Young Writers Society

Hey again. This be the second chapter of my novel for Tenyo's contest. Please feel free to point out any mistakes and/or tyypos I've made, comment on, suggest things, etc, etc. Crit is also very welcome! Enjoy and stuff!

Word Count: 2052, I think. I hope that's okay, Megsug. The first one was over a little, but at least it's not under 800, right? Enjoy!

Chapter Two

Kaj stared down at the man's face, frowning thoughfully. He looked up at his friend, and second-in-command. The burly man stared back. He'd only just met the man on the ground, who he was sure he'd met before, and then Baraz had to go and whack the poor man over the head! And why hadn't he been able to stop staring? The man was attractive, sure, but really, what in the name of the gods was wrong with him? He shook his head. That was odd, that moment of 'I-think-I-know-you'. Deja vu, he corrected after a moment.

"Did you really have to do that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at him. The big man snorted. It made Kaj narrow his gaze at his friend. That could've meant any number of things.

"Course I did, Kaj," the older man grunted, crouching by the boy. He'd dropped the accent pretty fast, but Kaj could understand why. There weren't supposed to be any Verlisians near this part of the border. They might be thieves, but there were also soldiers. Kaj watched as Baraq nudged the unconscious man over onto his back. Baraq seemed to study the man's face for a long moment before he looked up and grinned. "He's pretty, ain't he?"

He blinked at the bigger man, uncomprehendingly. Then it registered and Kaj swallowed, eyes flickering down to the stranger's face. Devon, he reminded himself firmly. He said his name is Devon. The lines on Devon's forehead were pulled together over his eyes. Even unconscious, the man looked like he was frowning. Kaj was sure there was something off about this whole situation. After all, Devon wore Belasi colours, had a Belasi accent, and claimed to be of royal blood. But Belasi didn't have a prince. Everyone knew that. Unless... Perhaps Devon was telling the truth, and he was illegitimate? That could be why he was fleeing that kingdom. And running straight into ours, Kaj added silently, biting his lip.

"Kaj?" Baraq asked, sounding worried. Kaj jerked his head up, eyes seeking out his friend's. The burly man was watching him closely, barely concealed concern evident in the muddy green eyes that were staring back at him. "You good?"

Kaj cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah," he said, nudging the man on the ground with his foot. He dropped his gaze as he did so, avoiding the concern in Baraq's. "He's pretty--for a Belasi slave."

Baraq seemed to relax slightly as he spoke, a sly grin tilting his lips up and a mischevious spark chasing away the concern. Kaj caught it from the corner of his eyes. "I'll bet he was a bed slave," the big man said, gripping Devon's chin and tilting it this way and that so he could see better. The stranger's hair seemed black in the flickering light from Baraq's torch. "He's pretty enough to be one."

That earned Devon another glance from him. Kaj had to agree with Baraq. He was, indeed, pretty. For a man, of course. Not that Kaj was going to admit to finding Devon attractive--not to Baraq. The big man might decide that he wasn't worthy of leading anymore and try to take over. Kaj wasn't sure if that was what he wanted. "I'm sure he was," Kaj muttered, jerking his gaze off the other man. "We should move camp now. Someone was probably tracking him."

"Across the river?" Baraq asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Kaj scowled at the big man.

"Yes, of course across the river," he snapped, a little harshly. "The water will mess up the trail. Let's just hope they don't have any tracking dogs with them."

"I would put it past the Conquerer," his friend muttered, rising from his crouch. He gestured to one of the shadows lingering at the edge of the torchlight. Another slightly-less-burly man stepped into the puddle of light. "Silas, get the kid sorted and get ready to move camp. We might have some company soon."

"Yessir," Silus grunted with a jerky nod. He strode forward and picked up Devon with barely any effort, striding back out into the darkness. Kaj stared after him. Baraq cleared his throat, loudly. Kaj turned a questioning look on his friend.

"Something wrong, Baraq?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend. He tried to put Devon out of his mind for now, turning his attention to the problem at hand. They had a Belasi slave, were very close to the border and probably expecting guests. He frowned, glancing thoughfully towards their camp.

"Nothing, Cap'n," the burly man grunted, turning to follow after Silus. "I'll go keep an eye on the boy."

Kaj frowned at him. "Don't touch him," he called after his second. Baraq shot him a grin over his shoulder. It made Kaj shake his head. He turned to look back towards the border, keeping the camp and its little fire to his back. Kaj watched for a long time, frowning slightly. Something about this situation felt off to him. He didn't know why. Not yet. He'd find out eventually.

For now, there were probably some uninnvited guests headed their way. Kaj figured he should probably be waiting to greet them. By the fire, he reminded himself, and turned back to his camp. That might be a long wait, though. They were only a few miles from the border, and the river was several more miles off to the west. Hopefully Silus got Devon across the river and secured him before he set up camp. A band of four men wouldn't be too suspicious, right?

Kaj wasn't so sure. He sat by the fire and stirred the stew in the pot that hang over the flames. Rais, one of the twins, wandered back into the firelight, an armful of wood balanced on his shoulder. Kaj nodded to the dark-haired man, watching as Rais crouched by the fire, opposite him, and set the firewood down, tossing some of it onto the fire first. Kaj left him to it.

