Emergence (Book 2)

by K. L. Schwengel

  Bolin jerked as though he'd been slapped. A look of shock crossed his face, a fleeting glimpse of…fear? He settled on anger, and his fingers bit into her upper arms as he grabbed and shook her. "That will never be an option as long as I live. Never."

  "But I can save their lives."

  "At the risk of your own, and potentially thousands of others."

  "If I can get close to him, I can end this."

  Bolin wet his lips and looked away. "Goddess's light, Ciara."

  "Why is it acceptable for you to want to hunt him down, but not me?" Her own anger and frustration began to flow to the surface.

  "What would you do?" he asked, his voice soft. "If you did go to him, what would you do? Slit his throat in his sleep? Poison his wine?"

  "He'd teach me to control Andrakaos." Ciara pulled her shoulders back and locked her gaze on Bolin's. "And then I'd kill him."

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Stillness. Utter and complete stillness as though the moment had frozen. Nothing but the quiet munching of Sandeen tugging up grass beside them. Bolin couldn't breathe. Terror ripped through him at Ciara's calm declaration. So devoid of any emotion, even the heat of anger. Cold. As cold as the most hardened veteran he had ever fought alongside. An emotion he had a great deal of familiarity with, but not one that should ever have come from Ciara. Icy fingers of dread wrapped around his chest and sent a tremor through him. He blinked, and his hands slid from her as he took a step back.

  "Never." His voice sounded strangled to his own ears, as though he had to force the word past his lips.

  Goddess's blood, the very thought of her in Donovan's hands, willingly, allowing him to turn her into exactly what the Imperial Mages feared--Bolin spun away from her. He should have been furious. Desperately wanted to be. But he couldn't work past the fear. She would kill Donovan. He had no doubt. But she wouldn't stop there.

  He would lose her.

  And that thought, above all the others, twisted in him like a knife to the heart.

  Nialyne caught his eye from across the way where the men were preparing a light meal. She looked a question at him. Bolin shook his head, but she came anyway.

  "Lieutenant Sully is preparing quite the feast," she said as she neared them, her tone had a lightness to it that didn't match the penetrating gaze that worked right past the block Bolin tried to put up. "Sandeen looks like he's been getting his fill, time the two of you got yours."

  Bolin looked past her. He sucked in a lungful of air and held it until his pulse stopped its frantic tempo. "Talk some sense into her." His voice shook. "Or, by the Goddess, I'll bind her hand and foot and keep her drugged until we reach Nisair."

  He walked away, every muscle clenched, anger finding fuel in his fears and raging through him until his entire body shook with the force of it.

  It made perfect sense, Ciara's plan, when he could give rational thought to it. How better to eliminate an enemy than to feign alignment and move on them from the inside? Of course Donovan would suspect something, but his ambition would cloud his judgment. Eventually he would let his guard down just enough--

  Bolin thrust his arm out and braced against the nearest tree. Bile rose in his throat and he fought it down with effort, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. He kept moving, slipping from under the shelter of the trees. The Greensward's wards shimmered over him as he passed through them. Behind him, blocked by the forest, the sun sat just above the horizon. He would need to return soon or Garek would come looking for him.

  If nothing else, Ciara had made his next move much clearer.

  ***

  By the time Bolin returned, Garek had the men breaking camp. Someone had saddled Sandeen, and he stood waiting, tied to a low shrub next to Garek's sorrel gelding. Nialyne and Ciara were off to the side, the men bustling around them. Bolin kept his gaze away from Ciara, and motioned Nialyne to him, pulling her aside to give them privacy.

  "Did she tell you what she intended?" He spoke in Galysian, just to be sure no one could eavesdrop, his voice flat.

  "That she asked you to allow her to go to Donovan? Yes."

  "Do I need to bind her and throw her in the cart?"

  Nialyne scowled. "I wouldn't allow such a thing. She is scared, and worried for our safety, just as you are. Like you, she takes everything upon herself."

  Bolin shook his head and started back toward the others but Nialyne stopped him with a hand on his arm.

  "And what of you?" Nialyne said.

  "Excuse me?"

