by P. T. Hylton
“I’m sorry to tell you this, son,” Zane said, “but your father was still a pirate, no matter who he was working for. And he was a bit of a bastard, too. I speak from personal experience.”
“Caleb,” Lily said, “You are a war criminal. You are going to be executed.”
Caleb shook his head vehemently back and forth. “You’re wrong about that. I’m not a war criminal. I’m like my father. When the truth comes out—”
“The truth has come out!” Lily snapped. “There’s nothing you can say that makes you the hero in this. You’re a traitor to everyone who cared about you.”
“Not everyone.” Caleb took a deep breath before continuing. “Lily, this won’t be easy to hear, but I need you to keep an open mind. I…I have a wife. And a child. They’re in safe in Tavel. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I wanted to warm you to the idea.”
Lily was surprised to find she wasn’t angry at the news. Not even entirely surprised. She was simply saddened that this man she’d loved was so delusional.
“Listen,” Caleb said, “it doesn’t mean we can’t be together. We can be a happy family, like my father and his wives.”
“You call them happy?” Zane asked. “Last I remember, they were trying to kill each other.”
“Lily, you have to—”
“I don’t have to do anything, but I will make you a promise. I’ll see to it your family is safe and cared for after you’re gone.”
Caleb’s shoulders drooped at her words. Whether it was relief that his family would be cared for or because he was finally coming to accept his situation, Lily did not know.
Lily said, “The first thing we are going to do is—”
Suddenly Caleb dropped into a crouch and spun, drawing his sword as he did. It was an expert move, and well-executed. Lily brought her sword around just in time.
She parried, then attacked. He was undoubtedly better than her with the sword, but he was crouched down near the deck. If she could keep him there, he wouldn’t be able to use his length against her. He was in an awkward position, and she intended to keep him there.
She hammered down at him with her sword, attacking with a relentless frenzy. She saw the look in Caleb’s eyes change as she continued her assault. His gaze shifted from confident to surprised, then to something that might have been fear. Still she didn’t let up. The battle earlier had awoken something inside her, something wild and frightening, and she wasn’t sure she could have stopped even if she’d wanted to. He’d underestimated her by attacking from a position of weakness, and she would make him pay.
To Caleb’s credit, he defended himself admirably. Few could have held off Lily’s flurry of attacks. Even fewer could have done it while crouched down on the deck of a ship. But Lily could see him looking for any opening, any chance to stand up.
And that, she knew, was how she would end this.
She paused only a second, a momentary respite that could have been part of the natural rhythm of the fight. Caleb seized it, as she knew he would. He leapt to a standing position, and, in doing so, gave her the opening she needed.
She swung quick and hard, slashing his throat.
Caleb Longstrain clutched at his neck as he fell to the deck. Lily stood, forcing herself to watch, her hands shaking. In less than a minute, he was unconscious, and death quickly followed.
Lily didn’t know how much time passed, but eventually she felt Zane’s hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Lily. No one should have to kill someone they love. But you did right. You saved both our lives.”
She nodded, aware on some level of the truth in what he said. Still, in her heart, where it really mattered, his words held little comfort.
“What now?” Lily asked.
“We have to go back to Harken.” Zane grimaced. “Caleb said he’d been promised a title and land. He said he wasn’t a traitor. That he was like his father.”
Lily’s eyes narrowed as she realized what Zane was saying. Caleb’s father had been a public enemy secretly on assignment from the crown.
“Lily, I don’t think it was the king of Tavel who promised him those things. I think Caleb was working for someone on the Opelean side.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The next morning, after a brief stop at Lily’s tent to better arm themselves, they went to see Jacob. They found him alone in his tent, writing a letter.
He looked up when they entered, Zane bruised and dirty, Lily still speckled with the dried blood of her enemies. To his credit, he didn’t react. His face gave away nothing.
