The Courier's Conflict Read online

  “Is it disabled?” she asked.

  “No.” They kept looking for the right connections.

  “Tell us how to stop it,” Jak said, holding his knife up to Gungbe’s narrow neck. Gungbe clamped his mouth closed.

  Rasha snatched the caller away from them.

  “Let me see.” She dropped it and crushed it with the heel of her boot. “How’s that?”

  “That’ll work too,” Chigo said as he reached for the broken device. The wires were exposed now, so all he had to do was cut them. The sound ceased immediately.

  To the council, Rasha said, “I hope you’ve decided in favor an alliance, because the fight is at our doors.”

  “We have ruled in favor of the eleventh kingdom,” Bashir said.

  “Then take care of this traitor. The rest of you, let’s go. We’ve got beasts to take down.”

  34

  RASHA RODE THE tuskin to the border of Chilali and Adalu with the Wola flying overhead. The small beasties had been diverted, and no other beasts had appeared, so it was time to take the fight to them. What was left of their forces would join them on the border and prepare to move on the beasts. Rasha was in command.

  When they arrived at the border they regrouped, mixing their men with the reinforcements as much as possible. While they were arranging themselves, Ebere approached her.

  “What about Ladi? Aren’t we going to look for her? What if she was successful?” he asked.

  “Ladi is on her own until we can secure the border. We lost Adalu to the beasts. I won’t lose Chilali too. Stand your ground and wait for orders.”

  “She’s just a kid! Don’t you realize she might be injured or lost?”

  Rasha’s anger flared, and she pulled her swords out and twirled them once. “Are you implying that I don’t care about her? Because I want to be clear with you. I’ve known her and her family since she was knee high to a gump. I helped bury her older brother and took the news to her and her family. So if anyone cares about her, I do. But I think we have more than one person to worry about, don’t you?”

  Jak stepped in and pushed Ebere back and out of harm’s way.

  “He’s a boy in love. Don’t blame him for being worried,” Jak said in her ear.

  Rasha dropped her swords. She did understand the sentiment, but right now she was stretched to the limit, and they were on the brink of defeat. She couldn’t go running off to find the little pumseed. Ladi made her choice when she snuck off in the night chasing a rumor.

  “Get him away from me,” she said between her teeth.

  When a dragon was spotted approaching the west border, she barely had time to ready the bowmen. They awaited her signal, but she never dropped her hand. On top of the flying beast was a green girl with long, dark hair waving her hands wildly at them.

  “Stand down,” Rasha shouted to her fighters, and to Temi, who’d appeared at her side, ready to leap in front of her. Here, there would be no place for her to lock up Temi. He’d joined the fight, and she’d have to let him.

  Ladi and the dragon landed on the trampled snow in front of them. She eased off and, still using her stick, limped toward Rasha. Out of breath and half laughing, she threw her arms around her.

  Despite everything, Rasha laughed too.

  “What happened to you? Ebere was about to lose his neck over you,” Rasha said. Ebere stood to one side, waiting to be acknowledged. He was so shy. Rasha felt bad now for lashing out at him.

  “I found one of the encampments, and I was right. They were being forced.” Rasha reached up and ran a light finger around the young girl’s neck. A dark pink line remained from the collar they’d placed there.

  “They took you? What happened to you?”

  “It’s a long story, but I’ll shorten it. I helped the beasts escape. The entire encampment.” She gestured with her head behind her at an enormous number of beasts approaching.

  Rasha’s fighters were anxious and ready to fire.

  “Hold!” Jak called. There were so many of them his hand instinctively reached for his own sword. Temi was low to the ground and growling at the beasts as well. There were more than a hundred of them.

  They burst through the trees. Bears huddled together, wolves in packs, and others as well.

  Rasha noticed something. Fear. They were afraid. They also wore no collars. Ladi limped back toward a white bear with three cubs. Rasha and Jak exchanged a look and followed. The bear put a protective paw over the cubs as she waited for what Ladi had to say.

