Successor

  A man steps between us, and I look up into dark eyes. His sneer reveals crooked, rotting teeth.

  “Hello, Bonder.” His voice is a hollow rasp. “We have a matter to discuss.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  It’s hard to slow my breathing and still the shaking in my legs. Hands grip my arms like steel while another digs into my back, pushing me forward. The blade at my neck digs farther into my skin, making me wince. I’m sure the icy glare I give the man in front of me does little to hide my fear.

  “Taustin, I presume.” The steadiness of my voice surprises me.

  “Afraid not. He sends his regards.”

  He shifts to one side, giving me a view of Ren. At a glance he looks tense and cautious, but I know differently. His anger toward me earlier doesn’t compare to what emanates from him now. His glare is pure bloodlust.

  The outlander lifts my chin with a filthy finger. “The Nexus Key.” His putrid breath fans my face, making my stomach lurch. “Where is it?”

  “The what?” I breathe out, blinking in confusion.

  His sneer darkens. He grabs my jaw, his fingers digging into my skin. A grunt of pain escapes my throat.

  “Do not waste my time, girl,” he rasps, low and harsh. He leans closer. “Give us what we want, and your death will be swift.”

  Ren jerks and strains against the hands holding him. My heart is close to breaking through my chest.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say through clenched teeth, my jaw aching.

  “It is passed from one elemental to the next. Since the last has long been dead, it would’ve gone to you.” His grip on my jaw tightens. “Hand it over and spare yourself the pain.”

  A million questions race through my mind over the panic I’m desperate to quell. How does he know when my mom died? And what is this key he’s looking for? I never received anything that belonged to her, aside from the Link.

  Blast already! I will the Link to go off, but then realize I left my bag back in the training yard. I’d been so determined to get Ren to talk that I completely forgot to grab it. Stunned it slipped my mind, I curse myself for leaving it behind, now of all times.

  When I don’t respond, the outlander gives my head a hard shake. A sharp sting shoots across my neck, sending a shiver down my body. I suck in air on a whimper.

  “Give us the Nexus Key!” he growls, sticking his face in mine.

  “She does not have it!” Ren’s voice comes out harsh, and the outlander whips around. “It was lost long ago. Its location is unknown.”

  The outlander releases my jaw and turns to Ren. He pulls a blade from a sheath at his side and presses the tip into the depression between Ren’s shoulder and chest. A trickle of blood rolls down his side. He doesn’t flinch.

  “I do not have the patience for lies,” the outlander rasps, pressing the blade farther into Ren’s skin. The small line of blood grows. “And Taustin has far less.”

  The sight of Ren’s blood is too much for me. “He’s not lying.”

  The outlander looks back to me with hard eyes.

  “Sianne died when I was born. She never passed anything to me.”

  “How inconvenient.” His head tilts. “The fact remains that Taustin requires the Nexus Key, and it would be in your best interest to retrieve it for him.” He pushes the end of the blade deeper into Ren’s shoulder, spilling more blood.

  Ren doesn’t make a sound, but the clenching in his jaw gives away his pain.

  “It may not be on this plane,” I say in a rush, my stomach twisting. “I wouldn’t know where to start looking—I don’t even know what it looks like.”

  The outlander straightens, staring me down. “Then you would do well to find out. You have until sundown to find the Nexus Key and deliver it to Taustin. If you fail, he will cut down every last Laraek in his path, starting with your golden-haired friend.”

  My heart stops, then slams into overdrive as a cold sweat breaks out all over my body.

  No, no, no…

  “Leila,” I breathe, a bare whisper to my ears. The sadistic glint in the outlander’s glare confirms my worst fear.

  They have my best friend.

  These people have no qualms about injuring me or Ren, which means they won’t think twice about killing Leila or anyone else in the village.

  “Please, don’t hurt her,” I plead, my voice stronger than before.

