Haven (War of the Princes)

by A. R. Ivanovich

  I felt sorry for the little thing. He just wouldn’t give up on me. Maybe it was a sign that I shouldn’t either.

  “Okay,” I said, shifting my numb legs beneath me. “Let’s try this again. For you and for my friends.”

  I held out my hand, closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, and tried to clear my mind of distracting thoughts. My focus settled on the chill of the air, the lingering touch of the sunlight on my shoulders, the dusty floor beneath me. I wiggled my fingertips, reminding myself that this Ability, The Spark, was as much a part of me as my body. I could feel the encouraging tug from the Shadow Chaser.

  There came a distant rumble: thunder.

  I smiled. Storms made me feel right. Like the night I sat in the Clockwork Wheel with Ruby, Kyle and Sterling. We’d leapt into the water, afraid that lightning would strike us. Now I realized I never had anything to fear from it. It was a part of me.

  A charge buzzed from my shoulder, down through my arm and out of my palm. I opened my eyes to see the Shadow Chaser ignited with electricity. Elemental spines crested from its back and elbows, connecting over its body with moving stripes. Lines accented its white eyes and a pair of fin-like ears decorated its head.

  He marched around beneath me, proud as if he was a hundred feet tall. The ornament of my Spark made him look so incredible, I’d have almost believed he was larger than life.

  Looking at my hand I saw little webs of electricity sneaking around my fingers.

  I didn’t notice the grin on my face or the fact that I was actually laughing.

  I could use The Spark.

  * * *

  The elation I felt over my small victory with my second Ability withered like the destitute plants in the tower garden. My Shadow Chaser friend was gone, crept back into the shade after receiving its prize, and I was alone again. The sun fled the dark and the moon swooped overhead, peeking out through the storm clouds before it too ducked beneath the horizon.

  A Dragoon that I’d never seen before delivered me my bowl of bland gruel. He didn’t pause for a moment of conversation and left without looking back.

  Rune didn’t return.

  The dawn of the following day was preceded by cruel weather. Wind belted past the fortress in a howling fury. In my few moments of scattered sleep, I dreamed of being in Breakwater Keep wearing the fine dresses and jewelry Dylan had given me. When I awoke, I told myself I’d never take for granted that any situation could go from bad to worse.

  The same speechless Dragoon brought me another meal. I tried to practice summoning my Spark without the Shadow Chasers, with only mild success. I managed, once, to entice a sparkle of electricity to circle my fingertip. I had the feeling I was close to figuring it all out. It would just take a little practice, and luckily for me, I had plenty of time.

  Food was delivered again in silence. I ate it grudgingly, trying to imagine it was steamy chicken corn chowder. Eventually I decided it looked like horse snot and lost my appetite.

  Midday came and went, and I did everything in my power to keep my mind from Rune and Dylan. By this point, I could lace my hand with tiny strings of lightning. I watched with fascination as they skittered just over my skin. How could I have never known about this? It was such a part of me. Despite my circumstances, a little rush of excitement bubbled up within me. It was one thing to blindly and instinctively follow The Pull, but another thing entirely to see something as wild and natural as lightning literally spring from my fingertips.

  I must have dozed off practicing because I awakened to being gently shaken by the shoulder.

  “Katelyn,” someone said.

  I was slumped against a potted counter and my neck ached from falling asleep in such an abnormal position. I groaned. My sleep was dreamless and deep, something I hadn’t experienced in several days. I didn’t really want to wake up.

  “Katelyn,” the voice persisted. “Wake up. We have to go, now!”

  “What?” I asked, blearily, rubbing my eyes to clear them. With the speaker’s help, I shambled to my feet. My mind was swampy at best, far too tired to register what was going on.

  I grabbed the speaker’s forearm to steady myself and blinked up at him. I saw blue eyes set against warm brown skin. It was Rune.

  His severe expression was sobering. I couldn’t have been more sharply awake if ice water had been splashed in my face.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, my intuition alerting me at once that we were in danger.

  “We have to go,” he repeated pulling me toward the door.

