To Whatever End (Echoes of Imara Book 1)

by Claire Frank

  Relief and gratitude flooded Cecily as she looked at her friend. Merrick had a sturdy frame, chestnut hair and a light growth of stubble on his face and chin. His brown eyes had faint lines at their corners. Beau sat up next to him and Merrick reached out with a calloused hand to scratch behind his ears. His clothes were homemade, a beige tunic under a worn leather vest, dark brown pants and heavy boots. His brow furrowed in concern and he leaned forward. “What happened?” he asked.

  Cecily adjusted the blanket and flexed her fingers, feeling the blood flow through her hands. “I don’t know,” she said, her voice quiet. Her lip hurt when she spoke. “We were attacked on the road. Something exploded and we both went flying. There were three of them, I think, powerful Wielders.” She closed her eyes, and images of the men in their black masks floated through her mind. “They were dressed in black, their faces covered with masks. I couldn’t see who they were.”

  “Do you know what happened to Daro?”

  “They took him.” Tears sprang to her eyes and a knot of fear tightened her stomach. “They left me behind and led him away.”

  Merrick hesitated, scratching his jaw. “But he was alive?”

  “Yes. They said they would let me go, but someone came back and tried to finish me off. I lost him by jumping in the river.” She took a shuddering breath. “These men weren’t normal, Merrick. They could do things I’ve never seen before.” She slumped in her chair and leaned her head back, her exhaustion overwhelming. “How did you find me?”

  “I didn’t. Beau found you. We were here at home, and he started barking and pawing at the door. I let him out and he took off toward the road. I followed and I hadn’t gone far when I started hearing something, booming sounds, coming from the road. By the time I got there, no one was left, but I could see someone had been attacked. I read the signs and followed your trail all the way to the river. It wasn’t easy, but I could still see your trail of energy in the water. We followed the river until Beau finally caught up with you.”

  Cecily shook her head. Merrick’s Wielding ability allowed him to sense the energy signature of any living thing. He was the best tracker she knew. “We need to find Daro’s trail.”

  “I know, but you’re hurt. You need to lie down,” Merrick said. He helped her up and led her toward his bedroom. Her legs felt shaky and she leaned on him for support. He laid her down and covered her with blankets, tucking them in around her.

  “No,” she said, her voice weak, “I can’t sleep now. I have to find him.”

  “I know,” he said softly. “We’ll find him. But you need sleep first.”

  She fought to keep her eyes open but her body betrayed her. She lay back onto the soft pillow, her eyes fluttered shut, and she sank into an exhausted sleep.

  Something cold and wet tickled Cecily’s face. She awoke with a start, greeted by the snuffling nose of Beau. He laid his chin on the bed in front of her face, and his black eyes looked at her. His large black ears moved around, twitching toward her and turning behind. She smiled. “Hey Beau, good boy.” He sniffed again, made a throaty noise, and sat up, as if he expected something.

  Cecily cringed as she hauled herself up. She shrugged her shoulders and carefully rolled her arm backward. Her wound ached and the stitches pulled against her skin. Although her legs were sore and wobbly, she swung them around the side of the bed and stood up. Her head hurt and she reached up to touch her face, probing her lip and cheek. It was swollen and tender. She briefly wondered what she looked like, but decided she’d rather not know.

  Her clothes were clean and dry, laid out on the end of the bed. She dressed, carefully pulling her tunic over her bandaged shoulder. She pulled the wrappings off her legs. The wounds were shallow, the worst ones already scabbed over.

  Beau stood and stepped in front of her, his ears straight up, bushy tail wagging. “Where’s Merrick?” she asked. Beau barked once and led her out into the main part of the cabin. The fire crackled and Merrick had left food sitting out on the table, but he was nowhere to be seen. She peeked out the window and wondered how long she’d been asleep. Sunlight filtered down through the trees. It looked to be midmorning.

  Worry for Daro rose in her mind. She assured herself that Merrick must be out looking for him and forced herself to take care of necessities. Her stomach felt hollow and raw, as if it had been days since she had eaten. She ladled a bowl of soup and tore off a chunk of brown bread. Beau lay down next to the table and kept his eyes on her.

