“Too late,” he said. “You’ve won.”
His eyes glazed, a fresh stream of blood gushed from his mouth, and he lay still.
The guard she’d kicked reached her side and grabbed her, but then stood staring down at his dead master.
“He said he wouldn’t die,” the man muttered.
Abruptly he shook Bryte. “You! You caused this!”
“No,” she protested. “I didn’t want him dead. He had to tell me where Stethan is.”
In his rage, the guard was not listening; he released her, drew his gun, and took aim.
Her own rage kindled, her light burst forth, no longer restrained by Lord Inver’s power. She ducked and vaulted past him and through the door to the room where the other guard held Ileta. The gun went off, but the guard was firing blindly and in the wrong direction.
Her light still flaring, she raced toward the guard and grabbed Ileta. “Keep your eyes closed,” she told her sister, pulling her from the guard’s grasp.
The guard who’d fired on her came into the room, and although he could not see, he shot again, this time coming dangerously close. Bryte shoved Ileta down, crouched beside her, and together they wormed their way toward a doorway only Bryte could see.
It led to a room with no exit other than the door through which they’d come. They were trapped, and her light was fading. The guard stopped shooting. He’d probably used all the ammunition in his gun, but he’d reload and try again. “We need to get back to the tunnel you brought us through,” Bryte said.
Ileta looked confused. “I’m all turned around,” she said. “Remember, I’ve never been here before.”
They were in a library: bookshelves lined all the walls; an oval table strewn with books filled the center of the room, while a desk occupied a spot near a window between the bookcases. Bryte ran to the window.
While she fumbled for the lock, found it, and struggled to open it and swing the window out, it occurred to her that in the time it was taking to do that, the guards should have been upon them.
Not wanting to push her luck, she picked up the desk chair and slammed it against the window, shattering the glass and setting off an alarm that shrieked their presence to guards outside and inside.
“Not a smart move, Bryte,” said a voice behind her. “You’ll have a thousand cuts from all that broken glass.”
She spun around as Lina entered, Kanra following.
“The guards …?”
“Gone or no longer functional,” Lina said. “The fight went out of them when they saw their leader dead. I didn’t need much power to put them out of working order.”
“I thought you’d gone to take the box to the Dire Lord,” Bryte said. “It was what you came for.”
“That and to defeat Lord Inver. I wasn’t sure I’d done that. I had to see if he was dead. Now we can go. Let’s hope Aubie waits for us.”
“But I haven’t got what I came for,” Bryte said. “I’ve got to find Stethan.”
“Any idea where to look?” Lina asked.
Bryte confessed that she did not.
“Then we’ll need Oryon’s help. He’s good at solving riddles. With his soul restored, he’ll work with us.” Lina sounded confident, but Bryte read doubt in her eyes.
“Let’s just get out of here,” Kanra put in nervously.
They returned to the room where Lord Inver’s body lay. The guards had gone. Bryte spared the lord’s body barely a glance before continuing on the route to the tunnel. As they passed through the dining room, Bryte couldn’t resist grabbing the saltshaker that had attracted her and slipping it into her pocket. This time though she must have seen, Lina said nothing.
At the tunnel entrance Bryte put out her hand to open the door but jumped back when it opened on its own.
Not on its own. It had been jerked open by the tall man who now stood framed in the doorway glaring at them.
“Father!” Ileta screamed and shrank back behind Lina and Kanra.
Too late Bryte recalled that Lord Inver had sent a guard to summon Lord Hallomer to recover his “lambs.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LORD HALLOMER
For the first time Bryte looked up into the face of her father. Lord Hallomer peered down his longish nose at her with an expression with which one might regard rats or other vermin. He was flanked by two guards, their hands on their weapons, their gazes hard.
“Ileta, my dear, we’ve been frantic with worry,” he said in a tone that belied his words. “Where have you been and what are you doing in the company of this riffraff? Where is Lord Inver?”
