The Crystal Tree (Song Magic Book 1)

by Imogen Elvis

  The overpoweringly sweet smell of jasmine filled the air as they crept through the main part of the garden. The pale moonlight lit up the lawn so bright that anyone crossing it would be easily seen from a window. It might be the fastest way across the garden, but Kade and Briar stuck close to the house instead, concealed inside the deeper patches of shadow.

  Kade threw out an arm, halting Briar.

  “What it is?” she whispered.

  “Shh.”

  Briar peered round Kade’s shoulder. What had he seen? Her eyes widened. Two figures strolled towards them, across the lawn, arms wound around each other. Crouched in the shadows, there was no way to move without risking these people seeing them. All Briar could do was press closer to the wall of the house and pray that the low plants in their tidy beds would hide them.

  She could hear their voices now, low murmurs that didn’t travel far. Words meant only for each other. The woman’s dress dragged over the grass. She scooped it up carelessly in one hand, swishing it around her, laughing. The man turned, and moonlight played over a familiar red-bearded face. Markus. And Glissando? What were they doing out at this time of night? Their unhurried tread took them closer and closer to Briar’s hiding place. She held her breath. Any moment now, the pair could turn and see her and Kade.

  Glissando laid her head on Markus’s shoulder as they passed, her eyes turned towards his face. Kade stiffened, everything focused on the couple. Briar put a hand on his arm to steady him, lest he make a noise. Glissando and Markus seemed to have eyes only for each other. At that moment, she doubted they would have noticed anything. But that didn’t mean she and Kade didn’t have to be careful.

  The couple drifted further from the house and out into the middle of the moonlit lawn, their whispers fading over the distance. Markus wrapped his arms around Glissando, leaning his cheek on her hair. It was such an intimate gesture Briar had to look away. It felt like intruding to watch them now.

  As if he could read her thoughts, Kade turned away. “Let’s go.”

  Briar’s heart beat fast as they slipped through the shadows. The cautious part of her wanted to stay hidden until Glissando and Markus left. The logical part knew they couldn’t. The longer they waited, the less time they had to escape. It was a risk they had to take.

  A hedge separated the rolling lawn from the rest of the garden. Briar and Kade slipped through the bushes, and the couple were hidden from view. Kade moved quickly, less cautious now, more focused on getting away as fast as possible. Briar followed his lead, eager to leave the dangers of the house and garden and get back to the road again. They saw no one else in the gardens, and Briar breathed a sigh of relief as they pushed their way through the last hedge and out into open countryside again. The night wind blew past, tossing loose strands of hair over her face, bringing with it a familiar buzz that shivered over her skin. Magic. She couldn’t hear the song, but the air was charged with it. Someone somewhere was singing a message into the night. Lucien maybe? Whatever he said, and whoever he sang to, Briar knew one thing. That song meant trouble. She quickened her pace. The sooner they got out of here, the better.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  Kade and Briar travelled throughout the night. At first, the stars blazed overhead, a shining map in the sky to guide their path. Gradually though, their glimmering faded, and the moon sat heavy on the edge of the horizon, fading as the dark of night gave way to a hazy grey that heralded the approach of dawn.

  Sure enough, the sun soon peeked over the eastern hills in a blaze of pink and gold that signalled the start to what Briar hoped was a fresh chance to find the Nameless Ones, and Ava. She lifted her tired face to the sun’s first rays, yawning widely. Kade moved as if Lucien was on their heels already, hunting them down like a banewulf. The danger was real, but in the quiet light of dawn, it didn’t feel nearly so close or ominous as it had when they fled the mansion in the dark.

  As they walked, Kade drew his map from his pack and traced lines across it with his finger, muttering under his breath. Hopefully, he was finding a suitable path that would bring them closer to the Nameless Ones, and further from Lucien.

  Briar shielded her eyes against the growing light. “Is that the road?” Not far ahead, a path wound its way through the low hills. The dark had hidden it before, but in the weak light of sunrise, Briar picked it out amid the rolling landscape.

