Will was shaking his head. “Their encampment stretched into the forest—I couldn’t get a clear view. Or maybe they had another detachment farther south that they joined up with.”
“We can’t fight this,” Khate said. “We have two thousand at best.”
“But we have the high ground—and the wall. Nothing can get past these gates,” Khal said.
“Uh, problem,” Maya said. “The gate isn’t actually closed.”
“What do you mean, I see—”
“I know what you see, but I’m telling you, it’s not closed,” Maya said. “One of the elves cut the rope. It’s still standing wide open, and if I drop the illusion, those elves will come rushing right back in.”
“So what now?” Will asked.
Before anyone could answer, a lone elf approached the gates.
“Her Greatness, High Queen Ophi, Goddess of Wisdom, Knower of Hearts, and Vanquisher of the North bids you greeting,” the elf shouted. “You have twenty-four hours to surrender the one who calls herself Ravenwing. Do this, and you will be allowed to live peaceably in our new kingdom. Fail, and you will not survive the morrow.”
Then he spun and returned to the horde.
Maya stared out over the valley, gripping the wall so hard her knuckles turned white.
“I’m going to—”
“No one is going to turn themselves in,” Khal said. “I’ll have none of it.”
“Didn’t you just hear what they said?” Maya asked.
“And you believe them?” Khal asked. “You think that if you surrender they’ll just let us keep on living our lives as we have been?”
“Even if they are lying, what’s the alternative?” Maya asked. “If there’s a chance they speak truthfully, maybe it’s a sacrifice that I should be willing to make.”
“Queen or not, you’re still my niece,” Khal said. “And for your father’s sake I’m telling you no.”
“What if there was another way?” Thallan asked.
All eyes turned to the elf.
“We kill Ophi, of course,” he said.
Will was shaking his head. “I’ve tried it; she’ll see us coming a mile away, plus I—”
“What?” Khate asked.
“I might have accidentally given them our undoing,” Will said. “There’s an elf among them who can cancel our powers.”
Thallan blinked. “Togun? You found the Soul Silence?”
Will nodded. “But it was stolen from me, and an elf named Haladavar is now in possession of it.”
Thallan cursed.
“So—”
Thallan raised his finger. After a few moments, he said, “That actually might work to our advantage.”
“How so?” Will asked.
“Kudu just told me that if Haladavar is blocking our powers, then he’s blocking Ophi’s, too,” Thallan said.
He’s right, Xyrth told Khate. There is no discrimination with Togun. The god of peace holds no allegiances. If his power is in play, rest assured both Ophi and Erintos will be affected.
“Xyrth agrees,” Khate said.
“Lotess said the same,” Will added.
“Merva, too,” Maya said.
“Then we infiltrate the camp after nightfall and take out Ophi,” Thallan said.
“And if this Haladavar is asleep, but Ophi is not? Or if he’s not even using his power? What then? You’ll be seen and caught before you can breach the perimeter,” Khal said.
“Then I’ll go,” Khate said. “I can use Maya’s power and make one of these shades to block Ophi’s sight.”
Thallan shook his head before Khate even finished. “Maya would still have to be nearby for you to do it. The only way this works is if she goes.”
“Absolutely not,” Khal said. “We just went over this. That’s exactly what Ophi wants. If she goes and she’s captured, she’s as good as dead.”
“We don’t have much of a choice!” Maya shouted. “If I stay, we’re all dead. If I go, I might die, but there’s no guarantee.”
Khal huffed, but didn’t argue.
“What if you fail?” Khate asked. “What then?”
“Then I die, and the elves let you all live,” Maya said.
“And if they don’t?”
“Then I guess we’ll have to blow the mountain,” Maya replied.
“Then Derton is doomed,” Khal said.
“It’s doomed if we don’t,” Maya said. “At least we can cut off the elves’ advance. Give you time to regroup and gather Aralith’s forces.”
“You’re forgetting one important detail,” Thallan said. “Thirroul told us that whoever sets off the pyridis won’t survive.”
“I’ll do it,” Jade said as she and Robert hobbled up onto the wall.
“No,” Khal said again. “No, no, and no. To all of it. Do none of you have a better plan?”
“You might have had this fancy magic shield active, but I could still hear you all from way down in the court, and the way I see it, this is all we’ve got,” Jade said.
Khal growled in frustration and said, “Why you? Why not have Kosta do it? Gods know I’d like to get rid of him.”
“Because I…” Jade said. “I’m not going to make it anyway.”
“Wha—what do you mean?” Khal asked.
“My leg—”
“Will get better,” Khal said. “You just need to rest it a few weeks.”
“No, you’re not listening,” Jade said. “It’s worse than it looks. They—they said they need to take my leg. I can’t fight. I can’t run. I can’t—”
Khal said, “But—”
“Just—let me do this,” Jade replied.
Khal ran his hands through his hair and said, “I—I need a moment.” Then he turned and left.
“Thank you, Jade,” Maya said. “Your sacri—”
“I don’t want to talk about it, okay?” Jade said, then she sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“If there are no further objections,” Thallan said, “Will, Maya, and I will break into their camp and kill Ophi after midnight.”