They did look bedraggled, their clothes dirty and torn, even bloodstained. That, in Bryte’s estimation, gave him no excuse for labeling them “riffraff.” It pleased her greatly to announce, “Lord Inver is dead,” and watch the change that came over him.
His face paled and his eyes widened. “Who are you?” he demanded, though his bluster seemed forced. “What do you mean, Lord Inver is dead? That can’t be.”
“It is,” Lina put in, licking her lips. “I killed him. In self-defense. He was trying to kill us—or to have us killed.”
“Because you broke into his home, no doubt,” Lord Hallomer declared. “And how did a slip of a girl like you kill Lord Inver. That’s nonsense. Where are the guards?”
“It’s not nonsense, father,” Ileta found her voice. “And we broke in to rescue my brother, Stethan.”
“Stethan! How did you know about him? He’s dead. He died years ago.”
“No, he was still alive as of yesterday, when Lord Inver got hold of him,” Bryte put in. “I think you knew he was alive. Do you know where Lord Inver hid him?”
“No. Let’s ask Lord Inver.” Lord Hallomer signaled the guards, who moved forward along with him, herding Bryte and her friends before them.
“You can ask,” Lina said. “You won’t get an answer.”
Bryte was tempted to try to escape, knowing that if she did, the others would follow her lead. But this man was her father. She did not care to see him meet the same fate as Lord Inver. What’s more, with the guards close and armed, it was too likely that even with their combined power, one or more of her group would be hurt or killed.
So they retraced their steps to the room where Lord Inver’s body lay. Seeing the corpse, Lord Hallomer’s guards rushed to it. One knelt to examine the lord, while the other stood over him, his weapon drawn and aimed toward Bryte and her companions.
“He’s dead,” the kneeling guard confirmed in awe.
Lord Hallomer looked away from the bloody corpse, his face taking on the strained look of one struggling not to vomit. He shook his head, unable to absorb the enormity of Lord Inver’s death.
Ileta got a chair and placed it behind her father. He sank into it. “This isn’t possible,” he mumbled. Then, rallying, he said in a stronger voice, “He was right about the gifted. They are too dangerous to be allowed to live.”
“He didn’t extend that philosophy to include himself, did he?” Lina asked. “He used his power to abuse and confuse and kill. Was that acceptable?”
Lord Hallomer glared at her. “By your own admission, witnessed by these guards, you are guilty of his murder. You will be handed over to the peace officers for trial and execution.”
“Some trial, if the outcome is known before it’s held,” Lina said with a sniff.
“Father, she saved our lives by attacking Lord Inver,” Ileta said. “His own guards let him bleed to death.”
“Ileta, this is a matter that no longer concerns you. I don’t know how you got involved with these people, these workers of evil magic, but I will not allow you to become further contaminated by them.”
Ileta stepped up beside Bryte. “I got involved because I wanted to be with my sister,” she said.
Bryte was proud of Ileta for defying her father, but she was also afraid for her—and for herself, now that Ileta had revealed her identity.
“Sister?” Lord Hallomer’s eyes widened
, then narrowed to hard slits and focused on Bryte.
She’d long imagined how she’d greet her father when she finally met him. The words she had rehearsed so often rolled easily off her tongue. “Yes. Me. I’m Bryte, the daughter you refused to acknowledge; the daughter you forced to live on nothing but her wits. The daughter you would have had killed if my mother hadn’t hidden me.”
She glanced at Ileta, saw her sister’s shocked expression, and departed from the script she’d practiced for so many years. “You did do one good thing for me, though,” she said impulsively. “You gave me a wonderful, smart, and loyal sister. Now that I know Ileta and have come to love her, I’ll never feel alone or abandoned again.”
Tears filled her sister’s eyes and was matched by the dampness in her own eyes. Ileta ran to her and threw her arms around her. “Father,” she said, “I’ve only known Bryte such a short time, and I love her already. You must not part us again.”
“I kept you apart for your own good,” he said, his voice gruff but bewilderment in his eyes. “She’s one of the magic wielders. I couldn’t have her in my home.”
“You didn’t know that when you sent my mother away,” Bryte protested. “I just found out myself.”
