“Yes, he’s gone. And, yes, the Raven’s managed to convince the king to appoint me as grand admiral, but that still—”
“Wait a minute,” Jade said. “You’re the new grand admiral. What about leading the Revenant?”
Talon was the new grand admiral? And the Raven is close enough to the king to have sway over him? Who were these people? And how did they get in so deep?
“The Raven is the leader of the Revenant, not me,” Talon reminded them.
“But you speak for the Raven,” Jade said. “No one else even knows who he is.”
Talon went on, “The fact of the matter is that your orders were to stay out of sight and avoid contact, neither of which you accomplished. Now we’ll have to persuade the king the Revenant isn’t worth pursuing. As a result of this and my new position, you’ll be seeing less of me.”
“So who’s going to lead us?” Jade asked.
“You are,” Talon said.
“Me?” Jade asked in surprise.
“Her?” Strike said at the same time, pushing off from the wall. “Hold on a minute, I outrank her.”
“You outranked her,” Talon said. “Past tense. The botched mission happened under your watch. You take responsibility. I’m appointing Jade in my stead. When I’m not present, you will defer to her in all matters.”
Great, Robert thought. Jade had it out for him.
“Don’t we get any say in this?” Trout asked.
“This is not a committee!” Talon said. “Nor is it some council to be debated.”
“Yes, sir,” they all said.
“Now,” Talon said. “I want you all to lay low. Until this all blows over, no one is to so much as leave this cave.
Thankfully, Will and the others didn’t pass any more patrols. He urged Leland to keep moving. Leland listened, partly because everyone in the group regarded Will as a hero now. “We all could have been dead had he not shouted a warning,” they said. The truth was, if it weren’t for Will, they never would have been attacked.
They traveled until about an hour after sunset then set up camp for the night. He volunteered to dig the graves while the others made the evening preparations. It was his fault after all. It was always his fault. This was his penance.
Ocken joined Will to help after he and Riley finished securing the perimeter.
“You and Blake were pretty close?” Will asked.
Ocken glanced up at Will and then resumed digging.
“I imagine you were,” Will said. “I only knew him for two days and I felt like we were good friends. He was just that kind of guy, you know?”
Ocken kept digging. Will stopped for a moment and rested his hands on the top of the shovel.
“You ever feel like you’re the most unlucky person in existence? Nothing ever goes your way? My life’s been one big mess after another,” Will said. “Do you pray, Ocken? I pray sometimes. I don’t know if it makes any difference, but I like to think it does. Do you want to pray with me? For Blake and Francine?”
Ocken stopped digging. His eyes met Will’s and he nodded. Will said a prayer for both of them. He prayed to Iket, god of death, asking him to grant them mercy. Then he issued a silent prayer to Merva, goddess of secrets, asking her to keep his.
“Thanks, Ocken,” Will said.
His head tilted and his brow furrowed.
“For talking. You’re a good listener, so thanks.”
Ocken nodded again.
Some of the others joined them, and the graves were finished before long. Ocken and Will carried the bodies and laid them into their final beds. The others took turns giving a brief eulogy. Will didn’t hear any of them.
He couldn’t stop thinking about how this was all his fault.
“Will!” Riley shouted in an annoyed tone. Will blinked a few times and turned to look at her. Everyone else was gone. “Are you deaf?”
“No, why?”
“I’ve been trying to get your attention,” she said.
“Oh, sorr—I mean, I had a lot on my mind,” Will replied. “What do you need?”
“The food’s ready,” she said. “Everyone’s eating. Francine usually cooked, so tonight’s menu isn’t anything spectacular.”
Will followed her back to the campfire and grabbed a bowl of what appeared to be tomato soup and sat down on a nearby log. No one said a word. The fire crackled and popped as he ate.
His soup was burnt. Will didn’t know you could burn soup. The others all finished their meals and went to bed. All except Will. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep.
Riley stood to take up her post keeping watch.
“I’ll take the first watch,” Will said. “You go to bed.”
“Are you sure?” Riley asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I need some time to think.”
“Yeah, sure,” she said quietly and headed for her tent. She paused, turned back, and started to speak, then changed her mind and went to bed.
Will sat there staring at the embers for another hour. Watching the life slowly drain out of them was a lot like watching people die. He’d seen death enough in the past few days to know. Many of them at his own hand or because of him.
As he looked over at the tents, he wondered how many more had to die for him. Perhaps he was better off alone. Perhaps they were better off without him.
Will couldn’t let anything happen to them because of him and he’d hoped they would forgive him for what he was about to do.
He stood and walked over to the caravan. As quietly as he could he grabbed a pack and filled it with a few waterskins and some flint to start fires. He would have liked to have taken a bedroll, but he simply couldn’t carry everything.
Instead, he opted to be more practical and grabbed some bread and vegetables. With his supplies gathered and his borrowed gear on his back, he set out, leaving the camp behind.
