Fire and Gold (Sisters of the North Book 1)

by Mara Amberly

  Like Cassia, Alexa nodded to the Minister. She didn’t trust his excuse and it didn’t fully explain his actions. That and he disgusted her in a way she couldn’t quite explain. If he had a wife, Alexa felt sorry for her.

  “We were lucky we found our way in time,” Alexa said. “I didn’t realise this area was still in use.”

  There was a flash of cold in the Minister’s eyes and Alexa realised she should be more careful with her words.

  “Yes, well. Let’s get on with it,” he said.

  Alexa bowed her head respectfully. “Yes, Minister Terell.”

  Alexa glanced Cassia’s way, catching a hint of a smile that reached her green eyes. Smiling back, Alexa made her way over to the first of the four men, while Cassia lingered nearby.

  The first prisoner was middle-aged with scraggly dark hair. He didn’t look evil but Alexa reminded herself that he wouldn’t be here without a reason. He had a strong smell about him; they must’ve kept him in absolute filth. He definitely looked like a sailor, with weather-worn skin and calluses on his hands. He was covered in darkened bruises from beatings.

  You poor man. Alexa’s heart hurt, anticipating what this man must’ve been through.

  “Any time you’re ready,” the Minister said, and Alexa came close to an exclamation of frustration.

  “Please, tell us your name,” she asked of the prisoner.

  The Minister walked closer but remained behind Cassia. “There’s no point in asking them questions. They don’t speak the language!” he stated.

  The prisoner proved the Minister wrong around the same moment and murmured, “Ken.”

  Alexa looked up to the Minister. “What are their crimes?”

  The Minister hesitated, almost as if the question was a challenge, but then thought better of it and answered her.

  “Mutiny and murder. These four men commandeered one of His Majesty’s ships where they served as crew and slaughtered others who tried to stop them.”

  Alexa asked Ken, “Is this true?”

  Tears formed in the prisoner’s eyes and her heart sank. Alexa had hoped that she, or rather the gods, might be able to save them, but that was less likely if they were guilty. Ken didn’t answer.

  “I will cast the runes at his feet and see what the gods say of his fate.”

  The Minister’s impatience was growing, but it was a priestess’s right to ask.

  “Maybe we should just get this over with and leave?” Cassia suggested in a quiet tone, but there was no way Alexa was going to do that.

  The look Alexa gave her sister made that clear.

  The blonde priestess drew an embroidered drawstring bag no bigger than her palm from the pocket of her blue robe and untied the string. Taking a step back, she shook the bag and reached in to move the runes about. Each was a small wooden disc with a symbol etched on one of its two faces. She could not feel which rune was which with her fingers, but the gods knew.

  Alexa didn’t take the time to explain her method to the Minister or the men. She merely tipped out the contents of the bag on the ground in front of the first prisoner’s feet. The wooden discs fell with a clatter that seemed to seal the man’s fate. She knelt carefully to read the gods’ intent. Of the fourteen discs in the set, only three were turned upright.

  The first symbol was comprised of three waves in unison.

  “Water,” Alexa said. “The mark of Andrus the Seafarer.”

  Her thumb rubbed over the disc and she looked up into the prisoner’s eyes. She could only call the man’s expression crazed, but that was not surprising when his life hung in the balance. Her hand moved to the second upturned disc, which was marked with the symbol of a blade.

  “The knife; tool of the Thief, Skeben. I believe this is a mark of the prisoner’s guilt.”

  There was a howl of “no!” from the prisoner. For the first time, Minister Terell smiled.

  “The last rune,” Alexa said, louder. The disc had a simple circle with a dot at its heart. “It’s a mark of the world and the path. What ends will begin anew.”

  She gathered up her discs and put them back in her bag.

  “I am sorry but the gods have shown the ending of this existence and a new beginning for you.”

  The prisoner sobbed and Alexa moved on to cast her runes for the next man. It was upsetting but she tried to stay strong. If she didn’t do this, then these men might lose their last chance. She was much closer to breaking down after reading similar results for the next two men. Their readings showed their time was coming to a close and a new beginning awaited them. She only hoped they could find solace and a future in their lives beyond this one.

