The Daath Chronicles- The Complete Series

by Eliza Tilton

  The blade gleamed. I ran my hand along the flat, smooth edge, then whirled the weapon around, amazed at how fast I could maneuver with it.

  Rufus continued taking his stock out and placing his weapons on the table.

  “This is more than I paid for,” I said.

  “It is.”

  Did he know about that night in the temple? A few townsfolk had been overly nice, or had given me extra goods whenever I purchased from them. Jericho’s resistance had enlisted a few of the merchants. I shouldn’t have been surprised if Rufus was connected to them.

  “Thank you.”

  “Just make sure you put it to good use,” he said as he handed me a black scabbard.

  I looped it onto my belt, then studied the weapon in my hands. The hilt had a simple black leather grip with a green stone in the center of the crossguard, with an etching of a large tree surrounding the gem.

  Being best friends with a blacksmith, you’d think I’d have my choice of weapons, but Derrick only ever gave me repaired blades. This was the first sword I’d bought with my own coin.

  With my sword in hand, I strolled around the other tables, watching the day begin.

  “One mushroom cap with every five bought!”

  “Beautiful cotton scarves!”

  “Eggs, milk, and cheese!”

  People started filling the space around me and I walked off to the side, trying to move out of the way. The merchant in front of me had a table full of beaded hairpins. Red, crystal, purple, black, all different shades bouncing around his stall. I spotted a hummingbird pin with navy blue beads. It would look nice in Raven’s hair, if I could convince her to wear it. She’d probably love a new dagger, but I could imagine my mother’s horrified expression if I bought the girl I loved a weapon.

  Pin it is. I dug through my pockets to a take out a few coins.

  A lyrical voice filled the air around me, sweet, melodic. I stopped to listen to the feminine singing, then turned to search for the beauty it came from.

  “Purchase that pin, sir, and I’ll give you half price on another.”

  The merchant showed me another beaded pin with a rose, pulling my attention back to the goods before me, and away from the woman who stood somewhere in the crowd behind me. I threw the coin on the table and grabbed both pins before turning away.

  The song sounded distant, as if the wind was sweeping the music away. I had to find that voice.

  “Hey, this isn’t enough!” The merchant yelled, causing the closest townsfolk to turn in my direction.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled. “Do you hear that?”

  “Hear what?”

  I pulled one more coin from my pocket. The merchant frowned, but I couldn’t stay to barter. I walked away from the table, rushing, but not too fast. I rounded the corner, following the song into a small alley.

  “Hello, Avikar.”

  Lucy.

  She smiled, her lips a delicious red. “Did you like the song?” She stepped closer to me.

  “It was beautiful . . . .” I rubbed my head. Why did I say that?

  Her black hair contrasted against her perfect porcelain skin. “We never did finish that conversation in the tavern.”

  “No, we didn’t.” My mind clouded and my mouth went dry.

  “Let’s go somewhere a little more private. There’s so much we need to chat about.”

  “I shouldn’t . . . .” Something was wrong. Why did I want to go with her?

  She put her hand on my chest. “You should. You want to.”

  The singing entered my head, but her lips weren’t moving. Her hand touched the skin on my neck. I grabbed a marble in my pocket and rolled it between my fingers.

  An image of Jimri laughing and running by the lake entered my mind. I smiled.

  “Run,” he said.

  Why would I run?

  Lucy whispered, her words lost in my head, another hand on my chest, sliding back and forth.

  “Run, Avi.” Jimri’s voice pounded in my head. I spun around and dashed out of the alley.

  Lucy’s boisterous laugh sent chills through me. She had put us to sleep that time in the tavern, all because of a song. I smacked my face while I ran, trying to disrupt her magic.

  I hummed while running. If Lucy could control me with her wicked voice, who knew what she’d make me do.

  When I was a safe distance away, I turned around.

  Lucy stood on the other side of the market, glaring, the ice in her stark blue eyes freezing me.

