Splinter (Trapped Souls Book 1)

by Ricki Delaine

  The boy stepped back quickly when he opened the door, his right hand fisting in his shirt nervously, his left holding a small envelope. Another of the palace servants stood back from the porch, holding the bridles of two pack mules and looking bored. He recognized the man. He was also one of the kitchen servants. More odd, still.

  “What is your name and who sent you, son?”

  “Tanner, sir. Hilma sent me, sir. She said to give this only to you, sir,” and with that the child handed over a small envelope, sealed with wax, his name written in flowing script on the outside of it.

  Opening the letter, he read it quickly. “My lord? You look very pale.” He looked up to see the older servant walking forward, pulling the mules along behind him, concern etching his rough features. “Are you ill?” Young Tanner was looking at him with wide, worried eyes. Kino reached for the frame of the door, tipping his head to take a few shaky breaths. He blinked at the man, uncomprehending for a moment, dizzy from shock.

  Finally, he shook his head. “No, I’m not ill.” He took a coin from his pocket and handed it to the boy. “You head back to your mistress now, and give her my thanks. Tell her I’ll do what I can.”

  He turned and strode back into the house, setting the letter down on the mantle in his living room before heading to his room to change.

  The light from the early morning sun fell on the words written there.

  Master Kino,

  It has been such a short time since I saw you last, but it seems a life time ago. The frightening events of the last day seem surreal, but I know that this nightmare is all too real.

  The Mamoru has disappeared. I have been imprisoned in the palace. I do not know the why for any of it and have no clue as to Theron’s whereabouts, but I know that he is being hunted, even now.

  I have asked Hilma to have this brought to you and you alone, for whatever has led to this, and though it may seem impossible, the Emperor is furious at my Protector. I fear he intends to kill him.

  I know this must sound mad, but please believe me. There is no one else I trust. I do not know what help you might give, but if there was ever a time your son needed you, it is now.

  Lynea

  Chapter 11

  The sun rose on their third day away from the palace, dawn breaking too quickly after a sleepless night. Theron had to remind himself of the time that had passed, because to him it felt like it had been only one day. Over and over, those moments flashed through his mind. His talks with Hilma, Kino and the witch. Fighting that winged monster in Eiji Forest, the Emperor’s threats and the guards. How had everything gone so wrong, so quickly? And now, he’d lost two days, leaving only eleven before the marriage. He could only hope that his actions had not prompted the Emperor to do something rash, and that it still served whatever evil purpose the man had to keep Lynea alive until after the wedding.

  He had to get back to the palace.

  He stood and rolled his shoulders, easing the aches from a night on the hard ground and marveled again at the surprising lack of pain from either of the wounds he’d received such a short time ago.

  Lynea. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. Her smile, her eyes, the smell of her hair. Her voice was in his head. “My Protector.” He would ready Ash and head back. He’d tell the others he was well enough, there was no need for him to see a healer.

  The sun’s light was moving from a deep orange to the faded blue of a robin’s egg. He would need every moment of daylight. He just needed a quick breakfast. His eyes landed on the others in the party. He couldn’t involve anyone else in this, any further than they already were (though he did not know how either Ria or Mako could return to their lives after their part in what had happened). For their own good, if not his, they should all go their separate ways as quickly as possible.

  Speaking of his companions, they were stirring. The boy, though, was nowhere to be found in the camp. Theron wondered when exactly the child had disappeared, why he hadn’t noticed it and if he should be concerned. Ria woke up then. She looked up and around, seemingly also noting the child’s absence. A perplexed look passed over her face, but she didn’t seem worried. She yawned instead, stretching and her eyes fell on him. Her cheeks grew unaccountably pink until it occurred to Theron he’d been watching her for longer than was appropriate.

  He busied himself stoking the fire for their breakfast, noting from the corner of his eye, as Ria rummaged in her bag for a few moments, before shaking her head and closing it again. Standing up, she muttered something about being right back and headed into the surrounding trees.

