“Come, and we shall not harm you,” one said, swinging its broadsword in an arc.
“The Overlord misses his bride,” said a second.
Suddenly, the one in the center clattered to the ground, a pile of bones, an arrow protruding from its decaying rib cage. Another thudded into the demon on Rayna's left as Mina appeared and nocked a third arrow. The final Da’ Gammorn rushed Rayna. She blocked its attack with Coer's knife, but its sword knocked the blade from her hand. She swung her claws at its chest. The Da' Gammorn's icy fingers closed around Rayna's wrist, twisting her arm behind her back. She screamed as it forced her in front of its body, shielding itself from Mina. The demon's sword hovered a hair-length from Rayna's neck.
“The Overlord wants you alive,” the Da' Gammorn's rancid, too-cold breath beat on Rayna's temple, “but we will kill you if we must, wolfkind.”
Mina did not lower her bow, but she did not risk loosing another arrow, either. Sweat trickled down her forehead. Rayna met Mina's unblinking, river-water gaze. Silent communication passed between them. Or so Rayna hoped. She formed wolf, the Da' Gammorn's sword shaving a few red hairs from her neck as she slid past the blade. An eagle-feathered arrow whistled over her, hitting the demon's throat with a snick. Rayna leaped onto the Da' Gammorn's sword arm. They toppled. Rayna tore into the demon's wrist to keep the weapon from Mina as she sprinted toward them, dagger in hand. She plunged it into the shrieking Da' Gammorn's heart, and it collapsed in a cloud of dust.
The white bones of the fallen Da’ Gammorn shone in the rising sun. Their mounts, crumpled in unnatural positions, looked as if they had been dead for days. What would any travelers stumbling upon the scene think? How would they explain the ancient finger bones still clinging to broadswords now rusted and broken, and the four dead horses sprawled around them? Rayna wondered if they ought to bury them. But as she approached the remains, she couldn't force herself any closer. The residual evil was tangible, like air that still buzzed after a thunderstorm. Every instinct told her to leave them to rot in the cold dawn sun.
Mina swung her yew bow over her shoulder. Her river-water eyes were not laughing now, but rather, were staring past Rayna at the carnage.
“You said they were ... demons?” Despite her freckles and youthful, heart-shaped face, Mina looked much older than before, as if the morning's experience had aged her.
“They’re called Da’ Gammorn. It means Glorious Dead in ancient Maenoren. They were people once, or at least the bodies were. They were possessed by demons.”
“And the horses?”
Rayna considered that. “My friend who warned me about the Da' Gammorn told me they could possess the bodies of the dead around them, too. I suppose when we destroyed the riders, it severed the power over the horses, leaving them as they were before.”
Mina cleaned her dagger in the dewy grass. The Da' Gammorn didn't bleed, but a thick black ichor stained the blade. “Why were they after you?”
Rayna did not respond right away. Part of her searched for another lie, but she had lied enough already. Mina had saved her life twice now, earning Rayna’s honesty. “I was supposed to marry the Overlord of Maenor.”
Mina’s brows flew upward, but she did not interrupt. They trudged through sphagnum moss and up a rocky, bracken-lined hill.
Rayna sighed. “Fenear and Maenor were in the process of brokering a peace treaty. To finalize the alliance, Rhael wanted to wed a Fenearen—me. I agreed. I thought I was being brave, selfless, but I was a fool.”
“What happened?”
“It was all a ruse. Rhael took me from Fenear on someone else’s orders, as part of a deal he'd made. He had planned to kill me, but I escaped.”
“On whose orders?” Together, they walked toward the climbing sun. Skylarks chattered to one another from the heather.
Rayna suddenly realized that Mina, a Kyrean, might have some answers. “A Kyrean's. A man called Councilor Terayan. Have you heard of him?”
“Have I heard of him?” Laughter returned to Mina’s lips. “Have I heard of Councilor Tallis Terayan of the Kyrean High Council? I have ears, and they work, so aye, I have heard of him.”
“He’s famous, then?”
“Or infamous, depending on who you ask. He’s one of the five most powerful men in the Republic. What by the gods may I ask did you do to warrant his wanting you dead?”