  "Do I need to bind you? I'm sure Garek will help me, if need be."

  "I have a duty, Alyne. I will do what is necessary to see that honored."

  She faced him fully, her eyes bright in the gathering dark. "Tell me, when you make your self-sacrificing plans, do you stop to consider the effect they will have on those who care most about you? Or are they made to ease your own turmoil?"

  His mouth opened, then snapped shut. He started toward the horses, but turned back to her within three strides and spread his arms to the sides, his fingers splayed. "What would you have me do?"

  "Don't bear this alone." When he looked away she caught his face in her hands and brought it back to hers. "You have spent your entire life believing you are responsible for the lives of everyone around you. Holding yourself above the rest of us, and wearing your sense of duty and honor like a shield. Despite your arrogance and your brooding nature, you have friends, Bolin. And they are not without skills. It is not a sign of weakness to rely on someone else."

  Bolin laid his hands over hers and drew them down, holding them against his chest. "I am responsible for the lives of those around me. And I will do whatever is within my power to see them safe. I don't know any other way."

  He kissed her forehead and went to where Sandeen waited.

  "Mount up," Garek called. "Sully, take the point. Keep your eyes and ears sharp, lads."

  Bolin swung into the saddle as Garek's lieutenant came up alongside him. "Due north, General?"

  "Bear east for a few leagues. There's a finger stone on a low hillock. North from there."

  "Aye." Sully saluted, wheeled his horse, and cantered into the night.

  Bolin watched him go and sent a quick prayer to the Goddess that for this night, at least, they had peace.

  ***

  They rode in silence. None of the usual banter passing between the men. Only the steady beat of the horses' hooves, the jingle of the harness, and creak of the saddles told of their passing. Ciara chewed at a hangnail and stared at Bolin's rigid back. Sully had ridden out ahead, and Garek had fallen to the rear. Duff rode alongside the cart, a line from his saddle to the horses pulling it. Salek rode behind Ciara and Nialyne, and Berk rode between them and Bolin. Ciara didn't fail to notice that Berk had loaded his crossbow and rode with it balanced in his lap.

  Nialyne had been almost as furious with her as Bolin. But at least the Galysian elder expressed herself in an intelligent and calm manner. She didn't just turn her back and storm away, or threaten to tie her up. And Ciara had thought that Bolin, of all people, would have seen the sense in her plan. After all, he'd been ready to hunt Donovan down himself and do much the same thing. Donovan would kill Bolin this time. At least, Ciara knew with some certainty, that he wouldn't hurt her. Not when the possibility of turning her to his side existed.

  Well, not her, exactly.

  "Your power is as great as mine," Donovan had told her.

  Ciara had been surprised he would make such a confession. "Don't you think it's dangerous to tell me that? What if once I learn to control it, I use it against you?"

  His dark eyes had glittered in the chilling way she had come to know far too well. "I would be disappointed if you did not try."

  And, Goddess knew, Ciara wouldn't want to disappoint her father.

  ***

  They'd traveled for quite some time when a rider emerged out of the darkness in front of them, and Bolin held up his fist to call a halt. Ciara tensed until she recognized it
as Sully. He reined in next to Bolin, and said something quick and low. Ciara leaned forward in the saddle, wishing she could hear the exchange, or at least see the expression on Sully's face. Bolin asked him a question, and the Lieutenant shrugged. They talked a bit longer, then Bolin turned and gave a sharp whistle. Moments later Garek cantered up the line to join him. The three men discussed something at length, then Sully and Bolin rode off the way he'd come.

  "Berk, take the rear," Garek said over his shoulder, keeping his voice low.

  "Aye, Commander." Berk gave Ciara a reassuring wink as he passed by.

  Ciara pushed her mare alongside Garek's horse. "What's wrong?"

  "Likely nothing at all," Garek said. He started them moving again, trailing along after Bolin and Sully who had long since disappeared into the night. Although he seemed relaxed, his eyes constantly searched the shadows around them, and if he could have pricked up his ears, Ciara had the impression he would have. "Sul's just being careful is all. No worries."