  “Where?” I asked dumbly, stumbling along. I’d wished I could get home so badly for so long, I could hardly believe it might actually be happening.

  “Out. Away from the fortress. As far away as we can get,” he said.

  “We?” I asked, feeling my heart thump erratically in my chest. I was suddenly very aware of his strong but gentle grip on my arm and his touch on my lower back as he tried to usher me out of the tower.

  How could I not take in the implications? Rune wanted to get away with me, and really, it was what we should have done in the first place. I should have taken him to Rivermarch with me when I first met him in the cave. None of this would have happened. I wondered excitedly what he would think of my hometown and whether he would get along with Ruby and Kyle. Even thinking about them all together seemed, unnatural. Rune didn’t fit in the lighthearted pastoral picture. That didn’t stop me from imagining it though.

  “We need to hurry,” he said urgently as I wriggled away from his grasp to snatch my night goggles off of a tabletop.

  “I’m ready, let’s go,” I said, feeling adrenaline zip through me. We may have been in a hornet’s nest, but I had a wasp with me to guide me out. I’d be safe. We’d make it to Rivermarch.

  Rune laid his hand on the door, and then turned to face me. I noticed then that he was wearing the standard Dragoon armor. A sword was slung from his hip and there was a rifle on his back.

  “Katelyn,” he said, looking me in the eyes. “Dylan’s gone.”

  I froze. My excitement, my thoughts of home and victory fled. Everything in me seized up. “What do you mean, gone?”

  “Missing,” he said calmly. I could tell that he didn’t care but that he knew I would. “I went to find him, to give him your letter. No one had seen him in days. Not since your final test.”

  “Stakes,” I said, trying not to let my voice shake. I knew it was true. My friends would bleed and I would know it was him. Stakes killed Dylan. And he had done it just because Dylan was trying to help me.

  “There’s no evidence of that. Stakes was bedridden for a full day from the exertion of Commanding your Ability forward. Dylan went missing that day. He may have left Breakwater,” he suggested.

  “We both know he didn’t,” I rasped. My hands trembled.

  Stakes. Stakes. Stakes.

  His name repeated in my mind. The Junior Commander had made a move and Dylan had paid the price… for being my friend. I felt sick. A warm rush of tears gathered on my eyelids.

  I remembered Dylan, smiling at me in that charming way that he would, and showing me his Ability on the rooftop of Breakwater Keep. It was the very first moment I realized such things were possible. He had locked me out there with him to force me to eat something. What a silly brat I had been. I had no idea how kind he was being. I had no idea what I could lose.

  “Rune, you have to get away from me. Just leave the door unlocked and go, you know I can find my own way out,” I said, pushing him toward the door and getting nowhere in trying.

  He gave me a level stare that translated to, “Don’t be an idiot, Kat.”

  “Stakes got Dylan. Don’t you get it? You have to stay away from me!” I said, frustrated.

  “You don’t know that. Even if he did, you’re forgetting something. I’m a Dragoon, I’m not exactly harmless,” he said with a mild, crooked grin.

  “But up against a Commander?”

  “You don’t have to worry about that. If we hurry, we won’t
meet any resistance,” he said, opening the tower door.

  There was nothing I could do. He was stubborn and part of me was glad he wouldn’t leave my side. Gritting my teeth, I tried not to think about Dylan. I was a mere fraction away from being reduced to a sobbing mess.

  I wished so much that I could apologize to him and tell him how grateful I was for everything he had done for me.

  Damn!

  Thinking about him sent tears rolling down my cheeks. I wiped them away with my shaky palms. Gathering my strength I repelled my emotions and stopped the mist from returning to my eyes. Crying in front of Rune was the last thing I wanted to do. I hated displays of weakness. Still, I couldn’t fault myself. He was gone.

  Morbidly, I realized that I could find Dylan. I could find anything, after all. In this case, I’d find his lifeless body. Was that something I wanted to see?

  “I can find him,” I said numbly.

  Rune shook his head. “We don’t have time for that.”

