Star of Sakova Read online

  Lyra pulled off her soiled clothes and threw them in a heap on the floor. She frowned when she realized that nobody would care about her mess or attempt to scold her for her untidiness. There was nobody left to care. Tears rolled down Lyra’s cheeks as she scrubbed the mud and blood off her body, the stiff bristles of the brush turning her skin pink. The Academy had been her home for many years and now it no longer existed. Her tears helped fill her wash tub as she thought about never seeing her mother again. Everything that had happened today seemed like a bad dream to her and she wished she could wake up and find her mother complaining about her missing classes again. Lyra breathed the aroma of the coarse soap and realized that she was not dreaming. Quickly, she finished washing and got dressed.

  Before she headed downstairs, Lyra detoured back to her father’s study, carefully avoiding the pools of blood. Stepping over the body of Master Caulder, Lyra averted her eyes from her mother’s body and moved to the wall of bookshelves. Her father, Master Malafar, never let anyone touch his personal library and Lyra had been scolded just for browsing the titles of the books upon it. The Academy had another library that was open to all students, but Master Malafar protected his personal books from student use. Lyra thought she knew why.

  Swiftly she scanned the titles, running her finger along the old leather volumes, and had her hunch confirmed. On the very bottom shelf were books dealing with offensive magic. While Master Malafar may have abhorred the use of offensive magic, his love of books would not permit him to discard any, even those, which he would never open again. Realizing the limitations of traveling, Lyra chose three volumes whose titles suggested the most information in the smallest package. Clutching the leather-bound tomes to her chest, Lyra retreated to her room to complete her packing.

  Quickly scurrying down the stairs, Lyra found Antello at the bottom with six packs of provisions already made up. “Where is Syman,” questioned Lyra. “Do we have horses?”

  “They didn’t take anything but your father,” explained Antello. “Syman has the horses tied out front. He is . . . he is looting the bodies. I can’t believe he is stealing their belongings. It doesn’t seem right.”

  Lyra reached down and hefted two of the provision packs, groaning under the additional weight. “What have you packed in here?” she quipped. “I hope it is all edible and not brass candlesticks.”

  Turning to look Antello in the eyes she continued. “Don’t let it bother you, Antello. Syman is just doing the same thing you and I just did. My pack is loaded with my brother’s belongings and my father’s books. The packs you made up for us are filled with provisions that belong to the Academy. Syman is wise in gathering anything that can help us reach our destination. Alamar is hundreds of leagues from here and these provisions will not last a tenth of the way there. Any coins we can find will help ensure our arrival. Grab the rest of the packs and let’s get going.”

  Antello hoisted the four remaining packs and nodded. “I guess you are right,” he admitted. “Do you even know where Alamar is? How will we know where to go?”

  “Alamar is far to the Southeast,” explained Lyra as they started making their way to the front of the castle. “We will have to cross the Wytung Mountains or go around them at some point and then I guess we can follow the rivers to the coast. There is a map in the greeting room just off the entry foyer. Take a look if you are interested. I will help Syman get the horses packed.”

  When they reached the entry foyer, Antello branched off towards the greeting room and Lyra spied Syman near the front doors. Nodding to Syman as he searched through the pouch of an elderly man, Lyra continued past him, anxious to be rid of the smell of death that permeated the air of the castle. Syman joined her outside and helped her secure the packs.

  “I managed to pick up a fair amount of coin,” remarked Syman. “I guess they won’t have any more use for it.”

  “Don’t feel bad about it, Syman,” nodded Lyra. “The coins will be used to avenge their deaths. I think they would be satisfied to know how it will be used. Were you able to secure any decent weapons?”

  “Oh, yeah,” brightened Syman. “I even packed spares in case some become unusable. We will have no shortage of Stars or arrows. I also packed some tools for keeping the weapons in good condition.”

  “Are the horses going to be able to move?” Lyra asked as she lifted the last pack of provisions to her horse and began tying it down.

