"Look at them, Anna." He waved his hand at the army outside. "They come close to outnumbering our warriors as it is. With command of fire and a dragon on their side..." He shook his head. "They could raze the village without a thought. We have no choice but to surrender."
"And what if they're lying? What if they kill everyone as soon as we give in?" Mianna demanded.
"They don't need to get inside our walls to do that," Terion pointed out. "If they wanted us dead, we would be."
He had a point. Brianna was going to kill her when she returned home, if she was still alive.
"Open the gates," she said tiredly.
Two warriors headed for the mechanism that slid the heavy wooden gates back. Mianna allowed herself a moment to rest her head against her husband's chest.
"You don't have to go down there and face this man," Terion said quietly. "You can let me do it."
Mianna shook her head. "Brianna and I are responsible for the people of this village, it wouldn't be right."
Terion just sighed. He had known what her answer would be before he asked. "What do you want me to do?"
"Avoid these people. Go wait for Brianna and warn her. Maybe she will know what to do."
Terion searched her face for a moment, then nodded. "Take care, Anna." And he kissed her.
Then he was gone. Mianna looked down at the man riding towards the gates, as though he owned the place, and bit her lip. Then she put her hand on her sword and walked down the stairs to stand inside the gate. The warriors of the village arrayed themselves behind her.
The man rode on slowly, and Mianna took the chance to size him up. At first glance, he seemed rather innocuous. In fact, it was the man whose horse trailed behind his by half a length who concerned her. That man, with his greying beard, stared at her with fury.
Her eyes went back to the first man, and she almost took a step back. Dark eyes, flashing fire, bored into her. A slight smile twisted the corner of his mouth and he raised an eyebrow at her as if they shared some sort of secret.
"Who do you think you are?" she demanded angrily, no longer able to stay silent. "My family has run this village for generations. What gives you the right to march in here and terrify my people?"
The man seemed amused by her comments. He dismounted from his horse leisurely, then took a few steps towards her. He stopped just as Mianna was wondering if his men would back off if she ran him through, and gave her a mocking bow. "Lyall Balen, Prince of Isla de Magi."
Mianna was aware that her jaw dropped. She felt slightly faint at his words. Isla de Magi? Did that mean? She swallowed. "You're a mage?"
He nodded. "I am." His eyes crinkled a little. He was smiling? Who did he think he was?
"What do you want with our village?" she demanded.
His eyes met hers for a moment and Mianna supressed a shiver. Why did they seem to see into her soul? Was that what mages did? Then his eyes lifted to look at the men and women standing behind her. Mianna didn't even have to look back to know that they were all staring at him, hands on their swords. He nodded, then looked back at her. "As I said, no one will be hurt if you cooperate. Now where can we talk more privately?"
Mianna didn't like the sound of that. At all. Apparently neither did his advisor. The man with the beard cleared his throat. "Sir, shouldn't we see to securing the village first?"
The mage prince looked over at him. He nodded. "See to it, Urster. Replace the sentries with our own." He turned back to Mianna. "Your men and women might as well go back to their homes and settle in for the night. There will be no fighting."
No one moved behind Mianna. She gave a smile. "I'm not sure anyone here trusts you."
His eyes narrowed. "I'm a man of my word," he said tightly. "You have nothing to fear from me."
"And yet, here you are, invading my village," Mianna said sweetly. She had no idea what she was doing, taunting this man. He was a mage. She was playing with fire. Literally. She laughed inwardly.
"Privately," he snapped.
It took all her willpower not to take a step forward, away from his intense gaze. He glared at the men and women behind her. "I suppose I don't need to tell you that fire and dragons work just as well within the walls?"
He watched her carefully. Just what sort of reaction was he looking for? Mianna swallowed. She turned around to the men and women behind her, though turning her back on the mage wasn't easy. "Return to your homes," she said quietly. "There is nothing you can do here."
The last thing she needed was someone thinking they'd be a hero and take this man out. He'd made no attempt to relieve them of their weapons, leaving the conclusion that he didn't see any of them as a danger. Weapons would not be any use against him. Their only hope was a cunning plan.
Where was Brianna?
Everyone looked at her questioningly and a few hands tightened on their swords. Mianna shook her head. "Return to your homes," she repeated. No one moved for a long moment, then slowly, the crowd started melting away. Mianna swallowed a sigh of relief.
She turned back to the mage. "What now?" she asked through tight lips.
He was staring at her again, but at her words, he straightened up. "My men will make camp outside, but I will need somewhere I can work from. Wherever you normally work from is best. People cope best with as few changes as possible.
Mianna swallowed. "I don't work from anywhere. This is a small village. If people need me, they come to my home."
Did he seem pleased? Bastard!
"Then your home will do nicely. I assume you have an office or study there?"
Mianna nodded. How was she going to get out of this? She couldn't bear to have this man in the same house as her babies. But where else could he go where she could be sure no one was going to try something stupid in the middle of the night?
He was watching her. "I wouldn't dream of hurting you, but some of my men are rather untrusting. If anything happens to me, I have no idea what they would do to this village," he warned. "And even if they somehow manage to take out the thirty men who have come inside with me, there are another fifty outside. I don't want anyone to get hurt." His voice was just loud enough to be heard by the last of the crowd leaving.
Mianna bit back a sigh. Brianna was not going to be impressed. At all. She was useless as a leader. Why oh why had her sister chosen this particular night to go scouting?
"It's this way," she said quietly. She turned and walked back to her home, aware of his presence close behind her the whole way. She heard footsteps approaching as she neared the door.
"The village is secure and all seems quiet," Urster said.
"Good. Tell them to keep alert."
"I will, sir."
The man's footsteps didn't leave. In fact, two other's joined the first. Mianna was strangely comforted by his presence. He seemed to provide some sort of check for the prince's strangeness.
She opened the door and lead both men up the stairs, grateful the bedroom door was closed, and through to the study. She and Brianna really should have a bigger house, or at least one with a receiving room separated from the living area.
"The village records are held here." She almost choked on the words. "If there is anything you need … "
He glanced around the room briefly. "This will do nicely." He turned to Urster, standing at the door, flanked by two other men. "Search the house. I don't want any surprises. You can wait outside."
Mianna felt cold. "There's no one else here," she said quickly. Too quickly.
His eyes narrowed. "Tell me who it is."
The entrance to the basement was hidden, but it wouldn't escape a serious search. "Please, my children are in the basement with their grandmother. They're babies, and they're probably asleep now. Leave them be." Tears filled her eyes.
Fire leapt in his eyes. "Children?"
What did he have against children? Mianna held her breath. He stared at her, and this time it wasn't hard not to back down. She'd do anything she had to to protect Kylis and Lylis.
"Where is the entrance to the basement?"
"Please, leave them alone. I'll do whatever you want, just leave them alone."
He halted at her statement, stared at her searchingly for a moment, then nodded. "Tell me where the entrance is and my men will just guard it. No one will step inside without you there."
Still Mianna hesitated. This man had done nothing so far to make her trust him.
He swore. "Just the room. I can't take the risk that someone else is hiding there."
She should have sent Terion to get the children out, not to find Brianna. But how was she to know this man would insist on coming to her house?
Her mind wavered. He already knew of the basements existence, finding it wouldn't be hard. "It's in the living room," she admitted quietly.