Conflict (26 page)

Rage blinded him, he took no notice of his friend’s plea. “I’ll ask you for the last time, Kayti. Who’s Guzmik, and what has he got to do with you?” he repeated.

At the imminent possibility of attack, Kayti fell into a defensive position with her legs slightly flexed.

“As you yourself realized, Guzmik was a powerful sorcerer, a mage with his own retinue of disciples and armed men. A ruthless and evil being, who richly deserved the end that fate and Hartz’s hand meted out to him.”

“How did you know him? What’s the nature of your relationship? Why was he looking for you?” Komir was not satisfied with the young woman’s answers.

“Calm down, Komir, threats won’t get you anywhere. I’m sure Kayti will answer all your questions without needing to be threatened. Lower your sword, please,” Hartz begged. His hands were raised in a pacifying gesture.

“I’ll lower it when I’m satisfied with the answers I want. Lindaro nearly lost his life, in fact we all nearly died because we trusted her. She hasn’t told us everything she knows, and her secrets nearly cost us our lives!”

“My order, knew this dangerous foreigner had arrived in Tremia. His suspicious movements, and the kind of covert searches he was making into our Brotherhood, worried our hierarchy. We discovered that this individual had been compiling information about our affairs for two years. My superiors were unable to identify this Sorcerer’s ultimate aim, but they did find out what he was after: a particular person. Someone in the Brotherhood
…”

Komir did not let her finish. “You!”

“Yes. My superiors informed me that the sorcerer’s investigations into the Brotherhood, and all the inquiries his agents were making, were aimed at finding out who I was.”

“But why? What are you worth, to make such a powerful sorcerer look for you and try to kill you? Could you be a King’s daughter? Or is it revenge of some sort? Had you harmed this sorcerer in any way?”

“This is where I have no answers for you, Komir… I’d like to be able to give them to you, honestly, but I don’t know. I have no idea of the sorcerer’s motivation, or why he wanted me dead, or why he’d been looking for me for so long. We’ve never been able to find out why. The Brotherhood protected me from him while it tried to find out the reason. Before they could find anything out, Guzmik’s men, masses of them, attacked the fortress of our Order in the Lost Mountains. It was something that surprised us completely. The daring of it was unthinkable, and they almost finished us off. Guzmik had a small army at his disposal! They suffered many losses in the first wave, but they continued the attack undaunted. Men dressed in violet assaulted the walls for two days on end, attacking day and night in surprise raids, short but intense. The garrison, three hundred devoted soldiers of the Brotherhood, fought them off, but the fact that they outnumbered us four to one, plus the magic from their various sorcerers, nearly tilted the battle in their favor. Because of this, at the most critical moment and fearing the fortress might fall into enemy hands, Jonas, Captain General of the Brotherhood and Commander of the fortress, thought of a plan to let a small group escape in the dead of night. That’s how I got away, and that’s how six months later, when we were near the port city of Ocorum, our paths crossed.”

“That means the same ones who attacked the fortress hunted you down with no rest for more than six months?” Hartz asked, his jaw dropping.

“That’s right. We believed we’d covered our tracks well and that salvation was at our fingertips, then they caught up with us. And if it hadn’t been for you I’d be dead now.”

“And the decoy?” Komir asked.

“That was Jonas’ idea. He thought if the enemy caught us they’d go for the leader of the group, which would give me a small chance to escape. And it worked.”

“But you still haven’t told me why. Why you? What makes you so special that Guzmik, a powerful foreign sorcerer, would want you dead at all costs, even attacking a well-garrisoned fortress? It doesn’t make sense!”

“I don’t have the answer. I don’t know the reason. I can only tell you it’s nothing I might have done. My whole life has been dedicated to the Brotherhood. I’ve lived for and by the Order. I don’t know this sorcerer, or what led him to hunt me down. You must believe me, Komir, I’m telling you the truth. I’d like to give you the answer you want, but I don’t have it.”

Komir thought for a moment, trying to quench his rage. Kayti was hiding something, she knew more than she was telling. He turned on her again.

