Surprised, Flea glanced up and met his gaze for a moment before returning to his earthy sketches. “No.”
“Why not? I’ve been on the edge of death a couple times. I’ve had a taste of the darkness. My connection to this world is as thin as a blade of grass.”
“Even though it’s true, you don’t believe it deep down. You have too many reasons to live.”
True. Avry topped his list. “And you don’t?”
Flea shrugged. He used the heel of his boot to smooth the dirt, erasing his doodles.
“I can name a few.”
“Yeah, well... Everything’s different now,” Flea said.
“Because of the magic?”
“Yeah. It ruined everything.” Flea pounded his fist on the ground. Puffs of dirt floated up on either side.
Kerrick considered his words with care. “Yeah, it’s a real bummer that Quain’s still around to annoy us, and—”
“Don’t lecture me, Kerrick! Bad enough Avry stares at me with...pity and disappointment.” Flea scooped up a handful of dirt and flung it into the fire.
“She doesn’t—”
“Come on. We both know she does. She is all about sacrificing herself for others. My behavior’s been... Well, not even to the lowest of her standards. Sure, I rescued Quain and Estrid, but now I can’t... Death is all around me. I can’t turn it off.”
Flea’s confession alarmed him, but he kept his face neutral. “Are you saying that when you look at me you see my death?”
“No, but if I touch you then I might.”
Might. Interesting word choice. “How about when you evaluate Avry’s patients?”
“Yeah, I see it. I didn’t tell her, ’cause I was hoping I’d learn how to control it. To keep from going that...deep. But each time, it comes quicker. And now it’s a flash. I get everything from current situation until death in one rush.”
That explained his refusal to use his magic. “Then why did you say you might see my death?”
“I can’t see Avry’s, so I’m guessing her magic blocks mine.”
And Kerrick wasn’t about to suggest he try with him. Kerrick had no desire to frighten Flea or to learn about his ultimate end. Instead, he said, “I don’t remember Sepp ever saying he could foresee a healthy person’s death. But Sepp managed to fool me over his loyalty, so he could have been keeping other secrets as well.”
“You think Sepp wants an apprentice?” Flea asked darkly.
“I don’t think he’d be a good mentor. Avry might be able—”
“No.”
Kerrick studied Flea. Something had happened between them. He remembered Avry saying Flea had been avoiding her since she’d reanimated Yuri. Which might explain why he hadn’t told her about the flash.
“Avry didn’t intend for Yuri—”
“I know. But it happened. Just like the plague. Healers mucking about with things they shouldn’t be, giving Tohon the means to kill millions. Yes, magic saved you and Avry and Quain and me, but it’s done far more damage.”
It was hard to argue with the logic. Plus Flea’s tight fists meant he wouldn’t be receptive to any opposing views at the moment.
“Okay,” Kerrick said.
Flea peered at him in suspicion. “Okay, what?”
“I understand and support your decision not to use magic.”
Openmouthed, Flea gaped at him. Kerrick fought to keep a smile from his face.
Recovering, Flea asked, “What’s the catch?”
Ah, he’d been hanging out with the monkeys too long. “Ryne has this book about magicians. I’d like you to read about death magicians.” He held up a hand, stopping Flea’s protest. “Just read, not practice or try anything. Just read. That’s all. Can you do that for me?”
Flea grumbled, but agreed.
Kerrick changed the subject, asking about Flea’s training. “Has Loren shown you the Gahagan attack yet? It’s one of my favorites.”
They discussed sword fighting. Kerrick noted how Flea had relaxed, acting a little bit more like his old self. But he had a long way to go.
Loud voices interrupted their conversation. Avry and Ryne arguing. Kerrick and Flea exchanged a look.
“I don’t know why Ryne bothers,” Kerrick said. “She won’t listen to him.”
The argument stopped when Avry strode into the clearing. Flushed and pissed off, she struggled to regain her composure. Ryne followed, appearing equally riled.
Not wanting to add to the tension, Kerrick waited.
Flea had no such qualms and said, “Estrid’s still leaving.”
