Aerenden: The Zeiihbu Master (Ærenden)

by Kristen Taber

  This time she had better success and they each had several dozen deep-red berries to call dinner. Meaghan popped one into her mouth. It oozed juice as thick as honey. Although too sweet for her taste, the berry's underlying plum flavor kept her eating more.

  After eating their fill, they found a flat glade to set up camp for the night. Faillen took the first watch while Meaghan attempted sleep. She watched stars dance overhead, waltzing between the clouds and the inky sky, and then closed her eyes and tried to still her mind. The attempt worked for a while. She dozed, but soon woke to an argument. At first, her mind trailed to the mountain where Cal and Artair's faces filled her vision, but they soon faded and she understood the past had not woken her, but the present. Yelling had triggered her memories. She could not make out any words, but the timbre of the voices told her two men fought close by. Turning on her side, she sought Faillen, but could not find him anywhere near their small campground.

  She released her empath power, sending it in the direction of the argument. Anger reflected back to her stronger than any other emotion. Then below it, a feeling of betrayal sought her attention. She followed the emotions until she could see the men who fought by the moonlight. One man she recognized as Faillen. The other glared at Faillen with sharp, blue eyes. White hair cascaded past his shoulders, giving him a regal appearance and Meaghan held her breath. He had the same angular face as Faillen, though shadows cast by the moon made it appear far less friendly than Faillen's. When the man squared off with Faillen, using a similar stance and nearly the same-sized frame, Meaghan had no doubt about the stranger's identity. Cadell, the man they sought, had found them. Only the reunion between Faillen and his father did not seem to be going the way Meaghan had expected.

  Cadell stepped back in a passive gesture. Faillen's anger eased and Meaghan rushed forward, too late to warn him about what she sensed. It took less than a heartbeat for Cadell to draw a blade from his boot and press it into the flesh at the base of Faillen's throat.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  MEAGHAN PULLED one of her own knives from her belt and threw it. It sliced through Cadell's sleeve as it passed him, then imbedded into a tree with a dull thud. Grabbing another knife, she stepped closer, showing the threat of her blade by the moonlight. She turned it, ensuring she had Cadell's attention. His eyes moved from her face to the glint of allestone in her hand.

  “Drop your knife,” she commanded. “Or my next blade will not miss.”

  Cadell narrowed his eyes and responded by tightening his blade against Faillen's throat.

  “It's your funeral,” Meaghan said, lining up her shot, but hesitated when Faillen held up his hand in a clear request. He wanted her to stand down.

  She lowered her knife and Cadell smiled, an action born from satisfaction for his win rather than relief.

  “So your first throw did show your worth,” he said, returning his focus to Faillen. “You shouldn't make a threat you can't honor.”

  “She can honor it,” Faillen whispered. The knife pressed against his adam's apple prevented him from speaking at a higher volume, but his anger still conveyed in his tone. “Her aim is the best I've ever seen.”

  “I highly doubt that.”

  “Don't tempt Meaghan. She'll prove it.”

  Faillen's breath came in as a hiss when Cadell pressed the knife harder into his throat, drawing blood.

  “That just proves your treachery,” Cadell said. “It proves Stilgan got to you. When did it happen? When you tried to rescue Caide?” He eyed Meaghan again. “I don't know what he did to convince you to cross into Zeiihbu, but he's here to trade you to Stilgan.”

  Meaghan's eyes widened when the betrayal she had sensed surged. She took another step forward and sheathed her knife.

  “I know,” she said. “He told me. I volunteered for this mission. I know the risks, but I also know the importance of rescuing Caide.”

  Cadell's eyes flicked to Faillen, but settled back on Meaghan almost as soon as they had left. “You'll never leave the village alive. Stilgan will kill you and then kill Caide. My son knows better.”

  “So you think he's been compromised, that Garon has manipulated him in some way?” Meaghan asked. She took another step forward and did not wait for him to answer. “Faillen is no one's puppet. I know what Stilgan plans, but the Mardróch is about to find out the mistake he made in realigning the rulers of Zeiihbu and the royal family of Ærenden. He's about to realize the strength of Faillen's will and my planning.”

