[fan] diviners trilogy - complete series

by Nicolette Andrews

  One of the men nearby exclaimed, “That couple is gone. They disappeared right before my eyes.”

  “Your eyes must be going.” His companion laughed. “They must have moved.”

  “No, I watched. One moment they were there, and the next they were gone.”

  Their conversation carried over to the soldiers, who looked up with interest and skipped over a wagon and quite a few packs to question the men.

  The captain, who I assumed was the fifth man with the Order’s emblem, questioned them. “What is this commotion about?”

  “There was a young couple here, and they disappeared into thin air!” the first man shouted, waving his hands in our direction.

  I squeezed Johai’s hand for reassurance, and he clung to me tightly enough that I began to lose feeling in my hand.

  “That is nonsense,” one of the subordinates said in reply to the man. “People do not just vanish.”

  “But they did!” the Jerauchian merchant insisted.

  The soldiers scoffed and were preparing to turn away and continue their search. Their captain, however, looked in our direction, and for a chilling second, I thought his eyes had locked onto me. You do not see me. You will walk away, I silently commanded.

  After a few breathless minutes, the captain turned and followed his comrades down the line. I exhaled in relief and tried to unwind my fingers from Johai’s, but he held me fast.

  I looked up to question him and saw the face of a different man looking down at me. His eyes were black, bottomless pools. My breath caught in my throat. I could not breathe. I was drowning. I reached a hand up to my collapsed windpipe. A shadow had passed over him, and his downturned mouth and severe brows made him seem much more menacing than the Johai I knew.

  “Foolish diviner, to what lengths will you press your luck before it is too late? Each spell he casts, each selfish decision you make brings Johai closer to me. You cannot stop this now. He has belonged to me from the beginning. You would have done better to heed the first diviner’s advice.”

  I gasped as he twisted my wrist. “How?”

  “Do you think I cannot see into your dreams? You and I are connected, diviner. You are mine as much as he is.”

  “I do not belong to you or anyone, and neither does Johai,” I spat and attempted to wrench my arm free. His grip was iron tight upon me, and I could not wrest my hand free.

  “Deny it all you want, but the truth is inevitable!” He laughed. Johai stood above me with a cruel twisted face, and I was afraid of him. Afraid of what I would unleash if I did not save him or kill him.

  Without warning, he released me from his grip. I stumbled backward and fell onto my rear. Men shouted behind me. Their voices were muffled by the drumming in my ears. Rough hands grabbed me and questioned me. I did not respond. Instead I was gazing at the spot where I knew Johai stood. The invisibility spell held. Whoever had grabbed me was dragging me away, and it was then that my focus cleared and the drumming faded away.

  I whipped my head around, bewildered, and saw the gleaming metal of a Danhadine soldier’s armor.

  “Unhand me!” I shouted and beat upon the metal on his chest. It did nothing but hurt my hands.

  The soldier laughed. “You thought you could run, sorceress. The king’s justice is great. You will pay for King Dallin’s life and those you took in the bay.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What have I done wrong?” I lied, hoping they would doubt.

  He cuffed me, and my skull rattled under the blow. “Shut your mouth unless you want another taste of that.”

  I bit down on my tongue and prevented myself from saying anything to further incur his wrath. I knew when my words were falling on deaf ears. I looked back over my shoulder and saw Johai had reappeared. The soldiers were so busy with me, they did not notice him. Johai had fallen to his knees. His face was one of stricken pain. He rose to his feet as if he would come after me, but I shook my head sharply. I would not have him be captured as well.

  He seemed torn between chasing after me and obeying, but in the end, he stayed. It was better this way. If I hoped for rescue, they would need to remain free. The soldier dragged me to their mounts past the line of the caravan. The merchants and their families peered out the back of their wagons at me and whispered to one another. I spotted Beau among the crowd. I tried to catch his eye, but he looked past me. It probably is better if we do not appear to know one another. I was hoisted up and shoved into the saddle of a gelding. My captor swung into the saddle behind me.

  “You will not speak of what you have seen here,” he said to the crowd.

  They peered up at us with wide eyes. How do these Danhadine soldiers have power enough to take captives and to stop a caravan?

  The soldier dug his heels into the gelding, and we took off down the line of the caravan, back in the direction from which I had come. The other four soldiers followed behind, indicated by the pounding of their mounts’ hooves.

  “May I ask where you are taking me? Surely you cannot take me back to Danhad like this,” I said.

  The soldier flicked the reins of his horse. His arms, which were around me, brushed against me, and I shifted out of his grasp. We galloped down a hillside, and perched on the front of the saddle, I bounced around and slammed into the soldier’s chest.

  He did not seem to notice as he responded, “I am taking you to Sanore and the ambassador. It will be he who decides your fate from there.”

  Had I the chance, I would have tried to escape. The soldier seemed to anticipate this, and he kept one arm wrapped around my torso. It would seem the choice had been made for me after all. I was returning to Sanore.

  The ride back to the city was much quicker with a small company of horses than with a large caravan, and we arrived at the city gates before nightfall. My back ached from sharing the saddle, and my hands hurt from clenching them in fear. I was disappointed and relieved that Johai had not pursued us. I hoped he would, for once, take the selfish route and escape without me, though I doubted he would.

