She couldn’t have been older than ten springs—maybe younger.
The girl raised her head and regarded them with wide, tearful eyes. D’Jenn hissed a surprised intake of breath over Dormael’s shoulder. Her eyes were sunken, one of them darkened by an old bruise, and there was dried blood on her lower lip.
“Who—” She sniffled, rubbed her nose. “Who are you?”
Her voice was strained, as if she’d been crying for hours. Dormael was at a loss for words. He looked to D’Jenn, who regarded the youngling with concerned eyes but said nothing. Dormael took a deep breath and looked away from her bruises.
“I’m Dormael, young one, and this is my cousin, D’Jenn.” Dormael glanced toward the door. “There’s no reason to cry, now. We’re not here to hurt you.”
I’ve never been good with children. Gods—what is going on?
The girl’s eyes darkened. “That’s what he says every time. Not here to hurt me…but he does.”
She pushed herself further away, cowering toward the wall.
Dormael winced. “Listen, young one—what’s your name?”
“Bethany.” She watched him like a cornered animal.
Dormeal tried to smile. “Well, Bethany, you don’t need to worry. We’re not with him.”
“You’re not?” Her expression was suspicious.
D’Jenn’s eyes blazed with anger. “Not even close, kid.”
“Then who are you?” She glanced between them and scooted away, though she had nowhere to go. “What are you doing here?”
Dormael ground his teeth and glanced again toward the door. “Do you want to leave this place, Bethany?”
Dormael felt D’Jenn’s sharp gaze at the back of his head, but he ignored it.
“Leave?” There was a glimmer of hope in Bethany’s voice.
Dormael gave her a sharp nod. “Yes. We’ll take you with us when we go.”
D’Jenn let out a small, frustrated sigh, but didn’t speak in opposition.
“But he said he would kill me if I tried to leave.” Bethany sniffed, a fresh bout of sobbing welling up in her voice. Her shoulders threatened to start shaking again, but Dormael cut in before she could erupt.
“We won’t let anyone hurt you.” Dormael kept his voice even, his tone soothing. “He can’t hurt you if you’re with us. You can trust us.”
Bethany’s face twisted with confusion, but she stifled her crying. Dormael made to put a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder, but reminded himself of what had happened to her—or might have happened to her. He kept his hand to himself.
Footsteps rang in the hallway, bringing everyone’s attention to the door. D’Jenn was at the window in an instant. He opened it to the cold night wind and started climbing through, his Kai singing in the ether. A pair of voices drifted through the bottom of the door, coming closer with every step.
D’Jenn made an irritated gesture. Hurry!
Dormael checked his facemask and gave Bethany a plaintive look. “Stay here, little one, and don’t tell anyone we were here. We’ll be right back to get you, alright?”
He turned to rush for the window, but Bethany’s voice brought him up short.
“Promise?”
Dormael turned and looked in her eyes. “I promise.”
Dormael! D’Jenn’s tone was urgent in Dormael’s mind. Let’s go!
The voices reached the door, and the lock clattered with motion. Dormael turned and rushed for the open window, gathering his magic. There was no time to climb carefully over the windowsill—the people in the hall were already at the door. Dormael tucked his legs, grabbed the sill, and hopped through the window into the night.
He had a moment of wild panic as the air yawned beneath him. His guts crawled to his throat as he fell, feet scraping against the stone. He enacted D’Jenn’s climbing spell on instinct, gathering power at his hands and feet.
His right hand was the first to catch, and it slid along the stone surface of the tower, ripping off bits of skin before it jerked him to a stop. His body slammed against the tower, knocking the breath from his lungs. Pain screamed through his arm, and he stifled a cry as he got his feet onto the wall. Jaw clenched, he started the climb back to where D’Jenn hung against the stone.
Dormael’s shoulder protested every movement. The skin on his palm burned with each contact, and he left bloody handprints on the stone. Coming level with D’Jenn, Dormael pressed his chest against the stone, settled his weight on his legs, and let his body tremble with unspent terror. D’Jenn put a comforting hand on his shoulder and conveyed his relief with a look.
