A Crumble of Walls (The Kin of Kings Book 4) (9 page)

Neither had spoken until she’d finished and handed it to him.

“I assure you this will be more than enough for the warden to release her.”

She’d sounded as if she expected him to
thank
her. She was lucky he didn’t run a sword through her black heart.

Why would his father lie now? Basen opted not to find out. Henry had always been direct and sometimes stern to the point of frightening people. He wouldn’t hold himself back from telling Crea what he thought of her. Especially not here at the Academy, where she had no power over him like she had in Tenred castle. To lie meant Henry was covering up something else—
an inability to meet with Crea
.

That’s it,
Basen realized.
He doesn’t want to meet with her because he can’t treat her in the only way she’ll allow people to treat her. He can’t play that role anymore.

Basen wanted to tell his father he needn’t worry about that any longer. Crea had been stripped of much of her power. But shouldn’t Henry already know that?

God’s mercy
. “You want to kill her, don’t you?”

He expected his father to deny it. He
wanted
his father to deny it. Henry looked like a different man as he met Basen’s gaze with a lowered head. His eyes burned with a deep rage Basen hadn’t seen since the day of their exile.

“She would’ve let Juliana rot in prison for years, just for a chance at conquering Kyrro. Your mother has been through
enough
.”

The power of Henry’s words could’ve moved mountains.

“She has,” Basen agreed. “Which is why we should get her out as soon as we can. I saw how she lives, Father. She’s trapped with a group of ignorant women who have annoyed her to the point of anger. She never gets upset, so you know how miserable she must be for me to have seen her like that. But even through all of her torture, she pleaded with me to leave without her because I might’ve been in danger. Let’s not make her wait any longer.”

“I wouldn’t want to but…” His father raised his eyebrows. “You mean to go yourself. That’s why you’re not in battle training. You’re preparing to leave imminently!” Henry shook his head. “No. She wouldn’t want you to do something so dangerous, and I don’t, either. Besides, you can’t get there any faster.”

“But I can.”

“Tell me you’re not thinking of going through the pathway.” Henry squinted and leaned close. “You’ve always assumed yourself to be invulnerable. Your mother and I constantly worried we’d hear news of your death after you climbed up some precipice to impress your friends. You’re too old and smart to live like that anymore.”

“Father, there’s no risk. I’m going to make a portal there. I’ll get her out
today
.”

Henry tilted his head as he took pause. “You mentioned portals yesterday, but I didn’t understand what you meant. To what could you be referring?”

Basen patted his father on the shoulder and smiled. “You should be proud. Your son is a portal mage.”

But Henry seemed to be in no mood for joy or pride. He took Basen’s hand off his shoulder.

“Explain yourself.”

“How else to explain it? I can make portals.”

Henry appeared annoyed, as if this was a joke.

“I’m serious,” Basen said. “You can stay and watch if you’d like.”

“You really can make a portal?”

“Yes, to Tenred. Specifically to the kitchen on the first level. I can’t make a portal everywhere, only where I’ve been before, and it has to be a place where bastial energy has been gathered enough times to weaken the invisible walls of our world. Jack Rose can explain it better, if you want. Or you can wait until I return. I don’t have time to get into it right now.”

Henry’s mouth hung open as he looked to be waiting for the punch line to a joke he cared little about.

“Show me now,” he demanded.

“I can’t. I need a charged akorell stone for each portal, and I won’t waste its stored energy just to prove to you I can make one. I’m not ready to go through the portal yet.”

“
You
have an akorell stone?”

“Yes. You remember Alabell? She took the akorell stone from Kyrro’s castle when she escaped and later gave it to me.”

Deep lines formed in Henry’s forehead.

“I can’t return with Mother. I can only free her. But I trust that the people coming with me will bring her back to you safely. You’ll see her soon enough. I need to go to Merejic after Tenred to fulfill a promise I made to someone very powerful. He’s a psychic, Father, so I could use some specific instructions on resisting psyche.”

Henry didn’t say a word, his confused expression never changing.

Effie came to the open doorway and waved. Basen nodded to her and told his father, “It’s time for me to go. So if you have anything to tell me, any advice…”

Behind Effie were Steffen, Annah, Vithos, and Crim the Krepp. The mage had done well getting them here quickly after lunch hours. Basen hadn’t even finished packing yet, though he could in another minute.

His father turned to see the party going with Basen, then returned his focus to his son.

Say something, Father!

But Henry still remained silent.

“Effie is one of the strongest mages at the Academy,” Basen explained. “She’s experienced with both bastial and sartious energy. Steffen is the only true battle chemist I know of, skilled with bow and sword, and he’s a healer on top of that. Annah is knowledgeable and good with psyche, perhaps the best of the first-years. The three of them will get Juliana back here safely.”

Annah bowed low as Henry faced them fully. “It’s an honor to meet you, Henry Hiller.”

Basen was surprised, and even more so when the others, except for Crim, bowed as low as Annah had. A sight like that would’ve been common in Tenred, but it was something else to see his father already had garnered such respect here in so short a time.

“I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to meet any Krepps,” Basen said. “Crim helped us return to the Academy the first time, and it’s in his best interest to help again. When we go to Tenred to free Juliana, we’ll also be freeing some of his imprisoned Krepps.”

“Not my Krepps,” Crim grunted. “No Krepp belong to Krepp.”

“I can understand why Crim would go,” Henry said, “but why would the rest of you choose to do this?” When none gave a response, he looked at Basen. “Did you force Terren to send them?”

“No, Terren doesn’t know.”

Henry gave Basen a disapproving look before asking again, “Then why?”

