The Betrayed Read online

  Nahoon was awaiting them in a protected hollow on west side of a low hill, just where Tienna had expected him. As they came down the hill to meet him, Elynna’s heart rejoiced to see him guarding a stash of supplies packed into several sturdy shoulder packs of the style worn by Plainsfolk.

  Before Elynna could ask what the packs held, however, the other Plainsfolk burst into excited accounts of the battle Nahoon had missed. After they told most of the story, Thimeon explained in a more sober voice how he had heard the Daegmon speaking. It was the first time Elynna had heard his voice since they started the day’s march. Ashamed of not supporting him earlier, she affirmed his story and also shared about the call for help she had received from Cathwain and the Ceadani.

  “I wish we could do something for the people of Gale Enebe,” Nahoon said when they were done. “I grieve for Cathwain and her people.”

  Several others nodded, but nobody suggested any change in plans. After a long and uncomfortable silence, Nahoon then updated the others on what he had learned from his own people, a seminomadic band of the Uët tribe. He provided a good bit of news of the type Elynna had already gathered from Tienna, who herself had heard it from Nahoon’s folk the day before the battle. For the past ten days, they had seen a Daegmon circling high above the Plains. It had twice attacked Uët encampments, killing animals and destroying supplies. Several of Nahoon’s folk gave their lives or were badly wounded trying to defend against it. This confirmed that her own company was doing the right thing, Elynna told herself. They were needed right here. And if they found a way to win the battle on the Plains or in the Undeani highlands, then they could return to Gale Enebe. To wherever their enemy—or enemies—could be found. Even back to Citadel to oppose Koranth. To remove Eughbran from the throne, if possible. Or to free him from the influence of the Daegmons. To return to her own people, the Fisherfolk of Westwash, and start to rebuild their lives.

  “It isn’t just the Daegmon,” Nahoon went on. His voice grew quieter but weightier. Elynna, whose thoughts had begun to drift to memories of her own village of Lienford after the Daegmon attacked it, noticed the change of voice. She leaned forward to listen more carefully. “Raiders have come into our land. None of my people are sure where they came from—whether they were Undeani warriors venturing down from the mountains to the north or robbers somehow come up from the Southland. Several women have disappeared. We found no bodies or signs of battle. Our leaders believe the women were taken captive. And some of our men, out hunting or gathering in small groups, have been attacked. Not by the Daegmon but by men. By these robbers. We have not had such trouble with raiders in my lifetime.”

  “Soldiers?” Thimeon asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Nahoon replied, turning to face Thimeon. “At least they were not in uniform. But that leads to the third and final piece of news. There are soldiers nearby also, though we have had no trouble with them yet.” He went on to tell them something Tienna either had not heard or had not mentioned to the others. Armed forces from Citadel were seen gathering along the edges of the Plains to the northeast, near the small outpost on the pass that leads to a much larger fort further away at the town of Hilt—more than were usually present there. Though as of yet they had ventured no more than half a morning’s ride into the Plains in small scouting parties. “But still—” He stopped short and paused for a long time before he finished. “This is why I am afraid I must leave the company.”

  Nahoon looked back and forth between Thimeon and Elynna as his words sank in. “I will help guide you as far as the Great Lake Umgog, but I will go no further.”

  The words took Elynna by surprise. Although Siyen had abandoned them back in Citadel, nobody else had deserted them since the day she and Thimeon had joined companies, despite all the hardships and losses they had suffered in battle.

  “Why?” Tienna asked.

  Nahoon looked sheepish. “I fear I have been little use to you. More of a burden than a help, really. I am not one of the gifted. And now I am needed even less, it would appear. You have Noab and Noaem, and this new stone of power that Thimeon wields. Of what use am I compared to that?”

  Elynna almost objected, but then she remembered words spoken by Cane many days earlier, before they were taken captive. He had asked much the same thing. What was the use of so many of the ungifted traveling with them? The Daegmon would not be defeated by mere swords or spears or arrows. It would be defeated only by some greater power such as those wielded by the gifted. Nahoon was only repeating what he had heard.

