Time stood still as the sound of men crashing through the underbrush grew louder behind him. The wall slid aside, so slowly it seemed the sun would set before it opened. Yet finally, the aperture was wide enough that Kodyn thrust Aisha into the tunnel. Leaping after her, he whirled and pressed the gemstone that shut the door. The wall ground to a halt half-open and remained unmoving for a long second.
His heart seemed to stop between beats. Come on, damn it!
Then the stone rumbled silently closed, plunging them into the blessed safety of darkness.
Kodyn gasped and sagged against the wall. That was too bloody close! His hands and knees trembled, not only from exertion but also from fear. For a long moment, he seemed unable to draw breath. Too bloody close, indeed.
Yet he forced himself to stand upright. They had no time for delay. The assassins couldn’t be far ahead of them. If they hurried, they might be able to catch up.
“Come on!” he hissed. “We need to find them before they disappear!”
Not waiting for Aisha’s response, he set off at a rush down the tunnels. An irritated huff sounded from behind him, but a moment later, Aisha’s footsteps echoed at his back.
Kodyn had no time to wonder what had gotten into Aisha. He had to focus on finding the assassins before they escaped. He’d run them down, even if it meant risking overtaking them. His gut clenched at the thought of crossing blades with the assassins in the darkness. The red-glowing stones set into the wall gave off pitiful light—light that would make it damned hard to see if it came to a fight. He didn’t dare pull out the glowstone for fear of giving away his position.
We’ll just have to make the best of a shite situation, he decided.
He listened for any sound ahead as he ran, but only silence and the pounding of his pulse met his ears. Horror thrummed deep within him as he spotted the blank wall at the end of the passage.
No! No sign of the assassins, only solid stone.
He ripped the glowstone from his pouch and held it up. Glowing symbols sprang to life on the wall, illuminated in that eerie mandala. Kodyn pressed Suroth’s lockstone to the center of the pattern and the door slid open.
But as he sprang out into the tunnels beyond, his heart sank.
The tunnels stood empty and dark. The assassins had disappeared.
Chapter Fifteen
Aisha’s gut tightened as she stepped out into the Serenii passages behind Kodyn and found no sign of the men they followed. The assassins had only fled a few seconds before them, but those seconds had been enough for them to vanish into the darkness of the underground tunnels.
”Damn it!” Kodyn drove a clenched fist into the wall. “We lost them.”
Worry thrummed within Aisha—not about the assassins, but for Kodyn. She’d never seen him this angry before. Something was going on in his mind, something that drove him to take foolish risks.
Fire flashed in Kodyn’s eyes as he turned to her. “Where do you think they’re going? We never found where Hallar’s Warriors are hiding out.”
Aisha shrugged. “I don’t know, but—”
Kodyn’s rush of words drowned out her answer. “We need to go back into the palace, then. We came for Groebus, and he might still be in there. We can snatch him, haul him to the Temple of Whispers, then grill him to find out where Hallar’s Warriors are hiding.” His face took on a determined set, one Aisha recognized as the expression he got just before he went rushing in and did something dangerous. “Yes, that’s what we’ll do. Come on. We need to get back there and—”
“Kodyn!” Aisha’s voice cracked like a whip. She winced as the word echoed down the tunnels; the assassins would definitely have heard it. Yet at that moment, she didn’t care. “You need to slow down before you get yourself killed.”
“Slow down?” Kodyn’s eyebrows flew up. “We could have caught up with the assassins, but you had to delay long enough to gather those spirits. Going slow is exactly what got us into this mess in the first place!”
Aisha sucked in a breath. Anger flared bright in her chest and her hands balled into tight fists. “That moment’s delay is the only reason we’re going to find those assassins!” she snarled. It took all her self-control not to punch him. “The spirits of the dead Indomitables can lead us to the ones that killed them.”
With that, Aisha turned on her heel and stormed off down the passage, deeper into the darkness. The Kish’aa seethed within her, their desire for vengeance burning like a wildfire in her chest. Yet their anger paled in comparison to the fury within her. His recriminating words had cut her deep, hurt her in a way she’d never expected to be hurt. Not by him.
