"Were any of ours hurt?" I now held my fork in nerveless fingers.
"No. Caral's shield held," Pottles said. "They're all fine, just rattled, that's all."
"Thank goodness," I breathed. I worried about all my friends. Worried that Merrin would bring harm to them. That Merrin would attempt to take the throne. That he still had hidden allies in the King's City.
"We're working on all that," Kyri reached out to pat my arm. "Stop worrying so much, all right? This is your time to learn and practice. There is so much to do, once this time is over. Enjoy your rest in the peace of my city."
"Are they taking Merrin's threat seriously enough?" I asked.
"Yes, daughter. They are," Pottles assured me. "There's something that Kyri and I know that they don't, however, and it involves a second forbidden book."
"What book is that?" I asked, hesitating slightly over the word book.
"This is Drenn's fault," Kyri snorted. "When you dig through the catacombs, you have no idea what you may find. He found the worst thing down there."
"It's called Thorn's Book of Advanced Divination Techniques," Pottles said. "It was held back from everyone and outlawed for a reason."
"Thorn's Book?" My words sounded just as confused as I was.
"The King the current Crown Prince is named after. A many, many times great-grandfather," Kyri explained. "He wrote the book and practiced the art of it. Others, with less than legal intentions, could pervert it to their own uses. It allows one who is suitable, who possesses the slightest talent for divination, to render his deeds invisible to even the best diviners. I believe it's why Barth could only see so far into those two who were murdered at the front. Once you connected with him, you enhanced his power and enabled the both of you to see what Merrin did."
"Does Kerok know about this?"
"Not yet," Pottles hedged. "We should let him know soon, I think. Finish your dinner-it's your turn to clean the kitchen."
* * *
As I put clean dishes away after washing and drying, I considered Kerok, the forbidden book Merrin held, and how much danger Az-ca could face as a result. As I had no idea what, exactly, the book contained, I had no idea how to warn Kerok, even if I could.
It made me wonder if Kyri had a copy of that book somewhere. Was it so dangerous that she wouldn't allow someone she trusted to read it?
Carefully bending to set the metal skillet in its place inside a lower cabinet, I rose with a sigh. When Kyri spoke behind me, I jumped with a yelp of surprise.
"I didn't mean to startle you," she held out a hand. "I've placed a copy of the forbidden book in your room-read it at your leisure. Just remember that passing the information to another is akin to leaving the entire planet open to attack, and placing every living thing in the direst danger."
"You mean it's a secret meant to be kept?" I searched her dark eyes for an answer. They were a deep well of knowledge, but provided no answer for my question.
"That's what I mean," she agreed. "No matter what, never let any part of it escape your mouth or your mind."
"I'm not sure I want to read it, then. Take it back, Kyri. If it's that dangerous, I don't need or want it."
Until that moment, I didn't realize she'd been holding her breath. She let it out slowly, before smiling and pulling me into a hug.
"I just passed a test, didn't I?" I asked.
"With flying colors."
"What does that mean?" I pulled away to ask. "Flying colors?"
"It's an ancient saying," she shrugged. "It means you passed with great success."
"That's all right, then."
She laughed. "I don't actually have a copy of that book, and I only know parts of it myself-spells that could be adapted in some way for others to use. Come on, I can give you the few things I know-those could be enough to deal with Merrin, I think."
"Good. Thank you. That's what worried me the most," I confessed.
* * *
"Adahi and I believe this is what Merrin used to alert himself to someone approaching the cabin," Kyri said.
She'd placed four divination lines around her living space, while coaching me with mind-images.
What I saw through her was a square of light. Anyone breaking the plane she'd constructed about her would alert her to their presence. "If you place it correctly, even someone stepping into the space will send a signal to the one who placed the perimeter divination."
"So Merrin knew the moment they set down, and while Armon was instructing Caral to place a shield and the others to fire blasts on his command, Merrin escaped, leaving three of his deserters behind to fight back."
