The High Lord (Legends of Trianon: Starla Book 2)

by J. A. Comley

  Starla rose, watching the little animal tremble in terror. “It’s okay, Mika. Tell me what happened.”

  She reached out a hand to pat Mika’s soft fur, but she darted back, her eye locking on Starla as it stopped raking the bushes.

  “It's awful!” she began, fear making her voice pitchy. “Gaby was trying to foil grobbler traps in case you came to the Wood to find her. They were ordered to catch you. But … oh, Starla, she's been caught! They have her, and Flek, and Heny, too. But I turned invisible and they didn't find me. I didn't know what else to do, so I came to find you.”

  Starla felt a pang of sympathy for the little creature. With the other Guardians off-planet, Mika had come to find her. And then a wave of guilt hit her. Gaby had been captured because of her.

  “Don't worry, Mika. We'll get them back. I will talk to the High Lord as soon as he returns, and—”

  “No!” squealed Mika.

  “He's not our enemy. I promise you, we can trust him,” Starla said, realising that Mika must share the Sacrileons' fear and mistrust.

  “There's no time to wait, Starla!” she cried, clearly hysterical and desperate to be going. “They're going to take them to Kyron. Tonight! When the moons hit their apex. I heard them say it before I fled. They're quite some way north.”

  Starla stared up at the sky. Maybe two hours to midnight. She looked at Eltara, then down the path Larkel had taken, wondering where the guards were.

  No time.

  Starla came to a decision and snatched up the bird book Larkel had left on the edge of the little pond. Flipping open the book to a page for notes, she picked up her lightning fern pen from where she had dropped it when Mika appeared.

  She signed off the little note then carefully removed her bracelet and laid it in the book like a bookmark. Placing the book carefully back on the side of the pond, she straightened.

  With one last look at Eltara and down the path, she turned to Mika.

  Her friends needed her. They were in trouble because of her, and she would not abandon them.

  “Mika, how will we get there in time?”

  “It's okay. I can get us close.”

  Starla felt a strange tug around her naval then blinked in surprise at finding herself deep within Rainbow Wood.

  “How—” Starla began, but Mika had already taken off into the softly-glowing trees.

  Unease clenched Starla's stomach. She turned back and could only see trees in all directions. She steered her growing fear into determination.

  If Gaby dies because of me, I will never forgive myself, Starla thought.

  How Mika had brought them here didn't really matter. All that mattered was that they not be too late.

  Starla followed the little creature, pushing the fear from her mind. She had to concentrate now. She wasn't sure what she could achieve, but she had to try. She would try to keep alert in case her fearful instincts proved correct. Hopefully, Larkel would find her note and be following close behind.

  ***

  The Baron had hissed in delight when his idiot of a fiancée had told him of her discovery, of what she’d overheard hiding in the dark part of the gardens he had tricked Larkel into finding refuge in. Things were going exactly as planned. The Master had done as promised, and no less than eight corruption attacks had occurred simultaneously across the city.

  Now he was running full-tilt towards the little secluded spot Larkel had left Starla.

  I must get there first, he thought, his breath coming in deep puffs. The Master will be—

  His train of thought broke off as he barrelled headlong into the empty enclosure.

  … almost empty.

  Beside the little pond lay Eltara, her onyx hair spilt around her head. He knelt beside her, checking her pulse, and felt his heart tighten painfully as he spotted a picture beside her.

  He got up, turning his back to the pond, breathing deeply, trying to erase the pain and tormenting loss that tried to drag him under.

  For her, I have to finish what I started.

  Everything was going perfectly. In just a few short hours, all his years as a double-agent would finally pay off, and his revenge against Larkel would be complete.

  The Baron stood, looking around the small area for any signs of where Starla had gone, or been taken.

  A glint of reflected light drew his attention back to the little pond just as he was about to leave. A book was resting on its rim, something gold sticking out of the pages near the back.

