The Tattered Lands

by Barbara Ann Wright

  It still took Vandra a moment to spot the figure running through the shadowy forest. How could Pietyr know his sister from such a distance? Probably a twin thing. He didn’t let go of his weapon, though, staring as if trying to deduce the cause of Fieta’s speed.

  Fieta didn’t slow as she approached, her gaze swinging between all of them and the pylon. When she reached them, she skidded to a stop, leaned on her knees, and glared. “What…the fuck…was that?”

  “Language!” Vandra said. “Our parents would be appalled.”

  Fieta’s glare landed on Vandra. “I saw a flash of light. I thought you were in trouble, so I ran.” She waved at the forest. “A long way. And I’d been shouting, so I was already tired, and when I get here, you’re all just standing around!”

  “You’d rather we were dead?” Pietyr asked dryly.

  She picked up a blackened clump of peat and threw it at him. “What happened?”

  “An experiment,” Vandra said loudly. “One that only went half right.” She put her hands on her hips and looked to the pylon. “I knew something made the pylons different from regular syndrium.”

  Fieta still glared, but Vandra waved her dark look away. If anger was how Fieta wanted to cover up her fear for her family, so be it.

  Vandra had other things to worry about. “So, Lilani’s cousin did something to this pylon, or did something with the humans who were building it. And she wasn’t just standing here.” She looked to Faelyn, who shrugged. Vandra hoped the humans hadn’t sacrificed her. Even if it was for the good of the world, Vandra didn’t think she could kill in the name of alchemy.

  And Pietyr wouldn’t let her, anyway.

  “Did you speak with the seelie?” Faelyn asked.

  Fieta shook her head. “But that doesn’t mean they didn’t hear me, right? And maybe they saw or heard your little explosion.”

  Vandra nodded. Maybe if enough seelie were gathered around, her formula would transform the pylon. But if that was true, how had Awith done it?

  And could anything she was doing now help rescue Lilani?

  * * *

  The murmurs of the seelie echoed through the watchtower, putting Lilani in mind of a buzzing hive. Everyone had crowded onto the highest floor, jostling for a position at the window. The glow from outside had faded a bit. Maruk and a few others had demanded answers of Lilani, but she’d shrugged and kept an enigmatic smile on her face.

  Now, as they argued with one another, she crept toward the staircase. Her heart thundered as she willed the tattered seelie to remain distracted a little longer.

  Camilla barged out of her room. Lilani froze, but Camilla’s gaze snapped to her. The metal tool up Lilani’s sleeve seemed to weigh a hundred pounds, and if she thought any harder about it, she was certain it would glow through her sleeve.

  Camilla scowled, and Lilani swallowed, her magic roaring within her, but if she shrouded, her escape plan would become horribly apparent. Camilla’s loose, disheveled hair whipped around her head. She’d probably been asleep, something that would make her even angrier. Fabulous.

  She tore her eyes off Lilani and waded into her people.

  Lilani let out a breath, relieved beyond measure. When Camilla’s voice rose above the others, demanding silence, Lilani nearly leapt down the staircase, going as fast as she dared before anyone noticed she was missing. She tried to keep track of the glow’s direction, using the holes in the floor as a reference as she hurried past the bedrooms and kitchen. She and Lucian had to escape while everyone was distracted. This luck could never hold.

  She made it to the bottom floor without meeting anyone. When she barged inside Lucian’s cell, he sat up, his eyes wide. “They’re all upstairs,” she said. “We’ve got to go now.” She handed over the metal tool.

  His face fell as he took it. “Is this it?”

  She looked from him to the tool and back, fear morphing to anger. “Were you hoping for a broadsword?”

  “Maybe a key.” While he prodded at the manacle, she opened the door a crack and peeked through. Nothing.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “A light in the tattered lands, something to guide us. If we stay left of the tower, maybe we can get…” She didn’t know what to say.

  As if reading her mind, he asked, “How do you know it won’t lead us deeper into the tattered lands?”

  She shook her head. All the stress built on her headache, and she tried to keep her voice level. “Since the tattered seelie seemed surprised by it, it can’t be a natural phenomenon.” Silently, she thanked Faelyn for all his logic lessons.

