Taste of Darkness

by Maria V. Snyder

  “Shut up.”

  “That’s how the Skeleton King got the new plague virus. You turned a dangerous man into a deadly force. You do know he’ll just chew you up and spit you out, right?”

  “I said shut up.” Wynn aimed her boot at my head.

  Pain exploded and I spun into darkness.

  KERRICK

  Hundreds of bodies intruded, irritating the living green. Kerrick dug his fingers into the soil, seeking one particular life force among them. Avry didn’t cause the same nuisance as the others, but since he’d been saved by the forest, he could sense her cool vanilla presence.

  Except this time. She’d been there, to the east of him, then...poof, gone. It also appeared that the bulk of the soldiers headed south, away from Grzebien.

  Instead of resting for the night, they had raced to the infirmary, Kerrick stopping only to check the location of the army and to care for the horses. He wiped the dirt off his hands.

  “You don’t think...” Belen shook his head as if unable to voice his fears.

  “It’s a guessing game at this point,” Flea said. “Better to just get there and worry later.”

  Belen studied the boy. “I haven’t been around, so how’d you get so smart without me?”

  “I’ve been learning from the best.” Flea flashed his lopsided grin.

  “And he is...?” Belen prompted.

  “Quain. That man’s a fountain of wisdom.”

  Belen’s deep laugh rumbled right through Kerrick. He soaked it in, relishing the moment.

  “A fountain!” Belen sputtered. “Oh, he’s a fountain all right. A fountain of bull—”

  “Mr. Belen, mind your language around the young man,” Mom admonished.

  “Sorry, Mom.” But he sounded far from contrite. Instead, he frowned at Kerrick. “Don’t you know better than to let Flea spend unsupervised time with the monkeys?”

  “He’d pulled his own disappearing act,” Flea said.

  “Oh, right, that forest thing.” Belen ran his fingers over his scar. He gestured to Flea and Kerrick. “Between us and Avry, we could form a special squad. The Presumed Dead unit.”

  At another time and place—like when they were all relaxing around a campfire safe and warm—that comment would have been funny. Not now. Not when he’d no idea what had happened to Avry, if anything.

  “And we’ve all had a taste of death,” Flea said in a quiet voice. “On both sides. We’ve been the griever and the grieve-ee.”

  “Grieve-ee? Is that even a word?” Belen asked.

  “Yes.”

  “So sayeth the death magician?” Belen teased.

  “Yes.”

  Belen chuckled. “We’ll have no more presumed dead. We confirm with our very own eyes from now on. Otherwise, we assume the best. Got it?”

  “The death magician agree-eth.”

  Kerrick tried being optimistic. Avry could have just gone into a cave. Despite her aversion to them, she was smart enough to realize they made a safe place to overnight in. Taking Flea’s advice to act now, worry later, Kerrick checked Hux’s saddle, ensuring the girth straps hadn’t loosened. “Let’s go.”

  They mounted and continued, closing in on the infirmary just as he’d estimated, sixteen days after leaving. He slowed the horses. Soldiers patrolled around the entrance, doing wide sweeps. Once he confirmed they were friendlies, Kerrick approached the closest.

  The man relaxed as he recognized Kerrick.

  “What’s going on?” Kerrick asked the guard.

  “Too much for me to explain, sir. Sergeant Odd’s in charge, he’ll fill you in.”

  “Where’s Healer Avry?” he demanded.

  Shaking his head, the man waved him off. Kerrick debated between grabbing the man and forcing him to talk, or... Hell. He spurred Huxley toward the cave’s entrance.

  Flea jumped down from Coffee. “I’ll fetch them.”

  Kerrick helped Mom dismount. “Go on inside, Mom, I’m sure there’s a warm fire and food.”

  “Oh, no, dearie. Not until I hear what happened to Avry.”

  Belen removed the tack from Tea, then moved on to Coffee’s. Flea returned with Odd, Loren, and Quain. No Avry. Her absence was a red-hot poker right through his heart. The monkeys tackled Belen, whooping and teasing him.

