Curse of Kings (The Trials of Oland Born, Book 1)

by Barclay, Alex

  Oland and Delphi ran.

  Weighed down by their gold, the Bastions struggled to keep pace. They quickly fell away, returning to the bridge and the only job for which they were equipped. Oland and Delphi stopped once they were out of sight.

  “What did you do to him?” said Oland.

  “I… I don’t really know,” said Delphi. “He was coming too close to me, so I struck first and, before I realised it, he was bleeding.”

  “But how did you rip off the rings?” said Oland. “And what did you do to him when we arrived? He just let us cross.”

  “I did nothing,” said Delphi. “I just stared at him. The rest was the gold.”

  “He looked stricken,” said Oland.

  Delphi laughed. “Good. What did you do to the scryer?”

  “Nothing either,” said Oland.

  “You must have asked her something she didn’t like,” said Delphi.

  “I didn’t ask her anything,” said Oland. “She may have sensed that I was doubtful…”

  “You could have pretended you believed in her,” said Delphi.

  “Wouldn’t she have known?” said Oland.

  “Lucky I went first,” said Delphi. “Otherwise we’d know nothing.”

  “And what do you know?” said Oland.

  “What does it matter, if you won’t believe in it?” said Delphi.

  Oland smiled.

  “She said she did meet my mother when she was pregnant with me,” said Delphi. “She didn’t say what she said to her, but then suddenly she said she could smell fresh water. She started to rock back and forth. Then she said she could see me in the ocean, but her face went dark and she said that I was never, ever to enter water, that I would draw something terrible upon myself.”

  “What did she mean ‘something terrible’?” said Oland.

  “That’s all she said,” said Delphi. “I asked her was my mother still alive and she didn’t quite answer. It was all so strange…”

  “Did you ask her where Sabian is?” said Oland. “Did she say anything that might help us? Did she say anything about the archivist?”

  “She didn’t mention the archivist,” said Delphi. “She told me about King Micah and Queen Cossima. She said that they were very much in love and that, on the day they were married, King Micah brought her in a white carriage to Garnish and presented her with her very own private woods, filled with exotic trees and flowers and plants.”

  “And?” said Oland.

  “The next thing she said was that we would find someone ‘by willow, by lamplights’.”

  “What does that mean?” said Oland. “Who?”

  “I don’t know,” said Delphi. “I’m simply telling you what she said.”

  “None of it makes sense,” said Oland. “She could say anything.”

  “How about this, then: she told me very clearly that, despite what everyone thinks, she did not tell Villius Ren that he would be defeated by Chancey the Gold.”

  “What?” said Oland.

  “She said that she told him no such thing. She called it ‘rumours and fathoming and guessing and lying’.”

  “But—”

  “She told him that his downfall would be at the hands of ‘a champion’.”

  “Chancey was a champion,” said Oland.

  “Villius no longer has to fear Chancey the Gold.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Oland. “I… I wasn’t thinking.”

  With Chancey the Gold dead, Oland thought of the only other man he knew to have been a champion of The Games: Jerome Rynish. Was he likely to bring about the downfall of Villius Ren? Oland thought about what Jerome had said: “It is more likely that… Villius Ren himself was to slay the beasts, then on to solo glory he would go.” If Villius Ren crowned himself champion at The Games, then, in his mind, he would be reassured that there would be no new champion to defeat him. When he couldn’t do that, he finally had his men kill Chancey the Gold. With Jerome Rynish beaten down, Villius Ren could finally be reassured. Then Oland thought of the flicker of fear in Villius Ren’s eyes when he had stood before him at the arena. The crowd had chanted the worst possible word for Villius Ren to hear.

  Champion.

  I AM NO CHAMPION, THOUGHT OLAND. BUT THEN VILLIUS Ren was a desperate, fearful man. Would he be determined to kill anyone with even a tenuous link to victory?

  “Delphi,” said Oland. “You’re not safe with me.”

  “What?” said Delphi. “Of course I’m safe with you.”

  “There are things I haven’t told you…” said Oland.

