03 - Sworn (63 page)

I set the two bodies walking. They lurched forward, off-balance, arms swaying, but held upright by my will and my power. Memories of the first time it had happened came flooding back. My dog’s empty eyes staring into nothing, her body ignoring verbal commands that she’d known when alive, but responding to everything I told her through magic.

Like a puppet. Exactly right.

The bodies kept walking when I slowed the release of magic, and even continued to obey me without draining my magic further. I looked over the remaining corpses. I could manage this many, as long as I took time between to restore my magic and my health. There weren’t enough here to make an army, though, or even a distraction on the level I wanted. Certainly not enough to use as a shield.

“What’s happening?” Rowan asked. “You look terrible, like I haven’t seen you since Darmid.”

“It’s nothing. Just feeling a little ill.”

I let the bodies lie with their companions. I couldn’t take them to camp with me, and there was still much to do back there before we could make a solid plan of attack.

She watched them until they lay still, then turned to me. “So what’s next?”

“Explain this idea to people who won’t want to hear about it. Ask Morea for something to keep me healthy while I do this. Figure out how, exactly, to use fewer than two dozen bodies to divert an entire city guard.” I sighed. It was a good idea, but the obstacles were too great. “At least we have this as an option.”

I clenched my fists. The answer was there. I just needed more help to find it.

“If it’s distraction you want, I know someone else who will help.” Rowan nodded back toward camp. “Ruby came back with me, and I already promised she could join us if we attacked. Send her in. She doesn’t care if she comes out. You have nothing to lose.”

“You’re brilliant.” If we sent the dragon into the eastern end of the city first, where the nobles lived in their massive homes, they would demand a swift and impressive defense from the palace. It wouldn’t be enough on its own, but it would take some of the pressure off of the front gate, and neatly divide Severn’s forces.

Rowan picked up a rock and set it down on top of the body I’d raised and stepped quickly away. “I guess we should cover these guys for the night, if you don’t want them eaten by morning.”

I wanted to kiss her then, in spite of the ghastly surroundings. Never had I expected such acceptance from her, or from anyone.

Instead, I picked up a rock and helped.

M
OREA MET
us before we made it all the way back to camp.

“I was going to send Florizel to find you, but I was afraid the guards would shoot her down if she tried to leave,” she said, and I thought I detected a hint of reproach in my cousin’s voice. “Your father is awake.”

“Is he speaking coherently?” Rowan asked.

“He’s better. Demanding his potion, but he insists that I prepare a new batch in front of him each time. He memorized the formula, even if he understands nothing about what’s proving to be a difficult reaction. He makes damned sure I only put what he wants in it.” She seemed to be trying not to show her irritation. “I think he’s wary of me slipping something dangerous in there. He still only took half of it. I tried to get my father in to talk some sense into him, but Ulric won’t speak to his own brother. He’s ranting about everyone stealing his power.”

“I guess sending Albion in isn’t an option then,” Rowan said, almost to herself.

“He hasn’t trusted anyone since his capture,” I told Morea, “and now his mind has slipped further.”

She frowned. “The damage is terrible. I’ve never seen magic do this to a person. He’s coherent. Convincing. But completely wrong.”

This would be problematic. If he could convince people he was fit to command, if not to fight, it would undermine my authority. The others would surely be opposed to my plan to use the bodies. If he offered them an alternative... “I’ll speak to him.”

Morea twisted the ruby ring she wore on the first finger of her right hand. “I’ll wait outside in case you need me.”

“I will, too,” Rowan added.

I made my way to Ulric’s tent and stepped inside. My father opened his eyes, squinting in spite of the dim light. His appearance had improved slightly, but he still reminded me far too much of the bodies in the woods.

“Where’ve you been?” he demanded.

“I have things to take care of now. Per your orders, I’m in charge. We’re going to get into that city as soon as possible. Severn is weak now. We can take him.”

“Your friend is dead. Nox’s lover.”

“I know. I appreciate the reminder, thank you.” I wouldn’t show emotion. Not now.

He saw through me. “Aren, listen to me. You can’t make this personal. Carry on as we have been. Remain calm, rational.”

I shot him a look that would have made anyone else quiver. He merely gazed back at me, calm and stern.

