The Edge of Nothing_The Lex Chronicles_Book 1

by Crystal Crawford

  Quick footsteps thumped from the stairway above. Lex spun toward the door and glanced around. Was there anything he could use for a weapon? From the corner of his eye, he noticed the woman had turned sideways into a partial crouch, as though ready to leap at whoever entered.

  Acarius burst through the doorway. “Lex?” he said. His eyes took in the bodies, the blood. He paled and reached for the sword at his waist. “What happened?” Then his gaze hit the woman. His arms dropped and his whole body went stiff. “Lytira?”

  The woman straightened from her crouch, and her hands opened and closed at her waist as though grasping the air. “Acarius,” she said. From the look on her face, he had been the last thing she expected to come through the door.

  Lex glanced between them. The sudden tension in the room was suffocating. What was going on with these two? But Lex had bigger things on his mind. He turned to Acarius. “It was one of the creatures, like from the farm. It took Amelia.”

  Acarius focused on Lex. “Then we need to go. Now.”

  The same thing Amelia had said. “We can’t leave without Amelia,” Lex insisted.

  “You can’t save anyone if you’re dead,” Acarius said. “If you stay here, that’s exactly what you’ll be.” He turned for the door. “Come on.” His heavy steps thundered up the stairs.

  Dead. Lex’s eyes flicked to the corpses. “What’s going on?” he called after Acarius, but he was already gone.

  Lex started to follow, but the woman’s slender hand grabbed his arm.

  Her warm fingers pressed into his flesh with surprising strength. “You did not say Acarius Frost was with you,” she said.

  Lex turned to her. “I didn’t know I needed to. He went to the healer’s when we reached the city, and Amelia and I came here.” He paused. “How do you know each other?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “But you were foolish to leave his side. Why did you not stay with him?”

  Lex chafed. “I said he went to the healer’s. Besides, I didn’t know we were in danger.” It wasn’t exactly true; Lex had sensed something wasn’t quite right in the inn, though the creature had not been a part of that. Still, the men watching Amelia, the overly-friendly people – Lex had felt something bad coming, he just hadn’t been able to identify it. Guilt swept over him. He still wasn’t sure those other things had anything to do with this creature, but he should never have let Amelia go upstairs alone. He had gotten distracted by the old woman and the chance to learn about his past, but he should have been protecting Amelia. He should have trusted his instincts.

  “Stay with Acarius from now on,” the woman said, letting go of his arm. Her fingernails left purpling divets in his skin. “Do not leave his side.”

  “Why?” Lex said, turning on her. “Do I look that helpless?” The creature was following him, for some reason, and he’d stopped it before. He could have done it again, if he’d been here. If he’d stayed with Amelia.

  Lytira studied his face. “So it’s true; you are not Marcus. I had heard the others call you Lex, but I still thought” – she paused – “No, I can see it now. There are differences. But Acarius is the last living hero of Alleanza, the one who rode beside Marcus himself. Do you not know of his power?”

  Fury surged up within Lex like a geyser. “No, I don’t,” he spat. And from the way she was talking, he was beginning to be glad he wasn’t Marcus. What good had Marcus been as a hero if she thought he needed a sidekick like Acarius to survive?

  “I see,” the woman said. “And yet you ride with him.”

  “I didn’t have much choice,” Lex said.

  “Then fortune smiled on you. For your own sake, do not leave his side.” She turned and walked up the stairs.

  Lex sighed. He was growing tired of others telling him what he should do. He felt like a fool, relying on strangers to inform him on his own life. Would he ever get to the end of all the unknowns?

  “Lex,” Acarius called out. “Hurry.”

  Lex’s boots squelched free from the blood-coated floor as he turned for the steps. When he reached the common room, Acarius was already at the inn’s front door.

  “Mare and the horses are ready,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  Lytira followed them out. “I’m coming with you.”

  “I assumed you would. Here,” Acarius said, handing her the lead of the black horse.

  She eyed him silently for a moment. “I do not ride.”

  “Tonight you do,” Acarius said.