  He stepped over Eltara and scooped the book up. The Baron smirked as he flipped the book open to the marked page. Starla had been given this bracelet by Larkel this very evening. He had watched it happen, watched her lips twist in a familiar smile that hurt to behold.

  He turned his eyes to the hastily written message, each letter glowing brightly in the dark.

  Larkel, my love, I am sorry to have to leave like this. Mika was here. She said that Gaby and some other creatures have been captured by grobblers, who intend to take them to Kyron when the moons hit their apex. They're there because of me. I don't know what I can do, but I have to go and help. You told me a while ago that you could track people by following their aura markings. Please follow mine and come and help, quickly.

  Sorry for not waiting.

  All my love, forever,

  Starla

  “How sweet,” the Baron said, a cruel laugh sliding out between his teeth. He ripped the page out and shoved the book into a pocket in his cloak.

  “If she is in the forest, I will have her soon,” he muttered, shredding the note and tossing the pieces into the pond, where the lightning fern ink reacted with the water, sizzling the paper into nothing. Footsteps drew his attention away from the three scraps that missed the water and floated down to a stop in the deep shadows beside the pond.

  Pocketing the bracelet, he prepared to hide.

  “My Lord?” came Vinaria's shrill whisper.

  “I am here,” he said as she entered the little space, Yilia and Deled following close behind. He addressed them all. “Things are going better than planned. The girl has run into the forest on some fool's errand. Vinaria, alert the magmus. Deled, find Captain Trent, tell him to ready our allies.” He turned to Yilia, a grin spreading over his face. “You, start spreading panic. I think it is time our citizens learned a few secrets the King has been keeping.”

  “And you?” Vinaria asked, her voice hurting his ears.

  “I will alert Makhi Ditte. This is it, our final stage. Once I have finished, and the King is turned against Larkel, I will meet with the Master. Be alert for your own summons.” With that, he turned his back on them and pushed his way past the snagging bushes towards the Makhi Tower.

  The others followed his example and avoided the paths, disappearing like ghosts into the shadows.

  11

  Grobblers and Spies

  Mika moved swiftly through the trees, and Starla fell behind as her dress got snagged on the various hidden bushes and shrubs dotting the ground. She had kicked off her high-heeled shoes almost as soon as she started through the trees, sending a silent sorry to Eltara, from whom she had borrowed them.

  She didn’t seem to like me much before. She definitely isn’t going to like me now.

  “Mika! Slow down!” Starla called in a voice barely above a whisper, fearing that the grobblers might be close. Surprise seemed to be her best offence at the moment.

  “What's our plan, anyway?” she asked, stumbling over a rock that was all but invisible in the softly-glowing wood. It probably didn't help that she kept looking over her shoulder, hoping to see Larkel running up to help her.

  “Sorry,” Mika said, her voice still strained, not slowing down. “Don't worry, I have it all figured out. It'll be easier to explain if I can show you the camp first. Just a little farther.”

  Starla shook her head, her feeling of unease continuing to grow. Something seemed a little off, but, as she almost fell again, a branching snagging the top of her dress and rippin
g it, she turned her mind to the more pressing matter of concentrating on keeping her footing rather than trying to figure out nagging doubts that probably meant nothing. If they weren't far out, then she had to avoid loud noises like snapping branches and tumbling loose rocks.

  Her instincts, which had been screaming at her since she’d been pulled by magic into the Wood, fell deathly still as Mika flew up and vanished into the dark canopy.

  “Mika!” she whispered as loudly as she dared. Her stomach churned with tension. She shivered again. The air here was much colder than in the City. Starla had felt the change as soon as she had passed through Mika’s magic.

  How far north are we? she thought, remembering that Gaby’s influence within the Wood grew weaker the closer to Kyron’s stolen domain you got.

  She took a deep breath, meaning settle her fear so she could plan, when a low, menacing growling filled the night air.

  Starla stopped dead, terror freezing her limbs a moment before adrenaline set her body alight. She revolved slowly on the spot, squinting into the deep shadows between the lightly-shimmering trees. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

  Without warning, nets and chains came flying out of the shadows, seemingly from everywhere at once. Struggling in vain, Starla collapsed under the weight of the nets and dragging chains, still looking for her captors.

