"My lord?" Myez asked.
"We will leave within the half hour." The demon's dark eyes fastened upon me. "Prepare the girl. I must speak with His Majesty." Lord Cethin vanished in a whirl of black smoke.
"What are you doing?" Myez's voice cut across our camp.
Fritz stalked toward me with something in his hands. "Getting her ready, like he said."
"You'll stay away from her." Myez's voice had gone cold.
The guard froze mid-stride and looked up at Myez, and Myez stuck out an open palm. "Give it here."
The man regarded him a moment, eyes moving between the object in his hands and Myez, and then the man curled his fingers around the object in his hand and moved it behind him. I couldn't tell what it was, but a sharp edge flickered in stray light.
"I won't ask you again, Fritz." Myez's hand remained extended, his expression a reprimand.
Fritz licked his lips. "What's it to you?"
"I'm in charge of the girl's health, that's what."
Fritz's eyes narrowed darkly. "I don't trust you."
"I suppose I'm fortunate Lord Cethin's appointment has nothing to do with your opinion," Myez replied. "Hand it over."
Fritz wasn't moved and the other men watched, their curiosity piqued. The half-giant took a small step closer as if preparing to intervene.
"What's the girl to you, eh, Myez?" Fritz asked. "I saw you with her earlier. You weren't just concerned for King Eris's orders. You're never that concerned for anyone. So, I'll ask you again: What's the girl to you?"
The men's gazes moved from Fritz to Myez, waiting. Even the forest seemed to wait for his answer.
Myez frowned, anger flashing in his one eye as he called Fritz a name I was sure wasn't nice, but had no idea what it meant. "What do you think?" He gestured to the burnt half of his face. "You think you somehow have an insight into my soul that evades Lord Cethin? How dare you insult his judgment. I suggest you hand that over now before I decide to enlighten him on the matter."
Silence. An ember popped on the fire.
Fritz's eyes narrowed, his body paralyzed with indecision. At last, he grunted and stomped begrudgingly toward Myez, and he withdrew the object from behind his back. It was a wicked-looking black scimitar, like a jagged shard of obsidian, with a hilt made of bleached bone. The sight of it made my heart beat a little faster. I had no idea what "preparing" me meant, but by the looks of that blade, I didn't want to find out. Fritz dangled the weapon in the air, pinching the blade's tip between his thumb and forefinger while he glared at Myez. Myez wrapped his hand around the hilt. The pair of them stood there staring at each other as though locked in some silent standoff, and then finally Fritz released his hand. The next thing I knew, Fritz gasped, and the bone hilt was protruding from the side of his neck.
Myez jerked the weapon from Fritz's neck, and the wide-eyed Fritz gurgled something as he dropped to the ground. And then, everything turned to chaos.
Flashes like lightning forked into the night, followed by blasts of sound. The campfire exploded and I rolled away from the shower of embers, holding tight to my key. I kept rolling, over and over, until I'd collided with the trunk of a nearby tree, and then I scrambled to find the keyhole to my cuffs. My fingers trembled with cold and fatigue, and when I found the keyhole, it took me a few tries but I finally shoved the key in and twisted. There was a click and the cuffs sprung open, and then I unlocked the cuffs at my ankles. The moment they fell, an electric current of energy surged through my body. My magic. It burned through my legs and arms like liquid fire, lending me strength. I staggered to my feet, overwhelmed by the force of it, as if it were some wild animal inside of me trying to break free. But before I had a moment to think, the half-giant's thick fingers grabbed me by the waist and started dragging me away from the commotion, deeper into the forest. I yelled and stomped and jerked, but I might as well have been attacking a rock. My skin tingled and the energy inside of me surged again, but this time, I let it go.
A wall of light pulsed from me and rammed into the half-giant. He dropped me as the force threw him back at least twenty feet. He slammed into a tree with so much force the tree cracked, and the half-giant bounced to the ground, rolled on his side, and didn't get up. My skin still tingled all over as I rolled over, exhausted and heaving, trying to climb back to my feet. The break was short-lived because someone else grabbed my arm.