  “What things?” said Delphi.

  “Things,” said Oland.

  “That’s very revealing,” said Delphi. “I am safe with you. I feel safe.”

  Oland shook his head. “Please, you have to listen to me—”

  “I don’t,” said Delphi.

  Oland stopped. “That’s true,” he said. “You don’t.” But how could she believe in him? He had never been so unsure of himself. But, though he had only just met this curious girl, he knew that he did not want them to part.

  “I’m coming with you,” said Delphi, as if she had read his mind. “All the way to Sabian.”

  Oland smiled, but his first thought was that they would never make it that far.

  The sun beat down on Oland and Delphi as they walked. Oland’s throat felt like the blade of a sword, and his pale skin burned.

  “Delphi, I saw the back door of Chancey the Gold’s house,” said Oland.

  Delphi tried to hide her faltering steps.

  “I saw the bolt,” said Oland. “It had been bolted from the outside. Someone broke the bolt from the inside. And now it’s tied closed with rope…”

  Delphi spun around. “What are you saying?”

  “I saw you use the ropes at The Falls,” said Oland. “I saw the knots you made. They were the same. You… you had been locked in the house, hadn’t you? And you broke out, didn’t you?”

  “I’ve already told you how protective my father was,” said Delphi. “He did his best, but…” She shrugged. “It was only in the past year that he has left me alone when he went travelling. And, even though he wasn’t there, I always obeyed his rules. He trusted me. And he was right to. I stayed safe, I didn’t go far. But… over the past year, I started to get angry that he could go wherever he liked, and I had to stay at home. So, I started to go out to The Falls when he was gone, and it was then that I taught myself everything.” She paused. “Just before The Games, some people from Galenore were coming through The Straits and were speaking of them. They had a friend who was coming from the Dallen border to meet them, and I stowed away in their cart. My father worked out where I had gone, and he followed me. He found me in Derrington after I was thrown out of the arena. He was furious. I tried to talk to him about how exciting The Games had been. I even told him about you, but he was still so angry. So… before he went away this time, he locked me in. Just that one time. He said that he would only be gone for a day. And that’s why I was so worried. Because he wouldn’t have locked the door if he thought he would be gone for longer. He wouldn’t. I think he was scared for some reason…”

  For a moment, they stood in silence.

  “So you knew it was me at The Games?” said Oland.

  Delphi nodded. “Yes,” she said. “I just didn’t want you to think that I was only helping you across The Falls because you were a hero.”

  Oland’s face burned. “I’m not a hero,” he said. He quickly moved on. “So you’ve only been navigating The Falls for a year? And, even then, only at the times when Chancey the Gold was gone?”

  Delphi smiled. “Yes.”

  “You could have killed us both,” said Oland.

  “But I didn’t!” said Delphi.

  “No wonder your father didn’t trust you,” said Oland. He smiled. “But Jerome Rynish did say that there would have to be a very special reason for Chancey the Gold to return to Decresian.”

  Delphi smiled back.

&n
bsp; “Delphi!” said Oland. “Returning! I just realised, and I don’t mean to sound harsh, but Wickham and Croft have rid Villius of his greatest threat, sadly, your father. But who warned Villius about Chancey the Gold in the first place? The Scryer of Gort. Knowing Villius, he will return to the scryer to be reassured. That was why, at The Falls, Wickham said that he might seek ‘mystic reassurance’. He was talking about the scryer. Villius will want confirmation from her that his downfall will no longer occur. An open future is a terrifying thing to Villius Ren.”

  “What shall we do?” said Delphi.

  “The death of your father is a recent one,” said Oland. “Wickham and Croft sent word to Villius. I know how his mind works. He won’t bide his time. So we wait, and I have no doubt he will appear.”

  “Wait where?” said Delphi.

  “I’d like my curiosity satisfied on something,” said Oland. He pointed towards a cave close by. “Look at that etching on the stone – does it not look like an eye?”

  “It does,” said Delphi.

