Secrets of Blood

by Andy Peloquin

  “Found out anything about the vault?” Evren asked. “Anything that will get us in, or that will help us get around once we’re through?”

  “Maybe.” Briana shot an uncertain glance at Hailen. “I mean, he seems to think it’s something. I’m not sure, but then again, I’ve been so busy with Aisha’s project that I haven’t had a chance to do much reading.”

  Evren raised an eyebrow. “Aisha’s project?”

  Briana’s lips pressed together. “Researching the properties of the Shadow Root she brought me.”

  “Never heard of it.” Evren’s brow furrowed. “What does it do?”

  Briana hesitated, as if wanting to tell him yet afraid to share something Aisha might not want him to know. “I-I’m trying to find that out.”

  Irritation twisted in his gut. I thought we were all supposed to be on the same side, but they’re helping Aisha keep a secret? One look at Hailen, however, told him that the younger boy knew. Probably Kodyn, too, given that those two are thick as thieves. That left only him in the dark.

  That stung more than he cared to admit. After so many years living alone on the streets of Vothmot, he’d come to appreciate the few friends and companions he had. The Hunter, Kiara, and Hailen, even Graeme. Now, Aisha, Kodyn, and Briana. To find out they kept something from him brought back those feelings of isolation—once again, he was on the outside looking in.

  No, it’s not like that. With effort, he shoved down on the petty flare of irritation. If it was important enough for me to know, they’d tell me. Or they’ll tell me when it’s the right time.

  “So tell me what you’ve found,” he told Hailen. Hailen gave no answer; he had moved to sit at the table and was already immersed in Suroth’s journal, completely oblivious to Evren’s question.

  Briana stepped closer to Evren, placing a hand on his arm, squeezing softly. “He gets like this, you know? One second he’s in the moment and the next he’s gone.”

  Evren’s heart skipped a beat and his breath caught, making it hard for him to form words. “Y-Yeah.” He swallowed. “He gets lost in his own world when he’s studying.”

  In that moment, he found himself getting lost as well. Lost in her nearness and the warmth of her touch on his arm. Her presence had him struggling to control his breathing. He looked down at her hand and then lifted his eyes to hers.

  Briana met his gaze, a hint of surprise flitting across her face, followed by a flush of color on her cheeks. Her touch on his arm lightened a fraction, as if she made to move her hand away, then thought better of it and left her fingers in contact with his skin.

  Lightning pulsed through Evren’s body, setting his heart hammering. His mouth felt suddenly dry, his palms abnormally clammy, and his mind seemed unable to string together a coherent sentence. Something stirred deep within him and he found himself at a loss for what to do. Stand perfectly still and hope she never removed her hand? Move away, break contact before something embarrassing happened?

  Yet, he couldn’t break his gaze from hers. The color in her cheeks deepened, her lips parting, her breath coming quicker. He couldn’t be certain if it was his imagination or if she actually ran her fingers lightly along his skin. A strangely delightful shiver ran down his spine.

  “Here.” Hailen’s voice shattered the fragile moment. “I found it.”

  A ghost of a smile flashed across Briana’s lips before she turned to Hailen, removing her hand from Evren’s arm to lean on the table beside the seated boy. “What did you find?”

  Evren could suddenly draw breath, yet he found himself furious at Hailen for ruining…whatever had just transpired. Something had happened, that much he knew, but what exactly that something was remained for him to muddle through later.

  “It’s not much.” Hailen admitted, an unsure tone to his voice, “but it feels like it might be important.”

  The boy pointed ran a finger across a passage of text in Suroth’s journal. “It’s this bit.”

  “The room of waiting conceals the secret of black eyes,” he read. “Open the key and reveal the ending. Let the strength of the fallen guide your steps. Beneath the black sky, the Final Destruction will be witnessed by the foretold.”

  Evren frowned. “Sounds like gibberish to me.”

  “Yeah, me, too.” Hailen nodded. “But Suroth underlined it, thrice! See?”

  Sure enough, the strange markings had been underscored by three inked lines.

