The ride to the travel site took the better part of the afternoon, their group arriving with a few hours of daylight remaining. DG frowned at the overcast sky as she dismounted the horse and shook out her numb legs. Her hand shielded her eyes from the setting sun and she spun to take in the rolling hills and knee high grass that undulated in the evening breeze. She stopped when she spotted it, a deep swath carved in the landscape, a small 'oh' of surprise falling from her lips. Cain split them up at the perimeter to exam the area, motioning DG to follow him to the northwest quadrant.
"Jeb said they touched down just there," he said with a nod then knelt to examine some divots in the rocky outcroppings, "Bullets struck here. Fired from that side..."
His voice trailed off as he looked into the distance, eyes narrowed at a point in the field of grass.
"What?" she asked but Cain's only response was a sharp shake of the head and he withdrew his gun. He turned his head into the wind and whistled at the others who stopped in their tracks and moved to form a semi circle, all guns trained on the same spot.
"Get behind me," he muttered under his breath as they started to advance on the patch of earth. Cain threw up a hand after fifty paces to halt everyone's progress, sparing a glance over his shoulder at her. He didn't say a word but the intent was clear.
You damn well stay put.
Alone, he completed the final steps, gun trained on some yet unseen target in the grass.
"Hands where I can see them. Roll onto yourstomach real slow now," said Cain, low and calm.
"Can't," came a feminine voice, "I've been shot. A few times, I think. Left leg's shattered."
The other soldiers moved in, surrounding the woman in the grass. DG pushed her way past them, a gasp escaping her in recognition.
"General Jinjur."
The bloodied woman glanced up at her, "Your highness," she said with a nod of her head, "I'm relieved it is you that found me and not the Prince."
DG shot a confused glance at Cain, "Why's that?"
"Because he's lost his fucking mind," she replied, wincing as she pushed herself up to a seated position. She reached down and gingerly moved her leg to a more comfortable position, grimacing as the dried blood at the wound pulled.
"What's he up to?"
"He's got a crystal amulet that will dispel all magic of those near it. He's obsessed. He won't stop until he the OZ and Ev under his control."
"How does he plan to do that?"
"He has a machine to amplify it's power, extend it over the whole of the OZ."
DG shook her head in confusion, "No, no. That makes no sense. It came from the Otherside. There's no magic there. How could a machine from the Otherside help him?"
The General shrugged and tried to run her fingers through her matted hair before they got tangled and she pulled her hand free with a defeated look.
"Don't know but he thinks it will."
"And what's your play in all this?" asked Cain, his gun still drawn and aimed true.
"I've been Evertus's... minder... for several years now. I care for him but I could see the isolation in the castle had made him quite mad. He felt unappreciated, marginalized. Spent many hours in the library just researching any manner that could improve his station. And so when he finally escaped, he came in search of it, that crystal that would make everyone just like him." She paused to swallow and gave Cain a pleading look.
"Give her a canteen. She's been out here nearly a day and a half."
She gave him a grateful nod as one of the soldiers unfastened his container and she caught it easily before gulping the water down. She ran the back of her hand across her mouth, streaking the dirt up to her ear. "I didn't have a problem with him seeking out a bit of power for himself. Nothing wrong with trying to improve your lot in life. But...he started to do things. Awful things." She took another gulp. "He poisoned his parents and eldest brother before locking the other away in the tower as a spare until he could secure an heir." She turned to look at DG. "And that's where you come into the picture. He is obsessed with magic and wanted to ensure his children had it. The surest way to do that would be through you. "
"But when he got here.."
"You were already bound. The artifact was indispensable now. It was the only way he knew to overcome the bond." She swallowed heavily. "When I realized he still intended to take you, I knew it was time I did something. Lillian Cain had become something of a friend of mine and so I sent her and Mr. Martin."
"You wanted to protect her so you sent an assassin to kill her mother?"
"No! It was a warning shot, something to get you on your toes, make you aware that you needed to watch your backs. I wanted you to know something was amiss, to protect you until Lillian could tell you more."
"And the first time the bond failed?"
