Searching the Darkness (Erythleh Chronicles Book 2)

by Catherine Johnson

  "Yes. But it should stay a secret for tonight. If he takes it badly, which is unlikely, but not impossible, I wouldn't want it to overshadow the evening."

  "And how do you think he'll take the news of your pregnancy? What will he think of you taking his grandchild away?" Jorrell enquired.

  "If our plan continues as intended, he'll never know about it."

  Jorrell looked at her intently. Elthrinn knew the look for what it was; she'd found herself doing the same thing to him. She would realise that she'd been staring at him, trying to see the person she'd known in the body before her. They had been close before Jorrell had left Thrissia, but she'd been a child then. They were falling into a beginning of a familial relationship. Elthrinn felt closer to Serwren than she did to her brother, but by virtue of that link, she and Jorrell were finding their place with each other again.

  Serwren was sitting nearby, nursing the baby. The newest addition to Elthrinn's blood family was a girl, Tallida, named for Elthrinn and Jorrell's mother.

  "You're still so young to be a mother, Rinn."

  Elthrinn dropped her tone, but she knew it was futile, that Gorren would still be able to make out her words. "I'm not eight years old, anymore, Jor. I'm twenty now."

  Jorrell snorted. "You'll always be my baby sister."

  Elthrinn watched Gorren and Ulli, as Ulli successfully caught another fish. She could imagine her husband with a son, teaching him the ways of the wolves, but she knew that if their child couldn't change form, Gorren wouldn't love the baby any less. He'd offered to hold Tallida at one point during the morning; the child had been fussing and Serwren had been trying to comfort her without success.

  As soon as Gorren had the baby settled comfortably in his arms, she'd taken to pulling his beard, and had stopped whinging. Gorren had seemed content to let the child yank at his beard all day. Elthrinn was certain that if they had a daughter, she would hold her father firmly in the palm of her delicate little hand. Elthrinn had practically had to beg him to be allowed a turn to hold the baby. She didn't have much experience with children, and the bundle was heavier and sturdier than she might have imagined, but she was in love with her niece from the first look at her pouting little lips, and the sweep of her dark lashes over her rounded cheeks.

  "There is one thing..." Elthrinn began.

  "You're worried you'll have puppies?" Jorrell didn't bother to lower his voice for that comment. Elthrinn saw Gorren's lips curve upwards.

  She took a deep breath, and spread her fingers over her stomach, feeling the way her body had swelled to accommodate the baby. "No, because of what happened to our mother."

  "Did father never speak to you of it?"

  "No, he never talked of her much. And I was twelve when he died, Jor. I doubt my prospective motherhood was a topic at the forefront of his consideration."

  Jorrell scrubbed his hand over his own beard, although Elthrinn would not have called it such compared to Gorren's. It was more of an unshaven scruff on his chin.

  "Mother was much older than you are now, when she was carrying you. I was a large baby, there were...difficulties...bleeding. The apothecaries told her not to chance another child. If she'd heeded their advice then she would have lived. She did as they'd instructed for many years. I suppose she simply wanted another child in her arms, by then. I was younger than Ulli is now when she died, but not by much."

  "Do you miss her?" To Elthrinn, her mother was an abstract concept in her mind, someone formed of other people's memories and impressions.

  "I suppose. It's been many years, many lifetimes, it seems. But she is not here, and you are, and I wouldn't trade that."

  Elthrinn spoke in little more than a whisper. "I don't want that for my family. I want to be a part of it."

  Jorrell put his arm around her shoulders. He didn't attempt to pull her closer, he only squeezed a little, in a semblance of a hug. "And you will be. You will be."

  ~o0o~

  Elthrinn and Gorren rode back with Serwren, Jorrell, Cael, and the children. They intended to part ways at the hall, and spend the afternoon alone with each other before returning to the hall for the feast that was planned for that evening. But when they reached the hall, Dechard greeted them with two squires.

  "Ladies and Gentlemen, we'll arrange for the care of the horses, your presence is required within immediately." Dechard looked pointedly at Gorren. "All of you."

  "What's wrong?" Gorren asked as he dismounted and handed the reins to one of the young squires.

  Dechard made an obvious show of looking around them. "I'm not at liberty to say."

  Elthrinn knew that Dechard knew very well what was going on, but that he had no wish to discuss it out in the open.

  Inside the hall was a barely contained chaos. There were people huddled in corners, and others rushing to and fro. Elthrinn would have expected to see everyone working industriously on the preparations for the evening, but there was something not quite right. People seemed to be rushing aimlessly, and no one was carrying anything. It was most curious.

  Rehan hurried into the room. Elthrinn wasn't sure she'd ever seen the queen discomposed, but she appeared on the edge of panic now. "Oh, thank the Grey Wolf you're all here and you're all safe."

  "What is going on?"

  Elthrinn looked towards her brother when he spoke, and she noticed how he and Cael had flanked Serwren, keeping Ulli protectively between them as well.

