Embers of an Age (Blood War Trilogy) (17 page)

None of the skin stretched tight across her face showed any hint of its natural color. Blues and black
s
and yellows dominated the flesh of her cheeks and chin. Pinkish tears spilled
from
closed and swollen eyelids.
Charred
grooves had been burned across one side of her face. Grayish ooze glistened in the depths.

Domor
’s sickened gaze
followed Zalee as she was pulled along. There had been some form of restraint on her neck, the skin raw and wet with
oozing
pus. Her breasts bore seeping puncture wounds, one nearly severed from her body. It hung by just a thin sheet of stretched flesh, blood spilling
dark
from beneath its gory crevice
to coat her torso
.

Still, Domor couldn’t look away. He had heard none of Zalee’s screams since he was taken from the room, but he felt a nagging guilt at having let Illraine lead him away so easily. He could well have fought, struggled to be free.

And the
n?

He would be dead and Zalee would have been spared none of the torment she endured.
There was nothing
to be
done
, he thought again and again as he watched
the huge woman take the Sha’ree to the strange device whose purpose he wondered about. He no longer wanted to know.

Illraine produced more of the chain and secured
Zalee to the trough
. The Sha’ree did nothing to fight her bondage. She simply lay limp as
Illraine
bound her and stepped away. She reached up and ran her hands along the stone face above the trough, her fingers seeming to dance. Domor watched her odd demonstration, and then heard a low rumble in the ground. Illraine collected the tools that lay on the table and left the room, not even
sparing
a glance at Domor as she left.

The rum
ble grew louder and he stared across the room wishing he had never wondered what the device did
, but t
here was no stopping it now. He felt a flickering
thrum
vibrating the nape of his neck, his skin prickling as a strange yet familiar feeling wafted over him. His eyes went wide when he heard the first gush.
Recognition struck home.

From the wall, pure magic spilled into the upper channel and slowly began to run down its length. Its bubbling green fluid flowed smooth through the cut channel, and after a moment, it
sluiced
into the trough beside Zalee. She moaned a throaty, hoarse sound as if sensing the magical liquid, but her eyes stayed closed. She twitched and trembled, but otherwise
remained unconscious
.

“It is a shame she was no
t
cooperative, Velen,” Sultae said at his shoulder.

He started and looked up at the Sha’ree he hadn’t heard enter the room. She stepped around in front of him.

“Quite the stubborn creature, she is
, but that is no surprise
.” Sultae dropped into a crouch before him. She seemed to measure him with her eyes, their pink orbs reflecting his image. “
She has always been such, but y
ou are not so stubborn, are you, Velen?”

Domor swallowed hard and remained silent. He glanced past Sultae to see Zalee writhing against her restraints, her eyes still closed. The pure magic swirled in the trough, circling along the channels to keep the container full. Zalee suffered for its closeness.
Given what Sultae had done to one of her own kind, Domor could only imagine what she might do to him.

“Tell me your name?”

His eyes flickered back to
Sultae’s
and he heard the word roll from his tongue before he could command it not to. “Domor.”

Sultae smiled. “Well, Domor,” her hand settled upon his chest, “it seems I have need of some information. Zalee was reluctant to provide
me with
answers, but I have no doubt you will not be so foolish. Am I correct in my assumption
, Domor
?”

“I-I don’t know…anything,” he answered, doing his best not to look away.

She sighed. “Come now, let us speak true.” She reached up and tapped his wrist where the O’hra had been until his capture. “You have been in Pathrale in recent times, and you were found in Hespayr. I do not need Zalee to
confirm
you were headed to Ah Uto Ree
, but my question
is
why
? What do you seek
from
the Sha’ree?”

He shook his head. Sultae’s hand flew to his
f
ace faster than he could follow and grasped his chin in a vice-like grip. She snapped his head to the side so Domor’s eyes were filled with the sight of Zalee
’s
thrashing
form
.

“Have I mistakenly led you to believe I am a woman who cares for your wellbeing, Domor? Let me disabuse you of such foolish notions.
I
chose
to torture Zalee for
a number of reasons, many quite personal, bu
t the overriding purpose was to learn just what
my people know
of the Grol invasion and its caus
e
.
It seems they know nothing, which is fortuitous.
However, there is information
you
must know to have been traveling willingly to my former homeland in the company of the Sha’ree and wearing one of
my
O’hra.” She pulled his face to hers. “Now, why do you travel to Ah Uto Ree?”

Domor met the fury in her eyes. He wanted nothing more than to crawl away and hide in the depths of a warm wineskin. Sultae squeezed his chin tighter, her fingers biting into the bone of his jaw.
His teeth ground together under the pressure.
He glanced once more to Zalee and
closed his eyes, tears squeezing
loose from between his eyelids
.
Domor reached deep inside for the strength to resist.
He could find none.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered to the wounded Sha’ree. His eyes slid open slowly and met Sultae’s
forceful gaze
. “Please, do not hurt me. I will tell you all I know.”

The detour at Tolen soured what
little
happiness Uthul had for seeing his home and people again. Most of the Tolen army had marched to aid their forces
,
which
had happened upon the battles at Fhen and Lathah. What soldie
rs were left in the nation
hunkered down and
were
in no position
or frame of mind to
offer any assistance to the Sha’
ree.

