Rose and Thorn: Black Rose Sorceress, Book 2

by Connie Suttle

  "When will that be? You said earlier that I needed her at my side to deal with Merrin."

  "Patience is a virtue, or so I've heard, dear Prince. No, that's not meant to goad you, or make you angrier than you are at this situation," Adahi held up a hand. "If I thought it appropriate and it wouldn't interfere with her own choices, I'd bring her to you now. Whether she returns tomorrow or takes longer than that, I cannot say."

  "Why can't I get mindspeak to her?" I wanted to shake Adahi and force him to answer my questions, but for now, he was the only link, tentative as it was, to perpetuating my belief that Sherra still lived.

  "Where she is, mindspeak is blocked from leaving the area. She must depart that haven to communicate with you in mindspeak."

  "Then what do you suggest?" I'd come to the point of letting this overwhelm me, and I knew it.

  "Sherra is a dreamwalker, and can contact you that way," Adahi said. "I suggest you get some sleep."

  * * *

  Central Outpost

  Merrin

  "No news is good news," I told Querl. "Our message is working. If they decide to ignore the first one, we'll just send another."

  He and I sat around the outpost commander's desk, sharing a bottle of whiskey he'd scrounged from somewhere.

  "I say we offer to trade a few live ones for mindspeakers," Querl hiccupped. "Young ones. You know how that will make their hearts bleed-to see young ones fried."

  "Something to consider-when we're less drunk," I pointed a finger at Querl and laughed.

  "We need to be drunker," he lifted the bottle with an unsteady hand and poured more whiskey in his glass. The fireblast that hit the outer walls shook the outpost so badly, Querl dropped the bottle. The shattering of glass and the screams of villagers reached my ears simultaneously.

  * * *

  King's Palace

  Kerok

  Thorn!

  Hunter's mental shout woke me from a dream, the clouds of which reminded me that I'd been calling Sherra's name.

  "What?" I said aloud, before the door to my bedchamber was thrust open and Hunter, closely followed by Barth, stumbled in.

  Kage, still fully dressed and wide-awake, stepped in behind them.

  "Garkus is missing, my Prince," Kage said. He'd wakened Hunter and Barth first, that was clear.

  "Where is he?" I slid off the bed and reached for the trousers I'd worn earlier.

  "I think he went to Central Outpost," Kage held out a written note.

  "Tell me," I snapped.

  "Garkus wrote that he's going to do what nobody else has the courage to do," Hunter breathed. "I think that means he's gone to attack Merrin, no matter what the consequences may be."

  "Fucking hell," I snarled and snatched my shirt off the chair. "Let me get my boots on, and we'll see what he's up to."

  "My Prince?" The night Captain of the guard now stood at my doorway.

  "Yes, Captain?" I wanted to shout, but that would do no good.

  "Two scouts recently arrived. They say Central Outpost is on fire."

  "Garkus," Hunter and Barth said in unison.

  "Let's go," I said, shoving boots on my feet without bothering to find socks. "We'll have to pull the fool away-if he's still alive. What's the status of the fire-is the entire outpost engulfed?" I barked at the Captain.

  "They said the initial fireblast was quite large, my Prince."

  "Let's go. I'm stepping out of here. Who's coming with me?"

  "I've sent mindspeak to Armon. He and some of the others will meet us there," Hunter said.

  "Stay here, Hunt," I dropped a hand on his shoulder. "You know why."

  "I'll stay here," he nodded. "By your command. Be safe, Prince Thorn."

  * * *

  Merrin

  Thorn thought to attack me at night, eh?

  That left the palace guarded by those who held no power.

  A perfect time to destroy it.

  "Come," I pulled Querl up by the shirt collar. I didn't give a damn that villagers were running out the gate-they'd survived the initial blast and were now running like stampeding cattle.

  "What are your orders?" Gram appeared in the office doorway, still dressed in sleep clothes.

  "Leave one warrior and his escort here-to fire back for a few minutes," I barked at him. "The rest of us are taking a trip to the palace-wouldn't you rather have it than Secondary Camp?"

  "Let's go," Plicton's mind was made up quickly.