  Slowly, I grabbed the hilt of my new sword, watching her carefully, and humming to myself. Would she attack?

  Her hands flicked forward and four darts zipped through the air.

  I dove right and rolled once I hit the ground. A boy stood where I had just been, the darts deep in his chest.

  A wail, so loud and terrifying it shook me to the core, blasted through the market. I held my hands tight against my ears and tried to block out the sound. Lucy ran forward, her mouth wide open and hands raised.

  The crushing sound kept me on my knees, but I fought against it, slowly rising.

  Chaos erupted around me as the villagers shouted and ran around, some holding their ears others waving their arms wildly.

  “Run, now!” Rufus appeared in front of me holding a broadsword.

  I stood, shaking my head. “I’ll fight with you.”

  Lucy launched a set of daggers that Rufus and I both dodged.

  “Now’s not the time. Go, before she reaches you!” Rufus charged at Lucy.

  Guards began running into the market, too many for Rufus to fight alone, and too many for us to beat together.

  He won’t survive this. Torn between duty and honor, I watched Rufus attack and defend.

  I had to drive Lucy away. She wanted me and only me.

  I grabbed my bow and quickly notched an arrow, then set it loose near Lucy and Rufus. The arrow hit the cobblestone and she looked in my direction.

  Once her gaze was on me, I ran.

  Chapter Five

  Avikar

  “Ya, ya!” I slapped the reins against Brushfire’s side. I had to get out of Daath. Everyone I cared about was in danger.

  “Hurry, girl,” I urged Brushfire on, desperate to be away from the market.

  I was stupid to think what happened at the temple would be over. No one had come after me, and none of Jericho’s men had heard any news of Lucy’s return, but we should’ve been smarter. I should’ve been smarter.

  When Brushfire reached Jericho’s, I jumped off her back and raced inside the house without waiting for her to slow to a stop. Raven and Cael sat side by side at the table, laughing, of course.

  “I need to leave,” I said.

  “What’s wrong?” Raven asked.

  “Lucy, she attacked me at the market.”

  Raven immediately stood. “Are you okay”

  “Lucy, Lucino’s sister?” Cael asked as he came to stand by Raven and me.

  I nodded. “She could be here any moment with the guard. I have to go.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Raven said.

  I grabbed her hand. “No, it’s too dangerous. She wants me—only me. I’ll drive her away.”

  “She might kill you. And where do you plan to go? There’s no escape from here. Her men guard the only way in or out of Daath.”

  “I can take you somewhere safe,” Cael said.

  Raven might trust this guy, but not me. “I appreciate the offer, but you don’t realize what you’re getting involved with.”

  “I do, and I can help.”

  “Avikar, we can trust him,” Raven said, placing a hand on my arm. “I trust Cael with my life.”

  “Fine.” We didn’t have time to argue about Blond Boy.

  “Raven, we’ll need the warmest furs you have,”
Cael said.

  “Right.” She ran out of the room.

  “Furs? Where are we going?”

  “Over the mountains,” Cael said.

  “Nod Mountains?”

  He nodded.

  “No one has gone over the mountains,” Jericho said as he walked inside. “What’s going on?”

  “I’ll see if Raven needs help packing.” Cael ran up the stairs after her.

  “I’ll get the horses,” I said.

  Jericho followed me outside. “Mind telling me what’s going on?”

  He wasn’t going to agree with the plan, but he had no choice. I wouldn’t risk his or his family’s life again.

  “Lucy attacked me at the market.”

  Brushfire stood by the barn, nudging her nose against the gate. She always sensed when I was uneasy.

  “She’s back?”

  “Yes, and if I leave, she may follow.” I led Raven’s horse, Onyx, out near Brushfire.

  “Going through the mountains is a dead man’s trek. We’ll fight her here. I’ll start gathering the men.”

  Raven and Cael left the house with three large packs. She dropped one on the ground.

  “We’re ready,” she said.