  He grunted in pain. “Help me.”

  Lilani shut the door and hurried over. He was holding the tool awkwardly, trying to fit it into the cuff.

  “If you push right there…” He turned the tool in his hands.

  Lilani took it and followed his instructions. When she heard a click, she couldn’t help beaming. The manacle slipped free. They had a little luck left after all. But as they moved toward the door, Lilani froze. Dread washed over her, along with a wave of nausea that had nothing to do with her headache.

  Their luck was gone.

  Lucian gave her a gentle push. “Lilani?”

  “Don’t you feel it? Their dread?”

  “This entire place—”

  “No.” She sighed, hope fleeing as she opened the door.

  Camilla gave her an almost kindly smile. Her seelie stood behind her, silent, eyeing Lilani with cold disinterest.

  “Clever Lilani,” Camilla said. “Maruk would like to have a word about the recent disturbance. I will admit to some curiosity myself.” She glanced at Lucian, an unneeded threat.

  Camilla held out a hand. Lilani put the little tool in her palm and stepped out. She tried to shut Lucian inside, not ready to see his life thrown away.

  He caught the door. Lilani flinched.

  Camilla’s smile widened. She lifted a hand.

  “No!” Lilani cried, but the tattered seelie rushed around her. Camilla pulled her close in a grip of iron and carried her beyond the press.

  Lucian cried out in pain. Lilani pushed against Camilla, kicking her feet uselessly in the air. “Stop!” Camilla’s arms were too tight, their bodies crushed together, and Lilani’s head flopped uselessly over Camilla’s shoulder. “Please.” She began to wheeze, her vision growing dark around the edges.

  “That’s enough,” Camilla said, her voice as hazy as if she was yelling in a cave.

  The horrid pressure around Lilani’s chest loosened, and she gulped in air. She felt the floor under her boots, but her legs wouldn’t support her. Camilla held her up and turned her. Lucian lay on the floor, unmoving, his face bloody, but what drew Lilani’s eye was the way his right leg turned unnaturally at the knee.

  “He won’t be running anywhere now,” Camilla said. “I warned you what would happen if you tried to escape.”

  Lilani fought the urge to sob. Lucian wouldn’t want her to cry in front of these monsters. And his chest rose and fell. He lived. While he lived, she could save him. She forced her feelings down, deep into the cave Camilla’s voice had come from. This was just another story, and what would the hero of the story be doing in this moment?

  Taking stock. Waiting. Looking for her moment.

  The tattered seelie had a few bloody noses between them. Lilani smiled with grim approval at two split lips and what would become a black eye. If Lucian had a weapon, he would have killed at least one. Of course, then he’d be dead, too. A good hero didn’t rely on weapons. She used her wits.

  Camilla led her upstairs to where Maruk was waiting.

  “Sit,” he said, pointing at a chair. He stalked up and down the room like a caged animal, anger radiating from him along with the feeling of dread.

  Lilani obeyed, biding her time.

  Camilla rewarded her with another smile. “Don’t move until I come back.”

  Again, Lilani stayed. Some of the equipment had been turned over or broken. No doubt Lilani
would get the blame. Maruk didn’t ask any questions until Camilla reappeared, fully dressed and armed. Lilani wondered if that was for her benefit or if Camilla thought the fireball was a sign of impending attack.

  Lilani’s thoughts raced, trying to shatter her calm. She’d claimed the glow in the sky, but Camilla wasn’t a fool. Even if he’d believed her earlier, Maruk would see through her lies when she had no information to offer.

  “Maruk tells me you’re responsible for that mysterious explosion.” Camilla turned Lilani’s chair so it faced the window. The glow had disappeared.

  Lilani stayed silent, waiting for a question or something she could build on. Camilla only sat on one of the tables, swinging her legs and smiling.

  “Well?” Maruk said.

  “Well what?” Lilani asked.

  He took a step, fists clenched as if to strike her. Camilla didn’t move, and Lilani wondered how far her protection extended. Only one way to find out. Lilani took a deep breath and told herself that a few blows were worth seeing if she could drive them apart. She lifted an eyebrow and held her chin up.

