Touch of Power (18 page)

When we were alone, I braced for… I didn’t know, but predicted it wouldn’t be pleasant. Except I was wrong.

Estrid smiled. “Please sit, Avry.” She gestured to a seat near her.

The room matched the others I’d seen. Dark furniture, gold trimmings, lush carpets and bookcases lined the walls. I perched on the edge of the cushion.

“Thank you for healing my granddaughter,” Estrid said.

“You’re welcome.”

“If I had lost her, too…” She glanced away as grief creased her face. After a moment she continued. “Have you considered our offer?”

“I have.”

“And?”

“I’m sorry, but I cannot accept at this time.” I waited for the threats.

Instead, she asked, “Why not?”

“I gave my word to Kerrick to travel with him until we reach his sick…friend.”

“I’m well aware of Prince Ryne’s condition. Will you be able to heal him?”

“I can heal him, but I haven’t decided
if
I will.”

She laughed. “His reputation is worse than mine.” She tapped long elegant fingers on her lips. “Are you aware Tohon of Sogra is after you?”

“Yes.”

“He’s trouble. And I don’t think my army will be able to hold him back once he decides to move into Pomyt.”

Not about to get into a discussion of the trouble she had caused, I kept quiet.

“If Tohon succeeds in gaining all the Realms south of the Nine Mountains, then my rules to keep a pure heart in the name of the creator will seem a mere nuisance to the populace in comparison.” Again her gaze grew distant. “Do you think Kerrick is capable of getting you to Ryne?”

“Yes.”

“What would you do if I threatened your sister’s life if you didn’t stay here and heal my warriors?”

And just when I thought she wouldn’t resort to threats… Grief filled my heart. I had caused Noelle so much pain already. “I would stay.” Until I figured out a way to escape with Noelle and Kerrick.

A side door opened and Jael strode into the room. She wore a uniform and a sword. “We just caught Belen and three others trying to rescue Kerrick from the jail,” she said to Estrid. “Perhaps one of them will—” She noticed me.

At her announcement, I slumped against the back of the chair.

“We have all your companions now. And your sister is on her way here so we can keep a close eye on her,” Jael said.

“Jael, that’s enough.” Estrid seemed to mull over the news. “Was Belen that commoner they allowed in school with you and Stanslov?”

“Yes. He was supposed to be Kerrick’s bodyguard, but Kerrick treated him like an equal. Kerrick spent more time protecting Belen than the other way around.”

“Is that how you met Kerrick?” I asked Jael.

“Yes. And how I met Stanslov. We were in boarding school together. All the children born to the leaders of each Realm attended. As future leaders, it was supposed to teach us tolerance and cooperation of the other Realms. But all we did was make alliances and fight.”

“Which was a more accurate representation of how the Fifteen Realms interacted,” Estrid said. “Now, all bets are off.”

Silence descended as we mourned the past. Jael’s comment about the students being future leaders sunk in. Kerrick, a prince? Hard to believe, but Noelle had called him by that name. It didn’t matter. It wouldn’t change how I felt about him. And just how did I feel about him?

Jael said, “If you’re finished with Avry, I’ll take her down to the infirmary.”

“Not yet. Leave us,” the High Priestess ordered her daughter-in-law.

Jael gave her a curt bow and left by the same door she had entered. From the fire in her eyes, I knew she was angry. I wondered why she obeyed Estrid’s orders. She commanded the very air, while her mother-in-law had no magic. But then I realized that power came in many different forms, and Estrid commanded the army.

As if she could read my thoughts, Estrid said, “Avry, how about a compromise?”

Estrid used the same word I had with Inari, which made me wonder if she had sent an acolyte to spy on us. Wary, I asked for details. She explained her terms. I agreed. We shook hands. When I left, Inari appeared beside me.

“Can you direct me to the infirmary?” I asked her.

“Yes, miss. Do you wish to go now?”

“I need to change first.”

Inari looked strickened. “I…took your clothes to be washed. They—”

“Stank?”

“Oh, no.”

“We’re going to be together for a while. I’m not like the High Priestess and Jael. I want you to be honest and to call me Avry,” I said.

“They reeked and were stiff with dried blood, Avry,” she said as if reporting battle statistics.

“That’s a start. Where can I find some clothes that I can get dirty? I’m sure it’s a major sin to get blood on the robes.”

Inari led me to a laundry. They had a few extra sets of plain tunics and pants that the infirmary workers wore.

