“Xander,” Aryn said, “is Adept Anylus the man who ordered you arrested?”
Xander flinched and stared at Aryn. That confirmed Aryn's suspicions. He had guessed correctly, again.
“You're a sharp one,” Ona said. She placed a hand on her husband's arm. “You'd best tell them, dear. We're short on help and it's a very big city.”
Xander glared at the table and rested joined hands atop it. He shifted in the chair. Finally, he spoke.
“Almost ten years ago, I came to Tarna hoping to recover some of the memories Melyssa took from me. That is the first and only time I encountered Adept Anylus.”
Tania leaned forward. “A heated discussion?”
“Anylus accused me of using demon glyphs. He named me Demonkin before I had so much as spit in his face, a man I'd never met dropping a capital crime around my neck.”
“You're the runner!” Tania gasped. “No one gets away from Valar, but you did.” She sounded impressed.
“If Valar is the man Anylus sent to kill me, he's lucky I crushed his throat instead of his head.” Xander cracked his knuckles. “Do we have a problem?”
Tania set down her steaming cup. “Valar sent one of my best friends to murder my brother. He's hard to like at times.” She shrugged. “What's a crushed neck between friends?”
Aryn considered this new revelation, a fact that simply made no sense. “Why would Adept Anylus name you Demonkin?”
“I have no idea!” Xander pushed up and almost knocked the chair over. “All I know is that man set out to imprison me from the moment I set foot in this city, and now he has my daughter locked in a dungeon.”
“That does sound suspicious,” Tania said.
“Anylus is no friend of ours or Kara’s. So tell me why I shouldn’t storm in there right now and take her.”
Aryn glanced at Tania. Could Xander do it? Was he powerful enough to take on the whole Mynt army?
Xander was certainly crafty enough to simply spirit Kara away. This man was Torn Honuron’s grandson, and unlike Kara, he had trained decades to wield his unique blood. What did Tania think of Xander's accusations?
Aryn knew very little about Anylus, save what he had heard from others. Most considered Anylus friendly and intelligent, and no one questioned his loyalty. Why would he try to capture or kill Xander Honuron?
Xander pointed a meaty finger at Tania. “You want to know why I spent the last ten years in the wilderness? It's because of you people, you bloody andux orn. I couldn't go near my wife or daughter for fear you'd go after them, too!”
“What's an andux orn?” Tania sipped her tea.
“I make it a point to learn about anyone who tries to kill me.” Xander loomed over them. “What about it, woman? Do you see a demon inside me? Am I as Anylus named me, possessed by the Mavoureen?”
“No,” Tania said, “and I'll admit I'm puzzled. There's been a bounty on you for as long as I've been a hunter.” She set down her cup. “Sorry about that.”
“Sorry?” Xander trembled and for a moment, Aryn feared he might lunge at her. “You're sorry?”
“I can see you're not Demonkin. I'll swear to it. I'll have the bounty removed.”
“How magnanimous! Now give me back the last ten years of my life and we'll call it even!”
Ona clutched Xander's wrist. “Dear, that's enough.” She looked at Tania. “I need a straight answer now, and no more fencing, young lady. Can you get us to Captain Traeger?”
Tania stretched like a cat, arms raised high. “We often grab a bite at the same tavern.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning.” Tania stood. “I'll make arrangements. Is that acceptable, Mister Honuron?”
“Why are you helping us?” Xander demanded.
“Still don't trust me?”
“I don't trust anyone connected to the Mynt right now. Or the assassin you demon hunters serve.”
Aryn stumbled across another thought. Valar could see the Demonkin taint — he had confirmed as much when he interviewed Aryn — so if Valar had gone after Xander on the orders of Anylus, he had known the man he attacked was not Demonkin. What did that say about Valar?
Ona stood and pushed in her chair. “It seems we're done with this cellar. Thank you for the tea.”
Tania stood as well. “My pleasure, Missus Tanner. Or should I refer to you as Missus Honuron?”
“Tomorrow,” Ona said, “you'll show us to Captain Traeger. He'll bring us to Prince Beren and then we'll all speak to Kara. We’ll get this sorted.”
