Huntress Lost

by A. A. Chamberlynn

  Behind us, the other Grayfeathers all drew and notched their bows, and remembering that I had my own, I pulled it from the satchel attached to Brynwyn’s saddle pad.

  Silence for a couple of heartbeats, then a volley of arrows came at us. I winced, thinking of Brynwyn. But then Xavyr was there, a wall of vengeance, moving in a blur I could barely follow, cutting arrows out of the sky as they came for us. He moved with inhuman speed. From behind me came the sound of a dozen arrows loosed, and over my head flew our own wave of attack.

  My eyes scanned our surroundings. Where were our attackers hiding? The angle of the arrows didn’t seem high enough to be one of the towers or trees. There were some low buildings along the road ahead where someone could shoot from the roof. I thought I saw a flash of something along the eaves of one of the nearest shops, but then something hit the ground with a metallic sound and smoke exploded around me.

  Xavyr crouched down and punched his fist into the ground. The earth rippled and a shock wave moved out ahead of us. Magic tinged the air. I tried to pull my tunic to cover my mouth and nose but the acrid smoke raked down my throat. I coughed and staggered and shouts rang up all around me as the Grayfeathers dissolved into chaos. The horses shied away from the smoke, snorting in panic, and I was shoved along the road away from Xavyr and the others.

  I was saved from my assailant only by Brynwyn stepping on my foot, which caused my leg to buckle. As I stumbled, the whoosh of a blade passed overhead. Blood sprayed over me, but it wasn’t mine. I rolled under Brynwyn, landing on my back. Booted feet moved toward me in the smoke-clogged air and I scrambled backwards, reaching for the dagger in my boot.

  Rorie loomed over me, his eyes filled with hate.

  Chapter Eleven

  Rorie. Kellan’s brother, in soul if not in blood. Knowing he wanted me dead and knowing I would kill him if I had to sent a spike of dread and sorrow down my spine. I’d come to think of him as a friend, as someone I could trust, and he’d betrayed me. Both me and Kellan.

  He had a knife in his hand, already bloodied.

  My sadness was shoved aside by my survival instincts, and a bit of rage. “Come to finish me off?” I growled. I shoved my dagger up between us. “Soo Kai’s little assassin?”

  “I don’t follow Soo Kai’s orders,” he said, his voice a low rumble.

  “Yeah, considering you and the Ravens were willing to kill me rather than the Artifex ever being found, and Soo Kai’s plan all along was to take it? A bit of a conflict of interest.”

  His eyes narrowed and his jaw twitched. “I wasn’t pleased to discover her true intentions.”

  “Then why are you still trying to kill me?”

  “Before, it was about the Artifex,” Rorie said. “But now that I know what you did to Kellan, it’s just revenge, pure and simple.”

  He lunged and my world became his knife, and the screams, and the smoke, and my heart thudding in my chest. My small dagger was not going to protect me, not against his rage and his brute strength. But it was all I had and I wasn’t going down so easy. I thrust my blade forward, feeling him shove it aside a moment later as his own knife rushed like a meteor for my heart.

  I twisted, and by some miracle I rolled out from under him and the weight of his momentum carried him past me. I rolled up onto my heels. “What I did to Kellan?” I shrieked.

  Rorie’s face contorted. “Trapping him in the Timekeeper’s realm. Ring a bell?”

  “I didn’t trap him there. I’m trying to save him!” I snapped.

  Rorie rose into a crouch, his knife in his hand, his eyes on mine. But he didn’t lunge again.

  Something silver shot into my line of vision and slammed into him from the side. He hit the ground hard, and his knife clattered to the pavement. A moment later he was on his feet again, but he just shot me an unreadable look and disappeared, jumping to another realm.

  And Xavyr was there. “Are you all right?” he asked, his voice hard as diamond. Sweat beaded up along his collarbone and his tunic had been ripped, revealing a torso that looked like a weapon in and of itself.

  “I’m fine,” I said breathily.

