The slap of the oars on the water as they skimmed across the lake was the only sound. The water itself was dark, with the vague outline of a drop-off that began not far from the shore and plunged into depths no sunlight reached. This was a deep, deep lake. Surface waves lifted and dipped them gently, and more than once Anhuset spotted undulating shapes cresting above the water in scaly, serpentine arches. The creatures moved counter to the waves, leaving broad, flat wakes behind them as they glided parallel to the boats. She was a good swimmer and didn't fear drowning should some accident occur and she fell in the water. But whatever patrolled just below the surface promised a death more savage than a drowning.
They reached the island's leeward side without incident. A man from each boat hopped into waist-deep water with bow lines and towed the boats, always watching the deeper water for any sign of the water creatures that had followed them. Once they turned the boats so that the bows faced out toward the lake and set both anchors and spikes, the rest of the group piled out. Anhuset muttered under her breath as she plunged knee-deep into the water. She'd just started drying out and warming up.
Karulin kept a steady hand on her arm as she shuffle-waded to shore. Two others dragged Serovek to where she stood, dropping him at her feet. A faint groan escaped his lips.
Chamtivos faced her, gesturing for Karulin to remove her gag. “You've the rest of the day and night to prepare. Tomorrow morning, we return for the hunt. I'm much looking forward to pitting my skills against you, Kai woman.”
This was a petty man driven by childish malice and an overblown sense of his own importance and entitlement. How he managed to gain and keep a fighting force willing to die for him in a war with the Nazim monks puzzled her greatly.
Karulin moved from behind her to scowl at Chamtivos. “This is wrong. All of it. When did our purpose drift from fighting for our lands to chasing defenseless captives through the forests for fun?”
Chamtivos lost the smirk he wore. Something neither human nor Kai nor anything belonging to this world stared back at her and Karulin. They both retreated a step. “It isn't your place to protest or judge. Here I am king.”
He didn't wait for a reply but strode to where the other men gathered, making plans for the following day and exchanging wagers over who'd make the first kill and how they'd do it. Karulin bent to pick up the gag he'd dropped to the ground. He held it out to her, face hard with a quiet fury and equally resolute. He held the gag out to her. “Do you want this?” She nodded. Cloth strips came in handy for numerous reasons. He folded the gag neatly, tucking it under Serovek's prone form. “You can retrieve it once I'm not so close to you.”
His actions were odd as was his statement. Bound as she still was, her mobility was severely limited.
“Will you be one of the hunters tomorrow?” Anhuset hoped not. She'd regret killing him and only him. He might be as twisted as the master he served, but she trusted her instincts and her judgment, and they told her Karulin was nothing like Chamtivos.
His lips thinned. “That depends on whether or not Chamtivos requires me to prove my loyalty to him.” He shrugged. “I'm an adequate hunter and better with a sword than a bow.” Her eyes widened at these key details he shared with her. His voice, already low, softened even more. “There are four archers among us who are far more skilled than the rest. Without them, you might survive.” He backed away. “Good luck, sha-Anhuset.”
He returned to the boats where the others had already begun boarding. Chamtivos regarded him from his place at the bow of one boat, reminding Anhuset of a snake studying unsuspecting quarry. Karulin ignored him, and she guessed he'd not turn his back on his master, figuratively or literally, any time soon.
She watched them row away, leaving her and Serovek without provisions or weapons of any kind. She'd expected no less. Wrists and ankles still bound, she'd have to find a way to cut herself free, otherwise she was useless to Serovek and herself. A small, triumphant cry burst past her lips when she discovered a treasure folded into the creases of the gag cloth tucked under Serovek's shoulder: an eating knife. Small, easily hidden, and just as sharp as any fighting blade she normally carried.
Chamtivos had a traitor in his midst, or at least a man who felt it necessary to even the odds a little more between predator and prey. Karulin had managed to wrap the knife in the gag cloth without anyone noticing, including her, relying on the hunch that Anhuset might want the cloth as either a bandage or a weapon. He was her enemy, her adversary, but at least an honorable one, unlike that craven dog to whom he gave allegiance.
She cut her bonds away and used the gag cloth to create a makeshift sheath for the knife. Chamtivos might have stripped her of her weapons, but she wasn't without. She had teeth, claws, Karulin's knife, her training, and her wits. They'd not find her easy prey to hunt and kill.
Serovek was another matter. Up close he looked in even worse shape, battered and bloody. No doubt she'd find more contusions and worse under his clothes. His breathing was quick but not labored, a good sign that. Even if his captors had broken a rib or two, they hadn't punctured a lung.
She lifted a few strands of his hair, sticky with blood, away from his abused face. “The cruelties of lesser men inflicted upon a greater one. I'm sorry, Serovek.” The sight of his injuries seated a cold fury deep in her gut, and she almost wished Chamtivos and the gutless
