Ashes And Spirit (Book 3) (30 page)

The sun rose into a frozen sky. The air was perfectly still as if it held its breath, awaiting the sentencing of the five men standing with their arms bound in the snow of the open field just outside the city wall. In front of them, Nydara stood with her wings partially spread, her head raised, eyes glaring at the men. Tellnox, Farynn, and Olen flanked her, their scales glittering in the light of the early morning sun.

Maleena stood on the city wall not far from where Mckale was nearly killed months before. Mckale stood to one side and Lord Arandrall to the other. The rest of the Council of Nine arranged themselves along the wall in order of rank. The parents of those sold off to the Kormai were also on the wall, along with many other inhabitants of Taragen.

Maleena watched her dragon. It was the first time she would see Nydara uphold and dispense Dragon Law. When Nydara began, her thoughts were heard by all. Most clutched their heads and winced from the volume and power of a dragon’s voice in their unbonded minds. Even so, Nydara continued. All would hear what she had to say.

“Sarrandrall, and those with you…you have all been accused of and found guilty by the memories in your own minds of treason, trafficking the young of Calladar, and aiding the Shadow Riders. There is no mercy for such crimes, no second chance, no hope you can cling to.”
The silver lowered her head, her violet eyes glowing in the light of the sun, nearly level with theirs.
“This punishment is dealt by me for reasons you must understand before punishment begins. Because I am a dragon it is my right to dispense Dragon Law. As a Silver, this particular punishment is unique to my color. Dragons are not without magic of their own.”

Nydara raised her head again though her eyes remained on the doomed men before her.
“You are sentenced to death by your crimes. A sentence only a silver dragon has the ability to carry out. Death by your crimes is thus: you will be made to feel every pain you have ever wrought on another until death finds you. The weight of this magic is painful in its own right. Death will not take you before each of you have experienced the full impression of every crime you have committed.”
She paused and eyed each man in turn.
“If you have anything to say, do so now. Do not waste time begging for a softer sentence, you will not get it.”

None of the trembling men spoke.

“Very well. It begins.”

Under the weight of the dragon’s magic, the men fell as one to their knees. A mixture of weeping and screaming wrenched from their throats. Along the wall, people shifted. It wasn’t an easy punishment to watch. Even some of the victim’s families were visibly uncomfortable watching the men thrash in the snow as their anguished cries rent the still air. Maybe it was because they realized that it was more than possible their sons and daughters had felt such agony at the men’s hands.

Nydara never wavered. Maleena felt the resolve in the dragon’s mind as the punishment continued. The men had broken ironclad laws of Dragon Law. Like in Trilene, when the dragons had disposed of all prisoners, dragon justice was swift and hard.

The noises from the men quieted as blood trickled from their noses and ears, their minds finally caving under the pressure of the magic.

When all five men finally stilled, a large puddle of blood had melted the snow around their heads. Nydara folded her wings and turned to look at those gathered on the wall.
“It is done.”

L
oki strode through the castle at Markene, searching for the mage. A draft made the flames of the torches set in the wall sconces dance. Why Kalila refused the offer of Light magic from him, he had no idea. She was incredibly stubborn and determined to show she could handle Markene. Perhaps she thought taking his offer of light in the castle instead of using torches would be unfair to the people of Markene. She was often loath to take anything her people might be doing without.

Because Markene gave so many of their supplies to help the New Sharren settlement, there was now a shortage of many things this late in the winter. The tables in the castle rarely held bread. Many nights Kalila insisted on vegetable stew while she had the guards hand out meat to people in the city in desperate need. She even ordered the Heads of Houses to follow suit, insisting that the people of Markene would not do without while they sat on their fat rumps and gorged.

Loki chuckled, remembering the stir that had caused. However, despite the protest raised by the Heads, the new decree had been put in motion. The young queen had a way of going the direction she planned and dragging everyone else along whether they wanted it or not. And the common people of Markene loved her for the most part. Only a small faction was still offended by the idea of a queen, no matter how good she might be doing.

After he found Lalani, that small faction could be put to rest and Markene could move closer to unity. And they desperately needed it. The army of Hanover, after languishing for months, was suddenly swelling its ranks. Turindar had already replaced its fallen and built beyond that. Trilene had also built up its army. Markene couldn’t afford to be divided now.

After several more halls, Loki finally found Lalani in the small library. The mage was attracted to books the way moths were to flames. She turned when he walked into the room, her pale eyes full of expectation. “You have found the information.”

He nodded. Though she couldn’t read thoughts like Maleena and Taela, she could read his emotions. “She met with the Shadow Rider Azurynn. You were right to suspect her.”

Lalani’s shoulders sagged and relief shone clear on her face. “Thank you, Loki. This has been hard on you, and I appreciate your willingness to continue after what happened with the chain. That mishap was unfortunate, and I apologize for putting you in that situation.”