  “Your planning?” Cadell's arm wavered and then he lowered the knife. He returned his eyes to his son. “What does she mean?”

  “Coming here was her idea, as is the plan we have in place to destroy Stilgan's army. She aims to free Zeiihbu from Garon's grip.”

  “And she asks nothing in return?”

  Faillen shook his head. “She asks for us to fulfill the promise you made to her mother, and for me to lead an army of villagers into battle against Garon.”

  “As she should,” Cadell responded. “It's a promise we should have been keeping all along. Forgive me, Faillen. It's been difficult to tell my enemies from my friends since Stilgan arrived.”

  “I understand,” Faillen said and inclined his head in a show of respect. “Have you received any word of my son?”

  “I have,” Cadell said and Meaghan sensed joy from both men at the response. “You've raised him well. Caryn escaped the village recently, along with the daughter of my advisor.”

  “What did Caryn say about Caide?”

  “I haven't spoken with her. She went north to try to convince some of the other villages to fight. The girl speaks highly of Caide's bravery, though, and his resistance to Stilgan's tactics.”

  “Stilgan's torturing him?” Faillen asked, and though Meaghan and he had discussed the possibility, the confirmation struck Faillen with panic. “Is he injured?”

  “He wasn't when the young lady left,” Cadell answered, and Meaghan sensed evasiveness in his answer, but chose not to alert Faillen to it. The trust she sensed in Faillen toward his father told her what happened between them a few moments ago had been warranted. If Faillen's father kept things from him now, she guessed he had good reason.

  “There's a lot to tell you,” Cadell continued. “And I believe she should be the one to share the information. Why don't you join our camp for the night? You can discuss Caide with her when she wakes in the morning.”

  “All right,” Faillen agreed. “But I expect to learn everything. Not just from her, but from you, too.”

  Cadell nodded and put his knife away. Then without another word, he stepped forward into the night.

  §

  MEAGHAN AND FAILLEN followed Cadell in silence, each step bringing them further into the densest parts of the woods. When Meaghan had decided the trees would never yield any ground, a clearing opened before her, revealing Cadell's camp, though she hesitated to call it that. Instead of tents, thin blankets dotted the ground, strewn in haphazard rows. Some people used them. Others slept wherever exhaustion had claimed them, utilizing rocks as pillows and grass as mattresses when space permitted. A few children had even made beds from the largest branches of nearby trees.

  Many looked sick, pale or yellow beneath the moonlight, and all of them appeared thin. Meaghan doubted they had eaten a full meal in weeks. One man tossed and turned on his blanket, his sleep racked by rattling coughs, and a young woman who could be no more than a teenager moved to his side. She laid one of her hands on his chest. Her other hand, as well as her arm, had been bound in a crudely made sling. She muttered something under her breath that Meaghan could not hear, and then the man tensed. His eyes grew wide before glassing over and then closing again.

  “You have a Healer?” Meaghan asked, turning to Cadell. “Where did she come from?”

  “My village,” Faillen answered before his father could say anything. He watched the girl with awe as she worked. “She went to school with Caide. I didn't realize she had a power.”

/>   “I don't believe anyone knew,” Cadell said. “Even her brother seemed surprised by the news.”

  “Thane's here?” Faillen asked. “I thought Stilgan controlled all of your guards.”

  “He escaped before that happened,” Cadell answered and nodded toward a man sleeping on the ground. Meaghan doubted he could be any older than Nick, though his skin looked weathered and his face held the lines of a man who knew too much grief. He shifted and Meaghan saw the resemblance between him and the Healer. Thane's cheekbones and chin had the same graceful structure, his lips the same full shape, and his hair the same midnight color as his sister's, though his lay short against his head, and hers had been gathered at the back of her neck by a green ribbon.

  He whimpered and the young woman glanced over at him. After a minute, she returned her attention to the sick man. It seemed her brother's whimpering stemmed from a dream and not an ailment the girl could heal.

