by B. T. Narro
“Yes, she told us everything,” Jaymes said. Shara wondered if this meant Cedri had revealed the truth about Neeko. She feared what the commander would say next. But he fell silent, shifting his gaze to the next man to be questioned.
It seemed as if Jaymes was done with Shara. It would be foolish to ask if she was to be detained. So she took Laney’s hand and walked where they could speak in private.
“How have you been?” Shara asked.
“Bored, tired, hungry. All we do is walk and train. I miss the castle.”
Laney seemed no less ready for battle than when they’d last spoken. “Are you scared?”
“Yes, but I can control it. Jaymes has taught me how.” She closed her one hand into a fist. “I’ve gotten stronger.”
Shara didn’t know if she meant with using pyforial energy or being brave. But as she looked the woman up and down, her gaze taking in the light leather armor, Shara thought Laney did seem stronger in every sense of the word. Perhaps she was ready for battle.
Shara would never be ready herself, and this gave her no shame. She’d often wondered what she would do in Laney’s position, asked to choose between staying in prison and killing Southerners. She imagined she’d be in much worse torment than she could find on Laney’s cheerful countenance.
“Where is Neeko?” Laney asked.
“I’m unable to say.”
Her jaw dropped, insulted. “Not even to me? I care about him just as much as you.”
Shara didn’t believe anyone could feel the way she did, but she would never doubt that Laney’s feelings were fierce.
“He’s nearby and safe.”
Laney’s shoulders tensed. “I want to see him. I might never again.”
Shara held back a grumble. That wasn’t going to happen. Jaymes had hardly let Laney out of his sight. He certainly wouldn’t let her walk out of camp with Shara.
“If I could bring you to him, I would,” Shara assured her. “But we would be followed. I can only return to him once I’m alone.”
“We can sneak out right now.”
Shara had forgotten how absurd Laney could be. She denied the insistent woman several more times before Laney finally gave up and sat beside Jaymes again, sulking.
Shara now felt eager to leave, but she needed to speak with Cedri first. She desperately wanted to know what had happened with the PCQs, but that could wait. Their plan for killing the first priest needed to be reviewed instead.
She put herself behind Cedri and waited patiently, but the petite young woman never turned to face her, just asked the same question over and over to each new man or woman.
“Cedri,” Shara finally said as one man left and another stepped forward. “I must be leaving.” The psychic put out her hand to stop the next man from coming closer.
Shara leaned and whispered, “Do you remember where to meet us?”
“Yes, but be careful. There are many enemies in this forest, and it’s likely they’re on their way here.” She squeezed Shara’s hand, shocking her.
Shara gladly squeezed it back, wanting to bring it to her lips, but Cedri had turned away to question the next man. This was the first time Cedri had initiated a touch. It made Shara even more curious about what had happened with the PCQs.
She started to leave but then turned and waved to Laney. The pyforial mage just looked away. It felt like a slap to the face, and it stung even worse when Shara realized it was unlikely she would see Laney again.
She turned for one more try. Fear took over the pain as she noticed two men coming for her. One put out his hand, motioning for her to stop.
Two hells.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
NEEKO
Neeko knew he should be sleeping during this time, but he was too worried to rest. He’d lifted himself onto the branch of a tree overlooking the perimeter of the army where Shara had entered. He’d seen an archer raise an arrow at her, then she gave her name, and another man had come to bring her to Jaymes.
It was a constant temptation to hover farther south, to find another tree in the middle of the army where he could watch Shara and ensure she would be safe.
He sat with his legs extended along the broad branch, his back against the trunk. Neeko could hear whenever the archer moved, but he couldn’t see him through the darkness.
It felt like an hour had passed before Neeko heard voices from somewhere nearby.
“What’s this?”
“He needs to relieve himself.”
“I certainly do, and it’s going to stink like the bushbox of an eighty-year-old prostitute, so you might want to give me some distance.”
