The Black King (Book 7)

by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

“One of those famous accidents that Rugad is so good at,” Gift said. “How are we going to get through this one? If Rugad is prepared for a ship, there’ll be arrows.”

  Coulter shrugged. “I’ll do what I can.”

  “We’ll be in the middle of a city,” Gift said. “You can’t use some of your spells there.”

  “I wasn’t thinking of those spells,” Coulter said. “I made up a protection spell when I was a boy. It’s like a shield around the entire body. I think I can put that around the ship.”

  Con came above deck, Lyndred beside him. They were staring at the sky as if they hadn’t seen it in a long time. Then some Nyeians came above. Out of the corner of her eye, Arianna saw her brother look for Skya, but of course, she wasn’t there.

  “It’s going to be a large force,” Beak said.

  “That presents more of a problem than I had anticipated.”

  Lyndred joined the group. “We’re past the army, aren’t we?”

  “Yes,” Gift said.

  “Are we safe then?” she asked.

  “That’s what we were just discussing,” Coulter said.

  Then, to Arianna’s surprise, he briefed Lyndred. Lyndred nodded. She did look older than she had when she came on board. Her eyes used to twinkle. They hadn’t twinkled since Ace died.

  “Why can’t we use the same fog to get past them?” she asked.

  Gift looked at Arianna as if he expected her to have an answer.

  “We can,” she said, “until it comes time to dock. I had thought we’d be able to walk unencumbered through the streets. The warning Grantley sent prevents that now. I have no idea how we’re going to get near the palace.”

  “Well, if Matt was right,” Gift said, “we won’t need to get near the palace to use the Lights of Midday as long as the jewels do focus the power of that magick.”

  “It’s a city full of people,” Arianna said. “I don’t want to damage hundreds to destroy one.”

  “The only way we’re going to find that out,” Coulter said, “is when we use the globes. We can’t test this beforehand.”

  “And we have another problem,” Arianna said. “Coulter severed his Link to my body. The moment the Lights of Midday have gotten rid of Rugad, I need to be back in my own body, and I’m not sure how to do that.”

  “Coulter,” Gift said, “you could open my Links. Ari could travel through them.”

  “Not good,” Coulter said. “What if we don’t get rid of Rugad? Then he has access to both of you. I can’t permit that.”

  “Arianna still has a Link to herself,” Gift said.

  “Not in the way that we’re thinking of,” Arianna said. “I’m pretty sure Rugad has closed off that route.”

  “Ari lived for a short time in my mind,” Coulter said to Gift. “I could walk her into the palace and then when Rugad is gone, I could touch her body and see if she transfers.”

  Beak was swaying on her feet. Arianna put a hand on her shoulder, partly to support her and partly to get her attention. “Go below. Thank you for all you’ve done.”

  “I could help—”

  “After you’ve rested,” Arianna said.

  The others were watching them silently, as if chagrined that they hadn’t noticed how tired Beak was. Con put an arm around Beak’s back and helped her to the deck house.

  “That plan,” Arianna said to Coulter, “is too risky. We need to figure out a way to get me back there, a way that will work.”

  “Well,” Coulter said, “we’re going to have trouble just docking and walking into the palace.”

  “Maybe not.” Lyndred had been watching Con. When she turned to the group, she looked sad. “If we do this right, I should be able to get into the palace.”

  “Rugad knew you got on this ship,” Gift said.

  Lyndred nodded. “And he knows that I wanted to become Black Queen someday.”

  Arianna let out a small snort. “You told him?”

  “Yes.”

  Arianna repressed a smile. That was something she might have done, before she and her father were forced to leave the palace, before she learned so much fighting Rugad the first time.

  “But he would know that I wouldn’t fit in here, at least not well. We could let me off, cover me with blood, and I could tell him that my father is—” Lyndred voice broke a little. “—is dead, and that I just managed to escape when we came near shore, and that I’ve been walking. That I know things which would help him defeat you. He might let me in for that. I’ll wager no one will stop me at the palace. I lived there for six months.”

