Chapter 1: Welcome Back

True enlightened power arises from self-mastery; thus, autodyne is the primary discipline of the Zentek Path. -- Foundation of Zentek philosophy

***

It was justified, Khris tried to convince himself. City Rangers need to have integrity.

Fifteen minutes had passed, and the rampant corruption of the guards at the Thieves' Gate where they entered Kalsharia City still rankled him. Or perhaps it was that he'd revealed his identity as the Duke of Arborea to force them to stop. For four weeks, he'd managed to travel incognito as an ordinary zentek, although his undercover efforts had not deterred Manticora Cult assassins from three attempts on his life since he and Darnak left Westport. Now his careful planning lay behind in waste at the gate.

He glanced around the busy intersection where they had stopped for a few minutes, to bid farewell to their other three travel companions. People shuffled by, between the horses, the sturdy cottages along the street where many rangers lived, and the horse dung that had yet to be collected. Justinian, his bonded friezitaur, that big, black, woolly ram-horse, was only a finger or two shorter than Darnak's Bansidhe, though both were more than a hand taller than Lynzia's large draft horse. The animals stood by, patiently waiting for their riders to remount and go on.

Lynzia shivered. Khris noticed, then looked up through the slight drizzle at the gloomy, late autumn cloud cover, a darker gray overhead than the perpetual mist that permeated even here, a quarter of a mile inside the city gate. He brought his eyes back down to the striking blonde ranger, all decked out in her usual gray leather and brown cloak, her clear gray eyes level with his, scanning the crowd.

A fine woman, he thought. She and Darnak belong together.

No one came near enough to jostle them, though. It could have been the horns Justinian and Bansidhe kept turning, this way and that, or it could have been Darnak's bulk, towering more than two hands over both Khris and Lynzia, or his armorplate or his weapons. Anyone who didn't know his giant could be intimidated, as he'd been when they first met, ten years ago. Now, he was Khris's best friend in the world, and a first class bodyguard for a member of the royal family of Kalsharia.

I detest our class structure. How does a person's birth station make them any less, or more? Lynzia was the daughter of two priests of the Temple of the Winds, Darnak a rancher's eldest son--were they any less than the son of a courtesan and a Duke? How? Khris sighed.

His friends both looked at him, curious at the sound.

"Crossroad?" Khris said. Best taproom in the city.

"Yes, thirsty," Darnak said, his deep voice just loud enough to be heard over the noise. His brevity in speech no longer bothered Khris. He knew the big knight was just as smart as the average person, he just spoke differently.

Lynzia nodded.

As they retrieved their reins to remount, a young child burst through the crowd and crashed into both Darnak and Khris at knee level, bouncing off each one. Khris turned from the force of the child's rush, but he felt no harm and let the urchin go.

"Hey! Watch out!" Darnak checked his belt, but found nothing missing.

Khris felt a warning twinge from his cognizance discipline. In the instant he took to initiate autodyne, he felt a feather touch at his pocket. His reflexive grab netted nothing, but when he checked the pocket, his ducal signet ring was gone!

He whirled in time to see a larger, booted figure with bare legs plunge into the crowd toward the Thieves' District, its ragged hooded cloak flapping behind like a brown crow. As this thief neared an alley into the cottages, Khris threw a telepathic command.

Stop!

The thief stopped short, as though he'd slammed into a brick wall.

Caught you, Khris thought to himself. He began to frame a command to return the ring immediately when the thief spun to face him.

A maid? No matter.

Then she tore her clothes open for a moment.

Nice try, little minx!

His brief glimpse revealed much: golden blonde hair, long, lean legs, flat abdomen, small bosom over visible ribs, dirty face.

Then his auravision overtook his sight. Her aura blazed into his mind's eyes, colors so vivid they tingled inside his head, a shimmering collage of exquisite life energy patterns: shining intelligence, fast feet, nimble fingers, great potential far beyond the present glows from her novice skills and so on. All she needed was the right guidance and support. But he saw darker aspects, too, of painful injury, severe hunger and some kind of torment he couldn't read. She could just as easily die in anguish, impoverished.

How did that happen?

His auravision slowly faded away. The thief whipped her clothes around herself. Even from this distance, her eyes flashed defiance, her tanned cheeks not the least bit flushed. While he stood caught between surprise and admiration, she disappeared into the alley.

Everything suddenly seemed to rush around him, back at normal speed.

Return me my ring and tell no one else of it, he fumbled at her.

As he lost contact with her mind, it struck him. I did not think how soon, or where. Fog! Will she even respond without that clarity? The uncertainty shook him. Now there is a first!

"Did you see that?" His own choice of words surprised him.

"Didn't take anything."

"No, the lass."

"Kid was girl?"

Darnak paused. He started to wave the matter off.

"What lass?"

Lynzia's comment stopped Darnak mid-wave. Khris suppressed a smile--she had recognized that the child and the thief were not the same person. Observant.

"The one who stole my ring," Khris said softly, his mind stuck on the image.

"Did what?" Darnak's deep voice rose too loud. Some passersby paused to look at them.

"Hush, Dar, don't make a scene." Lynzia turned back to Khris. "What did she look like?"

"Amazing."

Her image was still crystal clear, about two hands shorter and too many kiloweights thinner than him, so vivid and bright. He isolated the visual of her from before and after his auravision seized him. Her eyes fascinated him, round kaleidoscopes of green. His mind kept shifting between her physical appearance and the glory of her aura.

"Aside from that." Lynzia glared as if she wanted to slap him, but brushed her own sandy hair back from her face.

"More important, how'd she get away with it?" Darnak said, his muscular arms akimbo, eyebrows knit.

"The child's interference was well timed."

"But how'd she escape? Why let her? Need that, uh, thing, 'specially if you've impostors around."

Hmm--that could be trouble....

"If you believe those corrupt gate guards," Lynzia muttered.

Khris smiled. "She piqued my curiosity."

"Curiosity?" Darnak groaned. "Gonna get us killed."

"Something happened while I formulated a command to stop her. Her aura was so compelling I lost my focus on my ring. I sent a command, late and incomplete, first time ever for me."

Lynzia shook her head. "Lost your focus? I didn't realize that was possible."

Khris found her wide-eyed look amusing.

"I may be Zentek the Phantom Stranger, but I remain a human being."

"Tell what she looked like?" Darnak said, frowning. "Can't see auras."

"Brilliant."

"My lord, could you be just a little more specific?" Lynzia seemed frustrated, too, her fists on her hips. "How does a person look brilliant?"

Khris chuckled. Even with his eyes open, he pictured his thief with ease. He had to know more about this mysterious minx.

"Golden blonde hair past her shoulders, nice form, underweight, dirty face, and incredible green eyes; clever lass." He reveled in the memory with a vacant smile. Suddenly, he cleared his face, seized Justinian's reins and leaped into the saddle. Darnak and Lynzia hurried to do the same. Once they were mounted, Khris took the lead.

"That's a start, my lord," Lynzia said. "How would you compare her, say, to me?"

Khris frowned at her.

"What are all these 'my lords?' You know I despise our class structure." It was easy to despise the class system as a duke, even while he worked hard to blend in.

"You just revealed your identity in full at the gate," she said, more mildly.

"A miscalculated necessity. Are we not friends?"

"Phantom, then."

"What's your plan?" Darnak said, much quieter now, too.

"Three fingers shorter and much thinner than you," Khris said to Lynzia, then faced Darnak. "My suite, the Crossroad to see Zentek the Valor Seeker, then Castle Justinus to report to my brother, the prince."