"That's what I think, too," Kyri affirmed. "It's likely he used it to hide from those searching for him these past months, and he'll continue to use it, until he's caught or killed. It won't keep anyone out as your shield will, but he'll know every time that someone has breached his perimeter."
"Do you think there's a way to get past it without his knowledge?"
"I don't know. Have any ideas?"
"Not yet, but I'll consider it."
"Good. Let me know if you come up with something. Now, it's time for bed. Sleep well; we'll consider other things in the morning."
* * *
King's Palace
Kerok
My dreams were of Sherra, when I finally slept.
In my dream, she stood on one side of a line, surrounded by trees and plants I'd never seen. It looked as if it had been raining where she was.
I, on the other hand, stood at the edge of the boundary between Az-ca and enemy territory. Two unlikely spaces had been joined, it appeared, leaving the enemy lands out. He's using a perimeter shield, Sherra told me.
Who? I was just as confused by her words as by our surroundings.
Merrin. A perimeter shield. In Thorn's Book.
My book?
No. An ancestor.
I practically leapt out of bed when a guard pounded on my door, waking me from my dreams.
Barth and Hunter swept into my suite, announcing that three former Council members had disappeared from their homes hours earlier.
Merrin was suspected in the kidnappings, because food and supplies were also missing from every home.
* * *
"I can see Merrin, until the images are abruptly cut off," Barth rubbed his forehead in aggravation.
He, Hunter, several guards and I stood inside Gram Plicton's home, where the disgraced former Council member lived-until Merrin arrived to remove him.
"It hasn't gone past me that Merrin chose three, when that's the number of sycophants he lost recently," Hunter remarked.
"I doubt they'll like the new accommodations he'll offer, or lack of beds," Barth muttered.
"Why does he want them?" I asked. "They have no power-how can they protect him?"
"I have no idea-I wish my visions didn't stop short," Barth said. "It's similar to what he did, I suppose, to those two victims at the front. I only saw past the block when Sherra touched me."
"Then I wish she were here, now," Hunter breathed. "This-defies logic."
"Hmmm-hmmm," Barth cleared his throat and cast a glance in my direction.
"Sorry, my Prince," Hunter held up a hand.
"Stop worrying about it," I said. "If there's nothing else to find here, let's go back to the palace. I need tea-or something stronger. Ask Garkus and Kage to meet with me at breakfast."
* * *
"Barth, you once told me you knew of no other book to be banned in Az-ca, other than The Rose Mark. Have you ever heard of Thorn's Book?" I toyed with my wineglass while sitting behind my desk.
"There's a biography he wrote in your father's library," Hunter answered first.
"Bring it to me-when you have a moment," I said.
"Why would you want it?" Barth asked.
"No reason. Have you read it?"
"No," Barth shook his head. "I had enough trouble getting through more recent-ah-monarch's information."
"Want more wine?" Hunter held up the bottle w
e were sharing.
"No, I want to sit here and think until time for breakfast," I said. "If Merrin can kidnap former Council members, he can kidnap anyone who can't put up a shield to keep him away."
"I'll have Thorn's biography on your desk in the morning," Hunter said.
* * *
"I want every trainee and every warrior taught how to make a shield," I told Armon, Levi, Garkus and Kage at breakfast. I'd ordered Armon and Levi to join me earlier than planned, and they'd brought their escorts with them.
"I suppose we have to learn, too," Garkus' forehead wrinkled as he considered my order. "So I can pass it on to the others."
"Merrin kidnapped three former Council members last night. If you can't shield yourself, he could attack you-admit it."
"He's right," Kage inclined his head toward Garkus.
"Levi and I can show you how," Armon said. "I wish, well, the one who taught us made it so much easier, just by touching the ones she taught."
"I know who you're talking about, and I'm grateful I'm still here to discuss those things with you," Garkus admitted. "The Prince tried to tell me before, but it was only after the last attack by the enemy that I really understood."