“Ah,” he said. “We were wondering when you two would wander back.” He managed a smile. “Yesterday was a bloody, sad day, but today is for celebrations. The war is far from over, but our victory will go a long way toward securing our position.”
“To prolonging the war, you mean,” Lily said.
“Jacob,” Zane said, “we know.”
Jacob carefully set down his quill and folded his hands on the table. “And what, pray tell, do you know?”
“We know about Caleb,” Zane said. “We know you convinced him to defect, to help start the war. We know you convinced him he’d be some sort of double agent. That he’d get some of reward, a title, land. What we don’t know is why.”
Jacob’s face darkened, but it still betrayed no distinct emotions. “I could deny it. There’s no proof. Nothing solid enough for the king to believe his most trusted advisor had betrayed him.”
In truth, Zane hadn’t known Jacob was the person pulling Caleb’s strings. Not for certain. But it all fit. Jacob had worked alongside Caleb, and he was certainly the perfect combination of power hungry and egotistical to think he could succeed in influencing the fate of nations. As Jacob said, there was no proof. And no motive, other than the pursuit of power.
Zane waited, resisting the urge to argue with Jacob. He was impressed that Lily did the same. Two years ago, she would have rushed to fill the silence with accusations and threats. She’d come so far. He was proud of her. Maybe more proud than he’d ever been of anything he’d accomplished in his petty, violent life.
Jacob sighed. “You act as if it’s just me. As if I could do something this big alone. I’m flattered, but, really, I’m only one man. It took a number of people in key positions in both the Tavel and Opel Abditus Societies. Something that’s been building for many years. I am just the spark that lit the fire. Even with all of us, it was far from easy. Starting a war, and making sure it would be a significant one is no small task.”
“But why?” Zane asked. “Who gains from a war?”
“Who gains?” Jacob smiled condescendingly as if it were a ridiculous question. “Everyone gains! Society gains! Our children and their children and their children. Do you know how much progress happens during war? How many magical innovations? Better magic means a better world. Surely even you can see that. And ever since the magic boom, we’ve stagnated. Abditus have been afraid to experiment. But when a person’s life is on the line, he tends to get very creative, very quickly.”
“That’s why you had the elves take out the Craggish abditus, isn’t it?” Lily asked, her voice shaking with rage. “Because you’re in bed with the Taveller abditus, and you didn’t like the competition of magic you don’t understand.”
Jacob scoffed. “That was just an added benefit. The plan simply made sense. Listen, I know this is shocking to you both, and that your first instincts are to reach for your swords. I ask that you let me make my case. Is it a short term evil? Yes. But think of the long term good! If you take a little time to hear what I’m telling you, I think you’ll come around. Then we can all work together to build a future for our nation.”
Zane felt an anger welling up deep inside him at the sight of this man, his old friend, who’d done so much harm. “I’d never work with you. Never again.”
Jacob threw his head back and let out a surprisingly high-pitched squeal for such a large man. “You won’t work with me? What do you think you’ve been doing
for the past two years? Who do you think sent Albert Graze to hire you to kill Irving Farns? Farns had turned into a pacifist after his wife died, and his emergence from isolation could have truly spoiled our plans. His reputation carried a lot of weight in the Society with those I needed to influence.”
Zane gripped the hilt of his sword.
“Who convinced the king to hire you to kill Charles Danum?” Jacob continued. “Who did Beth Farns give your contract to? Who sent Caleb on his mission to meet up with his mothers-in-law? Who sent Lily to the Crags? Who managed to get you named King’s Sword?” He leaned forward and smiled. “Me. It’s always been me. I’ve been manipulating your life for years, but I managed to put us in the exact position we’re in today. We are the two most powerful men in Opel. The king will dance to the tune we play him. Please, for the friendship we once had, help me do this thing for our future.”
Zane slowly drew his sword. “Jacob, I’m placing you under arrest.”
Jacob sighed. “You sadden me, Zane.” He turned to Lily. “And what of you? It’s time to choose a side. You said vows, now it’s time to uphold them.”