“What are you hiding? What part of the story are you keeping back? What is it you don’t want to share? I’m warning you for the last time. You tell me the whole truth, or else you’ll pay with your life.”

“I’m not hiding anything! I’ve told you everything I know. I don’t know why Guzmik was looking for me. I have no answer for that.”

“Then you’d better start commending yourself to your gods because today you’re going to join them. With a sudden move Komir attacked, launching a well-aimed thrust at Kayti’s shoulder. Surprised by the swift attack, she could not completely block the Norriel sword, which penetrated the layers of steel protecting her shoulder, piercing her armor and meeting flesh.

“Stop it, Komir! Don’t lose your head!” cried Hartz from the side. “Think what you’re doing, by Iram our Earth mother!”

But Komir was not acting rationally. The volcano of rage inside him had exploded, and his bloodshot eyes sought revenge. Revenge for an abysmal pain, buried in his blood in the depths of his soul, beyond the limits of reason. With the skill of a Norriel champion Komir attacked his adversary, reading and measuring her defenses in every feint, in each sword-thrust. Kayti was well-versed in military arts and had great dexterity with the sword, but she could not compare with the young Norriel’s natural talent, and he was able to read that. Hartz threw himself on to Komir to stop him, but his friend surprised him with a blow from the pommel of his sword. The giant stepped back in astonishment, his mouth bleeding, unsure what to do.

Komir renewed his attack, and his lethal dance began to take shape. The sweet music of the sword dance found the opportunity he was looking for to penetrate his opponent’s defense. With lightning speed he disarmed Kayti, and her sword fell to the ground with the ring of steel on stone. Komir placed the deadly tip of his sword on the soft neck of the woman in white armor.

Hartz, dumbfounded, reacted to the mortal danger of the situation by placing himself between his two friends, protecting the warrior by squeezing his body between her and the end of the sword.

Komir placed the tip on the thick neck of the great Norriel.

“If you’re going to kill her,” Hartz said with the coldness of absolute conviction, “you’ll have to kill me first.”

“Don’t get in the way, my friend. I’ve a mission to accomplish, and nothing and no one will stop me, not even you,” Komir threatened.

“I understand the meaning of your mission and I share it. We’ll find your family’s murderers. We’ll rip all those responsible apart one by one, and their death will be slow and painful. You have my word as a Norriel. We’ll search for them without rest until we find them, no matter how long it takes. I’ll go with you on that search, no matter how dangerous, even if it means dying in the process. But not like this, Komir. This isn’t the way. This isn’t our path. What would Mother Iram say of this vile act? Or her daughters Igrali and Ikzuge, our protectors? They’d be ashamed beyond any hope of forgiveness in their eyes.”

“Don’t come to me with your superstitions, Hartz! The goddesses didn’t move a finger to save my parents, they let them be murdered while Igrali, the Moon, shone nearly full that night as the pure blood of honest Norriel bathed Mother Iram’s sacred earth. The goddesses did nothing for us, and when I woke up and Ikzuge touched me with her rays of power and wellbeing, all I felt was agony. The Sun goddess had no effect on my soul. So don’t speak to me of soiling our goddesses when they did nothing for their devout children!”

“It might have been so, friend, but it might have been that it was you they decided to save. Have you thought of that? We don’t know the goddesses’ designs. In any case I won’t let you kill her, for your own good. You won’t be rejected by them for an act of such evil, not while I’m with you. If you’re wrong, and in this case you are very wrong, I’ll always let you know. Always.”

“I’ll decide my own good, no one but me! That woman you defend with your life has lied to us, betrayed us, and even now, a step away from death, she’s hiding the truth. You might not see it, but for me it’s clear!” Komir shouted, keeping the tip of his sword on his friend’s neck, shaking from sheer fury.

“Control that inner rage, friend. You’re not like this, I know you better than anyone. The fury in your heart is going to eat you away until it consumes you. You’re on the point of killing someone, blinded by hate. Can’t you see? Are you going to kill me too, Komir? What’s the point? What will you get out of it in the end?”