I worked in the infirmary for two weeks, teaching the caregivers how to bandage wounds, clean cuts, set bones and how to recognize and use medicinal plants. I healed those who wouldn’t survive without my magic. And even though I returned to my room exhausted and sick every night, I felt happy that I was able to help others without the fear of being executed. If I wasn’t in a bad situation, I would be quite content to stay here. This was my future before the plague ruined it, healing people. Too bad I would never have an apprentice to show my scars to with pride.

Also during that time, I half expected Kerrick to escape, arrive in my room and drag me away, claiming we wasted more precious time. While I didn’t care if we’d reach Ryne or not, my desire to leave increased each day.

Not because of the effort to heal her people, but because I learned Estrid’s strict rules for a pure heart, which included no music, dancing or any form of entertainment. No lying, swearing or violence against fellow acolytes. Laughing was bad. Also, all unmarried women must be virgins or they were sent to the monastery in Chinska Mare to spend the rest of their lives praying for forgiveness. If it hadn’t been for the timely arrival of Inari, providing a distraction, Estrid’s Purity Priestess and her four goons would have had spread my legs and inspected me. Although I would have passed, I still shudder at how close I’d come to being examined.

Noelle arrived in town at the end of the first week, but she refused to see me. Instead, she was assigned as Jael’s page. The magician delighted in taking Noelle under her wing. And Noelle went to great lengths to avoid me.

When Estrid was satisfied that I was true to my word, she had two of her personal guard escort me to the jail early the next morning.

Kerrick and his men each had their own cell. When I entered the block with my two guards, various expressions rippled through the guys. Loren and Quain didn’t bother to get up from their beds. An air of hopelessness surrounded them. Belen’s worried frown deepened. Flea jumped to his feet and hung on to the bars, grimacing. Kerrick’s gaze stayed wary.

“About time you joined the party,” Quain said.

“I see you’ve been lazing around here doing nothing for the past two weeks,” I said. “Unless there’s a tunnel you’ve dug hidden somewhere?”

“I wish,” Flea said. “I’m so bored, hard physical labor sounds like fun.”

“Well, then, gentlemen. Are you ready to go?” I asked.

Their reaction was worth the collection of extra scars I’d earned in Estrid’s infirmary. The monkeys leaped from their beds. Flea whooped. Belen transformed back into happy Poppa Bear. However, Kerrick remained the same.

My escorts unlocked the cells, returned all our possessions and led us outside. The guys reveled in the fresh air and sunshine.

“We can stay in town until the passes melt,” I said to them. “We’ll be safe behind Estrid’s front line.”

When we were a few blocks from the jail, Kerrick rounded on me. “This—” he gestured at the surroundings “—doesn’t come without a price. What did you promise Estrid?”

He still didn’t trust me. I decided to let him sweat for a bit. “Let’s see. I promised her that Loren and Quain will babysit her granddaughter anytime. That Flea would give her soldiers lessons on how to pick pockets and that Jael can use you for target practice. I offered to keep Jael company for that one.”

The others suppressed their grins, but Kerrick failed to find it amusing. “Avry,” he growled.

“Lighten up, Kerrick,” I said. “I just spent two weeks teaching her medical staff how to care for their injured and in exchange she let us go. Actually,
you
benefit the most from all this.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

Anger boiled. “You shouldn’t. I swore an oath, and I’ve stuck to it all this time. But you’re right. There
is
a catch. If I heal Ryne, I’m to tell him Estrid wants to join forces with him to fight Tohon. Does that sound bad to you?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “No, it doesn’t. It sounds like an ideal situation. Happy, happy for everyone.”

“Even you, Avry?” Belen asked.

His concern doused my fury. “No. Not me.” I walked away, heading in no particular direction. Estrid was scared of Tohon. Kerrick, too. If Estrid, who enjoyed being in charge, was willing to make an alliance with Ryne, that weighed heavier in Ryne’s favor than all of Belen’s school stories.

“Where are you going?” Kerrick asked.

I stopped. The guys had followed me. “To find a tavern. I need a drink.”

“Estrid has banned alcohol. She calls it the devil’s drink,” Loren said.

Quain gasped. “We can’t stay here! The next thing you know, we’ll be wearing those red skirts and promising our souls to the creator.”

“You’d look good in red, Quain. And you can show off those shapely legs,” Loren teased.

“Estrid provided us with fresh provisions,” Kerrick said. “There’s plenty of daylight left. We’ll head north toward the Nine Mountains as planned.”

The others looked at me, which didn’t make Kerrick happy. Although, as far as I knew, nothing made him happy. Having no interest in leading, I said to Kerrick, “Lead on.”

We walked through the streets of Zabin. I noticed how the citizens who didn’t wear the robes kept their gazes on the ground. They hurried along as if afraid someone would stop them.

