Banishing that instruction from her mind, Erin touched the Stone, praying it would not obey Seth’s wish.
Chapter 13
BLOOD BROTHERS
Seth looked around expectantly. The Stone had flown them to a lavish room in the Fortress where Marlthas paced a path across a buffalo skin mat. Terah watched him with unblinking eyes. Seth guessed it was Marlthas’s office. He waited for Erin to choose a seat, then sat on the floor on the opposite side of the room to her. Ridden with guilt for her bad behaviour, she stared at him with abject longing. He didn’t notice. With every sense alert, he watched Marlthas, looking for some sign to indicate if he could be Reuel’s chosen helper.
Marlthas knelt down and petted Terah’s head. “If only my sons gave me half the loyalty you do.”
The door swung open and Rustus shuffled into the room. “You called for me?”
Marlthas looked up, scowling. “I did. Where the hell is my useless son?”
“Which one in particular?” Rustus drawled.
Marlthas snorted. “Good question. Caleb.”
Rustus lowered himself onto a leather sofa, pulled a soiled handkerchief from his pocket, and blew his nose before answering. “My nephew and Sophia had words after the sacrifice. He left her on the hill – murder blazing in his eyes, as one of my informants so colourfully described it.”
“A fight, you say. Then it’s better that he stays away from Sophia until he’s cooled off. Seeing him foaming at the mouth won’t help my succession.” Marlthas slammed his fist on his desk, knocking over a small portrait of an attractive dark-haired girl.
Rustus picked it up with a black-gloved hand and waved it mockingly under Marlthas’s nose. “Pray tell, when did mouth-froth ever stand between a Shadow Lord and his Norin bride when it came to securing the succession?”
Marlthas’s snatched the picture away and thumped it down onto the table, unaware of the spittle collecting at the corner of his mouth.
“Who’s that girl?” Seth asked Erin.
“Can’t you read Marlthas’s mind?” Erin asked. Marlthas’s thoughts were coming to her loud and clear.
“Transmission’s breaking up.”
“That’s strange.” Erin smiled at Seth, delighted for an opportunity to make up for her lapse of temper. “Her name was Cassandra. She was Marlthas’s wife. But she died in childbirth. Having Daniel. It absolutely shattered Marlthas. And he still loves her, even today.”
“He loved her? But I thought love didn’t happen here.”
Erin was about to rummage around in Marlthas’s thoughts for an explanation, when Rustus spoke in a patronising voice. She stopped to listen. “Your succession? My, my. The perils of being Overlord. Without an heir there is no Shenaya. But with an heir, you run the risk of having your throat cut by your own son.” Rustus mouth gaped open into something resembling a grin. “Haven’t we already been through this delightful drama, brother? Nineteen years ago when Caleb was conceived?” He didn’t wait for Marlthas to answer. “So why put yourself through it again when you have two healthy sons? And a fine nephew – should anything befall Caleb and Daniel.”
“Two sons who refuse to swear allegiance to me.” Marlthas shook his head as if he still couldn’t believe it.
“At least we know where Jared’s loyalties lie,” Rustus smirked. “He had no trouble pledging himself.”
“Yes. I always thought I had Jared’s commitment. Until this morning, that is, when the Norin Ambassador burned holes in my ears, complaining about Jared’s gross breach of the marriage oath.”
“Gross breach of the marriage oath?”
“Do you always have to repeat everything I say? Now drag your lame arse out there and tell Jared to keep his hands off Caleb’s Norin whore.”
“Come,” Rustus sneered. “Jared is too smart to be interested in Caleb’s wife. You know as well as I do that he has no inclination for marriage.”
“A lack of inclination you indulged by letting him slip through the Emblem Picking. Twice.”
“That I indulged? What about you? You supported it too. We both know that if it weren’t for the rules of succession, you’d have claimed Jared as your own son years ago. And we also both know that you’ll do anything to keep him on your side.”
Marlthas’s face darkened. Clearly he didn’t like his brother pointing that out, but he made no effort to deny it. “Jared may be more committed than my traitorous sons, but that doesn’t explain why he made a public display of handing Sophia Caleb’s fertility doll.”