  “Your beloved is here,” Tienna said. “The one to whom you have been betrothed.”

  “Yes,” Nahoon admitted. “Aelia is her name. I spent the past day with her. It was good to be with her, and very hard to leave.”

  “And she wanted you to stay?”

  “Yes. This time she did. When I left before, though she said she would miss me and would pray to the All-Maker every day for my return, still she sent me with her blessing. She said I needed to go where I was called—where I would be of help. When I left her this morning, however, she asked me to stay with her. With our people. She told me I am needed here. And I think she is right.” He blushed. “War is coming to the Plains, I think. Indeed, it appears it has already come. We do not know what this war will bring. Perhaps many of our people will perish. I don’t know. I might die here defending the Plains as easily as I could be killed pursuing the Daegmon with you. But in any case, Aelia wants us to be wed before the war begins, so that whatever comes we will share it together. I want that too. But I speak the truth when I say that she is not my only reason for staying. I will be of far greater help to my people, especially if we come under attack from soldiers. Or if the raids continue.”

  Elynna was surprised when Thimeon suddenly stood, pulled Nahoon to his feet, and gave him a hug. “Go with our blessing.” Thimeon’s voice held genuine warmth as he spoke and no hint of judgment. “Find happiness. And be a help to your people. You are right. They will need you. This only will I say: do not think you were not a help to us these past weeks. Every person in the company contributed. None were worth more than any other, whether gifted or not.”

  A sudden welling of both joy and sadness rose to Elynna’s throat. She was glad Thimeon had spoken and wished she herself had sought to say the same thing. She wished she still had a brother who cared about her enough to make her want to return to her own home.

  “Thank you,” Nahoon said and wiped a tear from his cheek. “But I am not leaving yet. My people are heading northward. I told Aelia I would help you as far as Tanengog, if that is still where you are going. Then I will depart from you and travel by boat north across the lake to Arnog and return to my people there.”

  “Then you can travel with us farther than you expected,” Tienna said. “We decided while you were away that our path also lies northward. We are going to find boats and journey across the great lake, and then travel upriver into Undeani land, in hopes both of escaping pursuit from Citadel and finding the Daegmon.”

  Nahoon looked confused. “Then why not travel north and west now? Unless I am completely off reckoning, we are almost as close to Arnog and the north end of the lake as we are to Tanengog. You can join my people and travel with them.”

  “You are not off reckoning for the ravens or geese,” Tienna replied. “If we could fly, we would indeed be only slightly further from Arnog than Tanengog. But to go by foot we would need to cross the eastern wetlands or detour around them. And that would add many miles to our travel.

  “The other reason is that we are almost certainly pursued. Escaping the winged Daegmon is neither possible nor even desirable, for that is our real enemy and we intend to fight it. But we are not prepared to fight against the soldiers of Citadel at the same time. If we can lure our pursuers to the southern end of the lake, we might gain several days on them if we cross by boat. It is my hope that any company pursuing us will find the scene
of our battle, or perhaps even search for our tracks coming out of the hills where we ascended the bluffs. Unless we were trying hard not to be followed, a company as large as ours should not be difficult to track. But in any case, since the morning I have been making sure we left tracks others could follow. That will lead our enemy to the southern end of the lake. And by the time they arrive, we will be long gone. Our people will hide the remaining boats after we depart so that any pursuit will have to come by foot. There is no easy way around the Umgog. Great marshes and wetlands, nearly half the size of the lake itself, lie both west and northeast of the lake.”

  Nahoon nodded. “Good. Then let us make haste, for the sooner we arrive at Tanengog, the sooner we can leave the soldiers behind, and the sooner I can be reunited with Aelia, my beloved.”

