by K.N. Lee
For a moment, he wondered if Feyda was in search for the Red Dragon as well. Then, he realized that it was impossible. The map was blank when she sold it to him. There was no way she could follow a blank map without a prophet from his line in tow. He respected her skill too much to press her any further. She’d risked more than her reputation retrieving his ancestral inheritance. After his mother was killed, and he was sent away, he thought he’d never find their prized artifacts and heirlooms.
No, this woman was more than an old hag.
She was one of the most powerful sorceresses he’d ever met, and she hid that fact well.
Clever. That’s what she was.
“Well,” Feyda said. “Unless you want to buy something, we’d better be getting inside. This old hag can’t stand to get soaked through by the nasty storm that’s brewing. I say there might be a bit of flooding by day’s end.”
“Do you? That means I have all day to pester you.”
Her smile was unexpected. “You sure you want to do that, Captain? You may be able to steal souls and all, but I can still twist your bones with the flick of a hand.”
Elian rubbed his hands together, recalling the pain she’d caused, and how it took days to subside.
Without removing her gaze from his, she spoke to her son. “Perdan. We best be getting inside now.”
“Coming,” Perdan said, still avoiding a direct look at Elian. He carried two chests stacked on top of one another and headed to the stairs that led up to the second level.
Elian watched them leave. He didn’t state his suspicions, but he knew they were up to something. He looked up as heavy ran started to fall. It poured onto his face as he closed his eyes.
He’d find out what she was up to. Something told him his life depended on it.
“Captain,” Gavin called, running from around the corner of the inn, soaked and with a ghostly look on his face.
Elian blinked through the rain. “What is it?”
Gavin wiped wet hair from his eyes and stood before him, out of breath. “I heard her,” he said.
“Who?”
“Rowen, sir. I am certain of it.”
Rowen. That got his attention. Elian grabbed Gavin by his shoulders. His eyes burned with fury and hope. “Where?
Gavin looked down at Elian’s hands on him.
“Tell me!” Elian shook him.
“I heard her voice when I was in town. I was heading from the livery when I passed the cartwright shop and heard her.”
“Did you see her?”
“No,” Gavin said, shaking his head. “Can you let go of me?”
Elian let go, pushing him back against the hall wall made of stone that enclosed the inn. “Take me to her.”
“But, she’s not there anymore. I went to look for her in one of the shops, and by the time I got inside, she was gone. I didn’t see her, but I know that voice. I’ll never forget it.”
Elian’s eye twitched. Could it be? Feyda and Perdan were in town, with ambiguous motives. The way that young man couldn’t even look at him was one warning. The way Feyda’s heart raced when she saw him was another. There were just too many coincidences for this all to be chance. If Rowen was truly here, all his worries would be put to rest.
Cota’s words came to him.
The map will lead you to your heart’s desire. Your heart’s desire will be the death of you. Unless you learn to desire differently.
He didn’t know what she meant by that. All he knew was that Rowen had his map, and his map was life or death.
He looked to the second floor of the inn as thunder cracked across the sky, seemingly shaking the ground with its force.
“I hear you,” he whispered to the storm.
Perhaps fate was on his side after all.
Chapter 10
When Rowen approached the inn, Feyda was there waiting for her. Rain fell in all directions, with intense winds that threatened to pick Rowen up and carry her away. She threw a shawl over Rowen’s head, put a finger to her mouth to quiet her protests, and led her away from the inn and through the back roads of town to their cart.
Perdan sat in the front seat, reigns in hands, and a pale color to his cheeks.
“What’s happening?” Rowen asked. She held tight to the sack of frost-weed Feyda had her purchase as more heavy winds blew at them.
“Just get inside,” Feyda said, holding the cart’s back door open to let her in. “We don’t have much time. Hand me the frost-weed.”
Rowen sat down inside the cart and handed Feyda the sack.
