Norill plucked the dart from her neck. “What’s this?” She looked at Anders. He was kneeling on the ground, his face red and covered with sweat. “Is this poison?” she asked. Blue blood soaked her dress from the knife still embedded between her shoulder blades.
Anders flexed his fingers, getting ready to attack.
“Worthless, despicable human!” The witch turned and threw something at my cheek. I swiped it away—it was Anders’s dart. Norill started laughing, the sound reverberating through the forest. “Your ridiculous human poisons don’t work on me, but they certainly work on you!”
My vision swam as darkness hovered around the edges. Anders had probably packed a lethal dose into that dart. My only comfort came from knowing some of it had been released into Norill, so it couldn’t be as potent as it originally was. My legs gave out, and I tumbled to the ground.
Anders crawled toward me, his face contorted with fury.
Norill stepped on his back, pinning him in place. “If you want to see him alive again, bring the rest of the Krigers to the castle. I want all twelve of you there within a fortnight; otherwise, I’ll skin this one alive and deliver his bones to you in a box.”
My body tingled as it lost feeling. Norill reached back, plucking Anders’s knife free and flinging it into my leg. I couldn’t even feel the knife pierce my flesh. She picked Anders up, tossing him over her shoulder, and strode away, disappearing into the thick smoke.
✧
My body floated in darkness. I hoped there wasn’t enough poison in the dart to kill me. If I was going to die, surely, I’d be dead already and not drifting in a black abyss.
Were those voices I heard?
It couldn’t be Anders—Norill had taken him. I needed to wake up and save him. Even though he was a skilled assassin, he was injured from the grevling. His cuts were infected, and if left untreated, he could die.
Why wasn’t I waking up?
✧
My arms and legs felt like tree stumps, and I couldn’t move. While my brain was functioning just fine, my body wasn’t. Wake up! I screamed at myself. I had to save Anders. I knew what horrific torture Morlet was capable of and had no desire for Anders to suffer the same fate I did. All I had to do was wake up.
✧
If only Morlet could help me. However, I had the medallion around my neck, so there was no way possible to connect to him. Why did I run to him every time I was in a tight bind? I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I could wake up from this sleep—I just had to want it badly enough. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.
✧
My eyes flew open. I was in a small room, lying on a bed, the gray light of dawn drifting through the open window.
“Hello?” I called out, my voice raspy.
“You’re awake,” a familiar voice said. Stein entered the room and sat on a chair next to the bed.
“Where am I?”
“A villager’s hut in the forest,” he answered. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been trampled by an ox.”
He chuckled.
“What are you doing here?” A gentle breeze drifted in through the window.
Stein rubbed his tired face. “It was late in the afternoon when I was practicing with the Krigers. We can finally link our powers together. There was a searing pain that shot through all of us, and we lost our connection to one another. I can’t explain how, but I knew you were in trouble. Everyone felt the pain, but only Henrik and I understood you needed us.”
Why did only the two of them have a connection to me? And how was that even possible? “Then what happened?”
“Henrik and I felt a pull and followed it. We found you lying on the ground. A villager who saw you fight the evil witch offered us her home to use until you recovered.”
Just like that time I was somehow connected to Norill and followed the pull to the cabin. “How long have I been sleeping?”
“Three days.”
I pushed myself to a sitting position, and my head throbbed like someone was smacking it with a branch. “Norill has Anders,” I croaked. “He’s injured. We have to rescue him.” Three days. She’d already had him for three days. He could be dead.
Henrik lumbered into the small bedroom, filling it with his hulking body. “You’re finally awake!” he bellowed. “It’s about time.”
“Thank you for coming to my aid.” I carefully swung my legs over the side of the bed. White bandages were wrapped around my thigh, covering my knife wound.
Henrik sheepishly smiled. “Vidar wasn’t too happy we left on a hunch. He wants us to return as soon as possible.”
My vision blurred. “I need to tell him what happened, so we can organize a rescue party.” Norill had given me a fortnight to get all the Krigers to the castle. She wouldn’t kill Anders until then. However, that wouldn’t stop her or Morlet from torturing him. Nor would it stop his injuries from worsening.
“You shouldn’t be walking,” Henrik said, pointing to my leg.
“I’ll manage.” For Anders, I would do anything, even push through this pain or risk further injury to myself.
He shook his head. “I’ll carry you.”
“I’m not a child,” I insisted.
“No, you most certainly are not,” Stein interjected. “But you are hurt. If you want to be of any help to Anders, let Henrik carry you. It will afford you more time to heal while we travel.”
“My bo!” I cried out, suddenly realizing it wasn’t in the room. “Where is it?”
Stein and Henrik exchanged confused looks.
“I had it while fighting Norill. Did either of you find it lying near my body?”
Stein shook his head. “We thoroughly searched the area. Your bo wasn’t there.”
“Do you think the evil witch took it?” Henrik asked.
Fury filled me. The evil witch had taken two things near and dear to my heart—Anders and my bo staff. I intended to get both of them back.
After drinking a cup of tea infused with a pain reliever and what I suspected to be sleeping herbs, I thanked the woman for her hospitality as Henrik carried me out of her house.