  A strange little creature about the size of a young child emerged from the surrounding gloom. Slightly larger ones followed, though all were diminutive. Their scaled bodies glinted oddly as they passed by the glowing trees. Their yellow-clawed hands held fast the chains and nets that kept Starla down.

  Mika swooped down out of the trees and landed in front of what Starla assumed were grobblers. Their extra-long canines reflected the light as they snarled at Mika.

  “No! Mika, fly away! Get Larkel!” Starla shrieked, as the little creature turned calmly to face her.

  Mika smiled and two long canines glinted against her fur. Starla's eyes widened in horror as the little creature began to melt away, revealing the grobbler within.

  Starla stared, frozen with shock. This had all been a set-up, a trap. Her head spun at the thought of the consequences that she now faced.

  Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt as the grobbler who had lured her here hit her over the head with a small club.

  ***

  Groaning, Starla opened her eyes. The world was on its side, the glowing trees making horizontal lines across a night-darkened Wood. Silently cursing her own stupidity, Starla rolled into a sitting position and tried to raise her hand to rub the tender spot that throbbed fitfully just above her right temple but found her hands chained to the floor of the cage she was in, able to rise no higher than her chest. The wide clearing they were in seemed to have once been a city of sorts. Broken, white, stone columns, ruined walls of silvery blocks, and half-buried statues peeked out of the trees and ground.

  Starla felt sick, her stomach clenched tight. She had to get out of here. Somehow, she had to get back to the City, back to Larkel. A low moan drew her attention. Her eyes darted to the left in fright, then her breath whistled out through her teeth.

  “Gaby!” The Sacrileon was also chained to the floor, but her chains glowed red.

  So it wasn't all a lie. No wonder the fake Mika had sounded so sincere, so easy to believe.

  Her eyes, tortured, violet circles, locked on to the Star as it slid out from Starla's ripped dress when she bent towards Gaby.

  “I knew you couldn't be trusted. You've doomed us all,” Gaby said, as Starla reached out to her. Her voice was harsh, raw.

  Starla flinched back from the hate-laden words, then felt her own anger rise.

  “I only came here because a grobbler pretending to be Mika said you had been captured and were to be taken to Kyron. I couldn't just leave you.” Her words came out layered in pain.

  She tucked the Star away, a part of her mind racing to find some kind of answer to this problem.

  “Look,” a grobbler grunted in his guttural voice, interrupting her thoughts, “our latest catch is awake. Shall we send for the magmus?”

  “Not yet. We need to be sure that she is the girl in the picture, as ordered, or the Master will be angry,” replied another grobbler in a commanding voice. “Do as I say!” he yelled when the others didn't move.

  “Do it yourself, if you think that I brought us the wrong girl,” growled the first grobbler, swinging a small club. “Who put you in charge anyway? This whole thing was my idea. If I hadn't morphed into that creature, we would never have caught the girl in the first place.”

  A small brawl broke out between the twenty or so assembled grobblers. Starla took the opportunity and turned back to Gaby, making the most of their distraction.

  “Gaby, quickly, think. There must be a way to escape. I can sometimes use my magic a bit with Larkel. Maybe if—” Starla let her voice trail off. Gaby didn't seem to be listening. She followed the Sacrileon's haunted gaze to a campfire the grobblers must have built.

  At first, Starla assumed the pain in Gaby's eyes was for the burning trees. After all, the element that she was born from was flora. Then she spotted three tied up creatures laying beside it. Flek, Heny, and the real Mika.

  “They plan to eat them,” Gaby said, her hands chafing her obsidian arms. “How could you let them trick you?” she accused, some of her old venom in her voice.

  Starla swallowed her shame at being tricked. “I thought you were in trouble. I couldn't just abandon you.”