This grip was strong, but not half-giant strong. I reacted without thinking, and within seconds I had my attacker pinned to a tree with his blade in my hand, pressing it against his neck. It was Myez Rader, but he wasn't fighting back. He was only struggling to breathe.
"Daria—"
"What do you want?" I growled.
He swallowed, his Adam's apple pressed against the blade's edge. "Please…I need you to listen—"
"Answer my question." I shoved the blade harder against his neck.
"I will. I swear." Even strained, his voice sounded repentant and pleading. "But we can't stay here. Lord Cethin will return any moment"—a grunt—"and when he does, you'll never get away."
"Why should I believe anything you say?"
"Because you don't have any other choice." Another grunt. "Please."
I looked past him at the campfire, at the carnage he'd left behind. Bodies were strewn around the campsite, dead or unconscious, I didn't know. Myez had done that. All on his own, Myez had taken on three Mortis worshippers in the amount of time it'd taken me to take care of one half-giant.
Wind howled again, cold and foreboding like a spirit bringing dark premonitions. Myez was right. Once Cethin returned, I'd never escape.
"There's an…amulet around my neck." Myez's voice was strained.
I glared at him, and then used the tip of the blade to dig beneath his collar and lift the chain. Sure enough, a heavy, bronze disc dangled from it.
"Your uncle gave it to me so I could bring you to him," he said.
I dropped the chain and shoved my blade harder against his neck.
"I'm not—" He grunted again. "What I mean…not to him…use the…brooch."
My eyes narrowed. He had noticed my brooch. "What are you talking about?"
"The one…your cloak…it'll take you to them. Please. It's in your pocket. You have to…trust me…"
"I'd have to be an idiot to trust you," I snapped. "I don't know what's in it for you, but—"
"Get down!" Myez yelled, and he kicked me away so hard and so fast, I fell to the ground and rolled. I stopped rolling and glanced over my shoulder to see the hilt of a dagger—my dagger—protruding from his shoulder. Myez cried out and staggered back against the tree, clutching the hilt.
"You never learn, do you?" Lord Cethin approached us like a wraith. "I gave you your power, Myez Rader, and I can take it away." He'd sneered Myez's name as he gripped Myez by the throat and lifted him so his toes dangled a few inches from the ground. Myez choked and gasped, the fabric of his cloak stained dark where the blade had penetrated.
Something burned against my hip. There was something in my pocket.
Use the amulet.
It was the voice, again. The one I'd heard in my room at the Pontefracts. The brooch pulsed hotter.
Let the brooch guide you.
I was in no position to argue with the voice, no matter how vague its directions may be. Which meant I somehow had to get to Myez and the amulet. Neither of us were any match for Lord Cethin. If only…
I stood and yelled, "I'm the one you want!"
Lord Cethin still had his back to me, holding tight to Myez. I met Myez's gaze, praying he understood while I walked steadily toward them.
"I won't run and I won't fight—I swear," I said, "as long as you let me take care of Myez. I have a debt to settle with him."
Lord Cethin didn't move.
"Or you can deal with my dragons, too," I lied. "They won't distinguish between you and Myez. The choice is up to you. But you should know they are on there way here right now."
This got his at
tention. His cowl tilted and he slowly—slowly—released his hold on Myez's neck. Myez collapsed to the ground, eyes closed, with Nightshade's hilt still protruding from his shoulder, and he made no signs of getting back up.
Well, shoot.
Lord Cethin turned toward me looking like a predator certain of its kill. "Call them off, or I will—"
Nightshade's tip poked through the center of his chest, cutting off the rest of his words. He shrieked, an alien wail ripping through the night as his back arched, writhing in pain against the amalgamate metal in his body. Myez collapsed and I sprinted toward him, brooch in hand. I grabbed at his neck, searching for the amulet.