Komir looked into the eyes of his friend and as if they were a kind of balm, they calmed him. The big man’s words sank into Komir, and he began to doubt his own convictions. The volcano inside him was going out, the eruption was over. There were still anger and impotence latent deep within him, but he looked into his friend’s eyes, full of worry and concern. Once more Hartz was right, this was not the way. Hatred had overcome him, and he had to keep it at bay or it would be his ruin.

Yet he was still furious with Kayti and did not trust her, not one little bit. Even on the edge of death the clever redhead had not flinched. She would not open up, he was sure of it.

“You’re right, once again, you’re right…” he said more calmly, taking the sword away and attempting a timid smile. “I won’t kill her, that path would take me down to an abyss I don’t want to explore. Thank you for stopping my hate, my friend. Thank you for not letting me succumb to my anger.”

“I’m glad to have brought you to your senses,” Hartz said, breathing out with relief. “For a moment I thought you were going to kill us both.”

Komir looked defiantly at Kayti. His eyes shone like emeralds.

“I won’t kill her, even though I don’t trust her. Get her out of here. Take her to the Flying Pony Inn. If I see her again, it’ll be the end for her.”

“I’ll do that, Komir,” Hartz said.

Kayti lowered her head slightly and looked at him with subdued eyes.

“I’m truly sorry you don’t believe me, Komir, I’m an honorable woman, my life and my honor belong to the Brotherhood,” she said with her hand on the wound in her shoulder.

Komir ignored her words, sheathed his sword and grabbed his friend’s shoulders.

“One more thing, my friend. Just as you’ve helped me, let me return the favor. Get away from her, she doesn’t deserve your devotion. She’ll do whatever it takes for her Brotherhood, for her ideals, she’ll follow her superiors’ orders blindly. She’s not trustworthy. Listen to me well, friend. Don’t lose your life for someone who hides her motives, someone who’ll put the interests of that Brotherhood of hers before your wellbeing. There’ll be other women, the seas are filled with beautiful mermaids and you’ve always been a good fisherman, so get rid of this one or you’ll come to regret it for the rest of your life.”

Hartz nodded, hugged his friend briefly but intensely and left, taking Kayti with him.

Half an hour later, Hartz and Kayti arrived at the Flying Pony Inn. They banged on the door, waking Bandor, the rotund innkeeper, who opened the door when he recognized them even though it was late at night. Hartz apologized to the good fellow for the ungodly hour and gave him a handsome tip, then they went up to Kayti’s room. Hartz was tired and not in a good mood. The confrontation with Komir had left a bitter taste in his mouth and a great unease in his body that refused to go away.

“I’d better go to my room, I need to rest. All this adventure has worn me out. To be honest, I’m exhausted,” he told Kayti, who was beginning to take off her white armor.

“Wait…” she said, holding his arm, “I need to talk to you. Would you mind helping me get this off? The wound is just a small cut, but the weight is killing me.”

“Sure.”

With the skill of experienced soldiers they both loosened the inner ties of the armor, freeing Kayti from her metal cage. In a few moments the separate pieces lay on top of the old trunk in the room.

Kayti remained standing, in a short tight white tunic and woolen pants of the same color. Hartz could not help staring at her lithe figure; never before had he seen her without her armor, and the discovery was going rapidly to his head. In the soft light of the oil lamp Kayti’s hair shone like a lion’s mane, making her look radiant. The bloodstain on her shoulder emphasized the vividness of the scene. From the first moment, the beauty of her pale freckled face and the wild red of her hair had inexorably trapped the Norriel. Now he realized he was her prisoner. Lovingly gazing at the sensuality of the young woman, a confusion of feelings surged up within him. He wanted to hold her, caress her, make her his. He fought to banish them from his gut. He knew he should leave. She had an inebriating effect on his soul, she awoke in him a burning passion that was growing by the moment. He turned on his heels to leave the room, when she whispered:

“Why did you risk your life for me?”

Hartz turned and looked into her eyes,

“I couldn’t let him hurt you. Not him, not anyone, ever,”