The Temple of Sacrifice

by Tameri Etherton

  “The assassin thought Ellie was me. She was wearing my cloak,” Taryn said, a sick, sinking feeling in her gut. “He overheard the jeweler and lay in wait.” Her knees gave way and she sagged into Baehlon.

  Faelara gripped her shoulders, her fingers digging into Taryn’s skin. “I know this is difficult, but you must be strong. Not only for that poor girl lying over there—but for the rest of the court. They cannot see you appear weak.”

  “Fuck the court.” Taryn directed her rage at the gods and their cruelty, for certainly they had allowed this to happen. They’d allowed every horrible thing that had happened to her and it wasn’t fair. She’d never asked to be the Eirielle and now her maid, her sweet Ellie, who was only doing what she, Taryn, had told her to do, lay maimed and disfigured because of her. Ellie wasn’t trained to counter an attack. If not for Darius, she would be dead. Taryn took a deep breath to calm her nerves and swallowed her bitter anger. “Where is he?”

  Baehlon shook his head. “In the wind once more, I’m afraid.”

  “No, he’s still here. Once he learns he got the wrong girl, he’ll try again.” Kaida stretched along Ellie’s body, whimpering softly. “He should’ve known it wasn’t me. Ellie didn’t have Kaida with her.”

  “Most likely he thought he got lucky,” Rhoane said.

  Cold waves cascaded over her, giving her clarity, bolstering her resolve. “We’ll go through the city and find him. If he’s here, he cannot hide for long.”

  “You’ll stay in the castle under guard,” Baehlon insisted.

  “Like hell I will. He tried to kill me today. That makes at least two times now. I won’t cower and hide from him while my friend suffers. I owe it to her to find this bastard. You can either come with me or not, but I’m going.” She stared at him with her chin lifted, jaw set.

  “She is right, my friend.” Rhoane put his hand on Baehlon’s sleeve. “I do not like it, but we must find this fiend. She and Kaida can sense him when we cannot.”

  “I will help as well,” Faelara offered.

  Baehlon’s jaw twitched. “This is too dangerous. Fae, you and Taryn will stay here while I take the soldiers out to search the city.”

  “If you start a full-blown search, he’ll disappear again. I’ll take Kaida with me while you, Fae, and Rhoane search alone. The less conspicuous we are, the better our chances of finding him. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I really wish Ebus were here.”

  “Aye, as do I, Princess. He can sniff out that shadow menace like no other,” Baehlon said.

  “Well, at least we have Kaida.” Taryn grabbed her coat and sword. “Let’s go. Darius will keep watch over Ellie.”

  Once in the city square, they made plans to check with one another every few minutes. Rhoane held her close for a moment before storming away. Faelara moved in the opposite direction from him, and Taryn took the path in the middle. After a few paces, she realized Baehlon was walking beside her.

  “You didn’t think I would let you wander off alone with the assassin so near, did you?”

  “Truth be told, I’m glad of your company.” The ball of nerves in her gut relaxed a fraction.

  With most of the townsfolk up by the castle, the streets were nearly deserted as they made their way toward the city gates. Kaida ran ahead and then back to them, sniffing at doorways and the air. Rhoane and Faelara sent regular updates that they found nothing amiss in their search.

  “Where could he be? It’s as if we’re looking for a ghost. How can we possibly protect ourselves from someone who can fly around and be invisible?” Raw anger seeped into her veins. “I hate it when someone plays dirty. All the more reason that I must go to Zakael to learn his Dark Shanti.”

  Baehlon stared at her. “Don’t talk like that. Zakael would rather steal your power than help you.”

  Taryn bit back a curse. She’d not meant to tell Baehlon until absolutely necessary. “It’s the only way I can get strong enough to defeat this Shadow Assassin, along with everyone else who wants to kill me.” She put her hand on his sleeve. “I’m sorry, Baehlon, but I must go. It’s clear to me now it should be sooner rather than later.”

  “You’ve discussed this with Rhoane?”

  “And my mother. It is agreed I will go to Gaarendahl after the Light Celebrations. Rhoane will accompany me.”

