Secrets of Blood

by Andy Peloquin

  “Oh, come on!” He turned to Ennolar, who stood beside the gemstone that triggered the opening. “You really couldn’t have told us about this before?” He, Aisha, and Evren could have saved an awful lot of running and fighting if they’d known a passage led directly into the Temple of Whispers.

  Ennolar shrugged. “The Mistress’ secrets are not yours to know,” was his only answer.

  Kodyn rolled his eyes. These priests take things far too seriously. Then again, Secret Keepers aren’t exactly known for their easygoing nature.

  “Follow the tunnel until you reach the end,” Ennolar told them in the silent hand language, “and use the resonator stone and Desenne’s lampstone to open the way.”

  Kodyn nodded. He hadn’t had a chance to return the green gemstone to the Secret Keeper that had helped them haul Turwar the Keeper’s Priest from the Heartspring to the palace. Now, it seemed, he’d be hanging on to it a little while longer. Probably right up until we’re done being useful to the Secret Keepers, then they’ll take all their trinkets back. He wasn’t certain what would happen to him, Aisha, Hailen, and Evren. Briana could always join the priesthood, but the rest of their fates were far murkier.

  But that’s a problem for another day, he decided. For now, we’ve got a hunchback-shaped fish to fry.

  “Sure you can’t spare a few Secret Keepers to help us?” he asked. “They’d come in quite handy if we have to fight our way out of the palace.”

  Ennolar shook his head. “The Temple of Whispers cannot be seen to move against the Keeper’s Council or the Necroseti directly. Suroth knew that, which was why he moved within the shadows. The time will come when we may be able to lend aid, but for now, you are on your own. Besides, between the defense of the temple and the research into the antidote for the Azure Rot, my people have their hands full.”

  “So be it.” Damn, there goes that plan. He gave Ennolar a half-bow, half-nod. “Until we meet again, Arch-Guardian.”

  “Mistress smile on your endeavors, young Praamian,” Ennolar’s fingers said.

  Drawing out the lampstone, Kodyn led the way down the staircase into the tunnels. Above him, the trapdoor rumbled shut, plunging them into near-darkness. A nervous silence descended over the three of them as they pushed deeper into the passages. They all knew the gravity of what they set off to do.

  The corridor ran north for fifty paces before it reached a blank wall. Kodyn held up the emerald lampstone, and the Serenii markings etched into the stone began to glow in that strange brilliant mandala. When he pressed Suroth’s lockstone to the center of the glowing pattern, a quiet thunk echoed from within the stone and the wall slid aside to reveal the larger passages with their red-glowing stones.

  Kodyn hesitated as Evren stepped through. “You sure about this?” he asked. “No shame in coming with us and leaving the matter of the city to Lady Callista.”

  “I’m sure.” Evren’s face hardened. “It may sound stupid, but I feel…responsible for what’s going on.”

  “What?” Aisha cocked her head. “How is this your fault?”

  “Not my fault, exactly.” A shadow flashed in Evren’s eyes. “But I knew what Hallar’s Warriors were going to do, but I couldn’t stop them.”

  “But you did stop Blackfinger,” Aisha pressed. “You even captured him and hauled him in to Lady Callista.”

  “And the Ybrazhe are still out there causing chaos.” Evren shook his head. “That feels like failure to me.”

  That, Kodyn could understand. He felt much the same way about Suroth’s death. No matter how many times Aisha told him it wasn’t his fault, he couldn’t stop feeling like he’d done something wrong by failing to deliver the stone to the Black Widow. As if by not keeping the promise he’d made to Suroth, he had somehow caused the Arch-Guardian’s death.

  “Go,” he told Evren. “Do what you need to.”

  Evren shot him a grateful nod. “Be seeing you soon. Don’t have all the fun, eh?”

  “There’s plenty for all of us.” Kodyn nodded. “Last one back to the temple buys the next round of drinks.”

  “Deal!” With a grin to Aisha, Evren turned and raced off west down the tunnels.

  “You’re a lot alike, the two of you.” Aisha’s voice echoed quietly from beside him.

  “What’s that, now?” Kodyn turned to her with a quizzical expression.

