"If you want to save me then let me go."
"I cannot," she replied. "If you return to your army you will die. It is just a matter of time for the Azdaha to conquer your people, but if you willingly fight with them they may accept you. You would not be the first magi they have turned to them and brought into their fold and you would still be alive."
"If that is my choice then your vision will come true tomorrow because I would rather die than to allow the people of Risandea to become enslaved. Now release me before I show you the true power of my magic!"
"Please Farrel you must stay with me tonight! When I was a child I saw you as this distant hope for my people, a reality that was always just out of reach. As I matured into a woman I realised you are more than that to me. I have known you almost my entire life in my dreams and I cannot get you out of my mind."
Farrel looked back at her and noted the desperation in her eyes. She was genuinely sad and she was looking at him like he was her long lost love. He felt for her, he had watched Gabrielle in his dreams many times too when he was still just an apprentice.
"I am sorry," he replied shaking his head. "You might know me Kimiya, but I do not know you and my heart has always been for another."
"I know this one with hair the colour of fire!" said Kimiya as she turned around angrily and walked away from him to a large wooden table in the middle of the tent. It was covered in bottles of all shapes and sizes. She grabbed a long purple glass bottle, pulled out the cork and poured the contents into a silver goblet.
She drank from it until it was drained without stopping or spilling a drop then turned back around and walked up to him.
"When she kisses you does it feel better than this!" she said as she pushed her lips hard against his in a forced kiss. He tried to pull back from her, but it was not possible with his hands and feet so tightly bound.
He waited patiently for her to stop without kissing her back. When she finally pulled away there was a tingling in his lips that remained.
Farrel's patience was at an end and it was time to leave. He did not really want to hurt Kimiya so he started to form the words of a wind spell in his mind.
The words of the spell started to fade however, as the tingling in his lips spread to his face, then through his chest to his arms and legs.
"What have you done?" he asked in panic.
"Don't worry its nothing harmful, but soon you will start to see me like I see you my darling," she said as she produced a knife. He struggled against his bonds as she came closer yet at the same time he noticed how beautiful she smelled.
As she started to cut away the ropes he felt an uncontrollable urge to kiss her neck and smell her hair. She stepped back away from him once he was totally free. Somewhere in the distant recesses of his mind a voice told him to choke her. Instead he stood and watched in awe as she slowly unbuttoned her dress and let it drop to the ground at her feet.
"I wish it did not have to be this way," she said as she led him by the hand to a bed of soft furs in the far corner of the tent. "Yet freely or not I will have your first born, the one who I have foreseen will free my people."
#
Farrel opened his eyes and everything was blurry. He had a terrible headache and felt not unlike someone coming down off a good batch of tarbry. He sat up, rubbed his temples gently and blinked rapidly until his eyesight returned to normal. That was when he realised he was sitting naked on a bed of heavy furs. Kimiya was standing next to him doing up the last button on the front of her dress.
"What the hell did you do to me?" he demanded grabbing his own robes and scrambling to his feet so he could also get dressed.
She turned away from him, ashamed to look him in the eyes. "I am sorry it had to be this way. I do what I do for my people. I know it must be impossible to understand."
"I understand when I am being manipulated and I don't like it!" he replied angrily.
"What would you do in my place if you knew that the first born of the Crimson Magi could save your people from a future of slavery? A slavery of the mind that they cannot even see?" she said bursting into tears.
"What if I decide to kill you right now? Who will save your people then?"
"You won't," she sobbed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and still refusing to look at him directly.
"How can you be so sure?" he asked as he set his eyes longingly again on the flame bouncing around inside the nearest oil lamp.
"Because I have never had a vision that has not come true and I have seen myself with your baby. I have seen your first born defeat the Azdaha. It will happen just as you will stubbornly go to your death tomorrow."
"I have visions too and I assure you that I have not seen my death amongst them."
"Exactly how clear have your visions been over the last few weeks? How far into the future have you seen recently?" she asked earnestly and Farrel's eyes widened with realisation. She nodded. "Why do you think I kept them from you?"
Farrel grabbed her by the arms and spun her around to face him directly."Tell me exactly what you saw in your dream!"
Kimiya gave him a doleful look then took a deep breath. She was about to speak when there was a commotion outside the tent, followed by a heated discussion, none of which he was able to understand.
"In the name of Zartosh you have to hide! Gul will not be able to keep them out for long and if they find you here they will kill us both!" she whispered loudly.
Farrel did not move. "Why?" he challenged. "According to you I will die tomorrow not today, you will live to have my baby and your visions are never wrong."
Kimiya pulled at his robes to drag him back towards the thick bed of furs. "Please," she said pleadingly. He resisted and pulled free.
"What part of what you told me was the lie?"
"I did not lie." replied Kimiya as she wrung her hands nervously. The heated conversation outside reached a sharp conclusion when the reptilian voice of an Azdaha interjected.
"What are you not telling me then?" he urged stubbornly, one eye still on the open flame of the nearest lamp. He was not afraid of being caught, he would burn them all if he had to.
"I don't know where the Azdaha found their magic, but it is very ancient I think. When they have known my visions they have had the power to change the future...and it is always for the worse. They are the only ones who can stop our destinies!"