  “This is the prince and princess of the ten kingdoms. They will grant you asylum.”

  “What?”

  “Asylum?”

  Jak and Rasha spoke at the same time. Neither corrected Ladi about their new status.

  “Yes. They agreed to come here, but only if we grant them asylum from the birdmen and the bull-men. They were tortured and their families were held captive to force them to fight. We have to help them.”

  Rasha pulled Ladi away from the bear and her cubs.

  “We are in the middle of a war we’re losing, and you expect us to defend them over our own people?”

  Ladi worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

  “No, I thought they could stay here with us behind our lines.”

  Rasha ran a hand over her face and looked at Jak. He shrugged. They’d just gotten the winged Wola into the eleventh kingdom. Now they’d be going against the beasts’ masters and beasts from other enslaved encampments.

  “I need more fighters, not more victims. What am I supposed to do?”

  “How did you get the collars off without killing them?” Ebere asked, Chigo nodding behind him.

  Ladi switched into Tero-Joro and explained it to them. They nodded and added their own tech vocabulary to the exited discussion.

  “Will someone please tell me in the common language what the yahtz you’re talking about?” Rasha asked.

  “Oh.” Ladi looked surprised. “I have a way to disrupt the collars.”

  “That means we can turn any beasts they bring against them,” Chigo said, his eyes wide and bright. Rasha wondered now, seeing him Ladi and Ebere, how old he was. He’d seemed ordinarily small for a Tero-Joro before, but he was even smaller than Ladi. He couldn’t be more than thirteen. How had he ended up on the front lines of this war? Before she could ask, Jak said, “Can you gather the strongest of the beasts together? Any who can fight will be welcome to join us. If they have any ideas on how we can defeat their former masters, we would be delighted to hear them.”

  Ladi nodded and turned to go, but Ebere grabbed her hand, his eyes full of unspoken emotion. Ladi looked down at his hand, a confused expression on her face. She had no idea what he was doing. Rasha didn’t have time for this.

  “She’s only fourteen, let her be,” Rasha said.

  “No, I’m fifteen now,” Ladi corrected her, still looking at their joined hands.

  “I’m happy you’re well.” Ebere dropped her hand after another long moment and turned away. Chigo followed him. He hadn’t left Ebere’s side since they’d met.

  Rasha turned to Jak. “Asylum?”

  Jak smiled. “It could be worse.”

  “How?”

  “We could be dead?” Jak shrugged.

  “There’s still time for that.”

  35

  THE BATTLE BEGAN at dawn. The sun was a sliver on the southern horizon when the first of the flying creatures arrived. Rasha and her battalions were ready. She’d divided them into groups of a hundred and deployed them in a U shape on the border of Chilali. Rasha was at the front, mounted on a tuskin. She preferred fighting from the ground, but being atop the tuskin allowed her signals to be seen. The dragon she’d saved in the battle of the palace stood beside her, pawing at the ground in impatience. The tuskin, feeling the nervous energy, struggled to stand still.

  “Steady,” she muttered and held up a hand. The fighters behind her held their weapons ready.

  Jak’s group held their position on her right
. Ladi, along with the bear and wolf, was on her left.

  The snow was thick on the ground. Rasha didn’t take her eyes off of the northern horizon when she saw the beasts coming. They’d come in high and low, their typical attack pattern. This time they wouldn’t be divided by the beasts. Instead, the charge formed an arrow that would split whatever formation came their way. She waited until the nearest beast was within range.

  Rasha dropped her fist and started the charge.

  “Now!”

  Most of the flying creatures had gone to either side of her, leaving the bull-men. She picked off a few, and then jumped off her mount and hit the ground, running for the nearest bird-man. He squawked in challenge at her. It hopped from foot to foot, trying to distract her from his powerful wings.

  She didn’t hesitate to clip them. He was down in a scant minute. The battle raged. As it became clear, they were winning this fight. The bird-men came out with their controllers. As expected, they had brought unwilling combatants. The beasts fighting for both sides hesitated as they faced each other. Mother against son. Father against daughter. The shocks that the bird-men delivered brought many beasts to the ground. The dragon that Rasha had spared bellowed in anger at the torture.