  “It’s not as heavy as you think,” noted Syman, “and we weigh much less than a lot of riders I’ve seen. Besides, the weight will go down as we eat and discard items no longer serviceable.”

  Antello arrived and the three young avengers mounted and rode across the drawbridge. Syman took the lead and turned towards the forest instead of heading for the road. “We are better off keeping clear of the roads until we get away from here,” he explained. “I hid the body of the raider we killed. They will find it, but it may delay them for an hour. Maybe they will think he fled.”

  The sun was well into the sky as the three youngsters headed across the open field towards the forest. Lyra began to feel the moistness of perspiration as she gazed at the cool inviting woods ahead of her and began to let her mind drift back to the morning attack. She had been so busy searching for survivors and packing to leave that she hadn’t given much thought to why the attack had occurred. There must have been close to a hundred raiders in the Academy attack and they hadn’t bothered to take anything except her father. The nagging question of why so many men would come to kidnap her father and not bother to take the spoils made her head spin. The raider Klaarg had indicated that Rhodella was not supposed to have been killed and was quite angry about her apparent death. Rhodella had also mentioned the raiders’ need for a hostage to make Master Malafar do something evil. Clearly, they wanted him for his magical knowledge, but the who and why of it escaped Lyra.

  They entered the forest and Lyra immediately felt the air cool as the trees shielded the summer sun. The sunlight filtering through the trees created a mosaic of light and dark patches and Lyra let her eyes adjust as her mind started to wander away from the brutality of the attack. The scent of sevemor cones was a pleasant reminder of her younger years and Lyra’s tense body started to relax. The forest was quiet except for the sounds of the horses plodding along the trail and the rhythm of their hooves was pacifying.

  Lyra let her mind drift to thinking of anyone who might want Master Malafar for some evil use. There were plenty of mages in Omunga and probably quite a few who would do whatever they were asked to do as long as they were properly paid. Whoever kidnapped her father must need an extremely skilled mage because Master Malafar was known as one of the best in Omunga. If they didn’t need his level of skill, it would be cheaper to hire another mage than to send a hundred raiders to attack the Academy. Lyra wondered what kind of research her father had been involved with which might be considered revolutionary. She mentally kicked herself for not paying more attention to what he was studying, but Lyra found her magic lessons too easy and quite boring. She tended to push magic out of her life at every opportunity and had no idea what research was going on at the Academy.

  Lyra looked up and saw that the others were a distance ahead of her and she urged her horse to go faster. She smiled as she heard the distinctive shrill of blue tails and she started drifting back to her childhood and memories of playing in the woods. She caught herself before she drifted too far and brought her focus back to the attack on the Academy. All of the raiders had worn dark colors, but it certainly wasn’t a type of uniform, at least not any uniform that she had ever seen.

  Lyra was so engrossed in solving the riddle of the attack that she didn’t notice that the boys had stopped in the middle of the trail as Syman reached out to stop her. Lyra looked up to see Syman holding a finger to his lips to silence her. Antello eased his sword out of its sheath while Syman cocked his head as if listening for something. Lyra wrinkled her brow in puzzlement as she strained to hear whatever had alarmed
the boys. The seconds dragged on in silence until suddenly the she heard a twig snap under the weight of someone or something on the trail ahead. The feeling of fear she experienced at the Academy quickly returned even as she tried to convince herself that it was probably just an animal and she was overreacting. Still, the forest animal noises had ceased and Lyra began to wonder if the raiders had thought enough to block the trail in case she tried to escape.

  Syman kept a restraining arm on Antello as he swept the forest with his eyes trying to detect any movement around them. Lyra understood what Syman was thinking and she started scanning the woods along their flanks as well. Using hand motions, Syman instructed the group to dismount and handed the reins to Lyra. Easing his own sword out of its sheath, Syman motioned to Antello to take the left side of the trail while Syman slid into the woods on the right. Lyra felt exposed holding the horses in the middle of the trail as the boys disappeared into the trees. Looking around nervously, Lyra gaped as she saw someone move from tree to tree far up the trail. The noise they had heard had been human made, and Lyra shook with fear as she thought of Syman and Antello trying to sneak up on raiders. While they were decent with their swords, thanks to Master Caulder’s instruction, she knew that they were not prepared to go off hunting raiders on their own.

