"She says you want a regular channel of communication between Kyri and the others," she said.
I pushed my glass of red wine in her direction—it was still full, since I didn't touch it earlier.
"We need that connection," Kerok said. "Kaakos may have information from Hunter, as you know, that we're planning an attack. What Hunter didn't know, because we hadn't decided, was a time for it. I want regular updates on what is happening in Ny-nes, and whether Kaakos strengthens or changes the barriers around the country."
While Pottles and Kerok talked, North decided to contact me again in mindspeak. I just baited Kaakos, he informed me. He's screaming his palace down, and demanding that somebody bring him my head on a pole.
Why are you telling me this? I asked.
Because you appear to be a rational person, and I don't want to contact anyone else there, he replied.
You're with Kyri and Garkus, I fired back. Why not tell them?
I dislike arguments.
You sound like an old married couple—with an extra, I jabbed at him.
The humor he sent back was wry. I think it's worse than that, he said. The reason I wanted to contact you is this; Kaakos is now somewhat distracted. If you intend to invade Ny-nes, then it should be soon.
I'll pass that along, I sniped back. I'm not the King, you know.
I hear you're the Queen.
As if that means anything. How is Kyri? The last time we spoke, you asked if I'd be willing to take her away from Ny-nes if you thought she was in danger.
I still hold that in reserve, he said. For now, she is safe enough, I think.
Are any of you safe enough from Kaakos? Hunter wasn't in the best shape, because he hadn't been safe from Kaakos, even from a great distance. Somehow, North understood my meaning.
Kaakos was able to get to Hunter as he did because of Merrin's blood, you know. It's a part of his sorcery—blood spells. Merrin was closely related to Hunter, so Kaakos undoubtedly took some of his blood. Then, after casting a specific blood spell, he could slip past the barriers erected around the palace and go straight to Hunter.
Blood spells? I only thought he was evil before. This sounds a thousand times worse. Did Kyri know these things?
She did.
And she didn't tell us?
It isn't something to drop into a casual conversation.
Great.
Blood spells are also required to create a raver. In case you haven't heard, Merrin is now completely, irrevocably, and in every other way, dead. That's the message I sent to Kaakos, and why he's calling for my head.
Why did you do that? I didn't understand why he'd make himself a target.
The answer is too deep to discuss in mindspeak. Perhaps in the future, if we both survive, I'll tell you.
You do that, I said.
Tell the King the attack should come soon. I'm sure Kyri will have the same advice, when Doret contacts her.
Do you know everything?
Not everything. Almost everything. I find I live longer, that way.
Right.
"Sherra?" Pottles snapped her fingers at me. Who knew how long she'd attempted to get my attention?
"Sorry," I apologized. "I was just having a conversation with North."
Kerok
If a bomb had dropped in our midst, it may have had less of an impact. "North?" Armon asked.
"The healer. From Ny-nes," Sherra shrugged.
"You've spoken to him before?" I wanted to tear into him with my bare hands.
"My dreamwalker spoke to him first," she hedged.
"And how many times have you spoken to him?" I demanded.
"Twice. Don't get tied in a knot, Kerok," she mumbled. "I've been rude both times, and still he feels like it's necessary to give me information."
"What information?"
"He says that he killed Merrin, to send a message to Kaakos and keep him away from Az-ca. He says that we should attack Ny-nes soon, while Kaakos is distracted with hunting him."
"Thorn, settle down," Doret held out a hand to stop my interrogation. "Kyri just told me the same thing."
"Did you know about the blood spells?" Sherra flung at Doret.
Doret's eyes widened. She hadn't expected that. Frankly, I was interested to hear her answer.
"What are blood spells?" Levi asked.
"North said that the way Kaakos got past all my shields around the palace, to invade Hunter's mind, was because Hunter was a close blood relative to Merrin, and he got blood from Merrin to do the spell. He said it takes a blood spell to make a raver, too."