  Lytira tensed, and for a moment Lex thought she might strike Acarius. But then she huffed and launched herself onto the horse with surprising grace.

  Acarius ignored her silent fuming and turned to Lex. “Mount,” he said. “We need to go. Now.”

  Lex clambered onto the brown horse and followed behind Mare as Acarius led the way back through the open courtyard which housed the inn and toward the city’s gates. Lytira fell in behind them. Lex glanced back at her, thinking she was keeping her distance out of anger, but she no longer looked upset. She rode with alertness, her eyes taking in all sides of the courtyard as they passed through. She wasn’t moping; she was watching their backs. Who was this woman?

  The guards swung the gates outward as the riders reached them. Acarius and Mare took the lead, and one of the guards nodded to him as he passed through. “Mr. Frost.”

  Lex turned to Lytira, who was close behind him. “Why does everyone here keep calling him Frost? I thought Acarius’ last name was Halben.”

  Lytira stared at him for a moment. “Where did you hear that?” she asked.

  “One of the farmers called him that when they attacked us,” Lex said.

  Lytira shook her head. “It means half-breed. Do not let Acarius hear you call him that. He is not fond of the term.”

  “He didn’t seem upset when the farmer said it.”

  “Then he was hiding it well. Trust me, it is a sore spot for him.”

  Lex reasoned that being called a mutt, essentially, wouldn’t sit well with most people. It must be some kind of slang for a low-born person or something. Or maybe it was some kind of racial slur. He almost didn’t press it further, but he was curious. He turned back to Lytira. “Half-breed of what?” he asked. “Why do they call him that?”

  “That’s something you will have to ask him.”

  They were through the gates now, and the guards swung them shut with a bang. Acarius spun Mare to face Lex.

  “It won’t be long until they notice we’re gone. We need to put distance between us and the city.”

  “Until who notices?” Lex asked.

  Acarius stared at him. “The people who are trying to kill you.”

  “What? But I thought the creature– “

  Acarius shook his head. “The creature was only part of it. I came to the inn to find you because I overheard some men talking in the street– from Dalton. They’ve rallied part of the city against you. They’re here to take revenge for their fallen kin. I didn’t know about the creature until I found you.”

  Lex thought back to the men at the table on the far wall of the inn. So they had been watching Amelia – and him, too.

  “We can head to Alowen,” Lytira said.

  Acarius turned to her in surprise. “They will kill him on sight, and probably me, too.” He paused. “Perhaps even you.”

  Lex saw the muscle in her jaw twitch again.

  “A lot has happened since you’ve been away,” she said. “Things are different now.”

  “You mean you’re different,” Acarius said, his face lighting with realization. “You’ve become one of them.”

  “Yes,” she said, her voice firm. “But they have changed as well. I would not have joined them otherwise. Besides, what choice do we have?”

  “Plenty. We could head to the Port of Lanian–”

  ““They’ll be watching the roads that way for certain. We’d never make it that far. It is not only farmers, remember? They
have help.”

  “You mean the Aiacs,” Lex interjected. The creatures were working with the farmers. Of course– that was why they didn’t bother to help Amelia that day in the field. The creature was on their side. What that meant about the farmers in the big picture, Lex wasn’t sure, but it couldn’t be a good thing. “They have Amelia,” Lex said. “They’ll hurt her because of me. We need to go back.”

  “The Daltoners are here to kill you,” Acarius said. “And there are many of them, all throughout the city. We need to leave.”

  Lex was beginning to wonder if there would ever be a day where someone wasn’t out to kill him.

  “Alowen is our best option,” Lytira said.

  Acarius snapped his gaze to her and shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

  “The idea, or the fact that I’m right?” she asked.

  Acarius raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. “Both, actually.” He turned to Lex. “Going to Alowen is dangerous, but if we’re lucky, they’ll be willing to help us. When we have enough support, we can come back for Amelia. But right now we have to keep you safe– you’re the one they’re after. As long as you’re free, they’ll keep her as bait. But going back in there on our own is a suicide mission, and if you die, they’ll kill her for sure.”