  He reached down and offered me a hand, then pulled me to my feet with such force I nearly toppled over. “Sorry,” he said. Then, “What was that silver thing?”

  I closed my eyes for a moment, playing it back in my mind, the momentary glimpse of something small and glimmering, leaping into Rorie…

  “I think it was my hound,” I said.

  “Hounds do not take physical shape,” Veron said, striding up behind us. His eyes moved over my body, checking for damage. When he saw there was none, he let out a breath. “Nor do they come unless they are called.”

  My brow wrinkled, and I closed my eyes again. I frequently found my little silver fox hanging out with Brynwyn without me having called it for a hunt. “I’m just telling you what I saw.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You’re alive,” my father said, and he pulled me against him. “Thank Artemis.”

  “We need to move,” Xavyr said. “I want to get out of this city.”

  “You and me both,” I said, noticing that my hands were shaking. Actually, most every part of me was shaking.

  The other Grayfeathers clustered around us, making sure their leader was unharmed. Three of the party had been shot with arrows and would not be able to accompany us to Skye. Veron had one of the servants go to fetch a medic. His horse was also injured. I’d almost forgotten the spray of blood that had coated me when Rorie attacked. The gash along the horse’s flank seemed shallow, thankfully. My insides felt like ice at the thought that it could have been Brynwyn.

  A medic arrived quickly in a small hovercraft, and Veron sent another servant back to Grayfeather tower with explicit instructions for the care of his gelding. He took the servant’s horse and we all mounted back up again, bidding farewell to our injured comrades. Xavyr seemed glued to my side even more than usual, watching my every inhale and exhale. The other Hunters pulled in tighter around us and we moved onward. Nothing like a near-death experience to set everyone on edge.

  “You handled yourself well back there,” Xavyr said to me.

  “It was only luck. Rorie is a far better fighter than I am.”

  “You knew that man?” He cocked his head slightly.

  “Yes. He’s practically Kellan’s brother. We were friends… until I found out he’d been working for the Raven Clan in secret and was determined to destroy me. He believes I’m too dangerous, that I’ll start a war of the clans.” I fell silent for a moment, feeling Brynwyn’s steady movement beneath me, staring off into the painted morning sky. “I guess he was right.”

  “You are powerful and dangerous, yes,” Xavyr said. “But that shouldn’t earn you a death sentence.”

  “Not everyone feels as you do,” I said with a sigh. “Death threats are kind of becoming a normal thing for me.”

  Xavyr’s jaw tightened at this, and we rode in silence for the next few minutes.

  My heart and adrenaline levels had finally returned to normal when we reached the outskirts of the city. I’d caught glimpses of the terrain from Grayfeather Tower, but now I had a full hundred and eighty-degree view of it. The sculptured trees and gardens of the city fell away abruptly, ending in a low stone wall. Beyond that stretched barren red stone and sand, dotted with the occasional pop of bright blue where a lake or river could be seen. No trees, no signs of civilization, for as far as I could see. It seemed so desolate that it made me think Solara might be the only city in this realm.

  We moved through an iron gate in the wall. The Rosewaters were already waiting for us on the other side. It was quiet, the noises of the city behind us. They raised their arms in greeting, and the Grayfeathers did the same.

  “My apologies for being late, Rielle,” Veron said. “We were unavoidably detained.”

  Nice way to say we’d been ambushed, but I kept my mouth shut.

  “Not to worry,” said a woman seated on a gray horse, Rielle I assume
d.

  “We will be joining you as well,” called another voice. Titus rode up, along with Waylan and several others.

  My father raised a hand in greeting. “Titus, it’s nice of you to join us. You weren’t at the war council.”

  “Well, of course. It’s a rescue mission for two of my Hunters, so I can hardly sit it out.” Titus grazed me with an icy glance. “Also, I’ve been appointed by the Council and Lord Casseroux to oversee a very important task: I am to ensure that Evryn doesn’t escape after boarding Skye.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The blood drained from my face. Titus was assigned to make sure I didn’t jump realms? This was bad. If the odds had been stacked against me before, they’d just gotten a hundred times worse.

