Heirs of Destiny Box Set

by Andy Peloquin

  Evren’s face deepened to a scowl. “Why did you let me sleep?” Another yawn, this one much wider, muffled the last word.

  “She insisted.” Hailen glanced over his shoulder at Briana, who remained staring at something in the stone mortar. “Said you needed your rest.”

  Evren wanted to protest; he had so much to do—learning the tunnels that led to the Vault of Ancients, chief among them—that sleep was a luxury he could ill-afford. Yet he had to admit the rest had done him good. He felt more awake and alert, his muscles rested, the aches from the previous days’ exertion diminished. Even the throbbing in his skull, courtesy of an Indomitable’s baton, had faded.

  “Thanks, I guess.” Evren stood and stretched, working out the kinks that had formed in his back and neck from the awkward sleeping position.

  Hailen sat on the bed and ran a hand through his hair. Suddenly, Evren noticed how tired the boy looked. Deep, dark grey circles had formed around his eyes, and he seemed to struggle to keep his eyelids from closing. His shoulders were slumped and he sat hunched forward, his arms wrapped around his waist.

  “How are you doing?” He spoke in a gentle voice, his tone pitched low for the boy’s ears only.

  “Good.” Hailen’s tone failed miserably to sell the lie.

  Evren snorted. “Try to be a little less convincing, eh?”

  Hailen turned his palms up. “I’m tired, okay?”

  “Too much reading and researching?” Evren sat beside the boy. “I know you left Voramis because you wanted to escape all that. If you want a break, we can head outside, take a walk through the marketplaces.” He hated the idea of taking Hailen out of the safety of the Temple of Whispers, but the boy clearly needed a break.

  “Sure.”

  Something about Hailen’s tone set Evren’s instincts on high alert. “Hailen, what aren’t you telling me?”

  The boy glanced up at him, a hint of fear and worry mingled with the exhaustion in his eyes.

  “Hailen,” Evren pushed. “What’s wrong?”

  The boy hesitated a moment before letting out a long breath. He seemed to crumple, his drooping expression mirrored in the sudden sag of his shoulders. “I can’t leave.”

  “What?” Evren went rigid. “What do you mean?”

  Hailen shot a glance at Briana and spoke barely above a whisper. “She told the Secret Keepers about me.”

  The room went suddenly cold, and Evren felt as if the breath had been sucked from his lungs. No!

  Hailen was Melechha, the last living descendent of the ancient Serenii. His blood, which could activate Serenii magic, made him potentially the most powerful person on Einan. That was the sort of power many people would kill to possess. And Briana had just placed him in the clutches of the Secret Keepers, priests who guarded their secrets with fanatical and lethal zeal.

  The icy chill dimmed as anger flared hot in Evren’s gut. “How dare she?” He clenched his fists and leapt to his feet. He was about to storm toward Briana when Hailen’s hand snatched his wrist and dragged him back onto the bed.

  “No!” Hailen hissed. “She had no choice.”

  “No choice?” Evren’s voice threatened to rise above an angry whisper. “That was not her—”

  “Listen!” Hailen cut him off with a slash of his hand. “She did what she had to do to keep us alive. Not just her, but all of us.”

  Evren’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?” he growled through clenched teeth.

  “The things we learned from Suroth’s journal, we weren’t supposed to know them.” A shadow flashed behind Hailen’s eyes. “That’s the sort of information that only Secret Keepers can have. They wouldn’t have hesitated to do whatever it took to keep it from getting out.” His jaw clenched. “Whatever. It. Took.”

  Evren sucked in a breath. “They wouldn’t!” He’d heard tales of people who stole from the Temple of Whispers—of the mangled, ruined corpses that remained after the Secret Keepers finished. “She’s the daughter of their Arch-Guardian.”

  “That’s the only reason they even gave her a chance to speak,” Hailen replied. “They offered her a choice: join the Secret Keepers or…” He trailed off. “Not much of a choice, really. But she found another way.”

  “By offering you up to them?” Evren’s anger flared to life once more.

  “Yes, by giving them a secret that no one else in Shalandra knows.” Hailen’s jaw clenched. “Me.”