  Ciara found it hard to take comfort from his words when his hand had drifted to his sword, his fingers drumming against the pommel. "Did he see something?"

  "Thought he might have. The lads are a bit on edge, though, so I'd put it out of your head if I were you." He sniffed and cast a glance skyward. Only stars lit their path, the moon would keep her face hidden for most of the night. "Like as not we'll be making camp soon enough. Give the horses a nice long rest and get some food. I'm hungry enough to eat a wild boar."

  A sharp screech cut through the night and Ciara startled an instant before she recognized the call.

  Garek rubbed his jaw. "Damn owls."

  Ciara fell back beside Nialyne after that. Garek made her nervous the way he kept watching everything. She expected swamp hounds or worse to come bounding through the tall grass surrounding them. Though what could be worse than swamp hounds, she didn't know. Nor did she ever hope to find out.

  "Did Commander Garek put your mind at ease?" Nialyne asked.

  Ciara frowned. "He tried."

  "And failed?"

  She shrugged. "He's not very convincing."

  And then Garek rose up in the saddle. Ciara tensed, trying to peer past him. A single horse and rider waited in their path. When he caught sight of them he raised his hand, and rode to meet Garek. Ciara let out a breath. Sully, but no Bolin. She moved closer to hear their conversation.

  "... said he'd wait for us there," Sully said.

  "Damn him."

  "I suggested we stay together, but couldn't rightly tell him flat out no, could I?"

  Sully's glance flicked past Garek and the big man followed it to Ciara. His brow furrowed and he nodded at the other man. "Good enough, then. Lead on then, Lieutenant."

  "Garek?"

  He turned back to look at her. "The good General has found us a suitable campsite and awaits us therein."

  He sounded irritated by that, but Ciara didn't pry as the news obviously didn't sit well with him. But then Nialyne came up on his other side, her expression as sour as Garek's, and Ciara's stomach knotted.

  "Commander, where is Bolin?"

  Sully glanced over, then slid his eyes back to the front.

  "Waiting on us, apparently," Garek replied.

  "Waiting? Where?"

  "He and Sul found a suitable place to camp."

  "How far?"

  "How far'd you say, Sul?"

  The Lieutenant cleared his throat. "About a league or so."

  "I suggest we make better time, then," Nialyne said, and put her horse into an easy canter.

  Garek swore and gestured Sully to go with her, then spun to ride down the line. Ciara hesitated for the space of a heartbeat before heading after Nialyne and Sully.

  ***

  Garek's lieutenant hadn't been happy when Bolin sent him back alone. He'd gone so far as to respectfully voice his disagreement with the order, though he wouldn't flagrantly disobey it. As soon as Sully got back without him, Garek would undoubtedly hurry them along, as much as the supply cart would allow.

  Hopefully it would be long enough.

  Even wrapped, the crystal with the Dominion witch's magic trapped within it made Bolin shudder. The familiar stinging sensation crawled up his arm as soon as he drew the crystal from the pack. He carried it well away from Sandeen before unwrapping it. He knelt and placed it on the ground, then sat back on his heels, hands on his thighs, and took a moment to contemplate the wisdom in what he intended to attempt.

  For the most part, he couldn't find any. But what he risked was far less than Ciara had threatened.

  Bolin licked his lips, and drew in a slow, deep breath. Ciara would feel as soon as he drew from the pendant but he had no choice. The magic contained in it had changed since the fight with the crone. It had a darker edge to it, and had become more malleable. Meriol had woven into it the grace of the Goddess and strands of powerful earth magic to be used for protection and guidance. When Ciara had embraced Andrakaos, some of that ancient power came to bind itself into the silver. Bolin had no idea how, but it had made the talisman handier for his purposes. It took less for him to bend the magic to his will, far from its original purpose.

  Another calming breath and Bolin whispered the words to open the crystal. Not all the way, just enough to allow a small bit of the Dominion magic to flow from it before it snapped shut on the rest. The crystal rocked violently, not liking what he'd done. He held out a hand, the tar-like glob spinning above his open palm. Bits of it dripped down like candle wax, and he grit his teeth as it burned his skin. Drawing his focus inward, the pendant warming against his skin, Bolin slipped past the veil between realms.

