Sky Riders: The Rising Sun
Enemy Hands

Ja’ol’s hand was gentle on her shoulder as they slipped outof the gate. Eliana’s hands were tied firmly behind her back. She wore noarmor, carried no weapons to finish the task she was setting out to do. Hermagic would have to be enough.

The night guards gave them a quick glance before opening thegate. They had all been informed of the plan. A few of the elves had removedthe earth wall that she’d erected against the gate. Now, the gates groaned asthey swung open to resign her to whatever fate lay beyond.

One of Ja’ol’s men held a flag of truce on a staff as theymarched towards the opposing armies. The humans watched them curiously for amoment. When they spotted the bound girl, they began to whoop, laugh, and jeer.Eliana kept her eyes straight ahead.

Ja’ol’s hand trembled on her shoulder as they approached thelarge tent on the far side of the camp. It was flanked by four soldiers, andthey lowered their spears as Eliana’s group approached.

“What business do you have here, defector?” one of themasked. Evidently, he recognized Ja’ol.

“Emperor Nocens gave me an offer,” Ja’ol answered, his voicesmooth and calm. “I’m here to accept it.”

One of the soldiers nodded to another, sending him slippinginside the tent flap. After a moment, he emerged again.

“The emperor says to admit only Ja’ol and the Rider,” he informedthe others.

Ja’ol grabbed her roughly by the arm and shoved her into thetent—putting on a show, just as they’d discussed. Nocens’ tent was as elaborateas could be during a time of war. Though no artwork hung on the walls as in hisrooms in the palace, everything else contained within the canvas was just asfine as everything back in Vereor. Just like in his rooms, a large bed took upmost of the space in the large tent.

The man has a fetish,Eliana thought derisively.

Nocens himself was sprawled back in a large armchair, the pictureof cool confidence; Eliana wondered if he’d positioned himself that way whenhe’d heard they were coming, just so he could make an impression. “Ah, Ja’ol!”he exclaimed as they entered. “You’re late. I was beginning to wonder how longit would take for you to accept my offer.”

“I’ve actually come to make a deal with you,” Ja’ol said.

Nocens raised an eyebrow. “Are you in any position to bemaking deals, Ja’ol?”

The man pressed on anyways. “You said that in order to getmy entire family back, I needed to bring you the Rider and join you. You havewronged me too greatly for me to ever return to your service. Take the Rider inplace of my daughter. That is all I ask.”

The young emperor gazed up at the canvas ceiling,considering the offer. “Your daughter… for the Rider…” he mused. He looked upat them again, grinning handsomely. “Deal.” He clapped his hands twice and thesoldier reappeared in the doorway. “Bring me Shaeria.”

Nocens stood up as the soldier slipped out again andapproached them. With a flick of his fingers, he sent Ja’ol scooting away tostand against the canvas wall. Eliana stood still, her back stiff as Nocenscircled her. He stopped in front of her, gazing down at her face. She met hiseyes defiantly.

“Well, look where you are now, darling,” he said, taking herface in one hand and tilting it from side to side, examining her like livestockonce again. “Do you think you’ll escape from me this time?”

Eliana responded by turning her head towards his hand andbiting down hard on his finger. He jerked his hand back in pain and surprise.As he shook his injured finger, he looked up at her with a smirk, evidentlyamused by her little outburst. She just glowered at him. She was there by herown design, whether Nocens knew it or not, and she would not be treated likecattle.

He chuckled as he grinned at her. “You’re only going to makethis more fun for me,” he laughed.

The flap of the tent opened again, and the soldierreentered, dragging a girl behind him. She was garbed in the sparse clothing ofNocens’ concubines, her wavy brown hair loose across her back and her largegreen eyes full of fear. Above the edge of her skirt, burned into the softyoung skin on her back, was the brand of Nocens’ concubines.

“Shaeria!” Ja’ol cried from where he stood.

When the little girl saw the captain, she let out a sound ofpure joy. “Papa!” she cried. She pulled her wrist from the soldier’s grasp andraced into her father’s arms.

