Blade and bone, p.28
Blade and Bone, page 28
He turned onto his side and pulled his cloak around his shoulders, but not before he’d caught Lily’s “And good night to you too.”
Despite the exhaustion of the past few days, sleep didn’t come easily. Some godawful toads kept calling from the reeds. And just when Kanar was about to nod off, he was startled by the sound of Honaaz relieving himself over the side of the boat.
Trying to position himself without having to dangle his legs off the back, Kanar spotted a puff of breath come from under the canvas and disperse in the night air.
The hegen restraints had been strong, and Kanar didn’t doubt the Hunter’s will for a second. If the team hadn’t shown up, would Morgan have lived to see another day? It would soon be time to switch with Honaaz, but Kanar found himself focused on those breaths, making sure that they didn’t stop.
Over the next few days, the group chattered quietly, though Morgan grew ever more withdrawn until she pointed to a small inlet. They pulled up to the shoreline, only several days outside of Verendal, and Morgan indicated they should stop. This wasn’t exactly where Kanar would’ve expected the attack to have taken place, but Morgan insisted that this was where it was.
“Are you sure?” he asked again, but he had already done so too many times.
And now it was at the point where he could sense that she was growing irritated, and the others were as well. He had to keep his team together, and he had to try to prevent them from raising the kinds of questions he didn’t have answers to. How could he have answers when he wasn’t sure why Morgan had been all the way out here?
“We’re nearly to the border,” Lily said.
Kanar glanced over to her. She wasn’t wrong. It just surprised him that she would know that.
“Almost to the border,” he agreed. “But not quite. We’re still in Reyand.”
“Not for long,” Morgan said. “This is why the meeting took place here.”
“It still doesn’t make any sense.” Kanar let out a frustrated sigh. “Why were the Alainsith meeting here?”
“This is where it is,” Morgan said again.
Kanar motioned to Honaaz. “Hide the boat, but make it so that we know where it is. Then we should be ready.”
Honaaz looked as if he wanted to say something in retort, but he bit it back.
The man had been good with the boat. Kanar had anticipated a possibility that they might need to use a boat at some point, but he’d figured that might come with getting back into Sanaron, not that they would need to travel along the river. Still, having Honaaz and his obvious familiarity with the water gave them some comfort.
Morgan stood to the side, waiting.
Jal approached Kanar. He was still weak, though he seemed to be growing stronger with each passing day. “We won’t have long.” He tilted his head at Morgan. “A prize like that, like what they must’ve been after, won’t hold up for long. It’s going to be used.”
Kanar nodded. Jal wasn’t wrong. They had come to break out Morgan, and now that they had, finding the blood was the next part of the job—but Kanar wasn’t entirely sure how they were going to accomplish that.
“Any thoughts?” Kanar asked.
“Nothing that you’re going to like.”
Kanar snorted. “With a job like this, I don’t know if it’s possible for me to like anything about it.”
Jal grinned. He rubbed his chest, his hand lingering for a moment, as if tracing over the wound that had been healed by hegen magic. Kanar wondered how much Jal minded that healing.
“The boat is hidden as well as I can fucking do it,” Honaaz said. He glanced over to Lily for a second, then Kanar. “Branches and grass. Should keep it from anyone who comes looking, but can’t say we can keep it completely hidden.”
“You did good,” Kanar said.
Honaaz grunted but didn’t say anything more.
Kanar turned to Morgan. “Show us where you were when you were here.”
“I was only observing, Gray. Studying. That’s all I’ve ever done. You, of all people, should know that. I wouldn’t harm anyone.”
Kanar wanted to believe that, only he wasn’t sure he could. “Just show us.”
She frowned and then motioned to them to follow.
They started off through the forest, none of them talking. Jal held his bow, though he didn’t reach for an arrow. Given Jal’s ability to sniff out danger, Kanar figured that they were probably safe enough.
They walked for the better part of several hours through an overgrown section of the forest, trampling over fragrant pine needs and passing a few small streams that tumbled over buried rocks. Thorns pulled at their clothes, though they couldn’t slow. The air around them continued to cool.
Morgan finally signaled to them. “It’s just up here,” she said.
Kanar slowed, and Lily came over to him. “I don’t know what she’s after, but I think we need to be careful here, Kanar,” Lily said. “If the Alainsith were slaughtered here, there’s something more to this than just… Gods, I don’t know what it’s about or what we’re going to find here.”
“I know. I’ve dealt with plenty of witchcraft in my time, Lily.”
“It was up ahead,” Morgan said. “This is a place that was once sacred to the Alainsith.”
They stepped into a forest clearing ringed by moss-covered boulders. Kanar had been part of the Realmsguard designated to protect the king on one of his expeditions to meet with the Alainsith, though Kanar had never interacted with them himself. He wasn’t sure what would have brought them all the way out here. Could the king have been meeting with them again? It wouldn’t be typical for the king to come this far away from Verendal, or even this far away from the safety of Reyand.
Kanar made a careful circuit, looking for signs of the destruction.
“How many did they kill?” Honaaz asked.
