"I'm willing, anytime," Barth said. "I'm sorry I doubted you in this. Truly."
"Then I'll ask Cole to hide this again," I said. "I really want to find those spies."
"There's something else to consider in this," Barth said. "We need to search for much of it together, rather than a single nugget here and there—we may be pulling innocents into our trap, when they only accepted the gold in payment for goods or services."
"True," I said. "We'll look for larger amounts, then, but failing that, we can ask questions as to where the gold came from—if the spy has spent all of it."
"Yes," Barth said after considering my suggestion. "Follow the gold," a reluctant smile lifted the corners of his mouth. "Just as Misten said."
Cole, Kerok, I sent mindspeak. We found the gold. Now we need to hide it farther away.
On my way, Cole said.
I'm coming, too, Kerok replied. I want to see this for myself.
Moments later, they walked through the door of my study, Cole grinning, Kerok giving me a sly wink and a nod at Barth.
"We found it so quickly, after I held the nugget I'd divined," Barth said, handing the bag of gold to Cole. "Hide it well. We'll test this to the limit."
"I'll stay with these two," Kerok nodded at Cole. "I'll connect with both, to see if I can tell how they're doing this."
"I'll let you know when it's hidden," Cole said, striding out the door.
"You went straight to it?" Kerok asked Barth.
"When Sherra told me to pick up the nugget, to connect with it," Barth replied. "I was struggling to recall the exact divination, when I really didn't have to—we had the actual thing here." He set the nugget in Kerok's hand.
"Like a bloodhound, with a scent?" Kerok lifted an eyebrow at Barth.
"Very much like that. Why didn't we think of this before?"
Kerok shrugged at Barth, then turned and winked at me again.
It's hidden, Cole's mindspeak reached us.
We're on it, I told him.
Ny-nes
Kaakos
"Their chains, my Lord." The warrior-priest set the wrist chains from two escaped minions on the floor next to my feet. He then backed away slowly.
"They were taken from the servants' quarters?"
"Yes. Both the men's and women's quarters." He didn't add that it had happened right under my nose and I'd slept through it.
"Then the healer has to be behind this. He has abilities I did not suspect," I said. My vision had gone red with my anger; I struggled not to blast the foolish warrior-priest before me to assuage it.
"He is evil, my Lord." The warrior-priest's words were cautious. He had no idea whether he'd survive the next few minutes.
"Yes. An evil, to be sure. We must renew our efforts to exterminate this evil." I nudged the items with a foot, the chains making a metallic chink as they slid across marble. How had I not felt the spell being compromised?
Unless it wasn't compromised.
If not, how the hell had they come off? I was the only one who could remove them and leave the spell intact.
"Hand them to me," I snapped at the warrior-priest. The chains were snatched up and settled in my palm in a blink.
How had this happened? The spell was intact. "How did this happen?" I roared, flinging the chains across the room. The warrior-priest and two guards cowered before my wrath.
Kyri
You still haven't told me who he is, Garkus accused as we followed our liberator through narrow alleys and warrens on the western edge of the city. We were wrapped in a mirror shield as we went, to keep anyone from seeing us.
Call him North, I cut off Garkus' inquiry. That's all you need to know.
Where are we going, then?
I have no idea. We're stuck with him, now. You called his attention to us by murdering warrior-priests. Live with it.
Why can't we just step away? We don't have to stay with him.
Trust me—we're better off if we can keep him in our sights.
It's rude to have a conversation about me while I'm right here, North's mindspeak interrupted.
Fuck, Garkus growled.
We'll be healing—and giving warnings against Kaakos, North added. I know you're curious—there's your answer.
How do you know where to go? Garkus demanded.
Garkus, this I will tell you, I said. There are few better at divination than North. Now shut up and keep walking.
So you've decided to call me North, eh? His message was for me only.
Better than your real name.
Debatable.
Not from where I'm standing.
You hate me that much? I thought absence made the heart grow fonder.
Not your absence.
Ah. Here we are. He turned down a side alley that almost looked clean, compared to those closer to the factories.
"What's this?" He spoke aloud to a man sitting outside the small shack when we arrived. I could smell the putrid odor of infection the moment the man rose and led us inside.
"Who?" The woman, lying on a pile of filthy rags inside the hovel, demanded of North. She'd expected the healer, but not two helpers. She was naturally suspicious.
"This one," North pointed in my direction. "She can heal as well or better than I can."
"Show." She pulled a filthy piece of cloth away from her leg. There it was—the source of the stench.
"This needs to be removed," North told her, kneeling to examine the spreading gangrene. "If we don't, you'll die. It's your choice, but my advice is to remove it as quickly as possible. She and I," he nodded again in my direction, "can make this less painful than it sounds. You'll be forced to walk with a crutch, but you'll live."
"Take. Hurts," the woman grimaced.
"All right. Garkus, keep watch outside. Let her husband hold her hands while Kyri and I work."
Garkus grumbled, but did as he was bid.
Shield my power from sight, North sent.
