Ashes And Spirit (Book 3) (34 page)

Aralanni gave a quick nod of her head. “Then we shall hold the river until there are none of us left standing.”

Karalene glanced at Aralanni. “You’ll not hold it alone.” She turned her gaze to Taela. “Until none are left standing, even if it means we must fight alongside o’ the Boromari. When do we move?”

Taela held back a sigh of relief. “As soon as you can gather whatever supplies you have with you.”

“Both armies are made to move fast. We will be ready in under an hour,” Aralanni said.

“Paki and I will be waiting.”

Both women turned and started barking a quick succession of orders. Within moments, the battle was forgotten as both sides prepared to leave.

K
irynn walked down the hall with Council members Deslin and Owen on one side. Apiatan, the leader of the small band of young Ke’han warriors representing their people in Shadereen, walked on her other side. Vaddoc chose to walk on the far side of the Council members away from Apiatan.

Though she knew his prejudices were deeply ingrained, Kirynn couldn’t help shooting him an exasperated look. He could hate Kojen all he wanted, just like the rest of them, but he really needed to get over the way Ke’han looked.

To Apiatan’s credit, he feigned indifference to Vaddoc’s behavior of ignoring or avoiding him whenever possible. Vaddoc would likely be happy when this discussion with the king was over and he could get away from the Ke’han. Now if they could only find Alrendoc.

Of course if the king had actually shown up for the meeting then they wouldn’t be traipsing through the halls toward his expansive apartments. Why he’d failed to grace them with his presence was a mystery since he knew the importance of signing off to move more of the Border Guards to the east to deal with the increasing attacks by Kojen on the border towns.

The riders could only be in so many places, even with Loki’s arrival a couple of months ago. Alrendoc had no issue signing off on the reinforcement of the border towns after Basc had been completely wiped out. Though that hadn’t been Kojen. Only Shadow magic could have done that to those people. If there was any reason behind the actions of the Shadow Riders in that town, it hadn’t been apparent. Although rumors of a similar butchery were trickling out of Turindar. And news had come down from Calladar that the border village of Bandar had suffered the same fate as Basc.

The quiet conversation between Deslin and Owen cut off abruptly as they turned the corner. A pair of boots stuck partway through the open door of the king’s chambers. Kirynn tensed, going still, as she strained to hear. Her hand gripped the hilt of her knife as she slid the long, wicked blade from its sheath. Why, in the name of the Fates, did she let her guard down and leave her zahri behind?

She moved forward with Vaddoc beside her and the others on her heels. Alrendoc’s personal manservant lay in a puddle of blood just inside the doorway. A few steps farther in, Lord Mannoc lay in his own crimson pool. Vaddoc bent and touched his fingers to the servant’s neck. He straightened and shook his head.

In silence, Kirynn moved to Mannoc and reached for his throat. Her fingers barely brushed his skin when he grabbed her wrist in a weak grasp. A sheen of sweat covered his face and his clammy hand trembled.

“Alrendoc…is the traitor. Made a deal with…Shadow Riders. Wants Shadereen…the way it was.” Mannoc’s golden eyes were full of truth as he stared into her face. Kirynn nodded, letting him know she believed him. Behind her, Lord Deslin shouted down the hall for help. Owen grabbed a shirt that was draped across a chair and knelt across from her, pressing the wadded cloth against Mannoc’s wound.

“He said…Shadereen will…burn… Will meet with Shadow…in the cistern today…” Mannoc whispered before his eyes glazed and his hand dropped from her wrist.

Kirynn felt for a pulse. Her fingers found only silence. “He’s gone.”

Owen pulled the shirt away. “We have to stop Alrendoc.”

“I’ll find him.” Kirynn stood and sheathed her knife then left the room before anyone could respond. She ran through the halls and down the sweeping staircases until she reached the one leading to the cistern. The same place she’d been held with that vile chain around her neck.

She slowed to a stop. The door at the far end was partially open. Kirynn moved with silent stealth toward it. Voices drifted through as she neared.

“It will be as you wish, Kovan.”

“Of course it will, Alrendoc.” The sound of a dragon lifting off blew on the sudden breeze through the gap in the doorway, then silence.

Alrendoc stepped into the hall and froze, his wide eyes on her. Kirynn leaped across the small distance separating them and smashed her fist into his face, knocking his head into the wall. He scrambled away and twisted, using his leg to try and sweep her feet from under her. She avoided the clumsy attempt. He rolled and came up on his feet as blood poured from his nose.

Kirynn kicked him hard in the chest. He stumbled back then lunged forward, swinging his fist at her face. She easily dodged and punched him in the side of the head. Before he could recover she planted her foot in his stomach. His breath exploded from him, and he sank to his knees. Kirynn pulled her long bladed knife from its sheath.

Alrendoc glared at her and wheezed, “Is this how you handle justice? I thought all received a trial under Dragon Law.”

She stalked toward him, wary of any move he might make. “This isn’t justice. This is pure revenge for what you almost did to me and Syrakynn.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I thought the great and wonderful Guardians didn’t seek revenge.”

Kirynn shrugged. “Nobody’s perfect.”

