by Imogen Elvis
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.” Briar’s voice came out as a strangled croak. She cleared her throat. “You can let me down.”
The rope jerked as Kade paid it out slowly. Each time, her stomach dropped a little faster than she did. Briar pushed off from the wall with her feet, frog hopping down, her mind spinning wildly with every way this could go wrong. What if someone discovered Kade while she was only halfway down? What if the rope wasn’t long enough to reach the ground? What then?
It was impossible to tell how far she’d come. Kade disappeared above her, and the ground, when Briar dared to look down, was invisible below. Then, suddenly, her boots hit the ground with a thud that jarred her ankles. She threw out a hand and steadied herself against the wall. The rope let out a little further, then stopped.
Undo the harness. Signal Kade. Briar pressed her lips together and pulled at the knots securing the rope around her. She could do this. But the knots jammed tight, and in the dark, she couldn’t see the snarls. Briar drew a deep breath in through her nose, fighting against the mounting panic. Kade was up there, waiting for her. What if the guards saw him while she was still down here wasting precious time? Briar jerked at the knots, teasing them apart with her fingernails. Come loose.
The knots slipped free, and the harness fell to pieces. Briar stepped out of the coils and tugged once, twice. Then she craned her neck, straining her eyes in a vain attempt to see what was happening at the top of the wall. The night was so silent. It raised the hairs on the back of her neck. A shadow moved over the wall. Kade? Yes. He came down the rope quickly, hand over hand, jumping off a couple of feet above the ground.
“Did anyone see you?” Briar whispered.
“I don’t think so.” Kade hitched up his pack. “Let’s go.”
Leaving the rope hanging down the side of the wall, Kade and Briar slipped away into the scrubby trees that surrounded the fort, leaving Master Sachio, the Nameless Ones and Ava, behind them.
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
At first, Briar and Kade slipped through the shelter of the trees, avoiding the trail. If there were any guards on the wall by the front gate, they would be sure to catch sight of them if they venturing onto the path. But eventually, the trees hid the fort from view, and they came out by the road. They had escaped. It seemed almost too good to be true. And yet, somehow, impossibly, they had.
“Which way do we go now?” Briar glanced back in the direction of the fort. No sign of anyone so far. That was good.
“Does really it matter?” Kade sounded weary.
He had a point. They didn’t have anywhere to run to. Kade had no catcher. She had no Ava. Neither of them had a place to hide. It seemed hopeless. Still, Briar tried to rouse herself a little, more for Kade’s sake than anything else. They’d made it out of the fort. They couldn’t give up now. “Away from here is good enough for me right now. Though, we should probably avoid going anywhere near Granton.”
“North it is then.”
They’d go north, and then what? Master Sachio had all the song catchers. He had the Nameless Ones, and a plan to take the throne that was already working terrifyingly well. He even had Ava. A lump formed in Briar’s throat. With all that power, and the Nameless Ones at his disposal, how could they hope to hide for long?
At least the foliage concealed them from anyone at the fort, but who knew what might be hiding in the scrubby trees. The branches reached out like knobbly, twisted fingers, restless in the night breeze. Briar stepped closer to Kade, her eyes wide. This was the sort of place where a Nameless Ones might ambush them. She cleared her throat to hide her fear and forced a lighter tone into her voice. “I still can’t believe we got out.”
“Well, we’re not out of danger yet.”
“Still, I didn’t think we’d make it out of the cells, let alone over the wall.”
“It was your plan.”
That didn’t mean she believed it was going to work though. But Briar kept that thought to herself. She started to say something else, then broke off as the bushes rustled. She took a step back, stifling a cry as two figures materialised out of the undergrowth. Nameless Ones?
“Kade? Is that you?” a familiar voice asked. “I thought we told you to stay out of trouble while we were gone.” Lara stopped in the middle of their path, arms folded.
A smile spread over Kade’s face, and he hurried towards his friends. “I thought you’d be breaking us out by now. What took you so long?”
