horrid intonation would summon only scowls from the enemy. No one from the House of Song would be caught dead playing with such coarseness.
A line of silver caught her eye as the Royal Guard crested the hill.
“Look!” Cadence joined her on the carriage roof. “The banners have the insignia of the two swords. ’Tis Braxten Thoridian’s army.”
“And their awful horn blowers.” Army or not, Valoria untied the last knot holding down her harp. She swung the instrument from the carriage roof and landed on her feet. Closing her eyes, she strummed a mysterious chord full of dissonance. She did not have the power to bring the raiders to their feet like Echo’s haunting tenor voice, but she could elicit the doubt inside their desperate hearts.
She knew the taste of desperation.
The Royal Guard rode into battle at full speed, trampling the outside line of raiders with their horses. As they fought to reach the minstrels, Valoria focused on her music, stringing together chord after chord of unresolved harmonies. Some of the cloths weren’t enough to block the sound, and a few raiders fell to their feet before they reached the retinue. But, most of them charged with vengeance, wielding pitchforks, broken glass, and whatever they found on the side of the road.
Another arrow ripped by Valoria’s face, and she fell back against the carriage. “Lyric’s lyre! ’Tis not working.”
“You have to find something that does, or we’ll all be joining the gods.” Cadence reached in her boot and pulled out a dagger.
Valoria stared at Sill. The dead lands tempted her even though father had warned her of manipulating nature with song. Music could control a person, but it could only entice a force of nature to do its own bidding. Nature had its own way of deciding people’s fate.
She breathed deeply. Could she harness the mountain’s power long enough to save them all? With everyone’s life in jeopardy, risk didn’t matter.
A clump of raiders broke from the group, running toward the carriage. Echo’s voice surged as he threw himself in front of them. He was no warrior. He would not be able to hold them all off.
Cadence growled beside her. “Let them come. They’ll have to get through me first!”
That would take all of three heartbeats. Her handmaiden had a fierce tongue, but her battle skills were limited to needles and embroidery. If only the enemy were thorny roses.
Valoria turned her attention back to Sill and took a deep breath. She sensed a greater presence lurking in those mountains. Now, she had to call it to her. Her voice rang out, sweet and clear as morning’s first light.
“Beyond the borders
Of shadowed paths
A bright dove calls.”
A vast consciousness stirred with a low rumble as if waking from a long sleep. Valoria sensed a power far greater than hers with an insatiable hunger for anything with blood running through their veins.
“Valoria, what are you doing?”
“Saving us all.” Her voice rose.
“Save her brethren
And her enemies
Are ripe to pluck.
Their hearts bleed
With fiery vengeance.
Let their passion
Draw you near.”
An icy breeze blew through her, tossing her gown around her legs. A wall of cool mist rode the wind, pouring from the foothills. Valoria held a melancholy high note, allowing the tone to echo over the meadow before tapering away into the minstrel’s humming. One by one, the raiders emerged from the mist disoriented, giving the minstrels enough time to pull the cloths from their ears. They fell as the dissonant hum of the minstrels’ Song of Power rang in their heads.
Her attention returned to Echo. Four of the five raiders surrounded him. He’d killed one of them, but the others wore him down. He wouldn’t last long. A memory of the old man teaching her harmonies on the harp tightened her chest. She would not see him die.
The lead charger of the Royal Guard hacked at raiders all around him. With one swift blow, he sliced through two attackers, then trampled another with his horse’s hooves. He lunged at a clump of raiders emerging from the mist in the opposite direction.
But, he wouldn’t be going in that direction for long. Valoria strummed her harp. She did not know this particular warrior, but she knew the desires lurking in every soldier’s heart.
“Honor bestowed
On a savior.
Justice is served
When one man outnumbered
Has a second chance.”
The rider turned around. His armor shone brilliantly in the sun. He wasn’t overly large and muscly, but lean and swift, riding with the grace of a dancer, as if his horse were an extension of his legs. With his visor down, Valoria could not see his face, yet his actions took her breath away.
As Echo swung his blade desperately in an arc around him, the soldier came up from behind, spearing one of the raiders. The others turned toward the soldier, their attention diverted. Clutching a gash on his shoulder oozing blood, Echo fell to his knees.
“No.” Valoria dropped her harp.
Cadence grabbed her hand. “It’s too dangerous. Too many raiders still run free.”
“Look.” She pointed to where the mist dissipated. “They flee toward the hills.”
Cadence’s grip tightened. “Still, you should get back in the carriage. There is no place for a lady on a battlefield.”
Valoria ripped her hand out of her handmaiden’s grip. “Tell that to my new mother-in-law.”
She ran toward Echo, darting in between minstrels gathering the wounded and tending to the horses, while the Royal Guard captured prisoners. Her mentor lay on his back in the grass, his gaze skyward, as if he longed to meet Helena and Horred in their sacred temple.
Valoria fell on her knees beside him. The gash ran from his neck to his shoulder, his skin split open by a crude blade. The earth below him blossomed with red. Denying his condition, she tore a piece of cloth from her dress and tied it tightly around the wound. “For a harp teacher, you’re quite good with a blade.”
“Necessity dictates action, my dear.” He studied her face, raising a finger to her cheek. His usually ruddy complexion had paled. His hair seemed grayer and thinner against the long-stemmed grass. “Shouldn’t you be in your carriage?”
“Like a prize to be won?” She shook her head. “I missed my harp too much.”
“I bet a wyvern’s egg you did.”
“Come on.” She hefted him up. “Your carriage awaits.”