Dormael let out a tense breath and focused his emotions, taking his right hand from the wall to clutch a pained fist to his chest. His shoulder throbbed with the movement, sending dull shocks of pain from neck to elbow. Voices drifted through the cracked window, which D’Jenn held in place with a steady effort from his Kai.
“…was seen entering the South Gate, sir. A member of the City Watch brought in the report an hour past. According to the guardsman, the girl was unconscious and accompanied by a Sevenlander.”
“A Sevenlander?” the second voice echoed. “How did a westerner get involved with her?”
Dormael and D’Jenn shared a grim look.
“The guardsman had no explanation. The Sevelander said she was his sister.”
“Can’t the fools tell the difference between their own countrymen and bloody Sevenlanders?”
“Apparently not, sir.”
“I thought Tamst put an arrow through her. She should’ve been half dead.”
“According to the guardsman’s report, she was unconscious. The westerner said she had a drinking sickness.”
There was a long pause.
“A drinking sickness, Lieutenant? A drinking sickness? Have you ever seen someone bleed from a drinking sickness?”
“No, sir.”
“The City Watch must be full of blind men and fools.”
“Yes, sir.”
“He’s sure the girl matched our description?”
“He described a striking red-headed woman with a pair of swords on her saddle.”
“Striking? Is that what he said, Havram?”
“His description was vulgar, sir.”
“I see. And the Sevenlander? What do they remember about him?”
“He had a guitar, sir, and some kind of long, odd-looking beard.”
Dormael cursed inwardly.
“At least now we know for certain she’s here, and we have a lead.”
“Yes, sir.”
A rustling sound came from the room, like the noise of a man buckling on a sword.
“Send orders to Segeant Mildon. Have his men detain every Sevenlander they can find. Tell them to be gentle—we don’t want more blood on our hands. Send someone to Whiskey Row and find out if any Sevenlanders have disembarked in the last couple of weeks. If we find this westerner, we’ll have the girl’s trail, if not the Baroness herself.”
Dormael stifled another curse.
“Yes, sir,” the subordinate replied.
“I want to talk to this City Watchman myself. I’m going to the South Gate to learn more about this little encounter. And wake that bloody fool in the hallway! Put him on the night patrol, and make sure he doesn’t take his cloak. A night in the cold wind ought to teach him not to fall asleep at his post.”
“As you say, Colonel.”
Bethany sobbed in response to the Colonel’s raised voice, and there was a dangerous pause in the room. Dormael tensed, readying himself to climb back through the window, but D’Jenn stopped him with another hand on the shoulder. Dormael clenched his jaw in frustration but heeded his cousin’s warning.
“And you keep your little mouth shut. Do you hear me?”
Another pause.
“I said do you hear me?”
Bethany’s voice may as well have been a squeak. “Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Better.”
<
br /> Another pause, pregnant with danger.
“Come, Lieutenant. Send a runner to find—”
The door slammed and the Colonel’s voice was gone. Bethany started sobbing in the wake of the Colonel’s visit. Her voice leaked through window and stabbed Dormael in the heart.
The cousins waited a ten-count and slipped back into the room.
Bethany gasped as they came back over the windowsill. Most of the room lay untouched, but the Colonel’s sword was missing. D’Jenn moved to the door and put his ear to the wood. Dormael rushed to the Colonel’s trunk and threw it open, pawing through the clothing inside.
He found a thick blue tunic made of wool and handed it to Bethany. Wool would keep her warm even if it got wet, and given the thunder rumbling outside, rain would soon fall. She took it from him and gave him a nervous look while he put the Colonel’s trunk back in order.
“Go on. It’s cold out, and you can’t…well, you you’re not wearing that anymore.” He gestured at the nightclothes. “We’ll find something better soon, I promise.”
“How did you…” She looked at the window in confusion. “You jumped out the window!”
“We’re wizards,” D’Jenn explained. “You’ll be safe with us. You have to hurry, though, little one.”
Bethany blinked at D’Jenn. “You—you’re wizards? You can use magic? Real magic?”
Dormael nodded.
