Only one way to find out.
“If you’re going to follow me, you may as well travel by my side instead of behind.”
He smiled at the soft surprised gasps.
After a few moments of silence, the lurkers came out of the woods. The same five people he suspected. All young. If any had reached their twentieth year, Beck would have been surprised.
“Good evening, Your Grace,” one of the boys said. He was a stocky lad dressed in plain wools and a simple black biggins cap atop his head. “We didn’t frighten you, did we?”
Beck smiled at the idea. “No, you didn’t, but you can tell me why you are following me.”
The rest of the group came forward to stand beside their companion. Beck noticed the nervous, sidelong glances they shared.
“We…we saw what happened in Nysa, Your Grace.”
“I see.”
“After we gave those boys that did it a good thumping, we thought we’d come with you seeing as you left without a guard and all. As you are our King, we could do no less.”
“As much as I appreciate your concern, I’m not your King,” Beck told him, feeling a measure of guilt that these young people had traveled so far under a misconception. “What is your name?”
“Tristan.”
“Tristan, I left alone of my own choice. Lord Gage Gregaros is the King Regent now. It is to him you owe your loyalty at the moment. Not me.”
The group looked aghast. “Lord Gregaros isn’t our King! What’s he done for us? The Everards have helped the people of Iserlohn—especially us shifters—more than anyone.”
“Look, Tristan…”
The young man waved him off. “Sorry, Your Grace, but we won’t take no for an answer. You might as well get used to us because we’re coming with you. By the way, where are we going?”
“I…” He sighed. “North, Tristan. We’re going north.”
“North it is,” he declared eagerly.
The rest of Beck’s new followers introduced themselves. He hardly heard a word they said, but their animated chatter as they all started back the way they had come helped to chase away some of his gloomy thoughts. It felt…nice.
Beck looked up at the single ray of sunshine that managed to pierce through the knotted canopy above to light their path. The tenacious light lifted his spirits and set a fire in his belly as it reminded him that there was always a way around even the most stubborn of obstacles. The world suddenly shrank in that moment as he envisaged Kiernan, somewhere on this island, standing under that same sun.
****
Kiernan turned her face to the warmth of the late afternoon sun hanging like a big yellow ball just above the trees to the west. Years of habit lifted her hands to move her hair back off her shoulders, only there was no hair to move. With a heavy sigh, she dropped her hands back into her lap realizing it would take some time yet before she became accustomed to its new length. She removed a handkerchief that Cael had given her from her pocket, placed it over her head and knotted it behind her neck.
Cael looked at her curiously from the wagon seat next to her, but didn’t say anything. Actually, he had said very little since his father had joined them two days past and who was now riding steadily a good distance ahead of them. Whatever the discord between the two men, it provided for tension-filled dinners at night with Cael going to sleep directly after and leaving Kiernan on her own to deal with his father’s unwanted questions. Thankfully, they had spent their last evening out on the road as they were almost to Lewstin.
The look in Cael’s eyes turned from curiosity to sadness. He felt on edge still about bringing her to Lewstin. I don’t remember much about my life, Cael, but I do know that I cannot turn away from this fight. Whatever has you so worried, whoever put those scars on your back, I will deal with.
He gave her a small intimate smile, one that brought their near-kiss to mind. She turned away. As vulnerable as she was at the moment, there were too many ghosts between her and Cael. A dead King. A blue-eyed boy. A magical land and all its people. There just wasn’t room yet for anything real.
“There’s still time to turn around, Larkin. I can take you to Janis. Just give me the word.”
She shook her head despite the nerves that prickled at her stomach. “I haven’t changed my mind.” She thought back to a question his father asked. “Cael, what is an oreshifter?”
“Simply put, shifter miners,” he said with a chuckle. “Except for the Duke, the whole town of Lewstin is made up of oreshifters.”
She shook her head at his casual reference to shifting. Shifting! The taint that sent thousands of people into exile! Another thing I will have to get used to. “So, your shifting helps in locating the ore in the mines?”
He nodded. “Diamond ore to be exact.”
She turned on the seat in surprise. “I don’t remember anyone ever talking about diamond mines in Iserlohn. I thought they were all in Deepstone.”
“No one knows.”
She snorted. “Mines full of diamonds? Sounds like something most people would talk about.”
“I told you, no one is allowed into the town and very few are allowed to leave. And, those that do…well, let’s just say there are ways to ensure that they don’t talk.”
“Your daughter?” she guessed.
He nodded.
What kind of monster manipulates their people in this way? Who was this Duke of Lewstin? Had her father known about any of this?
She asked an even more disturbing question. “Your wife…did she—”
“She was murdered. The Duke gave the order.”
“Cael, that’s unconscionable!” She grabbed his arm. “We have to stop him!”
“You don’t understand, Larkin.”
“Cael—”
“You don’t understand! I did fight back! You’ve seen the scars, but that’s nothing!” He suddenly hauled on the reins and pulled the wagon to a stop. He jumped down and slammed his hands into the wood, rocking the bed violently.
She calmly steadied herself. “Tell me.”
