“Then we leave the horses there.”
“What horses?” But the words had barely left his mouth when the sound of hooves striking the hard ground grew louder. Seconds later, the faint outline of two large bodies appeared against the gloom. They reached the light of the door and it was plain: Kya was herding Krillos’ mount right to me.
“Good girl.” Retrieving both sets of dragging reins, as I handed Krillos his, there was a muffled thud from behind. Dropping reins and drawing swords, we spun in time to see someone tumble out of Lirih’s door. Rolling head over heels across the ground, the floundering body slid to a stop. We got a glimpse of face before the door closed and took the light with it.
Krillos said, “Was that…?”
“Yes, it was.” I shoved away my sword. Marching over, I grabbed an arm and yanked the intruder to his feet. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Liel shrank some in my grasp, but his words were bold. “You need my help.”
I tightened my grip. “Like hell we do.”
“I hate stowaways,” Krillos said. “What should we do with him?”
“I’m not a stowaway,” Liel bristled, giving his hair an indignant toss.
“You sure?” Krillos got in his face. “Because I didn’t invite you.” I saw his shadowy outline as Krillos turned his head and looked at me. “Did you invite him?”
“Definitely not,” I answered.
Krillos gave Liel another chance. “Is this an order from Malaq?”
“No,” Liel said quietly. “The Prince doesn’t know I’m here.”
“Well then,” Krillos chuckled. “You’re a stowaway.”
“I tried asking,” Liel insisted. “For the last three days, Troy, I asked you if I could come on this mission.”
“And for three days, my answer was no.” I let him go with a shake.
“It’s not fair,” Liel whined, sounding more like a child than I’d heard in a long time. “You wouldn’t listen to my reasons. You wouldn’t meet with me. Not even to talk about Kael.”
Angry with him, I snapped. “Kael doesn’t concern you.”
“How can you say that? Kael was my home. Because of you it has no King. Our Queen has fled the country. Fields were turned to ash. Livestock burned. The city is in turmoil.” His voice strained, Liel paused. “I should hate you, Troy. I should hate you for what you did.” Soft and solemn, he went on. “But with Guidon gone, Kael has a chance to be something great again. And you didn’t go to Kael to hurt anyone. So I went back. For you. I went back to the wreckage and the misery you left behind to try and find out what happened.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that.”
“I know. So I guess that makes it my problem I saw those horrible things, and that Lirih and I barely ate for days. But then I come back to tell you what I found and you can’t get your head out from under Queen Jillyan’s skirts long enough to hear my report!”
“Whoa,” Krillos laughed. “The little boy is all grown up now.”
“Shut up, Krillos.” My words to Liel were just as stern. “Let’s hear it then. Tell me what’s so goddamn important that you had to follow me all the way to Langor.”
Liel let out a quick, harried breath. “We met an old man in the city. He was a stone worker, descended from a long line. He claimed, many years ago, the King commissioned his great grandfather to expand Kael’s castle. He was there when the stones were laid for an entire new wing…including an expansive Great Hall.”
“When you’re throwing money at people they claim a lot of things.”
“I didn’t offer him money, Troy. I gave him our food. He said the obsidian columns were found whole.”
“Whole?” That didn’t seem right. The columns were huge. “Found where?”
“In an old Shinree temple. It was deep in the Kaelish Mountains, down inside a great chasm. He said the temple ruins were over a thousand years old.”
“He was mistaken, or misleading you. My ancestors didn’t build in Kael. They claimed the land as part of the empire, but they never settled that far west.”
“I’m telling you,” Liel swore, “it’s there. Altars. Carvings. The whole thing.”
Intrigued, I stepped closer. “You saw it with your own eyes?”
“Our rope didn’t reach the bottom. I went as far as I could and used a spy scope. Shinree writing was scrawled all over the walls. There were these holes, these…pits in the ground on either side of what looked like sacrificial altars. I couldn’t see inside one of them, but the other hole was full of bones.”
“Shinree don’t perform ritual sacrifice.”
“Hey,” Krillos cut in. “Can we move?” He made a puffing sound as he blew on his hand. “I don’t know about you, but my balls turned to ice about five minutes ago.”
