Scorched Treachery (Imdalind #3)

by Rebecca Ethington

  “Deal,” Cail said at once, his hand extending in an attempt to seal the promise.

  I could not move. Cail was risking everything for me, putting his life on the line in a crazy attempt to get me to Ilyan and hopefully into safety. I could do nothing more than return the favor, even if it would be years before he could redeem it. I would do anything to save my brother, just as he would obviously do anything to save me.

  “Deal.”

  “Tell me of the Vilỳs,” Ilyan said the instant the word was out of my mouth.

  “Edmund has found a way to make a Vilỳ strengthen his magic,” Cail began, and everyone stiffened. Everyone knew that Edmund had captured the little things, but even I didn’t know what he was doing with them.

  “There are cages of Vilỳ he hides underground, harvesting their poison in the hopes of someday creating a child more powerful than you. He plans to inject his next child with enough poison to either kill it or turn it into a weapon. He also keeps a Vilỳ by his bedside, letting him bite him every night, on his mark, in hopes of increasing his power.”

  Everything washed over me, the onslaught of memories coming in such a rush I couldn’t help the wave of bile that expelled itself. I felt my stomach empty itself, heard the dull splat of liquid against stone, and my vision swam, the cold prison coming back into focus.

  I heard the two men exclaim, before Timothy laughed, his joy making the sound high pitched and girlish.

  “Feel better?” Edmund asked, “Remember everything?”

  I didn’t respond. I just hung my head between my arms, the lack of muscle strength giving me reprieve.

  “Now, tell me Cail’s secret. Why will he do anything to save you?” I just looked at him, not willing to give him the information, knowing deep down that soon I wouldn’t have another choice.

  “Tell me what I can threaten your brother with, Wynifred.” I felt his fingers rest against my spine, his magic jerking into my spinal column as he moved to take the information by force.

  “If Cail dies first, then I die. If Timothy dies first, the curse unbinds itself.” My voice was dead as Edmund forced it out of me.

  “There now,” Edmund sneered, the smile wide on his face, “That wasn’t that hard, was it? Come along, Timothy. It looks like I have a job for you.”

  He moved away from me then, the door swinging shut behind him with a clang before the shackles around my wrists vanished, sending me to the ground in a heap.

  Ilyan

  Chapter Seventeen

  I could not thank Ovailia for her foresight in adding modern bathrooms to the ancient chambers at Rioseco more than I did right now. The room was still steamy from the prolonged shower, the air heavy with the mist of the okouzlený bush. I breathed in the heavy flavor of the wood, savoring the way it relaxed my heart and cleared my lungs.

  I had let the water run for much longer than was strictly necessary as I cut my hair back to the short cut that Joclyn had said she liked, letting the steam move out into the bedroom where Joclyn lay on the large soft bed. She looked so peaceful, and although I knew the magical properties of the bush would not wake her, I hoped they would calm her in the nightmare she was still restrained within.

  Still she lay, unmoving, and calm. Thankfully, we’d had no more injuries in the past few hours since arriving at Rioseco. I still couldn’t believe we had arrived safely, my heart whole and unscathed. Magic like that had never been accomplished before, and to do so twice in such a short time… I had not expected to survive it. I did not look at this accomplishment as one to boast of. If anything, it only increased my ability to protect her.

  Cleaned, cut, and shaven, I walked out of the bathroom of my large suite at Rioseco into the bedroom, the sight of Joclyn’s sleeping body welcoming me. She lay still underneath the heavy white covers; the bright white looking out of place against the ancient stone walls. Generally, I preferred white. I preferred the serenity, the hope, and the reminder that you could always start again that it offered me. So many of my rooms were decorated with it, but here, in the ruins of the first Abbey I ever lived in, I could not cover the brick I had laid with my own hands with such a trivial thing as paint. These walls reminded me of starting over in their own way, and that was enough for me.

