The Warrior's Curse

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  “Do we know where he is now?” I asked.

  Tenger nodded. “That’s why it’s so important you’ve come. He’s somewhere in Woodcourt, but we know nothing more specific than that. Since the death of Sir Henry, it’s been abandoned by its servants, but the Dominion still uses it. Of all of us, you and Trina know it best, so we need you both to lead the search. The rest of us will be there for support.”

  Harlyn leaned forward. “You say the Dominion uses it. What does that mean?”

  “We’re not sure of their current numbers, only that there are fewer soldiers now than there were a few days ago, so at least that is good news. We need to expect a heavy defense—as many as five Ironhearts for each one of us.”

  Harlyn smiled over at me. “That’s a relief. I thought we’d have more of a challenge.”

  Tenger’s sharp glance showed no humor whatsoever. “This is nothing to joke about. It is possible, even likely, that we will lose some people in this mission, or worse, that we won’t get Basil out alive.” He turned to the rest of the group. “Our top priority is to learn from Basil where he hid the Olden Blade. That is more important than his survival, and more important than yours.” Now his eyes returned to me. “Even more than a king.”

  “I’ll go in with the rest of you,” Gabe said, “but we need more of a plan than each of us taking down five Ironhearts.”

  Trina’s eye flicked to my hardened right forearm. I knew what she was thinking, and I was too.

  “I don’t really have a plan,” I began, “but I do have a Rawkyren that is ready to be tested.”

  “What can it do?” Huge asked.

  “I don’t know, honestly. But we seem to be connected by thought, and I have the very strong sense that it wants to be part of whatever we’re doing.”

  Trina stood and pointed to Tenger’s map of Woodcourt. “For that dragon of yours to be useful, we need to draw the Ironhearts outside.”

  “How do we know it will attack?” Tenger asked.

  Harlyn looked from him to me. “Rawk will protect Simon. Put Simon out there as bait. The Ironhearts will want to capture him alive. And the dragon will attack … probably.”

  That caused my heart to skip a beat. I really didn’t know how this would go. “Probably. Thanks for the suggestion, Harlyn.”

  She leaned over and kissed my cheek, a gesture I knew the others didn’t miss. “I’ll be right there at your side.”

  “It’s as good a plan as we’ll get on such short notice,” Trina said. “When do we leave?”

  Tenger reached for a disk bow, one I assumed he had stolen from an Ironheart somewhere. “We go now.”

  Until now, my communication with Rawk had been passive. I was always aware of his general location and purpose, as he surely was with me. But I’d never attempted to make a demand of him. I didn’t even know if that was possible. Rawkyrens seemed to be the last of the breeds of dragons. Something in them was fierce enough to survive, and I would not dare to expect his obedience. I could only hope for it, and I was hoping now as never before that he would come. My life literally depended upon it.

  Since we seemed to share thoughts, I sent a thought to him for the first and most important step in Basil’s rescue: to draw the Ironhearts out of Woodcourt. Every available Corack was already stationed nearby with disk bows and hopefully would bring down the Ironhearts as they emptied out of the house.

  Every available Corack, but two. Trina would lead Tenger into Woodcourt to find Basil and either bring him out, or keep him alive until we had secured the manor.

  Harlyn stood near me, and when the last of us were in place, she whispered, “Are you sure Rawk will come?”

  Almost as if in answer, Rawk immediately flew overhead, his silvery wings spanning wider than when I had last seen him. He landed on the garden lawn almost directly in front of me, which was a problem. I needed to be in place to defend Rawk as the Ironhearts came outside.

  “I think he landed there to protect you,” Harlyn said with a slight smile.

  “Well, I know what’s coming. He doesn’t. Follow me.”

  I led Harlyn to my left. Huge and Gabe were hiding on the sides of the garden, and I motioned to them where we were headed. But no matter how fast I moved, Rawk shifted his position to stay in front of me.

