We? Orlla flinched at what struck her as a thinly disguised attempt to recruit them. Her mind flooded with possibilities. Shanks was contemplating taking Lord Davian out. Maybe even the soldiers who accompanied him too. This was a twist they had not foreseen, but it could work in their favor. With the numbers in their party decreased, and by gaining Shank’s trust, she and Erdhan had a much better chance of stealing the dragon stone before they reached the Ithaton Peninsula. She threw Erdhan a questioning look. Could Shanks be trusted, or was he trying to trap them into saying something treasonous?
“We can unveil the stone,” she said in a low, measured tone. “But we get paid once the Onyx is delivered to the emperor. It matters not to us who delivers it. Why should we risk our lives helping you assassinate Davian?”
For a long moment, there was only the sound of Shank’s heavy breathing and then he muttered, “Because my orders are to eliminate you once we have the gold in hand.”
Orlla’s palms dampened, her grip on the reins slackening. Even though she had overheard Skinner and Davian plotting as much together, it filled her with terror to hear Shanks confirm it.
“It wasn’t Skinner’s idea,” Shanks added. “Davian convinced him it would be prudent to eliminate anyone who might talk.”
“What makes him think we would talk?” Orlla demanded, anger rippling through her voice.
Shanks gave her a baleful look. “You’ve done your fair share of yakking in the short time you were at Boar’s Fort—bending Madora’s ear with questions no newcomer should be asking. Don’t you realize she reports everything back to Skinner?” Shanks jerked his chin at Erdhan. “And you earned a reputation as a blabbermouth too. The blacksmith says you entertained the men plenty, but you had a clever way of weaving probing questions into your banter.”
Shanks moved his jaw side-to-side, eying first Orlla and then Erdhan. “What are you two hiding anyway? Madora said you eloped. Are you wed?”
Orlla’s cheeks prickled.
“Not yet,” Erdhan answered with a careless grin. “But that is our intention.”
Shanks guffawed, his eyes momentarily lighting up with mirth. “Cutting it close, aren’t you? You may only have a day or two to live if Davian gets his way.”
“If you plan to kill us, why do you care if we’re wed or not?” Orlla said in a testy tone.
Shanks sniffed. “I don’t. I’m interested in a mutually beneficial relationship of another kind. Davian is trying to oust me as Skinner’s right-hand man. I’m not about to let that happen. I’ll take care of Davian, if you’ll take care of unveiling the stone for Emperor Narlius. Once the coin exchanges hands, we return to Boar’s Fort.”
“Won’t Skinner kill us?” Erdhan asked.
Shank’s eyes hardened. “Not if I convince him you saved the deal with the emperor after Davian tried to steal the stone.”
“Very well,” Orlla replied. “It seems our options are limited if we wish to live.”
Shanks smirked. “One more thing. How well do you really know Davian?”
Orlla stiffened at the question. Had Shanks picked up on something in one of their exchanges? If he caught her in a lie, she risked losing his trust—possibly even the chance to be rid of Davian. It was not a risk she was willing to take. “Well enough to know he is a blackguard as you rightly surmised. Lord Davian is a Macobite noble who served in King Hamend’s court. He was never a general to Emperor Narlius.”
Shanks gave a gratified humph. “Why did he leave King Hamend’s service?”
Orlla swallowed. Trust or no trust, she wasn’t about to tell Shanks that Lord Davian had betrayed the king in order to procure the Opal of Light. There were already too many interested parties in the dragon stones. She waved a dismissive hand. “They fell out over a prisoner escort. The prisoner escaped under Davian’s watch, and he bristled under the king’s reprimand. It’s no secret in Macobin that Davian had aspirations of succeeding the throne after King Hamend, who is without a male heir.”
Shanks grunted in response, which did nothing to indicate to Orlla whether or not he believed her story. It was of no consequence. They would part ways before dawn. The less said the better.
