by B. T. Narro
“It could’ve been much worse,” she said. “Couldn’t make it all the way over?”
Neeko was trying to find his breath. “Didn’t want to risk it.”
He took a much needed rest, then let Shara on his back again.
As they touched down onto the soft dirt of Eppon, the smell Neeko had become accustomed to came on strong. It was similar to spoiled meat, but at least it was bearable. Shara coughed a few times as he let her off. He waited nervously for wheezing to follow, but thankfully it didn’t come.
“I truly enjoy floating,” she said. “Makes me wish I had wings, or that at least I could do what you can do.”
They took out their seescopes. The land was mostly flat and blackened, with spots of orange lava scattered between them and the distant volcano. It came up from the land looking like a monstrous beast, a pillar of heavy black smoke seeping out. Thunder rumbled as lightning continued to split the dark clouds around it.
Shara took Neeko’s hand and walked at a quick pace. It was clear without her saying so that the less time they spent in Eppon the more comfortable she’d be. Neeko was no different.
Although he didn’t believe the land was sacred, and he didn’t think the god of death was the restless volcano in the distance, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t belong there.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
NEEKO
They’d walked along the base of Eppon’s mountain range without incident, and now they were behind Khalinar. No one would think to look atop the mountains for spies. But that didn’t make it any easier to get there.
It began just as it had two hours earlier—Shara climbing on his back, his worry building almost to a state of uncontrollable panic.
“I love you,” she murmured.
“You should tell me that after I land safely. Now I’m thinking you said it in case we die.”
“I said it because it’s true. Even if we do die, I’ll still love you up to the moment we hit the ground.”
Neeko chuckled nervously. “That’s not helping.”
She barked out a laugh and kissed his cheek. “Should I get down and give you more time?”
“No, I’m ready. Hold on.”
As soon as he got to the precipice, he hovered toward the nearest stretch of level rock. He could feel Shara stiffening as he got near the ground.
He tried to keep them afloat long enough to settle down easy, but it had been enervating just to get them there. He came about a foot from the bumpy mountaintop before he had to let go of the energy.
Neeko landed square, but he didn’t have enough balance or strength to keep from toppling over. Shara jumped off his back as he prepared to fall.
But without her weight, he managed to steady himself. She stayed on her feet as well.
“Better,” she said, delighted. “I truly and utterly enjoy that!”
Neeko was too winded to feel anything else. He glanced around. Rocks jutted out of more rocks.
Once Neeko regained his strength he would lift himself for a better look at the summit. They would need to find a comfortable spying spot that gave them a clear view, for it could be days before he would have the opportunity to kill the king.
Shara removed both their bags from her back and relaxed as she waited. “This is as far south as we’ll ever be for the rest of our lives.” She stood and put her hands on her lower back, gazing out at Eppon. “Can you imagine being a human sacrifice and jumping in that volcano?” She shivered visibly. “Some people are absolutely mad.”
“Many would say the same thing about us, being here…about to do what we’re going to do.”
“Remember what Jaymes said. If it’s impossible, then it’s impossible.”
Neeko nodded and took a few more moments to ready himself. Then he took to the air.
The mountains stretched off to either side for hundreds of miles. But the northern edge was close, where the mountain range dipped and cascaded all the way down to the city of Khalinar.
Once he returned, Shara put on both of their bags and got on his back. It only took one trip to get to their final spot. Shara jumped off his back when he neared the ground, and he came down easy.
“We’ve gotten good at that,” she said proudly, handing him his bag.
He nodded, putting on a false smile. As soon as Shara turned to look at their surroundings, he stretched out his sore back. A groan escaped. She looked back and frowned.
“Sorry. I’m not as small as Cedri.”
“There’s no reason to apologize. I prefer you just as you are.”
It was only evening, yet Neeko felt as if he could fall asleep if he were to lie down. He shook his head, clearing the thought. At least their final spot was a good one. There was room to walk around before spikes of rocks on their flanks made the mountaintop too treacherous.
Shara got on her knees, crawled to the edge, and brought her legs forward to sit. “Two hells, we’re high! The ground must be lower around Khalinar than in Eppon behind us.” She squinted. “Damn, I can’t see the castle.”
“You can if you stand.” He offered his hand.
But she shook her head, her dark locks flying out in every direction. “Give me time.” She scooted the other way, waiting until she was far from the sloping edge before getting back on her feet and wiping the dirt off her rear.
“It won’t get easier the more you think about it,” he warned. “But it will the longer you actually stand here and see that you’re not going to fall.”
She took out the drawing of the castle layout and crawled over to give it to him. “Look down there and let me know what you see.”
“I’ll try.” He peered through his seescope and described the city to her. “Khalinar has a wall of stone around it with parapets for archers, like Wertisall. However, I don’t see any archers on the southern side near us.”
“They wouldn’t expect anyone to be up here unless a spy told them we were coming.”
