Silver Road (The Shifting Tides Book 2)

by James Maxwell

  Paying him no attention, Kargan headed directly for the circular structure buried within the grove. Aristocles thought furiously, casting his eyes at the pathway’s far end, where Amos waited outside. The two guards had their backs to him. Foliage obscured the pair closer to the structure.

  Making a sudden decision, as soon as Kargan and his companion had passed, Aristocles shrank into the trees. He buried himself in the thick shrubbery, trying to still the beating of his heart and slow his breathing as he listened.

  ‘. . . hand over the gold in exchange for Lord Mercilles’ beloved wife,’ Lothar’s ancient but incisive voice was clearly audible. ‘This is a delicate task, and above all else you must ensure Lady Fatima’s safety.’

  Kargan’s rumbling voice replied. ‘. . . pirates are not to be trusted . . .’ Frowning, Aristocles moved closer until the Ilean’s voice became clear. ‘. . . dangerous men. How do we ensure a safe exchange?’

  ‘That is for you to decide,’ Lothar said.

  ‘Lord Mercilles?’ Kargan asked. ‘Do you want to be present?’

  ‘No,’ a new voice said. This man, Mercilles, spoke in a weary manner, full of sorrow. ‘My wife is so close to my heart that I fear my presence would only add emotion to the situation. I trust you, Lord Kargan, and my prayers go with you.’

  ‘I’ll make my preparations then,’ Kargan said. ‘By your leave.’

  Suddenly Kargan was on the pathway again, heading away from the structure. Aristocles froze, but Kargan was walking briskly, and soon he was past again. Hiding in the trees, Aristocles decided to wait a few moments.

  ‘Lord Mercilles?’ Lothar spoke up. ‘Are you sure this is what you want?’

  When Mercilles spoke now, his tone was bitter. ‘I must answer the insult – no one must think that Mercilles of Koulis cannot protect his own wife – but the woman was stealing from me. She deserves her fate. This way I rid myself of the Free Men, and you rid yourself of the Ileans.’

  ‘It is a dangerous plan.’

  ‘The risks can be managed.’

  ‘But if she dies?’

  Mercilles snorted. ‘The gods don’t allow divorce. I’m counting on it. Now, I must be on my way . . .’

  Moving swiftly, Aristocles left the trees, deep in thought as he headed back along the path to join Amos outside. He knew he had a valuable piece of information.

  It only remained to see how he could use it.

  41

  Chloe stood a few hundred paces from Vikram’s villa, where the cliff dropped away and she had an unparalleled view of the village of Pao and the plains beyond. With the precipice near her feet, she held the resonance staff high in the sky, clutching it near the top so that her skin was in contact with the copper. She closed her eyes.

  She drove out all negative thoughts. The magic of copper was about healing and harmony, music and beauty. She remembered Vikram’s teachings. She had to think of a single, pure note, to imagine humming the note soundlessly, containing it within her mind, holding it for a length of time that would be impossible using her voice because she would have to take a breath.

  The note could never waver, and she couldn’t allow anything but peace and tranquility to fill her mind. It couldn’t just be a low sound; the tone had to be beautiful, sweet and bright, the pitch matching what she could produce with her voice or an instrument.

  Taking slow, deep breaths, her eyes closed, Chloe imagined playing her copper flute. She pictured another version of herself, mouthpiece pressed to her lips. The note commenced in her mind and she held it, letting it neither rise nor fall, but simply sustaining itself.

  She could feel the cold metal of the copper touching the skin of her clenched fist. Sweat broke out on her brow. If she couldn’t take control of her power, it would gain the upper hand, and would be released in a torrent rather than a focused stream.

  She opened her eyes. She prepared to release the fire that was constantly pent up inside her, raging to be free.

  In a single swift movement she brought the base of the staff crashing down to the stone. She released, channeling the energy to her hand. The metal fork began to hum.

  The sound was far from the high-pitched warbling that Vikram had projected from the staff to stun the tribesmen, but it continued to grow in volume. Feeling triumph, Chloe stared at the tip of the staff and raised it into the air again.

  A dull ache began to grow between her ears. The note in her mind began to falter. It shifted pitch, becoming flat.

