A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers, and here's Chapter 3! I'm sorry for the delay, this chapter took me awhile to figure out.
Disclaimer: All this belongs to Tamora Pierce, except to the characters you recognize.
Whispering Winds: Chapter 3
Kayla halted Whirlwind for the second time that day and looked around. Beside her, Kyianna reigned in her gray mare and glanced at her cousin.
"What's wrong Kay?" She asked, her hushed tones not rising above the forest sounds.
Kayla gazed at her surroundings for a moment before shrugging. "I don't know," she murmured after a moment. "I keep feeling like we're being followed."
"We are," Kyia pointed out, amused. Kayla glared at her cousin.
"That's not what I was referring to," she retorted, glancing behind them. Along the well-beaten dirt path that traveled through the middle of a dense forest came their entourage. It was assembled from servants, soldiers, trunks, and clothes—all things Kayla didn't want to take with her, but had to. This assembly had slowed down their travel time, and it meant that they wouldn't get to Corus for another four days.
On her other side, Shyam's bay stallion pranced in agitation. Shyam glanced at her. The Shang Wolf was used to traveling, and had immediately accepted the job of guarding the two princesses. He glanced at Kayla quizzically.
"I feel like we're being followed by someone that means us harm." Kayla answered his unspoken question.
"We have guards," Shyam pointed out.
Kayla nodded. "I know," she murmured, "I just can't shake this feeling."
The Shang Wolf shrugged, looking dubious, but beckoned the captain of the guards towards him. Keianna had made them take one squadron of guards, even though Kayla, Kyianna, and Shyam could all take care of themselves.
"Brayden," he murmured, "could you send out a few more scouts? There's a possibility we're being followed." The captain of guards gave him a dubious look, but the Shang Wolf was not known for being paranoid, soBrayden simply nodded and moved urged his horse back to where his squad was marching behind the caravan.
The sky was stained red as the day drew to a close. Kayla sighed as their small caravan chose a large copse in which to spend the night. Dismounting and untacking their horses in a smaller, grassier clearing, Kayla and Kyianna fought their way through the small stand of trees that separated the copse from the clearing, taking theirsaddlebags with them.
Silence reigned over the camp as the sentries posted all around thecopse settled into their posts. Shyam sat before the fire, deep in thought, while Kayla drew a brush through her cousin's long brown-black hair.
Drawing the brush through Kyia's hair one final time, Kayla stood up and brushed off her pants. Smoothing the tendrils of hair away from her face, she helped her cousin up. Grinning, she glanced at Shyam, and then at Kyia.
"Let's go groom the horses before we settle in for the night," she suggested, and Kyia nodded eagerly; grooming their mounts always helped them relax. Kayla glanced at the Shang Wolf, who merely nodded in approval.
Kayla hesitated at the edge of the clearing, mentally checking that all her daggers were in place. One dagger rested in a flat sheath, which hung around her neck next to her cat pendant, while two others were in wrist sheaths. She had one dagger in each boot, and one more dagger hung in open sight on her belt. Along with being well skilled in Shang arts and having a well-trained Gift, she was a formidable opponent.
Kyianna saw her hesitation and nodded, returning to her saddlebags to retrieve her crossbow and a quiver full of arrows. Like her cousin she was trained in the Shang techniques and had an advanced Gift as well, but her mother had taught her to master the crossbow, not daggers.
Running a comb down Whirlwind's neck, Kayla sighed. The sky above them was beginning to turn purple, but the faintest streaks of orange still shone on the horizon. A crackling noise made Kayla pause, but when the horses paid no attention to it, she relaxed. The crackling noise came again, louder this time, and Whirlwind raised her head; beside her, Rianna did the same. Ears pricked, both horses stared into the growing twilight, listening for something.
Kayla exchanged a wary look with Kyia and slid around her horse so she could see the trees. Whirlwind pawed the ground, but continued staring at the trees. Grasping the dagger in her belt, Kayla pulled it free, listening to the slight hiss the blade madeas itpulled free. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Kyia string her crossbow, bend it, pull an arrow from her quiver, and knock the wooden shaft.
Kayla watched silently as a man appeared from the trees, wearing dark clothes. The dusk made it seem like he appeared out of nowhere, and other silent figures poured out of the trees at his silent gesture.
Kayla watched the bandits appeared, her blood pulsing as she counted twenty. Not a large number in the scale of bandit attacks, but when it was two girls against twenty bandits with no other help, the odds were different.
The bandits moved in, closing around the two. Kayla threw her dagger, blue-green eyes flashing, easily killingone of her attackers. Beside her, she could hear the familiarringing noise the arrows made as Kyia made her mark every time.
