“Hurry!” Garhan yelled back over his shoulder.
It had happened so quickly, Jerris was left stunned by Saleet’s sudden disappearance before him. He refocused on the two of them. Despite the agony running caused with his broken arm unsupported, he did so and reached them.
Garhan had her pinned, so Jerris couldn’t go for her heart, and his rapier wasn’t designed for something as dramatic as beheading. He saw the thick blade of the short sword she still clutched in her right hand. Jerris dropped his weapon and crouched down. It took every bit of his strength to wrench the scimitar away from her.
Disarmed, Saleet threw all of her strength into trying to get Garhan off of her before Jerris could act. The male vampire felt her brace her legs against the ground beneath them and in a heartbeat, she rolled them over so she was in the superior position.
Garhan intended to throw her off of him again, but she launched forward and off of him before he had the chance.
Jerris’ eyes widened as Saleet began to move toward him, his hand white knuckled around the hilt of the scimitar he’d taken from her. She gnashed her teeth uncomfortably close to his face before she fell downward and into the dirt.
Garhan had managed to grab one of her ankles to halt her forward momentum. “Jerris! Do it!”
The redhead didn’t hesitate before swinging down with the scimitar with all the strength he could muster with his right arm.
Saleet’s struggling and writhing against Garhan’s hold suddenly came to a stop as the crack of the blade severing her spine echoed through the air.
Her head rolled to the side after being severed. Jerris tossed the sword away at once, seeing the assassin’s eyes blink several more times, her lips uttering soundless words even though her head was no longer attached to her body. He fell back onto his seat, cradling his broken arm to his chest, unable to look away as a torrent of blood erupted from the stump of her neck.
Garhan let go of her ankle and he scrambled back to where Mari sat.
The courier watched as Garhan neared her and Jerris slumped over to his side as he passed out. “Gary? Are you all right? Is Jerris all right?”
The vampire glanced back over his shoulder, not terribly surprised to see that the redhead had lost consciousness. Keiran had told him of the guard’s tendency to do so. “I’m fine, and he’ll wake up. I’m more worried about you.”
Mari tried to look back over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of the knife’s handle behind her. While it had been thrown with a great deal of force, it didn’t feel like it had penetrated far. Her breathing wasn’t affected, and she felt remarkably good, all considered.
Garhan knelt down behind her, putting one hand against her back so the blade was situated between his fingers. With his other, he grabbed the knife’s handle. He offered Mari a brief countdown before cleanly jerking the blade from her. There was a good resistance to it, and he wondered if it had gotten lodged in a rib or her scapula.
Mari held her breath and gave out a yelp, but felt overwhelming relief when Garhan dropped the knife to the ground beside her. She quickly shrugged off her riding coat and pulled up the back of her shirt so Garhan could see the extent of the damage.
Garhan leaned in and looked at the entry point. Not much blood was coming from it yet, allowing him to clearly see the root-like structure protruding from the wound. When he’d pulled the knife free, it had jerked the end of the tendril through her skin. The tip of it remained exposed for just a second longer before it retreated into her, a faint, earthy scent lingering in the air.
“How bad is it?” Mari asked, turning slightly to look at him.
Garhan sat on the wet ground hard, meeting her gaze with a shake of his head. “Whatever is wrong with your back…it saved your life.”
She quirked a brow just as Jerris gave out a groan and started to come around. “We have to keep him from moving. He’ll break that arm again if he hasn’t already.”
Seeing that his wife was doing well enough to allow him to tend to the guard, Garhan moved over to Jerris. For now, there was nothing he could do about whatever was living inside Mari.
Jerris looked up at Garhan in a daze, rain falling into his face and forcing him to blink. “We get her?”
“You did, Jerris,” Garhan said, taking his broken arm and gently laying it against the guard’s chest. “Mind your arm. We need to get you a new sling, though it looks like Etras’ splint managed to survive all that.”