  Joclyn’s clean hair fanned behind her like a dark stain of spilled ink against the white. My magic flared inside of her, moving to reach every corner of her body in an instant, the once powerful barrier now nowhere to be found.

  Thankfully, her body was whole, but the absence of the barrier still worried me. It had been strong enough to keep me out of her when she was first trapped in the Tȍuha, only to fade the longer she stayed inside of it. Now, it had simply disappeared. I knew the absence meant something, but what it was I couldn’t place.

  My father had found a way to work beyond my realm of thinking, his mind working faster than mine for once. Any other time I would be glad for the challenge. But somehow, the brutal torture of a girl I loved, happening right in front of me, changed that. I didn’t like to lose, and Edmund had upped the stakes in this game.

  I lay down next to her, letting my magic flow into her mind as I joined myself to her, hopeful that this time I might find something. I knew the hope was slim, but I couldn’t stop it from coming unbidden to my mind.

  I let my mind seep into hers; the desperation, at once again finding nothing, gripping me to my very core. Her mind had still not returned; a path to retrieve it had not been found. I could still find no trace of where she could have disappeared to.

  I had entered her soul, moved into her mind, reversed her magical line, healed her body, held her heart, and now the barrier had gone. The last thing I knew her to control.

  She was a shell.

  I had run out of ideas.

  With all my training, all my power, this problem had stumped me.

  We had one thing left, one thing we could try. Being at Rioseco had given us access to the mugs that could hold the Black Water, just as Thom had reminded us in the cave. As Joclyn’s only food source, the Black Water might possibly be the key to awakening her.

  I held her to me, my mind still wandering inside of hers, my song filling her mind, my words lingering as they echoed through her soul and vibrated through the tender muscles of her heart. I left them there, within her, before withdrawing from within only to hold her to me, her body pressing up against me.

  “Jos, my love,” I whispered to her, knowing it was no use. This was not like when I had been knocked unconscious by my overuse of magic. Her voice had called to me then, but I doubted mine could call to her now. There was nothing there to hear, not that I could find. But, I still couldn’t stop the hope.

  “Whatever happens, please know that I will always hold you in my heart. I now know I was not the one to save you, as much as my heart longs to be. But I will protect you, until the one who can awaken you returns.”

  I leaned forward and kissed her cheek, the warmth of her skin shooting sweetly through me in an electrical current that caught my veins on fire. Before I could let my heart linger on my words, a soft knock filled the room, echoing off the stone walls.

  Not a moment passed before Dramin walked in. As much as I hated the ritual bows and formal speeches, there were times when I missed the formalities my position usually accounted me, this was one of them. I had to remind myself that those luxuries were gone forever, as were my people. My father had massacred the ones I had been chosen to lead. I was all alone now, the last of the Skȓíteks, save my sister. Even at that, we were only half-breeds of the once powerful race.

  Dramin smiled as I stood to face him, a mug of Black Water balanced in his hands. I couldn’t ignore the banging in my chest at the possibilities feeding her might give us.

  The water had awakened her true ability not too long ago; perhaps it was the key we needed to wake her up now.

  “You ready for this?” Dramin asked, his dark green eyes looking at me over the mug.

  I nodded once. Dramin needed s
omeone to hold Joclyn still and upright. I had agreed without complaint, although it meant that I might get some of the poisonous water on my skin. The thought caused my muscles to tighten. I could still vividly remember the pain of the water as it lashed against my chest, the internal burning that plagued me for years afterwards. It was worth it, as this would be, if it was done for Joclyn’s sake.

  We moved toward the large couch, Dramin setting the heavy mug on the ancient table that sat next to the upholstered couch. I followed him, moving to shift Joclyn onto my lap where Dramin would need her.

  “You are good man, Ilyan.”

  I only nodded at him, unsure how to respond. His simple statement was loaded with the implications of both past and future. I let the ire wash over me, before arranging Joclyn on my lap, her head lolling against my chest as Dramin placed a towel beneath it. I only hoped the flimsy fabric would catch enough of the Water to prevent too much of an injury.

