Awaken

by Tanya Schofield

  “This is completely inappropriate, young man,” she scolded.

  “No harm will come to her,” Jovan said. “You have my word.”

  Irma looked at Kaeliph, who looked at his brother, who was looking at Melody. “Well,” she said, looking confused. “Well.” She left the room, and Kaeliph shut the door behind her.

  “What … are … you … doing?” Kaeliph hissed.

  Jovan kept his eyes on the girl. “Staying,” he said.

  Kaeliph leaned against the door, crossing his arms over his chest. “I won’t be surprised if Irma sends her husband up here to throw us out. What's gotten into you?”

  Jovan sat up so quickly Attilus’ ears perked. “I’m alive,” he said, keeping his voice low. “You saw what happened. I should be dead, and I'm not.” He pointed towards the tiny shape trembling lightly under the blankets. “She has the answer. We’re staying.”

  Kaeliph decided against further argument. This was without question the strangest day of his young life.

  Melody woke in her room. She blinked at the sun coming through the tiny window as she remembered what had happened. Her whole body still hurt from ... whatever she had done, down there in the tunnel. She could hear the noise from the common room, and Attilus snoring lightly under her bed, but there was something else, something new.

  She closed her eyes, focusing, and found Jovan. Or rather, his thoughts.

  He was speaking with Tom, she knew, collecting payment for killing the rats. She knew that he was still shocked to be alive, that he didn't understand what had happened. Neither did she. She could also see his memories, as fresh in his mind as if they were her own. There was a girl, she saw, a girl in a fire and her skin was running over her bones like water as she screamed—

  Melody sat up with a gasp, covering her eyes as if she could block the horrible sight, but it stayed. Her stomach lurched and she gagged, but nothing came up. All she could do was try to breathe. In a tiny corner of her mind, she felt Jovan feeling her shock and revulsion, but it didn’t matter. Tears came, hot against the cold skin of her hands, and she fought to swallow them back.

  Kaeliph, seated on Calder's bed, had his leg stretched out and was mending a tear in his dirt-smudged trousers. He looked up, startled at her sudden panic. “Melody? What is it?”

  The image of the girl’s melting face wouldn’t disappear. She couldn't answer him. Attilus emerged and laid his head in her lap as Melody continued to gasp.

  “Melody.” Jovan burst through the door, unable to explain how he knew she was awake and frightened. He knew only that he was responsible.

  The girl, she sent him. In the fire. You knew her. She met his eyes, confused.

  Jovan nodded. How did she know about Coraline? “Try not to think about it,” he said, moving to her side.

  But I can see it, Melody protested. It’s in your thoughts.

  “Then I'll try not to think about it,” he replied, his eyes searching her face. The raw spots on her skin from the spider’s blood looked painful, but clean. “You're all right, though? You're not hurt?”

  Melody shook her head. I'm fine.

  Kaeliph looked from his brother to the silent girl, frowning. “You could both use a tailor,” he noted. “All that blood is going to attract attention.”

  Jovan agreed. “You go,” he told Kaeliph. “Bring Melody, and get me a new shirt. I have to see about another sword.”

  I - I'm supposed to wait for Calder, Melody sent to Kaeliph.

  “We won't leave town,” Kaeliph promised her, catching the small coin purse Jovan tossed at him. “We'll come right back.”

  Melody froze as soon as she stepped out of the inn, and Kaeliph gently took her arm.

  “It's all right,” he told her.

  They're staring.

  “Because you're covered in blood. They'll stop staring when we get you a new dress.”

  That made sense. Melody swallowed the lump in her throat and forced her feet to move.

  Kaeliph guided her into the tailor's shop, grateful it was empty.

  “Wait here,” he told her, approaching the counter. He spoke with the seamstress in hushed tones, and Melody pretended not to hear as Kaeliph described her as his clumsy, simple-minded sister. The young woman clearly did not believe the stains to be scribe's ink, but she would not say as much.

  “I've something that might do,” she said, pulling a pale blue dress from a peg behind her and approaching Melody. “Too big, maybe, but you can lace it.” The woman showed her to a dressing room, and returned to fit Kaeliph for a new pair of trousers.

