Taste of Darkness (An Avry of Kazan Novel - Book 3)

by Maria V. Snyder

  The two armies fought in the training fields. They appeared to be evenly matched, but Drisana didn’t know about the soldiers waiting just to the north. Kerrick scanned the fighters until he saw the familiar blond hair. He hadn’t seen her since they trained together up in Ivdel Realm.

  Kerrick gathered his magic. He pulled his dadao sword and stepped from the forest, heading straight for Drisana. Each stride drained him. Halfway there, one of Cellina’s soldiers intercepted him.

  Flashing his thick-bladed sword, Kerrick growled. The young man stared at the nasty-looking weapon and backed away. Kerrick kept moving even though each step cost him. The skirmish resembled...a skirmish. The enemy lacked a certain fierceness, as if the presence of the blockade meant they didn’t have to try as hard. At least no dead soldiers fought among them.

  He dodged a few other soldiers before joining Drisana. She glanced at him briefly before continuing her fight. With Kerrick’s help, they dispatched the man in no time.

  “You look horrible. Did you come back from the dead just for me?” Drisana wiped the blood off her sword.

  “I can’t stay—” He ducked as a soldier swung his sword, aiming for Kerrick’s throat.

  Drisana engaged the man. “Go on.”

  “Don’t go north. It’s blocked.”

  She flicked a glance at him before returning her attention to the fight.

  “Go east, find a dry creek bed and follow it. Tell your team.”

  “We have a team inside the manor.” She feinted right and slipped her blade under the man’s defenses, stabbing him in the stomach.

  “I’ll let them know.” With his energy almost gone, he’d have to ask one of Sergeant Vic’s squad.

  “You can barely stand. Take Eva, she’s fast and quiet.” Drisana whistled and then shouted Eva’s name.

  A small, thin girl who looked to be twelve years old darted around fighters. She joined them in no time.

  “Go with Prince Kerrick,” Drisana ordered. “He’ll fill you in.”

  “Yes, sir.” Eva peered at him with a dubious expression.

  He didn’t blame her. “This way.” Not bothering to see if she followed, he limped toward the forest.

  When he entered the woods the strong pull to return eased. However, after a few feet, he sank to the ground. Turning to Eva, he said, “Don’t let this scare you.” He dropped his normal camouflage.

  She appeared impressed by his transformation.

  “I need you to deliver a message.” Kerrick explained what he wanted her to do. “Can you show Avry and her team the way out?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Go east with them. You can rendezvous with Captain Drisana later.”

  Eva cocked her head. “What about you?”

  “Don’t worry about me.”

  She didn’t look convinced.

  “The forest will protect me.”

  “Nice.”

  He smiled. “Yes, it is. Now go, Drisana will be signaling a retreat soon.”

  “Yes, sir.” She took off at a fast pace.

  Kerrick worried she’d get caught. But after a few minutes he realized Drisana was right. Eva was quiet.

  Completely exhausted, he lay back on the ground, hoping he’d done enough.

  CHAPTER 9

  Drawing hidden weapons, the ambushers dressed in formal clothes attacked. Odd and his men reacted, pulling their swords and engaging them. Flea and the monkeys joined in. I counted the enemy. At least thirty, outnumbering us two to one. And all living.

  “Don’t use your daggers,” I called over the din.

  Everyone had coated their knives with Death Lily toxin just in case we encountered the dead. Their swords remained clean in case we engaged living soldiers. No one wished to use the toxin against a living person even if they were the enemy. That would be cruel.

  One man lunged toward me. He thrust his sword at my stomach. I twisted. The blade sliced my skin. A line of pain registered distantly as I stepped in close. Unable to use his sword, he dropped it and, in one quick move, wrapped his hands around my neck.

  I copied him, but when my fingers touched the back of his neck, I zapped him into unconsciousness.

  “Avry, get over here,” Odd yelled. He was backed into a corner with three soldiers advancing on him.

