“Lord Malchor, your grandfather, recommended you?” I asked Johai with a raised brow.
Johai did not flinch or look away. “I contacted my grandfather’s factor in the city, and he made some arrangements for me. Before leaving Keisan, we reconnected, somewhat.”
I smiled, secretly pleased that Johai and his grandfather had begun to make amends. I was surprised his grandfather was willing to assist him, considering he was a convicted traitor. Johai and Beau gathered together our belongings and were adding them onto the packs of the horses the caravan master had provided us. I was turning to assist when I noticed the Danhadine guards stationed at the city gate. They stood opposite the Neaux guards, who watched them with open hostility. The caravan master was showing a slip of parchment to a Neaux soldier who wore gleaming armor and a cape of crimson. I assumed him to be the captain.
One of the Danhadine soldiers glanced in my direction, and I looked away and pretended to be engrossed in adjusting a strap on my mare’s pack. I peered at the soldier sidelong and could see him staring in my direction. My heartbeat picked up its rhythm. I abandoned the pretense of tying the straps and went over to Johai.
“There are Danhadine soldiers here. What if they recognize us?” I hissed.
Johai glanced at them and then turned his back. “I can use a spell to turn their gaze away. They will be compelled to glance over us.”
I twisted my hands and considered his offer. I hated to make him use the magic, but if we were caught, we might be forced to use more than just a simple spell to break free, if we were able to do that at all.
“Are you sure it would be safe?” I asked.
“No, but we do not have much choice.” His eyes darted towards the soldiers.
I exhaled and glanced at the caravan master and the captain, who was flipping through the pages of the manifest. “Do it quickly,” I said.
Johai motioned for Beau. After a quick explanation, we arranged ourselves to appear to be packing and readying for a trip. Johai mumbled under his breath in a language that I did not know. As he spoke the words of the spell, a tingling sensation danced over my skin. There was a dazzling light that obscured my vision for a moment, and then it dissipated and left me shivering from cold.
“There,” Johai said, “that should be enough.”
I looked over at the soldiers. They were no longer looking in my direction but chatting amongst themselves. I sighed in relief.
The caravan master finished with the captain, and we mounted our horses. We were not out of danger yet. After the Neaux captain looked at the manifest, the Danhadine soldiers marched up and down the caravan, peering into the backs of wagons and chatting with a few of the men. I closed my eyes and prayed to the goddess, Let us get away without being seen. They approached us. One of the men raised his head and shaded his eyes as he squinted at us. Beau’s sword clicked as he unbuckled it. My heart beat loud enough that I thought the soldiers would hear it.
He took a step in our direction, and then another man shouted something indistinguishable in Danhadine. He cast a glance in the direction of the shout but continued towards us. I gripped the reins, white knuckled, and looked to Johai in a panic.
“Return!” a voice barked.
The soldier looked towards us one more time before following his superior’s order. He jogged over to join his comrades. I let out a long-held breath. Johai, too, eased back in his saddle, but his grip on the pommel of his saddle did not loosen. His horse danced beneath him, and my own mount tossed her head. I looked up at him, and that flash of black overwhelmed his irises. A shiver ran down my spine, and I forced myself to look away. There’s little time. I hope we can find answers in Jerauch.
After the inspection, the caravan inched forward. We had been placed further back in the line, and it took several minutes before we made any progress. Our pace was dragging and the sun was rising in the sky by the time we passed through the city gates and down a cobbled path that led down to the road. Beau rode up and down the ranks, helping where he could to get the wagons moving. Once we were a fair distance away. I took one last glance at the walls of the great city—dark gray stone walls lined with turrets and backed against a steep mountainside. The city walls were surrounded by a town of thatched roofs and dirt roads. Inside the walls, homes rose upon the mountainside rising up until it reached the palace carved from the mountain and looming over the city below. I was glad to see the end of it; Sanore held too many dangers for me. I could only hope Jerauch would fare better for us.