“Can I come?” Sowena asked.
“No,” Will said rather harshly.
“I’ll stay out of your way, I promise,” she said. “And I can be a good diversion, or I can scout ahead, or I can be a lookout.”
“I already lost the soul stone because of you. I lost Ophi because of you,” Will snapped. “Haven’t you done enough already?”
Sowena began to shake, but she fought back the tears as she spun and tore off down the stairs.
Khate cringed.
A lot had happened over the past few months, but she hadn’t raised Will to treat people like that. But she also knew now was not the time for a lecture from his mother.
It never paid to burn bridges, and a wound like that could grow and fester if left unattended. Khate made herself a promise to ask Will to apologize to Sowena when it was all over. True friends were a rare commodity in life and were to be cherished above all else.
She imagined that was why Khal struggled so much with Jade’s decision. Though she had only recently come back into her brother’s life, it didn’t take a genius to see that he cared about Jade.
Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she focused on the situation at hand. “What about the doors?” she asked. “If you aren’t nearby, I won’t be able to keep up the illusion.”
“Let’s hope that no one notices it in the dark, but post someone just in case,” Maya said.
Khate nodded.
Thallan turned and looked at each of them. When no one had anything else to add, he said, “Excellent.”
“Let’s finish this,” Maya said in agreement.
42
Sowena waited in her room until well after midnight. When she was sure Will and the others had left, she grabbed her gear and exited the castle.
She was not just some colossal failure. Whether they liked it or not, Sowena was going with them. This was her opportunity—not only to redeem herself with Will, but also
to show her devotion to the kingdom as well as to Maya.
When Will had yelled at her, all she could think about was her home. She remembered the terrible things people whispered about her. They, too, had said she was worthless—that she wouldn’t amount to anything.
Well she was going to show them. She would show them all.
As Sowena drew closer to the gate of the city, she noticed that it was indeed open just like Maya had said it was. That she could see the opening meant that Maya and the others must have been quite a ways ahead of her.
She started down the steps, but then heard voices coming closer. Backing up onto the street level, Sowena ducked behind a crate at the end of a nearby alley.
“You sure I can’t talk you out of this?” Robert said.
“My mind is made up,” Jade replied. “Someone has to save your sorry skins, and it might as well be me.”
“Look, I know we never really got along,” Robert said, “But I think what you’re doing is incredibly brave, if a little stupid.”
“Thanks, I guess?” Jade said. “I’m sorry if I gave you a hard time, but I take my responsibility to this kingdom very seriously.”
“A little too seriously,” Robert said.
The two came into view and Sowena watched as Robert helped Jade down the steps.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jade asked.
“Well, you know. It means you need to live a little,” Robert said. “Enjoy life and not be so stoic all the time.”
“Sure,” Jade said. “I’ll make sure I cherish every last minute I spend holed up in a cave until I die in a few hours.”
“I’m sorry—”
“You know what? It’s okay,” Jade said. “You’re right. I should have loosened up a bit. If there’s one regret I have, it’s that I ruined the friendships I could have had with you and with Strike and—” Jade sniffled, and her breathing grew ragged.
Then they were through the door and out of sight.
Sowena stayed in place for another five minutes or so, then she rose and raced down the steps as quickly as she could go. When she emerged from the city into the valley, she looked around and saw Robert and Jade as two dark blobs off in the distance to the west, heading for the mountains.
Her path lay dead ahead toward the flickering lights of campfires and thin pillars of smoke that rose up into the sky.
Will was not at all comfortable with this situation. He remembered all too well what it felt like to be “normal” again, and he didn’t like it. He’d grown used to this sense of invincibility, especially with Drygo gone. The deceased king had been the only person who had ever posed a real threat to Will until now.
He had no one to blame but himself, though. He tried to pin it on Sowena—tried to say it was all her fault the stone had been stolen. And while that might have been true, the only reason they had found the stone in the first place was because Will had gone looking for it.
Shortly after Sowena’s flight from the wall, Will had felt guilty for what he’d said, because in his heart of hearts he knew it wasn’t true. He simply didn’t want to put her in any more danger. In fact, he held himself directly responsible for Sowena nearly dying at the hands of the elves not once, but twice, and he didn’t want to see her like that again.
The safest place for her was behind Derton’s walls.
The elves had retreated from the plain back into the forest. Whether it reminded them of home or they felt safer there, Will didn’t know.
As they entered the tree line, the elf—whatever his name was—said, “Follow me and keep low to the ground. I know the sentry patrol patterns and where Ophi likes to pitch her tent. If you do what I say, we’ll be in and out before anyone notices we’re here.”
“If they don’t already know,” Will remarked.
Maya had enabled her shade to block out Ophi, but since it glowed bright red, she was masking its appearance with her illusion magic. Without being able to see it, though, Will couldn’t be sure it was even active.
If he was being honest, he wasn’t convinced it worked at all.
Have a little faith. Merva is quite adept at blocking Ophi, Lotess said. It’s how we won the War of the Gods in the first place.