  “Whenever my father wanted to remember something important, he would underline it three times,” Briana explained. As always, speaking of her father brought a shadow to her eyes and her face darkened. Evren wanted to reach out, to offer words of comfort, but everything that flashed through his mind felt trite. What could he possibly say to ameliorate such a painful loss?

  Hailen, so focused on his findings, seemed oblivious to the change in mood. “So when I found this a few pages later, it made me think that there might be something to it.”

  He flipped through the journal until he found the passage he sought. “The Final Destruction will be witnessed by the foretold, the catalysts to the end,” he read. His voice cracked once, but he managed to read the rest with only a hint of a blush.

  Briana gave Evren a little smile that set his heart pattering and seemed to come out of her momentary gloom. “Another mention of the Final Destruction, the same one from the prophecy we found before.”

  Hailen nodded. “And it’s got something to do with ‘the foretold’, these ‘catalysts’.” He glanced from Briana to Evren and back. “I’ll keep looking to see if I can find anything more about it, but for now, all we’ve got is Suroth’s cryptic notes to go on.” He sighed. “Why can’t these things ever just be simple and plain? Like, ‘pull that lever to prevent the end of the world’!”

  “What would be the fun in that?” Evren grinned. “And if that was the case, smart-arses like you would be out of a job.”

  Hailen opened his mouth to retort, but before the words left his mouth, the far wall slid open. Evren tensed instinctively, but the memory of Briana’s hand on his arm and her gentle words stopped him. “Carrying the weight of the past makes the present burdens too heavy to bear.” He had enough to worry about now; he’d give the Secret Keepers a chance.

  But no brown-robed priests entered. Instead, a breathless Aisha and Kodyn raced into the room.

  An angry, triumphant light shone in Kodyn’s eyes and a fierce smile spread his face. “Wait until you hear what we got from the instigator!”

  * * *

  “So this Groebus could be the Keeper’s Priest that was working with the Gatherers?” Evren’s mind raced from everything he’d just learned.

  Kodyn nodded. “Almost certainly. It explains how he knew where Briana brought the artifacts after the Gatherer attack.”

  “Ennolar said he’s renowned for his intellect,” Aisha said. “He could be the one pulling the strings and moving all the pieces on the Nizaa board. The Keeper’s Council could use him as a liaison with the Gatherers, Hallar’s Warriors, and the Ybrazhe. He’s low-ranked enough that no one would pay him much attention—”

  “But, as a member of Madani’s personal retinue, he might be privy to the secrets of the Serenii tunnels,” Briana finished.

  Issa had told them what Lady Callista found, that someone had opened the way for the Gatherers to enter the Terrestra the night of the attack on Arch-Guardian Suroth. A Necroseti priest that is often around the palace wouldn’t stand out, and none of the guards on duty would pay him any mind. He’d be all but invisible, beneath everyone’s notice.

  Kodyn nodded. “He might even have access to the information about the Heartspring, information he could have given to Hallar’s Warriors.”

  Hallar’s Warriors and the Gatherers had both gone to the Heartspring to poison the water—the former with some strange mind-altering potion, the latter with a poison that mimicked the effects of the Azure Rot. According to the Secret Keepers, the existence of the Heartspring was a cautiously guarded
secret. They had to have learned of it from somewhere.

  The hunchback, this Groebus, certainly seemed the most likely candidate.

  “So what’s the play?” he asked. “I’m guessing you think we should go and scoop him up? If we can find a way out of here, that is.” He doubted the angry mob surrounding the temple had just given up and left, not with Hallar’s Warriors driving them. The militants wanted what Briana had in this room; they wouldn’t abandon their hunt just because of this setback.

  “Ennolar said he’s got a solution.” Kodyn produced the dark blue stone he’d gotten from Suroth. “With this, we can get right into the palace, nab the priest, and drag him back here. In and out quicker than shite through a goose.”

  “Sounds risky,” Evren said. “Especially if we get caught in the wrong part of the palace. After last night, I don’t think you’re the Indomitables’ favorite people.”

