Sons of Plague: Tales of Kartha Book One

by Kade Derricks

  I’ve got to rest a bit before I change it again. Then I’ve got to get out of the city and find Cagle.

  The gates would be guarded; those on this side of the Line, anyway. She doubted they would bother with those in the Grind. If she could get across the Line, then she could slip out easy enough. All she needed was to impersonate one of the guards and steal a set of armor.

  She forced her face to change and carried her bag into the common room. The innkeeper was deep in conversation with the blacksmith. Other men were gathered at the bar. Excepting Jorle, it seemed the usual crowd had congregated early in light of the day’s events.

  “I heard their chief is the devil himself,” the blacksmith said.

  “Bah, how can you know anything about them?”

  “I’ve seen their banners with my own eyes,” the smith said. “They aren’t from around here, and this morning, a pair of men from the army returned. They said the invaders wiped out the foragers, all but a few dregs. They were out scouting, but they saw the whole thing. The enemy chief fought on the front lines himself. They say he cut through men like a knife through warm butter. His sword was fire and sparks and his eyes shone white like lightning. The devil himself, they said. Moved like a striking snake. Spear or sword, no weapon could touch him.”

  “Sounds like a load. The scouts told you all this?” the innkeeper asked.

  “I was there at the gatehouse working on a new set of hinges when they rode in. They told their story, and then a brace of soldiers showed up from the Citadel. They took the scouts back with them, but there were several of us standing around. Word has already spread all over the city,” the blacksmith said.

  “Spread by fools like you,” the innkeeper said with a grimace. He wiped a cloth over the bar’s smooth top.

  “I heard they are going to send the Shade after him.”

  “What?”

  “The Shade, fool! I heard they are planning on using it to kill the enemy general.”

  “If it can,” another of the regulars snorted. “It’s come up empty on Tarn’s killer the last two nights. Maybe the Shade isn’t so reliable anymore. Maybe the prisoners they’re feeding it aren’t enough to get its black blood flowing.”

  The Shade. They’re sending it after Cagle. I have to warn him. He won’t know to have candles out for protection, and with three days of sacrifice now, it’ll be stronger than ever.

  The innkeeper spotted Olinia then and made his way over.

  “What can I help you with, miss?”

  “I’m afraid I need to cancel the rest of my stay.”

  “Oh? I’m sorry to hear that,” he said.

  “My sister has a room ready for me at her house. She needs me to move in and help with her sick husband.”

  “Of course,” he said with a nod. He reached into a drawer and withdrew a bound register. “You paid in advance, miss, so I owe you.” He took out a pencil to scratch a few marks. “Three coppers.”

  Olinia took the coins and dropped them into her purse with a clink. She slung her belongings over her shoulder and set out. The pack was light now with the skins gone.

  One the way south, an idea hit her. Meagera and her mages are with Cagle. The spellcaster will know what to do about the Shade, surely.

  She made for the Line without slowing. The same place she’d crossed earlier. If she could find them in time, she aimed to take Melios and the others with her. If not, she’d have to search for them after her brother took the city.

  Finding the barrier of shattered stubble, she made sure no one was watching—the guards thinned out in the daytime—and climbed near the top. The spikes made the Line impassible, but she slung her pack over. It landed and rolled beneath a broken section of wall close to the bottom.

  She scrambled down and started for the gate.

  The guards stopped her at the Line. She was crossing at the same gatehouse where she’d met Tarn what seemed like a lifetime ago. This time, the commander was an older man, serious and stern. “What is your business in the Grind?” he asked, eying her with suspicion. Olinia sped her breathing and screwed up her features with what she hoped passed for intense worry.

  “My brother was playing near the Line, sir, two streets over. He slipped and fell off the wreckage and ended up in one of the old abandoned buildings. He’s hurt, and I just need to slip out and get him,” Olinia said. She’d worked up a decent set of tears by then, and she wiped at them frantically.

  The soldier’s face softened. “Miss, I’m afraid your brother’s gone now. The gangs will have taken him. They watch the Line like wolves. No one goes into the Grind or falls over and escapes them.”

  “Please, sir, I was supposed to be watching him, only I was talking to my friend Nissa about all the excitement today. When I turned back to him he was on the Line, and when I ran for him...” Olinia broke down sobbing. “That’s when he fell. I have to get him back before mother gets home. Father went out with the army to forage weeks ago and he hasn’t returned. Please, Commander…?”

  “Sygen,” he said, expression softening further. Saying her father was with the army likely did the trick. Soldiers were always worrying about each other’s families. He seemed an honest man, this Sygen, not like Tarn, and she wasn’t proud to be manipulating him, but she had her duty to look to.

  “Miss, I’m sorry, but if you go through, the gangs will get you, too. Then your mother will miss you, too. I can’t send any soldiers out to help you.”

  “I know that, sir.” Olinia stopped the tears. She flashed her dagger and straightened her shoulders. “I have this. My father showed me how to use it. Please let me through. If you don’t...I...I can’t go home without Melios. I’ll have to find another way to get him back.”

