I still rose, closing my eyes to focus on going up. The best part about this was how the energy stayed close to my body, making it the same effort to control no matter how high I went.
I rose higher, feeling like I could go all the way to the clouds if I wanted.
But I still have to get down
, I reminded myself.
I opened my eyes, expecting to be maybe ten feet off the ground. Gods, I was higher than Swenn’s balcony! Panic almost made me lose control.
Breathe, calm down, keep focus.
The ground looked so far away. Fear threatened to stop my heart as I gasped.
I lost control.
Suddenly I was falling!
Trusting my hands more than my ability to catch myself with py, I grabbed the railing of Swenn’s balcony, getting my whole right arm over it while clutching the top with my left.
My feet flailed to find purchase while my heart pounded in my ears. The gaps between each metal bar of the railing were too thin for me to get my foot through, but I managed to turn my left foot and stick in a few toes worth of my shoe. The rest of my effort went into my arms as I used them to pull myself up and get my other foot into a gap.
I didn’t know if Swenn was in his room and had heard me crash into his balcony. The wooden doors were closed, but they could fly open at any moment. If he saw me barely hanging on, he certainly would shove me off, probably smile as I fell. He’d claim he never saw me.
I tried to hurry. One of my feet slipped. I held back a scream.
Half of my weight was on my arms, the other half on three of my toes. I could feel them slipping as I tried to get the other foot back into a gap between the railing.
I looked down. Gods, the grass was so far away. Nonetheless, I contemplated falling while I still had the choice. I would be ready to catch myself with py. But would it work?
I was losing strength and sweating. I had to make a decision.
If I fell, then I’d have to float back up here later, and two hells how I didn’t want to do that. I pulled with all my strength. I didn’t try to get my free foot in a gap, focusing everything on lifting myself with my arms.
I got my stomach over. My legs followed and I fell onto the balcony, not caring about the pain running through my body. I scrambled over to the corner so that if Swenn opened the doors they wouldn’t reach me.
It took a while for me to regain my breath and calm my rushing heart. I crawled over to the railing to look below. The inner courtyard still appeared empty. It also seemed Swenn hadn’t heard me, if he was even in his room.
Or had he heard me and now he was summoning the guards?
I pushed my ear against the thin wooden door. A faint voice came through from the other side.
“He got the payment he deserved. Just tell him that.” I recognized Swenn’s unforgiving tone.
“I will, sir.” I didn’t recognize the other man.
I heard the door to his room open, then shut. For a long while after it was silent.
I stayed on my knees with my ear pressed against the balcony doors. Every now and again I heard the sound of someone pacing, but nothing came of it.
Over an hour went by before I heard a knock.
“Come in,” Swenn called. The door closed and footsteps followed.
“Everyone in the castle knows about Neeko by now, sir, except Quince, his squire, Eona, and Jaymes. I believe word will reach them eventually.”
I didn’t know Eona, but she had to be close to the king. Perhaps she was his queen.
“Of course it will.” It was Swenn’s voice. “He’ll understand by the time he hears it. Just make sure Neeko can’t walk through the castle without being bothered. We need him gone as soon as possible to secure the kingdom’s safety. How has he reacted to the confrontations, Henry?”
It was silent for a while.
“Then we need more drastic measures.” Swenn spoke with an air of levity.
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, sir.” I was starting to believe it was Swenn’s squire in the room with him and Henry. The voice sounded familiar.
“There are few tortures worse than the constant threat of being hurt or killed. Once Henry finishes writing his report, I’ll tell you what to do.”
I silently cursed Swenn. I wanted to walk in there right then and strangle him with py, but revenge would have to wait.
What did he mean? Would I actually be in danger or would it just seem that way? I suppose not knowing means I have to treat the danger as real.
“Hurry, Henry, I have other matters to attend to, and include Shara in that report. She’s going to feel even more threatened than Neeko.”
Henry whistled.
“Yes.”
Shara…damn him. I felt a sting in my heart as I thought about her suffering.