  “You both carry a burden of guilt that is not yours to bear.” She fixed him with a solemn gaze. “It will drag you down if you don’t let it go.”

  Kodyn stiffened. He knew Aisha was trying to help, but he’d grown weary of hearing the lecture. Just saying the words didn’t make the guilt go away.

  “Come on,” he said. “The sooner we get our hands on Groebus, the sooner all of this is over with.”

  Aisha hesitated at the change of subject, but let it slide. With a nod, she fell into step beside him.

  Kodyn felt grateful, but quickly kept talking before Aisha circled back around to him. “What did Briana want? Back in the room, when she pulled you aside?” He met her eyes. “I didn’t want to pry on what seemed a private conversation, but—”

  Aisha shook her head. “She was just telling me about her progress with the Shadow Root.”

  Kodyn’s mind flashed back to what Aisha had told him about Shadow Root. The shaman, Imbuka, had said a small dose would diminish her Spirit Whisperer powers, and the whole root would silence them once and for all. Aisha hadn’t mentioned anything about Briana studying the root. A part of him wanted to feel hurt that she hadn’t told him, yet he understood. More than anything, he just felt sad that he couldn’t help her. They had been best friends for years; of anyone, he should be there for her to help her deal with this new change in her life. He felt helpless, useless. He could do little more than watch, a bystander, as she muddled her way through the challenge.

  “Has she uncovered anything useful?” he asked.

  “She seems to think so.” Aisha’s face revealed her uncertainty. “She used a lot of complicated words like ‘psychotropic’ and ‘neuroactive compounds’, but I think she might actually be able to mix the Shadow Root with the Whispering Lily to balance their effects.”

  Kodyn narrowed his eyes. “So the Shadow Root, which can shut off your Spirit Whisperer abilities completely, can work with the Whispering Lily, which amplifies those same abilities, and will somehow blend into one concoction that cancels each other out?”

  “Not quite what she said, but I guess that’s the gist of it.” Aisha shrugged. “But after what Imbuka said, I’m worried what will happen if I take the Whispering Lily.”

  “You don’t think that was just said to scare you or something?” Kodyn shot a glance at her. “Saying it’s evil and that it only leads to death, that all seems a bit dramatic, doesn’t it?”

  Aisha’s expression grew pensive. “Maybe. But I saw what happened once my father started taking it.” A shadow passed over her eyes. “If it’s anything like that, I don’t want to risk it.”

  Again, Kodyn felt a little sting in his chest. He and Aisha had been friends for years. She knew so much about him, but until recently, he’d known next to nothing about her family or the life she’d had in Ghandia before her enslavement. He hadn’t wanted to pry or force her to relive painful memories, yet he found himself curious about who she’d been before the Night Guild.

  “What was it like, growing up in Ghandia?” His question was quiet, almost hesitant. “With a…well, a normal family, I guess.” His own upbringing—in secret, without ever knowing his father, then in the tunnels of the Night Guild—was far from typical.

  “Normal?” Aisha laughed. “There’s nothing normal about being the daughter of a nassor and an Umoyahlebe!”

  Kodyn grinned. Normal was relative to everyone. “You know what I mean. Not the life of a Hawk, Serpent, or a Phoenix, but a life of someone with parents and a real future.”

  Aisha smiled. “Happy, on many occasions.” Her smile turned somber. “And sad, on others.” For a long
moment, silence stretched between them. Finally, she shrugged it off. “All of our lives have their ups and downs. They are part of who we are now, just as what we do now will be part of who we become.”

  She turned her head to meet his gaze. “I spent so many years wishing that I’d never been captured by the Bloody Hand or…” She hesitated. “…been forced to do what I did. But if I hadn’t, I’d never have met Ria, or your mother, or...” Again, a moment of hesitation. “…or you.”

  Genuine happiness flared bright in Kodyn’s chest and brought a smile to his face. He reached out and took her strong hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

  “I wouldn’t trade this for anything.” She returned his grip and his grin.

  Kodyn found the breath sucked from his lungs. That smile of hers could melt his heart every time.

  Her grin turned wry. “Well, maybe for a herd of zabara to make me rich.”

  His smile froze and shattered, which elicited a rich, hearty laugh from Aisha.

