by Lizzy Ford
“Your deformities could be useful, though I cannot imagine an opponent I cannot face on my own.”
“I can,” she said, thinking of her father.
“Someone you cannot defeat?” He appeared interested.
“I have never tried,” she admitted.
“Coward,” the child beside him whispered in an airy voice.
Tiana blushed.
“Ignore him. He is vengeful,” the skinwalker said dismissively. “He knows the fears of those who can see him and leads them to their deaths.”
Tiana shook her head. She knew nothing of spirits, let alone vengeful ones. That skinwalkers existed was enough to scare her.
“He’s right.” She released her breath.
“You nearly murdered me, a feat no one has managed in a hundred years. You should control those around you and rule them all. How can you fear anyone?”
“You, too,” she muttered and crossed her arms. “My father is powerful and I …” She trailed off without knowing how to finish.
“You are eighteen?”
Startled, Tiana glanced at the sky. If it was past midnight, then she was officially eighteen and had survived to her birthday. “Yes.”
“Skinwalkers manifest their abilities around this age. You may as well. If you did not have the power to face him before, you do now.”
“It is more complicated than that,” she said.
“Because he knows better how to use his abilities.”
“You assume he has them.”
“You and your brother both do. They are passed down. I know nothing of your city, except the legend of the Hanover’s, who have ruled unchallenged for four centuries,” he replied.
It was harder to deny what everyone else assumed was true about him. Tiana wanted to think her father was not deformed. It was much harder to think he was – and lied to her and imprisoned her throughout her life because of her deformities.
“Do you sleep?”
She blinked at the odd question. “Of course.”
The skinwalker smiled coldly. “I do not. Can you keep me here, and your companions safe, when your eyes are closed?”
Tiana had not thought about the measures required to imprison the skinwalker until Diving Eagle’s father decided to use him.
“She will not have to,” Diving Eagle said as he approached. “I know you have some respect for trade. I want to hire you, Black Wolf.”
The skinwalker faced the newcomer and studied him briefly. “You cannot afford me.”
“You were eager to deal with me when I held the Hanover heir.”
“And why did that negotiation fall through?” the skinwalker asked. “Because you attacked me in your village, perhaps? Or lost your prized possession.”
“You had no intention of ever delivering on your promises,” was the cold reply. “Your wolf stole our prized possession, and you would have slaughtered us, if not for the Hanover girl.”
“That was the plan.” Black Wolf smiled. “Saved by your enemy. I am certain you will repay her with a quick death.”
Tiana listened to the exchange, wary of the skinwalker, in case he decided to attack either of them. When Diving Eagle did not immediately correct the creature, she shifted her focus to the Native.
“They will set me free,” she said, prodding the Native.
“Will they?” the skinwalker challenged.
“Diving Eagle, your father said I would be free to leave.”
His jaw ticked, and he looked at her finally. “That was not the original plan.”
She stared at him.
The skinwalker chuckled.
Tiana was uncertain when – if ever – she had experienced the sense of betrayal sliding through her. It was not what she felt when she thought of her father.
This was different. Worse.
She had trusted someone, other than Arthur, for the second time in her life. Was her judgment as weak as her heart?
Was there no part of her free from deformity?
“I will leave you two to discuss your business,” she said and started away.
“You do not need a master, spirit,” the skinwalker said. “You can control them all.”
Tiana ignored him. Part of her wanted to walk away without caring if the skinwalker slaughtered everyone once she was gone.
But another part of her – perhaps the deformed and weak pieces of her – could not bear the idea of anyone else being hurt. She left the immediate area but did not go too far to help, if the skinwalker acted out.
Cold and tired, Tiana sank down against a tree facing the grasslands. The soothing rustle of grass and pine needles comforted her some, though nothing could take away the pain she experienced knowing she had been betrayed.
Aveline and Rocky were both right not to trust the Natives who were eager to work with her. Like her father, they did not value her at all. No one cared for her, except for Arthur and Aveline, even though she cared what happened to others.
She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees, shaking from cold but unwilling to be around anyone else at the moment.
Her eyes closed, and she began to doze, fatigued after the long night.
“You have to understand you are the enemy of my people,” Diving Eagle said, interrupting her solitude sometime later.
She sighed, wishing she could be somewhere else at the moment.
He draped a cloak lined with fur over her shoulders.
“I am not like you. Any of you.” Tiana tugged it around her, grateful for the warmth after her cold trek into the forest. “I do not care for a war I know nothing about, and I do not resent anyone or wish you ill.”
“This is not the way of the rest of the world.”
“I do not care,” she said softly. “I have lived my life enslaved to others and wish only to be free of it all.”
He was quiet.
“Have you been truthful with me about anything?” she ventured.
“Not about anything that mattered.”
Tiana shook her head. “I suppose it is easy to lie to someone who does not know better, who trusts you at your word.”
