The Seeker and the Sword (A Hollow Fate Novella)

by Todd Herzman

  Lilah stared up at him. ‘Then why do we keep following it?’

  ‘We cannot turn back on a hunch. And where would we look?’

  There was another thing niggling at the back of Lilah’s mind. She’d been so consumed by the battle with the mage and the following skirmishes the thought hadn’t had a chance to surface.

  They’d ridden out all the way to the caravan to find out what had happened to Warrick, to find Jerome, who may have been a witness… but they’d found a blood mage instead, with every member of his caravan enthralled to him.

  Which meant Warrick must have been Kellan’s thrall, too.

  But why would Kellan kill his own thrall? Why was Warrick dead at all?

  Lilah blinked. She’d been walking blindly beside her father as it all turned in her mind. ‘There was more than one magic user in Hirlcrest last night.’

  Seeker Haldin stopped. He turned to his daughter. Lilah couldn’t remember the last time he’d given her such an intense look.

  ‘Explain.’

  ‘At first I thought Kellan had used his flames instead of his telekinesis—the Affinity used to kill Warrick behind the Red Rose—because we each were protected from his magic.’ She touched the crystal at her neck, looked at her father’s gauntlets and his sword. ‘But it wasn’t that—he could have flung knives and swords at us if he’d had that power. Stars, he could have thrown a wagon. The crystals, your sword, they wouldn’t have done a damn thing to protect us from that.’

  ‘Then someone else killed Warrick?’ Jercolf asked, he seemed to have heard every word of their conversation.

  Lilah nodded. ‘It’s the only thing that makes sense. Why would Kellan kill his own thrall? And if he were to, why would he do it with such an obvious use of malfeasance?’

  ‘He could have just made the man slit his own throat,’ Seeker Haldin said. The two recruits looked at him. His brow was creased, his face set hard in thought. ‘Perhaps that’s what happened to Jerome. Perhaps he didn’t want someone connected to Warrick’s death in his caravan, thinking we wouldn’t look too closely if Jerome wasn’t there.’ He looked at his daughter. ‘Then you gained the girl’s trust.’

  ‘And she risked everything by revealing the truth to me.’

  ‘What was there to risk?’ Jercolf asked. ‘She’s a thrall—anything would be better than that.’

  ‘That is all beside the point.’ Seeker Haldin, blade in hand, paced back and forth on the forest floor. ‘There is a blood mage out here, and there may be another magic user still roaming free within Hirlcrest.’

  Lilah took her father’s arm, halting his pacing and demanding his full attention once more. ‘If we’re right, if the blood mage is leading us astray, and there is another magic user in the city—’ She paused, her thoughts still coming together. ‘What do blood mages crave most, Father?’

  ‘Power.’

  ‘Kellan escaped the city this morning to avoid your scrutiny—now, he’s losing his whole caravan, losing his power.’ Lilah shook her head. ‘He wouldn’t have wanted to risk it before, but he might now. The gates are only locked to those trying to leave, not those entering.’

  ‘You think he’s heading back to Hirlcrest? Why?’

  ‘If Warrick was enthralled to Kellan, Kellan may have seen Warrick’s murderer.’

  ‘The other mage?’ Jercolf asked.

  Lilah looked at him. ‘Blood mages can—’

  ‘Steal their thrall’s Affinities,’ Jercolf cut in, seeming to remember his lessons. ‘He’s going to try and enthral the other mage.’

  They both looked to Seeker Haldin. He took a deep breath, his massive chest rising under his armour, and turned his gaze to his sword, then looked down the trail. ‘We cannot be sure of any of this. All the tracks, all the signs, lead this way. I must follow them.’

  Lilah sighed. ‘But, father—’

  ‘You will go.’ Seeker Haldin put a hand on her shoulder. ‘You, and Jercolf. Find Seeker Ailena. She was due to return to the city today, ready for the Choosing. This can be her last task as a seeker.’ He glanced at Jercolf, then looked at his daughter. ‘If you’re right, he has a head start. You must go. Now.’

  Lilah looked into her father’s eyes. She knew him well enough to know there would be no changing his mind. She nodded. ‘Be safe.’

  ‘Always.’

