by Dawn Peers
“But you are fighting them?”
Quinn looked down at her hands. They were shaking. No, she wasn’t fighting. She was running away to Sha’sek, just like Eden had told her to. She was going to bolt to an island far away, get herself a nothing job as a no-one person, and pray to the spirits that Sammah, Pax and Shiver would forget she existed. “I thought I could.”
“But not anymore?”
Quinn shook her head. “They’re too strong. It’s too complicated. You’ve met Sammah, but you haven’t met Pax. Or Shiver.”
“Are they going to kill each other?”
“I think they all want to kill Sammah, but I don’t know what Shiver and Pax are going to do to each other if they do defeat him.”
“Did you say earlier that they were using you? Why?”
“Have you learned about the last wars?” Maskell nodded. “They were caused by an empath. Shiver wants to kill me because I attacked his son. Before that, he wanted to use me to kill Sammah. He thought my ability could do that.”
“And can it?”
Quinn shrugged. “I don’t know. I never used to be able to use my ability on him, but that’s changed as I’ve got older. Perhaps I could, though it might kill me.”
“What about the others? Did they want to use your ability, too?”
“Yes. Sammah thought I could help him take the throne, though it seems he’s made a good job of taking it all by himself. Pax thinks he can just use me—that it’s good to have an empath on his side.”
“Pax is not supporting Sammah?”
“No. He doesn’t trust his brother. He thinks Sammah is dangerous and haphazard. Pax is going to see how many men in Everfell die in whatever war breaks out between Shiver and Vance, and then try to take the kingdom for himself in the aftermath.”
“Is he that certain there will be a war?”
“He is convinced of it. I think it has something to do with his abilities, though he didn’t tell me what those were. He thinks that he’ll just be able to bring over his toops when the men of Everfell have done killing each other, and take Everfell all for himself.”
“That sounds like a simple plan.”
“Pax is convinced it’s going to work. The rest of the council believe him. There are too many factors, for me to get involved. I wouldn’t know where to start—who to concentrate on.”
“I think the answer to that is simple enough.”
“Why?”
“Well, it’s Sammah, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“If you kill Sammah—if you can stop him from controlling the throne, then Shiver won’t have a reason to attack. There won’t be a civil war, and Pax’s plan to just steal in and put together the broken pieces will fail, because Everfell won’t be broken.”
Quinn was stunned. Why hadn’t she seen this? She had been too obsessed with following Eden’s instructions—getting herself away, and safe, that she hadn’t considered what part she could still play in this war.
She had been convinced that her abilities were a terrible thing, after having each side pull her this way and that, trying to twist her for their own ends. She hadn’t sat down for two minutes and considered there might be a way where she could get involved and stop the war. All she had to do was kill Sammah. She didn’t even need to use her ability for that. He was a cold, empty husk of a man, but he was human, and he could bleed.
“Maskell, you’re a genius. You might have saved my life.”
“What did I say?”
“You felt ashamed that you had run away, and I told you there was nothing you could do about it. You might have saved one life, but ultimately, you wouldn’t have been able to protect someone else forever, right? I do have the chance to save lives, and I’ve been running away anyway. And when I run away, it’s going to be just like you, now. I’ll be able to hide for a time, and maybe even carve out some sort of life. But I won’t be happy, and I’ll never feel safe. The only way we can be safe—any of us, including you—is for me to act. I have to go back to Everfell. I need to try to kill Sammah.”
“You’re not going to Kahnel?”
“No. I can’t go that way. I’d be running. I can’t keep running away, Maskell. I have to face Sammah. It’s my only chance.”
“I told you that you were brave.”
“I could only see it with your help. Thank you.”
The boy bobbed his head, scooping up the soup bowl and refilling it. His shame was gone, replaced with a renewed appetite and a satisfied smile.
“Your ability to hide—do you think you could get a message to Sevenspells for me? Would you be safe?”
“I can’t write.”
“I can. Get me some parchment and inks, and I will draft it for you.”
“Who do I need to deliver it to?”
“The king.”
19
Maskell dodged through the crowds whistling to himself, holding his hand over his chest where the parchment was safely rolled. It had been an amazing evening, meeting the empath Quinn. She hadn’t been nearly as scary as Sammah said she was, and she had told him he was a genius. Maskell had never been called a genius before. She had made him feel good. And he had hope. For the first time since he’d been driven from his home, Maskell really had hope that the men might one day stop hunting him.
Quinn didn’t know how much of a chance she had at beating Sammah, but she was going to try. No one could ask more of her than that. Maskell thought she could win. He had seen her go from hopeless to determined. The fire he’d seen in her eyes had sparked the thin flame of hope left in the gutters of Maskell’s soul.
When Quinn had asked him to deliver a message to Sevenspells, the idea that he could finally help, and atone for running away when his family needed him the most, had overjoyed Maskell. He had fiercely protected the parchment. He’d unrolled it a couple of times to look at it, but he only knew what the scratchy letters meant because Quinn had told him what it said. As he made his way through to where Quinn said the throne room would be, he thought about that message and what it could mean to him, and his future.