"It's how he was able to take over Ruarke, when Ruarke was powerful in his own right," Doret admitted, lowering her eyes. "The power he uses to take over his spies is different, and those bonds aren't nearly as strong. That's why he'll kill them rather than let us question them. If they were part of a blood spell, they'd never tell us anything."
"Is that how he was able to drain Hunter's power?" Sherra continued her onslaught.
"Yes," Doret sighed.
"Why has this information been withheld from us?" I asked, attempting to remain civil while waiting for an answer.
"I told you it will take more than one to take Kaakos down. It has to do with the way he creates those spells," Doret said. "Every warrior-priest has given him blood. He can drain their energy at a moment's notice, if he wants. It isn't the same as draining someone with real power, but it's energy, just the same."
"Fuck." Armon pinched the bridge of his nose. No doubt he was just as dismayed as I by this information. Armon wasn't as angry as I was, however.
"Does this mean that our planned attack is a suicide mission?" I hissed at Doret.
"No. I think combining fireblasts and shields is the best idea and the best way we've ever devised to combat the threat that Kaakos represents."
"Sherra, you were with Cole, today," I turned to her, now. "How long until those troops are ready to go? Minimum?"
"At least three days, to get the fundamentals worked out and to become accustomed to combining their efforts," she said stiffly.
"Armon, prepare the rest of the army to protect Az-ca in our absence," I directed. "Make sure our special troops are ready to invade Ny-nes. Barring changes or difficulties, we attack in four days."
"I'll make it happen, Commander." Armon rose from his seat and dipped his head to me.
Levi also rose and bowed, although he didn't speak. "You're all dismissed," I waved a hand. "Doret, I want regular reports from Ny-nes."
"I'll see to it," she agreed.
"Sherra, stay," I motioned for her to sit again, after she'd stood with the others.
Lowering her chin to hide a deep frown, she did as I said.
Doret was the last one out, and she closed the door behind her. Drawing a shaky breath, I focused on Sherra's face and considered what to say.
Sherra
I had to force myself to meet his gaze—perhaps the most difficult thing I'd ever done. He didn't speak for several moments, which made it worse.
"I had twelve escorts before you," he scooted his chair back so he could stand, shoving its legs across the stone floor in a jarring, wince-inducing scrape.
If he thought that information was a good opening, then he was quite mistaken. Yes, I'd wondered about that in the past, but had put it out of my mind. Now, he thought to bludgeon me with it—that I was only another in a long line of women.
He'd killed them, too, draining their power away to fight Kaakos' armies.
"None of them ever argued with me," he went on, turning his back toward me to stare out the window. "I was always in charge, and they understood that. If they had arguments, they bit back their words and bowed to my position and my commands."
At that moment, I was grateful to Adahi—and Barth—for disagreeing with him where my life and Hunter's were concerned. I considered standing, flinging insults at his back and stepping away.
I didn't. If he wanted to destroy our relationship for all time, I'd h
ear him out and hold the words tight inside me. That way, I'd remember how he'd broken my heart and remind myself never to love like that again.
"None of them," Kerok bowed his head and crossed arms over his chest, "Not one of them could do even a quarter of what you can, Sherra. I never wanted to be King." I watched his back move as he drew a deep breath.
"I thought I could live with the eventual rule of my brother," he went on. "That I could work around his pettiness and greedy, self-serving ways. I intended to command the army and continue the fight to keep Az-ca whole. I had no idea that Az-ca was cracking all around me, and that everything would change so swiftly I'd have no way of dealing with it."
He turned toward me, then. "Without you, not only would I have died at my brother's hand, but Az-ca would be destroyed." Dark eyes searched my face. "Even if all my previous escorts were alive and holding shields around me for protection, Az-ca would still be destroyed. Of all those women, I truly loved only Grae—until you came along. Grae calmed the fire within me. You—you build that fire so hot it could destroy the planet."
"What are you saying, Kerok? I thought this would end in my leaving you for all time." My voice cracked on the words.