“Even after everything you’ve lost?” I asked. “After my mother, after everything else Severn has taken from you, you can still claim this isn’t personal?”

His wrinkled face contorted into an expression of distaste. “It’s personal for all of us, but that can’t be what drives your actions. When have I let emotion overtake me? When have I let my desire for revenge dictate my next move? Your sister had the same problem, and only the gods know what’s happening to her right now.”

“She didn’t go for revenge. She went for us.”

“Still personal.” He wiped his nose on the sleeve of his shirt.

“Then what do you propose?” I asked. I couldn’t take much more of his hesitation. “We wait? Let him get stronger and attack us again? You’re practically dead. We grow weaker every day, not stronger.”

Ulric’s jaw quivered. “You can’t attack the city now.”

“I can. And I will, before we lose our chance.”

“Aren, this is foolishness.”

“I raised bodies.” The chill in my voice surprised me. No emotion. No qualms or regrets. “We’ll use them, use every bit of magic available to us, and every non-magical person willing to join us.”

Ulric’s breath hitched, and he pushed his blanket back. “You can’t do this. Attacking, yes, but only when we’re ready. And not the bodies. Not that.”

“I’ll ask Morea to help with the ill effects. You weren’t wrong about that, but I’ll get around it.”

“But think of—“

“What, my reputation? I don’t care. So the people will hate me. So I won’t be king.” I crossed my arms across my chest. “There are worse things.”

He tried to sit up, and collapsed back onto the bed. “You fool. It’s not only that. We’re talking about something that is wrong on every level imaginable, and you—”

“Father, please.” I crouched so I could speak more quietly. “I refuse to take advice on morals from a man who killed as many as you did on your journey to the throne. I know about your siblings. I know how you’ve lived your life, how you’ve treated your family while you let the world think of you as a good man. What I’m doing is no worse. I’m doing this to save Tyrea. I’m just going to be more open about the costs.”

“You’re acting out of your own anger and grief, not out of anyone else’s best interests.” His voice rasped out of him, but filled the tent. “At least be honest about that.”

I stood again. “Fine. I’m angry. Severn has used me, done harm to me, killed people I cared about and tried to do the same to others. He wants to turn Tyrea into something it was never meant to be, and he’ll take down as many other countries and people as he thinks he needs to in his quest for power. He holds my sister captive, he wants Rowan dead, he tried to kill you and nearly did the same to me. Again.” My voice remained calm, though my rage threatened to boil to the surface. “And my best friend, who was more family to me than you will ever be, is dead because of him. So yes, I’m far beyond angry. I am going into that city to finish the challenge. He is going to die. And then the throne will be yours, should you be fit to keep it.”

“And if I’m not?” His face went slack, and his eyes lost their focus. “I can’t... it’s so much. The cost of it.”

I felt nothing for the wretched old creature next to me. “Drink your damned potion,” I told him. “Get strong enough to fake it until Nox finds you a proper cure.”

“Aren!” His eyes cleared again. “You are relieved of your duties. You will leave off this plan of yours. You will help me do this the proper way, or you will find yourself imprisoned, and—”

I laughed. “You have no authority. You’re not the king anymore, remember? And I’m in charge here. You’re certainly not strong enough to stop me. If it comes to it I’ll challenge you in the proper way, but that seems a waste of time.”

He glared at me. “I’ve made mistakes. I don’t intend to let you repeat them. Tell Morea to bring me my potion. We’ll see what happens.”

I left without answering and motioned for Morea to follow me to my tent.

“He’s not making sense,” I told her. “He’s getting worked up, and I’m afraid he’s not going to recover in this state. Is there any way you can make sure he stays asleep? Just until he’s feeling more himself.” In truth, it wasn’t his recovery I was concerned about.

It was his interference.

She rubbed her thumb over the top of her ring. For the first time I noticed a tiny gold hinge on the side. A Potioner and a poisoner. I wondered what else Xaven hadn’t told me about her training.

“I could slip something in there without him seeing,” she said, “if that’s your order.”

“It is. Thank you.”

She bowed at the waist.

“You don’t have to do that. I’m not the king. I’m not sure what I am.”

She smiled, but kept her gaze on the ground. “Knowing as I do how Severn took the throne, I do not acknowledge him as king. No one here in camp does. Your father is not fit to rule. Who does that leave?”