  The last man had a look of hopelessness about him as Alexa approached with her runes. He was as scruffy as Ken, his skin purpled by bruises and scars. Alexa asked his name but she received only silence.

  “His name is Rudolf,” the Minister said. “Boatswain of the ship. He is arguably the guiltiest of all.”

  Cassia winced and looked him over. She wondered what it must be like to have your life and future decided by one rune reading. Horrible, she quickly decided, but then everything about this was horrible.

  Her mood darker than any time recent, Alexa cast the runes at the prisoner’s feet. They clattered to the ground with a sense of finality. This – this wasn’t what she’d expected! The runes were upturned – every single one of them, and they’d fallen in a spiral pattern, end to end. She almost didn’t believe it.

  Cassia stepped in close beside her, gasping aloud at what she saw. “That’s incredible.”

  “This may sound a little strange Minister,” Alexa said, “but I’ve only heard of this happening once before in the history of the Sisters of Destiny. I believe the gods are unanimous that they want this man to live.”

  As she reached out to touch the runes, she felt a current of energy surge from them that rendered her fingertips numb. Wow!

  “He has a great destiny, I sense. It may be greater than ours if he’s allowed to fulfil it.”

  Minister Terell seethed, “that’s rubbish. Surely he’s guilty. They all are.”

  Alexa smiled. “Possibly, but the gods have made their desire known. It’s written in the law that they should have a chance to speak and Minister, they have spoken.”

  Alexa reverently picked up her runes.

  The Minister’s rage was palpable, but there was nothing he could do. He gestured to the prison guard. “Untie him. Kill the rest.”

  The Minister didn’t stay to watch the executions. Infuriated with the gods’ justice, he walked off through the field, the matter now in the city guards’ hands.

  The sisters glanced at each other, and as much as they desired to leave, they blessed the prisoners then stayed as their duty required of them.

  Alexa felt guilty that she couldn’t have done more to save the other prisoners’ lives, but she had faith that they would be safe in the afterlife and that a kinder fate would await them there. The last reading had quite honestly surprised her. She’d never seen runes fall in such a precise pattern before. It was beautiful to her, especially as it had enabled her to save a prisoner’s life. Rudolf – that was his name. She wondered what the future might hold for him. Only the gods knew. She hoped the guards wouldn’t kill him anyway when he tried to leave.

  After leaving the prison compound, the sisters made their way back toward the temple. The sun was bright and the day was warmer, now that it was around noon. Cassia’s knife had been returned to her when she left the prison complex and Alexa could feel the light but comfortable weight of her runes in her pocket. It was a detail she hadn’t paid much attention to before. The executions had been difficult to witness. It broke Alexa’s heart to see the other three men die. I managed to save one. She couldn’t have said why, but Alexa had a feeling that someday she would see Rudolf again.

  Cassia was quiet on the way back to the temple. Alexa understood why, because she felt much the same way herself. The executioner had killed the remaining pr
isoners quickly, but it had been disturbing and to Alexa’s mind, tragic. The blonde-haired priestess felt concern for her younger sister, but she knew Cassia had been happy to see Josef again. It had brightened her day and filled her with hope. Alexa still didn’t approve of their romance, but it could’ve been worse. She’d seldom seen Cassia so happy as when she’d been in Josef’s arms.

  “Are you alright?” Cassia asked, grimacing slightly as she crossed the road, trying not to get gravel in her sandals.

  “Yeah,” Alexa answered. “That was awful. If those men killed people and mutinied then that may have been justice, but it also seems very wrong somehow. They were sorry. You could tell. It was just too late for them to do anything but die.”

  Cassia nodded, not really feeling comfortable with what had happened at all.

  “I thought you were stalling for time,” Cassia said. “I’m sorry for trying to get away more quickly. I’ve never seen runes fall that way before. It was strange. I know they can do that, but they normally scatter. Do you really think the gods wanted Rudolf to live?”

