A harsh chill hammered Jev’s spine. “Why? What could they want there?”
He had the urge to sprint to the stable, snatch the first horse, and gallop out to Dharrow Castle. Was there some reason the elves would target his family? Because he’d befriended Lornysh and they hadn’t been able to kill him? Would they hurt Jev’s kin in order to get to him, and through him to Lornysh? His mind balked at the twisted logic, but that didn’t keep him from fearing for his family.
“I’m not sure. I couldn’t tell what they were thinking. I just saw them, as if I were a bird flying above them.” She tilted her head, a touch of wonder entering her voice as she added, “Or a dragon.”
“I wish we did have a dragon. I hear they’re faster than horses.”
She snorted softly, patted his arm, and released it. “We better take your friend’s men and go out there right away. I don’t think we can wait for Targyon to sweet-talk the archmages.”
“No.” Jev grimaced at the idea of fighting those elves without more magic at their backs—especially if something was going on with Zenia’s dragon tear and it might not be reliable—but he had to check on his family and make sure they weren’t in danger. As soon as possible.
“I wonder if they could be looking for that magical stone on your property,” Zenia mused. “Didn’t Lornysh say it was for communicating with other elves?”
Jev swore. “I’d forgotten about that.” He released Zenia and thumped a fist against the nearest desk. “I bet that’s it. I bet they’re calling in reinforcements.”
“More wardens?”
Jev envisioned more powerful elves with powerful magical swords appearing to come after Lornysh and any elf tying to befriend Kor. “By the founders, I hope not.”
The steam carriage hissed and rattled as it turned off the kingdom highway and charged up the bumpy road toward Dharrow Castle.
Zenia, Rhi, and Jev sat on a bench opposite two army officers, everyone’s shoulders and knees knocking together as the vehicle jostled them about. The rest of the soldiers were coming in steam wagons requisitioned from the king’s vehicle house. Rhi had almost missed arriving at work in time to join the caravan, and she’d had a few snippy words about Zenia trying to leave for an epic adventure without her.
Jev sat with his elbows on his knees, his fingers threaded together, and his chin resting on them. His jaw was tense, his eyes tight. He definitely didn’t see this as an adventure.
Zenia wanted to rest a reassuring hand on his back, but she didn’t know Captain Krox or the other officer—a zyndar lieutenant who’d fought with them in the war. The last thing she and Jev needed were more rumors spreading about their relationship.
“Dharrow Castle ahead,” the driver called back from the bench outside the carriage.
“Maybe they’ll have breakfast prepared for us,” Rhi muttered. “Since we had to leave before eating.”
“You didn’t have to come.” Zenia didn’t mind having Rhi along, but she worried physical strength and weapons would be a poor match for the elves. She hoped Targyon had arranged for some mages to follow as soon as possible.
Jev pressed his forehead against the window in the door. He looked like he might open it and peer out, no matter that they were flying along an uneven road at close to thirty miles an hour.
He glanced at Zenia, a question in his eyes, and she thought he would ask her to check on Vornzylar again. Zenia would if he made the request, but she was afraid of what would happen to her if she did. By now, the elf knew she was spying on him. The first time, he’d only looked at her. But last time, his mental attack had been like a dagger driving into her brain. Even hours after the dragon tear had broken the link, the pain lingered, a stabbing headache behind her eyes.
“There’s no smoke or anything like that, Zyndar Dharrow,” the driver called back.
Jev didn’t appear reassured, but he looked back out the window without asking for anything from Zenia.
“Elves assassinate people,” Krox grumbled. “They don’t burn down buildings.”
“These ones do,” the lieutenant said. “They blew up the elf tower and that weird tree ship. Not that I care about those things as long as they leave our buildings alone. I don’t know what the problem is if they’re just fighting their own kind.”
Jev glared at the officer, his hand tightening into a fist.
Krox slapped his man on the chest. “They’re doing it in our city, and they’re intruders we didn’t invite. That’s the problem. Besides, the men need a training exercise.” He grinned. “After the beatings we took in the war, I’ll be happy to run these bastards out of Dharrow Castle.”