  Weaving through the fighters, I snuck up on the men who had trapped Odd. I managed to zap two before being knocked to the ground. Two other ambushers picked me up under my arms and held tight. Unable to reach their skin, I kicked them without success. They dragged me toward the door. Icy fear flowed through me.

  “Avry, duck,” Quain cried.

  I leaned forward. Air swept my neck. Then came the sickening sound of a blade cutting through flesh and bone. Warm blood soaked my back and arm. I remained hunched as Quain pulled back for another swing. More blood splattered on me. I wiped it from my face. Two headless bodies lay at my feet.

  Quain helped me up.

  “Company’s coming,” Loren called. “Time to retreat.”

  Only a few ambushers remained. We bolted from the ballroom. Pounding boots and shouts sounded behind us.

  “What’s the plan?” Odd puffed.

  “Get to the stairs,” I said.

  Not bothering to check for enemies, we raced into the stairwell.

  “Can we block the door?” I asked Odd.

  He glanced behind. “No time.”

  We made it to the ground floor, where Saul and his men fought a couple dozen of Cellina’s soldiers in the narrow hallway. These also were living and I wondered where the dead soldiers waited to ambush us.

  “Oh, good, backup,” Saul said, disarming his opponent.

  “Except we brought more...uh...friends,” Quain said. “How’s the escape route?”

  “Blocked,” Saul said, engaging with another soldier.

  “Stairwell,” Loren shouted. “Keep them from coming out.”

  Odd’s men moved to stop them. I stood in the middle, unable to help. All my knives had toxin on them.

  “Avry,” Loren called. He had disarmed a man and held him in a headlock.

  I understood and darted in to zap the man into unconsciousness. After that, I zapped anyone my team trapped. We had a nice surge of energy, pushing both sides back. But with fatalities and injuries increasing and the large number of opponents, it would only be a matter of time. Fear pulsed in time with my heart. I kept an eye on Flea. He held his own, fighting with a fierce determination. But for how long?

  Should I surrender? I imagined Cellina would be quite ecstatic to learn I’d been captured. And then I realized she could threaten to harm Flea, the monkeys, and Odd if I didn’t heal Tohon.

  No surrendering for me. This would have to be a fight to my death. I refused to be put in that horrible position.

  A ruckus behind the enemy’s line caused a change in dynamics. The soldiers eased off their assault against us. It seemed as if they were being attacked from the opposite direction. Saul’s squad took advantage of their distraction and increased the pressure.

  Then the stairwell group retreated.

  “They’re probably going to get reinforcements,” Loren said.

  “Then let’s not linger,” Quain said.

  It didn’t take long for us to dispatch the remaining soldiers. The reason for our change in luck stood farther down the hallway. A group of caregivers from the infirmary held hollow tubes up to their mouths.

  My team hesitated, not sure what to make of this new development. But I did. Christina, who had been my assistant when I’d worked here, led the group, standing out in front. She signaled and they all put their weapons down.

  “It’s okay.” I pushed my way through. When I reached Christina, I hugged her briefly. “I’m so glad you survived the occupation!”

  She gave me a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You taught me so much, they couldn’t get rid of me. Although I’d rather have gone with you.”

  Ah, the reason for the stiffness. “I’m sorry.
There was no time. Noelle had knocked Tohon out. We only had a few minutes.” But I had a plan in place before that. Why hadn’t I thought of taking Christina with us? Because all my focus had been on getting my sister to a Peace Lily before she died. Didn’t work.

  “Thanks for saving us,” Odd said. He gestured to the fallen soldiers. “What did you use?”

  “Darts filled with sleeping draft. We thought we should be prepared in case Cellina changed her mind about us.”

  “Good idea. Uh... Not that I’m ungrateful, but why did you help us?”

  Christina met my gaze. “I heard Avry’s name and came out to investigate.” She shrugged. “If she is captured, things will go from bad to worse.”

  “Do you know if there are more soldiers coming?” Odd asked.

  “No.”

  “Let’s go before we find out.” Saul signaled a retreat. “Back door, now!”

  The odd squad led the way. A few of our team had to be helped.

  “Come with us,” I said to Christina. “All of you.”

