Renegade Skyfarer

by R. J. Metcalf

  Slate swallowed the lump in his throat as he shook Kerlee’s hand. “And for the safety of our families.”

  Kerlee stepped back, chin high. “Go on, sir. Strike a blow against those Void-cursed Elph, and fix that barrier.”

  “Gladly.” Slate motioned to Nevin and Victor. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Fifty

  Blade

  Blade chopped with his sword, severing the palace guard’s arm at the shoulder. It fell free and hit the formerly white marble floor. The man dropped his spear and grasped at his stump with a guttural yell. Blood squeaked underfoot, and the sound only fueled Blade’s fury.

  His mind was his again, and he refused to let memories slow him down now.

  The entire foyer of the Doldran palace had been cleaned of the Aerugan guards that sullied it. Their blood would wash away the taint.

  Sneaking into the city had been pitifully easy for Blade’s small company. When they’d arrived, they discovered that the palace had a reduced guard, and one of Bentley’s men had been overheard talking about an undercover mission that morning—something about eliminating a political threat. Whatever the reason, it made Blade’s goal laughably simple to accomplish.

  There had been too many guards around Slate that morning when they saw him leaving the palace, talking with Bentley’s men about the keystone. Blade had decided to lead his men to the now under-guarded palace and through the secret passage that led straight to the citadel. He didn’t know, nor care, what Slate’s business was there. All that mattered was revenge. His mind was his again, but he still suffered the aftereffects of the control bracelet: remnants of Kadar’s hate swirled through his brain, mixing with his own hatred and desire for revenge. But as long as the lingering emotions and desires didn’t interfere with his own revenge, Blade couldn’t care less.

  As for those who hindered them here in the palace, they could be eradicated without guilt. These were Bentley’s men. Everett’s governor stooge, who had no right to sit on the throne of Doldra.

  One of Blade’s men shouted and followed a screaming maid down the hall. Blade’s lip curled and disgust stirred in his stomach at the fate of the innocent woman. He turned away and pointed up the stairs. “We need to get to the library.”

  His remaining five men followed as he charged up the familiar steps. Sunlight streamed in from the main doors, and Blade paused to see who entered. His breath caught, and he lowered his sword to stare in confusion.

  Of the five that stood in the doorway, only two looked familiar. One looked eerily similar to Blade’s best friend from a previous life. From the dark hair, black clothes, and the multitude of weapons strapped over his body—he had to be a Monomi. Maybe even Zane’s younger brother. How unfortunate that he would be here, now. If he tried to interfere, Blade would stop him. As for the other…

  The other could have been Sapphire twenty years ago. Red hair, delicate facial structure, the same brilliant blue eyes. This had to be Slate’s daughter. She looked up at him, and her eyes widened as her jaw dropped. She tore her gaze away and spoke to a man next to her.

  Blade turned away to see a new group of guards run out from a side hall. He started up the stairs again and flicked a free hand toward the entryway as he passed his second-in-command. “Take them out.”

  Stannin hefted a metal orb with a gap-toothed grin and raised his eyebrows. “Boom?”

  “Boom.”

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Jade

  Horror stiffened Jade’s spine while guilt threatened to melt her knees as she stood in the Doldran palace—technically her palace—and stared at the carnage surrounding them. Blood glimmered on the white and black tiles, and the smells of adrenaline, sweat, and human waste burned her sinuses. Her mind still reeled from Ben’s explanation on their hard ride here. Her father had no idea what he was about to do. Her heart squeezed again.

  Jade stepped closer to Zak and swallowed back tears as she thought of Krista. Krista, crying over Briar’s prone body as Schultz, the Phoenix doctor, tried desperately to stop Briar’s bleeding. Jade hadn’t wanted to leave her best friend’s side, but she had to help. She couldn’t not help.

  How could so much go so wrong so quickly?

  “It’s him.” Ben breathed.

  Jade looked up to see a blond swordsman on the balcony across the foyer. The crew had described him well enough after their mission-gone-awry for her to recognize him. “I think I saw him outside a store in Vodan once, while with Krista,” she realized aloud.