Feyda dumped its contents into her hands. She closed her fingers over it and made a fist which she held out at arm’s length. Her eyes shut and her hand began to glow.
Rowen watched carefully, leaning over for a better look as Feyda blew onto it and whispered words in a foreign language. Then, she threw her hands up, and blew white dust into the air and onto the cart’s canvas cover. The cart shook, and without delay, Feyda pulled herself up and into the cart.
“Go, Perdan.”
The cart rolled down the road and away from Billingsport as a storm raged above. Rowen pulled off her soaking wet cloak and shivered at the chill seeped into her bones.
Feyda noticed and wrapped her in a fur blanket she’d pulled out of one of the chests.
The fur felt nice against her skin, but the sound of thunder and lightning worried her that they might not make it much longer during the storm “What’s happening, Feyda? Why are we leaving?”
“I think it’s time we talk,” Feyda said, settling beside Rowen on the cushion that lined the floor and wall. She took Rowen’s hands in her own.
Rowen tensed as Feyda traced the lines of the palm of her hands. “What are you doing?”
“I know you’re a sorceress,” Feyda admitted. She sighed and shook her head. “I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you. And, I also knew that you were more powerful than any other I’ve ever seen. I just don’t think you know it. Yet.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rowen took her hands away and pulled the blanket tight around her body. She shook from the cold, but worked at keeping her face unreadable. No good could come from Feyda knowing what she could do.
“Stop pretending, Ro. You can’t hide such a gift from me. I’ve lived amongst sorceresses and sorcerers all my life. I know when someone is gifted, and love…your gift could destroy our world if not tamed.”
“You’re crazy. I already told you who I was. You think I’d be your maid if I had special abilities to fall back on?”
“I do,” Feyda said. “Since you’re a fugitive sentenced for killing the crown prince of Withrae.”
All color drained from Rowen’s face. It was as if she’d been splashed with a cold bucket of water. Her fears were coming to fruition.
Rowen weighed her options, calculated them, and made a decision.
She sprung to her feet and raced to the cart’s door. A forceful push of the door and she prepared to jump onto the dark, wet road behind them. Looking at the forest on either end and the way the trees swayed and blew with the wind, she second-guessed herself.
Feyda caught her by the arm, and Rowen spun on her, grabbing her by the neck.
Energy and power surged from the deepest depths of her being, and out of her fingers. A shiver ran up her spine as she gripped the power and held tight.
“Take your hands off of me, and forget you ever met me,” Rowen commanded through clenched teeth.
Feyda’s eyes opened, and then she chuckled. First, it started soft. Then, her shoulders began to shake with laughter as she covered her mouth. Tears came to Feyda’s eyes and she pried Rowen’s hand from her neck.
“Now, I see,” she said in between laughs. She clapped her hands. “We have a temptress on our hands. I knew it had to be something mental.”
Rowen gasped, snatching her hand away. Not again. Did she lose her power, somehow? How could it not work on Gavin and Feyda?
Feyda howled with laughter and slapp
ed her thighs as she settled back onto the ground. “Sit down, Ro. You’re not going anywhere.”
She lifted a hand and the door slammed shut. The lock fell into place from the outside with a metallic clang.
Frozen in terror, Rowen stood there, expecting the worse.
“I know you’re wondering why your power didn’t work just now. There’s nothing wrong with you. Quite the opposite. I could feel your power, and how strong it is. I could also feel that there is more hidden within. It’s like a river—held back by a dam—desperate to be freed for its full force. I must say, I can’t wait to teach you to master it.” Feyda looked to her. “Sit.”
Rowen did as she was told, but kept her distance. She sat with her back pressed to the cart’s door. “Why didn’t it work?” Rowen asked.
“You can’t tempt a sorceress or sorcerer, Rowen. That’s just how it is. Our inner power combats yours.”
Realization hit her.
Gavin was a sorcerer.
It all made sense. But, she wondered if he knew, or if he was just as good of an actor as she was.
