“Dorenn was wrong. She isn’t on her way to Darovan after all,” Tatrice said as she ignored Bren and moved deliberately toward the nearest ship. “Is she on this one?” She pointed to the ship before her.
Sanmir sighed and then walked after her. “Tatrice, what are you planning? Why don’t you let me handle this? You might be too close to the situation.”
Tatrice continued on. “I just want to talk to her, Sanmir.”
“I have seen you talk to someone before. That’s why I’m worried.”
Before Tatrice reached the gang plank, a man came bursting out of the rear cabin. “She’s escaped. The witch is on the loose! Save me!”
Sanmir caught a dark figure out of the corner of his eye, and he could see, with his elven sight, it was Kimala. He reached for Tatrice, who also had seen movement, trying to catch her and prevent her from doing what he knew was coming next, but Tatrice bolted away from him after the figure. Fayne was hot on Tatrice’s heels as Sanmir motioned for Bren to follow.
Sanmir heard Tatrice execute a loud whistle, and then he heard the unmistakable beating of wings. Shadesilver must have still been nearby. The enchantment of Lux Amarou against dragonkind must not have included the docks, he thought. Sure enough, a great white dragon descended in front of Kimala talons first. Kimala fell to the ground and rolled, trying to get away. Tatrice caught her and flipped her onto her back, her dragon fang drawn and at Kimala’s neck in an instant. Shadesilver huffed a puff of smoke, ready to breathe fire.
“No!” Fayne said, reaching for Tatrice’s hand.
Tatrice blocked her. “I know she is your mother, but we have to subdue her and get her back to the brig.”
Kimala’s eyes were yellow and puffy. She made some pitiful whimper and then bared a set of deadly fangs. She tried to bite at Tatrice.
“Whatever is wrong with her,” Tatrice said, raising her dagger. “I don’t think she can be saved.”
“She is more than just my mother,” Fayne pleaded. “She’s your mother too, for the love of the gods. Tatrice, Kimala is our mother!”
“What?” Tatrice loosened her grip just enough, and Kimala escaped her hold. Tatrice moved to intercept her, but Fayne was there, knocking her to the ground. Tatrice called to her dragon, who was circling about. “Shade! Go after her, get her!”
“No!” Fayne gathered her strength and cast at Shadesilver. The white dragon went down as soon as she tried to fly, forced by the spell to shift into her humanoid form. She fell to the ground, pinned beneath a net of golden light.
Tatrice spun around on Fayne and unexpectedly punched her directly in the mouth. Fayne landed hard on her backside. She wiped the blood from her mouth, and her eyes flashed with anger.
Bren took a step toward the fighting women. “Sanmir, I think we should stop this.”
“No, I think this is a long time coming. Stand back, Bren. We just need to make sure they don’t kill each other.”
Bren stopped in his tracks. “Are you saying that they really are sisters?” He glanced into the distance, but Kimala was out of sight now. “What about Kimala?”
“She won’t get far. I marked her like I do Drasmyd Duil. We can track her easy enough, and aye, they really are sisters, half-sisters to be exact.”
Tatrice turned from Fayne and started after Kimala, but another of Fayne’s golden nets wrapped around her ankles. Tatrice fell to the ground and began to hack at the net with her dragon claw sword. Fayne leaped on her and gave her a good punch in the nose.
“I’m telling you the truth. She is our mother.”
“Stop saying that! She isn’t my mother,” Tatrice protested.
“What is the meaning of this!” Morgoran said as he dispelled Fayne’s net spell.
Tatrice started to bolt away after Kimala, but Morgoran grabbed ahold of her arm as she passed. She readied her dragon fang at him, and Morgoran disarmed her with a wave of his free hand. The dragon fang went point first into the ground. She met his angry gaze and shrank back, knowing that she had almost gone too far. “Morgoran, I . . .”
“Be silent!” he said, pushing her by her arm to the ground. “You forfeited anything you wished to say to me the moment you directed that sword at me.”
Dorenn, Seandara, and Ianthill appeared from somewhere behind Morgoran as he rounded on Sanmir. “I expected more from you, for certain.”