  “That’s why we’ve got you.” Kodyn gave him a confident smile. “You got Blackfinger in without assaulting the guards, so you shouldn’t get any trouble. Besides, you pass pretty well for one of them.” He gave a wry smile and gestured to his own pale face and honey-colored eyes. “Compared to me, at least.”

  Mention of Blackfinger brought back the worry from the previous night. In his concern for Hailen, he’d all but forgotten the other threat to the city: the Ybrazhe Syndicate.

  “You’re right, at least in part,” he said.

  Kodyn cocked his head. “What’s that mean?”

  “I can pass for one of them.” Evren met his gaze. “Which means I’m most useful out on the streets.”

  Aisha and Briana both narrowed their eyes. “In the riots?” Briana asked. Worry darkened her beautiful face.

  “Think about it.” Evren forced a smile to mask his own instinctive fear; he had no desire to be slipping through bloodthirsty mobs, but he had little choice. “Right now, the city is in an uproar, but the crowd is being herded like sheep. If we can take down the shepherds, we’ve got a chance of restoring order.”

  At his words, four faces twisted into frowns.

  “That’s as stupid as pissing off Ennolar!” Hailen protested. “Out there, you’re going to get killed.”

  “You think they’d attack one of their own?” Evren tapped his red Earaqi headband. “Like you said, I look just like one of them. Same headband, same clothing. I can blend in, slip through the crowds, and find the people stirring up trouble. Maybe even call in Issa and the Blades or Indomitables to round them up. With a bit of the Mistress’ luck, we could break this up by nightfall.”

  He tried to sound confident, his tone light, but deep down he knew the danger that awaited him beyond these walls. The Ybrazhe knew what he looked like and they wouldn’t hesitate to set the crowds to hunt him down. Even if he managed to evade the Syndicate, he’d still be taking huge risks slipping through a city filled with rampaging looters and rioters.

  Yet after last night, after he’d failed to prevent the riots, he felt he owed it to the city. The poverty and suffering of the lower castes had moved him, reminded him of everything his own people in Vothmot endured. And he had vowed to find a way to make things better. It had been nothing more than instinct, with no real plan to back it up—what could he, a simple street thief, do? But he had felt it to the core of his being. He truly wanted to leave the city better than when he’d found it.

  Now, he had a chance to do so. By eliminating the Ybrazhe, he would end one of the threats to peace and stability. A small action, but it could go a long way toward restoring sanity to Shalandra. And, putting an end to the riots was his best chance of getting Hailen out of the Temple of Whispers. The Secret Keepers would have to let him go, especially with pressure from the Cambionari.

  The chance of Hailen’s freedom alone made it worth the effort, but if it meant he could make up for his failure to prevent the riots, he’d take the risk.

  “I know where to find Blackfinger’s hideout,” he continued, “and there’s a good chance the Ybrazhe are still hanging out there. If we can clean up that one mess, that’s half the battle won. Or, at least half of the real troublemakers locked in the Pharus’ dungeons. Cut the head off the snake and all.”

  He saw he was getting through to his companions; their frowns had changed from worried to pensive as they contemplated his words.

  “If anything, you two have the more dangerous job!” He shot a wry grin at Kodyn and Aisha. “Give me a city full of looters and rioters over pissed-off Indomitables any day.”

  A part of him actually relished the fact that he had to convince them. It meant they cared. He hadn’t had much experience with that. Beyond the Hunter, Kiara, and Hailen, he’d had little in the way of family or friends since his mother’s death. Yet now, he’d found a handful of people that worried about what happened to him. That thought filled him with a bright, warm glow that burned to the core of his being.

  He half-expected Kodyn and Aisha to break the silence, but to his surprise, Briana spoke first. “He’s right.” She spoke in a soft voice, yet it held a note of firm conviction. “If there is a way to put an end to all this mess without any more bloodshed, we need to try it.”

  Gratitude swelled within him. Knowing she, at least, believed in him suddenly filled him with confidence that he might actually be able to pull it off.

  “So be it.” Kodyn nodded. “We’ll split up, tackle this problem from both sides at once.” He held out a hand to Evren. “I still think you’re bloody insane to go out there, but maybe a bit of insanity is just what the situation calls for.”

