I am with you, Son of Truth.
Caleb opened his eyes. The heat expanded, and the chill evaporated from his body. He shoved himself up off the floor. He legs shook beneath him. He steadied himself against the wall and looked down at the sword in his hand. Pale golden light shone from the blade. Veritas, Velyni had called it. Sword of Truth.
He tightened his grip and looked across the room. His body felt stronger. I can’t, but You can.
Velyni coalesced near the bed, her red eyes studying him from her swirling dark mass.
Caleb lifted his sword. “You do not belong here.”
She laughed at him. “What? Finally found your power?”
Caleb advanced toward her. “You do not belong here. You have hurt many, and now the Word has decreed that you are to go back to where you came from.”
“I do not think so.” She began to spin and dissipate, but this time Caleb caught her with the tip of his sword. She screamed and rematerialized. She shot back across the bed, the gauze fluttering in her wake. “Don’t you realize you are throwing everything away? The Word will give you nothing in the end!”
“He has already given to me.” Caleb walked around the bed. “He has given me life and a new beginning.”
Velyni flowed to the left. “But that will not defeat me. I am more powerful than you.”
Caleb kept his focus on the Word. “True. But you’re not more powerful than Him.” I can’t, but You can. The Word’s light filled him, driving away Velyni’s words. He followed her, his sword ready.
Something was slowing her down. Her speed from earlier was gone. Almost as if she were limping away from him, if smoke could limp. “Please.” There was a desperate tone in her voice. Her body moved in and out of light like a shadow. “Please don’t send me back!”
Caleb shook his head. “It is time.” The words came from deep inside him, from the same place where the knowledge to draw the sword from his mark had came from.
He lifted Veritas and swung at Velyni. She tried to dodge, but the light contacted with her swirling body. She screamed. Her body began to fade and shrink. The sword rattled in his hand. Sweat broke out along his forehead. His arm ached. Caleb clasped the hilt with his other hand and held on. He closed his eyes and focused on the Word.
I can’t, but You can.
Velyni’s scream rose pitifully, then withered and faded. The sword rattled less, until it completely stopped. Silence filled the air. Warm desert wind flowed from the nearby window, brushing away the chill from the room.
Caleb slowly opened his eyes.
He could see nothing. He looked around, expecting to see her shadowed figure dancing around the room. Instead, the room was dark and empty. He swung the sword around, using its light to check the corners and the bed.
The dark presence he had felt pressing down on him had vanished.
Velyni was gone.
Caleb sucked in a deep breath and fell to his knees. “Oh, Word, thank You.” He had done it, really done it. For the first time in his life, he had accomplished something outside himself. He had let go, and the Word’s power had vanquished Velyni through him. He lifted the sword in his hand and stared at it. Amazing. He truly was a different man now.
Caleb opened his palm and moved his hand horizontally across his body. The sword disappeared into his mark, until all that remained was a pulsing light across his palm. Then that too faded. He placed his hand, palm down, across his thigh. Only the moon’s light now lit up Corin’s bedchamber.
There was still so much he needed to learn about being a Son of Truth, about this power he possessed, and about the Word. But how? Where did such knowledge exist? Even the book he had found back at Lady Meira’s library had had very little information on—
His head snapped up. Nierne! Of course! She would know. Or at least she would know where he could look. Maybe he would travel with her to Thyra himself. Surely the Monastery would have something about the Eldarans. Or perhaps another library. After all, Thyra was known as the city of knowledge—
An orange light appeared in the doorway. Caleb looked up and tensed. No, no, not now. He scrambled to his feet and looked at the window. Could he make the jump?
He dashed across the floor. The sound of boots echoed from the other room. He grabbed the sill and looked out. Dark gardens spread out below. It was a two-story drop, farther than he would like to jump.
Caleb looked to the right and the left, hoping to find something to grab—
The room lit up behind him. Boots stopped. Caleb dropped his head and hissed softly.
