Relic

by Bronwyn Eley

  Had this been the driving force behind the visit to the Slip? It was a dangerous game he played that night. What if someone had recognised me? I was, after all, the Lord’s Shadow. He was desperate, that much was clear. But if he knew Mr Alarn was involved in the rebellion, what did that mean for my friend? Why would Rennard let him go?

  Maybe he didn’t plan on it at all. Maybe he would go back on his word and find another excuse to keep him here – or worse.

  ‘Who’s Bellamy?’ I whispered.

  Mr Alarn, who had been waiting silently, somehow stilled beyond the darkness. ‘How do you know that name?’

  ‘Who is he?’ I pushed.

  ‘He’s –’ He stopped. ‘I can’t, Kaylan. You can’t get involved with this.’

  ‘I’m already involved. Rennard took me into town the other night, sent me into a tavern down in the Slip and asked me to talk to the locals, to see if I could find out anything about a man named Bellamy, or Bell.’

  ‘I can’t believe he would trust you with something like that. Why involve you?’

  ‘He must be desperate.’ More silence followed. Mr Alarn was dancing around my question. ‘Mr Alarn, who is Bellamy?’

  ‘Did you find anything? Did you giv-give it to him?’ he asked. For once I was glad for the dark dungeon. It concealed my guilt. ‘What did you give him?’

  ‘Min,’ I whispered. The shame of it beat into my gut and I felt sick at the idea of that man in a cell similar to this one. He could be across the hall. ‘I gave him Min.’

  Mr Alarn sighed. ‘We all know the risks of getting involved with what Bellamy started. Don’t punish yourself.’

  ‘Bellamy started this?’ I asked. ‘The rebellion?’

  As I suspected, he was the leader, the one others looked up to. That meant he was a direct threat to Rennard.

  ‘Yes.’ Mr Alarn was very quiet. The sound of limbs scuffling on stone reached my ears, then he was pressed very close, his breath tickling my ear. ‘Bellamy must be kept safe. You can’t help Rennard find him. It will ruin everything.’

  ‘A man came to me at the tavern, when he heard I was looking for Bellamy.’ My voice was barely a whisper. ‘He told me to meet him at Irey’s –’

  I paused, remembering that night. So much had happened since; time had slipped by without me noticing. The meeting was – ‘Tomorrow.’

  ‘Don’t go.’ Mr Alarn’s voice was deep, pressing. ‘Don’t get involved. It’s too dangerous.’

  ‘I’ve got bigger problems than a rebellion,’ I muttered. ‘I wasn’t planning on going. Besides, how would I get there?’

  He made a sound of relief, bringing a smile to my lips. Always protecting me, even after all these years. It was a shame he couldn’t protect me from the Relic.

  ‘He expects something. You don’t want to disappoint him.’ Mr Alarn said it calmly, but the weight of his words closed my throat. ‘Bellamy has a small outpost nearby. It’s in disuse right now, but there are backup supplies there. If Rennard were to find it, it would be a blow to us. A small blow, but a blow nonetheless. He might feel for a brief moment that he has won a small battle in this war.’

  War.

  ‘He’ll know you gave the information to save me from his wrath.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Mr Alarn said sternly.

  ‘He’ll want more,’ I continued. ‘What if he forces me to come back here, again and again until he has what he wants? I can’t hurt you.’ The idea turned my stomach.

  Mr Alarn’s laugh twisted with anger. ‘Kaylan, if it comes to that, then we are both in serious trouble. Hurt me. I won’t betray Bellamy.’

  ‘Even for your family?’ I shot back, my voice a harsh whisper.

  ‘He won’t hurt them. Layla’s not as defenceless as she appears. She has strong connections with the Tar family.’

  Everyone knew the Tar family, especially down in the dark parts of town. They were a wealthy merchant family from Drellnar who owned the largest pearl mining business across all five lands. If Layla had connections, whatever they may be, they could certainly provide her a level of protection.

  ‘She has already taken precautions,’ Mr Alarn continued.

  ‘What if he doesn’t release you?’

  ‘I can’t think about that possibility, Kaylan.’ His hands fumbled for mine. He held on so tight, my skin pinched. ‘I will make it back to them.’