Rustus’s confident outrage evaporated and his gaunt face blanched.
Marlthas smiled at his reaction. Few things gave him more pleasure than spoiling Rustus’s day. “Personally, I have no problem with Jared’s hatred for Caleb. In fact, I encourage it. But to show that kind of contempt for the Shadow Lord in public weakens us all. The only way Shenaya has survived this long is because Reuel’s Sons have always presented a united front to the world – regardless of how much we despise each other.”
Without saying a word, Rustus pulled himself up and rushed out of the office.
Hiding his disappointment from Erin that the Stone hadn’t been more explicit in revealing Reuel’s helper, Seth followed Erin and Rustus from the room. Once in the passage Rustus took off with surprising speed to the Lord’s Hall, where a year before Caleb had broken Talitha’s heart. The room was packed with people eating breakfast. A quick scan of the mirrors revealed Jared sitting at a table next to Sophia. Jared leaned in close, almost brushing her cheek with his lips; then he whispered something that made her smile. Rustus gasped. He snapped an order to a watching Pledged and the boy marched over to fetch Jared. After smiling at Sophia, Jared sauntered to his father as if he had been expecting the call. Rustus grabbed his arm, and led them all up a flight of stairs leading to the battlements.
Believing he and Jared were safe from listening ears, Rustus hissed, “What are you playing at, Jared? Accepting Sophia’s doll! Have you lost your mind?”
“No. I can assure you it was all very calculated. I made sure your spies had an uninterrupted view. I’m just surprised it’s taken this long for the report to reach you. Your system obviously needs an overhaul. Maybe you should kill a few more people. That usually opens the communication channels, doesn’t it?”
“Jared! I kill people so you can sleep peacefully, knowing you’ll have a Family to rule after my death. But I could wipe out thousands and it would do no good if you choose to undermine us all in public.”
“My, you are in a mood this morning, Father. Clearly all the giddy emotions evoked by the marriage sacrifice have gotten to you.”
Rustus pulled his hanky from his pocket and snorted into it. “Jared, do you, with all your talents, really want to spend the rest of your life living like me?”
“With chronic sinusitis? Not really.”
Rustus’s thin lips quivered. “Never forget, Jared, that you are not Marlthas’s son –only his nephew. That inescapable fact has set your place in the succession, regardless of how much we might wish it to be different. Even though Caleb and Daniel are nothing but a pair of renegades, you will always rank lower than them.”
Jared’s eyes narrowed. “I think I’m aware of this.”
“Are you? Perhaps, my arrogant son, it’s time you looked at the example of my life to see what this all means. I am better Overlord material than both my brothers put together. But did that matter? Not at all! That idiot Marlthas was still crowned Overlord. And Alfred still got the title as Lord of the Armoury. Even though he can hardly tell the difference between a spear and hand axe!” Rustus slapped his hand against the battlement wall. “All my life I’ve been condemned to bow and scrape to them as the mere Lord of the Household! Is this what you want? To be forced to follow in my footsteps?”
Jared rolled his eyes. Clearly he had heard this rant before. “Father, have you actually noticed yet that we’re losing the war in Ammarod?”
It took Rustus a moment to follow the change in dir
ection of the conversation. Then his eyes flashed and Jared knew he’d hit a nerve. It was just what he wanted. “What does that humiliation have to do with the succession? Or that Norin whore?”
“Who would have thought that after running away, the Ammarods would turn and fight? Brilliantly too. And all for a machine that signals the arrival of the Shadow Lord that will free our world from Reuel’s Curse.” Ignoring his father’s outraged gasp, Jared added, “Has it ever struck you how much the other Families hate us?”
Rustus looked around, alert to eavesdroppers. He saw no one – even though he looked straight through Seth and Erin. “Jared, enough! You know better than to talk about this. And just be thankful I had the power to pull you out of that carnage.”
“Thankful? You’re joking, right? I’m supposed to just hang here, like daddy’s little boy, while the other Pledged, my friends, get slaughtered.”
“Then perhaps I should have left you there, up to your arse in a crocodile-infested swamp, fighting for your life. At least it would have protected you from this madness with Sophia.” Rustus clawed his hyena cloak closer around his frail shoulder.
