The women had rolled to a stop at the base of a huge evergreen, a cascade of dirt, leaves, and snow following in their wake. Raeb was hurrying to them, holding the Bok’Tarong in a death-grip like he either never wanted to let it go or he wanted to toss it away as soon as possible.
Raeb knelt beside Saydee, setting the sword down between him and Dragana. Aeo’s vision was black for only a second before Dragana picked him up, her thoughts jumbled from the fall and … was that jealousy? Or revulsion that Raeb, the Taronese traitor, had dared to touch the Bok’Tarong?
Before he had a chance to reassure her, or check that she was unhurt, a glint of sunlight shining on metal in the distance shone through the underbrush.
Dragana, stop. Be silent.
She instantly obeyed, dropping flat to the ground. She whistled a low note, and Raeb followed suit, dragging Saydee down beside him. All three humans drew their weapons, though Saydee looked pale and clammy clutching an overlarge dagger.
“What is it?” Dragana whispered.
Something metal, down the hill to the right.
She repeated his warning to Raeb.
“Could it be some kind of refuse? Something abandoned on the forest floor?” he asked.
The sun was shining off it a moment ago, but now it’s gone.
“So it’s moving, then,” Dragana said.
“It could be a shadow,” Saydee offered, her voice full of doubt.
Dragana and Raeb shared a look. Aeo didn’t need to read her mind to know none of them believed that.
“We go around, surprise them from the sides,” Raeb said. “Saydee, stay close to me. Dragana, we attack on the signal.”
Dragana nodded. This was not a time for argument.
“Wait,” Saydee said, stopping Raeb with a hand on his arm. “How do we know they’re enemies? Not everyone in the world is out to kill us.”
“Better to be cautious than dead,” Raeb replied. “I’d rather have to sheathe a blade I didn’t need than need a blade I hadn’t unsheathed.”
Dragana leaned closer to the girl so she could keep her voice low. “We’ll go check it out. But we’ll assume the worst, just in case.”
Saydee nodded, though her face was still twisted with worry.
What’s the signal? Aeo asked.
Instead of a response, an image from Dragana’s mind came into view. Two men, crouched in an exotic jungle, trilling a whistle that was barely audible over the sighing of leaves and chirping birds.
When his thoughts returned to the snow-spotted forest, Dragana was already on the move. The sodden ferns and evergreen needles littering the ground hardly crunched under her feather-light footsteps. Aeo watched her sneak through the forest, not disturbing even the skittish squirrels, and marveled at the warrior-woman’s grace and strength.
At the bottom of the hill, a band of -taken soldiers hid in the undergrowth. There were maybe a dozen of them. If Dragana hadn’t fallen off the trail, they’d never have spotted them.
He felt Dragana’s muscles tense with anticipation and heard her calming her thoughts. She squeezed the Bok’Tarong, and both of them drew comfort from the gesture. They were -taken. This was the enemy, and their job was clear.
The thought made them both pause. -Taken weren’t automatically the enemy. The Entana was the enemy. The -taken were victims, people.
The -taken sanctuary had taught them so much, but a glimpse of a -taken in the outer world and they were both primed for the kill.
A faint, trilling whistle reached them from the other side of the camp. Several of the
-taken’s heads snapped toward the sound. They heard the sound of Raeb charging, engaging the
-taken nearest to him. They were committed.
Dragana charged.
With one broad, sweeping stroke, she parted one -taken’s head from his shoulders before any of them had a chance to prepare themselves.
Raeb was at her side in an instant, working his straight, ordinary blade against two
-taken. He flowed through the battle like it was a dance, always appearing one step ahead of his enemies. Aeo got the feeling he enjoyed the battle as much—or maybe even more—than Dragana.
Raeb complimented each of Dragana’s moves, and she his. Their mutual Taronese training made them step and attack in perfect sync and vanquish any -taken in their path.
Aeo had never seen anything like it. Two warriors, so in tune with each other, that they acted more like some four-legged beast with swords for arms than people. She and Raeb strengthened every weakness and exploited every opening their enemies offered without Aeo’s help. He wouldn’t have believed it before he’d become the Bok’Tarong. Now, though, he simply marveled at their skill and watched the -taken fall before their blades.