Sanmir’s demeanor was still calm. “Fayne just told her about her mother.”
Morgoran’s hard face softened. “Ah, that helps to explain it, then, but there is still no good excuse to draw arms against me in the heat of anger.”
Ianthill put his arm on Morgoran’s shoulder. “Let it go, Brother. I’m sure she meant you no harm and would not have acted with her sword.”
“Easy for you to say. You didn’t see the wild look in her eyes,” Morgoran said. “At any rate, we don’t have the luxury of time to deal with all this squabbling. I don’t much care if Kimala is mother to both of you at the moment. She is of no consequence to us now. Let her run off.”
Ianthill cleared his throat. “That’s not strictly true. She is of consequence according to what Dorenn told us. I believe it’s time for us to split up again. Morgoran, Dorenn, and I must go to Ardenia to see if Dorenn’s father, Lourn, can help us rally an army to defeat Kambor in the Sacred Land. Now that Toborne is neutralized and Naneden is dead, the armies of Abaddonia and Scarovia will likely disband, and all we have to do now is defeat the Oracle and his Dramyds and Drasmyd Duil. Victory has never been closer to our grasp. Kimala has been corrupted by the hand of Naneden and is still dangerous; the dead crew from last eve is testament to that. According to Dorenn, she will be rushing for Darovan. Bren, Tatrice, Fayne, Sanmir, and Trendan can track her.”
“The armies of Abaddonia and Scarovia will not disband. They will rally to Golvashala. Toborne and Naneden saw to that long ago.”
“Naneden did for certain,” Dorenn said, “but I am beginning to see Toborne actually had different plans.” He tapped his temple.
“I thought he might have,” Morgoran said. “Make ready to leave as soon as possible.”
“I will go where Fayne goes,” Vesperin said.
Ianthill nodded. “That’s fine, Vesperin.”
“What did we miss?” Gondrial asked as he wandered along with Lady Shey from the docks.
“I will tell you when Ianthill is done,” Morgoran said.
“I’m finished. I think everyone knows what they need to do now,” Ianthill said.
“You didn’t tell them about the spell,” Morgoran reminded him.
“Oh, that’s right.” He turned to Sanmir. “Remember the spell we used to use before the War of the Oracle to send messages?”
“I do vaguely. You might want to remind me of the particulars,” he answered.
“Up until now, we have been separated by circumstance and happenstance. We will not be doing that anymore. I will remind you of the communication spell and how to encode the messages. If we can round up some men to fight for our cause and you can get the Great Pryus to also dispatch some men, we will want to coordinate and arrive in the Sacred Land when it will do the most good.”
“Of course,” Sanmir agreed.
While Ianthill and Sanmir discussed the spell, Morgoran filled in Lady Shey and Gondrial on what had transpired. Dorenn stood at Morgoran’s side but said nothing of his meeting with Oria. Instead, he watched Shey as she listened and made surprised faces at Morgoran’s words. When Morgoran was done, Dorenn spoke.
“Did you see Veric off?” he asked.
Gondrial nodded. “We did. He will scout out the Sacred Land and let us know if there are any immediate changes with Kambor and his minions that we need to worry about. We are free to travel to Ardenia in the meantime.”
Shey smiled at Dorenn. “You must be excited to see your mother and father again.”
Dorenn had not given seeing his parents much thought, which he found to be odd. However, his excitement returned as soon as Shey mention
ed it. “I am,” he said. “Although, I am also a bit nervous. I wonder if Mother and Father know what happened to Brookhaven?”
“I’m sure they have heard of it by now,” Gondrial said. “News tends to travel fast from government to government.”
“That will take some getting used to,” Dorenn said. “My father at the head of a government. He must be losing his mind right about now. He used to get so frustrated just running the day-to-day business of the inn.”
“I guess we will find out in a few weeks,” Morgoran said. “Which reminds me. We will be stopping over in Endil on our way to Ardenia.”
Seandara, who had been standing behind Dorenn, listening to the conversation, perked up at the mention of her home. “Is there something wrong?”
