by Imogen Elvis
Ava was no magician. Master Sachio had to be lying. And yet, all she could feel was the hollow truth in these words too, no matter how hard she searched. Maybe she’d always known and just hadn’t wanted to. Hadn’t wanted Ava to end up like Mama. Hadn’t wanted to go through all the pain and struggle it would bring.
“She’s strong, you know. Stronger than you. You could have helped her, but you never did. You were too selfish. Too weak. You failed her.” Master Sachio carried on, every word cutting deeper. “All Ava needed was someone to guide her, to believe in her. You ran all this way, thinking she needed you to save her. You’re so good at running. But in the end, you could never give her what she really needed. Not like I can.”
“Please, just let her go.” Briar’s voice broke.
A cold, cruel smile spread across Master Sachio’s face. “Ever the overprotective sister, I see. Ava made her choice. You made yours. She just chose more wisely. I would let you see for yourself, but I doubt she wants to see you. Not now she knows the truth of who you really are. What you did.”
“I just wanted her to be safe,” Briar whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “I never thought…” There were so many things she never thought of in her vain attempts to keep Ava safe. “Please. Please don’t do this to her. Do what you want to me, but not her. Please.”
The master shrugged. “Life is the choices you make. You joined Levi. Ava chose to join my army.” He stepped closer. “It’s a pity. You don’t even know how close you came.” He reached towards Briar. She recoiled from his touch, turning her face away as Master Sachio hooked his fingers through the chain around her neck and pulled Mistress Rhosmari’s medallion out of her habit. The chain snagged in Briar’s hair. The master tugged, and it swung free, taking a few strands with it.
The little white stone hanging next to the medallion caught the light, sparkling as it twisted in the air. Master Sachio swung the chain before Briar’s face. “Do you have any idea what this is?”
“That was Mistress Rhosmari’s medallion,” Briar said through gritted teeth. “She told me to keep it safe.”
Master Sachio laughed, and there was a mocking note of pity in it. “Oh, Briar. She gave you something, but it wasn’t the medallion.” He took hold of the stone and twisted, snapping the delicate link holding it on the chain, then cast the medallion aside. It hit the wall and fell to the floor with a dull ‘clink’. “All this time you’ve been walking around with a song catcher, and you never knew.” He held the stone up, letting the torchlight glow through it.
Briar stared. That small chunk of stone she’d been carrying around since Osman, the stone Mistress Rhosmari pressed into her hand just moments before she died, that was a song catcher? It couldn’t be.
“Do you know what these catchers are?” Master Sachio asked, his eyes still fixed on the stone. “They’re fragments of the Crystal Tree. It doesn’t look like much, does it? No one would think that such an insignificant looking stone could hold so much power. There are only two of these anywhere in the world. And now I have them both.” Master Sachio closed his fingers around the catcher. “Thank you, Briar. You just sealed my victory.”
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
Briar lay curled in a ball against the wall of her cell, her eyes closed. She should probably be crying, but the tears wouldn’t come, though her head throbbed and her heart was shattered into a million fragments that could never be stitched back together. All she felt was an overwhelming numbness that blocked the flood of tears that would ease the hollow ache in her chest. The guards hadn’t bothered to tie her hands this time. Why should they when she had no will to fight anymore?
Ava chose Master Sachio over her. There was no getting past that. There was magic involved of course. Briar wasn’t so naïve as to think that Ava had chosen entirely of her own accord. But there was truth to what the master had said, that Ava resented Briar. That in some way she wanted to be free of her. Briar hadn’t thought it could get worse after losing Ava the first time. But it could, because this time, it was Ava’s own choice. No Nameless One carried her off. No one forced her to go. The master was persuasive, but Ava had to have doubted Briar for him to be able to convince her to join him. And this time there was no way Briar could fix it.
She raised her head wearily. The guards were back. What could they want this time? She didn’t move from her huddle on the floor as the door swung open and Kade stumbled inside before it swung shut again, leaving them in darkness.