"If you leave me, I will be destroyed. I've lost Hunter—he doesn't recognize me, now. I can't lose you, too, and I almost made that happen."
The anguish in his voice weakened my knees and made my breath tremble. If I'd been standing, I probably would have fallen. When he stepped to my side, I struggled to rise.
Instead, he pulled me up and into his arms, before stepping us to our bed and showing me how hot the fire within him really was.
Doret
"Tea, Hunter." I wrapped his hand around the cup while he blinked at the warmth invading his fingers from the pottery mug. "Lift it up, like this," I helped him lift the cup to his mouth.
"Smell the tea? You remember that, don't you?" I asked gently. "Sip," I begged. "Taste the tea and remember."
The scent made his brows draw together and a frown crossed his face—something in him knew it, but he couldn't connect it to its name. "Sip," I said again, making smacking noises with my lips, then helping him get the cup closer to his mouth.
He drank—and blinked. Then drank again. He remembered the taste of it. "Tea," I said. "Tea."
When I pulled the mug away, I watched as his hand dropped, and then went to his chest, as if fumbling for something.
"He's looking for his scrap of paper," Sherra breathed. Somehow, she'd come into Hunter's room and I hadn't noticed, I'd been so focused on getting him to drink.
Please tell me you think he'll get better, she sent mindspeak while sitting next to me on the side of Hunter's bed.
I don't know, I replied, and pulled her into a hug.
Sherra
"Briar, will you take these things and leave them on the table beside Hunter's bed?" I handed several scraps of paper and two pens to her.
"You think he'll remember writing?" Briar looked hopeful.
"I hope so." Without thinking, I pulled her into a hug. Her eyes were round with surprise when I let her go.
"You're like family," I struggled to find words. "All of you here," I gestured with a hand.
"That's the kindest thing I've ever heard," Briar whispered.
"It's only the truth," I said. "And, if you can find the time, then sit and have a cup of tea with Hunter, or just talk to him. If there's a way to bring him back, I think that's the way to do it."
"I hope you kill the one who did this to him," Briar mumbled.
"I hope the same thing," I agreed. "And we're working on that."
"I'll go now. Is there anything you'd like me to bring you on the way back?"
"I have to go to one of the training camps," I told her. "Cole and I are working with the troops today."
"What about the King? Will he need anything?"
"He and Barth are meeting with Armon and a few others in the garden this morning. I figure they'll want tea after a while."
"I'll see they get it."
I waited until she walked out of my study before stepping to the training camp in the King's City. Cole and I had three days to get troops ready to attack Kaakos.
Kerok
"Are you still mad at me?" I asked Sherra. She'd just walked out of the shower, dripping wet after a long day training troops.
"I don't think so. Should I be?" Her mouth tugged into a slight frown. I wanted to kiss it away.
"In all that happened last night, I never said I was sorry. And I am." I moved forward and took her face in my hands before leaning in to kiss her. "I've driven myself crazy all day because of it," I admitted when I pulled away.
Dark eyes searched my face, before she leaned her forehead against my shoulder. "I'm getting you wet," she sighed, but didn't move.
"I don't give a fuck," I said.
"The towel is behind you—on the sink."
"Still don't give a fuck."
"You intend to dry me off with your clothes?"
"Yes." I pulled her tighter against me. "There's something you should know before I let you pull my damp clothing off. Slowly, please."
"What's that?" Her head tilted so she could kiss my cheek.
"I chose my heir today, to fill in while Hunter is incapacitated."
"Who? Armon? Someone else?"
"It's you," I told her. "You have a good working relationship with everyone that matters, and as for the Council, they're too afraid of you to do anything stupid. I signed the decree this afternoon, with Barth, Armon and a few others witnessing. It's locked in the vault, now, and Barth has a set of keys."
"Nothing is going to happen to you." She tried to pull away. I didn't let her.
"You don't know that," I said, resting my cheek against her hair.
