by Imogen Elvis
Briar nodded. “He’ll be strong still, but nowhere near as powerful as before.”
“That gives us a chance to find some support among the people of the court,” Lara said. “If Sachio can’t keep his grip on everyone, I’ll have a much better chance of finding some allies.”
If they could find enough support, then maybe they would have a chance of restoring Kade to his rightful position as crown prince, weakening Master Sachio’s hold on the throne. Then, even with King Varik’s mind bent to his will, Master Sachio wouldn’t be able to persuade people that he was the best choice to rule in Varik’s place. Not when the crown prince had returned with his name cleared of all charges of treason.
“You’re sure you can persuade them?” Briar asked.
Lara nodded. “There was no real evidence against Kade at the time. Sachio didn’t need to create any. He just had to suggest Kade had been plotting with the Beldrans, and that was enough to convince Varik to send the guard after him. People had doubts about the truth of this accusation before now, but Sachio had such a hold over the court that no one said anything. Now, I think I might have a chance of getting people to look at the accusations and see just how false they are.”
It would be a start at least. Master Sachio would be relying on his hold over the king, and the fact that his enemies were fugitives. Briar could only hope that it would be enough. “You must be looking forward to being able to go home,” Briar said. “Kade too.”
“I should think so. It’s been such a long time.” Lara brushed a few loose wisps of hair back off her face, her mouth twisting in a wry smile. “I keep having to remind myself that it’s too early to be imagining life returning to normal. We haven’t even reached Mizra. And then we have to find allies, challenge Sachio, and break his grip on the councils and the king. That’s no simple matter.”
Briar heaved a sigh. “I was enjoying pretending that it would be. I suppose there is nothing much to be done until we leave the boat, though.”
“Not really.” Lara pushed away from the railing. “I’m going to go find Kade. Goodness knows where he’s managed to hide on a ship as small as this.”
Knowing Kade, he’d have found somewhere. Briar stayed where she was, turning Lara’s words over in her mind. No matter what she tried to pretend, nothing about this was going to be easy. The last time they faced Master Sachio, it took the might of the Crystal Tree itself to stop him, and even then, Rowen paid the ultimate price. She would be a fool to think that this would be any less difficult.
And then there was her sister, Ava. Kidnapped by Master Sachio’s personal guard, the Nameless Ones, she’d been persuaded to join his crusade, for reasons Briar still didn’t understand. Who knew where she would be now? Briar’s heart ached to think of her sister out there, blindly following Master Sachio, and believing the worst of Briar. She could only hope that, wherever Ava was stopping Master Sachio would somehow help to set her sister free and bring her home one day.
For the rest of the day, the crew simply seemed to ignore the fact that they had passengers aboard the Done Wishin’. No one so much as looked at Briar and, for her part, Briar gave the sailors a wide berth, sticking to the edges of the barge. Lara simply shut herself in the captain’s cabin to avoid them. Briar found it much more pleasant standing on the deck, watching the world slip by, knowing that every moment brought them closer to their destination without her having to do a thing. So different to the long days of trekking across the wild country. A faint weight of dread dropped in her stomach whenever she thought about actually reaching Mizra, but for now, it was easy enough to push that aside and enjoy the journey for what it was.
As morning dawned the next day, Briar slipped out of the cramped space that was the captain’s cabin into the cool, fresh air of sunrise. The cabin would house a single man well enough, but there wasn’t quite enough space to even turn around without knocking into Lara with her elbows, not to mention the fact that there was only enough space in the bunk for one. Still, Briar was more than grateful for the privacy. They could have been sleeping on the deck like so much cargo, should Captain Finbar have deemed that preferable.
