by Bex Hogan
‘Finally,’ Jax adds.
I prickle defensively, but realise what he’s said is true. At some point during the day, I did make my choice. After all, I’ve turned my back on being a Mage, and Bronn is the better Viper. Being Queen might be a fragile power and others may seek to take it, but I can at least try to use it for good. ‘Well, there’s no way I’m going to let him have the throne now, is there? He tried to have me killed. For all I know he has succeeded in killing Torin. He’s not fit to call himself King.’ I’m referring to Rafe, but I hold Arlan and Eena equally responsible. ‘And if I’m going to stop the Hooded, I need the throne.’
‘Good,’ Mordecai says. ‘It’ll be easier to recruit numbers if you’re decided.’
As evening draws in, Jax and Mordecai have to leave to fulfil their duties, but the rest of us stay, not wanting to be alone.
I watch as Olwyn and Astrid sit next to each other, shoulders touching, knees brushing, and smile to myself. I knew they had grown close, but there’s a glimpse of something more. A deeper affection. It gives me a sense of hope that even in dark times, when everything seems so bleak, love still finds a way to bloom.
It is a night for distraction, so we talk of everything and nothing, our voices mere whispers on the air, until we can’t keep our eyes open any longer and decide to snatch some sleep before heading out on our next patrol. But after Olwyn leaves, I linger to speak to Astrid.
‘Listen,’ I say. ‘If anything happens to me, then keep Olwyn safe. If I die, she gets the throne, understood?’
Astrid can’t hide her surprise – or her concern. ‘Nothing’s going to happen to you.’
But my death has been prophesied and I know who’s trying to kill me. It’s only smart to have a back-up plan. ‘You’re the one that told me I’m not doing this alone, and you were right. It’s going to take all of us to bring peace. If I’m gone, I need to know you’ll carry on without me.’
Astrid sighs, but finally agrees.
‘And you know as well as I do that Olwyn would make an exceptional Queen,’ I say.
‘I don’t think anyone will argue with your choice,’ Astrid says. ‘But nothing’s going to happen to you, OK?’
I smile, mainly to reassure her. ‘OK.’
But as I walk back to my room I wish I could believe my own words. I’m uneasy and can’t shake the feeling that I’m missing something important.
The sight of the body sprawled on the floor outside my room sends all other thoughts out of my head.
‘Gaius!’ I run to his side, not certain whether he’s alive.
To my great relief he stirs, though when I reach him I see he’s bleeding profusely from his stomach.
‘Gaius, what happened?’
‘I was coming to see you,’ he says, groaning in pain. ‘They were already here … they were fighting and he stabbed me.’
‘Who was fighting?’
‘Mordecai. Is he alive?’
I stand up and hurry into my room, which has been ransacked. Beyond my bed Mordecai is lying on the floor, face down, and I run to him.
‘No, no, no,’ I cry as I reach him. Turning him over, grief crushes my throat as I see his glassy empty eyes, his expression still shocked that someone had bested him. My fingers touch his chest and come away bloodied. He has been stabbed straight through the heart.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I say to him, brushing the hair from his face, willing him to wake up, to smile at me, mock me for falling for his joke. But there is nothing left, and his loss is a coldness that’s spreading through my veins.
There is nothing I can do for him, but Gaius is still alive so I force myself to leave my friend and return to my teacher.
‘Mordecai is dead. Here, let me help you,’ I say, but he pushes me away.
‘No, I can take care of myself. You have to stop him, the one who did this. He fled the palace; if you take our path, you can cut him off. Please, you have to catch him.’
It has to have been the assassin. Perhaps he knew I recognised him earlier and came to my room, though I can’t imagine what he might have been looking for, or why Mordecai was there. Had he been checking I’d made it safely to my quarters? Or had he wanted to talk to me about something? How is it possible I will never be able to ask him?
I hold Gaius’s hand tightly, not caring about the blood. ‘I’ll get him.’ And, the vow made, I race off into the night, determined the assassin won’t escape me again.
