Relic

by Bronwyn Eley

  ‘Stop!’ I cried at one point. ‘Please, stop!’

  I wrenched my arm out of someone’s grip with such force I fell to the ground. As I rolled away from the commotion, I came face-to-face with Rhey.

  Tears ruptured from me like a burst damn. They had stabbed him. Stabbed him. The blood from the wound in his stomach was dry now, but the sickening colour stained his shirt. I reached my hand for his, feeling the stiffness in his fingers. His gentle touch and needy hands.

  They were gone.

  The only thing strong enough to pull my attention away, however briefly, was the sound of Anders crying out in pain. He was against the wall, pinned by two men while another struck his face. There were only a few people left inside my house. The majority of the crowd remained outside, frozen in horror at the scene unfolding before them.

  This couldn’t be happening. How could they have killed my family? My brothers? They were children. They did nothing wrong.

  Distantly, I realised I had caught someone’s attention – a leather-skinned woman with bony arms and pointed knuckles.

  ‘Come with us, Shadow.’ The woman beckoned me with her long fingers, curling like smoke from a fire. ‘Just come with us.’

  Thorn did this. He had said as much. He said he would punish me slowly, starting with my family. But this was beyond anything I had imagined him capable of doing.

  And now these people – what were they doing? How could they side with a man who had done this to innocent children?

  The woman urged me to calm down, speaking to me as if I were a wild animal. I ignored her and surged from the ground, eyes shooting around the room.

  The hallway was still, so it was easy to spot her.

  My mother.

  Resting on the floor, halfway out of her room, a bloody gash tearing between her eyes. I knew she had come to help them. Their screams calling to her.

  But she was too late.

  A hand wrapped around my arm, another clamping down on my shoulder.

  ‘Settle down, now.’

  The woman twisted my arm until it was secure behind my back. The pain pinched me into submission.

  ‘Kaylan!’ Anders’ desperation was clear. He thought we were losing. Perhaps we were.

  You haven’t even used magic yet.

  No sooner had the thought occurred to me than a scream pierced the room.

  My arm was freed and I stumbled forward, away from the horrible sound I now realised was coming from the leather-skinned woman. I spun around in time to see her swatting at her arms. Nonsense spewed from her mouth.

  ‘Stop them! Stop them! Please!’

  She collapsed to the floor with a violent thump, going as still and silent as my mother and brothers.

  Vomit forced its way out of me, spraying across the floor. Just as quickly as it had come, it vanished – the pain, the nausea, the panic. I straightened and looked toward Anders, ready to help him. But the men had let him go, running for the door. They shoved the onlookers roughly aside and disappeared into the rain.

  It’s you they fear.

  I shuddered. Whatever had just happened had been fast, instinctual, natural. This wasn’t the time to analyse or fear it, but I knew the thought hadn’t been mine. I couldn’t explain it, but somehow I knew it was the Relic, urging me to use it.

  It didn’t matter right now.

  ‘Kaylan.’

  All that mattered was finding Thorn and putting a knife into his throat.

  ‘Kaylan!’

  I looked down at Kye, my heart bursting with pain again. His gift to me, his little flower, was beside him. Ruined. Destroyed.

  I lunged for the crumpled flower, removing it from the carnage of the shattered vase and dirt. The petals were creased, broken, dead.

  ‘Kaylan.’ Anders’ voice was soft now. ‘We have to go.’ He placed his hand on mine, covering the flower.

  Pulling my focus away from the horror below, I realised my throat was half its usual size, air barely reaching my lungs.

  If they were dead, what was the point?

  ‘Look at me.’ Anders’ voice was distant, as if there was a wall between us. Sobs racked my chest. He wrapped his arms around me, making it even harder to breathe.

  Good.

  ‘Kaylan.’

  I felt something at the back of my leg – Rover, nuzzling me.

  ‘I’m so sorry.’ Anders’ voice mirrored the disbelief aching in my bones. I had killed, but it took a true monster to murder children.

  Thorn.

  He had taken everything. Just when I thought I could reclaim my old life, he stole it out from under me. Why would he do this to them? I was the one he hated.

  ‘Write his name.’ Markus’ whisper tickled my ear. I felt the Relic pulsate against my leg, where it remained hidden in my pocket.

  ‘Write it.’

  ‘Elias.’ His name escaped my lips. I hadn’t seen his body. Where was he?

  I called his name again despite the burn in my throat. I blundered around the house, avoiding my mother’s lifeless stare, hurrying to where the boys once slept. It was empty.

  ‘Elias!’

  ‘There’s no one else here,’ Anders called from the kitchen. I hurried back to him.

  ‘You should go,’ came a woman’s voice from outside. She looked too afraid to come in. I would be too.