  “Ladi!” Rasha ran toward the girl, Ebere right behind her.

  “Where’s Chigo?”

  “He’s with me,” Ebere replied.

  Ladi was fighting a large, scarred up bear. Rasha could see the bull-man controlling it.

  “Fire that pulse as soon as it’s ready,” Rasha yelled to Ebere as she ran full tilt at the bull-man.

  In her haste, Rasha missed the bird-man flying just above her. Talons came down on her shoulders and lifted her three feet off the ground, then dropped her before she could swing her swords. She had to roll to avoid breaking a leg and dropped Cutter in the process. Lying there on the ground, the bird-man was on top of her in seconds. She’d swung with her now-empty right hand and used her left to stab at him with Blade. Rasha felt the talons digging into her skin through her leather coverings. She grunted when the beast picked her up and threw her down, knocking the breath out of her.

  She rolled over and looked up in time see the amber-eyed dragon, her friend, yank the bird-man off his feet.

  “Are you all right?” Jak had seen what happened, but wasn’t as fast as the dragon.

  “I’m fine. How are we doing?”

  Jak looked around for Ladi. When he spotted her, he smiled.

  “See for yourself.” Jak helped her to her feet. Her head was spinning a bit, but she was able to look around.

  In that moment she couldn’t be prouder as she watched Sochi and Xeku defeating beast after beast. Ebere fought with a ferociousness she’d never seen from him. The battlefield was filled with their fighters, mostly winning, thanks to the beasts and the winged men that fought beside them.

  Three winged men had removed a collar from a dragon, and all four of them took to the sky against the remaining bird-men. But it didn’t matter, because Ladi sent a new pulse directly at them. This one wasn’t lying in a grid formation in order to hurt the beasts, but was focused on the technology. The pulse reached its marks, shorting out the controllers.

  Nothing that used any kind of technology could survive that kind of pulse. The bull-men were just realizing something was wrong when the beasts turned on their former masters with slashing claws and ripping teeth. The bird-men and bull-men and various beasts who’d chosen their side fled.

  Some of their fighters started to give chase, but Rasha called them back. There was no need to pursue them. They had defeated them and freed their captives. The roars and howls of triumph from one and all echoed in her bones. She said a prayer to the Universal for the losses, as she did after every battle before letting in the joy of victory.

  36

  RASHA WOKE WITH a start. She’d been dreaming that a large beast was sitting on her chest. She looked down and saw Jak’s arm stretched over her. They were both still dressed from the night before. The battle was won, and the reign of terror that the beasts had wrought had come to an end. He’d walked her to her room, and then they’d talked of all that went right that day and a few things that had gone wrong.

  The sun was high in the sky as she rolled over and out of bed. Jak still slept, his beautiful face turned away from the sun streaming through a crack in the curtains. They weren’t exactly where they were when he’d left, but they were still friends. He hadn’t mentioned his wife, and Rasha hadn’t spoken of her either. It didn’t seem like the right time.

  In the room of her childhood—all pink and disgusting—she wanted one good memory at last. She went to the closet and pulled out the least offensive-looking gown. A blue dress, cinched in the middle, but otherwise flattered her purple skin. She bathed and changed. When she reappeared in the bedroom, Jak was gone. A stab of disappointment cut through her.

  Rasha had been hoping for some encouragement. She’d dressed up to eat breakfast in her own house not only to avoid an argument with her parents. Their anger at learning of the deception and that their daughter would not be queen was bad enough.

  If she were being honest with herself, she could admit it felt strange. Rasha realized she’d worn the role so well she’d fooled herself. Her life as a courier waited for her, but now she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. The incumbent title hadn’t been as bad as she’d imagined. The responsibility had weighed on her: the lives of the fallen fighters, losing the palace. Those were the things that had been the hardest. She’d miss being taken seriously and having her ideas listened to. As she walked to the dining hall, she hoped that they’d all eaten earlier and the table would be empty.

