The Wretched

by Brad Carsten

  The sound of breaking wood drifted through the window above her, followed by people shouting.

  She dropped the last few feet, hitting the tiles hard.

  A wooden door with glass diamond panes led into a lounge. She tried the handle, but the door was latched.

  The girl handed her a chair as faces appeared in the window upstairs.

  Kaylyn hit the door as hard as she could, throwing her full weight behind it. The glass shattered, but it took another two hits to break the door open.

  She wrenched the girl through just as flames engulfed the patio.

  “Run,” Kaylyn shouted.

  The door led into a hall, and the main staircase. Bootsteps clattered on the wooden boards above her. Men screamed. The guards were close.

  Kaylyn reached the banquet hall, as the guards reached the top of the stairs.

  “Stop them,” one shouted, as another drew an arrow.

  Kaylyn skidded into the room and they threw their shoulders into the doors. An arrow head broke through the wood, inches away from her face. She held the doors, while Cara clicked the latch into place. It was a strong door, but it wouldn't last.

  A few people inside the hall were starting to look at them now. Most hadn't seen what was going on, and the music drowned out almost all the noise. Kaylyn looked around wildly for a way out, and noticed the barrels of rum and wine and brandy open for people to dip their mugs into, and she had an idea. Rumshaw, the pirate, used Groel to blow up captain Mossap's ship in the story of Skullrock Bay.

  She tried to tip one, but it was too heavy. She kicked it, and spilled a bit over the top. “Help me,” she said to Cara. They pushed as hard as they could, with Kaylyn turning around and putting her back into it.

  The barrel began to lift.

  The soldiers reached the door and pounded it.

  One of Bowen's guards inside the hall was making his way towards them, his hands resting on his sword hilt. He glanced up at the door and then frowned at Kaylyn.

  The door shuddered.

  The barrel tipped spilling dark brown liquid over the floor. “You. Stop.” The soldier drew his sword.

  Kaylyn grabbed a flaming torch off of the wall and threw it at the barrels.

  Flames exploded across the floor, cutting off the guard. He fell back covering his face.

  The wave of flames hit the wall and quickly spread up a huge drape hanging almost to the floor.

  People screamed and panic ensued. They ran, trampling over each other, knocking over tables and chairs.

  Kaylyn reached the main table under which the wings were hanging. She found a cleaver, half buried in a leg of pork, and hacked at the hoist ropes over and over again.

  One, two, three hits and the first statue fell.

  “Get the wings on,” she shouted to Cara, and started in on the second rope.

  “The wings? What for?” Her voice was strained.

  “Trust me.”

  The door blew open spraying splinters of wood across the floor. Sorrwyn had reached the other soldiers.

  Kaylyn fumbled with the straps.

  The flames spread up the other barrels, and they exploded.

  Kaylyn hooked her wings into place. Now she just had to figure out how to use them.

  She ran for the open doors leading onto the balcony. The soldiers were now pouring into the room, but they had to shield their faces from the heat.

  Kaylyn struggled to help Cara into her wings. There was a clip to keep them on and a small latch that Livias had pulled back. She clicked it all the way down as he'd done. There was just the trigger left and—she clicked it, and Cara blasted off into the night, screaming.

  The flames parted, forming a tunnel with Sorrwyn pacing through them with his hands outstretched towards her.

  Kaylyn clicked her latch, and fumbled with the button as flames gathered around Sorrwyn's hands.

  There was a click and Kaylyn shot up, so quickly her stomach leapt into her nostrils. Her entire body shuddered under the pressure.

  She screamed and shielded her eyes and seemed to climb forever. She held out her arms, the wings folded out and she shot forward.

  She screamed even louder, and tried to cover her eyes, but that only caused her to roll. The dark shimmering ripples of a lake screamed towards her. She threw out her hands which slowed her a little, but it was too late. She hit the water hard, knocking the air from her lungs. Pain slapped through her side and head and arm like a giant hand had hit her.

  Her legs flew over her head. Up became down and down became up. Water flooded into her lungs. She kicked and choked and couldn't get air. Water covered her. She flailed her arms wildly. The wings spread out and she popped out the water like a cork.

  She was breathing hard. Above her Cara swept past, a little more gracefully, and she was laughing. She was actually laughing.

  Kaylyn spat out a mouthful of water and looked back at the manor. It was a tiny black shape set against the night sky, but the fire had engulfed a third of it already, and was spreading quickly.

  Kaylyn looked ahead at the land just out of reach, wondering how in the world she was going to reach it with these things on her back.

  Chapter 25

  Liam galloped along the dirt track. According to Livius, the manor lay just a few miles North East, but the road seemed to hold him back like he was riding through treacle, while time screamed past. Ever before him were thoughts of cruel looking men dragging Kaylyn into the manor. He had never seen power like hers, but she was up against people hiding in a crowd of people. She only had two eyes and no one to watch her back. If she used her power, they'd know what she was, and then they wouldn't take a chance with her. They'd kill her and dump her body somewhere. If anything happened to her...

  Liam pushed his horse harder, trying to get as much speed out of it as possible.

