Tests of Blood - 11. Chapter 11

“Where the hell are they?” Paet growled as they scanned the rendezvous point for the fifth time. They were hundreds of lengths from the rendezvous point, hidden in the trees that provided some cover, looking with eyes and distance glasses.

“I can’t see anything with Farsight either.” Dalen said with a frown as he finished scanning. He’d been using warding magic and shielding magic ever since their escape and didn’t hesitate to use it again. They had been found once, and the other mage had to know Dalen was still out here. No amount of secrecy and hiding now would keep them safe, so it was safer to be fully prepared even if it did let the other mage know exactly where Dalen was located.

Likewise, he had a damn good idea where the other mage was located too. Powerful shields had sprung up around the valley where they’d observed the enemy camped out, and Dalen knew that the other mage understood the situation as well as he did. Neither of them would take the other by surprise, so it was a matter of power and being prepared, and Dalen hated to think of the cost being incurred for the other mage to be ‘prepared’. Without blood magic the man was weaker than Dalen. Harming other humans, causing them pain and eventual death released a great deal of power though, and that mage was more than accustomed to using such power.

“Dana says she can’t find either of the others.” Paet supplied for the third time and Dalen tried not to worry too much.

“They may be trying to run silent so they aren’t located.” Dalen reminded Paet once again. “If the mage can locate them, he can blast them with magic and they are relatively unprotected.”

“So what do we do?” Paet asked.

“Aren’t you the Herald?” Dalen teased his friend who frowned at him.

“Look, you’ve already proven that you’re better at this stuff than I am.” Paet’s frown only grew deeper. “You’re the better strategist here.”

“Only because my father is really, really good and he wrote me a lot when I was growing up.” Dalen said with a sigh. “I think I picked up more from his letters than I realized. Okay, if you say I’m in charge, I say we find those Guard Units that are supposed to be heading this way. It’s far too easy for the two of us to be taken out, no matter how good we are. If we’ve got soldiers with us, it makes it harder for the other guy to take us out.”

“That sounds about right.” Paet nodded his agreement and then he frowned. “Any improvement with your mount?”

“No.” Dalen frowned as he looked back at his gelding. The poor fellow was still standing there with a drooped head, obviously in pain. He’d pulled up lame a mark ago and would probably never be able to be ridden again. Dalen’s heart poured out in sympathy at that moment. He had gone lame to get Dalen here. “I don’t have enough Healing to fix him up at this point. I probably made it worse with that last bit I did this morning. He felt so much better he overtaxed himself to get us here.”

“Well, we can’t coddle him.” Paet said with a sympathetic look. “Do you think he’ll be okay if you remove his saddle and let him go?”

“He’ll still follow after us as much as he’s able.” Dalen sighed. “Grandfather is going to be so upset with me. He might disown me for doing this to a good horse.”

“Or he’ll give the old fellow an honored place and retirement.” Paet replied. “Look, you’re going to have to ride pillion. Sorry, but that’s the only way this will work, and we need to move faster than we can with him along. Unbridle him, give him whatever you can to help him on his way, and if he follows, hopefully we’ll have some help for him when he gets there.”

“You’re right.” Dalen sighed and went to his mount. He’d had this horse for years, and cared a great deal about him, more than he had expected as he felt tears in his eyes as he said goodbye. He knew that the horse would follow them, but he just hoped that he would make it to them in one piece. They’d seen a mountain lion the day before, although it had run off as soon as it scented them.

Dalen had never ridden a Companion before, and found being mounted on Paet’s Companion an interesting experience. His ears had long become accustomed to the peculiar chiming sound of a Companion’s hooves, but he found sitting on one, even riding pillion behind Paet, was much smoother than any horse he’d ever ridden. What was more, Paet somehow just felt right sitting there on his Companion. This close, he could see how Paet was grounded and centered through the Companion, how the two of them fit into a greater whole by being together.

It made him jealous.

He’d felt many things for Heralds over the years. When he was a little child, he’d been enamored of the white-clad nice people that always had time for him when he would escape from the confines of the nursery. Then he’d become afraid of them with some of the horrible stories his mother had told him.