  Outside, another blast hit the outpost, shaking the ground beneath the building.

  "I thought you'd see things my way," I grinned. "Tell the others to step you; Querl and I are going now."

  * * *

  Central Outpost

  Kerok

  "What the bloody, feces-covered hell do you think you're doing?" I shouted at Garkus, who'd just leveled another blast at what remained of the outpost's walls.

  "What you don't have the balls to do," Garkus turned toward me, grimacing as he forced another blast into the air.

  From where we stood, less than a quarter mile away, I could hear screaming. Garkus hadn't killed all of them, but not from a lack of trying.

  "Stop now, or I'll fry you where you stand," I shouted.

  "Try," Garkus laughed.

  My exchange had given Barth time to approach Garkus' unguarded side. When Barth gripped Garkus' shoulders from behind, the assassin's power died with his laugh.

  * * *

  King's Palace

  Hunter

  I sat in Thorn's study, waiting to hear an update.

  Garkus' power has been stilled, Thorn sent mindspeak. Armon and Weren are assessing the damage and calling for physicians to tend the wounded. More than half the hostages are either dead or dying, thanks to Garkus' attack.

  What about Merrin and his sycophants?

  Not here-ran like the cowards they are. I've sent Levi and a few others to Northeast Outpost to warn the messengers-Merrin probably went there the moment Garkus began firing blasts at him here. If you receive word of their whereabouts, notify me immediately.

  Suddenly, Thorn's study was filled with people.

  The first to arrive I recognized easily enough.

  They're here, I sent, as Merrin leveled a fireblast directly at me. The bloom of light and fire that came next informed me that I was about to die.

  Chapter 9

  King's Palace

  Hunter

  It was a dream-perhaps that's what happened as you died-that you dreamed of your salvation as your body was left behind on a burning floor somewhere.

  "They're gone," she said. "Your shield was a good one, Hunter. I only had to help a little."

  Sherra. Sherra's face floated over mine as I blinked up at her.

  "I can see through you," I croaked. "Am I dead? Are we ghosts?"

  "You're not a ghost." She smiled at me. "I'm not a ghost, even though you can see through me now."

  "How are you here?"

  "Come now, sit up-I can't lift you physically at the moment."

  "What did you do? Did you scare them away?" I grunted as I struggled to sit up on Thorn's decorative rug.

  It hadn't burned. Nearby, his desk stood, unscathed.

  "I sent power against them. If it made them afraid, then they deserved that and more," she said. "I must go-I'm dreaming this where I am."

  "But Thorn-he needs you. Desperately," I sighed.

  "I know. I will consider that. There are other things that need attention, Hunter. Terrible things. This is only the beginning. I have to go."

  She'd faded from my sight already when Barth and Thorn arrived to pull me to my feet.

  * * *

  Merrin

  "What in the name of the first warrior was that?" Plicton exploded. I'd taken us back to the shack near the border temporarily, to gather my thoughts and consider my next move.

  Plicton must have felt what I had inside Thorn's study-the feeling that thousands of claws were digging into my body, so painfully that I'd wanted to scr
eam.

  The bloom of light that came at that same moment had swallowed my fireblast as if it were a candle flame to be snuffed out.

  What had Thorn done to protect the palace against me? He'd discovered the pilfering of Drenn's room-and the treasury, no doubt. This bit of work-I'd never seen its like before.

  I wanted this ability for myself. Perhaps Thorn's Book could explain-I cursed long and loudly, then.

  Thorn's Book had been beneath my bed at Central Outpost, with the dagger and coronet. The book was likely ash, now, and the dagger and crown little more than twisted, melted metal.

  "What's wrong?" Querl asked.

  "Never mind," I snarled. "Let's go to Northeast Outpost. I want to know if it's still intact and in our possession."

  * * *

  Northeast Outpost

  Ruarke

  "Just leave them there," I waved a hand after pretending to shut off the small device. A warrior and his escort lay dead on the floor, with scorch marks all about them. I wanted Merrin to find them on his way to the commander's office. If he attempted to level a blast at me, I could easily thwart his efforts.