  Kerrick endured the moment of levity as he braced for the bad news. Odd waited, studying him with a hostile expression. Odd’s going to blame me.

  When the monkeys settled, Odd asked him, “What took you so long?”

  In no mood to defend his actions, Kerrick ignored the question. “Where’s Avry?”

  Odd crossed his arms. “She’s alive. The traitor Wynn took her south with a large company of soldiers as backup. They want her to assassinate Tohon.”

  So many things jumped out at Kerrick. First, Avry was alive, the best news. But... “Tohon?”

  “Back in the king business, according to the traitor. Whether or not you can believe her...” Odd shrugged.

  “Why didn’t you chase after them?” Flea asked.

  “They had approximately one hundred and fifty soldiers, Flea. We have twenty.” Odd looked at Kerrick. Accusation blazed in his gaze. “We would have had more, except they got the drop on us and killed my men, Lieutenant Macon, and all of his squad.”

  Ah. “And if I’d been here, they wouldn’t have died? I’d have made a difference against one hundred and fifty soldiers?”

  “We would have had more warning.”

  “You did have warning,” Loren said. “Remember, Sergeant Gylon encountered the enemy two days south of us. We sent a message to Prince Ryne.”

  “But we’d assumed it was just a patrol. Kerrick would have been able to determine how many soldiers.”

  “And then what would we have done?” Kerrick asked. “Ryne’s main forces are too far north.”

  “We could have evacuated.”

  True. But would they have caught up to them in the end? Kerrick refrained from mentioning that. Instead, he asked Odd to explain everything from the beginning. “But first tell me how they cured Tohon.”

  Odd reported the events as if talking to a superior officer—concise and emotionless. Kerrick wished he could say he listened to Odd with the same detachment. His emotions twisted into a tight knot over Zila’s capture and the unknown fate of his brother and Great-Aunt Yasmin.

  * * *

  “...we sent another messenger to Prince Ryne and have been waiting for instructions from the prince,” Odd concluded.

  “Danny?” Kerrick asked.

  “Inside. I wouldn’t let him come out until I knew it was safe.”

  Another bit of good news.

  “When are we going after Avry?” Quain asked.

  “We?” Kerrick gave him his flat stare.

  “Yes, we,” Belen said. “We’re stronger together than apart.”

  “And with your tree mojo, we can slip in, grab Avry, and sneak out with no one the wiser.” Quain dipped his hand as if sliding it under a door.

  Loren grinned, looking years younger. “We need to rescue our healer. Just like old times.”

  An enthusiastic chorus of agreement sounded. Kerrick knew it would be a waste of energy to argue. Nor was it the time to tell them his suspicions about his waning tree mojo. Every day it grew harder to access his connection to the living green.

  “All right, get a good night’s sleep, gentlemen, we leave at dawn.”

  The monkeys pulled Belen with them inside the cave. Flea helped remove Mom’s bundles from Hux’s saddle. He carried them into the infirmary.

  Mom patted Kerrick on the arm. “Be careful, dearie. That King Tohon’s a nasty man.”

  “Hopefully, we’ll free her before we encounter Tohon.”

  “I
f you do see him, take that big old sword of yours and chop his head right off!” Mom grabbed her bag of teapots and headed for the cave.

  Odd watched her go with his mouth open. “Did she just...?”

  “Yes. You don’t mess with Mom.”

  “Anything else I should know?”

  “Let her take over the cooking. You won’t regret it.”

  Just then a high-pitched squeal sliced through the night. Melina tore from the cave and tackled her mother. They went down with a clatter of teapots and Kerrick hoped for Mom’s sake the pots survived the fall. Sounds of the happy reunion reached Kerrick and he drank them in, wishing Avry was here to see this.

  Melina and her mother clambered to their feet and, with tears streaking their faces and their arms around each other’s shoulders, they went inside.

  Kerrick committed the scene to memory so he could recount it in detail to Avry when he rescued her.

  “What about if Prince Ryne arrives with reinforcements and wants to go after Wynn?” Odd asked.

