by Jordan Rivet
“We’re not training,” Dara said. True to her word, Vine often joined the duelists at practice. So far Dara had managed to keep her from coming along when they had official Guard duties, though.
“Can’t she join us, Dara?” Yuri said.
“She’s not on the Guard,” Dara said.
“What can it hurt?” Yuri said. He had quickly become Vine’s biggest fan, though it surely had nothing to do with Vine’s impressive figure and lustrous locks. And her tendency to change in and out of her dueling gear in full view of the others.
“We may go into danger,” Telvin said with a frown. “We can’t put a lady in danger.”
“Dara gets to come,” Yuri said. “Why can’t Vine?”
“Dara isn’t a lady,” Oat said.
“Excuse me?” Dara said.
Oat shrugged sheepishly. “No offense.”
“Dara is a soldier,” Telvin said.
“I’m as good a swordswoman as Dara,” Vine said with a wink. “Some would say better.”
“We are not going to be fighting,” Dara said through gritted teeth. “This is a scouting operation. Nothing more.”
“Oh, even better,” Vine said. “My day has been dreadful. I dined at House Rollendar. I need a cheerful spy mission after that.”
“You were at House Rollendar today?” Dara said.
Vine smiled and tapped her nose. “Are you sure you don’t want me along?”
“Fine.” Dara sighed. “But if you get hurt, it’s your fault.”
“I’ll protect you!” Yuri said. “I am a Castle Guard, you know.”
Dara rolled her eyes and led the way into the warren of pathways and stairs crisscrossing Square Peak. As they headed north, she sent Yuri to double back and make sure they hadn’t been followed. She mostly wanted to talk to Vine without Yuri strutting around and stroking his red beard to make sure she noticed how long and luxurious it was.
“So,” Dara said as Yuri jogged back the way they had come. She waved Oat and Telvin forward, glaring at them when they tried to eavesdrop. “Did you learn anything interesting at the Rollendar greathouse?”
“Perhaps,” Vine said. “Tell me about this scouting mission we’re on. It’s so exciting!”
“You first,” Dara said. “The Rollendars?”
“Lord Von is a dreadful man,” Vine said, “but then everyone knows that. The more interesting thing was that all three of Von’s brothers recently left the mountain.”
“They did?” Dara had seen Lord Von’s brothers before, the dark-eyed twins and a younger one who could have been Bolden’s older brother as easily as his uncle. They were tall and proud, like Von, and together they presented an imposing front. The evidence so far suggested that the Rollendars were planning something. Why would some of them leave Vertigon now? “Do you know where they went?”
“Lord Von didn’t say, naturally,” Vine said. “He wasn’t the one who told me. I have an informant in their employ, but I only talk to her when I visit. It’s the single reason I can stomach calling on the Rollendar lords, actually. I don’t want her to get caught visiting my greathouse.”
“You have an inform—?”
“Of course. But that’s not important. The brothers left the day after Queen Tirra and Princess Selivia departed the mountain.”
Dara stopped short. “You don’t think they’d hurt them, do you?”
“I don’t know,” Vine said. “I hope not. But the brothers could have other goals in mind. I’ve heard there is growing tension between Soole and Pendark. I do wonder whether Lord Von might be positioning his brothers in those kingdoms in case he needs them there in the near future.”
“What kind of tension?”
“I don’t know yet. But my girl also told me a surprisingly large number of Soolen visitors have been hosted at House Rollendar lately.”
“Hmm. Have you mentioned any of this to the king yet?”
“I thought you could tell him,” Vine said. “You are still his right-hand woman, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know.” Dara kicked at the stones on the pathway. “I guess. It just . . . hasn’t been the same lately.”
“You mean since he got engaged to Tull Denmore?” Vine asked.
Dara glanced at her. Vine had implied she knew there was something between Dara and Siv months ago—back when Dara barely knew it herself. But she wasn’t sure how much she could confide in Vine. It wasn’t just the engagement, of course. Dara still couldn’t shake the memory of the kiss she and Siv had shared in the stairwell after the harvest festival. Siv had been colder to her of late. He must have realized it had been a mistake. Knowing what it was like to kiss him, and knowing that she could never do it again, was little short of excruciating.