  All of this conversation had taken at least half an hour. At Nahoon’s final words, Tienna rose and urged the companions to resume their journey. But they still had one more task before departing: to go through the supplies Nahoon’s people had left for them.

  Nahoon was delighted to open the packs and show off their contents. He spread out on the grass a generous gift from his people: more food, more clothing, a few blankets and tents, and a small number of weapons. Nahoon said that much of it had come from his mother’s kin. The food, he thought, would be enough to feed the entire company for two or three more days. The most exciting part of the stash, he said, was a store of honeycomb, harvested from wild beehives bountiful among the pollen-rich grasses and nectar-laden wildflowers of the Plains. “The honey, mixed with bread made from those grains, could sustain a person for weeks.”

  This lifted Elynna’s heart. Westwashers did not harvest honey, but it had quickly become a favorite food when she discovered it in Citadel. Yet as she glanced around at the torn and tattered clothes of her companions, she realized that the gift of clothing might be even more appreciated. All of her companions walked away with two or three warm new garments. When their journey brought them northward, into the mountains, they would need them.

  She took for herself one of several heavy woven cloaks of a similar fabric to Tienna’s, along with fur bands for her neck and arms. She also found a pair of sturdy leather boots made for walking long distances and gladly pulled them on in place of the Andani boots she had nearly worn out. The Northland men, who were taller than the inhabitants of the Plains, had difficulty finding anything that fit, but they did not begrudge warm cloaks merely because the sleeves were a little short.

  The weapons were of the variety used for hunting: sharp knives, well-crafted longbows with arrows, and two spears. Elynna took a bow and sheath of arrows along with a long knife. Added to the swords and other weapons taken from the hoard at Citadel, they were now well supplied and well equipped. They would need very little else from the people of Tanengog, except passage across Lake Umgog. Once more the Plainsfolk had proven generous.

  Cathros took charge of redistributing the supplies that could not be worn: tents, blankets, food, and many of the weapons. Previously only Lluach, Alrew, Noaem, Anchara, and Noab—the five who had not been in the dungeons—possessed packs. Theo carried the pack of the injured Noab. Cathros gave the newly acquired packs to the stronger and fitter members of the company. He and Cane took the heaviest two themselves.

  Thimeon claimed one of the new packs and was loading it with a share of the supplies when Cathros approached. He sat on the ground beside Thimeon and remained silent for a minute or two. Then he spoke softly. Elynna and Tienna, who sat just a few feet on the other side, were the only ones close enough to hear.

  “Forgive my brother, and do not judge him harshly,” Cathros said.

  “I do not judge him,” Thimeon replied, continuing to pack. “We fight the same enemy. He does so with great commitment and always taking upon himself the greatest risk. I admire him for that. As for our plans? I think much of what he has said is true.”

  “Perhaps,” Cathros said. “Yet even when he speaks the truth, he speaks it more harshly than he needs. Some of it, I fear, is just his pride and the pride of all my people. But there is more. There is a bitterness deep within him that I can do nothing about.”

  Thimeon paused from his work and looked up at the tall Northlander who sat beside him. Elynna could see the tears on Cathros’s cheek as he continued. “He spoke earlier of how our sister died in my arms. It is true. But what my brother did not say, because the pain is still too great, is that he held his wife in his own arms as she died. They had been married little over a year, and she was carrying their first child within her. That was when the Daegmon attacked our town.”

  Elynna’s breath caught in her throat. A terrible wave of grief swept over her. She dropped her head, and her shoulders slumped. The memory of watching her father struck down mingled with this new image of Cane. The desire she felt for him was now tinged with a new pity and a new understanding. How was he so self-assured?

