Authors: Maria V. Snyder
And her patients had thanked her by pretending to be asleep when Kerrick and Loren had finally reached her. He couldn’t call it a rescue since she’d stayed behind after they had escaped with Ryne. It had been a miserable ten days, but she’d broken out on her own and had saved Danny and Zila from Tohon.
“Can you cure them?” Kerrick asked.
“I thought so, but the plant Avry mentions in her journal doesn’t grow this far north.” Danny pointed to a drawing of a plant with large heart-shaped leaves. “So I’m trying to find another that will work as well before the disease spreads.”
“Any luck?”
“Not yet, but there are plenty more books to look through.”
“Want help?”
Danny beamed at him in relief, which meant the boy had been worried Kerrick would object to his decision.
“Sure.” Danny explained the specific healing properties he was looking for.
Kerrick pulled a book off a pile and settled next to Danny. They worked for a while in silence, but it didn’t take long for Noak to enter the library with an equally tall man by his side and a few guards behind him.
Disgust creased the stranger’s sharp face. He resembled a bird of prey with his hooked nose and his blond hair hanging loose like feathers over his wide shoulders. He wore a warrior’s uniform and held his dadao at the ready. The powerful muscles along his long arms were as thick as Quain’s. Kerrick stood and braced for trouble.
“It is just as I expected,” Noak said to the man. “He is with the boy.”
“So they can conspire against us,” he snapped.
No one else had taken that tone with Noak except his father, so this must be the Jevnaker leader, Olave. His bright blue gaze swept Kerrick with contempt.
“He keeps his promise,” Noak said.
“To lull you.” He pointed the sword at the books. “We can’t read that. He’s probably going to poison us all.”
“I don’t have to,” Kerrick said.
Olave swung the blade’s tip toward him. “Explain.”
Kerrick glanced at Noak as if seeking his permission just to anger Olave. When Noak nodded, he said, “The sickness will kill you all. Good riddance, as far as I’m concerned.”
With a cry, Olave lunged at him. Kerrick sidestepped the thrust and grabbed a chair just in time to block the next attack. The dadao was primarily a chopping weapon, and Olave hacked the wooden chair to pieces as Kerrick dodged and ducked.
Eventually Kerrick was left with a single spoke. But he used it like a sword. Avoiding the sharp edge of Olave’s weapon, Kerrick countered along the flat of his blade. Kerrick snaked in past his defenses a few times, rapping him on the arm and poking him in the stomach. Olave didn’t have Noak’s skill or finesse. Each touch increased his fury. A part of Kerrick knew this fight wouldn’t end well for him, but he was having too much fun goading him.
Despite Kerrick’s skills, a sword beats a wooden stick every time. Olave unarmed him and pressed the dadao’s tip into the hollow at the base of his throat.
“Olave, my father has him under
our
protection,” Noak said.
“He should die,” he said.
“That is not your decision.”
“Nor yours, princeling. You shouldn’t have brought him here.” Olave traced the four scars on Kerrick’s neck with the blade’s tip. “These marks mean he’s lucky. Nothing more.”
“Even so. He is protected.” Noak put his hand on the hilt of his dadao.
Olave stepped back. “Not for long. Once I marry your sister, I will challenge your father, and take his place.”
Noak laughed. Kerrick stared in amazement. The man did know how to smile.
“It will be your right to test my father,” Noak said. “But consider, a man armed with only a chair almost defeated you.”
“I spared your pet dog. For now. Once I’m leader, he’ll be the first to go, followed by you.” He left without saying another word.
Kerrick touched his throat. The cuts burned, and blood coated his fingers, but they didn’t seem deep enough to worry about.
Danny stared at his neck with a strange expression. He reached toward Kerrick with an intense focus. Kerrick recognized the significance of it. He had seen that same avid gaze on Avry’s face before she healed someone with her magic.
Kerrick grabbed Danny’s arm, making sure he didn’t touch the boy’s skin. If Danny healed him in front of Noak, then they’d never let Danny go free.
CHAPTER 16
Estrid had a day to decide to either accept the unconditional surrender or to condemn us all to death. The atmosphere sizzled with tension and fear. But for me, that day passed in a watery blur. As I checked on my patients, tears leaked until they built up so much pressure I had to run to my room to muffle my sobs. Most of the people in the infirmary believed I was upset about the potential surrender, and I didn’t bother to correct them as I stumbled through the day like one of Tohon’s dead.