No one corrected him. Flea had been right.
“And so are we,” Avry said.
CHAPTER 11
“You are not,” Ryne said.
“Unless you plan to hold us against our will, we’re leaving tonight,” I said.
Ryne’s red face turned crimson, which I didn’t think was possible.
But before the prince exploded, Kerrick stood and stepped between us. “What’s going on?”
“Estrid refused to stay, so we need to beat her back to Ozero,” I said.
“Why?”
“Once she seals the borders, we won’t get another chance to rescue Melina. I promised Mom I’d make sure she was safe.”
Kerrick turned to face me. “Melina’s in Ozero?”
I told him about her run-in with Estrid’s purity priestess. “They sent her to the monastery in Chinska Mare. And Estrid won’t release her.”
“Ah.”
“You can’t go,” Ryne said. “We have far greater problems to deal with. The Skeleton King, Cellina’s invading army, dead soldiers, and diminishing resources all outweigh the rescue of one girl.”
“And how am I going to make a difference with all that?” I demanded.
He stared at me as if I’d just lost my mind. “Aside from healing my soldiers, you harvest the Death Lily toxin.”
“Except I’ve gotten all the sacks around here, and you said the dead patrols hadn’t crossed the border with Vyg.” Plus I wasn’t going to consign Melina to living the rest of her life in a monastery. “All I need are a couple horses and we’ll be back in two weeks. And I can harvest more toxin sacks for you.”
“How do you plan to rescue her?” Ryne asked.
“I’ll figure it out on the way.”
“I’ve been there. The place is a fortress. You’ll never get in.”
I kept my cool...barely. “Tohon’s castle is a fortress, yet we managed to rescue you.”
“Avry, think about it.” Ryne reined in his temper. “That was a different situation. You were invited inside his castle. You had help. Kerrick can’t even leave the forest and Chinska Mare is a big city. You’ll need two weeks just to map the layout.”
“Then it might take us a little longer. It doesn’t matter, Ryne. We’re going regardless.”
“You keep saying ‘we,’ yet you haven’t consulted with anyone about this suicide mission.”
Good point.
“She doesn’t need to,” Kerrick said.
“I’m in,” Flea added.
“We’re packed,” Loren said. He entered the clearing with Quain. Both had their knapsacks over their shoulders.
Warmth and gratitude spread through my heart.
Ryne studied us. “If you leave, it will be considered a desertion. If you survive, don’t bother coming back or I’ll have you arrested on sight.” The cold, hard tone of his voice indicated he meant it. Without another word, he left.
Uh-oh. I glanced at my guys. Would they stay?
“Is that considered burning a bridge?” Flea asked into the silence.
“Oh, yes,” Loren said.
“I’d like to see him try to arrest me,” Quain said.
“You don’t—” I tried.
“Nonsense,” Kerrick interrupted. “Let’s get packed before Ryne can order everyone not to help us. Flea, gather your things. Loren, grab some travel rations. Quain, fresh water. Avry, medical supplies and your pack.
Meet back here in ten minutes.”
The men rushed to obey as Kerrick assembled his travel pack.
I lingered until he noticed me still standing there. “Thanks.”
“Anytime. Now git! You have nine minutes.”
“Yes, sir!” My smile lasted until I reached the cave. Estrid held court in her corner of the infirmary. The shortsighted, ungrateful, selfish woman had refused to listen to reason. As the creator’s chosen representative, she ensured I wouldn’t be joining her religion ever.
I skirted the crowd of people, keeping an eye out for Ryne. He wasn’t in any of the common areas. Rifling through the medical-supply cabinet, I only took a few items, making sure there was plenty left for the patients. A line of containers gave me an idea and I swiped one. Most of my personal things were with Kerrick, but I stuffed the rest in with the supplies.
When I finished, I turned and almost ran into Christina. She stood in my path with her arms crossed.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“On another rescue mission. I’ll be back.”
“Were you planning on telling me?”