Lily drew her own sword. “Like Zane said, your freedom ends now.”
“I liked you, Lily. You had such a bright future. There is so much more we could have learned together. Did you know there are other worlds out there? There is magic beyond what even the elves of old knew. Magic that can stop time itself! But we’ll never get there, we’ll never learn about it if we don’t push the boundaries. That is what this war’s about. You could have helped me. Instead, we’ll have to do this the other way.” He stood up from his desk.” Julia. Tomas. If you don’t mind?”
A woman stepped from the shadows behind Jacob. She must have been hiding there all along, but Zane hadn’t seen her. Julia Pruit. Tomas stepped through the flap and into the tent. They flanked Zane and Lily.
The Pruits stood still, and their eyes carried all the emotion of a stone.
Zane’s hands were suddenly wet with perspiration. He was about to die, which wouldn’t have bothered him so much if Lily didn’t have to die alongside him.
He glanced over at her. She was shifting her stance. It took him a moment to recognize it. Then he got it. She was preparing for the Twin Viper, the two-person sword form they’d learned together. Something about it, about the way she so casually slipped into the form without even looking at him, trusting he’d do the same, brought a lump to his throat. They were about to be destroyed by two assassins who had worked side-by-side for twenty years, who probably knew each other’s moves before they made them, but Lily couldn’t know that. She remained unfazed, her face showing nothing but confidence.
He slipped in behind her, taking his place in the Twin Viper form.
Julia spoke in her thick, islander accent. “Young woman, when you lose, take solace in the fact that you are facing the greatest assassin in the world.”
Lily raised her sword. “No. I’m back-to-back with him.” With that, she stomped her foot down, the signal for Zane to attack.
It had been two years since they’d fought together like this, but they fell into the form smoothly. Zane swung around Lily and attacked Julia from the left as Lily drifted back to protect their flank from Tomas. That opening gambit surprised most opponents, throwing them off their rhythm, but the Pruits had seen too much to be fazed by a simple Twin Viper swing attack. Julia easily parried Zane’s assault, then lunged toward where Zane and Lily’s backs touched, the clear weak point of their current formation. Zane got his sword up just in time to protect Lily from being stabbed in the back as she engaged Tomas.
Zane silently cursed. This was futile. The Pruits had seen it all, and they’d survived it all. This could not end well. Not unless he thought of something new, something they hadn’t seen, and quickly.
But he didn’t have to because Lily already had. She took a large step back from Tomas and flicked her wrist, releasing her sword and sending it flying through the air. Zane resisted the urge to cry out in frustration. She’d broken the cardinal rule of sword fighting; she’d lost control of her weapon.
Tomas took a quick step left, and the sword whizzed over his shoulder. He started to smile, but Lily made a quick motion with her empty sword hand, a hand wearing a ring too large to be anything but a magical device, and the sword stopped in midair, spun, and plunged into Tomas’s back.
Tomas and Julia let out simultaneous cries as Tomas fell. Lily was already in motion, dashing toward Tomas and plucking her sword from his back.
Zane realized he’d been watching this when he could have been pressing the attack against Julia. He swung toward her, and Lily fell in at his side.
Julia’s eyes were filled with tears. “You’ve killed Tomas,” she said in a halting voice. And then she attacked.
Zane knew she would go for Lily. Lily had to know it, too. It was the unfair advantage they’d bought themselves. Julia might be a masterful, disciplined opponent most of the time, and maybe in other circumstances she could have defeated Zane and Lily together. But now, facing the woman who’d just killed her husband, she pressed the attack toward Lily, leaving Zane far too wide an opening. Zane thrust his sword, and Julia Pruit joined her husband on the ground.
Zane glanced at Lily and saw she was breathing hard and her face was covered in sweat though the fight had only lasted a few minutes. Zane was in no better shape.
“You two never fail to surprise me,” Jacob said from behind Zane.