It sounded like three different men. But when Neeko looked down, all he saw was a sea of black. Then a yellow light broke through, and the three of them appeared. One held out a wand, the source of the light.
“That tree, there,” said what looked to be an officer. Each wore leather armor, but his was thicker and adorned with the symbol of a gold coin—a dalion.
The mage walked out and disappeared behind the trees. The officer walked after the man.
“You like watching?” teased the mage.
“Shut up and go.”
The archer remained in his current spot, glancing toward his officer and the mage. There was a crack—fire and light, nearly startling Neeko into falling. Mixed into the sound of the explosion was the deep scream of a man.
“Traitor,” a weak voice sputtered out. Then it found some strength and yelled again, “Traitor!”
Neeko moved pyforial energy beneath his arms as he noticed the archer begin to run toward the explosion.
“Sir? Sir!” the archer yelled.
There was no reply.
“Gods. Stop! Traitor!”
The mage was running, the light of his wand traveling quickly and about to disappear. Neeko soared to get above the forest canopy. The light was faint from so high up, but the dark night made it easy enough to follow.
He flew as fast as he could. It wasn’t much faster than he could run, but given that his quarry had to be running around trees, bushes, and rocks, Neeko soon caught up. Knowing he needed time to get down, he went farther.
As he descended through the trees, he heard the archer screaming in panic about the traitor and trying to catch up. Neeko came down a few trees in front of the mage, bracing his harsh landing by bending his knees and slapping his hands on the ground so he wouldn’t topple forward.
“Oh shit,” the mage muttered, panting as he aimed his glowing wand. Neeko shot out his hand and grabbed it with pyforial energy, then yanked it free from the man’s grip. The light went out, leaving only the mage’s silhouette amidst the dark forest.
Neeko flicked his wrist, using another cluster of pyforial energy to grab what looked to be the man’s leg. Feeling the py squeeze down on flesh, Neeko pulled hard. The silhouette fell and let out a grunt. Neeko felt fingers trying to pry off the energy. He held steady while gathering more, then pressed it down on the mage’s chest to trap him.
Men were coming, the archer closest among them still screaming about the traitor. Neeko had just enough time to escape if he wanted to avoid capture, but it would mean letting the spy go. His mind raced for alternatives. He had swords. He could kill the spy and then flee. No, they need to question him.
It was too late, the archer had arrived. There was a moment of silence save everyone’s haggard breaths. The archer seemed confused, not yet drawing an arrow as he slowly came toward the fallen mage. Then he crouched down over the grunting man as Neeko kept him subdued with py.
“What’s this on him?” the archer asked.
Before Neeko knew how to answer, the mage screamed out, “Pyforial energy! That’s Neeko. By the order of the king you must shoot him.”
“If I’m going to shoot anyone, it will be you, traitor.”
“Can you detain him?” Neeko asked, needing to leave. There were more men coming, all of them shouting for the location of the traitor.
The archer answ
ered them instead of Neeko. “Here! Come here!”
“Please,” Neeko said. “I want to help, but I can’t stay.”
“Stay!” The archer sounded panicked as he aimed an arrow at Neeko.
He could knock the archer off his feet so he could get away, but the traitor would get away as well. The mage might’ve just killed an officer. Neeko couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“Shoot him!” the traitor urged. “He is to be shot on sight and you’re not following this order.”
“I don’t want to kill you, Neeko,” the archer told him. “But I will shoot if you try to run. You’re coming back to the camp with this traitor, and Jaymes will decide what to do.”
The other men arrived. There were about ten of them, and more kept coming. Many were mages who lit the forest for hundreds of feet around them.
It didn’t take long after that for everyone there to understand what happened.
They roped Neeko in the same fashion as they did the traitor, with his hands behind his back. Then they surrounded him, two holding his arms firmly so he couldn’t fly away. But just in case, three archers had arrows knocked, warning him that they would shoot if he tried to escape. The majority of them watched him instead of the spy as they were brought back into the camp.
