Which was fine with her.
The raiders jumped off their mounts, brandishing swords and knives.
Riley closed her eyes momentarily. She’d practiced a lot so far, but nothing like this. Not with so many.
William’s gonna piss his pants when he sees everything I can do, she thought.
Riley opened her eyes as someone swung a sword at her neck.
She ducked, her own sword striking out like a serpent and cutting the man through the gut.
She straightened as he fell to the side, screaming. “Come on, you got to be tougher than that. I want to use some magic.”
They came then, all at once. Riley should have died—no doubt about it.
But she didn’t.
Instead, she shoved her sword into the ground and jumped again, this time rising straight up and twirling as she did.
The sand around the attackers started swirling, increasing in speed as she rose.
She looked down at the raiders, the sand beating at them. Hitting them so hard that their skin was beginning to bleed.
Their screams met her ears, and she smiled. They’d been planning to rape and kill. They were getting what they deserved.
Riley dropped her sword point-first. She didn’t look at it as she fell, but rather felt it.
She turned her palm downward and fire rushed out, catching up with the falling weapon.
The sword drove into the sand hilt-deep, and the flames hit directly after. They spread as if oil had been spread across the ground, creating an inferno beneath the raiders’ feet.
Riley started her descent as the people below rolled on the ground in agony.
When her feet touched down, the fire died beneath them. She looked across the intervening space to the caravan.
It was no longer moving. Everyone stared at her.
“You’ll be safe for today,” she told them.
“What are you?” one of the caravan women asked. “I’ve never seen anything like you in my whole life.”
Riley’s eyes faded to their usual color. She didn’t know how to answer the question. She was no different now than she’d been six months ago.
“I’m the Right Hand of New Perth.”
The woman nodded. “Thank you.”
Riley smiled bashfully. “It’s... Well, it’s my job, I guess.”
“Come on, Bashful Betty!” the queen called. “Let’s go!”
Riley shook her head and reached for her sword. She lifted it from the sand easily, the metal clean and smooth as always.
“Thank you again,” the woman whispered. “You saved our lives.”
Riley nodded. She wished she could say that she would do more, but she couldn’t. She was going to find Mason; that was where her duty lay.
“No.” Worth shook his head. “It not time.”
They were back under the ground, and this time the three sat in Alexandra’s quarters.
“I agree with him, Riley,” the queen told her.
Riley had brought up her earlier demand to both Worth and Alexandra. She needed to leave.
“I came here to learn how to release my magic. I can now. What other purpose do I have here?” She was growing irate with Worth, more so than with Alexandra. Worth was resolute in his refusal to leave. He wasn’t even drinking down here. He was out of wine.
Yet he said she wasn’t ready.
“Rendal still too strong,” Worth told her, although he only looked at the queen. “You lose, you try now. Need more training.”
“You can’t keep me here.” Riley felt like she might explode. She looked at Alexandra. “Neither of you can, and you both know it.”
“I know, Riley,” the queen agreed. “None of the Chosen would try to make you stay against your will. This mage you’re talking about, though. Worth says he’s strong—”
“Aye, strong,” Worth interrupted.
“Worth isn’t any slouch with his own magic, yet he’s saying this Rendal is too powerful to attack right now. If he’s saying it, I trust him. What you did out there with the raiders was nothing.”
She leaned forward.
“I mean that, Riley. It was nothing. If you reach your potential, you will eclipse anyone on this continent.”
“It’ll be enough. They need me,” Riley responded.
“They fine,” Worth told her.
“How do you know?” Riley felt like she might snap.
“I see them. Worth look. They... They okay.”
Riley turned all the way in her chair so that she was facing Worth. “What do you mean, you see them?”
“Psychic magic. Worth do. Not good, but little. Worth see them.”
Riley stood. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“You need practice. Worth watch. You worry. Everything fine.”
Riley couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so angry with anyone, let alone Worth.