“It’s been an interesting twelve hours.”
“Stop changing the subject!”
“I understand that Marlthas is looking for a grandson.”
Rustus’s eyes widened in surprise. “Where did you hear that?”
“Like I’d tell you. Anyway, you’ve got to wonder about it all.”
“All Overlords want grandsons to ensure depth in the succession,” Rustus replied, now watching Jared carefully.
“Pff!” Jared snorted. “You are full of jokes today. We both know that Overlords have such a healthy fear of Gideon’s Prophecy that if they could they’d avoid the whole procreation bit altogether. Just a shame Norin girls are so stunning. In every sense of the word.” Jared chuckled. “I trust you saw Caleb squirming under Sophia’s gaze this morning at the sacrifice.”
Rustus looked over his shoulder again, then whispered, “Jared! The Gideon Prophecy! How dare you talk so openly of that heresy?”
“I think Marlthas is afraid Caleb is Gideon’s boy,” Jared said as if his father hadn’t spoken. “You know the one I mean. The one who overthrows Shenaya. In one year’s time, if the Predictor is correct. So what will succession matter then?”
Rustus let out a long, tired sigh. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Send me back to Ammarod so I can do what I was born to do.”
“Never.”
“Father, I’m the best strategist Shenaya has. I live for the kill. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it.”
“No. And don’t ask again.”
Jared fixed hard green eyes on Rustus. “Well, in that case, you leave me no choice but to amuse myself with Sophia . . . while we wait for Caleb to overthrow Marlthas.”
“Are you blackmailing?” Rustus hissed through clenched teeth. “Forcing me to send you back to Ammarod so you can die like some vermin Pledged?”
“Vermin Pledged!” Jared tensed with anger. “Rats! Funny, they’re becoming a recurring theme. Listen, Father, those so-called vermin Pledged are out there dying so you can sleep peacefully, knowing you can kill whoever you want, whenever you want.”
Rustus brushed his wispy hair away from his face. “Jared, for once in your life, just answer my question. Are you blackmailing me?”
“Yes, Father. I’m blackmailing you. And I won’t stop until I win.”
“So Sophia–”
“Sophia is just another weapon in my arsenal. I’ll do whatever it takes with her until you let me go.”
Rustus leaned in, breathing into Jared’s face. “I will not be blackmailed into sending you to certain death.” He paused. “Son, perhaps it’s time I told you my aspirations for you. I have always seen you on the Shenayan throne. And I intend to put you there. No matter what it takes.”
Jared closed his eyes and sighed. “You just don’t get it, do you?”
“No, Jared. You don’t get it. I will crush Caleb’s head before he can even think of destroying what we have here. Daniel’s too. And with them dead, the throne will be yours. Now, until that happens, keep your hands off Sophia.” Rustus clutched at his cloak and hobbled away, leaving Jared alone with Seth and Erin.
Phineas stepped out of the Fourth Dimension. Ignoring Erin and Seth, he spoke into Jared’s head. “I understand why you want to leave here, Jared. Who wouldn’t? But do you have the right to risk Sophia to achieve it?”
Jared’s face went into lock-down. Phineas, I’ve gone to great lengths to warn Sophia about the dangers of her indiscretions. If she still chooses to play with me instead of doing her stuff with Caleb, why’s it my problem?
“Jared, please. This is not like you. Don’t use Sophia. She doesn’t deserve it.”
Jared had the decency to wince. Phineas was right, and he knew it.
Phineas also knew that Jared knew it. “Trust me, you will live to regret using her.”
Marlthas wants a grandson. He won’t hurt Sophia until he gets one.
“Yes, Jared,” Phineas sighed. “Marlthas wants a grandson. But you have conveniently forgotten that Sophia has a sister. Kezeah can make babies just as easily as she can.”
Phineas disappeared.
Erin and Seth immediately looked into Jared’s head to find out more about his relationship with Phineas. But Jared’s mind jumbled too erratically for them to get a fix on any solid answers. They persevered until finally a thread of memory began to crystallize.