“Caleb? What are you doing here?”
Slowly, he turned around and sighed. He took a step back from the window and bowed. “Lord Corin.”
30
Two guards stood along the far wall out in the main room, each with a candle in hand. Corin stood in the doorway to his bedroom. He was dressed in a deep blue silk tunic and dark pants, with a thick gold chain around his neck. His hair was swept back, revealing a sprinkling of grey along his temples. His eyes narrowed in Caleb’s direction. Many had remarked that he and Corin looked more like brothers than cousins. Caleb only hoped his family connection to Corin would now save him.
Corin walked into the bedchamber. “What are you doing here, Caleb?” There was no amusement in his voice, no light inquisitiveness. Only harsh accusation. He looked around the room and his face darkened more. “And where is Velyni?”
Caleb crossed his arms. “She is not here.”
“The guards outside my door said she was here.” He continued to walk around, looking. “And you haven’t answered me.”
“I came here looking for something.” Caleb watched his cousin circle the room.
Corin stopped and looked at Caleb. “You came to my room to look for something? And just what was that?”
Caleb stared back. No pretending now. The truth was going to come out anyway. Might as well let him know. “I came looking for Velyni, but I didn’t know it at the time.”
All expression washed away from Corin’s face, leaving behind a façade of stone. “Why?”
“Milord.” Caleb bowed his head. “I do not think you knew your mistress.” He looked up. “She wasn’t human.”
Caleb waited for some kind of response: a laugh perhaps, or a denial. Instead, Corin lifted one eyebrow. “Yes, I know.”
Caleb blinked. He straightened up, his mind racing. Corin…knew? And he had let that thing live here, in the palace? “I don’t understand.” Caleb rubbed his face with his hand. His head was starting to hurt now. “You knew? You knew Velyni was, was…” he threw his hand up into the air. “Well, I don’t know what she was.”
“What do you mean ‘was’?” Corin stared at Caleb. “What has happened to her? What have you done to Velyni?”
Caleb laughed ruefully and turned away. What could he say? That he drew a glowing sword out of his hand and hit her with it. It sounded absurd, even to him. He looked over at Corin. “I took care of her.”
A red hue crept up Corin’s neck, spreading across his cheeks. “What do you mean you ‘took care of her’?”
Caleb looked down at his palm. The glow was gone. Only a white mark remained. “I sent her away.” At least that’s how he understood it. She had begged him not to send her away. Apparently he had. “Permanently.”
“Sent her away? What do you mean sent her away?” Corin pointed a finger at him. “You have no authority to banish anyone. What made you think you could send her away?”
Caleb let out his breath. “I didn’t banish her. She’s simply…gone. She’s no longer here in the Lands.”
Corin’s eyes went wide, and his nostrils flared. His face turned full red. “What. Do. You. Mean?”
Caleb hesitated then held up his hand so Corin could see it.
Corin’s gaze dropped from his face to his hand. “What the sands is that?”
“It is a mark, given to me by the Word.”
“The Word? Wait, you don’t mean…” Corin shook his head.
“She said they were gone, that there were none left…”
Like lightning, Corin’s words hit Caleb with a blaze of understanding. He stared at Corin as if seeing him for the first time. He lowered his hand. “You knew, didn’t you? You knew what Velyni was.”
Corin threw his hand into the air. “Of course I knew.” He glared at Caleb. “She has guided me ever since I became the ruling Lord of Temanin. She also guided my father before me, and our father’s father before that. She has supported the Tala family for over a hundred years. You have no idea what you’ve done!”
Caleb turned away, sick. This thing had guided his family? Suddenly it all made sense. Caleb looked back at Corin. “That’s where my assassination assignments came from, isn’t it? All those people…Delshad…” He had been killing for that thing all this time! “And that’s also why you attacked the north.”
“Yes.” A look that was between rage and panic filled Corin’s face. “And Hont, and countless other smaller provinces. And we were in the midst of forming an alliance with Thyra.”