Steam rose from the soldiers’ spilled blood and pockets of pinkish, half-melted snow. A dozen bodies or more, dead or close to it, littered the ground. Entana tendrils squealed as Aeo’s blades severed them from their hosts. There was nothing glamorous about this fight. It was brutal, gory, and not at all dignified.
And quicker than Aeo would have believed, it was over.
Raeb and Dragana stood in the middle of the massacre. Aeo felt Dragana’s racing heart, tasted the blood covering them both. He struggled to sort through her emotions and make sense of his. They’d just slaughtered these -taken, without any time for questions or second guesses. These weren’t the victims of the Entana, they were willing -taken. Partners to the monsters. Killing them was the right thing to do. So why did they both wonder if they should have done it?
“We need to move on,” Raeb said. He wiped the blood from his blade and sheathed it, as if nothing had happened. “We’ll have to get as far from here as we can before nightfall.”
He strode away, past an ashen-faced and trembling Saydee, without looking back.
Raeb marched through the snow-laden pines, more than a little troubled by the battle. The arrival of -taken soldiers so soon after his and Aeo’s escape from Saydee’s mind and the Keeper of Secrets was, to say the least, disturbing.
If he was honest with himself, everything about their situation was disturbing. He traveled with the Bok’Tarong and a -taken mage who seemed to be holding back larger secrets than he’d thought. He’d had two encounters with the Keeper of Secrets in the last few weeks, neither of which had been at all pleasant. And now, -taken soldiers were ambushing them not hours after the Keeper of Secrets had promised vengeance for Raeb’s betrayal. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of anything that made him optimistic about their situation.
He’d set their course due south, for no better reason than to get out of this blasted snow. Maybe he’d be able to formulate some kind of plan once his brain thawed.
They walked in silence until the sun set and the trail was lit only by dim moonlight. He’d have liked to put even more distance behind them, but the forest was too dangerous to navigate in the dark and Saydee was nearly asleep on her feet. They had to stop, but Raeb feared what might happen when they did.
It was just a feeling. He didn’t have any explanation for it, but he knew something terrible would happen once they let their guard down.
Still, they couldn’t go on forever, so Raeb found a secluded spot well off the trail where they could spend the night.
Saydee was asleep before they’d gotten the camp set up. Dragana helped Raeb finish, though she seemed as weary as the girl. The strain they’d put on the Bok’Tarong the last few days had sapped much more of her life force than they’d expected, and now the young woman didn’t seem so young anymore. She moved as if every joint pained her and energy was a precious commodity. Raeb had seen it happen before, more times than he cared to remember, but this time it made his heart twist and his stomach churn.
He shook the thought from his mind. He’d already gotten his emotions mixed up in this, and though bringing Saydee along was necessary, it was causing a lot of problems. If he started caring about Dragana and Aeo—even he couldn’t think o
f him as just the spirit of the Bok’Tarong anymore—then he would be walking a thin and dangerous line between feelings and duty. He couldn’t afford that.
Raeb sat awake for as long as he could manage, but eventually exhaustion took over. His eyes drooped and his shoulders slumped, and before he knew it his mind drifted into dreams.
And he wasn’t alone.
“So nice of you to join me,” the Keeper of Secrets said. “I was beginning to think you’d deny yourself sleep forever just to avoid my presence.”
Raeb turned around and around, but he couldn’t see anything. He stood in empty blackness. The Keeper of Secrets was nowhere to be seen, but Raeb knew the Entana ambassador was near. “I’d deny myself life itself if it meant I never had to speak to you again,” Raeb said.
“So I remember. It takes a great deal of vigilance on your Entana’s part to keep your blade from your heart. Or the poison from your mouth. Or any of the other varied ways you’ve tried to make good on that threat over the years.”
Raeb’s heart burned with fury, but it was a familiar sensation. He shoved the rage deeper, away from his thoughts, promising himself vengeance on his tormentors. That had always given him just enough hope to continue on.