My thoughts kept returning to what Cellina had told me. At first, I had thought she lied just to be cruel. But she had described Kerrick’s death with such horrific detail. Plus she had his sword. The one his father had gifted to him. Kerrick would never part with it willingly.
Sleep was impossible. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw an image of Kerrick being torn apart by a pack of ufas. Grief and guilt filled me until I thought I’d burst into a thousand pieces. Giving up, I returned to the infirmary. I hadn’t had a good rest in days, and I doubted one was in my future.
While my patients slept, I organized the supplies and prepared the morning’s round of medicines. When I exhausted all those tasks, I returned to my room, settled on my bed and sorted through my meager possessions. If Estrid surrendered, I had no doubt I would be claimed by Tohon and would need my pack.
The gloves Belen had given me caused tears to flow. I crushed them in a fist, hoping he was still alive. Perhaps I could ask Cellina if he’d been captured when she returned for Estrid’s answer.
I found the Death Lily’s toxin sacks as I dug deeper in my pack. Why had the Death Lily given them to me? The toxin wouldn’t work on Tohon’s dead soldiers, and I wouldn’t use it on anyone living. Well...I’d love to inject it into Tohon, except he was immune. I placed the sacks on the night table, considering.
Tohon would have no qualms about using these to threaten and/or torture his enemies since almost everyone pricked by the poison suffered a long, horrible death. And those few who survived turned into healers. That was the theory. Tohon had been trying to create more healers, but I had destroyed his garden of Death Lilys and rescued Danny and Zila—the only survivors of his horrendous experiment—before it could be proven. It might be years before we’d know for sure.
I should destroy the sacks so Tohon couldn’t confiscate them. Yet, the Lily had wanted me to have them. I mulled over what else I’d learned about the toxin. When Tohon had injected it into me, my body had reacted as if I was inside a Death Lily. My consciousness had floated free from my body, but my body had obeyed Tohon’s commands. When I’d witnessed Tohon creating his dead soldiers, he’d injected something into them before freezing them in a magical stasis, keeping their bodies from decomposing.
Rolling one of the sacks along the table, I remembered believing he had used the Death Lily toxin to animate the dead, but they had no consciousness to detach. Plus he froze them so the toxin wouldn’t work. Except the substance he’d injected had worked despite the stasis.
The Death Lily had also made a point to show me that the Peace Lilys didn’t bring me and Flea back to life...well, not technically. That it had been a combination of the serum and a touch.
Tohon had hundreds of Peace Lilys growing all around his castle in Sogra. What if Tohon had injected Peace Lily serum into someone who had died? Horror welled. Were they really alive?
No. With a shudder I recalled their lifeless gazes, black blood and rotting smell when they’d been decapitated. Not alive, but able to understand and follow orders. Why? Tohon had touched them after administering the serum. I’d assumed he was putting them into a stasis to keep them from decomposing, but what if it was the serum that kept them from rotting? Flea had been inside the Lily for six months and had been perfectly preserved!
So then Tohon’s touch revived the dead. But they weren’t truly living. Tohon’s magic must not bring the dead all the way back. Or else he manipulated his magic so he’d have these obedient, unstoppable creatures. That made the most sense.
I considered. Perhaps if his dead were injected with Death Lily toxin it would counteract the effects of the serum and stop them. I picked up the sacks and was halfway to the door when I remembered we were under a flag of truce. Estrid would never agree to break that for my crazy theory. If it failed, the consequences would be her entire army’s lives.
I could treat my throwing knives, sneak out to the eastern edge of the combat zone and trigger the dead to test my hypothesis. Of course, that was assuming I could keep out of their reach. What if it didn’t work? And what if Tohon found out? He could say I’d been acting under Estrid’s orders and use it as an excuse to kill everyone.
Why hadn’t I thought of this before? I returned to my bed. Setting the sacks back on my night table, I lay down. If I couldn’t test my idea, then who could? Ryne. He wasn’t working for Estrid. Tohon’s encirclement prevented me from searching for him. Although if Estrid surrendered, there would be no need for the dead. Perhaps I could slip away then.