Exiting the city, we followed the border road so named because it paralleled the border between Vyg and Pomyt. Without having to worry about Estrid’s soldiers, we could use the road and camp on the Pomyt side. Most of Vyg was still disputed territory.

An hour outside Zabin, we encountered trouble. Kerrick cursed and pulled his sword, warning us before six horses broke from the forest. I yanked one of my throwing knives as everyone grabbed their weapons, but it didn’t matter. Jael led the ambush. No weapon could match her magic.

Armed soldiers rode on the other five horses. And, as an added bonus, Noelle shared Jael’s mount. Sitting behind Jael, my sister wouldn’t meet my gaze, but she stared with a cold disgust at my companions.

“Estrid was a fool to let you go,” Jael said. “Our army is more than capable of handling Tohon’s.”

“Did you come all this way just to say goodbye?” Kerrick asked.

“Oh, yes. This is goodbye,” Jael said. “Unlike Estrid, I’m not a fool. You’re too dangerous to leave alive.”

“Estrid won’t be happy,” Kerrick said.

“That’s why I’m not dragging the healer back with me. She’ll just squeal to the High Priestess, and I don’t want to tip my hand just yet.”

“But you trust Avry’s sister?”

“My little protégée has been surprisingly helpful. She’s also proving to be quite valuable and loyal. We agree on so many things.”

Not good. Noelle finally met my gaze and I was the one to glance away. Pure joy over my imminent demise shone from her face. Not only had she changed, but she’d found another person to shadow.

“You don’t need to kill my men,” Kerrick said.

“And leave them to avenge your deaths? Didn’t you hear me when I said I wasn’t a fool? Goodbye, Kerrick, I’m afraid there’s no chance of us ever getting back together.”

In desperation, I threw my knife at her, aiming for her neck. But the air thickened, stopping the weapon in midair. It dropped to the ground.

Jael tsked, shaking her head at my lame attempt before a wall of air slammed into us, knocking us to the ground. When the wall retreated, it sucked all the breath from our lungs. This time Jael wasn’t playing around.

Chapter 15

Lying on the ground, I strained to draw a breath. Familiarity with this particular situation didn’t prevent my panic from rising, but knowing Belen and the others also suffered kept my fear from dominating.

My healing magic surged and fought to keep air in my lungs. Jael’s power pressed harder, but another magic tingled along the back of my hand. I looked to my left. Kerrick lay next to me with his arm outstretched. Jael either didn’t know about his forest magic or didn’t believe it would make a difference. On its own, it probably wouldn’t, but combined with mine…

I grasped his hand and it felt as if I had just been struck by lightning. Instead of sharing my energy with him, he sent his to me. And, damn, the man was strong. The forest’s vast energy waited for me to tap into it. Air flowed back into my lungs as the healing power won the battle. I “healed” Kerrick and reversed the flow of energy, letting Kerrick tap into mine.

Not quite understanding what had happened, Jael frowned at us. Suffocating six people required all of her strength, but now she only had four. And if we didn’t stop her soon, she would kill them.

Keeping a grip on Kerrick’s hand, I grabbed one of my knives and flung it at her. It struck her upper arm. She yelped and I sent another into her thigh. The horse reared at the scent of blood. Noelle clutched Jael’s waist, but they remained in the saddle. My attack did break her concentration. Noisy gasps erupted behind me.

Her soldiers drew their weapons. Kerrick dropped my hand in order to engage the soldiers while the others recovered. Heavy branches dropped from the trees above us, scaring the horses. Against five on horseback, Kerrick was holding his own. It was impressive, but I knew with the energy he spent he wouldn’t last. I wounded two of the soldiers. By then Belen, Loren and Quain joined in the battle.

Although boastful, Jael’s claim of not being a fool proved accurate. She called for a retreat and the six horses galloped away.

We cheered and congratulated ourselves until we realized Flea remained prone on the ground. He stared at the sky, but he wasn’t moving. I raced over to him. Blue lips, eyes vacant and the pasty pallor of the dead greeted me.

I touched Flea’s slack face. No magic swelled from my core. “Kerrick,” I yelled.

He knelt next to me and covered my hands with his. Magic flowed into me, but I couldn’t funnel it into Flea. I tried until exhausted. And I would have kept going, but Kerrick pulled me away. Healers couldn’t bring the dead back to life, but I had hoped just this once I could.

Numb with grief, I sat next to Flea as Kerrick and Belen discussed the macabre yet necessary task of burying him. Loren and Quain stood nearby, looking miserable.

“…ground’s too hard, scavengers will dig him up,” Belen said.

“…a pyre will alert every merc in Vyg of our whereabouts,” Kerrick said.

