“How can you be sure the Ancient’s weren’t watching us when you told me?” Silver asked.
“Kate is keeping them busy by creating a disturbance in a Council meeting.” Romana replied. “I worry about her, if she has to keep protecting me like this she is going to get into trouble.”
“Somehow I think Gaillean won’t let that happen.”
“But what can he do against the others?”
“I think our father is craftier than you think.” Silver replied. “Go now. Only remain corporeal on your isle. The wytches are the only ones you should trust.”
“You’re beginning to sound like Marten. Goodbye, Keenan.” Romana added, not bothering to say goodbye to Silver; the girl probably knew that Silver didn’t bother with announcements of departure.
With a breeze of the wind her sister, and her unborn niece, were gone and it was time for Silver to take care of the security risks.
“How did you find out?” She demanded of Keenan.
“Jerry is my spy in the palace.” Keenan replied. “He will tell no-one what he heard.”
Silver remembered the enthusiastic child from her days in the back of Romana’s mind. She couldn’t see him betraying the woman who had saved him as a child.
“Make sure of it.” Silver replied. “If anyone knows who isn’t essential, kill them.”
Keenan didn’t look surprised at the order. “So you share part of Romana’s soul?” He changed the topic.
“Mention it again, and I’ll cut off every extremity you have.” Silver threatened.
The thief’s hands flew up in surrender.
That was when she saw the demon flying above them.
“News at last.” She sighed, calling down the bird to rest on her arm. It was as big as a medium sized dog, but she held it up with ease.
“Discovery is found!” It cawed out. “Discovery is found!”
Instantly the hellhounds were up and alert.
“We’ll get Tommy then I’ll create a portal to the ship.” Silver instructed as she went into the Demon’s mind and recovered the location from its memories. “Finally, we’re one step closer to finding Alda”
She created a portal to Dalmorin sent everyone through. They arrived in the armoury.
“Find Tommy.” She ordered a nearby dwarf. “Bring him to me.” She turned to Keenan. “Armour up. We have to do this stealthily, if Alda or her crew realise we’re aboard the ship they’ll teleport the prisoners away.”
The ice-fey nodded, but left the room at speed rather than take any of the weapons made by the dwarves. He reappeared moments later with his hook swords and traditional fey leather armour that had scales of steel sewn onto it.
Tommy was quickly ready as well and Silver made a portal to the stern of the ship.
She and the thieves went through quickly, and came out behind a pile of crates in broad daylight. Silver glanced around the corner, counted the number of guards and signalled their positions to the others.
They crept across the deck, quietly slitting throats, breaking necks and strangling as they went. By the time they reached the bow, they had killed over fifty men and their silent kills continued as they worked their way through the ship. Several times Silver found evidence of Alda having visited the ship at least once, and when she touched a man with her blood he collapsed instantly.
They were all puppets, so soon Alda would notice that so many were dying, which meant they had to move faster.
By the time they reached Roan, Silver had taken to merely vaporising everyone she saw with pyro-demon fire.
Her brother was kept on the very bottom layer of the ship; he lay crumpled against the bars with shreds of his clothes around him. He had shifted to his other form, a large ocelot, at some point as she could see the fur left in places around the cells.
Before she healed him, she cut herself and let her blood drip down onto his skin. He didn’t react, but he was already unconscious so she hadn’t expected him to.
She dribbled a little demon blood from the phial she’d taken to carrying into his mouth before picking him up and summoning a demon to carry him through a portal and into one of the nicer cells in her dungeon.
Next, she looked around for anything that could possibly be Grandmother Black’s familiar.
“Have you seen any animals since we came aboard?” Silver asked. “Probably caged somewhere.”
“Nothing but rats.” Keenan said. “Why, are you looking for something in particular?”
Silver glanced around the hold, there were still several other prisoners down here and though she’d ignored all of the ones on previous levels in favour of finding her brother she bent down and began to smear her blood onto each one.
Depriving Alda of more followers was never going to be a waste of time.
They reached the deck before Silver noticed Tommy was carrying something.
“What is that?” She asked, looking at the weirdly squashed round basket.
“The animal you were looking for.” Tommy replied. “It’s a snake, and a very dangerous one at that.”
“Makes sense,” Silver grunted. “Hold onto it. Now that all of the prisoners are free of Alda’s taint I’m taking the ship back to the port. When we get back make sure word of its arrival reaches the palace.”
Tommy nodded and then gaped as Silver opened her biggest portal yet, and made it move towards the ship, swallowing it. But when it came to where to send it, she paused.
The entire ship reappeared in the deserted night time marketplace of Morendor.
Alarm bells rang as Silver created another portal and jumped through it, followed by both thieves.
“Did we just sail a boat into the main square of Morendor?” Keenan asked, laughing as they reappeared. “That is hilarious, how many hours do you think until they can move it?”
“Days.” Tommy replied. “They’ll have to chop it to pieces to get it down those streets without taking out all of the buildings. Can you imagine if they cut the mast and it fell into the palace grounds?”