  “I’ll go hide with the others,” Harlyn said. “I’d tell you to stay safe, but it’s obvious Rawk has it under control.”

  She had only taken a few steps when the first group of Ironhearts emerged, nearly ten by my count, though I didn’t have as clear a view of the area as I would have liked. Gabe and Huge shot off a few disks, and the Ironhearts ran for cover, shouting into the house for help.

  I tried to send thoughts for Rawk to allow me to fight, but when he remained in my way, I ran toward him, even as he widened his wings to protect me. I grabbed the end of one wing and climbed up on his crouched rear leg to see better, but with that wing, he swept me onto his back and, instantly, I detected his thoughts. He was going to fly.

  No, we were going to fly. The thought of it sent ripples through my gut, but I’d known this was coming sooner or later. I gritted my teeth and desperately felt around for something to hold on to, but Rawk’s scales were smooth and harder than the metal of my sword.

  “I’ll fall!” I warned Rawk, but my words were drowned by his roar as we took flight, escaping a black disk that would have hit him otherwise. Or maybe that wasn’t a problem. From this height, I saw other fallen disks on the ground directly in front of where he had been. None of them pierced his scales.

  Rawk angled in a sharp circle over the gardens, which might have made a quick end of me except that my hardened forearm seemed to give me both strength and balance on Rawk’s back. And in the middle of his arc, Rawk let out a fiery breath hot enough that it nearly evaporated the Ironhearts below who were targeting us. Another group emerged and met the same fate, even before they could strike.

  “No more!” I shouted at Rawk. So far, I hadn’t seen my sister, but it was possible she was inside.

  A single soldier had remained hidden beneath an overhang attached to Woodcourt. Even from here, I could see him shaking. He stood and called up to me, “If we surrender, we are dead anyway. But will you allow us to run? That may be our only chance.”

  Tenger was nearby, and I knew what his orders would be. So I quickly replied, “Then get everyone who is inside that home as far from here as possible. You have two minutes. After that, anyone we find will be ours.”

  Faster than I thought possible, the man shouted an alarm that became muffled when he raced inside Woodcourt. Within seconds, from my altitude, I saw Ironhearts empty from the manor as if lightning were at their heels.

  Huge, Gabe, and Harlyn ran from their hidden positions to begin a cursory inspection of the interior gardens. When Rawk seemed to think the area was safe, he landed on a low wall nearby. I leapt off his back, relieved to be on solid ground again, then ran into the east wing to begin searching rooms.

  Lily Dallisor’s room was in the rear, and nothing looked even slightly out of place.

  Sir Henry’s apartment was on the opposite side of the corridor. I opened the first door. No soldiers were here, though the clearstones in the room were warmed. I also noticed half-empty mugs, still steaming, and an unfinished game of cards. Evidence of soldiers who had left in a hurry.

  Farther on, I opened the door to Sir Henry’s bedroom at the same time as Trina and Tenger entered the room directly from the gardens. Basil was in the bed against the wall, pale and so thin that the bones of his face were prominent. His light blond hair was filthy and matted on one side, and his wrists were tied to the posts of the bed, which seemed absurd considering that he was clearly too weak to attempt an escape. For all I knew, he was already dead. His eyes were closed, and he wasn’t moving.

  Trina reached him first but paused to stare at him. I saw sympathy in her expression, which I understood, but other emotions were there as well that were harder to identify. This was a
side of Trina I’d rarely seen before, more tender than the brittle veneer she usually displayed.

  Finally, she pulled back the sheet that covered him, revealing deep bruises on his arms and bare chest. She placed her hand over his heart and left it there for several tense seconds before saying, “If he’s alive, it won’t be for long.”

  Tenger leaned over Basil and loudly said, “You’re with friends, Sir Basil. You must tell us where the Olden Blade is.”

  Basil’s eyes fluttered, and he stirred slightly, then settled again into unconsciousness. I noticed more heavy bruising along the sides of his neck when he moved. The Dominion had been working on him, but I figured he hadn’t told them anything about the Olden Blade, or he’d be dead already.