  “But it would have to be a very, very large herd,” she said, and gave him a wink.

  They walked like that in silence for what seemed a blissful eternity, just the two of them alone in the near-darkness, hands entwined. The crimson glow of the gemstones filled the passage with a soft brilliance that matched the warmth in Kodyn’s chest. Being with her like this, it felt right. He’d dreamed about it for years and finally it had come true.

  He had fallen for her long ago, during her early days in the Night Guild. He’d been a young, inexperienced Hawk and she a terrified victim rescued from captivity. Yet over time, they had gotten close to each other, thanks to the time Ria devoted to training Aisha. Kodyn had watched her grow strong and more beautiful with every day. It had been inevitable; he’d always known that she was the one for him.

  But it wasn’t just her strength and beauty that called to him. When around her, he felt more balanced, calmer, more in control. He thought more clearly and acted with more precision, greater caution. He was a better Hawk and a better man because of her.

  He basked in the warmth of her presence as they climbed the upward-sloping passages. Though it took the better part of an hour to reach the Keeper’s Tier, Kodyn felt as if it passed too quickly. This was the closest they’d come to a few moments of peace in the madness of their time in Shalandra.

  Yet, all too soon, the time came that they turned east toward the hidden passage that would lead them straight to Groebus of the Necroseti.

  The map of the Serenii tunnels had revealed precisely four entrances into the palace itself: one on the far west, near Lady Callista’s office; another near the Pharus’ throne room; a third, the one they’d exited while hauling Turwar up from the Heartspring, opened directly in the center of the palace; and the fourth opened into the offices chosen by the Keeper’s Priests.

  They had discarded all four—after all, the palace would likely be patrolled by Indomitables, already on high-alert from the recent assassination attempts and the intrusion the previous night. Instead, they’d chosen the fifth and final exit, one that opened not into the palace itself, but the Terrestra, the sprawling gardens that bordered the palace’s eastern side.

  The Terrestra was reserved exclusively for the highest-ranked Dhukari, so of course the Keeper’s Priests had chosen offices that offered views of the breathtaking array of plants, shrubs, and flowers that flourished there. If a hunchback had managed to get from the Necroseti offices to the hidden passage unseen to open the way for assassins, it stood to reason that two clever thieves could do the same in reverse. This way, they’d have the gardens to conceal their movements as they slipped toward the offices and snatched up Groebus. Thick branches and hedges would provide far more cover than empty palace halls.

  Kodyn grew more watchful the farther east they traveled. Ennolar had told him to keep a sharp eye out for the sections of wall that lit up beneath the glow of the gemstone. As he’d surmised the previous day, the Serenii had guarded the most important parts of their city with special gemstone locks that only opened to those with the correct resonator stone—the one Suroth had entrusted to him.

  Once again, thoughts of Suroth brought back the question of why the Arch-Guardian had planned to give the lockstone to the Black Widow. Why did he want her to have access to the palace? The spymistress had shown no hostility toward the Pharus or the Keeper’s Council, yet who knew what she had planned? Given what he knew of Suroth, it seemed odd that he would turn it over unless he trusted her implicitly. Yet that raised a whole new set of questions. How could the Arch-Guardian trust a spymistress so much to give her free access to the palace?

  It made no sense, but he knew how to find out. Soon, perhaps when this madness had ended, he would seek out the Black Widow and get answers. He had to know what Suroth was thinking. Perhaps if he understood the reasoning, it would help him better understand why he felt so guilty over Suroth’s death.

  The sight of the glowing mandala pattern of runes snapped him back to reality. They had found the fifth and easternmost passage, the one that led to the Terrestra. He drew out Suroth’s lockstone and pressed it to the wall to open it.

  Yet, the moment he stepped into the tunnel, something struck him as wrong. His brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what could be amiss. He heard nothing but the gentle breeze whispering through the—

  A breeze? There shouldn’t be one in the sealed stone tunnels. That only meant one thing. A door is open ahead.

  Forty paces ahead, where the tunnel should end at a blank wall, daylight filled the passageway. Through the opening, Kodyn saw green plants, trees, and flowering bushes. The Terrestra.

  Dread seeped into his gut.

  The secret entrance into the garden was open. Someone had come this way before them.

