This almost appeared as if something or someone had stepped on it, forcing it into the dirt before killing it. Whatever killed it had done so several days prior, as flies and carrion beetles had already begun to pick it apart.
“Did you hear what I—What’s that?” Robert asked. “You know we can’t eat that, right?”
“It’s curious,” Ocken said.
“What is?” Robert asked.
“It’s dead, that much is plain,” Ocken said, “but what is not obvious is how it died.”
“Does it matter?” Robert said. “It’s disgusting. Come on, I’ve found something.”
“Of course it matters,” Ocken said, refusing to let it be. “I’ve only ever seen one creature that kills without leaving so much as a bite mark.”
Robert shrugged. “Could have been Will.”
“Unlikely,” Ocken said as he stood. “This creature’s been dead for days, and Will has only got a few hours’ lead on us.”
“About that,” Robert said. “Come check this out.”
Ocken followed Robert through the forest about twenty paces east to a small clearing. At the edge sat a makeshift fire pit with live coals inside.
“It’s still warm,” Robert said. “Will couldn’t have been here longer than an hour ago.” Robert pointed out a faint trail through some tall grass. “He went this way, so let’s go!”
“Hold up,” Ocken said. “It’s getting late. We should stop for the night.”
“We’re so close, if we keep going we could find him before morning,” Robert explained.
“And we could also be walking in the complete opposite direction,” Ocken said. “You don’t know what made that path; perhaps it was a deer or coyote. Besides…” Ocken paused and looked around the clearing then up at the darkening sky. “There are things in this forest I’d like to avoid running into at night.”
“Like what?” Robert asked.
Robert had likely never seen or heard about soulfiends, but Ocken had. He knew all too well what they were capable of. In the past, they’d never ventured beyond their hunting grounds, one in the Dhelgur Desert, and another in the Frostpeak Pass, but destroying Drygo’s stone had created a third, and there was no telling where it had gone.
Either way, Ocken wasn’t about to worry the boy for no reason. “Could be more elves about.”
“Will killed the last bunch,” Robert said. “And if he’s ahead of us, he’ll encounter them before us. Even if they slip by, it’s nothing you can’t handle.” Robert patted Ocken on the chest. Ocken grabbed his wrist and narrowed his eyes at Robert.
“What are you so worried about, anyway?” Robert asked.
“I’m concerned about—” Ocken sighed.
Should I tell him? Ocken thought. No. Perhaps I’m just being paranoid—seeing things that aren’t there and misinterpreting signs I don’t understand.
“I’m concerned about Will,” he finished, deflecting the question.
That seemed to catch Robert off guard.
Robert cocked his head and furrowed his brow. “Why?”
“You saw the way he killed those elves,” Ocken said, picking up some sticks and twigs from around the fire pit. He stacked them in the shape of a cone and began working at rekindling the flame.
Robert shrugged. “You heard what Merva and Lotess said. The elves want to kill us, and they were in our land. No one’s seen an elf in a hundred years or more. If they’re here, that can mean only one thing.”
Ocken paused and looked at Robert, then went back to building a fire. “Perhaps,” he said. A second later, a small flame sprung to life and began licking at the dry wood. “And then again, maybe not.”
“Then what?” Robert asked.
“Enemies or not, no one deserves to be slaughtered like that,” Ocken said. “He clearly caught them by surprise. One of them was still sitting at the fire and another was hit in the back as they fled the scene.”
“I still don’t see the problem here,” Robert proclaimed.
“If they hadn’t seen Will, why did he attack them?” Ocken asked. “Why risk it when he could have just skirted around them. It seemed like overkill to me. I’m just worried. Worried about what this power is doing to him.”
“You don’t know the circumstances,” Robert said. “You can’t be the judge of that.”
“I guess we’ll just have to ask him when we find him,” Ocken said.
Maya raced down the hall as fast as her feet would carry her. There was still time. She could stop them.
Flinging the doors wide, she burst out of the mansion onto the second-floor balcony. Down in the courtyard, Will sat on his knees surrounded by a host of elves, an executioner’s block sitting beside him.
Three elves stood in the center of the circle opposite Will.
“Get up!” she shouted, but he apparently couldn’t hear her.
Why isn’t he fighting back? she wondered.
One of the elves tossed something in the air, caught it, and held it up to the sun. A shimmer of blue caught Maya’s eye.
They have his soul stone!
Maya had to do something. She had to stop this. As she reached for her own magic, Maya was met with a crippling migraine that brought her to one knee.
She hissed and grabbed her head.
Climbing to her feet, she felt helpless to stop the scene unfolding before her.
The elf placed Will’s stone on the executioner’s block, raised his weapon, and brought it down.
Maya delved within herself once more, but pulled back as soon as another headache began to wash over her.
The elf’s blade connected with the stone, shattering it.
“No!” Maya called out, extending her hand toward Will.
Will fell to the ground, convulsing. A blue mist swirled around him as he screamed. The mist rushed back into him, and it exploded outward a minute later with a shockwave that knocked everyone around Will to the ground.
Maya watched in horror as a soulfiend stood where Will had been.
