Someday I'll Be Redeemed

by Kelly Blanchard

  Heldon grimaced as the guard pinned his arm a little too far behind his back, but he didn't try to put up a fight while they led him back down the stairs to the lower levels and at last to the dungeon. They fastened his hands in the chains again and left him to sit on the damp, stone floor.

  Finally alone, Heldon tilted his head back against the wall and lifted his gaze to the ceiling far, far above. Honroth said he'd know I was in trouble if I didn't return in a few days. He should be coming. Keeping this to himself, he bowed his head and waited.

  15

  Theran and Vixen meandered through the wreckage of an ambush. They chased away the huge black vultures that feasted upon the dead, and Theran recognized the crest as Wordan's men. He frowned but walked among them until Vixen's voice called him over, “Theran—King Wordan.”

  Theran hastened over and came down the short hill to where Vixen stood over the body of King Wordan. He frowned at the sight and clenched his fists. He hadn't known the last time he saw Wordan—just before he had dared Lorrek to cut Mordora's hair—that it would be the last time he saw him alive. He dropped to a knee beside him and bowed his head. If Verddra was behind this, he would make her pay, but knowing that revenge could not help him at this moment, he cleared his throat. “He must have been dead for sometime now, but why isn't his body decaying, and why haven't the animals torn him apart?” He glanced around at the bodies of the soldiers who had died alongside him, and the smell of rot and decay caused Theran to lift his hand to his face to try and block out the stench. However, Wordan's body remained untouched, and he looked back at it with a frown. “This makes no sense.”

  Vixen shrugged. “I suspect magic.” She recalled how Lorrek had told her of this attack, so she assumed he had been here after the fact and had cast some kind of preservation spell over Wordan's body to keep him untouched until his burial.

  “We need to bury him.” Theran cleared his throat. “It's the honorable thing to do.”

  Vixen nodded then looked around for something they could use as a shovel. Finding nothing, she looked back at the prince. “How are you going to bury him? There's nothing...” She trailed off when a sudden gust of wind whipped through the woods, and then she heard voices.

  “Why are you working for her? She's self-centered and only seeks her own gain at the destruction of others!” A woman's voice cut through the air, and Theran recognized it as the resident sorceress from the palace in Cuskelom.

  He cast Vixen a quizzical look and mouthed, “Erita?”

  Communicating without words to use stealth, Vixen and Theran crept back up the hill and stayed low while Erita continued her rant.

  “Whatever she's promised you will be worth nothing in the end. You would honestly betray your homeland and those you grew up with because of a misunderstanding?”

  “You do not know what you say.”

  Vixen froze at the sound of this voice, and she shot Theran a look. Did I really just hear that? When he nodded, she crawled up to the top of the hill and peered over. They saw Therth towering over Erita as he argued with her in the middle of the torn battlefield. Vixen narrowed her eyes at the sight of Therth, and she curled her lip into a sneer, but Theran snatched her wrist and shook his head firmly. She leveled him with a glare and whispered, “Would you rather I beat you up?”

  Theran hesitated then frowned and released her wrist and called out to warn the Cuskelom sorceress. “Erita!”

  Therth and Erita snapped their heads around toward the hill, and because they were focused on seeing a man, they never saw Vixen dart down the hill until she tackled Therth.

  Erita stepped back, surprised, and conjured a blue fiery orb to strike at Therth's attacker, but she hesitated when she recognized Vixen's bladed vest.

  Vixen's tackle slammed Therth to the ground, and she rammed her fist into Therth's face. With a grunt, Therth grabbed her wrists and rolled, so he was on top of her, but she used the momentum to keep moving as each of them took turns striking the other.

  A hand touched Erita's arm, and she gasped and spun around ready to attack, but she halted when she saw Theran. Her fiery orb vanished in her hand as she furrowed her brows in confusion. “Theran? Did Honroth send you?”

  Theran frowned but glanced to where Therth shoved Vixen off him with his knees then dove to tackle her, but she slid out of the way and elbowed him in the back. Theran looked back at Erita and shook his head. “Not exactly. What are you doing here?”

