“I hope you have been comfortable here,” he said.
She smiled. “Thank you, you’ve been very kind to me,” she said in accented Danhadine.
“The magiker says you will be well enough to leave your chambers soon.”
“Then I can continue on my journey?” she asked.
He looked up at her, large brown eyes startled. “I had hoped you would stay.”
She sat up a little straighter and shifted in her seat. “You know I cannot.”
He shuffled from foot to foot. “Helene, there’s something I must ask you...”
She rose from the bed. The blankets fell away, revealing her pale and naked body. I was embarrassed by her bare form. I found I could not turn away. Duke Wodell also seemed riveted by the sight of her, and his words fell away.
“Yes?” she said, her voice husky.
He took a tentative step towards her; uncertainty lined his face.
“Come to me, Mikell.” She opened her arms and took him into her embrace. She tangled her hands in his hair. He kissed her deeply, and I did turn away, unable to look any longer at the intimate scene.
“I love you, Helene. I want you to be my wife.”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “Shh. Let us have this night.”
The vision faded and I was back in the long hall, looking for the Sea Chamber once again. It was nowhere to be found. I have to find it before the summer solstice, before the promised day comes. I came to the end of the hall. My mother was waiting for me at the window, once more gazing out across the distant sea. What had happened to that vibrant woman my visions had shown me? Why did you take your own life?
“You and I walk the same paths, daughter.”
“We do?” I asked, hoping that she would explain.
She nodded. “After I was initiated, I left my home behind. I went north, following the call of the first. It led me to Blackthorn Manor, where I met your father. He was a good man, and I would have been happy with him, I think, had my fate been different.” She frowned, and for a moment I saw a glimpse of the woman she had been. I had known my mother only as a face of the first, an enigma who spoke to me in riddles, but before she had become what she was, she had been my mother and a woman who had fears and sorrows of her own.
“Why did you leave him, then? Why did you leave me alone?” It was the question I knew she would never answer, but I could not help but try.
She did not turn to face me. “You will learn in time, when the time is right.”
I wanted to curse her, but I knew there was no time. “Tell me, then, where does this path lead me? Do I instruct the Biski to kill those who were once my countrymen?”
“Your path and his shall diverge and meet again. You must follow in my footsteps in order to find the Sea Chamber. Travel as I have to Blackthorn, the place of your conception. There you will meet allies. You must be careful, Maea. The road gets only trickier from here. Be ever watchful and do not let your guard down around him. Don’t let his sweet lies lull you into a false security.”
“I know.” I have not forgotten. I know what lurks beneath his seeming charm.
“He can be persuasive. It would be best if you left him now to keep yourself free of his charms.”
My thoughts had taken a similar path. I was winning his trust, but at what cost? It was just a matter of time before I fell under his spell once more. How can I escape without him stopping me? He will not let me go now that he has me.
She sighed and patted my cheek. “I am sorry I left you. Believe me when I say I loved you more than life.”
The vision ended, and I was once more back in the tent I shared with Johai. The sounds of the camp crowded my senses. I closed my ears and blocked everything else out. I must follow the path my mother once travelled, but what do I tell Aland? How do I direct the Stone Clan and their allies? I sighed. I thought of Duke Wodell, my apparent father. His estate was near at hand. Could I escape in the night? I shook my head. Johai would catch me for certain. I sat up. Johai has made pacts with the Danhadine... I had a plan formulating, a dangerous one, but it may be the only one that could both set me free from Johai and lead him to the Sea Chamber.
Chapter Twelve
THE FOREST SEEMED TO be closing in about us. Every snap of a twig and the creaking of leather saddles seemed amplified and returned back to us tenfold. The forest was thick here. The sun struggled to force its way through a thick bow of branches overhead. Dappled sunlight fell upon us as we crunched through the undergrowth. The Biski were at home in this wild territory, with their axes and spears. Even their untamed beards, beads and feathers blended in even though we were brushing against territory they did not roam. The messenger we had sent ahead to Blackthorn had returned with the promise of safe passage. Yet my heart remained lodged in my throat. What if he changes his mind and slays us out of hand? Elenna rode beside me, serene and distant. She smiled when I looked at her before redirecting her gaze to the distance. Beau, on my other side, scanned the horizon, ever watchful of danger. In front of them, Aland and Johai rode side by side, flanked by half a dozen Biski men.