  The soft dress was simple enough, and Melody swapped it for her bloody tunic and skirt with pleasure. It was too long, but she could still walk in it. The fabric felt impossibly soft after her own homespun clothes, and she turned a quick spin to make the skirt brush against her legs. It took some time, though, for her to solve the mystery of the lacings.

  When she finally emerged from the small room, Kaeliph was wearing his new clothes, and the seamstress was holding up a shirt that looked too large even for Jovan.

  “Oh, now see? You’re lovely,” the seamstress said, beaming a smile at her.

  Kaeliph nodded his agreement. “Much better. We'll leave in just a moment, all right?” They returned to discussing prices, but Melody wasn't listening.

  She drifted to the far end of the shop, lightly running her hand over the displayed bolts of cloth. Never in her life had she seen so much material in one place, and in so many colors. It all felt deliciously smooth against her fingers, and Melody half-closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation. With no effort at all, she could sense Jovan.

  He was hefting a sword in his hand, testing the weight and the swing, and Melody frowned as Jovan remembered recent fights with different weapons, comparing them. She didn’t want to intrude on his thoughts, many of which recalled in her own mind the vision she had seen of her family being slaughtered. Before she could withdraw her awareness, though, she felt him tighten— suddenly anxious. His heart beat faster, and he paid for the sword even though it was not the one he wanted. He had to get to his brother.

  Her own nerves responded in kind, and she found herself clutching at the fabric, consumed by a worry for Kaeliph that wasn’t her own.

  “Melody? What is it? What’s wrong?” Kaeliph touched her shoulder.

  She looked up at him, unable to slow her breathing. Jovan is worried for you, she sent him. He’s coming here.

  “Me? Why?” Kaeliph looked towards the door of the shop, and back at the seamstress. The young woman had returned to her sewing, and seemed unaware of anything amiss.

  I don’t know, but he—

  Jovan nearly took the door off its hinges when he entered, motioning for the two of them to hurry. “We need to go,” he said when they were at his side, his tone low and urgent. “Now.”

  “What is it?” Kaeliph tried not to stumble as Jovan practically shoved him through the door.

  “Soldiers. By the smith. Korith's colors.” He braced Melody’s arm as he moved them away from the tailor’s shop. “Back to the inn,” he said. “Casual, but fast.”

  The soldiers were likely in town searching for Kaeliph and him, but Melody was in as much danger as they were, whether she knew it or not. He was determined to keep her from meeting Coraline’s fate.

  Back in their room, Jovan handed Melody her staff. “We’ll leave through the basement,” he said.

  Melody shook her head. Calder told me to wait, she sent. He said I’d be safe until he got back.

  “No,” Jovan said. “If you stay, you’re dead. Your dog. Can he track Calder?”

  Melody nodded hesitantly.

  He could feel her numb panic at the edge of his mind, but there was no time. “You’ll be safer with us,” Jovan assured her. He kept his voice low and even, as he had down in the tunnel, and as before, it had the same soothing effect. “We’ll walk downstairs. You’ll send the dog after your father, and we’ll go to the basement. Understand?”

/>   She nodded, and accepted her pack from Kaeliph.

  Downstairs, Melody knelt and touched Attilus' ears. Her cheeks were wet with tears. Silently she showed the animal all she knew, and the dog whined unhappily. He knew what was required of him, however, and he hesitated only long enough to nuzzle Melody affectionately and fix Jovan with a long, almost human stare.

  Jovan returned the dog's serious gaze. “She will come to no harm in my care,” he promised. Attilus seemed to nod, and Jovan returned the motion before opening the door to let the animal out. They slipped into the kitchen unseen and were down the basement stairs in moments.

  “Don’t worry,” Kaeliph said, lighting a torch from the pile. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

  Melody was not reassured. She clutched her staff and wrapped her arm around her middle, staring at the hole in the back corner of the basement. She did not want to go back there, but Jovan's thoughts made it clear she was in danger.

  “We’ll go out through that first side passage,” Jovan said. “The beach is as good a place as any.”

