The Myatheira Chronicles: The Vor'shai: From the Ashes (Volume 1)

by Melissa Collins

  Footsteps from somewhere down below caught her attention, her voice trailing off. She didn’t want Cadell to see how severe her injuries were. The man had enough on his plate as it was without having to deal with her foolishness. She hoped whoever it was would simply pass the tower by and leave them in peace.

  To her dismay, the sound grew nearer, echoing off the walls of the stairwell leading to where Zander and Leyna sat, frozen, anxious at the thought of who might be coming. A breath of relief escaped Leyna’s lungs at the sight of Cadell’s face rounding the corner of the stairs. While she wasn’t ready to face him quite yet, he was a welcome sight in comparison to other possibilities.

  His features were twisted, almost angry at first, his brow twitching to see Zander standing there at Leyna’s side. “Commander Tercsin. If you would excuse us.”

  “With all due respect, General, I would prefer to stay here with the Captain –”

  “Perhaps you misunderstood, Commander,” Cadell glanced over to Zander with a stern expression, eyes narrowed. “That was an order. Take up watch at the base of the tower. Understood?”

  “Clear as day, General,” he muttered, letting the bloodied cloth drop into Cadell’s hands. “The Captain needs a doctor. I suggest she see one soon. I will be guarding the door.”

  Giving a final salute, Zander turned away from Cadell, his eyes lingering on Leyna apologetically, not wanting to leave her in the condition she was in. In a huff, he made his way to the stairs, looking straight ahead to avoid eye-contact with Cadell as his gaze followed him to the stairwell.

  His attention remained on the empty corridor, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Leyna watched him carefully. He wasn’t the type of man to be easily distracted. “General, is something troubling you?”

  “Are you out of your mind?” he asked, his attention turning from the stairs to focus intently on Leyna. “Is there a reason you are so utterly reckless with your life and safety?”

  “I do not understand…”

  “You could have been killed, Captain. Did you think about that before you threw yourself in the line of fire?”

  She flinched at the emotion in his voice, uncertain of whether it was anger or shock that thickened it with a sense of disapproval. “I was under the impression it was my job to protect you and the Prince, no matter the cost.”

  “Your job is to stay alive,” he replied, his tone sharp. “Let me worry about protecting the Prince. Your survival is crucial. Do not be so foolish as to think it is not.”

  “How is it that my survival is so crucial when you are the one who is needed to lead this military to victory? They have taken orders from you long before I was ever offered this position. If you were to die, I think it would crush their spirit. You mean everything to these men. I am nothing more than a replacement that they’ve known for only a few months; and seen only a dozen occasions at best. My death would change nothing to them whereas yours would ruin them.”

  Steadying his breath, Cadell stared down at the bloody cloth in his hands as if only just realizing what it was. With a quick glance, he eyed the marks on Leyna’s neck. His feet carried him to her side in a single, fluid stride. “What has you convinced that you have nothing worth living for?” His voice was calmer, a hint of concern in the inflection despite the determined look on his face while dabbing at her wounds. It was obvious to Leyna that he lacked experience in conversation beyond combat strategy and defense tactics.

  “Cadell,” she started, afraid of how he would react to hearing her speak to him by name instead of his proper title. His brow creased briefly, almost immediately, but he did not interject. “My closest family was murdered and those of my kin who remain deny my name. The man I love is not allowed to be with me and I will most likely never see him again. But that does not mean I have a death wish.”

  He paused in his work with the cloth, his eyes searching her face suspiciously. “It is odd to hear you speak of love. Might I inquire who the gentleman is?”

  “No. It holds no bearing on the situation at hand,” Leyna waved dismissively. The last thing she wanted was to bring Thade’s name up in their conversation. Queen Vorsila had hinted at enough during their meeting in regards to Leyna’s feelings toward him. Elaboration didn’t seem necessary. Especially not with a war raging outside their walls. “Right now we need to focus on what we learned of our enemy during this battle. I have no experience fighting against corpses.”

  “My hope was that you might be able to share some insight to possible weaknesses.”

