by Amanda Fleet
“Dip your head,” I whispered.
“Why?”
“Because I want to kiss you, and I can’t reach, even standing on tiptoe.”
He smiled finally and bent his head towards me. I brushed my lips against his, and he pulled me tighter, kissing me passionately.
“Mm. Steady, tiger. I have to go to Council.” I drew away reluctantly. “Can we pick up from here when I get back?”
“Promise?”
I kissed him again. “Promise.”
***
Before the Council could get to any discussion of magic stones potentially being Outside, Lord Eredan called us to attention, his face grave.
“Council members, there are widespread reports of rebellion and rioting across the villages. The massacre at Barsdal has been blamed on the Guardians. The lack of injuries on the bodies implies the villagers were killed by demons. However, the girl who survived the incursion fled to a neighbouring village and claimed that the team of Guardians who went there today attacked the few surviving men of the village. Lady Aeron, would you like to give your version of what happened?”
I didn’t particularly, but I stood and relayed the events, conceding that it could well have looked as if Faran and I had attacked the remaining men, though it had been self-defence against possessed people. I sat again, the horror of the day seeping back into my bones. I prayed I’d keep my stomach contents down.
“A number of villages have refused to send anything at all to the city,” said Lord Eredan. “Food, leather, metal, paper. Nothing is being sent. Some villages have also sent people to nearby settlements to whip up dissent. The patrols at these places attempted to restore law and order through force but were met with violence. They were heavily outnumbered, and retreated.” He paused, holding his hand up to quell the muttering that had started. “Two more demons have been trapped. Both in villages with no rioting.”
Frustrated, I wanted to say, “I told you so,” about trying to quell violence with more violence, but kept my mouth shut. No one in the room was even contemplating dialogue with the villagers. I’d be wasting my breath to bring it up again. Anyway, I didn’t want to burn through any goodwill I had with Lord Eredan before getting agreement to go Outside.
The discussion ranged on. Was it better to send guards out with Guardians to even the numbers and quell the riots? Should a couple of the people be made examples of to stop others from following suit? There was much noise but little agreement.
Lord Eredan shifted closer to me. “Lady Aeron,” he said almost inaudibly. “You evidently don’t agree with what’s being said, so what do you suggest we start doing?”
I eyed him, trying to work out if he was genuinely asking me for my opinion or laying a trap for me somehow. He nodded encouragingly. My killing two demons seemed to have improved his opinion of me.
I weighed my words. Suggesting opening a dialogue wasn’t going to gain traction. Not with the Council, and not with the villages, either.
“Tell the provinces that no Guardians will be sent to any village that riots or refuses to send supplies, and ask for a written statement from the village leader on how they plan to deal with the demons,” I said. It wasn’t my ideal plan, but it might work.
Lord Eredan smiled, then strode to the centre of the room and announced it as if it was his idea. The suggestion went down well with the rest of the Council. Probably because they thought it was coming from him, not me.
Lord Sondan read out reports relating to the capture and trapping of the two demons, and the Council congratulated the teams responsible. Neither of the demons was Aegyir and both of them had been fairly weak.
Which brought us to the thornier issue of what I was after. Thankfully, Lord Sondan introduced the topic, rather than leave me to plead the case.
“Lady Aeron and Faran have been researching a permanent solution that could rid The Realm of the demons forever. They discussed it with me over dinner, and I believe there’s some merit in the information they’ve found. Lady Aeron, would you brief the Council?”
I rose to my feet and shared both the number and range of the stories, emphasising the consistency between many of them despite a variety of origins. A few Council members grilled me on exactly what the stories said, and I was glad to have brought my notes with me. Finally, I reached the meat of the issue – was there a source of these stones? Muttering scurried around the room, and several Council members said that the source was mythical.
“There’s a map in one of the books,” I said.
Lord Cerewen sneered. “Scholars have looked at the map many times. You think you know where in The Realm it shows? You can barely remember your way around the city!”