“Kirynn
,
stop!”
Syrakynn’s voice thundered into her head.
“His sentence will be death for what he has done. However, it will be carried out by the silvers according to Dragon Law.”

“His actions nearly contributed to your death.”

“Yes
,
they did. But if you kill him for the revenge of one crime instead of making him face the silvers for them all, if you kill him because you want to, then you are no better than a Shadow Rider.”
Syrakynn’s voice turned soothing.
“This is not a battle. This is you and one man in a hallway. A man you have already bested. Be the honorable Guardian I know you to be.”

Kirynn growled under her breath and shoved her emotions down. Alrendoc chuckled, his bloody lips twisting into a mocking smile. In one quick move, she drove her foot into the side of his head. Alrendoc’s head snapped back, and he toppled to the ground unconscious.

Vaddoc ran around the corner and stopped. “What did you do?”

Kirynn knelt next to the fallen king and placed her fingers against his neck. After a moment she stood and shrugged. “He lives.”

“He is supposed to be taken before the silvers.”

“And so he will be. I don’t recall anything about how a traitor that nearly causes the death of a dragon must be handled prior to capture.” Kirynn bent, grabbed hold of Alrendoc’s wrist, and dragged him behind her as she walked past Vaddoc. “Stop worrying about a traitor. According to Mannoc, we have more important things to focus on right now.”

Vaddoc moved beside Kirynn and grabbed Alrendoc’s other wrist. Together they dragged him through the keep in silence. Servants scrambled out of the way, gaping at the sight. When they returned to Alrendoc’s apartments, they found a crowd gathered in the hall. The bodies had been removed and several servants worked to scrub the blood from the floor.

The Council of Seven—minus Lord Mannoc—stood in a tight knot, their voices tense as they spoke quietly. The conversation broke off as Kirynn and Vaddoc approached. They dropped Alrendoc’s unconscious form unceremoniously on the floor at Deslin’s feet.

“I found him just as he finished meeting with the Shadow Rider Kovan,” Kirynn said.

Lord Yelen looked taken aback. “What happened to him?”

She snorted. “I saw no reason to be gentle with him. He deserved death the minute I found him. He lives now only through the council of my dragon.”

Vaddoc cleared his throat. “Either way, he is caught. According to Lord Mannoc, may the Fates welcome him, Shadereen will burn. Which means the Shadow Riders are planning to move against us soon.”

“Perhaps we should take this discussion to the Council room,” Deslin said, nodding toward the servants. He called for guards to take Alrendoc to a cell until he could be dealt with. They dragged him off no more gently than Kirynn and Vaddoc, their disgust for the traitorous king apparent.

Lord Owen nodded. “I agree.”

As they started down the hall, Vaddoc glanced at Deslin. “Has Lord Mannoc’s wife been notified?”

“She has, though I doubt there will be much sadness at his passing. There was little feeling between them, even from the beginning. Their marriage was nothing more than a merger of land and wealth between the families.”

Kirynn shook her head. “He was the hind end of a pig, but at least he didn’t betray his people. For that he deserves to be shown some respect, even by the Lady Arlenyi.”

“The Lady Arlenyi has always upheld the dignity of the marriage, even when Lord Mannoc blatantly violated it,” Deslin said. “I have no doubt she will continue to do so when his body is returned to the ground.”

Kirynn turned toward Vaddoc and stumbled as the floor swayed. A loud
crack
echoed through the stone walls of the hall as everyone scrambled to stay on their feet.

“Shadow Riders!”
Syrakynn’s warning slammed into her mind at the same moment the floor jerked up and sent her sprawling.

“Deslin!” Kirynn shouted over the rumble of the shaking keep. “Get everyone outside and take cover.”

“What is happening?” he called back.

Vaddoc answered as he attempted to brace himself against the wall, “They are causing an earthquake with their magic. We have to get out before this whole place collapses!”

Another heavy tremor shook the keep, sending a fine web of cracks across the walls.
“Kirynn, get out of there!”
came Syrakynn’s anxious sending.

Vaddoc shoved her. “Run, I will get the Council out.” A shield of shimmering light sprang up around Vaddoc and the Council, altering to include three scrambling servants.

Kirynn sensed Syrakynn’s distress and ran for the set of glass doors undulating with the building at the end of the hall. The floor dropped out from under her then slammed back up, sending her crashing down. Pain shot through her shoulder. She jumped back up and resumed her careful sprint across the heaving and crumbling surface beneath her feet.

Another wrenching crack rent through the building. Kirynn glanced back. The floor and walls crumbled and separated. A wide chasm opened revealing the floors below. Large chunks of stone fell through the gap.

The building lurched around her more. She raced the last few paces and burst through the doors onto the balcony beyond. Above, Syrakynn knocked a smaller black dragon from the sky then dove toward her. The balcony swayed beneath her feet like the deck of a boat and broke away from the wall.

Kirynn bounded across it as it continued falling then jumped, using her one foot to shove off the stone railing, propelling herself into empty air. The wind rushed past her face as she closed her eyes and concentrated on Syrakynn, gauging the red’s progress...