Aryn knew now where Kara had inherited her forceful confidence. Freed of her crippling disease, Ona was a woman who deserved and demanded respect. Aryn understood why Xander still loved her, despite the twenty years Melyssa stole from them both.
“Fine,” Xander said. “Tomorrow, first light, in front of this tavern. Not beneath it.”
Ona hugged Aryn before he could stop her, shocking him with her familiarity. Yet they had endured the road to Tarna together, hadn't they? Ona's hug felt real and warm.
“You make a good couple.” Ona released him. “Hold onto her. You never know how much time you really have.” She took Xander's hand and led her husband to the ladder. One after the other, they clambered up.
“I like her.” Tania took Aryn's hand. “The other, not so much.”
“Xander's a good man.” Aryn felt compelled to defend Kara's father. “He's just worried. Kara's everything to him, and he lost her for almost twenty years.”
“Fathers do love their daughters.”
Aryn squeezed her hand. Tania's parents were dead, her brother too, and she hid her grief about that well — yet it must still hurt. The fact that Aryn's family had disowned him hurt too, but his family was not dead.
Heart pounding, Aryn slipped an arm around Tania's waist and drew her close. Would she allow that? She made a contented noise and bumped her forehead against his shoulder. Then she pulled free and walked to the table.
“We've got half a pot left,” Tania said, “and it's good tea. Might as well finish it off.”
“What about training?”
“That never stops. It's time you learned to see as I do.”
Aryn sat next to Tania as she pulled something from her robe — what might be a tiny pouch — and sprinkled particles that glittered in the dream world. She stirred the tea with a spoon, metal dinged against the rim.
“You're going to teach me to see again?” Aryn's heart beat faster. Would he finally see what she looked like?
“In a sense.” Tania scribed a small blood glyph on the cup, and it flared as it ignited. “The herbs in this tea will increase the clarity of your dream world sight. Given enough time, that change becomes permanent.”
“It's lerild soup?” That was a rare concoction known only to magic academies, capable of boosting the innate power of a mage's blood or helping them recover faster.
“It's better than that. Tastier. That's why we couldn't try it until we arrived here.”
Aryn took her offered cup. “I just drink it?”
“Unless you want it in your lap.” She squeezed his knee. “It can be overwhelming the first time. Drop the dream world and drink slow. Short, cautious sips.”
Aryn found the tea bitter but tolerable. He sipped as instructed, blind to the world. Soon the cup was empty, but he did not feel any different.
“Ready?” Tania asked.
“As ever.”
“Take the dream world.”
The brilliant bursts of color nearly knocked Aryn out of his chair.
KARA STOPPED PACING. It served no point other than burning nervous energy, and her feet were growing sore. Her cell — and it was a cell, despite the tapestries on the wall and the feather bed in the center — was large enough to allow her a good amount of exercise if she walked in circles. Walking in circles was all she could do.
There were no windows in this gray stone room tucked beneath the royal palace. The only way she could tell day or night was by the meals silent guards delivere
d. Kara had measured time by those meals for days, fully aware carrow root tainted every bite.
Kara ate without complaint because she suspected refusing would only make her circumstances worse. There were many other cells beneath the palace, and she doubted any were as nice as this one. She had no need of glyphs at the moment. Glyphs would not help her escape.
The only way out of this cell was to regain King Haven's trust. Only then could she save her friends. So she would eat his fine meals, accept his carrow root, and wait for another opportunity to plead her case.
Dinner was over and Kara would see no one until tomorrow. She had nothing to read and most certainly could not sleep. Initially, boredom had been her worst enemy, but now that was cold sweats and fearful dreams.
Somewhere outside Tarna, Abaddon led Trell to his doom. Sera remained at Terras, days ticking away until her execution glyph fired, but was Sera safe? Mavoureen had somehow entered their world despite Torn's closed gate, and who else might they strike? Aryn? Ona?