He swung his tortured gaze up to her. “What would you like to know? That the women and children are locked up at night to keep the men in line? That the Duke punishes the smallest of perceived infractions with brutal whippings? That if we continue to challenge him, he punishes our family next? I did fight back, Larkin. I tried to organize the townsfolk against the abuse. The Duke killed my wife for it.”
Kiernan held her arms out to him. “Come here.” He walked into her embrace and she pulled his head tight to her chest. “We’re going to fix this, Cael, I promise you that.”
“You don’t understand,” he murmured again. “You should leave now.”
Oh, but I do, and I’m more determined than ever to get inside that town. “If no one is allowed in, how are you going to explain my presence?”
He stiffened in her arms. “The only way is if…if I tell him we’re to be married.”
Kiernan wasn’t as surprised as Cael might have thought as she had already suspected it would be something along those lines. If the ruse was the only way to get her into Lewstin, she had no choice but to go along with it. She gently pushed on his shoulders so she could see his face. “As long as you understand that I’m not ready to make that kind of commitment to you.”
“Yes, of course,” he said quickly, red-faced. “But, you must understand, too, Larkin. If you walk through the gates of Lewstin, you will never walk out again.”
“We will see about that.”
He shook his head. “Do you realize you’re committing yourself to a life of misery?”
“I can take care of myself, Cael.”
“My wife thought so as well. Only when it came time to protect her, no one stood with me. Including my own father.”
“You don’t seem to like him very much.”
“I hate him.”
“Why?”
“He’s a coward! We’re prisoners in our own town because he refuses to fight back.”
/> “What about the blood oath?”
“We’re not marked. We were in hiding during the years of exile and after the use of shifting became lawful, the Duke refused to allow anyone to leave Lewstin to obtain the mark. Not that it would have mattered,” he spat. “They’re cowards. All of them. The men refuse to fight and now I’ve inherited their legacy. Destined to watch my wife die and my child suffer a life without freedom.” He lifted his head to stop the tears that welled in his eyes. “And, there’s not a bloody damn thing I can do about it.”
“Yes, there is. You can put your faith in a scullery maid from Nysa.” She scooted over on the bench. “Come on. We’re almost there.”
Chapter 21
Lewstin
Lewstin appeared at the edge of the Grayan Forest just off the southern road north of the Illian River like a withered hulking mirage. A wooden palisade at least twenty feet high and in dire need of repair surrounded the town. Despite the grueling days on the road, nothing about the place felt welcoming to Kiernan. Vines and plants crawled up the sides of the fence converging with the branches of the trees crouching down from the top, swallowing the town hole. The forest seemed to be steadily making an attempt to reclaim its territory—and winning.
Up ahead, Cael’s father shouted up to a soldier peering over the wall and then waited for permission to enter.
Cael reached over and grabbed her hand, his eyes imploring her to listen once last time. “Run now, Larkin. Please. This isn’t your fight.”
She swallowed as the gates slowly began to open. “It is now,” she told him softly.
He sighed. “Very well. I’ll do my best to protect you and make you happy. I know you haven’t made your mind up about me, but I would never do you wrong. I don’t have very much to offer, but that I can promise.”
She smiled up at him. “We will protect each other then.”
He lifted his hand and rubbed a thumb across her cheek. “My little maid has the heart of a warrior.”
The word warrior gave Kiernan pause. It felt as though someone had directed that word at her before. Often. It made her smile. The idea that she had used her life to fight for others pleased her.
Cael’s father started forward and cleared her view. She inhaled sharply at the dirty faces peering out between the slats of the palisade. Big eyes. Forlorn. Yearning.
Eyes fixed on the townsfolk, Kiernan licked her lips nervously, her stomach clenching in knots. A whisper of movement in the woods to her right caught her attention and she glanced over.
Another pair of eyes. As big and forlorn as the people inside the fence, only amber in color. The same orbs she saw a few days earlier in her reckless flight into the woods near Janis. A Grayan wolf? A tiger? She had heard of sightings of the orange and black striped cats in the southern reaches of Iserlohn although she had never seen one.
She turned to Cael. “Cael, what is that animal?” she asked, pointing.
Distracted from trying to guide the wagon through the gate, he followed her gesture in a brief glance, but muttered, “I don’t see anything,” and turned back to his task.
She looked back. The animal was gone.
She didn’t have any further time to think about it as the wagon pulled inside and she got her first look at Lewstin.
A hell hole according to Cael.
And, he’s right.
Decrepit wooden buildings sat haphazardly along wet, muddy roads. A long, narrow barracks-like building took up most of the town square. In the distance, the white sandstone cliffs that surrounded the majority of the island. When she asked, Cael confirmed that they were the location of the diamond mines.
Men and women with hunched shoulders trudged barefoot and mud-caked to the knees up a small hill toward the mines. Most carried the tools of their trade, others hauled crates or buckets. Standing around the barracks was another large group of older women and young girls, all with a child in their arms or balanced on their hips.
Lean stray dogs with ribs outlined through their fur slunk in packs at the perimeter of the activity, noses low to the ground as they searched out a life-saving meal.
Kiernan had never seen a more desolate place in her life.