“But, don’t worry. There aren’t many of us left in this world. Your power will work more times than not. I’ll teach you what you need to know about your gift.”
That was something Rowen had never heard before. No one had ever offered to help her—to teach her how to use her powers. Growing up, she kept it to herself. Not even her mother was aware of the strange urges Rowen had, and the struggle she suffered to control it. In the past, her usage of it had only been in times of desperation. Her shoulders slumped as she thought of those times, and how she’d just tried to use it on a woman who only wanted to help her.
“I’m sorry,” Rowen said in a soft voice. She rubbed her arms and pulled her legs into her chest. As she wrapped her arms around her legs, she rested her head on her knees and shoved the painful memories as far back into her mind as possible.
“No one is blaming you, Ro. I understand. You’ve been reacting to everything purely on instinct. It’s time for a different strategy.”
“You’re right. I didn’t mean to try my power on you. I was frightened and needed to get away.”
Feyda leaned forward, her brows raised. “Haven’t you been listening? I knew who and what you were when I first saw you. If I wanted to turn you back in to the Dragons, I would have done it days ago. I’m sure there’s a pretty penny to be made, but that’s not what I’m looking for.”
“What are you looking for,” Rowen asked.
Feyda pointed to Rowen’s chest and flicked her finger up, revealing the map and carrying it through the air toward her.
Rowen stood and reached for it, but Feyda was too fast. Before she could blink a second time, the map was in Feyda’s hands.
Feyda snickered and opened it. Her eyes widened as she looked it over, and traced the path with her finger. “I want what everyone seems to be after these days.”
“What is that?”
“The infamous Red Dragon, of course.”
Later that night, Perdan and Feyda switched spots so that they could ride through the night. He and Rowen lay on the loft bed as the cart gently rolled along the dirt path. An occasional rock or bump made them rock, but the quiet hum of the wheels and the horse’s steady gait was relaxing.
Rowen still couldn’t sleep. There were too many things on her mind, and enough unanswered questions to keep her awake for days. She rolled over to Perdan who rested on his back with an arm under his head.
“Are you asleep?”
He opened his eyes and looked to her. “Not yet. What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. Just wishing I were in my bed back at home. Well, only if my stepfather wasn’t there. It would be perfect without him.”
Perdan faced her, turning on his side. “Tell me about him. Is that who sent you to the palace?”
She exhaled. It was odd knowing that Perdan and Feyda had known her secret all along. She shouldn’t have been surprised. News of the half-blood who killed the crown prince would have travelled faster than most throughout the realm. There was no escaping her past.
“Yes,” she said. “He is a horrible man. Not only did he waste his money, but my mother’s as well. Then, he expected me to help him rebuild his fortune.”
“How?”
She hated the answer. It made her sound like a bad person. But, sometimes she wondered if that were true.
“By seducing Prince Lawson,” she said. “But, I loved him, Perdan. I didn’t expect that to happen. He was just too perfect not to love.”
“I saw him once. He was quite handsome,” Perdan said, nodding.
Rowen narrowed her eyes at him
“Perdan,” she said. “I saw you kiss a man."
He shrugged. “What of it?”
She wasn’t sure what she meant by bringing it up, but it had sat on her mind since it happened. “Well, I've heard of such things. I didn't believe they were true. I’d never seen anything like that before.”
He cracked a grin. “I like beautiful things, Ro. Beautiful art. Beautiful men. Beautiful women."
“But, how?”
He raised a brow. “Oh, I see. You've fallen for me haven't you, Ro?”
Her cheeks flushed. “Nonsense.”
“I understand. I'm charming and handsome. But, don’t take offense. You're beautiful…but you're also too pale and thin for me. Besides, it's sinful for two blonds to be together.”
Rowen laughed. Leave it to Perdan to cheer her up with his jests. “You're ridiculous. You're more like a brother than a lover,” she said, playfully pushing his shoulder .