Jerris placed his right arm over the left and gently sat up, not letting it move. “He knows what he’s doing. I’m going to just…turn around so I don’t have to look at my handiwork.”
Garhan gave him a faint smile and helped Jerris reorient himself so he was no longer facing Saleet’s body.
With the fog of his loss of consciousness slowly lifting, Jerris looked over at Mari, seeing the courier carefully getting to her feet. “The knife! Are you all right?”
Mari picked up the knife in question as she stood, holding it before her to show Jerris. “Garhan already got it taken care of. I’m fine, minus one ruined shirt and coat.”
Jerris quirked a brow and looked up at Garhan.
The vampire shrugged, trying to forget what he’d seen. “It didn’t go in far enough to do any damage.”
The guard was surprised to hear that, as it looked like the assassin had thrown it with a lot of force. “Thank God for that.”
Etras and Betram hadn’t brought themselves to go too far away before deciding to turn back and help the others. When they arrived and saw the Sadori woman lying with her head removed, the two men looked at one another.
Betram gave a nod and smiled, motioning toward the others with a hand. “See? They did not let us down!”
Etras was honestly surprised to see the fight over. He noticed Jerris’ sling missing and slid from the saddle to approach the redhead. “You killed her?”
“Technically, but you can thank Garhan for doing the real work. If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have managed,” Jerris admitted as Etras knelt before him and started to examine his arm.
* * *
Thana sat on the floor with her son, playing with him. Zach squealed in joy, assorted wooden animals littering the floor around both of them. He wobbled where he sat and turned his head toward the doorway, smiling and clapping his hands together.
She turned, expecting to see Keiran nearing, but it wasn’t.
Athan was leaning in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. His head was cocked to the side, a lax smile across his lips. “It sounds like the two of you are having a good time.”
Thana swept Zach up from the floor and backed up several steps. “What in the hell do you want?”
His expression fell and he straightened up, his arms dropping to his sides as he took a step into the room. “Thana, what’s wrong?”
She shook her head and took another step back, twisting her ankle as she stepped on a toy cow. She shirked off the pain and limped away several more steps. “Keir! Help! Athan’s here!”
The vampire’s face contorted with confusion, and he snapped his head back and forth, looking around. “Athan? Where?”
Thana felt tears in her eyes, terrified. “Go away!”
Athan held his hands out from his sides a little. “What in the actual hell is wrong with you, Thana?”
She blinked. It wasn’t Athan, it was Keiran. “What..?”
He didn’t make any move to go closer, her previous fear making him afraid to do so. Keiran frowned and looked to the side, not understanding what was wrong with his wife. “Athan isn’t here. I don’t feel, see, or smell him, Thana.”
“No…” she shook her head and took a small step forward, keeping Zach held close. “Keir, I…I… You weren’t you!”
His heart raced, uneasiness roiling through his gut. “Are you all right?”
She limped forward. “Keir, there’s something wrong with me! I was looking right at you, but you were Athan!”
He looked down at hi
s hands and body, not understanding what she meant. Her fear had been very real, though. He’d felt it clearly enough. “I’m sure I can’t shape shift like that, Thana.”
“I saw you as Athan, though…” she whimpered, bending to set Zach on the floor where he’d been.
When she’d startled in fear over the previous days when he’d come up behind her, he’d been able to dismiss it as something caused by stress. However, for her to actually respond as though he was the other vampire while looking right at him made Keiran sick.
Thana closed the rest of the distance between them, placing her hand against his cheek, seeing the hurt in his expression. “I’m sorry, Keir. Something is wrong with me! I think I’m losing my mind.”
He tipped his head against her hand, closing his eyes for a moment. “I don’t want to keep scaring you… If you’re now seeing me as—”
She dropped her hand to his shoulder. “What?”
“She said those around me would start to see me as she does,” Keiran said, his eyes going wide.
“What are you talking about?”
He met Thana’s gaze, color coming to his cheeks as his anger stirred. “Mother Thinliss. She said those around me would start to see me as she does.”