Zane turned and faced Jacob
“Let me see if I can return the favor.” Jacob raised his hand and Zane saw the lamplight reflect off something metal.
Suddenly, pain like he’d never known erupted in Zane’s chest, and tiny bits of metal burst forth from his skin. He dropped his sword and put his hands over his chest, but the pieces of metal kept coming. They pierced his hands as they emerged from his flesh.
A distant, calm part of his mind recognized this. The Farns thorn. The one Zane had used to kill its maker. The one he’d given Lily. What was it called? The Nettle?
Another more primal part of his mind recognized it in another way. Jacob had used a sneak attack with a thorn. The same as he’d done against Rebecca Waters so long ago. Fury filled Zane. Jacob had gotten away with it then; he wouldn’t now.
“I hope you don’t mind, Lily,” Jacob said. “I visited your tent earlier. Shame on you for hiding such an elegant thorn from your mentor. Please don’t move or I’ll use it on you, too.”
Zane’s chest was on fire, but he pushed the pain down deep inside him. He used the fire it ignited to give him strength, to stay awake, to stay alert. He picked up his sword. His hands were so slick with blood he dropped it, but when he touched it the second time, he held on with everything he had.
“Please,” Jacob said. “You don’t think you’re going to—”
Zane leapt at Jacob. He knew he’d only get one chance at this, so he put everything he had into the blow. He lunged, and his sword sank into Jacob’s chest.
Jacob groaned and fell to his knees. But with a shaky hand, he raised the Nettle again.
Zane grabbed the hilt of the sword and pushed it deeper into Jacob’s massive chest. He pressed with all his strength. The pain in his own chest sang. He heard a loud cry, and he didn’t know if it came from Jacob’s mouth or his own.
Jacob toppled onto his back, his still bent legs splayed out beneath him. After a moment, the sword in his chest stopped quivering, and all was still.
Zane took a deep breath and staggered forward. He looked down into his old friend’s empty eyes, but only for a second. He’d seen so much death over the years, and for some reason this seemed like one too many.
He gripped the hilt of his sword and tried to pull it out, but he didn’t have the strength. The world spun, and suddenly he was looking up at the room of the tent.
And there was Lily crouching over him. She was pressing cloths to his chest, and it seemed the cloths were growing wet very quickly.
“Hang on, Zane,” Lily said. “We’re going to get through this. I’m going to stop the bleeding and you’re going to make it.”
But Zane was fairly certain that wasn’t true.
He looked up at Lily and realized there was so much he wanted to tell her. There wasn’t time, not for all of it. There was only time for one thing.
“I’ve always said I am not a good man,” Zane said, his voice weak, barely loud enough that he could have any hope she was hearing him. “I think that’s mostly true. But you, you are like the best parts of me made even better. I don’t think I ever told you, but I’m very proud of you.”
If she heard, she gave no indication. She kept pressing more and more cloths to his chest.
Having said what he needed to say, Zane closed his eyes and rested.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Lily walked toward the king’s tent, her muscles aching with each step, and her heart aching with them. After all she had seen over the past few days, all she had lost, the last thing she wanted was to be here, to have to follow royal etiquette and wait on the patience of her impatient king. But she had been summoned. To not reply to a royal summons would be treason.
She had no idea what came next for her. Everything she’d loved was gone, but she knew the next phase of her life couldn’t start with her committing treason.
As she approached the tent, the King’s Guards stepped aside, allowing her entry. A few days ago, when she’d come here, they’d been nearly rabid in their protection of the king. Even though she was expected, they’d looked at her like a threat, a potential danger to their master. Now they simply moved aside. Something had gone out of them in the battle a few days earlier. They’d lost something.
Who hadn’t? Lily wondered.
Inside the tent, King Edward sat in his tall chair, his brother Christopher across from him. They each had frothy mugs in front of them, and from the easy way they sat, Lily was certain those mugs weren’t their first of the afternoon.