  “Would that not be the perfect sign to mark a scryer’s cave?” said Oland. “I had always read that she lived in a cave. I think they moved her across to the other side of the valley, and that’s why I had never read of the bridge or the strange place she now lives. I think she’s now in one of the discarded bermid nests.”

  They went inside the cave. A small candle flickered.

  “There,” said Oland, “the metal chains that once shackled the scryer. They’re rusted and worn. This can’t have been used in a long time.”

  “Then, if Villius Ren were to return,” said Delphi, “unless he knew differently, this is where he would come.”

  Oland nodded. They walked deeper into the cave and came across a row of beds against the wall, their covers disturbed, clothes strewn on top. There were various gold-embellished tunics hanging on pegs, and each bed had a locked box beside it.

  Delphi’s eyes went wide. “The Bastions’ quarters,” she said.

  They heard a cough and followed the sound further into the cave. A cold breeze blew through. “There must be another entrance,” said Oland. They moved forward and soon found themselves staring through an opening at the Bastion by the bridge whose rings Delphi had ripped off. He was alone now, sitting on a rock, clutching a bloodied handkerchief in one hand.

  “Do the Bastions allow visitors at night?” whispered Delphi.

  “No,” said Oland, “but that will be of no concern to Villius Ren. And, remember, night time is when he roams.”

  Oland and Delphi waited in the darkness, until eventually, from the shadows, a dark form rode towards them. Despite the hat the man wore, despite the collar he had pulled up to meet it, he was unmistakable. It was Villius Ren. He dismounted his horse and tied it to a post beside the now-sleeping Bastion, who jolted awake.

  Villius approached him and took a small pouch out of his pocket. He held out a palm glowing with coins.

  “Who are you?” said the Bastion.

  “My name is Villius—”

  “You legend here,” said the Bastion. “You smash scryer’s cave, you break shackles.” He shook his head. “Never come here again. Forbidden for you.”

  “Things have changed,” said Villius.

  “Yes,” said the Bastion. “We have bridge now. Men like you go raging when bad future, we need way to kill you. We have rope bridge we shake, shake, shake, until unhappy men fall. Insane men…”

  “You don’t understand,” said Villius. “I’m not insane. That was a long time ago… before you were even born.”

  “We all know your name from history,” said the Bastion. “Go away.”

  Villius tried to push past him. “She will see me,” he said. “I will give you all the gold you need.”

  “No end to gold I need,” said the Bastion. “I need river of gold you no have. Sea of gold.”

  “How about I take you away from here?” said Villius. “To a place that is filled with gold? A castle in Decresian where everything is made of gold!”

  Oland shook his head at Delphi to let her know this was a lie.

  “Let me explain,” said Villius. “I am the ruler of Decresian. And I am one man down. My men and I could make great use of you. If you agree to join us, you will be rewarded in many ways.”

  “Gold first, see scryer next,” said the Bastion.

  Villius Ren gazed across the valley. “Scryer first, then the gold.”

  “Only me here, this side,” said the Bastion. “I die, you killed by Bastions other side. Shake, shake, shake. Show me gold castle, show me gold for all Bastions, we come back here, you see new future. May be bright, may be dark. But you like dark…” He paused. “For other people.”

  The Bastion smiled, and his small round eyes turned to ugly curved slits.

  “You will be well met with my men,” said Villius.

  There was an eerie fixedness to the Bastion’s smile. It stayed on his face as he took the coins.

  “Meet me in The Lead Glass tavern in Galenore at midday tomorrow,” said Villius. He nodded at the Bastion, climbed up on his horse and rode away.

  Oland turned to Delphi. “It looks like there is a new member of The Craven Lodge…” He paused. “What I don’t understand is why Villius said he’s only one man down, when he lost both Wickham and Croft.”

  “It sounds like Villius Ren thinks and behaves in inexplicable ways,” said Delphi.

  “At least we know he is bound for Galenore,” said Oland. “Which means we can get to the border with Oxlaven without fear of crossing his path.”