I wanted to grumble, too, but did as he said anyway.
When the woman's husband sat behind his wife, pulling her head into his lap and her hands into his, North began. I shielded his hands when they began to glow with his fire, and using both, gripped the woman's leg just above the knee and burned through her flesh in less than two seconds, leaving a seared stump behind.
I watched as he turned the leg to harmless ash inside a bubble shield, then went to work on the burn left behind.
It had happened so quickly that the woman didn't have time to scream or register the pain. Joining my power with North's, I worked to keep the ensuing pain at bay while he did repairs.
"How we cross now?" The husband asked later, while the woman slept. North had told him to flee to the other side of the river. The man was right—Kaakos' military was spread out along the river bank, watching for escapees.
We can take them, I said.
But, North argued, his dark eyes clouded with disagreement.
We'll tell them the Prophet wants it, I countered.
I don't want the Prophet brought into this.
That body lying in Kaakos' chapel is Adahi's and you know it, I said. He'd want them taken to the other side.
Fine. "Garkus, lift the woman. We'll take them to the other side."
I should have known he'd find the exact spot to set down across the river, so he'd be greeted by an adoring crowd. Garkus, carrying the woman, received his own share of adulation. Few had seen anyone so tall and robust in their lives.
So many reached out to touch North as he passed through the throng—he'd either healed many of them, or word had spread.
"Come," a man walked forward to motion us farther along. "Have room."
He did—an extra space in his lean-to, so Garkus could set the woman down and make her comfortable.
The husband fussed about, covering his wife with a scrap of blanket offered by the owner.
"Soldiers farther up," our host spoke softly. "Come looking." He pointed at North. "Safe?" He then pointed to Gar
kus and me.
"Safe," North inclined his head. "Healer," he pointed to me. "Protector," he pointed at Garkus.
"Yes," the man nodded. "Go. Be safe. We see nothing."
That was certainly different. These same people would have handed their children to Kaakos' priests in the past, knowing they'd die a horrible death. North had accomplished something, at least.
He'd planted doubts in their minds, along with the idea that not all with power were bad. Part of his plan was working—I granted and begrudged him that much.
We'll give them a show, North sent as we walked out of the lean-to. He caused our images to fade away instead of disappearing abruptly when he stepped us back to the eastern side of the river.
"What now?" Garkus demanded the moment we landed in yet another crowded alley.
"Find the next one to heal, what else?" North squared his shoulders and began walking the narrow lane. We had little choice except to follow.
Kerok
"Rise for the King," Armon shouted to the mess hall. Everyone rose quickly as Sherra, Barth, Cole and I made our way to Armon's table to have a midday meal with the troops.
"So, what have you been up to?" Levi grinned once we and the rest of the hall were seated.
"This," Cole plopped the small bag of gold on the center of the table, making a soft chink as the nuggets settled inside it.
"Did it work?" Caral sounded breathless.
"We found it—six times," Barth was proud of his accomplishment. I'd not seen Barth that happy before. It made me think of how pleased Hunter was, when he and I moved an old truck around a storage shed.
"We'll try it on other—sources—tomorrow," Sherra said. Plates of food were set in front of us by Caral's sister, Darissa, and two other servers, who couldn't help smiling at us.
"I miss this," Misten sighed, lifting her fork. "Having meals with all of you," she clarified.
"I hear you received a promotion, Corporal," I smiled at her. "About time, too."
"We ah, were wondering when we could approach the likely candidates for ah," Armon considered how to word his question.
You're asking about combining shields and blasts? I sent mindspeak.
Yes.
Give me two days to consult with Barth and Hunter. You'll have the list of names, then. I'd suggest taking them to North Camp, but that place has left a bad taste in my mouth recently. South Supply Camp will be good enough. I'll attend the meeting with Sherra.
Thank you, Armon visibly relaxed.
"This looks good," I cut into the chops we'd been served.
"It is good," Sherra said. She'd expended plenty of energy—now it was time to replenish. I also hadn't seen Barth this hungry in a while.
Taxing work, I sent to Barth.
Very true, he replied while stuffing another chunk of meat in his mouth. It would be more fun if it weren't so deadly serious at the same time.
You have that right, I said. We were about to take the information supplied by the quadrant leaders, and point our divinations in those directions. I hoped we'd begin finding Kaakos' spies quickly.
Hunter
"You're sure of this?" Claude brought me the news himself, rather than trusting it to one of his assigned messengers.
"I'm sure. The hand and footprints belong to either older girls or young women. I'm grateful for the small amount of rainfall before those two hunters were killed."
"By blasts." I shook my head as I made notes. "This means the enemy certainly restored their power."
"I don't understand how that can be, but I've seen the results myself. They waited outside the shield area, for hunters or whoever to step outside it. Then, they waited for a successful hunt before killing the two men and stealing the deer they'd killed to provide the village with meat."
"Did you warn the villagers to stay inside the shielded area?"
"Yes, but they rely on sending their hunters out twice a week."
"Leaving those two an easy way to feed themselves."
