Black Rose Queen: Black Rose Sorceress, Book 3

by Connie Suttle

  My desire to curse Kaakos?

  I waited to do that in person, even if it killed me.

  Sherra

  "This is Claude," Kerok introduced the messenger and former warrior to us at dinner. He'd be the fifth member of our team during this investigation run. He'd brought reports of unusual activity to the Crown, and Kerok obviously thought the report bore enough credence to do further research.

  "I feel I can trust the source—in my gut," Claude said as a plate of food was set in front of him.

  "The source of the information will be more cooperative if Claude goes with you," Kerok said, lifting his fork and nodding for all of us to eat.

  "You say it's the source's neighbor who goes out at night, past the town's boundaries?" Armon asked.

  "Yes, that's right, Colonel. It's too dangerous to make a habit of it in those parts, too."

  "Could be carrying messages," Armon shrugged. "No reason to risk your life like that, otherwise."

  "He's had visits from relatives, who live twenty miles away," Kerok added. "When that's not a habit, either. The terrain from that village is flatter, according to Claude. It may have some significance, but I don't know what that might be."

  "We may not know, unless we can crawl inside Kaakos' mind," Barth pointed out.

  "I dislike that idea," Kerok gruffed. "Besides, we're already assuming that this is related to the enemy. We don't know that for certain."

  "What do you think, Claude?" Hunter asked.

  "I think there's something to this," he replied. "He's not walking outside the town at night for his fucking health, I know that."

  Caral stifled a snicker; Claude was a former sergeant and not accustomed to mincing words. I appreciated his candor, just as Caral did.

  "If you'll do the mirror shield, I'll do the regular shield," Caral turned to me.

  "I was just thinking that," I said.

  "Mirror shield?" Claude asked.

  "They'll never know we're there," Caral reassured him.

  Armon

  I was grateful Claude could transport us to the village; I wasn't familiar with it, so it would have been shields and guessing if I'd done it.

  Regardless, Claude set us down on the informant's front porch before knocking lightly. Sherra allowed him to stand outside the mirror shield, but Caral kept him shielded anyway.

  No reason to take chances, since we could be walking into a trap. I'd had that conversation with Thorn before we left; to stay on guard the entire time, in case we weren't reading the situation properly.

  The village of Sa'wann was quiet around us, with barely a sliver of moon overhead to cast its light upon the small town. Claude tapped the door again; there'd been no answer to his first knock.

  Armon, I'm not feeling good about this, Sherra sent.

  Caral, keep your strongest shield up while I try the door, I barked in mindspeak.

  It's up, she replied.

  Taking two steps forward until I could reach the door, I tried the ancient knob. The door swung open.

  The stench reached us before we could adjust our vision to the darkness. Someone had murdered the informant and his family.

  When I turned to ask Claude who the headman of the village was so we could make the report, enemy weapons fired at us. Projectiles from pistols and larger rifles were slamming into Caral's shield before ricocheting away with a terrifying whine.

  I'm leaving my shields around you—they still can't see you and they're firing blind, Sherra shouted mentally.

  Wait, I shouted back. Where are you going?

  She'd stepped outside Caral's shield; I could see that much, but I had no idea what her intentions were. As for our shooters, the bullets were coming from several directions, so I couldn't pinpoint a particular location to fire a blast at them.

  Besides, the entire town was tinder dry, and one house burning could mean the destruction of the entire village.

  Sherra

  My shields are holding—with yours, Caral reported as I kept a heavy, mirrored shield about myself to hide from the shooters.

  Move them off the porch—that's where they're firing, I told her. They won't see where you go, and you'll be safer away from there.

  Moving now, Caral replied. Armon isn't happy, but he'll have to accept it for the moment.

  I can see the light when the guns fire, I said, gathering myself to step toward the first shooter I could see.

  Sherra, what the fuck are you doing? Armon demanded.

  Armon, shut up and help me, I retorted. Make a mirror shield, step away from Caral and go looking for the brief flashes of light when the guns fire. You'll find an enemy there.