  The growing headache throbbed in her temples as the resonator suddenly emitted an ear-splitting shriek. Frowning, she tried to restore her concentration but it became ever more difficult as the pain increased in intensity.

  She realized she was gasping, drawing in breath in great heaves. Fire sparkled in her vision; red lights darted like shooting stars, replacing the sight of the sweeping plain with a million searing pinpricks joined by a matching number of needles poking into her skull. The terrible agony was impossible to control. The crystal note shattered.

  Chloe cried out and her white-knuckled fingers released their grip as she nearly dropped the staff, sending it tumbling off the cliff, only grabbing it again at the last instant. Panting as if she’d been sprinting, she struggled to take in gulps of air. With the end of the contact between the metal and her skin, the quavering metal fork stilled. She put a hand to her ear, surprised that she couldn’t feel any blood.

  ‘That is enough for today,’ a voice said behind her.

  Whirling, she saw Vikram standing behind her, picking at his pug nose as he watched. With her ears ringing, it sounded like he was in another room.

  ‘You’ve forgotten every warning I gave you,’ the old man in the dirty robe said, shaking his head. With his greasy, thinning hair, deep-set eyes, and scraggly beard, he looked like the most unlikely magus Chloe had ever seen. ‘Do you want to become deaf? Or kill yourself?’

  ‘No.’ She shook her head. Even her own voice sounded far away.

  ‘Give it to me,’ he said, holding out his hand so that Chloe could pass him the staff. He then lifted it and examined the copper, frowning at the green on the twin tines of the fork.

  Chloe knew she’d been pushing herself too hard. But there were moments when the fire in her mind was so strong that she felt the only way to ease the pain was to release it. ‘Perhaps another try with gold . . .’

  ‘No,’ Vikram said abruptly. ‘There is something I need to speak with you about. Come.’ He waited impatiently until she fell in beside him and then began leading her toward the villa. ‘I have a gift for you,’ he said as they walked. He reached into a pocket of his robe and pulled out a long necklace with a finger-sized tube of copper dangling from the center. ‘I know you are without your necklace, and so I searched the villa and found this. Please.’ He stopped and faced her. ‘Let me put it on.’

  She wrinkled her nose as he came in close to clasp the necklace around her neck; his body reeked of sweat. In the entire time she’d been at the villa, she’d never known him to bathe.

  ‘There,’ he said.

  Chloe straightened, relieved when he backed away, and she looked down at the tube of copper, now dangling between her breasts. ‘What does it signify?’

  ‘It’s just a necklace.’ He flashed his yellowed teeth. ‘But it looks good on you.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Chloe said, examining the copper cylinder as they resumed walking.

  The area just outside the villa was paved with square stones, surrounded by rows of flowering shrubs: rosemary, lavender, and rose bushes. Chloe saw that near the central stone basin was a large sack, resting on its side on the ground. As she neared, she saw that it was filled with a large motionless lump. On one side the cloth was red and wet.

  Seeing Chloe’s attention, Vikram waved a hand. ‘I traded the villagers for a doe. Come.’

  He continued to escort her to the villa, staff in hand. Despite his age he now held her with a strong grip around her waist, herding her up the steps and through the b
road entrance. Chloe wondered why he was taking her inside, and what it was he wanted to say. She decided that if he asked her about Liana’s whereabouts she would tell the truth, and admit to the fact that Liana had gone but would return. She was worried, though. His behavior was sometimes unpredictable.

  ‘I have something to ask you,’ he said, glancing at her as he walked, ‘and I would like you to tell me the truth. Did you tell Liana that she too must stay? I thought I was quite clear.’

  ‘I told her that I needed to remain here, but that she did not.’

  ‘So you told her she could leave.’

  ‘I did.’

  Vikram shook his head. ‘You should not have done that.’

  He paused near the hearth and leaned his staff against the wall. He then glanced at the fire, burning red and hot.

  ‘Why?’ Chloe frowned. ‘People need to know where I am.’

  Turning back to her, Vikram stared grimly into her eyes. ‘Isn’t it clear?’ His nostrils flared. ‘If I allowed her to go she would tell others you are here. They would come looking for you.’

  ‘They’ll come looking for me regardless—’

  ‘No,’ he interrupted. ‘They will not.’