That was just her own bitterness at never being Chosen he had realized after they moved to Forst Reach and he had first heard the tales of his famous ancestor Vanyel Ashkevron. Still, he’d never quite wanted to be a Herald after those stories. Something about them reminded him of a saying about the heaviness of Duty or something like that. As a member of the Royal Family, and as an Ashkevron, well he had enough duty for any two normal people. Then his Gifts all manifested and it became clear he was even more unique and he knew he would have more duties because of being a Mage and having so much mind-magic.

It’s not like he needed the added burden of being a Herald on top of everything else.

Dalen had never grown up lonely like some people might think. Sure, his father wasn’t around as much, and if he thought about her objectively he knew his mother didn’t think in terms of love but in terms of what use someone or something was to her ambitions. Still, he had grown up in the Royal Palace of Haven at first, and he’d known several people that actually cared for him. The older cousin, Prince Dellinar had been one of those people, and still was today.

Then he’d moved to Forst Reach, and there he’d had dozens of cousins and foster children for company. Now granted, he couldn’t ever get too close to any of them lest his mother start to see some value in them for her plans, but he was never really lonely. After moving back to the Palace, he had found more friends and compatriots as well.

He’d never had a need to feel lonely until now.

Being this close to Paet and his Companion Dana, he realized just what true closeness was about. Dalen sat a good seat on a horse, but Paet moved with Dana as if they were one being instead of two. He’d known that Paet and his Companion spoke mind-to-mind all the time, but then Dalen also spoke mind-to-mind with other people. Now, this close to them he knew it was far more than simple mindspeech.

The Companion and the Herald-Trainee were soul-bound to each other and for the first time, Dalen truly appreciated what that meant. He’d known an old life-bonded couple when he was a kid at the Palace. The two Heralds had been soul-bonded for most of their lives, and when one had died from a heart attack, the other had died hours later, along with both of their Companions. He remembered King Rothar explaining it to Dellinar while Dalen had stood silently nearby and listened.

What Dalen had never realized was what living with a soul-bond could mean for those involved. For the first time in his life, Dalen found himself actually jealous of what it meant for the Heralds to be Chosen. He would never have the closeness with another living being that Paet had with his Dana.

That was part of the curse of his life, of his birth. Dalen’s various duties all but required him to hold people at a distance. Sure, he was a long way down from the line of succession, even if he’d been Chosen, but he knew that as a member of the royal family he could be called on to make a marriage of convenience in order to seal an alliance or forestall a war. One of his Aunts, his mother’s younger sister, had indeed married a Duke down in Jkartha in order to keep his duchy from withdrawing from the Kingdom, and thereby the Alliance itself. Now, the fact that the Duchy was overrun by the Black Kings and that Aunt was likely dead had no bearing on the fact that even though she was a distant relative to the Crown, she was still royal and her title of “Princess” had secured a Duchy to Valdemar.

There were at least three high ranking Ladies that were near his age and who might make a good ‘Royal’ match if the King needed that sort of diplomacy with his senior nobility. Dalen grew up knowing that, and knew he was lucky all three of those young ladies were quite nice, not ugly, and had their hearts set on someone besides him. And yet, if there was an incident that required such a marriage, Dalen would submit to that marriage and pray that at least he and his new wife got along together.

He now knew a piece of what he was missing by not being a Herald, or falling in love with someone in such a way that they were life-bonded. In a way he had never expected, it hurt to know he would never be that close to someone. Part of him wanted to blame his mother for her calculating ways, where every acquaintance was judged by its usefulness to her. Another part wanted to blame his father, who had rarely ever been home, and who he really only knew from letters.

While he was at it, he could just blame the Gods themselves for putting him in not only the Ashkevron family, but in the Royal Family as well. He could also blame them for saddling him with these Gifts, and a damn sense of obligation that he had to use them for the good of others and not just for his own means. Then he could blame the damn sunlight for those blinding spots in front of…

“I think we found the Guard.” Paet said in a tired voice. The sun was low in the evening sky and its rays were flashing off of the bright steel helmets and armor of the mounted Guard units marching towards them. Dana gathered her energy into a trot and picked up speed as they headed towards the mounted troops. There was little danger that they would fail to recognize a Companion and her Herald-Trainee.

