by Ryan Kirk
When she told Jace what she intended, he nodded and left the tent. She suspected he meant to get in some training while she waited for Brandt to reply.
Alena sat down cross-legged in the tent and dropped into the soulwalk again. Eventually she felt the return tug. She traveled the connection between them, defaulting once again to her mother’s kitchen.
They appeared together, both seated at her mother’s table.
Brandt looked frightened.
He hid it well, but Alena now understood the wolfblade. His eyes darted left and right and his hand was never far from his sword. But why was he nervous?
Then she knew.
This was his first visit to this realm since the battle with the queen.
“I’m sorry to bring you back here,” she said.
“I’ll be fine.” He gave her a smile that she didn’t believe at all. “I don’t like this realm much, though.”
“I still have nightmares about the void,” she confessed.
Brandt said nothing, but the look in his eyes was enough for Alena. He’d been haunted by the same dreams.
“Thank you for meeting me here. I need your help.”
Brandt did his best to relax, but his efforts only appeared partially successful.
Alena launched into her story. She started at the beginning, when Ligt came to her door in Landow, running through the pertinent events. She finished with her last dive into the gate and her realizations. When she finished, Brandt’s discomfort had vanished. He sat, enraptured by her story.
“How certain are you of what you experienced?”
“Fairly. And Hanns didn’t dispute anything I said.”
He nodded and looked off in the distance. “What would you ask of me?” The question seemed to make him nervous.
“Your advice. I believe that Hanns is making a gamble that could have consequences far beyond what he expects. I’m hoping you have some way to make him see that.”
Brandt looked uncertain. “That’s a difficult ask. I don’t doubt what you felt, but all you’re dealing with is your feelings. No rational emperor would stop without more evidence.”
“Isn’t the Etari gate dying enough?”
“Not even close. Again, you tell me that you have a feeling. You don’t actually know what will happen if Hanns continues to pull more from the gates. Maybe the problem with the Etari gate is something completely different. Maybe it can’t pull from the source because it was shattered.”
Alena clenched her fist. She knew she was right. It was a certainty, right up there with the knowledge that her family loved her. But like her family’s love, how did she prove it? First Jace and now Brandt. Both seemed to understand the opposing argument better than they understood hers.
“Could you at least speak with him? Perhaps he’ll reveal something to you that will at least put my mind at ease.”
Brandt shook his head. “I’m not in the palace anymore.”
Of course. She’d felt him moving and forgotten that fact. In her rush to tell him everything, she hadn’t even asked how he was or what he was doing. So she did.
“I’m in Falar, actually. On a diplomatic mission guarding Prince Regar.”
“Sounds important.”
“I think it will be. We fought off an assassination attempt last night.”
“Really?”
“Apparently the Falari have strong disagreements among themselves. A warleader who objected to Regar’s visit decided to put an early end to it.”
“But you saved the day?”
Brandt’s laugh was grim. “Hardly. Ana and I helped hold them off, but it was the Falari hosting us that drove the attack off. I was near my limit. The cost still holds me back.”
Alena chewed on her lower lip. She hadn’t told Brandt her other discovery. But was it wise?
She trusted Brandt, though. If he couldn’t do the right thing, no one could. “I know how to avoid the cost,” she said.
His eyes shot to hers with a startling intensity. “Not the gatestones?”
She shook her head. “No. I know how the queen gained such strength, even without her gate.”
“How?”
“It’s horrible.”
His eyes didn’t waver. She’d only seen him this intense in the middle of battle, and now she regretted saying anything. Perhaps this was a secret she should take to her grave.
But it was Brandt.
“It’s a soulwalking technique. If you create a connection with a living being and it dies, you gain its energy when it passes through the gate. That’s how I’ve gotten stronger.”
“Can you teach it to me?”
“Brandt—”
“Can you teach it to me?” It wasn’t a question, but a demand.
“Maybe? It requires at least a basic knowledge of soulwalking.”
“Figure out how to teach it, Alena.”
She found her spine then. She liked Brandt and trusted him, but no one ordered her around. If he forgot, she would remind him that in this place she was far stronger than him. “So you can do what? Go on a killing spree?” She let the venom in her voice reflect her anger.
It caught him by surprise. He held up his hands, as if to surrender. His eyes fell. “Not like that, no.” Then his eyes came back up. “But I’m a wolfblade, and a soldier of the empire. Just last night I must have killed nearly a dozen warriors. If I can gain something from those deaths, don’t you think I should?”
“But we don’t know what the technique does to those who die. What if it prevents them from passing through the gate? What if it strands them in the same void we experienced?” Alena blurted out her worries.
The words of the original Anders echoed in her thoughts. Perhaps the technique allowed one to bypass the cost in using affinities, but it still came with a steep price.
She didn’t know what to tell Brandt, but delaying was easy enough. “I’ll see if I can learn how,” she said, the words feeling dirty even as she said them. “I have a pupil now who I can attempt to teach.”