“Thyra?”
Corin looked past him as if in a trance. “All of the Lands would have been under Temanin rule within my lifetime: Thyra, the White City, even Nordica. All I needed was Velyni’s power and skill, and it would have been mine.” He slowly raised his hands, his gaze upward. “The most powerful lord in Temanin history.” A small crazy laugh escaped his lips.
Caleb stared in horror. What had Velyni done to his cousin?
Corin’s laugh turned into a gurgled cry. He looked back at Caleb, a wild look on his face. “Until you came.” He pointed a finger at Caleb. “Until you destroyed it all!”
Caleb froze. He knew Corin was not going to let him go, not after what he had revealed. He glanced at the window from the corner of his eye. With the guards at the door, he would need to jump. It was his only option
Corin’s voice came flowing back. “…are no longer a Tala. I strip you of your title, your family, and your wealth.” His voice rose in pitch and strength. “You have destroyed our source of power. And for that—” He stared directly at Caleb, with no remorse on his face—“you will be executed!” Corin looked back at the men waiting in his main room. “Guards!”
Caleb twisted around. He grabbed the sill and leaped over. Air whistled through his hair. He kept his body loose, ready. His feet touched the ground. Like a spring, his knees bent, and he leaned forward. The momentum carried him forward. He rolled with it, tucking in and hitting the ground with his shoulder. Up he came, with one foot and one knee on the ground.
He took a deep breath. His mind felt like it was hitting a stone wall over and over again. He couldn’t believe Corin’s revelation: that the smoke-like monster Velyni had guided his family for years. And Caleb had never known.
Caleb darted through the trees. Commander Arpiar had been right! Mark my words, Caleb. I saw it with Lord Tarin, and now I see it in his son. This kind of lust for power never dies out, not until every soldier is dead and every land conquered.
Velyni had used his family to destroy those around them. And through the process, had killed many of their own people. A memory of the Hershaw Pass flashed across his mind: dark and narrow, with bodies of both Temanins and northerners piled up on either side. And for what? Nothing.
The memory made his stomach clench.
Caleb reached a corner of the palace and slowed. He looked around and saw the balcony from his own rooms. Most likely Corin was sending guards there now.
Leave. Find a way out of the city.
But what about Nierne?
She’ll slow you down. You don’t have time. You owe her nothing.
No! Caleb shoved those thoughts aside. He knew exactly what would happen to a woman like her, left here in the palace…
He made a run for the wall, grabbed the balcony’s edge, and heaved himself up. Over the railing he went, landing lightly on his feet.
He was done leaving people behind.
31
A shadow appeared on the balcony. Nierne turned from where she had been pacing in front of the bed, her heart surging up her throat. Before she had a chance to hide, the figure walked in.
Caleb.
She let out her breath. “Caleb, don’t scare me like— What happened to you?” Dried blood coated his upper lip, chin, and cheek.
He looked at her, his face serious. “Nierne, we are going right now.”
“What?”
Caleb walked past her toward the chest next to the wall and flung it open.
“Why?”
He reached inside the chest and grabbed a sheathed dagger, coin pouch, and two vials and placed them on the floor. The vials he stuck in the pouch, and he pulled the cord over his head. He strapped the dagger to his side. He looked at Nierne and pulled out a dark cloak. “Put this on.” He turned and held it out to her.
“What’s—”
“Now!”
“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
A panicked look spread across his face. “We don’t have time!” Caleb glanced at the far door. “I promise I’ll tell you once we are away from this place.”
“No.”
“Sands, Nierne!” Caleb grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward the balcony. “I won’t leave you here. Corin will interrogate you, or worse, if you stay.”
“Interrogate?”
He was already pulling her out onto the balcony. “Yes. I have a death sentence now.”
Nierne sucked in her breath. “You killed someone, didn’t you?”
Caleb stopped and looked at her. “No. I did not.”
“Then how did you get the bloo—”
“Trust me.”