  It had forever been what they said to each other before he left to carry out his duties as a seeker. And just as he had every other time, her father left a moment later. Lilah and Jercolf watched as Seeker Haldin disappeared farther into the forest.

  ‘What if we find the blood mage before we find Ailena?’ Jercolf asked at her side.

  Lilah let out a breath. She turned on her heel, started walking back the way they had come, and left Jercolf’s question hanging in the air, unanswered.

  Chapter 8

  Lilah’s legs were sore. With all the injuries she’d gained from the initial battle, and the exploded wagon… every other part of her was sore, too.

  She jogged all the same. It was night by the time they’d made it out of the forest and back on the road. Jercolf ran beside her. Lilah thanked the stars for all the years of training she’d endured to make it possible for her to run at all after everything they’d been through.

  Jercolf carried his spear, the crossbow and quiver bouncing on his back every step they took. Lilah held her newly found bow in hand, wondering if she’d have a chance to use it on Kellan. He must have healed fast to have abandoned so many thralls in the forest after she’d stuck him with the crossbow bolt.

  It felt like an age had passed when they reached the remains of the caravan. There were three wagons left intact, the exploded one lay in a heap of ash and blackened wood, the metal wheels sitting alone, still connected by their axles.

  Lilah had wished to find their lost horses on the way, but none of them were in sight. She and Jercolf skirted around the wagons and kept running down the road.

  The night sky was clear, the moon blessing them with enough light to see by. She gazed up at it and said a silent prayer to the expanse of stars winking back at her.

  Time passed in a daze. One leg in front of the other until the walls of Hirlcrest came into view.

  Jercolf slowed to a walk beside her. He leant heavily on his spear and sucked in a breath. He took a sip from his canteen.

  ‘Almost there.’ Lilah stopped jogging and wished she hadn’t. The exhaustion, the pain, the hollow feeling in her gut, hit her all at once now she’d given herself a moment to rest. Jercolf offered his canteen, and she took it gratefully, sipping the water as she peered over at the gate, which still looked small from this far away.

  Lilah’s eyes widened. ‘Kianna... If Kellan came back this way, he’ll have regained control.’

  ‘Hopefully she made it to the guard station and got them to lock her up as you said.’ Jercolf straightened back up to his full height. ‘Back to it, then.’ He took back his canteen and started running again.

  Lilah sighed and followed behind.

  The guards wore worried faces when the two recruits were in sight of them. One, Gregory, ran out to greet them before they reached the gate.

  ‘What news?’

  ‘Did a young woman come through here, blonde and covered in ash and cuts?’ Lilah asked between breaths.

  ‘Aye,’ the guard said, and all three of them slowed to a walk. ‘We sent her off to the tavern like you told us to.’

  Lilah stared him full in the face. ‘You what? Did you not see that her hands were bound? What tavern?’

  Gregory looked between them. ‘Her—her hands weren’t bound when she came to us. She went to the Red Rose. She said the seeker had sent her there—where is the seeker?’

  Lilah and Jercolf exchanged a glance.

  ‘No time to explain.’ Lilah looked at the gate. ‘Get this portcullis open.’

  Gregory turned and barked a command. Crossbow-wielding guards in the watchtow
er above poked their heads out of the windows, glancing down at the commotion.

  Lilah, breathing hard from her run, looked away from them and watched the portcullis rise far too slowly.

  ‘She’s under his control again,’ Jercolf said. ‘We might have to—’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘Will you be able to?’

  Lilah looked at Jercolf. ‘Will I be able to kill a teenage girl?’ She looked down. ‘If it means saving others… I must.’ I let her go, she thought. It’s my fault if she hurts someone. ‘Did Seeker Ailena come through here by chance?’ Lilah asked Gregory as they slipped under the first gate.

  ‘Seeker Ailena? Not through here, she didn’t.’ He scratched his head. ‘But that merchant who left this morning, on the caravan you asked about. He came by not long after the girl, complaining about the way he and his people were treated. Said he wanted to complain to the Head Priest.’ The guard shook his head.

  ‘You let him through?’ Lilah asked.

  The guard looked worried again. ‘The gate’s only closed for those leaving, not entering.’