  “How am I to protect you when you keep running off? I swore before the entire court that I would do all in my power to keep you safe and now this? Ohlin’s beard, but you vex me so.”

  “It’s easier traveling with a smaller group and I just thought…” She paused, not knowing how to say what was in her heart.

  “Thought what? That you’d trot off to the one person who just might benefit most from your death? Did it ever occur to you Zakael might be behind this assassin we’re tracking?”

  “I don’t think he’s controlling the assassin. It’s just a feeling I have. I know that doesn’t count for much, but I don’t think Zakael will harm me.”

  “Taryn, you don’t know him. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

  “Right now he needs me as much as I need him. Whatever secrets I can get from him will help me with whatever is coming. I’m not stupid, Baehlon. I know Zakael is power mad and I do know what he’s capable of. He killed Brandt right in front of me, remember?”

  “Then why weren’t you going to tell me?” Baehlon’s gruff voice sounded hurt.

  “I was trying to protect you. If you don’t know where I am, then no one can force the information from you,” she said quietly.

  His voice dropped to a thunderous whisper. “You were trying to protect me? Do you think I’m such a simpleton that I can’t withstand a bit of torture? Did you think one slip of ShantiMari into my thoughts and I’d spill everything I know about you? God’s truth, girl! You should trust me more than that.” He stormed away, his braids jangling with each angry step.

  She stared at him, her thoughts a whirlwind of quiet indignation. He had reached the end of the block before she ran to catch up. “Baehlon, wait. It isn’t like that. You saw what happened to Ellie. That’s what I’m trying to avoid. I don’t doubt you would fight to the end to protect me, but I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.

  “I know enough of the world to know that if someone wants to get close to me, they’ll go after my friends. Today a girl was nearly killed because someone thought she was me. We’re dealing with people who I can’t even imagine being. I can’t wrap my head around this type of violence. As much as I try to be stoic, the truth is I love you all too much. If you died, a part of my soul would die as well.”

  He stood still for several moments before speaking. When he did, his voice was soft and full of concern. “Whether you want this or not, it is your burden and responsibility. In life, there is not always an easy solution. You must accept that people will die. Some by your hand and others because they are close to you. It’s unavoidable. It will never be easy, but it will happen nonetheless.”

  His big hands cupped her shoulders with a harsh squeeze. “I made a vow before the empress and her court to protect you. Die for you, if need be. It was an oath I made freely—of my own choice. Every one of your friends, even your maids, understand the risks involved in knowing you. They all accept the danger.”

  She stared at him, stunned. “Why?”

  “Because they love you just as much as you love them. More important, they believe in you, Taryn.”

  Instead of lifting her, his words clung to her like an anchor pulling her beneath the waves. Kaida nudged Taryn’s hand and then ran to a doorway near where they stood. She scratched at the door and sat, waiting for them. Taryn shoved her conflicted emotions down, tamping them out to focus on the task at hand.

  They unsheathed their swords and stood on opposite sides of the door, listening. Her ShantiMari probed through the house, touching the memories of the family who lived there, nothing more. “I sense no one inside, but be cautious all the same.”

  When they entere
d the home, Kaida slipped past them to run upstairs. A chill flowed from her pendant across her skin. She signaled to Baehlon, nodding up at the landing. They took each step with care, attentive to any sound or movement in the silent home.

  Kaida sat in front of a closed door at the end of a short hallway. Taryn sent a thread of her ShantiMari into the room. A shock of heat snapped back at her.

  Baehlon, something is there. I can’t say what, but it isn’t friendly.

  With deliberate slowness, he turned the knob. As the door opened, she caught a glimpse of the Shadow Assassin’s startled face before Baehlon rushed forward. The villain snarled at him and then rushed to the open window. In a heartbeat, he changed into a feiche and flew out, but not before Baehlon swiped his sword at the bird, cutting several feathers off his tail.

