by Gwynn White
He grimaced, cursing at himself for his stupid answer. But what was he supposed to say to the fourth person he had ever spoke to?
Dmitri was dead, so he didn’t count.
“They get better as you get older.” Axel laughed, but even though Mom was right—it certainly sounded derisive—Talon didn’t get the impression that the older man was laughing at him. It was more like they were sharing a joke.
Talon allowed his taut muscles to relax. “Mom says I’m going to live with you. That you will show me”—he wanted to say the world, but that sounded too demanding, so he finished with—“stuff.”
“I have more ‘stuff’ lined up than you can imagine. I plan to take you on a tour of the capitals of the Free Nations.”
The what?
Axel explained, “The countries that aren’t part of Lukan’s empire.”
Talon’s uncertainty must have shown on his face.
“A young man needs to know what the world looks like, both in the empire and out. And I have friends in those countries who are eager to meet you.”
Talon was sure Axel knew all about the whole crown prince thing and the so-called curse, but he was grateful Axel didn’t mention it.
And a chance to visit some other countries sounded almost too good to be true.
Talon felt himself smile before he could stop it. “Sounds good.” He squeezed both Mom’s hand and Uncle Tao’s. “Even though I’m not really in a hurry to leave my family.”
“I know that,” Axel said, his face serious. “But I promise you, I will give you an informa as soon as you get on my airship. You can talk to your mom and uncle as often as you like.”
“It’s not really the same, is it?”
Axel looked sad. “No, it’s not. No one gets that better than me and your mom. Your uncle, too. But it’s better than nothing.” Axel’s head jerked around to look at something Talon couldn’t see. When he faced them again, he focused on Mom. “I may be delayed. My pilot reports a large formation of Lukan’s airships between us and you.”
Mom and Uncle Tao both sucked in breaths, and the tension in the room spiked.
He wondered what it all meant.
Before he could ask, Axel spoke. “Relax. I knew they’d be there. But tonight is one night I don’t plan on engaging in my cousin’s little games. We’ll outrun them. It does mean taking a less direct route to get to you.” He shot Talon a wicked smile. “The Light-Bearer is faster and more agile than any airship in Lukan’s fleet. I had it built just for you.”
Talon had no idea what Axel was talking about. His face flushed, and he felt his ignorance in every fiber of his being.
What would people in these Free Nations make of him? Would they laugh at him? Mock him, wild and ignorant forest boy that he was? He sank back into his seat, part of him wishing he could forget about all this and stay in the forest instead.
Anger raged through him. He sat up tall, determined not to let fear hold him back.
Mom reached up and brushed Axel’s face, but her fingers passed straight through the light. “Please be careful, my love. I’ve waited so long to have you here again. Please don’t let Lukan rob me of that pleasure.”
“And miss out on holding you? Not a chance.” But Axel’s expression had changed; he no longer exuded a casual friendliness. Now he reminded Talon of a stalking wolf. Intense. Focused. Deadly.
It was strangely reassuring.
Even Axel’s voice was clipped. “My Lynxie, I need to focus on getting around Lukan’s little hurdle. Talk to you soon.”
The image flickered and died, leaving the room in silence—one broken by a muffled rumble Talon only associated with their steam plow.
But that was impossible. The plow was parked safely in the shed, where it would wait until the autumn plowing.
So what was this?
He stiffened.
“What’s the matter, Talon?” Lynx demanded. “You look as if you’ve seen another dead person.”
Talon pushed himself up off the sofa. “Someone’s coming. I can hear a steam plow outside.”
The noise was closer now as the vehicle broke through the trees surrounding the homestead.
Uncle Tao actually swore! He strode to the window and parted the ragged silk curtain. A white sheen crossed his face. “Lynx! Weapons.”
Both Uncle Tao and Mom darted to the shelf where they stored their hunting knives. Mom reached it first. She grabbed hers and tossed a second blade to Uncle Tao.
When she didn’t give Talon his, he surged forward to grab his knife.
Mom stepped into his path, her face blazing with fervor he had never before witnessed. “Tao and I will do the fighting. Your job is to run. Whatever happens, do not let Lukan catch you. Run. Run as fast as you can. Axel will find you.”