  “I think so.” Kade folded his map back into his pack. “It should be safe enough for us to re-join the road now. I think we’re far enough from Granton for it to be safe.”

  They reached the northern path as the last of the sunrise faded into a vivid blue sky. Briar’s lips quirked up. Reaching the road meant they were finally back on the right track. Goodness knew how far ahead the Nameless Ones had gotten while they were making their detour, but, with the road underfoot and the bright sun overhead, maybe, just maybe they might catch up soon.

  The road was empty of travellers aside from Briar and Kade. It seemed so lonely and remote out here, but they couldn’t be that far from Granton. Briar doubted it would be long before they caught sight of other people. It was only a small road, true, but it was worn into deep ruts by the passage of feet and carts. At her best guess, travellers and traders to the northern towns probably passed along here regularly.

  At first, they trekked through small hills and gentle rises of open grassland. The wind rippled through the long stems of grass with a cheerful whisper. Around midmorning though, the road meandered into a small wooded area. The trees cast a dappled shade on the ground, and hidden birds sang in the branches, very different from their shortcut through the Erisu Woods.

  Briar’s feet dragged. The growing warmth of the day, coupled with a long night of travelling, made her eyelids heavy. If they didn’t stop to rest soon, she might actually fall asleep on her feet. Kade looked exhausted too, beaten even.

  “Are you alright?” Briar asked.

  Kade blinked a couple of times before answering as if the question caught him by surprise. “I’m fine.”

  “You look dead on your feet.”

  “It’s been a long night.”

  “True.” Briar stifled a yawn. “When Markus and Glissando appeared in the gardens, I thought we’d never get out. Of all the people we could have run into, I wasn’t expecting them.”

  “Neither was I.”

  “I’m still surprised no one recognised you.”

  “Well, it has been a while since they saw me last. Besides, I didn’t have a beard back then. You’d be surprised how much that changes a face.”

  “Were you and Glissando close?” The question slipped out before Briar even thought about it.

  “You could say that.”

  “How close?”

  There was a long pause before Kade said, a little reluctantly, “At one point, Glissando and I were engaged.”

  Briar’s eyes widened. “Engaged?” She was not expecting that. “But if you were engaged, how come she doesn’t remember you now?” How could Glissando have just forgotten someone she was about to marry?

  Kade shrugged. “Things are different. I’m different. Anyway, we weren’t in love.”

  “It was an arranged marriage?”

  “Yes.”

  “And now she’s engaged to Markus.”

  “And I hope she’ll be very happy.” A flat, emotionless tone crept into Kade’s voice. He paused. “It wasn’t like we were in love.”

  And yet everything about him spoke of a man facing heartbreak. This explained so much, and somehow left Briar with more questions than ever. “But if you and Glissando were engaged, you must be a noble too.” Lord Kade. What a strange thought.

  Kade shrugged. “I’m hardly a lord now. I’m… nothing.”

  “That’s not true.” Briar looked Kade straight in the face, willing him to feel the sincerity in her words. “I don’t know who you were, but I know that you’re brave. Kind. Infuriatingly hard-headed, and occasionally rather irritating. But a good man. Far more than a mere
nothing.”

  A slight smile creased Kade’s lips, though his eyes were sad. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.” He heaved a heavy sigh. “I’m just tired, I guess.”

  “Of what?”

  “Everything. Travelling. Hiding. Being alone.” There was a raw ache of honesty in Kade’s voice. “I only act like I know what I’m doing. I guess, I just want other people to see me the way you described me. Brave. Honourable. It’s been so long since anyone saw that.”

  “But it’s easy to see what kind of a person you are.”

  “You’d think. But some people have known me my whole life and don’t look at me that way. What kind of man does that make me?” Kade’s shoulders slumped.

  “Well, I don’t about them, but I say that they’re wrong.” At Kade’s slightly sceptical look, Briar added with a grin, “I’m magic, remember?”