We journeyed until the sun was fading behind the mountains. Pinks and oranges smeared the sky and softened the horizon. The wagons stopped with much groaning of animals and the creaking of dusty wheels. A circle was made, and therein we made camp. After months on the road, I was proficient at setting up camp. I tended to my horse and unpacked our cook pot and prepared some dried stores for our meal. I added water to some ground grains and heated it over the flames of a fire that Johai had built. It made for a flavorless gruel that I had learned to stomach on our journey to Neaux. That was one thing I would miss in Sanore, a warm meal that did not consist of mush.
Beau returned from his duties, and we settled in to eat. I ladled up a serving for each of them and then sat cross-legged on my sleeping mat. “I will miss Lady Maria’s cooking,” I said in jest to lighten the tense mood that seemed to have settled on our camp.
“Hmm,” Johai replied.
Sensing he was not in a mood to talk, I amused myself by staring into the fire and watching the dancing flames lick up the side of the pot.
Beau finished his gruel and rose without a word and disappeared into the night. I assumed for another round of guard duty. I took the gruel off the fire and replaced it with some boiling water for tea. I tended the fire, stirring the embers, and let the flames grow higher.
After a stretched silence, Johai spoke. “Is this what you want, really, to spend your life on the road in search of something that may very well not exist?”
His question startled me, and I looked up to meet his gaze over the fire. His eyes were boring into mine once more as if trying to withdraw an answer from me. Being stubborn as I was, I refused to give him the answer he was looking for. He was trying to give me the opportunity to turn around and head back, to sacrifice his life for me again. I wouldn’t allow it.
I poked at the embers a bit longer than necessary to avoid answering. “If you had run away when I accused you of attempting to kill Adair, I would be dead.” I looked up, and he did not flinch or look away. “Even though I was terrible to you and accused you of being a traitor, you still risked everything to save me.”
“You cannot blame yourself for that. We never expected the spell to take all your memories away.”
I shook my head. “Does it matter? All of this was my choice, don’t you see. You’ve had so many chances to run away, yet you never did. I need to save you. I have to break this curse.”
“Maea, I knew what I was taking on when I summoned the specter. I agreed to give my soul for power. You are endangering your own life for my mistakes, and that is not fair to you. I am willing to let my life be forfeit if that is what it takes to keep you safe.”
Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. “Just tell me, why did you summon it?”
He sighed and looked into the fire. The flames were reflected in his eyes, and he seemed much older than his twenty and eight years. “My father had intended to use the specter’s power to rule the kingdom. It was a part of his plans to overthrow his brother. I acquired a book after his passing, one which told of the specter’s power. Once he betrayed the kingdom, a mark was put upon me. I was considered a traitor by default. I became obsessed with the idea of finishing my father’s work, summoning the specter and proving them right. I thought once I had completed my father’s task that I would feel complete and their disdain would not… matter.”
He stopped, and I moved around the fire to sit beside him. My knee brushed against his, and he stared down
at the brief contact. “You never told me, what made you change your mind?”
He looked at me, and I tilted my head back to regard him. “Time and…” he paused, and I thought he would say something more, but he held back. “As the years went by and I did not master the specter’s powers, I began to resent my decision in my youth, but by then it was too late.”
“Perhaps not,” I said, forcing a positive attitude, but inside, my thoughts were much more dismal.
He nodded his head, and nothing more was said on the matter, but I suspected our thoughts followed a similar path. What if the du-toath is correct? What if he is beyond saving?
We sat for a few hours side by side, not speaking but watching the fire burn low and listening to the pop and crackle of the wood. The night sounds crept in, the soft cry of the owls and the mournful cry of a wolf. My eyes grew heavy.
“You should get some rest. We’ll be in the saddle when the sun rises.”
I rubbed my sleepy eyes. “You should as well.” I paused. “I worry you’re not taking care of yourself.”