  Could she call them back without alerting the raiders? Should she tie the horses to a tree and go help them? Should she ride noisily down the trail to distract the raiders while the boys sneaked up on them? Wracked with indecision, Lyra promised to make contingency plans for such events in the future, should they survive this episode.

  Suddenly, she heard screams and thrashing up ahead and ignoring caution, she charged up the trail while unsheathing her sword. As she approached the area where she had seen the furtive figure, she caught sight of Syman and Antello standing over a prone body. Running to where the boys stood, Lyra’s eyes grew wide as she recognized the body at their feet. The wealthy magic student from the Academy, Walak, lay sprawled on the forest floor and Lyra’s mouth gaped open as she slid to a halt.

  “Say you didn’t kill him,” cried Lyra.

  “Never touched him,” Syman replied. “He fell as we charged him. Must have hit his head or something. I didn’t realize who it was until he fell.”

  “Lucky thing he fell,” quipped Antello. “We were ready to slice him in half.”

  “Yes,” frowned Syman, “I guess the two of us could kill an unarmed student without too much difficulty. I think your assessment of our skills is a little too flattering Antello. These raiders are not something we want to mess with if we can avoid it.”

  “I agree,” offered Lyra. “In fact, I was thinking that we need to have a plan ready for when this happens the next time. We can’t just recklessly react whenever something comes up. We need to have a strategy set up to handle everything.”

  “I wonder what Walak is doing out here and how he avoided the attack?” pondered Antello as he pointedly ignored Syman’s statement of caution.

  “We will find out when we revive him,” Lyra murmured. “Antello, go retrieve the horses while I see if he is hurt. I’m afraid I just let the reins drop when I heard the screaming.”

  Antello sheathed his sword and rambled off as Lyra knelt next to Walak and checked him for injuries.

  Satisfied that Walak’s only injury was a bump on the head, Lyra placed her hands on his forehead and cast a mild healing spell that would ease the pain when he woke. By the time Antello returned with the horses, Walak was rousing from his short slumber.

  “What happened?” quizzed Walak as he looked up at his captors. “Where are the raiders?”

  “I am afraid it was us stalking you,” offered Syman quietly. “We thought you were a raider.”

  “How did you escape?” asked Lyra. “Where is your horse?”

  Walak sat up and felt for the bump on his head. “I didn’t have a horse,” he answered. “My father was supposed to arrive this morning so I was not in class. I wandered into one of the empty study rooms and was gazing out the window when the screaming started.”

  “I will go back and get a horse for him,” offered Antello as he tied the other horses to a tree.

  Walak started shaking and crying as he related the tale. “I hid while they were killing everyone,” Walak sobbed. “After a while the raiders left for other parts of the castle and I slipped out the back and ran for the woods. They killed everybody.”

  Walak’s head sunk to his cupped hands and he started sobbing uncontrollably. Syman wandered off to check the horses while Lyra sat next to Walak and put her arm around him and tried to console him. After several moments of unresponsiveness, Lyra let her mind wander to the bizarre events of the day. She wondered if anyone else managed to escape the slaughter. She hoped some did, but she knew they dared not return to find out. Letting Antello return for a horse was not even a smart thing to have done, but her mind had been focused on Walak and she hadn’t stopped to think about what might be waiting for Antello at the Academy. Lyra berated herself for another thoughtless decision. Silently, she vowed to start planning better.

  Lyra’s thoughts disintegrated as the sound of riders drifted through the silent forest and she leaped to her feet. Syman quietly drew his sword and Walak scrambled away from the trail to hide. A few breathless moments later, Syman relaxed as he recognized Antello returning from the Academy with a spare horse for Walak.

  “Anything amiss back there?” asked Syman.