Once I’m outside, I wish I’d brought my cloak. The air is cold tonight, but there’s no time to let it bother me. My eyes are searching the area for any sign of movement. For a while I see nothing, and I begin to despair that I’ve been eluded once more, but then I see it, a shift in the shadows scrambling up the wall, and I set off in pursuit.
The assassin quickly makes it over the ramparts and heads towards the nearby settlement, and I sprint after him, ignoring my burning lungs as I push my body as fast as it’s ever gone.
But then I lose him. Slowing down, I listen carefully, trying to pick up his trail. He’s disappeared. I creep along, always watching, but he really has vanished. Just like Mordecai did when Bronn was tracking him. Just like the Hooded did.
The realisation comes too late, my brain only now comprehending what should have been horribly obvious. I wasn’t meant to find him. I’ve just been led into a trap.
The blade is at my neck all too quickly.
‘Don’t try to fight.’
I raise my hands in surrender, before throwing my head backwards hard into my captor’s face. I hear his nose crunch as I land a blow on his wrist, disarming him. I spin round to confront him, but he’s vanished. Before I can collect myself, someone punches me in my back, causing me to stumble forward. A hefty kick knocks me to the ground. I roll over in time to intercept the fist aimed at my chest and grab the man’s hand, pushing on it with all my weight as I jump back to my feet. Now he’s the one who’s unsteady, and I hit him hard – his jaw, his ribs, his guts.
‘Enough!’
The shout causes me to pause in my attack and look over my shoulder. Emerging from the shadows are half a dozen people. The Hooded. One of them holds a child in front of them, a knife positioned against her throat.
‘One move and the girl dies.’
This time when I surrender, it’s genuine. ‘Who are you?’
‘What a disappointingly boring question,’ the man behind me says and that’s the last thing I hear before I’m beaten round the head and black out.
When I wake up, my hands are tied behind my back, my feet are bound and I’m being slapped across the face by a startlingly beautiful woman.
‘Finally,’ she says, when she sees my eyes blink. ‘You’re no good to me dead.’
I take in my surroundings, trying to figure out where I am. The building I’m in has a high ceiling decorated with carved beams. More candles than I’ve ever seen in one place illuminate the space, their light bouncing off the huge piles of gold and crystal on display. It’s as if all the wealth of the entire island is in this one room. I think we might be inside a temple. The six Hooded figures are positioned around the room, blocking every possible escape.
‘What do you want?’ My head is still pounding from the blow it received, my thoughts a little disjointed.
‘With you? Nothing.’ And she smiles, sitting back like we’re old friends. ‘I’m simply a trader.’
I scowl at her. ‘Of what?’
‘Anything. Everything. Artefacts, treasure, people.’
My brain struggles to work. ‘You’re Greeb?’ Typical – the Guardians had assumed she was a man.
‘Yes, and you’re Marianne, so that’s the introductions out of the way.’
‘So you’ve been acquiring children … for someone else?’
She smiles. ‘I’m glad to see Vorne didn’t knock your brain clean out.’
He may as well have done, the difficulty I’m having making sense of this. ‘What would anybody want with so many children? Slaves? Who d
o you work for?’
‘For anybody willing to pay enough. But as it happens the man I take children for is the same man who asked for you.’ Greeb laughs. ‘Oh, don’t worry, he’ll be here soon enough. Don’t trouble your pretty little head.’
I test my restraints, but they’re holding fast. Greeb sees me and clicks her tongue with disapproval.
‘Don’t insult me, please. Every precaution has been taken to ensure you can’t escape. I’m sure you’ve been underestimated before. I understand. Even when they see it, no one truly likes to believe a woman can be so capable, so intelligent, so fierce. They’re always shocked when we bite back.’ She laughs again. ‘But I won’t make that mistake. I know what we can do. And I don’t get paid unless I deliver you. Alive.’
‘I can pay you more,’ I say, appealing to the mercenary in her. ‘If it’s gold you want, I can get you gold.’ Right before I cut her heart out. If she even has one.