“Aisha!” came Kodyn’s call from behind her.
She ignored it and marched on, too angry to slow down. It would be his own damned fault if he got lost in the tunnels.
“Aisha, I’m sorry!” A breathless Kodyn raced up toward her and caught her arm.
She tore free of his grip. “Sorry?” Jaw set, she refused to be stopped by the insensitive jackass. “Glad to hear you’re sorry, Kodyn. That just makes things all better, doesn’t it?”
Kodyn hurried along beside her. “Aisha, I…” He trailed off, a guilty light in his eyes. “I should never have said that. I know how important the Spirit Whisperer abilities are to you.”
“You think this is about that?” Now Aisha stopped, so suddenly Kodyn had to do a hasty about-face. She stalked the two steps toward him and jabbed a finger into his chest. “You are going to get yourself killed and there’s not a Keeper-damned chance I’ll just sit by and watch!”
Kodyn’s jaw dropped. “W-What are you talking about?” He blinked, stupefied. “Why do you say—”
“Because of everything you’ve done!” Aisha’s voice dropped to an infuriated hiss. “From the moment we left Praamis, you’ve been rushing into every fight, heedless of the risks. Every chance you get to play hero, you take it. And doing that is exactly how you wind up dead!”
“Play hero?” He looked as if she’d slapped him. A moment later, the burning embers of his temper blazed to life. “You think that’s what I’m doing here?”
“Yes.” Ice settled into Aisha’s gut, cold and hard. “And I understand that desire to protect others. It’s a noble one, and it’s one of the things that make you so wonderful. But it’s not always the right way to act.”
Kodyn looked ready to retort, his jaw stubborn and set, yet no words came out.
“Think about everything you’ve done since we arrived in Shalandra. Attacking the Gatherers alone—”
“To save you and Briana!” Kodyn protested.
“Stealing into Councilor Angrak’s mansion—”
Again, a protest. “To get evidence to prove his guilt!”
Aisha drove on. “Taking on Handsome in his lair, then literally almost getting yourself killed in the battle at the Heartspring.” She counted the items off on her fingers. “Diving into a crowd of rioters shouting about Indomitables attacking, taking on a militant alone in a mob, now throwing yourself at a handful of assassins!”
Kodyn was too stunned by her tirade to respond.
“You’ve nearly died a dozen times since you arrived in Shalandra.” Aisha glared daggers at him. “Every time, there was a noble reason behind it, and you were doing it to save someone or stop evil men from harming others. But the way you do these things, throwing yourself into situations like this without forethought, that’s what the problem is here!”
Kodyn’s face revealed his shock, but a hint of hurt shone in his eyes.
“You are a Hawk, Kodyn!” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “You were trained to be rational, deliberate, thoughtful, to consider each avenue of entrance and escape before going in. You’re one of the most cunning people I know—you’ve had to be, what with your life in the Night Guild and the way Bryden has been taking out his hatred of your mother on you—but right now, there’s far less of that clever Hawk that I met all those years ago. Instead, there’s just an angry young man rushing
in face-first.”
She gripped his arm. “The day’s going to come that you’ll rush into a situation that you can’t fight, lie, or steal your way out of.” Her jaw clenched. “And on that day, you’re going to break my heart.”
Kodyn tried to speak. “Aisha, I—”
She gripped his face in two hands. “No, you’re going to listen to me. You know how I feel about you, Kodyn. We’ve been best friends for years, and now…” She trailed off. “But because of my feelings, I can’t just stand by and watch you throw yourself into harm’s way time and time again. Yes, we’re surrounded by enemies and we’ve had to fight our share of battles. But we could always fight them together. We can always lean on each other. Unless you choose to fight on your own. I can’t stop you from making that choice, but I’m damned sure not going to hold my tongue.”
They stood eye to eye, their faces a finger’s breadth apart. Slowly, the strong, angry façade cracked and a shadow darkened Kodyn’s eyes. “I can’t lose anyone else, Aisha.” His words came out in a whisper. “I’ve lost too much already.”