  “More than that.” Ben gripped his steam-pistol. The bandit turned away as Ben lifted his weapon. “He killed Jaxton!”

  Zak and Jade inhaled sharply, and Jade glared up at the man. His blond ponytail bounced as he nodded to a man next to him. The bandit continued up the steps without looking back as his goon launched an orb over the balcony at them.

  “Move!” Ben shouted as he pushed Raine to the right. “Everyone, down!”

  Pain screamed up Jade’s knees as she fell to the hard floor. Ben’s fear infected her, though she didn’t know why he was so scared of what looked like a potion bottle. Zak’s weight pinned half of her down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Finn drop. The floor rumbled. Her teeth rattled and she bit her tongue. Fire rolled over them. The flames swirled away as quickly as they came, and Jade gasped.

  Finn had rolled on his back, both hands upstretched, his eyes narrowed and focused. He flicked his fingertips, and the remnant of smoke dissipated. His gaze met hers and a smile glimmered over his lips before he rocked upright and looked around the empty room. “I don’t see Slate anywhere.”

  Jade wiggled out from under Zak. What in Terrene had Finn just done? She shot him a glance from the corner of her eye. He must be a sage, to some degree. She wanted to ask him, but her tongue ached and blood coated the inside of her mouth. Zak stirred under her. She looked down at him and grabbed his pale, clammy face in her hands, terror pounding a harsh drumbeat in her ears.

  He trembled without blinking. “Zak? Zak! What’s wrong?” She slid a hand over his arms and back to confirm that he wasn’t injured. His black shirt had no rips or tears that she could find.

  He blinked and took a shuddering breath. “Bombs. Here.” He squeezed his green eyes shut with a grimace. “Bad memories. Not here, not again,” he whispered, his voice small.

  Jade rubbed his back as she looked around and confirmed that the rest of their party was unhurt. Ben knelt and inspected the shattered water tank of his steam-pistol with a scowl. A puddle of water and glass below his knee proved that Ben’s weapon was now useless. Raine shook sharp fragments off her tunic.

  Jade glared up the stairs to where the blond bandit had left. So he had been the one to kill Jaxton? She ran her fingers gently through Zak’s hair. Then she stood, testing her knees for any unexpected aches. “Finn. Find my fath—” she shook her head. “Slate. Find Slate. Do what you need to do.”

  Finn turned to her, his hand out, as if to constrain her. “What are you going to do?”

  “What needs to be done,” she growled. She dashed across the entryway, jumping over prone bodies and striving to not dwell on the severed fingers and limbs that she passed. Her sword rattled in its sheath as she pounded up the stairs, ignoring Ben’s shout for her to come back. She ran through the open door, catching a glimpse of Raine down below, running up the stairs, chasing after her.

  Luminary crystals lit the warm amber-colored walls in what should have been a peaceful palace hallway. But bloody shoeprints marred the illusion, and Jade followed the blatant trail, determination surging through her veins. She pulled out her blade as she came close to a corner. She held it defensively as she passed the open space. A tiny trickle of relief eased her tight shoulders when no one jumped out at her.

  Let me find you. I need to prove I’m not some helpless little princess. Let me avenge our friends. You loathsome Void Born.

  Sweat beaded on her forehead, and Jade swiped at it with the back of her wrist. She pulled up short when
the blond stepped out of a doorway. Books lined the shelves behind him. She raised her sword, and his eyes flared wide, fixated on the shiny blue metal.

  “You killed Doctor Jaxton.” Jade’s voice held steady. She clenched her jaw. “You had no right—”

  “I had every right.” The bandit unsheathed his sword, but held it loosely as he regarded her, hatred burning in his eyes. “How dare he give you her sword?”

  Terrified as she was, Jade blinked at his odd question. Were they even talking about the same person? She consciously kept the blade up and between them. “Jaxton didn’t give me this. This was my aunt’s sword.” Although, I guess it was actually my mother’s sword. Weird.

  “Give my regards to your father when I send him after you.” The blond leapt forward, his crimson blade sweeping down at her. She blocked the strike, barely, but the impact vibrated up her arms and shoulders in a wave of pain. She stumbled back and tripped over a rug as he slashed again.

