by JA Andrews
Sini thought the dragon might flee north, but as it flew past the edge of the battle a tremor rolled through it. With a furious cry it banked into a wide arc, heading toward the hill where Sini stood, bringing it back around toward the fighting.
The compulsion stones—Lukas was forcing it to stay and fight. The dragon flew closer, bright green ripples scattering across its body, glittering unnaturally bright against the leaden sky. Avina straddled its neck, her legs gripping the scales tightly, her clawed hand forming a new fireball.
“Avina!” Sini cried, waving her hands to get the copper elf’s attention. Avina glanced at Sini her teeth bared. “Hit the stones! The blue compulsion stones in its neck!”
Avina glanced down. With a vicious grin she scooted back and slammed the fireball down onto the dragon’s neck. The creature shuddered, and a trail of blue light from the broken stones curled up into the flames.
The copper elf thrust her fists into the air in victory just as the dragon let out a wild, liberated roar and veered back over the river. The move dislodged Avina and her little body tumbled to the side. She caught the front of its wing and clung to it until the dragon spun to the side and then fell, plummeting into the river along the far bank.
The green dragon raced down the river to the south, away from the fighting.
Sini began running toward the copper elf flailing in the river, but she was too far away.
With a strangled cry, Douglon burst out of the crowd of soldiers along the river, threw his axe down and dove into the river after her, but she was floating downstream too fast, bobbing under the water.
Then, Sini saw long tendrils of grass stretch out into the water near the bridge, wriggling like snakes across the surface. Rass stood on the shore, her hands buried in the greenery at the water’s edge. Avina’s little hands grabbed the grass and she clung to it until Douglon reached her. More and more grass dammed the edge of the river and the dwarf pulled them both to the shore while Avina clung to him.
On the battlefield, the other elves called to each other like birds and skipped over soldiers’ heads and shoulders as though they were racing through the treetops. The blue dragon, who still bombed the soldiers on the bridge, flew close. With a mighty leap a yellow elf shot into the air. The dragon twisted, catching the elf in its teeth, crushing his body.
The elves on the ground raced forward, flinging themselves at the sapphire dragon, screaming and clawing over the people in their way. A bronze elf leapt onto the dragon’s wing, pulling himself up. Another, light purple, jumped into the air and grabbed the tail. Two green elflings sprang onto the dragon’s wings before the bronze one slammed a fireball against the compulsion stones in its neck. Blue light streaked out from them and the dragon thrashed his head to the side.
The green elves yanked at the wings and the dragon careened to the side. The purple elf opened her mouth wide and her teeth slid out long and sharp enough to be fangs. She bit down on the thin end of the dragon’s tail. The blue dragon screeched in pain and plummeted down to smash into the river bank. A dozen elves piled on top, slamming fireballs onto it, gouging at it with tooth and claw.
The blue dragon flailed, biting viciously at the elves and another elf body was tossed, lifeless, from his jaws before the green dragon dove down, scraping through the crowd of elves with its claws and scattering them so the blue dragon could launch itself into the air. The two dragons, free of the compulsion stones and free of the elves wheeled away and tore south through the sky.
The green dragon circled high above the river, sunlight catching on its emerald scales. With a thin cry, it turned and flew toward the south.
Sini’s heart stuttered. The battlefield was already in shadows.
But a cheer went up from Queensland’s troops at the death of the blue dragon and they surged ahead with renewed vigor. The invading armies fell back, bit by bit, further from the bridge and the gap leading north. Dwarves and city guard fought side by side, pressing back the enemy. The elves darted between the legs of the other soldiers slinging fireballs at the invading forces. Several dozen of the Roven peeled off from the rest and began to gallop back toward the Scale Mountains.
Sini watched as the Roven forces splintered into individual clans and broke apart. The forces of Marshwell along the western edge cheered and the forces of Napon and Baylon sounded a full retreat.