He danced to one side as a pair of men, one scarred and scary-looking, the other with dark eyes and a clenched jaw, strode past.
“Eden’s really crossed the line this time. I don’t know what father is going to do to him, but it’s probably going to be painful.”
“The king would be well within his rights to execute the traitorous little rat, but he won’t. Shiver wouldn’t be able to kill one of his own, even if it costs him the war. He’s not as strong as he thinks, your highness. The men sense this. You are gaining a loyal following.”
“Thank you, Harn. We of course need to be careful about this. I am behind my father in everything he does.”
“Until he makes another mistake?”
“Especially if that mistake could cost us everything we’ve been working towards.”
The men walked off. Maskell felt like following them. That had sounded like an important conversation. It wasn’t what he was here to do, though. He had to deliver the parchment, and if Quinn’s instructions were correct, then the throne room was right ahead.
Maskell opened the door an edge, sliding into the room. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with a thought; what if he killed Shiver, now, in this room? The king had a couple of guards dotted around, though a few men were no threat to Maskell when he didn’t want to be seen. There was no mistaking Shiver. Even if he hadn’t been sat on a throne, his bleached hair stood out in stark contrast to the dull browns and blacks more common to the men of the region. What should he do? Throw the parchment down and hope the king read it? No, that wouldn’t do. Maskell took a deep breath and sprinted up to the king.
As Maskell dropped his concentration, Shiver yelled out in shock. Of course, seeing a boy appear supposedly out of nowhere and running at you full-tilt would give anyone pause. Maskell was on the dais before Shiver could respond. Men were running towards him, but they wouldn’t reach him before he wa
s gone again.
“A message for you, from Quinn.”
Maskell threw the parchment in Shiver’s lap and ran. He shrouded himself again. They could lock the gates, but it wouldn’t hold him. Maskell could wait, and wait, and no one would know who he was or where he was, until they got bored and opened the gates again. He had done his part. Now, it was Quinn’s turn.
* * *
“Here boy, read this.”
Eden held his hands over his face as Shiver strode through his doorway unannounced and flung something at him. It could have been a dagger—Eden was not Shiver’s favourite person, and his natural instinct was to protect himself. A flap of parchment drifted to the floor halfway between them. Shiver pointed at it. “Go on. Pick it up. Read it.”
Rowan slunk into the room, his face puffed still with the trauma of his encounter with Quinn. Rowan hadn’t visited Eden yet on his own; Eden wasn’t looking forward to when that happened. Wary, thinking this a trick so his father might be able to lash out at him unawares, Eden scooted across the room. He grabbed the parchment between his thumb and forefinger, darting back to his bed before Shiver could kick out. His father snorted at him. “Stop behaving like a child. If I want to strike you I will, and you will take that blow like a man. Now, read that.”
Eden turned over the paper. He didn’t recognise the hand, and there was no seal. “Who is this from?”
Shiver waved at him. “Read it.”
Shiver,
You wanted me to kill Sammah. You want me to use my ability to do this for you. The gifted of Sha’sek are the very reason why you want to kill us in the first place.
I do not understand how in one breath you need me, and in another you order my death.
You should not fear the gifted. All the people of Sha’sek want to do is survive. It is not much to ask.
I am going to kill Sammah. Not because you’ve asked me to, but because it is the right thing to do. He is a parasite, and he won’t stop until he rules over all Sha’sek and Everfell. He is nothing like the rest of us.
When I kill him, I will disappear. You will not be able to fight Vance, and Pax will not be able to fight you, because you will have too many men. Your war will be over, and you will be king. You will have to thank a gifted of Sha’sek for your throne, Shiver.
An empath may have caused the last war. I intend to prevent one.
Quinn.
Eden shot his father a triumphant grin. “I told you! I told you she could do it.”
Shiver pulled back his fist. Eden recoiled, but the blow did not come. “Read it again. She thinks I’m going to owe her? As if it’s going to make a difference, in the end. She couldn’t kill my son. I don’t think she’s capable of killing Sammah.
“I’m going to Everfell with our men, Eden. Obrenn and Erran do not want to help him. They’re conflicted. They have no defence. I can take the city from Sammah with force. All of the lords will see that it was me that won this—defeated the baron. Then when I ask our lords to go to war against Sha’sek they won’t hesitate to follow me.”
“She can stop this! She can end the war without anyone else dying.”
“I don’t want her to end the war! I will not let her steal my glory.”
“How can you say that! No one else has to die, father.”
“That is not the Sevenspells way! We will fight, and we will win.”
“She’s doing exactly what you asked her to do in the first place.”
“Yes—I would have been there, directing her. She was a weapon being wielded by my hand. Not this time. She’s admitted it, in that letter.
“You’ll come with me. I need a son by my side. Rowan is not well enough, and River…River is the same as he’s always been. Your precious Quinn will be in Everfell and I will kill her. I will not be deceived, and I will not lose.”
“You can’t do this.”
“She can’t defeat Sammah on her own, Eden. We have to strike, whilst he’s distracted. You are the only man in my court that disagrees with this.”
“That’s because I’m the only man in your court with the courage to speak up against you.”