  “Are you sure they won’t hurt her?”

  Lytira moved her horse toward him. “Acarius is right,” she said. “They’re after you. They know they can use her to draw you in.”

  Lex sighed. He didn’t like the plan at all, but as Lytira had said, what choice did they have? “How far is it to Alowen?”

  “Only one hour,” Lytira said.

  An hour. Two hours once they made the return trip. It wasn’t that long; Lex would just have to hope Amelia was okay until they got back to rescue her, with backup. “Fine,” he said. “Lead the way.” But if anything went wrong, he was coming back for her– reinforcements or not.

  Lytira pulled her horse into the lead and Acarius fell in behind Lex. They were flanking him again, protecting him. Lex couldn’t decide whether to feel grateful or insulted that they thought him so helpless.

  As they rode farther from the city, a fog settled across the land. The moonlight cut through it, giving the smoke an eerie white glow. Even with the moon’s light, Lex couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of him through the fog. He could see the back of Lytira’s horse, and he could still hear Mare’s hooves behind him, so he focused on following Lytira. As he rode, he let his thoughts drift back to the inn, replaying the night’s events – Amelia inviting him to sit and him refusing; the men watching from the table; the friendly people, now soaking in their own blood in the back room of the inn; the strange old, one-armed woman. As Lex replayed his conversation with her in his mind, he realized that when she spoke of Marcus not being the hero he was claimed to be, she had said, “by the end.” She had known Marcus was dead. So then why did she pretend to think Lex was Marcus? The old woman’s statements were making less sense the more he thought about them. Who was she? He realized suddenly he didn’t even know her name; he hadn’t thought to ask.

  He called to Acarius over the sound of the horses’ gallops and slowed his horse. Acarius pulled up to ride beside him. “What is it?” he asked.

  Lex described the old woman, and how she’d kept Amelia from being swindled by the stableman. “She said some things to me about Amelia, and how I shouldn’t focus on the past.” He was too embarrassed to admit the woman had opened the conversation by chastising him for being jealous over Amelia.

  “It had to be Zenora,” Acarius said. “She’s the healer of Merik’esh. She’s the one who helped my head.”

  Lex glanced over. He’d nearly forgotten about Acarius’ head, in all the chaos, but Acarius really did look better. “But wait,” Lex said. “How could she be the healer who helped you? She was already at the stables when we got there.”

  Acarius shrugged. “She wrapped my head with herbs and told me to lie down, then left. I thought she just wanted me to rest in quiet, but I guess she must have headed down to the inn. She lives near it.”

  Lex supposed there had been a slight delay where that could be possible. “The woman I talked to seemed crazy,” he said.

  Acarius laughed. “It was definitely Zenora, then. She’s not crazy, but she is known for being a bit… strange. But she’s a gifted healer. And she has a way of knowing things. Whatever she said to you, she was probably right.”

  About which part? Lex thought. But he said nothing; he’d have to process this new information about the old woman later. The fog was clearing to reveal a spiked-log fence towering a few yards ahead of them and spreading off into the fog in both directions.

  In front of the fence stood a half-dozen archers with their arrows aimed directly at Lex.

  CHAPTER 9

  Lex froze in the saddle, afraid to make any movement which might provoke the archers. Acarius and Lytira brought their horses to a halt beside his.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Acarius said. His voice seemed to bounce around in the fog.

  Lex eyed the archers. They were men of various ages, but all dark-skinned and dark-haired like Lytira, and all staring at him like hawks eyeing prey. They wore matching thin-leather breeches and tunics, fitted in a way that highlighted their lean, muscular frames. Their tunics were sleeveless, revealing muscular arms pulled taut in resistance to their bows.

  Lytira eased her horse forward. “Lower your weapons,” she said. Her tone carried a slight note of humor, as though she had caught a friend pulling a prank on her. “There’s no need for this.”

  One of the men in the middle glanced at her. He straightened slightly, but his arrow never moved from its focus on Lex. “He is not welcome here,” he stated. His eyes slid back to Lex.