Farrel still did not know what to make of the woman in front of him. She was either a master manipulator and spinner of lies or he needed to be very afraid of this new magic and his gut feeling was to be very afraid.
Farrel was able to sense magical energy around him, a talent not many others possessed and for some time now there had been a strange magic energy tugging at him and now he knew its source. Not only did the Azdaha pose a threat to Risandea they also posed a threat to his quest. If they ever got their hands on the book of the Makers nowhere in Umijia would be safe.
He wondered briefly if the Azdaha had come for him to get the book and whether his coming to the battle had played into their hands. If so then it was an elaborate trap and he had clearly underestimated his enemy. Yet at the same time he wondered whether the source of the Azdaha magic might in fact be something he had been searching for these past thirteen years. He needed to find out more about these Azdaha
As the tent flap was pushed open Farrel quickly dived into the thick bed of furs and buried himself flat under them.
#
Solomon and Razma finally reached the edge of the enemy camp after making a very slow and careful approach across the plain in the dark. The pair laid flat on the ground as a sentry walked past them less than twenty feet away.
Along the way they had stopped amongst the dead where Solomon had reluctantly removed his traditional Risandean armour, armour that had been his father's before him, and disguised himself in Nizari armour instead.
"Your armour is terrible," complained Solomon under his breath. "I feel almost naked."
"Better for
attack quickly. Your armour is too much heavy. Better die fast than slow like turtle," she retorted.
"When I find you on the field tomorrow you will die fast indeed," he threatened in return.
"It is you who will die fast. I make sure for that," she replied with an angry confidence that was just that little too familiar to him. "First we find your magi. He is only one who can save us all from Azdaha and their mind poison, he must not die tonight."
"At least we can agree on that. Where exactly will they be keeping him?"
"Untie first," she insisted.
"Sorry, but I just don't trust you not to cut my throat as soon as my back is turned."
"You must trust. We are close to Nizari. If I make shouting they will come and you will die anyway."
Solomon stared back at her angrily. She was right, he was already in a stupidly vulnerable position and likely on a suicide mission in a vain attempt to save his friend who may not even be in the enemy camp. Yet he could not bring himself to trust her. If she shouted out her comrades would hunt him down, but he would kill her first and she knew that too.
"By Zartosh I will not kill you until tomorrow in battle," she insisted. He stared at her and she looked sincere. Despite his better judgement he felt somehow reassured. She seemed to take the promise to her god as seriously as he would take an oath.
Uneasily he cut through the reigns around her wrists with his hunting knife. As soon as he did she put out her hand expectantly waiting for him to hand her the knife.
"I want that back and not in my back," he grumbled and drew his sword.
"Follow," she said as she moved into a crouching position and waited for the closest sentry to turn away then scurried stealthily into the camp.
#
Kimiya knelt in the middle of the tent, her head bowed and hands outstretched in front of her on the ground in the position she normally took to enter people's dreams.
She heard several sets of footsteps enter the tent accompanied by a familiar heavy slithering sound. A moment later she felt the firm hand of Gul on her shoulder and she pretended to be shaken from her trance. She looked around pretending to be startled by her visitors. It was Seluku and his two Hashashin bodyguards.
"I apologise for the sudden intrusion Lady of Dreams, but I have urgent business" hissed Seluku. Seluku was not large for an Azdaha, yet he was still able to raise his head above hers while the majority of his snake like body was still coiled on the ground.
The Azdaha had a snake like head complete with sharp poisonous fangs and hypnotic reptilian eyes. Apart from the sheer size the main difference between an Azdaha and a real snake was its short skinny scaled arms that protruded from its body not far below its head and ended in sharp lizard like claws.
An Azdaha was a formidable beast. Its poison was deadly to humans, its body was strong and could crush a man at leisure. They were cunning predators and with their dark magic impossible to defeat.
Kimiya stood to face Seluku, she tried to remain calm, but she was sure that her eyes widened involuntarily. Seluku was the commander of the Vanguard army and he was the most intelligent and deadly Azdaha that Kimiya had ever had the misfortune of meeting.
"It is I who apologize master. I was in trance and did not expect you," she replied dropping back to her knees and specifically bowing down to him.
"Stand," he commanded. She complied obediently and without hesitation. "What new futures have you seen since last we spoke?"
"I have seen no new futures this day. If I did I would have come directly to you my master," she lied. "I have been walking in the dreams of the enemy while they sleep, looking for the Crimson Magi as you ordered."
"Did you find him and kill him as I also ordered?"
Kimiya bowed again deeply feigning great shame. "I am sorry my master, but I cannot locate him."
"Understandable given that the Hashashin also came back empty handed from their raid tonight. Yet still I find it ever more curious that this magi has never been in any of your visions when his magic is so dangerous to our future. Even more disturbing to me is that he seems invulnerable to your dream weaving and somehow knows exactly when to disappear."
Kimiya felt her muscles tense. She had not known about the night raid and she suddenly realised that Seluku was in her tent not for visions, but because he suspected something. She consciously regulated her breathing so she stayed as calm as possible. Azdaha had a sixth sense for detecting fear.