  He saw her lifeless and cold and dumped in a river like an animal. That shifted into Lord Bowen running his filthy hands all over her, and his anger grew. A picture entered his head of that look on her face when she tasted the Goatberries, or her smile that lit up the room when she beat him in trinkets, and how she had reacted after hurting those men in the alley, those thugs who would have done the most unspeakable things to her.

  He didn't know who she was or what those secrets were that she kept so close to her heart, but she had a gentle soul, and he realised, he still cared about her, despite what the Sage had said—more so now that he may never see her again. “Please, please, please,” he begged under his breath. “Let her be okay.”

  The manor wall appeared off in the distance. Liam curved away from it, and dropped off the saddle before the horse stopped moving. He looped the reins around a post and ducked into the long grass.

  Four guards patrolled the main gate. One was waving an ornate carriage through.

  Liam circled around to the servants' entrance. Each step brought him closer to Kaylyn, but yet she seemed to be slipping further out of reach, like he was crossing a thin branch to save her and each step was adding more weight to the end of it.

  A single guard leaned back on the wall, casually lighting his pipe with a lantern. He seemed neither menacing nor innocent, just a man lost in his own thoughts, but if Kaylyn was here, he'd die for being a part of this.

  Liam broke left, slipping through the shadows.

  With the guard holding the lantern so close to his face, he wouldn't see more than a few feet around him until his eyes got used to the dark again. That would buy Liam a few minutes.

  He hit the wall. A quick jump and he was up and over it in seconds. He landed in the long grass and dropped to his haunches.

  Broken statues rose between crumbling arches, and weeds grew over them, and the trees twisted out of shape like gnarled fingers on an old man's hand. The grounds were more than just neglected, they were tainted, as though Gaharah had been soaking into them for a long time. Evil emanated from it, and it turned his insides to ice. It could only mean one thing: someone here could cast. No
t only was Kaylyn going up against the lord's band of soldiers, but she was going up against a wretched as well. Perhaps even more than one. It took a lot to unsettle Liam, but the thought rattled him to the bone. He had to find her before the wretched did.

  Liam circled around to the back of the property, past the stables where a groomsman was brushing down a horse, and past the servants' quarters which was quiet and shrouded in darkness. Despite the hour, the servants were still on duty. The lights of patrolling guards crossed the grounds some distance away, and Liam caught voices and the occasional spatter of laughter carrying on the wind. They had no reason to be quiet. He had to keep reminding himself that, for them, this was simply another night and another patrol. They wouldn't be expecting any trouble.

  Liam crouched alongside a low stone walled walkway, studying the building, trying to figure out how in Fate's name he was going to get inside.

  The back of the property dropped away steeply, with the manor perched on the edge. Inside, a large group of people were talking, eating, drinking, dancing. Music and laughter drifted down through the large windows. The Lord had guests. That would make getting inside a little easier, but the place must have had thirty rooms, if not more. It would take a long time to go through each one, and once inside, he'd have to avoid running into guards or even servants.

  He wondered if he was too late, but he forced the thought aside angrily. Kaylyn was in there, and he had to get her back.

  The plan was shaky. The only weapon he still had was his knife, and once inside, his instincts would fade as they had in the city. He knew he should spend some more time thinking it through, but every moment he spent outside was more time that something could happen to Kaylyn in there.

  The lights moved away from the building. This was his chance. He got to his feet and was about to make a dash across the grounds, when waves of evil washed over him. Someone was drawing power, and a lot of it. Could it be her, or was it someone else? Someone shouted and those lights turned back towards the building. Had they felt it as well?

  Liam fell back against the wall before chancing another look. A pillar of smoke now billowed out of one of the windows.

  Screams echoed through the dark. Two women ran out onto the balcony with something on their backs. Liam couldn't make out what it was, but the next moment one of them blasted into the air like a stone flung from a catapult. The second one was struggling with something, and then she too shot into the air. Up and up she went, higher than any arrow, before large wings spread out behind them and Liam's jaw dropped. The wings. That had to be Kaylyn! It had to be! He stared at her in amazement. She did it. Despite everything, she managed to pull it off. He dropped his head back against the wall and laughed quietly until his shoulders shook.

  Half a dozen figures rushed out onto the balcony with weapons in hand. Angry voices drifted down to Liam. “After her. Bring back her head. Do what you like to her but bring me back her head.” Whoever that was, he was hysterical. Kaylyn must have done a thorough job to have upset him that much.

  Abruptly, Liam realised that the taint hadn't left with Kaylyn which meant that she hadn't drawn Gaharah. Thirty soldiers and a wretched would be screaming after her soon.

  He had to reach her before they could, but his horse was on the other side of the manor. Going all the way back now with an alert watch would take more time than he had. He wouldn't reach his horse in time, but the manor stable was just around the corner.

  Keeping low, he darted through the long grass. As he reached the stable, four horsemen broke through the entrance galloping for the servants' gate.

  Four men had already come out of the stable, but Liam's legs kept going. He had to reach Kaylyn and his horse was too far away.

  Someone inside was shouting orders. “Get them saddled, you filthy louts before I skin you alive, and get out after the others.” Liam fell back against the door, and chanced a look inside.

