Sky Woman: Book One of The Empress Saga

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

With the enemy so close, Enfri needed to be careful. Moving carelessly would alert the assassins to her presence. She didn't know how sharp their hearing might have been, but she wouldn't put it past them to have the ears of foxes.

    Enfri was considering how best to go about withdrawing when she felt as if the entire world tipped on its head.

    The sensation was completely unlike anything she'd ever felt before. It was as if a harp string was in her head, and someone gave it a sharp twang. It sang inside her skull in echoing harmony with a pressure coming from somewhere else.

    Enfri peeked back over the top of the sand dune and looked towards the south. Whatever the sensation was, it came from that direction. She could still feel it, a distant feeling that pulsated against her thoughts.

    She noticed a change in the assassins' camp below. All of them had gone still. Gain and Dashar, their arms bloody to the elbows from butchering the megathon, stood and gazed into the distance. The other four exchanged looks and were frowning.

    "Apotheosis," Josy stated. "A big one."

    "She's a clever young lady," Gain said. "The sky woman misled us. She's been aiming south all this time."

    "You think... that... came from the Aleesh?" Tarlus asked.

    "No, the dragon," Josy said. "What else could have power like that out here?"

    "What are we waiting for?" Maya said. "She's two dozen miles away. If we ride hard, we can get close before the apotheosis fades."

    "Is no one worried what they're doing?" Tarlus demanded. "That was some top-tier spellcasting!"

    "Whatever it was," Gain said, "the dragon must have used up most of its ether doing it. This is our chance to finish this. We can get there by sunrise, but we have to leave now."

    The assassins began hastily getting their provisions together. Gain wrapped what meat they'd harvested from the megathon in wax paper and stuffed it into a sack. The rest of the animal would apparently be left for scavengers to pick off of. Dashar saddled horses. Josy used magic to put out the brazier, then strapped it to the Gaulatian's pack saddle. Tarlus rolled up the canvas.

    Enfri's mouth hung open with astonishment. That echo came from Deebee? She must have just broken the memory ward. This was perfect. The assassins were scurrying to chase off in the wrong direction after the apotheosis.

    The plan worked!

    Jin put a hand on Maya's shoulder to stop her from mounting her horse. "Wait," she said. "Maya, give me your map. Uncle, please come look."

    "You think of something, Jin?" Gain asked as he came to her side.

    Jin knelt in the sand. She unrolled the map Maya handed her and weighted the corners with stones. She pointed at the map as she spoke.

    "We're here, west by northwest of Sandharbor. It's the route we anticipated the sky woman as taking."

    "And you were mistaken," Maya said. She stabbed her finger onto the map at another point. "The apotheosis is coming from near here."

    "Yes, but where would she going?" Jin asked.

    "Altier Nashal," Gain suggested. "The desert's southern boundary is close to the peninsula. Plenty of Altieri ports there. She could board a ship to almost anywhere on the Continent."

    Maya frowned. "All those ports are under our control. Seems a risky plan for a fugitive."

    "She's been living in Althandor this long," Gain said. "She might not be frightened by Althandi banners over a city."