  Taryn threw her ShantiMari into the air like a net, catching the screaming feiche in her trap. The assailant’s power pushed against hers with a force that knocked her back. Kaida barked with a savage wildness, her sharp claws digging into the window frame. Every screech the feiche made was like an ice pick stabbing her inner ear. Added to the pain were Kaida’s incessant yelps and the thrumming of the assassin’s power hitting her in clumsy waves. The melee made it difficult to focus her thoughts.

  “He’s fighting me. Call Rhoane and Faelara,” Taryn shouted to Baehlon as she channeled all her strength into holding the net that ensnared Ellie’s attacker.

  The feiche stopped struggling and hung limp, suspended above the street. Taryn held her net firm, waiting. One moment he was a bird, the next a man with a dagger, cutting against her net with vicious cruelty. Every precise cut sent his ShantiMari slamming against her. She added more threads to the net, but he hacked through them more quickly than she could wrap them around him. With a sickening feeling, she realized he could see her threads of ShantiMari as surely as she couldn’t see his.

  One more slice and he’d be free.

  “Oh, the hell you will,” Taryn yelled and leapt out of the window after him.

  They tumbled to the ground, landing with a hard thud. She lay on top of him, adrenaline rushing through her from the madness of the capture. When she forced her thoughts into his, he should have screamed at her brutality, but there was nothing. No sound. No thought. Nothing.

  He pushed against her to roll out from under her, but she pinned his arms behind his back, her knee pressed against him. “Who are you? Who sent you here?”

  Baehlon crashed out of the house, with Kaida a step behind.

  Rhoane raced up the street, the color drained from his face. “Taryn! Are you all right?” He looked from her to the man struggling on the ground.

  “I’m fine.” She pulled the assassin’s arms tighter, wrapping her ShantiMari around them with a vicious twist.

  Faelara arrived, out of breath from running. Together, they bound him with their power, pulling him to his feet. Blood trickled from his mouth and he had a gash on his ass from Baehlon’s sword, but other than that, there were no injuries she could see. His dead eyes, as pale as ice in the northern sea, glared at her. She recoiled from the hatred she saw in them.

  His dagger lay on the ground at her feet, along with a star-shaped weapon that fell out of his belt. Taryn recognized it immediately. A hira shuriken—a throwing weapon favored by skilled ninja. She slipped them both into her boot before catching up with Rhoane.

  Baehlon held back to wait for the guard to search the house for clues, but they would find nothing. The man was a ghost. Not a ghost—a cipher. It chilled her to watch him walk beside Rhoane. He might be bleeding, but she sensed nothing inside that would indicate life. It was as if he existed solely to kill her.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The prisoner hung from thick cords of ShantiMari, his blond head limp between his shoulders. Half a dozen guards, all skilled in the power, surrounded him. He’d been rushed through the hidden passageways to the dungeon, where he was questioned by Rhoane and Lliandra’s captain of the guard. As yet, the prisoner had said nothing.

  Kaida sniffed at the assassin, growling low in her throat. He smells of rotting food and debris, nothing like man.

  Taryn paced the open area outside the cell. She’d listened to the two men question him, her frustration rising at his silence. Only once did he look up. When their eyes met, an electric shock burned through her veins but she refused to look away. The assassin lowered his glare to the ground, but not before Taryn caught the smallest of grins marring his face. A vicious desire to hurt him rushed through her. The ferocity of emotion, the need to make him suffer, terrified her.

  When Rhoane asked her to leave, she didn’t hesitate. The time for talk had ended. As much as she wished him dead, she had no desire to see him tortured. They could do what they wanted to him—he’d neither feel pain nor give them any information. Of that, Taryn was certain.

  She walked aimlessly through the castle with Kaida padding beside her. Courtiers and servants bowed out of her way, some making the sign to ward off evil. Taryn ignored them and their misplaced fear. Nothing she did would convince her detractors she wasn’t to blame. She couldn’t even convince herself.

  Let them whisper. When the time came, they would clamor for her help, their mistrust put aside in the hope she could save them. A litany of her failures ran on an endless loop through her mind, banqueting on her faltering confidence. She wasn’t what they wanted her to be—villain or heroine. She was just a woman. Scared, scarred, and alone.

  Kaida nudged her hand and she attempted a smile for the grierbas. Fine, not totally alone.