But that was a secret she would take to her grave.
“Yes,” she said instead. “We’ve been less . . . close since Siv got engaged.”
“Oh, Dara, I’m sorry,” Vine said. And there was none of the usual breezy whimsy in her voice. She sounded genuinely sympathetic. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No,” Dara said. “But we should tell him about the Rollendar brothers.” She met Vine’s eyes fiercely. “Even if things are different, I’ll still work just as hard to protect Siv and his family.”
Vine patted her shoulder. “I know you will, honey.”
The scuff of footsteps on gravel announced Yuri’s return. He reported that they weren’t being followed and fell in beside Vine. He boasted about his results from that year’s dueling season as the group continued to the sparsely populated side of Square Peak.
Dara found the entrance to the tunnel Berg had showed her easily enough. She knew of at least one additional exit, the one she and Siv had escaped through last time. But Berg’s tunnel had seemed relatively unused, and they couldn’t risk being caught again.
The last vestiges of daylight faded away, but the moon hadn’t yet emerged. Nothing moved around the quiet paddock and the abandoned shack. The stillness was eerie. Hopefully no one was around to see them sneak underground.
With one final glance at their surroundings, Dara pulled back the branches covering the tunnel. Oat and Yuri took out the Everlights she had instructed them to bring and headed underground. Oat had to duck low to fit his tall frame into the tunnel. Vine went next, and Dara and Telvin took up the rear.
Telvin offered Dara a hand as she climbed in the opening and cleared his throat. “You are a lady as well as a soldier,” he announced.
Dara blinked. “Thank you.”
Telvin nodded and entered the tunnel after her, pulling the branches over the entrance to hide it once again.
The others waited a few feet ahead, silhouettes against the Everlights. Dara and Telvin joined them, and the five of them descended into the mountain.
“So what are we looking for?” Vine asked as they strode through the cold earth.
Dara told them what Berg had showed her in the cavern. The others grew sober as she explained that the mysterious swordsmen had prompted the creation of the New Guard in the first place, not the king’s desire to show off.
“I need you to see what we’re up against,” she finished. “And I want your honest opinion about whether you think the Guard can defeat the men we are about to see.”
“That’s pretty serious, Dar,” Oat said.
“It’ll be more serious if they catch us unawares,” Dara said. She sometimes wished she hadn’t gotten her friends involved in this, but they were the only people she could trust. And she had started to plan how to end this scheme decisively. She turned to the former soldier. “Telvin, I need your knowledge of military strategy here. I want to go on the offensive and strike the swordsmen in the cave instead of waiting around for them to launch a coup.”
“I will do my best,” Telvin said.
“Good.” Dara didn’t mention General Pavorran. The more she got to know Telvin Jale, the more she thought he was on their side, but she wanted to see his reaction if and when he saw his former co
mmander. So far he hadn’t let on that he knew anything about the secret cavern. She hoped that was genuine ignorance.
“I like the sound of the plan, though,” Yuri said. “Hit them before they hit us.”
“We’ll have to see if we can take them,” Dara said.
“The New Guard can handle it,” Oat said.
Dara smiled at her friend’s confidence. “I hope so.”
As they walked, Dara felt for any sign of the Fire. As before, she didn’t sense anything running through the stone nearer the tunnel entrance. In fact, it was uncommonly cold here. But as they approached the cavern she again felt that huge well of Fire up ahead. If she wasn’t mistaken, she sensed it much sooner than she had before. The mysterious Work was still underway. And it had grown larger.
“Stay alert,” Dara whispered. “Oat, wait here and guard our backs. The rest of you come with me.”
Oat saluted and pressed himself against the wall so his tall shadow would be less obvious. Dara figured he’d have the hardest time sneaking around behind the rocks when they got to the cave.