  Maruk bared his teeth. “What was that?” He nodded at the window.

  “A glow in the sky.”

  He swung. She tried to block, but the back of his hand cracked against her cheek. She flew sideways, her ears ringing. Shockwaves rebounded through her skull, picking up her earlier headache and intensifying it. The dull pain of hitting the floor became buried under the rest, a hurt to be considered later.

  The whip-crack of Camilla’s voice cut through the waves rushing in Lilani’s ears. That strong grip hauled her upright and put her in the chair again. Lilani tried to focus through the pain as a hero would.

  Camilla’s pale brows were drawn down in concern. “Can you hear me, Lilani?”

  “A little.” Lilani made her blinking slow, taking a cue from Lucian and playing more injured than she was.

  Camilla stroked Lilani’s face before turning a glare on Maruk. “Careless fool!”

  “We do not have time to be delicate, Camilla. If she won’t answer—”

  Camilla stood so fast, Maruk staggered back. “There are ways to force the truth without risking her.” She stepped closer, making him lean away. “Do you need a lesson?” She took his hand and ran her fingers over the spot where his thumb and palm joined.

  Lilani shivered. She was not brave enough to face Camilla’s darkest side. She shook her head as if to clear it.

  Camilla was kneeling before her again in an instant. “Now, you were telling us about the fire in the sky, darling. Maruk wants to know if you caused it, or if, as I suspect, you were attempting to trick him.”

  Lilani said the first thing that popped into her mind. “It was a signal from Vandra, letting me know she’s coming for me with an army of human alchemists and all the seelie loyal to my mother.”

  By the elders, she hoped that was true. Either way, she needed a confident expression. She pretended to be her mother again, pressing her back teeth together to make a firmer jawline and ignoring the ache from Maruk’s backhand.

  Camilla stared for a long while before her smile reappeared. “I very much doubt that, my dear.” She stood and crossed to the window.

  Lilani rubbed her cheek as Maruk followed Camilla. He whispered to her, gesturing. Lilani rolled her shoulder and flexed her elbow, easing the ache from hitting the floor. She’d never been struck in the face. Not an experience she would recommend.

  “What if it’s true?” Maruk asked in a loud whisper.

  Lilani continued to survey her injuries, pretending she couldn’t hear. Camilla’s answer was too low, but Maruk leaned away. Lilani fought the urge to smile. He was nervous, scared, and maybe rethinking his alliance with Camilla. Maybe he’d run.

  No such luck. He stalked back to Lilani, and she couldn’t help flinching, but he merely stared, nearly quivering, his fists clenched.

  Courage; it was only a story. “The army is coming, and all your careful plans will be undone.” She sneered. “There’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

  There came the teeth again. Lilani stiffened, ready.

  “Maruk,” Camilla said, a warning note.

  He knelt in front of Lilani. She squeezed her hands into fists, ready to defend herself if he tried some torture technique. No hero could be expected to sit idly by and—

  He smacked one fist against the floor as if venting his anger. “You’re lying.”

  She leaned forward, keeping her face still, though her imagination shrieked about what Maruk and these seelie could do to her, to Lucian, to everyone. But the people she loved needed her. “And you’re a piece of human garbage who is nothing without the seelie.”

  He rocketed forward, slamming into her and tipping the chair backward. Lilani cried out, her mind going blank with terror. She slammed into the floor, Maruk on top of her. The air rushed from her lungs, and her head bounced off the stones.

  Her body acted on some instinct while pain blossomed again. She writhed, hitting, kicking, slapping, trying to escape the tangle of limbs and chair. Maruk was roaring, a wordless cry of rage. His hand pressed against Lilani’s face as if trying to smother her. His palm slid over her nose, creating another arc of pain, but when his hand slipped lower, she sank her teeth into him.

  He shrieked and wrenched away as Camilla pulled him to his feet. Lilani scrambled free from the chair and pushed to the wall. Camilla yelled at Maruk, but his eyes were still wild with rage. Lilani’s magic roared within her, and she surrendered to it, shrouding. Enough pain. Enough terror. It was beyond time to hide.

  Camilla shook Maruk as easily as she would a doll. “Calm down or I will kill you!”

