Deny (The Blades of Acktar Book 2)

by Tricia Mingerink

  Harding pointed north. “The Seventh Blade is north of me somewhere. I don’t know where the Third Blade is. He disappeared our second day out.”

  Leith clenched his fist against his thigh. Where had Martyn gone? Had he decided to do some scouting on his own regardless of Leith’s orders? Harding had wandered farther east than Leith would’ve liked. What if Martyn did the same?

  Nothing Leith could do about it but pray. He forced a hard glint into his voice. “If you see the others, tell them to work their way towards Walden. Keep an eye on Walden in case Vane makes an appearance as Respen believes he will.”

  “Where will you be?” Harding’s forehead creased.

  An impertinent question, one Vane would’ve punished, but Leith just nodded. “I’m returning to Walden with the trainee to keep up my disguise. Lord Alistair has been preparing defenses, and he will most likely put every able-bodied man to work. We’ll be able to observe his defenses and sabatoge them if we can. If Vane does come, I’ll be hard-pressed to avoid him and might not be able to inform you.”

  Harding nodded. “Yes, First Blade.” He pointed his horse northwest, angling away from where Shad hid.

  Leith remained where he was until the sounds of clattering hooves faded into the rustle of the breeze in the junipers. He waited a few minutes more to be positive Harding hadn’t circled back before he and Jamie returned to Shad. “One of the Blades on his patrol. They’ve stuck closer east than I would’ve liked.”

  Shad’s square jaw tightened. “Will they endanger Renna and Brandi?”

  Jamie gripped his knife as he stared in the direction Harding had gone.

  “I don’t know.” And that was the scary part. Leith was the First Blade, and even he couldn’t predict the Blades’ movements.

  They crested the hill overlooking Walden at dusk. Leith and Jamie had changed back into peasant clothes, though this time they had their knives and black clothes bundled into saddlebags to bring into Walden with them.

  Below, most of the town remained dark. Only the main street had a few people hurrying along it. Around Walden Manor, figures labored in the ditch and hacked at logs.

  As they drew closer, Leith noticed the odd silence first. Not silence, exactly. The shushing shovels and thwacking axes made plenty of noise. The people were silent. No one spoke as they stabbed their shovels into the ground or swung their axes. Lines creased their foreheads and furrowed their cheeks. Only a few women remained scattered between the men, and everyone, even the women, carried some form of weapon strapped to their waists or backs.

  How much harm had they done to Walden by faking Renna’s and Brandi’s deaths right before the coming battle? Renna and Brandi were the last of the Eirdon line. Without them, who did the Resistance fight for? That mysterious Leader no one outside a select few even knew about?

  Shad greeted the guards and led the way towards the manor. Several thick planks spanned the ditch in a temporary bridge. When Respen’s army arrived, the planks would be withdrawn.

  As they dismounted in front of the manor, Leith glanced northwards one last time. Were Renna and Brandi all right? Were they safe deep in the Hills? Or had they run across trouble where even Leith couldn’t rescue them?

  26

  Renna curled into her blanket on one side of their fire. Her back and legs throbbed, but her stomach swelled contentedly with the rabbit Walter had roasted for their supper.

  One of the pine boughs beneath her dug into her hip. She shifted but the pine needles prickled through the blanket. After sleeping on pine branches in the lean-to for two nights and on the trail last night, she should’ve been used to it by now.

  She forced her body to relax and her breathing to slow. No point in shifting around and keeping Walter and Brandi awake.

  Walter’s slow breaths told her he slept. Next to her, Brandi’s breathing deepened until raspy hisses poured from her mouth. Renna sighed. Now she’d have to move and nudge Brandi until she rolled over and closed her mouth.

  Renna opened her eyes, but before she moved, one of the horses picketed on the other side of Walter lifted its head. Its ears pricked. It gave a low huffing sound.

  Walter’s eyes snapped open, though his breathing remained slow and even. His gaze flicked towards her, and his brow lowered as if he were trying to warn her without moving or making a sound.

  She slitted her eyes and struggled to keep her breathing steady and silent. What was it? A wild animal? Another mountain lion? Or, worst of all, a Blade?