Ja’ol held his daughter to him, stroking her hair as tearsrolled down his cheeks. “Oh, my little girl,” he murmured. “How I have missedyou.”

“Have you come to take me away, Papa?” Shaeria asked. Herhigh voice quavered with hope.

“Yes, my darling,” Ja’ol answered, taking her by theshoulders and looking down into her cherubic face. “Yes, I’m going to take youaway from here.”

She laughed in a high, childish tone and threw her armsaround his neck, hugging him tightly, Eliana’s mouth curved in a small smile.Whatever that night might bring, she felt it was worth it to see those tworeunited.

“Lieutenant,” Nocens said, speaking to the soldier who hadbrought Shaeria in, “see that Shaeria and her father, as well as the men whoaccompanied him, are escorted out of camp. Watch them until they enter Thys. Ifthey try anything, kill them all and bring Shaeria back to me.”

“Yes, your majesty,” the man answered with a bow.

Ja’ol took Shaeria’s hand and turned to leave. Before hedisappeared, he stopped and looked back. His eyes held Eliana’s as he saidquietly, “Thank you.”

“Oh no, thank you,”Nocens answered, assuming the words were directed to him.

She gave Ja’ol the slightest of nods, and he turned and ledhis daughter out of the tent, followed by the other soldier. She was once againalone with Nocens. He turned away from her and grabbed a bundle of cloth from thefloor beside the bed.

“Now,” he said, approaching her slowly, “you can allow me tountie your hands so you can put on these clothes, or I can leave you bound—yourchoice.”

Eliana clenched her jaw and turned on her heel, exposing herbound hands to him. She felt the ropes loosen, then fall to the floor. Nocensimmediately put his arms around her waist, pulling her close to his body andkissing her neck softly.

“There now,” he whispered. “That wasn’t so difficult, wasit? We could make the rest of the evening this simple if you like, or—.”

She jerked away from him and turned around so that she facedhim, arms crossed over her chest. She still said nothing, just watched himdefiantly.

He shrugged, then tossed the bundle of cloth to her. “Putthose on. Your army uniform is rather unappealing,” he ordered.

Eliana held up the clothes he had thrown at her. Sheimmediately recognized it as the same sort of outfit she’d worn when disguisedas his concubine. She frowned at it in disgust and looked up at him. He hadreturned to the armchair, watching her with a smirk.

“You can go in there if you like,” he said, waving his handat a fabric curtain on the other wall. “I’ll let you maintain your modesty fornow.”

She slipped through the flap to replace herself in a washroom.She rolled her eyes. Only Nocens would have a washroom in his tent on the fieldof battle. She pulled off her boots, breeches, and tunic and pulled on thesheer cloth. Her hands started to tremble as the memories came back to her.

This time, both Oriens and Caelum were entirely barricadedfrom her mind. No more mistakes. She would finish this quickly and return tothem. She stepped back out into the main room of the tent, her hands clenchedat her sides to keep them from trembling.

Nocens smiled when he saw her. “Much better,” he said.“Peior!”

The Dark sorcerer suddenly appeared in the tent, as if he’dmaterialized from the air. Panic crashed against Eliana’s chest. Peior droppedto one knee in front of Nocens.

“Yes, your majesty?” he asked.

“Can you suppress elf magic as you can a human sorcerer’smagic?”

Peior’s black eyes turned to her, a sneer of a smile on hispale face. “Absolutely.”

“Excellent. Return to your tent, but prevent any and allmagic in my tent.”

“Yes, your majesty.” And he vanished into the air again.

Nocens stood and came towards her again. Eliana was fightingto control her breathing, which was becoming quick and shallow. She reachedfrantically for that space in the back of her mind, grasping for her magic, butit was as if a wall were blocking it from her reach. What would she do now? Shehad no weapon, and she was entirely at Nocens’ mercy.

The emperor put a hand on her neck. “Why, my dear!” heexclaimed with a laugh. “Your pulse is racing. You’re not frightened are you?”He took another step closer, snaking an arm behind her back. “Don’t worry. Iwon’t hurt you.” His lips brushed her cheek, then paused beside her ear. “Well,maybe a little.”