  Dramin moved to the side of me, his jaw tight as he moved her head a bit. I held her head where Dramin had placed it, my skin warm where it made contact with hers.

  “You can’t move, Ilyan, even if it burns you. You move, and it will only burn you more.” Dramin lifted the mug, and I cringed as the putrid smell of the deep brown fluid hit my nose. It smelled like rot, the heavy death smell of the body pits that had littered my home while the black plague ravaged Europe. The images of the time floated to mind, their suffering still fresh, even though the travesty had happened in my youth.

  I closed my eyes against the imagery and held Joclyn’s body closer to me, my body tense as I held her still. Thom had suggested we just restrain her magically, but I had swatted the idea away, wishing instead to be near her, wishing to help her physically. Now, I was second guessing my decision.

  Dramin placed the mug against Joclyn’s lips, his thumb and forefinger pressing against her mouth to open it slightly, the sag of her jaw making her look deathly and vacant. I looked away, not wanting to think of being that way, of being vacant. Gone.

  I looked out the high stone archways that led to my wide balcony and to the misty Spanish countryside that lay beyond that. It all looked the same as when we had built this beautiful building. This place was like stepping back in time for me, one of the only places that felt like home. I couldn’t deny the heady feeling from being here that was seeping into me. Of course, it didn’t hurt that so many of the images in the original sight took place within these very walls.

  In the sight given by Sain all those centuries ago, I had seen Joclyn battle powerful enemies. I had seen her bloodied and beaten, and I had seen her crying – tears streaming down her face before she kissed me. The images flashed before me now, and I could tell where each of them would occur, what corner of the ruins of the Abbey she would stand in - many of which were only a few steps away.

  The beautiful images were stolen from me as the deep burning sensation of the Black Water shot across my arm. I called out, my voice loud and deep as I tried to keep my body still. I let my voice yell and swear, the rough Czech words bouncing off the stone, while keeping my body still as Dramin continued to work.

  The burn moved deeper into me, the acidic fire burning into my blood stream where it ignited and moved all over my body in a matter of minutes. The pain was not as intense as I had remembered, but still it caused my muscles to tense as it passed them, the deep magic reacting with my blood. My magic tried to heal me, but it wasn’t fast enough to fight the burn that shot through my veins.

  There was a reason few of my kind had ever sought council from the Drak, and now I was being reminded why. I continued to yell, my only outlet in the battle against my own body that was desperate to move and flee the pain.

  “H...he will...willl t...tear usss ap...apa...apart.” The quiet, feminine stutter rocked through me. The hope that I felt filled me faster than the burning pain had. Dramin stepped away, the mug returning to the ancient table. Joclyn’s body twisted easily in my arms, falling down to my lap as limply as she had been before. Was she coming back?

  Her eyes were open, the endless black depths seeing something neither Dramin nor I could see. The pain and fear in her voice was strong, and I hoped the timbre of her voice had more to do with the sight than whatever was happening where she was.

  My fingers curled against her skin, desperate to pull her to me, but also afraid of missing her awakening or that the sharp movement would hinder whatever progress was being made here.

  “If...if...y...you w-w-wish to ssseeee th...the end. G...give m-me y...your heart.”

  “Jos?” I whispered as her eyes closed, hoping she could hear me, hoping that she would not return to her prison, but nothing happened. She stayed limp in my arms as her mind returned to the hell she was trapped in.

  “He will tear us apart. If you wish to see the end, give me your heart.” I had almost forgotten Dramin was standing behind me until he spoke.

  I looked away from Joclyn at his voice, keeping my hands on her arms, not willing to be away from her, to lose contact.

  “What do you think it means?”

  I could only shake my head at him. It was obviously a sight as shown by the blackness of her eyes, and not the rambling nonsense that can happen while people dream. This meant the words were meant to guide. So the question remained; who was to receive the guidance, and what did it mean?