“Briar?”
“I’m here.” She didn’t move.
“Are you alright? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m fine. But Master Sachio knows whatever I know now. I’m sorry.” Vaguely Briar was aware of how flat and emotionless her voice sounded.
Kade’s back hit the wall beside her. “Don’t worry. He did the same to me.” He gave a bitter laugh. “I hope Lara and Rowen are good at running.”
“He’s so strong.” A shiver ran over Briar’s skin. “I’ve never felt power like it.”
“I’m sorry,” Kade said after a moment.
“For what?”
“For letting us get captured. Putting you in Sachio’s hands. Everything.” He let out a heavy sigh. “I’ve made such a mess of things.”
“It wasn’t like you knew this would happen. Besides, I’ve done a far worse thing than you.”
“I doubt that.”
Briar’s stomach twisted. But she had to tell him. Kade deserved to know. She pulled her knees closer to her chest in a vain attempt to fight the cold that ached inside her. “I had a song catcher. And now Master Sachio has it.” Briar closed her eyes. Kade would be right to be angry. She deserved it and so much more. And yet she was so afraid of what he would say.
“You had a song catcher?” Kade said slowly.
“Yes.”
“How?” He was so calm. Too calm.
Briar huddled in on herself further. “Mistress Rhosmari gave it to me in Osman. I thought it was just a pretty stone.” Her voice trailed off in a tiny whisper. How could she have been so stupid?
“So Sachio has them both now.” For the first time, Kade’s voice held a note of anger. “If you’d just told me before-”
“I didn’t know what it was.” Her heart pleaded with him to understand.
“You’re a magician. How could you not know?”
“I’m just a novice.” Briar twisted her fingers together. “I know that there are catchers, but I don’t know what they look like. If I had known what it was, I would have given it to you, I swear. But I didn’t know.” She rested her cheek on her knees and closed her eyes again. She’d have done so many things differently if she had known. Instead, she failed yet again.
Silence fell between them for a while, a cold, angry silence, touched with the bitter taste of defeat. Briar wasn’t sure how much time passed before Kade finally spoke. “Sachio’s got everything he needs from us. He’ll leave us alone now until we get to Mizra.”
And then they’d be executed. Briar swallowed hard. “Isn’t there anything we can do?” They couldn’t just sit here and wait to be carried to Mizra as traitors and criminals.
“Like what?” Frustration made Kade’s words sharp. “We’re locked in a cell. It’s not like someone is just going to hand us the keys.”
That was true. Briar stared at the door. If she were a fire or plant singer, she could destroy the door. An earth singer could remove the wall, block by block. But she was none of those things and the only way they would get out was if a guard freed them, and that was hardly likely.
Except if she could persuade one. Briar’s mind put the pieces of a plan together in moments. If she got a guard in here, she could use her magic to at least confuse him. He’d never believe her if she told him to let them go, but if she could render him unconscious, or asleep, then maybe they’d have a chance. Anything was better than sitting here.
“What if we weren’t in the cell?” Briar said.
“What do you mean?”
“If we got out of the cells, do you think we’d have a chance of escaping?”
“Maybe.” Kade was silent for a moment. “From what I remember, coming back from the interrogation cell, it’s night right now. And if I know anything about the way these places are run, there should be less guards around at night. If we got out of this cell, and if we don’t get caught on our way out of the building, we could climb over the wall. The dark would give us a solid chance. But that all requires us finding a way out of here first.”
“I might be able to do something,” Briar said.
“Okay. How?”
“First we get a guard in here.”
“But-”
“Trust me.” She squashed down the small stab of guilt that accompanied this plan. Master Sachio had already broken every rule the magicians had ever invented. She’d never look at magic the same way again. “You remember how the children were afraid to make too much noise because the guards would come down? If we made enough fuss-”
“-they should come to quieten us,” Kade finished for her. “Are you sure about this?”
