by C. Ellsworth
“We’re still searching.” Again, Aeric’s voice sounded harsh. Did he believe Tal had failed in his duties, or that he had let the skeg in by choice, betraying them all? “Skeg don’t take men prisoners, and they don’t hide their victims. It’s a puzzle at this point.”
“Well,” the mayor began, “inform me the moment you find him.”
“Of course.” Aeric sighed. “Now, on to your concerns about Karine.”
People were shifting again, along with what sounded like Karine clearing her throat. The mayor was the first to speak. “Yes, yes, we’ve discussed this at length already, Guard Captain. So I shouldn’t need to restate my . . . feelings about my daughter being here in the first place. She is quite headstrong, as I’m sure you are well aware.”
Karine let out a frustrated sigh. If only Addy dared lift her head up just enough to see. The poor girl must feel like a rat in a trap. Ryan was listening intently, but the look on his face said he was thinking the same thing. In the barracks, it was everyone’s duty to watch out for their fellow guardsman, but right then they could do nothing for one of theirs.
The mayor cleared his throat. “I have allowed her to go on . . . playing this game—”
“Game?” Karine’s voice was hot fury. “This isn’t a game, father. People died last night!”
There was a pause before the mayor continued. “I have allowed Karine to continue . . . training here with the understanding that she would not be put in harm’s way.”
Karine gasped. “What?”
Another pause, and then Aeric spoke. “That was the agreement.”
“What agreement?” Karine nearly screamed.
Addy frowned. If Karine was never to be put in harm’s way, how could she ever go with them to the Tower? She was the one person Addy could confide in here. She was the one person she could trust! And she was never going? Who else knew? Ryan seemed just as taken aback as Addy, by the way his brows dipped low, so perhaps this would be news to rest of the companions as well.
Karine’s heavy breathing said she was barely containing her anger, or perhaps she was on the verge of tears. “Is this just a joke to you all? It is, isn’t it? I’ve heard the rumors, the whispers behind my back, how the spoiled daughter of the mayor is here just to spite her father. But, Guard Captain Aeric, I thought you, above all people, understood why I am here.”
“I do understand.” Aeric sounded cornered, like a bear among canth. “But the mayor—”
“Of course.” Karine cut him off like a knife. “My father says ‘hop on one foot,’ and everyone dances about like fools. You are all very good servants!”
The mayor took a breath. “Karine, dear—”
“No, Father.” Karine spoke now with a tight calm. “I will do—”
“You will do as I say!” The mayor’s shout nearly drew a startled shriek from Addy’s lips. Ryan shook his head. This was not the mayor they knew; he had never shown such anger in public. And even in the carriage ride over, he seemed as docile as a mouse—afraid even—when things got intense.
The mayor let out an exasperated sigh. “My apologies, Guard Captain.” His voice was barely restrained. “You should not be subjected to our . . . family spats.
“Karine, my little peach, I see that you feel strongly about what you are doing, and so I will confer with your mother before making any decisions. Then you and I will talk in private about your future here.”
Karine let out a low growl and started a retort before Aeric broke in. “Mayor . . .” He paused. “At the risk of . . . interfering with your family affairs, there is the matter of replacing Sorsia. Karine would be—”
“You have a barracks full of trained men,” the mayor replied flatly. “Choose one of them.”
“With all due respect, Mayor, none of them are trained specifically for this task. Sure, they know how to fight, but there’s more to this than just fighting. These five have been trained for survival in the Twisted Lands and the Waste. They’ve been taught specifically about the things they may encounter out there. And it isn’t just about . . . training, it’s about training as a group!”
“You have months yet, Guard Captain.” The mayor emphasized the title as if reminding Aeric where he stood on the ladder. “Train someone else.”
Aeric sighed. “It will set us back, and I would think you, above all others, would recognize the importance of this journey. Everyone, including Phineus, is saying this could be the last Affirmation ever. After this, there will be no need for another. We will be rid of the Faege! So, I don’t believe we can afford to take any risks this time.”