  We arrived at the city gates. We stopped at the southern gate, and a Neaux soldier in a crimson cape stopped us before we could enter.

  “State your business,” he said.

  “We have a prisoner to take to the Danhadine ambassador,” the captain said from behind me. The reverberation of his voice echoed through me. I did not meet the soldier’s gaze, but I could feel him looking at me.

  “Your kind are not to enter the city without orders from the palace,” the gate guard said.

  “I know that. However, we have a traitor that must be taken to the ambassador,” the captain insisted.

  The gate guard looked at our party and then walked away to converse with another guard. After a few minutes he returned. “You can take the girl to the ambassador’s villa but only you and no one else.”

  “My orders were to bring my patrol with me to report.”

  “Your orders don’t mean anything inside my city. What, are you afraid to bring one woman to the ambassador? Afraid she’ll overpower you?” He laughed.

  The horse danced beneath us, and its hooves rang out on the stone and echoed off the walls around us. The gate guard scowled at the captain, and I suspected the captain was doing the same, though I dared not look back.

  “Very well, I will take the girl there myself.”

  The gate guard stood back to let us pass.

  “Stay here. Wait for my return,” the captain instructed his men.

  We passed through the portcullis and into the lower district. The noise of the city echoed through my skull—the shout of merchants making last attempts at sales before the day ended, wives greeting their husbands as they returned from their day’s labors, and the growing sounds of a city settling in for the night.

  We passed through the lower districts, which is where the smaller houses lay. These were the homes of the common working folk. People on their way home stopped to gawk. We must have seemed strange, me sharing a mount with a
Danhadine soldier. We hurried along and soon made it through to the second district, which was closer to the palace. The homes were larger here and much more opulent. Greenery spilled over garden walls from hidden courtyards in the center of villas. The homes had balconies that looked out onto the street and folding doors opened to let the breeze through.

  A couple on their balcony watched me being taken to the ambassador’s home with interest. The woman was round of hips and had a full, round face. Her sable curls were piled high on her head, and she wore a bright fuschia gown, which clashed with her olive skin. She whispered to her companion, and then he let his eyes drift down towards me. He had a fair complexion and dark hair. He seemed bored with the proceeding, but the woman was gesturing and waving to me. I looked down to the swaying head of the horse I was riding and avoided further ridicule. It was bad enough I had been captured. I did not want to be mocked as well.

  The ambassador’s villa was not far from there, and it was a modest building compared to those that surrounded it. The front was styled much like many of the Neaux homes. There were large wooden shutters on the windows, painted a bright blue, and the walls were white plaster. The roof was a slate color, and high walls surrounded the exterior. A wrought-iron gate opened into a garden beyond.

  We rode past the gate and down an alleyway. There were stables here and room for perhaps half a dozen horses to stay. The captain jumped out of the saddle, and I was grabbed and pulled onto my feet. I wobbled a bit before finding my balance. As soon as I was upright, he marched through a back door beside the stables and up a narrow staircase.

  When we reached the main floor, I was shown to a room. It was simply decorated. A tapestry hung on the far wall that showed the Oak of Danhad against a blue field. The windows were draped in heavy gray curtains, and there was a table and a set of chairs set beside a small fireplace.

  “Wait here,” the captain said before closing the door, leaving me alone.

  I waited for his footsteps to recede down the hall before trying the door, just in case. It did not budge, and someone banged on the door, hearing my rattling the knob. I was locked in, and a man was left to guard me. What do they think I can do, a lone woman?

  I paced back and forth for a few minutes, attempted to sit down but could not get comfortable, and decided to pace again. After a long stretch, the door opened. I whipped my head in that direction and clung to the fabric of my bodice tightly enough that I feared I would rip it.

  Jon Sixton stepped into the room. A grin spread across his handsome face. “Lady Diranel, how strange to run into you here.”

  I blinked at him for a moment. His greeting had stolen all of the accusations or defenses I could have offered.

  He strolled past me and took a seat in one of the chairs by the fire. “Please have a seat.”

  Without much other choice, I did as he requested.

  Jon Sixton sat forward in his seat and regarded me with that same benign expression. “Are you comfortable? Can I offer you any refreshment?”

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked with a narrowed look. “I should be your prisoner; I am a convicted traitor.”

  He leaned back and crossed his legs, laying his ankle over his opposite knee. “Are you now? I hadn’t heard.” He smirked once more.

  He was toying with me. What I couldn’t fathom was why. He had let me go the other day at the inn, as well. “I am in no mood for games. Why are Danhadine soldiers here in Sanore? Why are they searching caravans and guarding the gates?”

  “Why indeed.”

  “Don’t play coy. You sent them after me. Adair knew we were coming to Sanore, and he sent soldiers to capture me and bring me back to Keisan. What I want to know is, why are you here?”

  He smiled, and it made my stomach drop. “You certainly think highly of yourself, don’t you, Lady Diranel. Do you think the king would send an army after you?”

  I blushed. When he put it that bluntly, it did seem a bit shallow. I refused to be cowed by him.

  “Then tell me why are they here, then?”