“Are you certain he will remain true to his word?” I asked Johai. This was my idea, but I had my own misgivings now that we were in this dark wood. Duke Wodell might laugh at my offer. The Neaux with the Stone Clan may sense foul play and send word to Arlene. If this goes awry, then the blood is on my hands. It was my plan. We had broken our party into two, one half going west along the river, the other going east to Blackthorn. The Neaux had gone with the western-bound party.
Johai looked over his shoulder at me. That same smirk parted his lips, revealing his white teeth. “If your vision spoke true, then he will.”
My stomach flopped. My vision that I half-concocted. I knew I had to get to Blackthorn; I was just not certain he would treat with the Biski. Two years ago Biski tribesmen had laid siege to Blackthorn. The siege had been broken when Adair and his men had come down and smashed the Biski force against the walls of Blackthorn. Aland had sent a messenger with a request to parlay, and to my surprise Duke Wodell had invited Aland and a few of his men to stay at the castle. We had left the bulk of our men a few leagues south, so as not to appear as a threat. Johai is playing all of them for fools, Danhadine, Biski and Neaux alike. None of them know what he really is.
A scout emerged from the shadows of the forest, and I startled. I jumped in the saddle, and the horse danced beneath me. Beau’s hand darted out in an instant, grabbing a hold of the reins before the horse could spook and bolt, taking me with her. I gave him a grateful smile.
We stopped as Aland and his scout conferred. He spoke with the man, a youth more like, with a patchy black beard and long legs and arms. He was thin as a willow tree and quick and silent on his feet. Aland nodded as they conferred. After a few moments he dismissed him and called to Elenna and me.
I approached Aland on horseback. Johai stayed close; he was never far from Aland.
Aland addressed us, “We are not far from the holdfast, and it seems that the duke is riding out to meet us. I would have you both ride beside me when we greet him.”
I found it strange. Why me? I am a convicted traitor in Danhad. Duke Wodell had spoken out at my trial, claiming the proceedings to be unjust. He was my father, but he would not have any way of knowing that. Whatever he thought of my trial back then, he would be committing treason to admit me into his house. I don’t have an army to give Adair to win a pardon. In the eyes of the Danhadine, I am a traitor and a king-killer. Adair had, in fact, framed me for the murder of the former king. I was risking much to even come to Duke Wodell. I must make him understand, convince him to help me.
I glanced at Johai, wondering what his motives were. I hoped to approach the duke alone; what I planned to ask him could put us both in danger. Johai was attempting to keep us apart, I suspected. Johai is testing me. He still does not trust me. I dared not show my fear, though. This was supposed to be my plan.
We arrived outside the gates of Blackth
orn a few minutes later. It erupted from the forest like a black monolith. The forest surrounding it had been cleared away, and a ditch filled with pikes circled the walls. The walls were high and black as coal, contrasting against the blue sky. I blinked in the sudden flood of light from the lack of trees. The battlements were wide, and I spied soldiers walking the length of them with bows and arrows slung over their shoulders. Duke Wodell met us upon the drawbridge. He wore black and white. The tangle of thorns upon his surcoat denoted his house, Wodell. It was strange to look up at him and realize this was the man who sired me.
He looked much as I remembered him if not grayer and a tad thinner. His skin seemed to hang loose at his jowls. He was flanked by men in his household, also wearing the white and black of House Wodell. They made for an impressive sight, and I had no doubt it was made to make a statement. I looked at Aland from the corner of my eye. His lips were pressed tight as he looked at the duke. I wonder if it was the Stone Clan who laid siege to Blackthorn. If so, it must chafe at Aland to come here under the terms of peace. A banner flew above the duke, the black field with white thorns, beneath it the white banner of peace.
