Empire Awakening (Maledorian Chronicles Book 2)

by John Forrester

  “Your loyal miners worried about you,” Shells said, her voice seeped in sarcasm and contempt. “It seems you’ve taken the air out of the room. They’d be delighted if you went around and allowed them to kiss your toes.”

  “They’re not my miners.” Elendria gave her an irritated look. “I don’t remember what happened.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” Shells exclaimed, her eyes taunting.

  Devin shot her a warning look, clearly exasperated with the woman.

  “Well, I believe her,” Maggie said and glanced at Shells. “If Elendria says she doesn’t remember, then that’s good enough for me. She saved our lives, in case you’ve forgotten. Those miners were all riled up and ready to kill us all.”

  “Thank you, Maggie.” Elendria was amazed at the softening and correction in Maggie’s street accent. “Has Lysha been teaching you the proper way of speaking? It’s amazing what you’ve done in such a short time.”

  “She’s been a good pupil,” said Lysha, smiling at the girl.

  “We’re cooped up in here like chickens. Always raining and cold outside. Lysha started teaching me to pass the time. Of course, I don’t wanna be an idiot my whole life.”

  “The correct word phrasing is ‘want to be’ not ‘wanna be’.” Lysha adopted a scholarly tone.

  “Thank you. I will keep that in mind.” Maggie bowed to Lysha. “See? I’m getting better at it. Lysha’s been giving me lessons. I’ve also been learning to read, if you can believe it. And how to talk properly like.”

  “The word properly will suffice,” Lysha corrected, and Maggie nodded in return.

  “Properly, we’re learning how to talk properly.” The girl beamed at Lysha’s confirming look.

  Though she’d only been sleeping for a few days, Elendria was encouraged at Maggie’s transformation. Lysha was an excellent teacher, and Maggie seemed more poised and was attentive to Lysha’s instruction. During their passage to Damak, Maggie had appeared shocked and a bit uncomfortable out in the vast open spaces, far from her usual nest in the streets of Criswall. But here, under the guidance of Lysha, she looked like she was adapting well.

  “And Devin’s been showing me how to use knives. I’ve learned survival skills for when we’re out in the wilderness.” Maggie’s face flowered under Devin’s approving grunt. Elendria felt a flood of gratitude toward the woodsman for spending time with her.

  “What’s next? Teaching her to use a sword?” Elendria sent Devin a teasing grin.

  “Not possible. I doubt she could lift one. But a bow is another matter…” The man nodded thoughtfully.

  “But seriously, thank you both for helping her.” She gave an appreciative smile to Devin and Lysha and took another bite of the rice gruel.

  “Though she’s a skinny thing, she’s no slouch. I can say that much.” Devin gave Maggie a wink and helped himself to another sausage and more potatoes. “Extra helping hands on the journey ahead will prove useful. Now, she’ll have a solid grasp of the basics. I’ll continue teaching her more, of course, along the way.”

  “You’re planning to take us farther?” Lysha studied Devin with cautious eyes. “And do you even know where we’re going next?”

  Elendria felt worried, remembering the vision of the witch. She wondered if she should leave him as the witch advised and make their way alone up the mountains. But he’d proven himself loyal and helpful and had saved Lysha from those two miners.

  “Of course, I’m taking you. I was paid for a job, and I’m doing it.” He looked indignant as he studied Elendria. “As for where we are going, I’m not sure.” A flush of embarrassment crept across his face as if he was unused to not having answers. He leaned in across the table and lowered his voice. “I’ve been instructed to go north from Damak. But here’s the weird part. We’re supposed to encounter a persistent crow, then we’re to follow it wherever it goes.”

  “I don’t expect you to lead us. I already know the way.” Elendria’s words seemed to jolt Devin, and he gave her a stunned look. “I’ve seen the way in a vision and met the crows by the lake. Though I can lead us, I’d be pleased if you can help us make it safely through the woods, Devin.”

  Shells turned tense and indignant at this and glanced angrily at him as if hoping he’d reject her request.