  “She's proven to be invaluable,” Cadell told them. “Many people were injured during their captivity. She's healed nearly everyone, though she hasn't slept much.”

  The young woman lifted her hand from her patient, who now lay still and quiet, and Cadell called out to her. “Emma, come here, please.”

  Emma's head snapped up. Her eyes grew wide as if noticing the ruler for the first time, then her focus moved to Meaghan before settling on Faillen. Meaghan felt a spike of guilt and fear from Emma before the young woman rose and followed Cadell's command. She stood before them, her head lowered, and her eyes downcast.

  “I want you to meet someone,” Cadell told her. “This woman who's standing next to me is our Queen.”

  Emma managed a graceful curtsy despite her injured arm. “It's a pleasure to meet you, my Lady.”

  “Please call me Meaghan.”

  A smile spread across Emma's face. She nodded in agreement.

  “I'm sure you also remember my son,” Cadell said. “I've told him you can share news of Caide.”

  Meaghan sensed panic from her, and then her eyes drifted to Faillen. The fear and guilt returned.

  “All right,” she whispered.

  “Why do you feel guilt?” Meaghan asked when silence made it obvious the young woman would not venture into the conversation first. Emma's eyes resumed the round appearance they had held when she had stared at Cadell.

  “W-What?” she stammered in response.

  “You felt guilt and fear when you saw Faillen. The fear is understandable. He is the ruler's son, but why did you feel guilt?”

  Instead of answering, Emma bit her lip.

  “Tell her,” Cadell said.

  “Caide's a friend of mine,” Emma whispered. “I did everything I could for him.”

  “No one doubts that, Emma,” Faillen responded. “But if you're not telling us something, we need to know what it is.”

  She nodded and lifted a hand to her cheek, wiping away an errant tear. “Caide made me leave the village,” she said. “I'm afraid Stilgan will kill him without my power. I should have stayed. I should have been braver.”

  “It seems to me you're brave enough already,” Faillen told her. “What happened to your arm?”

  “Stilgan,” she answered. “He hurt me to threaten Caide.”

  “That's why Caide made you leave,” Faillen said and lifted his fingers to her chin, tilting her face up so he could study it. “He cares about you. He was afraid for your safety.”

  She nodded and another tear streaked down her cheek. Faillen smiled and brought his hand to her shoulder, squeezing to comfort her. “He's strong, Emma. He'll survive long enough for us to rescue him.”

  “I hope so,” she said. Faillen let go of her shoulder and she passed a hand over her brow, chasing the weariness that darkened the shadows already haunting her eyes. “I should get back to work.”

  “You should sleep,” Cadell told her. “As I told you to do before I went hunting.”

  “Too many are ill.” She managed a meek smile and nodded toward her sling. “And I'm in too much pain. Healing others helps me.” Her eyes drifted over his shoulder into the distance. “Who are they? Are they the Queen's guards?”

  “Who are you talking about?” Meaghan asked. She looked in the direction of Emma's gaze, but saw nothing other than a dark column of trees, steadfast and unyielding in their possession of the earth.

  “The young man with the red hair and the older man who's…” Emma's voice trailed off. She pinched her lips together and said no more.

  “The older man who's what?” Faillen asked.

  “Forget it,” Emma said, but gave in when Cadell cleared his throat in warning. “He was shaking his head at me.”

  Meaghan narrowed her eyes at the air in front of the trees and then spoke the words she felt certain would make the men Emma saw appear.

  “In darkness, light reveals the truth. In light, we find the honest hue. In lies, the viewer holds the need; perception is the golden key. Reveal it all for what it's worth. Reveal the hidden; let solid birth. Wisdom breeds within these lines. What others seek, I now shall find.”

  The redhead appeared first, followed closely behind by the man Meaghan knew to be his father. A third man appeared next to them, unseen by Emma because she did not need him in the way she needed the Healers. He grinned at Meaghan, a broad gesture that would usually bring a smile to her face, but tonight elicited a frown.

