“Ow!” Cassidy yelped.
“Sorry.”
Before the wound bled, Lillian applied a soft, clay-like substance and bandaged his leg properly.
“That should help. The clay will dissolve as your leg heals and help dull the pain.”
Cassidy looked at his leg incredulously.
“Thanks,” Cassidy said, looking up at her.
“My pleasure.”
Vallerie listened to the preparations for the feast rumbling above her. Several more days must have passed since she was last spoken to. The guards fed her once in a while. Most of the time it was slop, but with nothing else to eat, she had forced it down. The last meal she had received finally offered her a way out. The adrax had failed to notice a significant size bone in her food.
Vallerie crept to the barred door. She pressed herself against the wall and wailed. Heavy footsteps thundered down the hall. As the brute stopped, so did Vallerie. The beast grunted in surprise as it fumbled to unlock the door and rush inside. Vallerie rammed her bone fragment into the creature’s neck. It sputtered and collapsed, dead. She swiped the keys from him and leapt out of the cell, slamming the door behind her.
She made it down the hall and flung the door open. Her heart dropped. Two large adraxes blocked her path. Vallerie dropped the keys and held her hands up to show that she submitted. The adraxes threw her to the ground. Vallerie held her breath to avoid breathing in dust as one held her down while the other clapped thick iron shackles around her wrists. Dragging her back to the cell, they chained her wrists to the wall. She closed her eyes and wept as a dirty hand forced a filthy rag between her teeth.
She was trapped.
“Animals,” Cassidy muttered as he watched an adrax patrol circle a crude fortress.
He turned from his hiding place and crept back to where the rest of the team waited.
“Did you notice any weak points?” Warren asked.
“There are three patrols with three adraxes in each. If you, Emron, and I each take one, we can knock out the outer security and move inside,” Cassidy said.
“All right, meet back here when you’ve cleared your patrol. If you’re not back in fifteen minutes we’ll find you,” Warren said.
“What about me?” Lillian asked.
“Wait here and keep out of sight,” Warren said over his shoulder.
Lillian paced back and forth, counting each second that went by. What was she thinking? She shouldn’t have come. She couldn’t swing a sword or a hammer. She most certainly couldn’t shoot a bow. Maybe she should go home…home.
She shuddered. Every time she thought of Illithium, she trembled with memories of that night. As she shivered, the dark thing inside of her stirred. It slipped between organs—not between— through. It terrified her, but she didn’t want to burden anyone more than she already had.
Five minutes had passed. She turned, watching the direction that Warren had gone and tried to convince herself to be brave.
Cassidy ducked under branches and hopped over logs on his way back. He had to force himself not to destroy the three arrows he used on those beasts. They took Vallerie. Anything that touched such evil deserved to be destroyed. He hurried to the rendezvous point to find Lillian alone.
“I guess I’m the first one back, huh?” Cassidy said.
“Yes,” Lillian glanced at him before her gaze returned to the forest. She folded her arms across her chest, hugging her sides tightly.
Cassidy considered going after Vallerie alone. With Warren and Emron gone and Lillian too distracted to stop him, he could slip away if he wanted to. He looked toward the fortress beyond the trees. Val. He stepped in that direction, but Emron’s thundering footsteps through the forest stopped him.
“No Warren?” Emron grunted, almost surprised.
“No,” Cassidy said.
Cassidy swore he’d kill Warren if he didn’t get back soon. After nearly two long minutes, Warren stalked out of the dark, his armor splattered with blood.
“Took you long enough,” Cassidy grumbled.
“We don’t have long before the adraxes pick up our scent. Emron and I will move in first. Cassidy, provide cover fire. Lillian, stick close, but stay behind Cassidy and warn him if anything tries to take us from the rear,” Warren said.
Barreling into the fortress, Warren and Emron hacked down every adrax in sight while Cassidy shot down any that slipped through. At first, the plan worked, but the beasts soon fought back, and the team’s progress drew to a standstill. From small corners, adraxes charged the invaders. Cassidy spotted a larger than average brute crowned in bones, tearing through the crowd to the back of the main room.