  “Naturally I will. I’ve been your guide, and I’ll continue to do so. I’ll protect you and your friends.”

  “I doubt we’ll need protecting.” Elendria gave him an amused chuckle. “But I welcome your assistance and your experience traveling in such unfamiliar territory. It’s settled?”

  “You’d be better off riding with a second blade,” Shells said, and her face twisted into an unnatural look of concern. “The Great Barrier Mountains are a dangerous place.”

  “We’ll be fine—”

  Shells interrupted Elendria and stared at Devin with unyielding eyes. “I won’t take no for an answer. We can’t have them hurt or killed, now can we?”

  “I think I’ve proven myself capable of defending myself and my friends.” Elendria stopped at Shells raised eyebrow.

  “Against miners?” She gave an amused, dismissive scoff. “What about were-beasts, ghouls, behemoths, trolls, and giant spiders that’ll spin treacherous webs around you while you sleep? Not to mention the will-o-wisps that’ll mesmerize you and lead you to plunge off a cliff while you’re smiling in a dream.

  “How about the pixies that feed off a magician’s power? Those tricksters will promise to help and, all the while, bleed you dry until you’re nothing but an empty corpse. Then there are the boggarts lying in wait under the earth where you sleep. They’ll wrap their hideous arms around you, and you’ll wake, terrified, unable to move until you die from fright. Do you still believe you’re capable of protecting yourself up there?”

  Maggie looked paralyzed by fright.

  “Stop it. You’re scaring the girl half to death.” Lysha scowled at Shells. Elendria leaned over and rubbed the girl’s shoulders and told her not to listen to her.

  “She’s not incorrect; the mountains are dangerous. And two experienced blades are better than one.” Devin downed the rest of his drink and gave off a sigh of resolution. “Our journey has been tame so far compared to what lies ahead, especially considering I don’t know the way there, and until I do, my experience can’t guide us.”

  “According to what I’ve been told, we can reach our destination in a solid day’s ride.” At least, Elendria hoped the witch was telling the truth, and she prayed the weather would prove reliable enough to sustain their speed.

  “We’re not going anywhere today. I can say that much,” proclaimed Devin.

  “Mighty powerful storm bearing down on us soon.” Shells finished his thought, and Elendria was jealous at how aligned their thinking was. They indeed were a couple, and no matter how longingly Devin looked at her, she could tell he was in love with her. Elendria decided to put any ideas about him out of her mind. Besides, she still had hope that Prince Jondran would somehow survive the war and they could be reunited. Hopefully, she could see him again someday.

  An enormous explosion of lightning flashed outside. After several seconds, the booming rumble of thunder echoed across the mountain. Elendria could feel the vibration in her chest. It sounded like the stomping of giants’ feet.

  “Funny to hear fancy city-folk talking so confidently about traveling in the northlands.” Shells snorted, eyeing Elendria with disdain.

  “So, we’re stuck here for a while?” Maggie finished the last bite of sausage.

  Devin gave a gentle bobbing of his head and turned to Elendria. “You’d better go talk to those miners. Any longer and they’ll likely faint. What did you do to them? I can tell when someone’s been smitten—”

  “And it not’s likely because of your looks.” Shells curled her lips into a cruel grin.

  Elendria ignored the taunt and glanced at the miners. “I don’t know what I did, exactly.” But she knew they were hers to control and command,
as a master would to his most devout slaves. The kind of slaves indoctrinated since birth to obey their master, even if it meant a senseless death.

  Their minds were vulnerable and weak after she’d conquered them. Perhaps their state of weakness had opened a door for her to access and manipulate them. The question was, why did she want such a thing? The only answer she could find was to protect Lysha and Maggie. At least, that’s what she told herself.

  Devin looked at the miners. “We’ve had to keep those crazy men from waiting at your door.”

  “More than that. We had to promise to have you speak with them once you woke,” Lysha said. “They’ve been contrite and pleaded to give you an apology in person. You should talk to them.”

  “Then I won’t wait another minute.” Elendria clenched her jaw as she stepped over toward the nearest table stuffed with grim-faced miners.

