Embers

by Ronie Kendig

  Kelviel watched Gwogh, a storm in his gray eyes.

  “What proof have you?” Bæde demanded, his balding crown catching the light of the candles and wall torches.

  “Much.” So Gwogh shared the truth of what happened in Fieri Keep. Of Haegan’s temporary healing. The princess’s paralysis and apparent loss of her gifts.

  “You were sent there in shame to babysit a crippled prince, and you could not even do that,” Bæde said. “Why should I listen to your rantings, old man?”

  Stunned at the disrespect, Gwogh stared at the accelerant.

  “Ask him what he was paid by Sirdar to betray those who sit at this table.” The voice came from behind—and yet in front. The Deliverer.

  Gwogh pivoted and looked to the dark corner, yet still saw nothing but wood slats and a grimy window. He turned back, and found the others watching, their expressions wary. Had they not heard the Deliverer?

  “Something wrong?” Kedulcya asked, touching the back of her neck, as if she could feel the presence of Abiassa’s judge.

  “No.” Gwogh cleared his throat.

  “Ask him!”

  The vehemence sent a rush of heat over Gwogh’s shoulders. He swallowed hard. “Tell me, Bæde, what price Sirdar paid you to betray this council.”

  The man paled. Shifted his wide girth on the hard chair. “What are you talking about, you old fool?”

  “Speak truth!” The voice boomed from the corner.

  Chairs squawked as the others shoved them back and pushed to their feet. Bæde didn’t move, his expression like stone. Defiant. Angry.

  “The judges return to the land,” Kedulcya whispered.

  “I am Medric,” the Deliverer said, his voice echoing and yet calm, “sent by the will of Abiassa.” He glided across the room, the others flocking to opposite corners, stricken.

  Adek took a step, no doubt thinking it his place to defend his mentor. “What right—”

  Medric did not blink or detour from his path. Yet Adek collapsed in a heap. At his side, Kedulcya glanced down but then away. Like the others, she did not want to appear to side with those who had set themselves against Abiassa.

  Bæde slowly came to his feet.

  Medric tucked his chin.

  Bæde went back down hard, as if pushed into his chair by an invisible hand.

  “Bæde of Dradith, you have stained this council with the blood of innocents, the coin of Dyrth, and the scourge of Sirdar.” Silver glinted in the torchlight.

  His sword. Gwogh drew in a breath, unable to move, remembering how, in A’tia’s home, his hand had seemed to hold the blade that was not visible.

  “Do you seek the mercy of Abiassa?”

  Skin mottled, Bæde stared unabashed at the judge advancing on him. The whites of his eyes revealed his rage. “I have no need of Her mercy!”

  “Your heart is revealed for all to see. Your guilt is decided.” Medric knelt, bowed his head. “Judgment delivered.”

  Unbelievably, Bæde lunged.

  And Medric was on his feet somehow. Towering—head and shoulders over the forty-something accelerant. The hideous beauty of his movement, of his supernaturally fast movement, roared through Gwogh’s mind. Like lightning, Medric’s blade flashed.

  Tsing!

  The sound hit his ears late, the strike happening in the space of a single heartbeat. Strangest of all—there was no blood. No body. Bæde simply ceased to exist.

  Medric turned, faced the council, his blade again unseen. His purpose apparently concluded. “There is no shame in doubt,” he spoke, his gaze on Kelviel. “What you do with doubt decides your judgment. But make no mistake—it is your choice.” His fiery gaze swung to Gwogh. “Upon your shoulders rests the burden of his protection. He is in the forest near the Great Falls facing four enemies. Save him.”

  33

  Raging and tumultuous, the river rushed past Haegan. They’d hiked through the night to put distance between them and the Jujak. Thiel had pushed them mercilessly, only allowing a short break in the hopes Drracien would catch up. His continued absence haunted them the farther they went. Now as dawn once more climbed from its slumber and tore back the veil of night, they trudged onward.