No, and another lump of guilt landed on the proverbial pile I carried. “Time’s tight and I’d figured Ryne would fill you in. But I realize now that it would be wrong to leave without talking to you. Sorry.”
A brief smile touched her lips. “So what’s going on?”
I detailed the mission. Mindful of the minutes ticking away, the words tumbled from my mouth in a fast rush.
“That’s going to be almost impossible. That place is a fortress.”
Ryne had said the same thing. “How do you know?”
“I grew up in Chinska Mare,” Christina said.
Without stopping to consider, I said, “Come with us.”
She crinkled her nose. “I...can’t.... Too many bad...memories. However...” She searched for a piece of parchment, then grabbed a stylus and sketched. “There’s an abandoned aqueduct that is underneath the city. Now, it doesn’t go under the monastery, but there is an entrance nearby.” Christina marked an X on her sketch. “If you somehow manage to rescue your friend and reach this entrance, follow the water. It should lead you out on the south side of the city.”
“Should?”
“It’s been years, and there’s always the chance one of the tunnels has collapsed or been blocked off. A river of water used to flow under the city, but the High Priestess wanted to control the water, so she diverted it to an enclosed pipeline only her people can access.” Christina handed me the paper. “And watch for smugglers—they use the tunnels to get into the city.”
“This is wonderful. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. Getting into and out of the monastery is the real challenge. The guards don’t take kindly to strangers and have orders to kill on sight.”
Lovely.
“I’m surprised Prince Ryne approved this mission,” she said.
Unable to lie to her, I said, “Uh. He didn’t. We’re going without his permission.” I braced for her reaction.
“He’s left you high and dry before. I’d say that’s fair. Good luck.”
“Thanks.” I rolled up the parchment and added it to my stash.
As I wove through the patients’ cots, I spotted Odd standing near Estrid. I should probably say goodbye, but his betrayal still hurt. How could he leave when he knew what we faced? I almost tripped over my own feet as I realized I was about to do the very same thing. But I planned to return despite Ryne’s threat. Did that count for extra...morality points? Ah, hell, who was I kidding. I was just as bad as him. And, no, I didn’t wish to say goodbye to Odd.
Shouldering my pack, I hurried out before Kerrick sent the monkeys to fetch me.
No surprise, they all waited near the entrance.
“What took so long?” Kerrick asked.
“I’ll tell you on the way. Let’s go before Ryne changes his mind and arrests us now.”
Setting a quick pace, Kerrick led us east through the dark forest. He kept his normal appearance so we could see him. A small bit of moonlight lightened the darkness, but not enough to discern smaller obstacles like vines, rocks, and exposed roots. We stayed close behind Kerrick, trusting him to find a safe path.
As we traveled, I filled them in on Christina’s aqueduct. “She wouldn’t come along. She mentioned having too many bad memories there.”
“I don’t blame her,” Loren said. “Chinska Mare is the main center of Estrid’s religion. It might have changed, but before the plague, the streets were filled with acolytes seeking people not following their commandments. They raided houses looking for alcohol, musical instruments, or other banned items and dragged the poor person or even whole families in for punishment. They were big on punishment. I think the acolytes were paid by the body.”
“Sounds like a great place. Can’t wait,” Quain grumbled.
“It’s good she stayed behind. Christina hasn’t had the silent training,” Loren said.
“Estrid didn’t either and we managed,” Quain said.
“Yeah, but it took us three times as long to get anywhere.”
“Are we going to find horses?” I asked Kerrick.
“I’d rather not,” he said.
“But we need to stay well ahead of Estrid. Ideally we should be long gone before she arrives.”
No reply.
I tried again. “We’ll only use them to cross Pomyt Realm. There shouldn’t be any danger along the way. And once we reach the border, we can stable them for when we return.”
“All right, I’ll see what I can find,” he said. But he didn’t sound happy.
We continued on in silence. The plan was to travel all night, stop for a brief rest at dawn, then continue on until nightfall. By then we should be far enough away from Ryne’s forces to switch to daytime hours.