Just the thought of a Mavoureen hurting her mother made Kara's heart race and her palms sweat. The pain of Ona's crippling disease would be nothing in comparison to what a Mavoureen could do to her. The demons could make human pain last a very, very long time.
Kara sat and breathed, in and out, in and out, like Elder Halde had taught her to do when she grew stressed. Kara missed Halde more than ever, another casualty of a war she had never asked to fight and was increasingly certain she had lost. She remembered Halde's arms holding her, his deep voice comforting her. Halde had loved her like a daughter and for that, Cantrall had burned him alive.
What had Halde thought as his twin brother's phantom fire seared his flesh, as his bones cracked, as flames consumed his screams? What would Ona think when a davenger found her? What was Abaddon doing to Trell?
Kara had let herself cry last night, after a horrific nightmare where Abaddon ripped Trell apart, and she had learned then that Sera was right. I'm done crying, Sera had told her weeks ago. It doesn't help.
The lock to Kara's cell door clicked.
Kara rushed to the door and stopped short. What was she thinking? They would think she was trying to escape.
A tall form in red robes ducked his head and stepped inside, then closed the door behind him. Adept Anylus! What did this visit mean?
Anylus never closed the door while they were together. Guards waited outside, men who heard and observed all interactions. Those were the rules. A thousand possibilities trampled Kara's mind, but only the most horrifying survived.
“Is my mother safe?”
“Your mother is fine,” Anylus said quietly, “and there have been no more attacks. I have just come from a conference with the king.”
“Did he listen? Did he agree to let me out?”
“No.”
Kara trembled. Everyone she loved was dying, and all she had to do to save them was get through a hand's width of wood and two legionnaires. And out of the prison building. And out of Tarna.
“It gets worse,” Anylus said. “I have contacted a soul with information about the Mavoureen. It came to me.”
“A soul?”
“Yes. A man murdered by a davenger.”
“What did he say? Who was he?”
“He claimed to be a hunter who ranged near a small town in Rain, a mining village called Knoll Point. It's in the shadow of Pale Lake, a large body of water—”
“I know where it is. Are the Mavoureen there?”
“We can't be sure, but Demonkin must be. One of them may know more about how Abaddon arrived here, and about their plans to invade.”
“Who's King Haven sending to investigate?”
“No one. Not yet.”
Kara clenched a fist. “That doesn't make any sense.”
“Kara, we only found out today. Tellvan has us fully engaged and their armies are gaining ground. Layn Keep fell days ago.”
Kara's heart rose to her throat. “Solyr?”
“Still safe. We suspect the Tellvan will bypass it entirely — magic academies remain neutral ground, and any attack on Solyr would incite reprisals against Lunyr — but they can cut Solyr off. The Tellvan are simply better at waging war.”
“We can't let them take Solyr.”
“How do we stop it? With the evacuation of the Martial Steppes and holding the line against the Tellvan, we must plan carefully before sending forces into Rain. Haven plans to dispatch a small force later this week.
“Sera will be dead by then.”
“I believe you. I also think the Mavoureen will launch an invasion sooner, not later.”
“And King Haven doesn't?”
“King Haven doesn't have a lot of options.”
“What about the prince? Can't you talk to him?”
“Prince Beren has left the capital to close the Ranarok passes. We must stop the Tellvan there, or Tarna will come under siege.”
Kara closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, her head pounding. “Please. Get me out of here.”
“Kara—”
“Get me out.” She opened her eyes and grabbed Anylus's thin hands. “I'll head to Knoll Point, find a Demonkin and interrogate them. I'll move faster alone. I can do this, Anylus.”
Kara imagined the Underside devouring Sera, imagined Abaddon ripping Trell's limbs off one by one. She could not live in a world where she let that happen.
“If we leave,” Anylus said, pulling his hands free, “King Haven will see it as betrayal. We will be exiled.”
“I'm fine with that. Get me out and I'll make sure no one knows you're involved.”
Anylus sighed heavily. “That won't work.”
“It will.”
“You can't hunt a Demonkin on your own. It's too dangerous.”
“I've hunted far worse, and you know it.”