  “Likely you’ll fall and break your neck trying to get through the spikes.” Sygen paused. “How far up did you say he was?”

  “Two streets that way,” Olinia pointed.

  He looked at a pair of soldiers lounging on their spears. “You two. You will go with the young miss here and help her retrieve her brother.”

  “Into the Grind?” the older of the two asked.

  “Yes. You’ll escort her two streets down and return with her and her brother. Two streets.” The sternness was back in his voice, and he held up two fingers. “You will go no further into the Grind. And you will return with her. Is that clear?”

  “Yessir,” the second man said. This one was young, with thin brown stubble on his chin.

  “Thank you, sir. Thank you,” Olinia said, wringing the commander’s hand.

  “Of course, miss. Be quick, though. You don’t want to be over there after dark.” The commander cupped his hands around his mouth and turned to the gateman. “Open her up!” he called.

  The wooden gate crept open with a groan, and Olinia, followed by the two soldiers, went through. Once the gate was out of sight, she paused.

  “I’m sorry, sirs, I need to find a place to relieve myself.”

  “Miss, this really isn’t the best time.” The younger man eyed their surroundings warily. “Any of these buildings might hold unsavory types looking to take advantage.”

  “There’s a place just there,” Olinia said, pointing to a stairwell near the corner of an old butcher shop. “I’ll be within earshot the whole time. I trust you two have enough honor not to watch.”

  “Of course.” The younger man reddened.

  The older soldier leered at her. “On our honor,” he grinned.

  Olinia took off for the stairwell at a fast trot. She paused long enough for them both to turn around, then ran around the building’s corner. A shadowed alley ran behind several other buildings, and she sprinted down it and then turned left. Her gear should be just another street down.

  Once she had it in hand, she could find the children’s litt
le hideout. Olinia glanced toward the sun as she ran. Less than an hour past midday. After her busy morning, she could have sworn it was later. She still had time to retrieve her pack, collect the children, and get them to the safety of her brother’s army. She still had time to warn Cagle. With her warning and Meagera’s help, they would find a way to beat the Shade. They must.

  All she had to do now was run.

  CHAPTER 14

  Ill Tidings

  Pack recovered and lungs aflame, Olinia dashed through the abandoned and broken buildings. She knew there were people hiding in many of the boarded-up homes and shops, but other than a few ragged street peddlers—spies for the gangs, no doubt—she saw no one. It seemed the bands that ran the Grind were nocturnal by nature, preferring to hunt after dark when their prey huddled in their shelters, praying to survive just another night.

  Olinia lengthened her stride. I have to get out of here and to Cagle. I’m running out of time.

  The Grind looked different in the daylight; she had trouble getting her bearings at first. None of this looked familiar. After a half-hour of running and searching, she found the avenue where she and Melios had met. She followed the twisting path he’d led her down until she recognized the sad estate with its vine-covered statues and toppled fountains. There was a place the iron fence had fallen in; she didn’t remember seeing it last time. Then she was at the hidden basement door. She altered her face to match the one she’d used when she’d met the children. She’d recovered somewhat from her earlier exertions and the splitting headache was down to a dull throb. Lightly, she rapped on the door.

  “Melios? Melios, come on. It’s Olinia, and we’ve got to go.”

  The door opened a finger’s width under her knuckles, and Olinia forced her way in. “Children, grab your things. I have to get you out of the city now. My brother is out there waiting for us.”

  Agare sat in the back corner, knobby knees drawn up to her chest, alone and rocking back and forth, sobbing. Her clothing was even worse than before, tattered and stained with what looked like blood.

  “What’s wrong, Agare? Where are the others?” Olinia’s eyes adjusted to the dark. The basement was a wreck. Trash and ashes littered the floor. The children’s few precious belongings were broken, strewn all about.

  Of Melios and the other boys, there was no sign.

  “Agare, where are they?” She took the girl by the shoulders and held her firm.

  “Gone,” she mumbled. Her eyes slowly met Olinia’s. “Bad men came and took them.”

  “One of the gangs? Where? My brother can help us if you know where. He has many men.”

  “Not a gang. Soldiers. They came through the Line, searching. They broke through the fence and took my brothers. Melios tried to get them back. He tried using your sword, but they took him, too. I overheard them. The soldiers said they were taking them to the Citadel. Something about a courtyard and a ritual. A man in white robes was with them. He led the soldiers right to us. He knew things. Somehow, he could…sense us.” Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks and her voice cracked.

  “He said the tribute needed to be stronger. That’s why it failed. He said it needed to be fed like it was in the old days. I only escaped because I saw them break down the fence and I hid down in the well.”

  The Shade. Jorle said they’d once used children to summon it. I have to reach Cagle and stop this tonight, before those devils kill the children.

  This was her fault. All of it. If she had scouted the city better she would have known to use the northern gates, but she’d been careless. Then she’d killed Tarn to get across the Line and set this whole chain of events in motion. Now she would have to look this orphan girl in the face knowing she’d caused the death of Melios, Agare’s brothers, and possibly Cagle, as well.

