Riven (The Arinthian Line Book 2)

by Sever Bronny

“It’s a trick—” Leera said.

  Haylee shook her head. “It’s not.” She unsuccessfully pushed a long strand of blond hair from her eyes. “I … I didn’t want this. This is too much … I’m not a murderer …”

  “Hayles, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind? Do you realize what’s going to happen to your fam—”

  “Stop it! Just STOP IT!” Haylee placed her hands over her ears, tears streaming down her face. “I told you this isn’t what I wanted! We were supposed to be in the academy together, not murdering people! We were supposed to be … this isn’t what I wanted!”

  Robin only blinked, mouth gaping.

  “It’s a trap, don’t listen to her, Augum.” Leera was staring at him, but he heard something else in Haylee’s voice—sincerity.

  He met Leera’s gaze. “It’s a chance we have to take.”

  Leera glared at him a moment then looked at Bridget, before finally nodding.

  He reached out a hand. “Will you help us then?”

  Haylee wearily paced toward them from under the towering figure of the banyan beast, which followed her with its head as if it had eyes, sniffing the air with that giant nose. She stopped a few paces away, hands wringing.

  Leera stared at Haylee with undisguised contempt and distrust.

  “I’m … I’m sorry this happened to her, I’m sorry about everything …” Haylee’s voice was soft, eyes glassy. “I can’t live that way anymore. I can’t …”

  “Look at her—” Leera said. “LOOK AT HER!”

  Haylee forced herself to look at Bridget. Her pale hand slowly came to her mouth. She fell to her knees, hair obscuring her face.

  Something caught Augum’s attention on the horizon. A low white cloud had formed there, lit by the orange glow of torches.

  “Are they coming?” he asked, eyes still on the cloud. “Did they break their word?”

  Haylee only nodded.

  “What’s going to happen to One Eye?”

  Haylee slowly shook her head.

  Augum wiped his forehead with his sleeve. He knew it. He looked square at Haylee. “We have to go. Help us get her on the horse.” He was willing to give her a chance. It was the girls she’d have to win over, especially Leera.

  Haylee stood and nodded, composing herself. Leera eyed her distrustfully as they raised their arms to begin Telekinesis.

  “Don’t you dare help them, Haylee,” Robin said. “I swear to the Unnameables we’ll find you and—”

  Augum raised the stone to his lips again and Robin fell silent, glaring. He then turned his attention back to Bridget, throwing every ounce of concentration he had left her way. Remarkably, working together, her body slowly rose, coming to rest on top of Haylee’s horse.

  Augum and Leera fell to their knees when the spell concluded, both gripping their heads.

  “Here, take this, it’ll support her back,” Haylee said, unsheathing a short sword from her horse and offering it pommel-first to Leera.

  She could have killed us instead, Augum thought. Taken the stone …

  Leera snatched the blade. “Just don’t you touch her!”

  Haylee dropped her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “For all of this …”

  Augum helped secure Bridget to the horse, wrapping her in a Dramask blanket before tying the rucksack near her feet. He was exhausted, cold, his chest bones grated with every movement, and his head throbbed from all the arcane effort.

  Haylee stepped away from the horse when they were done, necrophyte robe rippling in the wind. “What are you going to do now?”

  Augum mounted Robin’s horse, offering a hand to Leera. She sat behind him, hands around his waist. “We’re going to find an arcane healer.”

  Haylee checked the horizon. The cloud had turned into an oncoming plume, with dark specks at the center surrounded by a pulsing orange glow. The Legion was at a full-on gallop, racing to catch up to them.

  “I heard you say earlier you were going to Antioc. There’s a healer there my family knows. Miralda—don’t remember her last name though.” She handed him the reins to Bridget’s horse, which he passed on to Leera.

  “You helped us, but now what’s going to happen to you?” he asked.

  Haylee looked back at Robin.

