The magics had disappeared completely, and he could only assume it was the only way they could get what they wanted: removing Lis from the equation. He felt sick at the idea of it, and he leaned heavily on the rail.
‘If they wanted to leave her as a message to you, we would have found her body,’ the general said. As Remi turned on him, he held his hands up in defence. ‘I am saying she is alive and that they need her that way. My only hope is that they don’t realise she is with child.’
‘What if she pushes against them as she did with us?’
‘Then they would never have got her out of the laundry. Maybe they drugged her, or knocked her out. Either way, our main concern is to get her back.’
Remi watched the water wash past the boat, but no matter which way they looked or how fast they travelled, they couldn’t find any sign of the magics or Lis. There were moments when he thought he saw something in the water. He wondered if they might not have brought her far out to sea to kill her and keep him busy looking while they took control.
He looked back towards the Empire. Was he putting the world in more danger by chasing after Lis?
‘What of the Crescent Isles?’ the hunter asked.
‘They aren’t going to take her to anywhere we might have found them before.’
‘Where could that be?’
Remi shrugged.
‘What if the magics are not the ones who took her?’ Advisor Gan asked.
He looked at the little man closely for a minute.
‘The ministers are not that stupid,’ Gan murmured, looking out across the water. ‘Although they aren’t as bright as the Empire thinks they are.’
‘Who would have her then?’ Remi asked.
‘Those against magic,’ Gan offered.
‘Peng,’ Remi muttered.
‘He would know how strong she was,’ the general offered. ‘He knew her before. Why would he take her and how?’
‘Could he have coerced her into going with him?’ Advisor Gan asked.
Remi shook his head. There was nothing between them now, and she was angry that he hadn’t accepted her sister and her child as he should have. Although Remi was sure the man was angrier at the death of them than Lis could understand.
A light misty rain started to fall, and their vision across the sea diminished.
‘There is nothing out here,’ Gan called above the wind.
‘Turn west,’ Remi directed.
‘What is to the west?’ Gan asked.
‘The Sacred Isle,’ Remi said. Someone in the Empire must have answers.
There were far more priestesses on the shores of the Sacred Isles than Remi had thought existed in the whole of the Empire, and he wondered if every priestess had returned.
Amongst the white, he saw no pilgrims. As the boat touched against the dock, every face turned towards them.
He took a deep breath and instructed the men to push out the plank. Then he walked down into the white. No one came forward to greet him or announce themselves as the high priestess, and he turned back to the boat. Advisor Gan gave him a not-so-subtle wave into the crowd.
‘Priestess,’ he nodded to the nearest one, and she stepped back. He worked his way through the crowd towards the nearest temple, nodding acknowledgement to each priestess he passed. They all stepped back out of the way, forming an open walkway through to the temple.
Once inside, it was empty and silent. He moved directly to Goddess Aga and knelt before her. She had chosen him to be a member of this family, after all, and in a way the heir to the throne. He had briefly thought himself worthy, but in losing Lis he was no longer sure. Another test, another barrier.
He tried not to sigh as he stood. He noticed an older priestess standing beside him, her head bowed. ‘Are you the high priestess?’ he asked.
‘We do not currently have one,’ she said, her voice soft yet firm, and there was something familiar in it.
‘Do I know you?’
She shook her head. ‘I knew your father,’ she said. She knelt before Remi, and he stared at her. ‘I saw your brother’s death,’ she said. ‘Long before your father was man enough to father him. I warned him of what the magic would do.’
‘You caused him to turn on the magics.’
She shook her head. ‘I only warned him of what they might become. I fear at the first sign of trouble, he took it upon himself to end it before it could start.’
‘By killing every one of them to save Ta-Sho.’
She nodded once.
‘But it didn’t. In a way, it caused his death.’
‘I am sorry,’ she said. ‘You were always meant to be Emperor. I didn’t see that then. I was only a child, and I didn’t understand what sharing the vision would do.’
‘And now?’ he asked. ‘What do you see now?’
She shook her head and turned to the goddess.
‘You fear I will misinterpret your vision.’
‘There are no more visions. There have been none since you and the princess created the way out of this.’
‘The phoenix? We didn’t create it; it was there. Lis said she saw it when we stood against each other. But somehow it works together with us.’
‘I cannot answer your questions. I don’t know the answers, I haven’t seen them, and there is no one now who sees what is to come.’
‘Why was a high priestess not selected?’
She shook her head. ‘I fear it is a sign of what is to come. The gods have granted us so much, and now they choose not to.’ She reached for the stone of the goddess before her but stopped short. ‘Not all questions can be answered, and it may be in some distant time that we return to what we were.’
He bowed his head in acknowledgement of what she had said. As she turned to leave, he reached out suddenly and grabbed her robes. She turned slowly and smiled at him as though he were a boy.
‘I don’t know where she is. Yet there may be a way for you to find her. Come,’ she said, leading him through a back room and out into a narrow street.