“The chain was a nasty consequence of my own failure to hold the light-bending weave while in motion. It wasn’t your doing. I volunteered for the task; you have nothing to apologize for.” He loosened the scarf around his neck. “The past is the past. It’s best to leave it there. Right now, we have a queen that needs information.”

“She is in her study at the moment; we can speak with her there.”

Loki followed the mage as she swept past him into the hall. Even though Lalani had never completed more than the first month of training as a child in Boromar, she still possessed the same cool detachment Kirynn was capable of. The mage hadn’t worried over his age when she asked him to use his unique abilities with Light to aid her in securing Markene. And even when he returned to the castle after nearly losing Merru to the chain, she hadn’t hesitated to ask him to continue.

They climbed to the third level of the castle in silence. Another thing he’d become used to with the Spirit mage. She wasn’t one for idle chatter and only spoke if she felt there was something important to say.

Four Defenders of Galdrilene flanked the door to Kalila’s study, though none tried to stop them from approaching. Her personal advisor and a Dragon Rider weren’t considered a threat. Lalani knocked on the door and waited for permission to enter.

“Yes, come in.”

Kalila sat in a cushioned chair situated between two small tables. A stack of papers sat on one table and a growing one sat on the other. She looked up from the paper in her hand, the light from the windows playing across the scars on her face. “Please tell me this isn’t bad news. I have to get through these reports on food and supplies and then meet with the Heads of Houses later to discuss our course of action. I don’t have time for bad news today.”

Lalani regarded her with the same cool expression she always wore. “You will have to make time.”

“What is this?” Kalila’s eyes flicked between them.

“We have found the leak in Markene. The one responsible for so much of the unrest here.”

Kalila’s face hardened. “Who?”

“It was as I suspected. Your mother is the traitor.” Lalani delivered the news in the same way she would have reported the levels of grain in the granaries. Loki rather envied her ability to separate herself from a difficult situation.

“What?” Kalila stood so fast the few papers in her lap fluttered to the floor. “My
mother?
”

Loki nodded. “She would rather see Markene fall to the Shadow Riders than have you on the throne. She feels you stole her only son, and the Shadow Riders promised to return him to the throne. A promise they can’t keep since Toren is a Guardian, but she believes they will.” He watched the play of emotions on her face. This was going to hurt her more than most knew. Kalila had once told him how much she hoped her mother would come around.

“I don’t think she intentionally means to hurt you. I think your father’s death and your brother leaving have unhinged her.” Her mother truly had lost her mind, and Loki could only hope that if Kalila understood that, it would lessen the blow.

“How do you know this?”

Loki gave her a rueful look. “Two months ago I began to follow your mother. She met with a Shadow Rider earlier today.”

Hurt at the betrayal hardened her eyes. “A Shadow Rider?” She shook her head. “How long have you been involved in this?”

“I have been searching for the person responsible since I came here early last summer. I thought I was close at one point about a month before the battle at Trilene, but instead I was taken by Shadow Riders.” He kept his gaze steady. Kalila was the only one in Markene outside of Merru who knew how much that day had affected him.

Kalila’s eyes widened. She slowly sat back down, her face devoid of color. “That’s how you ended up with one of those chains on you?” Her eyes narrowed as she shifted her attention to Lalani. “Did you put him up to this?”

The Spirit mage nodded, her tone practical when she said, “I asked; he volunteered. By suggesting I put him up to it, you discredit the sacrifices he made to gain this information. Loki is very much his own person.”

Loki met her eyes when they came back to him. “You continued even after you and Merru were nearly separated?” When he nodded, she regarded him for a long moment. “You have grown and changed, Loki. You were a boy when I first met you in Galdrilene; I see a young man before me now. I think Merru is right, the count of your years is off.”

“She is right. You are older than what others think you are,”
Merru sent.

“Does it really matter whether my age is off?”

“It doesn’t. No matter your age in years, you have aged beyond them.”

Loki inclined his head toward Kalila. “And you were a scared girl when I first met you in Galdrilene, and now you are a young woman ruling a nation. You are only a couple of years older than me and yet here we both are. I only did what needed to be done, just as you have.”

Kalila nodded slowly. “So it would seem. Time and war are changing us both.” She gestured to the other chairs in the room. “Please, sit and tell me all that has transpired.”

Loki sat in one of the cushioned chairs while Lalani chose to remain standing. For the next hour, Loki, with an occasional comment from the mage, filled Kalila in on all that had happened, ending with the meeting between her mother and Azurynn.

Kalila sat in silence, her gaze on the snowflakes drifting past the windows. Finally, she lifted her eyes to Lalani. “Have my guard arrest my mother and place her in a cell to await sentencing.” Her face and voice were devoid of emotion. “Make sure she is well guarded. I don’t know how she has managed to conceal meeting with Shadow Riders, and I don’t want one of them spiriting her away. Although I doubt they would waste their time and effort to do so.”