“I don’t believe there is anywhere in The Realm that it matches. But I do think there’s somewhere Outside it represents.”
The noise level in the Great Hall shot up. Lord Eredan let it rumble for a moment then held his hand up for quiet.
Lord Cerewen raised his hand again. “How do we know this isn’t a ploy for Lady Aeron to go Outside and abandon The Realm? Without her, we may not be able to trap Aegyir. Perhaps that’s what she wants – Aegyir loose in The Realm and invincible.”
“I’m grateful that Lord Cerewen recognises my status here.” I smiled inwardly at his scowl. “But as to whether you know if this is a ploy or not, you don’t. But, I’ve sworn allegiance to The Realm, killed demons to protect it, and my husband is here.”
“Then perhaps you would serve The Realm better by remaining here and killing more demons,” said Lord Cerewen.
“Perhaps.” I shrugged. “But with the time differences, a couple of hours here would be a few days Outside. I could go, retrieve any stones I can and return, in less time than I could have spent having dinner here. Send me out with food and I’ll be back while everyone is having breakfast. And then I can go and kill some demons if you want.”
Lord Cerewen’s eyes narrowed at my flippancy. “How do we know you won’t betray The Realm?”
“Lord Cerewen, think before speaking?” I said, too irritated to guard my words. “Who would I betray The Realm to Outside? Aegyir is in The Realm. There’s no one Outside who can harm The Realm. Even if I went Outside and told everyone about the existence of this place, they’d assume I was mad and lock me up.” I stole a glance at Lord Sondan and Lord Eredan. Lord Sondan rubbed his jaw, looking amused. Lord Eredan’s posture was taut. I changed tack. “What do you have to lose? As far as I can see it, there are three options: I go and don’t find any stones, in which case we’re exactly where we are now. I go and I find some stones and they do kill the demons permanently, in which case, hooray. Or I go and don’t come back, and The Realm loses a warrior that half of you don’t rate or value anyway.” I eyeballed Lady Morgan who smirked.
“She’s right. She’s no loss if she doesn’t return,” she said. “And we don’t rate her.”
I sat down. I didn’t care whether Lady Morgan or Lord Cerewen or any one of them gave a flying fuck about me. But I did want to destroy Aegyir.
The Senior Technician, Hesta, was called to give evidence about the stones. Hesta had been promoted after the previous Senior Technician, Mya, had sabotaged my leathers, making them lose their blade-proof quality and causing Faran to almost kill me, accidentally.
Hesta was a neat woman – both in build and dress. She was probably almost a foot shorter than me and dressed in a smart woollen skirt and leather jacket, both the colour of coffee. Her light brown hair was pinned back in a pleat at the back of her head, and she held a small notebook in one hand.
“Hesta,” said Lord Eredan. “Do you know of any way of permanently destroying the demons?”
“No. Other than the stories we tell children, where talisman dust kills them.”
“Lady Aeron thinks there is a source of such stones Outside. What are your views?”
“Well, there’s no known source inside The Realm. If the Council thinks that Lady Aeron can find them Outside, I’d be happy to produce a
guide to help her identify those properties the technicians think are important. The Realm loses nothing by sending her to look.”
She gave me a barbed look. She might have been promoted because her predecessor hated me, but that didn’t mean Hesta liked me.
Just as I felt like this was now a done deal, Mathas, the Senior Seer rose. “There are no stones Outside. It would be a fool’s mission. A waste of time.”
“Since it would only be me going, it would only be my time I’m wasting,” I said.
“If you came back.”
My heart missed a beat. “Do you see me not returning, Mathas?”
“I see you on a pointless mission that will end with torture.” He stared at me, face hard.
I frowned. “Whose torture? Mine? By whom? No one Outside will torture me.”
“It will end with torture, and you will wish you’d never gone. Stay in The Realm.”
“With all due respect, I disagree,” I said.
I sat down again. It wasn’t for me to decide, anyway – the Council would vote, and I would have to follow orders.
