Our attackers conveniently chose that moment to finally show themselves. They were a mixed group of warriors, with no real uniformity to their attire. They could have been ordinary brigands, but on a few of them, I caught the flash of a golden willow tree pin. To round out the mix, they’d recruited a few wandering spirits and trolls.
“They’re Maiwenn’s people,” I said to anyone who would listen.
Finally, one of the riders was smart enough to realize the danger. “The Willow Queen has sent her assassins to kill our lord!” he exclaimed. “Attack! Defend Pagiel!”
Many of his followers were his age. So young, I thought sadly. But from the fierce looks on their faces, they were more than willing to defend their leader. I respected that. Me, I didn’t have much concern for Pagiel. He could take care of himself, so I left it to others to fret over him as I charged forward to help thin out the opposition.
Most of Pagiel’s warriors could handle one-on-one physical or magical combat with the Willow attackers, so I focused on the monsters and spirits. A lot of them I could dispatch with shamanic magic, keeping my distance and ousting them before they even realized what was happening. I traded my athame for my wand. It was a real wand, not the homemade contraption from the Yew Land—though I had kept that as a souvenir.
Some of the spirits sensed what I was doing and attacked me directly. It occurred to me then that I hadn’t really been involved in a true fight for a while. Despite all the dangers we’d faced on the Yew Land journey, there’d been very few physical confrontations. The closest had been when I freed the monarchs, but even then, my storm magic had kept most of them at bay. I hadn’t gotten down and dirty in a while.
Like so much after the birth of the twins, I was excited to see that I really had recovered. Part of my fear when pregnant had been that my body was lost to me forever. Time had healed everything, and I was just as fast and effective as I used to be. Sure, I got a few bruises and burns from the spirits (this group had an acidlike touch), but I took it in stride and fought my way through.
Our group was making good progress when a group of Oak Land warriors, led by Dorian himself, came charging down the road. That pretty much cinched the odds for us, and in a very short time, Maiwenn’s people were either dead or had fled.
I wiped sweat off my brow and put away the wand as I rode over to Dorian. Having come at the end, he looked remarkably fresh and energetic, though I saw blood on his sword. “Well, well,” he said. “What’s all this?”
I grimaced. “Ambush. I found Pagiel in Arizona and convinced him to come back with me to see you. Then these guys showed up. Kiyo acted like he’d be hunting Pagiel, but my guess is he knew I’d have better luck and simply had Maiwenn’s forces stake out likely places we’d return.”
Dorian glanced around, a small frown creasing his features. “Where is Pagiel?”
“He’s right—” I turned around and stared. There were all of Pagiel’s riders, alive and well. But no Pagiel. “Where the hell is he?” A moment later, I noticed something else. “Where’s Jasmine?”
His disappearance was as much a surprise to his followers as it was to me—well, most of them. A couple exchanged knowing looks, and I could see mild guilt on their faces.
“What is it?” demanded Dorian. “What happened?”
One of them gave a half bow from his saddle. “Forgive us, sire. When the attack started, we thought ... well, we thought it was a betrayal.” He shot me an apologetic look. “We urged Pagiel to leave since we knew he was the target. And ... we, uh, encouraged him to take the Lady Jasmine with him.”
“He didn’t run away,” added the other guy hotly. “He’s no coward. He would’ve stayed if not for our insistence.” His friend nodded fiercely.
I stared in disbelief. “He took Jasmine as a hostage?”
“Smart thing to do when you’re scared and think you’ve been set up by those you trust,” muttered Dorian. “I doubt he’ll hurt her.”
“He’d better not!” I exclaimed. “How’d he even subdue her? She’s strong.”
“And he’s stronger,” Dorian reminded me. He turned toward Pagiel’s compatriots. “I trust you’re convinced we’re on his side now. Which way did he go?”
They hesitated only a moment. “I believe he cut across the woods, Your Majesty,” one said, pointing. “I think that way.”
“Then that’s the way you and I will go,” Dorian told me. “Nonetheless, we can’t be certain he didn’t change course. The wounded will go to my castle. The rest will split up and fan out in other directions to find him. If you do, convince him of our support and bring him back.” He gave a sharp look to those gathered. “Do you understand?”
There were meek murmurs of agreement. They might support Pagiel, but most were Oak Land subjects. Dorian was impressive, and it was hard for them to refuse him.