“You try my patience, Aeric.” The mayor heaved a sigh.
“Well, if not Karine . . . then I’ll go. I have the training, and I’ve gone before!”
The mayor let out an exasperated growl. “If the skeg have grown bold, and your men incapable of doing the job of keeping them outside the walls, I need you here! It would be a travesty if the Faege was finally ended, only for the skeg to attack in force and put us all in chains. Or wipe us from existence!”
Aeric began another retort, but Karine cut in. “I can do this, father!” She sounded just short of pleading. “I want to do this!”
There was a long pause, then what sounded like someone wiping a hand down their face. Was the mayor about to explode? “I will . . . think on it—but I guarantee nothing! Continue as you have been until you hear otherwise.” Then he added softly, “Your mother is going to be livid.”
Karine muttered a soft “thank you” at the same time Aeric grumbled “As you say, Mayor.” Then there was more shifting, along with murmured farewells, and then Karine, the mayor, and Phineus departed.
Aeric remained in the room alone, his breathing the only indication of his presence. Then there came a loud thump on wood, followed by something solid striking the floor and rolling away. “Bloody fool!” he growled.
Addy shared a glance with Ryan, who merely gave a shrug. Was the Guard Captain cursing himself or the mayor?
Addy and Ryan left their spot beneath the arrow slit window and made their way back toward the training yard, taking a leisurely pace so as not to run the risk of bumping into Phineus and the mayor leaving the barracks.
At the main entrance, Ryan pulled open the heavy, fortified door, his brows drawn down and his lips pursed to one side. “Something about the mayor worries me.”
Addy gave a nod. Finally! Someone shared her feelings. She followed Ryan through the doorway, speaking in hurried tones. “I heard him and Phineus talking after the Proving, when I was in his manor. I think the mayor might be planning something in secret!”
“Do you think he had something to do with the attack last night?” Ryan spoke in hushed tones, now that they were inside. No others were in the hall, but it couldn’t hurt to be cautious.
She shook her head. “No, I can’t believe that.” The mayor was supposed to look after the town, not invite disaster into it. “Why would he conspire with the skeg to kill his own people, including his own daughter?”
“You said the skeg were probably there after you. Maybe the mayor made a deal with them to hand you over as part of some . . . peace agreement.”
Roeger Brason appeared from around a corner, and the two of them fell silent for a moment, but the bug-eyed man simply nodded as he passed by, leaving them alone in the hall once more.
The mayor, making a deal with skeg? Addy shook her head. It didn’t make sense, but something about it rang true. “Why would he do that?” Wait. The mayor had said something in the carriage on their way to the barracks. He seemed to have been hinting that the journeys through the Waste, the attempts at communication with the Lord of the Tower, the Affirmation itself were only prolonging the Faege. Her stomach sank. “He wouldn’t!”
“I know, it makes no sense.” Ryan looked flustered as he ran his hand through the waves of his dark hair. He really should go see Erabelle about that cut. “I don’t know, Addy, but you heard what he said in the carriage, about the Affirm
ation being . . . wrong. Maybe he knows something we don’t. And who are we to doubt Phineus?”
“And the skeg? What about them?”
Ryan shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe we can mention it to Aeric . . . if we can get him alone. What else can we do?”
What else could they do? Ryan was right, of course. The mayor and Phineus knew far more than they did about the Tower. They must know what they’re doing! Her stomach still churned, though. It all seemed very wrong. But who would listen to her if she did speak up, when all she had were doubts and suspicions?
Chapter 20
Seventeen pyres sat unlit beneath the light of a sinking, amber sun, topped with bodies reverently wrapped in pale cloth. They were arranged in the courtyard such that the remaining guardsmen and the relatives of the deceased could gather around them in a great circle in that last hour of the hot summer day. Quiet sniffles and occasional wailing sobs from the families were the only sounds to be heard, and the air carried a faint coppery smell of blood mixed with the scent of pine from the timber stacks. It seemed a shame to burn all that new wood, but that was their way. No one wanted to be buried in the Faege-riddled earth.