There it was. Beneath the confident man, a hint of that scared boy remained. He feared not for himself, but for the ones he loved.
“My mother nearly died a hundred times over when I was too young to realize the truth,” he said. Tears slipped down his strong cheeks. “Ria nearly died trying to save me from the fire. I lost my father before I was even born. Sid was a heartbeat away from death because I didn’t keep a closer eye on him. Hells, I don’t even know if he’s alive or not—when we left, he was still recovering from the poison, and Master Tyman wasn’t hopeful. We lost Suroth, then Rothin and Nessa. It’s…” His voice cracked. “It’s too much!”
His broad shoulders slumped. “I can’t let anyone else die. If anything happened to you, to Briana, to any of the others…” He shook his head and scrubbed the moisture from his cheeks. “Just the thought of it makes me furious. I want to kill them all, the Ybrazhe, the Gatherers, Hallar’s Warriors, the Keeper’s Council, everyone! Anyone who threatens the people I love.”
“And that anger is what’s going to get you killed.” Aisha spoke in a soft, gentle tone. “What was it that Errik always said when training us?”
“Anger makes you impatient, impatience makes you careless, and careless gets you killed,” Kodyn replied in a quiet voice.
Aisha nodded. “Precisely. And right now, we’re facing enemies on all sides. Enemies far more powerful and numerous than us.” She gestured to the two of them. “It’s just us, you and me. That’s all we’ve got. If we don’t fight together, we die alone.” She reached for his hand. “And watching you die would kill me.”
Kodyn squeezed her fingers in his own. “I promise I’ll try not to let it get to me. I’ll…” He drew in a deep breath. “I’ll be prudent.”
“Good.” Aisha reached her hand up to his cheek. “Because we’re never going to outfight our enemies. We’re going to have to outthink them. And there’s no one I trust to be clever more than you.”
“No pressure, right?” A little grin split his lips. “It’s not like I have to figure out where in this city those damned assassins disappeared to.”
Aisha returned his grin. “No, you don’t.” Her smile widened at his surprise. She pulled the pendant from her shirt and held it up. “The spirits of the slain Indomitables will guide us to the ones that killed them.”
Kodyn’s confusion changed to excitement. “Aisha, you are spectacular!” He threw his arms around her and swept her up into a kiss. It lasted only a moment, but it left her as breathless as it had the first time.
He broke off first, and color rushed to his cheeks. “Oh, er...yeah.” He seemed genuinely at a loss for words.
Aisha smiled. “Let’s go.” She reached for his hand once more. The warmth of his strong fingers only added to the furious racing of her heart. Heat suffused her cheeks and she was glad the near-darkness hid her blush. “Let’s go find our killers.”
* * *
Aisha’s brow furrowed. This is where Hallar’s Warriors are hiding?
The mansion towered a full five stories high, stretching close to a hundred paces to the east and west. Despite being one of the smaller Dhukari estates on the western side of the Keeper’s Tier, a bowshot from the Citadel of Stone, it still reeked of extravagance and opulence. Fluted marble columns supported a flat roof adorned with a wealth of ornate granite depicting hideous creatures with bared fangs and sharp claws. The solid sandstone walls revealed little of the interior, but the upper floors had glass-framed picture windows, with a balcony stretching from the eastern side of the fifth floor.
It seemed impossible that Hallar’s Warriors would be hiding in such a palatial abode, yet there was no mistaking it. The spirits of the two slain Indomitables had led her through the tunnels, out onto the Keeper’s Tier, and westward toward this mansion. The estate’s proximity to the southern wall meant the militants could come and go through the secret tunnels without worrying about Indomitable patrols.
Two men stood guard at the front gate, yet they looked far too uncomfortable in the gold robes and ornate headbands of the Dhukari. The swords at their hips resembled those wielded by the assassins, not the short, heavy blades Rothin and Suroth’s house guards had carried.
They had to be Hallar’s Warriors. The spirits had led her to the right place.
She ducked back around the corner. “What now?” she signed to Kodyn. “That clever brain of yours come up with a plan?”
