Bird of a Flock (Bow 2)

Chapter 25

The Winglord stood at the top of the royal tower, just on the floor below where the sacred crystal gently glowed. Wind billowed around him, his hair whipping around him. The clouds were heavy, but it wasn't raining yet. He could see some of his men searching for his missing son in the distance. They were getting further and further out. Eyeri had managed to give them the slip, and with the Sparrows involved, it was uncertain just how far out he had escaped to.

The only reason he was not searching himself was that he needed to keep his mind clear. They had confirmed now that the person attempting to spirit Eyeri away was his brother. He couldn't fly into a rage like normal. He needed to be calm, collected and not rip the man limb from limb like he wanted to. He could feel Dyn'ad searching, while Nel'os was helping keep a close eye on the few unbranded caw within the city. Not that they thought anyone else was going to attempt to leave, but it was better safe than sorry.

Tai'ray exhaled and dug his talons into the stone railing in front of him, the stonework crumbling like plaster in his fingers as the thought of Eyeri made anger run through him.

Eyeri knew!

Eyeri knew Tai'ray was not about to let him up and leave. He had warned the child Tai'ray would punish him this time. Eyeri knew he would hunt him down. Eyeri didn't know much about k'nairi, but he was not stupid, and he had been watching them with Ryraso. Once a k'nairi had claimed a person, they would have to stay running for a long time to escape them. Still, there was a part of him holding off from being furious with the child because at the end of the day, sixteen or not, that was what Eyeri was. A child who needed guidance and needed security. Something the destruction of the Namya warship had brutally ripped from him. Something which Tai'ray was going to work on giving back to him.

Closing his eyes, Tai'ray counted down from ten, trying to calm himself again when he felt someone approaching. "Yerir'o," Tai'ray called, not looking towards the door. "Come here, please," he summoned. He needed information here, and Yerir'o had more than Tai'ray.

"My Lord?" Yerir'o greeted, falling on one knee behind him loyally.

Tai'ray smiled fondly. Yerir'o was a truly loyal man who still believed in making such actions. The nobles avoided kneeling when possible. Tai'ray was not friends with Yerir'o like Dyn'ad but was aware of his bonded's fondness for the man. Yerir'o was currently the centre for the search patterns, using his knowledge of the Sparrows and Fetmar to give the guards the information they needed to hunt down the troublemakers. The Sparrows didn't typically go up against the k'nairi often enough for their tendencies to be well known.

"What can you tell me about Fetmar?" Tai'ray asked, knowing while he could simply use the link to force his way into Yerir'o's mind and find out for himself, it was far better to let Yerir'o say it himself. More polite too.

"He killed the slaver who tried to brand Eyeri by slitting his throat," Yerir'o said in a strangely fond tone despite the violence of the action he was describing.

Tai'ray shot Yerir'o a bemused look. "Are you warning me that he is a bloodthirsty timebomb?" Tai'ray asked. Neither Ryraso or Eyeri had suggested that Fetmar was a killing machine. At the same time, however, Tai'ray could understand the urge to do such a thing to slaver slum. "Should I be warning the guards to be prepared to face brutal force?" he added,

"No. Fetmar rarely kills. I think he's only actually killed about five people," Yerir'o smiled weirdly. "But it does make that action warrant mentioning," Yerir'o paused, and looked down slightly. "It was not just my influence that put Fetmar on the wanted list under wanted alive. Considering the number of campaigns he has been in and operations he has run it is unheard of for someone of his position." Yerir'o paused again. "He is a very unusual man. He had gone to great lengths to protect his brothers before."