by Brondos, Pam
“Grow any more attached to my brother. His fate as a duozi is settled. No need to complicate his path with unnecessary emotion.” Andris flicked his gloved hand in the air.
“What are you talking about? No one’s fate is settled.” She clenched her jaw and tugged her cloak tighter around her body to keep out the chill.
“The duozi haven in the Healing House is not how it works in the rest of Fourline, Natalie. Outside the Healing House, duozi are feared and hated.” He let his warning hang in the air.
Haughty, arrogant, intolerant eyes, Nat thought as she stared at him. “Duozi or not, Soris can choose his own path.”
He yanked his reins, bringing his horse to a full stop. His face was swathed in fury as he leaned sharply toward Nat. “You know nothing. You may have the markings and the orb of a Sister, but you have no understanding of the ruin his life became when that Nala bit him.”
“Why do you think I came back? For a summer vacation? I’m here to help him.”
“He’s a duozi. No one can help him or change that, especially not you.”
Nat opened her mouth in reply, but the sound of hoofbeats hurtled toward them. Annin’s hood flopped off as she pulled her horse to a stop near them.
“There’s someone up ahead, in the draw.” She gestured toward the bend. Soris’ horse danced behind them.
“Just one?” Soris asked.
“I’m not sure, but it’s not a Nala.”
Nat’s shoulders relaxed.
“Natalie, you and Annin take the west ridge.” Andris pointed to the hill opposite the bend. “Soris and I will come from the east.” He kicked his horse and sped away.
“West ridge it is. Keep up, Sister. You never know what’s around the bend.” Annin winked her Nala eye.
“I don’t see anyone,” Nat whispered to Annin. They lay in the wet grass, scanning the valley below. Clusters of rocks covered the hillside, rooted in place by tiny bowl-shaped bushes and wild grasses. Boulders, some big enough to hide a car, littered the floor of the valley.
“Someone’s behind that boulder.” Annin pointed toward one of the massive rocks. The tip of a brown boot disappeared behind it.
“Andris should be close to whoever’s down there,” Nat whispered.
She caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye when she looked at Annin. A cloaked figure rushed from behind one of the boulders at their backs. Nat rolled to the side, barely missing being cut by the blade of a sword. Nat hopped to her feet and faced their attacker. Dirt-encrusted dreadlocks spun in the air when the attacker lunged again.
“Cassandra?” Nat blocked the crazed Sister’s sword with her own. Vibrations shimmied up her arm from the impact. At the sound of her name, Cassandra lowered her sword and lifted her chin. The flaming scar marring the left side of her face contorted when she smiled. Her smile grew wide, revealing mossy-gray teeth.
“I know you.” She wagged her finger. “You’ve improved since last we met.”
Nat studied the other Sister. She’d met her at Gennes’ rebel camp when Benedict had sent her down into the mining pit to collect riven. “What are you doing out here?” she asked.
Cassandra ignored Nat’s question. She regarded Annin. “Who’s the duozi?” she asked and pushed past Nat, heading straight for Annin.
Annin brought the stock of her crossbow to her chin. Cassandra froze. “Nice eye,” she said and spat. The glob landed on Annin’s boot.
“Do that again and you’ll be missing an eye,” Annin said with the bow pointed at the wild Warrior Sister.
Nat inched closer to Annin’s side, watching Cassandra as if she were a prairie snake. Her feet crunched against the rock with each step.
“Put your weapon down.” A woman’s voice came from above.
Cassandra laughed triumphantly and glared at Annin. “Sister Rory will split you like a pea, halfling,” she said and spun toward the woman crouched on top of the boulder. Her bow was pointed at Annin.
“Sister Rory! Hold up!” Andris shouted. He and Soris ran down the ridge. Rory lowered her bow and slid off the boulder. She shook her hood off, revealing short brown hair and piercing brown eyes.
“I should have known,” she said with a scowl as Andris and Soris joined them. “You never make it easy, do you, Andris?”
“What?” Andris frowned. “How was I supposed to know it was you?”
Rory brushed past him and grabbed Cassandra’s elbow, guiding her away. “Would you put that crossbow down?” She looked steadily at Annin, who still had her weapon pointed at Cassandra.