That provided Will some measure of assurance, but his uneasiness wouldn’t truly settle until they’d left Haladavar and the elves behind them.
Fires crackled, and the hum of low voices grew louder. The elf held up his hand to halt them, then brought his finger to his lips and pointed to the left. One of Ophi’s sentries stood fifteen feet away, leaning against a tree.
Standing, the elf walked toward the sentry.
“Thallan?” the sentry asked. “What are you—”
The elf, whose name was apparently Thallan—which Will would have known had he cared to listen—lunged forward and struck the sentry in the throat, then followed it up with a knife to the chest.
Thallan, Will thought. Why does that name sound familiar?
Before he could dwell on it, Maya and Thallan were racing off toward the camp, forcing him to push it from his mind and focus on the task at hand.
As they reached the first tent, Thallan drew up next to it and crouched down low. “Stick close to me. If I stop, you stop. If I go, you go,” the elf said. “Don’t get distracted. If we get separated in here, I can’t help you.”
Will nodded and followed close behind Thallan as he led them through the tents. Most of the elves were sleeping, but a few still roamed the camp—either on sentry duty or simply still awake.
When he held up his hand, they would stop, then when he dropped it, they would continue on again. Left, right, left—Will had no idea where they were or where they were going. He glanced down one of the rows and saw a small figure entering the camp from the opposite side.
Will did a double take. It was Sowena.
Of course she would ignore orders and come out anyway. It’s something he would have done, and she had spent a significant amount of time with him these last few days. He must have been rubbing off on her.
Will whispered, “Hey guys—”
Thallan and Maya were gone. Glancing all around, Will desperately looked for his friends, but couldn’t find them. When he turned back toward where he had seen Sowena, she, too, was gone.
“Maya!” he whispered as loud as he dared. “Thallan!”
But no one came or answered.
Will crept through the camp in the general direction they had been heading. As he rounded a corner, Will ran straight into an elf.
The elf shook his head and said, “What are you—”
Will drew his knife and, in one fluid movement, stabbed it up under the elf’s chin.
“Did you say something, Eldin?” another elf asked.
Will reached up and grabbed the body, pulling it back into the nearest tent opening. Still clutching the elf, Will held his breath as the shadow of another elf passed by the outside of the tent.
“Eldin? Are you out here?” the elf asked. When no response came he said, “Huh. I need to go to bed. I must be imagining things.”
A rustling sound to the left drew Will’s attention, and he realized the tent he was in was occupied. The elf turned over and yawned, but Will didn’t move.
When Will was certain the elf had fallen back asleep, he gently lowered Eldin’s body to the ground. Will started to leave the tent, but instead, moved to the woman’s bedroll and slit her throat. It was too risky leaving her alive should she wake up and discover the dead elf.
Two silhouettes appeared on the wall of his tent and headed straight for the opening. Will dropped into a defensive position and held out his knife.
Thallan and Maya came through the open flap.
“There you are,” Thallan said. “I told you to stick close.”
“Won’t happen again,” Will said.
Thallan glanced down at the two bodies, then back up at Will. “It better not, or our deliverance might not be so easy next time.”
“Oh, hey,”
Will said. “I need to tell you—”
An ear-splitting shriek filled the air.
A soulfiend? Will wondered. Great, just what we need.
“What was that?” Thallan asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Will said. “And you’d better hope we don’t run into it.”
“Then let’s keep moving, we’re almost there,’ Thallan said and slipped through the opening in the tent.
Thallan wasn’t kidding. Less than a minute later, they drew near to a large tent north and west of the way they’d entered the forest.
“In here,” Thallan said. “Come on.”
Will and Maya followed Thallan through the flaps. Ophi’s tent was much bigger than the one he’d just been in. A sheet hung down to the right, segmenting off a second room. The larger, main room appeared to be some kind of command center.
There wasn’t a lot in it, as the elves had been transporting all the supplies themselves, but in the middle of the room sat a barrel with a map of the battlefield sitting atop it. A lamp lay beside the barrel, lighting the room. Behind and against the wall was a chest with a padlock on it.
Thallan moved off toward the bedroom.
“May I?” Will asked, lifting his knife.
Thallan backed away and held out his arm, inviting Will to enter Ophi’s room. “Be my guest. We’ll wait out here. Do it quickly so we can leave.”
Pushing aside the sheet that hung down, Will entered the dark bedroom and drew close to the bedroll. He tightened his grip on the dagger in his hand and brought it plunging down, but it hit nothing besides some fabric and the hard ground beneath.
Will stood and sighed, a little disappointed.
“She’s not here,” he said, emerging from the room.
“Should we wait for her to come back?” Maya asked.
Will glanced around the room and his eyes settled on the chest. “Maybe we don’t need Ophi at all,” Will said. “If we found her stone and destroyed it she’d be as good as dead.”
“And then what?” Maya asked. “Or are you forgetting the last time you destroyed a stone?”
“That was different, I—”
“You know what? Forget it, we’re wasting time. Here,” Maya said, reaching into her pocket. “I’ve got a lockpick.”
Soul Shade (Soul Stones Book 2) Page 33