“At last!” A young officer exclaimed as he rode forward with two others to meet them. Dalen recognized him from one of the dinner parties in Burnham as Lieutenant Falworth. With him were Lieutenant Mayweather and a grizzled female Sergeant that Dalen did not know. All three of them had looks of relief on their faces.

“Lieutenants, Sergeant.” Paet nodded to them as their mounts came to a stop facing the two of them on Dana’s back.

“Is it just the two of you?” Falworth asked in a worried tone. “Where are the Herald and the other Trainee?”

“And you might want to find out what happened to Prince Dalen’s mount as well.” Mayweather added in his deep baritone. Both of the Lieutenants had met him before, although Falworth was the only one who attended the parties. Dalen knew the other Lieutenant from when he had been fostered at Forst Reach. Mayweather had left after Dalen had been there two years and while they’d not exactly interacted much, they had seen each other almost daily for those two years. “I’m sure his grandfather will be very interested in the answer.”

“What do you mean where are they?” Paet snapped. “Didn’t they already meet up with you?”

“No.” Falworth said.

“There’s a spot about a mile down the road where you can camp your troops for the night, Lieutenant.” Dalen said in a tired voice as he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate for a moment. “The situation is a little more serious than a group of bandits. If Herald Landir hasn’t reached us yet, he might very well be in a great deal of need.”

“What’s going on, sir?” Falworth asked in a worried tone.

“Let’s find that spot, and if you have an extra mount I could use it now.” Dalen said with barely a glance at Mayweather. “It seems my own mount came up lame trying to keep up with a Companion and the situation was dire enough that we had to leave him behind.”

“Sergeant, bring up one of my reserve mounts for the Prince.” Mayweather said immediately and he gave Falworth a knowing look. “Any situation dire enough to get an Ashkevron to leave a mount behind is very serious indeed.”

“Thank you.” Dalen said as the sergeant rode back towards the group of soldiers.

“If the situation wasn’t dire, your grandfather would make you understand the true meaning of the word.” Mayweather said gruffly and Dalen nodded at him in agreement.

“What exactly is going on here?” Falworth asked.

“When we get to the spot we passed earlier, you better get your men set up in a camp and post plenty of sentries.” Paet responded for Dalen who was concentrating on something else at the moment. Even stretching his Farsight to its limit did not reveal the Herald or the other Trainee nearby. Fortunately, it did not reveal any other mercenaries either.

“I’ll set up a full array of combat warding and shields once the camp is established and I’ve had a chance to rest.” Dalen added as the two officers stared at Paet. The sergeant was galloping back now with a reserve mount. It was another Ashkevron-bred cavalry mount, this time a mare.

“Ah, good, he chose the best of remounts.” Mayweather said with approval and a very direct look at Dalen. “If Moana founders, you’ll be paying for her, Dalen.”

“Aye.” Dalen agreed while ignoring the scandalized look on Falworth’s face. Mayweather had fostered with Dalen’s family. That made him closer than just an acquaintance, more like an extended member of the family. It was the purpose of fostering, or at least one of them. Powerful families sent their children to grow up for a few years under the roof of other powerful families. It was one of the reasons why the nobility of Valdemar by and large got along with each other. In fact, most of the blood feuds in Valdemar’s history had been between families that did not foster their children to each other.

“I see you still take after Grandfather’s care for the horses, Lee.” Dalen said to Mayweather who grinned at him.

“Your grandfather was a tough taskmaster,” Lee Mayweather replied. Falworth was giving orders to the sergeant about heading for the camp location based on directions from Paet. Dalen slid down Dana’s rump, giving her a pat in thanks for the gentle ride and then crossed over to the waiting mount that was next to Mayweather.