Conversation lulled as the wind grew more biting. Grit from the road stung their eyes, and it was almost a relief when the rain began to fall, dampening down the dust as they trotted along. By the time they located a sheltered river valley that offered some protection from the wind to make camp for the night, the rain had eased up, but everyone was soaked through and tempers were flaring. Even their steeds were cantankerous and uncooperative. Lord Davian sent two of his soldiers to fill the waterskins and assigned the other two to gather firewood while the mercenaries tended to the horses.
Once the fire had taken hold, Orlla rose to take a quick scout around the area in the hopes of meeting up with Akolom.
“Where are you scuttling off to?” Lord Davian’s voice boomed across the camp. His soldiers and several of the mercenaries eyed her suspiciously.
“Can’t a woman have a little privacy?” she retorted.
“You require an inordinate amount of it,” Lord Davian said.
A couple of the men chortled.
“Go with her!” Lord Davian barked, jerking his chin at one of his soldiers. “Make sure you allow her some privacy.”
Orlla clenched her hands into fists and strode off through the undergrowth, tailed by the sneering soldier. She stepped behind a tree and, as inconspicuously as possible, scoured the shadowy forest around. Her heart pounded. If Akolom was here, he had no chance of alerting her with the soldier hovering nearby. There was nothing else for it but to try and slip away again later when Lord Davian was otherwise preoccupied.
When she sat back down by the campfire, Erdhan flicked a questioning look her way, but she didn’t dare risk shaking her head when so many eyes were on her. Instead, she stared into the flames until the men’s attention drifted to the stew bubbling in the pot.
“It’s ready,” one of the mercenaries pronounced after testing it. He began scooping up bowlfuls just as the two soldiers arrived back with the waterskins. “Excellent timing!” Lord Davian exclaimed, walking over to the food. “Let’s eat.”
The men filed past, each taking a steaming bowl and retreating to the fire with it. Lord Davian gestured to Orlla and Erdhan to join the line and handed them each a bowl. The hearty stew went some way toward satisfying Orlla’s hunger, but her stomach still roiled with trepidation. She and Erdhan had to make their move tonight, and with no sign of either Khor or Akolom, they would be forced to strike alone. Erdhan had already gathered a small pile of rocks to distract the guards with and hidden them inside his cloak. It would be up to Orlla to single-handedly weave the veiling runes and steal the Onyx.
When the soldiers and mercenaries retired for the night, Orlla lay down next to Erdhan under the guise of settling in to sleep, wide-eyed and shivering with anticipation for what the night would hold. Silently, he slipped her a handful of rocks. “I’ll wait for your signal,” he whispered.
They woke the next morning, groggy and disoriented, still clutching their fistfuls of pebbles.
Chapter 16
Orlla blinked, her eyelids unbearably heavy. She tried to remember where she was. Rain was falling again and the ground she had been sleeping on was quickly becoming waterlogged. She was vaguely aware that she was soaked through to her bones. Exhaustion wrapped her in an iron embrace, but it wasn’t a normal tiredness. Her brain felt sluggish, not fully in control of her body. Squinting, she glanced uncertainly over at Erdhan who was rubbing the back of his neck, looking equally confused. Snatches of conversation from the previous evening drifted through Orlla’s head … gain the trust of the Emperor … won’t leave it entirely unprotected … what need do we have of Davian … my orders are to get rid of you …. She felt certain she was missing something important, but she had no idea what it was.
The soldiers and mercenaries moving around the camp were blurry images, their voices d
istant echoes fighting to be heard over the incessant pounding of the rain. Orlla frowned, strangely disconnected from the activities around her, and she wondered if she was dreaming. Erdhan’s distraught gaze told her otherwise.
“We fell asleep!” he hissed, in a tone of pained frustration.
A wave of panic rose inside her as the plan to steal the stone came rushing back to mind. She raised her head and stared across the campsite at Lord Davian engrossed in conversation with Shanks.
“They drugged us!” she gasped, her tone one of outraged disbelief as the words rattled around inside her head.
Erdhan followed her gaze, looking aghast. “You think Shanks betrayed us?”
“I don’t know,” Orlla replied. “But I intend to find out.” She got to her feet with difficulty, wobbling back on her heels.
Erdhan reached out and grabbed her hand to steady her.