We stopped a few feet from the duke’s party. The tension was ripe in the air. The soldiers walking the walls stopped and peered down at us. I saw a few arrowheads glinting in the mid-day sunshine. They could kill us all as easy as taking a breath.
“Wodell, do you trust so little that you bring out half your force to greet us? Surely you have heard of Danhad’s pact with the Stone clan?” Aland said to the duke. Despite the supposed peace between the two nations, the Biski were still wary. Hands hovered over weapons and eyes scanned the turrets, where someone might loose an arrow unseen.
The duke glowered at Aland. “I have not forgotten that spring when some wild men presumed to attack my lands. They burned, raped and slaughtered before trapping me inside my own castle for a month’s turn. Forgive me, we live in dangerous times, and I have my people to protect, just as you have yours to protect.”
Duke Wodell disagreed with Adair’s alliance with the Biski. He would not say it outright, but his actions made it clear enough.
Aland’s hands tightened on the reins. Johai leaned over and whispered something in his ear. At first he continued to stare at the duke, but his grip slowly slackened, and even his scowl faded to an expression of near euphoria.
“We come here in peace, Mikell,” Johai said. His voice boomed off the walls and echoed back to us. Everyone in the castle must have heard him speak. It could only be some sort of spell he was trying to place upon the castle. “Is it necessary to threaten the innocents that are here with us?” Johai urged his mount forward, and as he did so, the hood he wore flew back, revealing his streaming white hair.
Duke Wodell regarded Johai for a moment. “Very well, you have come to talk, then talk.”
“I would rather not speak out in the open. This is an important matter that cannot be settled from horseback,” Johai said.
The duke sniffed. “Yes, I have heard about your plots down in the south with the wild men. Do not think me a fool, Johai. You are your father’s son, make no mistake of that. I will hear what you have to say, then. Welcome to my home and hearth.”
Johai smiled, seemingly pleased with himself. The duke’s forces parted to let us through. Duke Wodell wheeled his mount around and rode into the courtyard beyond. Grooms were waiting to take our horses. I slid down from the saddle, relieved for the moment that the initial meeting had not come to bloodshed. There is always dinner, I suppose, I thought wryly.
“Then it is true; you are alive,” the duke said. He was standing near me. His eyes searched my face as if looking to confirm I was not, indeed, an imposter.
I smiled. “Yes, in part thanks to you.”
He rubbed his palm against his mouth and tugged at his beard. He shook his head. I thought he would say more, but Aland demanded his attention, having found his voice once more. The duke hurried off without another word. The servants showed us to our rooms. Elenna and I were given a chamber to share, and I was just thankful that I had a night away from Johai. Now that we are in Danhadine lands, things may be different. Whether my plan works or not, everything changes after this.
The servants drew us both baths, and we took turns bathing. We did not have dinner clothes of our own, but the servants found some things of Duchess Wodell’s. The dress I wore smelled faintly of musk. It was tight on my hips and loose in the bust. Despite that, it felt good to be clean with fresh clothes. I dressed my hair simply, with a black cornet to match the black beading upon my gown. Elenna wore her hair loose and wild. Paired with the forest green gown she wore, she looked like a maiden from a story. Her gown was too short for her, and a few inches of her wrist showed beneath the billowing sleeves, and the hem had to be let out to cover her ankles. She seemed like a strange exotic oddity dressed in Danhadine garb. She is like a wild animal, feral and powerful. Despite her ill-fitting garb, she was a sight to behold, and the men stared as we entered the dining hall.
The duke set an impressive table, and we dined on pheasant, cream soups, and salads with dried candied fruits. The food was a bit rich for me after having eaten gruel and salted dried meat for so long. I ate and listened to the conversation. Aland had forgotten his earlier animosity, and he and Johai alternated peppering the duke with questions. The duke laughed and listened, but all the while he watched me. When he drank from his goblet, his eyes were on me. When Johai was speaking with him of the Stone Clan’s numbers, he nodded, but his eyes more often than not flickered in my direction.
“What say you, Lady Diranel? I have heard both sides. What vision has the Goddess given you in regards to this coming war?” the duke addressed me at last. I had hoped and feared he would call upon me.