  It wasn’t.

  Seated next to her parents were Prince Bashir and Princess Chiza, both wearing royal white, and on the opposite side, Jak. He’d gone somewhere and gotten cleaned up. His hair was still damp, and he’d found something to wear besides the clothes he’d fought in. With his hair pulled back in a low queue, she could see the markings on the base of his neck. When would he tell her about those? Maybe when he told her about his wife, she mused.

  There was an empty chair beside him for her. Ebere and Chigo sat side by side next to Chiza, and across from them and next to the empty chair was Ladi. She had been given a dress to wear as well, and looked stunning in the light pink gown. The rest of the council filled in the seats around the large table. They appeared to be in some kind of debate as they talked among themselves and hadn’t even glanced in her direction.

  Rasha went to the empty chair and made a small curtsey to both her parents and the incumbents. They nodded in her direction, and a servant pulled out the chair for her to sit down.

  “Don’t you look lovely this morning,” her mother said to her.

  “Thank you, Mother,” Rasha said, putting on her polite face.

  Jak leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Stunning.” He let his hand rest on her thigh.

  “You overslept this morning. You missed all the latest news. The council didn’t sleep much last night. They were up late trying to come up with something to do about the beasts,” said Prince Bashir. He swallowed a bite of food and continued. “It’s been decided that for now they’ll be free to live where they choose. It’s best they not all live on the same hunting grounds.”

  Rasha nodded. She hadn’t even considered that. They’d need more room.

  “What about Gungbe?” She asked.

  This time Jak answered. “He’s already admitted to helping the beasts in order to gain the throne for himself. He thought that if he helped them they would allow him to save his Karmirian family and rule one of the kingdoms.”

  “He’ll be brought to justice for his crimes as soon as a suitable punishment may be devised,” said Prince Bashir. “Enough of that business,” He waved a hand in the air, “I slept better than I have in months. I trust you did as well.”

  “Yes, thank you, Your Highness,” Rasha said.

  A few moments went by before Ladi
spoke.

  “Are you going to keep your dragon?” Ladi asked.

  “What? Who?” Rasha asked, as Ladi was looking directly at her.

  “Your dragon, the one who let you ride him.”

  “I hadn’t thought about it,” Rasha said and took a sip of her milk. It was the truth, she hadn’t. “The beasts are not something to be possessed. He will go where he chooses I suppose. What about you, are you ready to enroll at the Courier’s Keep?”

  “I want to.” Ladi was looking across the table at Ebere. He smiled and dropped his gaze when he noticed Rasha had looked at him too.

  “Well, since we’ve lost our titles and our jobs, you’re fired. So, you won’t get more legal courier work until you finish your training.” She gave Ladi a smile and she bit into a piece of bread.

  “I know. I have a few things to take care of at home before I go.” Ladi pushed the food around on her plate. Rasha wasn’t used to seeing Ladi so unsure of herself. It was disconcerting to know she’d matured so much in the short time they’d been together.

  “The Prince was just telling us about their plans for the palace,” Jak said, pulling her back into the conversation.

  “Yes, we’ve come to a formal agreement with the Wola. Thanks to Chiza’s father’s generous gift, the new palace will be in the former Wilds. Its new name will be Ishola.”

  “What about Adalu?” Rasha asked.

  “Too many bad memories there. It’s time for change.” Bashir patted Chiza’s hand. “Speaking of change, I’m glad you’re here, because I wanted to continue our conversation about changes we planned for the Choosing. Since the winter ball has been cancelled, we need to make a decision on this quickly.”

  Rasha tried to remember what they were talking about before their whole world had been turned upside down.

  Bashir continued, “Rasha and I discussed this before the first attack on the palace, and we thought that the Choosing should change. My proposal to the young princes and princesses of the kingdom will be that instead of the traditional Choosing, we will try something new. The Choosing will be open to one eligible princess or lady from each kingdom and one eligible prince or gentleman. In that way, more than just the future king gets a potential mate.”