A respectable plan, except recovering from the poison had taken more out of me than I’d thought. My steps slowed and drawing breath became difficult. Kerrick and Flea also seemed to struggle. They had given me a considerable amount of their energy, although neither of them would admit to being tired. I concentrated on Melina, seeking strength from her plight. It worked for another hour, but then I had to stop or fall flat on my face.
Kerrick turned around. “What’s wrong?”
“I—”
“Can you find us a safe place to rest?” Quain asked. “I need my beauty sleep.”
Loren opened his mouth, probably to tease Quain, but he closed it after a moment.
Kerrick nodded. “There’s a cave—”
“No caves,” I said. “We stick together.”
He gave me a tired grin. “All right.”
We trudged through the forest for an eternity before Kerrick stopped.
“This is a nice high spot. We should be safe here and if the forest alerts me to any danger, we’ll have time to prepare. How much beauty sleep do you need, Quain?”
Quain pretended to fluff invisible hair. “A few hours should do it, don’t you think, Avry?”
“Dawn will wake us and that should be enough.” I hoped.
Kerrick wouldn’t risk a fire so we set up our bedrolls in a circle. I shared mine with Kerrick. He slid in behind me and covered us with his blanket. With his arm around my waist, warmth soon engulfed me.
“Does anyone else miss the old days?” Quain asked into the sleepy silence.
“Old days as in before the plague or before we found Prince Ryne?” Loren asked.
“Missing the time preplague is a given. I meant before Prince Ryne.”
“I miss the simplicity of those days,” Loren said. “We had one mission.”
“I miss Kerrick and Avry arguing,” Quain said with a laugh. “It’s too boring with them being all lovey-dovey.”
“Give it time,” Loren added.
“Hey,” I said.
“You know it’s true.” Loren settled on his pillow.
Kerrick agreed and I elbowed him in the ribs. Chuckling, h
e said, “Although I like it better when she’s fighting with Ryne.”
“Well, I don’t miss being chased by mercenaries,” I said. Tohon had set a bounty on healers and once word had spread that I was with Kerrick and his men, they’d come after us in force.
“And I don’t miss all those awkward meals with Avry glaring at Kerrick,” Quain said.
“He deserved every one of them,” I said, remembering.
“Not all,” Kerrick protested.
“Yes, all.”
“No. You were just too stubborn to understand—”
“Told you,” Loren said, gloating.
I clamped down on my reply. No sense arguing about past events even half-kiddingly. He lived and breathed right next to me. All else were mere annoyances of the past.
Silence descended as the others fell asleep, or so I thought.
“I miss Belen,” Flea said.
Quain and Loren were quick to agree.
My insides turned cold and Kerrick’s arm tightened around me. “We do, too,” I whispered.
“Since we’re not welcome to return to Prince Ryne’s army, we should search for Belen after we rescue Melina,” Flea said.
Not a bad idea. “I’m in.”
“I’m all for it.” Kerrick pushed up on his elbow. “But before we go rushing off, we need to have an idea which direction to search. With Melina, we know exactly where she is. If Belen’s been taken by Cellina, he could be anywhere in Vyg, Sogra, or Lyady Realms. That’s a lot of ground to cover and it’s all in enemy territory.”
“But we haven’t heard a word. Not even a hint of where he might be,” Loren said.
“Tohon claimed to have turned him into one of his dead soldiers, but Sepp said he froze Belen in a stasis. Neither can be trusted to tell the truth,” I said.
“After Melina, we concentrate on Belen. Agreed?” Flea asked.
It was unanimous. Kerrick settled back. He pulled me in tighter.
“It’s fitting we make sure Melina’s safe first. Remember how upset Belen was when she went missing?” Loren asked.
“Good thing he didn’t find those kidnappers, or he’d have ripped their arms off.” Quain made a tearing sound.
“They deserved to have their arms ripped off,” I said. The men had quite a profitable operation. They’d kidnap older teens and sell them to men looking for wives. One of those activities that had benefited from the loss of almost all law enforcement due to the plague.
Taste of Darkness (An Avry of Kazan Novel - Book 3) Page 16