  They traced the path of the tumbling waters up to the Great Falls for another half day. Exhaustion weighted his limbs already, the trek arduous and long—a day spent at a breakneck pace. With his gaze, he followed the river’s path. It barreled past them, running south and straight off a cliff, where it dove down and crashed into enormous boulders, which split the water into two heads. From his spot at the head of these Falls, the lesser sibling of the colossal waterfall to the north, Haegan stared out over the wooded mountain range and eyed the two sparkling lines that broke from this mighty river. The larger of the two rushed out toward the east, dumping into the Twin Cities and the Nydessan Sea. The other, the branch they had crossed, swung outward, its girth slimming once it left Hetaera and arced into Kerguli territory where the badlands blew its hot breath against the waters, thinning the river until it vanished altogether among the mountains—the Shields, the range that twisted around Seultrie and ended in the Lakes of Fire.

  “Oy, if I fell into that, it would make mincemeat pie of me,” Laertes mumbled.

  “More like soup.” Tokar ruffled his hair again.

  “Get off me,” Laertes said, shoving Tokar’s hand away. “I might be only ten, but I’m not a kid.”

  “We should keep moving,” Praegur said, but his gaze never left the waters. Wonder becalmed him.

  “Have you not seen waters like this?” Haegan said.

  “It is much smaller in Kerguli—passable, unlike here.”

  “Does your family live near the East River?” Haegan asked. “Will you go back to them?”

  “My parents were taken by the Ematahri. My sister was slaughtered. I have no reason to return.”

  “Mercy,” Haegan mumbled. “I . . . I had no idea. You said nothing when we were held by them.”

  “It was a different clan. And you were not with us long enough. Let’s move.” Praegur stalked ahead.

  “Shouldn’t we wait for Drracien?” Thiel hiked the sack of supplies over her shoulder. “He shouldn’t be too far behind us.”

  “He told us to meet him by the river.” Haegan eyed the rapids once more, hating the trickle of jealousy at her concern for the accelerant.

  “But it spans leagues!” Thiel swiped at a fly. “How are we to know where?”

  “He said he’d meet us, so if he keeps moving along the path of the river, he’ll find us.”

  “If we wait, he’ll find us. If we keep moving—”

  “If we wait, he won’t be the only one to find us,” Haegan said.

  Her amber eyes found his. Though her expression told him she wanted to argue, Thiel nodded. “You’re right. I just . . .”

  His gut twisted. “You’re worried about him.” Had she ever worried about Haegan? When he and Drracien had been late returning—did she wonder if he survived? “It’s natural,” he forced himself to say. “But as you saw, he’s quite capable of taking care of himself.”

  Sticking to the path of the river challenged the group. Moss-covered boulders hugging the trail made the path treacherous. Laertes scampered up the long incline like a monkey, but with the supplies, Haegan and Thiel took their time of the journey. Hours bled into evening.

  “Were you close?” she asked, hopping from one rock to another.

  “To what?”

  She gave a small smile and jumped to another spot. “Your sister.”

  “Oh. Yes—quite.” Haegan cringed every time she made a leap, his steps more deliberate, careful. “You should watch yourself. The rocks are slick.”

  She jutted her jaw, defiant. “I’ve covered worse territory than this, tunnel rat.”

  “So we’re back to condescension and names, are we?”

  “Did we move past it?” An eyebrow winged over her amber eyes. And had he not known better, he would’ve thought she was flirting.
But what would a woman like Thiel want with a weakling like him? Wasn’t she more suited for the dapper Drracien?

  “After four weeks, I would hope so.”

  “Only four? I’ve held grudges for years.”

  “Then I am truly sorry for you,” he said, reaching for a high rock and pulling up onto it with a grunt, “for nothing rots a soul faster than bitterness.”

  She glanced down, her brown hair dripping into her face, the boyish cut now shaggy but not quite enough to be pretty. Perhaps cute, in an “I’d rather trousers and horses to silks and ribbons.” way. She had that manner about her. With another rueful look at him, Thiel again hopped.

  “I wish you wouldn’t—”

  “Relax, tunnel rat.” She grinned and flung herself to a rock.

  One that was too far away.

  “No!” Haegan sucked in a hard breath as she hit hard with a meaty oof, that no doubt knocked the air from her lungs. “Thiel!”

  She bounced off the ledge. And slid. Down . . . “Augh!”

