Dreamwielder Read Free

message said was that he’d been drunk and gotten in a fight and died.”
    Caile snorted, and Taera nodded silently in agreement; their brother had a well-known reputation for shunning drink, among other things, and he was not one to get into a brawl with drunkards—certainly not one to lose in a fight against drunkards.
    â€œDid the message say anything else?” Caile asked.
    â€œYou know as well as I do what else it said. Emperor Guderian demands Father send a new ward to Col Sargoth.”
    Caile pounded a fist into his saddle, though his horse walked on unperturbed. “Ward? Hostage is more like it. How stupid does he think we are?”
    Several of Caile’s men took notice of his outburst, but Caile paid them little heed.
    â€œI don’t believe he cares how stupid or intelligent we are,” Taera said, looking past her brother toward the first traces of Kal Pyrthin peaking over the horizon. “As long as we’re scared and do as he says, that’s all that’s important—that we’re frightened into obedience.”
    The tone of Taera’s voice cut through Caile’s anger and he realized he had completely neglected to consider how scared she must be. “Blast it all, Taera! Father can’t seriously be contemplating sending you to Col Sargoth?”
    â€œWhat choice does he have?”
    â€œBut after all the”—Caile caught himself near shouting and lowered his voice and leaned in closer to his sister so no one would overhear—“after all the visions? Have you had any more? Since Cargan died?”
    Taera squeezed her eyes shut and flinched.
    Caile instinctively reached out to grab her but realized what he had done and let her be. She clearly still did not like to talk or think about the strange images that came to her. When she had been younger, before Caile was sent to Valaróz, she had been told by their father to ignore the visions, to pretend they didn’t happen so that they would go away. In a sense, it worked—as long as Taera chose to actively ignore and push away the images, they did not come to her—but Caile had a knack for reminding her, and on more than one occasion as children, he had triggered her visions and gotten them both berated.
    â€œI’m sorry,” Caile muttered, but Taera was lost in the images flashing through her mind.
    â€œFire,” she whispered. “Everywhere. Pyrthinian soldiers dead. The red and yellow Pyrthin banner turned black… Ash. A woman…”
    â€œLet it go,” Caile said, grabbing her shoulder. “It won’t happen. I won’t let Father send you to Col Sargoth.”
    Taera opened her eyes and turned to him, more alarmed than frightened. “No, not in Col Sargoth. Here. Now.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œSomeone is coming, Caile! A firewielder.”
    â€œLorentz!” Caile shouted, drawing his sword and surveying their surroundings. They had drawn nearer the River Kylep, and a new-growth forest bordered the road to their left, not tall or particularly foreboding, but thick with green foliage and undergrowth—perfect for an ambush.
    â€œWhat is it?” Lorentz asked, at Caile’s side almost immediately.
    â€œSomeone is in the forest.”
    Lorentz nodded. “We’ll have the honor guard take Taera off the road, into the safety of the fields, and then take care of it.”
    Caile eyed the amber grasses to their right. “No, we’ll all have to stay to the road.”
    Lorentz raised one eyebrow quizzically.
    â€œWe’re dealing with fire, Lorentz. Those fields could go up in flames.”
    â€œFire,” Lorentz repeated flatly, considering Caile’s words for a brief moment, and then he was issuing orders for the soldiers to take up their shields and don their helmets. Within seconds, the troops were gathered in tight formation around Taera, and Lorentz met Caile and the captain of Taera’s honor