It wasn't long later Rais returned that there was a whistle from the treeline, alerting him to the fact that they had company. He didn't look up as heard the horse crashing through the brush. There were at least two horses, and one of the riders had a torch. It glowed blue in the darkness. Mages, Kaj thought and straightened up. They have mages.

Rais sat up and looked towards the trees, frowning. His twin brother, Nasim, came trotting back into their little circle of firelight. Kaj took in both dark-haired, dark-eyed man, blinking at them. "They have mages," Nasim panted, bent over with his arms resting on his thighs. "Two of them."

Kaj looked towards the light. "I figured that out myself," he said, jerking his head towards the approaching orb of blue light. "It's the blue that gives them away."

Nasim snorted. "You wouldn't have known how many if I hadn't been keeping watch."

Kaj shot him a look that told him to shut up. Nasim promptly shut his mouth and ghosted towards one of the tents. His brother seemed to hover for a moment, considering whether he should stay or go after Nasim. Eventually, Rais head for the tent his brother had vanished into. That left Kaj there alone in the middle of camp, sitting by the fire. He went back to stirring the pot on the fire.

"Ho, there!" someone called. Kaj watched them from the corner of his eyes. It was a scout and another soldier, both on horses. The scout wore Belasi colours; bronze and purple. Kaj frowned. The moved a bit closer before dismounting. The scout was the one who spoke again; "This your camp?"

He chuckled and looked towards the pair. "What's it look like to you?" he asked, gesturing around. "Of course it's mine."

The scout frowned. The other soldier scowled in his direction. Kaj turned his attention back to the pot. "You the only one here?" the other soldier grunted, eyes darting over their tents and then back to him. Kaj noted that the man wore a cavelry captain's uniform; the three gold leaveson his right shoulder giving that fact away, along with the spurs on his boots. "A lot of tents for one man."

"Really?" Kaj turned towards him, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not the only man here; there's three others."

At that moment, Baraq came striding back into the firelight, a large deer slung over one shoulder and a bow in hand. The quiver full of arrows sat on his left hip. "There a problem here, Cap'n?" he asked, striding right up to the empty space on the opposite side of the fire. He dumped the deer on the ground and eyed the pair of Belasians waily. "Cap'n?"

"No problem, Baraq," Kaj said, dismissing the glances the pair of Belasians sent him. He slanted a look at the scout and the Belasi captain. "These two men were just paying us a visit."

"You're a captain?" the Belasi captain asked, disbelief evident in his tone and on his face. The scout beside him shifted uncomfortably. "Bit young, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." Kaj dismissed them in favour of turning back to the pot. He began stirring as the enemy captain's eyes followed his every move. He decided to ingore the comment about his age. "Aren't you on the wrong side of the border?"

"You seen a Belasi slave in the area?" the captain asked, completely ignoring his question. The scout lowered his head. Kaj thought he seemed ashamed. The captain, on the other hand, was frowning again. "You look like you've been here a while."

Kaj glanced towards him. "There's a slave on the loose?" he asked, feigning surprise. His act seemed to convince the other men. "We've been hunting. I haven't seen anyone. You seen any slaves, Baraq?"

"Nope," Baraq grunted. "Just deer and plenty of rabbits."

The Belasi captain's frown faded and an angry look crept onto his face. "You said there were three others," he said, tone somewhat harsh. He was getting suspicious. Kaj couldn't have that. "There's one," he added and gestured to Baraq. "Where's the other two?"

"Rais, Nasim," Kaj called, letting the soup spoon drop back against the side of the pot. "You can come out now."

The twins stepped out of their tent, frowning. One was rubbing sleep from his eyes. Kaj knew it was an act, but would the Belasians? "What's up, Cap'n?" Rais called, shoving his brother towards the fire. "Nas and I were sleepin'."

Rais stopped short when he spotted the two enemy soldiers. Nasim, the one who'd been pretending to rub sleep from his eyes, squinted at them. "Ain't you pair on the wrong side of the border?" he asked, tilting his head to one side. "Rais, ain't there a treaty 'bout that?"

"Sure is, Nas. And them two, they're definitely on the wrong side of the border."

Kaj wanted to laugh, and he very nearly did, though he managed to shove it back down before it got out. "You two seen a Belasi slave about?" he asked, jerking a thumb at the two enemy soldiers. "These two are looking for one." Both of them gave him a blank look, so Kaj turned back to the enemy. "You see? None of use here have seen any slaves."

"Right, then," the captain grunted and grabbed the scout by the scruff of his shirt. "We'll be on our way. G'night, boys." He proceeded to drag the scout back towards the horse and shove him towards the white mare before he hopped onto the other horse still waiting half-way between their camp and the treeline.

"I won't tell the king I saw you," Kaj called after them. The other man waved a hand and snatched the scout's reigns out of his hands. Kaj watched as he turned both horses back the way they'd come and kicked them into a trot. He had a feeling the scout was going to cop a good beating when the pair got back on their side of the border. He waited until he was sure they were gone before he turned to his men. "Get this camp packed up and moved. I think we need to have a little chat with our captive, don't you?"