  Lytira stiffened, and a tense silence settled over the night air.

  What did I do this time? Lex wondered. Does everyone hate me?

  “How dare you–” Acarius spoke out, grabbing his reins as though to move forward, but Lytira whipped her head to the side and silenced him with a glare. Acarius stopped mid-sentence and gave her a subtle nod. He focused his eyes forward and shifted astride his horse.

  Lytira turned back toward the archers. “We don’t have time for this,” she said. “Open the gates.”

  The archer to the left glanced at the man who had spoken first, then to Lytira. “I am sorry, Rahmanasha Lytira, but we cannot allow him entry.” He glanced at Lex then back to Lytira, and bowed his head slightly, as though in respect.

  Rahmanasha? What did that mean? Lex cut his eyes to Lytira, afraid to fully look away from the archers.

  Lytira sat straight-backed on her horse, her chin lifted slightly, looking as regal as a princess. How had he not noticed her demeanor before? She was clearly high-born, from the way she carried herself. But back at the inn she had seemed fierce, unafraid of the horrors the Aiacs had left behind, and intensely focused, like a huntress tracking game. Who is this woman? Lex wondered.

  Lytira turned back toward the man who had first spoken. “This is not a game, Maharan. We are under attack. Our pursuers are likely on their way this very moment.” Her voice was cold. “Open the gates.”

  “You brought them here?” An archer on the right spoke, wide-eyed, his voice betraying alarm.

  Lytira shifted on her horse, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “I had no choice,” she said. Her voice was still regal but Lex could hear a slight waver in it. “You know I would not have come otherwise. We need asylum. The Aiac– “

  She had barely spoken the last word when Maharan spun his bow toward Lytira, his eyes wild with anger. He spat on the ground. “How dare you bring them here?” His voice was like a dagger slicing through the foggy night. “You have betrayed us.”

  Lytira’s voice was urgent now. “No,” she said. “No, I would never–” She stopped, letting out a rush of breath. “Look at him!” She gestured to her right, where Lex and Acarius’ ho
rses stood.

  Her eyes were still on the archers, and Lex wasn’t sure if him meant himself or Acarius. The archers glanced over, their eyes sliding across both men before returning back to her.

  “You see what is at stake,” Lytira continued. “Open the gates, before it is too late!” She paused.

  Lex could see her argument was having little effect. The archers glared between the three of them, as though uncertain which of them to aim their arrows toward.

  “Take us to Baram,” Lytira said, her voice quaking slightly. “I will explain everything. But please, you must let us in.”

  A sharp whoosh sliced the night and the archer to the far left dropped like dead weight as an arrow pierced clean through one of his eyes and out through the back of skull.

  “They’re here!” Lytira shouted. “Let us in!”

  The archers pointed their arrows out into the night, their eyes searching wildly, but nothing was visible beyond a few feet through the dense fog.

  Another arrow sailed by, lodging itself in one of the tall logs of the fence.

  The archers glanced at one another, their faces panicked. Maharan shook his head as though arguing with himself, then turned around, pulling at a length of rope between two of the logs. The gates – which had blended in as though part of a seamless log fence – began to creak outward. “Come, hurry,” he disappeared behind the fence as he climbed down, then reemerged, waving them in. The other archers moved around them, still scanning the night for the source of the arrows.

  Something sped past Lex’s ear, just barely missing him. It struck the archer who had called Lytira Ramanasha in the chest, knocking him backward onto the ground. He stared up at Lex with a look of shock, taking a ragged breath as blood bubbled out of his wound and spread across his chest.

  The world tilted. He sat on a floral rug in a dimly-lit room, a bluish glow from the blank screen of the television casting shadows on the large, floral-patterned couch behind them. He glanced over. The girl, Jana, was beside him. She looked young; maybe 12 or 13. He looked down at his own body – he was young, too, he supposed. His legs and torso were lean, not yet filled out. Gangly. Had his brother, the warrior hero, really been this scrawny? But Lex had seen from other glimpses that he didn’t stay that way.