“You think she’s done something to me?” Thana asked, another wave of fear washing over her, but not from Keiran this time.
His fangs appeared and he averted his gaze to the side. “I think it’s time I paid that damned witch another visit.”
* * *
Sygian looked up from the book he was reading on the stairs leading into the courtyard. Keiran emerged from the castle, looking furious. Thana was trailing behind him, Zach in her arms.
“Keir! Please don’t do this!” Thana demanded, stopping at the top of the stairs while Keiran continued down them.
“Trouble?” the grand councillor asked, looking up with a frown.
“I’m going to kill Thinliss,” Keiran growled, pausing beside Sygian. His anger had unfurled, pushing his more rational thoughts to the side.
Witch or not, Sygian knew Keiran couldn’t go around saying such things in public. He glanced at the panicked queen before looking up at Keiran again, noticing his fangs. “Perhaps some privacy to have a word about matters before you do so?”
Keiran drew in a long breath, trying to calm down enough to give the older man a chance to talk him out of it. “Fine.”
Thana gave a sigh of relief and shook her head. “I was absolutely certain he was going to go to town and tear her apart.”
“I still may,” Keiran growled.
Sygian gave a quick smile and stood, patting Keiran on the shoulder as he headed back up the stairs and into the castle. “Come on, then.”
Thana rolled her eyes and moved back through the doors, hoping the grand councillor would get through to her husband’s better senses. He’d terrified her after deciding Mother Thinliss was the source of her recent problems. It had been rare for Keiran to submit to his rage like that, but she knew he’d been having a more difficult time with his emotions since Kanan’s death and Jerris’ departure.
The vampire scowled and tensed his jaw as he turned to follow Sygian. They went into the abandoned throne room.
Once inside, Sygian closed the massive doors, leaving them isolated. “Now, tell me what happened.”
Keiran ran his hands through his hair, pulling at it before allowing his arms to flop down to his sides. “Thinliss said those around me would start to see me as she did. Recently, Thana has startled around me with increasing frequency. Just now, she was looking right at me and lost her mind, seeing me as Athan. I think Mother Thinliss is responsible. While I’ll tolerate her coming after me, the moment she opted to mess with Thana…”
“Ah,” Sygian replied, giving a slow nod. “And killing her in a fit of rage would do what, exactly?”
“It would stop her from toying with my wife’s mind,” Keiran said, his anger still seething.
“And, do you not think that publically killing the head of the church might not be in your best interest?” Sygian asked, cocking his head to the side.
Keiran narrowed his eyes and averted his gaze. He remembered his pleasure in killing Peirte the year before, part of him longing for another such moment. Mother Thinliss seemed like the ideal candidate under the circumstances.
“You’d be proving her point, I’m afraid.” The councillor raised his brows, seeing the wheels turning in the king’s head.
The vampire’s attention shifted back toward his councillor, his shoulders rounding in shame. “Aye, but I can’t let her do whatever it is she’s doing to Thana.”
Sygian looked uncomfortable, not wanting to say what he was going to. “Are you certain this is something Thinliss is doing? I know what you saw her do before, but until you have some evidence that it’s truly her causing your wife’s problem… It would be some awfully strong magic for Thinliss to be performing on Thana here when she is down in town.”
“I have no other explanation,” Keiran replied, sighing. “Damn it, Sygian, what am I supposed to do? I know Thana isn’t simply losing her mind, and I can’t allow it to continue!”
“I’m not doubting you, and honestly, I think you’re most likely right,” Sygian said, folding his arms behind his back. “However, going around saying you’re off to kill her isn’t going to work for you in the long run. If you need to act against her, you have to be extremely careful in how you go about it, Keir. If she is this powerful, you have no idea what you’re honestly getting into.”
“I don’t have Church Knights at my disposal to do it for me.” He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, guilt starting to usurp his fury. “Speaking of, if you were to have any communication with them, would they have come up with something since we last speculated on things not involving you?”