  Dammit, he cursed. Fuck. Why is it you thought of this first? I'm making shields, now.

  Squaring my shoulders, I considered stepping to my selected target, when he cried out in pain and fell; I could hear it clearly during a lull in firing.

  One down, Adahi's voice sounded in my head.

  He was ahead of me in this, and didn't need a shield to protect himself. The bullets would fly through him, unless he decided to block them.

  Choosing another target now, I told him and went about my business. It was nothing, after all, once I could see an enemy clearly enough to form the blast tube and direct my fire into a vital point in their body.

  Across the street, I understood that Armon was having success doing the same. As for Adahi, he took down most of our shooters that night, and we counted seventeen bodies when the sun peeked over the eastern mountains.

  Kerok

  Seventeen with enemy weapons—pistols and rifles, Armon reported. The rest of the village is dead inside their homes. Uncooperative is my guess.

  Was the suspect one of the dead?

  He was one of the shooters, along with his wife and son, Armon replied. All dead, of course, so we can't ask questions.

  What about divining their belongings?

  I believe Sherra is gathering things now, to bring to you and Barth.

  Good. I wanted to grind my teeth at this turn of events. While I'd spoken with Claude about the reports from Sa'wann, the spy had killed most of the village before lying in wait for the ones I'd send.

  He thought we wouldn't be prepared enough to survive his gunfire. Or, he'd been led to believe that, anyway. I didn't discount the idea that he'd become a liability to the enemy, and this was a way to destroy evidence and witnesses, along with an unwary warrior or two.

  Does Claude know the relatives from twenty miles away? I want to ask them questions, if they're still around.

  He says most of them died last night—they were firing at us, too.

  I still want this investigated.

  Understood. We'll get to that when we're done here.

  Sherra

  Caral carried the small crate, while Adahi fished personal items from pockets or bits of clothing from dead shooters, including a woman and a thirteen-year-old boy.

  I didn't want to touch them; not now, anyway. I was too tired, I think, to withstand what I might find in those things.

  "Claude, we have to go to the other village when we're done here, King's command," Armon said behind me.

  "That's everything, except something from the other victims," Adahi settled a wood comb in the crate.

  The entire time we'd searched bodies, I'd castigated myself. Yes, I'd placed shields around this village, too. It didn't do a damn thing to keep out its own residents or those from other villages. It had done nothing to prevent them from carrying mundane weapons inside with them, either.

  Fuck.

  Stop blaming yourself, Caral told me.

  How do you know I'm doing it? I didn't look at her when I sent mindspeak.

  Your body language says a lot, she informed me. You and I know we're not perfect, or even close to that. Neither of us can read minds, or see this kind of mischief coming. We did the best we could when the enemy attacked. It's all anyone can expect.

  What if we find a second village dead, when we go there? I r
eplied caustically.

  "That's not our doing," Caral said aloud. "That's on the enemy, not us. Don't take that burden of guilt for yourself; you know where it belongs."

  "Daughter, stop punishing yourself," Adahi appeared in front of me. "Caral is correct—this is not your burden. That goes to Kaakos—he killed this village. You had nothing to do with it."

  "What about the weapons?" I asked as tears threatened.

  "I've sent the guns to the King," Adahi said quietly. "The decision on what to do with them is his."

  "All right." I wiped moisture away from my cheeks with a sleeve.

  "We're ready to go to Balsom, now," Armon strode into our midst. "Claude, will you take us?"

  Claude nodded. We gathered closer together, before Claude stepped us away.

  We found ourselves inside the headman's home, having tea with him while Armon and Claude questioned him. Armon, unless I missed my guess, was in mental contact with Kerok the entire time.

  At least Balsom was intact, and its residents alive—except for those related to the spy in Sa'wann.

  "Left yesterday," the headman explained. "Early. Would have taken most of the day to get from here to there, walking."

  "Unless someone stepped them," Adahi growled.