Talon was about to argue when the door flew open.
Lukan and two other men strode into the room—an old one with a gaunt face, leaning on a walking stick, and one about the same age as Axel, except with a glazed expression in his eyes.
Uncle Tao lunged forward to intercept them with his knife.
Arm moving so fast it was almost a blur, the man with the dead eyes brought a hand axe crashing down into Uncle Tao’s chest.
Uncle Tao folded to the floor.
Talon froze. Eyes wide, mouth hanging open, he stared at the blood pumping from his uncle’s chest.
Stop the bleeding. He had to stop the bleeding. Talon grabbed a fur from the sofa and turned to Uncle Tao—
No!
Talon swallowed a lump caught in his throat. Uncle Tao was dead.
As much as Talon wanted to deny it, he had seen too much death in the forest not to recognize its glassy eyes and stillness.
He had a vague sense of someone screaming, “Get out, Talon! Run! Don’t let him get you!”
But even if he wanted to, he couldn’t move.
Uncle Tao was gone.
His eyes shifted to Lukan, his whole being focused on the man who’d brought a killer to their door. Ignoring Mom’s screams to run, he launched across the room and landed with a sickening thud into Lukan.
They both crashed against the wall.
Despite never having fought anyone in his life, Talon pelted Lukan with his fists, striking hard wherever he made contact with flesh.
Everyone else seemed frozen with shock as Lukan tried to shake him off. Talon sank his teeth deep into Lukan’s neck, hanging on like a fox with a stolen chicken. He tasted his father’s blood. One of his hands raked across Lukan’s face, drawing blood there, too. It wasn’t enough. He wanted Lukan to suffer, but without a weapon, he didn’t know what more he could do to make the murderer pay.
“You animal!” Lukan bellowed. “Morass! Do something.”
Hands grabbed Talon from behind and lifted him off Lukan with ease. Talon squawked in shock as his body swung through the air.
And then he was flying—flying straight across the room toward the stone fireplace.
He flailed his arms and legs, trying to shift his trajectory away from the hearth, but the man called Morass had thrown him with such force, it didn’t help.
He screamed as his head landed with an agonizing crack against the corner of the stone mantelpiece.
And then he remembered nothing more.
Chapter 9
Hunting knife moments away from Felix’s throat, Lynx stared in horror as Talon’s head crunched against the mantelpiece.
Almost in slow motion, her eyes tracked the blood spurting from his forehead as it sprayed across the wall above the fireplace. His body hit the floor, and his head slammed into the stone hearth. He crumpled. Blood pooled around his feathers and braids, but he made no effort to move.
Was he still alive?
Felix stumbled away from her. Face aghast, he leaned heavily on his walking stick.
Lynx dived toward Talon to see if he still lived, when Lukan screamed, “Morass! You idiot! By the Dragon, didn’t I tell you not to harm the bastard until we know for sure Axel
is dead?”
Morass bowed low. “Sire, I’m sorry, I—I must have misunderstood you.”
Lukan slapped Morass across the face and then strode across the room toward Talon.
Knife poised, Lynx leaped between her son and Lukan.
Through tears of grief for Tao and fear for her son, she shouted, “The only way you will get him is through me! Come! I dare you!”
What she really wanted was to check Talon’s pulse, but with his enemies circling, she could not risk letting them close to him. Lukan might rage that he didn’t want Talon harmed, but she didn’t trust him not to finish what he’d started. Programmed with ice crystal, Morass would never have acted out of his own accord to harm Talon. Lukan stopped. The usually silver scar she’d inflicted on his cheek pulsed a livid red. He stared at her with haunted eyes, a look of desperation and longing she knew only too well.
Lynx slashed her knife out him.
Morass’s body deflected the blade.
Lynx’s heart sank.
Of course she would not be battling Lukan to protect Talon’s body, not when he had Count Morass, Lord of the Rack, to do his dirty work. And Lynx was smart enough to know that she was no match against Morass’s ice-crystal-charged strength. With one chance to get a killing blow, she lunged forward and stabbed her blade at his heart with all her strength.
