The scout, p.26
The Scout, page 26
Cadfael was on his knees, cornered and pinned against a grouping of boulders by two shadow creatures. Blood dripped from their fangs, bursting forth from their mouths as they gave keening snarls. They looked more than ready to rip Cadfael apart from limb to limb before feeding on his wretched soul. Lorcan and Cadfael were surrounded by a giant ring of fire, keeping the warriors that so desperately wished to come to their Ri’s aid at bay. Dara and I dispatched the ones who tried to get in our way before the two of us passed through the fire completely unscathed.
“So we find the great Cadfael of Blaidd,” I said as we joined Lorcan. “Not the conquering hero now, are we?”
Cadfael let out a growl, his eyes blazing with hatred as he went to lurch to his feet, but one of his legs buckled beneath him and a lunging shadow creature sent him scrambling to press his back up against the stones.
“Hold him still,” Lorcan said to Dara and me. “I do not want him escaping the ending that he has earned.”
I couldn’t suppress a cold smile as Dara and I strode over to Cadfael’s side. I roughly latched onto one of Cadfael’s arms, anticipation flooding me. How long had I waited for this moment? This was the man who had ruined my life and ruined my future. It was his edicts that had made my gifting a crime. It was him who had given my sister the opportunity to betray me for coin. It was high time he paid for the lives he had ruined.
Dara and I took a firm hold of Cadfael and I could feel Fianna’s darkness swirling in the air as Lorcan fixed Cadfael with a steely gaze. Cadfael’s expression contorted, his pain evident in his features as he gasped and hung his head. I had no doubt Lorcan was using his mind-speaking abilities, especially as Cadfael tried to jerk away from us, but Dara and I held the wretched Ri still, the creatures hissing and screeching as their bloodlust grew.
“You did not spare others.” Lorcan spoke aloud, his eyes narrowed and his voice dripping with unsuppressed hatred. “And therefore, I will not spare you.”
The shadow creatures both took a few steps toward Cadfael, the Ri of Blaidd shaking as his face paled. Lorcan began to speak in Old Pernish, the creatures lowering their heads to the ground and opening their mouths. Flames shot forth, racing across the ground to Cadfael. He bellowed with fury, fighting to free himself, but the injuries he’d sustained made him weak.
“Fight all you want,” I hissed as I yanked him back. “It will not stop you from paying for what you have done.”
Fianna’s flames engulfed his body while not even touching myself or Dara. Cadfael screamed in agony as the flames devoured him, the disturbing sight enough to raise the hairs on even the back of my neck as Fianna’s fire ate him alive. Cadfael’s body grew limper and his screams became hoarser until he became such dead weight that Dara and I could hold him no longer. He collapsed onto the ground, the flames continuing to rage until they left behind nothing more than a husk.
Lorcan called the creatures off and then walked over to the singed body. A feral gleam lit his eyes as he yanked the clan ring of Blaidd off Cadfael’s charred hand, the piece of jewelry somehow untouched by Fianna’s flames. Lorcan held the ring up in front of him, a maniacal grin twisting his features as he slipped it onto his own finger. Once the ring was in place, he turned to face me, the coldness that suddenly filled his eyes making my stomach clench.
“I’m afraid the game is up for you,” he said, unsheathing his blade.
“What in the blazes are you talking about?” I retorted, my heart hammering in my chest.
I went to pull out my own sword, only to have my arms wrenched behind my back by Dara. I fought his hold, kicking and screaming at him, but he held fast.
“I know you’ve been plotting against me,” Lorcan said, baring his teeth. “I know how you have sought to twist Fianna to your side to overthrow me, but I will not have it!”
He raised his blade, swinging it at me, but an eldritch shriek that was loud enough to leave a ringing in my ears caused him to falter. The creature screamed in rage and the fire surrounding us vanished, allowing the warriors who had been so desperate to break in and avenge their Ri to race toward us.
Lorcan cursed. “Do not lose her!” he shouted to Dara as the warriors swarmed him.
Dara darted behind the nearby boulders with me in tow. I screamed, fighting him still, biting and clawing at him to try and free myself from his grasp. I wasn’t going to let him kill me. Fianna had promised me the future of my dreams; it had promised me the place of Banrion with Aengus at my side. Dara wasn’t going to take that from me.
