Radiance (Wraith Kings Book 1)(70)
No sooner had he finished the sentence than Anhuset went still, listening. “Horses,” she said after a moment.
The scrape of blade on stone halted as Serovek joined her. “But no dogs,” he said. A bird’s whistle carried through the trees, and Serovek answered back with a similar whistle. He stood and sheathed the knife at his waist. “We’ve company, and it’s friendly.”
The temple ruin was soon filled with both Beladine and hooded Kai warriors and their horses. They split into two groups, the Kai to gather around Anhuset and Ildiko, the Beladine around Serovek. One of the Beladine bowed before Serovek.
“We think we know where the raiders are hiding. A honeycomb of caves no more than a league north of here.”
Serovek’s lip curled, contempt souring his words. “They’re moving farther into my territory, thinking it safe.”
One of the Kai addressed both Anhuset and Ildiko. “We recovered our dead on the other side of the ravine. Two fallen. The raiders fought only long to capture the herceges and flee.”
Ildiko’s shoulders sagged. She glanced at Serovek. “You were right.”
He nodded. “Right now he’s more valuable alive than dead. Now we just need to discover how many we’ll face when we rescue him.”
The soldier who gave the raiders whereabouts spoke up again. “We’ve captured one of them.” He gestured with a nod over his shoulder when Serovek’s eyebrows rose. “We broke up a raid on a lower holt just within our borders. They massacred the family steading there and stole the sheep and grain. We killed all but one and hanged them from the trees as a warning.”
Ildiko closed her eyes. So much killing and over two people who were never supposed to matter.
The crowd parted as a Kai shoved a human to his knees before Serovek. An impromptu circle formed, caging in their captive. Filthy, lice-infested and splattered with blood, the man glared at Serovek before spying Ildiko who recoiled from his lascivious, black-tooth leer.
One of the Beladine grabbed his arm and shoved the dirty sleeve past his elbow, revealing a patterned marking tattooed in blue and green ink on his arm. “Clansman out of the Serpent’s Teeth,” the soldier said.
Serovek crouched before his prisoner. His voice was mild, almost friendly. All the hairs on Ildiko’s nape rose in warning. “You’ve traveled a long way to butcher farmers for their grain and a few sheep. How many of you are hiding in the caves?”
The man’s eyes slid away. “I don’t know about any caves. We was just stealing because we was hungry.”
“So the four of you made off with an entire herd of sheep and a full wagon of grain? You have big stomachs.”
“Why do you care?” The raider thrust his shoulders back and his chin forward. His bloodshot eyes glittered. “They’s just farmers.”
Serovek’s mild tone didn’t change. “Because they were farmers under my protection, and now they’re dead. I’ll ask again. How many of you rats are hiding in those caves?”
The man clamped his lips together and refused to say anything more. He fell back on his haunches with a gasp when Anhuset lunged at him, claws curled.
“He’ll talk for me,” she snarled in bast-Kai.
Serovek checked her advance with one arm. “Patience,” he said in the same tongue. “Here, I am the law, and he’s broken it by murdering and stealing within my territory.”
He turned to the captured raider and switched back to Common tongue. “You’re far from home, and I know there are no Kai from where you hail, so let me enlighten you.” The circle of Kai and Beladine tightened around them. Ildiko was unable to dredge up a drop of sympathy for the suddenly pale prisoner. Serovek cold smile would have frozen a candle flame. “A long time ago the Kai hunted humans for food. If you refuse to talk, I’m going to feed you to them. From what I know, they aren’t concerned whether or not their meal is alive or dead when they start eating.”
Were Ildiko not used to the toothy Kai after months of living amongst them, she would have fled in terror at the sight of so many fanged grins that flashed at the raider after Serovek’s threat.
The man whimpered and promptly lost control of his bladder. The pungent odor of urine saturated the air. Words tumbled out of his mouth, so fast and stuttering that Serovek had to make him repeat himself several times over. By the time the interrogation ended, they all knew the number of enemies hiding in the caves, how many magefinders remained and which cave held Brishen.
Serovek stood and motioned with one hand. The raider was jerked to his feet. Ildiko gasped as the Beladine lord moved with breathtaking speed. A flash of hands, the brittle snap of bone and the dead raider dropped in a heap to the floor. In the time it took for Ildiko to inhale a breath, Serovek had broken the man’s neck with one swift, practiced motion. She swayed and clutched Anhuset’s arm, overtaken by dizziness and a distinct buzzing in her ears.
The Kai woman pressed a supporting hand to her back and leaned to whisper in her ear. “Strength, Hercegesé. Brishen needs you.”
The words worked a magic no sorcerer could mimic. The dizziness evaporated, and Ildiko’s back stiffened. She refused to look at the still body crumpled at Serovek’s feet, but she no longer wanted to faint.
The charming, jocular man she’d first met at High Salure and danced with at Saggara was gone. The ruthless Beladine marcher lord stood in his place, judge and executioner of any who committed crimes within his borders. He nudged the dead man with his foot. “Take him back to the holt and hang him in the trees with the others. If they haven’t soiled their clothes too badly, strip them. We need their garb.”