“Val,” Cassidy nocked his bow and strode after the beast.
“Wait!” Lillian cried.
“Stay here,” Cassidy barked. Nothing was getting in his way now.
“Cassidy!” Warren shouted as he deflected an iron axe away from his face.
Cassidy had never fought so ferociously in his life. Every beast in his way seemed as insignificant as a summer breeze. As he neared the back of the room, the number of adraxes decreased. Just before Cassidy broke free of the crowded battle, the adrax chief dove into a corridor. He released an arrow, clipping the adrax’s leg as it rounded a corner.
Cassidy chased the beast down, winding through tunnels and a maze of forever branching passageways. He lost sight of the tribe chief, but the blood trail racing through the halls told of every turn the creature made.
Suddenly, the halls grew quiet. Cassidy paused and listened. He heard nothing more than his own panting breaths echoing off the walls. Briskly but cautiously, he continued, keeping his ears perked for any sign of the animal.
The tunnel he was following stopped at a thick door. Vallerie had to be beyond it. He shoved against the crude thing, relieved when it creaked open, and he saw a prison on the other side. On the wall next to Cassidy, a ring of keys dangled from a rusty nail.
He snatched the keys off the wall and sprinted down the prison’s corridor, checking each cell for his wife. His heart thudded a thousand times with each footfall. The cells were empty...until the last.
“Vallerie!” He rushed to the cell, tears swelling in his eyes before tumbling onto his cheeks.
Her voice, though muffled by the gag, had never rung with more comfort.
“Hang on,” Cassidy said as he fumbled with the keys.
Eleven keys hung on the ring, all the same size, but different shapes. Cassidy shoved the first key into the lock.
Nothing.
Key after key, Cassidy struggled to free his wife. He inserted the last key on the ring and jiggled it, but the lock remained rigid and unchanged.
“I must have missed something,” Cassidy muttered, trying the first key again.
Vallerie screamed as a shadow blocked the light behind Cassidy.
Just as the battle axe fell, Cassidy threw himself to the side. He rolled under the next swing and drew a knife from his boot, wishing he had space to use his bow. Cassidy jumped in close, preventing the adrax from attacking effectively.
The adrax kicked Cassidy square in the chest. He slammed into the cell behind him and sank to the ground. Cassidy slid to the left as the spiked pommel of the axe smashed into the ground beside him. He grabbed the haft of the battle axe the next time it hit the ground and stabbed the adrax in the knee with his dagger with one swift movement.
Cassidy rolled to his feet, but a thick hand shot out and grabbed his throat, hoisting him off the ground. The adrax snarled in Cassidy’s face. His stomach acid curdled from the rancid breath. Gagging, Cassidy slashed the adrax across the throat. Surprise fell over the adrax’s face as it dropped Cassidy and staggered back. The brute dropped to his knees and flopped on the ground.
At the other end of the corridor, Warren and Emron burst through the iron door with Lillian trailing behind.
“Now you show up!” Cassidy panted.
“You left us,” Emron grunted.
“Did you find her?” Warren ask
ed.
Cassidy gestured to the cell behind him.
“Where’s the key?” Warren asked.
“Right here,” Emron said, hefting his giant hammer.
In a single swing, Emron smashed straight through the lock and Cassidy rushed inside. He tugged the rag from his wife’s mouth and kissed her. Relief brought tears to his eyes as he held her in his arms.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered.
Val shook as she cried.
“Are you hurt?” Cassidy asked, pulling away just far enough to examine her.
“I’m okay now that you’re here,” Vallerie sniffled.
Cassidy pulled her against his chest. Warren should never have divided up the team.
“Warren.” Cassidy’s voice trembled with rage. “Don’t ever split us up again.”
Warren nodded.
