As we neared the corner of the inner wall, my master put a finger across his lips, then bent and put his muzzle to my ear. “From here, pet, it gets difficult,” he whispered. His breath was hot against my cheek. “You can’t be seen leaving on your hinds, and in your condition any attempt to knock you out might do worse.” The lynx squeezed my shoulder lightly with one paw, the other gripping his spear against his side. “Erik said you could fall into a trance; can you do that?”
I inhaled sharply, then sagged. “I think so, sir.” I sank to my knees against the patchy grass, then bowed my head and closed my eyes. Picture the lights, dancing in your mind, I told myself, focusing on the rise and fall of my chest. The leaden warmth and fuzziness spread slowly, but each time I tried to count the lights dancing around me, I felt myself sinking a bit further. The pain and aches subsided, and my heart stilled. My breathing slowed, and my arms fell to my sides. Twelve lights, thirteen, fourteen…. I nodded, my eyes still closed, and I mumbled, “I am ready.”
My master’s voice seemed to come from far above me, soft and distant. “Wow.” Silence lingered for some time, and then he whispered intensely. “Listen, pet, I need you to play dead. Don’t move, don’t talk, don’t even breathe if you can. Just lie there, limp and cold.” I heard the rustle of grasses as I slumped, then felt the touch of my master’s paw against my shoulder. Something hot and slick slid wetly across my chest, and in its wake pain oozed slowly through my fur. It stung fiercely, but I kept my focus on the lights, on keeping my breathing steady, and despite the burning I remained still.
My master hissed through clenched teeth, and a second burn joined the first. A third followed quickly afterwards, and then my master pulled me to a sitting position and hefted me in his arms. He staggered slightly under the weight, then stumbled his way out from behind the building. His hinds fell in heavy steps as he carried me across the courtyard, and then suddenly we were out of the sun again and back in the shade. The scent of dried grasses gave way to the pungent sweat of horses, and the sound of others working nearby. My master tensed, then called out sharply, “Inika!”
The other set of steps stopped, and a young female voice answered, “Valentin!” Inika’s hinds rustled in fast steps, and then stopped sharply. “Thank the Family you’re—Oh, comets, what happened?”
“I’m taking a corpse to Iladin for study,” my master responded, hefting me in his arms. “He expressed interest in Aura’s work.”
“Corpse?” The soldier’s voice rose sharply. “What… but that’s Erik’s slave!”
My master shrugged. “Regent’s orders, and he was mine as soon as Erik disappeared. Hitch me a cart.”
Inika didn’t budge. “Valentin, what’s going on? First you tell us to get Erik back at all costs, then you kill his slave and he’s not even dead yet? What kind of—”
“I gave you an order, soldier,” the lynx interrupted sharply. “Erik’s gone; Datsia’s the regent now. Respect the office, not the holder.” My master’s arms tensed sharply under me as he spoke.
Both parties were silent for a few seconds, before Inika said quietly, “I spoke out of turn, sir.” She turned sharply and stepped away, back into the depths of the stables. Soon I heard the rustling of leather and hay, along with the clanking of straps. “Still, I don’t like it,” she said as she worked. Buckles clanked and straps whispered. “This isn’t like you, Valentin. Something’s wrong. This isn’t just about Erik. Dion took a fresh mount towards the front not half an hour ago. Datsia’s already sending runners to call up more troops.”
The sergeant-at-arms shrugged again. “War is coming, Inika. The regent’s just trying to protect Deterikh.”
“Regent,” Inika scoffed. “Listen to yourself. It’s Datsia. You were never this formal. And maybe we wouldn’t be at war if she hadn’t insisted on that blowhard Dion as a diplomat. He’s got a quicksilver tongue, that one, but I always have to check my purse when he leaves.” The hooves clattered against the ground, and hay rustled behind. “I’m surprised he didn’t pocket the Jazinskis’ good silver.”
Despite the tension in his frame, my master laughed at that. “Dion’s a slippery one.” He walked forward a few steps, then stopped. “Listen, Inika… you’re right. Something is happening, but I… I can’t tell you what it is. I just need you and Chelin to be ready for anything. Speaking of which, where is he?”
“Sleeping off last night’s run and the ride afterwards,” Inika responded. Her hinds approached, and then something warm and soft brushed my shoulder. “Valentin, what’s wrong?”
My master stiffened, then gently hefted me forward into a small pile of hay. As I landed, pain ripped along the wet patches in my fur, as well as all the places that had only just begun to heal, and it took all my focus to the lights inside not to cry out. “More than I can say,” was his only response.
Both held still for a moment, until Inika asked, “What do you think will happen to Erik?”
“I don’t know,” the sergeant-at-arms replied. “I onlyknow that the Jazinskis are just off our border and Erik’s the reason their troops aren’t on their way to Baris. He bought us some time. I’m hoping Iladin will help us make the most of it. Beyond that, I can’t let myself think about it.” He stepped back and walked a few paces away, then grunted and swung himself up onto his mount.
Clawtips delicately brushed the edge of one of my ears, and my breath caught in my throat. The ear twitched, against my will, and the fingers jerked backwards. Then they scraped against the other, and it responded as well. The air inside me burned as I tried to stay still, but then the paw withdrew. “Poor thing,” Inika said, her voice suddenly too loud and too sharp. “He didn’t deserve this.”
“Ey. It’s… it was ‘ey,’” my master corrected dully. “Not that it matters now.”
“No, no, he’s… ey’s dead,” Inika agreed quickly. “It’s just a shame, that’s all. I hope Erik survives.” She stepped back from the cart. “I know he was your friend.”
It took my master a few seconds to respond to that, and when he did, his voice quavered faintly. “He still will be, I hope. I have to go; I need to drop off a body and see if Iladin has any ideas on how to stop a war.” Then the reins cracked, and the cart began to move.
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