  My clerics surrounded me as I strode toward the office in question-and the desk and chair that surely waited.

  I wanted Merrin to know exactly where he stood in my presence. After all, he'd failed to protect one outpost already, from a single attacker.

  That attacker didn't have half the talent I held, or ties to Ny-nes' Sovereign Leader and his entire army.

  I also held something Merrin thought lost-and that, if nothing else, could prove to him that I was more than familiar with his tricks and could walk through them at will. While that wasn't particularly true now, I'm sure it would be in the future. All it had taken was the divination of a fire at Central Outpost and his expected, hasty exit.

  "Set the box down on the corner of the desk," I nodded at my cleric, who'd carried the small chest as if it contained deadly snakes. "Our quarry approaches. We will pretend to be allies, just as I've instructed. He won't know we mean him harm until we have exactly what we want-the complete destruction of Az-ca."

  * * *

  Sherra

  My head was still clouded with my dreams as I drank tea at the breakfast table. Something had interrupted one dream, which morphed quickly into another. Only now I recalled that I'd dreamed that Kerok was calling my name, which served to set up the second dream.

  A dream more terrifying than the first, if that were possible. In the first dream, I'd stood inside an unfamiliar outpost and watched as an enemy I hadn't known marched through it, followed by men dressed in black robes that hung to their ankles.

  My focus had been on a small chest that a black robe carried, when Kerok's mental anguish pulled me away-he'd been shouting my name for some reason, and he'd sounded desperately unhappy.

  My dream had transferred from the outpost to the King's palace quickly; only to find Hunter under attack from Merrin and several others. I recalled repelling them in the dream and then speaking to Hunter afterward, before Anari shifted on the bed nearby and woke me with a start.

  "We're taking the young ones to Prince Thorn tomorrow," Pottles announced as she walked into the kitchen. "I'm going with them, to make sure they're trained properly."

  "But," I sputtered.

  "It's what Kyri and Adahi want-they say it needs to happen," Pottles shrugged. There was something hidden beneath her words, but I didn't ask what that could be. "Want tea?" I asked, rising from my seat. "I'll get it, and fix breakfast for you."

  "Thank you," Pottles settled on a chair with a sigh. "I'm out of sorts this morning."

  "May I have tea?" Anari shuffled into the kitchen.

  "Of course. Take a seat, I'll get it," I waved toward an empty chair.

  "Central Outpost burned to the ground last night, and half of Merrin's hostages died in the fire," Kyri strode into the kitchen. "Things aren't looking good, Doret."

  "What happened?" Anari begged. "What about?" She didn't finish, although I was sure she wanted to know whether her parents survived.

  "Your parents are alive, according to Adahi. Sadly, neither Laren's nor Kyal's still live."

  "Oh, no," I moaned.

  "Should we postpone the journey?" Pottles asked.

  "No. Taking them to Thorn is still our best option."

  "What?" Anari sounded confused.

  "I am taking you to the Crown Prince," Pottles attempted to soothe Anari. "You belong there, and I will stay with you, to make sure you are trained as you should be. Mindspeak is a rare and valuable talent, young one. It's a talent which could aid the Prince in the coming days. To find three of you with the ability in the same village-that is extremely unusual."

  "Is he mean? The Crown Prince?"

  "Ask Sherra. She knows him better than anyone here."

  "He isn't mean-or scary. He will be overjoyed to see you," I told Anari. "You must tell him what you saw and heard while at the outpost-he'll need that information."

  Laren and Kyal walked into the kitchen then. Pottles and Kyri got them seated at the table, while I poured tea and set about making breakfast. I wondered how Kyri intended to tell them about their parents, until I saw that Anari had informed both in mindspeak.

  Kyal's gaze was downcast; Laren appeared to be stunned.

  They need help, I think, I informed Pottles. It was fortunate, perhaps, that Anari sat between both boys-I could see she was gripping their hands beneath the table.

  "Here, something warm," I set tea down for all three.

  "Loss is never easy, young ones," Pottles sighed. "We will do what we can to help you through this."