Neeko peered at the castle itself, then grinned. “I wouldn’t call it a castle. It’s closer to a palace. The only fortification it has is a wall surrounding its courtyard that attaches to the city’s wall in the south. The palace itself is wide, with only two towers fit for archers. The other towers have a spiral type ornament atop them. I don’t know what to call them, but there’s certainly no place for anyone to stand.”
“Conical spires?”
“How do I know if that’s right?”
“It’s right.”
He could hear her take a step closer, so he let down the seescope. “Do you want to see?”
She stepped away. “Just tell me if there’s a barbican.”
“I don’t know. What does it look like?”
“Any sort of platform separate from the palace, or perhaps it’s atop the gate leading into the courtyard. It’ll likely have guards on it.”
“I think there’s one atop that gate.” He turned and beckoned her toward him. “You really should take a look. You won’t fall, and I doubt I can figure out which is the king’s room without you. These drawings make no sense to me, even after looking at the palace.”
He took her hand and walked with her as she shuffled forward. As she neared the edge, her steps slowed and her feet tapped the ground as if it might come out from under her.
“I can see Khalinar but not the palace,” she complained. “It’s no use. You’re taller than me.”
“You just need a few more steps.”
She took the “few more steps” he’d advised, however her insignificant stride moved her absolutely nowhere. Neeko couldn’t hold back his chuckle, though he stifled it immediately when he saw that she was not smiling.
“The only way you could fall off would be if you somehow lost your balance and rolled a good three times,” he said.
Shara continued shuffling forward at the pace of a tortoise, peering through the seescope hopefully each time she stopped, then sighing when she realized she was still too far.
“I don’t un
derstand how you are this frightened about heights, yet you enjoy when I lift you into the air.”
“I was terrified the first time you took me into the sky to escape the diymas. Don’t you remember how I screamed?”
“I remember the ringing in my ears that came later more than the scream. So what’s changed?”
“I feel secure on your back. I can tell I’m not going to fall.” She looked straight down. “But I don’t trust my own feet. Never have.”
“In all of our time together, I’ve never seen you fall over while standing still.”
She inhaled slowly. “You’re right.” She finally took a normal stride. “Thank the gods, I can see it now.”
Neeko came behind her and gently put his hands on her hips.
Shara peered through the seescope and then looked at her drawing, switching back and forth between the two for quite some time. She didn’t speak, only hummed in thought. As Neeko waited, he found it more and more difficult not to move his hands. He wanted to slide them down to the curve of her waist. He wanted to wrap them around her stomach and pull her close. Eventually, he couldn’t help giving her caresses so subtle he wasn’t sure she would feel them through her belt and pants.
“Are you thinking improper thoughts, Neeko Aquin?”
He steadied his hands. “They’re mostly proper.”
“Come beside me.”
“What did you find?”
“The king’s room.”
Neeko’s heart jumped. If the king was there, this could end right now.
“Which room is it?”
“It’s on the other side of the palace, facing north.”
Neeko muttered a curse.
“But!” Shara called out excitedly. “Queen Wendi has her own quarters, and it’s the middle window on the top row of the palace.”
He looked through his seescope to see what he could find within the queen’s quarters. Because of the steep angle, he could only see a table near the window. Seated there was a woman rubbing her brow as if distraught.
Neeko presumed she was Wendi Mallen from what he knew about her. She was twenty-five with red hair and supposedly beautiful beyond words. He could see that this woman’s hair was indeed red, but it was impossible to make out her features.
“Are you thinking I should kill the king when he visits her?”
“It’s one option. Alternatively, if we follow this mountain range west then north to get a glimpse of the king’s room we’ll be too far for you to swoop down. There’s also a chance we’ll be spotted by scouts.” Shara walked away from the edge and visibly relaxed, taking a long breath.
“Marteph could enter her room without us ever knowing,” Neeko said. “We could be here for months, and we only have enough food and water for a few more days.”
“I know.” She looked as if she wanted to say something.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think there must be somewhere lower on these mountains that will allow us to see deeper into the room. However, it would also mean we’re more likely to be seen.”
Neeko told her he would check, then gathered pyforial energy to lift himself. He hovered over the sloped edge, finding that there were plenty of ledges jutting out from the side. Most were too treacherous, but there was one that looked ideal. It curved upward as it came out from beneath a rocky awning. The hardest part would be navigating down to it.
He came back and told Shara what he’d seen. “I can get myself there, but not both of us.”
She nodded sorrowfully. “That’s what I figured would be the case. It will be night soon. Perhaps the king will visit her quarters.”
He understood what she was saying. “I’ll return before it gets too dark for me to see. We don’t want you using the light from your wand in the middle of the night. It will be a beacon for anyone looking in this direction.”
They shared a long embrace.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
NEEKO
The nook within the mountain gave Neeko a chill of fright. The wind howled as it sliced through. He sat sideways against the upward curved edge, turning his head to spy into Wendi’s quarters. To his other side, his nook extended into what might be called a cave, disfigured pillars blocking him from venturing deeper. There wasn’t enough light left in the day to pierce its blackness. He just hoped there wasn’t anything dwelling within.
