by B. T. Narro
Unless he’s the one who sent Micklin after her. When Desil had questioned her about this, though, she’d vehemently denied it was possible.
“Desil,” Kirnich called. “You’ll want to hear this.”
The warrior was standing by Beatrix and Annah, towering over them. Both psychics seemed too involved in their argument to care that Kirnich had called to Desil.
CHAPTER TWO
“How is that possible? You have to know!” Desil heard Beatrix insist as he walked up.
“I already told you I don’t,” Annah replied in a sharp tone, “and you confirmed it with psyche.”
“What doesn’t she know?” Desil asked Kirnich.
“How Beatrix’s brother could be doing all of this without their father knowing.”
Her brother? Desil felt sick. How could that be possible? Now he understood Beatrix’s anger.
“Are you absolutely sure?” Beatrix asked.
“That it’s him? Almost certain,” Annah confirmed.
“Then how do you not know more?” Beatrix had her fists balled.
Kirnich shushed her. “Not loud enough for others to hear.”
Beatrix blew out her breath. “I will be quieter, but Annah—I swear to the gods—if you don’t tell me, I’m going to—”
“I don’t know more because I had to be careful! People are disappearing when they find out too much, or perhaps they’re involved. I don’t know. Like I said, this is as far as I’m getting involved. I never wanted to help Basen in the first place, and now look at the mess I’m in. I already thought I was helping when you convinced me to tell you what he had planned. Now I don’t know anymore.”
Desil still couldn’t figure out why Kirnich had summoned him. None of this seemed relevant to him.
“If I can just get to my father…” Beatrix said to the floor. Her mouth moved to finish her thought silently.
“Tell the boy what you said earlier,” Kirnich requested of Annah.
“Do you know Allephon Estlander?”
“I’ve heard of the prince.” Beatrix’s eldest brother, though I have no idea why he would want her dead. She’s not next in line for the crown, he is.
“Micklin saw how the explosions occur, so now Allephon knows.”
Desil didn’t know what this meant for him, but he could see from the look all three were giving him that it was bad.
Kirnich added, “He’s going to send people after all the available akorell metal and eppil plants, and your life will be at risk just as much as Beatrix’s if he confirms you’re still involved with Basen.”
Desil had already figured he was at risk, but he trusted Basen and his portal-making ability to keep them out of harm.
“I don’t think it matters whether I’m working with Basen or not,” Desil corrected. “I saw no hesitation when Micklin was about to send a sword into my chest. No warnings about not getting involved. Nothing. He wanted to kill me.”
“Only because you were in his way of getting to me,” Beatrix argued.
“No, I saw the same look in Girgis’s eyes. They want me dead.” It was another reason to leave the tavern, to keep the danger away from here.
“You’re wrong,” Annah said to his surprise. “There’s no reason they should want anyone besides Beatrix, and I thought it was only to imprison her.”
Desil wasn’t wrong. He knew what he’d seen in Micklin’s eyes, but the little time Desil had left before his departure was better spent finding out what he could about his enemies instead of arguing with Annah.
Before he could get the conversation back on track, Beatrix asked him, “Are you going to help the headmaster again?”
Desil couldn’t lie to her, so he nodded.
“When and where are you going to see him?”
“Before I can answer that, I need to know what you intend to do about Basen trying to stop the war.”
She scoffed. “I can’t worry about that right now.”
It was good to hear, but he still hesitated to answer. Even his father’s death had done nothing to relieve the tension between Beatrix and Basen at the time. Desil figured the same could be said of this threat on her life. When it was over, she might go right back to trying to prevent Basen from stopping the war as per her father’s request. Desil had little doubt that King Fernan wanted the territory of Tenred, needing the spoils of war to pay his army.
Desil decided to test Beatrix. “If you don’t care about Basen trying to stop the war, then why ask of his whereabouts?”
“I just want to consider my options,” she responded.
She means to use him, just as she might use me if I stay here longer.
Desil didn’t want to abandon Beatrix if she did indeed need his help, but no matter what she might require, he had to leave now to make it to the designated spot before first light.
“I have to leave, but I don’t want to say where I’m going.” He couldn’t read Beatrix’s thoughts past her scowl at him. “I’m sure all of this will get resolved when you speak to your father, like you said. Perhaps you can get to the castle before sunrise if you leave now?”
Desil noticed his mother coming over to listen and immediately feared her hearing something that would make it even harder for him to leave. He almost went for the door right then.
“No one’s going anywhere until Annah finishes telling me everything she knows.” Beatrix glared at the older woman as if their ages meant nothing. The princess couldn’t have been older than her mid-twenties, a little more than half the age of Annah.
“I already told you everything,” Annah insisted. “I tried to eavesdrop on a meeting between your brother and Micklin, but Jimmin caught me before I could hear what they had planned. He spoke with me in another room and promised he wouldn’t tell Allephon if I agreed not to do it again. I eventually convinced him to tell me Allephon’s plans. Your brother means to capture Basen and everyone who’s helping the headmaster, and he wants you brought back to the castle. I see now that he wants you dead, and probably the same with Basen.”
