During the short celebration, the Song made it very clear that it was pleased with the child. Rainbow colored ribbons of Song magic danced through the camp and invigorated them all, chasing away the heaviness of the last year and a half. Truyna started fussing, so the healer urged Ruyne to take her back to her mother to nurse.
Ruyne took the steps to the wagon as slowly as he dared, trying to quiet the child on the way. He was not looking forward to facing Valentra. As he entered the wagon, he smiled at her, trying to be as polite to her as always. “I hope you got some rest. Truyna wishes to nurse now.”
Valentra gave him a sour look, but took the child and settled her so the baby could nurse. “It sounded like quite the party they gave her,” Valentra grumbled.
“Yes, it is a very important occasion. Thank you for your part in helping it happen,” Ruyne said, staring at the floor. “I hope it was not too difficult for you.”
“It was incredibly unpleasant,” Valentra said with a snort. “But no matter, soon I will be going home, and this will be just part of my past that I will forget. I noticed you have a few other women around with infants, so it shouldn’t be hard for you to find a wet-nurse to replace me. We are not far from my home. I intend to leave the moment we reach the town.”
Ruyne shifted in his chair and looked up at her. “So eager to go you will not even nurse your daughter until she is weaned?”
“And stay another six months to a year in this insufferable place? I have things to do with my life, Ruyne. They don’t include traveling with a bunch of scruffy vagabonds that have the irritating urge to sing about everything.” Valentra shook her head. “She is not my daughter. She is yours. I was just a tool for you.”
“You know that is not true. I am very deeply in love with you, Valentra,” Ruyne said with a frown. “I have treated you with nothing but kindness and respect. Do you hate me that much?”
“Hate is a strong word. You are kind and handsome enough, I suppose. But you are below my class. I have no desire to stay here with you. I do not love you. I think if I stay, Silver and I will come to blows at some point,” Valentra warned him.
Ruyne cringed. He waited until Truyna fell asleep, then he took the infant back from Valentra. He edged toward the door. “There is a problem, Valentra. I can’t let you return to your home when we get there.”
“What do you mean you can’t?” Valentra glared at him. “That is the agreement we signed. Surely you understand that. You are not a fool. You can’t keep me here, Ruyne.”
“No, I can’t. I would never. But it is not up to me. The Song has chosen you. You are Bound to the camp,” Ruyne said, cradling Truyna close to his chest protectively.
“What? Then unbind me. You are the Leader; you control the magic. You will free me, Ruyne, or you will regret it.” Valentra settled back in the bed, but her eyes were full of fire.
“I would if I could. It is not my choice, Valentra,” Ruyne said, scrambling for words to make her understand. “I will see that you are well taken care of. Anything you need, I will give you. Even if you choose to be happy with another within the camp.”
“You will release me as you promised, or my family will be extremely displeased with you. You do not want to cross me, bard. You don’t understand what you are playing with,” Valentra threatened, her voice low.
“Valentra, it’s not my choice. If you leave the camp, you will die. I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do,” he whispered as he ducked out of wagon with his daughter. He shut the door, wincing as Valentra’s loud angry voice carried through the stunned camp.
Part II
Five Years Later…
Chapter 17
Shadow
Shadow grimaced and rubbed absently at the healing skin on his face. His latest tattoos crossed from his eyebrows down the sides of his cheeks. Black lines meant to look like scars left behind by a monstrous claw. Only those who looked closely would see that they morphed into a tear shape at the end. Five years. Five years he had searched for Derry. Every town he went to, he got another mark, so he wouldn’t forget his journey. His body was covered in tattoos now. He had seen much more of the world traveling alone than he had ever seen with the Band. He was deep into unfriendly territory now, where no one had ever even heard of the Dusksingers. That alone had taken a lot of getting used to. He was used to being well-known. Here he was nobody. Nothing. Just a lost refugee, a vagabond.