Overnight, the Done Wishin’ dropped anchor near the riverbank, rather than risking sailing blindly through the dark. As dawn stained the sky, the barge lay near the tree line, still, apart from the gentle rocking of the deck as the current slipped by. One of the crew patrolled the deck, though their slow, heavy march, suggested that they were more bored than watchful. Under the slanting roof of the lean-to, the cook huddled over his pot-bellied stove. Other than these two, the deck was empty, though, Briar suspected, with the sun about to peek over the horizon, it wouldn’t remain that way for long.
The watchman, who Briar quickly recognised as the jeering woman with the red bandanna, narrowed her eyes as Briar passed, pausing in her circuit of the deck to stare after Briar. Here was a person who didn’t mind letting them know just how unwelcome they were. Why did this woman seem to hate them so much? They paid their passage, and they made an effort not to be a nuisance. What could she have against them?
As Briar reached her usual spot at the prow of the ship, she found Kade already there before her. Kade. Even though there was no one close to them at this time of the morning, he still wore his hood pulled down so far that Briar couldn’t see his expression. She hesitated for a moment, before stepping up to join him. He shifted to make more space for her but didn’t greet her. Briar leaned her arms on the railing and lifted her face to the rising sun, letting the breeze kiss her cheeks. Behind her, she could hear voices already, talking, laughing. The crew was so much more relaxed when their passengers weren’t around. The smell of food made Briar’s stomach rumble, but she stayed where she was, not eager to face the sudden cold turn the crew would take the moment she appeared.
It wasn’t long before the sails unfurled, snapping out taut as the breeze caught them. The crew hauled in the anchor, grunting with the effort, their muscles standing out in their arms and backs. The boat juddered into motion, and the deck lurched underfoot. Briar gripped the railing hard to keep her balance as the barge nosed its way back into the centre of the current, forging its way downstream, leaving a foamy white wake behind them.
“We’re making good time.” Kade broke the silence finally, though his voice was distant as if his mind were on other things. “We’ve had a favourable wind so far.”
“How long before we arrive, do you think?”
“A week at most, if the wind continues like this.”
“It’s good to know that we’re getting close at last,” Briar said cautiously. Something was clearly on his mind.
“I suppose.”
“You’re not excited by the fact that we’re almost to Mizra?”
“Oh, I am. It’s just…”
“Just…?” Briar prompted when it became clear that Kade wasn’t going to continue.
Kade sighed. “I’m not sure I’m ready to see Mizra again.”
“What do you mean?” Briar asked. “It’s your home, isn’t it?
“I fled Mizra when Sachio first branded me a traitor. My own family disowned me. I know this is our chance to stop him, but at the same time, I’m not sure whether I’m ready to go back.”
Briar slipped her hand through his arm. “I know what you mean,” she said softly. Of all of them, Kade had the worst demons to face in Mizra. Little wonder he wasn’t eager to return there, not after everything that had happened.
Kade sighed, and his whole body slumped a little. “I was in the castle when Sachio convinced my father that I was a traitor. Mizra was the last place I saw my family. My memories aren’t exactly… pleasant. It’s harder than I thought, going back.”
“I know.” Briar looked up into his shadowed face, wishing she could see beneath the hood. “But this time will be different. We’ll be fighting for the truth. When people see what Master Sachio has done, things will change, for everyone, but especially for you.” She paused, but Kade stayed silent and, after
a moment, she asked, “Will you be alright?”
“I will. It’s not like we’ve got a choice anyway.”
“You always have a choice.” Briar tightened her grip on his arm, willing him to look at her, though his eyes remained stubbornly on the river. “You’ve done so much already. No one has any right to ask you to do more.” Kade had travelled the length of the country trying to find a way to stop Sachio, risking his own life in the process. No one could have tried harder.
“I’ve done no more than either you or Lara have. Besides, Sachio is family. He’s my responsibility.” Kade shook his head. “Even if we succeed, I’m not expecting everything to go back to the way it was before. But if I can at least show people what he is, and prevent him from hurting more people, then maybe that can be enough.”
“You are not responsible for his actions.”