“Oh no,” Morgoran assured her. “I’m sorry if I alarmed you. Ianthill and I hoped we could talk your mother into lending us a legion or two of her Archers of Endil, that’s all.”
Dorenn realized he must have been staring at Shey with a troubled look on his face because she noticed him. “What is it, Dorenn?” she asked.
“I wonder if I might have a word with you alone?”
Morgoran sniffed absently. “Well, I could use some help on the ship. I promised the captain we would help with cleaning up and removing the victims.”
Gondrial took Seandara’s hand. “I will escort you, my lady.”
“You will escort her to the inn and then report to Morgoran, Gondrial. I know all of your tricks,” Ianthill said.
“Of course I will report to Morgoran. Really, Ianthill, perhaps you don’t know me as well as you think.”
“Hmm, not likely,” Morgoran grumbled as the four of them left Lady Shey and Dorenn to talk alone.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Dorenn motioned for Shey to follow him to an even more secluded area nearby. “I wanted to ask you something,” he said as soon as they got situated.
“Aye, go ahead,” Shey told him.
“Do you remember a young woman named Oria?”
Shey thought for a moment. “Perhaps if you provided me with some context.”
“Certainly. She said you rescued her from something; she didn’t say from what. She said she was a little girl at the time.”
“Ah, Oria. Aye, she was a girl I took to be trained by Enowene. One of the Enforcers claimed to be her father and tried to fool me. I believe his name was Del. Why do you ask?”
“Oria has contacted me. She is about fifteen or sixteen seasons now. She claimed to be a prophetess, and she has shown me a good many visions of the past, present, and future.”
Shey wrinkled her nose. “It may not be the same girl, but I thought Enowene told me Oria quit and left her training.”
“I don’t know about any of that,” Dorenn said. “All I know is the girl named Oria I encountered is powerful and has knowledge about me that I didn’t think anyone else knew. She can even use travel spells. She predicted the incident with Kimala, where she would flee to, and who would go after her.”
“Lucky guesses, I’m sure,” Shey said. “Look, Dorenn. I think you should keep everything she showed you to yourself for now.”
“But there’s more. She told me one of us is about to die.”
“Did she say who?” Shey asked. Dorenn could tell she was not buying into the whole prophetess bit. Shey continued. “I could hand out predictions too—anyone could. The future is not set, so anything can and will happen. If one of us doesn’t die, the predictor can just say her warning was heeded and the death was avoided. Persons who claim to predict the future are almost always charlatans. There are far too many variables. Look at all of the volumes of predictions the scribes of the Vale of Morgoran have written down. Not one of which can be confirmed as coming to pass as of yet.”
“Well, that makes me feel a little better. She was convincing,” Dorenn said. He could see on Shey’s face that he didn’t need to tell her about his time away. Shey was already dismissive. If he pressed the issue with her, she may overreact and delay the trip to Ardenia. He couldn’t afford to have her prying into it too deeply at the moment, so he let it die.
“Don’t worry about her. We have enough to worry about otherwise, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Aye, you’re right,” Dorenn said, feeling a little foolish for thinking she could offer him new insight. He would have to heed the warnings of what Oria was trying to show him and act accordingly on his own.
“I will look into what I can about the Oria I knew. I will contact Enowene and get her story. In the meantime, why don’t you go help Morgoran with the ships?”
Dorenn nodded. Shey gave him a courteous smile and a quick, motherly hug before she left him. He stood there a moment, watching her walk away. “I hope Oria is wrong, for your sake,” he whispered.
Chapter 14: Necropolis
Trendan surveyed the road ahead from his hidden perch on top of a nearby hill. Shezuris was about a league away, and the road was clear as far as he could see. Kimala’s footprints led down the side of the hill toward the road. Fayne sneaked up behind him, but he already knew she was there. He knew from her scent wafting along the eastern breeze. “If you wish to sneak up on me, Fayne, you might want to start from downwind.”
“If I was sneaking up on you, I would,” Fayne said. “Do you see anything?”
Trendan put away his bow. “Clear as far as I can see.”
“Which is how far?”
“I can see the outskirts of Shezuris about a league away.”
“I don’t understand why you’re scouting, anyway. Sanmir says Darovan is relatively safe.”