  “He’s my friend,” I told him resolutely.

  “And you’re mine,” Rune countered, sternly. “We’re not going out searching for him while everyone is going to be looking for you. I need to get you out of here while I have the chance.”

  I frowned. Fear for Dylan and for my own survival tangled and fought inside me.

  “I’m going to find him,” I told Rune.

  “No, you’re not,” he flared. “Looking for him will just get you recaptured. We have one chance at this, we have to take it.”

  The pit of my stomach sank. “You’re right. If Stakes did something to him, he’ll just be waiting for me.”

  “I don’t know about your Stakes theory, but something is very wrong around here,” he told me as we wound down the tower stairs. “Something is going on and I have a very bad feeling about it. Whatever is happening, I don’t want you to be here for it.”

  There was a chance Dylan was alright. Maybe he had caught wind of Stakes’ threats and was just laying low. In my mind it was a very small possibility, but I had to hold on to it. All I could do was live in the moment. Rune was putting his life on the line for me. I couldn’t take that for granted.

  “Thank you,” I said quietly.

  “Don’t thank me yet,” he replied warily.

  I took his words to heart. We were hurrying down the spiral tower stairs, and thanks to the continuous bend of the wall, I was afraid we’d run right into another Dragoon without warning.

  “Should there be a guard?” I whispered.

  “I misinformed him,” he replied in hushed tones.

  That brought some relief. I felt strangely exposed, leaving the tower, knowing that we were actually escaping for Haven. There was just such distance between home and us. An army of Dragoons was no small obstacle. Still, Rune was with me and that made me feel more confident.

  The wall began to blur as we hurried on, and my feet felt strange for continuing in such repetitive motion. A person can only rush down a set of spiral stairs without being dizzy for so long. When we finally reached the second floor landing, my head reeled and I had to hold on to Rune’s arm until I recovered from the wave of dizziness. Eating meager, bland meals probably had something to do with my weakness. I wouldn’t let malnourishment slow me down.

  Descending the tower stairs was nowhere near as scary as reaching the open primary halls of the fortress. Dusky light filtered through the barred windows and wind whistled through the cracks in the glass. I could just see a Dragoon’s heels as he turned down a corridor, but otherwise, the wide hallway was empty.

  Rune pressed me behind him and waited, listening for footsteps.

  The layout of the building was a mystery to me. I couldn’t have told you all the steps necessary to find the exit, but I could feel the direction we needed to go at that moment.

  I pointed at the third doorway down the hall.

  Rune walked silently ahead and I followed him. He didn’t hunch or creep, he moved quietly and casually, as if we were taking a perfectly normal stroll.

  I wished I felt a fraction as calm as he looked. Instead, I alternated between breathing too quickly and not breathing at all. Things were strangely quiet for the fortress. We didn’t hear the normal training sounds, muted by the Installment’s bare walls, or the usual shuffle of an active place. It was eerie.

  When we reached the second doorway, Rune pulled me into it and I stumbled against the wall. He gave me a look to keep me quiet and I held my breath.

  Three Dragoons walked out of the third corridor that I had been heading towards. I saw them for a second and that was enough to frighten me into pressing myself as far back against the wall as I could. If this didn’t look conspicuous, I didn’t know what would.

  Rune was right beside me, his arm pressing against my own. He didn’t seem afraid, only focused. The other Dragoons were so close. If they found him with me, they would kill him. My heart slammed in my chest and I felt like it would be torn apart with stress.

  They didn’t spot us behind the cover of the doorway.

  As soon as it seemed likely that they would not turn around, Rune ushered me out of the doorway and led me by the hand into the third corridor; the very same hall the Dragoons had just left.

  No one else appeared to be in this passage. That was the most important thing.

  Crates were stacked up along the sides of the walls. A few of them were open, and I could see bits of leather armor and bundled cloth within. It seemed that the Dragoons got their armor and uniforms shipped to them.

  Rune quickly pulled the doors of the corridor shut, locking them closed behind us. For good measure, he gripped the metal door handles, flaring blue flame from his hands, and melted them together.