  Understanding dawned on Evren. Hailen had taken on the responsibility of protecting Briana. And, by extension, Evren, Kodyn, and Aisha as well. They all knew secrets the Mistress’ priests would kill to conceal.

  “But—”

  “No, Evren.” Hailen shook his head. “She did the right thing. For all of us. If she hadn’t, the Secret Keepers would have done something to make sure we never told anyone the secrets. They’d have taken Arch-Guardian Suroth’s journals and we’d never have found a way into the Vault of Ancients.”

  Evren sucked in a breath. It seemed such a short time ago that Hailen had been a child, laughing, playing, innocent as a newborn. Now, he made decisions that men thrice his age would never be capable of considering. When did he grow so wise?

  “Promise me you won’t be angry at her!” Hailen insisted. “You know what it’s like to be faced with an impossible decision. She tried her best to do right by us. Because of that decision, you and Kodyn will be able to get into the Vault of Ancients. You can get the Blade of Hallar and get it back to the Hunter.”

  “And what about you?” Evren asked. “What happens once I get the blade and try to get you out of here? You think the Secret Keepers will just let you go?”

  Hailen’s eyes darkened. “I…I don’t know.” He shook his head. “But for now, we’re making the best of a bad situation. We would have died if the Secret Keepers hadn’t taken us in.”

  In many ways, Evren was reminded of himself at that age. He’d made the best of a bad situation when fleeing the Master’s Temple. Life on the streets had aged him quickly—life with the knowledge of his heritage had done the same to Hailen.

  “Now move.” Hailen gave him a dismissive wave. “You’ve had your turn to sleep and now it’s mine.”

  Evren snorted. “You’ve been spending too much time around the Dhukari. It’s made you uppity.”

  Hailen lifted his nose into the air. “Away with you, lowborn.”

  For answer, Evren punched the boy’s shoulder.

  “Ow!” Hailen’s haughty disdain cracked, replaced by a grimace as he rubbed his arm.

  “Remember what I told you about how we treat smart-asses in Vothmot.” Evren gave the boy a grin.

  Hailen’s retort died on his lips as one of the room’s stone walls slid open and a Secret Keeper entered. Briana leapt to her feet, eyes fixed on the priest as his fingers flashed in silent speech.

  “Thank you!” Relief echoed in Briana’s voice and shone in her eyes as she turned to Evren. “The Guardians have returned. They’re ready to speak to us.”

  Evren nodded. He didn’t want to speak for fear of lashing out at Briana—despite Hailen’s words, he wasn’t quite ready to overlook the fact that the girl had offered him up in the bargain for her life. Yet he could hold his tongue and fall in step beside her.

  Side by side, they followed the Secret Keeper down the hall, which led deeper into the squat stone Temple of Whispers. The passage ran for just ten paces—all smooth floors and featureless walls lit by those same glowing gemstones—before ending at a blank wall. The priest reached out and pressed a blue stone set into one wall. Stone slid silently open to reveal another small chamber as sparse as the main entrance. The single feature in this room was a stone bench along the near wall.

  The Secret Keeper made a gesture that even Evren understood to mean, “Sit, wait.” His robes and slippered feet made not a sound as he glided from the room. The wall slid shut behind the departing priest, leaving Evren and Briana alone in the silent chamber.

  Evren forced himself to take long,
measured breaths. He was trapped in the temple, surrounded by stone walls and Keeper-knew-how-many priests. Too many bad things had happened in temples like this for him to forget. It took all his self-control not to flee.

  “For what it’s worth, I’m truly sorry about your brother.” Briana’s words shattered the silence.

  Evren turned to her, struggling to control the surge of anger. “You should be.”

  “I know.” Briana winced. “But you heard him. We had no other choice. Not just me, but all of us. You know as well as I do what lengths the Secret Keepers will go to protect their secrets.”

  Evren narrowed his eyes. “Eavesdropping on our conversation?”

  “No.” Briana snorted. “It’s a small room, and you’re not exactly quiet.”

  Evren’s jaw muscles clenched. A thousand insults and sharp retorts whirled in his mind—too many for him to decide which to unleash on the girl.

  “But I promise I’ll make up for it,” Briana told him. “I won’t stop until I find the information you need to get into the Vault of Ancients to fulfill your mission.”