“I learned after I married her that your mother was gifted. I knew that all too often blood runs true.”
“My mother was a good woman,” Bryte declared, angry enough now to revert to her scripted speech. “She worked herself to death making a life for me. She taught me herself, determined I’d have the education you denied me. She sacrificed herself for me, and if she was gifted, she never used her gift but kept it hidden to keep me safe.”
That last part Bryte had tacked on only recently—though before meeting Ileta.
“The gifted corrupt our society,” Lord Hallomer said pompously. “You’re still young, too young to realize what a blight magic is on our country.”
“Then why was Lord Inver not only tolerated but given so much power?” Lina demanded. “He didn’t hide his giftedness; he flaunted it. And you have to know what he did with it, how he misused it.”
Lord Hallomer cleared his throat. “Lord Inver was a singular case.” His statement had to sound lame even to him. “He recived special dispensation from the Triumvirate to use his power in their service, to protect the nation from the dangers of magic.”
“So he protected the nation from magic by using magic,” Lina said. “Very logical. And he saved lives by taking lives. Is that what the Triumvirate mandated?”
Again Lord Hallomer cleared his throat. He couldn’t quite meet Lina’s direct gaze as he answered, “The Triumvirate, ah, gave Lord Inver the latitude to, ah, act as he saw fit to keep the government, ah, free of undue influence by those who wield magic. I’m sure he, ah, always acted with the government’s best interests in mind.”
Lina snorted.
Kanra said, “He made the Temple of Mibor complicit in his crimes. That I know. And he tried very hard to have your son murdered. We’re hoping he didn’t succeed, but we have to find him. Do you know where Stethan is?”
“I have no son named Stethan—no son by any name.” Lord Hallomer’s nervous glance at the guards reduced the effectiveness of the declaration.
“Do you know where the boy is that Lord Inver had stolen from the Temple of Mibor?” Kanra persisted.
“I know of no such act of Lord Inver’s,” Lord Hallomer stated, but a nervous twitch of one eyelid betrayed him.
“You’re lying,” Bryte accused.
His face reddened. “How dare you!”
“Easy,” she said. “As easy as you found it to deny the existence of a son and a daughter just because they might be gifted.”
“I will not listen to these baseless accusations. You!” he thundered, pointing at Lina, “You’ve murdered, and you’ll pay the price. Guards, take her!”
The guard grabbed Lina, holding her between them. Bryte was not worried, sure that Lina could use power to escape them when she chose to do so. She had more to say to her father and meant to get it all said while she had the chance.
But Ileta went to Lord Hallomer. “Father,” she said, kneeling at his feet, “Father, I cannot believe you can be so cruel. You know Bryte is telling the truth about being your daughter. And you must know about Stethan, as well. He’s your only son, and he’s in terrible danger. Help us instead of fighting us. Lord Inver is dead; you have no more to fear from him. What are you afraid of now?”
Lord Hallomer looked down at his daughter, and for a moment his face softened. “Stand up, Ileta. We’re going home. I have to report Lord Inver’s death, and I’ll be summoned before the Triumvirate. I must prepare.”
“Prepare to avoid any blame?” Lina sneered. “Prepare to set yourself up for an advancement?”
“I won’t go with you,” Ileta said. “They’re right; you are complicit in Lord Inver’s crimes, and those crimes led to his death. Do you want to perpetuate them and bring about your own death?”
“You’re talking nonsense.”
“Is she?” Bryte asked. “You’ve been Inver’s tool. You can’t deny it.”
Bryte noticed that while Lord Hallomer blustered and tried to stay in control, the two guards were looking increasingly ill at ease, shuffling their feet, their gazes darting from Lord Hallomer to each of his opponents. She guessed that Lord Inver’s death would throw the security forces into confusion and disarray. The guards who’d been in Lord Inver’s service had fled, and probably these guards of Lord Hallomer’s would like to do the same. She abandoned her planned speech and said, “Look, you know things’ll be different with Lord Inver dead. You can be different, too. Here’s your chance to really make a difference. Help us save Stethan. Take a stand against the persecution of the gifted. Convince the Triumvirate that they’ve nothing to fear from us.”