  More and more, the evidence was piling up against Narvin and Willa. If they'd stepped the spy's relations away from Balsom, they'd have plenty of time to kill everyone in Sa'wann, allowing bodies to decompose in the heat of the day before lying in wait for us to knock on a neighbor's door.

  Why was Kaakos interested in this remote village? I kept asking myself. My mind and body were exhausted, however, so an answer wasn't coming. Here, the land was so flat you could see for miles, unlike the hilly region surrounding Sa'wann.

  From an attack perspective, Sa'wann would be much more defensible. Where do you think Narvin and Willa are holed up? Caral sent while Armon asked more questions of the headman.

  They could be anywhere. My weariness came through in my sending. He can step from one end of Az-ca to the other, you know.

  Damn, I'm tired, Caral responded. I know you are, too.

  We'll have to answer the King's questions when we get back. I really need a marching draught right now, I complained.

  Agreed.

  Kerok? I sent.

  My rose?

  Will you have a marching draft ready for Caral and me when we get there?

  I'll order it now. I've already had one. I hate when our days extend into the following days, he added. I wish I could just let you sleep, but there are reports to write and questions to answer.

  I know.

  I've had word from Doret, he went on.

  What did she say?

  She was forced to implement the law before it was signed, he told me. Those two—you called them troublemakers? They tried to burn down the mess hall last night. Doret has suppressed all their power, and is waiting on me to pass judgment in the matter. Hunter is writing his hand off, trying to get the law into a final version for me to sign.

  Oh, no. Why did they do that? Did she tell you?

  One of the other instructors told them to be quiet, and to put their shield balls away during the meal. Attempting to burn the building was their response, later, when the place was empty.

  They were forming shield balls during a meal? That's insane, I said. As weary as I'd been before contacting Kerok, I felt even more so now.

  Before they were stopped, they'd already lobbed several shield balls at other trainees, who had to be sent to the infirmary. Now, I've seen warrior trainees form fire balls during a meal and toss them at others. That infraction carries a heavy penalty. Their power is removed and they're sentenced to farm labor. Another infraction after that will result in banishment to the poison lands.

  They sent other students to the infirmary?

  Yes. That's why the law needs to be signed today, so I can ponder a punishment.

  I think they need to spend time in the lockup, I blurted without thinking.

  That will be one of my options, Kerok responded.

  Wait, I think Armon and Adahi are done with their questioning, I reported.

  Good. I'll be waiting for your return.

  "Adahi killed eleven; Sherra and I took the others down," Armon reported. Caral and I sat together in Kerok's study, while Armon sat nearby, a half-drained cup of tea laced with marching draft clutched in his fingers.

  Caral and I'd already drank ours, both of us hoping for a respite from our weariness.

  Adahi stood behind Armon's chair, as if he felt as fresh as a flowering weed after a heavy rain. With arms crossed over his chest and eyes narrowed to their usual slits, he nodded now and then as Armon made his report to Kerok and Hunter.

  Even with the marching draft, I began to feel light-headed. "More tea, my King?" a servant entered Kerok's study without knocking.

  My dreamwalker roared to the surface as the explosive was tossed into our midst. This time, my dreamwalker didn't bother hiding any of her actions from me; I felt like a helpless bystander as she formed a shield about the small, round bomb, then made the shield larger, to include the servant who'd delivered it.

  Blood and bits of bone and flesh bloomed inside the shield, with the accompanying percussive boom of detonation rattling the window behind us.

  We watched as streaks of fresh blood stained the inner walls of the shield as they coursed down the sides, with bits of skin and organs floating within the deep red rivulets.

  Had the sound of the explosion not been dampened by the strength of the shield surrounding it, the window would have shattered and the rest of us could have been pelted by flying glass.

  Kerok

  "I have no idea whether my shield would have withstood something so powerful and so close," Hunter sounded shaken.

  My silent nod confirmed my agreement. Kaakos was now attacking us with weapons made in Ny-nes, and pointed at us by our own people.