  “She’s going to burn, the disgusting filthy little traitor!” Robin said, frothing spittle, face contorted. “What happened to having my back, huh, Hayles? What about that? You’re so fake! I can’t wait to see you burn, and everyone you love too—”

  The color drained from Haylee’s face. She turned back to Augum, her once icy-blue eyes now hollow and dull.

  Augum glanced at Leera.

  “No, forget it, don’t even think about it—”

  “If we leave her—”

  Leera’s nose flared. “I don’t care, she murdered our parents! And look what she did to Bridget—!”

  Out of loyalty, he almost didn’t argue, but another look at Haylee and he knew it wasn’t right to just leave her there. “No, you know she didn’t. You might hate her for many other things, but she didn’t kill your parents—my father did.”

  Leera glared at him before removing her hands from his waist and crossing them to her chest.

  He sighed. This was not going to be easy. He reached out to Haylee. “Hop on.”

  Haylee looked back at Robin, who was still shouting obscenities at her, then at the approaching Legion, before finally taking Augum’s hand and climbing onto the warhorse, easily large and strong enough to support all three of them.

  Leera slapped Haylee’s hands away when she tried to grab on for support. “Don’t touch me!”

  “But … I might fall.”

  “I. Don’t. Care!”

  Augum, realizing this was as good as it was going to get, raised the stone to his lips.

  Leera peeked over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”

  “Buying us time.”

  Haylee

  Augum loosed the banyan beast on the Legion with a careful set of instructions whispered into the stone. It roared and dove under the snow, burrowing straight at the oncoming cloud. It would be a battle he had no intention of sticking around for.

  They promptly left, leaving behind a frothing Robin, shouting obscenities mostly aimed at Haylee, threatening her family. She broke down but didn’t reply. Neither Leera nor Augum made any attempt to console her, though each for different reasons—Leera loathed Haylee while Augum didn’t want to provoke Leera lest she shoved her off the horse or something. He wondered what they were supposed to do with Haylee now.

  They trotted along rather slowly to avoid doing further harm to Bridget. Leera carefully held onto the reins of her horse, keeping a watchful eye on it as it bobbed along beside them. Haylee sat quiet in the back, avoiding any contact with Leera while trying to balance on the horse.

  “You keep wincing. How are those ribs?”

  “When the banyan beast hit me, I don’t know … something isn’t right though …”

  “Don’t you even look at her!” Leera screamed at Haylee. “Don’t you dare …”

  He decided now might be the time to question Haylee about a couple things on his mind, at least to change the mood a bit.

  “Haylee, do you know where my father is right now?”

  She cleared her throat delicately. “You’re trying to get to the crone—err, to your great-grandmother before he does, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your father is way too far ahead for you to overtake him. If you go to Antioc, though, you might still have a chance—if you’re quick finding a healer and leaving the city that is.”

  “So are you done with the Legion now?”

  “I’ve had doubts ever since Sparrow’s Perch. To see people killed like that … And then Tornvale … after your prison outbreak, they … they murdered most of them.”

  “But you helped your grandfather in Sparrow’s Perch!” Leera said.

  “I didn’t even know about any of his plans! I lost frie
nds that day too. But I played along, I played the good girl, supporting the cause. I was afraid, all right? I was afraid of what they were going to do to me and my family if I said anything—”

  “—you betrayed the village, and you knew what was going to happen—”

  “—no, I didn’t, I swear it!” Haylee broke down crying again, her long blonde locks falling over trembling hands that cupped her face.

  “I’m sorry I … made fun of you and … your friends …” Haylee said between sobs. “I’m sorry about that awful song … I just wanted to be popular and … and liked …”

  Augum wondered what song she referred to.

  Leera scoffed. “Yeah and look how well that worked out for everyone at Sparrow’s Perch—”

  “Do you have anyone to stay with in Antioc?” he asked. Even though he knew there were a lot of hard feelings that needed sorting between them, he didn’t want things to get out of hand. They still might need Haylee’s help with Bridget.

  “I have an aunt … I could go live with her in hiding … if … if she’ll take me.”