  He removes the knife from Ren’s shoulder, the tip wet and dark. He moves toward me, swinging his arm in a carefree, lazy way. “That will depend on you.” He raises the knife, gesturing to me. He touches the tip under my chin, forcing my head up. “If you fail, her death will be severe—and you will watch.”

  “I’ll find it,” I insist. “You have my word.”

  The corner of his mouth twitches. “Sundown,” he repeats, then turns and flings the knife toward Ren. The blade strikes his shoulder, sinking in to the hilt. A harsh grunt escapes his lips on impact, his steely expression giving way to a grimace of pain.

  “No!” I cry out, straining against the hands holding me, forgetting about the blade at my neck. The outlander turns back to me, and I want nothing more than to gouge his eyes out.

  A hand slams into the knife handle protruding from Ren’s shoulder, and a guttural roar erupts from his throat. A fist comes up hard under his jaw, sending him to the ground in a bloody heap.

  My scream is cut off when the back of a hand collides with my cheek, and pain explodes in my head. I’m blinded by a white flash as I drop to the ground. My ears fill with ringing.

  My cheek throbs, the skin hot and tender to the touch. I shake my head to clear my vision and find the outlanders have vanished, evaporating like steam into the trees. Ren lays unmoving on the ground, and I scramble to his side. He’s semiconscious, and I shake his good shoulder.

  “Ren?” He blinks a few times, his eyes searching in a blind daze. I take his head in my hands. “Can you hear me?”

  He blinks again, his focus finding me and turning anxious. He reaches a hand to my neck, his fingers brushing my skin. “Hurt…” His voice is gravelly, strained.

  “I’m fine.”

  The barest touch of my fingertips to his chest makes him wince and groan. The tip of the knife is sticking out the back of his shoulder, his blood soaking the ground. A wave of nausea makes my stomach roll, but I tamp it down.

  “We need to get you to Kirahl. Can you stand?”

  He nods, his body stiff, and I help him sit up. He rises with a grimace, blood streaming from his wound. I pull him to his feet, grabbing his arm when he sways.

  “Come on.” With his good arm over my shoulders, I wrap mine around his waist and encourage him to lean into me. The man is solid muscle, and it takes all my strength to keep from falling over under his weight. “We need to get you out of here before you lose too much blood.”

  We stumble down the path as fast as Ren can manage. His breathing is strained, laced with grunts of pain as our steps jostle his injury. We break into the open yard, and I spot scouts sparring at the far end.

  “Outlanders!” My voice carries clear across the ring. “Outlanders are here!”

  The others race toward us, and with broken words I send them into the forest after the intruders. In the next moment Kais is standing before me, demanding an explanation.

  “We were ambushed.” He takes my place under Ren’s arm, and I grab my bag from the ground. We head toward the healing lodge. “They have Leila.”

  Without hesitating, Kais whistles to the nearest sentry and yells for her to check on Kirahl. The woman takes off at a sprint, flagging down another sentry to follow her. Kais makes a frustrated noise in his throat. We can’t move any faster.

  He looks at me, frowning. “Why were you not taken?”

  “They’re after something.” Chaos unfolds around us as scouts take off after the outlanders, the sentries securing the village. “Taustin thinks I have it, and he’s using Leila—the entire clan—as leverage.”

>   Kais continues to scowl, asking nothing else.

  We cross the center and make it down the path to the healing hollow. One of the sentries steps out, her gaze landing on us as we approach.

  “Kirahl is safe,” she calls to us before shaking her head, “but the bonder’s companion is gone.”

  When I race inside, I find the other sentry working to untie the ropes binding Kirahl’s wrists. The corners of her mouth are raw from the gag now hanging around her neck.

  I rush over and crouch next her, working on the knots at her ankles. “Are you okay? What happened?”

  She nods once, her face pale. “Outlanders entered from above.” She motions with her head toward the nearest opening at the top of the hollow. “I did not know they were inside until they were upon me.” Her eyes search mine. “They took Leila.”

  “I know. They’re using her against me.” Cold fear continues to grip my stomach as I pull away the loosened rope.