  Behind Walter, all three horses had their heads up, but their ears remained upright and curious, not low and panicked. Wouldn’t they be more scared if it was a wild animal?

  A black shape rose out of the darkness behind Walter. The light cast from the fire’s coals glinted along his blond curls and raised knife.

  A Blade. Renna’s heart thumped high in her chest. A shriek built in her throat, so strong she couldn’t stop the squeak that escaped.

  The Blade’s head snapped up and his gaze focused on her.

  Walter lunged, grabbed the Blade’s knife hand, and yanked him down. The Blade tumbled forward, flipped, and landed on his back inches from the fire. Walter pinned the Blade to the ground. “Run!”

  Renna scrambled to her feet and gripped Brandi’s arm. Brandi’s eyes blinked open. “What’s going—”

  No time. Renna hauled Brandi to her feet. Across the fire, the Blade had twisted away from Walter’s grasp. They couldn’t wait around to see who won. Renna dragged Brandi into the trees. “Run.”

  They barreled through a stand of firs. The branches scratched their faces and tore at their hair. Renna clamped her mouth shut against the scream that built in her throat. She mustn’t scream. She needed all her breath to keep running.

  Brandi tugged her arm, guiding her around an outcropping of rock. Renna stumbled as Brandi sprinted down jagged steps formed of rocks sticking from an embankment.

  Shapes loomed in the darkness, lit only by the far-off stars. Run. Her heart beat the word into her chest. Run.

  The earth ended in front of them. Renna dug in her heels. They skidded to a stop at the edge of a fifteen-foot drop off. The forest continued below them, stretching out in crags and lumps, the tops tinged with starlight.

  Renna glanced over her shoulder, but she couldn’t tell if the Blade had followed them. His black clothes blended in with all the other black shapes that created the nighttime forest. Was Walter all right? Maybe he’d killed the Blade?

  Somewhere along this cliff was the path they’d climbed to get here, but Renna couldn’t find it. They were trapped by the edge. No matter what way they ran, the Blade could head them off if he was chasing.

  Renna leaned forward, staring at the ground below. Should she and Brandi attempt to climb down? It wasn’t that far. How much time did they have?

  Something crashed in the forest behind them. Twigs snapped. Branches skittered across each other as they were shoved aside. Chills shot through Renna’s stomach. If Walter had won, he would’ve called to them. The noise had to be the Blade.

  Pebbles ground beneath boots. Footsteps crunched closer. They didn’t have time to hide. They didn’t have time to run.

  She did the only thing she could do. She grabbed Brandi around the waist and jumped.

  27

  Renna didn’t have time to scream as they plummeted downwards. Her left leg punched the ground first, pain flaring into her body.

  Her momentum catapulted her forward, slamming her back and side into the ground, Brandi’s weight on top of her. She skidded several feet, rocks tearing into her back, before her left hip crashed into a tree and stopped their movement.

  She couldn’t breathe. Her mouth hung open. She tried to drag in air, but her body refused to move even that much. Black spots danced across her eyes.

  Brandi’s face swirled above her. Her mouth was moving, but Renna couldn’t understand the words.

  Something thumped against her back. Hard. Renna hauled in a breath, the air rushing
through her body. She gulped in several deep breaths and winced. Her back and side ached. She pushed herself straighter. Agony jolted through her left leg. She sucked in a breath and blinked at the hot prickle in her eyes.

  Brandi knelt, her eyes wide. “Renna, are you all right? Can you move? Please say you’re all right. Renna?”

  “I’m all right. I think.” Renna leaned forward and felt along her leg. Her hands connected with a growing lump along the bone in her lower leg. She whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut. “Brandi, I think my leg is fractured.”

  At least it wasn’t a bad break. It wouldn’t need to be set, and she didn’t have any shards of bone sticking through her skin. Small comfort. Either way, she wouldn’t be able to run any farther.

  “What do you need me to do?” Brandi’s voice strained in a tone Renna had never heard before.