  His blade bit into her, and something crunched in her shoulder. Agony flared blindingly bright. She couldn’t recall letting go of her sword, but when she collapsed, it already lay on the ground by her feet. Voices behind her shouted, and she watched through tear-blurred eyes as the blond man escaped. Light and sound dimmed, then faded to black.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Blade

  Blade stalked to where his men waited at the back of the library. Though a part of his heart ached after cutting down the young woman who so resembled Sapphire, his hatred armored him. If she wasn’t dead, she would be soon enough.

  It was Slate’s fault that Blade’s wife and daughter were dead. It was only fair for Slate to experience the same pain that Blade felt. The same loss. The same mind-numbing sorrow.

  Nothing would stop him.

  He flicked the gem under the lamp and waited patiently for the bookcase to slide back, revealing the secret passageway. Voices rose in a panic outside the library door, but no one came in after them. Blade entered the dark doorway, and his men followed.

  No one would stand in his way.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Ben

  Ben skidded around a corner and nearly slipped in a crimson puddle that slowly soaked into an amber-and-burgundy rug. Blood poured from Jade’s shoulder and chest. Raine bent over her, trying to hold severed skin together.

  “Son of a—” Ben dropped to his knees on the other side of Jade and ripped off his button-up over-shirt, all but throwing it at Raine. “Use this.”

  Raine pressed it to Jade’s chest. The sky-blue fabric soaked up blood, which stained the shirt an odd shade of purple. Raine glanced up at Ben, her face tense. “Where’s Papa? Zak?”

  “Coming.” Ben grabbed Jade’s flailing hand as she gasped to breathe. “Some Monomi arrived just as I was following.” He used a free hand to push a tendril of hair out of Jade’s mouth. The memory of losing Laurent flashed through Ben’s mind, and the air whooshed out of his lungs. He rocked forward on his knees and gently grasped her jaw. “Stay with me. You hear? Focus. Slow breaths.”

  Footsteps echoed from the hall, and Ben let go to grab his steam pistol. Glass tinkled and he swore as he let go of it. Short of bludgeoning anyone, the weapon was useless for now. He pressed against the wall and peeked around, then moved out and waved at Zak and Finn. “We need a medic!”

  Zak barreled around the corner, and stopped short. His eyes widened and he flung himself toward Jade with an oath. He lifted the soaked shirt to look at the wound and swore again.

  “Finn!” Zak rotated his black belt around his hips and unlatched a vial holster. He yanked out a little glass bottle.

  Finn came around the corner as Zak pulled the stopper from the vial and started to pour a clear liquid over her wound. “Help her, please.”

  Ben stepped aside to let the older man kneel beside Jade. Ben swallowed hard as he watched Jade struggle for each shallow breath. Finn inspected the gash. Shattered bone poked out of her shoulder, and the jagged gash cut through her flesh down to her visibly cracked breastbone. Whatever Zak put on it helped to slow the gushing blood. Ben knelt, woozy, when he counted at least two broken ribs sticking out of her skin.

  During war with one of his brothers-in-arms was bad enough. But this? A friend on a mission like this? He closed his eyes and tried to control the shaking in his hands as another memory tried to breach his awareness.

  “Her lung is collapsing,” Finn muttered aloud, and Ben’s gaze shot to the old man. Finn’s eyes were closed as he ran his splayed hand over her chest, concentration pinching his brows. His eyes fluttered open, and he pulled a speckled green stone out of his pocket, holding it over her ribcage. The wrinkles around his lips deepened as he frowned.

  Raine frantically motioned to Ben and Zak. “Hold her down. We don’t have any nullification stones, so this is going to be—”

  Jade jerked under Finn’s hands, and her chest arched as she screamed. Zak flung his leg over hers and grabbed her closest hand while Raine braced Jade’s head from thrashing side to side. Ben rushed to flank Jade and grab her other hand before she could smack at Finn.

