Authors: Maria V. Snyder
Tohon laughed as Sepp whitened. Interesting that the death magician was terrified of Tohon. And for the first time
ever,
I wasn’t. At this point I had nothing left to lose. Tohon might try to claim me again, but I was quite confident he couldn’t.
“I agree with you about Sepp, but not Cellina and her sister. It is tempting to use them, but I’m too pissed off.”
“Tohon, I—”
“No begging, Cellina, you know how much I hate it.”
“In case you didn’t realize it, your royal asshole,” Wynn said, “you’re surrounded by Cellina’s ufa pack with no allies nearby. Even Baby Face would side with us on this one.”
Tohon gasped in mock horror. “Is that true, my dear?”
“No. I’m good.”
He blinked at me in surprise. “Why?”
“You’ve always been straight with me. Unlike them. Two are traitors, and Cellina killed Kerrick. Ooh... Can I kill her? With Kerrick’s sword?”
Tohon didn’t need to know the whole truth about Kerrick. At least, not yet. I gave her a pointed look.
“That would be fun to watch. Cellina, give Avry his sword.”
“You’re insane,” Cellina said, gripping the hilt. She backed away a few steps. “Attack!” She pointed at us.
The ufas surged forward as one. I grabbed Tohon’s arm with my free hand, bracing for the impact.
“Heel,” Tohon said in a loud and commanding voice.
And just like that, they halted their charge and aligned themselves behind Tohon.
“I’m disappointed in you, Cellina. Do you really think I’d train them without a way to stop them from attacking
me?
And I’d never stray too far away from reinforcements. I’ve a squad stationed nearby.” He glanced at my hand clutching his arm. “I see you didn’t trust me either.”
I let go, but he kept my other hand. Before I could comment, he turned his head to the northwest as if listening to something. A succession of muted forest noises sounded. His cheeks reddened in anger, and his grip tightened painfully. Uh-oh.
Instead of blasting me, he said, “Cellina, you bitch. Just how long have you been lying to me?”
“Uh...” Cellina exchanged a glance with Sepp.
“Although I’m surprised he gave you his precious sword. That was quite the coup.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“Kerrick, come on out and join the reunion,” Tohon called.
Ah. He thought Kerrick hid in the forest. I said, “Kerrick never returned from the north. He died fighting the tribal warriors.”
“Then you’re in for a shock, my dear.”
Pain burned up my arm and stabbed into my chest. I yelped.
“Kerrick, the longer you wait— Ah, there you are.”
The agony ceased. What game was Tohon playing now? Everyone stared to the northwest. Guess my would-be rescuer just got caught. I followed their gazes and gasped.
The world around me faded. It blurred into blotches of colors—greens, grays, browns. Kerrick stood in the center of the big blur, clear and sharp. His gaze met mine, and the hard shell that had formed around my heart crumbled. Emotions I thought had died sprang to life, flowing through me until I was dizzy and sick.
Unlike Kerrick. His face showed no emotion. He held a strange curved blade in one hand and a sword in his other. The rain had plastered his hair to his head and soaked through his tunic. Dark circles marked his eyes. He’d lost weight.
When he released me from his intense gaze, only Tohon’s tight grip kept me on my feet. I’d accepted my fate, but Kerrick’s impossible arrival had changed the game in one instant.
Tohon’s evil smile meant he’d figured it out, as well. “Such passionate emotions,
my dear
.”
“She’s not yours,” Kerrick said, striding forward.
“Protect,” Tohon ordered.
The ufas rushed to position themselves between Tohon and Kerrick. He didn’t hesitate. He chopped the closest ufa’s head off with one mighty swing of that curved sword.
Tohon stepped behind me and put his free hand on my neck. “Kerrick, stop or I’ll take her right now.”
“You’re going to do it anyway.” However, he checked his second swing, waiting.
“I’d hoped to play with her first, but you’re right. And now I get the pleasure of watching you while I pull her life force from her body.”
“Don’t, Tohon. What do you want?” Kerrick asked. Fear shone on his face.
“This. I want to take something from you. The man who had it all. Petty, I know, but I don’t care.”
Magic tingled along my throat. I concentrated on blocking it.
“Nice try, my dear, but I’m afraid our courtship is at an end.”
“No!” Kerrick yelled.
A powerful wave of Tohon’s life magic slammed into me. Inside, an ice-cold sensation grew from my core, countering it. Not my healing magic, but something else—different yet familiar. The freezing agony reminded me of the Peace Lily serum and how it had frozen the plague. But this time, it prevented Tohon’s magic from plucking my life from my body.