  The caregivers exchanged surprised glances.

  “But our patients...” Christina pressed her hands to her chest.

  “Now or never, ladies,” Saul said.

  “We’ve set up an infirmary. You can work there if you want,” I said.

  “All right,” Christina said. “I’m in.”

  A couple of the other caregivers joined us, but most stayed behind. We raced toward the exit. Christina kept pace with me.

  “Why did you come back?” she asked.

  “We came for Estrid.”

  “She’s not here.”

  “Do you know where she is?” I asked.

  “In the POW camp with the others.”

  I paused. “Is she...”

  “Yes, she’s still frozen.”

  Before I could process her comments, we reached the exit and stopped.

  “What’s going on?” Odd demanded, shoving people out of his way.

  I followed Odd. Something blocked the door. Or rather someone.

  A small girl stood with her arms crossed. “I’ve a message for Healer Avry.”

  “Who are you?” Odd asked.

  “That’s Eva, one of Captain Drisana’s scouts,” a man said. He stood near the front.

  Odd jerked his thumb at me hovering behind him. “She’s here. Now spit it out.”

  “You can’t go straight east through the woods. There’s a line of soldiers waiting for you. You need to follow the dry creek bed in order to get out. It’s just north of here, then it turns east,” Eva said.

  “Is this from the captain?” Odd asked.

  “No. The captain didn’t know about the blockade. Prince Kerrick told her and then he sent me.”

  Did she just say... My heart stopped beating. I pushed Odd out of my way. “You’ve seen Kerrick?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where?” I demanded.

  “He’s in the forest. He said the forest will protect him.”

  “We need to go, now,” Saul said. “We’ll figure this out later.”

  “All right. Go! Find the creek bed,” I ordered.

  They rushed out, heading north. When the girl moved to follow, I grabbed her arm. “Not yet. Show me where you last saw Kerrick.”

  “Now?” Eva glanced around. Shouts and a battle noises emanated from the northwest. “Captain Drisana is going to be retreating soon. And once that happens—”

  “Those ambushers won’t remain in place. Just tell me where he is. Please!”

  She stared at me. “I’ll take you. Come on.”

  We followed the others until we reached the forest, then the girl turned west, back toward the fighting and traveling just a few feet inside the woods. She moved with a quick confidence. But best of all, her passage was quiet.

  I wished I could say the same about my heart. It thudded so loud, it drowned out the yells and clangs of metal nearby. Suppressing all hope, I focused on keeping close to Eva. It was quite possible she was mistaken about Kerrick. And to believe anything else at this time would be setting myself up for a crushing disappointment.

  Eva paused. I searched the surrounding area for any soldiers. The high fence of the POW camp showed through the thinning trees. Dark forms raced along the outside of it. Drisana must have signaled the retreat.

  “He was here,” Eva said. “Then he turned the same color as the forest.”

  Only Kerrick could camouflage himself like that. Despite my best efforts, hope surged. “He probably left. This is a dangerous spot.”

  “No, he was sick or something. He was lying on the ground.”

  Oh, no. I touched a nearby bush, seeking the tingle of his magic. Nothing. Don’t panic. Kerrick might be unconscious and in need of my help. He couldn’t have gone far. Remembering how I found him before, I drew in a deep breath. Damp earth, the scent of fallen leaves, and smoke from the fires burning in the soldiers’ camp all laced the air. No spring sunshine.

  I considered. If he was injured, he’d go farther into the forest. Crawling on my hands and knees, I searched the ground, exploring with my hands.

  “Uh, Healer Avry...” Eva said.

  “Go. Before you’re—”

  “Are you insane?” Loren asked. Quain and Flea stood next to him. The fierce expressions on their faces meant they’d carry me from the woods if they had to.

  “If Kerrick’s here, he’s safer than you. Come on!” Loren grabbed my elbow, hauling me to my feet.

  “No.” I yanked my arm from his grasp and stumbled back. An invisible hand wrapped around my ankle.

  “Avry?” asked a bush.

