Blood of the Neko - 17. Chapter 17

"...are really sweet together," an unfamiliar voice said.

Damien barely opened an eye to see Brenner walking toward him. He rolled slightly to see Saladin checking packs by the very low firelight with several other hybrids helping him.

"They are," Saladin responded, and Damien noticed that they were glancing at him.

"They're almost ready to go," Brenner said, stepping closer to the duke.

He nodding, moving to wake Kayden, but noticed that those green eyes were staring back at him already.

"Time to go," Damien said.

Kayden smiled. "I know, I've been awake for a little bit. I heard them getting ready."

"And you didn't get up to join them?" Damien smiled.

Kayden only shrugged. "I figured I could get in a few extra minutes just being here with you."

Damien smirked. "Good plan," he said, kissing his kitten soundly before rolling so they could both get up.

"Master Kayden," Saladin greeted, "are you ready?"

"Yes, sir," Kayden said, receiving a slight smile for deferring to Saladin as a superior.

"Good, I'll lead the way through the woods back to the hunters' camp. From there, you can lead, as you know the path they'd take to the lookout."

"Most of the time they just went up the pass," Kayden said. "Especially with slaves. It's not as steep. There's not an actual path on the mountain to the lookout cliff on the far side."

"But you can still find the lookout if we hike through the woods, right?"

Kayden nodded. "Yes, but it will be steep."

"Exactly why just us hybrids are making this trip," Saladin grinned. "It's too dark for those clumsy purebreds to make it."

Kayden giggled with the others as Damien pressed his lips together to hold back a smile.

Saladin hefted the pack, turning to the other who finished belting on their pouches and daggers as well. "Let's go."

Kayden turned to follow, but he felt a hand on his shoulder holding him back. He stared up at Damien.

"Be careful," Damien said softly, unable to resist one last kiss before the boy took off. Kayden melted against him briefly before pulling away. Damien watched as his love was swallowed up by the darkness.

"Brenner," Damien called.

"Yes, sir?"

"Be ready to move in three hours. That will put us in the pass before dawn, hopefully unseen."

"Yes, sir."

"Nash?" Damien turned to the young guard. "We can leave a small group here with you and those two men that Kayden freed."

"With all due respect, your grace," one of the rescued men spoke up, "we'd appreciate the opportunity to go with you and help. We may not be soldiers, but we can fight."

"I agree, sir," Nash said. "I can ride well enough; no point in leaving behind men you might need, to watch over us."

Even in the low moonlight, he could see the determination in the men's faces. "Very well, but you all will keep near the back. I expect that any attack will probably come for me."

With that, Damien strode off to pack up his bedroll. There was no way he was getting any more sleep tonight, not with his kitten out there in the dark woods without him.

"He's not a kitten right now," Oliver stated from behind him. Damien looked up at his friend. Obviously, the man knew he was fighting to hide his worry. "He's a jaguar. And he's the predator. Not the prey."

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Kayden stalked up the mountain with easy feline grace. The eight hybrids were near silent in the dark, using the small amount of moonlight to pick their way easily through the brush. They had passed the hunters' camp and were trekking along the side of the mountain towards the far side. Through the trees they sometimes glimpsed the pass through the mountains below them. It was perhaps fifteen to twenty feet wide, wide enough for several horses to ride abreast of each other, but still narrow enough to get ambushed in.

Saladin called for them to halt about halfway through the pass. They had been climbing through the woods for over an hour. It was slower going, obviously, than if they'd been on horseback or on the flatter terrain. They all sipped silently from their water pouches and chewed some dried meat for energy. Kayden caught the guard eyeing him cautiously.

"How are you holding up?" Rafe finally asked.

"I'm good," Kayden said. "My feet are a bit hot, but otherwise I'm fine."

Saladin glanced down at Kayden's boots, then chuckled softly. He knew how much the boy hated wearing shoes. "Fair enough."

"We should be coming up on the cliff soon," Kayden said. "If they're there, they'll have a way to signal the mining compound to warn them of anyone coming through the pass. I think they used a bow and arrow before. They may have used a gun also, but that would be too loud."