“What did you see?”
“They fine. You practice. Worth make sure they fine,” he answered, but he still wouldn’t look at her.
Riley turned to the queen. “Can you see them?”
“No. Not without having met them. Psychic magic isn’t my strong suit, either.”
“Are they hurt, Worth?” Riley turned back to the tent leader.
“Not bad.”
“Not badly? That ends it. I’m leaving. I’m going now.” Riley turned to the door and started walking across the room.
Worth stood and faced her. “You. Not. Ready.”
Riley put one hand on the door handle. “I have to help them.”
“You no help. You get hurt. They get more hurt. This what he wants. This his whole plan.”
Riley knew the arguments, and she didn’t care anymore. If William or Lucie or Mason—or anyone else—was hurt, she had to help. She had to get there instead of remaining holed up under the ground.
“I’m going, Worth. I’m taking Eric with me, back to his mother.” Without turning around, she said, “Alexandra, can one of you show me how to get to Sidnie? Can you spare someone to take me?”
“I’m torn here, Riley.”
“Well, be torn with Worth. I’m not. I know what I have to do. Can you spare someone?”
The queen chuckled. “Riley, we are yours to command. I may be their queen, but you are our Chosen One. We can all go, or we can all stay. It is up to you to decide. If you go, we will be able to help you find lodging in Sidnie. We still have connections there.”
Riley sighed and looked down at her feet. She didn’t want that mantle, but at the same time, she couldn’t shake it. They wouldn’t let her; it didn’t matter what she said.
“Fine. I’ll take Thomas. I’ll send him back once I’m there. I’ll make sure no harm comes to him.”
“Whatever you wish, Riley. I’m not worried about your safety, not like Worth. You may be making a mistake,” the queen said, “but your safety is guaranteed. You will prevail; it may just take longer than you want. You are the Chosen One.”
Riley ignored her. “Worth, are you coming or staying?”
“Need wine. You too stubborn. Worth come, but need be drunk deal with you.”
With her back to the bald man, Riley grinned. “Alexandra, is there anything down here he can drink?”
“I’m sorry, but no. We don’t partake,” the queen answered.
Worth sighed. “This be longest trip of Worth’s life.”
Riley couldn’t help but laugh.
Chapter Three
“What the hell are we gonna do?” William blurted.
“If I remember correctly,” Lucie interjected, “weren’t you telling us all two days ago that everyone should listen to you about everything? Now you’re asking us what to do?”
William brought his hands to his head and groaned. “I never thought I’d say this, but I want Riley back. I want her here so we can kill you and the little sass mouth who’s now your sidekick.”
“It’d take the two of you,” Kris laughed. “‘Cause you alone can’t do much,
fatso.”
“He’s right.” Brighten tried refocusing the discussion. “We need to figure out what comes next.”
Brighten had been quiet for much of the day. That was his go-to, especially with this group of loudmouths.
They’d gotten to Connor’s last night. Brighten had left to head back to his magic class, but the rest remained inside. Even Kris hadn’t ventured out.
From what Brighten heard, she hadn’t liked that one bit.
Brighten didn’t have that big a problem with Connor. He was older, and honestly, Brighten thought Kris might just have a crush on him.
In any case, Connor had let them in graciously enough and was staying out of their way. He hadn’t asked any questions. Connor was smart. He knew what was going on—to a degree, at least—and if he was harboring fugitives or spies, well... He’d die the moment he was caught.
No questions asked.
Connor wasn’t going to tell anyone.
“You learn anything last night in school, kid?” William asked.
Brighten nodded. “Yeah, some. This mage is good, no doubt about it, but everything is so aggressive.”
“What do you mean?” Lucie questioned.
“Thought you were supposed to be some kind of master mage?” William grinned. “Aggressive, Lucie, means to attack.” He winked at Brighten before looking back at Lucie. “Stick with me, gal. I’ll teach you some things.”