  “So we get you there.” Gift said. “The problem is getting Arianna there.”

  Lyndred didn’t look at him. Instead, she turned to Arianna. “I’ll take you inside my head, if you’re willing.”

  “And if that works,” Gift said as if Arianna couldn’t speak for herself, “then how do you propose to get Ari back to her body?”

  Lyndred raised her head defiantly. “I may have forged a small Link with the person I thought as the Black Queen.”

  “May isn’t good enough,” Gift said.

  “I am a Visionary,” she said. “I can probably help Ari find the right Link that will bring her back to herself.”

  “I don’t like probably either.”

  “Do you have a better suggestion?” Lyndred snapped.

  Arianna let out a small breath. It wasn’t about their suggestions. It was about what she felt she could do. She had Skya make the cloaks, but a Golem’s gait would be obvious. She could travel inside Coulter, but then who would operate the Lights of Midday? She didn’t want any Fey to touch them.

  What it came down to was whether or not she could trust Lyndred. “Why would you do this?”

  Lyndred’s dark eyes met hers for a moment and then looked away. “Because I need to be useful.”

  “Not good enough,” Gift said. “You just reminded us you wanted to be Black Queen. What better way to do it than to get rid of Ari inside your own mind, let Rugad’s forces get rid of me, then take the Throne for yourself?”

  Lyndred gasped. “I wouldn’t do that!”

  “I don’t know that.”

  “My father is on this ship. Even if I wanted to harm you, I wouldn’t want to lose him.”

  Her words echoed across the river. Arianna had seen the two of them together. She believed Lyndred. “First, tell me, honestly, why you want to do this.”

  To Arianna’s surprise, Lyndred’s eyes filled with tears. She blinked several times. When she started to speak, her voice was husky. “Ace. He told Gift not to trust me. And he was probably right. I watched him die, and I couldn’t do anything. He believed in you all, enough to die for you. I’ve never done anything like that. I didn’t even know people did, until Ace.”

  Arianna studied her. Coulter moved half a step forward. Gift crossed his arms.

  “I thought being Black Queen was all about who was smartest, and who had the most Vision. I had the most Vision of any one I knew. I thought it would be simple once you were in power. I didn’t know how much courage it took and how much knowledge. I thought I could do it all, and now I know I’m just a baby compared to everyone else.”

  “You want to do this to prove you have courage?” Arianna asked. “You could die. If you make a mistake, we both could die.”

  Lyndred raised her gaze to Arianna’s. “I’ll have you with me to prevent me from making a mistake.”

  “If we’re wrong about the Lights of Midday,” Gift said, “then you and Arianna might lose your magick.”

  Lyndred paled. She obviously hadn’t thought of that. “How else are you going to get her to the palace? Is there anyone left there that she has a Link to?”

  Gift looked at Arianna. Arianna shook her head. She hadn’t Linked with anyone while she was there.

  “Then if you’re willing to take the risk with me, I’m willing to take the risk with you.” Lyndred looked directly at Arianna.

  Arianna thought about it for a moment. “Lyndre
d and I—and maybe Con and Dash—can get off outside of Jahn and walk in. You sail in using the fog like we just did. We get into the palace, and how will you know that we’re close enough?”

  “We need an open Link,” Coulter said. “Someone can shout a message through it.”

  “Open mine and Ari’s,” Gift said.

  “No,” Coulter said. We’re taking too many risks there as it is. Ari and I have a new Link, one we forged to get her to the golem. That might work.”

  “And it might not,” Gift said. “Let’s go with established Links.”

  “If we go with established Links,” Lyndred said, “then you should consider one more.”

  “What would that be?” Coulter asked.

  “Mine with my father,” Lyndred said.

  “Have you ever traveled it?” Coulter asked.

  “No,” Lyndred said. “But it’s there. Arianna can explain to me how to send a message through it.”

  Gift shook his head, an ever-so-small movement that Arianna wasn’t sure if anyone else caught. But she did.