Many of the trees and homes in the village were charred from Norill. Several people worked at making repairs. On the south end of the village, a dozen or so mounds of fresh dirt lay covered with stones and flowers. Grief poured into me, but there was nothing I could do to help the dead. I needed to focus on saving the living—including Anders.
Stein led the way as Henrik carried me through the forest, his gait lulling me to sleep, despite my intention to remain awake. I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I woke up in the cave, Damaris sitting by my side.
“Welcome back,” she said, relief filling her voice. “I’ll let Vidar know you’re awake.”
“Before you go,” I said, reaching out and touching her arm. “Has there been any word on Anders?” She shook her head. “What about a rescue attempt?”
“Nothing has been done.” She stood and left.
How was Anders faring under Morlet’s roof? Was Norill torturing him at this very moment? Even though the fire roared in the center of the cave, cold air from outside blew in, chilling me.
“Look who’s decided to grace us with her presence,” Vidar said as he strolled inside the cave. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better.” I sat up, feeling only a touch of soreness in my thigh.
“Anders and his stupid poison,” Vidar muttered, taking a seat next to me. “I always told him it would backfire one day.” Despite his carefree attitude, he had dark circles under his eyes, hinting that he hadn’t been sleeping well. Stubble covered his face. It was the first time I’d seen him looking less than perfect.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, glancing around the empty cave.
“Damaris went to get you some fresh water. Everyone else is practicing.”
“What’s the plan?” If we hurried, we could reach the castle late tonight.
He smacked
his fist on the ground. “Stein said Norill took Anders.”
“Yes, and he’s injured. We had a run in with a pack of grevlings. We need to retrieve him as soon as possible. I fear Morlet and Norill are torturing him.”
Vidar cocked his head. “Why did she take him and not you?”
“Because she wants all the Krigers to go to the castle to rescue him.” Technically, she expected us to turn ourselves over in exchange for Anders. However, I planned to sneak in, rescue Anders, and get out before anyone even realized what had happened.
“Exactly. Which is why we can’t.”
It felt as if he’d punched me. I must have heard him incorrectly. “What?”
“No one is going to rescue him.”
“I am.” Anger rose inside of me, my power rushing to my hands in response.
“No, you’re not.”
“We can’t just leave him there!” How could Vidar not do anything? Anders was his best friend.
“Anders is a skilled assassin. He knows how to handle a situation such as this. He wouldn’t want you, or anyone else, taking unnecessary risks, especially when he was trained for this scenario.” I opened my mouth to object, but Vidar cut me off. “We’re going to kill Morlet. Once he’s out of the way, we’ll get Anders back.”
His plan wouldn’t work. “Anders has an infection. Norill only gave us two weeks. If we don’t go to the castle by then, she’ll kill him if he’s not already dead!” If only I’d been able to heal him with my magic.
“Two weeks?” he asked. I nodded. “I found someone who can marry us. We can perform the ceremony tonight, conceive a child, and then attack Morlet.”
He didn’t know. With Anders’s abduction, I’d forgotten about the valuable information I’d learned on the other side of the mountains. “It’s not you.”
“What do you mean?” Vidar asked. “What isn’t me?
There was no easy way to say this. “My great-great grandmother was Linnea, the girl Morlet ran away with. Grei Heks cast the curse so that Linnea and Morlet would have a child together.” There was no need to tell him Linnea had been raped. That she didn’t even know for certain who the child’s father was.
“Did they have a baby?” he asked.
“No.”
“Why did Grei Heks want Morlet and Linnea to have a child together?”
Staring at the fire, I explained what Lise had told me about creating a new breed of Heks.
“Did she intend for the child to be Heks or human?” Vidar asked.
“I suppose it would be both.” I’d never thought about Heks and humans copulating.
Vidar stood and started pacing about the cave.
“Obviously, things didn’t go as planned. The curse has been passed down through my family line. It won’t end until one of Linnea’s descendants has a child with Morlet, fulfilling what Grei Heks started over a hundred years ago.” I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on.
“Right now, that responsibility falls to you.” Vidar stopped in front of me and sat down again, chewing on his bottom lip. “I’m sorry, Kaia.” He hung his head between his knees. “What an awful lot you’ve been given.”
Reaching out, I touched his shoulder. “It’s fine.” Somehow, deep down, I had known all along that Morlet and I were connected. At least that connection made sense now. It wasn’t that I had misplaced feelings for him, but that the curse bound us together.
“To bear his child… I can’t ask you to do it.” His blue eyes, so similar to the king’s, filled with sorrow. “You don’t have to do it.”
The inscription etched on my bo staff flashed in my mind. Choice. Life was a series of choices. “I’ve decided to go through with it instead of burdening the next woman in my family with the curse. Besides, I have the chance to liberate the citizens in Nelebek who are suffering. That alone is reason enough.” No more burning villages, no more people being tortured, and no more oppression. I would suffer, so many would thrive. It was a small price to pay.
“You’re a good person,” Vidar said. “I’m honored to know you.” He reached out and took my hands, holding them tightly. “This changes nothing,” he said with fierce determination.
