The Crystal Tree (Song Magic Book 1)

by Imogen Elvis

  Kade glanced up at the sign and nodded. “Lara and Rowen should be waiting for us here. Come on. Let’s get inside and out of the rain.” He pushed open the door.

  They stepped into a large, bright room filled with tables. A fire burned on the hearth, set into the back wall, and every seat was filled with people eating, drinking, and laughing, their voices blending into a dull, wordless roar. Kade stopped in the doorway and surveyed the room. Briar rubbed her numb hands together and stomped her boots to shake off the mud. The warmth made her fingers ache.

  “I see them. Over there. ” Kade made a beeline for the rear of the room.

  Rowen and Lara sat at a table in the very back corner, talking over the remains of a meal. Lara sat with her back to them, but Rowen faced out towards the door. He raised his hand in a half wave as he caught sight of them, a grin quirking up the corners of his mouth. “There you are, Kade. What took you so long?”

  Kade shrugged. “We got caught in the storm.”

  “We?” Lara said.

  All eyes turned to Briar. Her cheeks heated and she dropped her eyes awkwardly to her hands. Lara, in particular, didn’t look entirely pleased to see Briar. Well, at least she wasn’t expecting a warm welcome.

  “I thought you were taking Briar to Astar,” Lara said after a moment’s pause.

  “Things changed. It’s a long story.” Kade slid into the seat next to Rowen. “More importantly, tell me you have good news.” He gestured to Briar to sit, and she perched herself on the very edge of the bench Lara currently occupied, as far away from the other girl as she could manage.

  Rowen’s face lit up with an easy smile. “The Nameless Ones came through with a group of children about three days ago. I get the idea they pass through pretty regularly.” He flagged down a serving boy. “Can we get some more of this excellent pie for my friends?” The boy nodded and scampered away.

  Briar’s fingers twisted together in her lap. Ava must be one of those children. At least that meant she was right and the Nameless Ones didn’t want to kill her sister. Which was both a relief, and a worry. Relief because that meant Briar still had a chance to save Ava. Worry because the Tree only knew what they planned to do with her.

  “Anything else?” Kade looked from Rowen to Lara.

  Lara shrugged. “Yes and no. They took the ferry across the lake, that’s for sure. But no one could say where they went after that. My guess is that we’d do better to go across to Purdur and ask around there.”

  “Well, at least we’re still on the right track.” Kade yawned widely.

  “We can talk about this more in the morning.” Lara’s face softened. “You look like you could do with some sleep.”

  “And a meal,” Kade said with a wry grin. “All my supplies got ruined in the storm.”

  “Well, you’re going to like the pie,” Rowen said. “Here it comes. Rabbit and potato they tell me, with just a hint of smoky bacon.”

  “That sounds unexpectedly nice for inn fare.” Kade raised his eyebrows. The serving boy deposited two plates of steaming pie on the table and wiped his hands on his front, looking up at them expectantly. “That’s all, thank you,” Kade added, and the boy scampered off again.

  “Well…” Rowen’s grin turned a touch mischievous. “The innkeeper’s wife seems rather fond of me.”

  Lara rolled her eyes. “Rowen managed to sweet talk this steely-eyed battle-axe of an old woman into making a pie especially for him. You should have seen the flattery. He’s just like a big child when he wants food.”

  Rowen shrugged. “She was just like Maz back home. All bark and very little bite. Anyway, you should be grateful. You could have been eating watered down stew like the rest of them.” He leaned back with a smug smile. “It’s not my fault people like me better than you two. Though I can’t judge you just yet,” he added to Briar. “You could be more charming than me.”

  “I doubt it.” Briar smiled shyly. More persuasive, absolutely. More charming, certainly not. It was hard not to like Rowen, especially when he lit up with good humour and smiles. And the pie was, as Rowen said, excellent, all rich gravy, tender meat, and hearty chunks of soft potato. Though she had to admit, even the watery stew sounded delicious after nearly two days with no food.

