The Warrior's Curse

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  “Someone else will have to face Kestra … at the end,” I mumbled, and when Gabe tilted his head, unsure of whether he’d heard me correctly, I added, “You all think I can’t see the truth about Kestra, but that isn’t the problem. I do see it. But if a battle comes between us, I won’t make the correct choices. I won’t know the difference between what I want and what I’m supposed to do. And I will choose her over myself every single time.” I glanced up, meeting the eyes of everyone at the table in turn. “I’m saying this because I know a battle is coming, and I’ll need as much help as possible to survive it.”

  “To survive her,” Gabe echoed. He put a hand on my shoulder. “May we all survive her.”

  Basil leaned forward. “Trina told me that Kestra was here, that she healed me.”

  I nodded.

  “What the Dominion did to me …” He closed his eyes as if remembering it all, and a shudder seemed to pass through him. “They took me to the brink of death, and Endrick suspended me there in the cruelest sort of torture—unable to die, unable to live. I became so weak, so hopeless, that the Ironhearts became sloppy with their watch over me. One night, they left the bars of my dungeon cell open. It took most of the night for me to work up the courage and the strength to leave, but I did. I remembered hearing of how you and Kestra escaped before, and at first, I seemed to be following your footsteps exactly. I went over the edge of the lowest cell in the dungeons but never could find the exit. There I waited, expecting death, even wishing for it, until the Ironhearts finally found me.”

  Basil paused as if seeing the events he described play out in his mind. His shoulders had hunched increasingly as he spoke, and his hands occasionally trembled. We waited for him to continue, and eventually, he did. “I expected to die down there, and not because of hunger or thirst, but because Endrick’s magic still lingered with me. Without even knowing exactly where I was, he was still torturing me.”

  Trina placed her hand over his. “I’ve seen the dungeons, Basil. I can’t imagine what you went through down there. What you were still going through even after we rescued you.”

  “I should be dead right now, but I’m not.” For the first time since he began to speak, Basil looked directly at me. “Kestra took all of that curse from me. Even while I was unconscious, I perceived that she was pulling the wickedness out of me, like ice melting and draining. She took it.”

  “Pulling the curse into herself,” Gabe said. “She made herself worse.”

  “That’s how she saved me.” Basil rapped his fingers on the table. “While you’re all discussing how dangerous she has become, I think it’s important for me to add that Kestra is the only reason I’m still alive. She saved my life.”

  “She has saved all of us, at one point or another,” Trina said. “Whatever she is now, we owe her a chance to survive.”

  Gabe shook his head. “No, we don’t. I’m sorry, Simon. I know how upsetting it must be to hear that, but the reality is, we may not have many opportunities to stop her, and if we get the chance, we cannot pause and debate Kestra’s current position on the scale of good and evil. We must act.”

  Basil sat up straighter. “How can you say that? In Reddengrad, we would never condemn a person on so thin a judgment.”

  “In Reddengrad, you are not led by a nearly immortal king who has redefined evil, and a girl who seems to be folding herself into his mold.”

  “What is happening to Kestra is a consequence of her trying not to be like him!” Basil insisted. “There is good in her, and we must have hope for her future.”

  “Simon and I just saw her bring a hundred Ironhearts to their knees in full surrender,” Gabe said. “Seconds later, she and Joth killed them all. What if this were to happen again? Will you explain to the families of her victims that we did nothing because we were hoping she wouldn’t do it?”

  “Don’t you see my point?” Basil looked to each of us before his eyes settled on me. “If the evil can be pulled out of me, it can be pulled out of her too.”

  “It doesn’t work that way,” Trina said. “A magnet pulls iron shavings from the earth, but the earth cannot pull the iron shavings back to itself. Magic is the magnet and cannot help but to pull corruption to itself. Once there, the corruption binds to the magic. The one becomes part of the other.”

  “Then we must pull all magic from her,” Basil said. “That is her best chance.”