  I thought of his sweet wife, her gentle smile, their baby girl. ‘And then what?’

  ‘Then I give it up,’ he said plainly. ‘I can’t risk going back to the fight now, not after this. I don’t know how he found out I was involved. We’ve kept everything underground until now. No bold declarations, no public threats. We were gathering strength, supplies, connections. Somehow he caught wind of it, of me.’ He scoffed. ‘The only thing keeping my family safe is that Rennard doesn’t want to make a big deal out of this. If my family were to suddenly vanish, it would raise questions.’

  ‘People might think you all left town?’

  ‘Rennard prides himself on his fair and just rule. If he were to take my family, my friends would make it known. Since we’re already exposed to him, we would push back and spread word of the rebellion. Hate for him would spread further. There’s already enough against him, you being a driving force.’

  ‘Me?’

  ‘The Shadows,’ he whispered. ‘Death after death. People are finally finding their bravery. They want to stop it, stop him.’

  No more Shadows? My heart fluttered at the thought. But the rebellion sounded as if it were still in its infancy. Whatever they were planning wouldn’t save me. It was too late for that.

  I sighed. ‘Where is this outpost?’

  When he finished describing the location, making sure I repeated it so I made no mistakes, Mr Alarn pulled me in for a hug. ‘I’m so sorry, Kaylan.’

  ‘So am I,’ I whispered. I was a dead woman. He was likely a dead man too.

  War, he had said. Wars were messy affairs. The last big war, the Surge, was before my time, and I had believed I would never see one up close. Now I was in the middle of something that could turn into one. Of course, I likely wouldn’t survive long enough to see the outcome.

  I just had to hope that the people I cared about would.

  Chapter 16

  Rennard hadn’t held back his surprise when I told him I had something for him. He certainly hadn’t bothered hiding his blatant threat, warning me to keep the information to myself. He didn’t have to say what he would do if I betrayed him.

  I wanted to break something, to scream. On top of everything else, a rebellion? Who were these people to decide to change everything? They wanted a new way of living – fine. But did they know for sure it was what everybody else wanted? The desires of a few could bring some harsh, even deadly consequences to the masses.

  How long had these people been playing games, building their forces, planning the destruction of not one, but five Lords? What did they hope to accomplish, exactly? It wasn’t as simple as killing the five Lords. Five whole bloodlines had to be wiped out: Ediann, Dreu, Stynes, Oldar, Ammar. That was the only way the Relics would be released from their commitment, the only way they could be claimed by another.

  That explained why Bellamy had killed Jeremah’s wife and child, too. But explanations didn’t always make good excuses.

  Rennard’s rule wasn’t perfect. It appeared even more flawed the closer I got to it, but that didn’t mean his entire family deserved to die.

  ‘What is wrong with you?’

  I looked up at Keithan. He dangled carelessly off the side of a ladder with a pile of books tucked under one arm, placing them back where they belonged.

  I crossed my arms, feeling my fingers flex. ‘Nothing.’

  ‘You’re making noises.’ He placed another book away. ‘Sighing, grumbling. You look sick.’

  ‘Because I am sick.’ I slammed my hand down on the book in front of me.

  ‘Hey, hey!’ Keithan scolded. ‘I know you�
��re used to hitting things, but do you mind? This is a library, not a smithy.’

  ‘The book will be fine,’ I griped, then sighed. ‘There must be something more we can try.’

  ‘No!’ he challenged. ‘I told you, I found nothing. These books –’ He shook the book in his hand, the ladder wobbling ‘– only mention the Relics briefly. They don’t go into details about the magic. Lord Rennard keeps that information under lock and key, as does every Lord.’

  ‘Maybe you missed something.’

  ‘I know these books and, more importantly, I know Lord Rennard. It’s a waste of time.’

  ‘A waste of time?’ The words came out in a shout. ‘I didn’t realise my life meant so little to you, Keithan.’

  ‘That’s not what I meant and you know it.’ He glared at me from his high position. ‘I don’t know what I was thinking yesterday, agreeing to help you.’

  I twisted my mouth.

  Don’t say it. Don’t say it.