“Maybe so. But I should have done more. If I had stayed, if I had faced the accusation, fought the charges, maybe I could have been there to stop him long before this.”
“If you had stayed, they may well have just thrown you in prison and then there would have been no one to stand against him. Master Sachio was so powerful before. No one could have stopped him then.” Briar nudged him gently with her shoulder. “We’ll find a way to beat him, I promise.”
“I hope so. When we reach Mizra-” Kade broke off, cocking his head slightly to one side, staring past Briar. “What is that?” He pointed ahead of the boat.
At this point in its journey, the river curved sharply, and the route ahead had been obscured by the trees that lined the bank on either side, their trunks pressed together to form an impenetrable wall. But, as the barge nosed its way around the bend and the straight line of the river beyond was revealed, the forest just… vanished. One moment the only thing to be seen anywhere were the trees. And then, as abruptly as if someone had slashed at it with a knife, there was nothing but bare ground, and even that was black and scorched as if a fire had torn through, turning everything in its path into ash.
Briar’s eyes widened. There was no way a mere fire could have caused this level of destruction. If a fire had burned through the trees, there would be blackened logs lying on the ground and lumps of crumbling charcoal littering the earth. Stumps would have survived, maybe even the skeletons of dead trees, their twisted, blackened branches still reaching into the sky. Instead, there was nothing but bare dirt. As the wind blew across the open ground, it sent plumes of fine, grey ash spiralling into the sky.
It wasn’t just a small section of the forest that had been destroyed either. While the right bank of the river was still covered with thick trees, dense with underbrush and impassable, the left was barren and ashen for as Briar could see, stretching away into the distance, and almost certainly beyond. No plants, no animals, nothing. When Briar breathed, all she could taste was bitter ash.
“This can’t be natural,” Kade said, his voice hushed.
Briar shook her head. “There’s nothing natural about any of this,” she said. “It has to be magic.” Only magic could have taken such a vibrant, living forest and turned it to dust without leaving so much as a trace of what had been there before. “But who would do such a thing?” And why?
Kade just shook his head. There was no answer to that.
Master Sachio’s Nameless Ones had razed whole towns to the ground before. But then, they attacked with purpose, as horrific as their reasons had been. What reason could anyone have for this? This was senseless destruction, a gross misuse of magic. It took Briar’s breath away. All she could do was stare at the twisters of dust as they skated across the surface of the open plain and hope no one had been caught up in this terrifying destruction.
CHAPTER FOUR
Perhaps the eeriest thing, as they sailed past mile after mile of barren land, was the utter silence that surrounded them. No birds called from the trees or padded in the shallows by the riverbank. No forest animals skittered shyly out of view as the boat slid by. Even the crew was quiet. Under Captain Finbar’s watchful eye, the sailors carried out their usual tasks, but every so often, they’d pause in their work to stare at the strange wasteland slipping past. Voices, when people had to speak, were muted whispers, as if it were wrong to raise a noise. Disrespectful, almost.
Lara joined Briar and Kade at the prow of the ship, and the three stood together in silence. Briar’s eyes searched the horizon for any sign of this emptiness ending. It had to end at some point, surely? They had to reach the forest again at some point. But instead, towards midday, what drew into sight on the horizon was not trees and grass, but the wall of a town. Briar’s blood chilled. Not again. She’d seen too many places destroyed by magic before. She swallowed hard, unable to stop the sudden images that flashed into her memory as she fixed her gaze on the distant buildings.
“Maybe they’re alright,” Lara said in a small voice.
“Maybe.” It would be a miracle if this town had survived unscathed. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Kade glancing her way. He’d seen things too. They’d both escaped the terrors of an attack by the Nameless Ones in the past.