  He ceased struggling. She dropped him, and he sank to his knees, cradling his wounded hand.

  Camilla’s eyes went wide as she surveyed the room. “Now where has she gone?” She strode to the staircase and called down; someone answered that no one had passed that way. Camilla smiled again. “Lilani?” She raked the room with her gaze. “It’s all right now. I won’t let him hurt you again.”

  Lilani forced herself to breathe slowly. She didn’t think she could drop her shroud if she tried. How far she’d come from when Faelyn first taught her. Weeks seemed like centuries. She wondered if all her life would feel like this from now on, if everything she’d gone through had taught her to count the moments as humans did.

  “Come out, Lilani. It’s all right. I promise.” When Lilani didn’t reappear, Camilla turned a glare on Maruk. “Go to your room.”

  He ground his teeth. “I’m not some sulky child!”

  Her calm expression darkened as quickly as if she’d whipped off a mask. She strode toward him. He put his hands up, cowering, babbling. She grabbed his collar, dragged him to his room, and threw him through the doorway, shutting it behind him.

  “There!” Camilla turned. “I’ve gotten rid of him, darling. You won’t have to deal with his temper again, but if you stay shrouded, you will see mine, and Lucian will pay the price.”

  Lilani sighed. She couldn’t stay hidden forever, anyway. And at least she’d upset Maruk. Maybe he’d rebel and get himself killed; one less enemy to worry about. She forced her magic to calm, letting her shroud drop. Camilla’s smile came out like the sun.

  “Wise Lilani,” Camilla said. “I would truly regret having to kill you.”

  * * *

  Vandra knew it had only been a few minutes, but she was tired of waiting for the seelie to arrive. She’d tried to fix the pylon. She’d failed. Again. She’d invented a world-changing formula and somehow still managed to fail.

  That seemed an accomplishment in itself.

  And she’d tried to do her duty. It was time to rescue Lilani. She thought of the tattered piece of metal, how it had carried some taint with it. And syndrium imbued with the magic of the seelie was enough to keep the tattered lands at bay. So, if Vandra could make enough seelie-infused syndrium to shelter them…

  “Help me collect some stones.”
r />   “Why?” Fieta asked.

  Pietyr bent to look. “Because she needs them, Fie! You know she won’t explain until she’s halfway through doing whatever it is she’s doing.”

  Fieta sighed loudly, probably rolling her eyes, but Vandra was too busy to notice. Faelyn helped, too, and Vandra noted his curious, excited glances. He seemed to love knowledge for its own sake. As much as he wanted to help Lilani and his people, he was probably curious to see what Vandra did next. A teacher after her own heart.

  Soon, they had a nice pile of rocks, and Vandra replicated her formula again. This would nearly deplete her resources, but if she couldn’t get enough syndrium this time, she’d have to take more chunks off the pylon. It could afford to lose some, especially for Lilani’s sake.

  What a different opinion than the one she’d had scant hours ago, but once she’d set her mind to a new task, she found it hard to concentrate on anything else. After igniting these stones with Faelyn nearby, she was ready to go.

  She distributed the stones among them, everyone staring at them curiously until Pietyr’s eyes went wide. “Van, we can’t!”

  “Can’t what?” Fieta said. “What is going on? So help me, Van, I’ll start swearing again if you don’t—”

  “We’re going in, aren’t we?” Faelyn asked quietly. “We’re going after Lilani.”

  She nodded, and the wind from the tattered lands gusted across them as if on cue, carrying the chill and the taint. Fieta and Pietyr began speaking at once, Fieta calling her crazy, Pietyr pleading with her to see sense.

  Vandra kept her eyes on Faelyn, matching his little smile. “The stones will keep the taint away,” she said.

  “You hope!” Fieta yelled.

  “Van, it’s not safe,” Pietyr said.

  Vandra walked away, striding toward the tattered lands, stowing the rocks in her pockets. She heard the others scramble to keep up.

  Fieta appeared at her side as if by magic. “Don’t push me, Van. You know I can carry you out of here, and so can Pietyr. He’s done it already!”

  “I’m going.”

  “Van, think!” Pietyr said from her other side. “Even if we’re safe, how will we find Lilani?”