  Briar wolfed down her meal, letting the conversation pass her by. It was only once she’d scraped the last of the pie from the plate that she sat back, the gnawing hole in her stomach finally satisfied. Between the long trek, the warmth of the room and the heavy meal though, exhaustion dragged her eyelids low. She yawned widely.

  “I think that’s probably our cue to head to bed,” Kade stood.

  “I’ll take you up.” Lara rose. “We’ve got two rooms. You’re sharing with Rowen. Briar can sleep in with me.”

  “That sounds wonderful.” Kade rolled his shoulders and winced. “It’s been a long day.”

  Briar heaved herself to her feet, stifling a groan at the effort it took to complete even that simple action. Sitting down, even for a short time, made moving again just that much harder. She trailed after Lara and Kade as they headed for the narrow flight of stairs that led up to the second floor. These let out in an even narrower corridor with doors lining either side.

  Lara pushed open the door closest to the stairs. “This is my room,” she said. “My bed is on the left.”

  The room was as narrow as everywhere else. Two beds were jammed into the tiny space, leaving barely enough room to step between them. A small window was set into the wall opposite the door. Over it were latched wooden shutters, but a gaping space between them let the night wink in.

  “Sleep well, Briar.” Kade gave her a tired smile.

  Briar managed a small one in return. “Goodnight.” She closed the door behind her and leaned her back against it, letting out a silent sigh of relief. Safe at last. It didn’t seem possible that she’d come from shivering in a tent amid the mud and rain to sleeping in a warm, dry bed within the space of a day, but she certainly wasn’t questioning her good fortune.

  Lara’s voice filtered through the door behind Briar’s back, sharp and definitely unhappy. “Why is Briar still here, Kade? You were supposed to leave her way back at the watchtower.”

  “It’s complicated.” Briar could imagine Kade running his fingers through his hair as he struggled for words.

  “I’m sure it is. But you’re the one always telling us how important this is. We can’t afford the sort of issues having Briar along brings.”

  “What was I supposed to do? Leave her in the middle of nowhere? She was going to go on with or without us. At least this way she made it to Trava safely.”

  “And now what? You know we can’t take her with us.”

  Kade sighed. “I don’t know. I need to sleep on it. I promise you, Lara. I will make the right decision. But it will be the right one for all of us. I owe Briar.”

  “You owe her what?”

  “Too much.” Kade’s voice was so low Briar almost didn’t catch his words.

  There was a beat of silence. “I don’t pretend to understand this,” Lara said at last. “But get some rest, and we’ll figure it out in the morning, alright?” Her voice softened on the last word. “We always work something out in the end.”

  Briar leaned her head back against the door as their footsteps faded away. She’d been so focused on getting to Trava that she hadn’t even thought about what would happen after she arrived. The Nameless Ones weren’t even here anymore. And, much as she hated to admit it, Lara was right. Kade didn’t have to help her. He promised to deliver her safely to Trava, and he’d more than made good on his promise. After tonight, Briar would be on her own again. And the thought of that scared her more than she liked to admit.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Lara, Kade and Rowen had already risen and breakfasted by the time Briar stumbled downstairs the next morning. From what she could see through the gap in her bedroom shutters, the rain had ceased overnight, leaving the world grey and sodden. She paused on the lowes
t step and smoothed a hand over her habit a little self-consciously. They looked so relaxed, sitting at the table in the back corner, talking quietly. Watching them made Briar miss Rayna. She missed having a friend to talk to, someone she could be close to like these three were. Briar squished down a stab of sadness. She chose to leave all that behind in Osman when she left.

  The low buzz of conversation died as Briar joined the other three. She gave them a tentative smile. “Good morning.”

  “Morning.” Rowen shifted over to make a space for Briar to perch beside him and pushed a bowl of steaming oatmeal in her direction. “Tuck in.”

  Briar nodded her thanks. Rowen must have been charming the innkeeper’s wife again because there was honey drizzled over the oatmeal. She ate slowly, savouring the unexpected sweetness.

  “Alright, so now that Briar’s here, what’s the plan, Kade?” Lara asked.