“There were a dozen,” Morgan said, her voice soft. “Along with the representatives of the king who had come with them.”
“What the fuck happened to the bodies?” Honaaz asked.
It was a good question.
“The Alainsith would’ve claimed them,” Morgan said.
“Unless the witchcraft practitioners kept them for some other purpose,” Kanar said.
They were like the hegen in that respect.
Morgan shook her head. “The Alainsith wouldn’t have left the bodies behind.”
“Well, if whoever came in here was powerful enough to slaughter the Alainsith, then they were powerful enough to take the bodies with them. Right?” Honaaz asked.
“I have to admit,” Jal said, “the big man isn’t wrong.” He grinned at Honaaz, who shot him a hard look.
“The bodies and the blood are gone,” Lily said. “And you want us to believe the citadel did this?”
Kanar was tempted to side with her. It seemed a stretch to believe the citadel would be involved in this, especially given how they had fought on Reyand’s side during the war.
“Let her look,” Morgan said.
Lily walked carefully around the clearing. At one point, she paused next to a log and ran her hands along it, and then she moved further, stopping by a tall oak tree. She inspected a patch of grasses.
“Why?” Lily asked, her voice a whisper.
“What is it?” Kanar said.
“She’s not wrong.” It was obvious that it pained Lily to say it. “They taught us to mask our presence. All around here are signs of the citadel. If this was where things took place—”
“It was,” Morgan said.
“Then it means that the citadel was here.”
Lily turned away. Kanar wasn’t sure what to say to her. He felt like he needed to say something, but he wasn’t sure he could offer her anything. Jal watched, and he didn’t get close. The only one who approached was Honaaz. He said something to her, dropping his voice softly.
Kanar sighed. “What will this involve—”
A crack came from the trees nearby.
He spun, reaching for a pair of knives and sliding them out. Jal grabbed his bow. Lily slipped her hand into a pouch, and Honaaz had a pair of daggers in hand.
“I see about a dozen, maybe more,” Jal said, his voice low.
“Who?” Kanar asked.
“Can’t tell. Smells like…”
Kanar took a deep breath, fearing that this might be Alainsith. They were skilled warriors, he knew. His crew wouldn’t be able to win in a fight with them. How had anybody managed to do that in the first place?
“Dogs,” Jal said.
“We can fucking handle Dogs,” Honaaz said.
Jal shot him a look. “We can, but how many would we lose?”
Kanar breathed out. They didn’t need a fight. They had come here looking for evidence of what had happened, but it seemed as if Morgan already knew.
“Back to the boat.”
“Kanar?” Lily said.
“Let’s go. We don’t fight unless they attack. We hold them off.”
They backed through the clearing, retreating the way they’d come, but no one chased after them.
“Why do you think they left us alone?” Lily asked.
“Because they want to know where we’re going,” Jal said, shrugging slightly. “They want what we are after.”
“Well, do we even know where we’re going?”
Kanar shook his head. He didn’t, but he had an idea how he was going to find out. “Back to the boat,” he said again.
By the time they reached the river, Honaaz had already pulled the boat out from the branches and grasses he’d used to hide it.
They climbed in. Jal stood, seemingly unmindful of the way the boat rocked, arrow nocked and ready. Honaaz gave a hard shove, and they went sliding into the river and quickly picked up speed.
Kanar breathed out as he glanced to the forest that swallowed the river. He made his way along the barge and took a seat near Morgan.
“It’s time for you to talk,” he said. “What happened?”
“I know you want to blame this all on witchcraft, and perhaps that is part of it, but those responsible for what happened here don’t have the blood any longer.” She looked over to Lily before turning her attention back to him.
“Then who does?”
“The citadel. I don’t know why they were after the Alainsith blood, but between that and the relics involved, it has to be something powerful.”
Kanar hated that she was right. This was part of the reason he had been compelled to take the job. Not just the task of rescuing Morgan, though he had done that well enough to earn their pay. He couldn’t leave the blood, and the attack, alone.
“I’m not lying about this, Gray,” Morgan said.
It had been too long since he had been her Gray, and yet there was a part of him that was still thrilled to hear her say it.
It was all too easy for him to remember the first time she had referred to him like that. They had been sitting atop a restaurant in Vur. The city was spread out around them, and it was not all that different than Verendal. He’d been assigned there to protect the city and ensure the king’s safety, though he was never in any real danger in places like that. When they traveled beyond the borders of Reyand, that was when he got nervous, but not in Vur.
“You look worried,” Morgan had said. She sat close to him, her hands resting on either side of her, close enough that he could practically touch her.
Kanar had been surprised to see her here. She would come and go—gone more often than not—but she would often pop up in unexpected places. Occasionally, she would send word about where she would be so that he knew to look for her during his travels. This time, though, he hadn’t expected to see her. It had been a pleasant surprise. The best kind.
“Not worried,” he said. “I’m watching the city.”
“Do you always watch it that way?”
“And what way is that?”
“You have this intensity when you study it,” Morgan said. “It’s as if I can practically follow every threat you see, with your eyes flashing with the dark gray of a thunderstorm. What’s it like, Gray?”