  “No, no, no.” Jericho shook his head. “You are not going over the mountains.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Raven said. “Cael knows a safe passage.”

  I put a hand on Jericho’s shoulder. “Gather the men and take them to the market. Rufus was going after Lucy.”

  Jericho’s shoulders slumped. “You have no idea what’s in those mountains. If the cold doesn’t kill you, the beasts will.”

  Raven hugged him.

  “I won’t let anything happen to her,” Cael said. “I promise you. And as soon as we make it to The Order—”

  “The Order?” I hoped I misheard him. The Order, the superpower of Tarrtainya, next to the king. They took anyone who showed a magical ability, and made sure they were never to be heard from again. They controlled magic, and I didn’t trust them.

  My pulse sped as I asked the question I really didn’t want to hear the answer to. “What do you know about The Order?”

  “I’m one of their priests.”

  Chapter Six

  Jeslyn

  “Grandfather,” I said as I kissed his cheek. “I thought you wouldn’t be back for a few days?”

  “I was on my way to the ship when Beckett brought me this.”

  He handed me a rolled parchment.

  “What is it?” I yawned. After a long day working the shop by myself, I was tired, but this must be important if Grandfather couldn’t wait until morning.

  “Open it.” He rubbed his hands in front of him eagerly, resembling a young boy.

  I untied the red string and uncurled the document. “It’s a map.” I trailed my finger across the ink.

  A map of the western shores. Dots and script scrolled along the right side and toward the desert near the crystal caverns. Grandfather did a lot of business with Jehoia, the tenth land, which was also the closest to the desert. Sparkling jewels of every color of the rainbow littered those caverns. A wonder I hoped I could see one day.

  “Where does this lead?” Dotted lines sprawled across the lands but in no certain direction.

  “To the blue eye,” he said in a hushed voice.

  The blue eye: a sparkling, clear gem the size of a small melon. Legend said it had the power of the sea inside, and anyone who had the gem controlled the waters. Grandfather had searched for the gem since his father told him of its existence.

  After Daath, I believed in the unbelievable, and nothing seemed impossible any longer.

  Grandfather moved beside me, putting a hand on my back. “It will be the greatest discovery of our time.”

  “If it’s in the crystal caverns, why has no one found it?”

  “Because that’s not where it is.” He pointed to a section on the far left of the map with script writing and an eight-pointed star surrounded by two circles—the exact same symbol on the relic he wore.

  “That’s the sea,” I said. “There’s nothing there.”

  “It must be in the sea, but with this map, we’ll be able to find the exact coordinates.”

  “How do you know?”

  Grandfather smiled. “I didn’t. Then I remembered the first piece of jewelry my father gave me.” He lifted the chain around his neck holding the medallion. “He told me this would be the key to the map, if I ever found it, and now we have it.”

  “How will you find the gem if it’s buried at sea?”

  “A diver.”

  “Grandfather, no.” The flame on my bedside candle flickered with the wind. “It’s too dangerous,” I said in a low voice, suddenly afraid someone might hear us.

  He took the scroll, rolled it back up, and slid it into his interior jacket pocket. “It’ll be all right. Don’t worry. Beckett found someone we can trust. Mrs. Gen brought over some roasted potatoes and trout. Let’s eat.”

  He kissed me on the forehead and walked out of the room.

  Since I had arrived in Luna Harbor, I’d learned much about Tarrtainya. Grandfather spent many nights telling me stories of The Order and the people who hid from them, and families torn apart by magic. One tale spoke of a young boy ripped out of his mother’s arms because he had the strange ability to fly. The Order had killed the father for trying to hide his son, and the boy was never seen again.

  Divers were rare. A diver could swim deeper than any man could. Magic enabled them to dive great depths without the need to come up for air. Grandfather thought their magic gave them gills like a fish, enabling them to breathe under water. Sailors protected the existence of divers by keeping their identities secret. Only the high captains knew who they were. I wondered what Grandfather had promised or exchanged to gain access to that knowledge.