  He spoke matter-of-factly but his next words filled her with horror.

  ‘Soon after you arrived I found a couple of village girls who match your descriptions. I killed them and marked their faces. I then dressed them in your clothing and put your necklaces on them. Finally I left their bodies on the Phalesian Way.’ He smiled and reached forward to brush a lock of dark hair away from Chloe’s face. ‘You’re dead. And you are not leaving here. Not ever.’

  Chloe felt the blood drain from her face as she glanced outside, to the place where she’d seen the sack on the ground. ‘Liana. Where is she?’

  Vikram’s next words made her feel sick. ‘You’ve guessed for yourself.’

  Heart pounding in her chest, Chloe prepared to take action. He was more crazed than she’d realized. She was going to have to fight. Her eyes flickered to his staff. She wondered if he’d be able to reach for it before she could disable him.

  He was a powerful sorcerer. She would have only one chance.

  ‘I enlisted the help of some hunters, skilled trackers from one of the more fierce tribes,’ he said. ‘She didn’t make it far. Your friend is not dead, but she soon will be.’

  With a surge of strength, Chloe moved.

  She clasped the old man’s wrist and squeezed in the spot that she knew would cause his hand to go limp. As Vikram winced, she levered his hand to push his wrist in to meet his forearm. His eyes went wide and he gasped.

  But before she could punch him in the throat, Vikram’s free hand reached out and he gripped the copper tube that hung from the chain around her neck. His brow furrowed in concentration.

  Sharp pain burst inside Chloe’s head.

  A terrible roar filled her ears, stunning her senses. She could hear only a constant thunder, a sound so overwhelming it threatened to burst her eardrums. Her knees went limp; her hand dropped away from its grip on Vikram’s wrist. The magus cradled her as she fell, and when he spoke his voice was distant, like she was hearing him underwater.

  ‘You betrayed my trust, Chloe.’ He sounded like he was far away, although his face was close to hers as he supported her body. ‘I thought we understood each other. I was going to give you knowledge, and you would live here with me. Your life would have been a good one. Now? My eyes will be on you always. You’ll have no maid.’ He glanced at the hearth. ‘And I am going to brand you to make sure you’ve learned your lesson.’

  Stricken with agony, disabled by the sound in her head, Chloe tried to will her legs to move but couldn’t even manage a feeble kick. Her arms hung weakly. She fought to scream but struggled to gasp in breath. Vikram still held the copper tube, and she now saw the same sparkles across her vision that she’d seen when she’d been practicing on the cliff, but there were now so many she could barely see. Not even when she’d been in Solon’s power had she felt so defenseless.

  She tried to blink her vision clear as the old magus continued to scowl down at her.

  Then, even over the thunder inside her head, she heard a growl.

  Catching movement in the corner of her vision, fighting the specks of fire that dazzled her sight, Chloe saw something terrifying.

  The villa was high-ceilinged, but the giant’s shoulders were hunched, her head grazing the ceiling. Twelve feet tall with muscled limbs and a woman’s shape, she had skin like leather and a strangely familiar heart-shaped face. But her jaw was enlarged and her eyes were menacing. Fists bunched at her sides, she roared, parting her mouth to show sharpened teeth.

  Vikram whirled to face the threat, so stunned he could only gape. He dropped Chloe to the ground and when his hand left the copper tube the paralyzing hum faded away. The giant’s gaze landed upon them both, breath rumbling, immediately taking in the scene. The creature came forward and gripped the old magus around the neck.

  As easily as a child plucking a flower, the giant picked the old magus up and lifted him into the air. Taking another stride, the giant bent to one knee to dash the old man’s head against the wall.

  Vikram’s skull splintered on the first strike, but still the giant roared and continued to pound the remains of his head into the stone. Bright pulp smeared the wall but the giant continued to smash, crying out with every blow.

  ‘Liana!’ Chloe cried, finally regaining her breath and climbing to her feet.

  In moments the giant didn’t have anything to hold onto and the old man’s ruined body dropped to the ground. Clasping her two immense hands together, Liana now raised her arms over her head and brought them down onto Vikram’s crumpled corpse.

  ‘Liana!’