  Standing, Theron moved over to Ash, running his palm over the horse’s muzzle. Tossing his head, Ash nickered. “Sorry, boy. I don’t have any treats for you.”

  Suddenly restless, he had the feeling he was being watched. “Something on your mind, Mako?” He heard the shift of gravel behind him and knew the other man had stood, and was walking over to stand behind him.

  “Why did you betray us?”

  “Us?”

  Theron could hear the anger in the other man’s voice at his question, remembering too late the humiliation he had visited on the guard. Looking down, he said quietly, “I’m sorry for what I did to you,” and he took a breath against the punch of guilt that came with the words. “I know you only meant to help me. I could not risk discovery.” Shaking his head, he laughed shortly. “Though I suppose it was inevitable.”

  The silence that followed felt heavy, until finally, Mako said, “Discovery of what?”

  Theron closed his mouth over the truth he wanted to say. The truth was too crazy. A cook and an insane witch were hardly credible sources of information. How could he explain that regardless of what others might say, there was something. A feeling, an instinct, that said the danger to the lady was real. An instinct supported by memories of Tatsuo’s murderous flying monster and a blade glinting, as the ruler tried to end his life. He shied away from the thought that the actions he took now would have a ripple effect on those around him. Kino. Hilma. This girl and the guard. But he would save Lynea’s life. He had to.

  Mako’s voice, dark with anger, pulled him back from his thoughts. “What were you there to do?”

  “There was a threat to the lady.” From the corner of his eyes, he saw Mako’s eyes narrow. Not quite avoiding the other man’s gaze, he continued, “It came from someone near the throne. The only way to protect her was to remove her from the palace, without even the Emperor’s knowledge.” The lie tasted foul, but perhaps without the entire truth, Mako and Ria might still return to their former lives.

  Mako digested what he’d heard, before saying, “If what you say is true, you left with nothing to show for it. Now the lady is without your protection.” The anger was still there, compounded now with worry. “How could you leave her?”

  Because the Emperor was trying to kill me. I was wounded and out-numbered. Because Ria was there and otherwise, she would be in the dungeon now, or worse. “You were there. Do you not remember?”

  Ignoring him, the guard continued, “If the threat is near the throne, her life may be forfeit even now.” That last echoed his own fears, but Theron denied them. Kitsune had said this “cycle” ended on the solstice. Lynea would be safe until then. She had to be.

  He looked into the scowling face of the other man. As much as his criticism galled, it was reassuring to hear that man was worried for the lady. Theron had heard the other guards branding Mako a traitor. That “traitor” was turning towards his horse, obviously intent on preparing to leave, as he continued, “You’ve left her in the hands of the Imperial guard. Well-trained to be sure, but none as trained as you are.” He stopped suddenly, asking, “Where was this threat from, was it from a guard?”

  No. Not the guards. The one who commands them. Them and every other person in the palace. As well as a personal army of monsters. But Theron couldn’t say that. Once again, he hoped that it served the Emperor’s purpose to keep Lynea alive until the wedding.

  The ru
stle of leaves near the edge of the campsite drew their attention. Ria stepped into the cleared area, a few eggs and branches, heavy with sweet berries, in her hands. “Threat? Are we in danger here?”

  “No, not at the moment,” Theron replied. “I have to leave after we eat our meal.”

  “What? To go where?”

  “I am returning to the palace.”

  “You mean ‘we’ are going back to the palace,” Mako put in darkly.

  Ria ignored him, her attention still focused on Theron. “Wait, do you really mean that? You still have not seen a healer.”

  Unconsciously, he found herself rotating his shoulder, shifting to test that injured side, checking for any sign of pain. Nothing but an ache, maybe a slight burn in the muscle. Though he should have been happy (and he was), it was disturbing. But now was not the time to question good fortune. “I don’t need one. I’m all right.”

  Ria opened her mouth to speak, but Mako cut her off. “The lady is in danger. We need to go back.”