  "One of the maids..." Rehan paused, and Elthrinn could see that she was trying to order her thoughts. "One of the maids went to check your room." Rehan was directing her answer to Serwren, but that didn't seem to bother Jorrell. "She noticed that your comforter was not turned down as is usually done. She tried to straighten the covers, but there was a snake hidden there. It bit her. It's not a species that is native to this country..."

  "Where is it now?" Cael interrupted.

  "Dead," the queen confirmed. "The poor girl screamed, several people ran to her aid. One beat it to death with a broom. We have it..."

  "And the maid?" Serwren asked.

  Rehan paled, and Elthrinn would have sworn that the queen was terrified. "She... she... died. It was... She began to vomit blood. She was wracked by spasms, it seemed that her body would snap with the force. It was... it was agonising."

  "And someone meant that torture for the First Mother."

  Elthrinn looked to Cael when he spoke, and noticed that his hand was on the pommel of his sword. Jorrell's was prepared likewise. When a shout came from the doorway, they both started to draw their weapons, until they realised it was Noridan. But when they saw the soldiers accompanying him, they did unsheathe their blades, and held them ready.

  "There he is. It was him. Seize him."

  Elthrinn whipped her head around, looking desperately for the target of Noridan's command. She found herself shouldered out of the way as the four burly men surrounded Gorren, and took hold of his arms. Elthrinn couldn't believe what she was seeing. Gorren didn't struggle; she wondered why at first, but she saw sympathy on the faces of his jailors, and realised that if he fought, he would be injuring his colleagues.

  "What...I don't understand," she stuttered, as Rehan voiced her own protests. They were both silenced by a command from Dorll. Elthrinn hadn't seen him arrive in the melee.

  "Quiet, let Noridan speak."

  "It was him. It was Gorren. He planted that snake to keep the First Mother from taking his wife back to her home."

  "But that's ridiculous!" Elthrinn exclaimed.

  "Lies," Gorren said simply, but through gritted teeth.

  "Until you can prove otherwise, you're a danger to our guests." Dorll stated. The king turned his focus to the men holding Gorren. "Take him to the jail."

  "No! No, you can't!" Elthrinn all but screamed. She felt like she might fall, her heart beat frantically with fear. She reached out for Gorren, but Jorrell caught her, and pulled her back.

  Gorren was no match for the strength of four men. As the soldiers began to drag hi
m away, he called out to Elthrinn. "Rinn, be safe."

  Somehow she understood that he meant for her to find Jorm, and the others, that he was telling her she needed guards of her own.

  "What do you mean to do with him?" she demanded of Dorll, although her words lacked force. She was breathless with confusion and fear.

  "If he cannot prove his innocence, he will be executed as a traitor of Dorvek. He endangers the country by making such a pitiful attempt on the life of the First Mother."

  "But he didn't..."

  Dorll held up his palm, cutting her off. "You are no wolf. You have no say in this."

  Dorll grabbed Rehan's arm, turned on his heel, and walked back through the hall, fairly dragging his wife alongside him.

  "You may put your blades away. They're not needed now that the suspect has been apprehended." Noridan's tone was oily, and Elthrinn saw that he was very close to smiling, but trying to fight it. The knowledge of who was behind the assassination attempt, and why, cut through her panic. Evidently, Jorrell and Cael were not to be taken for fools, either. They slipped their swords back into their scabbards, but they did not take their hands from them. "You may rest assured that your rooms have been thoroughly checked. You may return to them directly."

  Elthrinn heard Noridan's offer as a directive. "Of course," Jorrell responded curtly. Elthrinn couldn't tell if he'd taken Noridan's implicit threat the same way that she had heard it, or if he was infuriated by the danger that had almost befallen his family.

  "I'll escort you," Noridan offered.

  "No need," Cael spoke up. "We're capable of finding our way."

  "As you wish." Noridan inclined his head, but he appeared less than pleased. He spun, and walked off in the direction that Dorll had taken.

  Elthrinn was too confused to know where to turn, where to go to next. She felt a hand on her arm, but it was Cael. "Come with us for now. At least we'll know you're safe."

  "But I have to find..."

  "No need, my lady," Dechard said, appearing at her side. "I'll take word to the barracks myself."

  "Tell Lorch," Elthrinn whispered.

  "I will, my lady," Dechard assured her with a nod. "I'll tell him myself."

  ~o0o~

  Once in Serwren and Jorrell's suite of rooms, Elthrinn found herself at a complete loss as to what to do. She couldn't sit, she couldn't stand. She felt as though she should be doing something, but she didn't know what. She paced between the window and bed in the vain hope that continuous motion would calm her nerves.

  "It wasn't him, you know he didn't do it." Elthrinn spoke to no one in particular, unable to focus her rioting fear. "You saw how he was with Ulli. Gorren was with us the whole morning, he never had a chance to..."

  Jorrell caught her arm, and pulled her to sit on the bed. Elthrinn almost did as she was bade, but she jumped up before she touched the mattress. Jorrell pulled her firmly back down. The covers had been thrown to the floor. Elthrinn realised that she'd missed moments since they had entered the room. Jorrell and Cael had checked the bedding themselves. Ulli was sitting quietly amongst the pillows. Tallida was gurgling happily in her crib, amusing herself with a scrap of cloth.