I put a hand on Liel’s shoulder. “We’ll talk about this later. But understand me, boy. I’d boot your butt back to Rella right now if I could.”
“But you can’t,” he said with confidence. “So you’re stuck with me.”
“My, my,” Krillos snickered. “If the lad was one of my crew, I’d have him thrown overboard for wagging his tongue like that.”
“Look,” Liel said, more eager than apologetic. “I know I shouldn’t be here without permission. But I can help. I’ve been to the keep. I’ve been inside the prison.”
“So has Krillos,” I said.
“He doesn’t know where Jarryd’s cell is,” Liel argued. “I do. I was there.”
“You saw Jarryd?” In the near dark I glimpsed his hair flopping about and knew he was nodding. “You better not be lying. Because if you think I’m mad now…”
“I’m not lying. I swear. It was about six months after Jarryd’s arrest. Prince Malaq hadn’t been allowed in to see him. He was ready to bribe his way in, but he couldn’t get caught defying Draken so openly. So I went.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
Liel hesitated. I wished I could see his eyes better.
“He’s lying,” Krillos said. “Malaq never spoke of this.”
“I’m not lying,” Liel argued. “Not to you.” A measure of guilt thinned his voice. “I told Prince Malaq the guards wouldn’t take the bribe.”
Krillos was still wary. “Deceiving the Prince doesn’t seem like you, boy.”
“It wasn’t my idea,” Liel replied. “It was Jarryd’s.”
“I don’t understand.” I struggled not to be angry. “Jarryd asked you to lie to Malaq? Why would he do that?”
“Jarryd thought if I reported back what I saw, the conditions he lived in, what they’d done to him, that the Prince would attempt a rescue.”
“Hold on,” Krillos said. “Kane didn’t want to be rescued?”
“I told him all that had happened since his capture. I told him about Queen Neela’s marriage to Draken, Prince Malaq being instilled as Regent over the lands of Rella, about Reth imprisoning Sienn, and you, Troy. I explained the fear and hopelessness that was spreading across Mirra’kelan. And Jarryd came to the conclusion by himself. If Rella was to ever regain its independence, the Prince had to keep his hands clean. He had to appear loyal until it was time to move against Draken. If Prince Malaq was suspected of aiding in a jail break he would lose all credibility with the people…and most likely his head.”
“Unbelievable,” Krillos laughed. “That fool actually chose to stay in prison.”
“For the good of Rella,” Liel said, getting his back up. “Jarryd’s decision that day was one of the most selfless acts I’ve ever seen.”
We all got quiet then. I had no idea what they were thinking. I could barely see their faces. But I was mad. Grief and rage twisted in my gut, and I had one thought of what to do with it. Gathering my anger, lashing it to the aura of the obsidian inside me and casting it out, was a release I was sorely in need of. But it wouldn’t get Jarryd out of Darkhorne. So I clenched my trembling hands and stowed the urge.
“I hate to say it,” Krillos said. “But are we reall
y going to rescue a man who wants to stay in prison?”
“Clearly,” I said, scathing, “Jarryd wasn’t in his right mind.”
“You don’t know that, Troy. Pain has a way of bringing clarity.”
“Don’t,” I warned him.
“I have to. Because, someone needs to remind you that we’re about to walk into Draken’s house and steal something that belongs to him. If we manage it, Malaq’s going to have to work like hell to convince Draken he had nothing to do with it. And if anyone sees you, there goes playing dead. So unless this goes off without a single hitch, you’ll be jeopardizing Rella’s future exactly as your friend feared. Not to mention, you’re laying all three of our lives on an awfully thin-ass line.”
“What’s the matter, Krillos, afraid?” It was shitty, but I was too incensed to stop. “Has all that hiding in the swamp and playing house with Kit made you soft?”
“Maybe. But you, my friend, have gotten hard. Your focus is so goddamn narrow right now, the rest of us aren’t even in your line of sight anymore.”
“I don’t know what the hell that even means.”
