On Fire's Wings - Christie Golden [124]
Her anger at him shifted into fear. He was going to give her to the kulis….
“Dragon,” she said, her voice shaking. “Dragon, no, don’t do this….”
“You’re afraid,” he said gently. “You’re afraid of something you don’t understand. You are the element of Fire, Kevla. If you are to succeed, there is much you will need to face…and learn not to fear.”
His head was close to her level, as it always was when they conversed. Now he lifted it and extended his neck. Closing his great eyes, he opened his mouth and let out a long, crooning noise.
Kevla leaped to her feet and pressed back against the solid comfort of the stone walls. Her mouth was dry. She had learned so much, seen so much, but this—
She bit back a cry as long, distorted shadows moved along the walls.
And the kulis came.
Kayle, Captain of the Emperor’s Guardsmen and overseer of the conscription of the Arukani prisoners, had literally been born into this life.
The son of a camp follower and a soldier, he had been left outside the nearest fort on the day of his birth. The soldiers had brought the infant in and given him to one of their wives to raise along with her own offspring. Kayle’s earliest memory was that of wanting to play with the gleaming weapons lining the walls of the room he shared with four other children.
As soon as he could lift a sword, the woman who had raised him gave him back to the guards. He slept with other boys who did nothing but eat, sleep, train, and assist the older men. He hadkilled his first man when he was eleven, and had lost count of how many had fallen beneath his blade since then.
Kayle knew nothing of love, or politics, or literature, or art. He knew war, and tactics, and how to kill efficiently both on the field and by stealth in the depths of night. He was strong, tall and powerful, and the scars that crisscrossed his body and face were myriad, but old. No enemy’s sword had touched Kayle’s body for the last ten years.
Kayle had no particular love for his Emperor, but did know that the young ruler was the one who had provided the best weapons, horses, and men for his army, and permission to kill when Kayle felt like it.
Kayle liked to kill. When he was younger, killing had excited him. Now, after familiarity with the act, his pleasure had abated somewhat, but he always enjoyed it. Although he knew his task was to get more warriors for his Emperor’s army, Kayle was secretly pleased when some of the captured Arukani men resisted and he was therefore able to make an example of one of them. The women and children were not as much fun to slaughter.
He had listened attentively as the Emperor spoke, inspiring the troops with assurances of victory. He had not seen his ruler since then, but did not much care. He supervised his own unit, rode where and when the general ordered him, and moved steadily forward. Now, after a hard day of riding, Kayle sat by the crackling fire. He extended his powerful hands to the warmth, and looked up at the mountains they had yet to cross. It was night, so he couldn’t actually see them; but he knew they were there by the way they blotted out the starfield. It would be difficult, moving so many men, beasts and pieces of equipment over those looming barriers, but it could be done.
He smiled, and the gesture twisted his scarred mouth into a grimace that made most men quail.
On the other side of the mountains, he was certain, good slaughtering would be had. Good slaughtering indeed. Kayle was looking forward to killing in the name of the Emperor.
Chapter Twenty-Five
By the time Tahmu reached the encampment, men were shouting and reaching for weapons. When he appeared out of the darkness, a cry of relief went up. Some of his men even rushed to touch him, to convince themselves that their khashim was truly unharmed.
“My lord!” cried Dumah. “When we found poor Halid slain, we thought there were bandits about! Did you see anything?”
“Put away your weapons,” Tahmu ordered. He gazed at the body of his former friend.