Forgotten

by Lyn Lowe

  It wouldn’t kill her. He knew that too.

  As if her flight released a cork from inside him, Kaie finally managed to make a sound. But he didn’t shout.

  He laughed.

  Thirty-Six

  “You need to be still!”

  Kaie shoved the doctor’s hands away and swung his legs off the cot. His head swam and he nearly collapsed, but managed to save face at the last second by leaning over and yanking his clothes from the floor and dropping back down as if it was always his intention to do so. Struggling not to gasp or breathe heavily, he thrust his body into the material and waited for his head to stop swimming. “No time,” he muttered.

  Alex harrumphed and placed herself firmly in his way. “I’ve followed you and yours around for months now, because the Ninth Rit asked for my loyalty, and I made a promise. But let me make something perfectly clear. I don’t give a fig for your great plans, Kale Whoreson! I will let this whole damn army of yours fall to pieces before I let you undo all my hard work putting you back together!”

  “You don’t understand!” Kaie hated the whine he heard in his voice, but didn’t know how to be rid of it. The seconds were ticking away again, louder than ever. He needed to move!

  Her eyes narrowed into points as sharp as the dagger so recently inside him. “You’re damn right I don’t. And I’m not interested. BE STILL!”

  Kaie tried to stand again but her hand darted out and slammed into his shoulder, trying to topple him back into the cot before his legs even felt the weight. He caught it without thinking. His eyes widened with surprise as confused images washed over him.

  Alex jerked her hand away and scowled up at him. “Gods dammit! You died once already today! You’re going to kill yourself again!”

  He shook free of the oddness running through his head and matched her glare. “I’d rather do it myself than wait for what’s coming.”

  It took too much effort to make it down the stairs. He was panting as if he just finished a race, and his whole body was shaking. It was wrong, all wrong.

  The shop was almost empty. Only Judah, Vaughan and Peren were there, sitting in a small circle, heads bent close together and muttering. Kaie stared at them, trying desperately to sort out what happened to all his soldiers. Did they turn on him? When Mola slid her knife into him, did she convince the Twelfth that he wasn’t fit to lead them? Did Judah tell them about what the Huduku were about to do, driving them to flee in panic?

  Vaughan was the first to spot him. The blonde was at his side in an instant, hands poised as if to catch him. Kaie would find it irritating if he could convince himself he wasn’t actually on the verge of collapsing.

  “I’m sorry, Bruhani! That doctor, she wouldn’t let me near you!” Vaughan shot Judah a dark glare, and Kaie immediately got the impression the giant was the one who carried out the doctor’s will.

  “It’s fine. Where is everyone?”

  Judah climbed to his feet slowly and offered Kaie a lopsided grin. “You didn’t expect everyone to cram in here, did you?”

  Kaie shook his head, surprised at himself. Of course they wouldn’t be here. Even if the shop was large enough to accommodate the remnants of Gregor’s army, it was sure to attract attention. He should’ve realized that immediately.

  “They’re spread out in a couple buildings in the area. Henry is getting them settled and checking up on that paint and dye you wanted. He should be back in a few minutes. Glad to see you’re too stubborn to stay dead, because I haven’t a clue what you need it for.”

  Kaie nodded absently and shuffled to a wall, sliding down it slowly in an attempt to hide how weak he was feeling. Alex came down the stairs behind him, looking like she wanted nothing more than to put the knife back in him.

  From what he pieced together in the short bursts of consciousness, she spent a lot of time working to sew him up. He saw the stain on the floor, knew how much blood he lost. Kaie didn’t doubt her insistence that he was dead for a full minute or two while she labored away. The pain wasn’t as bad as the first time he woke up in her care, though it was a near thing.

  It was the worst possible timing. Which was why Mola chose that moment. She intended to kill him, and for the death to stick. But she was too good to think it impossible he survive. Mola was a master at death. He didn’t think she knew how much Dau told him, but she would still take steps to make sure he didn’t interfere with their plans. Death, so narrowly escaped, would be returning for a second go at him any minute. And she left him too weak to fight it off.