  “Verddra took over Nirrorm, and Honroth sent Heldon and me to confirm this.” Erita watched Vixen kick at Therth, but Therth grabbed her leg and twisted, so she spun then landed flat on the ground. In an instant she was up again and struck at Therth once more. Erita winced. “Shouldn't we stop them?”

  Theran shook his head. “No—she's been wanting to knock in my skull for the last several years.” Vixen punched Therth in the stomach, causing him to double over, and then she slammed his face into her knee. “Let her imagine Therth is me for now—might make her feel better.” Therth recovered quickly and tackled Vixen to the ground, but she kept the momentum going by rolling and tossing Therth back over her. Knowing they were preoccupied, Theran turned his full attention back to Erita. “Where's Heldon?”

  “Verddra's holding him hostage in the dungeon—doesn't want him to escape using his handblade.”

  Theran frowned when he heard this. “And what are you doing here?” He pointed out to their surroundings.

  Erita looked around as if remembering she had a task to complete here first. “Oh, I'm supposed to be looking for Lorrek's signature. It's believed Verddra saw him in Nirrorm.” As soon as she said this, she remembered whom she was talking to and what he had been searching for all these years. Theran turned to face her fully with hope in his eyes and lips parted in question, but Erita lifted a hand and leveled him with a firm look. “I don't know. I don't know if it is true. For all I know, it could have been Verddra's way to get me away from Heldon, so she could cut off his arm—thus the handblade—without me putting up much of a fight.”

  This caused Theran to stiffen and stand up straighter. “We need to go to Nirrorm.”

  Erita nodded. “Yes, well, as soon as Vixen’s finished beating him up, and once I take a look around, I'll be heading back.”

  “No.” Theran shook his head. “You and I—we're going to Nirrorm.”

  “But how?”

  Theran smiled. “The same way you came.” He looked back at Therth, and Erita followed his gaze.

  Vixen had completely forgotten about Theran and Erita as she fought with Therth. The last time she had seen him, she promised herself that she would beat him up so badly he would be hardly recognizable, and she had every intention to follow through. She swung a punch at him, but he blocked it, so she kicked him in the stomach to make him keel over then kicked out his knee from under him, forcing him to the ground as she choked him.

  With careful steps, Theran approached the vexed Vixen then crouched in front of his cousin. “Therth.” He acknowledged him with a nod then looked up at Vixen. “You about finished yet?”

  She shot him a glare. “Not nearly.”

  Theran lifted his hands in surrender as he rose to his feet and backed off. “Just don't kill him. He still makes a good double.”

  “Why do you think I'm beating him up and not you?”

  Theran conceded with a bow of his head. “Good point. By all means...” he motioned toward Therth, “continue.”

  Vixen shoved Therth to the ground, but he caught himself and rolled back to his feet in time to catch a punch from Vixen, and he twisted to lock her arm behind her back. Once he had her pinned in place, he leaned down to her ear. “What is your problem, Vixen? What do you think you're doing?”

  She looked over her shoulder at him and glared. “Because you promised you would get Loroth out of there, and he's dead!” She swung around with her other arm and struck Therth on the side of his head, forcing him to release her.

  Therth lifted his hands to guard h
is head as she attacked him time and time again. Finally, he saw an opening, and he seized her wrist, twisting it and locking eyes with her. “But you left him first!”

  Her eyes widened. “I had no choice. He told me to go. They were going to kill me, and you promised to get him out!”

  Therth looked ready to reply, but suddenly he crumpled.

  Still ready to strike, Vixen frowned then looked beyond the unconscious Therth to see Erita. The sorceress nodded at Therth. “Sleeping spell. Theran needs to talk with you.” She jutted her chin toward the prince who was approaching Vixen.

  Erita went to resume her search for Lorrek’s magic signature while Theran looked at Therth's limp body then at the wrath in Vixen's face. He refused to back down. He crossed his arms. “Care to explain yourself?” He nodded to Therth but kept his eyes on Vixen.

  “Therth was my brother-in-law. What more is there to explain?”