I looked at my father’s face. I tried to see a resemblance there, some sort of recognition, blood calling to blood. I had met him at court and never suspected he was my father. It was strange to acknowledge that looking at this man, but I knew it was true, the water did not lie.
“I think war is abhorrent but inevitable. When Danhad provided soldiers to fight the Biski, they flooded Sanore with Danhadine soldiers. Queen Celeste convinced a few to do her bidding and painted Danhad as the culprit. Queen Arlene will not sit aside and let this apparent takeover go unpunished. Adair has no choice but to prepare for war.”
Duke Wodell nodded. “Well said, Lady Diranel. He is a young king, but I think even he will agree, though he has spoken against war many times.” He tugged at his beard again and contemplated his meat pie. “I assume you are looking for men to join your force,” he said to Aland.
Aland inclined his head. “Yes, Danhad steel is superior to our own stone spears and axes. Your king has promised to add his men to our own.”
Duke Wodell did not respond right away but stroked his beard. Once more his gaze slid to me, and there was a question in his eyes. I felt Johai watching us, and I looked away and pretended to be interested in a conversation Elenna was having with one of Duke Wodell’s men.
“I will have to consider this matter,” he said at length. “We are still in need of defense unless you can claim to control all of the Biski.”
Aland scowled as he replied, “No, but I do have much sway in the decisions among the tribes.”
The duke folded his hands on the table. “I will give my answer after some careful deliberation.”
Johai was smiling, presumably pleased with himself. Aland was scowling, his hands twisting his napkin in his hand.
When dinner was over, Elenna and I retired to our room. I paced back and forth, waiting for the right moment to implement the next part of my plan. Elenna sat on the edge of the bed, looking into the flames of the fireplace. She seemed lost in her own thoughts. I stopped my pacing and stood in front of her for a few moments before she realized I was watching her. She raised her eyebrow in question.
“You’ve been in a daze since Mother Lake. Are you ready to tell me what troubles you?” I aske
d.
She shook her head. “It is nothing that I would trouble you with.” She stood and placed both hands upon my shoulders. “Shall we perform the spell?”
“Do you think the hour is right? What if we go too early and I am seen?” I glanced to the window. The sun had set some hours before, and the stars had come out. The castle was quiet but for the howl of the wind and the distant call of guards to one another upon the battlements.
“Yes, the time has come. Sit down here beside the fire.”
I did as I was told. The stones beside the fire were warm, but I felt a chill creeping up my spine. Elenna paced around me in a circle, speaking an incantation in Biski. I wrapped my arms around myself and focused on my plan. I had rehearsed this next part since I had made my decision along the river ford. Elenna sprinkled water on me from a water skin. On my hands and feet she made marks in ash. Each symbol different but notating the different elements. As she placed the last marking upon my right hand, I felt a tingling sensation wash over me. It felt like I was being wrapped in a warm blanket.
“The spell is complete. None shall see you but those you are meant to reveal yourself to.”
I stood and went to the mirror. Where my reflection should have been, I saw instead the fireplace and Elenna standing beside it. I laughed, relieved the spell had worked.
“I shall not be long,” I said. My voice seemed strange and echoed to me. It’s like I’m not here at all.
Elenna hugged me suddenly and held me for a moment. I could hear her heart hammering in her chest. She is nervous as well. I clung to her for a moment, both reassuring her and gathering my strength to step out the door. If I am seen, then all is lost.
“I’ll be back soon,” I said and pulled away.
I walked barefoot, and my feet padded on the ground. The halls were empty but for a few torches left in the sconces. I kept close to the walls, careful to avoid any passersby. I may have been invisible, but I was still able to be heard. A light came from the opposite end of the hall. Voices came along with it. I pressed myself against the wall and listened as they passed by. It was a pair of servants coming to blow out the torches. I waited till they were gone, their voices fading away, before continuing on. I headed towards the duke’s chamber. How I knew where it was, I was not certain, but my feet seemed to lead me there.
[fan] diviners saga 03 - diviners fate Page 16