  ‘People ran to alert the guards.’ She pushed away the hand of a man beside her when he touched her shoulder. ‘You should go.’

  I turned to Anders. ‘If Elias wasn’t here when Thorn came, then maybe he’s alright.’

  ‘Where else would he be?’

  It was a big city, but I knew my brother well enough.

  Hurrying to the door, I grabbed my satchel and slung it over my shoulder. I threw off Jesper’s cloak and put my coat on, now just a little too big for me – I would need it. There were countless leather coin purses sitting on the table, untouched. The money meant to pay for my death. I snatched them up, pushing them into the bag.

  I scooped up Rover and pushed into the crowd. They didn’t resist, didn’t try to stop me, but I stopped anyway. The urge to turn around seeped into every inch of my body.

  I tensed.

  ‘Don’t,’ Anders whispered from behind me. His hands lay gently on my shoulders. ‘Don’t turn around.’

  Enough goodbyes.

  Somehow, I took a step. Then another. Then another.

  Before I knew it, I had cleared the crowd and was hurrying down the street into the Slip.

  I wasn’t sure when I started running. I was too close to stop now. Only when Irey’s came into view did I slow down. I turned, handing Rover to Anders, before smashing my shoulder against the door. It budged open.

  I slipped in through the small opening and, just like magic, the room fell deadly silent. They must know. Jesper had said Thorn hadn’t made the announcement yet, but with that sign plastered to my house’s door, maybe word was spreading that something had happened.

  I moved across the room. Eyes followed me; bodies tensed. I would have been unrecognisable if I had stumbled into a bar filled with Noblemen. But these were my people. I had been to Irey’s countless times to fetch Elias. They knew me well enough.

  They could stare all they liked. If they tried to get in my way, I would stop them the way I stopped the woman at my house.

  How had I stopped her?

  Had I killed her?

  Despite what she had been trying to do, I didn’t want that. Too many people had already died because of me.

  I pushed through to the hallway.

  Bex launched from his seat at my appearance. He was alone and defenceless as I went straight for him, fury emanating from my every pore.

  Kye, Rhey, Mother, Jesper.

  Rennard.

  ‘Where is he?’ I was sure my voice carried down the hall, into the tavern. The gentle hum of music had stopped. ‘Elias!’

  ‘He’s not here.’ Bex held up his hands, but I smacked them away.

  ‘But
you know where he is,’ I growled. ‘It’s late, he’s not at home. Where is he?’

  Bex set his stare. ‘I sent him somewhere.’

  ‘You promised!’ I yelled. His eyes closed when my fist struck his chest, but he didn’t move an inch. Anders stepped into the room but said nothing as he waited by the door. ‘We had a deal!’

  ‘Kaylan, I’m sorry. He wouldn’t –’

  ‘Where is he?’ I stepped forward, pressing my face close to his. ‘Tell me.’

  ‘He’s not in the city,’ Bex explained. ‘I sent him with Walker to one of the neighbouring villages.’

  ‘Which village?’ I was desperate. My brother, the rebel. My only brother. I had to protect him. I didn’t even care to ask how they had got out of the city. It wasn’t important.

  ‘Rullas, to the east. Near Notth River,’ Bex explained. I fixed him with a stare and he withered like the flower I had left next to my brother’s body.

  Then I moved from the room, ignoring his calls to come back.

  Once I had Elias, I would never come back. I had nothing left in this place. I hadn’t a single idea of how to get to Rullas, let alone get out of the city. I had to trust that Anders – and Jesper – had that covered. I felt sick at the thought of her body lying alone in her room, waiting to be discovered by her maid.

  Anders moved in front, steering me in the right direction. I followed, holding Rover close as she struggled, legs scrambling, clawing at my body. The rain pelted painfully against my face, but I was grateful. It kept the streets clear.

  Anders skidded to a halt at the end of a small alley, holding out his arm to stop me. He pulled me aside and pressed me against the wall.

  ‘What now?’ I whispered.

  ‘I’m a trusted city guard, remember? See that man?’

  I squinted as Anders pointed. All I could see was a dark figure, standing in the rain among other dark figures. I nodded regardless.

  ‘He’s with us. I’ll draw the others away and from there he will help you get out. He’s been on standby ever since you were caught.’

  ‘Standby?’

  ‘To get you out of the city. He’s barely taken a break from guard duty since your arrest.’

  ‘Why would he do that for me?’

  Anders shook his head. ‘Not for you. For Jesper.’

  My heart tightened, as if Anders had closed a fist around it with his words.

  ‘Did she know?’ I asked quietly. Did she know that he was part of Bellamy’s rebellion? Plotting against her husband all the while?

  Anders paused, his eyes darkening with regret.

  ‘No,’ he replied.