  He lunged to the right, groping for her hand. Her fingers grazed his. And slid right through. “Thiel! No!”

  Her scream faded with her.

  Haegan eyed the incline.

  “What happened?” Tokar shouted.

  “She fell.” Haegan dangled his leg over the edge, determined to slide after her.

  “Rigar, don’t! It’s too dangerous,” Tokar called, his movements thumping overhead.

  But Haegan was already sliding. The rock warmed the seat of his pants as he skidded with his feet, trying to slow his descent. He kept his gaze below, looking for her. “Thiel!” A rock flung him off the sheer edifice. He went airborne, his hands sweating out his terror.

  Boulders raced up at him. Clipped his arm. Flipped him, the rocks slick and the raging river icy.

  Thud!

  Pain jarred through his back and neck as he hit, then continued down.

  There! He saw her. Bent. Still. “Thiel!”

  She moved. Pushed upward and glanced up at him. Her eyes went wide. “Haegan!”

  Then he saw why she panicked. A large rock jumped into his path. He rammed into it, his shoulder hitting first. Pain spiked through his back. His head thumped off the rock as he flipped, water rushing down on either side of the rock. Joints and head screaming, he blinked. His vision slowly focused as spots faded. He groaned. Though the landing had been awful, he didn’t feel anything horrible—until he heard Thiel’s crying. Then he felt pain similar to the night Kaelyria carried out the transference. He rolled onto his side and found himself facing Thiel.

  And beneath them, mere inches away, the soaring emptiness of a thirty-foot drop. He felt his stomach plummet with the depths. Shifted backward. Focused on Thiel. Her face was screwed tight in pain, a sheen covering her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She grimaced, pushing back, breathing hard. “My ankle—it’s trapped.”

  Careful not to pitch himself off the ledge, Haegan glanced at her leg. Caught in a crevice. He didn’t see blood, but she’d surely broken it with the way it had wedged into the tiny space. And there was no way down from the ledge. They were stuck. And she was injured.

  Blazes! What would they do?

  “Hey, you two okay?”

  Peering up the incline, Haegan stilled at the length they’d fallen. Had to be twenty yards or more. “Her leg is trapped. We have no way of getting down.”

  A whistle shrieked behind him. Haegan glanced toward the base. What was that noise? He searched, then saw movement. Drracien waved his arms.

  Haegan turned away, annoyed. This wasn’t a time for fun. They needed help.

  “What is it?” Thiel asked, her face pale and sweaty.

  “Drracien. Waving at us.”

  Another shrill whistle.

  Haegan turned, glared.

  This time, Drracien motioned both hands to the left. “Move away. I can wield—”

  Thiel gasped, her knuckles white as she gripped Haegan’s shirt. “No! Don’t let him. The ledge will give way.”

  When Haegan looked back to Drracien, he had scaled half the distance that separated them. “Protect her!”

  “No,” Haegan shouted, but the accelerant’s arms were arcing and swooping. He threw himself around, pinning Thiel between himself and the rock.

  Her fingers dug into his shirt, her body trembling. “He’s going to kill us,” she whimpered.

  The rock rumbled. “No, he won’t.” He better not. Or Haegan would kill him.

  Thiel’s arms snaked around his waist, holding tight.

  “I’ve got y—”

  Crack!

  Ground beneath them tilted. Thiel’s scream pierced his aching ear, but it went deeper. Through his brain. Down his heart. Into his soul. When he felt invisible hands pulling him back, toward the drop-off, Haegan crushed her against himself. They fell away from the rock.

  Air tore at his tunic and hair.

  Thiel clung to him, her body rigid with terror that matched his own. They were going to die. He would die, not make it to the Falls and Kaelyria would never walk away. Falling . . . falling . . .

  Abiaaaaassssssa!

  A weight slammed into his back.

  Oof!

  They flipped midair,. Once more, Haegan tensed, sensing the ground rushing up at them.

  Splash! Thud!

  • • •

  “Rigar! Rigar, wake up!”

  Pain riddled every move. Haegan swam through the thick sludge of unconsciousness, aiming for the voice. The urgent, panicked voice of Thiel.

  “Rigar, please. Wake up. They’re coming. They’re right there.”

