“We should really try finding an inn,” Tomias said. “We’ve lost most of our supplies. We need to regroup, see what we have left.”
As much as she wanted to follow the strange sensation pulling at her very being, she knew he had a point. “I grabbed what I could off of Benny but I don’t think it was much. Let’s just keep an eye out for him. He might be around here somewhere.”
“If he hasn’t been ransacked already. This isn’t good. If we don’t have anything to sell or trade, we’ll be stuck here without money. Without money we can’t get food or shelter or-”
“I know. I get it. We can deal with this later, let’s just find someplace safe.”
“We’re in Val’shar, Kir. Nothing is safe,” Tomias grumbled. All humor had melted away from him, the stress shattering his mask of calm. She was seeing something raw in him, an exposed pool of anger and anxiety that she wasn’t ready to deal with. He turned away from her and led the way through the crowded market. She kept close, not wanting to lose him in the shuffle. The thought of being alone in the city after what she’d seen terrified her.
They cut across the square and ducked into a smaller side street. The cacophony of noise died down the further they got from the crowded market. She could hear her own thoughts, not the constant chatter that had assaulted her before. The street curved ahead of them, lined with shops and little cafes, but there was no sign of an inn. The buildings were all built of smooth, white stone, the rooves a shade of light blue and trimmed with swirling accents. It brought to mind the air and sea and sky. This was the district dedicated to Aeiril, goddess of the sky. It was she who controlled the wind and rain and the fire of the sun. It made her popular with sailors and farmers whom relied on her to bless them with calm winds and fair weather.
“You know, we could just ask someone where an inn is,” Kirheen suggested.
“No,” Tomias said, his tone flat.
“Why? Are we just going to wander around until we find one? That seems safe.”
Tomias huffed. “I don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.”
“And wandering around in circles doesn’t draw attention?”
He whirled and she almost collided with his shoulder. “Fine! You want to ask someone, then get to asking. You lead the way.”
“Fine, I will!” she snapped back, shoving her shoulder against him roughly as she passed. It was childish. Fear and stress were taking a toll, the events of the morning already pulling them apart. They needed rest and food before either of them said something they couldn’t take back.
A middle-aged Zekarian priest stepped out of a nearby building, his shaved head glistening. His robes were of the deepest black and they swirled around him with every step. It wasn’t the most ideal choice, but she had little patience for scoping out a better target. She increased her pace, catching up with the priest, ignoring the aggravated growl Tomias let loose behind her.
“Excuse me,” Kirheen said when she was just a few steps away from the man. He slowed his steps and looked over his shoulder with startlingly blue eyes. He stopped dead in his tracks, spinning around to face her. Startled, Kirheen lurched back, bumping into Tomias as she did.
“Sorry if I startled you,” the priest said, looking bewildered. For a simple priest, there was something off about his demeanor, a strangeness to the way he carried himself. “In truth, you startled me. I thought you were someone else. Is there something you need?”
“Um, yes,” Kirheen said, suddenly feeling self-conscious under the weight of his gaze. “We were hoping you might tell us where an inn is.”
“Ah, travelers. Nearest inn is going to be up the road a ways. You’ll take a right on the first cross street you come to. That’ll dump you out on the main road. You’ll find plenty of inns up and down that corridor, but I’m afraid I don’t have much by way of recommendations. My home is…elsewhere.”
Well, that was easy. “Thanks for your help. We were a bit lost.”
“Understandable. This city is quite the labyrinth if you don’t know where you’re going. Might I make a suggestion?”
“Of course.”
“Unless you’re here for a good reason, I suggest keeping your visit in Val’shar short. This city is not what it used to be and I’m afraid despite the attempts of the Seekers, things are starting to get out of control. Whatever you’re doing here, finish your business quickly and be on your way.”
Kirheen’s blood turned to ice. “Of course. Thanks for the warning. It’s something we’ll keep in mind.”
“Please do,” the priest side. “May Zekar bless you on your journey,” he said, bowing politely. He waited for Kirheen and Tomias to continue walking before he moved again.
“Well, that wasn’t so bad,” Kirheen said when they were finally out of earshot.
“You asked a Zekarian priest for directions…”
Kirheen glared at him. “And what’s your point?”
“You asked…a Zekarian…priest…for directions.”
“And he gave them to us. Can we just agree to stop talking to each other until we find an inn? I’m having a strange, overwhelming urge to punch you right now.”
Tomias merely grunted and heat sprang to life in her chest, an unexplainable irritation that was hard to push away. It was irrational and stupid, but she wasn’t in the right state of mind to deal with his attitude. She needed food and sleep and time to sort through her feelings about being in the city, to make a plan for the coming days. They found the crossroad easily enough and the rise in activity and noise guided them to the main road. It was wide and cobbled in black stone and brimming with people. She peered over the sea of faces, spotting a two-story inn further up the road. They wove into the crowd, avoiding horses and carts and foot traffic alike. Kirheen looked up at the sign. Black Gate Inn. Fitting.
Despite not having the size or girth to match it, the innkeeper had the personality of a grumpy bear. His thin lips sagged into a frown as he took in their clothing, his suspicion evident. “I’ve rooms, but it’ll cost you,” he sneered.