There was a muffled shout and pounding at the door inside the room.
“Trust me.” Caleb looked straight into her eyes.
Nierne stared back. Trust a potential madman and murderer? Or face whatever was at the door.
Trust.
Could she do it? Could she trust Caleb? No more wavering. Choose now.
Nierne let out her breath and grabbed the cloak. “I need my sandals.”
“Hurry.” Caleb headed toward the railing.
She pulled the cloak on and grabbed her sandals, which were by the changing screen. She saw her wash rag on the table and grabbed it too. Wherever they were going, Caleb would need to wash that blood off his face. She joined him on the balcony. The pounding behind them grew louder.
“Can you jump?”
“Yes.” She tugged on her sandals.
Without waiting, Caleb flung his legs over the railing and jumped.
Nierne finished putting on her other shoe and followed. Her feet hit the ground with a soft thump. The force reverberated up her legs and back. Before she could fully straighten, Caleb grabbed her hand and ran.
Once they reached the trees, Nierne looked back. Two men were standing on the balcony where they had been only seconds ago. Caleb pulled her into the shadows.
He used the trees and bushes to mask their escape away from the palace. Nierne followed, fear and adrenaline surging through her. Her whole body tingled. The only thing she could feel was his hand in hers. From far away, she could hear men shouting. Many of them. Whatever Caleb had done, he had stirred up a wasp nest of danger. And now they were after Caleb—and her—like an army of wasps.
She gripped his hand tighter.
A minute later, Caleb slowed. Ahead, through a break in the trees, Nierne could see the palace wall. He stopped a couple of feet away and dropped her hand.
“Place your hands and feet exactly where I do.” Caleb didn’t look to see if she had heard him. He reached for a small hole just visible in the stone above his head. He placed his foot on a nodule protruding from the stone near his knee. Then he lifted himself up. Caleb continued to climb, using almost invisible juts and indents in the stone to scale the wall.
Nierne frowned. She wasn’t sure she could do that. But she would try.
She stepped up to the wall, spotted the
small hole Caleb had first used, and reached up. Her fingers found the opening. Looking up, she felt for the nodule with her foot. There. A couple of seconds later she lifted herself up.
She searched for another indent or nodule. Her face grew hot. She found a small hole with her fingers, thrust them inside, and felt for a grip with her foot. She was halfway up the wall and panting when she heard movement through the brush behind her. Her body began to shake. Nierne looked up at Caleb. “I’m…not going…to make it in time.”
“I’m not leaving you.” Caleb held a hand down toward her. “Grab my hand.”
She pried her fingers out of the hole and grabbed his hand.
“Ready?”
She nodded.
He gave one strong pull. Nierne scrambled up the wall, hoping she hadn’t caused too much noise. At the top, she crouched and focused on her breathing.
Caleb brought his face near hers. “Stay quiet,” he whispered. “I’m going to jump over the wall. You follow once I’m down.” Without waiting for an answer, Caleb turned and jumped over the other side of the wall. His feet barely made a sound as he landed.
Nierne watched in wonder. Caleb reminded her of a cat making its way through the darkness. No wonder he’d been so successful as an assassin.
He looked back up. “Now your turn.”
She turned and began to lower herself down. Her fingers slipped. With a gasp, she fell—
Caleb caught her. She looked into his face and found him grinning at her in the lamplight from a nearby lamppost. “That’s one way to get down.”
“I’m not accustomed to climbing walls,” she said and twisted out of his arms. He let go of her with a soft chuckle. She stumbled forward and found her footing. What a graceless goose she was!
Voices on the other side of the wall made her freeze. She stared at the stone barrier. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they were definitely close. What if the guards came onto this side of the wall and discovered them?
Caleb’s breath brushed her cheek. “All right, now follow me.”
Nierne pulled the hood from her cloak over her head and turned. She wanted to be away from the palace as quickly as possible.
Son of Truth (Follower of the Word) Page 32