  There were only two tricks left to him. One would take time. The other was Vaughan.

  It was lucky that the blonde refused to use magic for so long. Mola knew he was a mage, of course. She overheard enough to put it together, even if she managed to miss the boy’s display in that last battle. But she didn’t know he could heal. He never asked Vaughan to repair any of the wounds they took since the day of the bee fumes. Healing magics were something of a rarity. Mola had no reason to suspect Vaughan possessed them.

  “I need you to heal me.”

  Vaughan nodded, grim determination oozing from his every pore. Alex made a noise like she was going to object. Kaie silenced her with a warning look, then gritted his teeth and prepared for the agony that went along with the process.

  It was worse than he remembered. If he could scream, he would. Enemies be damned. At some point, Vaughan lifted his shirt and scowled down at his stitches. A second later, the blonde cut them open with a blade that seemed to materialize in his hands. That was about the time Kaie decided he didn’t give care how weak he looked and just passed out.

  When he opened his eyes again, Peren was sitting beside him. She was patting his forehead with a wet rag. The water was warm and the rag was dirty. It was wonderful. When she saw that he was awake, she gave him a shaky smile and tucked her hair behind her ear.

  “You left.”

  He couldn’t think of anything to say to that, so he just grunted.

  “You came back.”

  “I promised, didn’t I?”

  She laughed then. It wasn’t the same as before. It wasn’t full and deep, like it used to be. She didn’t snort. It was light, cautious. Like some broken thing that wasn’t quite put back together again.

  That was his fault.

  Kaie shoved her away, gently, and sat up. He tested his side with probing fingers, relieved to find it whole again, with no trace of the tread that was holding him together. Climbing to his feet was not as easy as it used to be – the dizziness wasn’t gone – but he managed not to collapse and counted that good enough.

  Henry was back and eager to give his report. The Twelfth was gathered. They numbered less than a hundred now. The losses would number much higher before things were done.

  His sapper and the other volunteers came in with Henry, each lugging several sacks of paint and dye. A weight lifted off his chest at the sight. He was afraid they wouldn’t find any. Kaie looked through the loot, growing more confident with each sack he went through. There was so much brown! Far more than he dared to hope for. When he looked up, every eye was on him.

  “Alright. This is going to take some organizing. There are three parts to this step, and I need one squad for each one. The first will be dying our shirts. I want them as colorful as any Huduku outfit you’ve ever seen. The second squad is going to handle hair. Take the brown and black dyes to them. Everyone who’s already got brown or black hair is good to go, but the rest of us need some improvement. It’ll take some time. But there aren’t too many of us and it doesn’t have to be perfect.”

  They were still staring at him, not a soul in the place catching on to what he intended. “The last squad is going to be a lot busier. They’re going to paint everyone’s face and hands with the brown paint.”

  Everyone kept staring at him. A second passed. Two. Then Henry burst out laughing. “Gods damn it!” The man gasped. “That was my idea!”

  Kaie did grin now. “I don’t need a crown, but you c
an feel free to call me King.”

  “I don’t get it.” Judah looked between them, waiting for an explanation. Henry beat him to it.

  “The Whore King over there, he’s fixing to pass us off as Huduku!”

  Understanding lit everyone’s face.

  Judah frowned. “You think dye and paint is going to make anyone looking close believe we’re natives?”

  “Of course not. I don’t think they’ll even need to look close to figure it out. Not in daylight, anyway. But in the passes, at a distance…”

  The giant chuckled. “That Callo was right, you do have a brass set on you. You don’t expect them to let us keep up the act for long, do you?”

  “I expect they won’t be paying too much attention. They’ll be busy leaving us to die. So long as we stay far enough away, they shouldn’t even notice. Besides, abandoning us and slaughtering us themselves are two different things.” A twinge at his side reminded him that not all of the Huduku would agree with him on that point. Still, Lady Dau made it clear she wanted them to survive. He was sure she wouldn’t order them put down. “Even if they figure out what’s going on, they won’t turn on us. We’ll take a different way out of the city, just in case.”

