TCO: Chapter Twenty-Three

Frowning, Kar stood still, his arms crossed as he stared down at Tarak thoughtfully. Nikan and Tarak were both sprawled unconscious on the ground before him. He had released Sufina, who was being led to safety by one of the villagers as she called for Tarak, tears streaming down her face.

Kar gazed at the handful of Vaznaun that remained alive. They stood near Kar, waiting for his command.

"Bind him," Kar said.

"Both of them, sir?"

"No. Leave the native. He matters not." Kar eyed Tarak closely.

One of the Vaznaun kicked Tarak over onto his stomach and removed the quiver of arrows from his back.

"Mordán will be pleased," the Vaznaun said as he locked two iron clasps around Tarak's wrists and bound them behind his back.

"Leave everything," he said abruptly. "We are going."

"But, sir?" said one of the Vaznaun. "The provisions?"

The Vaznaun cowered as Kar grunted a fierce response. The remaining Vaznaun looked greedily at the items scattered across the ground.

"Hurry to the ship," Kar commanded as he and the other Vaznaun walked away from the village with Tarak in tow.

One of the Vaznaun grabbed and pocketed a colorful, beaded native necklace from the dirt before turning and following the others out of the village.

Sufina, who was being held in a nearby hut by her sister, Tahirah, watched the scene unfold before her. Tahirah had one hand over Sufina's mouth to keep her from shouting. Sufina struggled hard against her older sister's grasp. As the last of the Vaznaun disappeared through the trees, she bit Tahirah's hand hard.

"Ow! Sufina!" Tahirah yelled. She released her and shook her hand as Sufina ran out of the hut.

Sufina knelt and shook Nikan's shoulder as she called his name, a fresh set of tears flowing down her face. Nikan stirred and sat up with one hand on the back of his head. He groaned and looked around slowly.

"They took him, Nikan," Tahirah said as she walked up to the two.

Nikan remained silent for a moment before slamming a fist into the ground, looking furious.

Tahirah helped Nikan slowly to his feet.

"Sufina, come with me," Tahirah said quietly. "We need to find the others."

"He took my—my necklace," Sufina sobbed. "Tarak made it for me."

"We will find a way to get it back," Nikan reassured her.

Sufina stood up abruptly and walked over to Tarak's bow, which lay on the ground several feet away from his quiver. She took a deep breath and stooped to gather some of the arrows that had fallen from the quiver. She placed the arrows back in the quiver and slung it on her back before retrieving Tarak's bow. She stared down at the bow for several moments and then slowly wiped the dirt off the engravings carved inside the bow's lower limb. She brushed her tears away, leaving a muddy streak across her face, and glared in the direction where the group of raiders had disappeared minutes before. "No," she said as she took her sister's hand. She sniffed. "I will get it back."

Nikan led the girls back through the village, where several of the Divakae had already begun helping the injured and repairing damage to their homes.

Minutes later, a larger group of Divakae villagers emerged through a set of trees on the east side of the village with Jalena and Shamira in the lead. Sufina ran ahead of Nikan to the group.

"You are too late," Nikan told Jalena and Shamira as the group reached them. "They took him."

"Can you reach him?" Shamira asked Jalena.

Jalena looked down as she focused her thoughts on Tarak, then closed her eyes to concentrate. After several seconds she spoke. "He is unconscious."

"Can you go after them?" Nikan asked.

"Not yet. We could be detected and attacked if we follow their ship into Kraundor," replied Jalena. "We will need backup."

"Who were they?" Nikan asked.

"They are Vaznaun," Jalena replied. "They work for Mordán," she added at seeing Nikan's puzzled look.

Nikan's expression darkened.

"I don't know if the raid was ordered by Mordán or if the Vaznaun have defied his original order to remain within the confines of Kraundor," Jalena said. "Mordán either intentionally provoked the light warriors with the attack on your village or he is unaware of it."

"What will happen to Tarak?" Nikan asked.

"We begin the mission to retrieve him now," Jalena reassured Nikan. "The last thing we want to happen is for a light warrior to be in the hands of Mordán."

"We must tell the elder masters immediately," Shamira said to Jalena.

Jalena nodded.

"I want to go," said Sufina.

Shamira bent down before her. "One day, maybe. For now, you need to rest."

Sufina nodded, a sullen expression on her face. She threw her arms around Shamira's neck.

"We must return to the Council immediately," Jalena said to Nikan. "We will send resources and laborers to help repair any damage done to the village."

He nodded grimly as Shamira returned Sufina's hug. The two warriors bowed to the Divakae villagers and quickly disappeared back into the forest trees.