“And you’re sure my father isn’t the one who wants Basen captured?” Beatrix asked.
“He might, but Allephon wants it as well. I questioned people who confirmed it, but they later disappeared. I thought I could trust Jimmin, but now I see that was wrong. All of them could be planning to get rid of me as well.”
“What I’m understanding is that you knew they might be coming for me and you let that stand without doing anything!” Each word was louder than the one before.
“I did do something!” Annah stomped her foot to punctuate her point. “Jimmin said they just wanted to speak with you, but I followed them in case he lied.”
Beatrix spoke with clenched teeth. “Annah, I can’t believe you didn’t do anything to stop them from fleeing. We might’ve at least been able to kill Micklin.”
Annah sucked in a breath and put up her hands. “I’m going to Greenedge. My trip is all planned. I suggest you do the same, Beatrix. Come with me and we’ll stay until the war is over. I’m meeting a friend I’m sure you’ve heard of, Sanya Grayhart. I don’t know what she’s been doing there, but she tells me I will be taken care of like royalty. I don’t care for the luxuries as much as the safety. I plan to wait there until the fighting is over. Everything will be less complicated then. There will be no more need to capture Basen, and I’m sure there will be less reason for your brother to want you dead, whatever his reason may be. Desil, you might want to go to the castle and tell one of their psychics that you have no interest in working with Basen. They’ll likely put you in the dungeons until they get all the information you have, but I don’t see any reason they would hurt you.”
“I’m not going to do that,” Desil informed her.
“And I’m not leaving,” Beatrix said. “Before you run off, Annah, you need to answer my questions. Are you sure you never found out why Allephon is doing this? Think. You must know something.”
“I tried to find out what I could, but I really
know nothing more. I hope when I return, everything will have been resolved, and you will be safe. I’m sorry. It must be a difficult thing to know that your brother is behind this. I can’t imagine—”
Desil backed away from the group, then hurried to the stairs. He rushed up into his room and got together a bag for the journey. Leida hadn’t told him what to bring, so he guessed what he might need and soon came back downstairs. He saw one of Micklin’s swords on the floor as his mother was picking up the other. He went over to her.
“I’ll take both of them with me,” he said and held out his hand. They were made of fine steel, so the extra one might be of use to Basen’s party. Desil at least needed something for himself longer than the knife he’d taken from Jimmin. Carrying the swords would make his run even more difficult, but he could make it so long as he left now.
Effie set the sword against the wall and reached out to hug Desil. He returned the embrace.
She spoke into his ear with a quiver in her voice. “It’s even more dangerous than I first thought after hearing Annah.”
“I promise I’ll be safe. They’ll have no idea where we are.”
“Don’t separate from Basen.”
“I won’t.”
“Be careful when you leave the tavern. They might still be out there.”
“I will.”
“I love you. I expect to see you return whole.”
“I love you too. I will.”
He saw Annah had already left as he made his way to the door. Kirnich and Beatrix stopped their conversation as Desil came before them.
“Have you figured out what you’re going to do?” he asked them.
“No,” Kirnich said. “You’re meeting Basen now?”
“Yes, but I don’t know where we’re going.”
“Don’t leave yet,” Beatrix said. “I might need your help.”
“Unless it’s to save your life, I have to be going.”
“It might be.” She took him by the wrists. “You must wait. Please, Desil.”
Beatrix made no effort of hiding her fear, all pride gone. What kind of person would he be to ignore her request?
“What can I do?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I demand that you wait here until I have a plan.”
Desil removed his wrists from her grasp. She didn’t need his help above anyone else’s; she just wanted options. She’d admitted this earlier when she’d asked for Basen’s location. Soon she would be demanding Effie’s help as well. It was understandable, Desil supposed, considering the threat on her life, but Desil might never find Leida and Basen if they left without him.
He looked to Kirnich, who he expected to understand his plight. Beatrix was chewing on her knuckle and staring at Desil as Kirnich put his hand on her back.
“Like you said, we just need to get to the castle,” the warrior told her. “I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to do that without Micklin intercepting us, and I don’t see how Desil’s supposed to help.”
“I’m realizing that,” Beatrix admitted. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. It might’ve been psyche, but she appeared calmer when her eyes opened again. “All right, Desil. You may leave.”
He still felt as though he didn’t need her permission, but he wasn’t about to say anything about it. “I hope you get to your father soon.” He leaned in and whispered, “But please don’t get my mother involved.” The sound of liquid shaking and pouring within the kitchen indicated she was making herself a drink.
“I promise I won’t,” Beatrix answered with little emotion.
He offered his hand. Beatrix clasped it with both of hers and lowered her head in a slight bow.
“No matter what you do, I wish you luck,” she said.