It wasn’t more than an hour before he came to a fork in the road, one path leading north, to Derton, and the other heading east, to the mountains. Will continued a little way down the eastern road, and then made camp. He would have stopped sooner—it wasn’t wise to travel alone at night—but he needed to get off the main road in case they came looking for him. Even if they wanted to, they wouldn’t follow him now. Their road led to the north and his to the east.
Deep in his heart, Will knew it would come to this anyway. He told Leland from the start that he had plans to leave.
Then why did he feel bad about it?
It wasn’t the most conventional way to part. In fact, it was rather stupid now, thinking about it. What if bandits slit their throats while they slept? Guilt and shame washed over him.
Well, he wasn’t going back now. He made his clean break. He’d deal with the consequences.
Ocken awoke to the chirping and songs of the morning birds. His eyes opened and stared at the lightening blue sky as a new day greeted him.
He blinked. Will hadn’t woken him in the night. He startled and jumped to his feet in a hurry. What happened? Were they attacked? How did he sleep through it?
His body relaxed seeing Riley sleeping next to him, her chest still rising and falling. The camp didn’t look disturbed, snores still filling the air.
Riley stirred at his feet.
“Ocken?” she asked blearily. “Is everything all right?”
“I don’t know,” he said, his voice stern.
Ocken left the camp to find Will. He checked the lookout, but Will was gone. Was he hurt? Was he taken?
Ocken knelt down and examined the area. No blood. No misplaced dirt or broken twigs. There was no indication of a struggle. But where was Will?
Ocken tried to recall the past two days. When he joined them, he said he was headed east, over the Frostpeaks. Ocken could only think of one reason he would want to go there, but he initially shirked it off. No one even knew about that temple.
Ocken only knew about it because of an ancient legend passed down amongst his people. A legend that he knew was all too true.
<
br /> He didn’t believe that was Will’s destination when he first heard it, but after the previous day, Ocken was no longer willing to ignore the possibility. Shriekers were like bloodhounds. If the thing reacted to Will, then Will had one of the soul stones.
Possibly even the Soul Render.
If there was even a remote chance that he could be right, he and Riley needed to leave right away. Ocken stood and marched back to the camp with renewed determination.
He returned to his bedroll and began packing his things.
“Riley, come on. Get up,” he said.
“What did you find?” she asked.
“Will has the Soul Render,” he said.
“What?” she asked in alarm. “Are you sure?”
“I’m all but positive,” Ocken said. “He’s left and gone for Anima Sanctum. We need to leave if we’re to catch him.”
Concern filled Riley’s face.
“What?” Ocken asked.
“We can’t leave,” Riley said. “Blake’s dead, Will is gone… If we leave, what’ll happen to Leland and the others? What if they’re attacked again?”
“We’ve been after this stone for years!”
“No,” she said with authority. “The stone is my responsibility, but so are the lives of these people. We’ll go after Will as soon as we see the caravan safely to Derton.”
Will set up a fire in the morning to roast some vegetables for breakfast. He was in the middle of his meal when he heard the snap of a branch followed by shouting.
Not good.
Was it Drygo’s men or Alexei’s? How did they find him?
The fire. It was a beacon leading them right to him.
Stupid, Will thought.
He kicked dirt onto the flames, extinguishing them, and climbed the nearest tree. He moved to draw his bow and realized he’d left it, along with his pack, on the ground by the fire.
Now they would know he was nearby. Will drew his dagger. At least he still had that, but it would only be useful against one or two guards. He couldn’t take out a whole army.
Will sat and waited as the shouts drew closer. A figure in a burgundy cloak ran through the woods from the direction of the shouts, directly for his camp.
Red, he decided to call her.
A soft snap drew Will’s attention to his left. A guard was sneaking up on the campsite from the opposite direction. Were they after her, or him? Red couldn’t see the guard and kept advancing forward. Will wasn’t about to reveal his position, so all he could do was let it play out.
Red seemed genuinely surprised to find the campsite. She looked from side to side then she helped herself to a piece of bread from Will’s pack.
She scanned the trees until she stopped at Will’s tree. Her eyes locked with his. Will froze. At that moment, the guard snuck up on her from behind, spun her around, and grabbed her by the wrists.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he said.
“Let go of me,” she said as she struggled to break free, their dance positioning the guard’s back toward Will.
She kicked his shin.
“You little—”
Will had had enough. He jumped from the tree, landed on his feet behind the guard, and slit his throat. Before Will had a chance to say anything, the other guard, the one who had been shouting, was on them. Seeing the bloody dagger in Will’s hand, the guard drew his sword.
Will ran at him, ducked around his swing, and plowed into him, knocking him to the ground. The guard swung his blade again, but Will kicked it from his hand and plunged his dagger into the man’s heart.
When Will stood up and turned around, Red was gone. He ran after her. Flashes of red revealed her general direction. Racing through the trees, he caught up with her and grabbed her around the waist. She spun on him, swinging her fist. Will let go and backed away before it struck.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a minute,” Will said, holding up his hands. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Who are you?” she asked, her fists still raised. “I don’t know you.”