Lord Cethin screamed in fury, his rage igniting the frozen pine right beside us. Waves of heat pulsed from the burning tree, and Lord Cethin pulled my dagger from his back. I jerked Myez's chain and threw it over my neck, clutching the brooch with my other hand, its metal now searing my palms. Lord Cethin held a black and blue orb of light in one of his hands. My dagger had slowed him down, but it hadn't killed him. It certainly wasn't stopping whatever horror he was about to launch at us. With an inhuman roar, Lord Cethin lobbed the orb at us. I shut my eyes, bracing for impact.
23
ALEXANDER
"This is definitely not Astor," Thaddeus said from beside me.
We stood at the rim of a butte. A bitter chill ripped through me. The landscape stretched endlessly ahead, with the occasional gnarled tree rising from its crests. I'd traversed Alioth often, and it'd always given me the sensation of standing at the edge of the world. But now the sky was dark with thick clouds, and something caustic and vile rode the wind like a parasite, leeching the life from the world. My rides close to the wall had always felt this way—like some nervous tick, tick-tick-ticking away against the back of my skull.
Behind us was the jagged wall of the Dark Mountains—a treacherous range I'd expected to cross, but Lord Dommelier had decided to help us a second time when he'd allowed us to use his amulet. The amulet had just enough power stored inside of it to transport Thaddeus, Vera, and me and shaved off at least one week of travel.
After Lord Dommelier gave me Flamebearer, I'd relayed his news to the others. Thaddeus had sworn to the high heavens, and Vera's features had darkened with a cold fury I'd never seen before. At least it'd helped them forget whatever it was that sat ill between them. When I mentioned Lord Dommelier had offered his daughter to me, I thought Vera was going to unleash that fury on me.
"You didn't accept it, right?"
Even her tone was a blade at my throat.
I had glared at her. "Of course not."
She had searched my face a moment more, and then once she was satisfied, she'd asked, "What about your father, Alexander?"
"I don't know," I'd said, and no one had said another word about it.
"So where in the blazes are we?" Thaddeus asked now. His nose was bright pink from the cold.
"Somewhere outside of Ravenshelm," I said.
"Ravenshelm?" he repeated as if he couldn't fathom why I would've used the amulet to bring us here. "That's like a few days' hike from Astor."
"We're not going to Astor first."
"We're not? Del Can't, is this about your family?"
My uncle presided over Ravenshelm, which was why I'd intended to come here before moving on to Astor, Alioth's capital, where Lord Tosca resided—assuming he was still alive. I had no idea what state Ravenshelm was in, or any of Alioth for that matter, since Eris had come through with his shadowguard, so I'd decided to land us a little farther out—somewhere I didn't think shadowguard would be waiting for us.
"Yes," I replied. "Assuming your father left the village intact."
"You sure that's a good idea? Last person I met from Ravenshelm tried to gut me with a balcan horn just because he didn't like the way I 'strut about.'"
"I can see why," I said. "I don't like the way you strut about, either."
Vera snickered.
"Why didn't you say anything to us about Ravenshelm earlier?" Thaddeus folded his arms over his chest.
"Vera knew," I said. I'd told Vera while Thaddeus had been drooling on his pillow early this morning.
"Hellfire, Del Can't." Thaddeus threw his arms down. "What else do I need to do to prove to you I'm on your side?"
I had to fight back my smile. Truth be told, I knew he was on my side, but goading him was far more entertaining.
"You know, Daria was willing to give me a second chance," he said.
"I'm not Daria."
"No, you're not. She's like the salve on a wound and you're like that sticky stuff on a bandage that sticks to your skin and hurts like the blazes every time someone goes to change it."
I laughed—even Vera laughed—and then I noticed a shadow move in my periphery.
"What is it?" Vera whispered, hands at her blades.
"I'm not sure. I thought I saw movement." I scanned the horizon. Wind howled, ruffling the dead grasses as I searched the hillside for life, but there was nothing. I wished Daria were here. She'd be able to sense if there was life nearby, and I could use her sixth sense being so close to the wall. I also just wished she were here, with me.
There it was again—a splotch of black just visible through the parting waves of dried grass on the hill beside us. I flexed my fingers over the hilt of my blade. The grasses parted into a moving river, as though some invisible creature were running down the hill, toward us. Make that five invisible creatures.
