“You came,” whispered Fumiko. Her voice was raspy as if she had been screaming. I ran forward, horrified at what I saw. Even in the feeble light of my amulet, I could tell she had been severely beaten—a trail of dried blood ran from her nose and lip. And her face was cut and battered with gradually darkening bruises. Her left eye had already started to swell shut. Her clothes were torn, and I could see splotches of dried blood on her arms and legs.
I knelt before her and started trying the keys on the ring, finally finding one that worked.
“You came,” she said again as if not believing I was really there. “I cast a shadow. I was praying you would see it.”
“What happened?”
Her manacles came free, and she collapsed into my arms. I gently lowered her to the floor. “I was ambushed. There were too many of them to fight. They beat me.”
“What did they do with Zofie?”
She looked up at me with her good eye. “She led me right to them. And when they attacked, she just watched.” Fumiko licked her lips. “It’s not like her.”
I frowned. “I noticed something odd about her too. I almost wonder if that is really Zofie in her body.”
Fumiko looked down. “I have heard some things about Yonge. You saw how he used those bugs.” She gazed at me levelly. “What if he can do that to people?”
“You mean like a Dark Avenyts? Is he one of them?”
She tried to sit up, and I helped get her upright.
Fumiko shook her head. “I don’t think so. These rumors circulated even when I was still one of the emperor’s butterflies. I warned you not to trust him. The man is evil.” She muttered under her breath. “I should have listened to my own advice.”
She grabbed my shoulder and tried to pull herself up. She stood slowly, favoring her right side. “They discovered my cracked ribs.”
I helped her out of the cell, and we went up the stairs. Like me, Fumiko was puzzled by the guard seeming to be asleep. I put the keys back and helped myself to one of his knives.
Just as I turned away, I heard the guard’s breathing change. I immediately turned to hide, but Fumiko reacted faster and covered us in shadow. We watched as the guard suddenly came alive and went into the dungeon. I quickly got Fumiko to climb on my back, and I carried her up the stairs to the empty corridor. I put her down, but she staggered and fell to her knees.
“This is not going to work,” she mumbled while holding her side. She closed her eyes, and I felt myst gathering. She glowed briefly and then straightened. The pain on her face lessened, and her movements seemed smoother.
“What did you do?” I asked, puzzled.
“I used some of my myst to reinforce my body.”
“You healed yourself?”
She shook her head. “No, I have no such power. I just made it so I no longer feel the pain of my injuries. But I have to be careful with it since they’re still there.”
I frowned. “That can’t be good for you.”
She gazed at me a moment and then turned away to point down the corridor. “That way,” she said. “And quickly. He will know I escaped in only a few moments.”
“Dammit, Fumiko. You’re hurting yourself, aren’t you. You can’t do that.”
She glared at me. “Coren, I love you dearly, but you are not my keeper. I do what I choose. So don’t lecture me.” She bounced her finger on my chest. “Yonge has killed or hurt everyone I cherished. And now he’s done it to Zofie. I will not allow it to continue.” She stood and held out her hand to me. “Now, are you going to follow me to the Forever Nexus Shadow, or do I leave you behind?”
I sighed and took her hand. “You’ve been taking lessons from Zofie.”
One corner of her mouth curled up. “Maybe. We have been comparing notes.”
She turned, and I followed her down the corridor.
I wasn’t sure what time it was, but it had to be early morning. As Fumiko led us carefully through the corridors, we had to occasionally hide from a few yawning servants as they made their way to their stations. There was one peculiar one carrying quite the pile of dirty bed linens. We encountered her on three different occasions. I think she was lost. Fumiko successfully hid us in shadow each time.
Eventually, we passed into what appeared to be an older section of the palace. The walls and floor were of different color stone and looked more worn. Fumiko paused when our passage intersected with what looked like a broad corridor. She peeked around the corner and immediately drew back. She motioned me forward to have a look.
At the end of the broad corridor was a massive set of doors with two of the heavily armored guards in front of them. The doors were open, but the view inside was blocked by thick curtains just past the door.
We moved back down the corridor away from the intersection to a small alcove. We sat down to rest a moment.
“The vault is through those doors,” Fumiko whispered. “I’ve never been inside, so I’m not sure what to expect beyond them.”
“Think your shadow can get us inside?” I asked softly.
Fumiko frowned and shook her head. “The curtains are likely meant to detect entry. Even a shadow wouldn’t prevent us from disturbing them.”
I sighed. “Then what we need is a distraction. I guess I could...”
Fumiko held up a hand.
Farther down the corridor, a servant turned the corner heading straight toward us, carrying a pile of dirty bed linens. I frowned in puzzlement. It was the same servant we had passed several times before.
Fumiko ramped up her shadow to cover us, but just as the servant drew even, she paused. “Sir Coren?” she whispered. “Mistress Fumiko?”
I looked closer, and peeking out from the pile of linens, was none other than Cabrina dressed as a servant. Creator knows where she got the uniform.
“I’ve been looking for you. Do you know how many times I’ve traveled up and down this corridor? Thankfully no one questions a linen servant.” She chuckled. “Something about dirty laundry makes people squeamish.”