“Let’s get you out of here.” Cassidy smiled at Val.
26
L illian tucked a Fysh leaf beneath her tongue and trudged ahead. Warren and the others had returned the book from the adrax fortress to Illithium a few hours ago and they hadn’t stopped their march since. She hadn’t known until after they returned that they had all been poisoned and threatened into retrieving the books. Anger swirled within her. How could the council think to do something so horrible? She understood her banishment, but Warren and his team were good people. Lillian exhaled as the leaf started to revitalize her senses. Illithium was in the past now.
Vallerie had taught her how to pick her footing and advised her to watch every step until she felt more comfortable on the rugged ground, even if that meant looking down a lot. Riding horses was exhausting, but when they had left the steeds behind in the city, she learned that walking was worse. Even with the help of the Fysh leaf her feet still ached.
“We’ve made some good progress. Let’s stop here for a bit,” Warren said.
Lillian set her pack on the ground and rubbed at a series of knots in her shoulders. Cassidy and Vallerie immediately sat on a flat rock, while Emron and Warren trekked to separate trees and took a seat under their branches. Lillian plopped next to Warren.
“So, where is it we’re going?” Lillian asked.
Warren unrolled a map and pointed to a castle in the mountain southeast of them.
“With any luck, there will be a structure called the beacon there that can save the realm,” Warren said.
Lillian furrowed her brow. “I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
“I didn’t know about it until my mentor brought me the map a couple months ago. It’s the closest thing to a chance the realm has at surviving.”
“You talk like it’s so simple,” Lillian commented.
“Considering how we were raised; this doesn’t seem so bad.” Warren shrugged.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m assuming you’ve heard of the five great kingdoms.”
“Yes. Fortitude is the capital of North Maridon. Abbitros is renounced for its skilled warriors. Methril is the trade center of the realm. Brackenwood supplied the kingdoms with craftsmen, architects and hunters. Even the scholars envied those who studied in Valendril, they have the most expansive collection of books ever known,” Lillian answered.
“You’ve done your research.” Warren nodded. “On a peninsula north of Valendril is an old orphanage that used to be a commonplace for people to send lost and unwanted children. The children they sent would be trained to fight against the Darkness. There were thirty of us during my time there. Once I got my life straightened out, I was selected general of the five kingdoms’ combined armies, plus any new warriors that graduated from the orphanage.”
Lillian looked taken aback for a moment, then Warren saw a fresh wave of shock wash over her.
“But, wait, you couldn’t possibly be—you’re General Northwright?” she said, whispering his name.
Warren leaned back with an exhale. “I didn’t think anyone remembered that name.”
Lillian thought she knew who she was traveling with...but now.
“I was once, but a general isn’t much without his army. I’m lucky to have what few men I do.” Warren looked at his team.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Lillian whispered.
“Sir?” Warren chuckled. “It’s just Warren now. I haven’t been sir for years.”
Lillian nodded. “I’ve read several accounts of the war regarding you. Without you, the realm would have fallen in a few short years. You kept the Ajoiner armies strong as they fought an unstoppable force.”
Warren shook his head. “No. I had strong men.”
“I can’t believe none of you told me. I feel unworthy.”
Warren chuckled and helped her off the ground. “You’re as worthy as the rest of us.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, why weren’t you adopted?”
“The answer to that is twofold. To start with, the war raged on —not many people were looking for kids. The other part, I wasn’t exactly an ideal child,” he said, chuckling.
“I would never have guessed.”
“I used to recruit new kids to be a part of what probably amounted to the youngest group of bandits ever. We had it all: false names, night raids, secret meeting, and the most diabolical behavior possible.”
Lillian laughed, and Warren joined her. Her heart fluttered at the sound, filling her with a joy she didn’t know existed. Then Warren turned his gaze to the ground, and she sensed sorrow in him.
“While the outside world was having one war, we started our own.” Warren smiled wanly.