  ‘You were using her for information, weren’t you?’

  A look of anger flashed across his face. ‘She was my friend.’

  It wasn’t a denial. I decided not to push the matter. I wasn’t angry with him for doing it. I had lied more than most these last few months.

  Anders took my shoulders again, his tone suddenly urgent. ‘Don’t come back here.’

  ‘I wasn’t planning on it. Thank you, Anders.’

  He ruffled the top of Rover’s head, giving her a smile. Then, with a nod, he turned and squared his shoulders before running out into the open. His figure blurred as the rain engulfed him.

  ‘Men!’ I heard him cry.

  The guards all turned to him. One launched out of his chair. ‘Anders?’ he called.

  ‘The murderer’s been spotted. I need you.’ He pointed at one of the guards. ‘Niell, you remain behind.’

  Niell?

  ‘We’ll need more men here,’ a guard protested.

  ‘Don’t argue!’ Anders spat. ‘I’ve got my orders; now, so do you. Get moving!’

  Cautiously, I placed Rover down. As soon as the other men cleared, I ducked my head and ran for the gate. It was Niell. He reached for me as I approached. Strong arms gathered me close and swung me around, pushing me against the flat of the gate, hiding me in the shadows.

  ‘Somehow I’m not surprised it’s you,’ I said breathlessly.

  Niell smiled grimly. ‘Let’s get you –’ He looked down at Rover, who was sniffing at his feet. ‘Get you both out of here.’

  Pulling keys from his pocket, Niell unlocked the small door framed within the larger gate. It swung open. But unlike the Northern Gate, this door led straight to the outside.

  Years of wondering what it would feel like to step beyond these gates, years of picturing what the outside would look like from here, and all I could see was black.

  As Niell ushered me through the opening, I shot a look to Rennard. He rested lazily against the frame of the door. We passed right through him – the door was only wide enough for one – and he didn’t even flinch.

  I squinted as rain fell into my eyes, ignoring the hallucination. Why was I still seeing things when the Relic was now mine? It wasn’t really Rennard; that much I knew. He was a corpse now. He couldn’t stop me any longer.

  ‘How do I get to Rullas?’

  Niell pointed to the left. ‘There’s a small forest – not that you can see it now.’ I had seen that collection of trees from the castle grounds. ‘Go straight through it, and on the other side is Rullas. If you come out and see Notth River but not Rullas, follow the river to the east.’

  ‘Thank you, Niell.’ I took his hand. He smiled warmly, water dripping from his lips. Then he nodded and pushed me forward.

  Calling for Rover to follow, I stumbled into the dark, feet sinking in the wet grass. If I was to find my brother, I would have to move quickly.

  I glanced at Rennard as he observed me with crossed arms, waiting to see if I would flee his city or stay and pay for what I had done.

  Forever my tormenter. Even in death.

  Rennard’s scouts would still be out there. Which meant Elias could be caught at any moment. I clenched my jaw, ignoring the exhaustion that racked my body.

  In the last few days, I had been assaulted and imprisoned. I had lost too much.

  Glancing back, I saw the giant silhouette of my city shrinking and disappearing behind sheets of rain. Rennard remained behind, watching me go, until the shadows swallowed him up.

  Despite this dark night, despite all I had lost, I knew I had friends still loyal to me. Once I had Elias back safely by my side, I would find a way to be with them, even if it was the last thing I did.

  I turned my focus ahead and broke into a run. The Relic bounced against my leg with every stride, unwilling to allow itself to be forgotten, even for a moment. And then, as if to remind me of its power, it warmed against my skin. Heat seeped into me, fending off the cold of the rain.

  I took more than my pain with me tonight.

  I surged ahead. I would find Elias, and then I would deal with the Relic.

  As the rain poured and the night deepened, I pushed for Rullas, disappearing into the dark.

  Acknowledgments

  There’s a reason we call it ‘the book community’. It’s so much more than the books. It’s so much more than the authors who write them. Without the publishing teams, the booksellers, the readers, the family and the friends – these books wouldn’t exist.

  To my book community: thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  ‘Even though you want to try to, never grow up.’

  —J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan

  ~ Bronwyn xo

  About the Author

  Bronwyn joined the military right out of high school, where she learnt (among other things) to disassemble and reassemble a rifle blindfolded. After that she spent a lot of her time travelling around the world. Her favourite places (so far) are Scotland, Mongolia, Iceland and Ireland.

  Bronwyn finally found her natural habitat when she landed her first job in the publishing industry. While she has always been a writer, it was only when surrounding herself with books that she realised her life’s dream was to become an author. Relic is her first novel.

  Bronwyn lives in Sydney and spends her time eating chocolate, reading and practicing her mar
tial arts.

  www.bronwyneley.com

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