  I have to stop this. Somehow, I have to save them. First, though, she had to get Agare to safety.

  “Agare, come with me. I’ll take you to my brother. He’ll help us get Melios and your brothers back.”

  The girl nodded. Her eyes were lost and empty. Olinia started to tell her to gather her things and then stopped. There was nothing left for them here, and possessions would only slow them down.

  Taking the girl in hand, Olinia started out of the basement, back through the place where the soldiers must have smashed their way in, heading for the outer wall.

  “Agare, is there another gate near here, someplace we can get outside the city?”

  The girl nodded, then pointed to a street leading west.

  “Good.” Olinia squeezed her hand and smiled down at her. “Now I need you to run, Agare. Run as you never have before. We need to get to my brother, and then he can help us save the others.”

  Olinia let the girl lead the way. Despite her condition, Agare set a good pace, and she took the occasional shortcut between buildings. Once, they went along a rutted trail through what had been a little park. A few of the street vendors marked their passing—eager, no doubt, to report to their masters the details of a pair of women traveling alone.

  It took them a half an hour to reach the outer wall and ten more minutes to follow it south to a gate. A pair of shoddy-looking soldiers in dented armor spotted them.

  Olinia grabbed Agare’s hand and slowed the girl long before they reached them. Agare shuddered when she saw them. “Stay behind me and out of the way. I won’t let them have you,” Olinia whispered between breaths.

  They walked up to the gate, Olinia heading directly for the nearest soldier. He had a wicked mace slung over his shoulder and a wide grin on his pockmarked face.

  “Well now, miss,” he said. “What’s the big hurry?”

  “Just going out for a little sight-seeing. I heard there’s an army out there,” Olinia said.

  “Don’t you worry about them none. We’ll keep them out, won’t we, Judd?” he said over his shoulder.

  “Sure will,” his partner, Judd, said. “Maybe you girls would like to come up to our tower and see them better from here. They got giants and miniature monsters and all. It’s right cozy up there. We’ll keep you company.”

  “Yeah, we’ll show the both of you a good time,” the first one said. He was close now, and he reached for Olinia’s face. “Why, I haven’t touched a woman since—”

  “That sounds just fine,” Olinia interrupted. She took a quick step, ducked beneath his outstretched hand, and drove her dagger up to the hilt into his smiling chin.

  Blood sprayed in a gruesome fountain as she withdrew the blade, and Judd cursed. He was ten feet in front of her, a distance she covered in a few quick strides. He drew his sword, but she was too close and he was far too slow. Her dagger plunged into the side of his neck. She wrenched it, tearing the blade free.

  “Come on!” she called to Agare. Ignoring the still-thrashing bodies, the girl came on quick, and together they ran through the open gate.

  Olinia saw her brother’s army at once. He’d camped along a line of hills about a mile from the wall. She recognized his tent near the center.

  Running hard, she held a hand to her forehead and judged the time. Precious few hours of daylight remained. If they were to save Melios and Agare’s brothers, they had to breach Washougle’s walls before nightfall. Before the next summoning.

  I hope baby brother and his army are ready for battle. If not, they’ll just have to be ready all the same.

  One of the guards outside Cagle’s tent coughed twice, paused, and then lifted the flap. “General, there’s someone heading up here from the city.”

  “Who?” Cagle asked. He and Sansaba had spent the morning discussing one of the maps they’d found in Crow’s Bay. She’d been over much of the land and knew both distances and landmarks along the way. In the coming days, her firsthand knowledge could prove invaluable.

  “Two women, one a young girl, the othe
r a little older.”

  Leaving Sansaba alone, Cagle stepped out of his tent. She’d kept close to him for the last few days. Last night, as soon as his tent was up, she’d visited him to explain the nuances of trading among Iridia’s cities. Some were good for wheat or dye or wine, others, like Crow’s Bay, had the best prices for fish oil and roofing tar. Washougle was known for wool and mutton, cheese and milk, though the market wasn’t what it had been. He could see why. They’d passed only abandoned farms on the way here. Only the valley out beyond the city looked like it still had some good places to grow crops and raise livestock.

  He saw the pair and recognized the older girl almost at once. It was one of Olinia’s usual faces.

  Why is she out in the open, though, and who is the girl?

  They were supposed to meet up at night, when Olinia could slip into camp and keep her presence hidden. Something must have caused her to risk exposing herself.

  “Do not harm them. Have the older one brought to my tent,” Cagle said. He went back inside. Sansaba lay as he’d left her, leaning back on a pair of stuffed cushions, eating grapes and fanning herself. “We’ll have to finish our discussion later,” he said.

  “Of course,” she said with a languid nod. She set her wineglass aside at a small table and then smoothed out the front of her dress. It was slit on one side all the way up to the middle of her thigh. The latest fashion in Miren Falls, she’d assured him. With a wide, swaying walk, she crossed to the tent’s flap. She paused at the opening to look back over her shoulder. “I so look forward to our...discussions. Maybe tonight, even, when the fires are low and the night begins to cool. There is much we can discuss alone in the dark.”