  The words cooled the fire of his anger…a very little. “Thank you.” He managed to say the words without a biting edge.

  Silence stretched on again between them for a long minute. Evren kept his eyes fixed on the blank walls. The feeling of being trapped hadn’t dimmed, and his anger at Briana’s betrayal of Hailen only added to the emotions roiling within him. Best he didn’t look at her until he regained control of himself.

  “Do you mind if I ask you a question?” Again, Briana broke the silence first.

  Evren turned and found her gaze fixed on him, curiosity burning in her eyes. “Depends on the question.”

  Briana gave him a little smile. “Fair enough.” She drew in a breath but hesitated a moment before speaking. “Is it true that you were an apprentice in the Master’s Temple?”

  Ice seeped into Evren’s veins. The world slowed around him, the way it did when he fought. Every thumping beat of his heart pulsed loud in his ears.

  “Your brother told me,” Briana said quickly. “He also told me that you escaped the Lecterns. That you survived on the streets of Vothmot for four years on your own.”

  “Yes.” Knots tightened in Evren’s shoulders, dread filling him as he awaited her question.

  After a moment’s pause, Briana fixed him with a shy gaze. “How were you brave enough to do it?”

  Evren’s jaw dropped. “W-What?” That was the last question he’d expected from her.

  Briana swallowed. “It’s just…” She threw up her hands. “You, Kodyn, Aisha, even Hailen, you’ve been through so much, but you’re not afraid of anything. Like when the Gatherers attacked, Aisha faced them alone while I froze and hid in the corner. Hailen was ready to throw himself at them to stop them from getting to me.” Her eyes met his. “You, you weren’t afraid when you led us out of my house and brought us here.”

  Evren found himself at a loss for words.

  “Tell me,” Briana said, a hint of pleading in her voice, “how do you do it? How can you have courage and be strong when you know you’re about to die?”

  Evren drew in a deep breath. He’d never considered himself particularly courageous—he’d simply done what was necessary to survive and protect the people that mattered to him. Yet perhaps that was the best explanation.

  “I don’t think it’s about being strong for yourself,” he replied, his voice quiet. He contemplated his next words for a moment before speaking. “When I escaped the Lecterns, I did it for myself, but I also did it for a friend.” He met her gaze, a small smile on his lips. “His name was Daver. He was a lot like Hailen. About the same age at the time. He would never have survived in the temple, not with what…” He swallowed. “…what we were forced to do.”

  The memories of his time in the Master’s Temple still haunted him. Even after all these years, he hadn’t forgotten the abuse sustained at the Lectern’s hands, the fear of what awaited him around the next corner, the terror of knowing every fight could be his last.

  “But I think it was Daver that gave me the courage to run,” Evren said. “And I kept on running until I was sure Daver was safe.” He’d found a way for the young apprentice to earn a living with Kaltris, a merchant in the Summer Market. “After that, it was just surviving on the streets. Stealing, running from the Wardens, or worse. Whatever it took. And I guess I just got so used to being afraid all the time that one day I realized I was no longer afraid. I’d survived so much that I stopped worrying about what could kill me next.”

  He met her eyes. “When Hailen came around, he became the someone I had to fight for. Now, there’s you…” He hesitated, warmth flushing his cheeks. He didn’t understand why he was telling her all this; he hadn’t felt so vulnerable around someone in a long time. Perhaps ever. “…and Kodyn and Aisha, too. We’re all in this fight together. As long as I’ve got that, I’ll just keep fighting until I can’t anymore.”

  Briana’s expression grew pensive, but her eyes held no judgement or censure. Indeed, she actually seemed to accept his words without hesitation.

  Evren suddenly seemed to see her—the real her—for the first time. Not the daughter of one of the most powerful people in Shalandra. Not the Dhukari accustomed to a life of privilege and comforts. But the truth: a young woman that had endured more heartbreak, loss, and trauma than most her age. She had lost so much, yet refused to be broken by it. She was struggling to be strong, even if she didn’t know how.