  He shrugged. “I am an ambassador, more diplomat than ruler. I merely do as my sovereign bids, no more, no less.” His eyes danced with mischief, and had my emotions not been balanced on a knife’s edge, I might have thought of a clever counter.

  “You cannot think I believe you have nothing to do with this.”

  “I am not asking you to believe anything, Lady Diranel.” He stood up, went to the door, and knocked on it. The door eased open, and a frowning guard appeared in the doorway. “Can you ask Lylia to bring me and my guest some wine and maybe a bit of that mutton.” He smiled, and the soldier’s frown deepened. “That’s a good man.” Jon patted him on the arm and turned back to me.

  “What do you want from me?” I ground out once the soldier shut the door once more.

  He pressed a hand to his chest. “Nothing, Lady Diranel, I just thought you would be thirsty and hungry after your journey here.”

  “You have a strange way of treating your prisoners.” I regarded him with my arms crossed over my chest. He was not acting as I expected him to. He did not accuse me nor did he force me to talk. He almost seemed amused, and I felt as if I had been left out of some joke.

  He gazed at me for a moment and then stood and walked to the door. He stuck his head out and spoke with the guard before throwing the door open. “If you do not wish to stay, then you are free to go.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Do you think me naïve? Why would you let me go?”

  “Why would I force you to stay? Danhadine soldiers mistook you for someone and brought you to me in error. I showed you hospitality, and then you went back to your husband and your guard.”

  “How…?”

  He bowed at the waist, and I stared at him, baffled by his behavior.

  “Your husband should be reaching the city soon. Perhaps you should greet him at the city gates?” He straightened once more. “I apologize for my men’s rude behavior. I hope you can forgive me. Perhaps we shall dine together another time to make it up to you.”

  I had no proper reply, and instead, I stepped out into the hall, expecting soldiers at the ready to apprehend me. The soldier at the door watched me with a suspicious gaze but made no move to stop me. A servant carrying a platter of wine and meat came around the corner.

  “Oh, Lylia, my guest has to leave. Will you show her out?”

  Lylia looked to me and then to her master. She handed the tray to the soldier and said, “This way, madame.”

  I followed her down the corridor, my mind reeling. I was shown to the door, and I emerged onto the city street. The sun had set, and the only light was coming from the windows of the nearby homes. What just happened?

  I wandered down the street in the direction of the city gate. My horse had been left with the caravan, and I was without resources. I did not know where I was going except I was heading away from the ambassador’s villa.

  I glanced over my shoulder once. Why did he let me go? More than that, he knew about my cover story and gave me an alibi. The encounter had discomfited me, and before I realized it, I was back at the city gates. I sat down beside a building on an overturned crate and waited. Citizens passed by, some pushing carts straggling on their way back home for the night, others in fine silk heading the way I had come, perhaps to some engagement. I saw a few covered wagons with merchandise piled high and lanterns swinging from arms on the back. I spotted Johai and Beau as they rode into the city. They were riding cloaked, but I knew Johai from a distance. When they drew close to me, I stood up and waved to them. Johai jumped from his horse and ran to me.

  He grabbed me in a fierce embrace that took the breath out of me. After a few moments he pulled back and looked at me. “How did you escape?”

  “Jon Sixton let me go,” I said.

  “He let you go?” Johai asked with a shake of his head.

  “Yes, I don’t know why, but…” As I sat waiting for them, I had done some thinking, and I was hesitant to te
ll Johai what I planned. I looked Johai in the eyes, the same ones that had been transformed by the specter. I had sworn to save him, but with the diviner’s warning and Jon Sixton’s strange behavior, I could not leave Sanore until I knew what game he was playing. These things could not be mere coincidence. The diviner’s warning, my dreams of Sarelle, and Jon’s game of cat and mouse, they were all connected to me and Johai; I could feel it.

  As much as I fought it, I was born for this. I had been gifted with the power to see into the past and future. The first diviner had guided me here. There was something in Sanore that I had to find. It was linked with Princess Sarelle’s death, and I knew that if I did not take this chance, Adair might win his long game and thousands of lives would be lost in his quest to power. He told me he would not start a war to take Neaux, but how could he take a kingdom without bloodshed? Our two countries had warred for hundreds of years before the truce was signed. The Neaux people would not bow down to a Danhadine king, that much was obvious from the hostility I had seen against the soldiers stationed at the gates.

  “Last night, I dreamed of a crossroads. The first diviner told me I would need to choose between two paths. I think I need to stay in Sanore. There is something happening here, and I think I am meant to stop it.”

  Johai’s hands dropped to his sides. “Oh.”

  “Just for a fortnight, that should be enough time, I think, to find out what this all means and discover why Jon is here.” It was a stretch, but I was desperate.

  “This is folly. You are falling right into Adair’s web,” Beau interjected.

  I glanced in his direction. “I will not keep you here. If you wish, you can leave at any time.”

  He glowered at me but did not respond. Beau’s assistance had been priceless, but I could not be deterred. I was all that lay between stopping Adair and the death of many if a new war began. I turned back to Johai. “I have to do this. I know it will be dangerous, but I cannot let Adair win.”