chemical catalyst reaction.
Our horses stamped their feet, their breath making puffs of smoke in the cool air as they longed for a taste of the water just out of their reach. Damox signaled and we all swung off their backs, letting the steeds drink as the ice at the edges crunched under their hooves.
“Take the second cannon to the other side of the lake and wait for my signal,” Damox said. Six of his Spec Ops soldiers separated, taking one of the giant blasters from the side of one of the pack mules and carrying it across his lap. We had taken blaster cannons that were usually outfit on the sides of small fighting battleships. Just to make sure all the calasis would be frozen. We had two and figured to fire them at the same time.
“We will set up just over there.” Damox pointed to a nook back in between two tall trees. Skarde caught my eye and then nodded his assent. “Take the horses off to the left and tie them up.” Two Spec Ops soldiers obeyed. Everyone busied themselves quickly.
“Fenvitz will hear the cannons fire but how do we know he will come to the lake right away?” Skarde asked.
“On Farian, when an attack is suspected or initiated, one of the first things that is employed is a full area scanning by a Reader. Fenvitz will hear the attack and then his Readers will search the area, looking for who set off the blasters. He will find us. Most likely, he will find you. You will stand out, as