  “Did you really think I'd give up guarding you that easily?” he asked.

  Although Meaghan was surprised to see him here, she realized she should not have been. Despite his protests, he had agreed too easily to follow the tribe, and she should have guessed his agreement was a sign of deception.

  She sighed. “No, Cal. I suppose I didn't.”

  “Smart girl,” he said, and then stepped forward to engulf her in a hug.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  “I THOUGHT for certain you'd catch us once you activated your empath power,” Cal remarked. He lay a blanket next to Meaghan's and sat down on it. “I guess the invisibility spell Élana gave you disguises everything.”

  Meaghan lowered her eyelids as she regarded him, deciding how she wanted to respond. She had not figured out yet if she was glad to have him here or angry. She tightened her fists in her lap and leaned toward angry.

  “You were supposed to go with Everel,” she said. “You could have cost us everything.”

  “How?” Cal asked. “No one could see us.”

  “Emma did.”

  “Only because she needed a Healer.”

  “And if a member of Garon's army was injured, they would have been able to see Mycale and Darvin too. What do you suppose would happen if word got back to Stilgan that we had guards with us?”

  Cal puffed out his cheeks in frustration. “We kept our distance. We didn't even interfere last night when Faillen's father attacked him.”

  “The one time you probably should have,” Meaghan muttered, then stood and glared down at him. “But that's beside the point. You could have been seen, which is why Faillen and I wanted you to meet us later. You lied to us when you agreed to follow our plan.”

  “So you're mad that I didn't follow your command?”

  “Of course. This plan is delicate. I don't need you taking risks—”

  “And what about Nick's command?”

  The question drifted up to her as a whisper, but it carried the weight of a yell. Hearing Nick's name stole her words.

  “What about the promise he elicited from me?” Cal continued. “That came before any of your commands.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest to regain her composure. “What promise?”

  “The one to protect you.”

  “So you think since his request came first, it takes precedence?”

  Cal nodded and Meaghan pressed her lips together to control her anger. She shook her head. “You can't use that as an excuse to ruin our plan and jeopardize our mission.”

  “I haven't,” Cal pointed out. “I won't, but I'm not
going to break my promise to Nick. The chances of Garon's army seeing me now are no greater than when we approach the village. We're doing that together, aren't we?”

  “Again, that's beside the point. I would appreciate it if—”

  “That is the point.” He leaned back on his elbows, stretching out on the blanket as he did so, and then drew a hand up to his mouth to cover a yawn. His nonchalance irritated her, but she realized when he finished lowering himself onto the blanket and closed his eyes that there was no point in arguing. No words would convince him he was wrong. She exhaled a loud breath and dropped her arms. She was the Queen. He should obey her orders. Yet that same position made him feel like he should protect her at all costs, even against her wishes.

  And his promise to Nick made him more brazen in his justification, a fact which only fueled her irritation. Cal's loyalties lay with Nick first, as they probably always would. She wondered how she could ever become an effective ruler when those closest to her still saw her as secondary to her former Guardian. Cal's heavy breathing changed to snoring and she left him to what she hoped would be his nightmares. She had no doubt that if she continued to stare at the sleeping oaf, she would follow through on her sudden, juvenile desire to kick him in the ribs.

  She did not have much luck finding a distraction for her frustration. If anything, her wandering percolated it, turning her muscles stiff and her thoughts dark. Daybreak would not arrive for several hours. Faillen would understand and commiserate with her. He had been equally as upset about their tagalongs. But he had gone to bed shortly after their arrival, once Cadell had provided Mycale and Darvin a quiet place to heal Emma.

  To burn off her negative energy, she paced between the sleeping bodies, stared up at the moon, counted the stars, released her power just to give it the freedom to roam again, and then followed it toward the only emotions it sensed—compassion, pain, and worry—though the emotions did not bring her any concern. She already knew whose they would be, and when she exited the camp on the other side to find Mycale and Darvin sitting on the ground next to a teary-eyed Emma, she muted her power again to give them the privacy the healing process deserved.