“So you need us to prepare the monks for an attack from an unknown enemy, arriving in unknown numbers, at an unknown time, with unknown abilities?”
The emperor nodded. “And I want you to do it quickly.”
36
For almost a full day, Alena thought the Etari would avoid their pursuit. The group made good time, pushing their mounts hard. Surely whoever Kye had sent would turn away.
But her hope was in vain.
The next day, she saw a plume of dust rising into the air. Not long later, Sooni ordered the Etari to a halt. In the wide-open plains, the Etari carts had no way of outrunning the pursuit.
As the distance between the forces closed, Alena realized they were a large unit of cavalry.
She guessed there were close to a hundred horses approaching.
She glanced over at Sooni, who watched the approaching soldiers with an impassive eye. Could the secret she carried be worth so much to Kye that he would provoke a war? Or had she stumbled upon something larger between the Etari and the empire?
Either way, the Etari couldn’t protect her from this.
“Mercenaries.” Sooni glanced at Alena. “That must be some secret,” she said, her tone dry.
“It seems that way.” Alena didn’t know how to respond. She wasn’t worth this much effort. She couldn’t be.
Yet the evidence grew closer with every passing moment.
Alena turned to Sooni. “You have to surrender me. My life isn’t worth your family’s.”
Sooni frowned. “Of course it isn’t.” She continued studying the riders. “But they have entered our land without permission. They have sealed their fates.”
Alena watched as her doom approached.
Maybe if she jumped out of the cart and ran toward the charging mercenaries she could save the Etari lives. She didn’t want to die, but she refused to have the blood of more people on her hands, especially that of people who helped her in a time of need.
Alena glanced back to take one last look at the caravan, to imprint their faces on her memory. She saw Sooni flashing hand signs too fast for her to follow.
What did they expect to accomplish? The Etari were outnumbered. Less than two dozen Etari accompanied the caravan, making the odds almost four to one. On the plains, there was no terrain to use to hide or to set an ambush. The battle would be on a level playing field, dooming the Etari.
But from the looks on her companions’ faces, they didn’t feel the same. Those riding horses dismounted, tethering them to carts. Every cart came to a complete halt as the Etari formed a loose line between the caravan and the approaching riders.
Sooni glanced at Alena, suddenly alone on the carts. Even Azaleth, the youngest among the Etari, had joined the line. The family leader’s gaze hardened. “Are you not going to join us?”
“I don’t know how.” Shame flushed her cheeks.
Alena supposed that wasn’t exactly true. She had received the same martial training as everyone else in the academy. She’d never taken to it the same way Jace had, though. Running, hiding, and outsmarting were her methods.
Sooni shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Fight, or your welcome is rescinded. In Etar, everyone participates.”
Alena frowned, not understanding quite what Sooni meant. But the part about having her welcome rescinded stuck. If they wouldn’t let her surrender herself, they were all going to die. She might as well die standing. “You don’t have to do this,” she said as she climbed down from the cart.
“We do,” was all Sooni said.
Her knees shook. The riders were still a ways away, but every instinct Alena possessed told her to run. It was the reasonable reaction when charged by an entire unit of cavalry.
Sooni made a gesture even Alena could guess. She held her hand flat as a blade and swiped it quickly across her neck. In response, everyone else flashed a sign Alena knew represented an agreement.
Several of the Etari dug into pouches at their hip, pulling out what appeared to be small stones. Next to her, Azaleth pulled one out, allowing her to examine it more closely. It was a small stone, sleek but narrowed to a point on one end. Azaleth held the stone in front of him, where it floated and began to spin rapidly.
For a moment, Alena forgot her fear. What was this? It was a stone affinity, without doubt, but she had never seen such a technique before. And how did everyone possess a stone affinity? The odds of that were inconceivable.
Azaleth’s actions were mirrored down the line. Alena saw nearly a dozen stones, floating and spinning.
The riders charged, slowly becoming individual shapes.
Sooni made a gesture with her hand, and the stones disappeared.
Alena blinked, her attention drawn to the approaching line of riders, thrown into sudden disarray. At least a dozen riders, if not more, fell from their mounts, life ripped from their limp bodies.
When she looked back at the line, everyone was floating more stones in the air. They disappeared as well, but Alena saw the streak of darkness this time, zipping toward the enemy charge. More men fell, then more again.
The charge began to break up, and they were still several hundred paces away. A handful of arrows floated through the air, arcing toward the line of Etari.
Each arrow suddenly spun in the air, as though a hand had come through and swiped at them all. They fell harmlessly to the ground.
By the time the riders were within two hundred paces of the Etari, their numbers were more than halved.
By the time the charge was a hundred paces away, there were maybe only three dozen riders left. Their commander ordered them forward.
From the confident tone of his voice, Alena wondered if he had even looked behind him to see how few men remained.
Between the riders and the Etari a spark flashed, erupting quickly into a conflagration, a wall of fire that burned between the two forces.
About ten paces after the fire, a