“Say please,” Annin said through clenched teeth.
“Annin, put it down,” Nat and Soris said in unison.
“We know these Sisters,” Nat added.
“Good friends?” Annin lowered the weapon.
“She saved our lives.” Soris nodded toward Rory.
“And the one with the impeccable manners?” Annin glared at Cassandra.
Rory tightened her grip on the Sister’s elbow. “Enough with the reunion. You have horses?” She gestured to the thin tree line behind them.
“Of course we have horses. I told Estos I didn’t need an escort to the base.” Andris looked perturbed. Nat enjoyed watching Rory disregard his irritation with a wave of her hand.
“There’s been a change in location. Get your horses—now,” she said.
Cassandra broke away from Rory and sauntered up to Nat. A faint smell of decay still clung to her. Soris appeared at Nat’s side, inserting his shoulder protectively between the two women.
“You picked up a bit of a blue rash.” Cassandra traced the edge of Soris’ neckline. He shot his hand out and pushed her away.
“Cassandra, leave them alone.” Rory’s threat projected clearly, and Cassandra backed away.
“Soris! Let’s go,” Andris barked. Soris glanced at Nat, giving her a reassuring look, then walked back to his brother.
“Who was the crazy?” Annin asked while untying her horse.
“A Sister I met in Gennes’ camp.” Nat tugged her horse’s tether free and pulled him away so Annin could get to her horse without having to dodge flying hooves.
“Different kind of Sister. If she looks at me again like that, I’m going to punch her.”
“I wouldn’t, Annin. She has a lethal bite,” Nat replied.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Striped gray stone lined either side of the dry riverbed. Nat’s horse careened behind Andris over the choked, dry ground. Dust billowed violently behind his horse and mingled with the clouds formed by Rory, who rode lead.
Nat strained to see through the haze and the fading daylight. She heard hoofbeats and dared a quick glance. Cassandra was a length behind her, slapping the haunch of her horse. She grazed Nat’s ride, forcing the animal to jump over a tangle of dead trees. The crazy Sister disappeared into the cloud of dust. Infuriated, Nat leaned in tight to her horse, urging him to keep pace and push through the dust.
The riverbed curved left into a wider expanse of dried dirt. Nat spotted Rory waving her arm near a fissure in the cliff flanking the riverbed. She pulled the reins slightly, easing her horse’s gait. A confrontation with Cassandra would have to wait.
“Ten lengths forward and then take the sharp curve to the right,” Rory ordered. A layer of dust covered her face.
Nat passed into the shadow of the fissure. Her legs brushed against scraggly branches protruding from crevices in the rock. The horse snorted when she yanked her reins to the right, barely making the turn.
The path opened. The remaining daylight poured into a triangular-shaped rock enclosure. Oberfisk, one of the private guards who’d traveled with Estos through the membrane, stood on a rocky path above her. Sunlight gleamed off his bald head as he passed the reins of Cassandra’s horse to a slender young boy wearing a dusty brown tunic. Nat slid off her horse. As soon as she hit the ground, her legs buckled. Thick fingers grabbed her elbow, pushing up her sleeve.
“Well, Ms. Natalie!” The startled w
ords boomed around her as two massive arms embraced her, then thrust her backward into the light. “Look at you!” Oberfisk’s smile spread across his broad face as he held Nat by her shoulders. “I can’t believe my eyes. Hey, Riler!” he yelled and spun Nat like a rag doll toward an incline at the base of the triangle. “Look who’s here!”
Riler’s head popped out from behind two horses.
“It’s Natalie!” Oberfisk yelled right next to her. Riler waved.
“Oberfisk, my ear.” She brought a hand to her head. “And my shoulders,” she added. Oberfisk dropped his hands. She planted her feet firmly to keep from collapsing to the rocky ground.
“Sorry, Ms. Natalie.” His white teeth shone in the disappearing light. “I never expected to see you again, let alone here.” His smile disappeared and deep lines formed on his forehead. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s a long story, Ober.” She patted his trunklike arm. He handed her horse’s reins to the boy as Annin, Soris, and Rory turned onto the path.