“I know, Ro. Now, go to sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us.”
Rowen turned away from him on her side. He wrapped an arm around her and snuggled into her back.
“Dream of the future, if you can. Where all will be well, and you will once again find love.”
She nodded and let his words lead her to sleep.
Chapter 11
The days were long as they travelled the narrow roads that led from Billingsport to Malcore. Rowen was tired of thunder and lightning. The storm hadn’t stopped, but as they drew closer to the Wasteland, the rain slowed to little more than a sprinkle, and then stopped completely.
Rowen looked out the window to the dark skies. A breeze blew at her face and rustled the curtain as she leaned out for a better look. A mixture of purples, grays, and orange danced across the sky as bolts of lightning illuminated the clouds from behind.
“I’m starting to forget whether its day or night,” she said to Perdan who sat next to her.
What she’d give for a bowl of hot stew and a warm bed with thick blankets and plush pillows. Those were distant memories. Her mind drifted to Prince Rickard. It did that often after her last encounter with him. She didn’t tell Feyda or Perdan, but kept it to herself and closed her eyes to relive his kiss. She’d wake up in a sweat after dreams of him and his seductive voice. They’d always start with passionate kisses and would morph into him pulling her by her hair to the gallows.
Best to forget him and his riddles.
“It’s about noon,” Perdan said, sipping water from a flask. He read from an ancient text sprawled across the floor of the cart.
“It’s been three days since we’ve passed an inn. I would love a bath. A proper one with perfumes, oils, and hot stones.”
“Why don’t you sit down and make us some lunch? I can pour some of the rain water we collected over you later. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
She slumped back inside the cart and combed through her hair with her fingers. “Make it yourself. There’s only dried meat and cheese,” she said. “And there isn’t much of that left.”
“Sounds lovely,” he said, looking to her. “I’ll take some of the cheese, with a smidge of mom’s jam.”
She still owned them her life, and Perdan had driven them with very little breaks for days on end. It was the least she could do. She crawled over to the far end of the cart w
here they kept their food and supplies in a drawer that pulled out from the small loft bed. Though Feyda repaired the canvas cover, it still leaked in some places, and they collected the water in a small bucket for washing their dishes. She cut some of the hard, white cheese and ladled a scoop of Feyda’s peach and raisin jam beside it. She took a bite of the cheese and returned to Perdan.
“Thank you.” Perdan yawned and accepted the small wooden bowl she’d prepared for him. “I might need a nap after this.”
“Stay alert,” Feyda shouted from the front where she directed the horses.
Rowen’s eyes widened. “She really does hear everything.”
“This lightning is getting closer. We may need to stop and do another enchantment on the cart before we get hit.”
The horses squealed as a bolt of lightning struck a nearby pine tree. Bare of leaves, the tree caught on fire with flames reaching high into the sky.
“Calm down,” Feyda shouted to the horses as they bucked and neighed with fear. “Shush now.”
They stopped and Perdan opened the door. “I’ll tend to them,” he said, hopping down to the ground.
Rowen followed him. The smell of the air was odd. Something foul was in the air, but she couldn’t place what it was. She looked around. Her hair blew into her face as stronger winds swept through the barren opening of a long valley between two red mountains.
“What is this place?”
Perdan glanced back at her as he ran to the horses. “We’re deep in it, now, Ro. This is just the beginning of the Malcore Wastelands. Nothing lives past this point.”
Her eyes rose as she looked at the mountains. They were as tall as those in Withrae, reaching high into the clouds with peaks vanishing into the sky.
Another crack of lightning shot into another tree behind Rowen and she was thrown backward by the force of the explosion. She fell to the ground and slid a few feet across the ground, scraping her arms and legs. Groaning, she pushed herself up to her elbows and tried to clear her vision. For a moment, she could hear nothing. Then, gradually, the sound of the horses going crazy and Perdan’s shouting for her started to ring in her ears.