They walked past many people, and Neeko could see the gossip spreading ahead of him.
“He shot Officer Marron with a fireball.”
“Who’s the other?”
“That’s Neeko, the pyforial mage.”
Everyone stared as they spoke openly. Shara’s not going to be happy to see me like this.
“Was the officer killed?” Neeko asked the surrounding men.
“He’s still alive,” one answered, “though he might not be for long.”
Another man cuffed the spy on the back of his head. “You must be with the South, you bastard.”
The spy gave no answer.
The man smacked him again. “Admit it!”
“We’ll get the information out of him soon,” someone else said.
Officers came to oversee the escort. Neeko and the spy were marched between thousands of watching eyes, campfires illuminating the tents and foliage.
They were brought straight to Jaymes. The commander showed no emotion as he spotted them.
“My gods,” Shara’s voice rang out. Then he saw her, separated from Cedri, Jaymes, and Laney, with two men on either side grabbing her arms to stop her attempted approach.
Neeko showed her an apologetic look. She looked more hurt than worried, as if wondering why he would allow himself to be caught.
“Chain them both to that tree,” Jaymes said.
“Wait, is that Neeko?” Laney hurried toward him. Everyone stepped out of her path as if afraid, making Neeko figure she’d used py on someone who’d tried to stop her from getting somewhere before. The men holding Neeko’s arm tightened their grip as she came near.
“Laney,” Jaymes called to her. “Stay with me.”
She halted halfway between the commander and Neeko and looked back at Jaymes. “You won’t kill him.”
Neeko couldn’t let her get involved. “Laney, it’s all right. I’m cooperating.” For now.
Thick chains were thrown around Neeko’s chest as well as the spy’s. Jaymes’ men brought the chain around the massive tree at Neeko’s back. All the slack was pulled out, the metal digging into his chest. It locked in place, and the men came back in front of him.
“What happened?” Jaymes asked them.
“This one shot Officer Marron and tried to flee,” one answered, then pointed at Neeko. “And he stopped the traitor from escaping.”
Neeko hoped this would earn him some respect, but Jaymes was his usual emotionless self.
“Ask him,” Jaymes requested of Cedri.
“Are you a spy?”
“Are you a whore?” the spy replied in a childish voice.
Jaymes drew his longsword. The spy tried to move away as the commander trudged toward him, but the chain held him in place. Jaymes pushed its tip into the spy’s shin. It stopped against bone as the mage howled in pain.
“What do you know about the ambush?” Jaymes asked.
The spy only replied in whimpers until Jaymes pulled out his blade and moved it over the man’s crotch.
“Wait, I’ll tell you!”
“So tell me.”
“First, I’m not allegiant to them.”
Jaymes twisted his neck to give Cedri a pointed look.
“He’s telling the truth, sir.”
“Then you must not be allegiant to anyone,” Jaymes concluded.
The spy shifted his leg and groaned, then cracked a smile. “That’s correct. I’m allegiant only to the coin, commander.”
“How many years have we paid for your service?”
“Six. But those pyforial bastards have been paying me for three, and they pay me much, much more.”
Neeko finally found some emotion on the commander’s countenance, a twist of his mouth in anger. “Tell me about the ambush.” He pushed the tip of his sword against the man’s crotch.
The spy squirmed as his voice went shrill. “I will say nothing until my demands are met!”
Jaymes put a small amount of weight behind his sword, leaning forward. The spy shrieked and tried to push against the chain holding him steady. “Time is not in your favor!” he yelped. “You’ll want to hear what I have to say soon.”
“Is this true?” Jaymes asked Cedri.
“It seems to be. It’s difficult for me to tell because he’s so scared about…that…” She gestured at Jaymes’ sword.
The commander stepped back reluctantly. “What do you know?”
“I want to be let free after I tell you everything.”