  “Why?” Her fingers lift to my neck. “You are injured. What happened?”

  “We were ambushed in the woods. I’m fine.” I wipe my fingers across the shallow cut in my skin. It barely bled. “But Ren is hurt.”

  Kirahl gets to her feet as Kais hauls Ren inside and lays him on the nearest bed. She reassures her mate she’s okay and starts examining Ren.

  “How did they infiltrate the village again? We had a significant increase in patrols.”

  I think for a moment. “Could Taustin have an informant in the village?”

  Kirahl keeps her eyes on Ren. He’s silent with his eyes squeezed shut at her ministrations, a thin sheen of sweat making his skin glisten. She pulls the knife from his shoulder with care, passing it to Kais as he hands her bandages. She lays them over and under the wound and presses down.

  “It is not likely.” She glances at me over her shoulder. “But it would explain how the outlanders have avoided detection.”

  “But why would someone help him?”

  “It is difficult to say.” She eyes Ren, then me, looking worried. “Without a functioning elemental and the defense commander injured, we are at a distinct disadvantage.”

  My anxious gaze roves over Ren. Strange purple streaks on his skin are emerging from under the bandage. “What is that?”

  “A toxin,” Kirahl says. “It is derived from a plant that lives within the trees near the canopy.”

  “Outlanders coat their weapons in its sap,” Kais adds. “The effects are extremely unpleasant.”

  My stomach twists. “Will it kill him?”

  Kirahl shakes her head. “If left untreated, it will cause paralysis. A tonic was developed long ago to counteract its effects, but it will take time to prepare.”

  I huff out a relieved breath. “Okay. Good. While you work on that, I need to talk to the elders.”

  “Kais will accompany you.” She stands and starts to gather ingredients on the table.

  “Come.” Kais heads for the entrance. I follow him out, casting a glance at Ren, willing him to be okay.

  Pandemonium fills the village center. People are everywhere—parents looking for their children, scouts and sentries running back and forth as they search the paths and wooded areas for intruders. I stay close to Kais as we enter the swarming crowd.

  As we pass the fire pit, a cry rings out over the noise. “An outlander has been captured!”

  Movement stalls as everyone turns to look. A path clears through the crowd as a handful of sentries come forward with an outlander trussed up between them. He’s one of the men who’d restrained Ren in the woods. He must not be as fast as his friends.

  They pull him across the center toward the council garden. The elders emerge from inside, escorted by sentries as they approach him.

  Maemon speaks without preamble. “How did you trespass over Laraek borders without detection?”

  “Your people are incompetent,” he replies, his tone derisive.

  “Given you failed to evade those same people, the incompetence falls to you.” Maemon takes a step closer, her eyes set in a hard stare. “Why were you sent?”

  He chuckles low in his throat. “That is none of your concern.”

  Maemon’s eyes flick up to one of the sentries, who forces the outlander’s hand out before him. The old woman reaches out, grasps his dirty pinkie finger, and bends it back until a very clear snap sounds. The outlander screams and tries to pull his hand away.

  My stomach roils and I gasp, covering my mouth. I’ve clearly underestimated this woman.

  “Why were you sent?” she repeats.

  The outlander whimpers over his broken finger. Maemon takes hold of another, and he makes a desperate sound. “To deliver a message!”

  “A message to whom?” She holds fast to his finger, eyeing him with cold expectancy.

  His breathing is shallow. “The bonder.”

  “Regarding?”

  He hesitates, shaking his head. Maemon wrenches back on his finger, and another snap fills the air. The outlander screams again, the veins in his neck and face standing out as he strains against the pain.

  “Regarding?” Her voice doesn’t fit with the torture she’s delivering.

  His lower lip wobbles, drool running down his chin. “Taustin requires something from her.”

  “What does he seek?”

  The man sinks in the sentries’ grasps as his knees start to give out. He shifts on his feet, trying to stand and shaking his head. One of Maemon’s brows lifts a fraction, and she takes hold of his middle finger. He blubbers out his protests that he can relay it to the bonder alone, but the set of the old woman’s eyes remains unchanged.