The faint sounds of whimpering drifted to her ears and she turned. Off to the left, a man knelt before a wooden pole with his arms tied above his head. Long slash marks striped his back from a fresh whipping.
She gulped back a bitter revulsion that soon turned to anger when she noticed the large, well-maintained estate situated on a hilltop several yards away from the town square with a large fence and a regiment of soldiers surrounding the grounds.
“Whose house is that?” she asked, pointing to the house on the hill, but already knowing the answer.
“The Duke’s.”
“And, this building?” she asked Cael, indicating the long structure in the center.
“It’s the women’s barracks. It’s…” He paused. “It’s where you will live.”
Before Kiernan could spit out her retort, a young, filthy boy ran up to the wagon. “Master Trathen! The Duke wishes to see you straight away. He said to bring your guest with you.”
****
Kiernan wasn’t sure what she expected the Duke of Lewstin to look like, but the boy-man standing before her was not it. He was short and chubby with a mop of curly brown hair. Very non-descript in every way until you looked in his eyes. Those dark, beady little things exposed the malice that dwelled beneath like two beacons.
He came around his desk as she and Cael were shown into his library.
Kiernan scanned the luxurious room in outrage. Thick carpets, expensive oil paintings, heavy furniture polished to a high sheen. Anyone could see that the Duke of Lewstin lived far better than any of his people.
“Cael, I see you have finally returned. I expected you back days ago.” He gave Kiernan a bold look that said he suspected her for the reason of the delay.
“I apologize, Duke, but we had rains and—”
“Excuses, Cael, excuses. Let’s get to the point,” he leaned back against the desk and crossed his arms at his chest. “How many oreshifters did you bring me?”
Cael’s jaw twitched uneasily. “None.”
“This woman here is not an oreshifter?” he snapped with a jerk of his chin in Kiernan’s direction.
“No.”
“Then, why, may I ask, is she here?”
“I…I plan to marry her, my Lord Duke. This is Larkin Malley.”
Kiernan bent into a shallow curtsy. If he took her insult as ignorance, so be it.
The Duke stroked his round chin with two fingers. “Is that so? I didn’t know you were seeking another wife so soon, Cael.”
Kiernan heard Cael let out a small hiss beside her. She quickly stood in front of him. “Yes, my Lord Duke. Although, rather sudden, I am here in Lewstin to stay.”
The Duke’s dark eyes narrowed. “Leave us, Cael.”
“Leave…?”
“Now! I will have a private word with Mistress Malley.”
Cael hesitated in indecision, so she turned to him and placed a gentle hand on his arm. “Go ahead. I’ll be fine. Wait outside for me?”
It took another full moment, but he finally nodded and left.
The Duke stood to his full height and Kiernan couldn’t help but notice that he was a good two inches shorter than she. “What are you doing here, Mistress Malley?”
“Cael explained—”
“I don’t believe him. I know how he felt about his wife. And, you? You’ve known him for less than a week.”
“That is true,” she said smoothly, “but, I recently suffered a loss and Master Trathen helped me to cope. I’ve come to care for him very much.”
“I see. I don’t know what Cael told you, but here in Lewstin we are like family and we all work together toward a common goal.”
She tilted her head. “No. I don’t think those were the words he used at all.”
His lips pressed together. “Did he tell you that it
is highly unusual for an outsider to move here?”
“That, he did say.”
The Duke moved closer to her. “I need oreshifters here, Mistress Malley. Blasters, extractors, millers, cutters and polishers. Our business is diamonds and anyone who does not contribute to our mining goals is…if I may be so bold to say…dead weight.” His gaze slid brazenly over her body. “Unless, of course, you have other talents that may be in demand.”
She ignored the insinuation of the petty little man in front of her and smiled. “I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know anything about mining, but I’m sure I can prove useful. The town streets and buildings appear to be in need of improvement. I can help organize that.”
He leaned in close. “Are you daft? I don’t give two bloody coppers about improvements to this town! Do I have to draw you a picture, Mistress Malley?”
Oh, your meaning is very clear. It took all of her willpower not to mindshift him into ramming his head into the wall. “I am loyal to Cael.”
He laughed and spun away from her. “I was hoping you would say that.”
“What does that mean?”
“Loyalty. Such a lovely word. It can reduce the most hardened of men to whimpering fools. There is only one reason a man like Cael Trathen submits to my whip, Mistress Malley. Loyalty. Loyalty to those he loves and his desire to keep them safe.”
The tight rein she held on her anger snapped and she stalked toward him. “What you’re doing to these people is reprehensible,” she hissed in his face. “Intimidation, floggings, imprisonment. Does your liege know how you run your town, Lord Duke?”
The boy-man took a step back, his nostrils flaring in anger. “Cael has a big mouth.”
“No, he just wanted me to know what I was getting myself into.”
A smirk turned up one side of his mouth. “As do I. To that end, my question to you is this. How loyal are you, Mistress Malley? Will you do all that is asked of you to keep Cael safe?”
Her fists clenched at her sides as she trembled in rage.
The smirk faded. “We’ll talk again soon. Very soon.” He stood back from her and clapped his hands. “Guard! Please show Mistress Malley out!”
An Oath Of The Kings (Book 4) Page 13