  “Yes, you could have! You should have,” spat Gaby, white curls flashing as she jerked her head. “This is a war. There is no time for friendship, no place for love.”

  Starla felt the tears stinging her eyes. “You're right, I let myself get caught, which was stupid. But,” she continued, ignoring Gaby's contemptuous glare, “we can still get out of this. If we can't escape, then we must stall them. I left a message for Larkel. If we can delay until he gets here, then—”

  Gaby's bitter laugh drowned out the rest of Starla's sentence.

  Starla bristled, intending to defend her lover and her plan. Then Gaby's harsh glare turned to defeat, and she looked down, her voice a pitiful whisper, joining that of the trees as they spoke to her.

  “Even if the conviction in your eyes isn’t misplaced, and you are right about him, he will not get here in time. No one will.”

  As if to emphasise Gaby’s words, a grobbler laughed right next to the cage, making Starla jump. The laugh was a strange sort of barking sound, but it was undoubtedly filled with triumph.

  “It's her!” he crowed, delight etched into every scale of his face. “It's the girl from the picture the Baron sent us.” His words brought an end to the two still-squabbling grobblers and earned an excited murmur.

  “The Baron? Baron Malion?” Starla asked no one in particular, hate and horror warring in her voice.

  “Yes,” Gaby answered, still whispering, her eyes locked on the animals around the fire. Her green dress glittered softly as she moved. “He offered a very tempting reward for your capture. We have been foiling their traps ever since, but this time, they were ready for us.” Gaby's gaze sharpened as it fell on Starla. “He wants you for himself,” she murmured, mostly to herself. “If they take you to him, and you do what he wants, get him to drop his guard, you might just manage to escape.”

  Starla felt her blood run cold and the bile rise in her throat. The picture Gaby painted made her feel like screaming.

  “We take her to the Baron first and claim our double reward,” grinned a newer grobbler as if it had heard Gaby's words. Several grobblers muttered their agreement.

  “No, no,” moaned the grobbler with the club, “the Master can choose to give her to the Baron if he desires. We can’t risk re-entering the City, trust me. We must call the magmus.”

  “No need,” hissed a voice out of the darkness above.

  The grobblers all fled back, crowding around their fire, many visibly trembling with fear. A small, dragon-shaped cr
eature hovered down through the treetops. It was only the size of a cat and seemed to be made entirely of flame.

  At first, Starla didn't understand their fear, then her eyes widened, and she couldn't look away. The flames that composed the creature flared and flickered as the it grew until it filled most of the available space around it. Its molten body solidified into great, black scales.

  The creature landed heavily, and Gaby gave a small squeak as the grass sizzled and turned to ash where its great, clawed feet touched the ground. Starla watched, mesmerised, as the black scales that had appeared rippled with its landing. The scales that ran down the front of its neck, belly, and the underside of its tale were transparent. Flames churned brightly beneath them, filling the creature.

  “This is the female the Master wants?” the magmus hissed through an unmoving mouth. Its two blinking red eyes flicked from the cage to fall on the assembled grobblers.

  “Yes, yes,” said the grobbler who had wanted them to call the magmus.

  Movement, maybe footsteps, were suddenly audible, crashing through the undergrowth. The magmus turned its gaze back to the cage. Starla shifted her eyes to a wide band of gold that glittered around the magmus's neck. Though the flickering firelight made it difficult to see, Starla was sure the creature bore the flaming, withered tree of Kyron, the same symbol she had seen in Larkel’s worst memories.

  Forcing her eyes shut to block the dark terror before her, she focused on the approaching noise. Her heart leapt. They were definitely footsteps. At least three pairs, maybe more, and they were running.

  I knew Larkel would find me in time!

  The footsteps slowed, and the bushes behind the magmus rustled. The emerging creatures froze Starla's galloping heart and filled her chest with ice, destroying her flash of hope.

  “Drodemions,” Gaby choked out, though it was unnecessary. Starla recognised the creatures. She had seen them in Larkel's tortured memories, Kyron’s mark branded on all.