Kodyn’s brow furrowed in thought. “The fact that they’re here on the Keeper’s Tier means they’ve got a high-ranked benefactor. The one who owns that mansion. We need to find out who it is. Chances are, it’s someone among the Necroseti.”
“How exactly do you plan to do that?” Aisha’s fingers asked. “A few too many of them to sneak in the back way.”
A broad grin split Kodyn’s lips. “Why, the Hawk way, of course!” He thrust a finger toward the roof.
Aisha studied the rooftop. While the poorer dwellings on the lower tiers had thatched roofs, the Dhukari mansions had roofs of tiled stone and sun-baked clay tiles. Both were far sturdier than wood and thatch, more than capable of supporting their weight. She had far less climbing experience than him, but even she could figure out a number of paths that would get them up and onto the rooftops.
“Good thinking.” She nodded. “Let’s go.”
“No!” Kodyn stepped in front of her, shaking his head. “Just me.”
Aisha’s eyes narrowed. “Kodyn, we stick together, remember?”
“I know.” He grinned. “But this is what I do.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Explain.”
His fingers flashed quickly in the silent Secret Keeper hand language. “One to sneak onto the rooftops, one to watch the streets. If our targets rabbit out the back way and duck into the tunnels, you need to be nearby to follow them. It will take me time to get up to the roof, and time to get down in case I need to follow them. Having someone on ground level ensures we can pursue if necessary.”
She scowled. “I don’t like the idea of you going alone.”
“Hey, I heard what you said in the tunnels.” He shot her a confident grin, one he likely meant as reassurance, but which only added to her worry for him. Confidence would get him in trouble far more than fearful caution. “I won’t do anything rash. I’ll just watch and listen, collect as much information as I can, then get back here with whatever I find.”
Aisha narrowed her eyes. “Swear it!”
Kodyn cocked an eyebrow. “What’s that, now?”
“Swear it, on the Watcher in the Dark,” Aisha pressed, “that you will be cautious and avoid anything that could get you killed.”
“Aside from jaunting across the rooftops, you mean?” Kodyn winked.
Aisha’s scowl deepened. He wasn’t taking her seriously.
“Okay!” Kodyn threw up his hands. “I swear on the Watcher in the Dark that I’ll play it safe.”
Ais
ha nodded. “Good.” She shot a glance at the sky; the sun had just passed its zenith and begun its descent to the western horizon. “They were brazen to make that attack on the palace in broad daylight. Chances are they won’t try anything until after dark.”
“That gives us plenty of time to stake out the place, see what’s what.” Kodyn grinned. “Maybe even catch them napping, give them a nasty surprise.” He held up a hand to forestall her retort. “Nothing foolish, I promise.”
Aisha bit back a sharp response. Despite her worries, he was more than capable of taking care of himself, of being safe. Hells, he’d survived as a Hawk under Bryden all these years. She had to trust that he actually had heard what she’d told him.
With a sigh, she nodded. He shot her a wink and turned to race down the alleyway. Halfway down the narrow lane, he turned toward the three-story wall of the mansion adjoining the militants’ hideout and began to climb. His strong fingers dug into cracks and pulled him up the rough surface with ease. Less than two minutes later, he scrambled onto the top of the wall, shot her a jaunty wave, then disappeared into the mansion to begin his circuitous approach to the militants’ roof.
Aisha’s chest tightened as he dropped from sight. She’d managed to get through to him in the tunnels, but old habits and strong emotions died hard. Please, keep him safe. The simple prayer, sent to any Kish’aa nearby, was the best she could do.
She had matters of her own to attend to. She felt a gentle tugging from the pendant at her neck, pulling her toward the mansion. The Kish’aa had found their targets and they clamored for vengeance.
Aisha peered around the corner. Two more lightly-armored men had emerged from the mansion to join their companions on guard. At the sight of the four men, the spirits flared to life within her and lightning sizzled through her veins.
“Avenge us!” the two slain Indomitables cried. “Blood for blood, death for death.” Energy crackled in her muscles and her limbs twitched. She could feel the spirits pulling on her body, aching to leap out of hiding to charge the men that had killed her.
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