  “She better take you,” Leera said, “else we’re dropping you off at a Legion guard post and you can see what it feels like to be tortured.”

  Augum thought that rather harsh. He tried to think of a way to get Leera to leave Haylee alone, at least for a little while. Maybe he was being naive, but he believed Haylee didn’t have anything to do with the murder of Leera and Bridget’s parents. He also believed she was genuinely sorry about it all.

  On the other hand, he was not the one that had to put up with Haylee for years, and didn’t know what kind of cruel and malicious things had been said and done. As someone once bullied, he perfectly understood where Leera was coming from, yet that still didn’t make it feel right.

  Though maybe if it was Robin sitting there instead of Haylee, he would have a lot less sympathy …

  “I … I liked Robin … I really liked him …” Haylee mumbled through her tears. “I didn’t know he could be so … so vile …”

  “What are you blubbering on about?” Leera asked.

  “The Blade of Sorrows is training him in the art of the question … training him to be cold and … and ruthless … and soon Lord Sparkstone himself will be training him in necromancy. I don’t like what he’s becoming … he’s not the same Robbie I knew …”

  “Oh, shut. Up! He was always a mean toad, and you liked him anyway, all because he showered you with attention and compliments. Pathetic.”

  Haylee sniffed hard but did not reply.

  Augum glanced to Bridget, who only stared at the sky, and wondered what she would say right now if she could talk. Would she show mercy or unleash anger along with Leera?

  When they reached the crest of another gently rolling hill, he looked back. The distant torch-lit plume of horses had dispersed a little. Perhaps the battle with the banyan beast had begun, though there was no way to be sure. The command stone certainly gave no hints. To all outward appearances it was an ordinary ornamental rock, yet amazingly, this unassuming stone had the power to command that monster. He wondered if necromancy was involved.

  “Haylee, do you know anything about the banyan beast, like where it’s from?” he asked, keeping his tone level so as not to provoke Leera.

  “Nothing, only that it belonged to Robin’s aunt and she got it in the south. When that old man at the caravan—”

  “—his name was One Eye!” Leera said, whipping about. “He sacrificed himself for us, a concept I’m sure you know nothing about. The least you can do is get his damn name right!”

  “I’m sorry … after One Eye made the deal with Commander Tridian, while you all were still inside that wagon, the Blade of Sorrows gave Robin the stone that controlled the beast, with instructions on what to do.”

  Leera shook her head. “Figures … and those are the kinds of people you chose to be friends with …”

  “I’m not friends with them anymore! And you forget, I’m taking a huge risk helping you. You heard him threaten my family—”

  “—at least you have a family to threaten!”

  That silenced Haylee, though Augum had other questions. “Haylee, did Tridian ever talk about the coming war with Tiberra?”

  “Yeah, but mostly with his officers and Robin. He ignored me. Robin was his prized pupil, like his own son. All I know is that the Legion is on the march now.”

  “Do you believe us when we tell you that my father’s promise of eternal life for everyone is a lie?”

  “I … I don’t know …”

  “Look,” Leera began, “we were just in Ley. One of those Leyans, who happened to be Augum’s great-grandfather, followed us out and died. He died, Haylee, to show us that you can’t take that eternal life power or whatever out of there.”

  “You believe us that we were there at least, don’t you?” he asked when Haylee hesitated.

  “I guess so …”

  “And what about the Dreadnoughts? Know anything about them?”

  “Well, I know that the Dreadnoughts have already started forging weapons and armor. It’s kind of a slow process though.”

  “Is the Dreadnought equipment arcane?”

  “I don’t know, I don’t know anything about Dreadnoughts, really. I always used to think they were just … stories.”

  “Like Ley?” Leera asked. When Haylee didn’t bite, Leera turned her attention to Bridget, gently reining in her horse. “How are you feeling, Bridge?”

  Augum glanced over to witness a tear roll down Bridget’s cheeks. Leera reached over and brushed it away, voice cracking. “Everything will be fine, Bridge, don’t worry. We’re taking you to Antioc where you’re going to be fixed up by an arcane healer.”

