Lakhoni (33 page)

The
king, her father. Guilt stabbed at him.
Could I really use her to get to her
father so I can kill him?
The justice of such a thing appealed to him
somewhat, but as he kicked at a red pebble, he had to admit he didn’t think he
could do it.

Chel’s
wet nose prodded at Lakhoni’s hand. Lakhoni scratched the dog’s head, debating
with himself. He dropped to a crouch and held the dog’s head between his hands,
ruffling the animal’s ears. He pitched his voice low. “I can’t do that, can I,
Chel? It has to be a righteous justice.” The words, spoken aloud, felt heavy
and crisp, like truth. “No, I’ll make a better opportunity.”

Cho’s
hard foot kicked him awake. “Move it, puppy dog. The king is going hunting with
his dogs today and we have a lot of work to do.”

Lakhoni
was only able to eat a small apple as breakfast and then he was off to grooming
and preparing the dogs. He yanked a clump of hair from the fibrous brush he’d
been using on the last of the dogs, then jogged into the building attached to
the dog compound. He dropped the hair into a clay bucket, set the brush on a
narrow shelf, and stepped quickly into the room his things were stored in.
Making sure nobody was near, he slid his knife out of the small bag he had
liberated from the kitchen and stuck it between his belt and leg, glad that he
still wore the breeches he’d gotten from Simra’s village.

Simra.
How was she? Would she have forgiven him for leaving her? Thinking back,
Lakhoni still didn’t see how he could have had any other option.
Maybe when
this is all done
.

He
thought of Ree. She had stopped by and asked for help two more times in the
last few days. Each time she had grown more comfortable with him and didn’t act
like a spoiled chieftain’s daughter as much. Weirdly, he found he thought of
her as more of a friend than the other dog-boys. Instead of always being on her
guard, she said what was on her mind. Simra would like her.

Lakhoni
dragged his thoughts back on course. This might be his chance. Hunting with the
king—anything could happen, couldn’t it? He could escape with Alronna in the
chaos that would follow the king’s death.

Outside
the building, Lakhoni lifted some leather straps from a hook and bent to the
task of wrapping a strap around each dog’s neck. Master Kalu had given orders
to leash the dogs in order to keep them under control during the journey out of
the city.

They
had two dogs still tearing around the fenced area when the gong sounded, signaling
that the king would soon depart from the compound.

Master
Kalu growled. “Move faster, idiots! You have to take your position at the back
of the line now!”

Cho,
Balon, and Falon all joined Lakhoni in saying, “Yes, Master Kalu,” at the exact
same time.

Lakhoni
finally got hold of one of the errant dogs. Balon got the other one. Cho swung
the gate wide and the four dog-servants jogged out of the dog compound, each
holding two or three dogs’ leashes. Master Kalu grunted loudly behind them, straining
to keep up.

At
the front of the temple compound, they found the king’s guards, already
mounted, moving steadily through the gate into the city. The king rode his dark
brown horse in the center of the group. Cho led the dog-boys to the back of the
group, while the dogs pulled hard to get at the horses.

“Move
them back, you fools!” Master Kalu’s voice carried in a harsh whisper to
Lakhoni’s ears.

He
and the others stopped walking for a moment, gripping the leather leads
tightly. The dogs whined and yipped, but the boys held fast. As they began
walking, then jogging to stay with the group, Lakhoni tossed a glance over his
shoulder; Master Kalu stood scowling at him from inside the gate. Relief filled
Lakhoni. With Master Kalu staying behind, Lakhoni might have more success
getting away from the dogs and finding a way to get to the king.

The
journey through the city was eye opening. During his first encounter with the
king, Lakhoni had been so caught up in the moment that he hadn’t noticed what
was going on around him. Blagro after blagro, countless people knelt, their
heads bowed, as the king’s group passed. The usual heavy noise of the city
seemed farther away, as if the street they were walking on had suddenly fallen
asleep. Nobody moved.

It
was like running between rows and rows of flesh-colored statues.

By
the time they passed through the south gates of the City of Zyron, Lakhoni felt
uncomfortable and confused. Did they think the king was some kind of god?

He
glanced to either side, catching Balon’s eye. The boy waggled his eyebrows,
making a ridiculous face and pointing forward into the king’s group with a nod
of his head. Lakhoni tried to see what Balon was indicating and caught a flash
of deep red, then saw Ree’s face in profile.