Greeb purses her lips, as if she’s considering my offer. ‘Tempting, but no. I like this man. We work well together. He requires many things and the rewards are more than satisfactory. Besides, I have a reputation to maintain.’ She stares at me for a moment, and then leans forward. ‘Though I will take this.’ And she yanks Torin’s necklace off my neck. ‘Worth a lot, I reckon.’
‘Give that back,’ I growl.
Greeb smiles. ‘It is pretty, I agree. Perhaps I’ll keep it for myself.’
‘People will be looking for me,’ I say, trying to ignore her taunts. ‘And when they find you, they’ll kill you.’
‘You never cease to disappoint me.’ The voice comes from the entrance, and my blood runs cold. Of all the people he’s the last I expected to see. Gaius is hobbling towards us, no trace of his earlier wound. ‘Your friends won’t find you, any more than they could ever find the Hooded.’
‘Gaius?’ My heart breaks as I realise how blind I’ve been. All this time it was him. Why didn’t I see? Of course it was him. A puppetmaster manipulating us all. He even showed me – he didn’t bother to hide his lust for power. I was so absorbed in myself that I didn’t see. ‘They have talismans, don’t they? Like Mordecai had. And the assassin you sent.’
‘Well done,’ he says, licking his lips free of spittle. ‘Almost right. Apart from I didn’t send the assassin to the East. That was all Arlan’s doing. I don’t want you dead. I did use the assassin tonight for my own purposes, though.’
‘You had Mordecai killed?’
‘Oh, Mordecai was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. No, the assassin was required only to lure you into my trap. I knew once you saw him, you’d run to your friends, which would give me time to search your room. I also knew you’d hunt him down when you’d thought he’d harmed me. You’re very predictable. How was I to know Mordecai would come to your room just as the assassin and I were tearing it apart? He saw too much and had to be disposed of. Whatever he wanted to say to you, I suppose we’ll never know.’
I swallow back my grief. ‘And your own injury?’
‘Hog’s blood. A mere distraction.’
My stupidity makes me want to scream. ‘What do you want with me?’
‘There’s a lot we need to discuss,’ Gaius says, and he’s pulling a bottle from his robes and handing it to Greeb. ‘But now really isn’t the time, or the place. Let’s adjourn to somewhere a little more comfortable, shall we?’
The Hooded sweep in on me. I fight with every ounce of strength I have against my restraints, so that it takes all of them to pin me down. Someone holds my head back, another pinches my nose, while my mouth is forced open and the potion poured down my throat. The taste is repulsive and I would throw it up if my jaws weren’t being tightly clamped together. The last thing I see before the world turns black is the man I trusted, smirking with delight.
The cavern is cold and damp, and the smell is poisonous. Though I’m barely conscious, I’m aware of being dragged into the foul pit and, as I lift my throbbing head, I see row upon row of cages. Birds, animals, plants. I don’t quite understand what I’m seeing, but I don’t need magic to sense the despair and misery filling the air.
Deep in the heart of this hell is a cage waiting for me. I’m thrown in, the key quickly turned in the lock, and then I’m left alone, my mind fighting to wake up from the drug Gaius gave me.
I can’t stand up, not fully. The cage is only tall enough for me to stoop, so I sit down on the hard ground, which is wet with algae. There’s not even enough space to stretch my legs so I’m forced into an uncomfortable curled position.
I’m angry – mostly with myself. If I couldn’t trust Bronn, a man I love, and who loved me, what made me think I could trust Gaius? How could I not have seen he was my true enemy? I was so blinded by my desire to learn, it didn’t occur to me what his motives might be.
I suspect I’m going to find out what they are soon enough.
He comes eventually. After leaving me for several hours – enough time for my body to burn with discomfort – Gaius arrives in the cavern. I notice how the creatures cower at his presence. Even the plants seem to wilt to nothing.
‘What do you think?’ he asks, pulling a stool towards my cage and sitting upon it to rest his deformed feet. ‘Like my collection?’
I have no intention of chatting with him. ‘What am I doing here?’
‘You’re my guest, Marianne,’ he says with a soft smile. ‘You should be honoured – very few see my cavern. Only the chosen ones.’
‘I’m your prisoner,’ I point out, not interested in his honeyed words. ‘What do you want with me?’