Sygian gave a non-committal shrug, letting his gaze wander. “While I’d imagine there would have been some digging into her past and the like, I feel as though nothing may have come up, yet. Someone might need to go to Stanth and do a little more searching closer to the source, unless one managed to reveal her magic usage in a public, very much witnessed sort of venue…”
Keiran dropped his hand to his side again and straightened his posture. “How do I manage to make her do that? She’s gotten to the top of the church’s hierarchy by keeping it hidden for who knows how long? I know their intentions were good in choosing her, but my God, Sygian, did they ever make a mistake. She is Randall’s opposite in every conceivable way.”
Sygian examined him for several seconds, thinking. While he wished he could come up with something on the spot, it wasn’t happening. “Plans may need to be thought up.”
“I can’t stand to see Thana scared again,” Keiran admitted, dropping his gaze to the floor. “I can’t. I’ll admit that the quickest way to make me lose my own mind is for me to see something happening to her. She is my weakness, Sygian. She always has been.”
“That is because you love her, and it is to be expected. It’s probably why Thinliss went right for her, honestly. I know this will be the hardest thing for you to hear right now,” the councillor said, his tone forever even, “but, perhaps, it would be in Thana’s best interest not to see you for a while?”
That ripped right into Keiran’s heart, his expression falling. “If seeing me only frightens her, perhaps it would be for the best, but…”
“I know, it would be hard for you,” Sygian replied. “But she wouldn’t see you as Athan in the meanwhile. Eventually, mixing you up with him will start to make subconscious connections in her mind, connections I’m certain you don’t want made.”
He was defeated, slouching again and looking away. “Do you have any idea how close I’ve been to losing my own mind, lately? I’m quickly running out of people that I care for in my life, Sygian.”
“It wouldn’t be forever, just until we found a solution to the issue at hand.” The councillor could see the pain in Keiran’s expression, but he was o
ut of ideas for the time being. “Perhaps you could try having someone escort her to you for a time, so they can reassure her that you are actually you?”
“That would be preferred to not being with her at all,” he said quietly.
Sygian reached out and put a hand on Keiran’s shoulder, jostling him slightly. “Then let’s go find Corina. I’m certain she’d be more than willing to participate in such a plan. We have to act sensibly. This is a very dangerous time.”
Keiran managed up a smile, relaxing a little. “Thank you, Sygian.”
“Only doing my job as Grand Councillor,” he replied, cocking his head toward the door. “Come on, then. No more murderous tirades today for you.”
* * *
Jerris and his companions camped in the forest again. Despite the rain that had continued to fall in the area, the burnt smell of the forest ahead distinctly cut through the air. It meant they were getting closer to Tordan Lea, and he was ready to be done with it.
Since killing the assassin, Jerris had been reserved, not saying much to his companions. Though he had no way to know it to be true, Jerris felt that the Sadori vampire had been the last one on their trail. His vigilance and paranoia slacked off, leaving him drained. Sickness had overtaken him in the days since, though it wasn’t stemming from any physical ailment.
The act of cutting off her head replayed through his mind constantly. While he’d killed in conflicts prior, even beheading one of the Sadori bounty hunters not terribly long before, there was something different about the woman’s death. Whether it was because she’d been a woman or a vampire, he didn’t know. It simply was different for the guard, as he’d had to think about doing it before the action took place. The others who’d fallen to his hand had done so in the spur of the moment, without premeditation on his part.
Sleep was troublesome. While the others retreated into a shelter they’d built for the night to keep dry, Jerris had slipped out in his rain cloak. He sat on a log at the side of the road, nursing one of the bottles of alcohol he’d brought from Edinau.
He caught movement out of his peripheral vision, turning his head to look across the road. A fox was trotting along in the weeds, either oblivious to the man’s presence or simply not caring. Jerris gave a faint smile, never having been so close to one.
The King's Knight (Royal Blood Book 5) Page 24