"I want warriors trained before they're sent to protect villages," I turned to Armon. "Do you think you can get that done in a few weeks?"
"We can try, but it'll take every warrior and escort with those talents to do it," Armon said.
"Do it. Keep me advised on the progress made. If any show reluctance, let me know. I'll deal with it personally."
"We'll do it for you, Prince Thorn," Caral said quietly. "And for Sherra."
Misten, sitting beside Caral, nodded her agreement. It reminded me that I wasn't the only one suffering in Sherra's absence. There'd never been a memorial-not since I'd had the vision of Kyri in my study.
Was my hope gone, now, that she'd return to us?
Thorn's biography lay on a corner of my desk, waiting for me to open it and read. I'd do that on the weight of a message in my dream.
I still have hope, I sent to Caral. I don't want to abandon that hope it until a year has passed. If she hasn't returned to us, then we will mourn for her.
Caral lowered her head, but not before I caught the sadness in her eyes. She and those around her had no hope. They knew nothing of my vision of Kyri. Just thinking of telling them brought home how foolish it would sound.
"Go to work," I handed the census papers Hunter had given me to Armon. "Choose carefully and teach well. Garkus, Kage, accompany Armon to Secondary Camp. Learn whatever you can about shielding and report to me afterward."
"It will be done, my Prince," Garkus rose and bowed. I watched as all of them left my study. They'd go to the garden outside to step away; Father's rule concerning stepping inside the palace still held.
* * *
Secondary Camp
Armon
"Yes, that's it," Caral said. Kage was learning how to shield faster than Garkus, and Garkus looked as if he might explode with frustration over it.
Levi had to turn away more than once to hide a smile.
Rain had fallen the night before, so the ground wasn't dusty as Caral and I taught the King's assassins how to shield, while Levi and Misten watched and offered advice.
"Your shield should recognize your blasts, so you can fire through it while still protecting yourself," Levi told Garkus. "Go ahead, fire a weak blast-just enough to get past the perimeter of your shield."
Levi and I knew Garkus' shield was weak. It made me wish for Sherra's presence. I'd probably had that same wish at least three times every day since her death.
We'd lost so much on that terrible day.
"That's fine, but you need to build a stronger shield," Misten strode toward Garkus. "Imagine it is made from the hardest material you can think of. Don't worry, it will still be invisible," she said.
"Do you think Garkus' personal views on women are holding him back?" Levi whispered beside me as Misten worked with Garkus to improve his shield. "He always said shielding was an escort's work."
I considered Levi's words-he could be right. Garkus hadn't taken his defeat at Sherra's hands very well. Rumors said that Garkus voiced them aloud to Thorn afterward, trying to shame the Prince regarding his concern for her.
Only after she died while destroying the enemy's army did Garkus concede that Sherra's talents were formidable.
I could only imagine how things would have gone had Garkus taken on the enemy single-handed.
Az-ca's total obliteration came to mind.
"I hope the rest of our training doesn't go this slowly," Levi mumbled. I had to turn away to hide a smile this time.
* * *
Ketchi
Sherra
"You must understand that the last time I saw any of this was fifty-three years ago," Cole said. Kyri had taken me back to Ketchi the following morning, to learn about the enemy from Cole.
He'd drawn a map on paper Kyri brought to him; it now contained images dredged from his memories as a child of seven. That meant he was now sixty.
"I imagine these facilities are much larger at present," Kyri sighed as she studied the oblong buildings outside what Cole described as a large city, covered in dust and dirty air.
"The farms are much farther out," Cole said. "In my memory, you understand. "Away from the dirty air. The plants don't get enough sunlight otherwise, I think."
"What makes the air dirty?" I asked. The thought brought images of what dust storms looked like in Az-ca.
"They burn coal and some wood. They used to have a liquid fuel, and it's my guess they've found more of it, to partially power the airplane they sent to Az-ca," Kyri said. "I doubt solar power would get the heavy thing off the ground without some sort of help."