Addy stood among her companions, head in a light fog and legs wavering beneath her. The attack had happened that very morning, but it seemed days since she’d last slept. And days since the tears had dried up. Her chest and throat were still tight, however, as if a single emotional thought might summon the sobs once again. She clenched her jaw. She would not cry again.
While most of the people gathered near their respective pyres wore downcast, sorrowful faces, a few had found Addy in the crowd and were leering at her. The guardsmen must have talked. How else would those people have known the attack was because of her? Then there were the two or three who were looking at her with desperate hope or wonder. What was more unsettling, blame or lofty expectations?
From his place in front of the gathered guardsmen, Guard Captain Aeric cast a final glance at the barracks gate, his whiskered face grim and impatient. For the past hour he had waited for any last-minute stragglers, but it was clear he was eager to get this ceremony underway. Honoring the dead was important, but protecting the living was more important still.
After another moment, Aeric spoke. “To everyone gathered . . .” His strong voice carried across the yard. “It is a sad thing that brings us together this day . . .”
Aeric continued, but his words quickly became a distant murmur to Addy. The skeg could have come in larger numbers, slaughtered them all. She could have been killed just as easily as Sorsia, but then the skeg probably weren’t there to actually kill Addy, were they? They were there to subdue and kidnap her. If they had been trying to kill her, she’d be dead.
Aeric was reading off the names of the dead now. “Talec Smith, Amber Kohl, Erwin Gale, Sorsia Lewin…”
Lewin. So that was what Sorsia’s surname was. She should have known that before now. She should have made more of an effort to know. She swallowed hard at the lump that tried to climb into her throat again.
There were no Lewins in attendance tonight, none that stood before Sorsia’s pyre with tear-stained cheeks, none to grieve for their lost daughter, granddaughter, or sister. It was a sad thing, having no family, but these were the days of many orphans, widows, and widowers. Too many.
Standing beside her, Karine gave a small hiccough and wiped at her eyes. Then noticing Addy’s gaze, she gave a halfhearted smile. “She was actually looking forward to going to the Tower, you know.” Her voice tightened with emotion. “Three years she’d been at the barracks, and she finally got her chance to go.”
Addy’s brows drew down. “She wanted to go?” Who actually wanted to risk their lives out in the Waste?
Karine smiled. “She took her responsibilities very seriously, perhaps to the extreme.” She heaved a sigh, mirth vanishing from her delicate features. “She was certainly brave, though.”
Addy eyed Karine. What was going on in that pretty head of hers? Had she spoken to her papa since their argument this morning, convinced him to let her go? “I think bravery is simply doing what needs to be done, despite how afraid you might be.”
Karine frowned and lowered her eyes.
“Are you all right?” Addy asked.
Karine shook her head. “It’s . . . just the journey. It draws nearer every day, and every day I ask myself if I’m ready.”
Well, it would seem that question had been answered. Assuming those words were true, it meant Karine was going to the Tower. Addy breathed a soft sigh of relief, then gave Karine a reassuring smile. “I know what you mean, Karine. I feel the same way. But we’ll be ready when the time comes. I know it.”
What choice did they have?
Aeric finished listing off some of the more prominent achievements and qualities of the fallen, and now his tone said he was wrapping up his speech. “And so let us bid farewell to these fine guardsmen, our brothers and sister, as we send their souls into the Afterlife.” Then he nodded, and seventeen guardsmen—one to a pyre—each touched a smoldering twig to the oiled torches in their hands, setting them ablaze. And when they all stood with flaming torches in hand, they put fire to wood in unison, and the stacks roared alight.
A guardsman by the name of Jaren took up a wooden flute behind Aeric and began a somber tune, summoning a new wave of soft cries and sniffles from the gatherers. Addy wiped repeatedly at her eyes, her lower lip quivering.