  “I don’t think you are the most impartial choice in this undertaking,” Veron said, his voice deepening an octave but staying level.

  “Are you challenging the decision of the Council and the leader of all the realms?” Titus asked, a leer on his face.

  “No, I’m challenging you.” The air sparked between the two men, the tension palpable. “I strongly advise you to uphold the integrity and trust the Council has placed in you. If you do not, if you harm my daughter in any way, you will regret it.”

  Titus laughed. “There is no need to threaten me, Veron. I have every intention of taking my job very seriously.”

  “Good then,” said Rielle. She ran a gloved hand through her brown hair. “Let’s get on with it.”

  Titus dismounted his horse and looked at me. “So, the fate of our entire mission lies in your hands.”

  “Is that a problem for you?” I asked.

  “Not at all, Lost One. I’m so glad that my clan found you, so you can share these incredible skills of yours.” He smiled at me smugly.

  “Evryn is no one’s possession,” Veron said tightly.

  “Not even yours?” Titus asked, his eyes sparkling with malice.

  Veron matched his gaze steadily. “Not even mine.”

  “It sounds like you have a strong and healthy relationship,” Titus said. “And soon—hopefully, if Evryn succeeds—you’ll be reunited with the woman we both once loved. The whole family, back together.”

  Veron’s eyes flashed and he opened his mouth, but Rielle lifted a fist in the air. “If you two are done with your pissing contest, I think we have a city to save.”

  Titus just smiled smugly, while Veron looked slightly injured at being lumped in with Titus. “Evryn, are you ready?” Rielle asked. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

  Xavyr, who was still glued to my side, said, “I will make the first jump with Evryn. Once we secure our position, I’ll stand guard while the others come through.”

  Everyone nodded, and we began to dismount and tie the horses along the wall. Several of the servants from the various clans stayed behind to watch them. I patted Brynwyn on the neck. I didn’t know when I’d see her again, if ever. As if sensing my ambivalence, she shoved her soft nose into my chest and stared at me with her large purple eyes.

  I strode away from her before I could get upset and moved into the midst of the other Hunters. As I felt the Call rise within me my fox appeared, circling my heels in excitement. It didn’t take long for me to get a lock on Skye. Now that I’d been there, it was much easier than the first time. I reached out and hooked my arm through Xavyr’s. In my mind’s eye, I pictured my mother’s house. Specifically, the room I’d recovered in after the Timekeeper had stabbed the stag’s antler into my heart. Of all the places on Skye, it seemed least likely that Soo Kai would post guards there. That is, unless she figured I would think that, and set them there for that purpose.

  My concentration wavered, and across from me I saw Titus grin. I closed my eyes and changed tactics. I visualized a small forested park I’d passed with my mother as we’d walked through the city. It wasn’t huge, but it would provide cover, at least until Xavyr and I scoped things out. I could always change the location later. The picture crystallized in my head, the Call vibrated through my blood and my bones, and we popped through realms.

  As Skye materialized around us, I scanned for unfriendlies. Not ten feet away, two Dragons stood with their backs to us, swigging something from a flask. Xavyr leapt forward and did something with his hands at the backs of their necks, and they both fell to the ground unconscious. With a silent gesture, Xavyr motioned for me to help him and we dragged both of the bodies into a thick copse of trees.

  Once deeper within the trees, we crouched down and scanned our surroundings. The sky was deepening toward evening in whatever realm this was that we flew. My breath came in short little gasps and my heart raced with adrenaline. Xavyr’s eyes looked molten, as if they’d been lit from within.

  “Will they wake up?” I asked, thinking of the Hunters behind us.

  “Not anytime soon.” Xavyr flicked a dismissive glance behind us at the two bodies.

  From where we sat you wouldn’t know that we were aboard a giant flying city, other than the faster than normal passing of the clouds and the low drone of the engines beneath us. Beyond the park were normal looking cobblestone streets and rows of townhouses. A fountain tinkled in the center of a public square. Hardly anyone was out and about.