  “Is it safe?” Kaeliph handed his brother and Melody a torch.

  “Safer than soldiers.”

  One by one they crawled through, and Jovan moved several of the larger rocks from the collapsed roof into the opening behind them. It wouldn’t stop any followers, but it would slow them. Hopefully, a head start would be enough.

  10

  “Chancellor Garen, my Lord.”

  Jayden Korith scowled at the report in his hand. His three missing soldiers, found dead in Rindale. Combined with the two that had been killed on the morning of his son’s funeral, they added up to the beginning of a serious problem.

  “Show him in, Louis.”

  “Yes, my Lord.”

  Korith laid the paper on his desk, disgusted. His son’s killers still roamed free, his wife grew ever more hysterical, and every delay kept him from his true goal— gaining support for his eventual crowning as King. The burning of the Arena’s Healers had been the singular highlight of this whole visit, despite the wound on his arm that was only just beginning to heal.

  Korith felt the familiar stirrings of an oncoming headache as Louis ushered Garen in.

  “My Lord.” Garen, impatiently waiting for Louis to withdraw, leaned forward in his chair. “I bring word of some interesting developments,” he said when the servant had closed the door behind him, “that I believe you will be enthusiastic about.”

  “The point, Chancellor.”

  Garen gave a smile that might have reached his eyes had it lasted a moment longer. “Of course, Duke. I forget myself. May I get you a drink?”

  Korith cracked his knuckles. Beth hated the sound, but by the Lich, it felt good. “Whiskey,” he said.

  Garen moved to the sideboard and poured a generous drink for Korith, then a goblet of wine for himself. He handed the glass to the Duke.

  Korith nodded his thanks. “What developments?”

  “Your Hunters have returned.” Garen took his seat across from the Duke.

  Jayden raised an eyebrow, drinking deeply. “Were they successful?”

  Garen set his goblet down before taking a sip. “In a sense.”

  “The girl, Chancellor. Do they have the girl?”

  Garen shook his head. “Not yet. They have, however, brought back her companion. You remember Calder?”

  Korith sat straighter. “Calder was with her?” The elusive forest walker who had held such close counsel with Solus was a valuable catch indeed. “They caught him, and yet she lives?”

  Garen spread his hands and shrugged. “Your Hunters say he was no easy catch,” he said, leaning back in the chair. “He was hiding her in Cabinsport, and they were reluctant to make a move on them both in such a small town.”

  “Why?” Korith rubbed at his forehead. “Why would they hesitate?”

  Accustomed to the Duke's frequent headaches, Garen kept his voice low. “My Lord, no one – not even you – knows what this girl is capable of. Attacking them both would be foolish. The Hunters lured Calder away and surrounded him. By the time they had a man back in Cabinsport, she was gone.”

  “They should have left a man in Cabinsport.” Korith winced at his own raised voice. He downed the remainder of his whiskey in a single swallow.

  Garen let the Duke believe in the incompetence of his men. “Uncertainty may have made them careless,” he said. “I don’t know the whole story.” The lie was smooth, and as usual, Korith suspected nothing.

  “My Hunters. Careless.” Jayden rubbed his temples. “No.”

  “This can work to your advantage," Garen said. “Her guardian is gone. She has no home to run to.”

  The Duke sighed. “Why Cabinsport?” he mused. A town – barely a town, if he remembered correctly – clear on the southern edge of the country. The Dwellers enclave had been deep in the NightWoods, in the foothills of the mountains. This little girl was a long way from where she was supposed to be, and he didn’t like surprises.

  “Perhaps Calder had resources there.” Garen refilled Korith's goblet. “Regardless. We should address the two men your soldiers let slip in Rindale.”

  Duke Korith’s cold blue eyes glinted. “Three of my men died in Rindale.”

  The Chancellor knew better than anyone how little the lives of Korith’s men meant to him. If Jayden wanted to play at being concerned, though, then Garen would go right along with him. He inclined his head in apology. “I was not aware.”