He threw me to the ground in frustration, then gestured to his ufas. “Attack them.”
Gray brindled fur leapt into action, obscuring my view. Six ufas against four, they might have a chance.
Tohon yanked me to my feet. “Time to go.” He whistled shrilly as he dragged me away from the fray. “You lied to me, too, my dear. A Death Lily didn’t save you from the plague, did it? It was a Peace Lily.”
“Yes.”
“And the serum is preventing me from plucking your life. No matter, a sword through your heart will work just the same.”
If Tohon dragged me back to his squad, whose crashing through the underbrush sounded quite close, I’d never see Kerrick again. Turning around, I caught a glimpse of Kerrick beheading another ufa. I stumbled. Pretending to swoon, I collapsed into Tohon.
He pushed me away. “You’re not the fainting type, Avry.”
When I staggered back, I grabbed his sword’s hilt and drew the weapon, pointing the tip at his chest.
“What do you plan to do with that?” he asked in that smug tone.
“Put it through your black heart.”
He scoffed. “You can’t kill. You’re a healer.”
I paused. He opened his arms wide. “Go ahead.”
Images of the dead soldiers and the children he’d experimented on flashed through my mind. He’d done such terrible, awful things to thousands. I drew my arm back and lunged. He jerked in surprise so the sword’s tip pierced the right side of his chest instead of the middle. It slid through his ribs, and I pushed until the bloody tip poked out from his back.
He stared at me with horrified shock.
“Overconfidence has always been your downfall, Tohon,” I said.
He dropped to his knees with a gurgle. Cellina screamed and rushed over. I stepped away, noting that she was unarmed and splattered with black ichor. She gathered Tohon in her arms.
Then Tohon’s men burst onto the scene.
Cellina didn’t waste time. She gestured to the ufa pack. “Help Sepp, bring him here now!” Cellina pointed at me. “Kill her.”
The sergeant in charge sent his men to fight the ufas while he drew his sword and advanced toward me. Oh, no. Unarmed, I backed away. He kept pace. I stumbled into a bush. The branches scratched my arms, but I didn’t care. Kerrick’s magic zipped along my skin. I glanced down. My body now blended in with the forest.
“What the hell,” the sergeant said.
Taking advantage, I dove to the side and went silent, finding a hiding spot. The sergeant chased after me but soon lost me. He eventually gave up and returned to join his men.
I crept closer to the fighting. Sepp argued with Cellina over Tohon’s body. Dead or alive, I couldn’t tell. When the last ufa was killed, Wynn and the eight armed soldiers turned on Kerrick.
He didn’t hesitate. The colors of the forest snaked up his body, and he disappeared. Seeing my chance, I snuck up on one of the soldiers, touched his neck and zapped him. I hit a second man, adding to the confusion. Then Kerrick attacked.
We had the advantage for a minute, but they rallied. Kerrick grunted as a sword bit into his leg. A soldier caught a handful of the back of my shirt and dragged me closer.
“Don’t be shy, gentlemen,” Kerrick called.
Huh? The man wrapped his arm around my neck. I touched his hand, sending a blast of pain. He yelped and pushed me away.
Suddenly, Loren, Flea and Quain joined the fight. It didn’t take them long to disarm the rest of Tohon’s soldiers. Kerrick dropped the camouflage, revealing us both.
Grins all around until Sepp stepped out from behind a tree. Before we could react, the death magician wrapped his hands around Quain, who was the closest to him.
“Drop your weapons, or I’ll freeze him,” Sepp said.
Kerrick, Loren and Flea obeyed, but Quain yanked his dagger out and stabbed Sepp in the leg. Sepp yelled but kept his grip and froze Quain. He toppled to the ground.
“No,” I shouted.
Kerrick rushed Sepp, knocked him over and sat on him, pinning his arms down. He yanked Quain’s knife from Sepp’s leg and pressed it to the mage’s throat.
“You can’t kill me,” Sepp gasped. “You need me to wake your friend.”
Kerrick paused.
Taking advantage of the commotion, Tohon’s men rearmed themselves, and Cellina joined them, now grasping Kerrick’s sword.
“Kerrick, let him go,” Cellina said with an edge of desperation in her voice.
Kerrick glanced at me. “Did you kill Tohon?” he asked.
“I missed his heart, but his injury is fatal,” I said.