  “Truthfully, the one you should ask is Commander Tercsin.”

  “Yes, you said that before,” Cadell frowned. “Were you not closely associated with them for a time? Did you learn nothing of them over the years you spent in their company?”

  “In all honesty, I learned little of the men who matter.” Leyna’s voice trailed off with a sharp intake of air as Cadell dampened the cloth once again, pressing it against the wounds on her neck. She didn’t think it was possible, but somehow the pain was increasing. Worsened by her fatigue. “I was with them for over six years, but only the past year brought anything of use. If you want names, I can tell you those, but not much beyond.”

  “Then tell me the names. Who are the men that work closest to the lich?”

  Leyna sighed at the thought of the men Cadell requested her to identify. He was bound to recognize them. At least a few. Damir was a known traitor to Queen Vorsila. It only seemed appropriate that Cadell would be familiar with him. “The main associate of concern is the man you may know as Damir Rohld. His right hand man is called Kyros, and below him is Oran Bedrick. Their newest recruit is a fallen Vor’shai by the name of Kael Hadaren. A former employee of Consul Imri.”

  “Yes, I recall the name,” Cadell nodded. Tossing the cloth aside he peered at the marks on Leyna’s neck, brow furrowed with concern. “While you are rather beat up from the fight, I think the question on everyone’s lips is in regards to your ability to withstand the lich’s magic. You saw what it did to our other soldiers. Is there a secret you know of which grants you immunity?”

  “General, I will be honest with you. When it comes to my survival tonight, I am possibly more confused than anyone. I have gone over and over it in my head and nothing makes any sense.”

  “So you know nothing of Arcastus?”

  Shaking her head, Leyna gave a slight shrug of her shoulders, wincing from the pain the movement caused. “I never saw him before tonight. Consul Imri was already in the process of removing me from the mission before Arcastus was resurrected. That is why I suggest speaking with Commander Tercsin. To my knowledge, he was present for the ritual which revived the lich.”

  Cadell stood silently for a moment, taking in what Leyna was saying. His expression hardened briefly, as if hesitating, a hand reaching out toward Leyna’s neck, retracting again before making contact with the skin. Stiffly he turned away, moving toward the window overlooking the street below. “Tercsin!” he called out, his voice echoing loudly through the room. Once the ringing of his voice ceased, Leyna could hear the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, Cadell’s rigid form turning back to face her again. “We will hear what he has to say on the subject, then.”

  When Zander appeared around the corner, Leyna could detect the concern in his expression, their eyes meeting to gaze at one another. He looked relieved to see her still seated, back straight, seemingly safe for the time being. “Is everything alright, General?” he asked, his brow raised, inquisitive.

  “For now, though I don’t intend to waste much more time, given the Captain’s injuries. I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to speak plainly. Were you present during the ritual of resurrection performed on Arcastus?”

  Made nervous by the question, Zander glanced over to Leyna uneasily. “I was present, yes, though I assure you my hand played no part in it.”

  “I’m not worried about your hands,” Cadell stated, motioning Zander to step forward, closer. “I want details. Any
thing which might help us against him in battle. The Captain says you are the one to speak with on the matter.”

  “Quite frankly, I didn’t understand much of what was going on. I lack familiarity with the Ven’shal magic, as we all do,” Zander shrugged. “All I know is that the initial ritual involved an amulet provided to Damir by an Esai known as Oksuva. It was an ancient relic which belonged to Arcastus. He imbued it with some unknown magic before his death which allowed them to recall his spirit into the corpse. However, once the body was revived, he was severely weakened by the state of decay the flesh was in. He demanded the blood of a Vor’shai to further the ritual and restore his strength. My assumption would be that the blood and the amulet have something to do with his power, but what exactly, I’m not sure.”

  Leyna’s head lifted up, a thought crossing her mind which she realized had yet to be revealed to Zander. “Kael has the amulet,” she said quickly, starting to stand but finding her progress halted by Cadell’s hand pressing her back down onto the chair.

  “Kael?” Zander blinked in surprise. “You know this for a fact?”