  They made it under the second gate, back into the city. The line hadn’t disappeared. Some had fallen asleep on, or beside, their wagons, while many others seemed to have just left them there, as if they hadn’t wanted to lose their spot.

  ‘What do we do now?’ Jercolf asked.

  Lilah closed her eyes a moment. Serena’s at the Red Rose. ‘You find Ailena. Get her to the Red Rose.’

  Jercolf hesitated. ‘I can’t let you go there alone.’

  She looked at him. ‘I know the tavern better than you do, and there are guards on the place, so I won’t be alone. Besides, my girlfriend is there, I need to make sure she’s okay. And you need to find Seeker Ailena, you’re better able to explain the threat to her than one of these guards.’ She started running in the direction of the Red Rose, glancing back to see what Jercolf was doing, she threw a, ‘Go!’ over her shoulder.

  The streets of Hirlcrest were dark and quiet. Some who slept in the line woke as she ran by. All the pain she should have been feeling seemed to fall away as she gained a burst of speed. She couldn’t remember ever having run so fast.

  Kianna was heading for the Red Rose—Kellan surely was too. He must think the other mage was there. What would he do if the watchmen didn’t let him in?

  Lilah had to slow to a jog as the buildings crowded around and became tall, throwing shadows on her path. When she was a block away from the Red Rose she stopped and leant against a wall. If she was about to walk into a fight, she needed to at least be able to breathe.

  Not knowing what would meet her around the corner, she nocked an arrow. She would have rather had it drawn as she turned the corner, but she didn’t want to spook the watchmen. They probably would have heard her heavy steps and the blood-stained hauberk rattling atop the gambeson she wore.

  She took a moment, let out a breath, then turned the corner into the back alley behind the Red Rose.

  The alley was empty. She looked at the shadowy corner but didn’t find anyone lying in wait. The door stood unguarded. There should have been a watchman standing outside of it. For a moment, she wondered if the mage could have been caught while her and the others had been out of the city. She dismissed the thought the moment it came; if the mage had been caught, the gate would no longer be locked.

  She looked at the door, then down at her bow. If Kellan was inside, she’d likely only get one shot off before needing to draw her sword. She considered kicking the door down, then decided stealth, in this situation, would be her friend. She stowed the bow and quiver in the corner of the alley then took off her chainmail. She knew it might be a mistake, but she also knew the only thrall the blood mage had in the city was Kianna. Her gambeson should do enough to protect her from slashes, and it wouldn’t alert Kellan to her presence.

  She drew her dagger, crept up to the door and put an ear against the wood.

  There were no sounds of raucous laughter, no bashing of mugs on tables or shouted sing-alongs with minstrels. Though she knew there wouldn’t be.

  There were no screams, either.

  Lilah tried the handle and found it unlocked. She thanked the stars for that—lockpicking wasn’t a skill traditionally taught to seekers. She took one last look at those twinkling lights. Would the stars be able to watch over her inside the tavern?

  She turned the handle all the way and pushed the door open as slowly and quietly as she could. The old hinges gave a low groan. She peered through the small gap. Candles still flickered on tables, but no one sat at the ones she saw. She opened the door farther, but it hit something solid and wouldn’t budge. She put shoulder to wood, dug her boots into the cobblestones, and pushed until the gap became wide enough for her to slip through.

  Lilah gripped her knife tight, then stepped into the Red Rose.

  The feel of the place hit her like a wave, but whereas the night before Lilah had been greeted by smiling faces, now all that greeted her was death.

  The weight behind the door turned out to be one of the watchmen. He’d been stabbed at least three times. She didn’t recognise him—the shift must have changed since she’d been here in the morning. She swept her gaze over the tavern, now able to see it in its entirety. A few heads were slumped on tables. Lilah tip-toed along the floorboards. Simeon lay in the middle of the Red Rose, a club in his hand, blood pooling about him. Someone—two someones—had stepped through the blood, their footprints leading to the stairs.

  One set was small. A woman’s, or a girl’s. The other set was larger.

  Lilah looked from one to the other. Kianna, Kellan.

  Time stopped as she checked the bodies scattered in the tavern. There were ten in total—all the guards and guests she’d seen in the morning, the bartender and another serving girl, and Therin, the owner of the Red Rose himself.