  Grandfather’s eyes sparked with life. How could I convince him this was too dangerous when it had been a childhood dream of his and his father’s? If Mother was here, she could talk some sense into him.

  I took a comb and brushed out my hair, looking at the clear sky. Nighttime at the harbor was my favorite time of day. The waves played along with the crickets’ song, creating the most beautiful chorus. There was a sense of order here. After months of feeling confused about what had happened in Daath, I’d finally found peace in making beaded necklaces and working for my grandfather. No longer did Lucino haunt my mind. While I did miss parts of what we shared, our relationship was a lie . . . it had to be.

  No, I wouldn’t dwell on him. I had promised myself I wouldn’t after I had left Lakewood and hurt Derrick by refusing his proposal. He didn’t understand why I said no, and how could I explain it to him? Leaving had been my only choice.

  Poppa had screamed and yelled when I mentioned staying with Grandfather. He couldn’t understand why I wanted to leave, especially when I had just returned, but I needed time to heal. I couldn’t do that with Derrick so hurt, Avikar not home, and Jimri gone.

  Staying with Grandfather wasn’t supposed to be permanent. A few weeks, nothing more.

  “Jeslyn, food’s getting cold!”

  “Coming!” I put the brush away and dashed downstairs.

  Ms. Gen sat at the wooden table, breaking off a piece of fanna that she handed to Grandfather. She had a glint in her eye whenever he smiled at her. She never spoke about her true feelings, but any sensible person could see how they truly cared for one another.

  “Good evening, Ms. Gen,” I said, sitting in the chair next to her. “How was your day?”

  Ms. Gen’s curly gray hair was pinned up in sections and framed her face, the curls accentuating her round cheeks. “Business was good. I tried a new recipe today. Grooben bread.”

  “Ugh, no one should try to make anything with that smelly fish.” Grandfather frowned.r />
  Ms. Gen pointed her fork at him. “That’s exactly why I made it. That fish is good for the skin. And I’ll be a soiled pig if those sailors didn’t eat every last piece.”

  Grandfather grumbled.

  “I bet it tasted delicious,” I said.

  Ms. Gen smiled. “You are always such a dear. Your grandfather could learn a few manners from you.”

  “I’ve got perfect manners.”

  “Hmpf. Manners like a grumpy old dog.”

  I smiled in between bites. I prayed one day they’d both get over their stubbornness and wed.

  Ms. Gen was a fabulous cook, and the trout she made nearly melted in my mouth. Butter, thyme, and lemon smothered the fish, and every time I bit into it, I sighed. Food at Luna Harbor differed from Lakewood. With a sea full of fish just outside, there was plenty to eat. Every day, one could try a new fish or crab, and sometimes the sailors brought back giant lobsters that sold out before they could all be unloaded. I had never eaten such a variety of dishes before.

  “Harold tells me you’re becoming quite the jeweler,” Ms. Gen said.

  Grandfather smiled and I blushed. “He’s taught me a lot.”

  “I may have taught you, but it’s your eye that turns those necklaces into real beauty.”

  I was proud of how far I had come in my training. One day, I hoped to be as good as Grandfather was.

  “Jeslyn will run this shop once I’m gone, and she’ll be the best jeweler this land has ever seen.”

  “Grandfather . . . .”

  “I believe that,” Ms. Gen said. “You have a real talent, dear.”

  “Thank you.”

  I’d tried my best to make the necklaces and bracelets like Grandfather did. At first, beading was just a way to clear my mind of the past. It gave me focus. The more I learned about the art of beading, the further I fell in love with the craft. I’d even begun choosing my own shells along the shoreline. Now, I spent my free time searching for the perfect shells and beading them into beautiful gifts.

  My technique had improved, and Grandfather spoke of letting me wrap a few gemstones—none of the precious ones, of course—but he had a few rough gems I could practice with. Wrapping the gems in thin metal seemed simple enough, and my time watching Derrick work the forge had taught me a little about bending metal.