  “You can…” Renna paused and waved Brandi into silence. They froze. Something crackled and scuffled on the cliff’s edge above them. Peering into the darkness, Renna spotted the black form of the Blade prowling the cliff top. She held herself still. In the shadows under the tree, they’d be nearly invisible.

  Her heart pounded in time with the throbbing in her leg. Would the Blade guess where they’d gone? Brandi’s hand slipped into Renna’s. Renna squeezed her sister’s fingers.

  Gravel clattered down the rock face. Brandi gave a small squeal in the back of her throat. Renna squeezed her sister’s hand tighter.

  The scrabbling at the top of the cliff moved farther away. Hopefully he’d believe they’d run along the cliff’s rim and neglect to look down below.

  The sounds kept moving farther away until they vanished into the distance. Renna released a sigh and relaxed her grip on Brandi’s hand. “We have to keep moving. It won’t take him long to realize we didn’t go that way. Help me up.”

  Brandi tugged Renna to her feet. “What about Walter?”

  “If the Blade is after us, then Walter must be dead.” Renna’s throat hurt. Walter must’ve died to protect them. Just like their parents had four years ago. Why? Why did everyone who protected them have to die?

  Brandi’s jaw set, though tears shone in her eyes. She wrapped an arm around Renna’s waist. Renna laid her arm over Brandi’s shoulders. Brandi stood a few inches shorter than her so Renna could lean against her easily. With Brandi’s help, she hopped forward.

  They pushed deeper into the trees. Renna’s chest constricted tighter and tighter with each hobbling step forward. Too slow. They were going too slow.

  Her leg shot pain all the way through her body into her head. The darkness swirled and tilted.

  She lay on the ground. How had she gotten there? Brandi’s face hovered in the hazy blackness above her. Her mouth moved, but the words didn’t penetrate the pain buzzing in Renna’s head.

  Renna gripped her left knee as if squeezing there would cut off the pain spasming through her leg. “I can’t go any farther.”

  “You can’t give up.” Brandi tugged on her arm. “If you stay here, the Blade will find you.”

  Renna managed to push herself upright. Even that much movement churned her stomach. Perhaps if she had something to numb the pain or they had the time to make a proper splint, she could make it. But, they had neither time nor painkiller.

  A shiver tore down her back. She should tell Brandi to go on without her. By herself, maybe Brandi could find her way out of the Sheered Rock Hills and back to Walden.

  Or maybe Brandi would get lost and die out there by herself. Perhaps they’d both die alone, and what would be the sense in that?

  Renna pulled her arm from Brandi’s grasp. “You should—”

  “Don’t tell me to leave you here.” Brandi crossed her arms. “Do you remember what you told me the night Father and Mother died? As long as we’re together, everything’s going to be all right. So I’m not leaving you.”

  “Actually, I was going to say that you should go find somewhere we can hide.” Renna clutched her leg as another lance of pain travelled through her bones. “Not all of the Blades are expert trackers. Maybe this one isn’t, and if we hide for a while, he won’t find us.”

  A slim chance, but the best one they had.

  “All right.” Brandi clambered to her feet. “I’ll be right back.”

  Renna squeezed a section of her divided skirt. What if Brandi fell off another cliff in the dark? Or stumbled across a mountain lion?

  Best not to think about it. Brandi could take care of herself.

  Would they be able to hide from the Blade? What would happen if he found them? Would he kill them right away?

  But what if he didn’t find them? What then? She had no idea where they were or how to get to Eagle Heights. She didn’t even know where Walden lay. How would they even go anywhere on foot and Renna hobbling on a broken leg?

  They’d die either way. Her hands shook. If the Blade found them, he’d kill them. Or he’d bring them to King Respen, and King Respen would kill them. If they got away from the Blade, they’d die while wandering around the Sheered Rock Hills.

  Renna touched the silver cross dangling from the chain around her neck. After all they’d survived, why did God bring them out here to die?

  Was it because she hadn’t done what she was supposed to? She’d tried to stop hiding and start doing her duty, but that had messed up everything. Why didn’t God show her what to do?

  A black shape crunched towards her. She drew the knife from its sheath.