  Bridget’s eyes wandered over to them, her head completely still, tears flowing freely. He only hoped she wasn’t in any pain. They desperately needed to find Bartholomew before the Legion caught up to them. Suddenly, he was reminded of Mya and those emerald almond eyes. The question that has been hounding him for so long now sprang to his lips.

  “Haylee, um … do you know where Mya is? Is Robin really going to take her with him?”

  “You like her, don’t you?” Haylee asked, not in a cheeky manner, just in a matter-of-fact kind of way. “I could tell—”

  “Ugh, you just can’t help yourself, can you?” Leera’s voice was full of venom. “What, going to gossip about this to your friends? It’s none of your business who Augum likes!”

  Something about the way Leera said it brought butterflies to his stomach. Part of him wished he had not brought Mya up, yet he really wanted to hear news about her …

  “I … I really didn’t mean it that way,” Haylee mumbled. “I’m sorry …”

  “Ugh, well, aren’t you going to answer his question—?”

  “Right … uh, Mya has been assigned to be Robin’s servant, but while he’s away, she has to serve the Black Guard with the other servants. As far as I know, yes, he plans on taking her back to the academy with him, though that kind of thing might not be permitted. The Legion may force her to stay behind. I don’t know for sure though, I don’t follow what the servants do.”

  “Of course you don’t, that would be beneath you.”

  “Would you rather my parents died in Sparrow’s Perch too?”

  “Yes! YES I WOULD HAVE—!”

  Augum felt the horse lighten and running footsteps crunching in the snow.

  “That’s right, run back to your precious Robbie and the damn Legion, I’m sure they’ll take good care of you!” Leera shouted, but as Augum turned his head, he saw that Haylee was not running back to the Legion. Instead, she appeared as if she just wanted to get far away from everyone by running into the bleak nothingness of winter.

  The idea suddenly occurred to him she may not care about her own life in that moment. Already the wind was rising, and with no shelter, blankets, or food, it wouldn’t take long for a person to freeze out here.

  Without a word, he jumped off th
e horse and chased after Haylee, who ran haphazardly, crying, until tripping and falling to the snow, her golden locks splayed across the icy surface. He heard Leera shout something from behind, but ignored her.

  He finally caught up to her, panting, chest burning. “Don’t do this. She didn’t mean it, she’s just … she’s very angry right now. Think about it, can you blame her?”

  Haylee replied between heaving sobs. “This was a mistake … I’m so stupid … by helping you … I might … I might have killed my parents …”

  He felt for her, but he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t exactly have much experience with girls other than Bridget and Leera. They had to get out of here, yet this was a delicate situation. All he wanted to do was say the right thing to make everything better. He wanted to fix it with words, yet he also knew no words would make this just disappear. Besides, it was beyond that. People sacrificed themselves for them already, and there was no way of bringing them back. And here was Haylee, a long-time enemy of Bridget and Leera, doing the same thing—placing her family and life at risk to help them …

  Again and again the question which he had no answer for came to mind, and that was, why? Why had so many sacrificed themselves for them?

  “Haylee, we don’t have much time. Come on, we can deal with this later—”

  “Leave me alone! I just want to sleep, please just leave me alone!”

  “I’m going to talk to her, I’ll be right back … uh … don’t go anywhere.” He realized how stupid that was to say. Nonetheless, he raced back to Leera, who stared in the opposite direction with folded arms.

  “Leera, um, look … we can’t just leave her out here, she’ll die …”

  Leera maintained an iron stare.

  “We don’t have time for this, you know that. Besides, Haylee might very well have killed her own parents by helping us … and I know you didn’t really mean what you said, you’re just angry, and I can understand that—”

  “Shut up, please, just shut up …” She placed her face into her hands, shook her head and sniffed. “Fine! Whatever. Bring her, see if I care, but don’t think for one moment I have to get along with her.”

  Augum, knowing that was the best he could hope for at this time, raced back to Haylee, ribs grating like rough stones.