“Nothing! I've never met him nor heard of him until Rhael’s Kyrean guests mentioned him.”
Mina pursed her lips. “A mystery, then.” She paused. “If you escaped Rhael, why are you here? Shouldn’t you have gone back home?”
Rayna thought of Channon. “I wanted to, but there’s something I need to do first.” It had been a month since Channon's disappearance, and she had only just begun her journey. Guilt weighted her shoulders, and her stomach roiled.
“What do you need to do?”
Rayna hesitated. She'd chosen to give Mina the truth, but the idea of voicing what had happened to Channon because of her crushed the words in her throat. “I have to go far north into the Sylrian Provinces.”
“That’s hundreds of leagues away. Besides the Sylrians, if there are any left, are savages, Rayna.”
“So am I,” Rayna reminded her with a pointed smile.
“Noted, but if you wanted their help to protect Fenear, they’re basically extinct.”
“That’s not why I'm going there.”
Mina huffed impatiently. “Why then?” When Rayna said nothing, Mina shrugged. “Fine. Be mysterious. But if you're planning on going north, we'll need supplies.”
“We?” Rayna tried and failed to hide the hope and gratitude in her voice.
Mina stopped, leaning against a rowan tree. “I saved you from that bear, and you saved me in the swamp. Then I saved you from those… Dor Gamar things. The way I count it, you still owe me, and I don't let debts go, Wolfie.”
Rayna rolled her eyes, but relief flooded her. They kept a brisk pace on through the moors which gradually evened into plains, interrupted by the occasional fragment of forest. They did not meet anyone, and though they sometimes passed the remnants of a fire, hoof prints, and other signs of life, none were recent. Few Kyreans had settled anywhere near the Peninsula.
“Mina,” asked Rayna after they had forded a muddy creek and Mina started east, “where are you going?”
Mina sat on a fallen oak, tugging off her waterlogged boots. “Kanton. Areytown's closer, but the people of Kanton have no love for the Council. It's a good place to lay low. We can get supplies for the journey, and you can tell me what you're after.”
“Supplies? Mina, I don’t have time to stop for supplies. I can kill whatever food we need.” Channon had already been gone too long, and even though they had defeated the four Da’ Gammorn, Rhael would send more. She needed someone who knew the Kyrean Republic, but could not afford to slow her pace.
“We'll need more than squirrel meat if you’re going to the Sylrian Provinces. We’re only weeks from winter as is, and the farther north we travel, the colder we'll be. We need proper supplies: hareskin coats, gloves, boots that aren’t molding—unless you fancy dying of exposure.”
Rayna shook her head. “I won’t need any of that if I’m in wolf form.”
“Well, some of us have only the one form,” Mina scowled, “and besides, this isn’t Fenear. You’re bound to be noticed, even if we travel remotely. We don’t have wolves in the Republic. You might pass for a dog, but a huge red dog wearing a pack will draw attention. If the wrong people realize Councilor Terayan wants you dead, it will be safer to blend in by staying in human form as much as possible. So we need supplies, Rayna.”
Rayna sighed. “All right, fine, as long as this doesn’t take long.” After a moment, Rayna asked, “Are you from Kanton?”
“No, but I used to work there.”
“Where are you from?”
“Glarioun.” Mina turned her attention to her boot laces. “It’s a farming village northwest of here.”
&n
bsp; “Why did you leave?” Rayna sat beside her, dumping the water from her own boots.
“Adventure.”
“No one leaves home for the novelty of it.”
Mina stood. “My father didn’t know what to do with me after my mom died.” Once Rayna was ready, Mina led the way over the mossy ground. “I was sixteen, so he tried to marry me off. He found a man in our village, Finnegan, who had a reasonable amount of land. Finnegan was ten years older than me, and I knew him well. He was gentle and kind and dull. My father thought I would be pleased.”
“But you weren’t.” Rayna came to Mina's side. Her profiled face lacked its usual smile. Perhaps she shouldn't have pried.
“No. I wasn't ready to marry—I don't think I'll ever be—so I told my father I wouldn’t wed him, but he said it was already decided.”
“That's awful!”