“It means,” Krillos snarled. “The man I met on my ship—the one who threw himself on top of an eldring for me—wouldn’t have blown off the kid whose home he destroyed. He would have given at least a thought to the damn hornet’s nest he’s about to stir up. And he wouldn’t be mocking me like some dumb-ass backstreet bully.”
My jaw clenched hard. “That man wasn’t me.”
“Well, I damn sure wished it was. Because I’m starting to think we aren’t getting out of here until you find an excuse to repeat what happened in Kael.”
“Is that why Malaq sent you? To make sure I didn’t damage his new throne?”
“I’m here,” Krillos said tightly, “to watch your back.”
“Then do your job. And keep your fucking opinions to yourself.” I turned away and threw myself into the link. I tried then, to sense even a speck of Jarryd’s existence. But there was just the void. It was between us and inside of me; a winded, cavernous feeling, growing deeper and colder, with each passing second.
Krillos climbed up onto his horse. “We’re too out in the open. We need to move.” He urged his mount up beside Liel, and the boy climbed on behind him.
Taking the pack off my shoulder, I hooked it on Kya’s saddle. The icy darkness pressed in around me, close and heavy. I didn’t realize how hard I was breathing or how slow I was moving, until Krillos barked at me.
“Shinree! Get your head together and your ass on the back of that horse.” He turned his mount around. “We’re not alone out here.”
TWENTY FIVE
They chased us into the forest. The trees got tighter. The snowy terrain, covered in roots and rocks, got trickier. I was about to suggest we make a stand—we couldn’t keep running the horses without light—when the pack of wolves turned and sped off the other way. Slowing then, I led us a bit further before tugging Kya to a halt. “We’ll stop here.”
Krillos’ protest was strong. “We should go farther in.”
“No. Darkhorne is the other direction, and we already have a walk ahead of us.”
“A walk through their territory,” he griped. “And up north here, our wolves are a lot bigger and meaner than those puny things you grow down in Rella.”
I couldn’t disagree. The creatures nipping at Kya’s tail had been about the size of a foal. It doubted one of us would be enough to fill their bellies. But we had to risk it. “If we don’t head out soon, we won’t make it into Darkhorne before dawn.” I jumped down off Kya’s back. The frost-covered bed of leaves and twigs snapped under my weight. “If we lose the dark, we’ll be left crossing the empty plateau in broad daylight.”
“I know,” Krillos agreed halfheartedly, “that’s a death sentence. But the bastards have our scent. And there are a damn lot of them.”
“They’re wolves, Krillos. Not eldring. We can handle it.”
He threw a leg over his saddle and slid down. “They have teeth and want to eat me. I see little difference.”
Still atop Krillos’ horse, Liel asked, “Why did they give up? They were right behind us.”
“Northern wolves are territorial,” I told him. “The forest could be outside their usual hunting grounds. Or they caught a whiff of easier prey.”
“Or,” Krillos offered. “They got spooked. Maybe there’s something in the woods that’s even hungrier than they are.” He turned his voice deep and sinister. “Something bigger and meaner that gobbles up mouthy stowaways in one bite.”
A tremor betrayed Liel’s nerves. “Like what?”
“Like me,” Krillos snarled. Laughing vigorously, he gave Liel a slap. “Now keep quiet, boy, and let us figure this out.”
The dark hid Liel’s expression. I sensed he was fuming over Krillos’ jest, but I couldn’t dismiss his teasing so easily. There was too much merit to it. “Liel, stay with the horses. Krillos…?” I started walking. He followed. Feeling my way over fallen limbs and around prickly bushes, I didn’t stop until we were well out of Liel’s hearing. “You may be right,” I said then, “about why the wolves turned back.”
“Come on, Troy,” he chuckled. “If you’re trying to scare me, to teach me a lesson so I stop picking on the kid…”
“As fun as that sounds, no.”
He sobered instantly. “You’re serious? You think there’s something in here?”
“I don’t know. But I don’t want to take Liel into Darkhorne. If we’re going to leave him here I want to be sure.” I took off my coat and handed it to him.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving us an advantage.” Feeling for the brace covering my left wrist and forearm, I ran my hand over it. Fashioned from sturdy black leather and studded with a myriad of Shinree stones, the braces, (complete with small knives sheathed on the underside), were a gift from Malaq. Crafted at the camp by his specification, I’d received them only a short while before we left. There had been no time to familiarize myself with the placement of the stones.