“Tough, yes, but also a fair one.” Dalen countered as he mounted the patient mare after making sure she knew him. She shied a bit as he mounted, but accepted his firm directions of rein and leg pressure.

“What’s going on out here?” Lee asked him in a low voice that said he was asking his younger foster brother instead of Dalen Valdemar Ashkevron.

“We’ve got trouble, Lee.” Dalen said in a low voice, clucking Moana forward as the troops began to move forward again. He and Lee ended up riding in the center of the group of ninety-six mounted soldiers and their pack animals. Their continued conversation was carried on in a low voice even as Falworth and Paet began talking in tense voices nearby.

“What kind of trouble, Dalen?” Lee asked and the years fell away between them. The officer was several years older than Dalen, and they’d rarely interacted, but there had been a few times. Like the time when Lee had pulled Dalen off of one of the cousins. He’d been beating the cousin who had insulted Dalen’s mother, and Lee had stopped him before he had done damage that would have been noticeable by the adults. Lee had also not told anyone, but he had given the younger cousin a chance to get back at Dalen.

“Yesterday, Paet and I found a small camp of mercenaries inside Valdemar territory.” Dalen explained in a quiet voice, not wanting the details to be overheard by anyone just yet. “They had two mages with them, blood-mages.”

“Damnation!” Lee swore violently, drawing the attention of everyone nearby. Falworth looked curious, but Paet took his attention back, discussing what defensive arrangements would need to be made that night.

“This morning, a group of their mercs and one of the mages ambushed Paet and I.” Dalen said with a bit of a blush. “I’ll be honest, they got us clean and simple because we were both asleep. We ran all night, but were just too damned tired to both stay awake. Honestly, I don’t think it’d have done any good if we had set a watch. Both of us were exhausted and even Dana was caught by surprise.”

“Dana?” Lee asked quietly.

“Paet’s Companion.” Dalen explained.

“I see.” Lee said with a knowing look that made Dalen blush even more.

“No, it’s not like that.” Dalen said quickly. “Paet’s a friend. Lord and Lady, what is with everyone thinking I’m shaych?”

“Who else thinks you’re shaych?” Lee asked in a curious tone and Dalen couldn’t help but answer without thinking.

“The King!” Dalen spat and Lee openly laughed at him, much to Dalen’s discomfiture.

“Well, he’s a fine judge of character by all I’ve heard.” Lee laughed some more and Dalen continued to blush.

“Why does everyone think I’m shaych?” Dalen repeated.

“Maybe because we’ve never heard of you dating a girl?” Lee asked in return and Dalen shook his head.

“Have you ever heard of me dating a boy?” Dalen retorted.

“Well no, but that doesn’t mean…” Lee countered but broke off as Dalen glared at him.

“I would not be sneaking around hiding it from everyone.” Dalen growled. “There is no need to be ashamed of being shaych in this day and age. This isn’t the same Valdemar as when Vanyel was alive.”

“I should hope not.” Lee said, suddenly serious at that name. “Those were some awful times.”

“Yes, they were.” Dalen agreed and then his thoughts returned to the business at hand and his retelling of what had happened. “So, this mage captures us this morning along with some troops. After a bit, I managed to find the hole in his spell and break us free of it, the three of us fought our way out of the trap, killed them and took off. Eventually my horse got too lame to continue and here we are.”

“We’ve got an unknown but significant number of mercenary troops inside the border, along with a blood mage and innocent Valdemarans needing rescue?” Lee summarized and Dalen shook his head.

“Don’t forget a missing Herald and a Herald-Trainee.” Dalen added.

“Yeah, that too.” Lee whistled. “I think we’re going to need more troops than what we’ve got, and the nearest are back in Burnham and will take a week to get here since most of them are on foot, if we can get the orders to them right away.”

“You have a teleson with you?” Dalen asked hopefully.

“Are you kidding?” Lee snorted. “Those things are too expensive to deploy with a couple of squads. We have one in the company and the Captain wasn’t about to give it to us.”

“Oh.” Dalen frowned. “Well we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.”