“Thank you. It might make the difference as we travel deeper into Falar.”
Alena frowned. “You got attacked and you’re going deeper in. Why?”
Brandt’s eyes fell back down to the table, and he looked as though he’d been caught saying something he hadn’t intended to.
“Brandt, why are you going deeper into Falar? Why, exactly, are you there?”
He looked up, chagrined, “You’re not going to like the answer, especially now.”
She hoped her stare burned him.
“Hanns has asked us to treat with the Falari. He wants to control their gate as well.”
23
Brandt admired the townspeople’s resilience. Not only did they all rise to defend their homes, they went about the rebuilding of their town with a quiet determination that left him speechless.
The morning after the attack, the residents of the village gathered bodies for a large fire, set to consume neighbors and invaders alike. While the Etari and imperials tended to bury their dead, the Falari preferred the quick end of fire.
Brandt heard no wailing as the town cleared its streets and rooftops. He didn’t doubt their grief for a moment. Tears ran freely on many faces, but they contained their grief and kept it within.
In a way, that made the morning harder.
This had been Regar’s fault, shared by all who accompanied him. The enemy Falari had attacked Regar and the town had been in their way. Brandt would have welcomed an angry spouse or sibling. He would have endured a torrent of hate, if only it would wash away a part of what he felt.
But no one spoke a word against them. Brandt didn’t even catch an angry glare.
It made Falar feel more foreign than before.
When his host family offered them generous amounts of food for the road, Brandt almost lost his composure. He tried to refuse, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer.
They left the village not long after the sun rose above the peaks, the work
in town still unfinished. Brandt wished the village well as it disappeared behind them. It was the least he could do.
His worries faded as they hiked into the mountains. The paths through the heart of Falar were often demanding, and they began their morning with a stretch that climbed relentlessly uphill. The effort finally succeeded in pushing away his guilt.
Alena’s message came later that morning. Brandt spoke to her while they rested near the high point of a pass.
When she severed their connection, he couldn’t hide his new distress from Ana, who asked, “How is she?”
“Well, as far as I can tell. She’s currently at the Etari gate.”
“What?” She looked as confused as Brandt had felt when he spoke with Alena.
“I know.”
“Isn’t their gate shattered? Isn’t that what Hanns told us?”
“It is, but Alena says part of it still exists and it’s active.”
“Huh.” Ana accepted the fact easier than he had. “And she’s fine?”
“I think so.”
When Brandt didn’t volunteer further information, Ana pushed. “So what’s bothering you?”
“She found a way to surpass the cost.”
That piqued Ana’s curiosity. “How?”
Brandt explained. Ana’s face fell. By the time he finished his explanation, Ana looked horrified. “Would you consider it?”
“I asked her to figure out how to teach me.”
Word came that their journey would soon be resuming. They walked down the path, near the rear of the column. Regar, Ren, and Weylen were close to the front, leading a mixed column of imperial guards and Falari warriors. After last night, the distinction meant less than ever. Both sides had lost friends. Brandt and Ana remained in their own bubble, undisturbed by the others.
“You shouldn’t pursue that,” Ana said.
Brandt glanced at her. “I don’t like it either, but what if there’s no other choice?”
Ana’s reply was harsh. “There’s always a choice.”
“If not for Regar, the first Falari ambush would have killed most of us. And against the queen, I’m nothing. This is the only way I know of to protect you and to protect the empire.”
“Which is why we have an emperor. Hanns is the one connected to the gates. It’s his duty to fight the queen.”
“It’s everyone’s.”
Ana stopped walking, forcing Brandt to stop as well. She gestured to some warriors behind them to continue on. Soon the couple was alone behind the column. Brandt looked around for places where enemy Falari might ambush them, but no one had been seen all day.
Ana didn’t care. Her eyes were focused entirely on him. “Do you really believe that the fate of the empire rests on your shoulders?”
Brandt hesitated.
She nodded, as though his silence answered her question well enough. “You’re a student of war, Brandt. How often does a single warrior change the outcome of a battle?”
“All the time.” The answer sounded weak, even to him.
“Nonsense. We may pick out stories of individuals, but a battle never relies on just one person. You know this. The empire won’t rise or fall based on your own strength.”
“But if I’m stronger I can better protect the people I love—”
“No.” She stepped closer to him. “Don’t use me as justification for something you want. I’ve fought for myself my entire life.”
Brandt flinched back, surprised by Ana’s vehemence. They’d spent the better part of a decade training together, seeking more strength together. She’d always sought to improve, just like him. He thought she’d be excited to learn of Alena’s breakthrough.
Ana took one step closer, bringing them together. She held his hands. “Will you promise me you won’t learn that technique?”
Brandt wanted to promise. He saw the depth of Ana’s conviction. And he hated to hurt her. But he didn’t agree, and he refused to lie. “I will think on what you’ve said.”
It was the best he could offer.
