Heir of Illaria: Book One of the Illaria Series

by Dyan Chick

  She grabbed my arm and pulled me up. “Wilona, I'll explain everything soon, I promise. But right now, you need to come with me. Your grandmother would understand.”

  I heard horses approaching. Her eyes widened and the color drained from her face. “Now.” It was a command.

  I nodded and followed her out the front door.

  “Mount the horse!” She told me pointing to one of two waiting horses. “Stay with me. We have to go fast. Now.”

  I allowed myself one backwards glance at my home. I had a feeling this would be the last time I would ever see it.

  2

  I chased Saffron down the road through the village, away from the woods. As we passed the last few farms in the outskirts, I realized I was about to travel further away from home than I had ever been before.

  Darkness swallowed us as the last remnants of civilization vanished. We were left with only the stars and the full moon. I looked up at it, thankful for the extra light.

  “We’ve got to move faster!” Saffron shouted as she picked up her pace. She didn’t wait for my response, increasing her speed immediately.

  Despite the fact that I had taken lessons at my grandmother’s insistence, I was still fairly inexperienced at horseback riding. Panting, I struggled to hang on to my horse. My legs gripped the sides in a desperate attempt to keep my balance.

  We were on a well traveled dirt road. I had no idea where we were headed. Anger rose inside me as I realized my grandmother had been keeping things from me all these years. Guilt quickly replaced the anger. My grandmother was dead. I’d never get to talk to her again. She’d never correct my embroidery or help me make a pie. My heart sunk and my breath came out shallow and rapid. She can’t be gone. Tears stung my eyes and my throat felt like it was swelling shut. This has to be a dream. This can’t be happening. The gap had widened between my horse and Saffron’s. Blinking the tears away, I pushed my horse harder to keep up.

  The faster pace helped clear my head. I focused on the cold wind on my face and the way the moonlight cast glowing pools on the road around us. A howl in the distance reminded me that we weren’t the only ones awake at this time of night. I shivered and glanced behind me. All I saw was the dust from the dry roads rising in clouds as my horse’s hoofs hit the dirt.

  After several hours of riding, Saffron slowed her horse down and mine followed her lead. She dropped back to ride next to me. “We need to rest the horses and get them some water.” She led us to a stream and we dismounted.

  I didn’t want to rest, I wanted to go home. My grandmother’s lifeless body appeared in my mind. I winced and pushed the vision away. Grandmother was home and now she’s gone. I don’t have a home anymore.

  I rubbed my eyes and dropped my hands to my side, letting numbness flow through me. It would be better to feel nothing than feel everything. Defeated, I sunk to the ground and pulled my knees to my chest.

  “We’ll be at a safe house in a couple of hours. I don’t want to risk stopping to make camp.” Saffron said. She brushed her hair off of her face and I caught sight of the leather bracelet.

  I’d forgotten about that. Something inside me ignited, a flicker of hope. “Your bracelet. It has the same symbol as my pendant.”

  She turned her bracelet so the symbol was on the inside of her wrist, hidden from me. “It’s how we find each other. Those of us who have been protecting you.”

  “People are protecting me? That doesn’t make any sense. I don’t understand why the King’s Guard tried to kill me. Please, I need to know what’s going on.” My hands were shaking and I clenched them into fists.

  Saffron sighed. “It’s a long story and I don’t want to get into all of it here. I promise I’ll tell you everything soon.”

  “Can’t you just give me something?” I lifted the pendant out in front of me. “All I have left in the world is this stupid pendant.”

  “Keep that hidden for now. It’ll all make sense before long.” Saffron pulled the pendant from my fingers and tucked it under my bodice.

  “I’m really sorry about your grandmother, she was an amazing woman,” Saffron handed me the reigns to my horse. “She was willing to give up her own life to keep you safe and I intend to honor her sacrifice.”

  I opened my mouth to say something then closed it, unsure of how to respond. The sadness I was struggling to bury was bubbling to the surface again. I bit down on my lip. No more tears. Not now.

  “Time to go.” Saffron interlaced her fingers for me to use as a step.

  As she mounted her horse, I checked to make sure the pendant was under my bodice. That remaining piece of my family felt heavy around my neck. It was all I had left. I was alone. When my parents had died, I'd become an orphan but I had never really felt like one until today.

  I’d been too young to cry for my parents when they died. I didn’t even have any memories of them. My grandmother had made me feel like I belonged, we were a family, just the two of us. She kept me from feeling sorry for myself. Without her, the full weight of the loss of my parents was suffocating. My chest felt heavy and breathing felt like it took too much effort. As our horses picked up the pace on the road, slow tears streamed down my cheeks. I let them fall, mourning the loss of my family for the first time.

  We entered a large town as the sun was rising above the horizon. The whole world was cast in a warm glow. I visited the village frequently with grandmother, but had never traveled beyond the farmlands that bordered it. This town was at least five times larger than the village I was used to.

  The streets were packed with carts, carriages, and other riders, forcing us to ride single file. I saw children running around in front of the shops and people hurrying by carrying purchases. The constant noise and distractions made it difficult to focus on the road ahead of me. I wanted to stop and look at everything.