  The giant pounded until the corpse was unrecognizable as once being human. As Chloe cried out the creature suddenly whirled, eyes filled with rage. Chloe lifted a warding arm as the creature raised a clenched fist. Chest heaving, the giant opened the fist, crimson liquid dripping from her fingers.

  ‘Liana! Your name is Liana! It’s me, Chloe!’

  The hand hovered in front of her, wavering for what felt like an eternity. The giant’s breath heaved as Chloe continued to say the eldran’s name, praying for her friend to return.

  Finally the giant slumped, looking down at the ground. Chloe sighed with relief as gray mist surrounded the creature from head to toe.

  Chloe stood again on the cliff, gazing out at the surrounding plain as the sun set on one of the strangest days of her life. A reddened sky matched the color of blood. Streaked and smeared, it reminded her of the wall inside the villa.

  Sensing movement, she turned and saw Liana, now a young eldran with a heart-shaped face, soft green eyes, and wild auburn hair. Her face and body was bruised and battered but if there was one thing Chloe knew it was that her friend was stronger than she looked. Liana joined her at the cliff, and it was some time before a voice broke the stillness.

  ‘I buried his body,’ Liana said.

  Chloe turned to regard the eldran, whose face was inscrutable. ‘You didn’t have to do that,’ she said softly.

  Liana shrugged. ‘I killed him.’

  ‘I’m sorry you had to. But . . . Liana . . .’ Chloe’s mouth worked soundlessly. What should she say to the woman who had saved her? ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I beat him to a pulp,’ Liana said, suddenly looking at Chloe with shimmering eyes. ‘I became a monster.’

  ‘No, you didn’t. You fought in the only way you could. You saved my life. It was only when you began to turn wild that something else showed itself.’

  ‘I hope you’re right,’ Liana said, taking a deep breath as she gazed out at the land below.

  Another silence ensued. Watching the vivid sunset, Chloe once again remembered why she had asked Tomarys to teach her to fight. She’d made a promise to herself never to feel helpless, but she’d failed.

  ‘So I suppose we’re leaving now,’ Liana said
.

  ‘No,’ Chloe said. She faced the eldran and saw Liana looking up at her in surprise. ‘I’m not leaving. I won’t ask you to stay with me’—she smiled as she reached out to squeeze her friend’s shoulder—‘even though I hope you will.’

  ‘You’re staying? But why?’

  ‘Vikram has books here, and he has items of magic. I’m not ready to leave just yet.’ Chloe’s voice firmed. ‘I have something within me that I need to control. Before we go, I’m going to learn what I can.’

  42

  ‘A heavy purse then,’ Dion said to Cob.

  ‘As soon as the oil is sold in Myana, without a doubt.’

  ‘Was it worth it?’

  Dion shielded his eyes. He and Cob were sailing the Calypso, the old man at the tiller and Dion manning the sail, although the vessel could just as easily be managed by Cob alone. But Dion had missed the polished timbers of her interior, and the way she danced in front of the wind.

  And after the loss of the Dauntless, with the Gull once again Jax’s flagship under Reece’s command, it was better for everyone that he sail the smaller vessel.

  ‘Dion . . . It wasn’t your fault.’

  ‘Reece certainly thinks it was.’

  ‘Reece is a fool. No one was expecting that crazed woman to start a fire on her own ship. You saved Jax’s life, he said so himself. Reece is just upset about Gideon, we all are. But unfortunately for you, he’s decided that you’re to blame.’

  ‘We’d better get a good ransom,’ Dion muttered.

  ‘We will. Mercilles is giving us six talents of gold. Six! And better yet, he’s going to have to live with Fatima for the rest of his life. I can’t think of a better revenge than returning her to her husband.’

  Dion scowled up at the sky. He’d lost his ship, which was worth far more than six talents of gold. He’d done his best, yet here he was, a one-time captain without ship or crew.

  ‘Lad,’ Cob said softly. ‘The men will remember the fire, but they’ll also remember the way you captained the Dauntless.’ Glancing back, Dion saw the old man shaking his head. ‘You handled her like you’d been sailing her for a lifetime. The men will pass their tales on to the others. Like Zarkos’s crew, they’d sail with you to the edge of the world, given the chance.’