“What do you mean?” Having Morlet’s child would change everything.
“You don’t need to have a child out of wedlock and suffer the dire consequences. We can still marry. No one will know the child is Morlet’s and not mine. I will protect you.”
His words sent a chill through me. I hadn’t thought about how people would react to a child of Morlet’s blood. There was so much hatred for the king—would the citizens of Nelebek transfer their anger to his child? My child?
“You don’t have to do that for me,” I replied. This was Vidar’s one chance to be honorably released from our engagement and the responsibility of raising a child.
“You’re sacrificing so much for Nelebek,” he said. “You make me want to be a better person. Not only that, but I also gave your father my word.” He smiled and squeezed my hands.
“We don’t love each other.” Shouldn’t marriage be about love?
His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “My father groomed me to be king. Not once did I consider or hope to marry for love.” He rubbed his hand over his tired face. “I will be king, and I must have a strong queen by my side. I want that woman to be you. We may not be in love now, but we are friends. Who knows what that will lead to?”
Before, I was forced into this engagement, with no say in the matter. Now, Vidar was giving me a choice, and I had no idea what to do. What was the best course of action for not only my future, but also my child’s?
“Take some time to think about it,” Vidar said gently. “Let me know in a couple of days. Nothing can be done until you conceive Morlet’s child, so we’ll need to figure that out as well.”
I nodded, no idea what to say to this turn of events.
“Do you want to get some fresh air?” he asked.
“I’d love to.” He helped me to my feet.
“How is your leg?”
It was sore, but it could hold my weight. “Better.”
He helped me down the mountainside to where the Krigers stood. After everyone welcomed me back, Marius decided the twelve of us would try to link powers together since Vidar didn’t want me to do anything more strenuous than that.
I stood with my fellow Krigers, forming a loose circle, facing one another. Everyone but me held their weapons. Vidar and Damaris were off to the side, watching us.
“Like last time,” Marius said, “I’m going to send my power to my right to Gunner. When he feels it brush him, he’ll pass it on to his right. Everyone else will do the same.”
“How many times have you guys connected together?” I whispered to Stein.
“A handful. We can’t ever hold it very long though.”
“Does everyone know about Anders?” I asked.
“Henrik told them.”
“And?” Were they as anxious as I was to rescue him?
“And nothing,” Stein whispered. “Vidar is in charge. We can’t do anything unless he gives the word.”
“Are you okay with that?”
Henrik, who stood to my left, grunted, and then power slammed into me, making me almost lose my footing. Pulling on my own inner power, I called it out and passed it to Stein. We were more than halfway around the circle.
“If you’re asking if I’m okay with letting Anders sit in the dungeon, the answer is no.”
“We have to do something,” I insisted.
“We will. Once the twelve of us can master our powers and connect together, we can go after Anders. Until then, it’s too dangerous.”
“It worked,” Marius said with a huge smile on his face. I felt a distant link with each Kriger. “We’re all connected, even though Kaia doesn’t have her bo staff.”
I felt everyone’s attention on me. “What do we do now?” I asked.
“One at a time, we’re going to try and use our weapons,” Marius ans
wered. “I’ll go first.” He raised his misericorde, and the connection severed.
“What happened?” I asked Stein.
“What always does—we can’t hold the link and fight at the same time.”
“Again,” Vidar insisted.
We spent the next several hours connecting to one another. By the end of the day, we were able to link in a matter of seconds. However, we hadn’t been able to manage anything beyond that. As soon as someone swung a weapon, the link severed.
✧
“I understand why you don’t want everyone to rush to Anders’s rescue,” I said to Vidar after a meager dinner in the cave. “However, at least let one or two of us go after him.” I fully intended to be one of the people who went.
“I can’t,” he replied. “If something happens, our chance of ending Morlet is over.”
Most of the Krigers were playing a game of cards on the other side of the fire, far enough away from Vidar and me so they wouldn’t hear our conversation. However, Henrik, Stein, and Marius sat close by, most likely trying to eavesdrop.
“It won’t be over,” I insisted, lowering my voice. “Morlet won’t risk killing a Kriger.”
Vidar stood and nodded to the cave’s entrance. I followed him outside to the ledge so no one would hear us arguing. “I understand your desire to help him,” he said. “Anders is my best friend—as close as a brother.”
“Then save him!” How could he stand there and not do anything? I wanted to shake some sense into him.
“I have to think of the big picture.” He paced back and forth on the ledge. “Anders is an intelligent and highly skilled man. If anyone can survive this, it’s him.”
Tears filled my eyes. Vidar didn’t understand. “He’s injured! His infection has probably spread.” He would die. Was that a sacrifice Vidar was willing to make?
“Norill won’t let him die.” His voice wavered. “Not when she wants to use him to lure the Krigers to her.”
“She may underestimate his condition. Or,” I hated to say it, “he could be dead already.” Especially if he was being tortured. Morlet wouldn’t heal him, not when he hated Anders for killing his parents. If afforded the opportunity, Morlet would make Anders pay in the vilest way possible.
Burning Shadows Page 16