“It’s not just to get Juliana Hiller out of prison,” Steffen replied. He appeared the least uncomfortable about delivering this inevitable news as he moved and gestured more fluidly than Effie and Annah, who looked as stiff as wood. “There’s another plan that involves all of us, not just Crim.”

“But we
will
bring Juliana back safely,” Annah added. “We won’t be doing anything dangerous. Our trip won’t take more than an additional half day to do what we plan.”

“What about you, Vithos?” Henry asked. “Basen didn’t mention what you would be doing.”

Basen wasn’t shocked that Henry knew the name of the most powerful psychic in their army. He and Terren probably had strategized much already. Hopefully this little adventure wouldn’t interfere with what they wanted to do.

“I will go with Basen to Merejic,” the Elf said in his rough Kreppen accent. “I will return to Elves to make sure
Basen
return.”

“And what will Basen be doing there?” His father’s gaze bore through his son.

“Surprising that psychic I mentioned” was all Basen would admit. “And to do that, we need to leave now.” Fatholl probably wasn’t expecting him for a few days. Hopefully this would give Basen a chance to discover Fatholl’s plan before being trapped and forced to execute it.

Henry was sure to find holes in this plan—holes Basen already knew about and didn’t need reminding. There was no proof his plan would work, but when he had this feeling that something would succeed, it always did.

Basen went to retrieve his akorell stone from his room while Henry and the rest crowded into Annah’s room. She was the only one who hadn’t packed a bag yet and quickly got to it.

“Did you get enough food?” Basen asked Effie when he made his way in.

She patted her backpack. “Plenty.”

“Did you speak with Penny before you left?”

“No, I figured it would be better to miss class than to try to explain. You know how she is about battle training. She thinks it will save us all.”

Basen nodded. “What about Alabell?”

Effie looked down. “It was already late by the time everyone had gathered. I figured it would be best to come straight here.”

He panicked for a brief moment, moving toward Annah’s desk. “I’d better write her a note at least.”

As he searched his heart and started to come to the right words, Annah destroyed his concentration by announcing, “I’m done packing.”

Damn.
He could fill pages with everything he was feeling. Everyone had a reason to fight, and Alabell was Basen’s. Tauwin had murdered her family and would kill her, too, if given the chance. This beautiful, caring woman, who brought nothing but good to the world—how could anyone wish to take her away?

He’d wanted Effie to bring her here so he could find some way of telling her how much she meant to him. If Alabell was too busy to come, Effie was at least supposed to say goodbye for him.

Perhaps it was better Alabell wasn’t here. If she heard what Basen was doing, she’d want to go with him to Tenred. But the task of bringing Juliana back to the Academy was more dangerous than he’d made it seem to his father. The mountains were most likely guarded, and anything could happen during the weeklong journey back. Enemy troops could return to Lake Kayvol or even venture to Tenred and spot the party returning with Juliana.

If a healer was needed, chances were great someone would die. Steffen seemed like the best option between the chemists, as he had battle experience. Truly, anyone besides Alabell would cause Basen less worry. Hopefully she would understand he didn’t doubt her skills. He was trying to protect her.

Penny, on the other hand, probably would react much worse than Alabell when she found out Basen and the others had gone.

“One moment,” Basen said, then began to write.

“Alabell, I wish I’d had time to see you before I left. I’ll have to make do with the memory of your smile. Every time I see it, it reminds me of the good in this world. I’ll need that kind of strength where I’m going.”

She deserved so much more than this quick goodbye letter. “Can you bring this to Alabell?” he asked his father. “And this one is for Terren.”

Henry took the two scrolls.

Basen pointed at the one for Terren. “That explains the plan. Please inform Alabell of it when she asks.”

Henry unrolled it and began to read. Basen drew his wand and readied his mind for the portal.

Henry pushed out his palm. “Wait.”

There was nothing Henry could say to dissuade him, but Basen lowered his wand anyway out of respect.

“To resist psyche,” Henry said, “you must feel something stronger than the pain.”

“That sounds like one of those things that’s harder than one might think.”

“It is. Pain is hard to ignore, but fortunately for us, the pain from a psychic is physical, not emotional.” He showed Basen a questioning look with his eyebrows raised, silently asking if Basen knew what he was saying.

Yes, Henry was talking about the workhouse. The physical pain of aching muscles and a hungry stomach never compared to agony of their hopelessness. Basen could put his mind there whenever he wanted, remembering the feeling of being trapped in a miserable life all too well. His mother must’ve felt the same in that horrible prison.

This feeling—this was what he had to recall the next time a psychic had a firm grip on his energy. It gave him the strength he would need, and not just against Fatholl.

But was it stronger than his feelings for Alabell? It didn’t seem as if anything could be. Perhaps she was the key to stopping the pain.

“Goodbye for now,” Basen told his father.

“For now,” Henry agreed with pride in his voice.

Everyone took their place behind Basen as he raised his wand once more. He formed the usual ball of bastial energy, then ripped the energy free from the akorell stone and combined both clusters. He reached deep into the damaged wall of the world and focused his thoughts on the kitchen in Tenred castle.

He broke through the wall as it ripped in every direction, the portal bursting open in front of him.

His father hesitantly stepped toward it as his mouth dropped open.

Annah was the first one in, then Vithos. Effie and Steffen seemed more nervous as they watched closely, possibly waiting to ensure Annah and Vithos were still whole on the other side.

Basen had practiced holding immense amounts of energy and now felt as if he could keep the portal open without his full concentration. He put his free hand on Effie’s back. “It’s safe,” he said. “You’ll just feel dizzy.”