Page 4 of The King of Koraha
Shyla considered their odds. They had eight trained fighters and eight without experience against eighteen unknown opponents. With her magic and Rendor’s skills, she guessed that their caravan still had the advantage. She hoped. The thought of anything happening to Anwar and Faizah made her sick.
Without any discussion, Rendor took charge of the defenders. Lota’s official “captain” creased his brow as if he’d like to protest, but Rendor’s calm professionalism soon overrode his discontent.
“They’re going to wait until the caravan is well inside their attack zone before they initiate hostilities,” Rendor said. “This will allow them to surround us.”
“If their goal is to steal from us, they’ll be planning to take the wagons and leave us behind,” Lota said.
“And if they have another goal in mind?” Uma asked. She drove the third wagon.
Lota glanced at where her children were hiding. “Then I’ve no idea what will happen.”
Rendor straightened. “Whatever their objectives are, they willnotbe successful.”
His words energized them. They stood taller and gave him their undivided attention as he positioned the sixteen of them in a ring around the caravan, alternating a skilled person with an inexperienced one. Shyla and Rendor took point with Lota.
When Rendor politely suggested she stay with her husband and children, Lota said, “It’smycaravan.”
Shyla scanned the desert with her magic as they neared the ambush, counting the bumps hidden in the sand. Lota was right: there were eighteen.
The temperature increased as the sun jumped toward apex. Shyla hoped the fight, if there was one, wouldn’t delay them too much.
When they reached the first of the hidden figures, nothing happened, just like Rendor predicted. Since she was much closer to them, Shyla considered sending all the ambushers to sleep. Lota and the others would just believe that they weren’t the target and happily continue on. Except there was nothing stopping them from following the caravan and trying again. Best to find out why they were here and what they wanted. And to then scare them away from planning a second attack.
They kept walking, pretending they didn’t see the figures in the sand. Shyla noted their head scarves had been wrapped to cover everything except their eyes. It was a clever design. One she’d take a closer look at if she had time afterward.
“Get ready,” Rendor said in a low voice.
Two angles later, a battle cry sounded and the figures jumped to their feet and rushed toward the caravan.
Shyla and the rest of the guards braced for an attack as the enemy surrounded them. Except the eighteen armed people stopped about three meters from the ring of guards. They each held a short sword with a slightly curved blade in one hand and a thin dagger in the other—a slashing weapon and a stabbing one. Unease swirled in her heart.
One figure stepped forward. His eyes were the color of honey. Shyla met the leader’s gaze and read his immediate intentions. Not violence. At least not yet.
“Give us the sun-kissed and you can go,” he said to Lota with the confidence that the caravan leader would readily agree.
Shyla suppressed a frustrated sigh. Why did they want her? Did they know who she was, what she could do, or did they hate sun-kisseds that much? She couldn’t pick up anything more from the leader; he was too focused on completing his task and getting paid. He was a mercenary. That was unexpected. The King’s soldiers had defeated all the mercenary troops in Koraha over two hundred circuits ago and they continued to ensure no new troops formed.
“And if I don’t?” Lota asked.
He gestured to his people. “We’ll take her by force. In that case, you’ll risk injuring your workers and your children.”
“Touch the children and die,” Rendor growled at the leader.
“An interesting offer,” Lota said in a calm voice. If she was upset by the threat to her kids, it didn’t show. “Allow me to consult with my advisors.” She turned to Rendor. “Captain, what do you think?”
It was a nice bit of intimidation, calling him Captain. Shyla approved.
“I think we should give them the opportunity to leave before we pound them back into the sand,” Rendor said.
Then she asked Shyla, “What do you think?”
“I’ll go with them to avoid bloodshed.”
Rendor gave her a questioning look. She sensed his inquiry:Can you handle all of them?
She nodded.
Lota faced the leader. “Guess I’ll be the tie-breaker. The answer is no. Shyla is under my protection.”
