Hearing her words, Lorrek narrowed his eyes. Prince Haskel cast him a look in passing—not one of pity or disgust but simple tolerance.
Riding behind the two of them, Lorrek sensed a movement in the forest, but he kept this knowledge to himself and hung back, getting further and further from the two of them while watching and waiting. He fell into thought.
Gremina detested him while Haskel was more lenient toward him, but both blamed him for much more than he could understand at this time. However, they needed his help, and if he was to help them, they needed to respect him.
Suddenly, two figures dropped as silent as shadows behind Gremina and Haskel but in front of Lorrek, without noticing his presence, and crept up behind the prince and princess.
Lorrek quietly conjured a pair of throwing knives. Using a little magic, he silenced his horse’s steps as he shadowed the thieves, watching as they thought they were crafty in their intent, yet they didn’t glance behind them to see Lorrek with the knives in his hands—ready to land them in the back of each thief.
One thief nodded to the other for him to go around and cut them off from the side while he took the other side, and Lorrek watched them part ways.
He made his decision.
He flung both blades at the figures.
Their startled cry spun Haskel and Gremina around with arrows fitted in their bows and ready to release. Then they recognized the features of the thieves pinned to the trees, and the prince and princess lowered their weapons as they frowned. “Aradin. Dustal.” Haskel nodded to them and then glowered at Lorrek. “What are you thinking? These are our friends, and they’re going to help us find Mother.”
Lorrek said nothing but urged his horse to step back, blending into the shadows of the trees.
Aradin already reached up and yanked the dagger out of his sleeve. He admired the weapon, tossed it in the air once to test its weight, but Lorrek willed the knife to vanish into smoke. Aradin looked ready to protest, but one glance at Lorrek’s dark look changed his mind. “I see you found Lorrek.” Aradin cast Haskel a look.
“Rather, he found us.”
Aradin arched a curious brow at this.
“Uh...could someone help?” Dustal tried to remain perfectly still against the tree as the dagger thrown at him dug into his shoulder instead of his sleeve.
“Dustal, I’m so sorry.” Gremina dismounted then went to him and yanked the knife from his shoulder.
Dustal cried out and clenched his bloodied shoulder as he stumbled away from the tree, only to glare at Gremina. “A little warning would be nice.”
“Why? So you could tense up and make the wound worse?” Gremina lifted her brows, and—like Aradin—she realized the dagger had crumbled to smoke in her hand.
Still mounted on his horse, Haskel motioned toward Dustal as he gave Lorrek a firm look. “Heal him.”
But Lorrek remained still. “No.”
Haskel narrowed his eyes, and he reined his horse in as it began to shift uncomfortably under the mounting tension. “You have wrongfully wounded our friend, and you will heal him—now!”
Clenching his fists, Lorrek dismounted and gathered strands of magic in his hand as he stalked up to Haskel. Before the prince had a chance to react, Lorrek reached up, grabbed him by the front of his tunic and yanked him down to his level. Lorrek glared into his eyes but spoke with a calm, low voice. “I will not for I cannot.”
Haskel stared at Lorrek with wide eyes, but he understood and nodded, trying not to show his fear.
Pleased to see the prince understood, Lorrek gave one short nod. “Do not ask such things of me again.” With that, he released the prince and went back to his horse without sparing anyone a glance—but noted how Gremina had readied her bow to shoot at him if he harmed her brother. Once he mounted and gathered his reins in his hands again, he gave her a chastising look. “An arrow—truly?” She would sooner shoot her own brother before she could land an arrow on him, but Lorrek kept this thought to himself while the thieves began to inform them which way they should go.
Lorrek stayed back and watched.
“What’s his problem?” Dustal nodded to Lorrek while Gremina examined the wound.
Realizing neither thief knew about Lorrek’s lack of memory, she shot Haskel a look and nodded for him to come over to her. She did the same to Aradin.
Lorrek watched Haskel dismount and follow Aradin to Gremina. They began speaking in hushed tones, and Lorrek knew he could whisper a hearing spell to catch the words, but he decided against it. Whatever they were saying—and he knew by the looks they kept casting his way that he was the primary subject—he preferred not to know.