Zenia didn’t think they were in Dharrow Castle, but she didn’t mention the magical meeting stone. She doubted Jev wanted everyone to know there was a special elven communication device on his property.
Rhi opened her mouth, but Zenia gently nudged her with an elbow, and she kept her thoughts to herself.
The carriage swung around and stopped in front of the drawbridge. It was raised. When Zenia had been up here before, it had been lowered, and that had seemed its normal state.
Jev threw the door open and jumped out, hollering a worried greeting.
Krox and his officer stepped out too. Zenia hesitated, questioning whether she would be welcome. She had no trouble imagining Jev’s father stomping out and yelling at her, no doubt believing her some vile influence seducing his son and leading him astray.
Rhi shifted, as if to get up, but paused to look at Zenia, her eyebrows raised.
“Is he out there?” Zenia murmured, touching her dragon tear. Checking on Jev’s father shouldn’t cause any problems. He wasn’t some magical elf who could hurl an attack from afar.
The gem responded by showing her an image of the drawbridge lowering and Heber Dharrow riding out with five other men, all on horseback and all carrying weapons.
“Are we hiding from Jev’s surly relatives?” Rhi asked when Zenia didn’t climb out.
“For the moment.”
“You sure? I wouldn’t mind kicking his father in the fountain again.”
“You seem extra grumpy this morning.” Zenia scooted over so she could see out the window. “Didn’t your soap-sharing adventure with Hydal go well?”
“It took an unexpected twist. I had an itch I needed scratched, and he seemed like an available itch-scratcher, but he wouldn’t look at me when I was naked in the bath. He was blushing, so I know he wasn’t unaware of my lush nudity, but kept trying to converse with me while politely handing me soaps and sponges that I could use on myself. He recited a poem about some zyndar of old singing ballads to a zyndari daughter trapped in a tower by her horrendous mother who insisted she wait for marriage to see men.”
“The Tale of Chastity Chroma, yes. I remember it.”
“I didn’t know if he was trying to tell me something or just babbling nervously. I was clearly available. It wasn’t as if he had to woo me. Are all zyndar this confusing?” Rhi looked out the window toward where Jev was walking up to his father’s horse.
“I’ll hazard a guess that he wants to court you like a gentleman, not simply scratch your itches.”
“What kind of man doesn’t want to scratch a woman’s itches?”
“I’m sure he wants to, but maybe he wishes to get to know you better first.”
“That’s so weird.”
Zenia held up a hand to still the conversation for now.
“What’s going on, Father?” Jev’s voice carried through the open door of the carriage.
“A girl from one of the villages came up at dawn and reported seeing elves while she was out milking. Elves. On our land. Again.” Heber growled like a rabid dog.
“We’re here to handle them. Why don’t you stay and watch the castle? I don’t think they have a reason to threaten our family, but we believe these are the elves that blew up the embassy and a ship in port. Did that news make it out here?”
“Filthy savages.” Heber spat noisily. “W
e’re not hiding while they cavort on our land.”
“I didn’t say to hide. I said to protect the castle. I’ve brought fifty men up, and the king is going to send mages soon.”
Or so he hoped, Zenia thought. Jev didn’t mention that they weren’t certain about the mage reinforcements.
“You had better be here to direct them,” Jev added.
“You want me to cower in the castle while others fight for me?”
“Others who are young, muscular, and experienced at battling elves. Krox, show my father some muscle.”
“You know I only do that for the ladies, Jev.”
“Not that muscle,” Krox’s lieutenant said.
A couple of men laughed. Heber did not. Neither did Jev.
“We’ll handle it, Father,” Jev said. “You can help look if you like, but…”
Jev trailed off, and with the help of the dragon tear, Zenia saw why. A woman in her forties and wearing a robe stepped into the castle gateway. That wasn’t Fremia, was it? No, Jev had said she was a teenager.
In the courtyard behind her, a boy with a wooden sword peered out at the gathering. A portly woman in an apron swooped in and pulled him away.