  “Unless the magic is bound to her life,” Gabe said. “If magic is in her breath, in the beat of her heart, in her every footstep, then she has no chance. The only question is how many people she will destroy on her way down.”

  Trina sighed. “We don’t have answers to any of these questions. All I know is that, at this moment, there is no way to pull magic from Kestra without killing her.”

  “We have a place to start, at least.” I stood to leave the room. “Sir Henry kept a diary, and there are hundreds of books in his library. Surely one of them will teach us about Endrean magic.”

  At first, I thought I would be going to the library alone, but seconds later, Gabe caught up with me. Then Trina leaned out the door and said, “Basil is tired and needs to return to his room. I’ll stay there to watch over him. But he asks if the two of you will bring a stack of books for us to go through as well. If a solution lies in this home, we will find it.”

  A solution to Kestra’s corrupted magic was not in this home. That had been confirmed at least seventy books, three burned-out clearstones, and two full days ago. And yet I continued to scour page after page, hoping a solution would somehow appear amidst useless descriptions of philosophy, languages of foreign nations, and theories of leadership.

  Obviously, the answer wasn’t here, but still I held out hope that it would magically appear.

  Magic. The irony lingered in my mind.

  Around me, Gabe, Trina, and Basil were equally frustrated. Nothing we had read offered the slightest hope for a solution. Not only did the books and diaries fail to mention corrupted magic, they failed in any mention of Endrean magic whatsoever. Either no one truly understood it, or more likely, no one dared to write about it. Not with Lord Endrick watching.

  Basil was on his feet by now and watched every day for any sign of his Reddengrad armies to appear on the horizon. Gabe and Trina did the same for any sign of the Coracks, or the Brill. I watched too, wondering if Harlyn would have any success in bringing the Halderians. I had my doubts. Only five days ago, Commander Reese and other leaders within my cavalry had been part of a plot to expel me from the kingdom, by force or by my death. Why would they fight for me now?

  Harlyn. They would at least fight for Harlyn. And so I continued to watch.

  At the end of two days, Tenger must have completed his negotiations with the Brill, for their leaders entered Woodcourt’s gates, though they came with narrowed eyes and upturned noses. At their head were Captain Tenger and a woman who had to be one of the Brill. Brillians were known to be highly intelligent, with superior eyesight and hearing capabilities, and I was sure this woman was no exception. While her hair normally would have been nearly translucent, it had recently been shaved, as were the heads of all her army. Still, she remained as beautiful as all Brill were, and whether this woman was my age or three times it, I couldn’t tell for sure.

  Basil and I met her and Tenger in Woodcourt’s gardens. Undoubtedly, Gabe and Trina were nearby to watch and listen.

  I offered a hand to the woman, but she only stared at it as if it were filthy. And judging by the stern expression on her face, that was her kindest opinion of me.

  Tenger greeted us more warmly, then stepped aside to gesture at her. “Simon, Basil … this is Imri Stout, acting head of the Brillian army, and of its government.”

  “I lead only until other arrangements can be made,” Imri said. “After everything is settled here in Antora.”

  I bristled at her implication that the affairs of Antora required the Brill to be involved, but I remained silent. The truth was that we needed help fro
m as many people as possible.

  “Imri is the one who trained Kestra to use her magic,” Tenger said. “She knows what Kestra is capable of, and where her limits are.”

  “The student betrayed her teachers.” Imri ran a hand over her bare scalp. “This is our sign of mourning for all those we lost on the day Kestra left Brill. But we are dedicated to putting an end to your Lord of the Dominion, despite our recent troubles.”

  Recent troubles was a polite description. Something had happened in Brill between Endrick and Kestra, resulting in the explosion of their royal palace and everyone inside. It was amazing that any army was here right now; whether they would be a valuable asset was still in question. They clearly believed Kestra deserved at least partial blame for what had happened there.

  Imri finally stretched out a hand to Basil, who apparently was considered less filthy. “I know your father, and he is a good king. You will be an equally valuable partner to Brill, I hope.”

  “Reddengrad always proves its loyalty to its friends,” Basil said, clapping a hand on my shoulder.