  “I like the plan,” Arianna said. “It has merit.”

  “It has too many risks,” Gift said.

  “You mean, I’m the risk,” Lyndred said.

  “Yes. You were the one who reminded me that Ace didn’t trust you. He was infatuated with you. He might even have loved you. And if he couldn’t trust you, why should I?”

  “Then why does everyone else ask Skya for things?” Lyndred said. “You don’t trust her, yet you love her.”

  Gift took a step backwards, as if Lyndred had actually struck him. Arianna started to go to him, but Coulter caught her arm. His grasp was light, and she doubted Gift even saw it.

  “There are some things that Skya can do well,” Gift said, “and there are some things she refuses to do.”

  “Well,” Lyndred said. “I may not be good with people, not in the way that Ace wanted me to be, but I’m smart and I’m one of the best Visionaries in the family. I can do this, and I won’t betray anyone. I’m not that stupid.”

  “I don’t think the Empire’s future should be based on your test of courage,” Gift said.

  “Why not?” Lyndred asked. “Because you didn’t have enough courage to take the Black Throne in the first place?”

  “Enough,” Arianna said. “Ultimately, this is my decision, and I think Lyndred offers us the best plan. We’ll take the boat when we get close to Jahn. We’ll disguise Lyndred so that she looks bruised and bloody, and then we’ll find our way into Jahn.”

  “Ari,” Gift started, but she didn’t let him finish.

  “You’ll stay here with Coulter. Coulter will be the one who’ll use the Lights of Midday, and you’ll direct them toward Rugad, after you get the signal from us. Then we’ll see what happens. If we’re lucky, this will work.”

  “And if we’re not lucky?” Coulter asked.

  Arianna stared at him.

  “I think you know the answer to that,” she said.

  SIXTY-ONE

  XIHU DIDN’T HEAR the plan until well after dawn. She had spent the night tending the injured from the last attack. Three more Infantry died, all of them young women who hadn’t yet come into their magick. One of them had died sobbing for her mother. She had been little more than a baby, sent to war.

  Xihu had gone outside after the last death and had taken in the sunrise. Then she had gone to the kitchen for a bit of food. There she had noticed there didn’t seem to be the usual guards getting their breakfasts. She had commented on that to one of the cooks, who had told her about the attack on the river.

  Gift, attacking ships? What had happened since she left him?

  Xihu had tried to see Arianna, but Arianna had sent back a message that she was busy, and Xihu should try again later. So Xihu had no choice but to go to the Cardidas herself.

  A cacophony of voices rose around her. The entire harbor was full of people. Soldiers of all types were gathered in units. Most of them were studying bows and arrows—apparently they had not seen that weapon before. The various Beast Riders were discussing ways to get to a ship in the harbor, and the Foot Soldiers had already commandeered the free boats. The warehouses were full of soldiers, many of whom leaned out the sides, and the shoreline itself was covered with Infantry.

  She had no idea there were this many soldiers left in Jahn. She thought the force Arianna had sent to Constant contained most of the battle-ready. But she noticed that most of the Fey around her were extremely young. Some wore ill-fitting uniforms that had clearly belonged to someone else.

  This army was assembled from leftovers. It was raw and untried, even more so than the one going to Constant.

  A shiver ran down Xihu’s back. Arianna was doing this on purpose. She knew that stray arrows could hit Gift. She was hoping this inept group of soldiers would find a way to kill her brother.

  Xihu grabbed one of the Foot Soldiers as he hurried past. He glared at the hand on his arm before looking up and seeing that she was a Shaman.

  He was so young that he still had skin problems. He hadn’t reached his full height either. He must have just come into his magick.

  “Tell me where your Leader is,” she said.

  “How am I supposed to know?” he asked and shook her off.

  She stared after him. Hadn’t they trained young people on Blue Isle to recognize their elders? Had everything fallen apart?

  She stopped a young Infantry woman whose skin was too pale to be pure Fey and whose eyes had a touch of green to the brown. “Where’s your Leader?” Xihu asked again.