  ‘It was pity.’ I sprang from my chair. ‘I’m so sick of people looking at me like I’m going to die at any moment. Like I’m some fragile, helpless animal that needs to be put out of its suffering. I’m so sick of it.’

  ‘You can’t avoid what’s happening, Kaylan,’ Keithan said matter-of-factly, descending the ladder.

  ‘You don’t think I know that?’ I almost shouted but reined myself in at the last moment. ‘I sit here and I talk to you and everything seems almost normal again. And then it seeps back in, like the cold when you leave the fireplace for a moment. I want so desperately to stay by the fire, but …’ I let out a shaky breath and shook my head. ‘Reality is sinking in. That this is final.’

  ‘You’re only just realising this now?’

  ‘Of course not,’ I sighed. ‘It’s just ... My mind has betrayed me. My body, too. I’m losing control of myself. I’ve lost everything. And what am I doing about it?’ I looked at Keithan, as if I expected him to answer. His lips were pressed firmly together. ‘Nothing. I’m doing nothing.’

  ‘There is nothing you can do, Kaylan.’

  ‘How do you know that? How do I know that? I haven’t tried to leave; I haven’t tried to save myself. I’ve only tried to understand, but what good will that do me?’ I scoffed. ‘No, I haven’t done anything to help myself yet, and that’s not me! That’s not Kaylan. She wouldn’t just let this happen. She wouldn’t –’

  ‘That Kaylan is gone now.’ Keithan placed his hands on the table. ‘You know better. You know what running will do to you and your family. You can’t risk that. You won’t get away.’

  ‘But no one’s tried in years,’ I said, my tone pleading. ‘How –’

  ‘Not in twelve years,’ Keithan said loudly. ‘And there’s a reason for it. That man ended up in the dungeon until he withered, decayed and died. And his family? His brother was conscripted into the Guard and ended up dying in the war with Oldar. Do you really want to do that to your family?’

  ‘But if we got away, we could start over.’

  ‘Where?’ Keithan pressed. ‘How? Tell me, Kaylan, what do you know of the outside world?’

  Anger boiled in my chest.

  ‘Getting out would just be the start of your problems. Who will help you? Where will you live? What will happen when he comes after you? Because he will. I guarantee it. And your family wouldn’t thank you for any of it, I promise you that.’

  ‘They would want me to try,’ I continued. Keithan shook his head, running his hands through his hair. ‘How do you know what they would want? How do you know they wouldn’t forgive me?’

  Keithan’s whole body tensed, elbows locking as he pressed his hands to the table. ‘Because ...’ He sighed. ‘Because I didn’t.’

  It took me a moment to find my breath. I was afraid of that look in his eyes. ‘What do you mean?’

  Keithan clenched his teeth, but it did little to contain the words that followed. ‘My brother.’

  ‘Your brother?’

  ‘Alesen.’ He said the name quietly, eyes on the floor. I thought I knew what he was trying to tell me, but I couldn’t say it any more than he could. So I waited. A few moments passed, and the moisture in Keithan’s eyes blinked away as he straightened his posture. ‘He was selected as the Shadow.’

  I still couldn’t find any words. This whole time, he had seemed so unaffected by what was happening to me. Now I could see it, in the red of his eyes, the strain of his muscles, the quietness of his words.

  ‘I was working here,’ he said. ‘Obviously. I know there is nothing useful in this library because I tore it apart trying to find something to save him. But I found nothing. Nothing, Kaylan. I went out to find more books for Rennard’s collection; I requested more and more assignments. Told him his library needed updating. Told him I had heard of strange, small libraries in other lands that I had to visit on his behalf. But still I found nothing. I wasted seven months out there, alone but always with my brother in my mind, spurring me on. But I couldn’t help him. When I got back, my little brother was –’ He swallowed, cringing as his throat moved. ‘Not the man he had been before I left. He was so small and weak. Compliant. Hopeful, too.’

  He looked at me then. Every memory he had of his brother came pouring out of his eyes, flooding toward me. ‘He hoped that I’d found something to save him. When I told him I hadn’t, he became desperate. It was as if his body started failing faster, as if letting go of hope opened up a hole in him that drained him of all his strength and sanity.