“I should remind you the nearest signal tower is a day’s ride away for a Companion.” Lee said in grave voice. His strawberry blond hair was peeking out of his helmet as he wiped sweat from his face.

“I meant with Mindspeech or a spell.” Dalen laughed. “There are a number of spells I can use tonight, once we’re camped and behind a set of defensive spells.”

“Oh, sorry, I keep forgetting about that.” Lee shook his head. “You hadn’t really shown your magic yet when I left.”

“No, I hadn’t.” Dalen said with a fond smile. For a moment he remembered his jealousy at Paet and Dana, but knew that he had no reason to be jealous. He had friends and family, and those like Lee Mayweather that were a mixture of both. In fact, he was quite certain Lee would make a good friend if he let the man into his acquaintance more. Lee may be nearly a decade older, but he had a fine, strong, handsome face that looked years younger than his actual age. Being a soldier agreed with him, and instead of the weathered look of a few veterans Dalen had seen, Lee had the refined look common to some of the better officers.

“You got married, didn’t you?” Dalen asked after they had ridden in silence for a while. He had spent the time searching for memories about Lee Mayweather.

“Yes, I married Leann, your second cousin from…” Lee answered and Dalen finished for him.

“Oh yes, Aunt Idra’s third daughter.” Dalen nodded. “Wait, I was at your wedding! Marcus was your best man!”

“Yes, he was, and yes you were there.” Lee smiled slightly. “Don’t worry, I was just one of a few dozen fosterlings and only there for a few years at the same time as you.”

“But all the fosterlings are like family.” Dalen protested. “Grandfather insisted on that, and it’s as rude as forgetting one of my cousin’s birthdays.”

“Your parents gave us the use of your mother’s cabin in the Viendra hills as a wedding gift.” Lee said with a very bright smile. “I’m still convinced that’s where Andry was conceived. He’s our oldest, you know.”

“No, I didn’t.” Dalen admitted with no little shame.

“We have four children.” Lee said with great gusto and pride. “Andry’s nearly five now, Audry is four, Cail and Karen are both two. They’re twins.”

“I’d hope so for Leann’s sake.” Dalen laughed. “I seem to remember that she was on the slender side.”

“She was and still is quite slender.” Lee said proudly as the troops neared the spot that Paet was leading them towards. Their arrival ended the private conversation between them. Lieutenant Lee Mayweather had plenty of duties to attend to regarding bivouacking his troops. Dalen and Paet were escorted towards what would be the center of the camp and then left there while soldiers milled around them, working at setting up the camp as quickly as possible.

“I didn’t know you were fostered with one of the officers.” Paet said quietly as he sat on Dana next to Dalen’s position. Moana barely paid attention to the Companion, instead paying close attention to the grass at her feet. Dalen let her nibble, but kept her from eating too much after the long ride she’d had.

“I didn’t really know I knew him either until I saw him.” Dalen shrugged. “I knew there was a Lieutenant Mayweather stationed in Burnham, but we hadn’t communicated.”

“Ah yes, the stoic Prince Dalen who doesn’t let anyone close.” Paet’s voice was full of rue and caused Dalen to look at him sharply.

“What do you mean?” Dalen asked in a tone as sharp as his gaze.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said.” Paet said softly. “It was rude.”

“It was honest.” Dalen retorted hotly. “Is that what the lot of you say behind my back?”

“It’s not really behind your back, and it was just the three of us talking.” Paet replied quietly after making sure no one was nearby. It was Bart that first brought it up. He cares about you, you know.

I know. Dalen replied mentally, the same way that Paet had said the last part.

Well, he’s a real good judge of people. Paet continued. Give him five minutes of talking to someone and he could probably tell you their life story. The way he figures it, you got so used to your mother using your friends that you naturally kept people at a distance, didn’t let them in so you wouldn’t be hurt when they figured out your mother was using them.

Bart never seemed…Dalen’s thoughts drifted off as he felt betrayed for a moment.

