A LONG, BAD JOURNEY

“We are going to war,” Laren told an astonished Connly and Mara. Connly had already briefed Mara on the plight of their captive Riders and, of course, Melry.

“Against the Darrow Raiders or Second Empire?” Mara asked.

“Most likely both, but our focus will be the Raiders.”

Silence fell over Connly’s quarters as they took in her words. The Riders had not gone to war since the first appearance of the Darrow Raiders.

“This is not a rescue operation?” Mara asked quietly.

“If we are able to rescue our people in our attempt to quell the Raiders, so be it, but our primary mission will be to destroy the Raiders.” Laren was determined she would see both done. She could tell Mara was itching to say something about Melry, or maybe she was wondering how a mother could be so heartless as not to put her daughter first. But it wasn’t like that. There was the official mission, and then there was the other mission.

They spent a long two hours hammering out what needed to be accomplished to get the Riders ready. Mara looked both relieved and frustrated that she would have to remain at the castle to oversee the Riders who would not be riding to the mountains, namely the green Greenies.

“I need experienced people,” Laren said. “These are the Darrow Raiders, and our new Riders wouldn’t have a chance.” But there was one she planned to take along. “When Ty is back on his feet, he can assist you here, and if the opportunity presents itself, you may join us at the front.”

Mara nodded. “Yes, Colonel. What of message errands?”

“The king will, of course, have all of us at the front to fulfill his needs, but here in the city, our green Greenies will be up to doing only local runs. The other services will have to pick up the slack, even for the queen’s correspondence. I expect, however, it won’t be much of an issue with the king away.”

When they’d gone over everything, she decided to go sit with Ty for a time. The quiet would do her good, let her think things through, and maybe he would awaken again. She relieved Tegan who had been sitting with him.

“Has he awakened?” Laren asked.

“Not while I’ve been here,” Tegan replied.

She dismissed Tegan and sat beside the bed. It was something she liked to do when possible, sit with an injured or ill Rider. She didn’t know if her presence ever helped, but it was the same as her captain had always done when she was a young Rider, and it had always helped her, made her feel less alone, and valued and cared for.

Sitting with her Riders made her feel as if doing this one small thing made some difference in their well-being. Alas, she could not be with those out on the road who were hurt or ailing. Many died alone. She couldn’t do anything about that, but this she could do if even for a short while.

The mending wing always had a serene atmosphere, as well, and she could sit and think while her injured Rider slept or remained in an unconscious state. This time, however, she did not want to think, for that would lead her to worrying about her daughter in the hands of the Darrow Raiders, and whatever horrible things they’d do to her. No, she must not get trapped in what-ifs. Ty had said the captives looked well when he saw them. She must hold on to that. And Karigan was there. She would protect Melry to the best of her ability.

As Ty slept oblivious to her presence, she kept her mind active with lists. Lists of the Riders she was choosing to take with her. Lists of the gear she needed for herself. Lists that would be useful in supplying the complement of Riders and horses that would be going. She’d ride Loon, but take Bluebird as a relief horse for the ride out. Bluebird no longer had the endurance for combat and he was technically retired, but he’d be fine for simple riding. Besides, the two geldings had become inseparable companions and each would be lonely without the other.

Ty murmured and she looked up. His eyelids fluttered. His face was so swollen and bruised that he was almost unrecognizable. He looked about as if trying to discern where he was.

“You are in the mending wing,” she said. “Do you remember?”

“Captain?”

She smiled. “It’s colonel now. Would you like some water?”

“Yes, please.”

She stood and poured him a cup and helped hold it to his bruised and split lips.

“Thank you,” he said after a few sips, and he sank back into his pillow and seemed to fall asleep again, but then he asked, “How long have I been out?”

“A few hours or so. Do you remember your last awakening?”

He was silent for a moment, then said, “It is dim, but I think I told you about Torq’s message.”

“Yes, you did. We still have questions, but you needed to rest first.”

“I was snared like a green Greenie,” he said. “There was no warning from the guards at the keep, but probably they couldn’t see past the magic shield around Second Empire’s encampment.”

“You don’t think Second Empire has taken the keep yet?”

“No.”

“How long ago was it that you passed by the keep?”

“Yesterday. They had some sort of travel device, more magic, that got me outside the city in seconds. Very disorienting.”

Laren nodded. “When last we fought the Raiders, we always suspected they used some form of magic to move around. One minute they’d be there, and the next gone. It made them very difficult to track down and fight. It was a tremendous advantage to them.” She wondered why they hadn’t used it to enter the city or the castle itself, but thought maybe there was some ancient magic in the stone walls that deterred the travel device.

“I—I am sorry I couldn’t do anything for the captives.”

“You did the best thing you could under the circumstances,” she replied. “You brought me the Raiders’ message. You complied with their wishes and did not get yourself killed.”