As they drew closer, any hope that the town was unharmed, died. A high stone wall surrounded the cluster of buildings. Before the attack, it would have pushed back the encroaching forest. Briar could imagine the trees growing right up to the wall, their branches brushing against its stones. Now, it looked like some great animal had taken huge bites out of it, as well as the town behind. The closest houses had huge holes in them. One house, at the edge of the water, had been cut in half so neatly that Briar could see inside, a bedroom with half a bed, a table missing its corner as well as two of its chairs. It was as if the other half of the building had simply ceased to be. There wasn’t even rubble littering the ground.
Vines wrapped around some of the houses, squeezing them like the coils of giant snakes, causing long cracks to appear in the stonework. Here and there, the long fingers of green had pushed through the walls of some of the less sturdy buildings, built from wood, rather than blocks of stone, crumbling the boards like kindling.
There were signs of fire too. Scorch marks littered the boundary wall. Some houses still smouldered, spires of smoke rising into the sky. The flames had consumed some buildings so completely that nothing remained but blackened rafters and crumbling walls. Everywhere Briar looked, there was the hand of magic, crushing and destroying wherever it went. Her hand closed around her medallion, squeezing until pain scored across her palm.
Kade covered one of Briar’s white-knuckled hands with one of his own, his thumb stroking her wrist. He didn’t say anything. What was there to be said? But his presence was comforting at least.
As the barge approached the town, it became clear that this attack couldn’t have happened on the previous night. While smoke still rose over the rooftops, they were thin trails of dying fires. The masses of vines were wilted, drooping to the ground as they died. Whoever attacked the town had been and gone at least a day ago. Possibly more. Briar’s heart ached for the survivors. If there even were any.
Surprisingly, though the rest of the town was in pieces, the dock appeared almost untouched by the attack. The wooden jetties, reaching out into the river like long fingers, would have burned easily, but they weren’t so much as scorched. The far side of the stone quayside had crumbled somewhat, crushed by a gnarled root that had forced its way through, but other than that, the dock was unharmed.
The sailors busied themselves furling the huge white sails, and manoeuvring the long barge alongside the nearest jetty. Micah leapt from the boat to the dock, carrying the thick mooring rope with him, securing the barge. The Done Wishin’ bumped gently against the jetty, then fell still. They had arrived.
“I think they’re getting ready to go into the town.” Lara nodded at the sailors, who laid the boarding plank between the barge and the jetty. Captain Finbar stood to one side, talking quietly with the bandanna lady, who nodded vigorously. “I don’t know about you, but if they’re goin
g ashore to find out what happened, then I for one would like to be there.”
Lara started down the deck with Kade a step behind her. Briar followed a little more slowly. It wasn’t like she was eager to step off the boat and surround herself with the ghosts of this town. But at the same time, they needed to know what had happened, and why. Was this the work of the Nameless Ones again? It reminded her painfully of Osman the night it burned. The night she lost Ava. But just because it reminded her of the Nameless Ones didn’t mean that it had to be them.
“What do you want?” Finbar snapped as Lara approached him.
“To find out what happened. Same as you, I should think.” Lara tipped her head to one side. “We’d like to go ashore as well if that isn’t too much of a trouble to you.”
“Do whatever you like. Just make sure you stay out of my way.” Finbar turned on his heel and stepped nimbly across the plank. Micah joined him, but the rest of the crew stayed where they were. One by one, Briar, Lara, and Kade followed the captain’s lead.
Their footsteps on the wooden boards echoed weirdly off the water and the silent stones of the town. This dock should have been bustling, with people coming and going, boats loading and unloading their goods. The dockmaster should have been hurrying to meet them, ledger in hand, ready to record their visit. Townspeople should be visible in the surrounding streets, calling cheery greetings to their neighbours. But there was no one.
“You there. Stay where you are.”
Briar looked around, her eyes sweeping the empty dock and silent buildings around them, but there was no sign of the speaker.
Finbar waited for a moment, an eyebrow raised, more as if he were waiting to see what else the person might have to say than because he was concerned about following their orders. But when nothing else happened, he shrugged and started forward again.