Her flight instinct took control of her body, and shequickly ducked out of his grasp, running to the other side of the tent,pointlessly cornering herself. Nocens laughed in amusement as he saunteredtowards her.

“Oh, Eliana,” he chuckled, “you do so enjoy teasing me.” Thesmile suddenly melted from his face and he stared at her with an expression ofterrifying anger. “The game is over, girl.”

He dove at her, grabbing her around the waist and throwingher onto the bed. She kicked, scratched, and screamed as he tried to pin her tothe soft comforter. His body weight soon held her legs in place, and one of hislarge hands held both her hands above her head. His other hand grabbed her faceroughly.

His mouth slammed against hers as she tried to pull away,turning her face into the mattress. Tears were now streaming down her face asshe screamed at the top of her lungs. Nocens’ answering laugh was deep andfrightening as he put his hand over her mouth and jerked her face around tolook at him.

“Do you think anyone in this camp is going to come helpyou?” he asked with a sneer. “You’re not the first woman to scream inside thistent. No one ever comes.” She stared up at him, breathing heavily around hishand, trying to control her sobs. “Oh, you’re crying,” he cooed with a tsk. “Don’t worry, darling. You’ll enjoyyourself soon.”

He kept his hand over her mouth, grabbing the collar of hershirt with the other and pulling on it roughly. She heard the sheer, thin fabrictear. But her hands were now free. She grabbed at his neck, digging her nailsinto the skin, clawing his flesh like a wild animal. He sat back with a shoutof surprise and pain, pulling her fingers from his throat.

She felt the weight on her legs lessen. With a great shove,she kicked him off of her and sent him tumbling to the floor. Fear had drivenher task from her mind, and she jumped from the bed, racing towards the exit,wanting only to escape. Nocens pulled himself up, wiping the blood from hisneck.

Suddenly, Eliana was knocked to the floor, Nocens’ heavyform slamming against her. She screamed and tried to kick him again, but hishand closed tightly around her ankle. She tried to scramble towards the flap,but only got as far as the washroom before Nocens wrapped an arm around herwaist and restrained her. She reached out for anything that she could holdonto, but found only the rope that tied back the washroom curtain.

She grabbed hold of it, hopelessly trying to stop Nocensfrom dragging her back to the bed. He picked her up and threw her over hisshoulder. The rope tore away uselessly from the canvas and came off in herhand. She hardly had time to react before Nocens had her pinned to the bedagain.

“Not this time,” he growled. “You won’t get away from me asecond time.”

He grabbed at the skirt, ripping off a piece of the flimsyfabric as he tried to remove it from her body. He’d left her hands free again,and this time, there was a rope in them. Her body acted without thinking,compelled by nothing but fear. She threw the rope over Nocens’ neck and twistedit tight below his Adam’s apple.

His eyes bulged in surprise as he reached up and clawed atthe rope. She grit her teeth and twisted tighter, watching the rough rope tearinto his skin. His eyes widened further, and she listened to him gasping andchoking, feeling him struggle on top of her. He stared into her face, hisexpression now filled with panic and fear. His lips gaped open, struggling forbreath. Then his eyelids slid closed, and he collapsed on top of her.

Panting, Eliana pushed his lifeless body to the floor andslid off the bed. Her hands trembled, and her sobs sounded closer to screams asthey tore their way from her chest. She stared at the body on the floor of thetent, holding her hands away from her body, terrified by what they had done.

She drew two deep breaths, trying to control her panic, toreplace some source of reason in her mind. Ihave to replace a way out, she told herself. Panic later. For now, escape. She glanced around her. She couldn’tgo through the main exit; she would be stopped by soldiers immediately, thenNocens’ body would be found and they would kill her.

A sudden gust of wind shook the canvas, and a cool breath ofair brushed against the back of her calves. She turned around to see the farcorner of the tent flapping slightly in the breeze. It was not properly staked.She rushed over to it and, sliding along on her bare stomach like a serpent,she slipped out of the tent.

When she stood, she found herself on the far side of theencampment from Thys, between the human camp and the forests at the base of themountains. She raced into the woods without hesitation, praying that no one sawher.

