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the
blade cut the silk? Time will tell.”
    “Go now and get some rest I will be here a while
yet. Sleep well Captain.”
    “By your command my Liege.”
    Before Yamikura had even exited the hall, the Knight
was once again lost in thought. “How has
something so mundane as crossing a few mountains become an
insurmountable task? But more to the point, where and how were my
men killed?” The Knight recalled the two men he had secretly
dispatched ten years ago to map a route through the mountains, each
an outstanding warrior, woodsman, and map maker. They were also two
of his best assassins and spies. He had personally trained the
agents to mute their flame and blend in with those around them.
They would not have been detected or killed easily.
    Yet this simple assignment had cost both of them
their lives. The training they had received from their Sovereign
had left a connection, a tether through which the Knight had felt
their deaths from half a world away. They had died violently
somewhere in the mountains, of that he was certain.
    V
    The tang of a cool sea breeze mixed with the
sweetness of her tea to awaken Kalibra’s senses as she shared
breakfast with her Knight high atop the Northern Ambassador’s
Residence. She luxuriated in the mid-morning sun that warmed her
skin beneath the light robe.
    Lost in idle thought, her gaze drifted across the
expansive view. From the sea’s distant horizon, across the brightly
colored rooftops of Kingsport, to the mountains in the east, she
purred with dual satisfaction. The beauty of the view accorded her
a sense of wonder, while the warrior in her reveled in a single
thought, “Always hold the high ground.” The gardens and palace were the only higher ground in sight. She
gave a moment’s consideration to the pompous king and his
solicitous High Councilor, then dismissed any threat from that
direction.
    Uncalled for and unwanted, thoughts of her years of
imprisonment at the hands of the Red Knight surfaced. The pain and
deprivation she suffered in that dark, damp cell had left its mark,
and the contrast of her morning’s pleasure felt poignantly sweet.
Slowly she turned to her lover who was pouring over sparse and
contradictory maps of the mountain passes, she smiled as she placed
a single kiss upon his cheek, then called him a bastard and turned
back to the magnificent view.
    The Red Knight didn’t even look up. “True enough” was his only thought, content in the
knowledge that even an immortal will never live long enough to
understand a woman, any woman.
    “Yamikura!” The Knight summoned his captain and
handed him the courier case and maps. “These are useless. See what
is delaying High Counselor Deminar and his so called survivors,
I’ll be in the ambassador’s office, have them brought here
now.”
    With nothing left to do but wait, the Knight
returned to his breakfast but found his frustration to be a bitter
spice that spoiled his food. He watched as Kalibra removed her robe
to sun on a nearby divan. The Knight’s thoughts turned to a more
enjoyable use of the time until Yamikura returned with the
minister.
    Kalibra lay relaxed and inviting before the
brilliant seascape. His eyes drank in the beauty of her golden hair
and sensual curves. Her toned muscles flowed beneath smooth skin
that glistened in the morning light. His gaze drifted from horizon,
to Kalibra, to the dagger on the robe beside her. He then recalled
some reports he wanted to read before Deminar arrived and exited
down the Pavilion’s steps unaware of the knowing smile that crossed
Kalibra’s lips.
    VI
    “Myths and faery tales? I ask about mapping
expeditions and you bring me myths and faery tales?” The Red Knight
looked across the desk at the three expedition survivors who stood
before him.
    Deminar joined the three men. “These are not merely
myths Sire. There is a tangible force that protects those
mountains. If my Liege will permit.” The High Councilor walked
around the desk and picked up