  “Maybe the whole thing about him being responsible for getting Loroth killed?” Theran arched his brow, but when he saw Vixen’s refusal to discuss it, he hardened his glare on her. “Listen, I know Lorrek hired you for some job because Loroth recommended you, and I have no idea your past with Loroth or what Lorrek wanted you to do, but it's all connected—I know. One day you're either going to have to let it go, or tell someone, because I recognized that look in Therth's eyes—it's the look of someone looking hard for someone he feels responsible for and lost. He's looking for Loroth, or at the very least he's looking for answers, Vix. You shouldn't beat him up.”

  Vixen glowered at him and watched as Theran reached down and began removing Therth's armor. “Then why did you let me?”

  “Let you beat him up?” Theran lifted his brows as he looked back up at Vixen and smirked. “I knew it would be a bad idea to try and stop you. Besides, you probably feel better now, having beaten somebody up, don't you? Oh, don't give me that look. I've seen how you've glared at Aradin and Dustal almost as if you hoped they'd do something stupid, so you could use it as an excuse to knock some sense into them. And yes, I've seen you look at me that way. I do appreciate your self-control though.” With that, Theran returned to removing Therth's armor, and Vixen frowned as she folded her arms.

  “What are you doing?” She watched him as he laid aside the armor.

  He looked up at her and smiled. “I'm going back to Nirrorm with Erita—as him.” He pointed to Therth. “And you're going to take him back to Cuskelom—”

  “As you?” Vixen arched a brow. “You're going to try to deceive Honroth?”

  Theran shook his head. “No, he can go as himself, but Honroth might find use for him as my double since he's facing Jechorm.”

  Vixen frowned as she took in all he had said, and then she nodded. It made sense. “I'm going to keep a look out.” With that, she turned on her heel and left Theran to perfect the switch. She knew Erita was somewhere around here, perhaps casting viewing spells to see what had happened in the recent past, but Vixen didn't need magic to know. King Wordan came, they were ambushed and killed, and somehow Verddra was behind all of it, and Vixen couldn't believe Therth was working for that sorceress.

  She snatched a blade off her vest and threw it at a tree. It struck hard, and she retrieved it, yanking it out, then threw it again.

  Therth was Loroth's older brother. Looking back on it now, the conditions of Vixen and Loroth's first meeting made Vixen chuckle. She was an assassin and worked regularly with thieves when the jobs called for it. One mismatched group she found herself in often was under the guidance of a master thief named Aden, and they came to an understanding: she would kill and steal whatever was necessary, but kidnapping was out of the question. “I prefer no one to see me on my jobs—or at least, they won't live if they do.” They had worked well together until she returned from a separate job one day and found Loroth tied to a chair in the middle of their rundown shack.

  After a few choice words with Aden, Vixen stormed away. She thought that would be the last time she'd see Aden and especially Loroth, but she was surprised when the following day Loroth stumbled into a tavern and froze when he saw her. She arched her brow, marched up to the counter, bought him a drink, then sat back down at her table. Loroth hesitated, but accepted the drink, and joined her at the table, which resulted in a very awkward conversation.

  After some persuading, she agreed to take him back to Cuskelom—not knowing he was the double for Prince Lorrek because neither the prince nor the double were social individuals. She didn't recognize him until his limited magical skills came in handy during an ambush before they made it back to Cuskelom. Despite Vixen's better judgment, she found herself time and again working with Loroth. “You know thieves, and you know assassins, and you have honor. You're the best one for the job,” he told her when he first recruited her for a task Lorrek needed done, and Vixen had expected Loroth to give her the job and leave, but he didn't; instead he shed any aspect of royalty and went undercover with her to finish the task.

  Over the course of time, she grew close to the princes and their doubles, Therth and Loroth, and she was as surprised as anyone when, just as they were leaving for another job, Loroth asked her to marry him. She chuckled, remembering how she had been too shocked to give him an answer, and how one bad thing happened after another, interrupting any chance they might have had to talk. She wasn't able to give him an answer until her own fellow assassins were going to kill Loroth when she announced they were married. The mere announcement bound them, and Vixen remembered the look of disbelief on her father's face. She supposed he had never expected her to love anyone.

  And then Lorrek had a final task—one he would accompany them on, and no one could know. But Therth found out, and the only way to gain his silence was to allow him to accompany them, so they did. That was why Vixen now wanted to kill Therth—or at least hurt him very, very badly.