“…cave…seal off the entrance?”

I tuned them out as I remembered Flea’s energy and enthusiasm. His lopsided grin, puppy-dog pouts and utter joy as he mastered juggling three rocks. He had such potential… The word caused a flood of memories, but not of Flea. The Death Lily had wanted him. It said he had potential.

Scrambling to my feet, I interrupted Belen and Kerrick. “Offer Flea to a Death Lily.”

Their reactions matched. Shocked, repulsed, upset and angry. I explained as much as I could without sounding like a lunatic. They argued. Not surprising, it went against logic and compassion and plain old moral decency. But, damn it, I knew it was the right thing to do.

“Avry, you’re grieving and not thinking clearly,” Belen said.

“Belen, I spent hours inside a Lily. This is what we need to do for Flea.”

Belen, Loren and Quain shook their heads sadly. They thought I had lost my mind. And maybe I had.

“How can you
not
trust me?” I asked, attempting one last time. “Did you even see my sister’s joy at the prospect of my death? I could have stayed with Estrid and tried to repair the damage between us. But no, I…” My throat closed as tears threatened. “Forget it.” I turned my back to them so they wouldn’t see me cry.

“There’s a cluster of Lilys about two miles west of here,” Kerrick said.

I wiped my face and glanced back. Kerrick pressed his hand to the ground. “It’s in Vyg, but there’s no one else around.”

“Are you nuts?” Quain asked. “You’re not going to—”

“We are. Belen, get Flea’s blanket.”

Belen wrapped Flea in the blanket and carried him over his shoulder. No one said a word. By the time we reached a grove, darkness had descended.

Gently laying him down, Belen told a story of how he had taught Flea the facts of life and how the boy thought it was disgusting, but a few months later, he had changed his mind and asked for more details. Loren and Quain took a turn relating how they taught him to fight.

“My son in all ways but one,” Kerrick said.

The others agreed.

I couldn’t speak.

Kerrick removed the blanket and carried Flea over to a pair of trees. I went with him just in case the Lily attacked. The base of the tree trunks almost touched, but the upper trunks bowed away, making the trees look like a giant V. The Lily grew right behind them. Death or Peace? We’d find out soon enough.

It didn’t hiss or move fast, but the petals parted, dipping toward Flea. The tips of the petals bent under his body. The Death Lily gathered Flea as if it were his mother. Then Flea was gone.

We traveled north along the border road for the next six days. Encountering no resistance from Estrid’s platoons, or mercs, we covered roughly two hundred miles. Conversation was kept to the minimum. No one smiled or laughed or teased.

At night, we followed a routine, gathering firewood, cooking a meal and sitting by the fire. Except we stared at the flames instead of talking. My thoughts dwelled on Flea or on one of the empty villages or farmsteads we passed that day. There had been so many. By the end of the night, I would be leaning against Belen. He’d wrap his heavy arm around my shoulder and we’d comfort each other. Poppa Bear had lost one of his cubs, and I think he suffered the most. Although, half the time I would fall asleep on him and he’d tuck me into my bedroll.

Why Belen? His steady solid presence eased my pain. I considered him an ally and a protector. But more important, he was my friend. The first one I’d had since…before I left for my apprenticeship with Tara. Loren and Quain relied on each other. Not physically, but they were brothers in all but name. And Kerrick didn’t need or want anyone as far as I could tell. Jael had crushed his heart. It had shriveled and died in his chest four years ago. Yet, he strived to find a healer for Ryne. Perhaps he wasn’t beyond hope, after all.

As I grieved for Flea, I began to believe Kerrick had it right. Keep a distance. Especially during this mission. It was dangerous. Too late for me. After having no friends or family for three years, I had grown quite attached to these three guys. Or was that four?

On the seventh day, Kerrick veered to the east, taking a small road that branched from the main one. An icy wind blew, biting into exposed skin, reminding us that it was midwinter’s day. Before the plague, cities and towns across the Realms would celebrate the halfway mark to spring. Now, it passed with a sense of relief that we had gotten halfway through another winter without starving.

Two hours later, Kerrick stopped at a large ruin. Three magnificent buildings had stood here at one time. Their fancy stone columns had toppled, their roofs had collapsed and their interiors had burned. Other smaller structures filled the area. All had met the same fate.

“The compound of the Healer’s Guild,” Kerrick said.

I had forgotten about visiting it. No surprise that it hadn’t survived. The people had been angry, miserable and grieving. We poked around the wreckage, searching for anything useful.