“Well excuse us if you sent us the wrong way.” Lara flipped her braid over her shoulder. “You could have waited.”
“And lost the trail? Not a chance. We knew you’d catch us up eventually,” Kade said.
“What happened?” Rowen asked. “Are you two alright?”
“We’ll tell you about it as we go.” Kade glanced back, though nothing stirred behind them. “I think it’s better if we keep moving.”
“How did you get on?” Briar asked as the group set off together. It seemed forever since they’d split up back in Purdur, though it couldn’t have been more than a few days.
“Middling,” Rowen said. “We went the wrong way for two days, then turned around and spent forever trying to catch up with you, only to find it was all round Granton that Sachio’s men had arrested two outlaws, and one of them was the infamous prince himself. After that, we made our way here as quickly as we could, hoping you’d manage not to get yourself killed before we got here.”
“We were in the middle of working out a rescue plan when you escaped,” Lara added. “No mean feat I might add. How did you manage it?”
Kade told them about their journey, though he glossed over the details of their meeting with Glissando and her family. By the looks on Lara’s and Rowen’s faces, however, just visible as the sky greyed towards dawn, Briar guessed they understood far more than he said. When he came to their capture by the Nameless Ones and their imprisonment by Master Sachio however, Rowen’s hand clenched around the hilt of his sword as if he wanted to stab someone with it. Preferably Master Sachio.
Briar let Kade do the talking. Just thinking about what happened made cracks in her already fragile control. She was pitifully pleased when Kade chose not to tell Lara and Rowen what happened with Ava. It was hard enough to bear the knowledge of her failure, without them knowing it too. She’d have to tell them eventually. Just, not yet.
There was a long silence after Kade finished relating their misadventures. Finally, Lara asked, “So what now?”
Kade ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Sachio has both catchers. I’m not sure what else we can do.”
He’d also refrained from telling Lara and Rowen just how much of that was Briar’s fault, for which she was grateful, and humbled. It would have been so easy to blame it all on her. If she’d only known that the insignificant chunk of rock Mistress Rhosmari gave her along with the medallion was actually a song catcher. She could still see the look in Master Sachio’s eyes as he held it, knowing he’d won. That little sliver of the Crystal Tree could stop wars, take away a singer’s magic, and was certainly more than powerful enough to stop Master Sachio. If that was how powerful a fragment was, Briar couldn’t imagine what the whole tree would be like.
It was a rite of passage inside the Order for magicians to visit the Crystal Tree before being invested as councillors. Legend had it that it was the Tree itself that gave the Order the song catchers, when a host of magicians were misusing the magic it gave them. Like Master Sachio was. Briar’s mind spun, connecting facts into a vague patchwork of an idea that was mad and stupid, but maybe just crazy enough to work.
“I have an idea,” she blurted.
Instant silence.
“Go on,” Kade said.
Briar licked her lips, suddenly less confident now all eyes were turned on her. “Well, the two song catchers are fragments of the Crystal Tree, right?”
“Yes,” Lara said. “So?”
“Well, so are those leaves the Nameless Ones w
ear. Master Sachio has one too. That’s what makes them all so unnaturally strong. I’m guessing the Crystal Tree would count that as misusing their magic, not to mention that they stole those leaves. During the Song Wars, the Tree gave the catchers to the Order to help them stop the magicians who were abusing their magic. Maybe we could persuade the Tree to help us stop Master Sachio. It might even give us a new catcher.”
“You believe it could work?” Kade asked.
Briar hesitated. “Not completely,” she said honestly. “But they are using fragments of the Tree itself to twist their magic. And the Tree has been known to help before. If there’s anything that could stop Master Sachio apart from the catchers, it would be the Crystal Tree.”
“I suppose that does make sense,” Lara said slowly. “But do we even know where this Crystal Tree is?”
“It’s in the northern mountains.” Briar frowned, struggling to remember exactly. “There’s an order house near it in a town called-” Her mind went blank. What was it? “-Demaeus.”