The debate circled around, but nothing new emerged. A few asked me how I would know what stones to bring back, and I said all I had to go on were the stones I wore and the descriptions in the books. I’d endeavour to bring as many rocks back as I could and hope that some of them would be useful.
Eventually, despite Mathas’s vociferous objections, the Council agreed to allow me to go. I was to spend no more than seven days Outside – just under three hours here. If I didn’t return in that time, it would be assumed I was dead. I would leave immediately after breakfast the following day and be due back before lunch.
The meeting over, the Council members drifted away from the Great Hall, and I braced myself to tell Faran I’d be leaving in the morning.
***
When I got back to our rooms, Faran was lying on the bed, staring at the sky. He sat up as I went in, questions in his eyes.
“The Council said yes. Mathas said it would be a waste of time. Morgan thinks it’d be no loss if I didn’t return.” I sat on the bed next to him. “Mind you, she’d be trying to get in your bed before it was cold!”
He didn’t even smile. He sat up and draped an arm around me. “Well, she wouldn’t be welcome. When do you go?”
“After breakfast, tomorrow.”
Faran looked about as happy at my news as I’d expected.
I tucked my hand against his waist. “I’ll be back before lunch.”
“Hopefully.”
I jabbed him in the ribs. “Hey! Want to have a bit more faith in me? You’re the one that keeps telling me I’m one of the top warriors here!”
“You are,” He held my fingers so I couldn’t poke him again. “I can think of only one or two who could beat you, other than me. What if Aegyir has a spy and knows you’re going?”
I shrugged. “What if he does? He won’t leave The Realm. Not now he’s here. And all his slaves Outside were freed when we turned him to mist. Relax!”
“I could go with you.” He twined his fingers around mine.
“You don’t have permission.”
“I didn’t last time.”
I sighed. “No. And you were accused of treason and publicly whipped for disobedience as a consequence. Faran, I would love for you to come with me, but the long game is that we’re making The Realm somewhere we both want to be, isn’t it? Which means you being Elected Successor again.”
A brisk knock on the outer door made us scramble up. I followed Faran into the public room of our suite, wondering who it was at this hour. He swung the door open to find Lilja – my Seer friend – standing on the threshold, wringing her hands. Faran ushered her in, and she perched on a chair, her face drawn. I hoped she wasn’t about to tell me that my mission Outside would be disastrous or put me in huge peril. That was the last thing Faran needed to hear. Or me, for that matter.
“Hey,” I said. “Everything okay?”
She shook her head, studying her hands, and Faran and I exchanged wide-eyed glances.
Faran fetched cups of water while Lilja took a few deep breaths, her rose-pink jacket matching her flushed cheeks, her light brown hair escaping from the clip pinning it up.
“Talk to me, Lilja,” I said. “What’s wrong?”
“I know you have to go,” she said, as Faran returned. “And you’re right to go. It’s important you go. Vital.” She pinched her fingertips. “You will find the stones.”
Faran stared at me, pale. “But?” He sat on the other chair, his body taut.
“It’s not without risk,” Lilja said eventually. “Significant risk.”
“What from?” I asked cautiously.
She breathed deeply. “Not everyone wants you to find the stones.”
“Your uncle says there aren’t any to find.”
She turned her face away. “Mathas is acting strangely. I think he’s seen something and is keeping it from the rest of us, but I don’t know if it relates to your mission or something else. When I asked him, he said I was too junior to know.”
Lilja might well be considered junior, but her visions had been sound in the past.
She faced me again, her hazel eyes bright. “I don’t understand what I see. But I do know that you won’t drown.”
“What do you see?” I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to know, but the words were out before I could stop them.
“Black. A lot of black. And water. But I know you won’t drown.”
“Okay.” So far, both confusing and vaguely reassuring.
She stared straight at Faran. “You need to be ready for when she calls for you.”
“Why? Why is she calling for me?” Faran leaned forward, fear etching his face.