She was fond of Ty. He was an excellent Rider and would have been promoted to Chief Rider but for the fact he lacked the right leadership skills. He’d get bogged down in the picky details when what the Chief Rider needed to do was get new Riders trained, and messengers heading out on errands supplied. It required organizing several people at once and making sure they adhered to strict schedules and duties. It required the ability to make people move at a moment’s notice. Most importantly, it required a certain charisma to lead others in a way Ty lacked. He was much better one-on-one as a mentor, and now that he was back, he could resume that role once he recovered.

Unless they were in full-on war . . . All hands would be needed.

She asked if he had spoken with the captives.

“No, I was not allowed. The Raiders just wanted to make sure I saw who they had, and that I knew who they were. They looked in good condition. Mostly, anyway.”

Laren’s chair creaked as she sat forward. “Explain.”

“Fergal looked like he had been wounded, but he was standing fine on his own, so he must not have been too badly off. Karigan looked . . . unkempt.”

“Unkempt?”

“Like she’d been on a long, bad journey. Her hair was short, too.”

“Ah. Yes, she’d been on her way back from a very difficult mission when she was taken.”

“Captain—I mean, Colonel—as for my other errands in Coutre, I brought back greetings from the queen’s mother and sisters, but I was also able to meet with Beryl.”

“Is this something for the king’s spymasters?”

He shrugged and winced. “Not much that is secretive. It took her most of winter to find clues to Lord Amberhill’s whereabouts. When we met in Midhaven Harbor, she said she’d tracked down the master of a sealing ship who’d transported Lord Amberhill and a servant to an archipelago off Bairdly Province.”

“Did she say what he wanted there?”

“She didn’t know, as the archipelago was uninhabited. Had a bad reputation among mariners. Lost ships, sea monsters, the usual superstitious rubbish passed on by sailors. At any rate, she planned to go to the archipelago to find him and bring him back as the king wished.”

Laren sat back. This thing with Lord Amberhill seemed a distant worry with the Darrow Raiders back in action and Second Empire encamped before the Eagle’s Pass. And, of course, her daughter and Riders being held captive. She was about to ask him for more explicit details about the Raiders and anything else he may have seen, but his eyes drooped, and closed, and he was asleep just like that.

She stood, needing to get on with her day. She’d ask someone else to sit with him, maybe Anna or Elgin. Anna had a maturity for this sort of thing that most of the new Riders did not.

When she stepped outside, she was surprised to find Zachary standing in the corridor, a pair of Weapons keeping watch nearby.

“He’s just fallen back asleep,” she told Zachary, indicating Ty.

“I heard most of it,” he replied. “I am pleased Rider Spencer was able to find some clue to the whereabouts of my cousin. Frankly, I would feel much more confident about the future were he brought in.”

Laren would, too, considering what they’d learned about Sacoridia’s dire future from Karigan’s travel through time, and Lord Amberhill’s part in it.

“Beryl is good at what she does,” Laren replied by way of reassurance.

“I know. But I can’t help thinking that there are more forces at work than even she may be capable of handling. As for Ty’s information about Second Empire and the Raiders at the pass, it appears we’ll have to wait for him to awaken again to acquire more specific logistical information.”

They walked slowly along the corridor. Menders going about their duties stepped aside and bowed their heads to the king before continuing on.

“You and your Riders will be ready to ride soon?” he asked.

“Sooner, I’ve no doubt. You will have to hurry to catch up with us.”

“You wouldn’t be planning anything rash, would you?”

“Rash? Of course not.”

He halted. “Laren, I know you well. They have your daughter.”

She faced him, looked him squarely in the eyes. “During the original uprising of the Darrow Raiders, your grandmother charged the Green Riders with squashing the Raiders into nonexistence. We failed, and citizens across the realm are paying for that failure. We failed the queen, and we failed our people. I am in command of the Green Riders now, and I do not intend to repeat that mistake.”

“Your daughter, Colonel.”

“I will draw up my plans for you, Your Majesty. I would be interested in seeing yours. Will you be concerned mainly with Second Empire, or will you strike the Darrow Raiders at the same time? They do not fight in a conventional manner, nor do they possess honor.”

“You need not give me a history lesson, Colonel. And I think you know my answer.”

Laren looked up and down the corridor. They were alone except for the Weapons, and they didn’t count. Still, she lowered her voice. “You are, I am guessing, quite concerned about one captive in particular. You aren’t planning on any special objectives when you reach the mountains, are you?”

“I am concerned about all the captives.”

He spoke truth, but she also knew the other truth, about the one captive who had his heart.

“There is much that concerns me about the realm and its people,” he said softly, “and I know that I cannot endanger any of it for just one person, or even a handful of people. I know my duty. But should the opportunity arise to rescue those captives without imperiling the rest of the operation? Most certainly I will be there. But I expect the Riders will make my involvement unnecessary.”

A half-smile formed on her lips. It sounded like tacit approval for her plans. The Raiders, she thought, would answer for their crimes.