  You do yourself and your friends a dishonor, Darennsai. Be grateful for what you have been given.

  Kaida was right. She had failed, yes, but she’d also succeeded many more times. Still, the threat of the assassin, or any other enemies for that matter, wouldn’t lessen just because he was locked up. Her anxiety ratcheted to dangerous levels. She already existed in survival mode, on constant alert to an attack, either mental or physical. There had to be a way to live without fear.

  There is. Kaida nudged her hand again, her wet nose warm against Taryn’s chilled skin. You will find your way. Believe, Darennsai.

  “I wish I knew how,” Taryn whispered. She braced herself before opening the door to her rooms.

  Darkness shrouded her sitting room, the stench of blood heavy in the air. Taryn flinched at the sight of Ellie lying on the bed they’d brought in for her. She apologized for not returning to the girl sooner, but Darius assured her Ellie had been sleeping the entire time she was gone. He motioned to a chair, saying quietly, “The jeweler found those in his shop and thought they belonged to you.”

  Two pairs of ice skates rested on the cushions. How pitiful it seemed that only a few bells earlier she’d been enjoying her morning with Rhoane. A lifetime had passed since then. “Remind me to thank him tomorrow.”

  “He also brought this.” He handed her an ornate wooden box.

  Taryn opened it and stifled a sob. Inside the box, on a bed of green silk, sat the ring Taryn had the jeweler make for Sabina. The stone glistened and winked in the dim light. She set the box on her writing table. Ellie’s eyes shifted behind closed lids with her dreaming. A whimper escaped her lips. “Who made the paste?”

  “I did, Your Highness,” Saeko answered from the corner. “Before coming to the palace, I worked for a noblewoman gifted in the art of healing. She knew of many ointments and tinctures to allay any ailment. It was a simple thing, really.”

  Taryn ran a finger over the hardened substance. “Thank you, Saeko.”

  Lorilee sat beside Taryn, smoothing Ellie’s hair. “Did you find the man who did this to her?”

  Taryn gave her maid a sidelong glance. They had decided to keep the assassin’s identity a secret as long as they could to prevent panic during the celebrations. “We did.”

  Lorilee breathed a deep sigh of relief. “Why did he attack poor Ellie?”

  Taryn caught Darius’ eye and frowned. He knew, but how? “We will k
now more when the captain is done interrogating him.”

  They jumped when the door to her apartment banged open. A frantic-looking Hayden darted into the room, his wild glance scanning their faces.

  “Taryn, thank the gods. I heard there was…” His gaze went to the figure on the bed. “So it is true. There was an attack this morning.” He sank into the chair opposite Taryn and ran a ragged hand through his hair. “When I didn’t see you at the arena, I feared the worst.” Hayden rubbed his eyes and indicated the prone figure of Ellie. “Why?”

  Lorilee began to cry and Taryn put her arm around the girl. “We must be strong for Ellie. She won’t thank us for our pity when she wakes.”

  Lorilee snuffled and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry.”

  Taryn stood suddenly, grimacing at the state of the room. “Why is it so stuffy and dark in here? Get some candles lit and open a window.”

  The maids busied themselves making the room less daunting and Darius stood. “If you’ll excuse me, Your Highness, I would like to get my supper. I’ll return before you leave.”

  “Yes, of course.” Taryn stopped him. “Where am I going?”

  Hayden answered for Darius. “It’s Sabina’s birthing day. We were going to celebrate it in the garden because the weather is so fair.” His voice sounded leaden and far away. “But now we’ll have to postpone.”

  “No. We’ll celebrate with Sabina as planned. I want no more moping. Ellie is going to make a full recovery,” Taryn said. “Darius, get some rest, you need it. Saeko and Lorilee, go with Darius. I’ll stay here with Ellie.”

  “But, miss, we need to dress you for the party,” Lorilee argued.

  “Until I met you, I was doing a pretty good job of dressing myself.” She touched the braids they’d arranged that morning. “We can figure out what to do with this mess later. For now, I insist you take a break and get some fresh air. It smells like a morgue in here.”