  When they arrived at the border, Oland and Delphi saw that it was nothing like the dense woods between Dallen and Decresian: here, the trees had worn, skinny trunks, surrounded by bushes at their base. At the top, the leaves were rich.

  “Can you hear that?” said Delphi.

  “No,” said Oland.

  Delphi ran through the trees. “It’s water,” she shouted back to him.

  Oland followed her through to where a narrow stream flowed down into a small clear pool. Delphi was on her knees at the edge, drinking from her cupped hands. She made room for Oland.

  “We need to find the statue,” said Oland when he had finished drinking. “Then wait for the archivist to collect Pinfrock’s paper and ink.”

  Delphi stood up and followed him through the trees.

  A small shape came flying towards them.

  “Malben!” said Oland. “Where did you come from? How do you always find us?”

  “I think he smells us,” said Delphi.

  “Is that it, Malben?” said Oland.

  “He follows the smell of roses,” said Delphi.

  They laughed.

  “Look,” said Delphi, “the statue!” She walked over to a giant intricate stone carving of a woman with round and beautiful curves, and a wide smiling mouth. The inscription underneath read ‘The Spinster Caudelie Reilly, Beloved Mother to Men and Orphans’. She had been dead twenty-nine years.

  “‘To Men and Orphans’… isn’t that strange?” said Oland. He thought again of his parents, and the census, and he felt a surge of hope at the prospect of meeting the archivist.

  Nightfall came. Oland and Delphi hid for hours in the undergrowth, waiting for the arrival of the archivist. Malben curled into Delphi’s arms again, and she quietly sang. Oland was the first to fall asleep.

  Well into the night, in the distance, a horse and cart appeared, a lantern hooked on at the right-hand side at the front. Oland and Delphi sat up. The horse was weaving left and right, the cart behind it bouncing wildly on the stony ground. One of the wheels struck a huge rock, and the cart flipped into the air on one side, crashing back down again. Hundreds of white pages burst into the sky, and began floating down behind it. Oland and Delphi looked at each other, alarmed. They stood up, mesmerised by the speed. On it came, and the closer it got and the sharper the panic in the horse’s eyes, the clearer it became that there was no rider to guide him.

  “It
’s not going to stop,” said Oland.

  He grabbed Delphi’s arm and pulled her back behind the trees. The horse and cart shot past them, the cart swinging wide, slamming into the monument, shattering the wooden bars that hitched it to the horse. Caudelie Reilly still stood tall. The horse, a simple brown packhorse, stumbled on the hard ground, but righted himself. He paused, his chest heaving. Then he turned and galloped back to where he had come from.

  Oland and Delphi approached the cart. Pinfrock was in it.

  Pinfrock was dead.

  ROM HIS GRUESOME PALLOR AND THE DARK, DRIED STAINS of blood on his wool coat, it was clear that Pinfrock had been dead for some time.

  “I think he was dead before his journey ever started,” said Oland.

  Delphi was crying. Even Malben looked troubled, and had retreated into a tree, wrapping his arms around himself.

  Oland reached down to Pinfrock’s body.

  “Don’t!” said Delphi.

  “He’s got some paper in his hand,” said Oland. He turned to Delphi.

  “Don’t touch him!” she said.

  But Oland pulled the paper free. It was the corner of a white page and, in the moonlight, he could make out the tiniest speck of teal ink.

  “This was the archivist’s letter,” said Oland.

  They stared at each other.

  “It seems that this is what happens if you betray an Archivist Ault,” said Oland.

  With that, all thoughts of finding the census and finding his parents were gone.

  “How could the archivist have known that Pinfrock had shown anyone the letter?” said Delphi.

  “He must have been closer than we thought,” said Oland.

  “Which means, at least, he is still alive,” said Delphi.

  “And murderous,” said Oland. “Someone who has put a dead body in our path to deter us.”

  “We can’t stay here,” said Delphi.

  “Pinfrock was a good man,” said Oland. “We shouldn’t leave his body out here. He has a family.”

  “But what can we do?” said Delphi. “We can’t bring him back to Galenore.”