  "I know. I know it wasn't him, Rinn," Jorrell urged, "you need to tell us what is going on here."

  Elthrinn twisted her hands in her lap. She'd never seen the jail. She had no idea what it was like. She hoped it wasn't a dank pit, and she hoped that Dorll hadn't instructed anyone to hurt Gorren while he was incarcerated. She tried to force the despairing thoughts down into a corner of her mind, and concentrated on answering Jorrell's request.

  "Dorll views Gorren as a challenger to his throne. It's more than Gorren being his son. Dorll doesn't love him as a father, and they've fought, more than once. The most recent time, Gorren almost won, but Rehan stopped the fight."

  "So the king has made an opportunity to remove his challenger," Jorrell asserted.

  "I don't think Dorll would have planned this."

  "It's convenient."

  "Yes, but doing things this way, it's so underhand, it undermines his position. Usually the royal title passes in an outright fight if there's a challenger, a public fight."

  "Noridan didn't look too upset at the imprisonment of his brother," Cael commented.

  Elthrinn wanted to be moving again. It was taking so much energy to remain still that her muscles were cramping. Echoing her discomfort, the baby rolled in her belly. Elthrinn put her palms on her hidden bump, and that calmed her a little. "They don't get along. Noridan hates Gorren because he's stronger, a better wolf. Gorren hates his brother because...."

  Serwren came over to the bed. She had been watching Tallida, but now she seated herself next to Elthrinn, and put a hand on Elthrinn's shoulder. "Go on," she encouraged.

  Elthrinn tried to fight back the memories of that awful night. "Noridan.... he...he... attacked me. He tried to... He thinks I'm nothing but worthless filth, but Gorren fought him off, he saved me."

  Cael was still standing with his back to the door. His hand had not yet left the hilt of his sword. "I doubt the king minds how his competition is disposed of, as long as he gets to keep his throne."

  "What if the king was aware that you are with child?" Serwren asked.

  "I don't know..." Elthrinn tried to make her thoughts follow Serwren's lead.

  "He couldn't dismiss you as lesser, if there was the potential that you were carrying a heir. It would give you a voice. That much is certain."

  Elthrinn shook her head. Her braid flew back over her shoulders. "But he would say that me being pregnant would only make Gorren more adamant to keep me here."

  "Perhaps," Serwren conceded. "Does Dorll know what Noridan did?"

  Elthrinn nodded, determined not to repeat any more memories from that night.

  "Then tell the king of your plans," Serwren advised. " Tell him that you and Gorren had planned to leave Dorvek."

  "You saw him. He won't believe it." Elthrinn felt close to tears.

  Cael interrupted again, which caused Elthrinn to look up. She was beginning to realise that there was little that got past Jorrell's friend. She could see why he had been chosen as a bodyguard, rather than someone of lesser rank. "You say that Noridan looks down on you because you're not a wolf. Evidently, the king is not your most vocal supporter, either. So how is that Noridan is partnered with someone who does not shift?"

  "Athine?" Elthrinn clarified. "You could tell?"

  Cael shrugged. "Yes."

  Elthrinn expected him to elaborate further, but he didn't. "She arrived some moons ago... after Nowved, I think," Elthrinn realised everyone was staring at her with blank looks on their faces. "The ninth moon," she explained.

  "Do you know where she's from?" Cael asked.

  Elthrinn shrugged and replied, "Somewhere in Litt."

  Jorrell, immediately stilled, as if struck by her words. He became a veritable statue. Cael's face remained fixed in its scowl. Elthrinn wished that someone would explain to her how, and why, their reaction might be related to Gorren's warnings for her to avoid Athine, because Elthrinn did not believe in coincidences so strongly.

  Jorrell resumed his flesh and blood living body. "It's far more likely that she is the would-be assassin than your husband," he ground out through gritted teeth.

  "I don't disagree," Cael added.

  "I think I will petition the king, "Serwren said, "on the basis that I will vouch for Gorren's whereabouts for the full morning."

  "I'm coming with you," Jorrell stated.

  "As if I expected anything else," Serwren said, with a smile for her husband that made Elthrinn ache and long for Gorren all the more.

  ~o0o~

  Dorll, Rehan, Serwren, and Jorrell had been cloistered in the throne room for some time. The longer that their discussions continued, the more that Elthrinn worried for Gorren's safety. She was wearing a groove in the floorboards, pacing backwards and forwards in front of the long, high table in the great room.

  Cael had ins
isted on her staying in the guest suite when Serwren and Jorrell had gone to take their case to the king, but when Dechard had announced that Lorch, Jorm, Delban, and Ornef had arrived, and were waiting downstairs, Elthrinn went to join them, and left Cael in charge of Ulli and Tallida.

  After what seemed to be as long a passing as the cycle of several moons, Dorll stalked into the room. Rehan, Serwren, and Jorrell followed behind him. Elthrinn was shocked to see a bruise developing its florid colours over one side of Rehan's face.

  The king halted several paces from Elthrinn, but still Gorren's friends, and the General, came to her side. The king looked her over, thoroughly. He did not smile.