“Take this one,” he ordered the boy. “Be quick about it.” The boy didn’t move. He stared at Annin and Soris as they dismounted. Nat’s horse jerked his head, pulling away.
“Do you want your head mashed in by hooves?” Oberfisk roared, snapping the boy to attention. “Get the horse out of here!”
“Sorry, but th-they’re . . . ,” the boy stammered as he pointed at Annin and Soris. His other arm flailed wildly as the gelding thrashed against his reins.
“I know what they are, now move!” Oberfisk bent his bulky frame over the boy, who stumbled up the path toward Riler, casting nervous looks toward Annin and Soris every few steps.
“Thanks for arranging the warm welcome, Ober.” Annin clutched her reins.
“Not my doing, Annin.” He stuck his arm out for Rory. The Sister grasped it and dismounted. “He’s Benedict’s apprentice.”
Annin whipped her head around. “Benedict’s here?” Her eyes widened.
“Estos wanted him,” Rory said as she brushed past Oberfisk, her horse in tow.
“Estos? Estos would never . . .” Annin pressed her full lips together and stormed after Rory. Nat, Soris, and Oberfisk gathered the remaining horses in silence and followed Annin’s curses up the hill.
“You’re looking a bit better than last time I saw you.” Oberfisk broke the silence as he punched Soris lightly on the arm.
“Yeah, I feel amazing. Fabulous stuff, this Nala venom,” Soris responded. Oberfisk paled. “I’m kidding, Oberfisk. Sister Ethet did what she could,” he said.
“If you don’t mind my saying, maybe Ethet needs to do more. You’re a bit snarky.” Oberfisk’s laughter died when he saw Soris’ expression.
“I mind.” Soris pushed past them.
“What’s gotten into him?” Oberfisk asked Nat.
She watched Soris disappear over the hill under the watchful eyes of two cloaked Sisters guarding the path. “We had a rough encounter with some Nala a few days ago, Oberfisk. Don’t take it seriously.”
“We’ve all had rough encounters with the Nala.”
“Not like this.” Nat pressed her lips together as they reached the top of the hill. As much as she liked Oberfisk, the last thing she wanted to do was recount their experience in the Nala den.
The two Sisters guarding the entrance to the camp nodded respectfully as Nat passed by. She tilted her chin in response. Oberfisk watched the exchange and gave her a questioning look. Nat let her orb float out of the folds of her cloak. She smiled to herself as a look of shock passed over his face.
The other side of the hill rolled into a flat plateau dotted with a handful of tents. Torches flickered as they passed two more guards.
“This way. He’ll want to see you now, I expect,” Oberfisk said, finding his voice. He gestured to a large canvas tent set off from the others. Light spilled out of the open flap and flickered off the tip of the spear held by the Sister blocking the entrance. She stepped aside, allowing Nat and Oberfisk to pass through.
Lanterns hung from wooden support beams crisscrossing the tent’s ceiling. Two compact tables occupied the center of the open room. Andris and Soris leaned over another table set in the corner. Maps and sketches were strewn over its surface. He shuffled through the papers while Estos and Annin argued.
“How could you?” Annin yelled at Estos. Bits of debris fell from her curly hair as she shook her head. Estos reached for her shoulder, but she jerked away. He dropped his hand to his side. Bandages covered the last three fingers of his left hand.
“If the woman is Emilia, and the Chemist has her, I need Benedict. To leave him out of this would be a mistake. You know that as well as I do.” Estos rubbed his forehead and closed his pale eyes. His brown hair had grown since Nat had last seen him. He wore a thick woolen vest over a gray tunic that hit his long figure midthigh. The sleeves and bottom of the tunic were edged with tiny embroidered vines. “You have to put aside your feelings.” His voice was calm but adamant.
“Put aside my feelings? Did you really say that?” She held her finger under his chin. A look of impatience flickered across his face but disappeared quickly. “He betrayed your sister, he betrayed Gennes, he left me—”
“I know what he did, you don’t need to remind me. I don’t have many options here. If it means getting her out, then I’m going to take the chance and use him. This is my sister we’re talking about.”
“You don’t know that for sure. Just because Natalie thought she saw someone . . .”