"I won't let it," she said. "Don't even think about it. Hunter will get well, too, and then we can tear up that decree."
"When that happens, I'll let you tear it up yourself."
"Fine."
"Fine." I kissed her, then, and she did remove my clothing. Slowly, as requested.
Ny-nes
Kyri
"They're coming in two days. Doret says so," I told North and Garkus the following morning. North barely dipped his head in acknowledgment; a light appeared in Garkus' eyes. He wanted to blast someone, that was easy enough to see.
"I think they're almost ready to send the last plane to Az-ca," North's feet shuffled on dusty, rough concrete as he turned toward the high, narrow window. He'd created that window, I knew—the original bunker had been completely buried and needed no windows.
"I think we should take our friend Garkus, here, to the facility and let him destroy it. To work off excess energy, you understand," North went on.
"When?" Garkus rose from his usual seat on the floor against the wall, dusting off his trousers afterward. He'd cleaned the spot earlier before sitting. For such a large man, he was surprisingly fastidious.
"Tomorrow evening," North said. "Before the troops from Az-ca arrive the next day. Kaakos will be furious—especially after I send him another note, saying I'm responsible. All his efforts will be pointed inward, then, and he'll not be watching his borders so carefully."
"His troops are scattered across the river, looking for you now," I pointed out.
"And that's exactly what I wanted to happen."
"I'm so pleased everything is working according to your plan, then." He hadn't bothered to tell either Garkus or me just what his plan entailed, and it made me angry.
At least Merrin was dead; the people fleeing from Kaakos' troops were singing North's praises for eliminating the raver and his warrior-priests. At least the regular army couldn't fry them where they stood if they weren't cooperative.
"Kyri. Her words always seasoned with sarcasm." North actually turned and smiled at me. There was a time when that smile may have melted my heart. I'd never trust that again.
He'd lied and tricked his way to where and when he was, now, and then refus
ed to help when it was needed most. That brought Adahi's final death to mind, and I was the one to turn away this time.
You're thinking about him, aren't you?
You think I'd tell you?
It cost us before.
It cost me before, remember. Adahi was my friend. I can't say the same about you.
If he hadn't told you, he began.
I'd have found out another way. We both know that.
Adahi was my friend, too.
You had a fine way of showing it.
Don't throw that in my face. I made my plans. You took it upon yourself and attacked too early.
Because I thought you were dead. How's that for an excuse?
Fuck.
Yes, fuck. Fuck for all time. Fuck to the universe, and especially to you.
Not all the mistakes are mine, you know. You thought you could do something with—well. Only it all turned out badly, didn't it?
Yes. I fucked up. Rub that in a little harder, all right?
I'd turned away from him. I hadn't realized he'd come up behind me until his hands gripped my shoulders. I jumped.
"We own this—you and I," he said softly, his breath fanning tendrils of hair at my temple.
"And it is as bitter as hell," I replied.
Anari
"Ready to go again, young ones?" Cole asked as we ate breakfast in his small kitchen. "Most of my people will be coming with us, today, to train with the others. They may be chosen to go to Ny-nes when the time comes."
"I love training," Kyal grinned before stuffing half a sausage in his mouth. "Do you think the King will let us go with them, when they attack Ny-nes?"
"I can't say," Cole shook his head. "I'll ask Sherra. Perhaps she'll know the answer. You must understand that war is not pretty," he went on. "Terrible things happen."
"Like when Merrin took us and killed our parents?" Laren growled, his words bitter. "We saw villagers die, when things didn't go his way. Those kinds of terrible things?"
"Yes, and some may be worse. I will tell you what Kyri told me many years ago, when I began training," Cole said. "Never let revenge cloud your mind. A clouded mind can get you killed."
Laren blinked at Cole for a moment before turning to me. I dipped my head in a slight nod. What Cole said made sense. We had to stay focused, because our lives depended on it.
Black Rose Queen: Black Rose Sorceress, Book 3 Page 27