I blinked at her in surprise. It was definitely her, but now her hair was a much darker shade, perfectly straight, and her eyes had changed to match the shape of those from this region.
I pointed at her in puzzlement. “How?”
She brightened. “You mean my illusion? Pretty good, isn’t it? We saw Mistress Fumiko do it once and thought we might be able to replicate it. It was easier than we thought. Cabrina’s starting to get the hang of using her myst.”
I smiled. “You’re just in time. We need a distraction. Think you can handle it.”
“Coren!” interrupted Fumiko. “She’s a Dark Avenyts. We can’t let her near the Forever Nexus Shadow.”
The youth shrugged. “Then I won’t go in the vault. I don’t want to be where I’m not wanted. Now about your distraction...” She looked up at the ceiling. “What’s that?” She was listening to her host.
Cabrina smiled. “That’s an excellent idea. Do you want to lead?” She paused. “All right then. And don’t worry, I’ll be ready to help if you get stuck.” She looked over at us, wearing the expression of a mother whose child had just learned to ride a horse. No-name really was trying to help Cabrina become more confident. Maybe there was hope for the young Avenyts.
The youth’s expression subtly changed, and I knew the real Cabrina was in control. Her face was a mask of determination. “W-w-wish me luck,” she said. Then she paused. “Mistress Fumiko, how do you say, ‘I’m sorry’ in your native language.”
Fumiko said it to her, and Cabrina repeated it back perfectly—or least to my ears, it sounded that way.
Nodding once, Cabrina did an about-face and lurched down the corridor, seeming to struggle with her load. When she reached the intersection, she turned toward the guards. We quickly moved to the corner and listened.
One of the guards barked something in their native language.
“He’s telling her to halt,” Fumiko translated. “That servants are forbidden.”
I looked around the corner. Cabrina immediately repeated the phrase she had just learned and tried to bow. Naturally, the pile of linens became unbalanced, and when she tried to catch them, managed to throw all of them up into the air. They seemed to go higher than I would have expected, so there was likely a little myst push involved.
They settled over the guards, who frantically began to pull them off, but had trouble due to their armor. Cabrina stepped up to them, continuously repeating, “I’m sorry.” But in her supposed aid, managed to keep them entangled.
Fumiko and I took the chance and slipped past the struggling guards into the vault. Behind us, Cabrina kept right on apologizing.
I couldn’t help but smile. Cabrina and No-name really made quite the team.
Fumiko and I carefully weaved our way through the layers of curtains. We finally came to the last of them and paused to take in the large room before us.
What we saw was totally unlike anything I had seen before. A colossal oval crystal floated in the center of the room. There were no strings or supports of any kind. It just hung there like it had forgotten to fall.
And it was huge. It had to be two or three times a person’s height and had what seemed to be millions of facets carved into it. They caught the light in the room and reflected it back, making it a dazzling display of twinkling light. I remembered looking at similar jewels when I had been shopping with Zofie. While I was not an expert by any means, I fully believed it to be a giant, perfectly cut diamond. I had only ever seen tiny ones, with the largest I had ever heard about being no bigger than your fist. So one that size had to be a myst construct.
It appeared to be almost perfectly clear—all except for a single darker facet at its center. It was a light gray, and unlike the others, did not twinkle.
A platform of dark wood had been constructed next to the jewel within easy reach of the grayish facet. It had a series of ramps leading to the top.
But that was not the only surprise. Zofie stood at the base of the platform, her expression slack and staring off into the distance. And along with her was Advisor Yonge reclining in a chair with wheels. He was saying something to Zofie, but I couldn’t make out the words.
Several of the huge guards were stationed strategically around the room. That was going to make getting closer difficult. The best I could think of was to sneak up on Yonge under Fumiko’s shadow and then threaten him to release Zofie. The plan felt a little weak, but it was the best I could come up with.
I quickly explained my plan to Fumiko, and she agreed. We were just about ready to leap out when I caught movement on the floor next to me. Glancing down, I saw a cricket—it’s antenna moving excitedly.
“Ah, Sir Coren and Fumiko,” it said, using Yonge’s voice. “Just the people I wanted to see.”
“Now!” I yelled. Fumiko and I sprang forward.
A dagger suddenly appeared in Zofie’s hand, and she held it to her throat. She grinned wickedly. It was so unlike her it gave me chills.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the cricket said. “One more step and she dies.”
We froze in place. It only took moments for a guard to pluck the knife from my hand. We were roughly shoved toward Zofie and Yonge. Then with a hand on our shoulders, we were forced to our knees. Those guards were incredibly strong.
“You’re the one,” I shouted. “Why did you do it? I thought you were going to help us.”
The cricket landed in front of me and spoke. “The answer should be obvious...”
Zofie took up the thought. “...Just look at my body...”
Yonge finished, “I’m dying.”
Then all the guards, Zofie, the cricket, and Yonge himself all said in unison. “And I don’t want to die.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Opening
The Vault
The talking through several bodies was unnerving. Likely Yonge’s intent. He was maintaining control over at least seven people inside the room, and Creator knew how many outside. If they wore one of his charms, then he could likely take over at any time and treat them merely as an extension of himself. I was amazed he could control so many at once. Or maybe not completely at once. I thought of the guard that had been in front of the dungeon’s entrance. Maybe he switched back and forth between them and put the ones he wasn’t actively controlling into a kind of sleep. And the switching wasn’t completely instantaneous. I had noticed a very slight lag in the time it took to go from one body to another.