"He already had the crystal at that point and kept it on himself for protection. That's how he discovered your bond and that it could be overcome. He watched your injury appear out of nowhere. He knew it meant that your bond partner, whomever it was, had been hurt. After that, he settled on plans to take over the OZ and you with it. He had me conjure the storm and guard it while waiting for him to return from the Otherside. Not long after that your boy showed up and I saw an opportunity. In the confusion of the battle I attacked Evertus but he used the amulet and I was powerless. He left me to die here, slowly of starvation, thirst, infection... whichever got to me first. A 'fitting punishment for a traitor' he said." Her eyes drifted to Cain. "You son fell after he came to physical blows with several of Evertus's men. They beat him bloody into the ground but I put him under a sleeping spell, lowering his heart rate and respiratory rate to near imperceptible levels. When they checked him, they thought him dead. Then I passed out. When I woke, he was gone. I assume he made it?"
Cain did not answer, instead his eyes flicking to DG.
"Why are you telling us this?"
"I want him stopped. But you have to hurry. We were last in Foster's Pass," she said jutting her chin in the general direction, "but we always stayed on the move. I don't know if he will still be in the tower, but if you have any chance to catch him, you must go now."
Cain's jaw flexed, "And what if I don't believe you?"
The General shrugged, "I can't make you. But if you don't stop him, now that he has that Otherside machine, no one will be able to."
"It deactivates magic. He can still be overcome by force or the will of the people."
The general looked up at the Princess, her face twisted in a look of condescending pity, "You may not have lived your whole life with magic and so you feel you can go without, but others cannot. What about our healers? They use it every day to save lives. And the protections in the city to prevent invasion? Our borders? Even the sands are rendered useless against it."
Cain shook his head, "That's not possible."
"I saw it myself. He walked right through it, scooped up a handful, and let it trickle through his grasp." She turned back to the Princess, "Even if we used Otherside methods to heal and protect our lands, you'd still have to deal with the people. Those that want their magic back may pledge their allegiance to him. He could control them, keep them in line, and have them do his bidding."
Cain and DG looked at one another, uncertainty and suspicion obvious in their faces.
"Your best chance is now," spoke up the General again, "Our numbers are small. They had to be to move quickly. You just have to get the artifact and destroy it. Then everything will be set right again."
"How many?" asked Cain.
"A dozen, including Evertus and myself."
Cain motioned for DG to follow him and they walked away, just out of everyone else's ear shot.
"I don't like it," he said, "I think its a trap. her and Lily's stories don't line up."
"What are our choices, then? We could wait, but we'll also lose him and that gives him the opportunity to get the drop on us. Right now we know where he is."
"He's already got the drop on us if its a trap."
"But at least he's likely to be there."
"DG, you do realize when I say 'its a trap', I mean its a trap to get at you? As an Omega. I can't let that happen."
"So you want to leave me behind?"
"I think its the wisest course of action."
"And what if you're captured? He's got the artifact. He doesn't need me to torture me, drug me... not when he's got a convenient proxy."
Cain's face twisted into a snarl, "He can't rape you, he can't put his bastard in you if you're not there. I need you to ride back to the City, tell them to send more men. That is how you can help me."
"No."
"I can't stay behind, DG. We've barely got enough men to make this plausible and they need me to lead."
"I am the future Queen! He is my responsibility!"
"And you're mine!"
They just stared each other down, long seconds ticking by, both of their faces flush in anger.
"You can't make me leave."
"I'm not making you. I'm asking."
"And I'm declining your request."
A flash of pain rippled across his features before he turned away, marching back to where General Jinjur still lay on the ground.
"You two," he said, motioning to the younger of the soldiers accompanying them, "You ride, fast as your horse can carry you, to the Queen. Tell her what has happened and have her send reinforcements. Stop for nothing. And you," he said, swinging his finger at the other, "Take the General to Central City Hospital. Do not let her out of your sight. She is your prisoner."
"Wh-" sputtered General Jinjur, but it died on her lips at the cold look on Cain's face.
"She does anything that shows her intentions to be less than noble, you put her down where she stands. Got me?"
The young man nodded and moved forward the shackle the general.
He turned to the others, "The rest of you are to come with me. We've got one chance to stop this from getting any bigger and we're going to to take it. Any body want to opt out?"
Silence. Just as he expected.
"Good. Let's move."