Mina paused. They'd found their way to a denser forest patch and leaves crinkled beneath them. “No. It's what parents do; they decide what they think is best and then set you on that path. Don’t tell me your parents never did?”
Rayna scuffed her boot in the leaves. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Razorn's blood, Rayna. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
“Don't be. I wasn't alone. My aunt and uncle raised me.”
“Then didn’t your uncle ever order you to do something you didn’t want to?”
“When I was younger, he would give me guidelines, but that was all pup stuff. When I was old enough to make my own decisions, he and my aunt just–”
“Let you make them?” Awe tinged Mina’s voice.
“Well, yes. Even when he shouldn’t have.”
“Sounds like a good man.”
Rayna swallowed the lump in her throat. “He’s the best man you could ever know.”
Mina smoothed back her halo of curls. “Well, my father was not your uncle, so I ran away. Never looked back. First I went to Halmstead before deciding I wasn't the capital type and headed east. I got to Kanton, stayed there for a year, and then left again. Now I've met you.”
As night descended, the currents blasted strong scents to Rayna’s ever curious nose. Fire, bread, sweat, meat, and the unpleasant tang of wine alerted her to their proximity to Kanton. Mina and Rayna approached the gated wooden wall.
“That's strange,” said Mina. “The guard should be here.”
As she spoke, a figure appeared outside a small thatched shelter on top of the wall. The man, clad in scuffed leather armor, brandished a sword and torch.
“Who goes there?” His husky voice was tainted with drink.
“Just two travelers,” Mina said breezily.
“Really?” he drawled. “How am I supposed,” he hiccuped, “to know you’re telling the truth, m'lady?”
“Earl, let them in! They can’t be worse than the filth already in here!” A woman’s voice echoed from the guard’s shelter.
“Shut your trap, Trynse!” He shook his head. “Women…”
“Tell me about it!” Mina called.
Earl laughed drunkenly. “You four are all right. Come in!” He turned to the pulley, raising the gate to let them pass.
Kanton proved an unsavory place. Even if Rayna had been unfazed by the dart whistling past her head, men and women brawling in the streets, and the reeking horse filth, she would have found Kanton unbearable. The streets were lined with dilapidated taverns and stalls, with moldy thatch passing as roofs. Flea-ridden dogs scampered down alleys and fought over scraps. She had thought Maenor different from Fenear, but compared to Kanton, Anhorde could have been the Southern Densite.
“Ah.” Mina inhaled. “It’s good to be back.”
“Where to?” Rayna asked as several of the nearby dogs watched her from the corner of their eyes. She rumbled a growl too low for the Kyreans to hear, scattering the wary dogs.
“The Stag and Arrow, of course! That's where I used to work.” Mina dragged Rayna through the mud and loose cobblestones.
Rayna attempted to ignore the stares, leers, and appraisals from various people they passed. “So were you the stag or the arrow?”
Mina laughed. “I was the bait.”
As Rayna pondered that, they approached a squat, two-story building. A faded red sign hung crookedly from a hinge above the door. Craning her neck, Rayna read:
The Stag And Arrow
Girls Mead Wine Meat
“Joss still hasn’t fixed the sign, bless him.” Mina reached for the door handle in the shape of a stag head. “Let me do the talking. I’ll need to borrow money to get the supplies we need, so this could take some negotiating.”
Rayna did not like the sound of that. “Can’t we just steal what we need and go?”
“Look at you, Wolfie, an outlaw at heart. I'm all for a little sleight of hand, but given your situation, don't you think it’s best we keep a low profile and avoid arrest?”
Rayna huffed impatiently, but nodded.
“Good. Here we go!” Mina opened the door, walking into the fire-warmed tavern.
“Aye! Is that–it is! Mignonette!” A man cried out Mina’s full name. Most of the patrons jumped to their feet. The music stopped. Someone uttered a curse and threw a fork, just missing Rayna's ear. The tavern erupted into chaos before the utensil clattered to the floor.
“Duck!” Mina rolled across the floor toward a table. She pushed it over, creating a barrier between herself and a large crock of stew that came next. The patrons threw punches, winging more projectiles. Rayna crawled to Mina’s side.