“So, if I understand this correctly,” Lara said, “the Crystal Tree is in the northern mountains, which is still a long way from here mind you. And it might be able to give us another catcher, but we’re not sure. What do we do?” Lara looked from Kade to Rowen. “I mean, this could be our chance. Or it could be a complete waste of time.”
“We could go back to Mizra,” Rowen said. “Sachio’s sure to return there.”
“And do what?” Kade shook his head. “There was nothing we could do in Mizra before. Why should that have changed now? Sachio controls everyone.” He sounded frustrated.
“Well, we don’t even know if this is going to work,” Rowen said. “I don’t know where Demaeus is, but I know that’s a long way to go for half an idea.”
Briar’s lips tightened. “Mizra is a long way to go without having even so much as half an idea of what we could do there,” she said stoutly. “I know that the Tree is powerful, and that it has a history of helping magicians, which gives my plan an advantage. I can’t promise it’ll work. But we have more chance there than if we go to Mizra.”
Kade looked thoughtful. “Briar has a point.”
“You want to risk the Tree?” Rowen sounded sceptical. “I thought you weren’t a fan of magic, Kade.”
“I’m not. But it’s the best option we have at this point. Briar’s idea makes enough sense that I think we should try it.” Kade gave Briar a nod that warmed her inside.
“For once, I actually agree,” Lara said. “This is our best shot. It’s not that far removed from our original plan anyway.”
“It’s a tree,” Rowen said. “Even if it’s made of crystal, I don’t see it being able to do anything for us. We go all that way, and it doesn’t help us and then what? We’d be far better off planning something more practical.”
“Like what?” Lara folded her arms. “If you have any ideas, we’d love to hear them.”
There was a long pause. Then Rowen threw his hands up in the air. “You’re all so set on this. I don’t know why I bother arguing. Fine. We’ll go to the Tree.”
“There should be a town, maybe half a day’s walk from here, according to my map,” Lara said. “We can stock up there. I don’t know about you, but I’m almost out of food. We pushed through Granton trying to catch up. Which, I might add, was so much easier once you’d been captured.”
“Not really our choice,” Kade said.
“Somehow I doubt anyone would choose that.” Lara shrugged. “Anyway, we’ll need plenty of supplies if we’re going to go through the mountains. It’s not going to be an easy journey by any means.”
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
Night turned to day, and day to mid-morning before a small town appeared in the distance. On the horizon, the mountains seemed closer too, brooding at the edge of the sky. Briar was used to hills and forests and open grasslands, so the blue, hazy peaks were both curious and slightly unnerving.
It was midday, and the sun was high overhead by the time they reached the town. Though it was only small, the streets teemed with people. Here, weather-beaten farmers, their skin tanned and lined by years in the sun, mingled with red-headed Beldran traders from across the northern border, and the occasional darker skinned Tannisah from the west. In Osman, meeting anyone who wasn’t from Kerr was rare. Here though, the town was filled with colours, accents, and styles from everywhere.
“Let’s make this a quick stop,” Kade said, as they reached the entrance to the market. “Lara and I will resupply on food. Rowen, Briar, we’re going to need thicker blankets. Also, a new rope if you can. I left mine at the fort.”
“Can do.” Rowen had more than recovered his usual cheerful attitude by now. “I doubt Sachio’s going to want to give your rope back.”
“He’s welcome to it,” Kade said. “We’ll meet you back here when we’re finished. Be careful.”
“You should take your own advice,” Rowen retorted. “We’ll be fine.”
Kade ignored that, pulling his hood down further over his face. “Come on, Lara. Let’s get this over with.” He disappeared into the square with Lara close behind.
Rowen surveyed the crowded market, his nose wrinkling. “That looks like fun.” He jerked his head to the left. “Let’s try over here.”
Briar stuck close to him as they pushed their way through the other travellers. And there were many, many travellers, with dusty boots, thick cloaks and heavy packs loaded for long journeys. How many of them were taking the north road too? Where were they heading? There was an air of adventure about this town.