“Thank you, Morea.”

After she left, I sat and put my feet up. Ulric had to get better. I was in no way prepared to take this responsibility on permanently. Only until I saw the battle won.

When a shadow appeared against the side of the tent, I thought it might be Rowan coming to check on me. Instead, a man’s voice spoke. “Sir, there’s someone here to see you. From outside.”

I went to the door. “From Luid?”

“No. The other way.”

One of the men who had been on guard duty that day stood with one hand clamped around Laelana’s arm. I went cold at the sight of her, a ghost I’d hoped we’d left in the past. She wore dirty clothing and no boots on her filthy, scratched-up feet, and trembled with wide-eyed fear. A cut marred her left cheek, shadowed by a bruise. I thanked the guard and stepped aside to let Laelana in.

“Find Griselda,” I told the man who had brought her. He dashed off, and I motioned for Rowan to join us in the tent.

I offered Laelana a drink, and she refused. “Later. Listen first.” Her voice was frantic, wild as her eyes. “You have to stop them. Or help them. They’ll all die.”

“Who?” Rowan asked.

“Goff! He got tired of waiting for you people to do something, and he’s taken our people toward Luid.” She turned as Griselda and Qurwin entered, then looked back at me. “All who were capable of fighting, at least. They’re going to try to get into the city.”

“Idiot,” Qurwin muttered. “We should have seen this coming. He was forever pestering us to act, to move, to share a brilliant plan. He seemed to have latched on to this idea of his people as fighters.”

“It’s not just that,” Laelana said. “Our scouts—”

“Your thieves?” I asked, to clarify.

She nodded. “They had an encounter with travelers we didn’t realize were messengers for Severn. When we went through their things, we found a message ordering his troops back from the borderlands. We intercepted that one, but there will be more. Goff decided time was running out.”

He wasn’t wrong,
I thought, and felt as though the earth was tilting beneath me. If Severn’s troops made it to the city before us, we were finished.

Griselda turned to me. “What do you want us to do?”

Laelana dropped to her knees. “Please. They’ll never get in alive. If you hurry, you can catch them.”

I stepped away. “Was this the plan, Laelana? They act, and hope that we’ll be forced to jump in?” I couldn’t see any other reasoning behind Goff’s plan.

“Please,” she whispered. “I wouldn’t have come if he’d gone alone. But I’m responsible for these people.”

“As I am for mine,” I said coldly. “Qurwin, have our horses saddled.”

He darted out, and Griselda followed.

Laelana slumped further onto the floor. “Thank you. You are too—”

“We’re not joining them,” I said. “This is Goff’s fight, and it will be his loss. I won’t sacrifice my forces to save a fool and those who follow him.”

Tears streamed down Laelana’s cheeks. “You can’t just let them die. Save them, and they’ll help you, I swear.”

There was a time when I might have cared.
Don’t let it be personal,
my father had said.
Don’t let emotion rule.
This once, I would take his advice. My heart became a stone, and the turbulent thoughts I’d struggled with since Kel’s death calmed.

“They’re no good to me,” I said.

Rowan drew a sharp breath, but said nothing.

More useful dead than alive,
whispered a dark, slithering voice that came from the very depths of my mind. I ignored it. I wouldn’t allow myself to think that way, even if the truth of it appealed to me on some horrifying level. But I also wouldn’t sacrifice my own forces for Goff and his foolish, undertrained and overly-optimistic excuses for warriors. They’d made the choice to follow him instead of Ulric, and they would pay for it.

“We’ll head out there and see if we meet them,” I continued, “but I’ll promise no more than that.”

Laelana nodded. “Thank you.”

She didn’t follow us out of the tent.

Rowan pulled me aside. “Aren, what are you doing? This isn’t you. I thought—”

“Please don’t,” I said. “I’m doing what I have to. Don’t complicate it. Not now.”

“Should we fly ahead in case we can catch them?” she asked as she mounted Florizel. Her lips pressed into a tight line as she looked down at me.

“No. I won’t risk either of you for this. At this point we’ll be witnesses to what happens, and if we can’t stop them we’ll hopefully get some idea of what Severn has in store for us. Gods willing, Goff will come to his senses and retreat before we see anything.”