  Imri’s attention shifted to me. “I understand you are the new king of the Halderian clan. Brill keeps watch on all rulers in this region. How is it we did not know about you?”

  I smiled. “Perhaps in the same way I did not know about you … er …”

  “I require no titles. You may call me Imri Stout. I have also been told that there is some connection between you and Kestra Dallisor.”

  I kept my expression even, or tried to. “There is, though I have no way of describing it.”

  She arched her neck. “It is not necessary to describe it. All I need to know is if you are on her side or ours.”

  “I hope that her side is our side,” I replied. “Are we not all here to bring an end to the reign of Lord Endrick?”

  Imri’s piercing blue eyes narrowed. “Are we, Simon?”

  Tenger cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should settle these matters in a more private place. Hugh will help the Brill set up a more permanent camp outside Woodcourt’s walls.” He gestured to Basil. “You should join us.”

  I grunted my approval and led our group into Sir Henry’s library, as good a place as any for the conversation we needed to have. We set four chairs around his former desk. Tenger was to my right and Basil to my left with Imri Stout directly across from me.

  She began. “Captain Tenger has insisted that Kestra Dallisor was not responsible for the destruction of the palace in Brill. However, that does not mean she is no threat to us. I’ve seen what she can do, but I also know what she cannot do. The Brill are uniquely qualified to stop her, and the boy.”

  Tenger leaned forward. “I told Imri Stout about Joth Tarquin and what we suspect of his abilities.”

  She nodded. “I have already instructed my science officers to develop strategies to counteract his magic. I hope to have some answers by morning; then we will solve this Antoran problem once and for all.”

  I folded my arms and stared at her, unable to contain myself any longer. “But that’s the point—these are Antoran problems. It is not for the Brill to solve them, nor to determine our future.”

  “When our palace exploded, that gave us every right to have a say in Antora’s future.”

  “You will never rule in Antora,” I said. “You will never occupy Antora. If you choose to remain here, then you must agree to do so under my command.”

  “Or mine,” Tenger said. “I am a captain—”

  “And I am a king.” I glared sharply at him until he glanced away. “When Endrick is defeated, the Scarlet Throne will belong to the Halderians, not to the Coracks, not to the Brill—” I glanced over at Basil. “Nor to Reddengrad.”

  “We don’t want it,” Basil said. “My people will fight this battle only out of gratitude for my life.”

  “Kestra will think the Scarlet Throne is hers,” Tenger said. “And, confidentially, between the four of us, by rights of inheritance, it is. So we will settle this now, Simon. Answer as you should, and I will allow you the Scarlet Throne without contest. What are your intentions regarding Kestra?”

  I kept my gaze steady. “Kestra cannot be allowed to take the throne.”

  Imri shook her head. “Yes, but what are your intentions?” When my eyes darted away, she pounded a fist on the table, drawing my attention back to her. “Let me be more specific. If Kestra succeeds in killing Lord Endrick and tries to claim the throne for herself, what will you do?”

  I hesitated, unwilling to answer. Something more pressing was intruding on my thoughts.

  “Simon?” Tenger asked.

  I stood and pushed back my chair. “Excuse me.”

  I ran into the yard in time to see Rawk landing with Harlyn on his back. Seeing me, she leapt off and rushed forward, throwing her arms around my neck. “I did it—they’re coming! Our cavalry is only a couple of days away.”

  I rubbed my hand down Rawk’s neck in gratitude for having safely returned Harlyn. He nestled into me a moment before I understood that he was tired and hungry after such a long flight. I let him go, and he flew off to hunt.

  When he’d gone, I turned to Harlyn. “Did you have any trouble with the cavalry?”

  “A little, but I settled it.” Harlyn lowered her eyes. “We should talk about that.”

  “We will, but first I must settle something of my own. Come with me.”

  I walked with Harlyn back into the library, where Tenger was standing in conversation with Imri Stout, and where Basil remained in his seat. They all looked up as I entered.