Nat balked at the door. She expected Andris to question her credibility, but not Annin.
Andris shuffled through more maps. “Why don’t you ask her?”
Estos looked past Annin, noticing Nat for the first time. A smile broke through his worn expression, and he strode toward Nat. He wrapped his long arms around her, and she breathed in the smell of sweat and campfire.
“Annin told me why you came back. It’s good to see you,” he whispered in her ear before letting her go. Dark circles shaded the skin under his eyes. The scar running from his ear to his neck was more pronounced against his pale skin. He looked like he needed a week’s worth of sleep.
She gave him an awkward smile. “It’s good to see you, too, Estos.” Seeing him felt like a reunion with an old friend.
Andris cleared his throat. “Your Highness, now that we’re all here, shall we start?” He dumped a pile of maps on the long table. Estos nodded and took a seat at the head. “Get over here, we’re not on holiday,” Andris barked at Nat and Soris.
Nat slid into a chair next to Soris and stole a quick glance his way. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand, his fused fingers curled around his cheek. She wondered if he was scowling because of the encounters with Benedict’s apprentice and Oberfisk.
“Natalie.” She looked up to find Estos staring intently at her. “Please tell me everything you can remember about the woman in the Chemist’s quarters. Take your time and don’t gloss over any details.”
All eyes turned toward Nat. “Well, after I made the deal with Mudug—that is, traded the riven in exchange for the Chemist’s help—a guard led us from the hearing chamber to the Chemist’s quarters in an interior courtyard.”
“Here.” Andris slid a crude sketch out from under the pile and pointed to a picture of a long building surrounded by the castle walls. Estos reached for the paper and pulled it close.
“That’s it, but there are three doors, not two. One’s set right in the middle.” Nat pointed to the center of the drawing.
“I’ve never seen this building before.” Estos slid the page back to Andris. “Mudug must’ve built it after we left in search of Gordon,” he said, referring to Soris and Andris’ oldest brother, who went missing after Emilia was killed.
“He did,” Andris confirmed. “Mervin and Matilda smuggled these and other drawings to Gennes, two, maybe three years after we passed through the membrane.”
“Keep going, Natalie.” Estos nodded in encouragement. Annin paced th
e room like a pent-up animal.
“The Chemist came out the middle door when we first arrived.” Nat paused, remembering her shock upon seeing Benedict’s twin emerge. “We both had a chance to look into the room before he shut the door.” She turned to Soris, who nodded in agreement but kept his eyes fixed on the drawing.
“I didn’t see much, but I remember a lot of books and clutter.” Soris’ voice was gruff.
“I snuck into the room while the Chemist worked on Soris’ fake pory bite.” She grabbed a piece of blank parchment and sketched out the room. “There was a long map with little orbs hovering along the edges.” She whisked her hand over the paper, and little circles appeared above a map on a low table. “Like Soris said, the place was a mess, books strewn on the floor—”
“Are those little orbs?” Rory stepped forward from the corner of the tent. Nat hadn’t noticed the Sister slip in behind them.
Nat pulled her orb from her pocket and it hovered in the air. A soft light pulsed from the sphere. “Maybe a tenth of the size of mine, Sister. They weren’t transparent, either. One was blue, another was yellow, and I remember another was red.”
A look of concern settled on Rory’s face.
“What’s wrong?” Nat asked, but Rory waved her hand at the table.
“Finish your story,” she said. She examined Nat’s sketch.
“I sprinkled the suix stone around the map. The orbs started to drop. Then I heard a voice, and there she was, standing in the Chemist’s quarters with me.” She looked up.
Estos had a hopeful look in his pale eyes. “Emilia?” he asked. When she nodded, he slumped forward, resting his head in his hands. Andris glared at her.
“It was her,” she said, answering the challenge in Andris’ expression. She placed her hand on the sketch. “She was in that room. Same person as the one in the portrait.”
“What? Did she provide a formal introduction?” Andris demanded.
“No, but she had Estos’ eyes. I remember thinking there was something familiar about her when I saw her, but everything went haywire. I didn’t consider the resemblance until I saw her portrait a few days ago.”