  The room faded around him and his vision narrowed in on her face. He was suddenly seized by a strong desire to reach for her hand, to offer her a word of comfort, to tell her how much he admired her resilience despite everything that had happened to her. Yet something stopped him. Embarrassment, perhaps, an instinctive uncertainty at how she’d react. He might no longer see the divide between them, but what did she think of him? To her, was he just one more lowborn thief?

  The arrival of the Guardians shattered the breathless moment. One stone wall slid open and the eight brown-robed Secret Keepers entered the room.

  Briana stood, and all trace of uncertainty faded as she once more donned the façade of the confident Dhukari, daughter of Arch-Guardian Suroth.

  “Guardians, thank you for making time for us.” Briana spoke aloud—a kindness for his sake, Evren guessed, as she seemed to understand the silent hand speech as well as the Secret Keepers. “Evren has something important to ask you.”

  Evren’s gut tightened as eight pairs of skeptical eyes turned on him. The Secret Keepers stared in silence, their faces expressionless. Evren felt like a dying man beneath the watchful gaze of circling vultures. His mouth was dry and he once again felt that instinctive urge to run. Yet he shoved down his anxiety and spoke in as confident a voice as he could muster. “The Azure Rot is getting worse. It’s killing faster now.”

  He recounted his visit to the Slave’s Tier and his discovery of the dead Mumblers, though he kept Killian out of the story.

  “From what I understand, the Azure Rot takes weeks or months to finally kill its victims. This happened in the space of a few hours.” He fixed the priests with an unflinching stare. “I need your help to figure out how it changed and what’s causing it.”

  Two of them—the bald man that seemed to be in charge and a grey-haired woman that looked as if she’d freshly sucked on a tart Vothmoti lime—exchanged glances. Their fingers flashed too fast for Evren to even begin to understand. Thankfully, Briana translated for him.

  “Thimara, the primary Secret Keeper responsible for studying the Azure Rot, succumbed to the disease just two weeks ago,” Briana said. “She had made good strides of progress into uncovering the root of the illness, but if, as you say, it is turning fatal in such a short time frame, it means the disease has either mutated or been changed somehow.”

  Evren frowned. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I just said.”

  The bald man glared at Evren, and the movement of his fingers grew shar
per, his gestures clipped.

  “Disease does not simply change on a whim,” Briana translated. “There is always a cause behind it. But until we pinpoint its origin, we cannot determine what caused it to spring up in the first place, or what caused this latest change.”

  Evren’s heart sank. Damn it! His mind raced as he tried to figure out his next move. Killian’s going to the Sanctuary and the Hall of the Cruori. Maybe he’ll come up with something that—

  “Wait.” Briana’s voice cut into his thoughts. Evren glanced at her. She was no longer translating the Guardians’ hand gestures, but a pensive frown twisted her face. “What if it isn’t a disease?”

  Eight faces turned inquiring glances on her. Evren didn’t need to know their silent language to understand the questions in their gestures.

  “You said it yourself; disease doesn’t change for no reason.” A thoughtful frown twisted Briana’s lips and furrowed her forehead. “So what if it’s not actually a disease? What if it’s actually poison?”

  Chapter Eleven

  Aisha’s words had an instantaneous effect on the wizened Ghandian. Immediately, he slammed the door, bolted it, and whirled on her.

  “You are Umoyahlebe?” he demanded in Ghandian.

  “Yes,” Aisha replied.

  The shaman’s hand darted out to snatch at her left wrist. Aisha’s instincts, honed over years of training, kicked in and she whipped her arm out of his reach. She crouched, right hand reaching toward the wooden shaft of her assegai.

  “Little sister, do not be afraid.” The man held up his hands, palms open. “I do not seek to hurt you, merely to sense your power for myself.”

  Aisha forced herself to relax, to release her grip on the short-handled spear. After her captivity by the Bloody Hand, she would never allow herself to be grabbed again, by man or woman.

  The Ghandian held out a hand. “Trust me, one Spirit Whisperer to another.”

  Though it took every ounce of willpower, Aisha extended her arm and placed her hand in the man’s. The moment their skin touched, a surge of energy rushed from the pendant around Aisha’s neck and sizzled down her arms. Blue-white light leapt from Aisha’s fingers, darting into the Ghandian man’s, and back into her palms. The spark of Thimara’s life flowed up her arms and through her chest into the pendant once more.