  The woman pointed toward the eastern edge of the river, and Xihu thanked her. Then Xihu got off the road and walked down an embankment leading to the water’s edge.

  The ground was soft and muddy after being trampled by so many feet. She hurried as quickly as her robes allowed her, catching snippets of conversation, most of which having to do with how to sink a Tashil ship.

  A few of the Infantry had found slingshots and were discussing how to launch burning torches at the ship. Others were separating their units into those who could swim and those who couldn’t.

  No one spoke of taking prisoners.

  Xihu hurried on.

  The farther into the mass of people she went, the clearer it became that no one led this group. But the woman had pointed this way, and that meant she thought there was someone who could help Xihu.

  She had walked past three warehouses before she stumbled on a group of older Fey. They had their heads together and they were talking softly. She recognized none of them.

  “Do any of you lead these soldiers?” she asked.

  No one turned. She repeated the question.

  Finally a man looked up. He appeared to be in his fifties, his skin craggy and his hair touched with gray. When he saw that Xihu was a Shaman, his eyes widened.

  “What can we do for you?” he asked.

  “I need to find whoever’s in charge of this,” she said.

  “No one,” he said. “Some of the units still have their commanders, but most went on the excursion a few days ago.”

  “You’re not a Leader?” Xihu asked.

  “I am, but I retired after the Blue Isle campaign.” He patted his leg. “Nearly lost it in the Battle for Constant. The Healers fixed it, but I’m no longer capable of doing a forced march, even if I wanted to.”

  “So you’re in charge, then.”

  “Not really.” He swept a hand toward the five Fey behind him. “We were just discussing how we prevent this rag tag group from becoming a mob.”

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Nandar.” One of the older naming systems. That surprised her.

  “How was this group even assembled?”

  “Voluntary. People from the palace were going door to door asking, ‘Would you like to serve in the Fey army tonight’?” He shook his head. “That’s not how it was done in my day.”

  “Mine either,” Xihu said.

  “This new Bla
ck Queen doesn’t seem to know what she’s doing, does she?”

  Xihu revised his age upward at least two decades. No one in his fifties would call a Black Queen who had been on the throne for fifteen years new unless he had lived a relatively long life.

  “I think she knows better than most of us give her credit for.”

  “A mob isn’t going to wage an effective operation.”

  “It is,” Xihu said, “if your goal is the Black Heir.”

  He glanced at the river as if it had suddenly overflowed its banks.

  “You saw it too, didn’t you,” she said. “All that blood on the water. You saw it.”

  Nandar nodded. “I’m a minor Visionary, but I’ve been privileged to listen to the Powers once or twice. I’ve seen blood on this water since I was a little boy.”

  Then he was meant to be here. Xihu didn’t like that.

  “Do you really think she’s trying to kill the Black Heir?” He ran a hand through his thick hair. “Does she know that he’s on the ship?”

  “It’s his ship. She may say she doesn’t know for sure, but I do. Where that ship is, Gift is.” She didn’t bother to tell this minor Visionary that if Gift wasn’t on the ship, he was in Constant, where the other Infantry was headed.

  “So if she claims she has an untrained army who got overzealous, there’s no disproving her, right? The Powers’ll let this go?”

  “It’s a gamble,” Xihu said. “But it’s probably a good one.”

  Nandar shook his head. “And I’ll be a part of it.”

  “Not if you help me.”

  He looked at her. “How?”

  “Inform these Fey that the Black Heir is on board. Tell them the penalty for killing a member of the Black Family.”

  “That might not stop some of the Foot Soldiers,” he said. “They attack first and think later.”

  She knew that, and she had seen a lot of young Foot Soldiers who weren’t battle trained. Most of them probably didn’t know how to handle real blood lust yet. All they had learned was how to hold it back. When it was released, it would be very dangerous.

  “Then you’re going to have to take control of this mob,” she said. “Make sure they understand the orders are to take the crew of the ship prisoner, not to sink it.”