The captains of Queensland’s troops called for their men to stand, cutting off any pursuit of the enemy. Sini heard shouted directions to dig in at their position, preparing for whatever would come tomorrow. She went numbly to a basin of water tinged red with blood and cleaned off her hands as well as she could. Everything inside her had settled to a numbness. When her hands looked reasonably clean she left the hospital and sank to her knees, looking toward the battlefield. There would be more wounded coming, but the sunlight was all but gone.
The humans, dwarves, and spattering of gemlike elves intermingled on the field. Sini watched them interact, tentative at first, then with more enthusiasm. A wave of exhaustion rolled over her and she let herself just sit. The night darkened and the first campfire was lit. A dwarven song rolled across the water and Sini stood, explaining to the nearest nurse that she’d be back in the morning when the sun rose to help with the healing again.
The events of the day left her feeling dull. The enemy had been held back, but there had been so many deaths, so many horrible wounds.
And she hadn’t even caught a glimpse of Lukas or the black sword.
She dropped her head into her hands. Where was Lukas? When she finally looked up, more fires had been lit. It was too lonely here by the wounded when she had no way to help them. She felt tired and powerless. She couldn’t bear to go back to the command tent and hear them talk about the dangers tomorrow would bring. Instead, she pushed herself up and started down the slope, hoping she’d be able to find Douglon and Avina in all the commotion. No one she’d known had come to the hospital, but she needed to know they were alright.
She struck out down the dark hill toward the bustle of the bridge. Shadows spread around her, joining together into the blackness of night. The lack of sunfire left her feeling exposed, like she’d walked into the cold without a cloak.
A hand on her arm from behind startled her, and she spun around.
Only paces away stood a hooded guard, his face in shadows. Sini drew back a step.
“Have you ever done something you regretted?” He reached up and pulled back his hood. The evening light fell on Pest’s face. “Even before you’d finished doing it?”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Sini stumbled back away from him, a chill fear gripping her. “Get away from me!”
She grabbed for sunfire before she could remember there was none. At the emptiness of the sky she lifted her hand, pouring vitalle into her ring.
Except nothing happened. Her hand was empty.
Her fear turned ice cold. Where was her ring?
The nearest soldiers were down by the bridge and she drew in a sharp breath to cry for help.
“Wait!” he begged. He grabbed the neck of his own shirt and pulled it down.
Sini’s breath caught. Trails of faint blue light from three compulsion stones set in a silver collar shimmered in the night.
“Help me,” he pleaded. “He’s made me…” He gritted his teeth. “I can’t resist him.”
“How long…?” She stopped. Pest carried his full set of knives and she took another step back. “What is he making you do?”
Pest pressed his eyes shut, his face tortured. “It’s already done.” He looked at her with desperation. “Destroy it before he makes me do anything else.”
“What did you do?”
He grabbed at the collar and yanked at it. “I know you can destroy these stones. Get this off me and I’ll tell you everything I know.”
She took a tentative step forward. The stones were well-made. This was something Lukas had spent time on. She felt a shiver of revulsion at the collar, remembe
ring how helpless she’d felt, controlled by hers. “I can’t destroy them, not without the sunlight. But I may be able to get it off you. Turn around.”
He did and she pulled the back of his shirt away from the silver band. Bracing herself for whatever the stones would do, she slipped her fingers around it. A wave of contentedness filled her. Like when she’d worn her own collar, she was filled with a longing to make Lukas happy. She gritted her teeth against it and forced herself to feel along the inside of the collar. The little merchant had said there was a spring. She squeezed along the band until she heard a faint click and the collar cracked apart. She pulled the two sides apart and Pest yanked it off his neck and threw it to the ground.
He rubbed at his neck and glared at the thin strip of silver. The three compulsion stones still gave off trails of blue light.
“How long have you been wearing that?” Sini asked him, staring at the collar. She felt a sliver of hope about the man. “Is this why you lied to me and took me to him?”