“You’re not getting away,” Dara growled as he brought a knife to my throat. “Lorcan wants you dead and I will make sure it comes to pass.”
I swallowed hard against the cold steel at my throat, my body trembling with rage. He had the upper hand and he knew it. My thoughts raced as I tried to think of a way to break his hold without risking my own neck, but a high-pitched hiss startled me, drawing my attention. A shadow creature slunk around the boulder, its gaze fixed on the two of us as smoke billowed from its nostrils and its ember eyes gleamed.
“Away with you, you foul beast,” Dara shouted, kicking at the creature.
I cursed as he did so. His foolish actions would only antagonize the creature further. We might be immune to Fianna’s fire, but we weren’t immune to attacks from the beasts. The creature screeched, lunging at us with its fangs bared. Dara released me to defend himself, flinging me against the boulder in the process. The side of my head hit the stone so hard, my teeth rattled. I scrambled to my feet as the creature bit into Dara’s leg. He let out a painful cry and I turned on my heel, ready to bolt.
For one moment, I thought I would be free of him, but a hand on my wrist yanked me backward. Dara staggered with his injured leg, but he held firm to me, raising his blade. I kicked at his wound, my blow landing true and causing him to slightly loosen his grip, but it wasn’t enough. I still couldn’t break away from him. He raised his dagger, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the creature wasn’t done with him yet. It lunged at Dara’s back, latching onto his shoulders with its massive claws. He let out a bloodcurdling scream, releasing me at once. I stumbled backward, thrown off balance, only to slam into the rocks again. The back of my head slammed into the hard stone and the next thing I knew, the world went black.
Chapter 40
Into the Flames
Seren
From the moment we had ridden out of Dearg, the bow began humming, and by the time we first saw the curling smoke rising up from the trees on the edges of Ioliare, the weapon was vibrating with energy. I gripped it tightly as Ceol trotted through the dense forest, Bran keeping pace at my stallion’s shoulder in his wolf form. We were circled by warriors of Blaidd and Seabhac, with Lewella riding just in front of me to lead the way. The smoke left me worrying we had arrived far too late, but there was little to be done for that now.
The air around us grew hotter and a dull roar could be heard as the smoke grew even thicker. Fianna’s darkness slithered through the air, making the horses tense and snort. The forest around us, however, remained free of flames—until it didn’t. We came around a bend, only to be confronted with a wall of fire, the roaring, sizzling inferno causing the horses to shy in alarm. I fought to keep control of Ceol as Lewella called for us to halt. She cursed, wheeling her stallion around before calling for her commanding warriors and the commanding warrior from Seabhac, Gwydion.
“We’ll move forward on foot,” she instructed. “The fire will make it too difficult with the horses.” She paused, lowering her voice as she looked down at Bran. “Stay with Seren, no matter what.”
He barked in response. I fought to ignore the jittery feeling in my chest as I dismounted Ceol, the stallion tossing his head and letting out a loud snort as he warily eyed the raging flames. I stroked his neck, doing my best to calm him. Lewella instructed a small handful of warriors to stay behind with the horses and I handed Ceol off to a warrior who led him away. I took a deep breath as we began to move forward into the flames, Bran practically glued to my side.
The smoke was suffocating and the heat from the flames was almost unbearable. It didn’t take long for my eyes to water and I was forced to dodge flaming falling limbs and leaves. In the distance, I could hear the din of fighters and for one horrifying moment, I felt myself freeze. The images around me merged with the images the Spirits had shown me, the fight that had cost the war band of Blaidd, and my father, their lives.
An eldritch screech forced me back to the present and I tensed as a shadow creature came barreling out from between two burning trees. Two warriors loosed arrows at it, but they did nothing to penetrate the creature’s smoky hide. I yanked an arrow from Rhonwen’s quiver, nocking it on the bow. The creature paid me no heed as I loosed, too focused on attacking the warriors.