Jared, Caleb, and Daniel had met Phineas at Pledging Camp. Illusive, was how Jared described him. Never part of the Defenders who ran the camp, Phineas had been a background presence in the boys’ lives until they turned twelve. Then he had become almost a fixture, appearing when Caleb, Jared, and Daniel were alone. They knew there was something odd about Phineas, because none of the other boys, or the Defenders, ever saw him. Then Phineas invited them to meet with him regularly in a cave in the cliff-face above the lake. Sneaking off to keep their rendezvous became the highlight of the boys’ final year at Pledging Camp.
Until Phineas vanished. They had waited for him at the cave for hours, but it was a Defender who finally appeared, telling them that the stranger named Phineas would not be coming back. Soon thereafter Jared began to hear Phineas’s voice in his head, and he knew Phineas was dead.
And it was all Caleb’s fault. He killed Phineas as sure as I’m standing here. And he had the cheek to blame me. Almost flinching from the sorrow and anger the memory triggered, Jared focused his mind on his campaign to win Sophia away from Caleb.
“I’ve got to get to the bottom of this,” Seth said with some irritation.
“Seth, I almost think us ferreting around in his mind stirred those thoughts about Phineas. Maybe you should dig deeper.”
Seth took a step closer to Jared. “Sorry for the invasion of privacy, buddy, but I’m wading into your head with a spade.” He closed his eyes and concentrated hard.
Erin watched a fascinating array of emotions flicker across Seth’s face. She was instantly jealous – more than she’d ever been in her life. She wanted to scream that it was so unfair that Seth could do this and she couldn’t.
“Get a grip, Erin. You read Marlthas’s mind when Seth couldn’t.”
Stephanie’s blunt voice, spoken from the Fourth Dimension, calmed her. Erin took a deep breath, fighting the monster inside her. She finally got it under control enough to risk speaking to Seth. “Tell me what you’re finding. I’m dying to know.”
“They’re at Pledging Camp. Before Phineas vanished. Jared and Caleb are running away together. Hiding from everyone. Even Daniel. They’re laughing. Like friends. Real close friends. Daniel and Phineas are calling, looking for them. But they’re ignoring them. They’ve climbed a tree. They’re talking about stuff Phineas has been teaching them. He told them they’d been friends before their births. They think it’s so cool. That’s why they ran away. So they can become blood bro
thers. Gross. Do people still do that?”
“What?” Erin asked.
“Cut themselves and mingle blood.”
“Ugh! With AIDS? No way.”
Seth frowned. “It’s all going wrong.”
“Tell me.”
“A week later Phineas died. They’ve hated each other ever since.”
“But why? What happened? Don’t leave me hanging.”
Seth closed his eyes to continue his search; but Jared suddenly remembered Sophia waiting in the Lord’s Hall for him. He bolted down the stairs, breaking the connection.
“All I got was that Jared loves Phineas. Like the father he always wished he’d had.” Seth gnawed his fingernails, feeling closer to Jared than he could ever have imagined possible.
Seeing Seth so sad hurt Erin. Determined to break his mood, she swung herself up onto the battlement wall, dangling her feet over the edge. Then she patted the crenulation next to her. “Come. Sit. I’m sure there’s an important clue we’re missing.”
Seth’s heart faltered. “Hey, are you crazy? There’s a massive drop on the other side. You fall, you die.”
Erin laughed. “I’m not scared of heights.”
Heights didn’t scare Seth either, but with her weird moods, he couldn’t think straight with that huge drop gaping below her. So he lied. “I’m afraid of them. Get down. Now.”
Although Erin didn’t believe him, she allowed him to yank her off the wall.
“Let’s sit in the shade. The sun’s mean.” He slid down, leaning against the battlement.
She sat next to him, pressed against his side. For a moment she thought he’d shift away, but he didn’t. She closed her eyes and pleaded, Stephanie, please don’t let me mess this up.
“Gotcha. I’ll smack you on the side of the head if you so much as think about hitting him.”
“You said we’re missing a clue. Explain.” Seth pulled a water bag, some fruit, and a strip of dried meat Phineas had given to them out of the backpack. He spread it before them like a picnic.
Pledged Page 20