A Dragonbird in the Fern

by Rueckert, Laura

  “The south!” exclaimed Jonas. “So that’s how the dissidents have been financing their fight against our queen!”

  Aldar let go of the staff with one hand and held up a finger. “They said if we were willing to trade with them, they’d stop contesting possession of the Stekk Ilens islands when they came into power. It’s the best thing for Farnskag.”

  Jonas grabbed the bars of his cell with both hands. “Those people will never come into power! The queen is too strong. They only”—he rubbed his head as he groped for the right words—“rile up some fanatics, try to convince them we should invade and take the entire western portion of Farnskag. No matter what they tell you, if the dissidents ever were successful, Stärkland would have both the islands and your land.”

  “Quiet!” Aldar slammed his staff against the bars, just missing Jonas’s knuckles, and Jonas flinched backward.

  There was no way I could overpower a man as tall and strong as Aldar. Freyad could surely do it, but I had no idea how long it would be before she arrived. No. I needed to make it out of the prison, to tell Freyad or another guard what he’d done and that he was still in Baaldarstad. I made a tiny sidestep. Maybe if I moved gradually enough, Aldar wouldn’t notice me making my way toward the stairs. Jonas’s eyes flicked to me, and he asked Aldar loudly, “How much money did you earn?”

  He was trying to distract Aldar. Good.

  “Tell me how much!” Jonas yelled, slamming his palm against the prison wall with a whack.

  I took another step, and Aldar jabbed one end of his staff through the bars. As Jonas leaped backward, I edged a few inches farther.

  “That’s none of your concern. Shut up, prisoner.”

  “What are you going to do?” Jonas shrugged exaggeratedly. “Kill me?” He waved to the bars and made an obscene gesture.

  Aldar smirked softly, dismissing him with a roll of his eyes. “I’ve worked so hard for this, and almost everything is in place. Once you’re gone, my story will be the only story. I just had to wait until this place was nearly unguarded to tidy up the remaining mess.” He turned the staff so that the sharper end faced Jonas’s head. Aldar knew what he was doing; the weapon would be long enough.

  I was about to make a final run for the stairs when Aldar’s eyes slid to me. In the wavering light, the zigzag border on his leaf tattoo appeared to be one thick line. My breath caught, and though I knew running for help was the smart thing to do, I couldn’t wait a second longer before knowing for certain. “You killed her, didn’t you? Admit it,” I said, my voice low and controlled.

  He smiled that friendly, charming smile that had been the first other than my husband’s to make me feel welcome among the Farnskagers. “We’d met on several occasions. One day, she asked my opinion on a treaty proposal. I couldn’t let it happen.” He wiped his brow. “I didn’t let it happen.”

  How could he stand there so calmly? I wanted to scream, but my throat ached with the tears I held back.

  “You . . .” he said, “Why did you even come to Farnskag? You were never supposed to be here. Queen Ginevora should have been so angry at the fact that Raffar wanted to propose during the mourning period that she sent him packing.”

  During mourning? Aldar had known about the Time of Tears?

  I shook myself. Of course he had. Who else would have informed Raffar of Mother’s message to come? It had obviously been simple to change the date.

  Aldar sighed. “If you would have just stayed in Azzaria, you wouldn’t force me to take care of you too.”

  “Take care of me?” I whispered as the last dredges of hope in my heart shriveled up and died.

  The translator jabbed at Jonas but missed him. Then he turned to me. Aldar raised his staff, and I mirrored him. I was close to the stairs, but I’d never be able to turn and run without him striking me down. I wasn’t deluded enough to think I could beat him alone in a fight.

  Scilla! I shouted in my mind. It might be the last thing I would do, but I had found Scilla’s killer. She needed to know.

  When I didn’t sense her presence, I muttered under my breath, “Scilla, did you hear that?”

  Aldar shook his head and expelled a loud breath. “Crazy Azzarians . . . afraid of ghosts.” With a practiced leap, he bounded forward, slamming his staff in my direction.

  I thrust my weapon up to block, but his blow was so strong, my arms collapsed against my chest. Vibrations stabbed all the way to my elbows. I forced Aldar away, but he rushed me again. The staffs cracked against each other. I shoved him back once more, but I wouldn’t hold out long.