  I squealed with pure joy and crouched down, finding Kerrick. Arms snaked around my back as he pulled me close. The rest of the world disappeared as I clung to him, breathing in his scent, feeling his chest move. Bliss.

  “Avry,” he sighed.

  “Where did she go?” Flea asked.

  “Flea’s here?” Kerrick released me, but I stayed next to him as he moved into a sitting position.

  His magic buzzed through me and his camouflage disappeared. The monkeys and Flea beamed at him.

  Kerrick frowned. “Get out of here before the blockade—”

  The unmistakable ruckus of an army on the move exploded around us.

  “Too late,” Eva said. She balanced on the balls of her feet as if ready to bolt.

  Kerrick pushed up the sleeves of his arms. “Grab on, gentlemen.” He grasped my hand with his. “Eva, you, too.”

  The others huddled around him, touching his arms. Kerrick’s magic stopped and we all blended in with the forest. Strange.

  “Cool,” Quain said.

  “Quiet,” Kerrick whispered. “They’re coming.”

  With Kerrick in the middle, we drew in close together, making our group as small as possible for six people. No one moved.

  Soon, soldiers passed us. A few quite close, and one man headed directly toward us. We braced for impact, but he stumbled, tripping on a vine and missing us by inches. In fact, many of the soldiers who ventured too close to us had problems with that pesky vine.

  As we sat there for over an hour, I learned a few things. Kerrick didn’t use his magic on that vine or our camouflage, which was the opposite of how it worked in the past. And after the fight in the manor house, we were in serious need of a bath. Except Eva, who smelled like roses and kept unnaturally still the entire time.

  A million questions for Kerrick bubbled up my throat, but I held them for later. When we escaped this situation, he’d have some serious explaining to do. Funny, I hadn’t thought if we escaped. Guess my outlook was rather optimistic. Hard not to be when I held Kerrick’s hand.

  After another hour or so, Kerrick said, “Most of them have moved east. We can sneak north.”

  We stood and stretched, unkinking stiff muscles. The blood had dried on my clothes. Kerrick had let go of my hand. He no longer blended in with the forest, but lines of strain etched his gaunt face. Thinner and paler than I’d ever
seen him, Kerrick wiped a hand over the stubble on his chin.

  I laced my fingers in his, feeling his magic again. Sharing my energy with him, I beamed at him. He flashed me a smile in response.

  What a night. All that work and we didn’t rescue Estrid. I glanced at the POW camp. So close.

  Flea noticed the direction of my gaze. “How much time do we have until they come back?” he asked Kerrick.

  “The woods are crowded with patrols. Any one of them could return. Why?” he asked.

  “Estrid’s in the POW camp. We could get her out before—”

  “Too risky,” I interrupted. “I’m sure the camp is well guarded.”

  Flea grinned. “It is, but we left a back door.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Quain said. “Prince Ryne said it might come in handy someday.”

  “Back door?” I asked.

  “An escape route,” Loren explained. “When we hid inside during Tohon’s encirclement, we used a hidden exit to come and go without being seen.”

  “How long would it take?” Kerrick asked.

  “Not long to get inside the fence, but the complex has five or six buildings.”

  Kerrick considered. “We have two hours until dawn. You have one hour to find Estrid, and then you have to return regardless.”

  “Are you coming?” Loren asked.

  “No, I’ll stay here and ensure no one sets up an ambush,” Kerrick said.

  Eva offered to stay with Kerrick. “Probably safer with you guys than trying to rendezvous with the captain right now.”

  Quain huffed. “You don’t know us very well.”

  I hesitated. The desire to remain with Kerrick warred with the need to rescue Estrid. Duty won.

  “Don’t go anywhere,” I ordered Kerrick, stabbing a finger at the ground.

  “I won’t,” he said, but a haunted look clouded his eyes.

  “Promise?”

  “Oh, yes.” He leaned in and kissed me.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

  “Uh...Avry, time’s running out,” Loren said.

  Breaking away, I gazed at Kerrick. “I’ll be back.”

  He smiled. “You’d better.”