But now, that hope flickered and died. They’d tried their best and come nowhere close to reaching the hive. All of them had nearly died in the process. Vengeance had never seemed further away.
“You know the truth, don’t you, blade-bearer? However clever you may think you are, you aren’t a threat to the Entana. The sooner you accept that and complete your mission, the sooner we can arrange for an end to your suffering.”
“To give myself over to the Entana, to feed your parasites with my thoughts and emotions? No thank you.”
The Keeper of Secret’s voice grew a fraction softer. It was almost thoughtful behind the calculating words. “Perhaps we could negotiate something more … direct.”
Raeb had never been one for negotiations, especially with creatures like the Entana, but the hint made him pause. Maybe he should negotiate. A clean death was more than he’d been able to hope for in centuries. And what was left for him here? His chance at destroying the Entana was gone, and that had been all that kept him clutching to life. Without that, the best he could ask for was an end to the running, a chance to be at peace … and that was what the Entana were offering. The Keeper of Secrets would give it to him. He wouldn’t have to fight for it any longer. How could he refuse such an offer?
His hand strayed to Sunray. The icy blades seared his fingertips. He felt the ever-hungry magic pulsing through it, into him, begging to be released. It was tempted by the offer, too. Not just tempted—that was the blade’s most fervent desire. To be free, to feed and destroy and fulfill its mission at last. It craved that opportunity the way Raeb craved oxygen.
For Raeb to reach his chance for peace, he had to wade through Sunray’s trail of blood and death. To murder his allies, to turn away from humanity and follow the Entana’s lead. It was a great price to pay. And, damn it all, Raeb was actually considering it. He’d hate himself for it until the moment he died, but he was considering it.
The Keeper of Secrets’ laugh echoed through Raeb’s mind. “You’re beginning to understand. There is no way out but the path we offer. Complete your mission. Destroy the Bok’Tarong, and you will be freed.”
Haven’t you fought long enough?
Weariness descended on Raeb like a blanket. It smothered him, dragged him down, tripped him up. He was so tired of fighting, of losing. He was ready for that chance at peace. At rest.
With a sigh of release, of desperation, Raeb closed his eyes and nodded.
22
Raeb woke in a cold sweat. The frozen darkness of the forest couldn’t compare to the frigid emptiness in his mind. He felt trapped, like the Entana had bound his soul in their slimy tendrils and squeezed until he couldn’t think. He could no longer remember a time when he’d been free. Had there ever been a time like that? What had it been like?
Sunray was in his hand, though he hadn’t consciously drawn it. He was approaching Dragana’s sleeping form, though he hadn’t even realized he was standing. He trembled and sweat like he was dying of fever, his mind foggy and delirious. He wasn’t even sure if this was a dream or reality.
He only knew that he had to destroy the Bok’Tarong.
And some part of him, buried so deep it was hardly there, was sickened by the thought.
There it was. The Bok’Tarong lay beside the warrior-woman, gleaming in the moonlight. Raeb stared at the rosy gold blades, entranced by their beauty. It had once been his dream to wield them. He’d have given his life to the sword without hesitation.
But those memories felt like they belonged to another man. This man, the one who stood enslaved to the Entana, had never known such dreams. He knew only desperation, pain, loneliness. He knew there was no end to his nightmare.
But there was. And it lay before him.
Raeb lifted Sunray, releasing its magic. Icy motes glittered as they sought out enchantments, congregating around the Bok’Tarong.
All Raeb had to do was let it feed. Simply let go and allow it to consume with abandon. It wouldn’t even take any effort on his part. The effort came in holding Sunray back. Raeb just had to stop trying, give up, and it could all end.
He knelt, placing his free hand on the curved blades of the Bok’Tarong. He could feel the magic in them. It quivered at the touch of Sunray’s power.
Odd, that it did so. Aeo had never seemed to fear anything.
Aeo.
A small piece of the man who had once been Raeb surfaced. He’d liked Aeo. They’d fought well together. In another life, they may have even been friends.