  “Good question. Give me a minute.” Kerrick crouched down and laid his hand on the ground, seeking irritants to the north and east. Nothing. He sought signs of soldiers to the west. Still nothing. But his range remained limited to a couple miles.

  He straightened. “When did you send the message?”

  “We sent one right after Gylon’s squad arrived. That was...six days ago. And the second was dispatched four days ago immediately after the attack.”

  “On horseback?”

  “Of course. Why?”

  Kerrick calculated. Ryne should have gotten both messages by now. And according to Odd, except for Melina, the lady warriors had left with Ryne, but they were on foot, so they wouldn’t have gone too far and could have been diverted back to the infirmary. Or at least be within Kerrick’s circle of perception. Or would they? His circle shrank every day.

  “Odd, you’re on your own for now. There’s no backup within two miles. Unless they’re farther away.”

  “Any enemy coming our way?” he asked.

  “No. Wynn’s force is heading toward the border.”

  “Should I send another message?”

  “No. Keep all your soldiers close.”

  “All right.” Odd nodded and walked into the cave.

  Kerrick cared for the horses, watering and feeding them. Running his hand over their legs seeking hot spots, he hoped they’d be rested by the morning. He built a small fire and determined the best direction for them to travel in the morning, mapping the quickest route in his mind.

  Worry for Avry swirled in his thoughts. Kerrick tried not to dwell on her predicament and instead wondered what outrageous stories Belen and the others were reciting by the fire inside the cave. Muted chuckles floated from the entrance, along with a delicious-smelling stew. Mom worked fast.

  As the air cooled, he inched closer to the flames. Even with the pop and sizzle of the burning wood, it was too quiet. Too... Kerrick longed to join the others, but he needed to conserve his strength for tomorrow. A weakness had soaked into his bones.

  “Kerrick?” a familiar voice called.

  Danny stood nearby, holding a bowl and peering at the campfire. Kerrick pulled magic and turned normal. A big grin spread on the boy’s face as he raced over to him. He gave Kerrick a one-armed hug.

  “I would have come out sooner, but I had to finish my rounds,” Danny said.

  “Finish your rounds? My, don’t you sound all official,” Kerrick teased.

  The boy puffed up his chest. “I’m useful.” Then he sobered. “I’m sorry about Avry. We—”

  “Do not apologize. Nothing you could have done.”

  “I know. It’s just...” Danny growled with frustration. “She’d just made a major breakthrough and now...”

  “What breakthrough?”

  “Didn’t Odd tell you?”

  “No.” And he’d like to throttle the man, but he hid his annoyance.

  “She cured the new plague!”

  Kerrick’s shock lasted mere seconds. If anyone was going to figure it out, it’d be Avry. That’s my girl. He gestured for Danny to sit beside him. “Tell me.”

  Danny plopped down and thrust the bowl into his hands. “Forgot. This is from...Mom.” His lips twisted over the name as if he’d never said the word before.

  Poor kid probably hadn’t. Kerrick rummaged in his pack for a spoon.

  “It’s the best stew I’ve ever had. You should have seen Judd’s face. She took over the cooking without a word. He was angry until she turned his boring stew into this.”

  Kerrick scooped up a mouthful. The venison melted on his tongue. Ah, yes, he’d missed Mom’s cooking. Before the next bite, he prompted Danny. “The cure?”

  As Kerrick ate, Danny told him how Avry followed the logic. “Can you believe that? All from Odd’s comment? I didn’t think it’d work!”

  He smiled at the boy’s enthusiasm, remembering when Flea had been that full of energy and life. Although, Flea’s outlook had improved and Kerrick hoped Flea’d continue to make progress.