He followed her through the labyrinth of laneways, not seeing anyone else along the way, and then they moved through a gate into a small green courtyard. He immediately thought of Lis when he saw the thick green grass and tall bright flowers that grew against the walls. He could imagine her standing here, her eyes closed, feet bare, arms outstretched and enjoying the sun.
‘Has she been here?’ he asked.
The priestess shook her head. ‘Come,’ she said again, leading him through the garden, and he stopped at a black gate. It was bright and smooth as though recently lacquered, and he ran his fingers over the surface. The same characters appeared that he had seen at the hidden princess compound. ‘Save them.’
He sighed. ‘Where are they?’ he whispered to the wood.
The characters changed, and he stepped back. ‘Only you will know,’ they read.
‘Find her,’ the priestess whispered. ‘You must find her for the world to be as it should.’
Chapter 25
Lis walked across the dead, dry grass of the sandy island and wondered just what they were going to make her do. The wind blew around her, and as much as she hoped it would blow the spices away, it only seemed to make them worse. They clung to her or were somehow magicked to remain with her.
‘How did you do this?’ she demanded.
No one answered her, other than someone jabbing her in the back to get her walking faster. She still wore the heavy navy outfit that marked her as a royal, and she wondered why no one had taken that into account when they’d called her a liar for being married.
She could remember the horror on Remi’s face when she had mentioned other options for him. That was a time when she had thought they would never end as he’d originally hoped they would. She had been so sure she would die then, that there was no future for her at all let alone with Remi. Now she was so relieved that they had not only survived but made that promise to each other. She only hoped she could protect the child in the same way.<
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The island was long and flat, and she wondered if anyone else knew it was out here. She remembered the maps from when she had first entered the hidden princess palace, the small dots out from the main islands of the Empire. Her family had lived on one such apparently insignificant dot on that map, and it was only now that she thought of the others. Were there other families living in isolation from the Empire? And could it be for reasons similar to her own family’s isolation?
The wind continued to blow, and Lis longed for shelter. There was something ahead of them, and it took several more steps before she recognised it as the ruin of a building. The wood had rotted away, and there was very little evidence left to show what the building had been or who might have lived in it.
Another jab to the centre of her back kept her moving, and she lifted her skirt so that she wouldn’t trip in the soft sand. They were already too far from the water, and Lis wished she had been quicker to jump in when she had the chance, but Peng had maintained a tight hold on her. She could feel the bruises forming where his fingers had pressed too hard into her skin. She glanced at him now, walking a little behind her. Despite no one being around, he had his hand on his sword.
She wondered if he would consider killing her. What had she seen in him for all those years? She had nearly married him, and if she hadn’t been selected by the prince, she would have. Again, Remi had saved her, and she hadn’t realised just how much until that moment.
Ahead of them was a sand dune. She slipped as she was directed over it, and one of the men had her back on her feet and moving before she had a chance to even reach the ground. With a fist full of sand, she might have a chance to get away. But she wasn’t given an opportunity to grab any.
As they slid down the other side of the sand dune, she was surprised by the lack of wind. Cut deeper into the island was a small compound. High fences kept the sand back, and several buildings filled the space. The man with her pounded on the fence, and a gate opened. He pushed her through and then followed. The man held the gate open and pointed to one of the buildings, and then she was led to it.
The compound contained several buildings, but the one she was being pushed towards was small and sat up off the ground on round logs. The man’s sharp fingers in her back directed her up the steps and through the squeaking door.
Before she could ask him anything, the door was shut behind her, and she felt like she was back in the hull of the boat. Her ears still buzzed from the windy journey across the sand. The gaps between the boards allowed the cool air in and very little light. There were no windows, and although she hadn’t heard a bolt, she was sure she wouldn’t be able to get out very easily. She crawled forward across the boards, cringing at the sound of her skirt snagging in something, and then her hand caught on something sharp. She carefully felt across her palm and found a long splinter poking through. She pulled it out with a squeal. If only it had been something she could use.
A blanket was balled up in the corner, old and dusty and damp. She could smell the mildew and realised just how small this building was. She pulled it around her shoulders. It wasn’t ideal, but it could keep her a little warmer when the temperature dropped during the night.
Lis woke to the sound of arguing. She strained to hear what was being said, but she couldn’t tell. Nor could she tell who was doing the arguing. She tried to remain still as the sound drew closer.
‘You can’t be serious?’ one voice said.
‘I am. We know what they want, and we can help them get it.’
‘They’ll kill us.’
‘Not if we help them.’
‘They don’t need our help. They can take on the Empire on their own. There is nothing to stop them now.’
‘What about the prince?’
‘He was on their side. He fought with them.’
‘He is not fighting with them now; he is out searching the Empire trying to work out where his princess went.’
‘You said he didn’t care about her. That she was just a woman he bedded.’
‘She is more than that. She was always more than that.’
