Chosen (The Warrior Chronicles #1)(71)

She ignored him. “Their fighters are small and quick, but not excellent. They aren’t ones for head-on combat. They’ll come from the sides, or descend in a horde over a hill. As you saw, they’ll sneak over walls or come in the back way, content to let some other nation get chopped down.”

“Do they all have the Gift? The ability for mental warfare?”

Shanti shook her head, clutching onto Cayan so she didn’t slip off the saddle. She had no idea how to properly ride one of these—a gaping hole in her education. “From what I’ve heard, one in forty has some sort of Gift, but not usually with any real strength. They are working on it, though. They push arranged marriages, which is usual with the top tier of a class system, but from what I’ve heard, they peel their eyes for any new talent, then work them into the arrangement system. Still, they are lacking as a whole, I believe.”

“In comparison to who?” Sterling asked.

That gave Shanti pause. She was used to thinking in terms of large quantities of excellent fighters with strong Gifts. She looked behind her at the sea of solemn faces. She still traveled with excellent fighters, but none had the Gift save Cayan. Every one of them would be vulnerable to an attack, no matter the strength of the Gift used.

“Do you think any will match you? Or I?” Cayan asked through her worried fog.

“No. I am nearly a myth and you are completely unknown. But they are trained. You are not.”

“How many can you take?”

“Take, or kill?”

He didn’t even pause. “Kill.”

Shanti resisted the urge to lean her head against Cayan’s back. It seemed her life was only about killing these days. All hate, fear, and death—no family, no love. Some day she would have to answer for the things she’d done. She would have to face her ancestors and explain herself. It was a good reason to stay alive.

“With the new surge of power, or while linked to you, a great many I should think.”

“What are they after?” Sterling asked.

“Your city and its wealth. If they kill the Captain, they can move in while you are all in turmoil and take over the moneymaking operations. Their chief concern is wealth. Even before power. That’s why they are a Graygual favorite—keep them in riches and they won’t strive to steal their leader’s power.”

“And by the Captain going to them, we are giving these Inkna exactly what they are after,” Lucius said from behind them.

“Yes. If I were granted any sort of opinion, which I realize is doubtful in this company, I would say it is the least wise thing in this whole venture. I can handle mental warfare, the rest of this crew can handle the arms. The Captain should stay at a safe distance when his leadership is no longer needed. But I am just following orders; therefore, I have no opinion.”

“I cannot let my countrymen die for a decision I made,” Cayan stated.

“Then you will find war extremely difficult.”

“This isn’t war,” Cayan growled.

“Wrong. This is the beginning stages of it. You are choosing a side by going against the Inkna. By not turning me in. By not turning yourself in. You are choosing a side, and it will lead directly to war.”

“Shall we run, like you are doing?” he growled.

Shanti clenched her jaw. The man could get under her skin like no one she’d ever known. And right now, he was trying to. “I’m not running; I am uniting two halves into a whole. I’m seeking out our distant relations and hoping they’ll give aid. I’m hoping to bring the largest war this land has ever seen, which is what it will take to tear down the empire the Being Supreme has already created. You’re a stop on my journey. Your Gift is a new dimension to the overall situation. But I’m not running, because there is nowhere to run to.”

“But your half has been destroyed.” Cayan wasn’t trying to hurt her; he was trying to understand. He was just hurting her in the process. And being a jerk at the same time, something he could always do effectively.

“That’s right. None left save me. But I am quite a prize, am I right, boys?” Shanti swung down from the saddle and walked back to her boys.

Chapter 35

Sanders was half lucid. But only half. He was close to the end now. He didn’t even understand half of the questions anymore. He was praying for death. There were two others save him, and they were close to cracking. Sanders could hear it in their screams. Death wasn’t coming fast enough and there was only so much a mind could take.

Chapter 36

The fires were quiet as the troop ate their meal. The day had been eventful. Three different bands of Mugdock charged as Cayan passed through their lands. Shanti didn’t have to warn Cayan of their approach; he was well aware. That part of the lesson he was close to mastering. Marc had to work on two people, but no one was lost. The Mugdock weren’t so lucky, especially because they weren’t allowed to retreat and they weren’t captured. Their graves were the burnt land they had created and none of Cayan’s people seemed bothered by it.

Beside those minor delays, the troop made great time. They had pushed hard and fast, covering a lot of ground, and now would rest for the night. It would take another half day to the destination. Hurrying hadn’t been planned, but it was hard to resist. Sanders and the other survivors wouldn’t have much time. They had been subject to pain for days by now, and Shanti doubted the Inkna were taking it any easier than she had after she found out Sanders had been captured.