Her brow crumpled. “I don’t know. It’s all very jumbled. And I shouldn’t be here. I don’t have permission. In fact, Mathas forbade me from coming, but I had to tell you what I saw in case it helped you.” She shot to her feet, still pleating her fingers together. “I should go.”
She hugged me hard, visibly distressed. As she drew back, she met Faran’s eye. “Please be ready.”
With that, she dashed out of the room before I could stop her.
“What was that about?” asked Faran, closing the door after her.
“I don’t know. It’ll probably only make sense once I’m actually Outside.”
Faran moved his leather jacket off the end of the sofa and sat next to me, his shoulders still slumped. I curled my hand around the back of his neck to draw him into a kiss, trying to soothe him. “I need you to take the talisman off me so I can see it while I’m Outside. Give me half a chance to match it to any stones I do manage to find. Since Lilja seems to think I will.”
Since Faran had put the talisman on me, only he could take it off me. The leather thong the stone was strung on, sealed to make a continuous band with no join as far as my fingers were concerned.
Faran reached behind my neck, and the leather cord opened, letting the stone slip away from my skin.
“Hello, Aeron. How delightful to be here again.” Aegyir’s silky voice rang through my head, and my eyes widened. I gasped, my heart rate erratic. He shouldn’t still be in there. “Oh, but I am. You’ll never be free of me while I have substance.”
Against my will, my hands drew the dagger Faran kept tucked in his belt and pressed it against his ribs. “No jacket on at home. Darling.”
Not my words. Not my voice. I fought to control my body and mind, but although I tried with all my might to pull my hands back, the tip of the blade cut into Faran’s top.
“Aeron?” His brow puckered.
“Aegyir,” I whispered, my hands trying to plunge the knife in deeper, while the remnant of me that was me, strained not to.
I wanted to tell Faran to fight me, but Aegyir had complete control of my voice and actions. If Faran didn’t react right now, I would end up driving his knife between his ribs. Sweat broke out on my brow as I battled Aegyir. My head filled with ha
tred – of Faran; of The Realm; of all Guardians – leaving almost no space for me to think.
Faran’s eyes widened, and he pinned me in a vice-like grip. The small corner of me that was still Aeron, relaxed. I could let Aegyir take over. Faran would win.
Aegyir had complete control of me, but however much he made me fight Faran, it was pointless. Inexorably, I went from being upright holding a knife at his chest, to being forced to the ground, the knife wrenched out of my grip. One of Faran’s knees pinned my legs, his other dug into the middle of my back trapping both of my hands. He twisted my arms behind me so hard I thought my shoulders would pop, then shifted his weight, pressing the last of my breath out of me.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” he said. “You won’t win.”
I dragged air into my chest. “Won’t I? There’s only one stone to kill fourteen of us. I quite like my odds. How many do you think I’ve corrupted since I’ve been here? Five? Ten? A hundred? I would only need to corrupt a few if I chose wisely.”
Faran’s knee was almost breaking my spine. He leaned forwards, and the cold stone of the talisman touched my skin. Instantly, my head began to clear. The waves of hatred receded, along with every last influence of Aegyir. I panted, trying to catch my breath, Faran’s weight still pinning me down. He fastened the cord but didn’t move. “Aeron?”
“Yeah. I’m here. You’re heavy.”
“Mm. I also don’t trust you.” He picked up the discarded dagger and rested the point of it against my shoulder blade. I still wore my jacket, having arrived straight from the Council meeting. The point dug in uncomfortably through the leather, and I squirmed. “Ow!”
Faran kept leaning on it, but my leathers held. “Good.”
He released my arms and legs and sat back on his haunches, his face grave. I wriggled away, rubbing my limbs. “Jeez, you’re heavy!”
Something flickered in my brain. I’d read something about how Aegyir could still be in my head, but not in the library today. I hunted for the book that Orian had given me on my return here, flipping through the pages, trying to match to a mental image of the page I had.