“Damn it,” I muttered, once Dorian and I had split from the others. “And damn me for not thinking Maiwenn and Kiyo might do something like this. I should’ve known they wouldn’t take the proactive approach. They’re riding off of our success.”
“Well, they were proactive enough in setting up these ambushes,” Dorian pointed out. “I’m guessing similar parties are waiting elsewhere on our borders. This group got lucky.”
“Not lucky enough,” I realized. “Kiyo and Maiwenn themselves weren’t here. They were only guessing at which group might catch Pagiel on his return.”
Dorian nodded agreement. “Their presence would have added an extra complication. Ah, this is promising.” He stopped and pointed to where some grass and bushes had been recently trampled.
“I wouldn’t have even noticed that.”
He flashed me a grin. “That’s why I’m here. An excellent hunter of all manner of difficult prey.”
I rolled my eyes at the double entendre, and we continued on. Joking aside, Dorian did have a good tracker’s eye for small signs of Pagiel’s passing. And, the farther we journeyed, I began to notice some signs of my own.
“The air’s not natural through here,” I said, for lack of a better description. “It’s faint, like residual effects, but magic’s altered it recently.”
Dorian gave me a concerned look. “Do you think it’s a trap?”
“No,” I said, after a moment’s consideration. “Not nearly strong enough. If I had to guess ... it’s probably part of what he used to carry Jasmine off. Even if he’s stronger, she wouldn’t be easy to just slip out of there. Air can be used for binding, if you know the right tricks. You can almost create a kind of ‘air rope’ or—in extreme cases—cut off someone’s breathing enough to make them compliant. I really hope it hasn’t come to that.”
“Well, like I said, I don’t think he’d hurt her. I think she was just an easy choice, one he thought would hold you off.”
I nodded, knowing that he was right. Even at a brisk pace, it seemed unlikely we’d catch up with Pagiel anytime soon. He’d undoubtedly taken off as fast as he could to avoid pursuit. Our one stroke of luck came when we found Jasmine’s horse nibbling on some grass.
“Too difficult to bind her and force her on her own horse,” I guessed. “He must have just pulled her onto his.”
Dorian’s eyes were aglow the thrill of the hunt. “This will slow him. It’s our chance to catch up.”
We continued off at that same fast pace for a couple more hours, hoping we could take advantage of them riding double. The residual air magic grew stronger and stronger, giving me hope, until we finally emerged into a clearing and found Pagiel and Jasmine sitting on logs. He jumped up when he saw us.
“Don’t come closer,” he warned. “I ... I’ve got her.”
There was a tremulous note in his voice, backing up Dorian’s assertion that Pagiel would have trouble hurting her. Studying Jasmine, I saw that she sat nearly immobile, her arms held tightly at her side. I’d been right as well. She was bound with ropes of air. Meanwhile, the wind around him stirred.
“Pagiel, I told you before—you won’t win in a fight. Especially against the two of us,” I said. “Please let her go. I know you care about her and don’t want to hurt her.”
The earlier pain and confusion returned to Pagiel’s face. “You lied to me. You arranged the ambush.”
I shook my head. “If you’d stuck around, you would have seen that they were Maiwenn’s people. We got rid of them. Your riders put up a great fight. They’re really loyal to you and fought for your honor, even with you not there.”
It was a subtle dig. I didn’t actually blame him for leaving but knew it troubled him. If he was confused enough, I hoped he would come back with us and listen to reason.
“I can’t trust you,” Pagiel said. “I can’t trust anyone. Even those who claim to support me ... they ask so much, more than I’m ready for.”
“Pagiel,” said Dorian gently. “Have I ever given you reason to doubt me? Haven’t I always been there for your family?”
Pagiel wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Yes, sire. Once I would have trusted you implicitly, but now ... now I know your loyalties are with her. I don’t question your choice. It’s your right. But it also means I can’t believe you’ll always act in my interest.” He sighed and then looked up with a grim and unhappy resolve on his face. “Forgive me,” he said.
That was my only warning. He wove his spell too quickly, more so than I would have imagined possible. A forest hardly provides the right conditions for a haboob, but he created a complex wind pattern that was nearly the same. And it was strong. Dirt flew up from the ground. Trees were ripped up. We were affected as well, blown backward and forced to scramble for our footing. I caught hold of a tree whose roots were still holding it strong and managed to keep myself upright.