Memories from my single visit to Guild headquarters bubbled to the surface of my mind. Healing, research and teaching had been their three goals. Each of the three grand buildings was dedicated to one goal. If I had graduated, my ceremony would have been in the building of teaching. Those seeking medical aid entered the building of healing. The last one housed those who worked to learn more about our healing powers and about the plants that could provide relief.

The researchers shared the information with others, but they had also been careful in protecting all they had learned. One of Tara’s comments tugged. Something about a room known only to the healers. A place sheltered from the elements and secured. A room not located in the building of learning.

I walked over to the smallest structure in the compound, but stopped. That would be too obvious. It would be an unremarkable building sized to match others around it.

Kerrick followed me. “What are you looking for?”

I explained about the hidden room. “It probably didn’t survive.”

He considered. “If it is underground and protected by stone, it might still be here.” Instead of focusing on the buildings, he scanned the forest around us.

I wondered why until I realized the forest had broken through the edges of the compound. Kerrick pressed a palm to the ground. If the roots had grown in far enough, he might be able to sense an oddness.

Kerrick stood and headed east of the main buildings. I trailed behind him. He stopped at a building that met my criteria—basically unremarkable.

“An underground room?” I asked.

“Maybe. There’s something underneath this building.”

We called the guys over. Everyone helped to clear the rubble. Belen’s strength continued to amaze me as he hefted large pieces of the broken stone wall with ease. As we worked, a sense of purpose formed. And for the first time in days, I wasn’t brooding over Flea’s death. After a while, I noticed the others making a few comments. Quain teased Loren for his girlie arms. Belen growled good-naturedly at Kerrick to stop supervising and to get back to work. It wasn’t the same as before, but it was a start.

It took us a day to unearth the top half of a potential doorway. As we cleared the debris, dark gray clouds crept over the ice-blue sky. Quain frowned at the approaching front and studied the clouds. He sniffed the air, claiming a snowstorm was on its way.

“How soon?” Kerrick asked him.

Quain gauged the wind by scattering dead leaves. “Half a day at most.”

“How bad?”

He pulled a strange glass vial that resembled a skinny teapot filled with a silver liquid. Tapping on the glass, he whistled. “A midwinter howler.”

Kerrick cursed.

“You shouldn’t complain,” Quain said. “It’s been unusually dry. Otherwise, we’d have been hiking though two-foot drifts the past few weeks.”

Sensing Kerrick would stop our efforts, I said, “Perhaps that door leads underground and we can shelter in there.”

“What happens if we can’t?” He didn’t wait for me to answer. “Then we wasted all that time and will be caught out in a blizzard.” He scanned the darkening sky, then the forest. “You can keep working for now. I’ll scout out the area, see if there’s a cave nearby.”

Not another cave! But I stifled a groan. In this situation, it would be ideal. After Kerrick left, we exposed the door. It had been made of iron and was locked. Belen pulled out a set of lock picks with a sly grin. He worked on the lock.

After about twenty minutes, he sat back on his heels and gave up. “It’s one of those complicated ones with double pins to make it all but impossible to pick.”

“Could Kerrick open it?” I asked.

Belen huffed. “What makes you think he would be better than me?”

“Uh, more practice?”

“He’s certainly gotten into more trouble than me. That’s for certain.”

“Really? Jael said Kerrick was constantly getting
you
out of trouble.”

“Don’t you believe her, Avry. Everything she says is a lie. In fact, almost all the skirmishes and problems we had in school were because of her. With her beauty and intelligence, she played us all like she was conducting Queen Jenna’s ninety-six-piece orchestra. And it took us many years to figure it out.”

“But she kept Kerrick from killing Ryne. How?”

“That’s not my story to tell.” Belen lumbered to his feet. “And even Kerrick couldn’t open this door. The blasted lock is also rusted tight.”

Disappointment stabbed. Rust had destroyed… The word triggered a memory. When the guys had rescued me, the bars to the window appeared to have rusted away, but all the other ones had been fine.

“What did you use on those bars?” I asked Loren.

“What bars?”

I explained.

“Oh! Quain, do you still have some of that lightning juice?”

His eyes lit up. “Yes. It’s in my pack.” He strode over to where we had dumped our stuff. “Too bad I didn’t have it with me when we were rotting in Estrid’s jail for two weeks.” Rummaging in the pockets, he brought out a glass jar filled with a clear liquid. “We need some way to pour it into the lock.”

We all searched. Belen found a broken piece of pipe that worked. The lightning juice filled the keyhole. Metal sizzled and the smoke smelled like brackish water.

When the sound stopped, Quain told Belen to give it a try. He pressed his shoulder to the door and pushed. Nothing happened. Quain poured in more juice. Belen tried again. Nothing.