However, Lorrek realized, despite his loss of memories, he readily remembered spells and different workings of magic although he couldn’t recall all of it. It came to him naturally, without thought, and this intrigued him. However, if he tried to think of an actual spell, it danced just outside of his reach, frustrating him.
Finally, the four of them pulled away, and Aradin turned and accidentally caught Lorrek’s stare. He returned the look for a moment but then nodded and addressed everyone. “We should get going. Queen Sidra is at the cave on the edge of the woods.”
Haskel drew back, puzzled, and furrowed his brows. “Isn’t that the territory of the Foden House?”
Dustal chuckled as he still gripped his wounded shoulder. “Funny thing—all that. Someone influential enough has been bringing all the Houses and the thieves together.”
“Why?”
“Who?” Gremina overlapped her brother’s question, but Dustal only shrugged then winced at his injured shoulder.
“Don’t know.”
Aradin took over for him and locked eyes with the royal siblings. “We haven’t gone into that part of the land since we heard about the invitation. We were with your mother when we came, and we accompanied her to the edge of the woods, but she told us not to follow—just in case it was a trap.”
“And you let her go in?” Gremina widened her eyes, but Aradin calmed her with a gesture and a shake of his head.
“We scouted around, even snagged a thief from a different group, and he told us it wasn’t a trap. The invitation was true. All the Houses and bands of thieves are coming together to form some sort of alliance.”
“It sounds like a deathtrap.” Haskel muttered under his breath then looked at Gremina—now more urgent than ever to find their mother. “Let’s go.”
“This way.” Light of foot, Aradin led the way through the darkened woods, and Lorrek brought up the rear, pondering the potential situation ahead of them.
3
In Cuskelom, a small crowd gathered in the huge underground chamber of the Porta Cosmica. Here, teleportation from land-to-land and even world-to-world was possible because here the World Orbs were housed.
Princess Mordora of Nirrorm watched as King Honroth went with her guardian, Jadkon, to a specific orb of green, blue, and gray. When Mordora first arrived in Cuskelom, Honroth informed her guardian that he had received word from Jadkon’s homeland of Aquila that his brother, Conrad, had been gravely wounded in battle, so Jadkon was determined to return to his brother.
Honroth lifted his hand as he drew near to the glass sphere. The black bracelet on his wrist transformed into a gauntlet. “The only way of travel through the Orbs is through the handblade. I will take you to Aquila and return immediately. If your brother is as brave and noble as you are, Guardian, I pray he survives, for he is a good man.”
Jadkon nodded but looked past Honroth—beyond Therth, Vixen, and Inecha—to Mordora. She knew he still felt responsible for her. She was the princess of Nirrorm, and one of the last things her father, King Wordan, had done was charge Jadkon with Mordora’s protection. None of them knew in a matter of days Nirrorm would fall to Countess Verddra, and that King Wordan would be dead. Lorrek had sought refuge in the kingdom at the time and had whisked Mordora and Jadkon away before Verddra could find them, and he commanded the two of them to seek sa
fe haven in Cuskelom since he knew his family would protect them. Then Lorrek magicked back to Nirrorm in order to find Mordora’s little brother, Moren, but they had yet to see either of them.
Jadkon wanted to return to Aquila, but at the same time he could not leave Mordora.
Seeing his struggle, Mordora approached him and placed her hand on his arm. She smiled up at him. “Go. I am safe now. Go home. Your brother needs you.” She nodded toward the orb then stepped back.
He bowed his head to her then glanced at the king of Cuskelom, knowing that this kingdom stood on the verge of war with the neighboring land of Jechorm. “If you need more men to join you in battle, I will try to persuade Prince Nathon to send help.”
Honroth shook his head. “I simply hope it will not come to bloodshed. Now, we should go.” He placed his hand on Jadkon’s shoulder then set his gauntleted hand on the Orb of Aquila. They vanished in a gust of wind.
Inecha, Mordora, Vixen, and Therth waited a moment longer.
Wind ushered Honroth’s return, and he appeared before them then heaved a heavy sigh before gesturing for Therth and Vixen to follow him as he drew near to another orb in the chamber—this one of white, silver, a little blue, and reflective surface.
