Bitter Ashes (Bitter Ashes Book 1)

by Sara C. Roethle

  “Well, he doesn't fully believe us,” I explained, “but he doesn't want us to get ourselves killed either. I'm not sure how much he'll help, but he'll do his best to make sure we don't get caught.”

  Sophie's eyes narrowed at me. “And what took you so long to come here?” she asked suspiciously. “I've been waiting forever.”

  My face suddenly felt hot. “I um-” I stammered.

  Her eyes widened. “You slept with him! I told you not to.”

  I shrugged. “Sorry.”

  “Don't be sorry,” she snapped. “Just don't come whining to me when he breaks your heart.”

  I didn't know how to respond to that, so instead I asked, “What do we do now?”

  She turned away from me and started pacing, reminding me of Alaric. All I wanted was to go and crawl back in bed with him.

  “Focus,” Sophie ordered, glancing at me to see that my mind was wandering. “We need to help Maya escape, and we need to find the charm. The problem is which one first. If we help Maya escape, then everyone will be looking for the traitor that did it and it will become more difficult to find the charm in secrecy. We could try finding the charm first, but who knows how long it will take? I don't like leaving Maya down there.”

  “Maybe we just shouldn't find the charm at all,” I offered. “If it's such a dangerous thing . . . ”

  Sophie shook her head. “If Estus wants it, it will be found. He's already figured out that he needs an executioner to find it. He will eventually discover that using the traitor's hearts is the key, even if Maya won't tell him. If he discovers what to do, then we'll have no chance of keeping the charm from him.”

  “So you agree with Maya then?” I asked. “She thinks that Estus would be a tyrant, but isn't he kind of already?”

  Sophie snorted. “He's only a small scale tyrant right now, and he's kept it hidden well. Most of our people love him. I've never held any love for the man, but my time spent here has been mostly comfortable. I was content, until I found out about Maya. Now I can't ignore the fact that I could end up in a cell just as easily. If what Maya says about the charm is true, then Estus would be a uniting leader among the clans. He wouldn't have to worry about keeping up appearances in order to keep his numbers strong. He would have all of the numbers, so what would a few extra deaths mean?”

  I sat in order to slow the spinning in my head. “But what would he do with the numbers?” I asked weakly.

  Sophie's gaze went faraway, and she spoke like she was standing on the edge of a cliff. “I believe that Maya thinks he would have us on the outside world again, but not how we were before. I am not sure of that. As far as I'm concerned, Estus only wants power. Keeping his people underground under close supervision would give him that. The only thing we know for sure, is that whatever he plans, it isn't good. No one strives for such power for noble reasons. We need to find that charm and get rid of it.”

  I stood, my mind made up. “We need to help Maya first.”

  “It could ruin any chance we have-” Sophie began.

  “We help Maya first,” I said again. “We would still be in the dark if it weren't for her. We can't just take her information and let her rot.”

  Sophie eyed me very carefully, then suddenly pulled me into a hug. She whispered, “Thank you,” and then let me go abruptly.

  She opened a large closet and started clanking around inside while I waited. I went to the closet door to watch her as she pawed through several large wooden crates.

  “I have something in here that could help cut through the bars of Maya's cell,” she explained. “If we can get down there with no one seeing us, we should be able to get her out.”

  “Are there no keys?” I asked, puzzled.

  Sophie shook her head. “The Salr listens to the Doyen of the clan. If he wants someone to be imprisoned, the cell will not open without his say-so.”

  I nodded, creeped out by the idea of the Salr listening to Estus, or anyone for that matter. Buildings were not supposed to be sentient, even when they were magical underground sanctuaries.

  I wondered if the Salr knew what we were doing, and would tattle on us to Estus. Of course, if that were the case, Sophie likely wouldn't be talking about things so openly, and we would have already been thrown in cell ourselves.

  “So what do we do with her once she's free of the cell?” I asked. “If the only way out is Sivi's pool-”

  “That's not the only way out,” Sophie sighed.

  I put my hands on my hips. “But Alaric-”

  “He lied,” she interrupted, finally turning to look at me. Her face softened at my hurt expression. “He had no choice. He was only following orders.”