Shock took his ability to speak. All he could think was that they might be enemies sometime in the near future if her father demanded Basen’s capture. Or was it even possible for Beatrix to be involved in that anymore? It was too confusing, and there was no time to figure it out.
He hated the idea of standing opposed to her, but he hated even more that he couldn’t do anything to help her reach her father. Still at a loss for words, he found himself throwing his arms around her and pulling her in for a hug.
“Good luck as well.”
“I can feel you’re doing this out of empathy,” she grumbled. “Please stop.”
He stepped back. Kirnich had his hand out.
“The injuries,” the warrior said in excuse, as if expecting the same hug Desil had given Beatrix.
Desil shook his hand as they nodded to each other.
He hoped he would hear news of Beatrix’s retaliation against her brother, if he never saw her again.
CHAPTER THREE
Desil left his mother’s tavern at a jog. He would need to conserve his energy to make it to the small forest about five miles away before first light. He crossed by the farms and stables as he made his way out of Kayvol and toward the Academy. Although it would be quicker to go through the school to get to his meeting place, he didn’t have permission to enter whenever he pleased because he’d never been officially enrolled.
He wondered what would be different when this was all over. Would he quietly go back to working with his mother in her tavern? It would be nice for a time, comforting after this difficult adventure, but he had an obligation to do more with his life. He didn’t know where this obligation came from, but to deny it was like trying to ignore hunger.
Besides, Leida and her father needed his help. Even without an obligation to do something more than serve the guests at his mother’s tavern, Desil was the only one he knew who could manipulate the land.
Desil got the sense someone was following him and looked back. There wasn’t much he could see at this hour, only squares of orange light within outlines of homes. The farms were covered in shadow, though he could smell animal droppings. He strained his eyes as he thought he saw movement.
A couple silhouettes jittered and grew. One of them spoke as they came closer. Desil thought he heard his name. He looked around to see if there might be others coming to surround him, but only walls of black flanked him. They could easily be hidden.
He decided to start running. Actually, he changed his mind. It would be a sprint, not a run.
He knew the road out of Kayvol well. There was little to trip over. He wasted no energy making light as he sprinted, and soon the town was behind him. In a sea of black, anyone else might have no idea where they were, but Desil knew.
When he stepped onto the grass, it meant he was veering off the dirt path. He corrected his angle and didn’t slow.
He heard something behind him. He stopped and looked back. He couldn’t make out the shadows, but the sound was unmistakable. Galloping horses, at least two of them.
He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, no longer worrying whether he stayed on the path. Soon he was sprinting across the grass and contemplating dropping the extra sword he carried.
Perhaps if he stood still, they wouldn’t be able to locate him in the night. He slid to a stop and crouched, his breathing deafening to his ears.
The horses slowed from a gallop to a canter. There was no sound but the crickets chirping as Desil held his breath to listen.
“Where are you?” a man asked. His voice was close to a whisper, though carried farther by anger.
Desil heard the horses moving toward him at a walk. He waited, hoping these men, whoever they were, would choose a different course in their search. He didn’t think this could be Micklin’s party. They would be more interested in following Beatrix, but Desil’s mind was better occupied figuring out a plan in case he was wrong.
He could think of nothing as the horses drew close. He had to move now, or he would have little chance of escaping when they came upon him.
He moved slowly away from them, aware that any sound would give away his location. He had a breath of relief when he heard the horses stay on a straight path while he continued to veer off. Soon they were pas
t him, galloping hard again.
“Where are you?” called the same man in an angry whisper.
Desil wished he had time to let them go on ahead for a while longer before he set out again toward the Academy, but he needed to get to the forest a mile past the school. He might’ve been able to make it there in an hour, but with his heavy bag and the two swords, it would probably take him two.
The cloudy sky showed no stars. He couldn’t even find the moon. How long until first light?
I still have time. I’m going to make it.
He set a course that took him even farther from the sound of the horses. Eventually, all he could hear was the squish of grass beneath his boots, the soft shake of his pack, and his labored breathing. There was a faint glow miles ahead of him that he knew to be light from the homes within the Academy. It might only be the staff there these days, if the young soldiers were out fighting the war. Leida and Adriya would’ve been among them had it not been for Leida’s need to connect with her parents. Desil hoped they would be safer with Basen.
It was a mystery as to how the king of Kyrro expected to take Tenred, which was known to be as defensively sound as a mountain. Desil could think of only one possibility, a siege. He hoped to be right, as it would give him and Basen more time to stop the war before many were killed in combat.
After what felt to be an hour, the clouds showed themselves as indigo waves coming from a long and thin red sea at the horizon. The sun had begun to rise. Desil didn’t know how long the land had been revealed—he should’ve paid attention earlier. First light could be moments away. He would be late. He looked around and was shocked as he made out two people on horseback headed toward him.
He cursed a few times as his fatigue disappeared, adrenaline propelling him forward. They came at him from behind. He had just reached the start of the Academy’s southern wall, but it extended for two long miles across flat land.