I cocked my jaw. I couldn’t let his body-switching throw me off. “What’s your dying got to do with us?”
Zofie lowered her knife and stepped over to Yonge. She patted him on the shoulder. “This body has a wasting disease. One the healers are unable to correct. I have now reached the point where I can barely move, and if it wasn’t for some clever myst devices, I wouldn’t even be alive now.” She looked over her shoulder at the crystal. “But all that ends as soon as I open this vault. And for that, I needed the key.”
It suddenly made sense. The charms Cabrina had put on us had been obtained from Yonge. I had been told several times how unusual it would be for the Dark Avenyts to use them.
But that didn’t explain everything. It had definitely been a Dark Avenyts that had given them to Cabrina, so they were involved somehow. Also, I had to wonder what Lilith’s role was in all this. It appeared she wanted to prevent Yonge from getting the key. And what would sealing away Zofie and Abe have to do with him dying? I seemed to still be missing some important pieces.
Zofie began to pace. “It might be because of her curse. I had thought she would have removed it by now. Or it might also be because of intent. Perhaps the vault knows the princess does not have her own mind.” She nodded to herself. “It might even be that she doesn’t have the ability to open it.” She sighed. “I guess we’ll have to....”
Zofie suddenly looked up and strode over to the kneeling Fumiko. She kicked her hard in the ribs. It was on the side she had injured.
Fumiko moaned before coughing up blood—splattering dark spots on the tiles before her.
My beautiful Zofie’s face screwed up into an evil grin. “Don’t even think about attacking me.” She reached down and removed a small dagger from Fumiko’s hand. “Ever resourceful, aren’t we.” She passed the weapon off to one of the guards.
Zofie stopped in front of me. She looked thoughtful. “And then we have Coren.” The guard’s pressure on my shoulder eased. “Stand up.”
I did as instructed.
“Remove her curse.”
My reply was immediate. “I can’t. Abe is inactive due to your charm.” I held up my wrist.
Her eyes widened, but it was the cricket that came forward. “So that’s why you aren’t under my control. Your curse is interfering.”
One of the guards came forward and lifted Fumiko up by the throat. Her feet danced, seeking purchase as she slowly strangled.
“I’m going to release you,” said Zofie, gazing at me levelly. “I want you to remove her curse. But don’t even think about causing trouble, or your dear Fumiko will die. Oh, and you should probably hurry. Sounds like she’s having a little trouble breathing.”
Despite the guard’s grip on her throat, Fumiko managed a tiny shake of her head.
“No,” I said firmly. “Not until you release Zofie and put Fumiko down.”
A chuckle came from Yonge’s body. “Why should I? They’re my insurance that you obey?”
I frowned. “Then I guess we’re at a stalemate.”
All of Yonge’s bodies paused, like he was thinking.
“Hmmm. I guess I could,” said the roach. “The charm may be interfering with opening the vault.”
“Seems reasonable,” said the guard behind me.
Yonge himself spoke, “I’m not sure I should though.”
The guard holding Fumiko said, “I should just kill her now.”
“She is a threat,” said the guard behind Zofie.
I began to suspect t
hat the years of controlling people had done something to Yonge. I didn’t think he was completely sane.
I interrupted the back and forth. “Well? At least release Fumiko while you make up your mind.”
Fumiko was released, and she collapsed in a gasping heap.
Yonge seemed insulted. “Make up my mind? I was merely stalling.”
Just then, Cabrina walked into the room still wearing her servant’s uniform. Her illusion was gone, and her face was emotionless. My eyes went wide. Yonge must have done something to her charm too.
Cabrina suddenly broke into a cruel smile. “Since Fumiko isn’t providing enough incentive,” said Yonge through the youth. “I guess I need to use this one too.”
She held out her hand as she casually walked past my guard. Without missing a beat, he handed her a knife. She stepped up to me and took my wrist. “Fitting, isn’t it, that the one who gave you the charms should take them off.”
Cabrina deftly sliced off my charm and then did the same to Zofie.
Suddenly, Zofie’s eyes changed. They grew wide in shock. There was no doubt in my mind this was the real Zofie.
“Coren!” she exclaimed and threw her arms around me. I hugged her to me tightly despite our situation.
But it only lasted a moment. We disengaged, and she turned toward Yonge. “I demand you release us this instant,” she shouted, with the full tone of one in authority.
Now that, was my Zofie.
The cricket hopped forward. “Of course, Princess. Just as soon as Coren removes your curse.”
I rubbed my wrist like a manacle had been removed. “And what about Cabrina.”
“No,” the youth said, pointing the knife to her own throat. “This one, I keep for insurance.”
“I’m surprised you can control an Avenyts,” I said.
Cabrina smiled. “I don’t have to. I merely need the body.”
Assassin of Curses: (The Coren Hart Chronicles Book 3) Page 33