  She lifted her gaze, now blurry with tears, back to the scene in front of her. Two of the strongest men she knew faced each other, both silent, both in tears. When Cathros began again, his voice was shaky and choked. “My family lives in the northwest of Anghatte, less than a day’s journey by horse from Harrath. It is where the most famous and profitable mines are. Though there are farms where food is raised, and a few goatherds who bring their flocks to the coastal hills, most folk in the village work in or around the mines, or they cut gems. Our tribe has forts further along the coast in both directions, but our town was undefended. And it was the first place in Anghatte that the Daegmon attacked. Nobody expected it. The men were out at work. The women were in the town weaving and growing food and carrying out their crafts of skill when it came. They sounded the warning bells, but the men returned too late. That was the day he and I discovered our gifts as we raced back to help our people. Flames shooting up from my brother’s sword drove off the Daegmon, even as those same flames terrified him and those around him. But as I said, it was all too late. We arrived and drove off the Daegmon in time only for my brother to hold his wife for her last hour. And for me to hold our sister.”

  Cathros said no more. He rose a moment later and departed. Elynna, Tienna, and Thimeon, who had heard the story, had no words for one another.

  A few minutes later, Cathros joined Cane in urging them onward.

  When the whole company had gathered, with their packs on and ready to go, Thimeon announced his decision. “I will return to Citadel. If I can find my way into the castle and back to that secret archive, perhaps I will find the knowledge that will help us: something revealed in the books and treasures there. Or maybe by that time you will have won the victory already and proven my effort unnecessary.”

  4

  SUNDERING

  The words struck Elynna like a blow and left her reeling. Thimeon departing? She had not been without his help since the third or fourth day out of Citadel so many months ago. How could he depart? He was the last one she would ever have imagined abandoning the company. What would they do without him? What would she do?

  She was dimly aware of the responses around her. Several jaws dropped at the announcement. More than a few of them gasped. Tienna, who stood closest to him, lifted her hand as if to touch Thimeon’s face, then dropped it. Bandor, Theo, and Alrew, his fellow Andani, looked completely dismayed. Theo, Thimeon’s young cousin, turned white almost instantly. Even Bandor, the most independent of the Andani, who had played the most significant role in the company as a hunter and archer—who had taken to braiding his long red hair in the style of the Anghare, and adopted some of their fierce demeanor—appeared shaken. All three had joined the company in the first place because of Thimeon. Alrew had recently risked everything, deserting the army of Citadel to do so. All three were hunters and herders at heart who belonged in the highlands on their family farms, not fighting Daegmons and soldiers of Citadel.

  Only Cane appeared ambivalent. But none of them could have be
en any more surprised—or dismayed—than Elynna herself. After a moment she closed her eyes and turned her head, as a conflict of emotions welled up inside her. Anger? Relief? Guilt? Or was it sadness?

  “How will you get back into the castle?” Lluach asked after the murmurs of surprise died down. Lluach was the other soldier who had deserted Citadel’s armies to join the company. Elynna knew little about him except that he came from somewhere near the western coast of the Southland.

  “Who knows?” Thimeon replied with a forced laugh. “Maybe I will just hand myself over for capture. If they put me in the same dungeon as before, I’ll know just where to go.”

  “The stone,” Cane said. “You will leave it with us.” Whether it was a question or command wasn’t clear. His eyes were narrow and hard as he stared at Thimeon. In response, Thimeon walked over to him, took off the necklace, and dropped it into Cane’s hand. Cane weighed it for a moment, then slipped it over his own neck. Without further words, Thimeon turned and walked away.

  “Wait,” came Alrew’s voice. “I will go with you.”

  Thimeon turned, his expression at once surprised and glad. “You—?”

  Elynna was surprised to feel a flush of relief, to think that he would not be alone. Did she care about him more than she thought?

  “I know Citadel better than you,” Alrew explained. “And I owe you something. Were it not for you, I might not have had the courage to leave Golach.”

  For only the second time that day, Thimeon smiled—a warm and joyful smile. “Thank you, friend,” he said. “But no. I cannot accept that offer. And you owe me nothing. I should thank you for your aid when we were captives. We all should thank you. Were it not for your help, perhaps Tienna would never have been healed. It is I who owe you.”