  “Freyad!” I yelled. “Help! Anyone!”

  Jonas paced like a caged wildcat on the other side of his bars, but he couldn’t do a thing to aid me. Aldar’s weapon pounded in my direction again. He didn’t go for my head, like I’d expected, but banged his staff against mine instead. He tilted his head to the side, his smile friendly and placating, like all those times he’d encouraged me during my lessons. My insides curled in on themselves. I took in a deep breath, ready to let out my loudest scream.

  “I closed the doors upstairs,” he said. “No one will hear you. And it appears you’re tiring already.” The mmm that always sounded so good coming from Raffar’s lips slipped from Aldar’s, and my stomach clenched again.

  Slam!

  My arms shuddered, but I pressed him back and shook them out. Jonas held both hands through the bars and motioned that he’d grab hold if only I could get Aldar close enough. Steeling myself, I bounded in Aldar’s direction, throwing all my weight at him.

  My feeble blow didn’t even make him stumble. He chuckled, and furious heat shot up the back of my neck. I wanted to beat his laughter out of him. Rage boiled inside me so strong, I felt like someone else—maybe I’d become a living earthwalker after all. If I could have killed him with my stare, he would have been dead a thousand times over.

  My breath caught. Me, as an earthwalker, made me think of death . . . and the Watchers. And that reminded me I still had Watcher of Water. The gods knew I was not eager to die, but no matter what Aldar did, no matter how much he hurt me, I would stay in this world. Aldar would not be rid of me, and I would make sure he was punished for his actions. Freyad would be here any moment. I just had to keep Aldar busy until she did, until she could take him captive. Scilla needed to know that Aldar had been found, and she needed to know there would be justice. I would make sure of that—no matter what it cost me now.

  “You might kill us, but you think you still have a chance?” I cried, sidestepping as he made a leisurely swipe at me. “Everyone has heard the truth about you.”

  Aldar shook his head and expelled a tsk sound. “I’ve known Raffar all my life. Maybe a select few have been told about your ‘suspicions,’ but he wouldn’t ruin my good reputation without speaking to me. Most likely, everyone who’s heard your story will die in battle anyway.”

  He smacked the knuckles on my left hand so hard, needles of pain shot up to my shoulder. When I winced, he pursed his lips. “Enough of this,” he said. “I’m needed elsewhere.”

  He bent his legs and squared his shoulders. There was no way I’d wait for his attack. I had to make sure he didn’t hurt anyone else. And he had to pay for what he’d done to my sister. “Scilla!” I screamed, running at him with all my strength. “This is for you, sister!”

  Our staffs clashed, and Aldar tripped back a foot or so, but not far enough for Jonas to grasp him. A tiny grunt escaped his throat. “It’s not like you can help your sister anymo . . .”

  His words died off. Out of nowhere, a jagged red line etched into his skin from below his left eye to the corner of his mouth. He slapped at it, like it was a pesky mosquito.

  But I knew the truth.

  Egging on an earthwalker was dangerous. They were unpredictable. But she said I understood her. I could only pray she understood me, and that Aldar would remain her only target. “Again, Scilla!” I panted.

  A second streak tore the right side of his face.
r />   “Yes!” I shouted.

  “What?” He turned to look behind him, and I gathered the last ounce of strength in my arms to swing the staff with all my might. He swiveled back and blocked me, but I managed to shove him a couple of steps toward Jonas’s cell. Only a few inches separated him from Jonas’s hands now.

  Aldar braced his staff in front of his chest. His arms were strong again, and he shrugged off his uncertainty with the cuts. Like many injuries from Scilla, they were shallow and wouldn’t hold him back. If only she’d kill him.

  Aldar assumed a striking stance. My wobbly arms raised the staff, but it was so heavy. Blood trickling along the planes of his face, Aldar kicked at my weapon, and before I could so much as breathe, his staff came crashing down on my head.

  Black and white flashes exploded behind my eyes, and I just barely heard Jonas shout, “No!”

  So much pressure and pain. Shards of glass sliced down my spine, and my arms turned to mush. Aldar watched me for a second, then he carefully leaned the staff against a wall and reached behind his back. His hand reappeared with a new weapon: an ironfern wood club. From the training sessions, I knew it was the Farnskagers’ preferred weapon when making a kill. I wanted to move, to crawl away, but my limbs wouldn’t obey me.