“It was only a joke,” Krillos said.
“I hope you’re right. But coming out, there’ll be four of us. And we’re going to have one hell of a time making it to the sea if your horse gets eaten.” Waking the stones individually, I searched for the one I wanted. I would have preferred to take them all, but I’d been frugal since Kael, channeling barely enough to keep my cravings at bay. It wasn’t a solution. But no new scars had appeared, so it was something. I switched to the brace on my right arm. The wind blasted through my shirt and I shivered. “Gods, it’s cold out here.”
“My horse?” Krillos said, catching up. “What about yours?”
“Kya will be fine. She always is. Ah,” I said. “There you are.” Recognizing the purring vibration of brown jasper under my fingertips, I let the aura soak in past my skin. It traveled through me, warm and heavy. Spreading, wrapping like a thick mantle around my veins, it went deeper, dissolving into them. I put one hand on the nearest tree and the other on Krillos’ arm.
“Um… Should I be standing this close if you’re casting?”
“It’s all right.” Whispering the spell, I pushed the power out. “Contrary to what Liel believes, I haven’t spent the entirety of the last few days under Jillyan’s skirt. I’ve been reading through her stash of Shinree scrolls. And I’ve learned a few tricks.”
He let out a hushed, nervous laugh. “Like how not to kill me, I hope.”
“Like how when I cast on myself, I can include you in the working so the aura will encompass us both. That way the spell shouldn’t drain you any more than it does me.”
“Sounds logical. How many times have you tried it?”
“Once. Just now.”
“Damn you, Troy.” Stumbling, Krillos bumped into me. He uttered a winded, unsteady, “Whoa.”
“It’ll pass.” Swallowing down my short-lived burst of pleasure, my warning came late. “Your eyes will feel…”
He gaspe
d, “Son of a bitch.”
“Give it a second. When the tingling is gone you’ll see as good as those wolves.”
Already, the vague shape of Krillos had appeared beside me. The contours of him deepened. The details filled in; his limbs and clothes, his breath on the air. He was still swaying a little. Another moment passed and the astonishment on his face was as plain as if the sun were shining on it.
“Amazing,” he whispered.
I released my grip on his arm. “There are several stones that let you see in the dark, but this is my favorite. The view is crisp and it dims slowly instead of cutting out all at once. I used this spell a lot when I scouted for Aylagar. Of course, she wasn’t happy to learn how I’d been getting so close to enemy lines.”
“I’d use it all the time if it was me.” Krillos turned his head side to side, looking around the forest. The clouds were spitting out a light snow. As the flakes landed on the tusks strapped to his stump, he stared at them in wonder. “This is fucking great. I can see in the dark.” He laughed to himself. “Can you cast on a whole troop of men like this? Like you did with me, so no one gets hurt?”
“You mean stretch the aura around them? I suppose, if I had enough strength. But I’m not sure I’m ready to risk that many lives.”
“You didn’t seem to mind risking mine.”
“True.” Smiling, I took my coat from him and slipped it on. We headed back. “It’ll be faster if we split up. We’ll leave Liel with the horses, walk the rim of the forest, and work our way in. With the spell on our eyes it shouldn’t take long.”
“And if I find something?”
“Don’t engage on your own. Assess the threat and we’ll take it from there.”
A sudden cry split the air. I was still trying to place its location when Liel’s body flew past us and into the trees about twenty paces away. There was a loud crash of brush as he landed. Then silence. A breath later, from the other direction, low, bare limbs bent and swayed to the clear sounds of retreat.
I looked at Krillos. “See to him.” Running for Kya, I retrieved the sword off my saddle. I pulled the one at my hip and set off in the direction Liel had come from. It wasn’t hard following his trail. Even with the snow falling faster and the fresh coating of flakes, my spelled eyes easily discerned where his boots had crashed through the frost.
The Crown of Stones: Magic-Scars Page 20