The Song had not killed him when he left the Band. It had killed only his connection with the Song and the others. Slowly, like a vine dying in the winter from the cold. Like a disease eating away at his soul. Now his Song magic was no more, but he still could sing decently enough on his own to earn a few coins here and there. Provided it wasn’t forbidden. That was the strangest of all, coming to cities or towns where music wasn’t allowed.
His hand dropped to the dagger hidden at his belt as rats scurried past him in the dark, filthy alley. He had learned to fight too. Some of his tattoos hid scars he had received while lost for nearly a year in the underground gladiator trade.
He carefully exited the alley and sat down on the edge of a fountain, as darkness fell over the quiet town. He didn’t have coin for a room tonight, so he just hoped no one chased him off from sleeping here. He curled up on the cool stone and closed his eyes, weary from a day of walking the dusty roads. His horse hadn’t survived past a few years away from the Band.
The sound of a beautiful male voice singing startled Shadow out of his sleep. A haunting heart-broken melody of love lost. Shadow had never heard the likes of the voice, not even within the Band. Yet something familiar drove him to his feet and down the streets to find its source. Impossible, he chided himself, even as his tired feet broke into a run. Derry had never had a voice like that, not even with the Song magic.
But as Shadow reached the open meadow before a great manor house, a man with a familiar gait strolled among the flowers, singing a tale to a lost love. Thin, frail, pale-skin, long brown hair. Dressed like a nobleman, but Shadow would have known him, no matter what. He stumbled to a stop at the edge of the meadow, afraid he was dreaming. He had chased Derry for so long in his dreams. Every time he called out, Derry would scream and morph into a monster.
The air with its cool sea breeze felt too real. The way his heart was thumping in his ears, this wasn’t a dream. His mouth went dry, so his call came out a strangled croak filled with emotion, “Derry!”
The man who whirled around at the call was unmistakable. It was Derry. He stared at Shadow in confusion, not recognizing him.
Shadow dropped the hood of his cloak and walked closer. “Derry, it’s me. Shadow.”
“That’s impossible. I don’t know who you are, but the man you’re looking for isn’t here either,” Derry said firmly, then turned and started toward the manor.
Shadow reached underneath his cloak and pulled loose the raven wing necklace. He threw it so it landed on the stone path directly in front of Derry.
Derry stopped. Then, with shaking hands, he bent to pick up the necklace. He closed a fist around the charm, rose, and turned back to look at Shadow. “Is it really you?”
“Yes,” Shadow said, as he moved closer. When he was almost close enough to touch Derry, he lowered his voice, searching his lost lover’s eyes. “Of course it is. Didn’t you know I would follow you anywhere?”
Emotions warred in Derry’s dark eyes before tears started to slip down his cheeks. He threw his arms around Shadow’s neck and pulled him into an embrace. Shadow could taste the salt of their tears as they kissed. Finally, Derry pulled back, breathless, and rested his cheek against Shadow’s chest. “I’ve missed you. Oh, how I’ve missed you.”
Shadow ran his hands through the silky lengths of Derry’s long hair, pressing close. “I’m here. I found you.”
Derry took his hands then, and without another word pulled Shadow into the manor. Through empty dark hallways into a bed chamber. Their reunion was one that only two desperately in love who had been sepa
rated by pain and distance could experience. After their passion was spent, Derry lay with his head on Shadow’s chest, fingers gently tracing each of Shadow’s tattoos, as though committing them to memory. Frowning when he found a scar. His hand rested over the large scar over Shadow’s heart.“You’ve been through much to find me.”
“I’ve already forgotten it. Being with you was worth it all,” Shadow whispered into Derry’s ear, arms sliding around Derry’s waist possessively.
Derry closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face, before he smiled slowly. “You always knew the right romantic things to say, my love. You can’t stay, though.”
Shadow’s heart clenched. “What? Of course, I’m staying. That was the point of finding you! I left the Band for you.” He grabbed Derry’s chin so he could look into Derry’s eyes, searching them.