  My hands pulled away from her slowly, my eyes widening at the large burn on my arm. My skin was raised in an angry red welt where the water had touched me. The water that could unlock her sight; the touch of the water against my flesh, one that would trigger it.

  Dramin saw me looking at the welt on my arm, his inhalation confirming that my thoughts were headed in the right direction.

  “It’s for you.” His voice was awed. The water had called her from a dark place, and my sacrifice had been the one to have done that.

  “He will tear us apart. If you wish to see the end, give me your heart,” I repeated the words softly, the tender words sounding like a message rather than a warning on my tongue.

  A message from her; from Joclyn.

  She was still in there somewhere. I just needed to find her.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I was out of bed before I had registered what had happened. I had heard the soft knocking in my sleep and sat up, my body tense and ready as if expecting battle. I could still feel the warmth of where Joclyn’s body had been pressed against mine, the heat leaving as the chilled night air that came in through the open archways swirled against my skin.

  The knock sounded again, the taps soft against wood, a familiar energy seeping through the door, and my body relaxed. I made it to the door in two steps, throwing it open to reveal a very disheveled looking Thom. His dark dreads were pulled back into a ponytail. The ear buds of his iPod were hanging out of his shirt, and I could hear the occasional twang of a guitar. Normally I would laugh at seeing them there - Thom always kept his love of country music hidden - but the concern on his face trumped the humor.

  “Thom?” I questioned when he didn’t say anything.

  Thom looked over my shoulder to where Joclyn lay in the bed, before looking back to me.

  “You need to come with me.”

  It was very strange how one sentence could put each nerve in my body on high alert. My muscles tensed as I stood taller; my back straightened in an inadvertent attempt to challenge him. Thom reacted, but not in a way I would have expected from him.

  “Shield her, and follow me.”

  “Thom? What has happened?”

  Thom’s eyes darted around uncomfortably, the action only adding to my heightened awareness. My muscles tensed in expectation. I looked down the hall behind him, expecting Edmund to be standing right there.

  “I found something outside.” His voice was so soft and unsure, I barely heard him.

  “What?” I asked, Thom jumping at my voice. His uncomfortable jitters seemed to be growing rather than receding.

  “I’m not sure. I want
you to see.”

  I looked at him sternly for one minute before backing off. I would receive a clearer understanding of what was happening by following rather than demanding answers. Although I didn’t like going somewhere blind, it was my best option.

  “Následuj mě.” Before I could say more Thom had begun to walk away, his steps short and panicked, suggesting trouble. Everything prickled inside me in warning, but I wasn’t one to second-guess Thom. He had proven his worth to me, and that was enough.

  I glanced back at Joclyn for only a moment before watching her body vanish from sight; the heavy shield I covered her with ignited inside of her, as well as around her.

  Thom’s steps were short, the sound muffled by his quick soft movements. I followed him in silence as we moved from the renovated space on the northern side of the Abbey to the ruins that existed on the far south. What had once been a beautiful cathedral was now reduced to a few exquisite arches and some tile work, most of it destroyed by war, neglect, and tourists of the later 1800’s.

  “You better shield yourself,” he whispered, his body stopping to face me.

  My back straightened as he looked at me, my eyes boring into him in a silent threat. My desire not to begin dishing out orders was almost trumped by my distaste at being given them. I saw him wilt a bit, but not enough. He shook his head and disappeared before me, the heavy feel of his magic moving away from me.

  I began to follow him, my steps mirroring his in timbre as we moved. We moved through a large open area. I could see the tree line of the forest that surrounded the Abbey clearly and the moon that hung above the trees, the face of the sleeping man I had grown up whispering my secrets to so clear on the textured surface.

  As I followed Thom’s lead, my magic peaked at some distant power I could not place. I fought the need to stop and investigate the new, unwanted energy that was buzzing through the air, but continued on. I could usually determine anyone I had met before by the feeling of their magic, but this was either too far away, or someone I didn’t know. I brushed the feeling away, my nerves readying themselves for an attack.