Peng, she realised. What did he think he could get? The other man was right—the magics wouldn’t give them anything. If they thought they could negotiate, they would all end up dead. Lis included.
‘Why did you marry her sister when it was the magic you wanted?’ the other man asked.
But the crack and thud that followed suggested he didn’t get the chance to answer. Was it power he wanted, and was he hiding amongst these men to get it?
A sickening chill ran over Lis, and she only hoped he didn’t think he could use her in his plan. Yet he had some idea of using her, and that was why they had taken her in the first place. She wondered then if he had been on Fourth the day she had lost control. He hadn’t seen the phoenix, or what she and Remi could be together. She wondered if they could be that again.
The door banged open and the lantern was bright. Although she couldn’t see his face, she knew it was Peng.
‘You heard that then?’ he said, his voice heavy with hate.
She shook her head. Had he always been this man? she wondered. Had he always been something other than what he pretended to be? He pushed the door shut, and Lis heard the bolt then. If only she had known it was there in the first place, she might have been better able to protect herself.
He sat the lantern down, and the room glowed oddly. Despite the light, it still looked grey. She tried to shuffle back against the wall, but she was nearly already there. And given the size of the room, there was nowhere for her to go to get around him. She rubbed at her arm where it was already tender from the firm hold he’d had on her earlier.
When he squatted down before her, she no longer recognised him. This man might have used Peng’s name, but he didn’t even look like him.
‘You are going to give me what I need to rule the Empire,’ he hissed.
She shook her head and he leaned forward, just enough to be able to run a finger down her face. She slapped his hand away. ‘You were always more beautiful than your sister,’ he whispered, and her skin crawled. ‘She was only too happy to take me as her husband, but I had to imagine it was you lying beside me of a night,’
Lis gulped down her rising fear. She tugged at the bag around her neck. The only way to remove it would have been to remove her clothing, for it was sewn too well in. She was suddenly glad she hadn’t thought of that previously. But if she had managed to remove it, she might have been better able to escape.
Peng reached forward then and took the pouch in his hand. If he pulled it free, would she regain her powers immediately, or would she have to wait until the dust cleared her nose? The longer he held it, the more spices filled her senses.
‘You sent me back,’ she whispered, trying to look around him. There was no way out of the building unless he was prepared to let her out.
‘You had to go back. You had to win him over.’
Lis shook her head, and then he had her by the throat as he leaned over her. She could feel the weight of him across her, and she worried for the child. There was something else, but her senses were off and she wasn’t sure of anything.
He pulled at the blanket, throwing it back towards the door. The musty smell filled the small space as he still pinned her down.
‘I can’t give you what you want,’ she said.
‘You will,’ he said, pushing her head against the wall. She felt the echo it made, and she thought she could hear someone outside the walls.
‘I can’t,’ she wheezed, finding it harder to breathe as his hand pressed tighter against her throat.
‘You gave it to him,’ he whispered hoarsely, too close to her face. In the shadow of the lamp, she couldn’t tell what he might do. He pressed his lips too firmly to hers, and she struggled, trying to push against him. His hands fumbled in her clothes, ties were pulled, the cold air wrapped around her, and his rough hands ran across her skin. She wanted to vomit.
‘I won’t g
ive you my magic,’ she screamed in his ear. As he sat back, there was a bang on the door, and then another before it gave way, pushing the lamp over. The damp blanket started to smoke and Lis kicked out at him, but he punched out at her face before someone else jumped on him.
Chapter 26
Chonglin wondered whether this was a good idea. Answering a summons from those who most likely wanted you dead was a good way to end up that way, and he wasn’t sure how the magics had been found in the first place for the message to be delivered.
He might be able to get some answers in coming here, he thought as he made his way across the sand. This also seemed like the strangest place to meet. An island in the middle of the Empire, with no cover. If the prince was out looking for them, he would find them without much effort at all. Although Chonglin wondered if the stories he had heard about the prince were true. That he and his princess had married, and then she had disappeared.
The man ahead of him led him over a sand dune and then stopped. A small settlement was nestled out of the wind and sight of anyone passing. There were several small buildings on the edge of the camp, one of which had a man tied to the leg of it, although he seemed to be directing his anger to whoever was inside.
He scowled at Chonglin as he passed. They moved between several other buildings, all built higher off the ground but still out of sight. He wondered if smoke might be a problem, but he hadn’t seen any yet.
The man led him into a cottage-sized building, which was airy when he entered. There was no fire, but blankets and furs covered the floor, and he sat where directed. It might have been a mistake coming here alone, but he could burn the place to the ground before any of them could raise a sword.
The man who had escorted him leant forward and blew something from his hand. Chonglin sneezed as the spices filled his senses. ‘What is this?’ he asked, calling the fire to his palm, only nothing happened.
He tried again.
‘A precaution,’ the other man said. ‘We just want the chance to talk.’
The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set Page 70