They were laughing like crazy, and Silver allowed herself a small smile. “Get some rest.” She told Tommy, taking the basket from him. “Don’t let my brother see you. I don’t want him to know who’s got him.”
“Okay, I won’t.” He turned to leave, and Keenan followed.
“Wait, Keenan.” Silver said. “The agreement was you would shadow me. Tonight will be very educational.”
Keenan backtracked till he was facing her. “How so?” He asked.
“We’re going to find Grandmother Black.” Silver replied. “She will have moved from the last time I saw her, so consider this your first lesson on tracking prey.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
TWO HEADED SNAKE
“You have brought a visitor to me.” Grandmother Black said several hours later as another master assassin left with a seriously annoyed face.
“I have a shadow; he is part of a business agreement and of no consequence.” Silver replied. “I have found your familiar, how typical that it is a poisonous snake?”
“Did she bite you, little wytch?” Grandmother Black asked, “Not that it would even affect you, would it? You’d have to be mortal to feel her sting. But there are other ways to scar even a child of the gods.”
“You attacked me once,” Silver told her. “It would not be wise to attempt to do so again.” She’d realised the identity of her attackers the moment she realised the old woman’s powers were over souls. She’d been attacked by the spirits of the dead, which explained why when Theria and her brothers had come to help; the creatures had not been injured. “Tell me, were you under Alda’s control then, or did you merely wish to test me?”
“Would it matter to you either way? You know as well as I do that either way it was nothing personal. Unless due to your condition, the personal things are starting to affect you?” She cackled. “I see your soul and I see your sister’s. Merging is painful for you both, and even I cannot untangle the threads between yo
u.”
“That is none of your concern.” Silver brushed away the comments even as she filed away the information she’d just been handed for later, “We had an agreement. You will provide the information on Alda now that I have fulfilled my end of the bargain.”
Silver popped open the lid of the basket and watched as a two-headed snake emerged slowly, blinking a few times in the light before slithering towards the old woman.
“A few drops of your blood, if you would, Ancient-born.” Grandmother Black’s voice became even more of a hiss.
Silver carefully pricked a finger and placed a droplet on each head of the snake, then, with a final flick of her finger, she landed a droplet onto what was visible of the ghostly woman’s skin.
“No, I’m not under her control.” Grandmother black said as Silver placed the now sleeping snake on the chair. “Now, for the information you wanted: Alda does not like to be seen, in fact only three people in her inner circle ever talk to her. They even surface occasionally to do jobs for the puppeteer. Look for her half-brothers; all of them are of an alien race but they are disguised as beings of our world by Alda’s power.”
“How can I find them?” Silver asked.
“The thieves should be on the lookout for anyone in the palace receiving a letter bound in golden thread. That person is the brother.”
Silver felt like she’d been punched in the gut. Romana was staying at the palace, her baby easily accessible to anyone there. She turned to leave.
“Not so fast.” Grandmother Black replied. “Alda can control anyone within a certain distance of her. The only two who can get close enough to kill her are yourself and your half-sister. Even your familiar is vulnerable, and it won’t matter if they have been touched with your blood.”
Silver turned her head slightly and nodded before striding out, followed closely by Keenan.
“I want the thieves looking for that message.” Silver ordered. “I need to talk with the kingling, where is he?”
Keenan didn’t miss a beat as they strode along the streets with hoods drawn, heading for the palace.
“The king is overseeing the removal of the boat.”
He paused, grabbing a woman by the crook of the arm. For a moment, Silver thought he was wasting time, talking to a fairly average looking common woman, but then she saw the gold coin change hands and Keenan carefully lean down to speak into her ear. When he drew away, the woman nodded and hurried down a side street, abandoning the basket of vegetables she had been carrying. “The message will be located.” Keenan confirmed.
They hurried towards the town square, Silver refrained from just casting a portal in case it drew more suspicion. Alda couldn’t know they knew about her informant.
“When I see the king I’m going to cast a portal to the demonic realm.” Silver told Keenan. “There will be demons; you should not fear them. I need to be sure we cannot be overheard discussing these things with Marten.”
“Most people use a locked door rather than a different realm.” Keenan muttered. “But in this case I realise the necessity.”
They turned a corner and suddenly the half-demolished structure of Discovery loomed above them. Marten was standing next to the leaning ship, talking with a crowd of men who looked to be holding pieces of paper and gesturing wildly at the ship.
Without pausing in her stride she and Keenan walked right up to the guards surrounding the group. In seconds, she had pushed them aside and grabbed the king.
“Don’t struggle.” Silver whispered. “I’m only fulfilling my vow to Romana.”
She hoped her sister had shared with him the events of last night, and thankfully Marten promptly quit his wriggling just in time for her to cast a portal and all three of them to disappear through it.
The fifth world hadn’t changed since her last visit as she brought them all to the ledge overlooking Black Castle. Marten and Keenan were awestruck and equally frozen with fear as they watched her hellhounds patrolling and drilling below them.
“You have an army.” Marten sounded squashed.
“This is only one of the worlds.” Silver replied, “Now, we have more important problems. Romana is in danger. Keep her and yourself out of Morendor as much as possible because you have a traitor in your midst.”