  Kade’s smile widened. “Thank you, Briar.” He squared his shoulder and hitched up his pack. “Anyway, what really matters is catching up with-”

  Two people stepped out into the road in front of them. A man and a woman dressed all in black. Cloaks swirled around them like smoke. Masks hid their faces, but Briar recognised them with horrifying clarity. Nameless Ones. But they were supposed to be days ahead. And yet, here they were, waiting with that same watchful patience she remembered from Osman.

  Briar glanced at Kade. His fingers slid around the hilt of his sword, while his eyes remained fixed on the dark figures. He had a plan, right? He always had a plan. “What are we going to do?”

  “When I say go, run,” Kade muttered.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Go.” Kade drew his sword in one smooth movement, stepping in front of Briar.

  She ran. Kade would follow. He had to. But when she looked back, he strode in the opposite direction, facing the Nameless Ones with no sign of fear. Briar slowed. She couldn’t just leave him here. Fear tugged her away, but Briar turned around anyway and started back. She wasn’t going to just abandon another person.

  A song pierced the air, setting Briar’s teeth on edge. Wind? Fire? She stumbled as the road shifted beneath her boots. Earth song? She backed up, but the dirt swirled over her foot, trapping her boot below the surface of the path. Her breath caught in her throat. She kicked at the earth, but it flowed over her other foot too, anchoring her in the middle of the track.

  Briar’s heart hammered in her chest. She struggled to free herself, but, urged by the song that swelled around her, the dirt just kept coming, flowing up her body, trapping her legs, reaching her chest. Briar tore at it with her fingernails, gouging huge furrows. But as fast she clawed the dirt out, it filled the holes back in until it was one seamless mass that shifted and moved. The song swirled through the air, and the earth squeezed around her until Briar could hardly breathe. Black spots danced in front of her eyes.

  And then the song gave way to an eerie silence. The earth encased Briar in a solid column, almost to her neck. Even her arms were trapped now. There was nothing she could do but stand there, heart beating wildly, and wait.

  Kade, too, had been caught, though he still brandished his sword. He kept the weapon between him and the Nameless Ones, who stalked cautiously towards him. Kade swung as one stepped too close.

  The Nameless Ones drew back a step. There was a pause, and then the song rose a second time. The earth coiled around Kade, flowing over his arms and dragging them down to his sides. The sword fell from his grasp as dirt encased his hands. The earth swirled around Kade until the only part of him still visible was his head, held high in defiance.

  “I won’t fear you,” Kade snarled.

  The song shifted, gaining a sharper edge. Lines of pain convulsed over Kade’s face. He gasped, and let out a thin, raspy groan. Briar watched with rising horror as the earth tightened in visible coils, like a snake, squeezing him. Kade’s eyes slid shut, and his head fell limp.

  “Kade,” Briar cried. “Kade.”

  Once more, the song shifted, and the earth swept back to lie smooth in the road. Kade sank with it, falling motionless in the middle of the path. Briar willed him to stand, to reach for the sword that lay inches from his hand. But he didn’t move. The woman disappeared back into the trees, while the man collected Kade’s weapon and stripped him of his pack, strapping the two together before setting both out of the way.

  The most frightening thing about the Nameless Ones wasn’t their power. It was their utter lack of humanity. Their silence and unimpassioned acts of cruelty. A tear ran down Briar’s cheek as she watched the man work. The terrifying thing was that not only they were capable of doing anything you could imagine, but they would do it too, without a second thought or hint of mercy.

  The woman reappeared, leading two black horses. They stood quietly, completely untethered, as she re-joined her companion. Together, they hauled Kade up. He hung between them, his head lolling on his chest. The Nameless Ones dragged him over to one of the horses and draped him over the saddle. His arms hung down one side, and his legs down the other. Briar swallowed hard. He looked so helpless lying there.