  She glared over her shoulder to see that Theran had swapped uniforms with Therth, and now it looked like the prince of Cuskelom was unconscious on the ground while her brother-in-law stood above him; the only difference was Therth had lighter hair. Vixen frowned when she saw this, then locked eyes with Erita, and motioned to her hair.

  Erita's gaze shifted back to Theran, and she nodded then muttered a glamour spell, and Theran protested when he felt magic moving over him. Erita rolled her eyes as she approached the prince. “Just a glamour spell, so you look more like Therth now.” She placed a hand on his arm. “Ready to go?”

  “Wait.” Vixen stepped forward. “What am I supposed to do with him?” She motioned to Therth's unconscious body.

  Theran looked from his cousin to Vixen—more specifically to the bracelet on her wrist. “Use the handblade to go back to Cuskelom. Put him in Honroth's keeping, and stay there. I think my brother will need your expertise with the coming battles he faces.”

  “And what am I supposed to tell him of you?” Vixen folded her arms and scowled. Honroth had assigned her to protect Theran—not play errand girl for the prince. If she returned to Cuskelom without him, she doubted Honroth would be pleased.

  Theran chuckled. “You can do two things. Either you can lead him to believe Therth is me...” He trailed off when he saw her glare turn lethal. “Or you can tell him that I am in Nirrorm to retrieve Heldon—and I expect him to send reinforcements.” When he noted how this appeased Vixen's wrath, he nodded to her handblade. “Be careful with that. I know you haven't used it before to teleport on your own, and the first time is always disorienting.”

  “Can't be any worse than magicking with Lorrek or one of your sorcerers.” Vixen went to Therth and crouched beside him, gripping his shoulder.

  “Be safe.” Theran nodded as he stepped closer to Erita.

  Vixen chuckled. “You're telling me?” She lifted her brows but then reached over and touched the runes on the handblade.

  Theran hadn't been joking when he said the first time was disorienting. As soon as Vixen reappeared in the halls of the palace of Cuskelom, Vixen toppled over Therth's b
ody, dizzy, but heard the distant sound of alarmed shouts—low, deep voices that made no sense whatsoever. When she pushed herself off Therth's body and turned up to look at the people, all she saw were wavering walls and huge, slender people with wide and narrow mouths as they tried to talk to her, but the sound emerged slower than normal and sounded jumbled.

  Vixen grunted and closed her eyes while taking a deep, cleansing breath. For a long time, she didn't open her eyes until the voices became clearer—one specifically stood out.

  “Vixen, what happened?” Honroth—she knew that voice anywhere.

  With another grunt, she forced her eyes open and was relieved to that find the room had stopped spinning and the people around her were the right size and no longer distorted. Immediately before her crouched Honroth with worry on his face, and he kept glimpsing from her to Therth and then to her again.

  When he locked eye contact with her once more, she tried to talk, only to find her tongue incredibly heavy and her throat parched.

  Seeing her distress, Honroth barked over his shoulder for a servant to bring some water, and once it was brought forth, he eased it to her lips. “Steady.” After letting her drink her fill, he eased the cup away and fixed his gaze on her once more. “What happened? Why is Theran unconscious?”

  She licked her lips and glanced at the still unconscious form of Therth. “That's not Theran—it's Therth. He was working for Verddra.” When she saw Honroth's eyes widen in disbelief, she waved it off. “Long story, but Heldon's been captured—and Erita. Apparently Verddra ordered Erita to investigate...something, and she had Therth accompany her. Theran and I ran into them in the forest, and...” She motioned at Therth. “Theran’s doubling as Therth for now.” She paused when she realized how little sense any of this made, and then she cast Honroth a helpless glance. “Aye, it's a long story.”

  “But what happened to him?”

  “You mean, why is he beaten up?” Vixen gave him a grin. “That was me. The last time I saw him I told him I would beat him the next time I saw him, and that just happened. As to why he's unconscious...” Her gaze shifted to Inecha a step behind Honroth. “You might need Inecha to wake him. Erita cast a sleeping spell on him.”