“So nice of you to give me permission,” Heber growled.
“What is she doing here?” Jev asked, his voice growing icy.
“None of your business,” Heber said.
Zenia, through her dragon tear, sensed someone using magic. It wasn’t unusual to find other people with dragon tears, especially among the zyndar, but she found it suspicious and reached out to pinpoint the source. It was the woman. She was wearing a dragon tear and using it.
“Zenia is here,” Jev said, startling her.
Zenia hadn’t minded staying out of sight in the carriage.
“You promised to talk to her,” Jev added.
Now? Surely, they had more important things to worry about. Unless he believed that woman was a threat?
“Not while there are elves crawling all over our property,” Heber said.
“I think now is the perfect time. Krox, your men are going to have to go on horseback. The fields are too rough for the wagons, and I wager the elves are in the trees. Bhraykok, show these officers to the stable, please. Father, which village was it? We can have some of the men start the search there. And Morlok, take one squad and check the other side of the pond. Zenia saw them there earlier.”
Since her name kept coming up, Zenia felt cowardly for staying in the carriage. She eased out, though she lingered near the door, not wanting to intrude on what was turning into a military operation.
Heber spotted her right away and glared at her from atop his horse. At first, the woman in the robe—she looked like she belonged in a bath or bedroom, not wandering around a castle courtyard—only squinted curiously at her. But something must have helped her recognize Zenia, for the squint turned into a chilly glare.
Zenia still had no idea who she was, but her dragon tear sensed hers and did the magical equivalent of raising its hackles. It didn’t usually do that when it encountered other dragon tears. It was almost as if it believed the woman and her gem were enemies.
The daylight faded, and Zenia’s vision grew hazy. She winced and gripped the carriage door, afraid she was going to experience that walking nightmare again.
Instead, she continued to view the men speaking in front of her, but she also saw something more. A faint lavender line in the air, running from the woman and her dragon tear to Heber’s head. It reminded her of a leash.
It’s manipulating him? she silently asked.
Her dragon tear gave the mental equivalent of a nod. A very firm nod.
Zenia sensed it was doing more than manipulating Heber. Almost controlling him? She wished she were close enough to see the engraving in the woman’s gem. Was it the eyetooth of justice? The same as she’d had when she’d been an inquisitor? Zenia had never used that gem to attempt to control anyone, but she’d read minds and occasionally manipulated enemies for the good of the temple. She knew it was possible for such dragon tears to be used in less scrupulous ways.
“Zenia?” Jev touched her arm, and the light returned to normal. “Lieutenant Cark and I are going to take men out to locate the elves. I know we’ll need your help eventually, but I’d like you to stay here for a while and talk to my father and Zyndari Bludnor.” He emphasized the name so she wouldn’t miss it. Fremia Bludnor’s mother, of course. “I’ll fire shots in the air if we find the elves and need you to come out.”
“Don’t you think it would be useful if I came with you now?” Zenia asked quietly. Rhi had also stepped out of the carriage and was eyeing Heber speculatively. “I could talk to them later. After this issue is resolved.”
She sensed that Jev wanted to prioritize his issue—their issue—but he sighed and nodded. “You’re more logical than I am.” He lowered his voice and turned his back to the others as he faced her. “But I’m right, aren’t I? That she’s manipulating him?”
“Yes. And it’s illegal since she’s not a watchman or inquisitor.”
“Nobody’s going to arrest a zyndari woman,” Jev said.
Zenia snorted. “Tell me about it. I—”
A little tingle emanated from her dragon tear, and she received a brief vision of newcomers heading up the road on horseback. An elf and a dwarf. Ah.
“Cutter and Lornysh are riding this way.” Zenia pointed down the road, though a few trees and a bend hid them from sight.
“What? Are you sure? Lornysh shouldn’t be out of bed, much less riding.” Jev frowned as the pair appeared around the bend, riding on two horses Zenia recognized from the king’s stable.
“Is that an elf?” Heber asked, his voice dangerous, his hand tightening on his rifle.