  With Kade securely lashed to the back of the horse, the man approached towards Briar. She trembled but forced herself to meet his gaze in a single act of futile defiance. A couple of notes sent Briar’s earthen prison melting back into the road. She drew in a shaky breath. The Nameless One caught her arms, lashing them behind her back with a small length of cord. Briar gritted her teeth as the rope pulled tight, scoring lines of pain over her wrists. Was this what Ava felt, the overwhelming fear beating inside her ribcage until she was ready to be sick?

  The Nameless One pushed Briar on ahead of him. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, running silently down her cheeks. The second Nameless One swung herself up onto the unburdened horse and held out her hands. The man lifted Briar into her waiting arms. With her hands bound Briar couldn’t struggle enough to make a difference. Her breath caught in her throat, and she closed her eyes for a moment, fighting against the rising panic.

  The man climbed up behind Kade and gathered up the reins. They turned the horses’ heads north and swung into motion in the same, eerie silence. The only sounds were the soft thuds of the horses’ hooves and the pounding of blood in Briar’s ears. Kade hung over the side of the saddle, still unconscious. Briar caught a glimpse of his white face and bit her lip. He didn’t look well. But there was nothing she could do to help him. Briar turned her gaze to the horizon, hot tears spilling from her eyes, forming a river of salt down her face. There was nothing she could for either of them now, except pray the Nameless Ones would be merciful.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  They rode until Briar’s tears ran out, and then they rode some more. As they travelled, a large building slowly appeared before them, rising out of the forest. A high, forbidding stone wall surrounded it, and, behind that, the building rose at least two storeys higher. It appeared to be a strange mix of fortified keep and grand manor, highly defended, but with glass and carvings on the inner building. The closer they got, the larger it appeared, towering over Briar with an intimidating air.

  The road branched off towards a small gate set deep into the wall, while the main trail carried on past it, twisting away into the distance towards a band of mountains sitting low on the horizon. That had to be the northern range. From this distance, they looked smoky and blue. However, instead of carrying on towards those shadowy peaks, the Nameless Ones turned towards the fort. Briar clenched her fists behind her back, welcoming the biting pain from the ropes. It was the only thing she could feel any more.

  The heavy wooden gate was shut tight but, as they approached, a cry sounded from the top of the wall. Bolts scraped, and the gate swung inward. The horses clattered through, their hooves ringing on the cobblestones of the interior courtyard. A single man stood above the entrance, watching them as they rode inside. Briar ducked her head away from his judgmental gaze. A couple of guards stood by the door that led into the main building, but apart from them, the co
urtyard was empty.

  Instead of stopping here though, the Nameless Ones continued round to the rear of the house. Here, a stable stood against the back wall, and next to that, a set of steps led up to the wall top. Briar could only be grateful that there were no guards up there to stare down at her with derision. The air smelled of hay and stale horse dung. There wasn’t even a gate on this side. It was here that the Nameless Ones finally came to a halt.

  “You got him?” A guard hurried over, his eyes wide. “How-?” He shook his head. “Never mind. You and you.” He beckoned to two men lounging near the stables. “Get him down to the cells. You. Take the other one.”

  The three men hurried forward. Two of them hauled Kade off the horse, letting out sharp grunts as his limp body sagged between them. For one sickening moment, Briar thought they might drop Kade headfirst on the ground, but they caught him at the last moment.

  “Sairth, he’s heavy,” one of the men said through gritted teeth.

  Between them, the two guards dragged Kade’s unconscious body towards the rear door of the house. Briar winced as Kade bumped over the steps, which led up to the door.

  The third guard approached Briar. “Down you come, darlin’,” he leered.

  The female Nameless One passed Briar down to the soldier. Her legs were shaky, and she struggled to steady herself without the use of her hands. The guard drew Briar closer with an arm around her waist. He stood so close she could smell his breath. “Let’s get you inside, shall we?”

  Shivers crawled over Briar’s skin at his touch. She stomped on the man’s toes with the heel of her boot. The guard let out a stifled swear, and his grip loosened. Briar pulled free and backed away, her eyes widening as she faced him.