  Confusion replaced a bit of the hurt, but only a bit. “Why would Estus want me to believe that there was no way out?” I asked. “I mean, I know why he would have said it at first, but it's not like I'm trying to leave anymore.”

  “He's not going to risk you getting snatched away,” she said bitterly. “Executioners aren't exactly a dime a dozen, and we've already lost one.”

  I cringed. “He already killed one you mean.”

  Sophie rolled her eyes like it made no difference. “What I'm saying is that he wants to keep you here, badly, and from what you've told me, Sivi wants you to leave just as badly. It all backs up what Maya said.” She stood with what looked like a small stone in her hand.

  I eyed it skeptically. “And that's going to get Maya out of her cell?”

  “Yes,” Sophie replied. She closed her fingers around the stone and looked me up and down. “Are you ready?” she asked.

  “W-what?” I stammered. “You want to go now?”

  Sophie rolled her eyes at me. “Isn't that what you came here for?”

  I shook my head rapidly. “I came here to plan. Shouldn't we wake Alaric?”

  Sophie's eyes narrowed again. “You left him sleeping in your bed, didn't you?”

  I looked down at the floor, embarrassed. In an attempt to change the subject, I asked, “I thought we told him everything because we needed his help. Shouldn't we tell him what we're doing?”

  Sophie sighed. “The purpose was to have him willing to help you should anything happen to me tonight.”

  It was my turn to narrow my eyes. “You planned on helping Maya tonight regardless of what I chose to do, didn't you?”

  Sophie blushed, but met my accusing gaze head on. “I can't leave her there. I can't risk Estus storing her heart with all of the others. If you had chosen to find the charm first, I would have tried to help her on my own.”

  I clenched my jaw in frustration. At least she was honest. “So if something does happen to you, then what?”

  “You flee the scene,” she instructed. “If anyone sees you, you tell them I forced you to help me. Then you and Alaric can find the charm and get rid of it.”

  I shook my head. “If I blame you like that, you'll end up just like Maya.”

  Sophie's lips twisted into a wry smile. “If we get to the point of you needing to blame me, I will already be dead or on the run. Just promise me that if the former occurs, you'll find a way to release me. I don't want to be stuck in a corpse.”

  I nodded. “I promise.”

  Sophie hugged me quickly, then pulled away as if embarrassed. “Are you ready?”

  “As ready as I'll ever be,” I replied.

  Sophie looked at me like she didn't quite believe me, and she shouldn't have. I wasn't ready at all. Being in the Salr was the closest I'd ever come to belonging, and now with Alaric . . . I could be happy. Sophie might argue that, and she might be right, but I could still try. Now I was going to risk it all. Sophie thought I could get away without blame, but there was no guarantee. Just the thought of being under Estus' scrutinizing gaze made me shiver.

  I could have tried living in the Salr happily with Alaric, and I was about to risk it all for a woman I'd just met. It was stupid, but I couldn't just leave her there to rot, and I couldn't be blindly happy while people were being tortured
for no good reason. Ignorance was bliss, and I already knew far too much.

  At first I'd believed that what I was expected to do was just a casualty of war, but what did the other side think about that? It would have been nice to ask the last executioner what he thought about it, but he had been tortured and killed by James, all on Estus' orders.

  Even if I didn't want to save Maya, I couldn't just wait idly by for the same fate to befall me. I shook my head at my own foolishness. I should have just left when Sivi gave me the opportunity. I was in way over my head, and sinking fast.

  Chapter Eleven

  The dungeon was just how I remembered it: dark, scary, and filled with pain. We found Maya right where I had left her, but not how I had left her. At some point James had taken one of her hands to match her already missing foot.

  Sophie started crying the moment she saw Maya curled up in the corner of her cell. The battered woman now reached her one hand through the bars for Sophie to hold while she knelt in front of her.

  “I'll kill him for this,” Sophie cried as her whole body shook.

  “It wasn't James' fault,” Maya croaked. “He may be a sick bastard, but he was just following orders. Estus is the one who did this to me.”