“You will need help.” Anylus tucked his hands into his sleeves. “That's why I'm going with you.”
Kara's heart pounded and adrenaline kicked in, but the caution she had learned from facing down Cantrall cooled her excitement. What if this was some gambit hatched by King Haven? What if Haven was testing her?
“Why would you go with me?” Kara asked.
“Because I believe you're right. And because you’re one of the most powerful mages I’ve ever trained.”
Kara did not know Anylus well enough to gauge his honesty, but she knew this was not an opportunity she could let pass. If this was one of King Haven's tricks, at least she would know.
“All right.” Kara breathed out. “But we're leaving tonight. We'll have to make sure the guards—”
“They sleep,” Anylus said.
Kara gaped at him. “You were planning to break me out all along, weren't you?”
“I had considered it.” Anylus smiled faintly.
Kara threw her arms around him, hugging his lanky form in a way that was entirely inappropriate for teacher and student. Anylus chuckled and patted her back. She released him and stepped away, face flushed.
“I'm sorry,” Kara said. “I shouldn't have done that, but that's the best news I've had all week.”
“I only wish it had not come to this.”
“No matter. We're decided.” Kara looked past Anylus. “We're heading to Knoll Point. That's where we'll find Trell, if he's alive.” He had to be alive.
Anylus inclined his head. “I pray you're right.”
Kara glanced around her cell, but there was nothing here she needed. “Let's go.”
Anylus opened the door and led her into a dark hall. Two Mynt soldiers had collapsed against each wall, crumpled in leather armor. Fast asleep.
“Here.” Anylus stopped by a travel pack and lifted a thick cloak with a heavy hood. “Put this on.”
Anylus had somehow secured her quarterstaff as well, the one Ona had bought for her. Thoughts of Kara's mother made her strong. She shrugged on the thick gray cloak and pulled the hood tight around her face, a passable disguise. She strapped her quarterstaff across her back.
/> Kara desperately wanted to contact her mother, but finding Ona during this escape was too risky. They had to leave for Knoll Point now. As for Xander — as for her father — he might still be out there. Looking for her.
Kara was grateful for Anylus's help, but ultimately, she could only depend on herself. This was her mess to clean up, her fight. She would not let the Mavoureen win.
She would save her friends and banish the demons.
Chapter 16
JYLLITH AND CALUN REACHED KNOLL POINT just after first light. She kept Calun in the saddle ahead of her. Though he seemed sufficiently cowed, letting her guard down for even a moment could get her killed.
Even if one could not kill a davenger, if one killed the person controlling it the demon would run off. Davengers were stupid like that. All Calun would need was a few seconds to slip a knife into Jyllith's ribs.
Knoll Point stood at the base of a small mountain of gray rock, and that mountain hung over the town like a hammer waiting to drop. The mountain might have been beautiful, once, but quarrying had gutted it from the inside out. Many people — slaves owned by the Mynt, if Calun told her true — had carved the mountain up like a corpse, extracting valuable rock and minerals for their Mynt masters.
Mynt work crews had come to Talos a few times before it burned, when Jyllith was still little. Those they “hired” had little choice but to go, and few were ever seen again. Jyllith's father had been among those chosen, a big, strong man perfect for whatever fate the Mynt had in mind.
Weldar Malconen never returned, never wrote, and though Yara assured all her daughters their father was still alive, working for a kind master somewhere, they all knew that was a lie.
A wooden palisade six times as tall as Jyllith surrounded Knoll Point, and the mountain looked like it could come down at any moment. She could not imagine anyone living here by choice. Perhaps the slaves who had driven off the Mynt had nowhere else to go.
Someone — probably Andar and his Free Rain — had cleared all trees within a bowshot from the walls. Open field surrounded the town. Jyllith knew guards watched her from the armored towers at its four corners.
Jyllith rode toward the closed southern gate, holding Calun as both shield and deterrent. Hopefully someone recognized him. Hopefully someone in those watch towers would ask her to identify herself before riddling them both with arrows. She could not fail Melyssa.
Demonkin Page 18