  Beau’s ears perked up and he lifted his head toward the door. “Is he coming home?” Cecily asked. The dog barked and a few seconds later, the door opened.

  “Good, you’re up,” Merrick said as he walked in and shut the door behind him.

  “Did you find the trail?” Cecily asked, unable to find patience.

  “How are you feeling?” he said.

  She waved her hand. “I’m fine. Did you find anything?”

  Merrick unfastened the clasp of his cloak and tossed it to the side. “No.”

  “Nothing? No sign of where they went?”

  He sat down in a chair across the table and Beau laid his head in his lap. “Not only was there no trail, there is no sign of you ever having been there. I saw the road the day you were attacked. There were holes and chunks of rock missing, the remains of your wagon, plenty of evidence of what happened there. Today, there’s nothing.”

  “That doesn’t make sense,” Cecily said.

  “No, it doesn’t. I’ve been searching for two days and I can’t find a trace.”

  Cecily dropped her bread. “Two days? I slept for two days? Oh gods, Merrick. Daro could be anywhere by now.”

  He put his hand out. “I know. Don’t panic yet.”

  “How could there be nothing? There has to be some sign.”

  Merrick shook his head. “The road smells like it’s been Swept clean. There’s a gap, as if nothing touched the road for an entire day. That isn’t normal. Even if there was no foot traffic, something would cross; bugs, small animals. Whoever did it was good. Very good. If I didn’t know to look, I wouldn’t have noticed the anomaly. I’ve met Sweepers before, but never one who could erase that much violence.”

  Cecily’s mouth hung open and her stomach turned over. She pushed her bowl away, her appetite gone. She stared down at the table, unsure of what to do next. It hadn’t occurred to her that Merrick might not find the trail.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said.

  Beau trotted over and put his head in her lap. She scratched the top of his head.

  “Beau wouldn’t leave you alone, you know,” Merrick said. “He sat there and watched you, the whole time you were asleep. Wouldn’t come with me when I left.”

  She smiled and scratched his ears a little harder. “Sweet boy.” The scabs on her legs itched and her shoulder ached. She sighed and looked around the cabin as if it held the answer. She couldn’t follow the trail if there wasn’t one. Even if she could, she didn’t know what she’d find at the end of it. She needed help.

  “I have to go back to Halthas,” she said.

  “Cecily, you’re still injured, and I don’t just mean that shoulder wound. Whatever they did to you, it knocked you out for days. You have to be careful.”

  “I don’t have time to be careful. The longer I wait, the farther away Daro could be. I have to find out who took him, and why.”

  Merrick stood up. “I’ll take you back to Halthas. Tomorrow, but only if you’re strong enough.” She opened her mouth to argue, but he put up a hand to cut her off. “No, don’t argue. I won’t risk your life on a hard ride back to the city. We can leave at first light. Not before.”

  Cecily sighed, feeling felt like a chastised child. Merrick turned and grabbed his cloak. He left out the door, Beau at his heels, leaving her no room to argue.

  She had to admit, he was probably right. She still felt weak. She wasn’t certain she could ride a horse, let alone make the two-day journey back to the city. But the wa
iting felt like it might kill her. She pulled her bowl of soup back in front of her and took a sip. If she was stuck there, she ought to do what she could to get her strength back. It would be a long ride back to the city, but she knew who she needed to see when she got there.

  12. NEW LODGINGS

  Daro squeezed his eyes together, and his stomach swirled with nausea. His head ached, and his mind was fuzzy. He breathed in slowly through his nose, and out again, finding his inner calm. His stomach still protested, but he felt in control of his body.

  He moved with care, but he didn’t seem to be injured. He wondered where he was and hesitated to open his eyes. Panic began to rise as Cecily sprang to his mind, the image of her lying in the road burned in his memory. He forced himself to relax when instinct insisted he get up and try to find her. He could feel through their bond that she was still alive. They’d held to their part of the bargain. That was something.