“Sanmir has not been home in a very long time. I understand he has lost contact with his people. A lot could have happened in his absence.”
“I suppose caution is wise,” Fayne said.
“How is Tatrice?” Trendan asked.
“I’m just fine,” Tatrice said from a few paces behind him. “Apparently, you can be sneaked up on after all.”
Trendan’s face felt hot. “I never said it was impossible,” he countered.
Trendan noticed Bren coming up the hill, followed by Sanmir. He glanced back and forth. “Where is Vesperin?”
Tatrice absently pointed her thumb behind her. “Where he always is, communing in prayer with Loracia.” She looked at Fayne. “Why is he always praying so much, anyway? I don’t see you joining him all that much.”
Now it was Fayne’s turn to have a red face. “I should pray more,” she said. “I do pray with him, just not every time he takes a knee. He and I have been led astray, and he is obsessed with regaining favor. I, on the other hand, am not convinced we ever lost Loracia’s favor. It wasn’t our fault. I have to believe Loracia is a more forgiving goddess than that.”
“She is trying to get at you, Fayne. Pay her questions no mind,” Trendan said.
Tatrice smiled, and Fayne nervously took a step closer to Trendan.
“What is that coming down the road?” Bren asked, shading his eyes with his hand. “Travelers on foot?”
Trendan concentrated on the mass of people wandering down road. “They are too far away to see clearly, but they are moving with a strange stride.” He strained to see. “I don’t think they’re coming toward us. They appear to be moving away, toward Shezuris.”
“Where are they coming from?” Fayne asked.
“From side roads,” Sanmir answered. “They just started to fill in on the road. It was clear only a few minutes ago when Bren and I arrived.”
Vesperin joined them, accompanied by a man with a spear pointed at his back. The man appeared to be a soldier, and he looked determined. “Don’t be alarmed,” Vesperin said, “even though this fellow is of the nervous sort.”
Sanmir stepped forward and began talking in a strange language. The man took his spear from Vesperin’s back and planted the base in the ground, point straight up. The soldier began to talk with Sanmir, and the conversation went back and forth for a moment before the man turned and left. Sanmir’s expres
sion was grave when he rejoined the group. “That was a soldier of the Great Pryus. We have been invited to his camp a few leagues to the south on the Obsidian Steppes, and I suggest we take it.”
“Of course,” Trendan said. “What is it, Sanmir?”
“Those people on the road are not living. They are a cursed lot from the burial mounds nearby, traveling to Shezuris to board ghost ships,” Sanmir said.
“What about the people of Shezuris?” Fayne asked.
“They are already dead. According to the soldier, Shezuris is a city of the dead and has been for seasons. When I questioned him further, he said we needed to talk to the Great Pryus.”
“What else did he say?” Vesperin inquired.
“We are all in danger being this close to the city. He said if we declined his invitation, we would all be dead before the passing of the next night. He said this whole area is teaming with the dead, all making their way to the Shezuris docks. The eerie ghost ships have been floating day and night down the Black River and out to sea. The burial mounds all over Darovan are emptying.”
“That’s disgusting!” Tatrice said.
Fayne nodded. “I agree. Could this be why Mother came here?”
“I don’t see why she would come here. She isn’t one of the unlife as far as I know,” Trendan answered. He searched the ground for her footprints and found them. “She walks strong and true, one footfall after the other.”
“At any rate, we aren’t following her down to the road,” Sanmir said. “If she went down there, she is on her own now. I am sorry, girls, but where she goes, we dare not follow.” He started off in the direction of the soldier. “Come on now, gather up anything you set down on the ground and follow me. We make for the soldier’s camp.”
The sun had begun to set, and Trendan feared they were not going to reach the soldier camp before nightfall. “Sanmir, might I suggest that everyone have a weapon at the ready?”
“Aye, good idea.” He looked at the beautiful sunset. “When that sun goes down, there will be more out here to fear than the dead wandering around.”
“Ironic, isnt it?” Vesperin observed. “As beautiful as our desert surroundings are and the magnificence of the sunset, the danger we face is greater.”
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