“It’s not.” His response was softer, without its normal edge. “We did not make this decision lightly.”
“Perhaps it is my fate to be betrayed by those I trust.”
“And you accept that?”
“That those who should protect me instead lie to me and plan to murder me?” she replied. “You are not the first. Why do you think I fear my father so much? I would not have seen this day if I stayed in the city.”
“Perhaps you should place your faith in yourself rather than others.”
She twisted to see him, frowning. “Why advise me at all? You plan to murder me.” Anger fueled the words she would not otherwise dare speak to anyone.
“I said it was our original plan,” he replied, meeting her gaze. “It was the council’s preferred plan as well.”
She waited, not quite grasping what he was saying and afraid to trust him, even if she assumed she knew.
“I cannot imagine any version of events where you live,” Diving Eagle continued. “Your enemies … your father’s enemies … will ensure you do not, and your innocence of how this world works, of how deeply this hatred of your family is buried in the breasts of men like me, will prevent you from knowing the danger until it is too late to stop it.”
Coldness seeped deep into her, chilling her again, despite the heavy cloak. Aveline had tried to warn her of the danger of her inexperience.
“I cannot believe that men are so disillusioned by hate not to see what is in front of them,” she said.
“And that is why you will die.”
She felt the truth of this to her spirit. It was not in her to see the intentions of someone beyond their words or to believe everyone she met wanted her dead.
“My father has left the decision up to me,” Diving Eagle said.
“I understand,” she whispered, not because she did, but becau
se the discussion was hurting her on levels she did not understand. It was worse than how she felt when he called her a coward.
She was ready to be alone with her thoughts, away from Diving Eagle’s intent look.
“I do not wish you dead, Tiana.”
It was the first time he had used her name. She frowned. “Are you lying to me again?” she asked.
“I will do everything in my power to ensure you live, unless your life conflicts with the lives of my people.”
“Out of respect for your father?”
“Partially. If I am to become a great leader like he is, I need to understand the danger of allowing my pride to interfere with the truth. My father encouraged me to remain open when it came to you, to see the truth of who you are. I did not believe him at first.” He paused.
Sensing there was more, she waited.
“His health has been failing for some time. I do not believe he will see the end of this war. Either that or …” He frowned as he studied her. “… or you have triggered my gift. I am beginning to understand his words in a way I had not before.” As he spoke, he rose and stretched his legs. “I will let you choose your fate, Tiana. I believe the skinwalker to be willing to work with us. You can leave, tonight, for the Freelands and never return. I will tell the council you died. Or, you can help my father and me lead a war against your father. I will not tolerate traveling with a coward. Those are your only choices.”
Tiana’s heart beat slow and hard against the cage of her chest. Before she knew how to respond, Diving Eagle began to walk away.
“Chases Deer is hunting for our next meal. Do not venture far,” he said over his shoulder. “I will expect your decision by dawn.”
She watched him, speechless, and then faced the grasslands again.
Diving Eagle was giving her a choice. Not only had she never expected him to offer her this, but the idea she alone could choose what happened next in her life left her feeling overwhelmed.
And … conflicted.
How long had she dreamt of going to the Freelands? Her entire waking life!
But now? When her father could hurt her brother and Aveline any day, or the Natives could destroy the city?
Rocky dropped into a cross-legged sit on the ground beside her.
“I feel like I’ve missed everything my whole life,” she voiced sadly. “I struggle to understand anyone, but Diving Eagle?” She shook her head. “How can he hate me so much? I do not even know him.”
“He likes you.”
“If this is true, I have misunderstood every interaction I have ever had with him!” she said.
“He is not an easy man to understand,” Rocky agreed. “But he followed you out here of his own choice and put a weapon to the head of a skinwalker that could crush him faster than you would because he thought you were in danger.”
“He followed me because he wanted the skinwalker to use against my father.”
“Maybe.” Rocky smiled.
He read people better than she ever would. Even so, she did not believe Diving Eagle was capable of liking her. If he decided not to kill her, it was likely because he no longer hated her. But the chasm between no longer hating someone and liking them seemed vast for a man who declared her to be his blood enemy.
Tiana doubted she would ever understand anyone.
“You look scared,” Rocky observed. “What’s on your mind?”
Everything. She thought. Nothing she could explain in a way that made sense. She felt no elation or excitement when she thought of the Freelands. While she wanted to go, the timing was off. Either she walked away from her brother and friend as war was about to ignite the region, or she stayed with no promise of surviving to see another opportunity to be free.
“Apparently he and the skinwalker came to an arrangement,” Rocky added when she did not speak.
Tiana roused herself from her complicated thoughts. “They want him to murder my father, if Aveline fails.”
“It’s a suicide mission.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, the Guild has tried to take out your father no less than a dozen times the past ten years. Aveline has the training, but your father somehow always knows. I don’t know what he does to those assassins, but they’re never seen again.”