“Jechorm?” Therth guessed as he trailed his cousin.
Honroth nodded and motioned for Vixen to come as well. “We should go together.”
“What of Theran’s handblade?” Vixen lifted her arm to show the black bracelet on her wrist. This entire pending war between Cuskelom and Jechorm came into existence because Theran had promised the Jechorm senate his coveted handblade in exchange for free passage through their land. After the ambassadors of Jechorm came to Cuskelom to retrieve the item, Theran, Vixen, Aradin, and Dustal ambushed them to steal back Theran’s handblade, and then Theran clamped the bracelet onto Vixen’s hand. He justified deceiving the Jechorians because he knew Honroth would never give him back his handblade—the weapon which appeared to be a harmless bracelet until its master was threatened. Then it would transform into a gauntlet on the hand, and a unique sword would slide over the top of the hand. In addition to this, it possessed the ability to teleport, and that was why Theran had wanted it in the first place, but then he had made Vixen wear it. For now, she was stuck with it.
Honroth looked at the bracelet then frowned. “Keep it out of sight.” He turned to Inecha and Mordora as he unhooked a set of keys from his belt. “Inecha, lock the door when we leave and be sure no one enters this chamber.” He tossed her the keys.
Catching them, she nodded to him. “I will seal it with a magic spell, so I will sense and feel if there are any intrusions.”
“Very good.” He smiled at her then hesitated for the slightest of moments, long enough for Mordora to realize that there was a spark between the two of them, but then Honroth turned from them. Reaching one hand toward the orb, he stretched his other hand for either Vixen or Therth to take. Vixen seized his hand and then grabbed Therth’s as well, and Honroth stared at the orb then lowered his hand to its cool surface.
Another gust of wind screamed through the domed chamber, and Mordora lifted her hands to shield her face. As soon as the wind came, it vanished, and Mordora lowered her hand to see Honroth, Therth, and Vixen were gone as well. Then she spun around to Inecha. “What was that about?”
Inecha frowned, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Mordora motioned back to where Honroth had stood a moment ago. “King Honroth considers you more than a ward of the palace.”
“We’re friends.” Inecha’s expression remained unchanged, but Mordora shook her head.
“No—it’s more than friends.”
“I act as his adviser from time to time.”
Frustrated with Inecha’s successful dodging of the topic, Mordora narrowed her eyes then realized something and softened her features. “You care for him, don’t you?”
For the briefest of moments, Inecha’s features faltered, and she lowered her eyes. Though she greatly cared for Honroth, she never expected him to feel the same or even look at her that way. She was an exiled princess of Talhon, now stripped of her title, and he would never see her as anything more than a friend—someone he had offered refuge and protection to when she appeared half-dead with Erita and Vixen all those years ago.
Sometimes he looked at her and smiled. Sometimes she caught his eye and thought she saw something stir, but it was gone before she could identify it. She would rather not assume anything than assume something and be wrong, so she gave no thought to it and shook her head at Mordora. “He trusts me. That is all. Now, come. We must seal the door.” She gave the princess no chance to argue but headed for the door—her fingers flipping through the keys on the ring until she found the one that was most worn.
Mordora followed, musing. She hadn’t known Inecha for long but had grown up with Honroth. She found the young man’s determination to do what was right encouraging, and she always admired how he took control of any situation while Theran preferred to make jokes. Honroth tried to defuse the tension with calming words and wise negotiations whereas Theran would charge in with a shout. Whenever Mordora sat in on a peace talk with the princes of Cuskelom and another kingdom, she always dropped her face into her hand when Theran started talking loudly. Surely the talks were finished now, but Honroth’s calm voice always lifted Mordora’s face from her hand, and she stared across the table as he weaved words of truth to deflect the humiliation Theran brought.
Of all the brothers, Mordora felt a kinship with Honroth. Heldon was too immature, Theran—too arrogant and foolish, and Lorrek—too silent.