He shook his head. “I am fine.”
I pursed my lips and put a hand on my hip. He met my petulant gaze before sighing. “I will only stay awake a bit longer.”
I smiled. “Good night, Johai.”
I climbed into my sleeping roll and pulled the blankets up to my chin. I faced the fire and let my heavy lids fall down, but before I slipped into slumber, I thought of how nice it was to be like the old days, before dire prophecies and politics had ruined everything. We used to be happy once, I thought as sleep took me.
As I slept, I dreamed. I was back in Keisan, walking down a long hallway I had often walked with Sabine. I admired the frescoed walls and inhaled the salty scent of the sea. Late afternoon sunlight spilled from a window at the far end of the hall. Normally at this time of day, there would have been courtiers strolling and chatting or servants rushing about. Instead, the hall was empty, and a pressing silence seemed to weigh down upon me. I could not even hear the crash of the ocean. I could not hear the faint murmur of voices. The silence was deafening.
I needed to find something. The desire overwhelmed all other thoughts. What it was I was looking for, I could not say. I ran my hands along the wall, searching for a chink or a gap in the paneling. There should be a door here, I thought. I ran down the hall, my hands gliding along the wood paneling. I stopped at the end of the hall, at a window, and looked at the silent sea crashing in the distance. I must find it before it’s too late! I thought.
“You will not find it.”
I turned, and the first diviner stood behind me, her hands folded into her sleeves.
“How can you say that when I do not know what it is I seek?” I asked.
She glided towards me and then past me. She stood beside me at the window and looked out across the horizon. Her face was still concealed in shadows from her deep hood, but her violet eyes reflected the light coming from the window. “You are still searching in vain for the answers to save him, when you already have the answer.”
“I refuse to accept that!” I shouted. I balled my hands into fists. This cannot be the end.
She moved towards me, and I felt planted in place, unable to move. “And yet you refuse to scry. You close out your mind’s eye, and the power pours out of you, looking for an escape. Why?”
I lowered my gaze. “What good is this power if I cannot stop anything? Why know what may happen if I cannot influence it?”
“Is that the only reason for your power, then, to influence the future? Why can we also look into the past and see the present, then?” she replied, and I felt like a chastised child.
“I don’t know.” I lowered my gaze to the ground but did not loosen the grip of my fists. I want to help people, not continue to look on as everyone I care about is hurt.
“You still have much to learn.” She reached out to touch me, and I took a step back, unwilling to let that cold hand brush my skin.
“And who would teach me? I am the last!” I wanted nothing more of her dire warnings and inescapable truths.
She circled me, and I felt uneasy, like a caged animal. “There are those that would teach you, but you are going in the wrong direction.”
The palace at Keisan disappeared, and in its place we stood upon a crossroad. “You have a choice, blood of my blood. Chase these dreams or become what you are destined to be.”
At one end I saw the specter looming in the distance and, behind it, great mountain peaks capped with snow. In the other direction, Sarelle beckoned to me, the royal palace of Sanore looming behind her.
“She is connected to you, more than you realize. You and she share a destiny that you must discover.”
“Why can you not tell me, then? Will it change Johai’s fate? What more is there to learn?”
She shook her head. “I am a guide. I can only give clues, as you know. This journey is yours. Now which will you choose?”
I looked in each direction, torn in two. “You would have me choose between honor and intrigue?”
She nodded slowly. “Choose wisely, blood of my blood.”
Chapter Four
The next morning, I rose and went about the motions of breaking camp. My movements were slower than I wanted because my mind was racing. I looked back several times in the distance down the long dusty road on which we had come. Sanore lay beyond several leagues’ distance and rolling hills and a few villages. I could not go back. I refused to go back—despite what the first diviner instructed me. Saving Johai was paramount. I was stubbornly holding onto that hope that I could save him despite all odds. I was still rolling my bed and packing my few possessions I had taken out the night before when Johai came around with the horses on their leads.