Soon after he began watching, an older man in a red robe entered the queen’s room. He looked to be a priest, gesturing at Wendi with his staff. She folded her arms and looked away.
The priest seemed to berate her for some time, though she never even glanced at him. Then he left. As soon as the door closed, Wendi’s face collapsed into her hands.
Neeko watched her cry for a while. Eventually she lifted her head and gazed out the window, and he could see the rumors of her beauty weren’t exaggerated.
The door opened again. Neeko felt a pinch of adrenaline in his chest as he saw someone come in who might be the king.
No, it had to be the king’s younger brother. Brimber was twenty-five like Wendi, a few years younger than the king. He had blonde hair while Marteph had brown. Beside Brimber was a boy who had to be Prince Cain Mallen, the four-year-old heir to the throne.
Wendi and the child ran to each other. She fell to her knees to embrace him as if she hadn’t seen him for days. Brimber peered back out into the hallway, then quickly shut the door. Wendi threw her arms around him in an obvious show of gratitude, kissing his cheek.
They exchanged a few words, then Wendi knelt and spoke to her son. He and Brimber left a moment later. Wendi stayed on her knees, weeping.
Neeko watched Wendi remain on the floor for the better part of an hour. It was getting dark, and he doubted the king would show up after all of that, so he returned to Shara. She was cuddled in her blanket to keep out the cold wind, so he joined her and told her what he’d seen.
“Actually, this could be good,” she said. “Yes, we might be able to use this.”
“Use what?”
“Well, I can’t be certain it’s what I think, but I don’t know what else it could be. There’s no way to know when it will happen, though.” Shara hummed as she thought.
“Perhaps I can help you if you tell me what you think this is.”
“Sorry.” She patted his leg. “Marteph Mallen’s a madman. Oh, how lyrical. I should’ve rhymed this. Marteph believes in sacrifices, right?”
Neeko nodded.
“Word certainly has reached him that he lost the battle at Tramberr. He’s a religious man, meaning he wholeheartedly believes the gods are involved in this war.”
“My gods.” Neeko had read that those of faith believed there were many ways to appease the gods, but human sacrifice was what they desired the most—the more powerful or holy the person being sacrificed, the more appeasement from the gods. “He’s going to sacrifice her.”
“I believe so. He thinks it will turn the tide of war to his favor, or perhaps he’s just doing it as an excuse to kill her. She’s already given him a son, and she could still be in love with our king. For all we know, Wendi and Marteph could despise each other.”
Shara was right. Wendi had never chosen to come to the South. Her father had forced her so he could have a role in Marteph’s court.
“That priest I saw,” Neeko said, “could it be her father?”
“Certainly could.”
“He would allow this to happen?”
“You said Wendi refused to look at him, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then it’s a possibility.”
“Her own father.” Neeko shook his head. “But how can we use this to our advantage?”
“Marteph won’t have her brought to the volcano because she’s not a faith-bound woman. He believes it would only upset the gods to bring her through the sacred land of Eppon. The sacrifice will be done in Khalinar, likely in front of many people. If we can get you into the crowd, you should be able to kill him.”
“This is all conjecture, you understand. You’ll need to watch her more tomorrow before we come to any decisions.”
*****
The next day, Neeko returned to his spot on the face of the mountain range. There was enough light to make out the end of the short tunnel into the mountain, and he was thankful to see that the only thing lurking in the alcove was him.
Wendi Mallen was in bed. She remained there hours into the day until eventually she got up and walked to where Neeko no longer could see her. He stretched out a kink in his neck as he waited.
Wendi returned to sit on her bed wearing different clothes. Then she tossed her hand as she shrugged and slid back under a gold-embossed blanket.
Neeko returned to the top to check on Shara. She was facing away from him while attempting to juggle rocks, all of them falling a moment after she tossed them in the air.
“I could teach you if you want,” he said as he landed.
Startled, she spun around quickly. “Did something happen?”
“Absolutely nothing has happened. She changed her clothes and then got back into bed.”
Shara’s eyes became slits. “Did you watch her disrobe?”
“Unfortunately she didn’t undress near the window,” he teased. “But maybe next time she will.” He became serious again as he took some bread out of his bag. “I feel like I should be doing something instead of watching.”
“You could turn away!”
He laughed. “I mean while we’re waiting. We’ll be in a bad predicament if they come to take her and we don’t know where they’re bringing her to be sacrificed.”
“So fly in there and ask.”
“I’m serious, Shara. Do you have any ideas?”
“I’m serious as well. As long as no one comes in, it should be fine.”
But he cringed at the idea. “She could scream.”
Shara approached him while wearing a solemn expression. “I know. I don’t like the idea either, but I like doing nothing even less.”
It didn’t take him long to realize it truly was the best plan. With Wendi’s husband plotting to sacrifice her, she wouldn’t protect him. “I’ll wait until after they bring her food and then retrieve her tray. That should decrease the chances that someone will come in while I’m there.”