The sound of loud knocking startled me at first, until I realized it came from Swenn’s front door again.
“Urgent news, sir!”
“Let him in.”
The door opened then clicked shut. “Kayren is in Norret. She’s at Bedwarm Inn, told the innkeeper she’s visiting Glaine soon!”
That’s the woman Eizle had mentioned
.
Two hells, what’s she doing coming here?
I couldn’t speculate. Swenn was nearly screaming.
“Idiot! You announced to anyone nearby that you were entering this room with urgent news. Hells, the king’s quarters stands right next to mine. Now you’ll be rushing out of here! Did you even think about how that would look?”
“No one’s around.”
“Don’t speak back to him,” Swenn’s squire warned.
“Sorry, sir. It was stupid.”
“I’m taking five ruffs off your salary, but you’ll get fifteen back if you take care of her.”
From the silence that followed, it was clear what Swenn meant.
“I’ll leave right away.”
“Take three with you,” Swenn said. “I want this over with, understand?”
“I do, sir.”
“Go. Hurry.”
The door opened then slammed shut.
They were leaving to kill Kayren, and it hit me that no one would be there to protect her. Who could I tell?
Commander Jaymes? He would demand to know where I’d gotten my information. Then why would he trust me after I told him? I was a new recruit who’d just admitted to spying on Swenn. It was a risk I didn’t want to take. I could tell the king, but he would be even less likely to trust me over his own master of coin. He might even bring Swenn into his quarters and confront him. Swenn would lie, then it would be known I could float up to his balcony, my plan for revenge gone with nothing to show for it.
I would’ve turned to Darri but I couldn’t anymore. He was just as much Swenn’s puppet as the squire.
Shara. She would believe me.
I at least had to tell her I would be leaving. No matter what she said, though, I wouldn’t let her come with me. Too dangerous.
Damn, I don’t even know where Norret is, and I’m stuck on this balcony!
All right, calm yourself. First figure out how to get down.
The courtyard still looked empty. I just had to get onto py, then up and over the railing, all while staying on the energy…oh my gods, how was I going to do that? I couldn’t imagine lifting myself over something without falling off the energy or it coming apart.
My breaths became quick as my worries intensified. Was I stuck here until Swenn left his room? It could be hours.
I wasn’t a skilled horseback rider, I remembered. I needed to leave now if I was going to make it to Kayren before the others.
Shaking with fear, I pulled in all the pyforial energy I would need. It took twice as long as earlier to spread it out to a blanket and lie onto it. But soon I was on top, ready for the difficult maneuver.
You just have to get over the railing,
I told myself.
Going down will be easy after that.
I raised the energy, lifting myself with it. Cranking my head to the side, I could see I was above the railing in no time. The energy shook beneath me as I strained to keep my focus. I edged sideways, unable to help clutching the clear energy in my hands.
I wobbled more with each passing breath as it became increasingly more difficult to keep the energy steady.
Almost there, just don’t let it go.
My body burned from the strain. My overstressed mind couldn’t hold the py much longer. I had to hurry.
I cleared the balcony.
Just need to let myself down now
. I fell quickly, then abruptly stopped, my face and body bouncing against the cushiony energy as I almost lost control with my mind. The grass was still too far away.
I willed the energy down again or, more accurately, let my weight push it without allowing the py to break apart. Again I fell fast, and again I stopped quickly, painfully so as my face and chest mashed against the bed. I never would’ve guessed it was harder to go down than up, but it was ten times worse.
I barely could hold onto myself with the energy by then. One more sudden stop and the py might slip from the grasp of my mind. I needed to get all the way to the ground this time.
I let myself sink, my whole body shaking and searing from the effort required to hold the py together. Seeing that the ground was still too far away I let myself speed up, offering some relief. But then I started to fall so fast I couldn’t catch myself!
Stop! Oh gods!
