“What happened to the rowboat? Did it rejoin the main ship?”
“Surprisingly, no. The main ship left to avoid the aftermath of the wave. Mingus here saw the rowboat land.”
Erich turned to the hulking man who stood by the door. “What happened to the Majis?”
“She disappeared into the woods,” Mingus said. “I tried to follow her, but I was a long way off. By the time I got to the boat and the woods, I couldn’t find her trail.”
“Have we sent out a search party?” Erich whipped back around to face the general.
“Yes.” He sighed, the shadows under his eyes seeming to grow twice as large. “But we have precious few men to send. We need every able body here in preparation for the next attack.”
“We can’t leave someone that powerful to freely roam our lands!” Erich did not attempt to hide his shock, though he did hope he’d masked his fear.
“I’m doing the smartest thing I can with the resources I have.” The general’s words were kind, but his tone was obviously meant to remind Erich that one of them was far more experienced than the other.
“Iseldis is grateful you are here,” Erich said, speaking in the voice his father often used. “If you hadn’t been here in time for this attack, the enemy could have easily taken over this shoreline entirely.”
The general shook his head. “It isn’t enough.”
Erich guessed the man hadn’t slept in the two nights since the attack. “I have some knowledge of tracking,” Erich said. “As you do not need my help personally here, I could take on the mission of tracking this Majis.”
The general looked up, his eyes shrewd. “This is a dangerous task, Your Highness.”
Erich held his shoulders tall. “It is my kingdom that she will be ravaging. This feels like the appropriate balance of responsibility. You remain here to aid in the defense of the whole continent, even though it is on Iseldis’s shore. And I will traverse the lands I know well in search of the enemy.” This was his chance to prove himself and ensure that justice was meted out, for his men and for his father.
The general nodded slowly.
Erich thought he saw a new flicker of respect in the older man’s eyes.
“I don’t have enough resources to refuse this generous offer,” Gautho said. “You are sure you can take on this danger?”
“No,” Erich responded honestly. “But no one is prepared for this.”
“So be it,” the general said. “Let me know how I can support you before you leave.”
Erich nodded, then turned to the squire. “Can you tell me what this Majis looked like?”
The large man scrunched his face in thought, his mouth forming a round shape. “She was some distance away.” He pointed at the stone wall of the study as if he could still see her. “She was dressed all in...” His forehead creased even more and he closed his eyes. “Brown. Sandy brown like the sand. I didn’t get a good look at her face, but her hair was on fire.”
“What?” Erich had been committing the man’s every word to memory, but his last comment made no sense. “She was on fire? Perhaps she was not the Majis, but a poor villager who had been hit by the fireball attack from the larger ship.”
“No.” Mingus had opened his eyes, and his whole expression went wide as well. “She was glowing, it wasn’t actual fire, see, it was just... her hair.”
Erich did not see. “Her hair was glowing?”
Mingus nodded solemnly. “With fire.” He shuddered slightly. “She’s a powerful sorceress, that one.”
Erich needed no convincing of that. “Thank you, Mingus.”
The man nodded, glancing toward the general for his next orders. General Gautho waved his hand in dismissal and Mingus stepped back to his post by the door.
Chapter 10
Aizel slipped off her horse, clinging to the mare’s mane in an attempt to support her exhausted legs.
After taking her to a building on the coast, the Quotidian soldiers had held her in a small pantry-like room. It was partially underground but had broken shelves lining the walls and the remnants of dried herbs hanging from the low ceiling beams. They had also taken away her one small sack of supplies. Hopefully, her mother wouldn’t be too disappointed about losing the small heirloom bottle—if Aizel ever saw her again.
Rather than put her immediately on a ship headed back to Istroya, however, the Quotidian soldiers had brought her inland. No one told her where they were going, and she had no voice with which to ask them. Their journey had taken a fortnight and despite their official-looking uniforms, the soldiers had only traveled with her under the cover of darkness.