Some of Krox’s men stirred uneasily too.
“A friend.” Jev held up a hand to stay everyone, giving his father a particularly hard warning glare, and ran down the road to meet his friends.
Heber didn’t appear subdued by Jev’s glare, and he exchanged a long look with a couple of the men at his side. Dharrow Castle staff, Zenia suspected. Men who would be quick to obey him.
She thought about staying to make sure they didn’t defy Jev’s wishes, but her dragon tear created a protective barrier around her and, with a quick flash of a vision, conveyed that she could share the protection with Jev and his friends.
“Watch those men, please, Rhi,” Zenia whispered.
“Gladly.” Rhi had brought her bo, and she thumped it in her palm.
Zenia jogged after Jev. She was glad she had chosen boots, trousers, and a tunic today rather than a dress. She’d belted on a pistol holster, too, though she would be in trouble if she lost her dragon tear and had to rely on the firearm against those elves.
“…doing here?” Jev was asking when Zenia came into earshot.
“I will not allow you to battle my people on my behalf while I cower in Targyon’s castle.”
“It’s not cowering if you lost half your bowels the night before and you’re convalescing,” Jev said.
“My bowels are still intact,” Lornysh said, though it was clear from the stiff way he sat in the saddle that he was in discomfort.
“Just slightly perforated,” Cutter added.
“You were not there,” Lornysh told him.
“I can tell when you’re looking perforated.”
Jev pushed a hand through his hair and glanced back. To make sure nobody was aiming at Lornysh?
Zenia had placed herself in the way, confident in the barrier around her. Sometimes, the dragon tear made it invisible, but it was shimmering a faint blue now, letting everyone know it was there and large enough to protect Cutter and Lornysh.
“You can’t go into battle like that,” Jev said. “And you’ve already proven you won’t raise a blade against your countryman. Country-elf.”
Cutter hadn’t been there to see it and must not have heard, because he arched his bushy eyebrows in surprise. Lornysh didn’t deny the
statement.
“Use me for bait, then,” he said. “I am what they want. What he wants.”
“Bait?” Jev asked. “You want me to dangle you from the castle wall by your wrists until they show up?”
Lornysh touched his abdomen, his tunic hiding the bandage that had to still be there. “That sounds uncomfortable. Perhaps I could lie on a floating mat in your moat.”
Jev looked at Zenia, shook his head to himself, then turned back to Lornysh. “Can you sense if they’re nearby now? Watching us? Zenia saw them on Dharrow land this morning, standing over there and spying on the castle from the opposite side of the pond, but that was several hours ago. And she can’t keep checking, because Vornzylar is capable of attacking her magically through the visions.”
Lornysh gazed at their surroundings. “It makes no sense that they would be interested in your castle. I assumed they came out here to use the communication stone.”
“We’ve had that thought too,” Jev said, “but that’s not where they were standing.”
“Maybe they were simply on their way across your land to that hidden valley.” Lornysh pointed toward trees in the distance off to the side of Dharrow Castle.
Zenia was roughly aware of the location of the stone, thanks to Rhi telling her what had happened that night she’d followed Jev and Lornysh out to it, but Zenia had been busy stalking Jev’s grandmother at the time and hadn’t been out there herself.
“Possibly,” Jev said. “But that wouldn’t have been the most direct route for them.”
“You don’t have any more desirable artifacts that elves would be interested in over in your castle, do you?” Zenia asked.
“I hope not. But it is an old castle with a lot of secrets.” Jev scratched his jaw and looked around thoughtfully. “We’ll split our resources just in case.”
“Are you referring to those soldiers?” Lornysh’s lips thinned, and Zenia suspected he didn’t consider them resources worth mentioning.
“Yes. I’ll leave half of them at the castle with Zenia. Zenia, is that all right with you?”
“I thought we decided it would be more useful if I stayed with you and confronted the elves. That’s where you plan to go with the other half of the men, I assume.”
Elven Fury (Agents of the Crown Book 4) Page 20