‘You could have been here as my equal,’ he says, and for a moment I hear genuine disappointment in his voice. ‘But once you showed me your true colours, I realised you weren’t what I thought. You’re here so I can make sure your potential isn’t wasted.’
I have no clue what he’s talking about.
He reaches into his robes and pulls out a familiar notebook. My notebook. So that’s what he was after in my room. ‘This makes for very interesting reading,’ Gaius says, flicking through the pages. ‘But I was hoping there might be more about your ability to restore life.’
‘Is that what this is all about?’
Gaius leans forward a little, ignoring my question. ‘I have something to show you. Will you behave if I let you out?’
‘No.’
He laughs and calls for assistance. Two Hooded appear, and Gaius gestures for them to open the cage.
‘I think you’ll find the drug hasn’t left your system yet. You couldn’t fight even if you wanted to.’
I’m pulled out by my hair and supported under each armpit by the Hooded, who drag me into a tunnel leading off the cavern. I have no idea what he wants to show me, until the tunnel widens, opening up into another pit, and I see the sight before me.
Row upon row of cages. Filled with children. Like me, they have no space to move. They make no noise. They’ve given up. They expect to die here.
I scream at Gaius, lunging towards him, desperate to kill him, but I’m weaker than I realise. I stumble, my legs collapsing under me, and slump to the floor in a raging heap.
‘You bastard,’ I shout until I sob the words.
Gaius simply chuckles as the Hooded haul me back to my feet.
‘Always the defender of the innocent,’ he says, still laughing. ‘They’re alive, are they not? They’re fed and watered. What more could they ask for?’
‘What are you doing to them?’
‘Like you, they are my guests. Not quite as special as you, but important nonetheless.’
I may still be drugged, but this time when I lunge I manage to reach him, and smack him hard across the face.
The instant my skin brushes against his, it’s as if a fire roars up between us. Like when I healed his burn, the crackle of heat rises – only this time when he tries to pull away I cling tight. A connection is forming between us, and I can sense Gaius desperately trying to break it. I can see into his past, but as hi
m, from his point of view, as if I were living it. It grows stronger and I refuse to let go, wanting to see into his memory, wanting to discover what he’s hiding.
I’m walking through the palace, only it’s not the dilapidated ruin it is now, it’s in full glory. But there is panic and urgency. I hurry along an empty corridor until I reach a door, pushing it open. Inside is a woman – regal and beautiful, poised with defiant dignity, two young children clinging to her skirts. Her fear is unmistakable, but she relaxes when she sees me. There is no doubt this woman is the queen.
‘Gaius,’ she says, her voice trembling. ‘Are we lost?’
‘Never,’ I say, and the voice is different from the one I know. Higher, younger. ‘I’m here to take you somewhere safe.’
The queen reaches forward and clutches my hand. I look down and see all my fingers are intact, the skin healthy and complete.
‘Thank you,’ she says, and I can tell she means it with every fibre of her being.
I bow. ‘Ever your servant. Now come, we must hurry. They’ve taken the palace.’
Scooping her two children close to her, the queen sweeps out of the room, and together we race down the abandoned hallway. I can hear fighting nearby and the children start to cry.
I lead them down a flight of stairs and along a dark passageway. ‘Nearly there,’ I say, ushering them in front of me.
At the end of the corridor there’s a door. It’s a secret way out of the palace, but when the queen tries it, it’s locked. She tries again and again to turn it but to no avail.
‘We’re trapped,’ she says, her voice a frantic whisper.
‘It’ll be over soon,’ I say, and the queen falters. She can see something in my face that alarms her.
‘Gaius?’
Behind them another door in the hallway opens and a dozen men stride out from it. Men dressed in black clothing I would recognise anywhere.
‘Don’t struggle, Your Majesty,’ I say. ‘You’ll only make it worse.’
And then I turn my back on her, the children and their desperate screams for help as I walk into the room the men came from and shut the door.
Even when the door closes behind me I can still hear the screams, but I ignore them, standing before a tall man dressed in the Snake clothes I know so well.