  Ben stared in horrified astonishment as the ribs he could see slipped back under her skin. His stomach turned. Her clammy hand nearly tore from his grasp, and he gripped her slender fingers with one hand while pressing his other against her stomach to prevent her from twisting so much. A quick glance showed that Zak’s tan face had paled to the color of sand as he fought with Jade’s jerking, fighting, and blood-curling screams. Tears leaked from her eyes, and her hoarse shriek fell silent as she mercifully lapsed into unconsciousness. Her collarbone merged together with discernible seams in the bone. A second later, her breastbone knit together.

  Sweat beaded on Finn’s forehead, and he slipped the stone back into his pocket. He took deep breaths as he carefully arranged the loose skin back to its proper location on Jade’s chest and shoulder. He looked at Zak’s shell-shocked face before turning to Ben. “I’ve managed to repair her ribs, but she’s lost so much blood.” Finn tugged her blouse to keep her decent as he worked. “Her lung is too delicate for her to be moved much, and I can’t do any more mani-med healing without risk of killing her. The next few minutes will be crucial. No one has seen Slate?”

  Ben shook his head and met Finn’s gaze with awe. “No, sir.”

  “We still need to find him, or her life won’t be the only one endangered.” Finn frowned as he gently smoothed a bubble in her skin on her shoulder. He glanced at Raine. “I need to stay with her for now. Zak can remain. The Monomi are clearing out the palace below, so we should be safe enough here.”

  Raine pressed her lips together, her eyes dark with an emotion that Ben couldn’t identify as she nodded. She looked up at Ben. “I’ll need you to come, too, in case we run into trouble that I can’t handle alone.”

  Surprise rocked Ben. “Really? My pistol is busted. I—”

  Raine dipped her head, her eyes tight, and Ben loosened his grip on Jade’s slack hand.

  He directed his words to Zak. “Okay, then. If you’re sure you’ll be fine without us?”

  A muscle in Zak’s jaw twitched, and his eyes didn’t leave Jade’s frighteningly pale face. “Go.” His eyes flicked to the open doorway on their right. “There’s a secret passageway in there. Back wall. Quickest way to the citadel. Crystal under the lamp.”

  Ben touched Jade’s face. She looked so small, so frail, so broken. He leaned over her and whispered in her ear, “Fight to live. Zak needs you. I need you. Who will I tease if you’re gone, sister?”

  He tucked her hair behind her ear and didn’t fight the protective urge that welled up in him. Somehow, she’d filled the role of Sara, and had proven to be just as precious to him, even in the short time he’d known her. The idea of losing her now rocked him to the core.

  Ben nodded grimly to Finn. “Protect her.” He scrambled to his feet. Raine did, too, staring at Jade, still as death on the marble floor. “We’ll be back as soon as we can,” he promised. />
  Finn grabbed Raine’s hand before she could step away. He peered up at her, his eyes shining with sorrow and pride. “You know what you need to do.”

  Raine patted his hand, her own eyes reflecting resolve and a trace of fear. “I won’t fail you.” She turned, gripped her sword hilt, grabbed Ben’s blood-coated hand, and pulled him into the library.

  Books passed by in a blur as Ben followed Raine through the quiet room. A dark opening yawned before them, between shelves of books, and she paused there, hand on the wall. She stepped in.

  Darkness greeted Ben’s eyes as he fought to see the steps under his feet. A cool breeze blew through the thin fabric of his undershirt, reminding him that his thicker over-shirt was being used to mop up blood in the other room. He stifled a shiver. “What is it that you need to do when we get there?”

  Raine’s voice echoed back to him, barely audible over the scuff of their boots on the dirt-covered ground, “Whatever I must to succeed.”

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Slate

  The hair on Slate’s arms rose as he approached the wavering purple barrier. Everyone said that the barrier didn’t react to people, but he most vehemently disagreed with those folks right now. Blue rippled into lavender, followed by green as he stepped closer to the shimmering black keystone.

  Does it remember me? Slate glanced down at his palm and the faint scar that his gloves hid. Does it remember my blood? He didn’t dare look at the back wall, where he could feel Zane’s ghost watching him. Our blood.

  Victor stayed at the edge of the circular room, close to the single doorway where Nevin and two of his guards also stood. Victor glared over Slate’s shoulder at the keystone. “It doesn’t look like it’s happy that we’re here.”