Pieces of Eight

Chapter 9

It took nearly twenty minutes to smuggle Areli, Phoebe, and their guard out of the temple using a combination of secret passages, cloaking illusions, and diversions. Finally, to make the run from the temple itself to the stable, Altan flew over the top of the temple again and alighted on the other side, shrieking and roaring his displeasure for all to hear. The small detachments sent to stake out the other side of the temple had fled, screaming almost as loudly as Altan, and Tehraiza had been able to sneak her group along the dragon's side and under his wings to reach the stables.

As requested, her guard's five horses had been prepared, as well as two others for Phoebe and Areli. Tehraiza made a mental note to commend the stable lads and lasses for their timeliness and attention to detail, as they had chosen a deep-seated saddle with a high pommel and broad stirrups for Areli to offer more stability. He'd also received the most level-headed, sensible horse of the herd, one that Tehraiza had ridden on occasion and would trust not just with her own life but any other as well.

The five mages immediately went to their mounts, accepting them with murmured thanks from the grooms and moving to exit the rear of the stable and mount up outside. Their Familiars tagged along, having caught up by now: a snow-white owl, a calico cat, a tabby cat, and a rangy red wolf. Mimi stayed with Phoebe, and Tehraiza with Areli. "Go," she said gently, when Mimi's gaze met hers briefly over the top of Phoebe's petite little mare. Outside, the ground boomed again as Altan sidestepped; his growl reverberated through the entire clearing, and even Areli's blessed saint of a horse raised his head at the sound. The horses were somewhat used to Altan, having been his neighbor for all of their life, but rarely was he this close...and this outwardly annoyed. Without a word, Mimi reached out and guided Phoebe to turn her horse, who had hollowed out her back and scooted a bit at Altan's voice, and follow the others out of the barn, leaving Tehraiza momentarily alone with Areli.

"Will you be alright?" she asked, nodding to the stocky, average-sized bay who had returned exceedingly quickly to gently flicking his ears and sedately looking around.

"I'll manage," Areli sighed, though he leaned on her heavily for support and balance. "I'll have to."

"Hmm." The answer hardly satisfied Tehraiza, but she could not fault him for his honesty. While the clip of shod hooves on the barn floor echoed farther and farther down the aisle, Tehraiza let the worry percolate in her mind and take form. In an increasingly-rare occurrence, she had reached the limits of what she could do. Leaving the temple was certainly not an option: not when she had so recently been gone for nearly a week, and now with Andor and several other goons and their contingent on her front porch. Protective spells, wards, and enchantments would only carry them so far, not to mention draining her own resources. While considerable, they were still finite. There was precious little else she could undertake at the moment, and it was vexing.

"Mother?"

Tehraiza's head and gaze alike snapped to the doorway, where Mimi was waiting, already astride her horse, Phoebe seated next to her, looking worried for the first time all day. There was nothing more to be done, Tehraiza firmly reminded herself, and straightened perceptively as she turned to face the other two women. "I need Aldebrand to take point," she began, looping an arm through the reins of Areli's horse and leading the steady gelding outside. A wooden block had been placed a few paces past the door, to aid in mounting. "Ila, take rear. Suijin, left, Haizea, right. Mimi, you will ride behind Suijin; Phoebe, behind Haizea." Areli made it to the doorway just as Tehraiza reached the block, and turned his horse to stand next to it. Switching to the opposite side of the plain little bay, she placed a hand in the stirrup and a hand on the reins and stood as patiently as the horse as she waited for Areli. "Areli is going to ride in the exact center," she informed them, turning her head to find at least Aldebrand in her line of sight. "See to it that this formation is kept."