  * * *

  King's Palace

  Kerok

  "Garkus is still shouting in the lockup," Hunter appeared harried as he walked into my study. "The messengers report that they've seen movement at Northeast Outpost, so Merrin is likely there, now."

  "Stepped straight from here to there, most likely," I said. None of us had slept, which resulted in a weary early morning, during which decisions would have to be made. "Are you ready to tell me how you survived an attack from Merrin and Querl, now?"

  "I'm not sure I believe it myself," Hunter said. He was unwilling to tell this story; anyone could see that.

  "Tell me anyway. I need cheering up before discussing Garkus' fate."

  "Ah, well, I saw Sherra, only it wasn't really her," Hunter's voice wobbled. "I could see right through her image."

  I blinked at Hunter in confusion for several moments, before my exhausted mind recalled that I should bring Barth in to hear this story.

  Several more moments passed until Barth could reach us-he looked as tired as the rest of us did. "I asked for tea to be brought," Barth said before taking a seat. "What's this about seeing through Sherra? Did I hear that correctly?"

  Barth turned bloodshot eyes on me.

  "It's what Hunter said-that he saw her and saw through her."

  "She said she was asleep where she was," Hunter's second admission confused me more than the first one had.

  It took Barth a moment to digest the information. I could see after a few seconds of silence that he had a possible explanation. "Well?" I asked my Chief Diviner.

  "It's such an old story, I thought it was a myth," Barth shrugged.

  "I like stories." I recalled that the story about Kyri appeared to be true. Maybe this held truth-or the seeds of truth.

  "Dreamwalking," Barth said. "My teacher told me about it when I was first beginning to learn, years ago. He said a dreamwalker may have abilities the real person hasn't developed yet. I found that difficult to believe, my Prince. Then and now."

  "Did you get a better explanation than that?" Hunter grimaced at Barth. "I saw Sherra last night, but I saw right through her, even though she was talking and making sense. Merrin tried to blast me. I don't know why I didn't get burned to a crisp, and this room with me."

  "I really don't want to send mindspeak, but I figure Adahi could explain this," I said, c
overing my face with both hands.

  Why hadn't I seen Sherra? In my befuddled state of weariness, I felt slighted that she'd come to Hunter instead of me.

  Hunter's life was the one in danger, I reminded myself. Still, that realization made me feel no better. As tired and angry as I felt about the night's events, the worst of it was that I felt abandoned.

  Adahi was right about Garkus acting rashly-his words had been proven true in less than a day's passing.

  "Do you think Merrin's plan to attack here was impulsive-after Garkus attacked the outpost?" I asked, dropping my hands and gazing blearily at Barth.

  "I think it was precipitated by Garkus' actions, and doesn't surprise me that he imagined the entire army had been sent to attack him," Barth replied. "He expected you to be poorly-guarded as a result, and came here to capitalize on that supposition."

  "I can't say whether I'm glad I wasn't here, or that I should have been here so Hunter wouldn't have to face Merrin's attack by himself-without discounting the ah, unexpected help," I amended, when Hunter looked ready to burst with a rebuttal.

  "That still leaves us with the problem at Northeast Outpost," Barth intervened before Hunter and I began to argue.

  "How do we explain to the villagers who survived last night why half their number died in what they currently believe was a botched rescue attempt?" I pointed my argument at Barth instead. "Garkus was the King's Assassin-until he chose to go rogue. That means we're responsible, whether we knew of his plans or only learned of them after the damage was done."

  "Some Council members are pushing back and lodging protests," Hunter admitted reluctantly. "They believe we did this without thinking it through, and they're now concerned for dead villagers, whereas they weren't concerned about any of the live ones before."

  "Then convene the fucking Council," I snapped at Hunter. "We'll give them the truth, and see how it goes."

  "They'll still blame you, Thorn," Barth said. "They'll bring up Drenn, who will now attain abilities he never displayed while he lived. The dead will always make a better choice and do a better job, you know."

  "I wish Father were stronger," I sighed. "I'd ask for advice. This-is on us, regardless of whether we initiated it."

  "Then hold a public trial for Garkus, instead of shouldering all the blame yourself," Adahi walked into my suite.