I must destroy the Bok’Tarong.
I cannot kill Aeo.
Raeb’s hand was raised, poised to release Sunray’s hunger and strike down at the sword. But he didn’t.
He couldn’t. To strike now would be allowing the Entana to win. He couldn’t do that. Not after what they’d done to him, and to Mara, and Matow, and Saydee. The Entana had to be destroyed. The Bok’Tarong had to endure.
He lowered Sunray.
The Bok’Tarong was snatched away and Dragana crouched before him, holding the blades in a white-knuckled grip. Her voice was cold and filled with fury. “What are you doing?”
Raeb’s mind snapped back to himself. He was aware of the trees around him, the glowing embers of their fire, the stars above them. He was shivering from cold and fear. Dragana’s words resolved in his brain, with an effort, leaving him reeling and disoriented in front of the warrior-woman’s accusation.
For several uncomfortable seconds, which felt like a day or more, he stared at her as his thoughts tried—and failed—to make sense of what was happening.
Then horror hit him like a tidal wave. He staggered back, sickened as if he’d been punched in the gut. Had he just tried to destroy the Bok’Tarong?
“Oh yes,” a slimy voice hissed from behind. Raeb and Dragana both spun to the voice.
Saydee sat eerily still, staring at Raeb with the inhuman gaze of a fully -taken.
Dragana swung her blades to the girl, but Raeb held her arm back. The look she shot him was so full of bloodlust and rage he almost cowered. “Don’t,” he whispered. “It’s the Keeper of Secrets. He’s taken possession of her body.”
Saydee’s mouth twisted in a sadistic grin. “You didn’t think I would miss this, did you? My only opportunity to witness the bane of the Entana destroyed? Though it seems this is not the spectacle I thought it would be.” The Keeper of Secrets turned his gaze to Raeb. “It appears this is yet another opportunity to punish my not-so-loyal servant instead.”
Dragana’s brown-and-crimson eyes turned back to Raeb. “What is he talking about?”
“Come now, you can figure it out,” the Keeper of Secrets said. “The Taronese may be fools, but you must have enough intelligence to puzzle out this simple riddle.”
She glared da
ggers at Saydee’s smug expression before turning an equally stabbing gaze to Raeb. “That’s the secret you’ve been keeping? That you’re going to destroy the Bok’Tarong?”
“No,” Raeb said. “Well, I was supposed to, but—”
Dragana cut him off before he could explain. “How could you?”
Raeb stammered, not knowing what he could say. It didn’t matter, though, because Dragana was hearing nothing of it.
“I’d almost started believing you. After all the talk of destroying the Entana and fighting with us, I’d nearly forgotten what you were. But you were never one of us, were you?” Raeb heard tears choke her voice. He suspected nothing but sheer stubbornness kept them from falling. “You were never a friend to us.”
“Dragana, it’s not like that.”
“So what is it like? You betray your allies to these monsters and leave us all to die?”
“No, I—”
“I can’t believe you would do something like this! You came to us with false friendship.”
“It wasn’t false—”
“Seduced us with false plans.”
“No!”
“All to get us to let our guard down, so you can sneak up and kill Aeo? You’d destroy him, and our hopes to be free of the Entana, without so much as a thought of what else you’re hurting to do it?”
The Keeper of Secrets grinned and giggled through Saydee’s mouth. Raeb had to resist the urge to punch them both off the possessed girl’s face.
Dragana was trembling now, her eyes glittering in the firelight. “I should have expected this from a traitor,” she hissed.
“Dragana, listen to me!”
“No!” She stood from her crouch, back rigid as the pines around her, expression frigid as the ice crusting their needles. She held the Bok’Tarong firmly at her side. “I listened to you before and it almost cost Aeo his life. I won’t endanger him again by putting my trust in the wrong person.”
She sheathed the blades and spun away from Raeb. She wadded her bedroll into a clumsy lump and shoved it into her pack. With one final hurt- and hate-filled glare, Dragana marched out of the camp and into the darkness of the night.
Soul of the Blade Page 19