She’d had him up until that final plea, but with it she’d gone too far. He stiffened. “The Triumvirate won’t listen,” he said, taking Ileta by the arm and yanking her to her feet.
Ileta said, “You won’t know unless you try.”
Kanra added, “I’m Stethan’s mother’s sister. Since his mother died, I’ve fought to keep the boy safe and alive. He’s a good child, loving and brave, a son to be proud of. He’s no danger to anyone. Will you let him die because he inherited a gift he never asked for?”
“Won’t you do the right thing for once?” Bryte begged. “Treat me however you will, but try to save your son.”
Her father shook his head in capitulation. “You three!” he said. “What do you want of me?”
The power of three! Bryte thought. Maybe this was what the Widow Kipley meant. “Help us find Stethan,” she said.
“I have no idea how to find him,” Lord Hallomer said. “If Lord Inver’s hidden him somewhere, the chances are he’ll never be found. I swear to you that I had no knowledge of Lord Inver’s taking the boy and was never privy to his plans for him. I can’t help you.”
“Then let us go to do what we can,” Kanra said.
“I can’t let Lord Inver’s murderer go free,” Lord Hallomer responded.
“I’m not a murderer,” Lina said.
“That’s for the justices to decide.”
“Then keep me and let Bryte and Kanra go,” Lina said. “Let them search for the boy.”
“And me,” Ileta put in. “I want to go with them. I want to find my brother.”
“You don’t … you can’t … you don’t know him.”
“I remember his mother. She was sweet. She was always kind to me. She protected me from Kirsie’s abuse and never complained when she was mistreated.”
So—no wonder Ileta had been so willing to go with them. Bryte had already surmised that Kirsie had abused Ileta, but had the mistreatment of Stethan’s mother been all Kirsie’s or had Lord Hallomer been guilty as well?
“If I let you go, what assurance do I have that you’ll return?” he asked.
“You have Lina. We won’t abandon her,” Bryte said.
Looking at Lina, she added, “We’ll come back to help you.”
Lina smiled a grim smile. “You’ll have to stay alive to do that. Take the box. Get Oryon free. Promise me you’ll do that. He’ll help you find Stethan.”
Bryte nodded. It didn’t seem to her that there was time for a visit to the Dire Realms, but she had no better plan, and Oryon was clever. If he was restored, he might know what to do.
“Very well,” Lord Hallomer yielded with a sigh. “Go ahead, the three of you. Ileta, please, be careful.”
“I will, Father. Thank you.” She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “You won’t lose me, and you may gain a son.”
As they started through the tunnel, Lina called out one final exhortation: “Bryte, be sure you find and bring me back that power net you lost.”
With those words ringing in her ears, Bryte led the others in a dash through the tunnel, eager to get away before Lord Hallomer changed his mind.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
THE DIRE LORD
They got out of Lord Inver’s compound with no problem, but Aubie had not waited. They were forced to walk to the next level, fortunately not a long walk, since the sixth level was not large. But on the fifth level they had to seek shelter and wait until daylight, when they could find transportation. They found the park where Bryte had gone with Lina, and huddled together in a stand of trees that offered shelter from prying eyes. They took turns napping, one standing guard while the other two slept. It wasn’t restful, but it did help restore their flagging energy.
Daylight came at last, and with it the movement of traffic and the availability of cars and carriages. Bryte used some of her dwindling store of coins to get them on a touring bus that was going to the fourth level, still far from the flats.
Outside a minor temple where cab and carriage drivers gathered to pick up fares, Bryte picked out a particularly bored-looking driver and bargained for a ride to the flats. To save her coins, she offered the stolen knife and fork as fare. “It’s real silver,” she said.
He laughed. “Hot, isn’t it?” he asked, not referring to the weather. “What’ll I do with it?”
BRYTE'S ASCENT (Arucadi Series Book 8) Page 22