Bethany pulled the woolen tunic over her head, her expression full of cautious hope. She climbed to her feet and worried at the sleeves—which hung well past her tiny hands. Dormael reached out to help her, and she shied away. After a tentative exchange of nervous glances, though, she let him roll up her sleeves. Dormael moved with care, hoping he didn’t spook her.
Gods—she has bruises everywhere!
Bethany climbed down from the bed, wincing as she upset some unseen injury. Dormael summoned his Kai and touched her with a gentle finger of magic, liftin the dried blood from her lip. It floated away from her lip and disintegrated to fine ash. Bethany held a finger to lip and gasped, regarding Dormael with astonished eyes.
D’jenn turned away from the door. “They’re gone, but I’ll wager someone will be up to replace the guard on the door any moment. We can’t go out through the castle.” D’Jenn eyes flicked to the girl. “Not now, anyway.”
D’Jenn’s voice spoke into Dormael’s mind. Is this a good idea? Are you sure you want to take the girl? What if she’s his daughter?
Dormael scowled. If she is, he deserves her even less. She wants to leave—you heard her.
Aye, I heard her.
Dormael crouched to look in Bethany’s eyes. “Alright Bethany, we’ve got a climb ahead of us. I’m going to need you to be brave. Can you do that?”
Bethany nodded, her eyes full of fear.
“Good.” Dormael glanced at the window. “I’ll need to carry you, and I’ll need you to hold on as tight as you can. If you trust me, Bethany, I swear to the gods I’ll get you out of here. Can you do that?”
Bethany nodded again.
“One more thing.” D’Jenn stepped forward, looking down at the girl. “We’ll need you to be quiet. No noise—not even a scream if you’re hurt. Understand?”
Bethany took a deep breath, the oversized tunic clutched in both her tiny fists. “I can be quiet. I can be very quiet.”
D’Jenn nodded and moved back to the window. He gave them both a hooded glance before climbing back over the windowsill and disappearing into the night. Bethany watched him with a fearful expression.
“Alright Bethany.” Dormael removed his facemask and tied the kerchief around his injured hand. “Climb on my back and hold tight.”
Bethany closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and moved around behind him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed his ribs with her legs, crossing her ankles around his waist. Dormael stood and tested her weight—the girl was as tiny as a bird. He let her shift her weight until she was comfortable and moved for the window.
“Alright, little one.” Dormael pulled magic from the ether. “Close your eyes and hold tight.”
She buried her face in his shoulder. “Alright.”
Using D’Jenn’s spell once again, Dormael climbed through the window and into the night. Bethany trembled as the wind whipped the tunic over her body, though Dormael didn’t know if it was in response to the cold or her own fear. He’d have split his consciousness and channeled some heat to keep her warm, but with the pain in his shoulder and hand, using the climbing spell took all his concentration.
D’Jenn got halfway up the tower and leapt for the inner wall, sailing across the gap in a smooth, slow arc. Dormael watched him and grimaced—there was no way he could make the jump with Bethany on his back. He’d have to get higher.
“Are we almost down?” Bethany mumbled into his shoulder.
Dormael grunted with effort as he pulled them toward the tower’s roof. “Not yet.”
Her arms and legs clenched tighter.
Dormael’s shoulder protested with every pull, and his bloodied hand stung with each touch of stone. His legs shook with anxious spasms, and he focused on the rhythm of using the climbing spell—right hand, left foot, left hand, right foot—until the lip of the roof was just above his reach. With a powerful effort, he hauled himself and Bethany over the ledge at the top of the tower, hugging tight to the sloped tiles. Lightning flashed overhead, and thunder cracked in response. Dormael crouched on the tiles and started pulling Bethany’s arms free.
“I need you to let go and climb into my arms.” Dormael steadied the girl as she settled her feet on the sloped roof. “It will be easier to make the jump that way.”
“Jump?” Bethany gave him a horrified look. She glanced around to the surroundings spread out beneath them. The lights of Ferolan were sprinkled through the valley below, and the sea churned just past the castle walls. The wind picked up, whipping her tunic around her legs, and Bethany crouched lower to the roof. “Really?”