  “But –”

  “No,” Theron said. “I need to go back. It will be easier for me to go alone and remain undetected.” Theron didn’t know how to fix the trouble Mako and Ria were in for the help he’d already given him, but something in him cringed at the thought of pulling either one of them deeper into this mess. “Thank you for your help, both of you. But you should step away from this now.”

  Reaching into the pouch tied to the side of Ash’s saddle, he pulled out a water skin. He walked to the edge of the campsite. There was a stream a short ways off, he could hear running water. “I’ll be back soon, I just need to get some fresh water.”

  “Let me help you change the bandages, if you are going to the stream,” Ria offered. She hurried to pull some fresh linen from her bag, stepping towards him.

  Theron shook his head, reaching out his hand. “I can manage.”

  Frowning, Ria nodded. It would be difficult for him to change them alone, but she wasn’t surprised he didn’t want help. Handing over the rolled cloth, her hand brushed his. It made her pull her hand back more quickly than she would otherwise. His eyes flicked down before meeting hers again and he hesitated a moment before nodding his thanks. Turning, he headed down the path.

  The boy materialized out of the forest, stepping into the path in front of the Protector, making Ria jump. Theron didn’t seem surprised, however, stepping around him, heading for the stream.

  Ria watched him walk away. He was going to leave. He was going to go back to that place. She closed her eyes and saw again the guards’ anger, the ryouken and knew if he went back into that place, he wasn’t going to come back out again.

  Absently, she saw their guide walk towards the camp. The child stopped in front of her, his eyes bright and his smile brilliant. He held up his catch, a small bird. He pushed the poor thing at her, making this odd little sound in his throat, something like a whine. Smiling, she looked at the bird and then she looked over at Mako. The bulky guard was looking at the berries she’d brought back, frowning. Laying her hand on the boy’s head, she said, “Thank you. This will make a wonderful meal for us.”

  Padding over to the far corner of their camp, he started cleaning the bird. Confident that he would be busy for a while, she walked over to where Mako sat.

  “I know what you are going to say.” He had put the berries to the side and was building up the fire. She watched for a moment as he pulled the thickest sticks from the pile of firewood they’d gathered, snapping them with angry precision before shoving them at the flames.

  “Mako, what did you say to him?”

  The former guard turned incredulous eyes on her and scowled. “That wasn’t what I thought you were going to say. What did I say?” He stood, turning away and stalking to the other side of the small clearing. “He left her. He’s supposed to be there, now, protecting her. But he chose to save his own sorry life instead.”

  “It wasn’t like that!”

  “How was it not? I do not see the lady sitting on that log next to you. His only duty is to protect her.” He shook his head. “He knows she is in danger and yet here he is. I cannot believe he left her, if what he said is true.”

  Breathless with disbelief, Ria found herself across the camp in moments, looking up into the guard’s face. “You weren’t there. You don’t know. There were so many of them, too many of them.”

  “Other guards, sworn to the Emperor, as he is.”

  “They were attacking him.”

  “They wouldn’t have done that, unless he had done something wrong.”

  “They would have hurt me too. He stopped them. He saved me.”

  “And what had you done? Snuck on to the grounds, snuck in to the palace …”

  Making a noise between strangled and furious, Ria turned away, getting up and putting space between them. She went to her bag, yanking out a swatch of linen to spread the berries on. She began pulling them from the branches, sorting out the over and under-ripe. Having to force herself to be gentle, or crush them. When the guard didn’t continue, she seemed to deflate, sighing. Her eyebrows were creased, her mouth turning down. “He can’t go back there.” The horror of their escape still hadn’t left her. She thought it was likely the violence she’d witnessed would haunt her dreams for a long time. “Especially alone. They’ll kill him.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” came the growled reply.