"I have heard some of the other masters say that he has a powerful magic inside him and I believe them after seeing the battle today," she replied.
"Even the most powerful magi must sleep. How is it that he can hide his dreams from you?"
"I do not know my master. I only know that if I cannot see his dreams I cannot enter them."
Seluku slithered around behind her so that the bulk of his body lay on the ground in a small circle around her feet and she could not help but let out a short gasp.
"Why so nervous Kimiya?" hissed Seluku. "Do you have something more to tell me?"
"I am sorry my master, my sister is still missing and it affects me. I was hoping you had come to give me word on the matter."
Seluku brought his head over her shoulder and touched his forked tongue briefly against her skin. He was trying to sense whether she was nervous or lying by tasting the essence of her smell. Fortunately for her the last statement was complete truth, she was desperately worried about Razma and was afraid to even contemplate that she may have died in the battle.
"Unfortunately I have no word to bring you," said Seluku after a moment's pause. "It would be a great shame if she was lost to us as she is a resourceful and loyal warrior."
"Yes master," she replied her voice despondent.
"Perhaps I should leave you to continue your search. It will help you keep your mind off your sister."
"Thank you my master," she replied trying to hide her relief as Seluku slithered towards the back of the tent which meant his body was no longer coiled around her feet.
She turned to face him and prepared to bow when she realised he was now right next to her bed of furs! She kept her eyes firmly on Seluku and did not look at the bed in fear that the look in her eyes would give her away. Seluku stared at her and did not make a move to leave.
"You understand that not all of my elders agree that your mind should be kept free and that I have been an advocate for you and your sister. Do you know why?"
"Because of my abilities master," she replied sheepishly.
"Your abilities make you dangerous! I put my name to you because you have been loyal and so has your sister, because I have never been able to detect a lie with you...until now! Lies are something I cannot tolerate, least of all from you. So please explain to me why I can taste the stench of sex on you if you were in trance up until a few minutes ago?" said Seluku angrily as he reached down and pulled away a handful of furs to reveal Farrel underneath them.
Farrel jumped to his feet instantly and the sight of his crimson robes startled Seluku and he reeled back fearfully. She was not sure who Seluku had been expecting to find under the furs, but it was definitely not the Crimson Magi.
Farrel spoke words in a strange and beautiful language that she had never heard before and a burst of wind smashed into Seluku before he could recover. It knocked the Azdaha backwards and he fell to the ground.
Seluku's Hashashin bodyguards were not so put off by the appearance of the Crimson Magi and they immediately drew their scimitars and lunged towards him.
Suddenly the left side of the tent ripped apart with the slash of a heavy sword and in burst her sister with a warrior dressed in very badly fitting Nizari armour. The warrior moved in front of the Hashashin to prevent them getting to Farrel while her sister grabbed her and pushed her towards the back of the tent.
"Razma, bless the hand of Zartosh, you are alive!" she cried overwhelmed by the sight of her sister.
"Is it done?" asked Razma urgently. Kimiya glanced back at Farrel and nod
ded as he fired another burst of wind at the Hashashin who were now in a pitched sword fight with the warrior. One of the Hashashin took the air burst in the chest and flew backwards several feet and landed unconscious. "Then we must escape!"
Razma turned back towards the remaining Hashashin who was skilfully parrying the attacks from the warrior, who she now recognised from her dreams as the Black Ram.
Razma started towards the Hashashin with the intent of making it two versus one for a quick death. However, Seluku had now recovered and reared up in the middle of the tent. Razma spotted him just in time to avoid a whip like swipe from his tail that was intended to knock her from her feet. However, she was not able to avoid the stream of poison that Seluku squirted from his fangs. Razma had no shield and despite trying her best she could not prevent the poison hitting the bare skin of her face and neck.
"No!" screamed Kimiya. Razma took two of three more steps towards Seluku and swiped randomly in his direction with a large hunting knife before she fell to her knees. Meanwhile the Hashashin was now on the attack against the Black Ram who was tiring quickly and struggling to hold his own.
Kimiya ran to Razma's side and as she reached her sister Seluku coiled his body ready to strike down on her with his sharp fangs.
"I was a fool to allow you a free mind! You are as self serving and deceitful as all other humans. You are a traitor!" hissed Seluku. Kimiya grabbed her sister tight and awaited death, but it did not come. Instead she heard the beautiful strange words from Farrel again. This time he shouted them and this time it was not wind that burst forth from his hands, this time it was fire!
Bright red flames streaked from the lanterns in the tent and engulfed Seluku. He fell backwards and writhed around trying to escape them, but they seemed to stick to his scaly skin until the tent was filled with the acrid smell of burning flesh.
The Hashashin who was still fighting the Black Ram saw the magical flames and immediately fled the tent in terror. Although Hashashin were not the same as Nizari they were closely related brethren and they shared the same belief in the ancient god Zartosh, who it was believed lent his spirit to the world in the form of fire. Where the Nizari embraced Zartosh as a saviour and protector the Hashashin feared him. To control the flame was to anger Zartosh and tempt his wrath.