"That would make sense," Saladin agreed. "Alright, let's see if they've got anyone keeping watch."

It wasn't but maybe another half an hour before Kayden stopped suddenly, dropping to his haunches with Saladin behind him. In the dark, there was a very faint glow of a small fire, hidden within a small concave pile of stones. There was a ridge of rock blocking the fire and the two men near it from any view from the mountain pass below. One of the men appeared to be standing guard, keeping watch over the pass below while resting on a boulder. The other appeared to be sleeping in a makeshift tent with a small cot.

It was obvious the lookout area was set up for long hours, so that the two men manning it could alternate resting and keeping watch. Kayden could see a couple packs that probably held their water and food, maybe even some extra clothes. They could barely make out a cross-bow with a set of arrows in a quiver nearby. Both men carried their own daggers and a rifle was resting next to the sleeping man.

Saladin silently ordered four of the men to spread out. He handed one of them the prepped rifle and set him in position to take out at least one of them if necessary. He wanted to avoid that though, because the noise of the gunshot would be enough to alert the mining compound that something was wrong. The last one he ordered to stay back with Kayden, who of course gave him a dirty look, but Saladin didn't care. Kayden had done his job--he'd gotten them to the lookout, which they wouldn't have known about otherwise.

Kayden crouched behind the tree in the shadows of the night, while he watched the sniper silently jump into a nearby tree. The other five men (besides the one sitting next to him) silently skirted the edges of the small lookout camp. His fingers tensed on the tree when the alert sentry snapped his head around at a snap of a twig in the woods behind him. The man was instantly on guard, reaching for his dagger, but was brought up short by Saladin slipping in behind him, holding a small knife at the man's throat.

"What the hell--?" he heard the sharp words before they were cut off.

He couldn't hear what Saladin whispered, but the man dropped his dagger as one of Damien's other guards roused the sleeping man. He came awake with an abrupt start, his shout cut off by a blade at his throat as well.

"How the hell did you find us?" the older man growled as his hands were yanked behind him.

Ropes were quickly produced and the two sentries were bound and gagged before they could set off any alerts for the mining compound.

Once they were secured, Rafe Saladin gestured for Kayden and the others to join them.

"You can thank a young man your precious hunters liked to drag around for years," Saladin smiled.

The older sentry's eyes widened at the sight of the small neko, obviously recognizing him. He shook his head and grumbled against the gag in his mouth.

"Marcus, you and Robert go down that path. Keep watch on it out of sight, just in case they send a set of relief guards."

Two of the men darted off down the well-used path that led down the side of the mountain to the mine. His other men were checking the two captives, removing pouches and any items from their pockets. They tossed the items on the ground near Saladin, so he could get a look at them.

A couple of them from the older man were the gunpowder and bullets for reloading of the gun. There were a couple of bags of coins, a flint stone, as well as a set of keys.

Saladin knelt in front of the two bound men, he seemed to be deciding which of them would be more likely to talk. One of them seemed a lot younger than the other, and he definitely looked more frightened by the knife hovering at his throat.

"I'm going to ask a few questions," Saladin said. "If you behave and answer, Lord Whitmore, the Grand Duke, may pardon you from any treasonous acts that you may be engaging in under the orders of your superiors. Do you understand?"

Both of them nodded, the older one rather grudgingly, but the young one was nodding quickly, his eyes still wide with worry.

"Good," Saladin said. "Now what exactly does Laos have going on down there? Does he plan to attack the duke's contingent?"

The younger man's eyes darted down. So, yes. Saladin gestured to the guard behind the boy to remove the gag.

"I'm guessing the answer is yes, considering we already had to take out a group of hunters trying to slow us down."

The boy sucked in a breath as the older man scowled. Finally, the young man nodded.

"Okay, so what are his numbers? Weapons?"

The young man glanced at his partner whose head dropped to his knees in defeat. It didn't matter at this point. They were screwed either way.

"About forty or so men. Mostly swords and daggers, but a few guns," the boy admitted.