Kirheen returned his sneer. She wasn’t in the mood for his attitude either. “Just give me a price,” she hissed, reaching for her coin pouch.
He regarded her wearily. It seemed he was trying to test her, and it was impossible to tell whether she was passing. She didn’t care. “A silver and twenty,” he said, crossing his arms. There would be no haggling.
Kirheen glanced over her shoulder at Tomias and he merely shrugged. She dug into their money pouch, very much aware of how light it had gotten over the course of their journey. She handed it to the innkeeper, going out of her way to set the money on the bar top and not into his outstretched hand. He sighed and handed her a key which she snatched before he could return the favor. It had the number two etched on it.
“Head up the stairs,” he pointed behind them. “Look for the number. Cause any trouble in my inn and I’ll have your head.”
“Wasn’t planning on it,” Kirheen grumbled, rolling her eyes as she turned away from him. She trudged towards the hallway, avoiding the eyes of those sitting in the common room. She found their room easily enough and slipped the key into the lock. There was nothing special about it other than it being horrendously overpriced. There were two beds, a fact that Kirheen was quite happy about.
Doing her best to avoid eye contact with Tomias, she found the nearest chair and took to unlacing her boots. She felt him pass, his feet thumping on the wood floors and rattling her nerves with each step. Free of the confines of her shoes, she set them aside and walked towards one of the beds, flinging herself on top of the covers. She grabbed the extra pillow and hugged it against her chest, trying to banish the thoughts cascading through her head.
They had so little left. Clothing, food, supplies - gone. They’d split the jewelry and spices Leann had given them between two packs. Half of that had been stolen, and the other half Kirheen had managed to pluck off Benny before he’d fled. It wasn’t much and even if they sold all of it, it
would be hard to make it back out of the city. What have I gotten us into?
She’d effectively trapped them in the city with no means of getting back out, and for what? So she could see what she already knew she would see? She knew what she’d find in Val’shar. It hadn’t exactly been a mystery. But this feeling in my chest… this burning.
That song in her heart kept drawing her closer and closer and it felt impossible to ignore. She could feel it even then, a throbbing in her soul. How could she look Tomias in the eyes and explain to him that this had all been because of a feeling? If he died in this place, could she ever forgive herself for it? It wasn’t right.
She could feel a slight tilting of the bed, the wood frame squeaking as Tomias sat next to her. His hand gripped her shoulder and she tensed. She wasn’t ready to have that discussion, not ready to fight and argue. Exhaustion and agitation were all she could feel. She didn’t want to say something she’d regret.
Instead, Tomias said, “It’s going to be okay, Kir. We’ll figure this all out in the morning. Let’s just rest.”
He curled up against her back, his arm draping over her waist. His hand found hers and he gripped it tight. Such an odd thing to have him comforting her. She’d spent months clinging to him in the dark, trying to keep his broken heart and mind from crumbling into pieces. Now he was returning the favor. She focused on that comfort. Exhaustion claimed her swiftly, enwrapping her in a hazy dream world. There was the sound of rustling fabric and boots scuffing against stone and the scream of a masked woman as she plummeted into the abyss. Only nightmares followed.
CHAPTER 18
When Garild woke, it was not to the sweet lilting melody he’d been hoping to hear. There was only silence, nothing to mask the fact that it felt like his body had been torn apart from the inside out. His head throbbed, a deep pounding that reverberated through his skull, sending waves of pain with each beat.
He could remember an argument and his own violent flash of anger. There had been something blinding, a great ball that had torn through body and mind with terrifying force. With a pained grunt, he rolled onto his side and opened his eyes. Everything looked off, a kaleidoscope of swirling shapes and colors. He blinked and tried to bring the room into focus.
A dark blur moved in his peripheral and he looked towards the source. Samira was propped against her desk, a book balanced in her hand. She flipped through it casually, her eyes scanning the pages. At the sound of him squirming she glanced up and shut the book with a loud snap.
“You really need to learn to control that anger of yours,” she said, striding towards him. She bent down and grabbed his arm, yanking him to his feet with ease. The world swayed wildly as he went vertical and he had to cling to Samira to keep from falling back over.
“What did you do to me?” he groaned. His stomach was doing somersaults and he thought briefly how embarrassing it would be to throw up in front of her.
She raised a brow. “I turned your power against you.”
“Yeah, I figured as much, but I saw it. I was physically hit by something. It feels like you dropped me off the top of this building. How did you do it?”
Samira loosed a sigh that practically oozed annoyance. “Did they truly teach you so little? What good is mental power against a blade? What good is it against a shield? If a person comes at you with the intent to kill, are you going to be able to crack their mind before they are close enough to slip a blade into your heart? It was a physical attack, you fool. I took that terribly misguided outburst of yours and turned it into a force that could be felt, not just by the mind, but by the body too.”
“I’m not an idiot. I know it’s possible, but how did you do it? It wasn’t exactly a common sight back home.”
“How do you do anything? You focus. You think about turning that mental energy into a physical need. You morph it into a tool or a weapon. To think we’re so limited to the scope of our own minds is ridiculous. There is a reason the royal family fears us and there is a reason why we’ve managed to stay alive so long. We’re not defenseless, not mentally at least, and even physically we’ve got our fair share of tricks.”