At one time, she had entertained the thought of marrying Honroth, but then Lorrek cut off her hair, and in a rage, she cast out all the brothers, banishing them from Nirrorm. The only thing she regretted now about her actions was that she had cut off communication with Honroth. If he had thought of her in such a way back then, surely now he had forgotten and moved on, and if Inecha was the woman he set his eyes on now...Mordora looked at the sorceress, watching her close the doors of the Porta Cosmica and lock them. Mordora nodded to herself. She could be content with this.
For now, she had other things on her mind, and she focused on Inecha. “You said I had to wait until the time was right. Is that time now?”
Inecha paused as if she had forgotten then glanced to Mordora and nodded. “Come.” She motioned for the princess to follow as she led her away from the locked doors of the Porta Cosmica.
Once they returned to the upper levels of the palace, Inecha looked around to make sure no eyes were prying, and then she closed her eyes and reached into the realm of magic and whispered two names, “Skelton. Adonis.”
Mordora watched her, fascinated. Lorrek had taught her so little during his brief stay in Nirrorm, but it was enough to open her mind to possibilities. In the late hours and well into the early morning, Mordora sat on her bed, opening her mind to magic and recalling Lorrek’s lessons. At times, when the magic refused to do her bidding, she wanted to curse Lorrek for teaching her so little. Yet there were times when the magic came to her fingertips as easily as the air she breathed, and she worked wondrous illusions. At these times she wanted to laugh, wanted to show someone what she could do, but then she remembered she was in Cuskelom and not Nirrorm, and the reasons why she was in Cuskelom came back to her, darkening her mind.
She had yet to tell anyone here she used magic. Though Inecha used it openly, Mordora preferred not to reveal her secret—at least not yet.
A familiar swirl of magical black wind raced through the corridors then spun in place, solidifying into the forms of two men—neither of whom Mordora knew. She kept quiet and waited to see how they fit into Inecha’s plan.
Inecha greeted them with a smile. She hadn’t seen the brothers since before she left Jechorm, and it was good to see them.
Skelton saw Inecha and gave her a wide grin before embracing her with a crushing hug. “Inecha! Last I remember you were almost dead!” He pulled her
back at arms’ length and looked her over then frowned. “For someone who was dying, you certainly look healthy.”
“Your concern has been noted.” Inecha smiled at him and pulled herself free from him. She nodded her greetings to Adonis, who stood with hands in his coat pockets and eyes taking in his surroundings. She always appreciated the older brother’s watchfulness, but now was not the time to get reacquainted. “I need a favor from the two of you.” They looked at her, surprised, and she raised her hands. “I know, I never ask for help, but this isn’t for me.” Then she motioned to Mordora. “This is Princess Mordora of Nirrorm. Countess Verddra recently overthrew her kingdom. She wants to take it back.”
Skelton looked Mordora up and down then gave her a sly grin. “A girl that knows what she wants—always charming.”
When Mordora shifted to slap Skelton, Inecha barred her with her arm and smiled pleasantly at the brothers then gave them firm stare. “I believe King Roskelem will be fundamental in Countess Verddra’s downfall—” As she expected, the brothers’ eyes widened, and they began to protest.
“Roskelem?” Adonis raised his brows. “You don’t honestly expect us to ever ask him for help!”
“That sly little, greedy—” Skelton curled his hands into fists.
“Have you lost your mind?” Adonis folded his arms.
“Are you insane?” Skelton fixed a glare on Inecha.
“Nobody—sorcerers especially—goes into Serhon.”
“It’s a death wish!”
Inecha looked between the two of them, and when they finally fell silent, she lifted her brows. “Are you finished?” Skelton opened his mouth with another remark, but Adonis elbowed him in the ribcage, silencing him. Inecha ignored this and went on, “You won’t go straight to Serhon. You will first go to Athorim.”
“Athorim?” Skelton furrowed his brows as he rubbed his chest where Adonis had hit him. “Why there?”
Adonis whacked him over the back of his head. “You seriously haven’t been paying attention to activity in the magic realm recently, have you?” Ignoring his brother’s ‘ow’ and rubbing the back of his head, Adonis crossed his arms and turned back to Inecha, nodding to her. “Princess Anelm has been held captive by King Roskelem for some time now.”
The Chronicles of Lorrek Box Set Page 42