  After Danny left, Kerrick lay by the fire mulling over all the information he’d learned today. They had a number of assets—Death Lily toxin to counteract the dead soldiers, Noak and Fydelia’s warriors, Flea’s magic, and now a cure for the plague. But where was Ryne’s army? Had Ryne truly fallen for Cellina’s distraction at the Healer’s Guild? And was Zila dead, or had she survived Tohon’s chest wound? They’d have to wait until Tohon was defeated...again. Otherwise, they’d—

  Kerrick shot up. Zila had been in Alga. Cellina had to have crossed the Nine Mountains to kidnap her. Easy to do since only a few Algan patrols guarded the passes. Plus the fighting had been contained to Pomyt and Vyg Realms so the threat level was low. Would Tohon send troops across the Nine Mountains to travel east and then cross back over the Milligreen Pass? A long journey, but that would drop them in right behind Ryne’s army. And with the Skeleton King creeping up from the south, Ryne would be caught between both forces. A perfect strategy.

  He’d warn Ryne, but they needed every man here to protect the patients. The prince might have already come to the same conclusions based on the last message Odd had sent. Perhaps that was why Ryne hadn’t dispatched anyone south to protect the infirmary.

  Too many questions without answers circled. Kerrick would tell Odd his suspicions in the morning. Avry remained his priority.

  * * *

  “And just when you think it can’t get any worse...” Odd rubbed a hand over his face. “We’re sitting ducks here. We’re going to evacuate. I’ve been scouting for another location.”

  Impressed, Kerrick agreed. “East?”

  “I’d rather not say just in case...” Odd gestured.

  “He’s too polite to say in case we’re captured,” Quain said.

  Odd ignored Quain. “I’m sure you’ll find us regardless of the direction. Good luck.” He shook Kerrick’s hand and retreated into the cave.

  “Considering he wanted to murder you yesterday, I’d say that was progress,” Loren said.

  “I’m feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.” Quain hugged himself.

  “Are the saddlebags packed?” Kerrick asked.

  Flea cinched one of Coffee’s tight. “Just about. How are we doubling up?”

  “You and me on Hux, the monkeys on Coffee and Belen on Tea. After we rescue Avry, you can ride with Belen.”

  “Good to hear you have more confidence than Odd,” Belen said.

  “Of course he does! He’s Weed Boy, ghost of the forest,” Quain said.

  Belen sighed. Flea chuckled. Kerrick just shook his head. It would be an interesting trip.

  He mounted Hux. “All right, gentlemen, here’s the plan. Wynn has a five-day head start, but they’re on f
oot. We’re going to cover as much ground as the horses will let us. They’ll set the pace.”

  “And when we get there?” Loren asked.

  “I’ll figure that out then.”

  “Just like old times,” Quain said. “Lead on, weed boy.”

  * * *

  “...it’s the only way,” Quain said.

  “And we don’t have time to make anything else work,” Loren agreed.

  After three days of hard riding and little sleep, Kerrick wasn’t in the mood for the monkeys’ antics. But that didn’t mean they didn’t have a valid point.

  They’d caught up to Wynn’s battalion at the Tobory border near sunset on the third day. Her soldiers had made camp and appeared to be waiting for a larger army—most likely the Skeleton King and his soldiers, traveling north from Dina—to join them. Kerrick had figured out that Wynn and Sepp must have joined forces with him. Why else would she travel south? Plus it explained how the Skeleton King had gotten the new plague virus.

  When the king’s forces merged with Wynn’s in two days’ time, the chances of rescuing Avry plummeted to zero. Kerrick had only felt a few flashes of Avry’s presence in the forest. Not enough to pinpoint her location among Wynn’s soldiers and their tents.

  “You need all of us to search for her,” Belen said.

  “All right. Let me find a patrol to ambush.” Kerrick placed his palm on the ground. The living green was harder to reach with each passing day of winter.

  Quain rubbed his hands together. “Now we’re talking.”

  * * *

  “Pee-ew. Man, that’s rank. Just my luck to get the uniform of the guy who hasn’t bathed in weeks,” Quain grumbled under his breath as he tugged at the sleeves of his stolen shirt.

  Kerrick and the others had climbed into the lower tree branches and had, according to the monkeys, jackknifed a small patrol. They’d donned the patrol’s uniforms.

  “Don’t call attention to yourselves,” Kerrick said. “Just take a look around and report back here in two hours. Even if you find Avry. Understand?”