  “I’m counting a dozen Dragons spread out in this area,” Xavyr said, pointing to clusters of them as he spoke. “And about half that many Ravens. Including your friend over there.”

  He jabbed his finger across the public square and I spotted Rorie’s red head. How had he gotten aboard Skye so quickly?

  “We don’t have much cover here, but soon it will be dark,” Xavyr continued. “Let’s wait a few minutes before bringing anyone else through.”

  I nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

  And so we waited. As we did, I reached out to see where my mother was. The Call flared up once again, a slow burn in my stomach. I felt a tug in her direction, and it wasn’t toward her home. It was up toward the city headquarters where the control room and the leadership quarters were located. That meant she was with Soo Kai, and that couldn’t mean anything good. When Soo Kai had thrown me off Skye, it was because my mother had lied and said the Artifex was back in her house. What had my mother done when they couldn’t find it? I knew personally that Soo Kai wasn’t above torture, and the thought of it sent tickles of dread along my spine.

  Before the Call could build to too great an intensity, I shifted my focus to Jaffe and Sabin. I wasn’t particularly close to either of them, and Sabin hated my guts since she was still in love with Kellan, but they were still part of my clan. Jaffe’s sister, Etienne, had died in my arms when the Raven Clan ambushed us in the pagoda realm, and I couldn’t imagine what he was going through now. I sensed them a moment later; they were on Skye as well, close to my mother.

  “You care for them all very much, don’t you?” Xavyr said, startling me from my thoughts.

  “What? Why do you ask?”

  He looked down. “Your eyes. I can see your pain.”

  I sucked in a shaky breath. “Yes. Plus, it’s pretty much my fault all of them are in this mess.”

  “You didn’t create the Artifex. You just got drawn into the battle for control of it.”

  “Well, if we can’t keep the truth a secret, that will become the battle for control of me.” I paused. “Strike that. There’s already a battle for me going on. But it will just get a hundred times—”

  I was interrupted by a big commotion in the square. A large group of Dragons and Ravens, probably a dozen of them, were marching into the square. Soo Kai was at the head of the group, and behind her, two Hunters held my mother, Rhione. My mother walked upright, but there was a drag to her step and a slump to her shoulders. Even her red hair, so much like mine, seemed faded. She looked…defeated.

  “Get these people out of their homes!” Soo Kai screamed, waving at the Hunters in the square. “They need to bear witness to what happens when they do not obey.”

  I stiffened and Xavyr laid a hand on my arm,
whether to comfort me or keep me from dashing forward I wasn’t sure.

  The Hunters began to run from door to door, pounding on each one and pointing toward the center of the square. That’s why we hadn’t seen any of the citizens—they’d all been on house arrest. Doors opened, fearful faces coming into view behind them, and the citizens of Skye began to pour out into the square. Soo Kai dragged Rhione in front of the fountain so their backs were to us.

  “I thought I made it clear to everyone before,” Soo Kai called to the gathering crowd. “I am the leader of this city, and I will not tolerate disobedience! So, today, here and now, we will show you what happens if you do not believe me to be a woman of my word.”

  She pointed at my mother. “I sentence this woman to death!”

  Chapter Thirteen

  I lunged forward but Xavyr grabbed me.

  “No, Evryn! We cannot save your mother, not just the two of us. Jump back to Solara, bring the others.”

  “We won’t make it in time!”

  “I’ll cause a distraction.”

  I wavered, my gaze flicking to my mother and back to him. Everything in my body screamed with tension.

  Xavyr’s eyes burned into mine. “Do you trust me?”

  I nodded, and then jumped through realms.

  Veron was the first one I saw, a look of consternation on his face. “Are you okay? You took a while—”

  “No time! They’re about to execute Rhione!”

  His face went from concerned to horrified in a heartbeat. I grabbed his arm and we jumped back to Skye. It had only been thirty seconds, but already chaos had erupted. The square was aflame, people were running everywhere, and screams rent the night.