No. “Absolutely.”
“Alright. If you can get us out of this cell, I’ll figure out a way to escape.” Kade gave a short, bitter laugh. “After all, what’s the worst they can do if they catch us? Kill us?”
Briar let out a pent-up breath. That was the first step, getting Kade to agree to her plan. Now they just had to get out of here. “We should start by healing you.”
“I’ll be fine,” Kade said quickly. “Thank you though.”
It was more likely to be the magic he didn’t want really, but Briar couldn’t blame him for that. After her encounter with Master Sachio, she barely wanted to deal with magic again, and she was a magician. But it was necessary. “You need to be at full strength if we’re going to get out of here. I’ll be gentle, I promise. Please, trust me.”
Kade was silent for a long moment. Briar could almost feel his struggle between his distrust of magic, and the logic of her statement. “Alright,” he said at last. “Do it.”
Briar sat facing Kade and laid a hand on his shoulder. This had to be her best healing yet. He deserved better than he had experienced before. Taking a deep breath, Briar opened herself to his life song, bracing herself for the rush of pain that always accompanied a healing. The shock was welcome, snapping his song into sharp focus.
Every inch of Briar hurt. There were sharp pains in her chest when she drew breath. Dull aches from bruises covered her body. Her head throbbed. One of her cheekbones felt hot and swollen. The guards hadn’t been kind to Kade. Briar let the pain sink in, drawing every scrap of hurt into herself. Then she allowed her magic to flood through the song, pouring her heart and soul into the healing. And as she sang, the pain faded until all Kade’s injuries were gone.
Briar let the song go and sat back, wishing it was light enough for her to see his face clearly. “How do you feel?”
“Much better.” Kade sounded both surprised, and relieved. “Thank you, Briar.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure you had at least one broken rib, and I’m not sure I like our chances of scaling a wall when you can’t even breathe.”
“How did you know that?”
Briar shrugged. “I feel the injuries when I heal them.”
“Even when someone is dying?”
“Yes.” Especially then.
“That must be agony.”
“It hurts.” Sadness filled Briar. The pain was bad, but the agony of not being able to help was far worse. She pushed that thought away and said briskly, “Right. Now that you’re healed, we need a guard.”
“I’ll take care of that.” Kade kicked the door. It shook in its hinges with a rattle that reverberated off the stone walls, rolling like thunder. He kicked it again, and again. Briar positioned herself next to the door, where she could reach the guard the moment he opened it. A physical connection would give her best chance of success, and she needed all the help she could get. They had one chance to pull this off. She couldn’t afford to fail now.
Despite Kade’s best efforts, and the massive amount of noise he made, there was no sign anyone cared enough to come down and quieten them. Kade blew out a ragged breath. “Are you sure this is going to work?”
“I’d be happy to hear any other ideas.”
“Hey, this was your plan.” Kade kicked the door again.
“Quiet down there.”
At last. Briar closed her eyes for a moment, steadying herself. Any moment now. Her fingers twitched. Kade sent another deafening crash ringing through the stone corridor. Footsteps echoed down the hallway, fast, irritated.
“Shut the hell up in there.”
In answer, Kade threw his whole body against the door. It juddered in its frame. Briar was almost surprised it didn’t come right off its hinges. Keys jangled outside, accompanied by muffled cursing. “When I get in there-”
Three. Two. One.
The door flew open, and a guard stepped inside. Briar’s hands flashed out, grabbing the man’s arm. She dropped into his life song with a rush that made her head spin, connecting with the strands of music.
“Let go you little-”
Briar sang, pouring her magic into his life song. The guard broke off mid-sentence, his mouth hanging open as Briar forced a single command through the music: ‘Sleep’. The guard swayed but didn’t fall. She could feel him sliding towards sleep, his knees weakening, eyes growing heavy. He yawned, but held firm, tugging at her grip on his arm. Briar drew more magic until her head burned with the effort and poured it into the music.