  His hands and feet were bound and he tested the bonds, pulling his arms as far as they would go. The clink and scrape of metal told him he was in chains. He lay on his side, the surface beneath him hard. A dungeon, then.

  He opened his eyes a crack and was surprised to see he was not in a cell. He was chained to the floor, but it was finished wood, not dirt or stone. The walls were paneled wood and the door looked ordinary. He turned his head and found a simple pallet bed with drab bedding and a pillow. It looked more inn than dungeon, aside from the chains bolted to the floor. Where was he?

  His abductors hadn’t given him a chance to discover who they were or where they were taking him. After he’d lost sight of Cecily, someone had touched him on the back as he walked. He’d felt the brief sensation of the breath being pulled from his lungs before everything went black. Then he’d woken up here, nauseous and sore and increasingly confused.

  He turned toward the door at the sound of the lock clicking. The door eased open and Daro saw a pair of brown leather boots enter the room, the door closing behind. The light was dim; he couldn’t see any windows. A woman knelt down next to him, holding a tray of food. He blinked slowly and looked at her, noticing her dark blond hair, tied back at the nape of her neck, and her sleek brown clothing.

  She cocked her head to the side and looked at him. Her eyes were a swirl of brown mixed with blue, the two colors mingling around her dark pupil. Daro didn’t like the way she looked at him, like a predator with captured prey. The corners of her mouth lifted in a smile, but her eyes remained cold. He would have to tread carefully with this one.

  She set the tray on the floor near his face. He already knew the length of his chains; there was no way he could reach the food. He wasn’t sure he wanted any. His stomach still protested, but the smell of the food woke hunger behind the nausea. He wondered how long he’d been unconscious.

  The woman stayed motionless, watching him. He wondered if she expected him to speak but decided to stare back and remain silent. He buried his burning concern for his wife and his flurry of questions and let his mind go blank. Focus. One task at a time. She held all the power in this situation and he doubted demanding answers would avail him much. Here I am. Your move.

  “Hmm.” Her voice was deep, yet still feminine. “Are you injured?”

  He couldn’t place her accent, but she didn’t sound Halthian. “No.” Simple, direct. No more.

  “Good.” She sat down, crossing her legs, and scooted the tray out of the way. “I am Sindre, and you and I are going to get to know each other very well. Here is what we are going to do. I am going to let you eat today, but you have to be good for me.” Her eyes flicked to the door. “None of that now. There is nowhere for you to go.” Daro remained silent. “I would like to unlock your chains, but you have to be good, or I’m going to chain you up again. It is very difficult to eat with your hands bound.”

  Daro debated what to do. He had no idea where he was. He could be at the top of a tower, or deep in an underground cavern. If he did overpower this woman, he didn’t know what would be outside the door—guards, weapons, a maze of hallways? He needed more information. And something told him he ought to eat. It would be more difficult to create an escape plan, let alone execute one, if he was weak from hunger.

  He nodded once and waited.

  She unlocked his chains. He sat up and rubbed his sore wrists, then silently ate the food she gave him, taking his time and trying to ignore her disconcerting stare. She sat across from him, motionless, watching with her strangely colored eyes. When he finished, she moved the tray to the side.

  “We are so pleased you could join us,” she said and pulled a necklace from inside her shirt. A flat disc of gray-and-green marbled rock hung from a thick silver chain. She fingered the rock, turning it over in her hand as she gazed at it. “We are doing important work here and your contribution will be extremely valuable. But for that, we need your cooperation.” She met his eyes. “Your complete cooperation.”

  Daro remained silent. He had no intention of cooperating, but saw no reason to say so.

  She continued rubbing the rock between her fingers. “I want you to understand from the beginning that it is not a matter of whether you will cooperate. It is only a matter of when. It would be easier for both of us if you come around quickly. But I don’t think that will be the case, will it?”

  She looked down at the dull rock in her hand and closed her grip around it. A spasm of pain shot from Daro’s neck down his spine. He arched his back and clenched his teeth to keep from crying out. The pain vanished as quickly as it had hit and Daro sat, breathing heavily. The woman watched him with dispassionate eyes.