Pest was silent, but when she looked up at his face, she knew his answer.
He had betrayed her without begin controlled. “Then why?”
Spreading his hands out away from himself in as unthreatening a gesture as he could manage, his face turned pleading. “I didn’t understand who Lukas was at first. All I knew is that he offered my sister a safe place to live. Finding out some information about the Keepers seemed like a small price to pay for that. When we returned from Duncave and he found out I knew you…” He shrugged and the action looked almost helpless. “I didn’t want to take you to him. He had my sister.”
She stepped away from him. “You could have told us. We could have helped you.”
He dropped his gaze. “I don’t expect forgiveness.”
“Good,” she snapped, “Because I have none to give. Lukas tore information from me and destroyed the Keeper’s Stronghold.”
He flinched at her words. “You need to know the rest of it.” He stepped closer and she tensed. “You cannot trust the Duke of Greentree. He’s been working with Lukas for…I don’t know how long. Longer than I have been.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“If I had to guess,” Pest continued, “Their relationship started last summer when all those heirs to the throne mysteriously died of a wasting disease, and Lady Madeleine found herself as the heir apparent.”
Sini stiffened. They had died of a wasting disease—just like the animals along the southern border. “Lukas killed them?”
Pest shrugged. “I don’t know, but the Duke of Greentree knew before anyone else in the kingdom who would be the next heir. He went from no interest in Lady Madeleine to solidifying a betrothal between her and his son before the rest of the country even realized that the six heirs between her and the throne had actually died.”
Sini’s mind reeled at the idea. Roan had said his father had jumped on the opportunity so quickly that Roan hadn’t even understood the reasoning at first. “Is that why the duke has been trying to keep the queen from sending more troops south? To keep our army weak for Lukas?”
Pest shrugged. “I don’t know what Lukas and the duke planned.”
He stood before her less confident than she’d ever seen him. His shoulders were bowed, and his face twisted in unhappiness. “What did Lukas make you do?” she whispered, afraid of what his answer might be.
Pest’s hands clenched into fists and he shrank in on himself. “The queen is dead.”
Sini’s jaw dropped open.
“He had me poison her food.” His voice was strangled. “She grew ill yesterday and by this morning…”
“You killed her?” Sini’s mind tried to grasp the idea.
“I didn’t want to!” He reached for her, he is face desperate. “I tried not to! The collar—”
“You’re here,” she interrupted. “You must have left Queensland yesterday, maybe they cured her since you left.”
He shook his head slowly. “He made me stay long enough to make sure that even if they’d figured out it was poison, it would be too late to do anything.”
Sini turned toward the battlefield, staring at the flickering fires along Queensland’s lines. Across the field fires burned among the enemy troops as well. The queen was dead?
“So Madeleine is queen,” Sini said, “and the Duke of Greentree has a great deal of influence over both her and Roan.” She straightened. “We need to tell Will and Alaric.” She picked up the collar with a stick, keeping it far from herself. “And we need to find a fire to destroy this in.”
“Thank you,” Pest said quietly, backing away.
She looked sharply up at him. “Come with me and tell them what you know.”
He dropped a hand to a knife hilt and shaking his head. “They’d kill me on sight.”
“Maybe.” She glared at him. “But after all the harm you’ve done, come do something good.”
He paused and for a moment she thought he might agree. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. Before she could answer he broke into a sprint, running south along the river.
“Coward!” she called after him, but she’d already lost him to the darkness. She turned and ran uphill toward the bright torches around the command tent. She threw the collar into the first fire she reached, letting the stones crack and the blue light flutter away in with the flames. Then she ran into the command tent. Alaric and Will were both there, surrounded by military men, many of whom wore Greentree’s colors. Not sure who she could trust, she pulled them outside the tent door before whispering everything Pest had told her.
“The queen is dead?” Alaric asked, stunned.
“So Pest says,” she answered. “And I don’t know who we can trust from Greentree.” A new fear gripped her. “Has anyone seen Roan? Do you think…he’s not working with his father, is he?”