Tiana’s pulse quickened. “You think she is in danger.”
“I think anyone who challenges your father is in more danger than they can imagine.”
“Then why did she go?” she asked anxiously.
“Because Diving Eagle threatened to kill you, me, and Jose if she didn’t.”
“I know but … why did you let her go alone?” she asked, not caring about the emotion in her voice when Diving Eagle was not around to judge her for it. “Are you not her friend?”
“We were raised together. We may not share the same blood, but she is my little sister,” Rocky said. A shadow crossed his features but was just as quickly gone. “I tried to talk to her about it but had the sense she already made up her mind. She would not risk your life for any reason, and not just because you are her sworn duty to protect, but because she cares for you. I believe she thinks that she can protect you if she eliminates the source of danger to you. While I did not agree with her decision, I understood and respected it. Aveline can handle herself.”
Tiana could not think of Aveline and Arthur in danger without panic stirring inside her.
“And … I’m taking the risk that you won’t let her die in the city, and certainly not at the hands of your father,” Rocky said.
“You think too highly of me,” Tiana whispered.
“You saved her life and the lives of everyone in Diving Eagle’s village.”
By accident, and in such a poor fashion, Tiana was embarrassed an assassin knew anything about the incident.
“Ultimately, this is your life and your decision. You can leave any time you like,” Rocky said more quietly. “Preferably with me. I tend to think you will be safer in the Freelands than anywhere around here and am happy to escort you there, if you so choose.”
She searched his features before shaking her head. Her eyes found the skinwalker, who sat at the fire Chases Deer had started. “My whole life, I have wanted to be free. But not if it means I lose the only people I care about. That would make me no better than my father, who sacrifices entire families for his purposes. My deformities …” she lifted her hands, and the branches of the tree above them pointed towards the sky. “… how can they be good? I am not strong like you. The thought of facing my father makes me want to weep! How will that help anyone?”
“Everyone fears something, Tiana. I don’t understand the nature of your abilities, but I think, and Aveline agrees, that you don’t have to become like your father. You can do good things with your deformities.”
Then why was no Hanover leader in the city’s history regarded as sane? Tiana did not feel madness when she used her deformities, but would she know if she did? How did she help others without also putting their lives in danger?
“I do not know what to do,” she said.
“When you do, let me know.”
She nodded. Her thoughts were heavy with new insight, and she could not help feeling Aveline, if not Arthur, was going to need her help soon and also that she was the last person in a thousand miles who should provide it.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Aveline made her way through back alleys, avoiding the center of the city, and crossed from the smelly, crowded inner city to the quieter, well kept outer city. Fewer people populated the outer city. Wealthy residents and their servants looked twice at her when she passed, though she waited until the last street before the pyramid to move out of the public street and into the narrower alley. Sweating from her quick pace, she rested briefly while watching the slaves and elite passing the mouth of the alley.
She listened to the heartbeats to identify any slave alone and moving at a pace that would make him or her easy prey. She had expected the charged energy to gro
w stronger when she approached the pyramid, but it remained steady. The Hanover magic was equally spread for miles. She did not recall sensing it outside the city, which meant either the city limited its affect, or the Hanover leader did.
Aveline identified one ideal slave by his heartbeat – until he crossed the mouth of the alley. The slave was close to seven feet tall and overweight. His clothing would never fit her well enough for her to look as if she belonged in the pyramid.
She retreated into the shadows of the alley once more and listened for another chance. As she did so, she could not help thinking the odd skinwalker abilities were going to be useful in her line of work. She could hear people, track them, without seeing them. She even knew what direction they were located, and how fast they were moving by their heartbeats. No dark room would ever challenge her again now that she was able to sense people no matter what the environment did.
A second candidate registered in her newfound ability. Aveline went to the edge of the street and spotted the woman ten or so years older than her and just her size. She left the alley and trailed, waiting until the unsuspecting slave entered an area with few other people.
Moments later, Aveline was walking down the street once more, this time clothed in the slave’s robes belonging to the unconscious woman she left in an alley. A slave entering the pyramid was nothing to concern the Shield members posted around the large building.
The nearer she went to the pyramid, the more the pounding in her skull increased. Aveline lost precious time circling the pyramid to find the least busy slave entrance. If she could reach the top of the pyramid, which was sparsely populated, she would be able to tolerate the pattering of heartbeats in her mind.
Reaching that point, though, left her grinding her teeth.
It was dusk. By the time she went to the top of the pyramid, and found Tiana’s passageways, it would be well past dark. She did not know how much time she would have to explore the hidden corridors and plot the right place to ambush Tiana’s father next week. Feeling rushed again, Aveline recalled what her father had taught her about creating the perfect conditions for an assassination.
He would advise her to prepare and train and practice every detail of the mission.