“Really.” Dormael fought his dizziness at the height and rose, gesturing for the girl to climb up. “We have to go, Bethany.”
Bethany closed her eyes, nodded, and climbed into his arms. Dormael was intensely aware of his balance as he gathered her close. He looked to the walls of Ferolan Castle, judging the distance to the walkway of the outer wall. He could make the jump to the inner wall just fine, but his height was great enough that he could probably make the outer wall with enough magical power.
Dormael took a deep breath. “Here we go.”
Dormael took a springing step and jumped as hard as he could, sailing into the empty air. He pulled magic from the ether, counteracting his and Bethany’s weight, and arrested their fall. The rain poured down, sudden and cold, raising a whisper against the stone like ghostly applause. They descended in a slow arc toward the battlements of the seaward wall, the rain pummeling them the entire way.
Bethany tightened her grip until Dormael thought he would suffocate, but she made no sound as they floated toward their target. Dormael’s guts tightened as the inner wall came into sight, but they slid over it without coming too near the battlements.
When the outer wall appeared out of the haze, Dormael’s chest tightened with alarm. They were hurtling toward it, traveling through the air faster than Dormael had anticipated. For a brief, terrifying moment, he was sure they were going to miss the walkway and topple over the side, but a quick adjustment to his spell brough them in line with the battlements.
They landed on the walkway with a teeth-jarring impact, and Dormael had to roll as the momentum pushed him from his feet. He wrapped a bubble of thickened air around his body to protect Bethany from the hard stone and held her tight to his chest. His back slammed against the outer parapet, knocking the breath from him, and the two of them came to a stop. D’Jenn crept up to them along the walkway, materializing out of the rainy night.
Are you alright? D’Jenn glanced back to the tower. I thought you weren’t going to make it. I w
as getting ready to grab the two of you with my Kai and lift you up.
I had to get higher in order to make the jump. Dormael extricated Bethany’s arms from his neck and checked her over. She had so many bruises on her arms and legs that it was difficult to tell if she’d garnered any during the tumble.
D’Jenn nodded to the girl as Dormael checked her over. “You didn’t scream once. Good job, little one.”
Bethany replied with a nervous smile.
“You there!” A voice from further down the wall cut through the noise of the rain. “Stop where you are!”
Dormael struggled to his feet, helped by D’Jenn’s offered hand. Two guards ran toward them through the pouring rain, bared steel held in ready hands. Dormael cursed and pushed Bethany behind him.
“Eindor’s bloody eye.” D’Jenn grimaced at the running guards. “You know what we have to do. They’ll remember we were here. They’ll remember our faces.”
Dormael sighed and nodded. “Aye, I know.”
“It’s not unheard of for a guard to slip from the battlements and fall in the rain.” D’Jenn raised an eyebrow. “The walkways are slick tonight.”
“It’s a real tragedy.”
Dormael took a deep breath, coaxing more power from his Kai. The magic spun around him in a wild storm, touching each raindrop and returning tiny musical notes in his mind. His veins were full of lightning, his mind overwhelmed with ringing music.
Dormael reached out and clenched his fist, wrapping one of the guards in the invisible grip of his Kai. The man let out a choked exclamation until Dormael tightened his grip, cutting off his air. Dormael raised his arm, raising the man from the stones with it. The guard hung in midair, eyes full of terror. D’Jenn’s Kai sang in the ether, and the second guard rose a moment later.
I wish this wasn’t necessary.
Dormael flicked his wrist and sent his guard hurtling over the side of the wall toward the churning sea below. D’Jenn’s man went a moment after, their screams swallowed by the thunder and rain. The wall went quiet as they fell, and the rain filled the silence with its wet cocophony. Bethany gaped at the place where the men had just stood.
“Come on!” D’Jenn gestured for everyone to follow and trotted toward the spot where he and Dormael had climbed the outer wall. Dormael grasped Bethany’s hand and dragged the stunned girl in D’Jenn’s wake. She came without protest.
Child of the Flames (The Seven Signs Book 1) Page 12