  Chapter Eleven

  Aisha hadn’t stopped smiling since Kodyn took her hand. It felt right. From the first time she’d seen him in the Menagerie, clinging to his mothers, she had been intrigued about the handsome young man with the piercing honey eyes. Over the years, that intrigue had grown to interest, then something more, something deeper that she felt in the pit of her stomach. Now, the prospect of being with him lightened the burden that had settled onto her shoulders since the discovery of her Umoyahlebe powers.

  With Kodyn by her side, she wouldn’t have to face her terrifying future as a Spirit Whisperer alone.

  Yet the happiness wasn’t reserved for her alone. A blind man wouldn’t miss the way Evren looked at Briana, and judging by Briana’s actions, the feelings were mutual. They both deserve that little bit of happiness in their lives.

  She didn’t know much of Evren’s past beyond the fact that he’d escaped the Master’s Temple, lived a hard life on the streets, and thrown his lot in with the Hunter of Voramis to help him save Einan from the Great Devourer—a thought that she still struggled to grasp. Yet she recognized that haunted, hunted look in his eyes; she saw it on the rare occasions she looked in the mirror. He had suffered the same sort of things she had and bore the scars of mind and body to prove it.

  In a way, that made him a good match for Briana. She had suffered a great deal in the last few months, from kidnapping to near-death to the loss of her father. She needed someone strong to weather the storms with her, and few people had the fortitude to match Evren’s. Yes, the two of them could find comfort and strength in the other’s presence.

  Yet all happy thoughts faded the moment she felt Kodyn stiffen beside her. His hand slipped free of hers and reached for his sword.

  “What is it?” she asked in a low voice.

  “A breeze.” Kodyn’s tone held a quiet urgency. “The door to the Terrestra is open.”

  Aisha’s muscles tensed as a gentle current of wind wafted across her face. Her hands dropped to her weapons, every sense on full alert. “Let’s go,” she whispered. She moved first, her eyes roaming the tunnel ahead for any sign of threat. Knots formed in her shoulders as the passage ahead brightened. The sight of daylight confirmed Kodyn’
s suspicion.

  The secret entrance to the Serenii tunnels should be closed. Those who knew of its presence would want to conceal it. The people who used the underground passages weren’t forgetful enough to leave the door ajar. That only left one explanation: whoever had exited the tunnel left it open in case they needed to make a quick escape.

  Silence hung thick in the air as they approached the sliver of daylight at the end of the tunnel. The door stood slightly ajar, just enough to allow in a thread of light. Through the crack, Aisha caught a glimpse of lush greenery but no sign of movement.

  Kodyn slipped up beside her and spoke in the silent hand language of the Secret Keepers. “We’ve got to keep a sharp eye out in case they come back.” He didn’t explain who they were—he didn’t need to.

  Aisha moved ahead of Kodyn and pushed the door open just enough to peer out. The Terrestra was a paradise of green life. Trees brought from around Einan stood silent guard over shrubs, bushes, and colorful flowers rich with blooms of every conceivable hue. Plants that shouldn’t be able to grow in Shalandra’s rocky soil—everything from Voramian wildflowers to bright Praamian sunflowers to the deep violet grassblooms that only grew on the Ghandian plains—filled the garden.

  The gardens brought back memories of Aisha’s home, of the hours spent chasing her little sister through the acacia trees or climbing the lofty baobab trees. All throughout, she saw familiar plants, grasses, even tiny shrubs that had no place being here, thousands of leagues from Ghandia.

  Yet the lush greenery that filled the Terrestra appeared to have sprung from the very mountain upon which Shalandra sat. Stately oaks stood next to towering pines and drooping willows, while the trunks of beech, fir, and dogwood trees filled the garden with color—color only accentuated by the soft white petals of the Voramian Snowblossom and bright crimson leaves of Fehlan maple trees.

  Were the situation not so dire, Aisha could have spent endless hours wandering the Terrestra. Since being ripped from her home, she’d had few chances to enjoy the wonders of nature. She missed it, missed being able to stroll through the jungles east of her native Ghandian grasslands and enjoying the smell of dew-covered leaves and the sounds of wild animals playing amid the trees.