Derry leaned up to kiss him softly, gently. “I’m cursed, Shadow. A monster lives in me now. I am only myself one night out of the year, the night my parents died. So I can remember all I lost. So it doesn’t lose hold on me. In the morning I will not be me. The monster will wear my skin for another year. It will not be kind to you. It will kill you. Please, my love. You must leave.”
Shadow was about to protest, but he could see that Derry was not lying. He had never seen his lover more earnest. “What do I do? I can’t live without you, Derry. I need you.”
“The monster is the enemy of the ones that made the Dusksingers. It craves the Song magic. That’s why it took me over and corrupted me. I think there is a way to break the curse but you have to go back to the Band. You have to convince Ruyne to find the way. Only a Leader will have access to the knowledge needed to break this curse,” Derry whispered, then froze as he saw the room lightening through the windows. He rose from the bed and dressed quickly, then threw Shadow’s clothes at him. “You must go. Now. Go find the Band, Shadow. If you want me back, that is the only way. Otherwise, I can be with only you one night a year.”
Shadow got up and dressed, then stalked over to give Derry a kiss to take his breath away. “Remember me. I will come for you,” Shadow promised, then as much as it broke his heart, again he fled the manor. With luck, the Band would still be traveling the same path and he could catch up to them.
“Take my horse, Shadow,” Derry called from the window as Shadow exited. Derry pointed frantically to the stables, “Hurry!”
The urgency and pain in Derry’s voice made Shadow break into a run. He threw the tack on Derry’s horse, the animal snorting at him in recognition, and then they flew out of the stables at a gallop. Shadow looked back only once to see Derry standing in the window watching them disappear.
Chapter 18
Silver
Silver followed the little girl through the maze of late fall wildflowers. Truyna giggled and pranced in front of him, stopping frequently to admire an insect or stick a flower in her dark hair. It sometimes struck him how much she looked like her father. The thought of Ruyne made Silver look back at the camp in the distance. The wagons were set up for the evening, and everything seemed to be normal and in place. Still his Song felt off, disturbed. A giggle ahead of him brought him back to reality. Too far ahead. “Tru! Not so far,” he broke into a run after her, as she toddled down the bank to the river. For a moment, his heart caught in his throat thinking she would tumble right into the fast moving water. But she stopped at the edge of it.
“Da, rainbows!” Truyna gasped, as she squatted closer to examine the rainbows in the water. Truyna was a blessing to all of them. She had brought life back to the camp after the dark events five years ago. She brought so much joy to Silver’s life. He loved her as though she were his own. Silver grabbed her by the waist, as he sat down next to her, then pulled her into his lap. He let her reach toward the water as much as she wanted, as long as he had a firm grip on her. “Yes, rainbows.” He let her play, but Silver felt a ripple of dread despite the peaceful scene.
He hated this area. It always set him on edge. This town had once welcomed them, but now there was a tense truce between the local nobles and the Dusksingers. Valentra being trapped and having to travel with the band in violation of the agreement they had signed had not been taken kindly. He had warned Ruyne it was not helping matters letting the woman visit her family for several days every time they came to the town. Valentra inevitably came back to the camp vicious and bitter. She refused to become part of the camp. She disrespected Ruyne, and he allowed it because he felt guilty for trapping her with them. Even Bronze had changed his mind about her, and there had been many talks about how to rid themselves of the woman, but no feasible solution had yet been found.
He shook those thoughts away and tried to relax, watching Truyna play with the water. She was drawn to water, always. She loved swimming. As if picking up on his thoughts, she looked up at him with bright eyes. “Da, swim?”
“Not right now, Truyna,” Silver murmured, as once again his Song warned him one again that something was wrong. He traced the music back to the camp. Nothing seemed out of place there. He sent the magic questing around them. No sign of that monster from five years ago either. Not since they had lost Shadow and Derry had he felt something so wrong with the Song magic. The comparison did not ease his mind in the least. Something bad was about to happen.