The blade hit something solid, sending a shockwave through her arm.
Armor beneath his frilly white shirt.
“We came prepared for you.” Lukan’s voice sounded manic as he paced the floor. “You’ve had our son for sixteen years. Now it’s my turn.”
“Over my dead body.” Lynx swore and re-gripped her knife. Her next target had to be Morass’s neck. That would be infinitely more difficult, without getting closer than was safe. It was a risk she had to take for her son. She lunged again and almost made contact with his fleshy throat.
But with a grunt, Morass clenched her wrist. She cried out as the bones in her wrist snapped and the knife fell from her useless fingers.
Ignoring the pain radiating up her arm, she kicked Morass behind the knee. When he stumbled, she followed up with kick in the groin. Her good hand, she shoved under his nose. Both attacks would have been enough to debilitate a normal man, but apart from a bloody nose, they had no effect on slowing him down.
With lightning speed, he grabbed both her arms and lifted her off the ground as if she were no stronger than a kitten.
As much as she wanted to deny it, she knew the fight was lost. In her rage and disappointment, she yelled at Lukan, “If you have killed Talon, you will die. I will see you dead, whether I get the pleasure of doing it myself or whether Axel must hunt you down and flay you. Either way, I will dance on your grave!”
“Lynx, this is not my fault,” Lukan moaned. “I would never have given the command to harm your son before—”
“Enough! Sire, focus on what matters here.” Felix stepped between Lukan and Lynx, flailing helplessly in Morass’s arms. He pointed his cane at Talon. “The Light-Bearer is what matters now. We need to proceed as planned.”
Felix’s words seemed to rip Lukan from his maudlin lament. He loped over to Talon and kicked him sharply in the ribs with his boot.
There was no response.
“Leave him alone!” Lynx fought all the harder against Morass, but it was pointless; she might just as well have fought against steel.
“Shut her up.” Felix reached into a pocket inside his awful olive-green cloak and pulled out a rag and a set of manacles. He threw them at Morass.
Lynx tried to wriggle free when Morass lifted a hand away to catch them, but he grabbed her before she slid away. Within seconds, he clicked the manacles closed. She cried out with pain as the steel locked around her broken wrist. Her ankles were next.
Trussed up, she could do nothing to stop him gagging her mouth. Tears coursed unchecked down her cheeks: Thunder, dead; Tao, murdered; Talon—she didn’t want to think about Talon.
Sweat beading on his forehead and upper lip, Lukan mouthed to her, “I’m sorry. I never wanted this to happen.”
The man was clearly terrified. She looked away, refusing to validate anything he said to her.
Lukan slumped and then shouted at Felix, “What’s happening with Axel? Until we know, we cannot move forward. With anything.”
Felix placed a placating arm on Lukan’s shoulder. “Sire, we will be informed as soon as there is a confirmed kill. Best we proceed with the strategy in place.”
“I—I can’t. Axel is out there.” Frantic fingers kneaded Lukan’s side. “If Nicholas is dead, Axel will find me. He’ll skin me alive. I—I will have to hit the trigger before I even make it to the palace. Either way, I will die. That was never the plan.”
What was Lukan jabbering on about?
Felix rested his walking stick against the mantle and dug into his pocket again. He pulled out a syringe. “The Final Word will tell us all we need to know about the Light-Bearer.”
They were going to tag Talon!
Lynx writhed and tried to shout around her gag, but apart from Lukan’s longing glance, no one looked at her.
Silently, she pleaded, Dmitri, if Talon is alive, help him. Protect him from this.
Dmitri’s voice sounded heavy in her head. You heard the pact I made with Nicholas. I cannot renege on that. The boy will never trust me again, and that is not something I can risk. Until he asks for my help, my hands—and yours—are tied.
She shot back, But Lukan will imprison him. How will he fulfill the curse then?
Dmitri didn’t reply.
But what had he said? The boy will . . . Talon was alive! Dmitri had hinted at that much, but Talon was about to be tagged—
Shaking with fear, anger, and helplessness, Lynx sent a silent prayer to the Winds to intervene. Then she could do nothing more than watch Lukan and Felix’s plan unfold, whatever that entailed.