  “You won’t succeed,” I slurred, proud of myself that I managed to talk through the pain.

  Aldar shrugged, and without a moment’s hesitation, the club slammed down on me. A second, infinitely more terrible crunch blasted loud between my ears. Hot trails streamed from below my hair. I couldn’t control my arms or legs, couldn’t move even my head or neck. I leaned against the wall, sank to the floor.

  Already, I could feel myself fading. I wouldn’t survive Aldar’s attack, but I couldn’t let him out of here alive. And unless Freyad showed up right now, I only had one weapon left. My lips were thick and numb, but I managed to mumble, “Finish him, Scilla. Aldar is your killer. You can do it.”

  I held my breath. Slice his neck as you once did mine, Scilla.

  A prisoner two cells down shrieked about a phantom cut on his arm. Then Jonas cried out in pain when a red line slashed across his cheek.

  I wanted to sob. What was Scilla doing?

  “Focus, Scilla, please,” I begged. “It’s Aldar. Only Aldar.”

  Maybe she’d heard me, because immediately, a deep crack spread the skin from one side of Aldar’s forehead to the other. Blood flowed out of it and into his eyes. His scream echoed off the walls, echoed in my slowly numbing mind.

  The prison around me darkened. Had the torch gone out? My pain melted away, and it was dark and silent and still.

  First, there wasn’t even a speck of light, but then the familiar threads to my family and friends appeared, glowing with love in the dark. But most strongly, I saw the thread to Scilla. What had been sickly dark lightened, beginning to glow like the others.

  “He killed you,” I said. The lightening thread was a good sign, but it still had an oily, grimy feel to it, and she hovered in front of me, motionless. “Aldar was the one.”

  I expected her to explode with an earthwalker’s rage, but her eyelids drooped in sadness, showing me a dejected Scilla I’d never known. “We had such a perfect idea, Jonas and I. To bring long-lasting peace. I failed. I let Aldar betray me.”

  “You couldn’t know. Even his best friend didn’t suspect.”

  She turned to me with a brittle smile. “I knew you understood me. I—I think I can go soon, Jiara. I think you—” Scilla shivered, and as she leaned forward, the deadly earthwalker in her took over. She scowled until I no longer recognized her face, spun around, and screamed, “Justice!” over and over, until the word was a weapon, inflicting countless deep stabs to my chest.

  I ran, fell, and was suddenly swooped up by the sweet comfort of cool lake water, the beauty of twinkling stars, the silence of the grounding earth.

  The Watchers.

  “Not yet,” I begged in a whisper, a reflex.

  But a heartbeat later, I was sure they wouldn’t take me against my will. Watcher of Water would not go back on its promise.

  “Thank you,” I said, my voice echoing in the dark. My body plunged into wetness, like I’d leaped from a cliff into a deep sapphire pool. Fluid energy rushed through me, flooding my limbs.

  I ripped my eyes open. The flame of the fallen torch still burned. I blinked and blinked until the prison grew lighter. The pounding in my head receded, and I pushed myself from the floor.

  It seemed only seconds had gone by here in the real world. Aldar shrieked again, and blood dripped to the floor from a new, deep gouge on his hand. Prisoners in other cells moaned and wailed in fear.

  A cleansing breath as the last sensation of water on my skin faded.

  Thank you, Watcher of Water.

  I shook my unsteadiness away. Scilla needed her justice, and I needed to make sure Aldar was stopped. Bracing the staff horizontally in front of me, I charged Aldar as he struggled to wipe the blood from his eyes.

  I struck him in the abdomen, and he stumbled backward. I thrust the weapon at him again. Two steps this time. Whack. Aldar’s back hit the bars behind him, and Jonas’s arms locked around his neck.

  We had Scilla’s murderer.

  For a few seconds, it felt like time stopped. Like the space in the middle of the hall somehow turned blacker. Then that inky smudge swayed like waves of air on a hot day . . . into the translucent shape of a woman. Into Scilla.

  “What?” growled Aldar. His eyes shot open with fear. She moved toward him, reached out a hand. It just barely brushed over his brow, but it was enough to slice another jagged cut into his flesh.