  “The Halderian cavalry will be here within two days,” I said. “When they arrive, we will attack.” Then I addressed Imri. “Either Kestra will succeed in killing Lord Endrick, or in her place we will find another Infidante to do the job. When it is completed, Kestra cannot be allowed to take the throne.”

  “If she tries—”

  “If she tries, we will stop her … at any price,” I said. “But it will be under my command alone. Agree to that now, or my first order to the Halderians will be the expulsion of the Brill, the Coracks, and, if necessary, even the prince of Reddengrad.”

  “I will command my people,” Basil said. “But I will take my direction from you.”

  “As long as you do as you have promised here, the Coracks will follow you,” Tenger said.

  Imri templed her fingers and looked directly at me. “You cannot say the words, can you, Simon? You tell us that Lord Endrick must be killed, but when it comes to Kestra Dallisor, all you can say is that she must be stopped. So here are our terms. We will follow you to the death of Lord Endrick. But when it comes to Kestra, if you will not stop her to our satisfaction … to her death … then we will.”

  My heart thudded against my chest, but there was no going back now. All I could say was, “Agreed. We will call ourselves the Alliance, and you will retain command of all those who came with you. But only while you are following my command.”

  Heads dipped in agreement, and I nodded in return. With Harlyn at my side, we left the library. I had just united the opposition against Lord Endrick under my leadership, and we were finally prepared to move forward.

  “You did well in there.” Harlyn squeezed my arm. “We must celebrate this new Alliance.”

  “Why would we celebrate that?” I asked, harsher than I ought to have done. Correcting myself, I added, “Forgive me, Harlyn. I’m glad you arrived safely.”

  By then we had reached her room. I kissed her cheek, but when I began to back away, she took my hand.

  “We do need to talk, Simon.”

  I understood, but my gut was too twisted for conversation. I mumbled a terse “Not now,” the most I could utter in that awful moment.

  She stared at me for what seemed like a very long time. “Yes, of course.”

  I dismissed myself, then went to my own room, where I shut the door, slid down the wall, and held my head in my hands. Maybe I had done the only thing I could, but I had never felt more miserable in my life.
If Kestra still trusted me at all, I had betrayed it.

  I had just doomed her.

  Joth and I had returned to our upper-floor shelter in Highwyn. As the morning streets began to fill with merchants and their customers, I sat near a broken window to hear the passersby bargaining for goods and trading in gossip, namely the fate of the Ironhearts we had killed only a couple of nights earlier.

  “Who could have done such a thing?” they’d ask each other.

  Not one of them knew the answer. Not one of them guessed that within easy distance of where they stood was the girl responsible for their deaths, the same girl who had one more death ahead of her—Lord Endrick’s.

  The countdown to Antora’s freedom was now numbered in hours.

  The central advantage of our location was the clear view of Endrick’s palace. Through careful observation, it was obvious that he knew something was coming. The entire palace was surrounded by more Ironhearts. Oropods with well-armed riders patrolled the streets throughout the city, looking for any sign of trouble. Carnoxen were held behind thick iron fences, ready for release in the event of an attack. The giant condors flew overhead, and I had no doubt that whatever they saw, Endrick also saw.

  But he would not see me until it was too late.

  After a couple of days of careful planning, Joth and I felt ready to launch the attack on Lord Endrick. Every detail had to be accounted for: Where in the palace would he be? How could we maintain the element of surprise? Once the attack began, would the Ironhearts defend him, or abandon him?

  If only we had answers to any of our questions. Even the simplest questions had serious consequences. Was it possible to further curse the half-lives into nonexistence? If so, would Endrick do it? And most troublesome of all: What if Simon and the others with him tried to interfere with our plans?

  “We must go tonight,” Joth said. “Every day that we delay increases the chances of the others joining us.”

  That’s what he always called them: the others. Simon and Harlyn and their Halderian army, which was surely on its way. The Coracks, who were beginning to gather from all parts of Antora. The Brill and, we suspected, even what remained of the armies of Reddengrad had already arrived.