Lakhoni’s
heart sank into his stomach. He pushed thoughts of Ree aside; if he had the
opportunity to serve justice to the king, he would take it. No matter what. She
was a princess anyway. Any friendship with her couldn’t last.

Lakhoni’s
thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice calling back to him and the other
boys. “Spread out, five dogs to each side. When we get to the forest, release
them.” The speaker was a large, scarred man.

Lakhoni
glanced at Cho, who signaled that Lakhoni should join him on the right side of
the group while Balon and Falon took the left side. As the city walls grew
steadily smaller, Lakhoni found himself several paces to the right of the
king’s guards. If he was careful, he could watch the king and Ree while jogging
along. As Ree smiled and laughed, Lakhoni strained to hear what was being said.
He had no luck. Dividing his attention between the path ahead and Ree and her
father, Lakhoni was struck by how different the king looked out of the city,
talking to his daughter. He was still strangely shiny, but at times he would
smile, giving him a friendly appearance. And Lakhoni had to admit that the king
did bear some resemblance to his own father.

The
group came to a hill and the men on horses, and Ree, made it to the top ahead
of Lakhoni and the other dog-boys. Ree rocked slightly backwards as her horse
made the climb and the king reached out to steady her. Suddenly shouts of fear
and rage sent chills down Lakhoni’s spine. Arrows flew and guards fell. As
Lakhoni stood frozen, totally dumbstruck, King Zyron pushed Ree hard, shouted
at her, and slapped her big black horse. The horse took off, tearing toward the
forest in the west at full speed, Ree clinging tightly to its back.

Cries
of pain, whistling arrows, and barking dogs filled Lakhoni’s ears. Finally he
realized he was just standing still. He let the dogs go free. He settled for a
split-second, taking in the chaos. All of his senses warned him of danger.
Reaching for his dagger, he caught movement at the corner of his eye. He leaned
back and away and an arrow slashed the air in front of his nose. He thought
better of pulling out his dagger. Instead he jumped toward Cho, pulling the
other boy down behind a bush.

The
few remaining guards turned, one grabbing the straps on the king’s horse and
yanking the animal’s head around. Cho grabbed at him and shouted in his ear.
Balon lay on the ground, an arrow through a thigh. Falon was trying to drag
Balon with one arm, his other arm hanging limp, an arrow in his shoulder.

Amidst
the shouts and pounding of horses hooves, Lakhoni heard a whimper. A dog. He
scanned the area, digging deeper behind the bush, flinching as an arrow graze
his side. He and the other boys had released the dogs, but two of them lay on
the ground, one of them with three arrows puncturing its side. A pang of
remembered grief, an image of putting Ancum on the funeral pyre, struck him.
Anger built into sudden fury.

Who
were these people trying to steal his justice?

The
arrows stopped, but the shouts grew louder. Maybe thirty yards away, the last
three of the king’s guards rode, the king between them. Lakhoni bent, finally
looking at Cho. Blood seeped from a long slash along Cho’s ribs, between the
fingers Cho used to try to keep the wound closed. His face was tight with pain
and fear.

“We
have to go,” Lakhoni said. “Somebody’s coming.” His heart slammed in his chest.
But he saw the scene clearly and knew exactly what to do.

“Stay
here,” Cho said. “They won’t see us.”

“No,
they’ll see us.”
Whoever they are
.

Lakhoni
straightened. The noise of running horses and countless shouting men echoed
over the hill. He grabbed Cho and yanked him to his feet. “We have to go. Now.”
He dragged Cho, who gave up fighting him after only a moment, toward Balon and
Falon. “Get him on his feet!”

Falon
looked up, desperation written on his face. “I can’t. He’s too hurt!”

“We
have to get out of here!” Lakhoni let go of Cho and reached for Balon. “Come
on.”

“Get
it out.” Balon’s voice, high and desperate, grated on Lakhoni’s ears. Balon
scrabbled for the arrow. “Out. Take it out!”

“No!”
Lakhoni stopped Falon’s reaching hands. “It’ll bleed more.” He bent to Balon
and jerked the boy to his feet. He wrapped one of Balon’s arms over his
shoulders and took off. “To the forest!”