The room had finally stopped spinning and Garild took the opportunity to distance himself from Samira. “This isn’t a trick, right? You’re not just fooling my mind into thinking it’s real? It’s an actual, physical force?”
Samira snorted sharply. “Just assume for a moment that everything you learned was wrong, archaic, and dripped off the tongue of a mad man. You have a lot more to learn before you can be considered anything close to skilled.”
“Then teach me,” Garild blurted out, the thought barely processing in his own head before it had left his lips. “Um, could you?”
She studied him with her dark, mesmerizing eyes, a great jungle cat sizing up her prey. “Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean I will. It doesn’t mean you’re worthy. You’ve been scarred by the things you’ve had to face, and those emotions are going to be a problem unless you start sorting through them.”
“My emotions? Really?”
An amused grin. “Need I remind you of your own angry outburst? Forget it. I have other interests. Sanctuary. Tell me about it.”
Garild grimaced. “What could you possibly want to know? You already know everything. Seems like you did enough browsing of your own free will to bother with my feelings on the place.”
“Only some of it,” Samira said with a laugh. “You act like I carefully skimmed through every memory you possess. I peeked, just enough to discredit you as a threat, but I wish to know more. Indulge me.”
“What do you want to know?” Garild huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. He was hesitant to share those memories with anyone, especially with a woman that had lured him to her against his will with her freakish powers. There was no doubt that answering her questions was the easiest route. He wasn’t keen on finding out what would happen if he denied her request.
“Tell me about Nyson. He crafted a story, kept you all locked away in that forest. He controlled through fear. What happened to those he couldn’t control?”
“Nyson was completely mad. I don’t know how none of us saw it sooner, how so many of us failed to question it. We all thought we had a purpose, that when we came of age we’d go fight the corruption beyond our walls. Instead, he was turning us into slaves, carefully breeding us into mindless soldiers for his twisted cause. It’s hard to even talk about. I don’t think I’ll ever understand what he did or why he did it. We were all just caught in the middle of his web.”
“Fear is a powerful tool. Nyson, however crazy he was, knew what he was doing to you all. And this bonding ritual he put you all through, it was just another tool. What would you possibly fear losing more than the person you love? Wouldn’t you be willing to sacrifice everything if it meant keeping that bond? He fooled you, plain and simple. He kept your loyalty because you were afraid of losing that connection, of breaking that bond. It didn’t mean anything in the end though, did it? Her name…Kirheen? In the end she chose a different path, didn’t she?”
Garild flinched, hearing her name from the voice of a stranger an unexpected hurt. “No, our bond was…a lie. A painful lesson.”
“She chose another. She didn’t share your feelings.”
Garild narrowed his eyes. “That’s awfully personal of you.”
“So is staring at my chest, but you don’t hear me complaining.”
A hot surge of anger sprang to life in his chest. She was too close to that secret hurt, a hurt he guarded with a demon of rage and fire. “You’re ridiculous, you know that. You want to talk about Sanctuary, let’s talk about Sanctuary, but leave Kirheen out of this. I’m not going to talk about her. She has nothing to do with this.”
Samira had the audacity to laugh. She leaned against her desk, her lips curling into an amused grin. “She has everything to do with this. She is the source of your anger, the source of your frustrations. She is why you fled across the ocean. Her betrayal made you feel usele
ss and stupid. You couldn’t help her when it mattered most and now you’re drowning in shame, unable to cope with how thoroughly you let her down. This is why I can’t train you. This, right here. Until you accept the things that have happened to you, until you have dominion over your own emotions, there is nothing I can teach you.”
Garild floundered, her words crushing him like a ton of bricks. He opened his mouth, but he couldn’t form words. She’d cut right through to the center of his being and pulled out his heart for him to see. She’d jabbed a hot poker into his insecurities, but the truth of the matter was, she wasn’t wrong. Kirheen had been the catalyst for everything in his life. She’d been his motivation and drive, his heartbreak and his devastation. She still was, even if she remained an ocean away. His shoulders slumped with defeat. “She almost died in Sanctuary. She sacrificed everything to free our friends, to free them from the nightmare we’d all been trapped in. I blamed her for it all, for every loss and death and hurt. I never took the time to realize she’d lost too. I didn’t have to fight. I didn’t have to lose. I didn’t have to watch it all collapse with my own eyes.”
Samira’s expression softened. “And here I was expecting to have to put you in your place again. Maybe you’re not such a fool after all.”
Garild sighed. “I kind of deserved it. I did attack you.”
“I can forgive that,” she smiled. “Where is the girl now? I know she left, but where to?”
“She went to Val’shar.”
“Gods, what made her think that was a good idea?”
Garild shook his head. He’d been trying to figure that out himself. “I really don’t know. She told me she just wanted to see it, that she had to see it. I’m not even sure she knew why she was going. I just…I just hope nothing happens. Everything I’ve heard about Val’shar makes it sound like a place of nightmares. Is it really so bad?”
The Allseer Trilogy Page 48