  Something on the back of his neck felt warm and he reached behind his head, expecting to find blood. His fingers brushed something hard and cold at the base of his neck. As he probed with his fingers, his heartbeat quickened with alarm. A small, hard disc was embedded in his skin, the edges flush as if it had grown from the inside. It felt like a smooth stone but was shaped like an elongated diamond, the two shorter sides coming to a point at the top. He looked up at the woman. “What is this? What have you done?”

  Her lips curled in another cold smile. “The means of your cooperation,” she said. “And the way you will further our work.”

  Daro’s fingers clutched at it, trying to find a way to dig it out of his skin. It was embedded too deep. His fingers brushed along the surface and scratched his skin.

  “I suggest you stop,” she said, her voice casual. “You will only hurt yourself.”

  Daro grabbed at it with his other hand, to no avail. Heat began to spread down his back, although the stone in his neck felt unchanged. The heat built and sweat began to bead on his forehead.

  “Lower your hand,” she said as she clutched the necklace in her fist.

  Daro locked eyes with her, his hand still behind his neck. Her strange eyes narrowed and the heat intensified, sweat running down his back. He stayed motionless, refusing to give in.

  “Fine,” she said, and another stab of pain shot down his back. He flinched, grinding his teeth and grunting. The pain built, and he toppled to the side and writhed on the floor, clutching uselessly at the stone in his neck.

  The pain disappeared and he was left panting.

  “The faster you learn, the more productive our time together will be,” she said. The pain spiked again and Daro cried out, despite his clenched teeth. The spasm was over in seconds but left him gasping in the wake of its intensity. “If you are good for me, I won’t have to do this.”

  “What do you want from me?” he asked, between panting breaths.

  “Cooperation,” she said. “With time, you will learn to obey. And then, when you are ready, we will tap into the power inside you and unlock it.”

  “Power? I don’t have any power.”

  “Oh, but you do.” She trailed her fingers down his arm. “Whether you realize it or not.”

  Daro cringed at the woman’s touch and struggled to sit up. “You can’t keep me here.”

  “No? I think you’ll fi
nd it exceedingly difficult to leave. Without me, and this,” she said, holding up her medallion, “your implant will kill you. If you did get out, you might last a week, but no more.” Daro’s neck prickled. “The sooner you accept things the way they are, the better. You will learn. And I am afraid I don’t have nearly as long as I would like to get you ready. I will have to accelerate our program. But I have high hopes for you. There is much work to be done, so best we get on with things, yes?”

  She pulled some black fabric from inside her jacket. “We find it helps our subjects progress if we take certain steps. It helps them to accept their new life more readily.”

  “I don’t care what you do to me. This is not my new life.”

  She smiled and smoothed out the fabric in her lap. “As I said, you will learn. Typically I wouldn’t start with this, but the nature of things requires a certain haste.” She held the fabric out to him. “Put it on.” He stared at her, unmoving and silent. She hesitated a moment, her arm outstretched.

  “Very well,” she said.

  Sharp pain flashed down Daro’s spine again, radiating out into his arms and legs. It was intense, but he held his ground. He clenched his fists and locked his jaw. The pain vanished and the woman held the fabric out again.

  “Put it on.”

  Daro said nothing and locked eyes with Sindre. She twitched and the pain returned. Heat spread from his neck and beads of sweat trickled down his back. He stared at a point on the wall and took deep breaths through his clenched teeth.

  The pain ended and she once again held out the fabric. She spoke slowly, enunciating each word. “Put it on.”

  Daro remained still and his heart raced in anticipation. The pain hit like a blow from behind and he fell sideways, crying out despite his attempts to remain silent. He writhed on the floor, as agony spilled through his body. The sensation ended and he lay on the floor, panting.

  “We have much to explore together, you and I,” she said, her voice smooth. “It seems unpleasant at first, but you’ll grow to appreciate what I do for you. We have so much to show you, so many gifts to give you. One day you will thank me.” She stroked his hair back from his face. “Now, you will put this on.”