“No,” Maya tried to shout once more, but it came out as only a sob. Grief turned to anger and Maya pushed aside her weariness. Once more, she tapped into her magic and brought it all to bear—and once more the migraine came.
Ignoring it, Maya attempted to unleash the full power of her abilities, but the pain was too great and she couldn’t hold it—
Maya bolted upright in bed. She winced at the pain in her head. What was going on? She lay in a dark room, the only light coming from beneath a door at the far side of the room.
Havan.
She was in Havan.
Maya took a deep breath. Her kingdom hadn’t been invaded and Will wasn’t dead. It had all just been a dream.
She was about to lie down again, but froze when something passed between her and the sliver of light, causing it to disappear momentarily. Maya reached for her magic out of habit, then paused.
What if I get another migraine? she wondered.
Wood scraped across the floor.
Pushing aside her reservations, Maya immediately dipped into the Soul Sight. Dark and light faded away for the familiar reds of the soul realm.
A man came at her with a dagger raised in his hand. He plunged down for Maya’s heart, but she rolled out of the way just before it hit home, the blade instead sinking deep into the mattress.
Jumping onto the bed, the assassin took another swing.
Maya grabbed her pillow and held it up to block his attack. The assassin’s blade sliced it down the middle, causing feathers to explode onto the bed.
Maya looked for Twilight, but found it lying behind her assailent, on the armoire across the room. Acting quickly, she did the only thing she could think of.
Light spilled throughout the room as the man burst into flames. He dropped his dagger and began patting the flames, screaming.
Maya ran around the bed, lunging for Twilight, but before she could get there the man realized the flames weren’t real and intercepted her, tackling he
r to the ground.
Pulling a second blade, he raised his fist and bore down on her when suddenly his head separated from his neck and his body fell to the floor.
Sergeant Farrow stood behind him, his chest heaving.
“Are you all right, my queen?” he asked.
Maya didn’t immediately respond, as her own heart beat a thousand miles a minute. Her head fell back to the ground and she lay there, staring up at the ceiling as she tried to calm herself.
Farrow repeated his question.
“I’m fine,” she managed to say between breaths. “Thank you.”
The door burst open and Khal ran in, his weapon drawn. When he saw Maya on the floor and Farrow with blood on his sword, he raced toward the man and moved to strike.
“Stop!” Maya called out.
Khal faltered.
“I’m fine,” she said. “He saved my life.”
Someone lit a lamp and Maya turned to see Evangeline, worry splayed across her face.
“What happened?” Khal asked.
Her gaze settled on the headless man at her feet.
“Berxley again?” Khal asked.
Farrow walked over to the severed head and lifted it up. “By the gods,” he said. “It’s Briggs.”
“Havan?” Maya said in surprise. “Havan did this?”
“How is this possible?” Khal asked, advancing on Farrow and placing the blade of his sword under the man’s chin.
Farrow’s soul wavered as his resolve broke down, shifting from red to purple, and then everything went blurry as a headache—a real one, this time—swept over Maya.
She hissed at the pain and would have fallen if she hadn’t already been lying down.
Evangeline rushed over to her and lifted her head up. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Maya said. “I’m fine.”
You are not fine, Merva said telepathically. Once is one thing, but twice in as many hours?
I just need a good night’s sleep, Maya responded. And a cold glass of water.
But Maya didn’t believe that. The fact was, she didn’t know what was going on.
You do remember I can read your thoughts, right? Merva asked.
Maya shrugged Merva off and said aloud, “I want to speak to Governor Kessler. Now.”
Khal snorted and released his hold on Farrow.
He brushed off his uniform and ducked away, heading for the door. Before Farrow could leave, however, Kessler walked in.
“I heard a commotion,” she said. “What’s going—oh, gods, Briggs. What happened?”
“We were hoping you could tell us,” Maya said. “This man tried to kill me.”
“Briggs? Tried to kill you? That’s ridiculous!” the governor shouted.
“Nevertheless, it’s true,” Maya replied.
Kessler looked to Farrow, who nodded grimly.
“Iket’s bones,” she exclaimed. Turning to Maya, she asked, “Are you all right?”
Maya nodded. “Thanks to Farrow here. But that doesn’t change the fact that one of your men tried to kill me. What’s the meaning of this? I want answers, and I want them now.”
“I—I’m sorry,” the governor said. “I’m at as much of a loss as you are.”
“You didn’t sanction this?” Khal asked.
Kessler opened her mouth to speak, but Maya cut her off, “Don’t even think about lying to me.”
“No,” Kessler said, shaking her head. “I swear I know nothing of it. Briggs did this himself, or at least he was not doing it under my orders.”
“You have bigger problems in Havan than you seem to have let on, Governor Kessler,” Khal stated flatly.
The governor forced an awkward smile and gave a nervous chuckle. “It’s worse than you think. We are handling it, but clearly the situation is not yet fully contained.”
“And the promises you made to me just a few hours ago?” Maya asked.
“Will be honored to the letter as we agreed, you have my word,” Kessler responded.