He was too busy being just your friend without getting caught too deeply in your mother’s little plots. Paet observed. He’s the one who kept us focused on just being your friends no matter what else. Bart thinks the world of you, Dalen. No offense, but your mother is quite a piece of work and here you are, one of the best people I have ever known despite her manipulations.

A lot more people were involved in my raising than just her. Dalen replied soberly. He didn’t like thinking of his mother because thoughts of her left him feeling deeply divided. Sure, she was cold and calculating and had her own political agenda. Still there had been another side to her, like when she would hug him after he’d done something she approved of, and ruffled his hair and called him her ‘little man’. That had been when he was a lot younger. Over the past few years there had been fewer of those moments, but still, there were moments when he could see the pride in her eyes, and hear the affection in her voice.

You love her, don’t you? Paet asked.

She is my mother. Dalen’s mental voice held every bit of his pride, and his mixed affection for his mother. There was a silence between them that lasted long enough for the first of the tents to go up, the sun to set, and the watch fires to be lit. How far had the two officers intended to take their men before camping?

We cannot choose the family the Gods give us. Paet said after the long silence between them. We can only love them because they were given to us.

It is a good saying. Dalen said softly as three large tents were completed near them. One of them flew the Valdemar pennant and would be for the two officers. Another flew a pennant that looked almost black in the twilight, and the third flew a white pennant. The dark pennant would be green in the light of day for the healers and the third tent was for the Herald, and presumably Dalen as well. Mages were usually bunked with the Heralds in the Guard Hierarchy.

“We’re about done with setup.” Lieutenant Falworth said as he trudged up to them. That was a signal that they could dismount, which Dalen did with an audible groan. The officer frowned at him. “Do you need a healer? We have one with us.”

“I could use his assistance, yes.” Dalen agreed with a nod. “He’ll need to be quick though.”

“Not really.” Lee said as he trudged up beside Falworth. “The outer trench isn’t going to be done and the mages I’ve worked with before wouldn’t start the defenses until the trench was done. We’ll have the food done about a half-hour later. That should be enough for you, right?”

“Yes.” Dalen said with a shake of his head. How Lee understood that so well, he wasn’t sure, but it sounded like he’d deployed with mages before. Well, that was to the good really.

“When we passed that farm a few days back, we picked up the pack animals you sent back there.” Falworth said. “It looked like one of them had most of your spell components.”

“I wish you’d told me that earlier.” Dalen snapped at him. “I was standing here making a list in my head of all the things I’d need to get from your healer and your damn cooks.”

“The cooks?” Paet asked with surprise.

“Many spell ingredients I need for tonight are also used for cooking supplies or in the preservation of food.” Dalen explained with a shrug.

“We also need to figure out the chain of command if what Lieutenant Mayweather tells me is true regarding what we are facing.” Falworth said in a very serious tone. “No offense, Trainee, but you are not a full Herald and Trainees do not fit into the command structure. If Herald Landir were here, he’d be in charge.”

“I am in command, Lieutenant.” Dalen said with authority in his voice and he felt a chill travel up and down his spine at the words. “If Herald Landir was here, he would be in charge, but I am not only a fully qualified Master-Mage, I am a Prince of Valdemar.”

“With all the respect due your positions, you’re still quite young and you have no experience in these types of situations.” Lieutenant Falworth said firmly, and with no trace of negativity in his voice. “I have a great deal of respect for the both of you, but you’re just children.”

“Then it is a good thing I have two experienced officers here to advise me.” Dalen said in a controlled voice that showed no emotion. “Lieutenant, your authority does not extend over me either as a Master-Mage or as a Prince of this realm. I will listen to your advice, and that of Lieutenant Mayweather, but I am Dalen Valdemar Ashkevron, cousin to the King, grandson of the Lord Ashkevron, son of General Lofar Ashkevron, and I am in command here.”

“Yes, my lord.” Lieutenant Falworth said in a voice that held no hint of reservation as he also bowed his head.

“Now, let us get down to business.” Dalen said and gestured to the nearest tent, the larger one that would be used by the Healers. An expert Healer’s touch was what his sore muscles needed now, and they could talk while the Healer worked on him.