  Alexa nodded. “Yes I do. I wish I knew why because – I suppose just because it would be interesting to know.”

  Cassia was fascinated by the possibility, but she felt a little guilty. If Alexa had listened and not performed the readings, Rudolf would’ve been put to death. She almost cost a man his life. It had a way of messing up her thoughts in much the same way witnessing the executions did.

  “I’m surprised we didn’t meet Josef on the way back to the temple.”

  Cassia gave her sister a bittersweet smile. “He thought it best not to.”

  Alexa nodded, wondering if he would need to explain his absence. “So what do you envision happening there? With him, I mean?” Alexa noticed the way her younger sister bit her lip. Cassia obviously liked Josef a great deal.

  “His family’s trying to arrange a marriage for him to the scribe’s daughter, but he’s refusing to marry her. I don’t know if he’ll be able to put them off forever, but he’s told me not to worry about it. He wants us to leave and start a life together – not just because I’m a Sister of Destiny, but because his family has other ideas in mind. We don’t get to see each other often enough. He’s tired of sneaking around and so am I.”

  “Cassia,” Alexa said, sensing her sister’s discomfort and uncertainty. “You’re not going to like me saying it but you might be better to let him go, so he can marry and have a family.”

  Cassia took a step back from her sister, instantly upset. “Why am I not surprised? I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

  Alexa frowned in annoyance. “I think I’ve been particularly understanding, Cassia. I’ve promised to safeguard your secret. You’re going to have to make a choice and either you are going to have to let Josef go or leave the temple and me, because you can’t have it both ways. That’s if the Arch-Magister will let you leave. She may imprison you if she learns the truth.”

  Cassia fumed. “See, that’s it exactly. I’m not property and I’m not a prisoner. We’re not slaves to be bought and sold, and they can’t keep me locked up in the dungeon when I don’t want to be.”

  Alexa’s tried to soothe her sister. “Cassia, relax.”

  The redhead looked Alexa firmly in the eyes, her own blazing with fury. “No!”

  Alexa’s breath caught as she looked over her sister’s head. “Cassia–”

  “What?”

  “The temple. It’s on fire!” Alexa exclaimed.

  Cassia turned around, not comprehending her meaning for a moment. Orange flames burned in its tall, arched windows, the outer marble blackened in patches. The two sisters looked at each other in confusion and ran down the road toward the gates.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The Temple of Solitude was burning and the sisters ran toward it, Cassia a few paces ahead as she was the more proficient sprinter. The snap of a branch beside the road was all the warning Cassia had before she saw a blonde, bearded man lunging toward her with a curved sword.

  Cassia instinctively dodged and drew her knife to block the attacker’s swing, but the force of his sword blow knocked her off balance and drove her back. Alexa screamed out when she saw her sister being attacked and reached for a knife, but she didn’t have one with her. Her hand grasped the bag of runes, but they were carved of wood and too light to be a good weapon. Instead Alexa grabbed a handful of rocks and dirt off the ground and threw it at the man’s face.

  Cassia pulled out a second knife she had hidden beneath her robe, finding reassurance in fighting two-handed. The knives looked near-useless against the attacker’s curved sword, but Alexa knew not to underestimate her sister and she had every intention of helping her.

  “I’m going to kill you,” the man roared at Cassia.

  “Like hell you are,” Alexa retorted.

  “What? Are you gods going to save you?” the attacker asked, a gleeful smirk reaching his eyes.

  Alexa resisted the urge to answer, inflicting a sharp magical charge that stung his face.

  Before he could lash out, Cassia slashed at his arms with her knives, trying to get him to drop his hold on the sword. Cassia was quick on her feet, but so was he. She dodged her attacker as best she could and parried his swings that got too close. She caused him a few scratches but nothing more.

  Alexa stung him again, but stayed back as best she could. She summoned an air current, pulling the energy in from the air around her. It started off small, but slowly it grew into something much more forceful directed at the man who fought her sister. She meant for it to unbalance him but at full force it could do much more than that.