"They may have found a way to make the liquid fuel," Cole offered.
"That's possible," Kyri agreed. "What matters is that they may have it, and can fuel more airplanes to attack."
"Where does the coal come from?"
"They're digging up their entire country, looking for more of it," Kyri sighed. "Large, open pits are everywhere. Prisoners are sent to some of the poisoned lands to extract coal from there. As you can guess, they don't live very long."
"They must have children more often than those in Az-ca," I ventured.
"Yes. The birth and death rates are high, and often occur within a matter of days, one from the other," Cole explained. "There were seven children in my family still living, after four had died in infancy. Women have no rights, especially in choosing how many children they birth. The laws prevent it."
"Women have no rights at all," Kyri huffed. "As bad as it was for Cole being born with power, it is much, much worse for a female."
"They're tortured publicly, and the screams," Cole shuddered.
"Some of them as young as three." Kyri rose from Cole's table and walked toward the front door. It was open, so she stood there, looking out at the street beyond.
I sat there, frozen in horror.
Children. Little more than babies. What sort of monsters were they?
"You're right to call them barbarians," Cole said softly. "I don't feel I'm a part of them. I never really did. I was born outcast; I just didn't know it until I was six and accidentally made fire when I couldn't get the fire started in the cooking stove. My own parents handed me to the authorities, who placed me in the lockup immediately."
What I considered betrayal by my father-for ignoring me after I was tattooed, couldn't compare to Cole's experiences. If Kyri hadn't invited him to come to her, he'd have died at age seven. All for something he'd been born with and had no choice in the matter.
"Kyri says we can't save them all. It still makes me angry that someone could be so cruel." Cole rose from the table this time, carrying his empty tea mug to the sink. I watched as his shoulders sagged afterward-these were difficult memories for him to recall.
"I'm going to teach you how to make blasts-and other powerful weapons," Kyri
was back and placing a hand on my shoulder. "Then, we'll travel to Ny-nes, spy on their facilities, and make a report to your Prince Thorn-not only concerning their movements, but what we've learned about Merrin and a certain, forbidden book, too."
Chapter 3
Sherra
"Go ahead-there's nothing inside it and it's falling down, anyway," Pottles grinned as I studied the structure before us.
Kyri stood yards away, deep in thought while Pottles urged me to destroy the abandoned building.
Closing my eyes, I practiced divination as Kyri taught me, going from empty room to empty room inside the wood-and-brick building.
As Pottles said, there wasn't anything there, and the roof was slowly caving in. I even checked for an underground room and found nothing.
Gathering the knowledge I'd gained from contact with Kerok, Levi, Armon and other warriors, I built my inner fire. Opening my eyes, I released it.
If I hadn't held a shield around the three of us, we could have been fried by the explosion and subsequent blowback; it pounded against my shield, mixed with fire and detritus from the massive blast.
When I could see and hear again, I found Kyri standing before me, unsure whether to laugh or frown.
"You may want to gauge your fireballs better," Pottles walked up to join Kyri, although her expression was firmly on the frowning side. "That one would have leveled all of Kyri's City, I believe."
Kyri turned to look at the leveled area around us-and it was leveled. Any unevenness in the ground was now forced flat and devoid of any plants, grass or weeds. "If we need ground cleared for building, we know who to call," she said dryly, planting fists firmly on her hips.
"You learned that from watching the warriors?" Pottles asked, her frown slipping away.
"I learned it by touching them and reading their fire and ability," I admitted.
"The same way she showed them how to shield themselves," Kyri shrugged. "We'll work on tempering your blasts to the job at hand," she said. "Let's go home. I need tea."
"I think the blast sent dust a mile away," Pottles said before we left the site. "Dust was all that remained, you know. There's not a single splinter or chunk larger than a grain of sand left."
"That's rather unnerving," I said as Kyri stepped us away.
Rose and Thorn: Black Rose Sorceress, Book 2 Page 3