"Yes."
"The King is away right now. I'll hand this information to him. I'm sure he'll send troops to look for those two girls."
"That deer will last them for a few days, if they know how to keep the meat from spoiling. I have no idea whether that's something they know," Claude said.
"They'll have to build a fire to cook it, unless they want to blast it crisp," I pointed out.
"Blasting something is always delicate business, if you want to eat it afterward."
"Hunt? Claude?" Thorn walked in, followed by Barth and Sherra. "What's going on?"
"Those two girls murdered two hunters, looks like," I reported. "In Claude's quadrant."
Thorn turned toward Sherra and Barth. "We'll go with Claude now," Thorn said immediately. "We have ah, a new technique to try."
"With what?"
"I'm sure there's something of the deer left at the scene," Thorn said.
"Please let this work," I said, begging Thorn with my eyes.
"Hold that thought," Thorn replied. "Claude, will you step us to the murder site?"
"Of course, my King."
Sherra
A bloodied leather strap and a clump of fur—that's what we found. The strap had been used to carry the deer between two men, but had fallen off when two girls awkwardly stepped the dead animal away—after murdering two hunters, of course. The hunters' charred bodies lay nearby. The rest of the villagers stood inside the outer edge of the shield I'd erected, watching us. I couldn't hear their words, but no doubt they were talking among themselves about the King himself coming to investigate.
"Barth?" Kerok handed the strap to his Chief Diviner, while I moved closer to Barth and reached for his free hand.
We both closed our eyes, while Barth began the divination. Wherever those two murdering teens were, the deer would also be.
Kerok's hand gripped mine. Barth and I had located the glow related to the items he held. We stepped in that direction, before repeating the process again.
That's how we'd accomplished what we had earlier—to keep stepping toward the glow until it was so bright we could see our target with eyes open.
Less than fifteen minutes later, we found the girls roasting a deer over a hastily-built fire.
Flinging a heavy shield about them, I prepared to haul them to the lockup, only to witness a second time what happened to Narvin. An explosion of red bloomed inside the shield I'd constructed. There'd been no time for either girl to scream, it happened so fast.
That's when I learned that Kerok had stepped Claude with us. He shouted his anger to the skies while Barth and Kerok cursed.
I wanted to retch as I blinked at the bloodied shield I'd built around two troublemakers. Kaakos had killed again.
Pottles, I sent. Ferni and Jeen are dead. Kaakos killed them so we couldn't ask questions.
Fucking hells, she said. How did you find them?
It's a long story. I'll tell you later. Right now, I have to throw up.
Chapter 15
Doret
She tracked them down—with help from Barth, after Kaakos made them unseeable, I repeated. Kyri had trouble believing what I'd told her. After all, Adahi hadn't been able to find them, and he was the best tracker I'd ever seen.
How? Did she tell you?
I only have sketchy information, I said. The same thing happened to those two as happened to Narvin. Exploded inside a shield. The blood and guts of two girls was too much for Sherra's stomach.
If you find out how she did it, let me know. I want to recreate it if I can.
How are things going with ah, I didn't finish my question.
Call him North. He's named himself that. I don't speak to him if I don't have to.
What are you doing, then?
Healing people. We've healed eleven today already.
Well, at least you're accomplishing something.
I don't know how long I can do this, she admitted.
You mean without putting a knife in his back?
Something like that. I think he was expecting to find you here, instead of me.
Ruarke's dead. He should know better.
Agreed. I think he didn't expect that to happen, somehow—that Ruarke would die in Az-ca.
He wouldn't have if Sherra hadn't helped Adahi.
Sherra's an unseeable, Kyri mulled that information between us.
So he may not have foreseen any part of that, then?
It's possible—and the only explanation I have for now.
I don't feel good about withholding this information—from Adahi or Sherra, I said. How do you suppose Adahi will react if you tell him?
He won't be happy.
I think that's a mild assessment. Adahi will find out eventually, and then you may never see or hear from him again.
That may happen anyway, if he finds out we're following North around like lost puppies.
I don't think you have a choice, I said. You certainly can't go back to the palace—Kaakos will kill you.
Yes, I'm sure the death sentence has already been declared. I'd worry that some of the citizens would turn us in for the reward, but there aren't many left in the city, now. The ones staying behind know they're marked just as much as Garkus and I are; they just haven't made up their minds to flee.
Has he sent the military after them yet—the ones who've gotten away?
Yes. We heard that this morning—that troops are watching the river now, looking for any who attempt to cross.
What are they doing to feed themselves? The refugees?
There's better farming land to the south; I think many are going that way already. They haven't built a massive camp across the river, so more and more are traveling farther south at night, to avoid being tracked so easily. There are villages everywhere, once you get away from the city. Not all of those are held in a death grip by Kaakos—he hasn't been out of the palace in years.
Are some of his overseers accepting bribes to look the other way?
Of course they are.
I'm not surprised.
Black Rose Queen: Black Rose Sorceress, Book 3 Page 20