  Kade clasped his hands on the tabletop and leaned in. When he spoke, his voice was low, though the background buzz of conversation from the other patrons would have covered his words anyway. “We need to buy some new supplies first. Then we’ll take the next ferry to Purdur and try to pick up the trail from there. Rowen, I’m going to need you to go pay our fares.”

  “No problem. The ferry leaves mid-morning, so you’ve got a bit of time.”

  “Perfect. Lara, you, Briar and I will go to the market and buy more food. We’ll meet Rowen at the dock when we’re finished and board together. Does that sound reasonable?”

  “That works,” Lara said. “Rowen and I checked the market out yesterday, so I can help you find what we need. When Briar’s finished, we should get moving. It’ll be busy already.” Her voice was carefully neutral, and she didn’t even glance at Briar as she spoke.

  “I’m coming with you?” It seemed too good to be true. Especially after the conversation she overheard the night before.

  “Unless you’d rather not,” Kade said.

  “No. No. I would love to,” Briar said hastily. “It’s just, you only agreed to get me to Trava. I don’t want to cause trouble.”

  “We’re happy to have you with us for as long as we’re going the same way.” Kade glanced at Lara, who avoided his eye.

  “Anyway, we should be going as soon as Briar’s done eating. The boat’s not going to wait for us,” Rowen said.

  “I’m almost finished.” Well, halfway. But the other bowls were already stacked in the centre of the table, and with a ferry to catch, Briar was eager to be off.

  “No rush.” Rowen leaned back easily. “Never waste good food.”

  “I’ll settle our bill with the innkeeper while Briar finishes.” Kade left, taking the conversation with him.

  They sat in silence for a little while. Briar’s fingers twitched nervously on the spoon. There were few things more awkward than eating when everyone else had already finished. She was grateful when Rowen cleared his throat.

  “So, Kade says you’re following the Nameless Ones.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Why?” Lara looked at Briar for the first time.

  Briar dragged her spoon through the congealing oatmeal, digging a little trench. “Does it matter?” she said at last.

  “Well, you’re coming with us, so it probably does,” Lara said.

  “We’d be able to help you more if we understood what you’re doing exactly,” Rowen added. “I assume you know what the Nameless Ones are capable of.”

  “Yes,” Briar said simply. That was something she’d never forget, no matter how hard she tried. Her grip tightened on the spoon as she struggled to find the right words. Rowen was right. They were helping her more than she had any right to be helped. They at least deserved to know why she was doing this. “My sister is one of the children the Nameless Ones took.”

  “Sairth.” Rowen ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s rough.”

  “I’m sorry.” Lara’s voice softened, just a little.

  “Thank you.” Briar dropped her eyes back to her meal, her appetite suddenly gone with the sudden rush of emotions their words unlocked. She struggled to push them back. There would be time to think about how difficult this was later.

  Kade re-joined them, cutting off any further conversation, for which she was thankful. “If Briar’s finished, we should go. As Rowen said, that ferry isn’t going to wait forever.”

  “I’m done.” Briar pushed aside her bowl and stood. Half her meal still lay uneaten, but she didn’t care. They were going to help her find Ava, and that was all that mattered.

  Like in Osman, the Travan market was set in a large, cobblestone square in what Briar guessed was probably the middle of town. People flowed from one brightly coloured awning to another, haggling the best price on everything from hunks of cured meat to tin cups. Chickens squabbled. Stallholders hawked their wares in a deafening bellow. The pungent scent of fresh ox dung wafted past, mingling with a heady mix of herbs, freshly baked bread, and the earthy smell of mud, which clung to everything. Briar stuck close to Kade and Lara as they pushed their way through the crowd. It would be far too easy to lose them in here.

  Standing on the shores of a lake, Trava was a busy little town, filled with people from all over, going to who knew where. It reminded Briar of home. Home in Osman that was, not Astar. There wasn’t exactly a lot of Astar left to miss. Everywhere she looked there were stallholders, market goers, and friendly soldiers, who hung around the edges of the square chatting to the townspeople. A lump formed in Briar’s throat as they walked past a spice merchant’s stall. It was as if, at any moment, Ava might appear out of the crowd, eyes sparkling.