  A tremble went through my arms at this version of Scilla, somehow sharper, angrier, definitely not human. Like the earthwalker from beyond, but here, in our world.

  “Good. We have him, Scilla,” I said. I pretended to thrust with the staff.

  Aldar flinched, struggled, but Jonas held him.

  For a few seconds, nothing changed, and we stood there in awe, even Aldar. Then, like watercolors melting from the page, the inky blackness drained from Scilla’s form. Color returned to her sky blue dress, to her skin, to her lips, to her eyes. She didn’t say a word, but that alien sharpness went away as relief seeped into her features, and affection. She looked directly at me and smiled, so beautifully, it was like a thousand loving strokes to the top of my head. My heart ached at the sight of her. Then sadness crept into her smile, but also gratefulness, understanding, and acceptance. After one last look at me, she turned to step away, her eyes taking on an eager glint. She was finally free, and she could pass to the afterlife now.

  “Goodbye, Scilla.”

  The vision faded, faded, until I no longer felt her presence. My soul cried out at my loss, but if I managed nothing else in my life, I’d helped to save my sister. And my family.

  “Queen Jiara! Where are you?”

  Freyad, upstairs. A grim smile took the place of my gritted teeth. Scilla was free and now her killer would be taken into custody. Truly punished.

  I turned to yell at Freyad to come help. “Down here!”

  A crack sounded behind me, and a cry. Before I could see what happened, my face hit the hard-packed dirt floor.

  Aldar bolted past me, up the stairs, leaving me with one final threat: “Raffar will die tomorrow.”

  An oof echoed from the stairs, then I was on my feet just in time to hear a thud and Freyad’s shout. I met her halfway up.

  “Are you all right? Was that Aldar?” she asked, rubbing an abrasion on her forehead, her cheek bloodied from his hand.

  I nodded and caught my breath. “He admitted it. He killed Scilla. He said he’d kill Raffar.”

  “Kill Raffar? How?”

  My heart threatened to break. Aldar couldn’t kill another person I loved. “I don’t know. But if we’ve learned one thing about him, it’s that he always has a plan. We have to warn Raffar.”

  She gripped my sleeve. “Come with me.”

&n
bsp; I pulled back, gesturing downstairs. “Wait. We have to take Jonas, the prisoner. He still wants peace. If anyone can convince the Stärklandish army to hold back their attack, it’s him.”

  She considered me a moment then nodded and sprinted up the stairs for the key to free Jonas and tend to his thankfully mild injuries. Within a quarter of an hour, a new guard was posted at the prison and we’d thrown together supplies. Cloverlily and another elephant bird were saddled. With Freyad and I on one and Jonas on the other, we set off for the Stundvar River, on the border to Stärkland.

  Chapter 32

  Hours later, stiff, sore, and permeated with elephant bird stink from the all-night ride, we reached the base of a long, steep hill. The sun had risen behind us only an hour earlier, and the rumble of hundreds of voices rose before us. We were almost there. But we’d run the birds ragged to arrive so quickly, especially Cloverlily, who’d carried Freyad and me the entire time.

  When the bird stumbled up the hill and almost tripped, I touched Freyad’s arm from behind. “I’ll walk the rest—”

  “Mmm.” She shook her head sharply. “Out of the question.”

  Cloverlily halted. The great bird stood still, listing from one side to the other. She’d ridden so hard and had nothing left in her. I patted her side.

  “Go with Jonas on his mount the rest of the way,” I said. The rest of the way to the battleground. The fact that I was sending Freyad into danger shredded my heart. For the first time since I’d left Pia in Flissina, I was grateful she wasn’t here. Otherwise I’d have to send two dear people into danger. “You need to protect Raffar. And Jonas has to stop the Stärklandish army from attacking.”

  “No. King Raffar said my duty is to—”

  I slid out of the saddle and onto the ground, my legs shuddering at the unaccustomed position. “Raffar is in danger! Listen to me. What if Aldar was after Linnd?”

  She laid her head to the side, but didn’t dismount. Her eyes narrowed. “I won’t leave you defenseless.”

  “Cloverlily’s too slow now. She can’t handle any more. Please! Go protect Raffar. And Farnskag.”