  “You sure about that? I thought we were supposed to be their distraction.”

  “I’m sure. Trust me, the Huduku have another distraction in mind.” He couldn’t explain his certainty, even to himself. He only knew that the image of Mola lighting the city on fire wouldn’t shake loose.

  “I don’t understand,” the sapper said softly. “Why are we leaving? Wouldn’t it be safer just to hide and wait for the Fourth to follow them?”

  So Judah told them. “We can’t stay here. This city is doomed. Namers are coming.”

  That got results. No one wanted to wander around the Jorander desert, but even people without any first-hand experience knew it was better than facing the Namers.

  It took hours. Kaie managed to sit through the dying of his hair, eyebrows and the scruff on his chin. He sat through being painted. His head itched and the skin of his face and hands felt tight and dry. But it was the waiting that was driving him mad.

  It was taking too long. Mola’s assault meant that the Huduku were leaving right now. And she took his hair. There was only one reason he could think of for her to do that. They all needed to be gone before the sun set, and he needed to be the first one out. But he was the only one who seemed to feel any of the urgency. He knew that the joking and laughter all around him was not due to a lack of motivation. It was gallows humor. But each time one of the soldiers called him Whore King and smacked his shoulder affectionately, he wanted to grab the offender and shake all the joviality out of them.

  The sun set. Peren brought an armful of brightly colored shirts. They kept waiting. Kaie paced. The city grew dark. Still, they were waiting.

  When they finally began moving out, it was full dark. The city was so silent Kaie’s breathing echoed loudly in his ears.

  He was still weak. Vaughan repaired the damage, but the blonde muttered something about being unable to replace what was lost. Kaie took that to mean all his blood spilled out over the floor. So while he was able to walk and talk just like normal, the world was still prone to an alarming degree of spinning if he moved too quickly or too long.

  Luckily, the first leg of their trip wasn’t a long one. After Kaie was attacked, Judah and Henry tracked Mola to another courtyard some quarter mile away. They both realized it was pointless to try to find her down in the passes, but it did give them an entrance point. Once they were hidden underneath the city, he would feel so much better.

  Judah led the way. The giant was as good at directions as Kaie was bad. But Kaie was close at his heels. He was the only one who knew where to look for the doorway. He would be up front, no matter what, but it was nice to have the excuse.

  They made good time, considering that 82 people were trying to shove themselves through streets only wide enough for three at once. Kaie was just starting reach his limit when he and Judah arrived at the courtyard.

  The statue here was whole. She bore more of the angry scrawl across her breast, but not even a finger was missing. Water trickled from a vase clutched in her right hand, which was also new. Dropping to his knees, he probed the street in the center. He found it easily, flipped the door open, and dropped down before the gods got the chance to stop him.

  The instant he was at the bottom of the stairs, the smell hit him again. It was much fainter than the last time. It tugged at Kaie, daring him to place it. He almost could. He heard Judah shouting to the soldiers above, getting them organized for an orderly descent. He hurried out of the way, intending to relax against the far wall while he waited for his army to join him.

  He never made it.

  Thick fingers wrapped into his hair from behind and jerk him backward. He tried to shout. Another sweaty hand wrapped itself around his mouth. He swung hard, fighting to catch his feet on the smooth floor and stop his backward momentum. His elbow connected with something solid, but it gained him nothing. His captor never even slowed. In moments, he was pulled into one of the pathways, around a corner sharp enough to hide them.

  The grip shifted, and Kaie’s back was slammed into a wall, the hand on his mouth moving down to pin him against it by the throat. He scrambled and clawed at it, but it was as solid as marble and holding him just enough that all he could manage was small painful gasps of air. The head connected to it leaned in close, great nostrils sucking in his scent. One brown eye darted back and forth, as if searching Kaie’s face for something. Then the scared lips turned up in a smile.

  Silvertongue.