  We reached a wide open square. It looked like a nice place for people to gather but it was eerily empty. The hoof steps of our horses echoed through the uninhabited space. I shivered. Where were all the people?

  My blood went cold. On the other side of the square was the longest gallows I had ever seen. From them, there were eight bodies dangling in the air. Two of them were small enough to be children. My mouth dropped open in shock. I pulled up on the reigns, making my horse stop. My eyes widened, I couldn’t look away.

  Saffron brought me back to reality. “Let’s go.”

  My trembling hands tightened their grip on the reins. I shook my head and closed my eyes, trying to clear the image from my mind. Taking a deep breath, I followed Saffron. “Why are those people there? What did they do?” I asked.

  “The King’s Guard doesn’t need reason. They just enjoy killing. Most of the people in the larger towns live in a constant state of fear.” She said.

  My jaw clenched. This shouldn’t be happening. “Why doesn’t anybody do anything?”

  Saffron glanced at me, the ghost of a smile on her mouth, then turned away.

  I had grown up hearing stories about how dangerous the king was, how powerful his necromancy was. People lived in fear of being killed only to be brought back as members of his undead army. In Illaria, there was a fate worse than death.

  The King’s Guard had been a rare sight in my tiny village. They usually just passed through on their way to the coast or the larger towns to the west. The one hanging I had seen was of a criminal who had been convicted of murder. At least that was what my grandmother told me he was hung for. Now, I wasn’t sure if that was true. It didn’t matter. I was seeing the truth now, the things she had sheltered me from and they made me more angry than afraid. Wasn’t there anybody who had the power to stop this?

  We picked up the pace to get through the square more quickly. I held on to the heat that was seeping through me. Feeling angry was better than feeling sad.

  We were approaching the edge of town and I thought we would keep going, but Saffron turned down an alleyway and dismounted. A man was standing there waiting for us.

  I
dismounted my mare and Saffron put her hand up for me to stay where I was. I stood there, stroking the nose of my horse. Saffron and the man spoke in hushed tones. She handed him a small coin bag and they shook hands.

  “He’s going to take the horses from here,” she said.

  I followed her on foot through the twists and turns of the alleys. The town was even larger than I originally thought. We reached a small, plain looking building with a green door and a bronze knocker. The knocker had a circle engraved on it with small triangle that intersected the top line. It had the same shape as the Ouroboros. I traced my finger over it and leaned in to look at it more closely. This isn’t a coincidence.

  Saffron looked at me. One corner of her mouth was raised in a smile. “Most of us use this simplified Ouroboros so it just looks like a design. The symbol you wear is illegal.”

  Instinctively, I reached down to make sure my pendant was tucked under my bodice. My head ached. More unanswered questions.

  I threw my hands up in the air. “I suppose I have to wait on the explanation for that, too?”

  “In time, you’ll understand everything.” She lifted the knocker and pounded it against the door three times. Then she paused and did it again. Just like the bells in my village. After the fourth succession of knocks, the door swung open.

  “Follow me,” she said as she went through the open door.

  The building had no windows and was lit with only a few scattered candles. It took my eyes a few moments to adjust to the dim light. Every wall was covered in a tapestry. As I walked, my feet sunk into plush rugs. We were standing inside of a grand foyer. I would have never guessed that the unassuming building was holding such luxury.

  The door shut behind me and I turned at the sound. A thin woman in a silk gown was staring at me. The fabric looked a little worn, like it was an older dress, but the construction was exquisite. I had only seen gowns like this once, when my grandmother was asked to repair the dress of a noblewoman who stopped for a night in our village.

  “Welcome to my home.” She dropped into an exaggerated curtsy. Her voice was feminine but had a rough edge to it. Like she had gravel in her throat. She wore her dark hair piled on top of her head in elaborate curls. Her brown eyes watched every movement I made.

  I wasn’t sure how to respond to such a greeting. I gave a half bow.

  She smiled at me. “We’ll work on that.” With a flourish of silk, she walked past us. “Come, come ladies. We have much to do.”

  Saffron was still wearing her half smile. She swept an open hand in the direction that the woman had just walked. “After you.”

  I hesitated for a moment and then followed her. We walked through a sitting room complete with ornately carved wooden chairs, and a piano. Then she took us up a narrow stone staircase to a second floor. The woman waited in the hallway for me.

  “I have a bath filled for you, my lady,” she said. “There is also a change of clothes for you.” She opened the door to a small room containing a tub, bed, and a small dressing table.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  She nodded at me. “We’ll talk more when you are recovered from your journey.”

  I entered the room and the door shut behind me. Looking into the water, I wondered if there was any way to wash away the events of the last day. I peeled off my dress and a cloud of dust filled the air. The crumbled dress on the floor reminded me of my grandmother’s body on the ground. I kicked the dress away and covered my face in my hands. Turning my back on it, I ran my hands through my tangled hair. This had been the worst day of my entire life.