  "The name of the servant?" I asked.

  "I'm still working on that," Barth said. He hadn't been in the meeting, and a part of me was grateful for it. His voice and hands were steady, at least, as he poured whiskey for Hunter and me.

  "Sherra's dreamwalker," Hunter began.

  "I know that," I grunted. "For now, Sherra's asleep in our bed. At least she was the one to return, once the dreamwalker stepped away to dispose of the ah, remains."

  "I almost wish Kaakos had witnessed what happened," Hunter hissed. "The fucker."

  "I sent Armon and Caral back to Secondary Camp," Barth said. "They need the support of their mates, I think. That was a very close call, Thorn. Ny-nes has improved their bombs, it appears."

  "We'd be deaf, even if our shields held, if Sherra hadn't," Hunter said.

  "Say dreamwalker," I sighed. "That's who showed up for this."

  "For the second time, while Sherra was awake," Barth pointed out. "I've sent three diviners to collect personal items from every servant in the palace. If there are others waiting to lob bombs, I want to know about it."

  Barth was thinking—even if I wasn't at the moment. "Give me those reports the moment they're available," I said.

  "Thorn," Hunter said, "go lie next to your lady Queen. I'm going to bed as fast as I can get there. Let Kage and his guards watch the palace for now. I'm sure Sherra has placed extra shields already."

  I wanted to argue with Hunter, but didn't have the energy. "You're right," I admitted. "Going to bed, now."

  Secondary Camp

  Levi

  Armon, even asleep, looked as if he'd aged ten years in a single night. A bomb tossed by a palace servant?

  Kaakos' reach had grown longer than we'd expected, and faster than anticipated. In the cabin next door, I figured Misten watched Caral sleep, as I watched Armon.

  An entire village destroyed by enemy weapons.

  The King could have died, or sustained injuries, at the least.

  Caral said Sherra's dreamwalker arrived in time. Uncanny. Terrifying, too, if I
bothered to dissect the event in question.

  Sherra—how did she feel about this? I wouldn't like being taken over, even if it were by another, hidden part of myself.

  The result was the best outcome, however; I couldn't deny that. Armon was alive, as were the others.

  "My brain is addled," I whispered to myself. Armon stirred in his sleep. I smoothed a lock of hair away from his brow.

  Jubal

  Failure. That's the message I received from the voice. He was angry, too. The weapons he'd sent—and the small bomb, hadn't killed any of the targets specified. An entire village lay dead, but that was nothing to the voice.

  Narvin and his bitch lay sleeping in my spare room while I was castigated for their shortcomings.

  How I longed for the day when the other voice only demanded that messages be passed along. That was easy enough, and drew no attention to me.

  This—I worried that Narvin and Willa would lead the infernal King and his army straight to my door. They'd managed to place a mole in the palace, and given him a weapon and instructions to kill the King. As for how that attempt on the King's life had been foiled—I hadn't heard that story, and neither had the voice.

  Do better next time, the voice hissed.

  As you say, my Lord. My promise, as usual, was insincere.

  Ny-nes

  Kaakos

  "Fools." I wanted to break something. Kill something. Merrin's subjugation wasn't complete yet and this—they'd botched everything I'd planned in Az-ca.

  "My Lord?" A quiet voice spoke outside my open door.

  "What is it?" I hissed through clenched teeth, keeping my back turned toward this unexpected intrusion.

  "Ah, Aspe's body has been delivered to the back gate, my Lord. With a piece of paper, which the guards cannot read."

  "What?" I whirled in the guard's direction, finding him bowed and ready for my wrath to fall upon him.

  "Come," I snapped at him. "Bring other guards. I shall read this note that my underlings cannot decipher."

  "Of course, my Lord."

  Kyri

  Every kitchen worker shrank away from the door as Kaakos and his guards strode past. I had no idea what troubled him enough to walk out of his palace, but something had him so angry I could see the power glow about his body.