  Trina started to say something, but then her eyes widened and she shouted my name. From almost directly behind me, an Ironheart had emerged from a closet. His sword struck once against my right forearm, but before I could engage him, he made a second swipe along the side of my body. I struck back, injuring his shoulder, then he ran for the garden door. Tenger followed, but he disappeared into the gardens. Seconds later, Huge called out, “I got him!”

  Trina stood halfway between me and Basil, clearly unsure of where to put her attention. “Are you all right?”

  I nodded and leaned against the wall for support while I kept a hand over the worst area of my injury. “Tend to Basil.” My life was not in danger. His was.

  “What can you do for him?” Tenger asked.

  Trina looked at him and shook her head; then Tenger turned his gaze on me. “Please tell me you know where Kestra is. We need her.”

  A thought entered my heart, so clear that I knew where it had come from. “Even if I knew, I couldn’t get to her in time to save Basil.” I caught the flap of a dragon wing outside the window overlooking the garden. I smiled at Tenger. “But I think my dragon believes he can.”

  With those few words, Rawk launched himself into the air, flying south. As I expected, toward All Spirits Forest.

  Toward Kestra.

  I eyed Joth suspiciously, my heart beginning to pound in my chest. What did he mean, if our magic was compatible, if this worked? If what worked?

  Loelle squeezed my uninjured hand. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk. What happens now is up to you.”

  I started to ask what she meant, but she was already walking outside, making the vague excuse of needing to do “something important,” so I asked Joth the same question. “What is supposed to happen now?”

  “Endrean magic—your magic—is different from the magic of my people. The Navan are able to combine our abilities, amplifying each other’s powers and working as one. But as I explained earlier, it’s never been attempted with anyone of another race.”

  I rolled my eyes. “So if our magic combines, then you’ll be able to use my powers, and I’ll be able to use yours?”

  “Yes, for as long you and I are connected … in theory.”

  “So this connection isn’t permanent?”

  “With the Navan, it is.” Joth sighed. “Combining magic is a very personal experience. It requires the two people involved to share each other’s thoughts and emotions. The bond becomes very close … the closest of all bonds.”

  “I won’t do it,” I said. “We don’t even know each other, and we certainly share no feelings for each other.”

  He smiled. “If you have any feelings at all for me, I know what they must be. I apologize for my behavior earlier. I felt my mother was forcing something upon both of us without caring for the consequences of combining magic.”

  “What consequences? Are you speaking of love, because—”

  “Connecting powers has nothing to do with love, but it often becomes love, because no one will ever be closer to you than the person with whom you have combined magic.” When I didn’t answer, he said, “My mother first proposed this idea after she brought you to All Spirits Forest. I rejected it too, for all of the same reasons you oppose it, though I’ve begun to change my mind. I know Celia’s death upset you, and I know you’re trying to do what you believe is right. So maybe enough good remains in you that we can work together.”

  I rolled my eyes, wondering what might follow that sour compliment. Would he congratulate me for not getting anyone killed today? Or admire my features with the glow of Endrick’s curse on my skin? I had no interest in him or his piercing words.

  Sensing my irritation, he added, “I’ve had a month to get used to the idea of connecting. I wish I could give you the same time too, but the Dominion is clearly aware of what you’re doing here, so we’re out of time. We should at least test whether we truly can combine powers.”

  I was skeptical of that too. “I won’t do this test. I’ll find another way.”

  He started to answer, then tilted his head and, with a tone of surprise, said, “You have a visitor.”

  My brows wrinkled. How was that possible?

  Without another word, he walked to the door where Loelle was waiting on the other side. “Stay ready,” he mumbled to her. “I’m told there is some unrest.”

  Then he widened the door, and almost instantly, I felt a new presence in the room, something warm and loving, something familiar.

  “Darrow?”

  I couldn’t see or hear him, but I knew he was there.

  “Where is he?” I asked.