  At her arrival, the men scrambled off the benches and prostrated themselves at her feet.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Elendria commanded the miners to rise, and like trained dogs, they obeyed with an uncanny swiftness. It was wrong, she told herself, for them to respond to her like that. Some returned to their seats, and some stood in stiff attention. No more were these men lazy, sloppy miners. They were neat and well-groomed, as if at any minute their master might return and ask for an accounting.

  “My friends mentioned you wanted to speak with me.” She kept her voice low and neutral.

  One of the older men cleared his throat and risked a glance at her eyes, as if making sure it was all right for him to speak. “We wanted to apologize for what we did to you and your friends. It was wrong, and we realize that now. And we wanted to thank you for saving our lives, though we deserved to die for what we did. We’re eternally in your debt. Only speak the word, and we’ll obey you. If you would have us punished, then speak the pronouncement of your judgment, and we’ll comply.”

  The other miners nodded in grave assent and lowered their eyes as if ashamed.

  The room grew still. Everyone was waiting for her to speak. She noticed the innkeeper, servants, and other villagers had turned sober and stopped what they were doing to listen.

  “I forgive you, for now, but you must stay vigilant. I heard every word you spoke against me while I was tied up like the vilest kind of criminal. I didn’t deserve that treatment.”

  “You are right. We were wrong for what we said. But Varl and Marts egged us on—”

  “Don’t make excuses for your actions.” Elendria scowled, remembering their horrible words. “How would you feel if someone said those things about you? What gives you the right, as men, to treat a woman like that? To think like that!”

  She’d shouted the last words, and the miners cringed.

  “We’re sorry. We’ll do anything to make amends—”

  Elendria cut them off again. “The less you say, the better. You’ve strayed from the path of righteousness, from the path that men ought to walk. But I can see in your eyes that you know what you’ve done is wrong.” When she had spoken, she’d imagined the high priest preaching to his flock in the grand cathedral of Criswall. Some force, some power possessed her, and instead of dismissing them and telling them to go home, she continued, her voice stronger now.

  “My command for you is to cease your war with the witches and make peace with them.”

  She paused and waited to hear grumbling and disapproval but found their faces unflinching and compliant. “What, you honestly don’t object? After all your resentment and anger toward them?”

  The entire group shook their heads in unison. This was wrong, so very wrong, and the hairs on her arm rose in warning. The innkeeper and the others in the room looked on in stunned amazement and fear. They felt the wrongness of it, too. Many eyes glared at her, and Elendria knew they thought she was a witch but were afraid to voice their suspicions.

  “Return to your houses and rooms and leave us to our peace. I’ll send word to you when I need you.”

  When I need you? Why had she said that? Elendria was stunned at herself for voicing the words. What was wrong with her? But there was no confusion, no hesitation, only immediate submission to her command. The miners strode toward the door and left the inn, caring little for the pouring rain outside.

  So, this was what it felt like to hold power over others. Despite her apprehension, she found the feeling not wholly unpleasant. Still, she questioned herself and was suspicious of her motives. A dizzying sensation of an old memory overpowered her. Had she felt or experienced this before? Or was this a memory of the future?

  When the last man had left the inn and closed the door, she heard several of the villagers whispering to each other, their faces filled with fear and suspicion. At her inspection of their conversation, they refused to meet her gaze. The innkeeper even looked away, his expression stony.

  She returned to her friends and discovered the talkative mood had fled the table. Even Shells glanced at her with cautious eyes and soon made some excuse and tromped upstairs. Devin followed her, and the once lively inn turned somber.

  The fire popped and crackled after a servant deposited more wood into the fireplace. The rain was steady, and the shooshing sound was soothing. It lulled Elendria’s mind into emptiness. The room untethered like an unwound cord. Maggie skulked over to the fire and warmed her hands. Only Lysha remained, and she stared at her as if she were a disease.

  “What in the name of the gods was that?” Lysha whispered.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You know what I’m saying. What did you do to them? They’re acting like slaves, not free men. You treated them like you owned them.”