  Apparently, the list of supplies necessary for the next leg of their journey included half the market. They bought a proper travelling pack for Briar, a cloak, also for Briar, and enough food to sink a small barge. Everything they bought went straight into their bags. Briar heaved her new pack up, grunting with the effort it took to get it over her shoulder.

  Lara raised an eyebrow at her with a look of amusement. “Too heavy?”

  “Not at all.” Briar straightened and almost fell backwards. She’d keep up even if they packed a millstone into her bag. What worried her more was the fact that she didn’t have the money to pay for these supplies. They had to know that, right? At first, Briar bit her lip and stayed silent. But, as more and more items went into her bag, finally she had to say something.

  “I can’t pay for any of this,” she murmured to Kade.

  “I know.”

  Oh. Well then. It seemed rude to bring it up again. But at the same time, Briar owed Kade so much already for the help he’d given her. To also owe him for all these supplies, well, she wasn’t sure how she could ever pay him back.

  Lara nudged Kade with her shoulder. “Soldiers.”

  A squad headed through the market crowd in their general direction. Not Travan soldiers, with their pristine uniforms and easy manner. These were travel-stained, carrying heavy packs, and forging a path through the crowd with purpose in their strides. Briar’s chest tightened. Had the soldiers from Nestin found them again? That should be impossible. No one knew where they were going. And yet it should also have been impossible for them to find her and Kade in Nestin, but the soldiers tracked them down anyway. Briar narrowed her eyes and focused every scrap of soul singing skill she had on the troop. Without magic or a life song to read, it was hard to be sure, but they didn’t seem to be on the alert. Hopefully, they were just patrolling the roads.

  “I don’t think they’re looking for us,” Briar said at last.

  “How can you be sure?” Lara asked.

  “I’m a magician. I’m good at reading people. They’re not watchful enough.”

  “We’re done here anyway.” Kade hiked his pack up. “We should join Rowen at the ferry.” He led the way across the market, keeping ahead of the soldiers.

  An ox cart rumbled through the square, parting the milling crowd. Kade stood aside, waiting for it to pass with Lara and Briar pressed close behin
d him. Briar shifted from foot to foot. Even through the deafening noise of the people around, her ears still listened for the voices of the soldiers. She could feel them closing in and the hairs on the back of her neck prickled.

  The cart moved on, and so did they, slipping through the crowd towards the road on the far side of the square. Briar glanced up at the sky. The sun was well up and climbing quickly. If the ferry left at mid-morning, then they were going to have to hurry to catch it.

  The road to the dock was filled with people coming and going, though not in such large numbers as in the market itself. Briar tasted water on the air, crisp and a little stale, as if it had lain still too long. The street dropped away underfoot, sloped around a corner, and then there they were on the edge of the dock.

  A few boats lined the edge of the quay, mostly little boats, with oars stowed inside, or sails furled on slender masts. Fishermen’s boats maybe? At the very edge of the jetty a much larger boat was moored. People milled around on its deck, and more made their way on board. That had to be the ferry.

  “They’re getting ready to leave,” Lara said.

  It took Briar a moment to pick out the sailors as they prepared the boat for the crossing. She had less trouble sensing the squad of soldiers, who still followed them, even here, to the dock. She strained in vain to catch their conversation, resisting the urge to glance back. There was no way they were looking for her and Kade. Was there?

  “There’s Rowen.” Lara pointed ahead. “Come on you two.” She broke into a slow jog, waving to her brother, who stood by the boat. He raised a hand in reply.

  “What took so long?” he called as they reached him.

  “Buying enough food to fill your greedy stomach.” Lara swept past him and onto the plank laid between the dock and the ferry. “I assume you paid our passage already?”

  Rowen rolled his eyes and shared an amused glance with Briar. “Of course I did. I’m not completely useless.”