“Ah, at last the rune weavers awaken,” Lord Davian pronounced, looming over them. “I trust you are well rested after your prolonged slumber.” His honeyed tone clashed with the malicious gleam in his green eyes.
Orlla clenched her teeth. “You drugged us, didn’t you? That’s why you sent your soldiers into the forest—to gather herbs when they refilled the waterskins. I should have known something was up when you handed us our stew.”
The soldiers and mercenaries standing around shot curious glances their way.
Lord Davian gave a smug smile. “I am charged with protecting my cargo, and that includes you. It would not go over well at Boar’s Fort if Skinner learned the rune weavers had escaped before the Onyx reached Emperor Narlius in Ithaton.”
“Why would we escape and leave with nothing?” Erdhan retorted, raising his voice for the benefit of their audience. “We intend to be there to collect our share of the bounty.”
Lord Davian elevated his brows. “I laud your fealty to the mercenaries’ cause. I feared otherwise after observing your protracted disappearances into the forest. I suspected you were searching for a suitable escape route.”
A soldier approached him and saluted. “We’re ready to ride, m’lord—uh, General. The weather is worsening the longer we delay and the trail above the river is steep.”
“Mount up rune weavers,” Lord Davian said with a flash of teeth. “A shame you rose late and missed out on breakfast.”
Simmering with rage, Orlla watched his retreating back as he strode across to his horse and swung himself into the saddle.
“We lost our chance,” she whispered. “If Akolom showed up last night, he waited in vain for us to make a move.”
“Do you think he’ll follow us?” Erdhan asked.
Orlla considered this for a moment before answering. “Most likely. Although, I don’t know how he can aid us once we are inside the palace.”
Erdhan frowned. “Shanks will help us get rid of Lord Davian.”
“That’s what he told us,” Orlla said, an edge of cynicism lacing her voice. “I’m not sure we can trust him anymore either.”
“We were never sure,” Erdhan pointed out. “But he’s all we’ve got, and I’m certain he wasn’t feigning his loathing of Lord Davian.”
Orlla blew out a long breath. “We need to come up with a plan before we reach the palace tonight. Let’s see what Shanks has to say about it.”
Back on the trail high above the rushing river, Orlla and Erdhan braced themselves against the rain. The sky was dark, and rumblings of thunder unnerved the already jittery horses. Orlla eyed the steep drop-off to the left of the trail uneasily. The mud they were churning up was slippery, and one miscalculation could send a horse and its rider tumbling to their deaths.
She turned to Shanks riding between her and Erdhan. She didn’t want to accuse him outright of being complicit in Lord Davian’s plot, but she needed to be sure he hadn’t betrayed them. “Did you know we were drugged last night?”
He grunted. “I guessed as much when you toppled over after consuming your stew.”
“So, you were not a party to Davian’s scheme?”
A muscle twitched in Shank’s jaw. “Davian doesn’t view me as a partner, only a mule to carry his wares.” He turned to face Orlla, his stare penetrating and cold. “He told the men he didn’t trust you—that you were planning something because you kept disappearing. What were you really doing in the forest?”
Orlla’s pulse hammered in her ears. She wouldn’t betray Akolom and put his life in danger. “Fortifying the runes,” she responded, trying her best to strike a casual note. “Tough to concentrate in a group of uncouth men.”
Shanks scowled. “It’s an uncouth profession. You signed up for it.”
Orlla tweaked a conspiratorial smile. “You’re right. So, let’s talk like mercenaries and come up with a plan to eliminate Lord Davian.”
Shanks shot her a hard glance. “I said I’d take him out once he made a move to steal the stone.”
“We can’t afford to wait until we reach Ithaton,” Orlla replied. “Whatever chance of success we have of doing away with him on the trail will be greatly reduced once we reach the palace and have the emperor’s guards to contend with.”
Shanks sniffed, rain running off the end of his nose. “There will be no killing within the palace walls. We wouldn’t stand a chance. We’ll strike once Davian leaves with the stone after the celebratory feast.”
“Does he trust his own soldiers enough to take them with him?” Erdhan asked.
“Hard to say,” Shanks admitted. “He pulled them aside to talk to them about something last night, but a cur like Davian trusts no one at heart.”