  “I’m certain of it,” she breathed, the expansion of air in her lungs causing a sharp pain to cut through her left side, reminding her of the damage done to her ribs. “Before I left Siscal I had an unfortunate meeting with him outside the city gates. While we were fighting, I saw the amulet.”

  “How can you be sure it wasn’t one of the forgeries?”

  “Because something happened when I touched it – ”

  “Both of you, stop,” Cadell ordered, directing their attention back to him. “What about this amulet? You suspect there to be forgeries of it? To what benefit would that cause for them?”

  Zander’s nervous expression softened in understanding at Cadell’s questions. “Yes, I should explain that better,” he chuckled. “The amulet is without doubt a key to Arcastus’s power. In order to protect it, Kyros had imitations made to help deter notice from the original. I wasn’t sure which of them took possession of the actual relic once the ritual was complete. When Kael returned with Prince Enaes’s blood, they removed it from Kael’s sword and placed it inside a hollow gem. This somehow sparked Arcastus’s gradual recovery.”

  Something about Zander’s explanation caught Leyna’s attention. Kael’s sword? He had to be mistaken. Enaes had been killed by the dagger Kael wielded. “I assume by sword, you refer to the dagger Kael used to kill Prince Enaes.”

  Cadell and Zander glanced over to Leyna, surprised by her statement. “How do you know about the dagger?” Zander took a step forward, his curiosity building. Cadell held out his hand, stopping him from coming any closer.

  “Captain, you were present at the time of Enaes’s death?”

  She suddenly doubted the idea to have spoken anything out loud on the subject. In the back of her mind she’d always assumed Cadell to be aware of her presence in the garden at the time of Enaes’s assassination. The look of confusion on his face was enough to tell her that she had assumed incorrectly. “I – well. It is complicated,” she stammered. “Regrettably, I was witness to the murder, yes. I did everything I could to save him. My blade was a mere second too slow. If I had been just a little faster…”

  “Captain, you are not on trial here.” Cadell rested his hand gently on her shoulder. “Perhaps you should answer the commander’s question. What involvement did this dagger have in Prince Enaes’s death?”

  “The dagger is what ultimately took his life, but I recovered the weapon. The only blood on Kael’s blade –” Leyna’s eyes grew distant. She didn’t want to think about the possibilities. “Zander, you never answered me. Was it a dagger, or Kael’s blade from which the blood was removed?”

  “It was intended to be collected from the dagger but it was misplaced. The only blood Kael presented was from his personal sword, as I said.” Zander’s confused expression deepened at the horror on Leyna’s face. “Leyna, what is it?”

  Leyna clutched at her stomach, hunched forward in her seat. This couldn’t be happening. Why would Kael do something so foolish? Passing her blood as the Prince’s? Arcastus couldn’t possibly know the truth. Though it would explain a number of mysteries which had come to her attention since that day in the chapel garden. The reaction the amulet had to her touch. Her seeming resistance to Arcastus’s magic. But could it really be? Something so trivial as a few droplets of her blood? “Oh, gods,” she breathed. The position of her body aggravated the discomfort of her wounds, though she couldn’t focus on it anymore. What did physical pain matter when there was a chance her very existence was empowering their enemy?

  Vaguely she became aware of Cadell kneeling in front of her, staring into her eyes, fearful that her injuries had taken a turn for the worse. “Captain, are you alright? Captain!”

  Terrified by the thought, Leyna lifted her gaze past Cadell to stare pitifully into Zander’s eyes. “It wasn’t the Prince’s blood,” she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. “The blood on Kael’s sword was mine.”

  Zander’s mouth fell agape at Leyna’s words. “Yours?” he gasped. “Leyna, how is that possible?”

  “I told you, Zander. I was there. I was attempting to fend off Kael and his men so Prince Enaes could get away. During my fight with Kael, he cut me with his sword.” In her mind Leyna could hear Kael’s voice with perfect clarity. You and I both know you don’t stand a chance against me. I have your blood on my blade to prove that. “He must have panicked when he realized the dagger was left behind. Arcastus was expecting him to bring the blood of the Prince, but all he had was mine. If you were Kael, would you want to admit your failure to a creature like Arcastus?”