“Da, horses,” Truyna said. On a normal day, any animal would thrill Truyna. Yet, her voice was fearful as she pointed a chubby finger to the road. “Mommy!” she exclaimed.
Silver rose as he watched the group of horsemen riding down the road. They were dressed in uniforms that matched. Valentra sat on a horse flanked by two horsemen, her lips turned down with a scowl, her hand on a dagger that rested on her belt. The man at her left Silver recognized as Valentra's father. He had visited the camp before to negotiate with Ruyne, but never with so many men. The man on Valentra’s right was someone Silver had never seen before, but the cruel look on the man’s handsome face sent a chill through him. The sun glinted off steel. Everyone in the group was heavily armed. They were not coming to negotiate this time. They were going to attack.
Heart thudding so loudly it almost drowned out the erratic warnings his Song began to beat inside his head, Silver’s gaze shot to the camp. The Dusksingers were peaceful. They did not fight. They were not trained for battle. They were raised to see violence as something terribly wrong. The army would slaughter them. No one in the camp even noticed the troops riding down the road as they wandered about preparing the camp for the evening’s performance.
“Da!” Truyna started to squirm in his grip, trying to get free. “Need to go!”
Silver agreed, but he wasn’t about to let her down. “Be quiet, Truyna,” he warned as he followed the woods around the field back to the camp. He didn’t dare take the faster way and bolt across the field. They would see him and know he was going to warn the camp. He tried to will the Song magic to alert Ruyne. Silver could see him standing in the camp, but his husband’s back was turned as he gave instructions to the Elders.
The Song warned him, and Silver looked back to the road just in time to observe the men draw their weapons. His suspicions confirmed, he threw caution to the wind and ran toward the camp, holding Truyna close. “Ruyne! The road! Look at the road. Anyone? Everyone! They’re coming to attack,” Silver called desperately, but still too far away from the camp for his voice to reach without the power of the Song behind it. He threw all of his magic behind the call when no one responded. “Ruyne!”
Ruyne didn’t hear him, but others nearby did. Silver stumbled in his haste as he broke into the edge of the camp. “Attack! On the road,” he gasped, out of breath. It was Truyna’s scream that finally got their attention. Ruyne whirled to look at them, horrified by the sound. Silver and Truyna desperately pointed toward the road. “Da! Horses!” Truyna shrieked, her Song magic rattling everyone nearby into staring at her.
“We’re under attack,” Ruyne bellowed, his Leader magic carrying his voice throughout the camp. “No! Silver, take Thorn and get
Truyna away from here! Do it, now,” Ruyne commanded, the authority in his voice causing Silver to freeze in place.
Even the fraction of a moment Silver hesitated seemed too long. The men on the road realized the camp had been alerted, and the thunder of hooves approached rapidly. Silver put Truyna up on his saddle then swung up behind her, securing her to the saddle. Truyna was screaming for Ruyne over the din, and Silver wanted to do the same. The Band members weren’t trained for battle. If the Song didn’t protect them, they would all die. Silver commanded Thorn to charge to Ruyne, and Band members scurried out of his way. “Ruyne! Come with us! You are the Leader. We have to protect you!” Silver wanted to add that Valentra was likely coming to kill Ruyne, but he didn’t dare voice those words in front of their daughter.
“I am not leaving,” Ruyne growled, his blue eyes as cold as the steel blade he selected from the supply wagon. “I am Leader. I protect the Band, not the other way around. Get Truyna away from here. Don’t let them have her. Protect her, Silver.”
“That’s madness! Where am I supposed to go? We can’t leave the camp; the Song will kill us!” Silver exclaimed, as he turned his nervous horse in a circle. Losing you will kill me, he thought, stricken. His place was at Ruyne’s side, not hiding away.
Ruyne strode over and grabbed Thorn’s bridle to still the horse, looking up into Silver’s eyes. “Silver, I love you. I will always love you. You need to trust me now. Take Truyna. She is more important than any of us. Understand? If you love me, you will do this for me. Please,” Ruyne said firmly.
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