To further add to the ill news, Uthul was informed of the unexpected arrival of an army of Hull
to the north
. The massive stone creatures had descended through the Dead Lands and swept Y’Vel away and currently laid siege to Vel. Despite the irrationality of the Hull attack, the Tolen officer Uthul spoke to
had
made it clear the apparent goal of the creatures was Ah Uto Ree. His scouts reported the whole of the Sha’ree nation had been cut off from the rest of Ahreele
. The news struck Uthul like an arrow.

He’d continued on from Tolen and confirmed the Hull
movements
with
his own eyes. His stomach churned as he stared at the mass of
creatures
that stood vigilant just inside the border of Ah Uto Ree. It was a full-scale invasion of his homeland, their numbers in the thousands. He had never seen anything like it. The Hull had always been hostile, but they had remained within their own borders and had never journeyed south in all their years. To see such a force of them so far from the Stone Hills was disconcerting. What purpose did they have for invading Ah Uto Ree? Uthul knew the answer would terrify him.
Not knowing was even worse.

Weakened by the plague and the removal of all their O’hra, the Sha’ree had no hope of defending against such a powerful army, especially if they had no knowledge of its approach. Distracted as they
’d been
by the plague, the Sha’ree were likely still gathered in the north training the O’hra-bearers. There would be no advance warning of the attack.

Uthul knew he must get through, but he could see no break in the Hull lines. They would see him coming. He sighed, examining his possibilities. There was only one that gave him any chance of getting into Ah Uto
Ree without the Hull spying or stopping him
.
However, i
t was no less dangerous than
confronting the Hull directly.

He lurked in the trees of Y’Vel, just outside the border of his homeland hoping for some movement in the Hull rank. They held their ground, forcing his hand. There was too little time to waste on the uncertainty of their intentions. Uthul stripped the O’hra off and placed them into the bag once more.
The last Succor had stemmed the tide of the plague, but he could feel it worming inside deep his veins. It was a certainty he would suffer its virulent touch once more, but there was no way around it. He needed to warn his people of the Hull and the strange new O’hra
they would likely encounter
. He sighed, his choice made.

Uthul slipped from the border and
headed
to the Dead Lands. He saw the destruction of Y’Vel as he passed. The Hull had left no
structure
standing in their wake. Splinters of wood littered the fields, material and foodstuffs crushed and mixed into the debris. He was surprised to see no bodies, yet grateful. The Yvir were a proud race, warriors all. He had expected the land to flow with the blood of its people, but it gave him hope to see the Yvir had not thrown their lives away against an enemy they could not defeat. Uthul wondered if anyone could.

Once he arrived at the dark forest, he slipped through its gnarled branches and made his way to the closest of the magical fonts that grew rampant in the woods. He found it easily, following the glimmer of its power. As he stood before the blackened hill, watching the emerald green ooze of Ree’s life spill free, he knew the agony of his future. He had avoided the overwhelming influence of the goddess’ blood once the cause of the plague had become known, but the Grol aggression had drawn him ever closer. His paranoia had been disproven to a degree
when it came to the O’hra
, which he was pleased to learn, but there was no escaping the viral touch of the magic with what he intended. The
influence of the
O’hra and
the wounds of the
Grol battle had been but a smattering of the power he would have to endure now, and
they
had drawn the plague out. He could only imagine the
suffering he was about to inflict upon himself.

He stared at the font and whispered a prayer to the goddess that she protect him and grant him safe passage. Should she deign to do neither, Uthul prayed she look after Zalee and grant her the courage and determination to save their people.

No words left, Uthul drew in a deep breath and ran at the font. The green of its power filled his eyes as he leapt over the crest of the hill and dropped inside
the well
. Ree’s blood enveloped him
, the purest of the goddess’ magic
. He had only an instant to regret his choice, his veins burning with the fury of the sun, before the
essence dragged him down into the body of Ree
.

The push through the Hull blockade of Vel was fierce. Able to see the attack coming, the Hull fought back with unwavering ferocity. The Yvir pressed the ranks with their tree limb battering rams, but the Hull swarmed the ditch to hold their prey inside. Arrin and Braelyn took their toll on the enemy, Kirah and Jerul leaping onto the fallen creatures and finishing those that clung to life, but far too many of the Yviri warriors were lost as they bridged the trench. They fought to defend their blood-companions, giving their lives to allow the Velens safe passage across the battlefield.
Though he wanted to join the fight and begged for a weapon, Arrin thought it best that Cael travel alongside the Velen. He did so with
vocal
reluctance.

Though short, the fight was brutal and bloody. They left nearly
two
hundred warriors in the dirt of Vel.
The only satisfaction to be had was that Arrin had been right about the Hull’s
intent
. They stood only to fight as long as there was an enemy before them. Once
the survivors broke free of the
blockade
and had pressed south for Tolen, the creatures turned their backs to the battle and
began to lay waste to Vel
on their way to Ah Uto Ree
.
Less than a hundred horse-lengths from the nation
,
the Hull had lost all interest.