  “Couldn’t that implicate you?” I asked, barely whispering.

  He shook his head. “I’m coming with you, remember?”

  Rune stalked off through the supply hall leaving me behind momentarily.

  “Right,” I mouthed. He was coming home with me. It was surreal.

  Just as I pulled myself away from the wall to follow him, I heard a voice.

  “Thayer,” the stranger said. Whoever he was, he’d seen Rune.

  I dropped to a crouch behind a stack of crates and clamped a hand over my mouth so that my own breath couldn’t betray me.

  If he found me, or the melted doors, we’d be in serious trouble.

  “Nolan,” Rune addressed the stranger. From my hiding place, I couldn’t see either of them and I hoped that meant they couldn’t see me.

  “Have you seen Tenli? He’s supposed to take outer patrol,” Nolan asked. He was close. I could see both of their shadows on the floor, nearer than I liked. Rune stepped out to intercept him.

  “I just saw him out in the practice yard,” Rune lied.

  “The practice yard? Are you sure?” Nolan asked sounding mildly skeptical.

  “Absolutely,” Rune said. “If you want to take the blame for his late patrol rotation, you don’t have to take my word for it.”

  “Thanks for the tip, Thayer,” Nolan replied grudgingly. I could only assume he left the way he had come. Unfortunately, I got the distinct feeling that was the same direction we were going.

  I stayed crouched there until Rune came back around the corner to find me. He nodded, confirming the way was clear…for now.

  We wound through rooms, avoiding areas with potential traffic, passing though a washroom, an armory and a set of personal quarters. The stairwell we came to was wooden and narrow; a side way to the ground floor.

  We rushed down the flight of stairs. I could almost feel the glory of freedom, though I couldn’t imagine how we’d get past the outer perimeter walls of the fortress. Everything was so open we’d be spotted for certain. Maybe Rune had a plan. We couldn’t exactly discuss the matter.

  No sooner than we walked off of the last step, we found ourselves face to face with a Dragoon.

  I jumped with such a start that I nearly tripped backward on the stairs. Rune looked slow
ly between our company and me. I was absolutely terrified.

  We’d been caught.

  Chapter 29: Into The Fire

  The unfamiliar Dragoon stood at eye level with Rune. Brown hair split on his head to make way for a thick scar. Whatever he had lived through, it must have been painful. Like the other Dragoons, there was no warmth to him, no friendliness or camaraderie. He’d have no sympathy for our position.

  “Kelmen,” Rune greeted the man, neutrally.

  “Thayer,” Kelmen replied, looking between us.

  I stood rigid. There was nothing I could do but wait. My heart was fluttering in my chest like a moth in a jar. Would we run or fight? I waited tensely.

  “I was given the order to bring the Lodestone to Fallux,” Kelmen said. “But here you are.”

  “I was given the same order,” Rune said easily. I lost my breath. Our try at freedom seemed hopeless now, but maybe we could still lose him somehow.

  The other Dragoon looked angry. His mouth was pressed down into a rigid frown and his eyes narrowed beneath pinched brows. Did he see through Rune’s lie?

  “Who do you think you are, Thayer?” he spat temperamentally. “Showing off every chance you get. Your Ability is as cheap as your character. You go up against a Lurcher, people die, and you come back with barely a scratch. Bet you threw our boys straight into that Lurcher’s mouth to get yourself back here pretty and clean.”

  I knew it wasn’t true. Rune’s arm had been rent horribly by the Lurcher encounter. Kelmen may not have known that, and regardless, it must have seemed like nothing beside a scar that spanned a person’s entire scalp.

  “I’ve had enough of your golden-boy brown nosing. Seems to me you don’t give a damned about what’s fair. I want a chance at honors, Thayer, and I won’t have you taking my work and my credit.” Kelmen said, furious.

  “Credit where it’s due,” Rune said, not even looking affected by the man’s words.

  “Like hell!” he growled, cracking his knuckles. “If you weren’t a Dragoon, I’d break you.”