“What in Wolnor’s name is going on, Mina?” Rayna yelled over the clamor.
“Remember when you chose not to tell me about those riders?”
“Yes!” A live chicken sailed, squawking, over her head.
“We're even now!”
“Huh?”
“When I left Kanton, I owed a lot of people money, and broke a few hearts.”
“Then why did we come back to ask for more money?”
“It was months back. I thought they’d be over it!”
Rayna and Mina peered over the table as one man hurled another in their direction.
Rayna ducked. “I don’t think they’re over it!”
“Perhaps not.”
“What do we do?”
Mina looked at her. Abruptly, she stood, arms raised.
“WAIT!” A stern voice issued from behind the bar. Everyone stopped. All eyes turned to the bartender as he moved to meet the newcomers. Rayna rose as well. The man smelled of alcohol and spices. His short, portly body, ginger hair, and scraggly beard fit well with the rest of Kanton's residents.
“Joss!” Mina cried as if she were happy to see him. “It has been too long!”
“So,” Joss wiped his sweaty hands on his dirty apron, “you’re back, Mignonette?”
“I’m back!” Mina closed the distance to the man. Rayna followed with some hesitation.
“And…” He held out his hand expectantly.
“I brought a friend. Rayna, Joss. Joss, Rayna.”
He looked up at Rayna, moving closer to scrutinize her. His gaze shamelessly ran up and down her frame. With a grunt of disgust Rayna stepped behind Mina, though Mina’s shorter stature did little to hide her.
Turning back to Mina, Joss raised his hand higher. “And…”
Mina stared vacantly at him. “And….?”
“And you owe me money, and not just me, either,” he growled as other bar patrons moved beside him.
“Right!” Mina searched her pockets. “Oh look, I'm fresh out!”
Joss’s face reddened. “Look, girl, you pay what you owe with interest,” he closed one blubbery hand around Mina’s collar, “or I’ll take what’s owed and more.” Joss grinned his rotting smile.
Rayna drew her knife, pointing it toward Joss.
“It’s all right, Rayna.” Mina smiled with gritted teeth. “Joss, I'll work off the debt. We'll stay until I earn what I owe you all.”
Rayna lowered her weapon, but did not sheath
it.
Joss considered, rubbing his chin. “ All right, you'll work your old position, and every cent, even your tips, goes toward your debts!”
“You’re a generous fellow, Joss. I’ve always said that. Since I already owe you eight silver–”
“Ten, plus interest.”
“So what’s a few more copper? Get us a couple of ales and some coney, extra rare for my friend here.”
When the ale and food arrived, Rayna sniffed the drink, recoiling. Mina took a long draught of hers.
Rayna leaned forward. “I don’t have time to wait while you work off your debts, Mina.”
“Relax.” Mina forked a carrot. “I only said that to calm down Joss. I’ll work tonight, keep enough of my earnings from Joss to buy what we’ll need, and then we can sneak off tomorrow.”
Rayna agreed, but the idea that she was eating in a warm tavern while Channon suffered made her feel like she had failed him all over again. She didn't know how long she had to save Channon, or how Fenear fared. But the aroma of the rare meat attracted her. They tucked in. Before Mina was half done, Joss appeared. “All right! Enough chat. Wench, it's time for work!”
“If I could just–”
“NOW!” He grabbed her by the shoulders, yanking her to her feet. Rayna growled and stood, too.
“It’s all right, Rayna. I’m going, Joss!” she snapped as Joss pushed her through a door next to a platform.
Rayna ate in nervous silence, wondering what was taking Mina so long to reappear. In her distraction, she did not notice the tall man in a black hooded cloak approaching until he sat in Mina’s chair.
“Hey there, Red. Alone tonight?”
She wrinkled her nose. The ale was strong on his breath.
“No,” Rayna said, taking in the stranger's easy grin, high cheekbones, and flashing gray eyes. He was not much older than she. “I’m with a friend of mine, and you’re in her seat.”
“A friend, huh? Don't worry, there's enough of me to go around.” He pushed up his sleeves, revealing black inked marks running up his forearm. “Tell me, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?”
Hex Breaker (The Fenearen Chronicles Book 1) Page 18