My arrow found its mark, digging in deep to the creature’s hide and causing it to let out a shriek of pain as it faltered. I grabbed another arrow, loosing again, and as my arrow embedded itself in the creature’s chest, it collapsed to the ground. We pressed onward, in moments reaching the fight that Fianna’s fire was concealing.
Mercenaries tangled with warriors of Blaidd, warriors that, from the sheer number of them, I knew could have only come from Castle Clogwyn. The churning in my stomach deepened. I knew what I had seen. Father was here and this fight could cost him his life. I had no deep love for him, but I still did not wish him to die at Fianna’s hands, nor did I wish to see the entire war band slaughtered. While it was easy to see how outnumbered the mercenaries were, they had something far more powerful than the warriors of Blaidd on their side: shadow creatures.
“Find as many of those things as you can and kill them!” Lewella shouted at me as I felled another one of the creatures with an arrow.
It wasn’t nearly as difficult as I would have thought. Killing the creatures with Rhonwen’s bow seemed to only draw the rest of them. Another shadow creature barreled toward me with a mercenary at its side. Bran lunged at the mercenary. He latched onto the man’s leg with his powerful jaws, throwing him off balance before knocking him to the ground. I hurriedly nocked an arrow, loosing at the shadow creature, my arrow digging into its flank and buying me enough time to dodge out of its way. I loosed a second time, this time driving my arrow into the creature’s forehead. It stumbled face-first to the ground, black blood oozing from its injuries as it lay unmoving.
The mercenary that had attacked Bran was also splayed out on the ground, his neck contorted at an awkward angle. Blood marred Bran’s grey muzzle, a stark reminder of the toll a day of killing like this would take. Another mercenary came at me, blade swinging, but it was Emer who blocked him this time with her own blade. Bran came to her aid, leaping up to bite into the man’s arm. The two of them efficiently dispatched the mercenary and Emer motioned for me to go ahead of her.
“The two of us will cover you,” she shouted. “We can’t end this without ending those creatures.”
I nodded and we pushed our way deeper into the fighting, the creatures seemingly drawn to me as if pulled by some invisible string. But each time my arrows struck, they struck true. Two more creatures fell to my arrows, though one of them had almost latched onto my leg before Bran intervened. Through the smoky haze, I made out three large boulders, surrounded by warriors clamoring to get to them, only to be kept at bay by two shadow creatures. But it was the man on top of the stones, not the creatures, who ultimately drew my focus.
I knew his tall build and half-scarred face. Lorcan stood on top of the boulders, loosing arrows at the warriors beneath while his shadow creatures kept anyone from reaching him. A deep, vicious growl ripped from Bran’s throat and my blood heated. Lorcan would die today.
I pulled out an arrow, ready to loose it at the creatures, but I stopped short, my gaze drawn to a body crumpled at the foot of the boulders. It was badly burned, but from a distance, the build of what remained of the burned form reminded me too much of my father. I froze, a coldness sweeping over me at the realization that the death the Spirits had shown me might have already come to pass. Father had died by fire in my visions and bile rose in my throat as I found myself unable to look away from the burned body.
A bone-chilling scream, however, broke me from my shock as one of the shadow creatures ripped into a warrior of Blaidd who had tried to breach the boulders. I nocked my arrow and raised the bow, my jaw set as I loosed the arrow at the creature. Lorcan and Fianna were not winning this fight. Not so long as I drew breath. The arrow flew true, hitting the creature in the neck. It screeched, releasing its hold on the warrior as blood spurted from its arrow wound.
Bran slammed into me, knocking me aside. I fell down on one knee just as an arrow dug into the dirt where we had been standing. I glanced over at Emer, relieved to see that she had gotten out of the way as well. When I looked back up at the boulders, Lorcan had his gaze on me and from the hatred gleaming in his eyes, I knew he had seen me and what I had done to his precious monsters.
Something in me snapped as our gazes locked. I was done with this. It was ending today. I took off into the fray of warriors, intent on the last creature. Emer shouted something behind me and Bran let out a series of sharp barks, but I ignored them, my focus solely on Lorcan and his remaining dark beast.