  He thought he was safe, in the passes. But that was foolish. Dau warned him. Mola took his hair. There was only one reason. She would show the man where Judah and Henry lost her. She probably even realized Kaie would be the first down the stairs. She gave him to his nightmares.

  A scream tore through him, dying against the pressure on his throat. Panic blinded him. The next few moments were nothing more than a mindless struggle to free himself from the abomination holding him. It was futile, just like before. Silvertongue leaned close again, one eye mocking. The monster’s lips pulled back from the jagged remnants of teeth, and Kaie’s whole body went stiff, preparing itself for the pain of the bite that was coming.

  The lips touched his shoulder. Broken teeth brushed the skin. Teasing. And then…

  Kaie’s eyes flew open as the pressure from his throat eased. His legs weren’t prepared to hold his weight so suddenly, and he slid down the wall. What happened?

  Silvertongue was turned away from him. It wasn’t until Kaie hit the floor that he saw why.

  There was someone else in the tunnel with them. He thought it was one of his soldiers, come to rescue him. But the brown skin wasn’t paint. A Huduku man wandered into Kaie’s nightmare just in time to win Silvertongue’s ire. The man as he collapsed to the ground with a sword through his throat.

  Kaie pushed himself off the wall at an angle – not hard enough! – and caught Silvertongue in the back of the knees. The monster lurched forward and smacked into the opposite wall, head first.

  Not hard enough to be knocked unconscious.

  Damn.

  Damn, damn.

  No time to worry about it. Silvertongue wasn’t out, but the man was certainly reeling.

  All he needed to do was call out. The soldiers were close. Only a few minutes passed since he first stepped off the stairs. They probably didn’t realize he was gone yet. If he shouted, someone would come running. He would be safe. Safer. The tunnels weren’t large enough to effectively use his numbers against the fiend, but there would surely be enough to buy him time to run.

  Kaie didn’t shout. It was stupid. He didn’t care.

  His hands flew over the corpse between him and Silvertongue. There was no reason to think the man was carrying daggers like Mola’s. He never saw another Huduku wielding them. Still, Kaie wasted precious seconds poking finge
rs through the bright blue folds of the man’s shirt.

  Silvertongue turned around.

  His fingers brushed against a hardened leather handle.

  The curved blade sliced through cloth as he pulled it free.

  Flecks of blood flew from a cut on Silvertongue’s head, splattering across Kaie’s face.

  Silvertongue lunged forward. Kaie shoved the dagger upward.

  The metal slid through Silvertongue even easier than it did the cloth. It caught him in the belly and sliced up so fast Kaie almost lost his grip on the handle.

  Silvertongue stumbled away from him. A low growl slithered out of Kaie’s aching throat, and he threw himself after the monster of his nightmares. He kept the knife buried in the man’s belly. He felt the blade scrape against bone and smiled. Then he twisted.

  The sound that came out of his enemy was inhuman.

  It was perfect.

  Thirty-Seven

  He didn’t notice the people gathering around him until a hand dropped onto his shoulder and shook him. Kaie lashed out without a thought, swinging the dagger wide. He pulled up just short of slicing Judah open. The giant muttered a curse. He blinked, noticing the crowd pushing in for a glimpse at the scene in the tunnel. They were all muttering ‘Whore King.’ The words seemed to carry a different weight now. It seemed less like a friendly jest than reverence. It took him several seconds to realize it was because of the body crumpled beside him.

  He laughed. If he knew all it took to win them completely was to kill Silvertongue, he would have started with that. He wiped the dagger off on the right leg of his pants and tucked it under his belt, offering Judah a nod of apology.

  “Glad to see you’re still with us.”

  “What the hell was he doing down here? Why would the Huduku tell the Fourth about the passes?” Judah asked low enough that the others wouldn’t hear.

  The smell hit him again. It was still faint, but it hit him different this time. Instead of being one odor, he thought he caught two separate ones mixing together. Rotten eggs. That was most of it. But underneath… Food? It smelled like a component from any number of the meals he set out for Gregor, the ones the people of Huduku were so fond of.