“Good,” Maya said. “Send word to have two ships fitted and ready to sail. I’m not waiting until morning—we leave for Berxley immediately.”
“As you wish,” the governor said reluctantly. “But I do have one small request.”
“You’re in no position to be asking anything,” Khal snapped.
“The request isn’t for my benefit, but yours,” Kessler said. “Please, take Farrow with you.”
“What?” Farrow asked.
“No,” Maya said at the same time.
“Please, I insist,” the governor said. “He already saved your life once. You know you can trust him, and by the looks of it you could use all the help you can get.”
Khal said, “As much as I don’t like it, she has a point.”
Maya’s eyes flickered between Farrow, Kessler, and Khal. “Fine,” she said at last. “Let’s go.”
14
Sowena huddled in the middle of her parent’s empty cornfield, darkness all around her. Between her shivers in the cold, she reminded herself why she was out there.
Maggie had nearly died trying to save Sowena, now Sowena would do everything she could to save Maggie—even if that meant hunting the monster that had killed her parents. She didn’t know if the creature would come. Several days had passed, and still there were no further sightings.
Sowena knew the monster was averse to light, and the past few nights the moon had been shining brightly in the sky. But tonight, a thick cover of clouds had drifted in and complete darkness settled down on Luton.
Sitting there… out in the open, alone, and in the dark… was either very courageous or incredibly stupid—Sowena hadn’t settled on which. She only knew one thing: she’d made a promise. A promise she intended to keep, whatever the cost.
When the first shriek split the air, Sowena decided rather quickly that this was the most idiotic thing she could have done. What could she accomplish? The creature wasn’t entirely of this world, and the only thing it was afraid of was light, which she couldn’t have on her person if she wanted to attract its attention.
And what then? If it found her, what was she going to do? Ask it nicely to heal Maggie? Did she think she could draw its power from it like venom from a snake, and then concoct an antidote? Even if she could, she was no alchemist. She didn’t have the skills or knowledge to do anything.
She had just felt so helpless. Day in and day out she sat there, watching Maggie with no improvement. She didn’t know what else to do, but hearing the monster’s screech had made one thing abundantly clear: if she continued hunting the beast, she would end up just like Maggie, and then she’d be no good to anyone.
There had to be another solution.
Sowena was on her way back to the Pendley’s house when the screaming started. She froze, looking in the direction of the screams. They sounded like they were coming from the Harstens’ property. Lizzy Harstens had been her best friend growing up, but her parents had sent her off to the workhouses three years prior and Sowena hadn’t seen much of her since.
Taking a deep breath, she turned and walked toward their house. Another shriek and more screams filled the air. Sowena’s resolve cracked and her breathing grew ragged. She spun and ran as fast as her legs would carry her back to the Pendley’s home.
Who was she kidding? She couldn’t stop that thing. She didn’t even know what it was. If they were screaming, that meant the creature had already gotten to them and there was nothing she could do anyway.
Sowena snuck into the house and went to her bed, lighting a lamp in her room for good measure, but sleep did not find her. She lay awake all night, guilt eating at her for abandoning her friends and fear paralyzing her from head to toe. When the first crack of light spilled through the dirty window of her bedroom, she arose before Rowland woke and ran off to check on the Harstens.
The frosted grass crunched beneath her feet and every breath produced a white cloud of vapor. She’d forgotten how cold it could be this early in
the morning.
Reaching the Harstens’ home, she pushed open the door and called, “Lizzy? Are you here?”
No response.
“Hello? Mr. and Mrs. Harstens? Anyone home?”
Maybe the screams hadn’t come from here after all. It was possible the Harstens had gone to Celesti to visit Lizzy’s grandmother. Sowena thought of a dozen other scenarios as she refused to accept that the monster had been here.
She stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind her. Sowena rubbed her arms, her teeth chattering. It was as cold in their house as it was outside. Most people left a small fire running to keep the house at a bearable temperature, but a quick glance at the hearth revealed that the coal had long gone dark.
A gust of wind sent a chill down Sowena’s spine. She turned to see one of the windows had been left open. That struck Sowena as odd. Heat was a precious commodity in the fall and winter months. No one would have done that, not even by accident.
Walking into the dining room, she was reaching up to push the window down when she saw Lizzy lying on the ground outside.
“Oh, gods!” Sowena cried and ran out the front door and around to the side of the house. Sowena knelt down beside her friend. Lizzy was lying on her back, hands raised up beside her head with a look of terror frozen on her face.
“Lizzy, are you okay?” Sowena asked as she cradled her friend in her arms. “Lizzy? Lizzy?”
Her body was oh so cold. Lizzy was gone.
Just like Maggie, there wasn’t a mark on her, but unlike Maggie, there was no mistaking that Lizzy was dead. She might have survived the attack, but the frost and the cold night must have slowly killed her. Either that, or she’d died instantly from fright. Sowena hoped for the latter.
She sat there for a long while, crying. Between the tears, she continually offered up prayers to Iket, god of death, begging him to guide Lizzy’s departed soul to find peace. When she felt strong enough to stand, she gently laid Lizzy’s body back down and went into the house looking for Lizzy’s parents.
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