  “It’s not like that. And don’t look at me that way. I’m not the enemy.” Elendria gave off a long, heavy sigh and returned to the memory of that night. “Hear me out. Something broke in my mind. After I cast the fire spell and saved them, something shattered inside. I pitied them, and maybe that’s what I did wrong. Maybe I should’ve left them there to die. My mercy was cruelty.”

  “You wanted to save them, so you could control them?” Lysha’s voice was harsh and disbelieving. “Do you realize how twisted that is? You make me feel like I don’t even know you.”

  “It’s not like that. Can you stop being so cruel?”

  “Oh? Then what is it? Because it looks like that to me.”

  “You weren’t there when they threatened to rape me—and you as well, after they’d snatched you. You never knew that, did you?” Elendria let out a sharp exhalation. “I was angry, Lysha, furious at them for what they wanted to do to us. All I can guess is my emotions got the best of me, and I snapped. I wanted to force them not to hurt us, to force them to listen, to make sure they could never hurt me again. I did it to protect us from those monsters. You weren’t there. You didn’t hear the things they said.”

  “But why did you do it again? You lost control of your magic. You’re not the judge and executioner. If I displease you or make you angry, are you going to murder me? Is that how it works?”

  “No, no, you’re getting it all wrong,” Elendria whispered, and her head drooped. She shoved her face into her hands, wishing she could cry. How strange it all was… She felt no remorse or sorrow for what she’d done. She questioned herself for why she felt that way, knowing it wasn’t right to want to enslave or dominate others. But for some reason, she didn’t feel bad for her actions—she’d done it to protect, though she did regret losing control with Prince Silvren.

  “Then how is it? Tell me. I want to know. You ordered them about like they were slaves, and the worst part of it was they obeyed you.”

  “I couldn’t release them if I tried. I guess in my delirium I wanted to hurt them, but I refused to allow them to die. Isn’t that a noble thing to allow them to live?” Her voice was so soft that Lysha had to lean in to hear her, but still, she glanced over at the other people to see if they were trying to listen.

  Somehow, she had entirely taken possession of those me
n’s minds in their moment of vulnerability and fear. She obliterated their willpower and chained her will to dominate theirs. She was so furious she wanted to crush them and punish them in the worst possible way she could imagine. Of course, she wouldn’t tell Lysha any of this; she couldn’t bear to see her hating her again.

  “Yes, I suppose it was.” Lysha’s voice softened a bit.

  “And I was afraid, Lysha, so afraid. You were screaming inside the inn, and there were all those men outside, dangerous men who were trying to kill Devin and would’ve hurt us. I couldn’t bear the thought of killing them, so I did the only thing that came to me. Control their minds to keep them from doing anything bad against us. But I think I went too far.”

  “That’s an understatement. I’ve never seen anything like it,” she whispered. “They’re so utterly devoted to you. I think you could probably tell them to go drown themselves in the lake, and they’d surely do it.”

  “Now that’s a truly awful thing to say.” Elendria shook her head, and Lysha let out a small, relieved laugh. “Who knows, maybe something good will come of it. Those miners were fighting with the witches, and now there will be peace. I’ll ask the miners to work the mines and we’ll arrange some sort of an arrangement with the witches.”

  “Why do you think the witches will listen to you?”

  “I know they will. It’s a matter of fact. I can feel it in my bones.”

  The next day, the rain stopped and turned into a cold mist. Devin proclaimed it the right time for them to depart. Elendria told the miners they would be coming with them and explained they’d return to working the mines. The idea seemed to fill them with pleasure, and she doubted it was solely due to her control over them. They were miners, after all, and the idea of mining once again seemed to fill them with happiness.

  Lysha insisted that Tal join them, though Elendria felt a twinge of jealousy each time she saw them laughing and chatting with each other. It brought back thoughts of her time spent with Prince Jondran. She missed him and wondered if he was safe. When she closed her eyes and stretched out her mind, a feeling deep inside told her he was safe, though struggling with many difficulties.