Once she was safely in the shadows of the trees, Elianastopped to catch her breath and looked around. No one had followed her. Sheremained just inside the edge of the woods and crept along the mountain towardsThys.

It took her several hours, and her bare feet were bleedingby the time she reached the eastern wall. As she’d instructed, the gate wasslightly open. She slipped inside without a sound. The only movement shenoticed was a lone shadow, pacing agitatedly back and forth in the street. Alarge golden figure sat behind him, tail twitching irritably.

Oriens noticed her first and lifted his golden head to lookat her. She reopened her mind, and felt his grateful relief wash over her.Caelum suddenly ceased his pacing and looked up. He stared at her for a longmoment as she stood inside the gates, as if assuring himself that she was notan illusion.

Then he raced forward and pulled her into his arms. Shecollapsed against him gratefully, shaking once again. After several moments ofsimply holding her, he finally pulled back to look down at her face.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked softly.

She shook her head, unable to speak.

“She has severalbruises and her feet are bleeding,” Oriens said, sensing the places whereshe felt pain. However, she held back what had occurred in the tent, notallowing her dragon to touch that part of her mind.

Caelum immediately picked her up and sped towards theinfirmary. All of the patients there were sleeping, as were the Healers. Caelumlaid her on a vacant blanket and went to arouse Ispera and Laurus.

Oriens stuck his head in through the door and looked at herwith concern. “What happened, littleone?” he asked. “Why are you keepingit from me?”

She simply shook her head, though she didn’t even need to dothat; she knew he sensed her reluctance to call up the memories. She wasn’ttrying to keep it from him. She was trying to keep it from herself.

Caelum was suddenly at her side again, Ispera and Lauruswith him. He held her head in his lap again, his fingers brushing softly overher cheekbone as he watched the two Healers fuss over her filthy, bloody feet.She closed her eyes, relishing his gentle touch.

Her feet tingled momentarily as they were quickly Healed,and the two women searched the rest of her body for more injuries. Elianaopened her eyes again and watched them frown at the bruises forming on herstomach and waist. Her mother’s brows drew together when she took in thetattered state of her daughter’s clothes.

“Eliana…” she asked quietly, “what did he do to you?”

She stared back in silence.

Ispera seemed to understand, and she didn’t press thesubject further. “You can take her back to her quarters,” she said to Caelum.“There’s nothing else for us to Heal.”

Caelum took her into his arms again and carried her out ofthe infirmary. Oriens pulled his head out of the doorway to allow them to pass,then followed them back to the cathedral. Caelum pushed open the door with onefoot and carried her inside, laying her down in the bed on the floor. He pulledthe blanket over her, covering her exposed skin.

“Will you stay?” she asked quietly, when it looked like hewas about to leave.

He looked down at her, relieved to hear her speak at last.“Do you want me to?”

She nodded. He pulled off his boots and tunic and slippedunder the blanket beside her. She moved into the warm safety of his arms andrested her head on his chest. His hand gently stroked her arm. The repetitivemotion was soothing, and she slowly felt the fear and tension slipping away.

“Eliana,” he whispered in the darkness, “can you tell mewhat happened?”

She paused. Then, as an answer, she opened up the lockeddoor in her mind to him and Oriens, allowing the events of the night to replayin her thoughts. Caelum’s arms tightened around her, and she could smell Oriensbreathing angry smoke from his nostrils. When her memories came to the momentwhen she’d begun to strangle Nocens, her determination wavered, and sheresealed the door.

It had been enough; they both understood what had happened,and they knew that Nocens was dead. But only Oriens truly understood. WhileCaelum had only seen her memories, the dragon had felt her emotions throughout.He knew why she’d stopped showing them her thoughts when she did. Her terrorwas not at what had happened to her, but at what she’d done. His mind cradledhers, radiating sympathy and comfort.

Caelum resumed stroking her arm, comforting her once more.“Sleep, my angel,” he breathed. “You are safe now. Sleep. I am here. No one canhurt you.”

She gave into his calming voice and closed her eyes to adeep and dreamless sleep.