45. Clash of Stone and Steel #3
Talyn locked eyes with him again, and he knew they were thinking the same thing. The wagons weren’t that far ahead and would be moving slowly. They could catch them before they got far with the townspeople.
“Let’s go,” Samhail said to her, and she nodded.
“Wait!” the woman said. “I thought you were going to help us.”
“We are,” Talyn said. “We’re going to find your men.”
The woman paused, then nodded in understanding.
Talyn let go of her and jogged back to where they’d left the horses as Samhail fell into stride next to her. Talyn untied her horse and mounted up, but Samhail fished in his saddlebag for a message leaf and pen.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m sending a message to Aidan to let him know the town was attacked so he can send help,” Samhail said. “I’m not signing it, so he won’t know who sent it, but he should be told what happened.”
Talyn nodded and waited for him to send the message. As soon as it vanished, she kicked her horse forward, and Samhail swung himself up onto Guster to follow her.
They soon found that the soldiers – or whoever they were – had left a fairly obvious trail to follow. Samhail and Talyn rode fast, although not as fast as they had to get to the village.
“There,” Talyn said when they crested a hill several minutes later.
Off in the distance, they could see a procession with several wagons moving slowly ahead of them.
Samhail pulled his horse up next to hers.
“What should we do?” she asked. “There’s not as many as I expected, but I’m still not sure we want to take them on with just the two of us.”
Samhail thought for a moment. He could easily take them all on in his gargoyle form if he shifted, but he wanted to see where they were going. This was the first time they’d been lucky enough to catch up with an actual band of attackers, and it was an opportunity to learn about them.
“Let’s follow at a distance for now,” he said. “They’re likely traveling back to a base camp. I want to see where they go. We’ll figure out what to do once they stop.”
Talyn nodded and they urged their horses into a walk, going just fast enough to keep the caravan in sight without overtaking them.
“The blue monsters the woman was talking about,” Samhail said as they rode. “We call them symbionts. They-”
“I know what they are,” Talyn said. “Or, at least, I’ve encountered them. I even fought them before.”
He frowned at her. “When did you fight them?”
“I was at the gambling den in Solandis when they attacked Cyra and Raina,” she said.
“What?” Samhail said, his head snapping to her.
“I…think I’m the reason they attacked the den in the first place,” she went on.
“Sandrian had me reporting Bressen and Cyra’s movements to him, so I sent him a message that night telling him Cyra and her friend had gone into town for the evening.
Raina tried to misdirect me by suggesting they were going to a different tavern, but I managed to hide in the room, and when they left, I ported through Cyra’s portal before she closed it.
” She paused. “From there I let Sandrian know where they were.”
Samhail couldn’t help the growl that rumbled up his throat.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I wish I hadn’t done it given what happened, but Sandrian wanted to know if Cyra ever left the manor without Bressen. I think he was looking for an opportunity to take her. He must’ve sent the symbionts that night to do it.”
“You said you fought them,” he said.
“Yes, I didn’t realize until later Sandrian had sent them,” she explained. “They attacked everyone, including me, so I defended myself.”
He frowned. “I don’t remember seeing you. I assume you’d shifted?”
“I was the young man with the dagger,” she said. “You pulled one of them off me and shoved your sword through his chest. You probably saved my life.”
Samhail stared at her. He vaguely remembered a young man there who’d been trying to fight the symbionts.
One of the creatures had cornered the boy and was about to slash open his stomach when Samhail had grabbed the thing by its neck and yanked it backwards.
He’d thrown it against a wall and driven his sword through it.
He’d waited until the blue shell dripped away from it, but when he turned back, the boy was gone.
“So you know how hard their exterior is and that they can heal quickly if you don’t kill them fully,” he said.
“Yes, and I know they can infect others who are wounded.”
“Then you know enough to stay away from them,” he said. “When the caravan stops, I’ll take care of whatever attackers we find while you free the prisoners.”
She looked at him incredulously. “Bullshit! You can’t possibly think I’ll let you take on those things by yourself.”
“I do, and you will, because I can take them on without any danger that they’ll infect me.”
She looked like she was about to argue back when understanding crossed her features.
“Your gargoyle form,” she said. “You intend to shift.”
“Yes. They can’t wound me in that form, so I’ll fight them while you release the townspeople.”
She let out a long breath, but he was relieved she didn’t argue.
He had a feeling it wasn’t something that would happen often, so he enjoyed the momentary victory as they rode on.