He smiled to himself. “I need to ensure the safety of the king, for the sake of the kingdom.”
“And what do you see?”
Kanar shrugged. “Three thieves working their way through the plaza. If you watch, you can see a pattern to their movements.” He had been observing them for a while, noting how one man would bump somebody in the crowd, another would rush up against their other side, and occasionally the third would pop in. Pickpockets. Minor thieves. Not a real danger to the king. The Archers were fully capable of handling that kind of threat. “I don’t worry too much about them.”
“The people they’re stealing from would be worried.”
“Then they should guard their pockets better,” Kanar said. He looked up, realizing how ridiculous that sounded. “I’m not trying to say that the people are asking to be robbed.”
“It sounds like you are,” Morgan said.
He shook his head. “I’m not worried about that kind of crime. I’m looking for other more threatening things.”
“Which is…”
“Nothing here,” Kanar said. He shifted, and his hand brushed hers. She smiled and didn’t draw away.
“How often do you find any real dangers?” she asked.
“When it comes to the king, not often. Not within Reyand.”
“And outside the kingdom?”
“We have trouble with Yelind, though it has been quiet lately. Minor skirmishes here and there. The king has soldiers on the border to defend it. Sometimes there is difficulty to the east, but we have a good relationship with the Khophen. The north, across the Bitter Sea, is not really for me to worry about.”
That was for the navy. Kanar would rather have his feet on the ground than on a ship. He’d traveled by sea once before, and he didn’t care much for it. Too many days rocking side to side, trying to fight back the waves of nausea that roiled through him. Too many days with the ship’s crew laughing at him and the other Realmsguard who struggled.
“And then to the west, we have the Alainsith, but I haven’t been drawn in for those negotiations.”
“You think you will?” Morgan asked.
“I think that eventually I’ll get asked to escort the king.”
“When is he visiting with them next?”
Kanar thought about it but didn’t really know. “Probably soon,” he said, shrugging. “He’s been more active these days. Moving around, making preparations for a longer time away. Either he’s going to Verendal to stay in the palace there, which happens now and again, or he’s going to meet with the Alainsith, which is more likely.”
“You seem bothered by that,” Morgan said.
“It’s not my choice.”
“Why does it worry you?”
“It’s not a worry,” Kanar said.
“You know, when you mentioned the Alainsith, your face took on a cloudy expression. A little stormy. You don’t like them.”
He looked over. “I’m one of the Realmsguard.”
“That doesn’t mean anything to me,” she said. “Well, other than knowing that you’ve been trained to fight on behalf of the king.” She smiled, and the sunlight danced across her freckles. “You’re a brave soldier.”
“You don’t need to make fun.”
“There are places for soldiers. I’ve just known too many who aren’t thinkers as well.” She made that comment to him too often.
“Now you’re accusing me not only of being a soldier, as if that is something I should be ashamed of somehow, but also of being a mindless one.”
Morgan watched him, and there was a slight curl to her lips. “I don’t know that I could ever call you mindless. At least tell me why you don’t care for the Alainsith.”
“Because I’ve learned my history.”
“Oh,” she said, nodding. “That explains it. You have heard the stories of the terrible Alainsith and how they have destroyed the kingdom time and again. Only through the bravery of King Ophan the Bold did the great nation of Reyand push back the horrible Alainsith threat.”
“Now you’re mocking me,” Kanar said.
“The war was a long time ago. It seems as if your king has recognized the need for conversation.”
“He may choose what he decides.”
“You don’t agree with your king?” Morgan asked.
Kanar frowned. “I didn’t say that.”
“It sounds like you did. It sounds like you have made it quite clear that you don’t agree with him.”
He sat up. A patrol moved into the city. Realmsguard, Kanar could tell. And their presence, especially in that number, suggested that the king had come with them.
“Thank you for your conversation. It’s been entertaining as usual,” he said. He bowed, taking her hand and kissing the top of it. “I hope you will send word of where you’re traveling to next.”
“Always,” she said. She didn’t get up, and she didn’t move. Instead, she just sat on the side of the rooftop, staring out over the distance.
Kanar climbed down, joined the Realmsguard, and couldn’t shake the feeling that Morgan watched him the entire time.
She’d been pressing him for information even then.
He took a deep breath, pulled himself away from the memory, and let it out. Kanar opened his eyes and looked over to her. It was his turn to press her for information.
“Are you going to tell me about the citadel?” he said.
“I will tell you what you need to know, Gray,” Morgan replied.
“You can stop calling me that.”
“I remember when you used to like it.”
He shot her a look. “It’s been a long time.”
“Has it?”
She watched him, her green eyes catching the sunlight. When that faded, the green practically blended into the forest, as if the color was meant to.
“The citadel,” Kanar said. “We need to have a plan for getting in. You can’t want this ceremony to take place.”
“You think you know what I want?”
“I don’t think you want it to succeed.”
“You have no idea what I want,” she said softly. “You’ve never known. You’ve never cared.”