  Sophie looked at Maya defiantly. “And that is who I mean to kill.”

  Maya shook her head sadly. “Sophie-” she began.

  “Umm,” I said nervously. “Not to interrupt, but we really should get this show on the road.”

  “What show?” Maya asked sharply.

  “We're busting you out,” I explained as I helped Sophie to her feet.

  “No,” Maya rasped. “You can't. You'll just end up down here too.”

  Sophie ignored her as she fished the small stone out of the pocket of her leather pants. Before Maya could protest further, Sophie placed the stone against one of the bars. At first nothing happened, then sparks began to fly out from underneath the stone.

  Sophie withdrew her hand until the sparks stopped, then peeled the stone away to reveal a clear cut through the bar.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked.

  Sophie didn't acknowledge me, and instead set to placing the stone on each bar until a perfect cut went two feet across. Next she cut the bottoms of the bars, instructing me to hold each one so it wouldn't fall when it came loose. The bars were much heavier than they looked, and my arms felt like pudding by the time we had a hole big enough for Maya to fit through. Sophie had to crawl inside the cell to help Maya out, since she only had one foot to stand on.

  “I wish we had something to help with the pain,” I commented without thinking as they hobbled through the opening.

  “Maya doesn't feel pain,” Sophie explained as she practically carried Maya forward.

  “How did you manage to keep that information from Estus until now?” I asked.

  It seemed pointless to torture someone who couldn't feel pain. Of course, I suppose the threat of losing a foot could make a person talk regardless of whether or not they'd feel it.

  “I knew better than to share my secrets around here,” Maya said, looking pointedly at Sophie.

  “I've learned that lesson too,” Sophie said quietly.

  Maya nodded and we all started forward. Eventually I went to Maya's other side to help speed our progress. She reeked of burned flesh and other smells, and I had to hold onto her scabbed skin more tightly than I would have liked, but it was necessary.

  We were lucky that Maya was small, or we would have had trouble carrying her out. I couldn't help but wonder how she'd even survive out of the Salr with the condition she was in.

  Sophie's eyes caught mine over the top of Maya's head. The look in her eyes was sad, yet determined, and told me exactly what she was thinking. She was going to go with Maya and leave me to find the charm on my own, even if we managed to get Maya out undetected. Sophie watched as the realization played across my face and bit her lip, waiting for my reaction. Doubting that I really had much choice in the matter, I nodded that it was okay.

  As we reached the stairs, the three of us looked up with concern. The tall steps were strenuous enough to climb in the best of conditions, and these were definitely not the best of conditions. Our worries about the stairs were erased as a new worry stepped into view. A tall figure came to stand at the top of the stairway, clearly intending to block our way, though it was too dark to see his face.

  “I'll try to keep whoever it is busy,” I said quietly. “You run with Maya.”

  “You'll be killed,” Sophie replied harshly. “Or worse, you'll end up in Maya's cell, only you'll be able to feel the pain that James will cause you. Run to whoever it is for help. Tell them I forced you to do this.”

  The figure took a step down the stairs, then another. “We're caught now,” I said through gritted teeth. “And me turning you in won't do any good. I'll try to take them down, then I'll follow you. I'll leave too.”

  The thought of leaving broke my heart, but I had no choice. I thought of waking Alaric up and asking him to come with us, but I couldn't do that to him. If Estus hunted Maya down, he would hunt anyone else that left too. I ran out of time to think as the figure drew closer. It was clearly a man, but I still couldn't see his face.

  I let go of Maya and prepared to charge at whoever it was.

  “Maddy?” a man's voice said. “Is that you?”

  “You idiot,” Sophie chided, relief clear in her voice. “You scared us half to death.”

  “You should be scared,” Alaric whispered back. “What the hell are you two doing down here?” He eyes turned toward me as he stepped close enough for me to see. “First you ask for my help, then you sneak out of bed while I'm sleeping and run off, once again not allowing me to help. What happened to letting me in on your schemes before you carry them out?”

  I shrugged, at a loss for words.