“Only thing you can teach anyone is how to shake your dick when you’re done pissin’, and probably not well,” Lucie retorted. She focused back on Brighten. “He’s teaching you to use magic against others? Is that what you mean?”
Brighten nodded. “Yeah. He’s calling us warrior mages.”
“Brighten,” Lucie continued, “How are you handling the class? Rendal... He can tell almost anything about anyone. And Kris here explained you have a predilection for magic, but you’re not exactly up to par with everyone else there, right?”
“Yeah,” Brighten answered. “I mean, I’m behind, but I’m catching up fast. Rendal hasn’t shown any interest in me at all, which is good. Don’t mean I’m not scared, though.”
“He’s scared of his own shadow,” Kris remarked with a grin.
“Yeah, well, I’m not the one hiding out in here all day and night. Hard to get scared when ya ain’t doin’ nothin’.” Brighten turned his head to Connor’s room. “I wonder if Connor just sits around all day doin’ nothin’? You think that’s how he got to be the best?”
“Careful, twerp, or I’ll break your hands,” Kris snapped. “Hard to steal anything when your fingers don’t work.”
“Oh, you two pipsqueaks hush. Neither of ya would bust a grape in a food fight.” William stood up. “Back to my original question, since I’m the only one with any brains around here. What the hell are we going to do? I can’t very well go out there and fix anything, given what happened.”
He looked at Verith.
“Any ideas, general?”
Verith nodded. “I’ve been thinking. The reason we’re here is simple: to observe and understand what Rendal’s plan is while Riley learns her powers. So far...” He shrugged. “We haven’t done too well at that endeavor, at least the observing part.”
“Wonder whose doin’ that was?” Lucie grinned.
“Sorry, old lady,” William shot back. “Had to save some kiddos while you were at the shack stirrin’ stew.”
“We’ve become active players,” Verith continued as if not hearing the two. “But Rendal doesn’t care about us, does he, Lucie?”
“Not for more than to hurt Riley.”
Verith nodded. “So what do we know? He’s building a warrior-mage class. He’s planted the rumor in the citizenry that New Perth is actively spying on them. They’ve got to be gearing up for war in other ways, too. The military must be readying itself.”
“All right.” William was pacing now.
Erin stood against the wall watching him. Brighten noticed the two seemed to always be in close proximity to each other.
“But still,” the big man asked, “what the hell do we do?”
“Well, fatso and I are out,” Kris commented. “We can’t show our faces anywhere. I’m shocked damned Brighten here can still be seen in the streets after grabbing me off the platform.”
“It’s ‘cause I stole the show, pipsqueak. Like I always do.”
“More like stole all the damned food in the castle,” Kris quipped. “I swear you gain five pounds a day now.”
Erin finally spoke up. “That leaves me, Verith, and Brighten.”
William’s eyes widened. He stopped pacing and stared at her.
“Oh, goodness, here we go. The chivalrous knight.” Kris rolled her eyes.
William said nothing, although he blushed slightly.
“Seriously, if we’re thinking rationally, it’s us three. The rest of you are compromised.” She looked at William and shrugged. “So if we have that constraining us, how do we make it work?”
The room fell quiet for a few moments.
“We need to get inside the military,” Verith mused. “We need to understand what’s happening there.”
“And how do we do that?” William grumbled.
“Kris, you just gonna act like you got nothin’ to say?” It was Connor, speaking loudly through the thin door to his bedroom.
All eyes went to Kris.
“Shut the fuck up, Connor!” She shook her head multiple times hard. “Not happening. I’m serious. Not. Happening.”
“What’s he talkin’ about, pipsqueak?” William asked.
“He’s making up shit, that’s what.” Kris was still shaking her head.
William looked at Brighten. “Who’s makin’ up what, kid?”
Brighten winced. He knew Kris’s righteous fire was about to be tossed on him. “Ehhh, Connor might not be making up everything.” His voice was a high squeak, like a rusty door closing.