They crept farther down the tunnel. Though the mass of Fire indicated they were close, something was missing. Sound. The familiar clang of blades and scrape of boots was nowhere to be heard.
They reached the cavern and snuck inside, crouching behind the rocks. There was still no sound but the whisper of their own breath. The air was stale, almost musty. Dara held her breath and peeked out at the training floor.
It was empty. The duelists were gone.
“Um, is this what we’re looking for?” Yuri asked. He leaned a little further around the edge of a stalagmite.
“Hmm.” Vine wrinkled her nose. “How anticlimactic.”
“The Guard would have little trouble occupying this space,” Telvin said. “If my military training serves.”
Dara ignored their chatter, scanning the vast space with a growing sense of dread. She shouldn’t have been surprised not to find anyone here. The swordsmen may not practice every night. But the cavern wasn’t just empty of people. It was utterly abandoned. All the weapons racks, training gear, and even the water skins were gone. A stray dueling glove on the floor was the only evidence that the cavern had ever been used as a secret training facility. Firebulbs were still affixed to the rough stone walls, but even some of these had started to fade.
“Think they found somewhere new to train?” Yuri asked.
“They must have,” Dara said. “But where could that many swordsmen hide without attracting attention?”
The emptiness of the cavern made Dara nervous. She had hoped to strike this cavern and eliminate the bulk of the threat in a single attack. But without knowing where the swordsmen were, it would be even harder to find out when they were about to launch their own attack. It could come at any moment.
Suddenly Dara wished very much that she hadn’t left the castle tonight. Siv had plenty of Guards around him, but she couldn’t help feeling she’d left him vulnerable. She had to investigate one more thing before they could return, though. The duelists may be gone, but the strange well of Fire was still there, pulsing like a sun at the edge of her senses.
“I’m going to look in that smaller cave,” Dara said. “Yuri and Telvin, poke around the other side, and see if you can find anything. Keep quiet, and stay out of the open just in case.”
“What’s my task?” Vine asked.
“You can come with me,” Dara said.
She and Vine crept around to the right of the tunnel. The Fire felt stronger the closer they got. Dara focused on her breathing. She was grateful she’d been training above the Well itself. It made it much easier to resist the pull of a lesser amount of Fire, no matter how large it was.
“Dara, there’s something strange in the air here,” Vine said.
Dara slowed. They were still about twenty feet from the cave. “What do you mean?”
“You know I meditate to help with my dueling. My senses have grown quite attuned to vibrations in the air. There’s something wrong with that cave.”
“Would it have anything to do with a whole lot of Fire?”
Vine tipped her head thoughtfully, reminding Dara of a bird. “I imagine that would do it. There’s Fire in that cave?”
“Yes.”
“How interesting.” Vine didn’t say anything else, but she studied Dara with a calculating expression. She knew enough of Dara’s secrets already. What did it matter if she figured out one more?
“We can’t be seen,” Dara said.
“Of course.”
They approached the mouth of the cave. Just before they reached it, voices drifted out toward them, low and insistent. Dara and Vine dove into the shelter of another rock as two Fireworkers emerged from the smaller cave. One of them was Daz Stoneburner. The other was Dara’s father.
Dara pressed herself against the wall. Vine did the same, but she watched Dara rather than the two Fireworkers. She had seen them. She would know Dara’s father was involved.
She prayed Telvin and Yuri had followed her orders to stay hidden as the two Fireworkers crossed the empty cavern and headed for an exit tunnel. It wasn’t the one Oat was posted in, fortunately. Oat would certainly recognize her father if he walked right past him in a darkened tunnel.
The two Fireworkers spoke softly, but their voices carried through the cave.
“I’m pleased to work with you directly,” Daz said. “I was tiring of him.”
“Indeed.” Rafe Ruminor’s voice was rich and strong. “I wouldn’t expect an artist of your talents to be content to follow a man with cold fingers for long.”
The short, muscular sword smith puffed out his chest. “It’s time to return to our rightful place.”