  “They’ve killed five soldiers now, not just my son.” Korith didn’t know which hurt his head more – knowing that Lucian’s killers were out there, or sitting here talking about it. “I want them caught, Chancellor.”

  “Of course, my Lord.” Garen cleared his throat. “A young lady in Rindale has been quite helpful,” he said. “She was disappointed in their sudden absence.”

  “It’s a start.” Korith closed his eyes, counting the bright white flares of pain as he took another swallow of whiskey. He opened them again when he lost track. “Does she know where they went?”

  Garen shook his head. “No. She believes they’re on horseback – two horses were stolen. And she gave us their names. They are brothers. Jovan, the older, was a fighter of some renown here in Paltos. The younger, Kaeliph, was a handsome, charming non-fisherman. She knew nothing of your son."

  Jayden thought these things over while he sipped. “A pit fighter.” There was a long pause. “Here in Paltos. I just closed this Arena.”

  “You did.” Garen gave the Duke a gentle push towards the right conclusion. “The day your son was murdered, I believe.”

  “Revenge, then.” Korith’s head positively throbbed. The pain behind his eyes was threatening to become unbearable, even with the whiskey. “I closed the Arena to promote peace. He killed my son out of simple revenge?”

  “We can be grateful it wasn’t political,” Garen reminded him.

  “Grateful? I have five dead soldiers and a dead son whose killers roam free. Hang your grateful.” Korith finished his drink.

  Garen remained calm. “I do have one last thing, Duke. Our man who returned to Cabinsport learned the girl’s name – Melody. The descriptions of her sound like she is the very image of Solus. He also learned that she was unwell.”

  “And how does that help me, Chancellor?”

  “He reported that she was last seen with two men … fitting the descriptions we have of the brothers we seek.”

  Korith felt something snap behind his eyes. He slammed his empty goblet down on his desk. “My men search for but two things— a single girl, practically a child, and the men who killed my son. Now you tell me they travel together, and not even my own Hunters can keep up with them?”

  Garen had anticipated the Duke’s outburst. He did not interrupt as Korith stood and began to pace, tugging at his hair.

  “Am I am asking so much? Kill the girl, return the men to me - and yet they fail! What more must I do?”

  “Duke... " Garen paused. “Jayd
en.”

  Korith finally stopped pacing and looked at him.

  “If I may make a suggestion?”

  The Duke sank into his chair with a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose and drawing in a deep breath. “Speak.”

  Garen allowed himself a small smile, hidden by the goblet as he took his first sip of wine. “I think it is time you went home.”

  He held up his hand, silencing the Duke's immediate sounds of protest.

  “Old friend, hear me. Your attention is best directed on Calder. He alone knows what the girl is capable of. Let me go to Cabinsport. We know where they were, and there are few places they could go next. The girl should slow them. I will not fail you, my Lord.”

  Jayden considered the idea. Chancellor Garen was more valuable to him than a hundred of his Hunters; he was fighter and diplomat, tactician and assassin. Why did he resist Garen’s suggestion? Pain and whiskey were clouding his thoughts – of course his Chancellor was right. Bethcelamin would be calmer in Epidii, for one thing, and he might actually learn something useful from the forest walker. Garen would surely accomplish what his Hunters could not.

  Soon the witch-child of his wife would be dead, the murderous brothers would be brought to a very public justice for their crimes, and then he could finally concentrate on his campaign to be king. Yes, that would work.

  “Yes,” the Duke smiled, and despite the ache in his head, it was genuine. “Leave immediately, take whoever you need. Have the stable master prepare my coach, as well. I will meet up with the Hunters in Epidii. Now, to tell Beth the good news.”

  11

  The tunnel emptied out of the cliff wall higher than Jovan remembered, presenting them with a significant drop to the sandy path below. He and Kaeliph had no trouble – but Melody had stopped, dazzled by the reflections of sunlight on the wide expanse of water.

  Jovan waited, eyeing the sky. Sunset was approaching, but the islands in the cove were still visible. The Butterfly lay straight ahead, barely visible in the distance, and off to the west was the Bear, much closer. The largest island, the Key, was to the southeast, half-hidden from this angle.