Will shook his head. “I can’t imagine he is. I’ve never sensed anything traitorous about him. His father though…” He ran his hands through his hair. “The duke has always felt duplicitous, but scheming people always do.” He glanced at Alaric apologetically. “I didn’t suspect anything like this.”
“None of us did,” Alaric answered. “Can you read the men we’re working with here? See if anyone’s feeling guilty?”
Will nodded and ducked back into the tent. Sini glanced after him into the lit interior. “Where’s Rett?”
“The battle was upsetting him, so we sent him to the stables inside the hold.”
“Good. Have you seen Roan?”
“Not for hours,” he answered. “I thought he was across the river.”
“Not since right after the Roven arrived.” A terrifying thought struck her. She grabbed Alaric’s arm. “He said he was going to confront his father in the hold.”
“The duke was in the command tent on and off today, but I haven’t seen him since—” He looked toward the battlefield, frowning. “Since before the dragons came.”
“Did any more of Greentree’s troops report? Roan said several of their units weren’t on the field.”
“Not that I saw.” He stared over the river with a dark look before turning back to her. “Don’t tell anyone what you know. Not until we figure out who can be trusted.”
She nodded. “I’m going to go look for Roan.”
“Not by yourself.” Alaric glanced up at the hold. “Will and Rett are up near the stables. Bring them with you. They might even know where he is. And be careful.”
He ducked back into the tent and Sini hurried up the hill toward the hold. Traffic streamed in and out of the gate as people brought supplies and water to the troops. She jogged into the courtyard and headed for the main doors. The hold was squat and solid-looking, made from a reddish-brown rock. It wrapped around three sides of the courtyard. Her heart sank at the sheer size of it. The building was low except for one tower that rose high enough to look over the wall toward the river. The stables were a bustle of light and activity to her left and she headed for them. Maybe Rett had seen Roan.
&nbs
p; A wave rolled through her, then another. A pause, then two more.
Rett? Sini’s gaze snapped up the tower. Those waves had come from above her. What was Rett doing in the hold?
She changed course and hurried in the front doors, stepping into a long hall severely void of decorations. People bustled throughs doors along the walls and up and down a long stairway at the far end.
Come.
The second call sent her running for the stairs. He was above her. From the weakness of the wave, he must be near the top of the tower. A knot of fear formed inside her. Why was Rett in the tower?
She took the stairs two at a time. Smaller stairs headed up from the second floor.
Come.
The waves were getting stronger. Sini cast out, herself. There was no code for her to answer with, but at least he would know she was coming. The tower was mostly empty. She caught the echo of vitalle one more story up, and she sprinted up the last flight of stairs into an ornate hallway. Lit torches showed tapestries on the walls and a floor lined with plush rugs. These must be the apartments the duke was using. The thought was a cold knife to her gut. Why was Rett with the duke?
She cast out again and felt vitalle in a room near the end of the hall on the left. There wasn’t much, though. Only one person. Was he here alone? She ran down the hall, her footsteps muffled in the thick carpet. The door to the room was open and she peered around the doorway into a dark room.
A low fire burned along the wall to the left, but the rest of the room lay in darkness.
In front of the fire, crumpled face down on the floor, was a body, too limp and too awkwardly positioned to be conscious.
“Rett!” She ran across the floor and knelt by him, knowing immediately that something wasn’t right. This body was far too small for Rett. This close to the firelight she could see that the clothes were grey. She rolled him over and froze.
Not Rett. She looked into Roan’s pale, slack face.
Her heart caught in her throat and she cast out into his body. There was such a tiny bit of vitalle that she let out a little sob. The skin on his face was a dusty grey, his hair black against it. She could find no wound. Sluggish energy flowed through his torso and his head, but his arms and legs were almost an extension of the darkness in the rest of the room. She set her hand on his cheek and felt nothing but coldness.