He turned to Loren and Flea. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let Sepp wake Tohon.”
Which meant Quain would be frozen forever.
“But they don’t have a healer,” Loren said.
“They know how to create one,” I said, hating the words as I spoke them. “Kerrick’s right.”
“You need me to wake Belen!” Sepp cried.
Kerrick leaned on the knife at Sepp’s throat. “Explain.”
“Tohon lied to Avry about him,” Sepp said. “Belen was captured but not killed. Tohon had me freeze him in a magical stasis until he decided what to do with him. I swear!”
My insides twisted tight. The joy of knowing Belen lived was balanced by the pain of knowing Sepp still had to die.
By the haunted look etched in Kerrick’s face, he felt the same thing. Suddenly a knife struck Kerrick’s shoulder, and in a blink of an eye, Wynn tackled him. She sprang to her feet and stood between him and Sepp with her sword in hand.
Without looking away from Kerrick, she said, “The Odd Squad is coming. We need to retreat.”
Shocked over what had just happened, it took me a moment to understand. But sure enough, the faint sounds of a squad emanated from the northwest. Too focused on Kerrick, I hadn’t heard their approach.
Cellina gripped the sword tighter, then relaxed her arm. “Remember, Kerrick, just because Tohon’s out of commission, doesn’t mean the war is over. I’m just as qualified to run his army. Understand?”
“Queen Cellina?” Kerrick mocked from his position on the ground. Sitting cross-legged, he held his left arm close as a bloodstain spread on his shoulder. He gripped Wynn’s knife in his right hand.
“That does have a nice ring to it,” she mused. Then her demeanor changed. “Get up,” Cellina ordered Sepp. “Grab Tohon, we’re leaving,” she said to the soldiers. Cellina gestured toward me with her sword. “Next time, healer.”
Sepp dusted himself off and stormed off.
As they retreated, Wynn saluted me with another knife—where did she stash them all? And without warning, she turned and threw it at Kerrick. He twisted so the blade just sliced his upper right arm.
She grinned. “That was a fresh knife, Baby Face.”
Which meant the blade had been treated with Death Lily toxin. I cried out and rushed to Kerrick, ripping off his right sleeve.
“It’s not deep,” he protested. “The left one is worse.”
Ignoring him, I sealed my lips around the wound. I sucked the blood and spat it on the ground. Then repeated. He stilled, finally understanding, as I worked to pull as much of the poison from his body. Because the blade had been treated, I tasted anise along with the coppery bite of blood. I kept doing it until I no longer detected the anise.
“Here.” He handed me his flask of water.
I rinsed my mouth. “How do you feel?”
“Much better now.” Kerrick pulled me in close, wrapping his arms around me. “I’ve been wanting to do this since the moment we parted.” He squeezed tighter.
“Easy,” I said. And as much as I wished to scream with joy and lose myself in this moment in Kerrick’s arms, I couldn’t.
“We’ll figure out how to wake Quain,” he said.
I glanced over. Loren knelt next to Quain, and Flea stood nearby. He gripped his stomach and twisted his lips as if he was about to vomit.
“That’s not the only problem,” I said.
“We’ll find Belen.”
Poppa Bear. A shudder ripped through me. Taking in a deep breath, I controlled the emotions that threatened to send me into hysterics.
Kerrick leaned back to search my expression. “What’s wrong?”
“The blade had Death Lily toxin on it.”
“I figured it had been poisoned, but it couldn’t have been very much.”
I jerked away from his grasp. “It’s very powerful. A few drops killed my sister.”
He pulled me closer. “I’m sorry about Noelle.”
“The point is, you might die, and...if you do...I can’t...can’t...do it again.” Uncontrolled sobs racked my body. I clung to Kerrick and didn’t try to stop them. The tears gushed, then slowed to sniffles as Kerrick murmured soothing words.
“What’s Avry bawling about?” Quain asked.
I opened my eyes and gaped. Quain stood between a grinning Loren and a happy but still queasy-looking Flea.
“What...?” My throat burned.
“I did it,” Flea blurted. “I... There was this...weird feeling in my guts, and I just had to touch Quain, and...well, he woke up.”
“Flea, that skill’s going to come in handy,” Loren said, slapping him on the back.
Flea’s face turned green, and he dashed away to vomit in the weeds.
Kerrick and I exchanged a concerned glance. Flea’s magic was a wonderful discovery—the only thing to go right all day—but if anyone found out, he’d be a target.
Before we could question him further, Odd and his squad arrived.