“You like to think that. Have you ever stopped to consider that you might be the only man in my court that isn’t loyal to what Sevenspells want to achieve? You think you’re being loyal, and you believe that you’re with our cause, but every single step along the way you’ve fought what we wanted to do.
“I disagreed with Rowan. I stood by you. When you became chamberlain I said it was for our good, that you had a plan. When you went to Sha’sek I still managed to convince myself that was true. You brought Quinn to me—how could I be wrong? Then you help her leave, to run around the provinces, potentially causing spirits-know what havoc, hiding her whereabouts from all of us. You manage to spin a story that this, too, is for the good of the kingdom. Is it, Eden? Really? Or are you doing what you want—what you think is right? Are you thinking of everyone else, like I do, or are you thinking about yourself?”
Rowan leaned back smirking, as Shiver leaned forward, intent on his youngest son.
“I’ve always acted for the good of Sevenspells, father.”
“You’ve managed to convince yourself of that. You need to persuade me, and just telling me isn’t going to be enough. You need to explain yourself to me Eden, in words that I can understand and believe.”
“You’ve already said yourself, father, the reasons I acted in the way I did. Of course in parts I had my own agenda. When I exposed Sammah, I was trying to save Quinn’s life, too. I was only in that position though, because I’d volunteered to find the Satori—an act that was for the benefit and reputation of the men of Sevenspells.”
Shiver grunted. “I’d overlooked that. Go on.”
“I left for Sha’sek because, in truth, Vance was becoming unbearable. Rowan will tell you the same. He was broody, his moods were erratic, and he was completely unpredictable. I wanted to be in his service to give us leverage in the court at a time when all the other kingdoms seemed to be against us, but I couldn’t bear it. As soon as I saw an opportunity to leave his side, I took it. I’m sorry father, but that’s the truth.”
“And coincidentally it was to go and retrieve this empath from Farn?”
“That was the only reason I had to leave the court, father. Of course I took it. I came back here didn’t I, without protest?”
“Yes. Then you betrayed me by helping Quinn escape. She’s not yours to be concerned about any more, Eden. You are betrothed to marry. You should be worrying about the favour of your wife, and your political position.”
“And what about what I wanted, father? Don’t I ever get to be concerned about that?”
“No. You haven’t been born into a noble house to spend your life concerned with yourself. We have the position and the privilege to make a change Eden, and we will. The threat of Sha’sek has sat across our shores for too long, now! We have the chance to finally obliterate it, starting with the festering sore sitting behind the throne in Everfell. What do you do? Send the empath back to him! He controlled her once. He can do it again!”
“Quinn can do this! I believe in her. She can defeat Sammah, father. She’s stronger than she used to be. She can use her ability on him. What you wanted her to do…that would have killed her!”
“Then we’d have had one less Sha’sekian scum tainting our lands, and I’d still send my men to attack Everfell anyway. Sammah’s allies are toothless now, and he’s at our mercy. All we need to do is lay a siege. His brother couldn’t bring enough troops inland to relieve the siege if he wanted to.”
“You care that little for their lives? Have you actually seen what it’s like in Sha’sek?”
“See father, I told you! She’s bewitched him. The Eden I knew, who you made captain of the guard, would never have said something like that. What was it like over there, little brother?”
Eden shook his head in bewilderment at Rowan’s ignorance of the world. “What do you think it’s like there,
Rowan?”
Rowan shrugged. “I don’t need to know, Eden. Our father has told us they’re a danger to us, and they need to be killed. I should know more than most, how vulnerable we are to them. What more do we need to know?”
“That they’re not all a danger. The only time I was attacked, was by men sent by Sammah. His brother has already withdrawn interest in our war with Vance.”
“With Sammah, actually. Vance has been bewitched, just like you, little brother.”
“We’re still turning swords on our own. It doesn’t matter who’s behind it—you’ll be killing Vance’s people if you lay siege to that city.”
Shiver bit into an apple, spitting juice and flesh on his chin with his reply. “I’ll let out anyone loyal to us, commoners as well as nobles. I won’t hold them in there against their will. It’s Sammah and his cursed orphans that I want to get my hands on.”
“They’re children, Shiver. They’re as innocent as anyone else in Everfell. They’re not acting of their own free will.”
Shiver ignored Eden’s pleas. “And as for Baron Pax, you told me yourself that he was only waiting for us to expend ourselves fighting each other, before moving in for the kill. When I break Everfell and kill Sammah, without spilling a single drop of blood, he’s going to be sorely disappointed.”
Eden growled in frustration. “That’s what Quinn had gone in there to do! What’s wrong with you? Are you really that aggrieved that a girl from Sha’sek is going to win this war for you?”
“She won’t win this war, Eden, because even if she does defeat Sammah, she will still be alive! How are you not understanding this? They will not rest until they have left their islands and taken our lands. Because of that, I will not rest until every single one of them is dead.”
“There’s space for everyone, father! We have empty lands everywhere, space to make new holdings, and house more people. We used to coexist. Farn is made of stone from Daggerdale. We speak the same language! There used to be peace, and enough space for everyone. Why can’t it be like that again?”