After taking down six men, Kayla reached for another dagger and found that she had none. One of the men, seeing that she was seemingly defenseless, advanced, a leering grin on his face. Kayla waited until he was within two feet, and then she lashed out, her fist connecting with his temple. The man went down and stayed down.
Out of opponents for the moment, Kayla turned to see how Kyia was faring. Ten men lay on the ground, dead, each with an arrow to his heart. Four men still remained; two were battling Kyia's silver Gift and losing, the leader stood back, watching all this carnage with a malicious grin on his face, but where was the fourth man?
The answer came as two strong arms wrapped around Kayla's neck from behind, bringing a shimming blade to rest inches from her neck. Kayla stood still, knowing that even the slightest movement could slit her throat.
She seemed to be out weapons. Her mother had taught to always rely on the weapons you had on hand first, and your Gift second. It kept you from using your Gift as a crutch, so that if it was ever taken away from you, you wouldn't be helpless.
Kayla had used allher daggers; there was no way she could retrieve them, andshe couldn't use her Shang techniques without slitting her throat by her own movements. Her Gift was the only thing she had left, and she wasn't sure if she could use it to kill. Uncertain, Kayla stood still. Suddenly, she brought her hands up, blue Gift streaked with green glittering in her palms. At her neck, the silver cat pendant's eyes suddenly glowed with a blue-green light.
Bracing herself for what she was about to do, Kayla was unprepared for the man's yelp. Confused, Kayla almost twisted around, but stood still as she remembered the dagger at her throat.
The man yelped again, and jerked the dagger away from Kayla's neck, but in doing so, sliced a gash in her arm from shoulder to wrist. Hissing slightly at the pain, Kayla wrenched herself out of the man's grasp and turn around to see what had distracted him.
Blue eyes blazing, her silverfur fluffed up two times its size, Danika clung to the man's head with all four paws, claws extended into his scalp. Adding to his pain and confusion, Solana, Kyia's black cat, launched herself from Whirlwind's back to claw the man's shoulder, green eyes flashing.
The man cursed, the blood from the vicious scrapes from his scalp dripping into his eyes. Yowling, Danika sheathed her claws and leapt onto the ground; Solana followed suit. Both silver tabby and black cat hissed at the man before retreating to higher ground—Whirlwind's back.
The dull thump of an arrow meeting flesh stopped the man in his tracks: Kyia had retrieved one of herarrows. Kayla looked up, relieved, but her relief died as the leader advanced. One look at her cousin told Kayla that Kyia was as exhausted as she was, and in no mood to do any more fighting.
Grinning maliciously, the leader unsheathed a long sword. Kayla braced herself, calling to her Gift. She never got a chance to use it.
Appearing out of nowhere, the Shang Wolf took the leader down with a flying kick, hazel eyes furious. A few more blows, and the man lay on the ground, his own sword through his heart.
Panting, Shyam Aldensurveyed the scene around them. "Well, I guess you were right, Kayla," he said calmly. "We were being followed."
Kayla nodded, too preoccupied by the searing pain in her arm and the blood loss that was causing her to feel faint. Kyia saw Kayla start to sway, and she hurried over to steady her cousin. Grateful for the support, Kay leaned on her cousin as she fought the darkness that threatened to overcome her vision.
Motioning to the soldiers that had arrived just moments earlier, Shyam helped them dispose of the bodies as Kayla and Kyia cleaned their bloody weapons, placing arrows in the quiver and resheathing daggers.
Returning, Shyam motioned them back towards camp. Trudging through the trees, Kayla stifled a yawn. Nextto her, Whirlwind pushed the girl with her nose; they had decided tomove the horses to the copse, now that the other clearing was stained with blood. When they reached the copse, Kaylatipped her head back and stared up at the sky in wonder. A multitude of stars twinkled down at them from the black velvet sky. Staring up at the sky as she slipped into her bedroll,Kay drifted off to sleep, wondering about life in Tortall.
Two days later, their caravan joined other travelers on the main road that led to Corus. In the first two days, their caravan drew attention, both atits size and the royal-looking people accompanying it. The murmurings and whispers, brought to them on the wind, grew louder and morefrequentas they approached the capital of Tortall.
Amazed by the sheer size of it all, Kayla was silenced as they rode through the gates. The markets were closed because of thesteady rain thatfell, causing the sky to be gray and cloudy. In the distance rose an imposing gray-and-white structure: The royal palace.
Despite the rain, the searing pain from her wound, and her exhaustion from the long trip, Kayla grinned.
They had made it to Corus.
A/N: I hoped you liked Chapter 3, and in Chapter 4, we get to meet the royal family! Please tell me what you think by pushing the little button down there!