Up
ahead, it appeared the three guards and the king had thought of the same thing.
They were angling toward the forest as well. Lakhoni glanced around. Where was
Ree? Had she made it back to the city? They couldn’t have come more than a
quarter mile from the gate—would she be able to tell the soldiers there what
had happened?

He
and the three dog-boys had covered maybe fifty paces before the shouts behind
them suddenly grew louder. Lakhoni risked a glance over his shoulder. An army,
red and terrifying, had crested the tall hill. They were marching steadily
toward the city of Zyron. Was that the Separated? Impossible!

Confusion
at what was happening tried to distract him, stealing his focus on getting the
other boys to safety. He fought it away. “Come on. Hurry!”

The
king’s party, now almost at the forest’s edge, had suddenly halted. A party of
maybe five red men had emerged from the forest. As Lakhoni ran, angling to his
left, maybe forty paces from the trees, he saw the king’s party backing away.
In the space of maybe five seconds, the tall, ugly guard drew his sword and cut
down the nearest guard to him. Betrayal!

By
the Fathers!
Lakhoni needed to be there, needed to know what was happening.

By
the time he and the other boys reached the cover of the forest, the ugly guard
had mercilessly chopped the final guard to the earth and the other group of men
approached the king and the traitor.

Lakhoni
set Balon on the ground. “Bind just above the arrow, then remove it. And get
out of sight.” He opened his senses, feeling the trees, bushes, vines and
leaves all around him. “Try to make it to the city.”

“What
are you doing?” Cho bent over, wheezing, his ribs oozing.

“I
have to go.” He met Balon and Falon’s gaze, then Cho’s. “Stay safe. I’ll try to
find you.”

He
let the forest fill his senses, took a calming breath, and darted away. He ran,
feeling light and strong, focused like a well-aimed arrow. Gliding over a bush,
he let the Dance with the Forest control his muscles. He let his senses quest
farther out. That branch, right hand. Tuck the legs and roll around this trunk.
Turn the head just
so.
Strong. Fast.

Lakhoni
flew through the forest, feeling its rhythm, its patterns. Without considering
the movement required, he now held the dagger in his right hand. In moments he
knew he had come close to the confrontation. He slowed and listened. Voices,
maybe twenty paces away. He melted around trunks, low and silent.

“ . . .
treachery!” That was the king’s voice. “And Shelu! My trusted friend, what have
you done?”

“You
are a fool.” The new voice slammed Lakhoni to a stop. It was soft and oozing
and completely unforgettable. The Bonaha.

Fathers!
What is he doing here?

“You
sent me to reclaim your people.” Mocking laughter.

Lakhoni
moved closer. If the Bonaha were here, Gimno and other halkeen had to be
around. Danger and fear washed cold through Lakhoni. Now Lakhoni moved more
carefully. All of his training had come from Gimno and the other Separated. How
had the Separated come to be here?

Lakhoni
couldn’t be more than ten paces away. He stopped, wishing his heart wouldn’t
hammer so loudly, and listened.

“They
were never your people,” the Bonaha said. “You are not fit to rule any of the
Chosen. That you believed I was loyal to you reflects on your own
intelligence.”

“But . . .”
The king’s voice trailed off. “But you said the Usurpers had treated you
poorly. That they had stolen all you had.”

“And
so they did. That is their way. They are not fit to rule either. You are all
fools. The Usurpers still call your people after your first king and themselves
after the first betrayer, Azar. Not one of you is worthy of ruling the promised
land.” Silence for a moment. “Gimno, take him.”

“Wait!
Molgar, by the Fathers, wait!” The king’s voice dripped with fear.

The
king knew the Bonaha—even knew his name.
Lakhoni crept closer. He saw
the group through the gaps in trees and branches. The king stood in front of
the Bonaha. Gimno gripped the king’s arm.

“I
offered you a place at my side!” The king’s face dripped, his skin pale. He
looked ill.

“I
am not destined to be at any man’s side.” The Bonaha stepped closer to the
king. “With the Guide in
my
possession, you slain by your servants, and
the Sword soon to be in my power, I will be the only man fit to rule this
land.” The Bonaha stretched his arms wide. “All of this will be ruled by
Molgar, Bonaha of all the children of the promise!”