No. Tohon would never allow me to leave. I could ask Saul or Odd. Would they be able to find him? He had to be nearby. I refused to believe he’d abandoned us. Once again I hopped out of bed. I needed to talk to Saul before Tohon arrived, which would be anytime after Cellina reported Estrid’s answer back to him.
Grabbing the sacks, I placed them in my pack. On my way out, I passed Flea’s bed and paused. Flea and I had a connection. Could I use that bond to find him as he had found me when I’d been in trouble?
Flea had said he’d been dreaming. Since there was no way I’d be able to fall asleep, I would need to take a sleeping draft. I glanced out the window and hurried to the infirmary. Dawn was about an hour away.
After giving one of the caregivers instructions not to disturb me unless it was an emergency, I poured a small dose of the draft and returned to my room. Hiding my pack under Flea’s bed, I slipped between his sheets, hoping his scent of earthy vanilla would help me. I swallowed the draft in one gulp.
With my thoughts firmly on Flea, I lay there until my body relaxed. My limbs felt heavy, and then a numbing nothingness pressed down on me.
* * *
“Avry, wake up,” an annoyed voice said.
A hand shook my shoulder. I batted at it. “Go away.”
“You don’t want to miss this,” Saul said, pulling me up.
“Miss what?” My groggy thoughts couldn’t keep up, and I stumbled.
Saul caught my arm. “Cellina’s back.”
“Oh.” The fog in my mind disappeared with a cold realization. I had slept the morning away and hadn’t dreamed of Flea’s location.
With disappointment filling my chest, I followed Saul from the manor house. Cellina and her ufa entourage waited in the courtyard. Estrid’s army had gathered close, but not too close to the ufas.
Soon Estrid and her staff arrived. One look at the High Priestess’s defeated expression and everyone knew her decision. Jael stood to the side. The wind gusted with her anger.
“What shall I tell King Tohon?” Cellina asked.
“We...” Estrid paused. “We surrender.”
The truce flag fluttered. The flaps of the tents snapped. Tree limbs bent and shook. Otherwise, not another sound pierced the air.
“Unconditionally?” Cellina asked.
“Yes.”
“Wise choice.” Cellina unrolled a scroll and read from it. “Tomorrow morning a company of King Tohon’s soldiers will come to confiscate all your weapons. You will also release all your POWs. After both are secured behind our lines, King Tohon will arrive. You will prepare a royal feast for him and his retinue. The High Priestess, her staff and all her high-ranking officers, including Jael Ozero and Healer Avry, are required to attend, along with Prince Ryne and his staff. After—”
“Prince Ryne isn’t here,” Estrid interrupted.
Cellina covered her surprise quickly. She lowered the scroll. “Where is he?”
“We’ve no idea. He and his little army disappeared the night before midsummer’s day.”
Scanning Estrid’s soldiers around the courtyard, Cellina didn’t appear convinced. “I will inform the king.” She resumed her instructions. “After the feast, King Tohon will conduct the fidelity ceremony. Every single soldier in your army, every priest, priestess, staff member and member of your family shall kneel before King Tohon and swear loyalty to him.”
Cellina rolled up the parchment. “Failure to comply with his wishes or any attacks on those under his protection will be considered a violation of your surrender and will result in the total annihilation of your people. Until tomorrow...” She swung her horse around and spurred it into a gallop. The ufas kept pace.
After that little speech, I’d leave quickly, too. The murmurs from the soldiers increased to an angry buzz. Estrid returned to the manor house without addressing her troops, which caused even more consternation.
“I guess that’s it,” Saul said. “All that training for nothing. General Jael was right—we should have gone on the offensive months ago.”
“And you would have lost many more lives,” I said.
“Better than being forced to fight for Tohon.”
I paused as a terrible thought welled. From what I knew of Tohon, he didn’t seem the type to trust an entire army to keep to their word. Would he do something to ensure their cooperation? Just when I thought I couldn’t feel worse over this situation, I was proven wrong.
“Your training wasn’t wasted,” I said to Saul. “I’m going to need your help.”
Saul hesitated. “I won’t break the truce.”
“This won’t.”
After stopping in the infirmary for a few supplies, he followed me back to my room. I wrote instructions and then wrapped them, a couple syringes and all but one of the Death Lily sacks in bandages, making a soft package that I tied tight.