“We must be patient, though,” Rafe said, “and wait until the appropriate time.”
“Agreed. The other Square Peak Workers and I are counting on you to do it right.”
“Of course. Thank you for your support. And for the use of this impressive . . .”
As Rafe and Daz got farther away, the echoes of the cave prevented Dara from hearing the rest of what they said. If the Firesmith had been on the fence about helping Berg a few months ago, he wasn’t anymore. He had chosen his side.
“You don’t look surprised to see your patriarch,” Vine said. “Dara, you are full of surprises. I so love being your friend.”
“Please don’t mention it to anyone,” Dara said.
“Goodness, no.” Vine smiled beatifically. “Keeping secrets is among my many talents.”
“They’re gone,” Dara said, checking the cavern again. “Let’s take a look.”
She darted toward the small cave, leaving Vine to follow. She listened at the opening for a moment before easing around the corner to peek inside. The cave was empty of people. Inside, a massive pool of Fire burned like a melted sun. Heat rolled over Dara as she stared in wonder at the glowing lake. Vine halted beside her, a gasp of awe escaping her lips.
The lake of Fire filled most of the cave, wider than the castle dueling hall. Channels bled into it, hewn recently from the stone, as far as Dara could tell. Unlike the original Well, which sent Fire outward, this lake pulled Fire in, and it was growing steadily. Dara had spent enough time watching Zage maintain the Well to recognize how much Work must have gone into drawing the Fire in like this without alerting him. It was a massive undertaking, doubtless involving multiple Workers, and it had been going on for some time.
So the Fireworkers were gathering power in this cave. The question remained: what did they plan to do with it?
Dara continued to stare, paralyzed by the rush of the power before her, until Vine tapped her on the shoulder.
“Isn’t this fascinating?” Vine said. “Positively riveting. If it weren’t for the rather inhospitable heat level I should like to install one of these in my garden.” Sweat drenched her forehead, and she danced uncomfortably on her toes. Right. Vine wouldn’t be able to handle standing this close to so much Fire, unlike Dara.
“That’s one way to put it,” Dara said, turning to leave the cave. “Let’s gather the others and get out of here before someone comes to tend it.”
“Wiser words were never spoken,” Vine said, hurrying ahead to put plenty of distance between her and the lake of Fire. Dara wished she could do the same, but as they collected their companions and left the caverns, the image of that mass of Fire burned in her mind like the core of a Fire Lantern. What were they going to do?
23.
News
LORDS Morrven and Samanar shouted across the table at each other. The tapestries lining the council chamber vibrated with the force of their vitriol. Siv wished he could put his fingers in his ears and hum.
They weren’t even arguing about anything interesting. The harvest was in, the bridges had been shored up, and the city was in rather good shape for the coming winter. No, the latest Morrven/Samanar argument started over who got to sit next to Lady Tull.
Siv’s future wife was turning out to be a real asset on the royal council. Her soft-spoken presence gave the meetings an air of civility. She was always well informed about the affairs of the mountain, and she asked intelligent questions that helped keep everyone on track. Siv was shocked at how effective she was considering how young and relatively inexperienced she was. She was only a few years older than Siv himself, but she managed to appear wise, while he still struggled to make his presence felt.
Unfortunately, she was so popular with the elderly lords that they climbed over each other to fawn over her. Morrven and Samanar had nearly come to blows over who got to shower her with attention during that day’s meeting. The argument quickly morphed into an airing of every issue the two lords had clashed over for the past three decades. Siv tried to rein them in at first, but they warmed up like malfunctioning Firekettles. He abandoned his efforts to get through to them when it became clear they couldn’t hear him over the blood rushing through their ears. Then it got personal, which proved to be even more entertaining. Morrven’s plump cheeks went as purple as his plums, and he recounted the antics of Lord Samanar’s wife (who’d left him for the butler at a now-infamous royal feast). Samanar’s luminous morrinvole eyes nearly popped out of his head, and he challenged Morrven to an old-fashioned Fire Blade duel.