  My stomach twists. I can’t take this anymore. I move through the crowd, shaking off Kais’ attempt to halt me, and yell, “He’s looking for a key.” Everyone turns to look at me, the crowd opening a path to the front. “They said he wants something called the Nexus Key. Taustin thinks I have it.”

  Murmurs break out over the crowd. The elders’ faces turn ashen with alarm.

  Maemon’s wide stare turns to the outlander again, his finger still in her grasp. “Is this true?” There’s a strange urgency to her words.

  He hesitates again before nodding in defeat.

  Maemon shoves his hand aside, like she’s swatting away a fly. She gives a faint nod to the sentries detaining him before looking to me. With a tilt of her head, she implores me to follow her and the others into the garden. I go without question, Kais falling in step behind me. I don’t want to witness what’s in store for the outlander.

  Once within the garden’s walls, Maemon turns to face me. “We have been notified of Ren’s condition. What happened?”

  “We were ambushed in the forest.”

  Her white brows pull together. “Why were you there to begin with?”

  I flinch at her chiding tone. “We had an argument in the training yard. We went there for some privacy.”

  “What argument?”

  My pulse quickens. I don’t want to go into detail, but if I don’t answer they’ll just keep asking. “It was a personal matter between us. That’s all you need to know.”

  Maemon purses her lips. “Very well. Tell us what happened.”

  I launch into a rundown of the encounter. “What is this Nexus Key they’re after? I haven’t heard anything about it until now.”

  “It is an old artifact, lost long ago. It has not been spoken of since its disappearance.”

  I frown. “Then why does Taustin want it? There must be a reason.”

  “He may believe possessing it will lessen our resistance to him, nothing more.” Maemon waves a dismissive hand before looking to Kais and asking him what additional measures can be taken to better protect the village.

  All I can do is gape at her, stupefied. They discuss strategy and how long it’ll take Ren to recover, along with retrieving Leila. They talk as if nothing has changed.

  Everything has changed.

  My bafflement gives way to hot fury, and I can’t take their delibe
rations anymore. Heat flares in my chest, and the ball vibrates hard against my hip. “Enough!”

  My yell fills the garden as a high-pitched echo trails my voice, cracking like thunder after a lightning strike. A small burst of energy fires from me, blowing everyone’s hair and clothes like the wind. It shakes banyans and flowers above us, bringing down a small rain of leaves and petals. Everyone brings their hands up to guard their faces, wincing at the sudden loudness.

  “They have my friend,” I say in low, measured words, ignoring the stunned apprehension in their eyes. “Your defense commander is wounded, and the only way to stop Taustin from killing every last person here is to give him what he wants.” I don’t bother hiding my disgust. “If you don’t tell me the truth, I swear I will find this key myself and give it to him.”

  Yisen and Cettol flash looks at each other, their hands fumbling together. Kais casts an uneasy glance at Maemon. Something registers on her face I’ve never seen there until now—fear.

  They’re afraid. All of them.

  My glare doesn’t waver and Maemon gives me a nod. “Very well. Please.” She gestures to the table at the back of the garden.

  I follow her and the others there and sit, my back stiff as I wait.

  “What I have told you of the Nexus Key is true; it is an old artifact, and it was indeed lost long ago.”

  “What’s its purpose?”

  She clasps her hands in her lap. “It is a single segment of a larger group. There are six segments altogether, and when they are joined, they open the Focal Passage.”

  “And what is that?”

  “It is the channel connecting all dimensions. Elementals travel upon it when they move between planes. You used it when you came here.”

  The tree of constellations—the one I saw when I accessed the archives. The trunk and branches of the tree must be this channel.

  “I don’t understand.” I brace my arms on the table, my scratches now healed. “If elementals use it all the time, then what’s the problem if these keys open it, too?”

  “When elementals open rifts, they create a path between two planes. Combining the Nexus Keys is different—they open the channel to all planes.”