Marten’s expression grew stony at her words and he replied with a single word. “Who?”
“We don’t know. I have the thieves working on it.” Romana replied. “Whoever it is is Alda’s brother in disguise. They’re the children of beings on another world so I have no idea what powers they have. I plan to follow the traitor to Alda. Keep everyone else away because even if they’ve been touched by ancient’s blood they will be susceptible to her control once within a certain distance.”
“How do you know all this?” Marten demanded.
“Grandmother Black told me.” Silver replied, satisfied with his look of utter surprise.
“You have both the assassins and the thieves under your thumb, an army of creatures beyond human comprehension and no mercy or compassion when you are bored. How do I know you won’t try and come after my city next?” Marten demanded.
Silver smiled. “Worried, little king? You shouldn’t be. I know the moment I get power lust the Ancients will have me put down like a dog. Until such a time as I’m strong enough to defend myself against them, there will be no invading any other castles.”
Marten’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t doubt that you have a castle, but I have no idea how you’ve managed to take over without anyone hearing anything.”
“Never you mind.” Silver replied. “Now run along, remember what I’ve told you.”
The kingling frowned, annoyed at what he probably saw as a lack of respect. Silver didn’t care; king or not, he was still an idiot and pitifully young in comparison to her. She opened a portal back to Morendor for him, shoving him through when he seemed to hesitate. When she closed it, Keenan gave her a strange look.
“What?” She snapped. “He was boring me.”
“You just kidnapped and returned a king all in the space of a few minutes.” Keenan muttered. “And you wonder why people don’t like you?”
Silver snorted. “I’ve never had to wonder. I’m not under the delusion that I have some kind of saintliness.” She created another portal. “Keep your eye out for that message, but I don’t think it will be coming for a while; we’re back in the waiting game. Alda knows that with Discovery shipwrecked in the town square all of her prisoners have been released and her safety is no longer guaranteed.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
A HUNDRED QUESTIONS
Roan stood in his cell, pacing – an annoying family trait that Silver was fortunate to have missed out on – when she walked into the dungeons.
“Talia?!” His eyebrows rose. “You’re my captor?”
“Uh, uh, uh, big brother.” Silver mocked. “That’s not my name now if you remember.”
His shoulders seemed to slump. “I know what we did was wrong but—”
“Wrong?” Silver demanded. “I can give you fifty million ways that everything you did was wrong! Yet where is the apology? No, I can’t hear one! You’re going to lecture me with how it was for my own good that you kept me prisoner for fifteen years! You tried to cut off my wings at one point!” The accessories flared outwards from her back in anger as she spoke. “What happened to the man who took all my punishments? Who begged our father not to hurt me and was forever on my side?”
Roan looked her in the eye and replied. “He couldn’t take the pain anymore. And it was his biggest mistake. The day I stopped protecting you was the day I lost the right to be your brother.”
Silver calmed somewhat at his confession. Weakness was a common failing; she shouldn’t have expected a better reason from her brother.
“Will you let me go?” He asked. “Endis will need the information I have.”
“Endis doesn’t have a clue of the extent of what is really going on here.” Silver dismissed Roan’s thou
ghts. “I only know because as of a few months ago I got a job.”
“A job?” Roan looked confused.
“My new father and his friends commissioned me to hunt down and kill Alda. If it goes well I may even get a promotion.” Silver didn’t know why she almost sounded proud.
“You’ve spoken to the Ancients?” Roan asked. “And they put you in all of this danger?”
“I was never into embroidery, Roan.” Silver reminded him dryly. “You knew that when you brought me those swords. I am a weapon, father made me one and you chose to let Endis ignore that.”
Roan was silent a while before he nodded. “What we did was wrong, I think I knew that all along, which is why I tried to be nice to you, talking Endis into letting you fly and leave the palace occasionally. I’m sorry for my part in keeping you like that. I just don’t want to lose you, none of us do. Even if you don’t start inviting us to your home for family dinners, try and come and talk to us once in a while. I can promise I will try and accept the real you, even if the others won’t.”
Silver was taken aback; she’d expected him to fight his side of the story to the end. But then again, Roan had always seemed to adore her just because she was his sister.
“Come with me.” Silver said softly. “Tell me what it is you found out, and I will take you back to Elvardis afterwards.”
She led him out of the cell and up to the living area in front of the fire. She heard rather than saw Keenan leave discretely as they entered, but she paid no mind to him remaining in the caves as she waved her brother over to an armchair.
“What did you find out?”
“I met Alda.” Roan confirmed. “She attempted to force her way into my mind; I won’t deny it was horrific, but I see you’ve removed her presence now and I am grateful. While I was her puppet, she revealed things to me. She planned to use me to create a war between our people and Marten’s. She said she was going to plant me in elven territory, make me say it was Marten who captured and tortured me, and then the two races would wipe each other out.”
“Tell me about Alda herself.” Silver commanded. “Her guards, how she dresses. Anything.”
Silver's Redemption (Soul Merge Saga Book 3) Page 22