  Alarms blared through his mind. He jerked upward.

  Shrieking pain stabbed his head and back. He arched his spine and threw himself backward. “Augh!”

  “Careful, careful!” Thiel hovered over him, her hair mottled with green moss and mud. “You . . . you hit hard.”

  His head swam, the memory of that impact thudding over and over in his brain. Eyes closed, he tested his hands. Feeling there. Feet. He hissed, sensing a fracture or sprain. But his back . . . Blazes, it hurts!

  “Get him up. Someone’s coming. We have to hide.”

  That snapped open his eyes. Thiel lifted his right arm, Praegur his left.

  “Move,” Tokar said, nudging Thiel aside. “He doesn’t need his arm around you, and you need support yourself with that broken ankle.”

  Jealousy—at least they had that much in common, vying for Thiel’s affections—tore at Haegan, but he focused on getting up. But then it struck him. Praegur, Laertes, and Tokar had made it back down the rugged path. “How long was I out?”

  “Just get up!” Tokar bit out as he and Praegur hauled him off the ground. Haegan’s knees buckled. Pain punched him. Was the transference lost? Was he crippled again?

  “Stand, you weakling!” Tokar growled. “I’ll leave you before I carry you.”

  Mind shaken alert, Haegan jerked forward. Told his feet to get under him.

  “Go go go!” Laertes said.

  They half-dragged him to the thicket and dove for cover just seconds before a wagon lumbered over the knoll, then rolled quickly down into the small valley. Packed into the cart like cows in a pen, the people stared out with vacant eyes. Arms and legs dangled over the sides and through slats, the same slats stragglers clung to on the outside. The cart labored up the next hill, and the oxen struggled, hooves failing to find purchase. Their muscles strained. The wagon creaked. Groaned. And started rolling backward.

  With a shout, those clinging to the outer slats hopped off and pushed. Stopped the defeat and succeeded in helping the beasts heave over the incline.

  Grunting with a twinge of sharp pain, Haegan watched. “What’s over that hill?”

  “More of the same,” Drracien said. “It’s this way all the way up this mountain to the Falls. Like someone wanted to make the journey as difficult as possible.”

  “Abiassa’s good at that.” Tokar huffed.
>
  “Tests our character, our mettle,” Haegan agreed through gritted teeth.

  “Got to have that to be tested,” Drracien muttered. “We should get moving.”

  Haegan bit back his frustration. “Scouts.” He adjusted, cowering beneath a wad of pain. “We should send scouts. Find a good place to camp.”

  “Agreed,” Thiel said. “Laertes, you’re the best at that. You up to it?”

  “Sure I am.” And he was off like lightning.

  “I’ll go with him.” Praegur jogged behind Laertes through the thick shrubs and broad-leafed fronds dotting the riverside.

  Quiet draped over the small group as they waited in the brush for the recon reports. Haegan seized the chance to rest his aching back, pressing his spine flat against the earth. What had he hit? A pike? It felt like it. Where had he landed? He didn’t know. He remembered falling. That had been a terrifying feeling, knowing he had Thiel tight in his arms as they plummeted, that he must protect her.

  “You saved me,” she said softly, easing down beside him.

  He would never, as long as he lived, forget that fall. Or holding her. Smelling her hair—which carried the unique scents of the forest. And though she had concealed herself for the first few weeks, Thiel’s curves were no longer hidden.

  He should be ashamed of himself. But there was not enough in him to feel that way. She was amazing. Brave. Courageous. Beautiful.

  “Can I ask a question?”

  Haegan turned his head toward her, tensing at the pinch of pain.

  “When we were falling, something . . .” She wet her lips. Looked away. Then smiled. “Do not think that I banged my head too hard—but did something hit us?”

  Haegan frowned. “I beg your mercy?”

  “We were knocked sideways. Quite noticeably.”

  We were? Haegan thought . . . fought to recall . . . The pain. Between his shoulders. The distinct shift in their descent. Yes. She was right. “I think so.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure what hit us. But I think that’s why I’m in so much pain.”

  “Well, I thought that might have been my fault.” She blushed. So pretty. “I landed on top of you . . . and well, you bounced.”