He’d arrived at the answer too late, I thought to myself in private sorrow, as I imagined his last bitter moments of regret. Getting back up from my knees, I followed the jumble of tracks leading to the shore. The roughed up area on a small tree and the tracks trailing into the water told me one thing, there had been a boat moored here.I looked bitterly down the small river. They could move faster with a boat than I ever could on horseback through the dense forest. On top of that, there was no way I could track them. They could have taken any one of a dozen tributaries that fed into larger rivers. They had at least a day and a half journey’s start on me too. Pursuit was pointless.I turned from the river’s edge with a sick spirit of failure weighing heavily upon me. What now? There was only one thing left to do. Press on, and do the best I could at holding whatever dark revelations that the book may contain at bay, until it could be found and destroyed at a later date. With a heavy he
Krista was somewhat taken aback by the intense stare of the man in the study with Sebastian. She was used to being stared at, but this was different. He wasn’t giving her the visual go over that said he was imagining her with her clothes off, but instead his intense gaze on her seemed to be grounded out of some deeper meaning. Many of the people Sebastian dealt with were unsavory, but maybe this one was more decent than some. In the safety of her master’s study his silent gaze upon her was unsettling, as was the woodsy masculine smell of him. Trying not to show how unnerving the stranger’s stare was, she met Sebastian’s eyes and silently asked what was going on. Sebastian looked surprised by the stranger’s reaction to her, but he masked it well. “Krista, this is my nephew, Jasper , but knowledge of that doesn’t leave this room. This beautiful young lady is Zarsha. Could you take care of her and see that she gets plenty to eat?” Krista noticed the little girl by the tall man’s side
“It was a trap?”“Yes, it was. Most disturbing was who was involved in the deception. The Zoarinians have a secretive sect in their higher ranks of hierarchy that oversee the most intimate affairs of the empire, including the actions and private lives of the governors themselves. They are very cunning and, I have been told, quite evil.”Interrupting him I said, “I think I know who you’re talking about. Are there many of them?”“Nobody knows, but whenever they are involved, it’s serious business. I have kept a low profile throughout most of my spying career, ever careful to never reveal too much at any one time as to my involvement in the spying community. But of late, I’ve had to take some risks, which men of their cunning could possibly piece together given enough time.”“It would then seem to me a good idea for you to get out before they do find you out!” I said, not understanding his reticence against leaving.Sebastian looked up at me, “Better that I stay and deflect the attention
She gave a surprised jump as my hand closed over hers and glanced quickly at me. She made as if to struggle, but Sebastian had arrived at her other side and she completely stopped the attempt to struggle. She didn’t resist as we moved her off from the main room in which the ball was taking place towards the inner chambers of the mansion.Sebastian opened a door and we all entered. This must be her room. It was tastefully decorated with bright silks and tapestries and feminine knick knacks. The wooden floors had colorful area rugs spread across them.The room served as yet another insight into the life of this enchanting woman. Sebastian led Krista to a sofa and had her sit down and then he sat down beside her.Taking one of her hands in his he asked, with evident concern in his tone of voice, “What is the meaning of this behavior, Krista? Who is that man to you and why were you going to kill him?”Krista’s head was hanging down and her countenance was downcast as she responded softly,
My eyes drifted down and I saw what she meant. Huskily I asked, my eyes still clinging to the well defined womanly curves, “Why does Sebastian have you dress so provocatively? He doesn’t strike me as the kind of man to show off something he values to others? I know he values you very highly.”She paused hesitantly and then looked up at me somewhat shyly, “Sebastian and I….. we don’t….. we aren’t intimate together. I’m for show, to make others think of Sebastian as a vigorous man for lack of a better way of putting it.”She looked embarrassed before she continued, “I help Sebastian in his work. Men will often let information slip that they wouldn’t otherwise around a…… around a.”“Beautiful woman,” I finished for her.She blushed a little and nodded her head. She didn’t know how much it meant to me to have her tell me what the extent of her relationship with Sebastian was. I had felt a big sigh of relief inside of me at the divulging of that information.“Don’t tell anyone please. I onl
He leaned forward and handed me some papers. I took them hesitantly, still dazed by his statement. He was giving me Krista! I swallowed, hardly able to believe that this was happening.“Now, on a more serious note, here is the compilation of all the information I have gathered.” He held out a book to me. I took it and glanced at it, “Applied Math and Economics.”Sebastian and my grandfather shared a common trait for cryptic behavior. “You need to leave by sundown. Three horses will be at the inn where you contacted my operatives.”“My horse! I’m not leaving without him!” I said, speaking up.“Already taken care of. He is at a corral at the south end of the city. You can pick him up on your way out of town. Krista and Rugar will meet you there at the inn. Now, I’m sure you must have much to do to prepare for your departure so I will bid you farewell and may the Creator see you safely on your journey back to our homeland.”I took the dismissal for what it was and rose from my chair with
I had liked my plan better than… well this stinking cell. The great unknown of what tomorrow would bring was not something I looked forward to either. I fought to quell the negative thoughts that poured into me at the thought of the evil tomorrow could bring. If the Creator was the God of today, then He was also the God of tomorrow and if He was preserving my life today, then perhaps He would preserve my life tomorrow as well. My resolve strengthened some, but I still felt like it would crumble at any moment.My voice echoed slightly in the empty room, “Thy will be done, but I do ask this of You. Please help me rescue Zarsha and escape with her, Krista, and my uncle’s information to the Valley Lands. If your plans for me are different, then help me obey and fulfill them, even if it means losing my life. My life is yours to do with as You wish, but………..” I stumbled to say the last part, “I don’t want to die yet. Especially when everything seems like it’s turning out for the better.”My
I lost track of time and space. I knew only the next motion; I planned nothing, but fought and reacted instinctively. I was inflicting damage as a result of both my skillful fighting experience and the brute strength I was employing against my hated foe.I hadn’t inflicted any serious wounds, but the broken off javelin point in my left hand had left a half dozen jagged wounds in my opponent that were bleeding freely. I had not escaped injury, however. I was nicked up almost everywhere and there was a deep cut across my left thigh that hurt when I moved.I didn’t care; instead I used the pain to spur me on to greater effort. I was winning! Suddenly, something changed in the air around me and I found myself knocked backward through it. I skidded off the sandy arena floor several times before slamming hard into the arena wall. What had that been?I lifted myself up off the sand fighting for air, not understanding what had just happened. The wild man was upon me before I knew it and it was