  Cassia dodged a swing of his sword and sliced him across the side with her left-hand dagger. The man roared and she chuckled, enjoying herself despite the danger they were in. By now his hair was swept around his face, and dust billowed from the ground around him from Alexa’s spell. Cassia knew that he was delaying them from reaching the temple; that meant she had to end this quickly. Cassia swayed back from his swing, the man’s blade passing in front of her face. She turned her body, slamming her fist into his elbow and driving his sword arm across his own chest. Twisting back, she drove her other knife into his chest, just below the ribs.

  “Forgive him, Lord Rathor. He’s not a very smart man,” Cassia remarked.

  Alexa looked sickened and afraid as the dying man collapsed on the ground.

  “What do you know? New sword!” Cassia announced in an excessively cheery fashion.

  “What, you’re worshipping the war god now?”

  Cassia nodded, “it’s a poorly-kept secret. I’m glad we’re both alright.”

  Cassia took his sword belt and sheath to go along with it, putting it on as she began to walk, and sheathing the weapon.

  Alexa dispelled the air currents, which spun off along the road like a whirlwind, and looked up at the temple. She could see flames within the windows across the width of the tower. It must be a massive blaze to have engulfed such a large place.

  “That excuse for a man didn’t try to kill us for no reason,” Cassia said. “There could be more of them. Come, I know a more private way into the temple. It’s very useful for sneaking out occasionally to see one’s lover. I even saw Lara use it a time or two.”

  Any other time, Alexa would’ve scoffed at Cassia’s comment about Sister Lara, but not today. They stealthily rounded the corner that marked the boundary of the temple land, and Cassia climbed up and over the wall. It was lower here than in other places around the temple due to a dip in the ground.

  “Come on, you can do it,” she said to Alexa.

  The wall wasn’t hard to climb because it was made of stone. Alexa fitted the front of her sandal into a foothold, and hefted herself up. She ducked her head down when she saw someone running between the buildings. It wasn’t a sister; that was for sure.

  “Quick, get down. There’s someone out there,” Cassia said.

  Cassia hid behind a tree, pressing her back to the cool bark.r />
  Alexa peered over the wall while Cassia looked around the side of the tree.

  “He’s gone now,” Alexa said. The blonde priestess climbed over the wall and dropped down beside Cassia.

  “I wonder how many there are?” Cassia asked.

  Alexa shook her head, “I don’t know but it might take a lot to gain control of the temple and set it on fire.”

  “Follow me,” Cassia whispered.

  Stepping cautiously through the grass, Cassia led the way. She stayed close to the pine trees for cover and made her way toward outbuildings between themselves and the temple. Alexa followed her sister’s lead, trying to keep out of sight. They’d seen the temple’s tower on fire and now that they were inside the walls, the sisters could tell that even the outbuildings burned.

  Cassia raised a hand, encouraging her sister to stop when she saw movement. Alexa soon saw what Cassia had; there were three men out there and they weren’t alone. They dragged a seemingly unconscious sister in blue into one of the burning outbuildings and pushed her inside.

  Alexa could see Cassia seething in anger.

  They were well-built men who may have easily overpowered the sister, if she didn’t have time to prepare her magick. One of the men turned around and walked back toward the temple. He drew his sword, seemingly without a target, and made some practice swings in the air. It was like watching a child, not a seasoned warrior. The two that remained lingered while the fire burned the outbuilding. Both of the men had dark hair, while one had a beard and the other didn’t. Their features were different to that of the man who’d attacked Cassia earlier, but they were all built like fighters with some muscle.

  Crouching low, Cassia moved forward toward the burning building, trying to remain unseen.

  Alexa hurried after her, whispering fiercely, “wait up!”

  The red-haired priestess looked over with a glint in her lively green eyes.

  “I’m going to kill those bastards!” Cassia seethed.

  “Isn’t there some way we could knock them out? We can’t let our sister die.”