“You are not prepared to leave yet?” he asked with an arched brow.
“No, I was distracted,” I said as I hurriedly rolled up my sleeping blankets and tied them into a ball. I then proceeded to shove my few possessions into a pack.
Johai grabbed my pack and tied it to my mount, something I should have been doing for myself. I glanced over my shoulder, expecting the caravan master to be there, barking at us for lagging behind.
“Is anything the matter?” Johai asked as he finished adjusting the saddle straps on our mounts.
I shook my head. “Nothing at all.” I took the reins from him and led my horse away from his in order to mount. Several of the lead wagons had already begun a creaky start, and the dust was kicked up into the air. Oxen lowed and horses whickered as the caravan began its journey for the day.
Johai was never one to press me if I did not wish to speak, because often times he was reserved in his manner. However, I could tell from the way his eyes lingered on me that he was concerned. I pretended to ignore his questioning gaze and swung into the saddle and smiled at him. He joined me, astride his own mount, and we kicked our animals into motion and took a lead over the wagon we had been trailing the day prior.
Beau had risen with the sun and was already making rounds up and down the line, helping to get the caravan moving. I was impressed by his work ethic and more over his willingness to follow us into dangers unknown, and for what, I could not say.
I was preparing to ask Johai about it when the caravan came to a groaning stop. Horses neighed, and hooves pawed the ground. Voices were raised in protest, demanding answers as to why we had stopped. I pulled back on my horse and saw the caravan master walking down the line towards us. His broad arms were swinging, and his face was red, and his mouth a grim line.
“Why have we stopped?” Johai asked when he drew up close to us.
“Danhadine blockade on the road ahead,” he snarled. “It appears they are inspecting caravans going into Jerauch from Neaux. Stay here until it’s over; shouldn’t be too long.”
I grabbed my cloak and pulled it closer around me. My heart leapt into my throat. I thought we were safe once we’d left Sanore; I had been wrong. We were instructed to line up, and every man woman and chi
ld was forced from their carts and awaited inspection. Since we were near the end of the caravan, I could watch the inspection from down the line. It was five Danhadine soldiers. They strode together in pairs, and a fifth stood back as the other four searched inside of wagons and opened barrels of apples and bags of spices. My stomach was churning and heaving to the point that I thought by the time they reached me I would evacuate the contents onto the soldiers’ feet.
“What should we do?” I whispered to Johai.
A couple of Jerauchian men, who drove the wagon in front of us in line, were chatting casually without a care in the world. Beau was nowhere to be seen, and I wondered where he was. From the easy way the soldiers walked, I suspected they had not found anything of interest, yet.
“They’re searching for us, I suspect,” Johai murmured back to me. “I could cloak us with invisibility, and they will look over us as if we are not here.”
“What about our horses and Beau?” I asked, but that was not my real concern; just a small spell to direct the soldiers’ eyes away at the gate had affected Johai. I knew it, even if he denied it. How much more damage could an invisibility spell do? What if that was the final straw and I lost him to the specter at last?
“We will be safe. I promise,” Johai said, and he reached out to squeeze my hand. I took it and squeezed back.
The soldiers were not far away now. I could see their features. The closest one had dark brown hair that was clubbed at the nape of his neck and a square jaw. The fifth man was wearing a seal on his breastplate, and it was the blue shield with the encircled silver tree, Adair’s symbol and that of the Order of the Oak.
I took a deep breath and prayed a silent prayer. I had to have faith. There was no other way.
“Do it,” I breathed.
Johai spoke an incantation under his breath. The words were melodic in nature and weaved in and out of one another like a chant. I felt a cloak settle upon me, similar to the tingling sensation of the spell before but more like a bath of cold water poured over me. I lifted up my hand, expecting it to be transparent. It was just as solid as before. I looked to Johai, and he seemed to be just as solid as ever.
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