Somehow I did stop, and it felt like I’d run face first into a brick wall. I knew I’d lost the energy after that, opening my eyes to find the ground coming at me quickly. I barely had time to get my feet beneath me. I fell hard onto my rear, rolling onto my back and slamming my elbows against the ground before my head struck last with a deep thud.
Pain came slowly at first, then all at once, radiating from the back of my skull down to my feet. I groaned and pushed myself up. Nothing was broken, fortunately, probably the best outcome I could’ve hoped for considering my lack of skill at this point.
I was drenched with sweat and my chest burned with each gasping breath. I didn’t even have the strength to jog out of the courtyard.
I appeared even more haggard when I eventually stumbled through Shara’s doorway.
“My gods, are you all right?”
“Yes…but I…have to tell you…something.” I struggled to control my breathing.
Shara ran to me. “What is it?”
“Where is Norret?”
“Why?”
“Tell me!”
Her wide eyes showed me she realized how important this was. “It’s the small town we passed before we reached Glaine, remember? It’s just southwest of here, maybe five miles. Why, Neeko? What’s there?”
Although I was no less calm, I finally could speak clearly.
“Kayren is there—the woman Eizle was in love with. Four men are going to kill her. I need to stop them. Do you know where the Bedwarm Inn is?”
“I don’t.”
Henry came into her room just then. Gods, how I was beginning to despise him. “Argh!” I shook both fists in his direction.
He put his hands up defensively, wearing an expression as if this wasn’t his choice.
“You should tell the king,” Shara urged.
“Not a good idea, and I have to go now. Tell the commander I didn’t run away. It might be a day, but I will return. This is a matter of saving someone’s life. Please help him understand that.”
“He’s not going to want to listen to me. But I’ll try.”
I started toward the door but stopped. A few seconds shouldn’t make a difference, at least I hoped not. I took Shara in my arms and gave her the most heartfelt kiss I’d ever given anyone. I could feel her lose her breath as she kissed me back.
I ran to the door but stopped once more to tell Shara something. Henry looked ready to follow me. Two hells, he would make this complicated.
“Shara, Swenn might escalate things while I’m gone.”
“What does that mean?”
I couldn’t tell her that she might be in danger without revealing to Henry that I’d been on the balcony. “Just be extremely careful.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
I had to retrieve my horse, though I’d never set foot in the stables before. I truly began to wonder if I had a chance of finding Kayren before her assailants did. I reminded myself what they would do to her. To fail would mean her death…
don’t think about it. Just get there.
“I need my horse,” I told the stable master as calmly as I could.
“Which one?”
“Vkar.”
He rolled his eyes. “If I don’t know your name, the odds of me knowing your horse by its name are even less.”
Big Henry, with his hands already around his enormous horse’s reins, pointed to another horse…mine I saw after following his finger. It was disconcerting that he knew where my horse was better than I did.
“Yes, that one.”
I dragged Vkar out of the stables and jumped on his back. Henry showed me a concerned look.
“I know it’s bad to leave,” I told him, giving Vkar a good kick.
Henry’s mount galloped beside mine. He pointed at the approaching gap in the wall, then raised his hands in question.
“I’m not telling you.”
Guards jumped in front of me. I would plow through them if necessary. “Move!”
“There’s another rider coming through,” one guard warned.
They weren’t trying to keep me from leaving. I barely slowed Vkar in time. He reared up a bit and grunted in disapproval. Terren’s horse trotted through from the other side. He recognized me and pulled his horse to a stop.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I can’t talk, in a hurry.” I started past him. He quickly turned his horse and stayed close to me.
“Are you leaving the army?”
“No.”
Having Vkar speed through crowded streets was about the worst idea I could think of, but I still kept him at a quick pace. Terren stayed beside me as people jumped out of the way.
“I was going to set up a meeting with you and Charlotte,” he called out.
The psychic. She was the least of my interests right now. “I’ll be back at the castle later.”
Terren fell behind to keep from trampling a woman too slow to get out of his way. Soon he was right back with me.
“Does Jaymes Jorgan know about this?”