  Everyone who’d been in the tavern that morning.

  Everyone except Serena.

  Lilah’s gaze flicked to the staircase, to where the bloody tracks of the blood mage and his thrall led. Her hand hurt she was gripping the dagger so tight. She tried to breathe, to relax, but how could she? She put the dagger in her off hand and drew her sword.

  Then she rushed up the steps, avoiding the blood and managing not to slip through it. She headed straight for Serena’s room, her head whipping this way and that through the doorways she passed. Serena’s door was at the end of the hall, and it was wide open. Lilah slowed her stride. She couldn’t hear anything. No voices. No screams. Nothing. Why couldn’t she hear anything?

  She stepped through the door. Kianna lay on the ground. Breathing or not, Lilah couldn’t tell. Kellan, the blood mage, was thrust up against a wall so high his head hit the ceiling. His eyes were wide and bulging, his hands gripping at his neck as if someone were strangling him.

  Serena stood, her face a mask of rage, one hand raised and pointed at the blood mage.

  She was strangling him.

  With magic.

  Serena was the other mage.

  Chapter 9

  Lilah’s world crumbled before her eyes. Serena, not yet seeing Lilah, took a step forward. Kellan’s face slackened.

  Lilah lost all grip on her sword and dagger. The weapons clanged to the ground. Serena turned her head. Her rage melted into sorrow as their eyes met. Her raised hand fell to her side, and the blood mage dropped from the wall, hitting the wood.

  ‘L—Lilah.’

  Lilah stumbled back. ‘You’re... you’re a mage? A witch?’ Her words came out whispered and wrong. She backed into the door as Serena stepped toward her.

  Serena shook her head. ‘I didn’t know. I’m not evil, Lilah. I—I didn’t know.’

  ‘You have magic,’ Lilah said numbly. ‘Magic is evil by nature.’

  ‘No!’ Serena shouted. Lilah flinched back. The room shuddered, scattered objects rising and falling as Serena clenched her fists. ‘I am not evil. I never meant to k
ill Warrick, but he attacked me! Just after you left, he came out of nowhere and grabbed me, and suddenly I was crushing him—’

  ‘Evil stalks every street, every alley, every forest, every valley...’ Lilah whispered the words like a prayer. How could someone as pure and perfect as Serena have magic? How could she be evil and Lilah not have known? Lilah’s hands shook—her whole body shook. ‘Oh stars in the skies above, this cannot be.’

  Lilah looked to her fallen sword. I am to be a seeker. The sword lay on the ground between them. No hesitation. She looked at Serena. Serena’s breath shuddered. No mercy. Lilah felt a tear trail down her cheek. She took a sharp breath. Only justice. She tried to make her body move, tried to dart out and grab her sword—but she was frozen. Not by any outward source—not by Serena’s powers. But by her own grief. Her own shock.

  Serena’s eyes watered, and it pulled on Lilah’s heartstrings. Serena took another step forward. ‘Lilah, I didn’t know. It’s still me. I promise you.’ They were close enough to touch now. Serena raised her hand—Lilah didn’t back away, didn’t flinch. She leant into it, letting Serena touch her cheek, and the tears poured free.

  Lilah embraced her. Held her tight. Serena held her tight back. Lilah closed her eyes, and as she did she could see Serena’s face clear in her mind—she could see her smile, the one that had greeted her the night before, the one that could light up a dark sky. Serena had always been the brightest star in the night, she’d always been Lilah’s spark, Lilah’s joy.

  She couldn’t be evil. She couldn’t.

  Lilah opened her eyes and took Serena by the shoulders, looking at her. Lilah shook her head. ‘We have to get you out of here. Seeker Ailena is on her way. If she sees you, sees what you’ve done…’

  The air in the place shifted. The smell of copper, of blood, met Lilah’s nose. She looked behind Serena. Red mist seeped from Kianna’s skin, slowly drifting toward Kellan, entering him through his mouth, his nose, his very pores.

  Kellan’s eyes flicked open and flashed a bright red. Still slumped against the wall, he opened his hand. Flames sparked and bloomed. He rose, moving faster than a man his size had any right to, then flung the fire at Serena.