  ‘And then he came to me, hysterical, saying if I couldn’t save him then he would save himself. He would run. He knew he couldn’t, but he did it anyway. I tried to convince him not to, but he did. And he was caught.’

  Keithan sank down into his chair, dropping his head and rubbing the back of his neck. ‘I was the lucky one. Rennard had become used to having me around, even had a soft spot for me and my work.’ His lips curled in disgust. ‘I only got six days in the dungeon. I knew my brother was in the cell next to mine, but I couldn’t hear him or speak to him. Not even in his final days. A guard woke me for my morning meal one day and said he’d died a few hours before.

  ‘I remember hearing a strange sound pass my door,’ he continued, rolling his neck. ‘Something heavy being dragged. At the time I didn’t know what it was. And my other brother …’ He swallowed painfully again. ‘I was the lucky one, because Rennard had use for me.’

  Keithan’s voice climbed as he rose from his seat. ‘Do you honestly think that your family is going to mean as much to him as mine did? I assure you, he won’t care how young they are, or how innocent.’

  All the air I had been holding in burst out. ‘But why?’

  Keithan’s eye twitched. ‘Why what?’

  ‘Why is he like that?’

  ‘We all have our demons. And I assure you that man has more than any of us combined. He has no remorse, he has no conscience. He thinks sentencing me to a few days in the dungeon while the rest of my family suffered worse was a kindness.’ Keithan’s whole body was shaking now, the words trembling from him as if he had held them back for years. Perhaps he had.

  ‘Why did you stay?’

  ‘Oh, Rennard made it very clear.’ His eyes widened, as if seeing the memory of that day. ‘If I leave, my parents, or what’s left of them, would hate me for it the way I hate my brother.’

  ‘You can’t mean that,’ I whispered. ‘He didn’t mean to hurt you.’

  ‘But he did!’ Keithan spat. ‘He was reckless and stupid and we all paid for that.’

  ‘And so you just stayed here? With the man who destroyed your family?’

  ‘Yes!’ Keithan hissed. ‘Because I’m afraid, Kaylan. I’m afraid of losing what little happiness I have left in my life. My parents are still here and so am I. I won’t do to them what my brother did to us. So believe me when I tell you that there’s nothing you can do, and if you try to run –’ He was yelling now, pointing harshly to the window, to the world beyond, to my family. ‘They won’t forgive
you.’

  I swallowed the bile flooding my throat, terror churning through my entire body. I knew I couldn’t run. But hearing it from Keithan made it real. He had suffered. Rennard had done that to him. How he endured living in the same castle as the man who destroyed his life made no sense.

  I heard it all. I heard Keithan’s warnings, I heard Rennard’s threats, but still, who would I be if I didn’t try?

  ‘Don’t take him on, Kaylan,’ Keithan warned, moving around to me. He bent to meet my wandering eyes. ‘You know his family’s history. You know who raised him.’

  I shook my head. ‘We were taught about them as children, in school, I –’

  ‘You learned about their possession?’ he asked. ‘How bloody it was, and how his family murdered every single member of the Gorreg family to get it?’

  There used to be royals – one family ruling our entire land. For centuries, they controlled the entirety of what was now divided into five territories. But flaws were passed from generation to generation. People suffered. The discovery of the first Relic ignited something in people. With the idea of such power at their disposal; they knew that if they could find all the Relics, they could fight back against the toxic regime.

  The Relics were wrapped in centuries of legend. People weren’t even sure they existed until that first one was found. Then obsession took hold. Power changed hands; people died. The strongest and most ruthless families sought out the Relics first.

  ‘You know the stories about Rennard’s father. He was raised by a ruthless killer. Some of that had to rub off on him. Don’t take this so lightly, please, Kaylan.’ Keithan’s voice was low but desperate. He took my shoulder. ‘Listen to me. You’re already dying. This is it for you. Don’t take anybody else down with you.’

  ‘And in the meantime? I’m a danger to those around me, Keithan.’ I knocked his hand away from my shoulder. Even with my eyes open, I could see Palark’s bloody face. ‘I was an animal. I nearly killed that man.’