  "Fetch your mistress," he said, and sent the blob streaking from his hand. If she could use it to find him, he could use it to find her. It would have been wiser to use it like a tether, holding one end and tracing the rest back to its source. But to do that he'd have to take it inside himself, and he had no desire to repeat that mistake.

  It took longer than he'd hoped before she came slowly out of the shadows, the exotic purple of her eyes glowing in the gloom. Those eyes widened when they landed on Bolin, and then she smiled in delight.

  "Not many would dare to call me in such a manner," she said as she moved around him. "But you're not like anyone else, are you?"

  "Where is your master, witch?"

  She stopped in front of him, the smile replaced by a snarl, as she arched up on her toes to put her face close to his. "I am a Priestess of the Dominion, motherless whelp."

  Bolin looked down his nose at her. "The Dominion recognizes no woman."

  Her hand came up, fingers curled as though she intended to claw his face. Bolin's hand snapped around her wrist and forced her arm back at an angle. She yelped and pulled away from him, putting space between them. "What do you want?"

  "Are you content with your new master?"

  Her eyes narrowed on him. "What game do you play here, son of a whore?"

  "No game. You have no freedom, aligning yourself with that one. He will use you and discard you."

  "Ha! You wish to play me against him?" She hissed at him. "I should kill you now."

  "And I thought you enjoyed my company."

  "This day there is little I enjoy." She squatted down, her skirt falling between her legs as she spread them wide. She scowled over her shoulder, then began to draw something in the dirt.

  Bolin could feel the pulse of her magic as her finger moved in intricate patterns across the ground. "What is it you summon?"

  "I have a new pet I'd like you to meet."

  A figure grew out of the gloom. A man, still wearing the garb of the Imperial Guard, his throat torn and ragged, his eyes vacant. The witch scooped up a handful of dirt, blowing it from her palm as she stood. It settled over the man and for a long moment nothing happened. Then his form began to shimmer and distort. His eyes snapped to life but they were the eyes of a beast. He dropped to all fours, his arms and legs transforming into the muscled limbs of a wolf as his bod
y took on the new form.

  The woman rested her hand on the creature's head. "Isn't he spectacular? And so strong. He will get stronger every day. Do you think his friends will be able to kill him when he shows them his face?"

  "Perhaps not," Bolin said. "But I'll have no such hesitation."

  She thrust out her bottom lip. "You would kill my pet?"

  "You and your pet have much in common. It cannot act on its own will either."

  Her eyes flared, and the creature beside her snapped its jaws at him, but she didn't deny his words.

  "Think on what I have to offer you, priestess," Bolin said. "Freedom over servitude. It's not an offer I make lightly. We will meet again, and you will have an answer for me."

  Bolin withdrew, leaving her within the veil to contemplate his words. She'd no love for Donovan, he could sense that. But she'd no love for anything good either. Even Donovan didn't feel as dark as this one. He could only hope the seed he planted would take root. If he could turn her, even slightly, and use her against Donovan, it would improve their chances of making it to Nisair.

  A cool breeze washed over him, bringing with it the sound of horses' hooves thudding across the soft ground. He blinked his focus back into the present and flicked the cloth wrapping around the crystal. By the time he got to his feet, three riders had arrived. Nialyne's anger hit him even across the distance. She intercepted him before he could return the crystal to the pack, putting her horse firmly in his way, and glaring down at him with a mixture of anger and fear.

  "What have you done?"

  "You were using the pendant," Ciara said, coming up alongside Nialyne. Sully, wisely, stayed out of it, hanging back just out of earshot. "I could feel it."

  "You should have stayed with the escort," Bolin said. He attempted to step around Nialyne's horse, but she blocked him a second time. He tilted his head back and met her gaze. "It's done. So best you save your outrage for something else because it will get you nowhere this night."

  He reached up for her reins and tapped her horse in the chest, clucking to get it to step out of his way. Ciara dismounted and followed him to Sandeen. She stood silently behind him as he stripped the packs from Sandeen's saddle, and dropped the wrapped crystal back into one. He looked past her when he turned.