Ana held his gaze for another moment. He wasn’t sure exactly what she was searching for, but she didn’t find it. She stepped away from him, and together they drifted back toward the rest of the column.
Brandt searched for something he could say that would make her feel better. But every option was a lie. So he gave her space.
When they returned to the column, he excused himself. Ana’s emotions rolled off her, making Brandt uncomfortable. He wandered toward the front of the line, seeking Regar and Ren. It wasn’t just a technique for surpassing the cost that Alena had discussed. Her concerns about the gates needed to be raised to Regar.
When he reached the pair of leaders they were discussing various paths through the mountains. Brandt listened with interest. From the sound of it, paths crisscrossed Falar in every direction. What the land lacked in paved roads it more than made up for with options. Ren listed three or four different paths. Some were longer, others involved more altitude changes, and two ran through territory of unfriendly warleaders. No path came without challenges.
Regar glanced over at Brandt. “Do you have an opinion?”
Brandt shook his head. “This isn’t my land. I trust Ren to guide us by the path he seems best.”
Regar agreed. “Then it’s settled. We place the choosing of our path in your hands, Ren.”
The swordsman didn’t seem disappointed in the result. He excused himself to walk ahead, to pass new instructions onto the scouts.
Once they were relatively alone, Brandt told Regar about his conversation. Regar listened intently.
“You say this woman has the ability to work with the gates?”
“She does. Outside Landow she saved my life. And she was instrumental in our last fight against the queen.”
Regar looked discomfited by the knowledge. When he saw that Brandt noticed, he explained. “The gates are incredibly powerful. My father’s training has drilled that into me. It makes me uncomfortable to know someone is playing with one.”
“She’s not playing, and she, more than most, understands how dangerous they are.”
“Does she? If she truly did she wouldn’t be anywhere near a gate. Even my father only approaches his when absolutely necessary.”
Brandt conceded that point. “Is she right to worry?”
Regar shrugged. “I don’t know. For all my training, your friend apparently has more direct experience than me.”
Brandt thought he caught a hint of jealousy in the prince’s voice. “Is there a way to make your father aware?”
“It sounds like she’s already tried.”
“It might have more weight, coming from you.”
Regar shook his head. “Perhaps, but I have no way of reaching out to my father. We do not share this bond you and Alena do. It sounds as though we should explore it. The use of communication over distance would revolutionize warfare.”
Brandt had thought the same. But it required soulwalkers, an affinity most imperial citizens didn’t even know existed. No doubt, they could be found and trained, but it would take precious time.
They rode together for a while, Regar lost in his own thoughts. One seemed to worry him most of all, though. Eventually he turned to Brandt to ask his question. “Your friend, Alena, is she trustworthy? She dabbles with forces even my father fears.”
Brandt considered the question. Alena had been thrust onto this path as a thief. She was clever and skilled. But her past still troubled him at times.
“I do. She’s young, but I would put my life in her hands.”
Regar nodded. “I’m glad to hear that.”
But his voice lacked conviction.
Brandt put it aside. He was surprised Hanns hadn’t mentioned Alena at some point to Regar, but he couldn’t presume to know the emperor’s mind.
Not long after, Ren came running up to them in a hurry. He looked concerned.
“I apologize, Regar, but it appears your journey to the elders will be more
eventful than I’d expected.”
“How so?”
“Our scouts report a war party in our path.”
“Hostile?” the prince asked.
“I don’t know. Their warleader doesn’t proclaim his beliefs as loudly as most do.”
“They’re on the path?”
“They are. Our scouts haven’t seen any enemies waiting in ambush, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a trap. We can either ride toward them or we can take another path.”
“How large is their party?”
“Visible? About the size of ours.”
Regar nodded. Behind them, the entire column had come to a halt. Regar stood in silence, considering his options. “Lead me to them.”
Ren kept his facial expressions neutral, but he seemed pleased. It seemed the prince was winning over their Falari allies.
Brandt respected Regar’s decisions. The prince asked for help when he needed it, then gave orders when they were called for. He was a leader worth following.
Attempting to avoid conflict for the two weeks it would take them to reach the elders was foolish. This party waited in the open. From what little Brandt knew about the Falari, that boded well for them.
He walked back to Ana, who was watching the nearby rocks for movement. Word had traveled down the line. “Another war party?”
“Yes. Regar’s leading us right to them.”
“Do we know if they’re allies?”
Brandt’s smile was grim. “I think we’re going to find out soon enough.”
24
Alena faced off against Ligt. His smile, so uncommon on the journey here, was more menacing than any glare. It was a smile of supreme confidence. Alena supposed the confidence was well-earned. This was their fourth round, and Ligt won all three previous rounds with ease.
Alena didn’t mind. She wasn’t a warrior. Every Etari youth trained extensively in the martial arts. Alena had focused her own education on different subjects, barely paying any attention at all to the martial skills taught at academy. She’d learned enough to protect herself while living with the Etari, but martial arts had never been her strength.
She did want to wipe that smile off Ligt’s face, though.