"I see it," Vera said, and she and Thaddeus moved into position at my side, weapons drawn.
A gust of wind ripped across the grasses, swallowing the trails ahead in a great tidal wave of movement. When the wind died, the trails were gone. There was a snarl and a giant shadow leapt from the grasses.
It took me a split second to identify the mass of muscle as a barghest. The hellhound leapt at me, red eyes burning and claws splayed. At the last moment I ducked, wielding Flamebearer over my head. The blade hit flesh and the barghest whimpered, a high-pitched canine sound, and it landed on its side.
Flamebearer was burning.
White flames curled from the metal as though it had suddenly caught fire, but there was no heat. The runes along the flat of the blade had sprung to life, pulsing bright and shimmering white, but I didn't have another moment to admire it because another barghest leapt from the grasses.
"Bloody hellhounds!" Thaddeus yelled.
A small blue orb of light appeared in Vera's palm. I was opening my mouth to yell at Vera to put her magic away when another set of jaws barreled into my side. The force sent me flying backward. I landed in a tuck and rolled back to my feet.
Vera shot her light toward the barghest charging at her.
"Get down!" I yelled at her.
Thaddeus jumped on top of her, taking them both to the ground, as all the might and fury of her magic hit the barghest's skin. Light rolled through the creature, the creature shook, and then the light rebounded back at Thaddeus and Vera. Thaddeus rolled them away just as the light struck the ground. The air cracked so loudly it sounded as if the sky had just ripped in two. A charred black hole marked the place she'd been standing.
"You can't use magic!" I shouted.
Thaddeus helped a startled Vera to her feet, and she readied her Arborennian blades just in time to meet the monster again—this time with Thaddeus's help. I was sprinting to join them when two more barghests leapt from the grasses, right beside me.
The barghest's shoulder slammed into my side. Pain exploded in my ribs, and I dropped Flamebearer as I flew through the air and landed on the ground, hard. The impact knocked the air from my lungs and fuzzy spots floated in my eyes. Choking on air, I was rolling over when a barghest claw landed on my chest, pinning me down. Its nails pierced my leathers, digging into my skin like huge tacks, making it even harder to breathe and almost impossible to move.
I shoved my forearm against its neck, using all my strength to hold back its massive jaws. It pressed and shoved and growled,
gnashing giant fangs just inches from my face. I clenched my teeth, straining against its weight, trying to hold it off. But my arm was trembling, and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it off much longer.
I growled and ripped a smaller dagger from its sheath around my thigh. I shoved the point upward, but it didn't penetrate the steel-like skin of the barghest. It was like trying to cut muscle with a butter knife. I needed Flamebearer, but it was beyond my reach. My growl morphed into a yell as I pushed the blade harder and harder, certain it would snap in two any second. The muscles in my arm continued trembling, and I screamed as my arm gave way right as my blade pierced skin, and, to my overwhelming relief, the knife sank deep.
The barghest yelped, and I used my legs to shove it off before it fell on top of me. It slumped to the frozen ground, black blood oozing from its wound, and I staggered to my feet, wiping my brow with the back of my hand. My arm still shook from holding off the barghest for so long, and my hand ached from gripping the dagger. But my relief was short-lived, because the barghest rose again, red eyes blazing with new fury. I caught a soft flicker on the ground, just a few yards behind me.
Flamebearer. And its runes were still shimmering.
I bolted for it, the barghest's tread pounding behind me. The barghest wheezed and snarled, and in one fluid motion I dove, snatched Flamebearer off the ground, and whirled it around. Flames ignited, the beast came down, and I sliced the sword clean through the barghest's thick neck.
Its body flew past me and collapsed, jerking and twitching as black blood spurted from its neck. The head dropped to the ground a little away from it, bounced once, then rolled a few feet away to where it rested at Thaddeus's feet with its jaws still open. Thaddeus paused just enough to gape, and then went back to fighting a barghest. I sprinted to his side and with the two of us working together, the beast was down within minutes. And then we noticed Vera, cornered against one of those gnarled trees by three barghests. We both sprinted toward her.
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