A light tremor shook the ground for a moment. Then it was gone. Her heart skipped a beat. What was that? Those around her shifted uneasily, looking to each other for answers no one had. Ground quakes were known from stories, doled out by the Lord or by mighty monsters, but no one she knew had ever experienced—
The courtyard heaved upward and rumbled like a constant, deafening thunder. People screamed as they were hurled to the ground. Pyres toppled, sending flaming logs rolling and their blackened bodies tumbling. Addy managed somehow to remain on her feet, but just barely.
Someone yelled “The watchtower!”
Addy turned her eyes upward and down the tower came, crumbling in a cascade of stone and dust, the debris spilling into the courtyard. The resulting cloud flowed inward, blanketing them all.
Addy coughed as dust filled her lungs. She pulled her woolen shirt over her nose, but her eyes burned from the mixture of pyre ash and dust.
After what seemed like minutes, the ground fell quiet and still once more. Aeric had stumbled to the ground, but he leaped to his feet and was now shouting for guardsmen to contain the spreading fire from the toppled timber mounds. People milled about, crying, but it was a different sort of wailing now. It was fearful.
Traizen muttered curses as he picked himself up off the dirt. The others of the company were looking about in stunned silence. Then there came a sound like a great beast sucking in breath. A wind picked up, blowing toward the Tower. It was as if the Tower itself suddenly gasped for air. Then calm.
For a brief moment, people stood about looking at each other with eyes wide and mouths agape. What was happening? Was this the end? Was this the doing of the Lord?
Then the air exploded with a deafening boom, and there came a gust of wind so strong that it threw people like tumblebrush. Addy somehow managed to grab hold of Ryan—or perhaps he, her—and they both went flying. The world spun before her eyes, and then the two of them crashed heavily to the ground, Ryan cushioning the blow beneath her.
Then the air fell dead still, and only the cries of the injured and fearful filled the courtyard. All around them was a thick fog of dust and smoke, and an overpowering smell of putrid decay that was far too strong for just seventeen corpses.
Addy lay very still. Was it over? Her hip and elbow throbbed, and the fetid air made her stomach churn. The scent was like that of a Blackstorm, but stronger—much stronger. Ryan lay beneath her, his arms wrapped tightly around the small of her back. His heart was beating heavily against her breast, chest rising and falling beneath her. She looked in
to his eyes, and she saw fear.
Ryan blushed slightly and coughed. Then the fear was gone. “Are you all right?”
Addy gave a quick nod, but her insides were still a jumble. If the Lord of the Tower was angry, what would come next? Would the earth open up and swallow them all? She rose to her feet and cast a quick glance around.
All around were people picking themselves up off the ground, helping others, or brushing at clothes that were now gray with dust and soot. Few seemed to be injured, except for watchman Barry. The poor man lay unmoving amid the rubble, his head twisted so that his face pointed backward. Bile rose in her throat, and she quickly averted her eyes. Poor Barry had been in the watchtower when it had fallen.
A cry pierced the air. “The Tower!”
Addy turned her eyes, and through the haze of smoke and dust came the glow of the Tower’s spire. A blue Spirelight was normal, expected; orange signaled a need for the Affirmation to begin. But the Spirelight wasn’t blue or orange. It was red! Lord of Light, it was red! Why?
Addy’s breath froze in her chest. Her heart sunk into her stomach. People began to scream, some even dropping to their knees and burying their faces in their hands. Ryan stood beside her, the fear back in his eyes. He took her hand into his and gave it a squeeze.
Aeric was shouting, barking desperate orders to anyone that would listen. “Get those damned fires out! And get these people back to their homes!” His voice roared above the commotion. “And someone send word to the Mayor and Phineus. Lord help us if they don’t have answers.”
Chapter 21
Addy stood among her companions in the town square, her skin pebbling in the early morning air—air that still carried a hint of decay from the night before. She gripped the leather-wrapped handles of the two daggers sheathed at her hips. The weapons were new, specially crafted for her hands by Mr. Blasak. How long before she would need to use them to protect herself? Tower’s luck, she wouldn’t need them at all.