  Evren took the young man’s hand with a grin. “Try not to attack any more Indomitables, will you? We need them on our side.”

  “No promises.” Kodyn beamed. “But I’ll try.”

  Aisha stepped forward next. “You need anything, you come find us.”

  Evren clasped her strong forearm. “You know it.”

  With a strange smile, Aisha grabbed Kodyn’s hand and hauled him off to the other side of the small chamber, mumbling something about “checking our weapons”. Kodyn looked confused until Aisha whispered something in his ear.

  Evren felt equally confused, but all thoughts faded from his mind as he turned to find Briana standing before him. Worry and fear sparkled in her eyes—yet not for herself, but for him. She seemed to be struggling to find words, and Evren found himself equally tongue-tied.

  “Be careful,” she finally said. Color rose to her cheeks and her eyes didn’t quite meet his. So strange, given the confident young Dhukari he’d met upon his arrival to Shalandra. Yet around her, he, too, felt little of the self-assurance that had caused him to defy Ennolar. He felt nervous, awkward, even shy around her, and his stomach did strange flips every time he looked at her.

  “I…” The word came out in a squeak. He cleared his throat and tried again, pitching his voice deep. “I will be, I promise.”

  Now she lifted her eyes to meet his. “Remember, you’ve people who care about you. We…er…they would rather have you alive and safe than a dead hero.”

  Her words caught him by surprise, stole all rational thought from his mind. It was all he could do to keep his jaw from hanging open.

  To his surprise, she stepped closer and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. She stood only a few fingers shorter than him, and she moved with such speed it caught him off-guard. He had no time to do anything but stand in dumbfounded amazement as she turned, blushing furiously, and hurried over to pull Aisha aside for a hushed conversation.

  Evren’s mind whirled, a rush of unfamiliar and befuddling emotions surging within him. His hand twitched by his side, as if it wanted to touch the spot on his cheek she’d kissed.

  Someone snickered beside him. Evren glanced over to find Hailen beaming from ear to ear, a knowing smile on his face.

  For answer, Evren punched him in the arm. “Shut up.”

  “Ow!” Hailen’s grin cracked. “What was that for?”

  “For calling me stupid,” Evren said. “Looking
out for you—” His eyes darted to Briana as he said it. “—isn’t stupid.”

  “I know.” Hailen rolled his eyes. “Just—”

  Evren pulled the boy into a tight hug, if only to hide the burning heat in his cheeks. After a moment, Hailen’s arms went around Evren’s chest. They held each other a long moment, brothers-in-arms bidding each other farewell. They both knew the danger Evren faced beyond the temple’s walls.

  “You get yourself killed, the Hunter’s going to kick your ass,” Hailen muttered.

  Evren chuckled and pulled back from the embrace. “I’d be more worried about what he does when he finds out you ran away from the House of Need.”

  Hailen’s panicked expression brought Evren a grin.

  Evren chuckled. “Guess I’d better come back in one piece, if only to explain it to him, eh?”

  “Damned right, you’d better!” Hailen managed a smile, barely. His hands toyed nervously with the hem of his simple tunic, worry furrowing his brow.

  “Hey, this is what I do, remember?” Evren forced his most confident tone. “I’m a thief. You’re the one who’s got all the important work. You figure out how to get into that vault and leave the easy stuff up to me.”

  But he knew the words were a lie for Hailen’s benefit. It fell to him to find the Ybrazhe in a city the size of Shalandra, all while navigating rampaging looters and bloodthirsty rioters. Despite what he told the others or the brave face he put on, at that moment, the task felt truly impossible.

  Chapter Ten

  Kodyn, Aisha, and Evren followed Ennolar deep into the bowels of the Temple of Whispers, until the Arch-Guardian stopped at a chamber as small and plain as the others. But when Ennolar pressed one of the gemstones set into the wall, the floor slid aside to reveal a staircase set into the stone. Even in the faint white glow of the gemstones, Kodyn recognized the Serenii runes etched along the passage’s length.