“Your rescuer for a start,” Will said.
“Rescuer?” Red laughed, relaxing her posture. “I could have handled those two. Dumb as a sack of bricks. I was their prisoner and they didn’t even bother to shackle my hands and feet.”
“What did you do to become a prisoner of the king’s guard?” Will asked.
“Like I’d tell you,” she said. “I don’t know you, remember?”
“My name’s Will,” he said as he held out his hand.
She didn’t take it. “You’re very forthcoming. What is it you want, Will?”
Will scratched his head. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“A real hero, aren’t you?” she said. “I’m fine, thanks. All right, well, I’ll be going now.” And she turned to leave.
“Hey, hold up,” Will called. “Where you headed?”
“None of your business,” she said, not bothering to slow her pace.
“You’re headed east, aren’t you,” Will said, catching up to her. “Over the Frostpeaks?”
Red spun on Will, disarmed him, and pointed his own blade at his throat. “What do you know?”
Will swallowed, but didn’t say anything.
“Speak,” she yelled.
“Nothing. I know nothing,” he said. “It’s just the direction you were headed. This road doesn’t lead anywhere else.”
She pulled the dagger away from his throat and released him.
“I’m headed that way, too,” Will said. “Do you want to come with me?”
“I don’t need your protection,” Red said.
“I didn’t say anything about protection, but by the looks of it you could use some food, and I just happen to have a whole pack full. You should know. You stole from it.”
She stood motionless, deep in thought. “Fine. Let’s go get your stuff.”
“Can I have my dagger back now?” Will asked.
“No, I think I’ll hang on to it for a little while,” she said, a coy smile on her face.
“You’re real friendly aren’t you?” he asked.
“I’m not out here to make friends,” she said.
Will paused briefly, then resumed walking and said, “What did you say your name was again?”
“I didn’t,” Red replied.
“Right,” Will said. “Well, if you’re going to eat my food and use my weapons, I think I deserve that much.”
“Priscilla. My name is Priscilla. All right? Now, can we go?”
They made it back to the camp and retrieved Will’s pack. Red—he was still going to call her that—swiped a sword off one of the guards and they set off.
“So. Tell me a little about yourself,” Will said.
“No.”
“Okay, I’ll start,” Will said. “I grew up in Celesti.”
“You really like giving uninvited and unwanted information, don’t you?”
“I’m just trying to make conversation,” Will explained.
“Well don’t,” she said.
Will didn’t know what to make of Red’s attitude. Was she playing hard to get? Or did she literally care nothing for the people around her? She could at least be a little grateful.
They continued on in silence.
The Frostpeak mountain range stretched all the way from Celesti in the north to just east of Shadowhold. As the mountains drew closer, it became easier to notice a distinct difference to the ones Will knew back home.
“Did you know,” Will said, breaking the silence, “that despite their name, the Frostpeaks don’t actually have any snow on them this far south? It’s too warm.”
“Brilliant,” Red said, rolling her eyes. “I’m so glad my new companion is the king of useless facts. Maybe you can educate a bear to death.”
“Companion?” Will asked, turning to look at her.
“Acquaintance… travel buddy… annoying idiot?” she replied. “Pick whichever you like.”
W
ill decided to change the subject. “You’ve got some pretty good moves. Who trained you?”
“My uncle,” Red said. “He’s in the military.”
“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Will said, smiling.
She smirked.
“So where did you grow up?” Will asked, thinking he was getting somewhere.
“All right, sharing time’s over,” she said. “Less talking, more walking.”
Will’s small victory was short-lived.
They traveled the remainder of the day without saying another word. Will wanted to find out what she knew about the soul stones, if anything. He assumed it was her who had opened that book before him. But he didn’t want to push his luck, so he held his tongue.
They stopped for the night just a few miles from the foot of the mountains.
Will plopped his pack on the ground and said, “You’re not going to steal my food and run off on me in the middle of the night, are you?”
“Got me figured out do you?” Red quipped.
“You’ve already tried it once,” Will explained.
“Yeah?” she said, cocking her head. “Well, maybe I feel a little safer having someone else around.”
“Thought you didn’t need protection?” Will asked.
“I don’t,” she spat.
Will stared at her, waiting for her to explain.
Red let out an exasperated sigh and said, “I could avoid a lot of trouble if people don’t see me alone and think me a helpless girl to be taken advantage of.”
“So you’re a pragmatist?” Will asked.
“In some areas,” Red agreed. “Sure.”
“So… I can trust you not to steal my stuff?” Will asked.
“Yes,” she said.
“Pinky-swear it?”
Red narrowed her eyes and said, “What are you, ten?”
“Just do it.”
“Fine,” she said throwing her hands in the air.
Red placed her pinky in Will’s and they shook.
14
Will woke the next morning and found that, to his surprise, Red hadn’t run off in the night. After a short breakfast, he and Red once again made their way eastward. An hour later, the trees ended and they found themselves standing before a massive ruin.
Soul Render (Soul Stones Book 1) Page 12