“Something tells me we wouldn’t have gotten along as kids.” Lillian said, “I was always the teacher’s pet growing up. I cried when I did something bad, then confessed to it immediately because keeping a secret felt like holding fire.”
“You’re one of those.”
“Well, I did try to misbehave, if that counts for anything.” Lillian touched her cheeks, certain they were growing red.
“It’s a start.”
Lillian laughed as she ran a hand through her hair. Her gaze landed on Emron.
“What’s Emron’s story?” Lillian asked.
“His story?”
“He’s so quiet, yet there’s an air that hangs over him that I can’t quite put a word to.”
“I couldn’t tell you a whole lot. He was born in Abbitros. He left when he was between eight and ten. As far as I know, he lived off the land for a while, then a farmer caught him stealing crops. From there, he was sent to the Hilltop Orphanage where we met.” Warren glanced at Lillian and shrugged. “He and I didn’t exactly see eye to eye until I got myself cornered by some obedient kids there one day. If it weren’t for him, I would’ve been beaten up pretty bad. I guess we’ve had each other’s back ever since.” Lillian nodded. The explanation suited the man.
After packing up the few supplies they’d pulled out, the team set off again.
By the time they set up camp, Lillian felt so bone beat she laid out her things and went right to sleep. The next thing she knew, Vallerie crouched next to her and shook her shoulder.
“We’re eating dinner,” she said, once Lillian woke up.
“Oh, thank you.” Lillian rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
Vallerie pulled Lillian to her feet and showed her to the fire. Lillian teetered when she stood. Her legs screamed at her, but she concealed her pain and sat next to Vallerie.
“Good morning!” Cassidy greeted.
“Hi,” Lillian said, yawning. She had yet to shake the last dew of sleep. “How long was I asleep?”
“All night and through the day,” Cassidy said.
Lillian gawked at him for a second, unsure if she should believe him or not.
“He’s just messing with you,” Warren said. “It’s only been a few hours.”
Warren scooped what looked like stew into a bowl and handed it to her. Lillian took it, feeling more gratitude than she could show.
“So, Lillian, what was it like living in the swamp?�
�
“Well, I was born on one of the islands above the city. Like most people, I learned the basics of life in the swamp. How to eat, how to walk, and how to canoe. There were a few times when I was a little girl that my father had to fish me out of the swamp.” She paused as the others chuckled. “After a few years, we moved below ground, where my mother taught me to be a proper lady. Mother taught me everything I know about medicine and gave me a handful of cooking and cleaning tips.” Lillian glanced up, meeting their gazes. “I’m sure all this must be very boring to you.”
“Trust me, when you’ve led the life we’ve lived, boring is a welcomed change.” Vallerie stoked the fire.
“If you wanted boring, you should have married that Sammy boy,” Cassidy snickered.
“Samuel was very interesting,” Vallerie defended. “Besides, he was a gentleman, unlike some sarcastic smirk I know.”
“You love my smirk, and you know it.”
“Maybe,” Vallerie yielded, before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“At first I couldn’t see you two together, but now…” Lillian grinned.
Vallerie smiled as Cassidy wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
“What about you? A pretty girl like yourself would surely have a man back home,” Cassidy pried.
Lillian risked a glance at Warren before looking at the ground.
“No, only my books,” Lillian said, stirring her stew.
“Speaking of books,” Vallerie said. “You were the one who helped us in the library, right? How long did you work there?”
“Yes. I was about seventeen when I started getting into books. The local library needed a new librarian, and well, I guess I found my calling there.” She frowned at the memory of the place that she had called home for so long.
“I’d have to disagree,” Cassidy said.
Lillian tilted her head.
“Based on how much better my leg feels since you treated it versus how it felt after your people treated it, I’d say you’re better off as a healer,” he continued.
Lillian shook her head. “That’s just because I treated you so long after the initial injury. It was mostly healed when I looked at it.”
The Ajoiner Realm (Defenders of Radiance Book 1) Page 19