  “And even if it wasn’t the Prince’s blood, it was still from a Vor’shai. Arcastus would never know the difference,” Zander stated in realization. “Leyna, this might be a good thing for us.”

  “How exactly is this a good thing?” Leyna scoffed, allowing Cadell to gently lift her shoulders back, easing the pain in her side.

  Amused by the notion, Zander slowly moved over to where he’d discarded Leyna’s damaged armor, lifting it up to display it before her and Cadell. “Arcastus believes the donor of his ritual blood is dead. Clearly, your link to him weakens his magic against you. A blow to the degree which created this kind of damage would kill any normal soldier. Yet you survived. I can’t explain why, but you can’t argue it to be true.”

  Cadell’s brow creased, thoughtful by what Zander was suggesting. His eyes lingered over the burnt hole through the hauberk, glancing over to take stock of Leyna’s injuries once again. “We will need to investigate this further,” he nodded. Noticing the distress in Leyna’s eyes, he patted her shoulder reassuringly, a half-smile passing over his lips. “If Arcastus knows nothing of this little secret, we might have the upper-hand yet. Let’s not fret over it until we find out what this means, exactly.”

  The sound of feet thudding along the stone caused them to turn their attention toward the stairs, muscles tensed at the sight of Commander Varik’s form appearing around the corner. Straightening his back, Cadell stared at Varik sternly, arms folded across his chest expectantly.

  “I’m sorry to intrude, General, but I thought you should be aware. The last of the men have returned from the field. Camp is nearly completed and they are preparing to rest for the night.”

  “Very good,” Cadell nodded. “Head down to the camp and make sure everything is in order. I must see the Captain to the physicians before we join you.”

  “Yes, sir.” Varik gave a sharp salute, hurrying back down the stairs to leave the three of them alone once again.

  “Tercsin, your information might prove rather useful. We will discuss it more later but for now if you will help me get the Captain standing. She needs to be seen presently by a doctor.”

  “I am fine, really,” Leyna argued, hoisted to her feet by the two men gently grasping at her arms from either side.

  Cadell’s brow raised sharply in Leyna’s direction, signaling f
or her to be quiet. “Let me do my job, Captain.” He cut in, silencing her protests. “The war has begun. We need you to be on your feet and ready to fight. You won’t do anyone any good in your current condition.”

  Defeated, Leyna gave in to Cadell’s insistence, feet shuffling along the floor toward the stairs under his and Zander’s guidance. She didn’t want to fight him any longer. Her body ached. Pain coursed through every limb, a constant reminder of the night’s battle. Yes. A doctor would be good. She could worry about Arcastus once the thought of breathing no longer seemed like such a chore.

  Months passed by for Leyna in a blur of fighting and death, their supplies and soldiers slowly depleting under Arcastus’s ever growing numbers. The dead collected from the field were revived by his magic with increasing efficiency. Every wave was harder to force back than the one previous. Arcastus was stronger than ever, showing no sign of tiring.

  After almost a year of ceaseless fighting, Leyna couldn’t help but feel the weight of defeat hanging heavy over their men. Morale was lower than ever. War was now widespread across the land, preventing Siscal and Carpaen from sending aid, leaving Tanispa to call on the unseasoned reserve from Mialan for support. But she couldn’t focus on the negative. As long as she and Cadell were alive, they would continue to fight. Arcastus wouldn’t find them so easy to break.

  The lich himself had been in hiding since the first night. Never showing his face on the battlefield. His continued presence, however, was undeniable. From the shadows, he lurked, manipulating the dead to rise and fight, strong enough now to even turn their own fallen soldiers against them.

  Their work was never done. Leyna felt her body growing tired of the daily struggles, though unable to sleep. When rest did come she was roused by the calls of the watchmen, signaling a new wave bearing down on them in the night. It came as a surprise to her when the attacks came to a sudden halt, leaving them in peace for several uneasy days.