  Glancing up, she searched his face. She couldn’t tell if he was happy or upset about the idea. The circumstances she had found Mako in originally, trussed up like a pig waiting for slaughter, came back suddenly. She’d laughed at him then and later. She didn’t understand why he had helped them in the first place, and didn’t really understand why he had stayed with them ever since.

  So she asked him.

  “I’ve given my answer to that question already.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes and the tone of his voice told her not to press him about it. She wasn’t really very good at doing what was wise.

  “Were you unhappy, being a guard?”

  “What kind of question is that? I was proud to serve my Emperor.” The heat in his voice wasn’t faked, and Ria could hear the bitter hurt underneath it. She looked at the spot Theron had disappeared into the trees, suddenly feeling horrible for the grief she had given Mako. Their diminutive guide was sitting nearby, ignoring them completely. The boy was still cleaning the bird he had brought them with complete focus.

  “So why, then?” Mako had been sucked into this, the same as Ria had, she could see that. What she wanted to know was, if he was – was he with them by choice, or as he said, because he felt he had none?

  The sound of the branch snapping announced the Protector’s return. It was clear what he’d been doing. The collar of his shirt was damp and the edges of his hair curling and wet. Ria almost didn’t hear Mako’s reply. “It doesn’t matter. I’m here now and the lady is in danger. I may not be the Protector, but I cannot ignore this threat to the Emperor’s house.”

  That may be, but does that mean we can or cannot trust you?

  Unsatisfied, but unable to get an answer for the moment, Ria started cooking breakfast. Their guide had finished his work, spitted the bird and set it to roast over the fire. It was odd to see such small hands handling those tasks so competently. Shaking her head, Ria pulled the small pan out of the gray mare’s saddlebag. By the time the eggs were done, the bird was ready. Divided four ways, it wasn’t much of a meal, but it was enough.

  It didn’t take long to finish cleaning, douse the fire, and soon they were readying to leave. Ria was still not comfortable with the idea of abandoning their visit to the healer. It had taken nearly two days to travel so far. It worried her that the Protector had avoided telling Mako that the Emperor was at the center of this. In truth, he hadn’t told her, but she had seen the Emperor’s personal guard in the group attacking Theron. She had seen the tunnels, filled with those twisted, evil creatures. It was impossible for such a place to exist without the ruler’s knowledge.<
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  Deep down, Ria knew that it meant there likely was no good end to this. How could they prevail against such power, just the three of them? She sighed. At least they were safe for the moment, if only because the Emperor did not know where they were.

  Until they returned to the palace that is. She looked up from what she was doing, wanting to convince the two stubborn men. “With only half a day’s ride left, should we not continue to River’s Bend? There, we can replenish our supplies. There must be a healer too. Theron could get the treatment he needs.” She knew better than either Theron or Mako how serious the Protector’s injuries were. She had seen them herself, done the stitches herself.

  “I told you, I don’t need a healer.” Theron was tightening the straps on his horse’s saddle, and adjusting the blanket underneath it so it wouldn’t chafe.

  “You can’t be serious.” Ria was doing her best to ready her own horse, but was struggling to reach high enough to tighten the straps properly. Theron walked over to help. She lowered her voice. “You were unconscious for nearly two days.” Gesturing to his shoulder, she said quietly, “You must still feel it, after all that you did to get us out of the palace. I’m sure it must hurt. A healer will have herbs to help with that.”

  He had been smiling a bit when he walked over and Ria had ignored how her heart had sped up with him standing so close. But as she asked him to reconsider, the lightness left his expression. Her heart sank at the remote look in his eyes when he replied. “No. No healer. I’m fine.”

  She watched him work on the horse, knowing that each time he used that arm it pulled on his shoulder. It took strength to tighten the belts enough to keep the saddle secure. Listening to the creak of leather and the shift of the horses’ hooves in the dirt, she watched him, a frown gathering between her eyes. She saw amusement reappear in his eyes, but it did not really register, because he did seem fine. She didn’t understand. There was no hesitation in his movements, no hitch that said what he was doing hurt.