“Have you ever been to the mountains before?” she asked Rowen.
He shook his head. “I don’t think even Kade has, and he travelled a lot after… after… well, after he left Mizra. The furthest north I’ve been before now was probably Purdur. It’s… an experience.”
“Good or bad?”
“With Kade, it’s usually a bit of both.” Rowen gave a wry smile. “He tends to attract trouble wherever he goes. Like getting caught by Sachio. How was that?”
“Surprisingly, not that much fun.” Briar forced her voice to stay light, but a shiver ran down her spine at the memories.
“I’m impressed you two escaped so quickly. From what I’ve heard, no one gets out of that place.”
Briar shrugged. “Kade’s surprisingly handy in a pinch.”
“I’m guessing you are too.” Rowen gave her a shrewd glance.
“I don’t know about that.” Briar laughed awkwardly. “Most of it’s Kade.” She hesitated. “Rowen, if Kade is, you know, ‘that’ person, then who are you?”
“Lord Rowen of Brookvarr.”
Briar searched his face for any sign that he was joking, but for once, Rowen seemed completely serious. “Lord Rowen? Really?”
“Blame my parents for the name if you like. It’s tradition they tell me.” The corner of Rowen’s mouth lifted in a half grin.
Briar shook her head. “Not that. It’s just, I would never have guessed you were a lord.”
Rowen raised his eyebrows at her. “Not old and boring enough?” His grin widened. “Why do you think I’m friends with Kade in the first place?” Rowen bounced onto his toes, peering over the heads of the crowd around them. “There, that stall looks promising. Come on.”
The stall in question proved to hold all kinds of useful travelling gear. There were packs with thick straps and heavy stitching, some almost bigger than Briar herself. Blankets sat in soft, fuzzy stacks. And there were other items too, carved walking sticks, leather belts, and every kind of thing that could make a journey easier.
An old man lounged behind the stall, tilting his stool on its back legs with his hat tipped over his eyes as he napped in the sun. To one side, a young boy, no more than ten, occasionally rubbed at a piece of leather with a cloth. Mostly though, he just stared at the crowds, his face wistful as he watched the travellers pass by. He brightened up as Rowen and Briar approached.
“Da.” He nudged the older man, w
ho man grunted but didn’t move. “DA!”
The man snorted and almost fell off his stool. He flipped his hat up. “What?”
“People.”
“Well, why didn’t ye tell me that before?”
The boy just shook his head and turned back to Briar and Rowen. “What can we help ye with? We have walking sticks. Best in town. New belt? A pack?”
“Blankets for starters,” Rowen said. “We’re going through the mountains.” He was all business now.
“I’ll see to them.” The man heaved himself off his stool. “You keep working that leather, Kip, or you’ll never get a shine off it.”
Kip flushed and bent his head over the belt again, the cloth moving vigorously for a few moments, before his eyes wandered back to Briar and Rowen, and his hands stilled. Briar guessed that this was a boy whose heart yearned to be out on the open road, chasing adventures.
The old man picked a blanket off a stack at the back of the stall. “Ye’ll be wanting these if ye’re going through the mountains. Good thick wool. It ain’t fancy, but you won’t die of cold. Ye’ll be needing them too. There was a snowfall up there only three days back, I hear.”
Rowen rubbed the edge of the blanket between his fingers and asked the man some question about the snow. Briar didn’t catch it exactly, for a little breeze blew through the market square at that moment, sending the familiar shiver of magic over her skin. Briar rubbed her arms. Somewhere nearby, a wind singer was sending a message.
“Feel the magic?” the old stallholder asked.
Briar nodded. “Is that normal?”
“Wind brings it through here every morning. The singer sends his messages to the towns roundabout. Every town round here has their singer, even if we don’t have the order houses.” The man frowned slightly. “Not usually this time of day though.” He shrugged. “Eh, their business. What else do you need? How about a thicker cloak? ‘Twill keep out the bitter wind.”