  There was an officer at the entrance, but Liam couldn't see anyone else. They must be in the stalls, which meant there could be one or fifty in there. The officer had a sword at his side and a bow in his hand. A bow would be useful, and would give Liam back his advantage. It was a dumb move, and he cursed as he found himself slipping inside, but he couldn't see another way out of this. The officer turned as Liam pressed the dagger to his neck.

  He meant to kill the man. Time was running out and he was desperate enough to do it, but the man's eyes widened and the colour drained from his face. Killing a man with an arrow wasn't as personal as doing it with a blade and Liam couldn't do it. He tried but his fingers wouldn't respond. With a frustrated cry, he slammed the hilt into the officer's head, and it took three more hits before the man collapsed to the floor.

  Two soldiers exited a stall. One was on horseback. Their surprise lasted but a heartbeat, before they scrambled for their weapons.

  Liam ripped the bow free as the first soldier ran at him, crossing the distance in seconds. He swung and Liam fired. The arrow knocked the man aside and his sword whistled past Liam's face.

  The second arrow hit the second soldier in the chest, throwing him off the horse. He hit into a shelf, knocking a lantern off onto the floor.

  Liam swung up into the saddle as the fire spread behind him. Grout, that wasn't what he’d planned, but it would buy him some time. The soldiers would have to put out the fire and then try to calm the horses before they could saddle them.

  Half a dozen soldiers had almost reached the stable and they fell back as Liam's horse swept through them.

  The guard at the servants' entrance ran out into the path to block the way. He didn't take more than three steps before the arrow dropped him. He was just a man like any other, but he'd die for being a part of this. This was for Kaylyn.

  Once outside the gate, Liam galloped after the other riders. He could feel perhaps a mile in front of him.

  His instincts were as strong as they had ever been, and he wondered if his urgency focused it somehow.

  These men knew the terrain, but he was a better rider, and slowly he began to close the distance. It wasn't only them, he could feel Kaylyn as well, and they were catching up to her. She wouldn't expect to see them so soon, or at all, and that would give them an advantage.

  The first rider appeared through the trees crouching over his saddle.

  He dropped, and Liam swept past, reaching for a second arrow. The last arrow, he realised with a start.

  The other riders had kept a good distance ahead. Judging from where Kaylyn was, and the direction that they were moving in, he could cut across to save some time, but if his horse tripped and broke a leg, it was over.

  Still, he turned off the path and galloped through the sparse trees.

  The soldiers veered left. Liam turned to intercept them. He broke from the trees to the side and took down the soldier in front with his last arrow. The man fell, pulling his horse down on top of him. The second hit into it and was thrown from his saddle. The third rider turned and Liam swept past, swinging the bow as hard as he could. It cracked against the man's head with a sickening thud.

  The horse hit into Liam, crushing his leg, and the trees spun around him. Pain jolted up his side and he gripped the saddle to hold on.

  The second rider was getting unsteadily to his feet and was already drawing his sword.

  Liam kicked his horse into a gallop aiming right for him.

  As the horse hit, Liam drew his dagger and leapt out of his saddle. The other man was large, but Liam was stronger having spent his days working the soil, he put his weight behind it, and slowly drove the dagger home.

  The man tried to fight back as blood bubbled up into his throat. His hands shook, and his muscles weakened. Blue eyes bored into Liam, accusing him, cursing him, pleading with him.

  The man's body gave a final twitch, and Liam scrambled away.

  He had to do it to save Kaylyn. Light failing, it was the only way.

  He left the dagger where it was. He knew he should collect it, but he c
ouldn't bring himself to go near the body again.

  A man was dead but he did it to save Kaylyn.

  He found Kaylyn kicking uselessly in the water, weighed down and yet kept afloat by her giant wings. He swam to her, and dragged her back onto the shore, where they both collapsed onto their backs on the sand.

  Her hair hung in her face, but her eyes were bright and full of life.

  “Are you okay?” Liam asked, and she began to laugh uncontrollably. “I did it. I did it, without casting.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

  A second girl arrived, dragging her wings behind her. She looked tired, but her face shone bright and hopeful.

  “This is Cara,” Kaylyn said. “She helped me get out of that miserable place, and as soon as we get to a village, we're sending her back home, back to her parents in the most expensive and the fastest carriage we can find.”

  Chapter 26

  Quinn sat outside Fayre's door, staring at the Sage's journal without really seeing it at all. Fayre was doing okay when they arrived, but now, the infection had spread, and she had a fever. Her eyes looked bruised, and her skin was deathly pale. The last time Quinn saw her, his courage faltered, like short Norris standing on the edge of Atawold bluff about to jump into the Almsbury river. He had brought her back, but her body was dying, and there was nothing he could do about it. He could pull her back again, a hundred times if he had to, but what was he bringing her back to? Pain that she couldn't scream through? A body that was wasting away? He dropped his head back against the wall, feeling helpless.

  A Dispeller's assistant was in the room with her, cooling her down with a damp cloth, and for modesty's sake they wouldn't allow Quinn inside.

  They allowed him to sit outside in the hall though, so long as he didn't cause any trouble.