“Shut up, Brighten! Or I’m gonna shut you up!”
Brighten closed one eye, unable to look at the world fully. He wanted to just crawl into a hole and die.
“It’s okay, kid. She ain’t gonna hurt nothin’. Tell me what this Connor boy is talkin’ about.” William moved closer to Brighten, putting himself between the kid and Kris.
“Connor! Tell ‘em!” Brighten shouted, still looking at his feet. He didn’t want to say another damned word about it.
“Ha!” Connor shouted from his room. “You’re the one who made her your best friend. Not me. You go ahead and take that bitch’s wrath. I ain’t!”
Brighten groaned.
“Enough!” William growled. “I’m gonna start bashing brains in if I don’t get some answers. What does the pipsqueak know about the military?”
Brighten went ahead and closed both eyes, knowing that death was coming. He simply accepted it. “Her brother is a guard for the castle. That’s how we get in.”
“Damn right it is!” Connor shouted. “That’s why it don’t count that you made it to the fuckin’ top. Cheaters, the lot of ya!”
“I’m not doing it,” Kris whispered. “I’m not involving him in this anymore.”
Erin moved across the room, putting her hand on Kris’s arm. Kris tried to pull away, but Erin didn’t let her. “I know what you’re going through. How hard this must be for you.”
Kris looked at her. “How the hell could you know?”
Erin smiled, a sad thing. “I have a son. He’s not here because I’ve involved him in a different area of this. You saw that mage up close, didn’t you?”
Kris turned her eyes to the floor. She nodded.
“You know how dangerous he is?” Erin asked.
Kris nodded again.
“We all have to give something. The people in this room, William, Lucie, and Verith...They’ve all been willing to give their lives,” Erin told her.
“It’s not my life,” Kris disputed. “It’s my brother’s life.”
“He loves Sidnie? This kingdom?”
Kris nodded, and Brighten knew she was telling the truth. Her brother Billy owed everything to Sidnie, including the very fact that he was off the streets and making something of himself. In another kingdom, that might not have been possible.
“Then the choice isn’t yours to make, darlin’.” Erin’s smile was warm, and she put an arm around Kris’s shoulder. “It’s your brother’s because he’s got to know something is really, really wrong here.”
Kris’s eyes shot to Brighten. He wanted to flee. “You’re a dick.”
“Nah, pipsqueak, he’s just finally letting his dick hang a little bit,” William interrupted with a wide grin. “Getting brave, ain’tcha, kid?”
Brighten didn’t feel brave. He felt like Kris might rip his eyeballs right from their sockets.
Verith interjected. “The next question is, who do we send?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Erin said. “Me.”
William whipped around, his laughter forgotten. “No! No way! You’re not going anywhere near that psycho!”
Kris started chuckling. “Oh, no, fatso. You don’t get to let her lecture me about everyone needing to do their part, then turn around and say she can’t do hers.”
“Now listen here!” William yelled, pointing his finger right at Kris. He looked like he had something else to say. At least for a moment, but then his face grew confused.
“Cat got your tongue?” Lucie asked.
“You… You... Just hush! She’s not goin’, and that’s final!” William shouted, still pointing his finger.
Erin moved across the room toward the Right Hand. “William, I know you’re concerned, but I’m a big girl. Remember, I sailed the seas for years before you found me. I can take care of myself.”
William’s face relaxed some, but not because she was convincing him. It was clear he’d thought of something.
“You can’t do it. You’re a woman. They’re not going to let some strange woman join the military.”
Kris smiled and looked straight at William. “You’re not from around here, are ya?”
“Watch it, pipsqueak.”
“Our military works on quotas, fatso,” Kris continued. “Fifty percent women, fifty percent men. Our last Prefect was a woman. We like to keep things fair here, so Erin will fit right in with the military.”
Hand of Justice Boxed Set Page 40