“What about your men?” Orlla pressed. “Will they follow your lead?”
“They’ll ride with me to their deaths if I ask it of them,” Shanks said without hesitation.
A flash of lightning lit up the sky directly above them followed by a spine-chilling crack of thunder that ripped through the forest. Horses bucked and snorted as their riders struggled to control them. Erdhan’s horse whinnied in fear and tried to circle back around while he fought to hold it steady. Suddenly, Shank’s black stallion reared up on its back legs, flinging him from the saddle. Orlla shrank back in horror as the horse’s hooves slid out from under it, sending the beast tumbling down the embankment toward the river, saddlebags in tow.
Mass confusion ensued as another fork of lightning streaked through the sky and the horses went into a frenzy, plunging and bucking in terror, narrowly missing trampling Shanks to death. Orlla leapt from her mount and passed the reins off to Erdhan. She sloshed through the ankle-deep mud over to where Shanks lay motionless and knelt at his side, relieved to hear him let out a weak groan. A moment later, Lord Davian appeared, his pitted face taut with rage. “Leave him be!” he ordered. “Get after his horse and retrieve the dragon stone!”
“He’s injured!” Orlla snapped back. “He needs assistance.”
“Find the Onyx or I’ll put him out of his misery!” Lord Davian snarled. “You’re the only one who can unveil it and locate it if it’s rolled out of the saddlebag.”
Orlla stood and made her way through the mud over to the embankment the stallion had tumbled down. Grabbing on to whatever branches or saplings she could find, she began her descent, half-sliding in the mire and mulch as she went. When she reached the river bank, she glanced tentatively around. Shank’s horse was nowhere to be seen, which might mean it had survived the fall and galloped off. On the other hand, the rushing, frothy-capped river was powerful enough to sweep a horse downstream.
Scanning the opposite bank, her heart jolted at the sight of a leather saddlebag peeking out from the underbrush. The stallion must have swum across the river. She couldn’t be certain, but it looked like the strap on the saddlebag had broken. Her mind raced to formulate a plan as she studied a fallen tree upstream that offered a potential route across. This was her opportunity to steal the Onyx of Darkness. She could replace it with a common rock and veil it—come back for the dragon stone once she and Erdhan had escaped.
“No!” Orlla shouted. “I think it crossed the river. I see hoofprints.” She picked her way along the muddy bank to where the fallen tree straddled the raging torrent. Cautiously, she stepped up on the log to test its stability and then began making her way across, hands outstretched to aid her balance. Voices drifted her way, but she didn’t dare turn her head to see if anyone had followed her down to the river. When she had crossed to the other side, she jumped down from the log and turned around. Her heart sank. Two of Davian’s soldiers stood on the other bank, crossbows in hand. A rope dangled down the side of the embankment behind them. A moment later, Lord Davian himself slithered down to the ground.
He gestured excitedly to the saddlebag and yelled. “Make haste and grab it!”
Gritting her teeth with disappointment, Orlla reached under the foliage and pulled out the damaged saddlebag. She could tell by the weight of it that the dark dragon stone was still safely stowed inside. She went through the motions of checking to make sure it was there, and then shouted out, “It’s here. I’m going to look for Shank’s horse.”
“Forget the horse!” Lord Davian bellowed back. “We’ve lost too much time as it is.” He gestured impatiently for her to come back across the river.
Orlla slung the saddlebag over one shoulder and stepped onto the log again. Keeping her balance on the return trip proved trickier with the weight of the saddlebag tilting her to one side. For a brief moment, she considered feigning a fall and dropping the bag into the river, but it would accomplish nothing. It would sink to the bottom, and Lord Davian would simply tie a rope around her and make her retrieve it from the icy water.
By the time she had climbed back up the embankment to the road, Shanks was on his feet again. His eyes roved anxiously over Orlla. “Did you find my horse?”
She directed a meaningful look at Lord Davian. “The general is eager to be on the road and deliver the stone and doesn’t deem it worth our while to pursue your steed.”
Onyx of Darkness_An epic dragon fantasy Page 13