Saladin's brow shot up and he glanced at the other men who looked equally surprised. "Where'd he get so many? Is he forcing slaves to fight for him?"

"No, they're still chained--they'd probably just run off anyway. No, he hired men from Polanthia."

"Damn," Saladin cursed. The high numbers put them more equal should Laos push for an actual fight. "Byram, you're the fastest, you head back to the duke and let him know we've taken over the lookout. Tell him about the Polanthian mercenaries as well. He needs to know what he's up against."

The guard nodded and took off back the way they had come.

Kayden perched himself behind Saladin on the rocks carefully watching the two men. A glance back over his shoulder and he could spot a few of the burning urns at the mine that lit some of entrances to some of the doors. He could barely see some of the light reflecting off windows, many of which were open to the cool breeze. He knew they were open for more than just a little air. The huge open rooms inside were filthy, covered in soiled blankets and lined with buckets for slaves to use to relieve themselves. He shivered. He'd been inside some of those buildings when Ehern and Theo had dragged him along when they delivered slaves. He hated seeing the soot-covered men and women scattered on the blankets on the floor, their legs shackled in a long chain. Guards didn't even stay inside the shacks at night, refusing to sit in the stench permeating the rooms. At least four of the buildings were slave quarters, beds and furnishings having long since been removed to be able to keep the slaves chained in groups of twenty or so.

His eyes flicked to the set of keys laying on the ground carelessly. His stomach tightened as he thought about the hundred or more slaves bound to each other day in and day out. Those keys meant their freedom. And they were just lying there in the dirt.

Kayden glanced back at the compound with renewed interest, his mind filtering through all of his visits, placing what each building was and where the guards waited. The nicer buildings were where Laos and his overseers and guards resided. It was easy to see which ones those were. Kayden could vaguely see figures moving around in the pseudo courtyard that the buildings created. Some of their hired help probably had to sleep outside, or Laos had double and triple bunked them up with his own men.

"When are your replacements due?" Saladin was continuing his questioning.

"Not until dawn."

He turned back to see Saladin picking up the items that were removed from the sentries. None of it held much interest, except maybe the keys.

"What are the keys for?"

"T-they're keys to the slave barracks," the boy said softly. "Most of the guards carry them."

Saladin's brow shot up in interest. "They unlock the slaves' chains too?"

The boy nodded. "Sometimes, they pass out or... well, worse... and we need to be able to remove them from the line."

Kayden grimaced at what the sentry was implying. They had to be able to quickly unlock the shackle of a slave that dropped dead, so apparently several guards carried sets of keys to make sure they could do so.

"Why so many different keys?"

The young man hesitated again, but he had already divulged so much, that he figured he'd throw his lot in with the duke at this point. "There's one key that fits each set of locks on one chain. And there one for the doors as well."

"Hmm," Saladin mused, "I see."

"I guess now all we can do is wait for his grace." He glanced at the sky, trying to make an estimate on when the small army would be marching through. "We probably have only an hour or so." He gathered up the pile of items and dropped them on top of his small pack as he rose to stare back at the compound.

Kayden took a deep breath, steeling his resolve for what he needed to do, for the slaves, and for Damien. He knew he needed to be quiet and slip away unseen; there was no way that Saladin would approve of his plan, even he were the one best suited for it. He shifted casually, as if he were settling down to get more comfortable, his back to Saladin's pack. A simple look around in the dark told him that none of the men were concerned with him as they kept watch over the captured sentries or stared down at the compound.

Kayden's hand closed around the set of keys behind him, clutching them tightly to keep them from making any noise. He made a rustling noise as he rose, causing Saladin to turn towards him.

"I've... I've got to... you know..." Kayden said, pointing into the woods.

Saladin chuckled, nodding. "Go ahead, kit. Just be careful."

Kayden ducked down the path quietly, turning briefly to watch Saladin settling down for a few minutes to offer water to his own men as well as their captives. He was also pointing issuing orders to the men about rotating the watch and what their jobs would be as soon as the duke's contingent appeared in the mountain pass.

He dissolved into the shadows.