The second I saw my opening to shoot at the creature, I took it. Lorcan saw me, however, forcing me to duck at the last moment to avoid an arrow of his own, which caused my arrow to only graze the creature’s side. It was enough to distract it and make it bleed, but hardly enough to kill it. The beast was quick to turn its attention to me, barreling at me with its fangs bared. I fumbled with another arrow, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to release it in time, but Bran slammed into the creature’s side.
My heart was in my throat as he pinned the creature to the ground, biting into its neck, only to have it lurch back up and fling him aside. I nocked my arrow, my heart pounding as I loosed again. My arrow struck the creature’s chest, close enough to its heart to bring it down.
I yanked out another arrow, intent on turning my focus to Lorcan, only to hear a yelp from Bran. An arrow stuck out of one of his shoulders and judging by the vengeful grin Lorcan wore as he stared down at us, he was responsible for Bran’s injury. My fury deepened and I loosed my arrow right into Lorcan’s own shoulder.
It shouldn’t have been a killing blow—it shouldn’t have even been a particularly disabling one for a skilled fighter—and yet Lorcan let out an anguished cry, swaying on his feet before tumbling down off the rocks. He didn’t move after he hit the ground and from my position, I could see an unusually large amount of blood soaking his shirt. Bran came over to my side, limping on his injured shoulder, the arrow still protruding from it.
“Stay here,” I told him, moving toward Lorcan’s fallen form.
He shook his head, letting out an irritated growl.
“You’re not going over to the likes of him on your own,” Emer said, startling me as she came up behind me, slightly out of breath.
There was no time for arguing with either of them. Cautiously, we crept over to Lorcan, his body sprawled out on the charred, bloodstained ground. Blood soaked his shirt, coming from the wound at his shoulder as if someone had cut his jugular. It dribbled from his mouth and he choked and coughed, struggling to breathe. Still, even in his dying moments, he hung onto his hatred, weakly spitting at us as we came to loom over him. His hand began to inch toward his waist and Emer slammed down on it with her foot, just in time for me to realize he’d been reaching for a dagger hanging there.
“I don’t think so,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him.
“You’ve lost,” he said, his worlds barely discernable as he choked on his own blood. “Cadfael is dead. You’re too weak to rule. Fianna knows it and so do you.”
“And you’re dying,” I retorted.
“It’s not done…” He trailed off, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he gave one last gasping breath.
The fire all around us vanished, leaving behind nothing but smoke. I heard the dying cries of lingering shadow creatures, and the few remaining mercenaries began to cease their fighting as they realized how woefully outnumbered they were without Fianna’s dark power to aid them. My gaze dropped to Lorcan’s right hand, disgust filling me at the sight of the clan ring of Blaidd on his finger. I reached down and yanked it off, slipping it onto my own.
As I straightened, Bran shifted back into his human form, the arrow from Lorcan still protruding from his shoulder. Blood stained his shirt and he was entirely too pale as he slumped back against the rocks.
“Spirits, Bran,” I said as I hurried over to him, my chest tight. “You need a healer.”
“I’ll manage,” he replied, though I could tell that he was gritting his teeth.
“Seren…”
My gaze flitted to Emer and she gestured behind me. I turned, feeling as if a heavy stone had settled in my middle as I looked more closely at the husk of a body splayed out on the burned ground. Part of me wanted to deny it, but even with the horrific burns, I knew that it was my father. Lorcan had admitted as much and deep in my gut, I knew it to be true.
I walked over to him, feeling as if I were in a fog as I dropped to my knees. I had spent most of my life resenting him, the latter years hating who he had become, and yet I still felt an odd sense of grief at the realization that he was gone from this Realm. Lorcan had not spared him and I did not want to dwell on the horrific death that must have come to him. He had finally acted, but he had acted far too late.
“Ren,” Bran murmured, placing a hand on my shoulder.
At his touch, I felt moisture sting my eyes and I blinked my tears back, almost furious with myself for feeling such strong emotion. Father had been no hero—he had turned into little more than a monster in the wake of Fionn’s death—and yet my chest still ached. After all these years, I apparently still felt something. I took in a deep breath, letting it out shakily as I swallowed against the lump in my throat. Bran squeezed my shoulder and I could feel his hand trembling, reminding me of how close I’d once again come to losing him.