‘Sleep’
The guard blinked, swayed, then, ever so slowly crumbled to the floor and lay still. Briar dropped to her knees beside him. She hadn’t gone too far, had she? No. He was still breathing. Just very, very asleep. He’d be alright. Briar paused, fighting back a wave of exhaustion herself. But the cell door stood open, their first step towards freedom.
“Well, that was terrifyingly effective,” Kade said, eyebrows raised.
“Necessary. Not preferable.” Briar snatched the keys off the floor where the guard had dropped them. “We should get going.”
“Can you free my hands first?” Kade swung round so Briar could reach the ropes. The knots were tight, and the cords dug deep into his wrists. Briar struggled to undo them, especially with her blood crusted fingers all swollen and clumsy. Finally, though, the rope came loose. Briar threw it deep into the cell, where it hit the wall and fell to the floor. Good riddance.
Kade rubbed the raw marks on his arms. “Thank you.” He frowned and took Briar’s hand, running his fingers lightly over the scabs crusting her own wrists, caused by her panic in the shackles. “What happened?”
Briar shrugged and slipped her hands free, turning away to close the cell door, partly to keep the guard from sounding the alarm when he woke, and partly so Kade wouldn’t see the way her lips quivered as she remembered the crushing fear in that darkened room. “It’s nothing. “ She fumbled with the keys. “There. He shouldn’t be getting out in a hurry.”
Kade nodded, though a frown still creased his face into deep lines. “Let’s go.”
They slipped down the corridor and back up the stairs. Briar followed Kade’s lead, one hand gripping the ring of keys, the other holding her skirt out of the way lest she trip on the hem and alert the guards.
“There are likely to be soldiers out there,” Kade whispered when they reached the door at the top of the stairs. “You’ve got magic. Can you tell?”
“I can try.” Briar closed her eyes and reached out with her magic. Through the thick door, catching even the faintest thrum of a life song was a difficult task. Sweat trickled down her face as she focused. “There’s someone there,” she whispered at last.
“Is there anything you can do?”
Well, she could try and put him to sleep as well. But through a solid wood door, without even being able to see, let alone touch him? It seemed impossible. But she could hear the song and
technically if she could hear it, she could work with it. So Briar nodded. “I can try.”
She closed her eyes, clenched her fingers around her medallion, and focused on those faint, wispy notes. It took everything Briar had just to connect with the song. She sang softly, whispering the notes under her breath until she was secure in the music. Again, she forced a single command through the magic: ‘Sleep.’
It was so much harder than before, the connection so much frailer. Exhaustion burned at the edges of her mind, sending pulses of pain through her skull. Briar braced a hand against the door, the other curling tighter and tighter around her medallion until the edges bit into her skin. She drew on her magic until there was nothing left to give. The man fought hard, struggling against the waves of exhaustion she sent through his life song. And then, finally, the song gave way. A thud echoed through the door as the man topped over, fast asleep.
“He’s down.” Briar took a couple of deep breaths, steadying herself against the wall as her head spun and her stomach twisted until she thought she might be sick.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Briar swallowed down her nausea and straightened. This was nothing she’d ever been trained for. But it was necessary.
Kade twisted the door handle. It turned but didn’t open. “Keys.”
Briar handed them over and stood, shifting from foot to foot, as he sifted through them before picking out one that looked like it might fit the large iron keyhole. Click. The lock snapped back. Kade passed Briar the keys again and eased the door open, peeking through the opening to check the hallway beyond.
“All clear.” Kade held the door open, and Briar slipped out past him. The corridor was empty apart from a single guard lying face down next to the door, snoring. In silence, Briar and Kade heaved him through the doorway and laid him out on the stairs. He was too deeply asleep to stir even while they moved him. Despite the fact that he was a guard and standing in the way of their freedom, Briar couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man. There were far worse things than this coming his way when Master Sachio found out they’d escaped.