“You shot an officer. He’s with my medics, fighting to stay alive, and you want me to let you go?”
“Think of it this way, commander,” the spy said with a sneer. “If you kill me, many more of yours would die than if you’d listened to what I had to say and let me go.”
“You can go free if you give me information that will save lives,” Jaymes said.
The spy looked to Cedri. “Is he telling the truth?”
“Yes,” she answered in a cold and raspy tone, making a face that showed she was cursing the man in her mind. “He’s telling the truth.”
“Now how can I be sure you’re telling the truth?”
“I am.”
Neeko hoped this wasn’t the case. This man didn’t deserve to go free, no matter what information he had.
“I don’t believe either of you,” the spy said. “Here’s what we’ll do. Bring me to the edge of camp and give me a scroll and a quill, then I’ll write everything down from atop a horse. When I’m done, I’ll toss it to you as I ride off.”
Jaymes didn’t even take a moment to consider the man’s offer. He stepped forward and grabbed the spy’s neck with one hand, pushing the blade against his stomach with his other.
“Here’s what we’ll do, instead. I’m going to start slowly cutting open your stomach until you’ve told me everything you know, and then I’ll stop.”
The spy scoffed. “I will say nothing.”
“Take off his armor and shirt.”
They had to go around the tree and loosen the chain, but Jaymes’ men obliged. Neeko didn’t dare try to escape and neither did the spy as they waited for the chain to tighten again.
Now bare chested, the spy shivered heavily, probably as much from fear as from the cold. Jaymes drew a dagger and pressed it firmly against the man’s side.
“I’d recommend you start talking.”
“This will get you nothing!” the spy shouted.
“I think otherwise.” Jaymes spoke in a cool tone as he pushed the tip of his blade an inch into the spy’s bare flesh. A shriek scraped out of the man’s throat. Jaymes ripped his blade out at an upward angle, opening the wound. Blood oozed out as the spy’s scream sharpened.
“It’s going in
again,” Jaymes warned, readying the tip next to the wound. “Talk!”
“Stop!”
Jaymes pressed in the blade, producing another scream. Then he ripped it free, extending the wound even farther toward the spy’s chest. Neeko was nearly shoulder to shoulder with him and could smell the unmistakable odor of blood.
“Our medics will have no hope of saving you if this keeps going,” Jaymes told him, readying the blade again.
“Stop! Stop!”
Neeko’s ears stung from the man shouting right beside him.
“You’d better tell me something quickly,” Jaymes warned.
Neeko glanced at Shara. She’d covered her face with her hands. But Laney and Cedri had matching hard stares at the spy’s bleeding stomach. Neeko, like them, felt no sympathy for the traitor, though it had started to sicken him.
“You cut me again and I won’t say anything,” the spy threatened.
“We’ll see about that.” Jaymes opened the wound farther.
The spy yelped, his scream half full of panic instead of complete pain. “You’re still going to be attacked!” he yelled.
“When?” Jaymes yelled back.
“There’s no way to know. They would’ve changed their plan once they realized that whore left early, after they figured out she was a spy.”
“It sounds like you know nothing.” Jaymes readied his dagger, about to extend the cut.
“Wait. I know much about the PCQ because of my involvement!”
Jaymes halted. There were hundreds watching, all silent. Shara peeked from behind her hands, then quickly covered her eyes again.
“They want the North to lose this war just as badly as the South wants to win.”
“Obviously, but why?”
“I can tell you that, sir,” Cedri said. “They share the same belief as the South. They’re deeply religious and think the gods will kill everyone in Sumar if the sacrifices don’t recommence. In fact, they’ve already made other sacrifices they believe are responsible for stopping the weeks of rain that came months ago. There is more that I know—I probably know more than this man does.”
“You don’t know half of what I do, bitch.”
Jaymes pressed the bloody tip of his blade against the spy’s navel. “I’m going to rip your whole chest open if you say anything else besides what you know about the PCQ.”