  Obviously frustrated, Alaric walked past me and effortlessly lifted Maya up into his arms. “The North breach?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Sophie answered simply as she started forward, leading the way.

  I wanted to ask what the North breach was, but kept my mouth shut as I followed our party up the stairs, then started down the hallway silently. We walked unhindered for a while and I was just starting to feel a little less nervous when I heard clicking behind me, then something poked into my back. I jumped forward and bumped into Sophie. The forward jump wasn't enough to get me out of the way, as the next thing I knew I was on my back with a tremendous weight on top of me.

  Stella's rottweiler face panted inches from my nose, forcing hot, steamy breath into my sinuses. She could have easily crushed me with her thick middle, but instead she hovered above me with her legs to either side, only placing enough weight on me to keep me still.

  “Stella!” Sophie whispered harshly.

  Stella looked up at Sophie, then looked to Maya in Alaric's arms and growled. I watched the whole scene upside down as Alaric gently let Maya down. She leaned against the wall as if only having one foot was a perfectly normal thing for her.

  Alaric glanced at Sophie. “I'll grab Stella, then you grab Maddy.”

  Sophie replied with a curt nod. As Alaric stepped closer, Stella lowered her belly more firmly against me, still not crushing, but making it obvious that she didn't want me to go anywhere.

  Alaric stepped behind Stella so that I could no longer see him.

  “Be ready to grab her quickly,” he whispered. “I don't want Stella's claws to get to Maddy when I lift her.”

  I thought the idea of Alaric lifting Stella questionable in itself, since the beast had to weigh several hundred pounds. Even more questionable was the idea that Sophie could get me to my feet quick enough to avoid getting skewered by Stella's large, bear-like claws.

  “One,” Alaric counted down.

  “Two,” Sophie said.

  Before anyone could say three, Alaric and Sophie both lunged toward the creature. Suddenly I was on my feet, and Stella was thrashing around in Alaric's arms as he tri
ed to hold her aloft.

  “Go!” he grunted.

  Sophie shoved me forward ahead of her, then picked Maya up in a less-than-graceful fireman's carry. It was either run or block Sophie's way, so I forced myself forward. I looked back over my shoulder as we took a nearby turn. The last thing I saw was Stella turning around to slash Alaric across the chest just as she let out a loud bellow.

  “We have to go back!” I wailed as Sophie used her free shoulder to shove me forward.

  “He'll catch up!” she yelled back.

  After Stella's warning shriek, we were no longer concerned with silence. Our only hope now was speed, and I was hindering us.

  I tried to force my way around Sophie to go back to Alaric, causing her to nearly drop Maya. Sophie stopped me and got in my face as she repositioned Maya over her shoulder. Eyes that had gone full-feline stared me down as she said, “He will catch up. Now go.”

  I went, not sure where I was running to, but trusting that Sophie would guide me. Tears streamed down my face as I thought of Alaric getting cut up by Stella. What if he didn't catch up? Would Estus blame everything on Alaric if Sophie and I left?

  “Wait!” Sophie shouted.

  I came to a skidding halt in front of a door to my left as Sophie stopped right beside me. She still had Maya over her shoulder, and her little stone was in her free hand. Sophie placed the stone against the lock on the door until it became a melted hunk of metal. She pushed the door open, then gestured for me to go inside.

  There was no room on the other side of the door, just a hall I had never seen before. I forced myself forward again, even though my muscles and lungs were screaming at me from over-exertion. As we ran, the clean stone walls began to show signs of erosion, and vines crept up over the cracked stones. I couldn't tell for sure since everything was a blur around me, but it seemed like the vines were moving.

  The hallway ended suddenly in a writhing mass of vines. Sophie set Maya gently down amongst the serpentine tendrils. The smaller tendrils crept forward and instantly began to envelop her, just like they'd done to me when I was first brought to the Salr.

  I watched in awe as Maya's form disappeared from view with barely a sound. I was so entranced that I only heard the footsteps a moment before someone grabbed my wrist and whirled me around. I came face to face with James, whose nose was badly bruised. He watched my fear for a moment, then tugged my wrist again, bringing me toward him so that he could hold my back firmly against his chest.