Felix creaked down at Talon’s side and prodded his head. “Morass, find something to staunch the bleeding.”
Morass looked around the room and stepped over Tao’s body on his way to the silk curtains. Boots trailing Tao’s blood, he tore the curtain off the rod. Unable to bear the desecration of Tao’s body, she focused on the drapes.
If that’s his idea of a bandage, I’m grateful I washed them in preparation for Talon’s farewell birthday.
Morass tossed the curtain to Felix.
The Lord of the Household clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Low-born, you try my patience. Tear it into strips for bandages.”
While Morass shredded the curtains, Felix fiddled with his syringe. If an ice crystal floated in the clear liquid, it was so tiny Lynx couldn’t see it. Felix lifted Talon’s hair and injected the liquid into his neck, clearly satisfied an ice crystal was present.
Talon didn’t even flinch.
Impotent tears flooded Lynx’s face. After sixteen years of trying to defend her son from Lukan’s ice crystal, it had all gone awry in minutes.
Lukan is too powerful to defeat. The instant that debilitating thought invaded her mind, she pushed it away. No, the Winds will be with Axel. He will survive, and then he will help me get Talon back. We will win.
“Bandages,” Morass said to Felix. He held out the shredded fabric.
Felix picked up his cane and hit Morass with it. “Then bandage him, low-born.”
While Morass worked at Talon’s head, Felix took Lukan’s arm and led him to the sofa. “Sit, sire, and together we will see what the Light-Bearer’s crystal tells us.” He glanced over at Lynx. “You might find this interesting, too.”
Lynx leaned forward as Felix thumbed his informa into action.
The first beam of light showed a series of lines, but Lynx had no idea what they meant. Neither did Lukan, because he swatted the beams with an impatient hand. “Is he alive? That’s all I’m interested in.”
Felix pursed his lips and sighed. “That is what I am about to tell you, sire, if you will just exercise some pat
ience.”
Lukan showed no reaction to the reprimand.
“This red line indicates his pulse rate, and as you can see, he has one. Slow and erratic to be sure, but he is alive. The data corroborates what our eyes can see—he is merely unconscious.” Felix flicked through other screens, reading lines of text Lynx assumed related to Talon’s health. “Based on his organ function, brain waves, and hormones in his blood, in time, he will wake up.”
Relief flickered across Lukan’s face. “Let’s get him back to the—” He looked over at Lynx. “His new home.” He stood, clearly expecting Felix to obey.
Felix remained in his seat, flicking through screens.
“Felix!” Lukan snapped. “Stop playing with your new toy and help Morass get him into the steam carriage.”
Felix looked up at Lukan as if he had gone mad. “Me? A seventy-one-year-old-man help carry a sixteen-year-old boy? You know I struggle to walk without my stick.” He glanced back at his informa. “And the Light-Bearer weighs exactly one hundred and thirty-six pounds and ten ounces of pure muscle and bone. I don’t have the strength for that. Better I stay here and take care of Lynx while you and Morass settle your son.” He glowered at Lynx, and she glowered right back.
Felix may have been Axel’s father, but she still loathed the man.
Lukan gave a tired grunt. “I suppose you’re right. Morass can do it. But I don’t want any more damage to the bastard’s head until I know Axel is dead. We got off lightly this time, the next time we might not be so lucky.” He also scowled at Lynx. “And, as my wife has so callously pointed out, she will dance on my grave if the boy dies.” Lukan turned away to watch Morass tie the last bandage to Talon’s head. “Take him to the carriage.”
Morass wiped his bloody hands on his trousers. “Of course, sire. And I will be most careful not to harm him again.”
As Morass stooped down to pick up Talon, Felix said, “One moment, sire. You really need to see this.”
Lukan spun. “Is it Axel? Is he dead?”
Face infused with pride, Felix stood and held up the informa. “See how your son lies.”
A perfect image of Talon slumped on the floor in the cottage blossomed in the air above the informa.