  “It’s me.” Brandi bounced to Renna’s side. “I found a place. Come on.”

  Renna gritted her teeth as Brandi hauled her to her feet. Together, they hop-skipped down the slope. Partway down, Brandi turned left and shoved into a thick stand of junipers. Their prickles nipped through Renna’s clothes into her skin. The green, earthy smell of the shrub filled her throat.

  Somewhere in the tangle, Brandi stopped. She plopped onto the sandy soil. “Here it is. Let’s hope there’s no snakes.”

  Renna collapsed next to Brandi. “Thanks. Now I’m going to worry about snakes as well as Blades.”

  She gripped her leg. She couldn’t help rocking at the pain. “I need to make a splint. Help me get my boot off.”

  Brandi shuffled to Renna’s leg and unlaced the boot. Together, they pushed and pulled on the boot until it popped from her foot. Renna wiggled her toes and waved her foot. At least she could move it. That was a good sign.

  She inspected her leg, gritting her teeth at the knives stabbing through her bone. The bone in her leg felt straight, though a tender lump formed over the place it had fractured.

  “I’m going to need two straight sticks and lots of strips of cloth.” Renna shoved the words between her teeth. She couldn’t let herself cry out no matter how much pain she suffered. Too much noise would call the Blade to them.

  Brandi scurried off. In the darkness, Renna couldn’t see Brandi, only hear scratching, rattling sounds. She drew in and breathed out several deep breaths. She had to remain calm.

  Tugging on her bodice, she tried to rip a section from the bottom, but the tough fabric of her travelling clothes refused to tear.

  Why was she trying to tear them? She had a knife. She drew it and sawed at the bottom of her blouse and the ends of her divided skirt. Once both of those were as short as she dared, she set to work on her boot.

  Working by feel, she sliced the top part of the boot off, turning it into a low-cut shoe that she could slip over her foot once she had the splint in place. She sliced the remaining leather lengthwise so that she could widen it to accommodate her swollen leg.

  Brandi scrambled back to her, carrying two sticks. She plopped to the ground and held them out. “These were the straightest sticks I could find.”

  “Thanks.” Renna wrapped the sticks with the strips of cloth in order to add a layer of padding. She placed them on either side of her leg. “Hold these in place.”

  While Brandi held the sticks still, Renna wrapped the leather top of her boot around her leg and
laced it snuggly. The leather and laces kept the sticks tight against her leg. With the last few strips of cloth, she tied the bottom and top of the sticks in place so that her leg and ankle were immobilized. She slipped the remnant of her shoe over her foot and the end of the splint, protecting her foot from the cool, night air that nipped at their exposed skin.

  Brandi snuggled next to Renna. “Don’t worry. God will protect us.”

  Renna wrapped her arm around her. Would He? Why couldn’t she find the same assurance Brandi did?

  In a few minutes, Brandi’s snore whuffled into the night. What would they do in the morning? Would they be able to move fast enough with Renna’s injured leg? Would they be able to find their way to Walden?

  She prayed for God to keep them safe, but the darkness wrapped around them so completely Renna could’t be sure of anything.

  Her hand drifted from Brandi’s shoulder to touch the knife she’d placed beside them. They were safe for tonight. At the moment, that would have to be enough.

  28

  Pain pulsed through Renna’s leg. She bit back a groan and curled tighter in their hollow under the junipers. If only she had a bit of willow bark tea or a spoonful of laudanum. Anything to stop the grinding ache in her bone.

  Something crunched outside the shrub. Renna held her breath and slowly twisted her head. Through the tangle of trunks and branches, she could see the graveled slope outside. In a flat section a few yards away, four sets of hooves stomped and shifted in a picket line. The saddles lay in a neat row, the saddlebags and bedrolls placed beside them.

  The crunching sound came again, and a pair of black boots strode into her limited view.

  Black boots. The Blade.

  Renna nudged Brandi. Brandi’s breathing hitched and her body jolted awake. Renna waved her to stay quiet. Still, Brandi’s movements rustled the dead, spiky juniper twigs that coated the ground.

  The boots froze. “I know you’re in there.”