  “Nothing at all,” replied Antello. “Maybe it is all over and we can return.”

  “There is no going back,” rebuked Syman. “Not ever. Have you so quickly forgotten your pledge?”

  “No,” Antello smiled thinly, “I just don’t think we have to be so worried. They are not going to be bothered by a couple of students escaping.”

  “I will release you from your pledge,” offered Lyra, “but I am going to Alamar. There is nothing left at the Academy for me and I must get to my uncle as quickly as possible. I understand if you want to go home. Rhodella had no right to wring that pledge out of you anyway.”

  “She had every right,” Syman interjected. “Something very serious is going on and someone has to find out what it is. We are all that is left of the Academy. I would go with you without the pledge anyway, so do not blame Rhodella for asking. She did what she had to and we shall do what we have to.”

  “Of course,” Antello jumped in, “I am with you too Lyra. I was just suggesting that maybe we don’t need to be so jumpy. Syman and I can handle any trouble on the trip to Alamar and I gave my pledge freely. Like Syman, I would come without the pledge. I would never desert my friends.”

  “Alamar?” quizzed Walak. “Why on earth would you go to Alamar? That is on the other side of the country. We should just find the nearest Imperial Guard and tell them what happened and then go home.”

  “You are free to go where you want to, Walak,” stated Lyra, “but I must go to Alamar. There is nothing the Imperial Guard can do for those at the Academy now and I have nowhere else to go but to my Uncle Temiker. I promised Rhodella that I would, so I will.”

  “You are welcome to ride with us for as long as it suits you, Walak,” Syman added. “We have enough provisions for the four of us. Whatever your decision, we should be moving along now. We have wasted too much time already and I think the raiders will check this trail sooner or later. We should be well gone when they do.”

  Walak looked around nervously as the others mounted their horses and quickly joined them. “Well, you are going in the same direction,” he feebly stated. “I think I will ride with you for a while.”

  Antello took the lead as the four students rode quietly down the forest trail, each lost in his own thoughts of the events of the morning. Several hours later, Antello paused briefly as the trail split. Lyra directed him to take the left fork towards the village and they continued on in silence. Lyra remembered her vow to anticipate and plan and starting visualizing the small village. She recalled that the ra
iders said they were going to the village and she did not intend to stumble into them. Silently, she pictured where the trail would enter the village and thought about how they could tell if the raiders were still there. Finally, she whistled softly and when she had Antello’s attention, she signaled for him to stop.

  “I am concerned about raiders in the village,” she explained. “I want to stop before we get to the village so we don’t stumble into a trap. There is a farm a short distance before the village. I want to stop there and talk to Aguara, the farmer, but I also want to check out his farm before we are seen. Let me lead for a while.”

  Antello quietly nodded as Lyra moved to the front of the procession. Everyone remained silent as the afternoon wore on and it was approaching dusk as the farm came into view. Lyra halted the little group and everyone dismounted. Lyra walked off through the trees to a small hill that offered a good view of the farm. Slowly she scanned the farm. Syman drew alongside her and gently touched her arm to let her know he was there.

  “Something is not right,” Lyra declared. “Aguara should be in the fields, but nobody is in sight.”

  “Not exactly true,” grimaced Syman. “Look at the barn. I see at least four figures standing in the shadows inside. How many people live here?”

  “Just three,” frowned Lyra. “Aguara, his wife, and a son. I see the people you are talking about. I would have missed them.”

  “You were wise in checking,” smiled Syman. “Keep watching. I will break out some food. We haven’t had anything to eat since we left the Academy.”

  Lyra only nodded as she peered at the barn. She hadn’t even thought about eating, but now that Syman had mentioned it, she was very hungry. Dismissing her newfound hunger pains, she considered Aguara’s farm and the presence of the fourth person. It could be just a visitor or neighbor she realized, but the thought did nothing to quell the rising sense of fear that was building within her. If the raiders were still in the village, how safe were they this close to the village? Would the raiders think to check the trails in the forest near the village?