  Shaking my head, I looked down at the pendant hanging around my neck. I traced my fingers over the symbol as if I’d find an answer etched in it. The serpent was as familiar to me as my own skin. I’d studied it so often as a child. It always seemed so futile to me. Eating its own tail. I felt like I understood what it was feeling today. The further I had come in this day, the more unanswered questions I had. As if I were creating my own problems, just like the snake.

  I stepped into the warm water and sunk all the way under. It was quiet under the water, peaceful. As my lungs started to cry out for air, the lifeless bodies from the gallows penetrated my thoughts. I pushed myself up to the surface, splashing water everywhere, gasping for breath.

  Hoping to clear the visions of death from my mind, I looked around for distractions. The room was well appointed, with a large bed and thick carpets. There were no windows. The door was the only way in or out. Goosebumps formed on my arms. I was alone but I didn’t feel safe. I wondered if I’d ever feel safe again.

  After this bath, I was going to find out what was really going on. My stomach filled with butterflies. Quickly, I scrubbed off as much of the dirt as I could. It was time to start getting some answers.

  The gown that was left out for me was nicer than anything I had ever owned. I put it on carefully, not wanting to damage the stitching or snag any of the little beads that were sewn on. It was heavy and uncomfortable. I glanced longingly at the simple dress I left on the ground, then shuddered as I recalled the vision of my grandmother. She had made me that dress, but I wasn’t sure I could wear it again.

  When I reached the sitting room I found the woman waiting for me. Saffron wasn’t there.

  “Have a seat,” she said with a slight curtsy.

  I wrinkled my brow, studying her. When she didn’t move or say anything else I resigned myself to having a seat in one of the ornate chairs. The cushions were decorated in fraying embroidery. At one point, these chairs would have been exceptional works of art. The frayed cushions deterred from the ornate wood, making them look less impressive up close.

  I spent a lot of time embroidering designs for my grandmother's seamstress business. I wasn’t as good as the craftsman you could find in larger cities, but my work was always praised by the people in our village. I thought back to a time I embroidered the Ouroboros on a scrap piece of fabric. I thought my grandmother would be impressed. Instead, she threw the scrap in the fire and told me never to let anybody see the symbol. Now I knew what I created was illegal. I wondered about Saffron’s bracelet. Were there others out there wearing the Ouroboros?

  The woman sat on a chair across from me and smiled at me.

  I smiled back and adjusted my position in the chair. I arranged my hands on my lap, and then moved them to the armrests and back again. I cleared my throat as quietly as I could in the thick silence.

  She scooted to the front of her chair and set her clasped hands on her lap. Her posture was perfect. “I know you’ve been through a lot the last few days.” Her smile was warm, genuine.

  I nodded. My eyes darted to the stairs hoping to see Saffron. She had been the only constant thing in my life since my near death experience.

  “She’ll be down in a moment,” she said, her eyes darting toward the stairs. She looked back at me. “I’m afraid I have been very rude. I never introduced myself. I’m Lady Genevieve. This is my home.” She made a sweeping gesture with her arm.

  “I’m Wilona. Thank you for having me in your home,” I said. “And thank you for the bath and the clothes.”

  She smiled. “It’s the least I can do.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. It took every ounce of my focus to keep from looking to the stairs again. This woman had allowed me into her home and shown me nothing but kindness. I didn’t want to be rude to her. She fidgeted in her chair.

  “Maybe you’d like something to eat while we wait?” Genevieve said.

  I wasn’t feeling hungry, but I thought back to the last time I ate. Bread.

  “If it’s not too much trouble.”

  She stood and gave me another of her curtsies before leaving the room.

  I sank back into the chair and worked my fingers through my wet hair, trying to untangle the dark curls. My eyelids were growing heavy. I stood up and started to wander around the room, worried that sitting too long would result in me falling asleep.

  Directly across from me was
a massive tapestry. It showed a battle between two large armies. Up close, the details were stunning. I could make out the facial expressions on some of the key figures and saw the blood from the wounded soldiers. At first, I was too interested in examining the quality of the work to notice the narrative. Then the symbol blinded me. One of the armies wore the symbol I did around my neck as it’s crest. The other army had the symbol of the king. I gasped and walked backward to the chair I had been occupying only moments before.

  I sat down, face flushed, hands cold. I had to look down to keep from staring at the bloody battle in front of me. I studied my hands and concentrated on slowing my breathing. Once I felt like I had regained control of myself, I pulled the necklace out from under my bodice. I looked at the symbol on my necklace and then back at the symbols covering the tapestry. The Ouroboros engraved on the charm seemed to glow. It was the same symbol. I dropped it as if it had burned me. Why am I wearing a royal crest around my neck?

  Anything related to the previous king was considered treason. That’s why this symbol was illegal. I could be hung for wearing this.

  “Wilona?”

  I jumped at the sound of my name. Saffron is back.

  3

  I was pacing the room when Saffron entered. She had removed her armor and wore fresh clothes. She looked around the room. “Where’s Genevieve?”

  I shrugged. “She said she was getting food.”

  “She’ll be back soon, then.” Saffron walked to a plush armchair and sat down. For a split second, a tired look crossed her face, then she recovered and looked at me with sharp, focused eyes. “We have a lot to talk about and you have a lot of questions.”