  Joth nodded sideways. “Beside me. He’s staring at you, Kestra.”

  My eyes filled with tears, and I turned to about where Darrow would be. With a quick glance at Joth, I said, “I’m going to heal him.”

  “He’s different than the others here,” Joth said. “He was cursed differently, so there is more … substance to him. Yet it will be harder than you think to restore your father, requiring more than you alone can give.”

  I immediately understood where this was going. “But if you and I were connected, then I could do it, is that the plan?” Joth hesitated, and I stepped closer to him. “I will not be forced into this!”

  “I didn’t bring him here! He came …” Joth cocked his head again. “Wait. Something has happened.” He started toward the door, but Loelle opened it first.

  “I hear noises,” she said. “Oropods. They’re inside the forest!”

  Joth held up his hand for silence, listened with a growing tension in his eyes, then said, “The Dominion has breached the forest boundaries. We are doing our best to stop them, but there are so many, we can only slow them down.”

  “We’ve got to get Kestra out of here,” Loelle said.

  “Not without my father!” I was firm on this point. “What do we need to do? I’ll connect with you now.”

  “Not like this,” Joth said. “I won’t do it this way.”

  An oropod screech sounded in the distance. Far away, but not far enough. Loelle grimaced, then held out her arm to me. “Take what you need to restore your father,” she said. “Hurry!”

  I held out my hand, and Joth told me that Darrow had placed his hand against mine, something I felt in my heart rather than on my skin. As quickly as possible, I sent strength to him, gradually feeling warmth against my palm as a faint image of my father appeared. Drawing from Loelle, I continued to give to him, though I was fading fast, and I was terrified of taking too much from Loelle.

  The faint image of my father gradually grew in presence, like a person emerging from a fog. As soon as I saw the light in his eyes, I fell to my knees and released Loelle, whom Joth caught before she fainted entirely. While he helped Loelle to a bed, Darrow knelt beside me, touching my face with his fingers, then wrapping his arms around me.

  “I thought I’d never see you again through living eyes,” he whispered.

  Tears ran down my cheeks, though I was too empty to return his embrace. I only said, “I’m sorry.” I wasn’t sure why I was saying it, only that I knew I needed to.

  Another screech cut through the darkness, though this one was different from before. Darrow stood and ran to Joth’s door, cracking it
open.

  “I’ve called the others to come.” Joth began strapping any weapons he could to himself. “They’ll guard my home for as long as we need them to, but that won’t help us escape.”

  “An escape is available to at least one of us,” Darrow said, widening the door. “And I think it’s you, Kestra.”

  Directly outside the door was a dragon, noticeably larger than the giant condors in Lord Endrick’s service. Its scales were silver and more reflective than the finest mirrors. Its eyes were large and intelligent and as focused on me as when Simon used to look my way. The dragon crouched low, as if waiting for a rider.

  Loelle must have seen it too, for she sat up on one arm and said, “Trina rode with us when we left Nessel. At that time, she told us that Simon had saved a Rawkyren. Do you suppose—”

  “He sent this animal to find me,” I whispered. “I think I’m supposed to ride it out of here.”

  “You can’t go alone,” Loelle said. “As weak as you are, you’ll fall to your death. Joth, you must go too.”

  “She’d rather have her father there,” he said.

  “But she needs someone with magic,” Loelle said. “Go with her.”

  I looked up at Darrow, who smiled as kindly as he always did. “A battle against the Dominion is coming,” he said. “I’ll be there for it, I promise.”

  “You need to go now,” Loelle said. “If the Ironhearts get closer, the spirits can keep them at bay for a while, but not forever.”

  That was enough to get me to my feet. With Joth’s help, I stumbled toward the Rawkyren, rolled onto its back, and felt Joth’s arms wrap around me as he braced us for a launch into the air. Which happened so suddenly that I felt like my stomach was floating up to my chest; then we cleared the treetops and went higher. And sometime shortly after that, I fell asleep, utterly exhausted.