Ashes And Spirit (Book 3) (64 page)

“What if it’s a trap?” Kellinar asked, uneasy with the whole thing.

Adilynn shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out,” she said with a short bark of laughter. “If it is a trap, it will be difficult for the Shadow Riders to make use of the tunnels when they’re full of Boromari warriors. Let them try and spring a trap.”

Her bravado reminded him of Kirynn. “May the Fates will it to work out, I guess.”

“If it doesn’t,” she shrugged again, “we all have to enter Maiadar at some point.”

Adilynn then turned to Kalila, bowing her head. “We also found the remains of a young girl. I am sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you, Commander. Neria has waited this long for us to find her, she will not mind if we see to the best interests of Markene first. Have someone tend to the remains, and we will have a proper burial if we survive this war.”

Loki moved his leg experimentally as Serena and Nolan stood next to his bed, their eyes fixed on the appendage. It didn’t hurt to move it, which brought a sigh of relief from Loki, although it didn’t seem to move quite the way it had before.

Serena shook her head. “We’ve done everything possible. Even though a few days wasn’t that long, it appears it was long enough to cause damage we can’t completely correct.”

“Will I be able to use it?” A surge of worry washed through him.

“Yes,” Nolan nodded as he spoke. “I believe you will always carry a limp, and you may find the way you sit when riding Merru causes discomfort—especially at first until your body adjusts.”

“You still need to rest. You lost a large quantity of blood, your ribs are bruised, and your ankle is sprained. Since none are life threatening, and we are likely to face significant injuries again soon, we need to save our energy.” Serena brushed her hair back and sent him an apologetic smile. “It will take some time, and I’m sorry for that. However, it’s best if you finish healing naturally.”

Loki nodded. There was no reason for an apology. He was alive, which was good…considering. The one eye bothered him as did the fact that he may not walk quite right again. How was he supposed to help in battle once he was healed if he couldn’t see everything around him, if he couldn’t move properly? He didn’t want to be a hindrance. Serena and Nolan didn’t need to worry about that though. He didn’t want them feeling as if they had somehow failed to heal him well enough, so he hid his frustration.

Merru rumbled comfortingly from his lair, and Loki flopped back against the pillows. He could live with it. Merru was fully healed with no lasting issues. It was better than what could have been. Hopefully Kalila would still be interested after she found out he was half-blind and had a gimpy walk.

“You know she will be,”
Merru sent.
“I doubt she will see your scars any more than you see hers.”

“I hope you are right.”
He didn’t want to think about the possibility of the dragon being wrong. He felt for Kalila almost as much as he did for Merru. Shaking away the thoughts, he spoke to Serena and Nolan. “Thank you both for giving me this much. I need to thank Gideon and Nira as well.”

“Nira has already returned to Markene along with Gideon and most of the Tower of Healing in preparation for the next battle,” Serena said as she walked around the bed and poured a cup of thick liquid. “I’m sure Saria will be happy to pass your thanks to Nira if Merru wants to send it along.”

The dragon rumbled, and Loki smiled. Of course Merru would send it. Serena bent over him with the cup in her hand. “Drink this. It will help replenish the lost blood and strengthen you.”

Loki took the cup and downed the thick liquid, wrinkling his nose at the taste. His eyelid drooped, his mind tired and hazy. Serena must have put something in it to help him sleep.

Oksana paced in the large sitting room in Kovan’s house. Outside the rain pounded down, flooding the streets with weather Shadereen had never seen. Most likely caused by what she and the other dark weather riders had done in New Sharren, though she didn’t see any problem with it. After all, who cared if the desert got rain? It wasn’t as if a little more green in this place would hurt anything. And in her frustrated anger, she truly didn’t care if it did.

“Where in the void are they?” she growled.

Kovan sat on the long, padded reclining bench and watched her with a very relaxed expression. Of course
he
was relaxed. He always was for a few weeks after one of his killing sprees. “Why do you care?”

“Because they shouldn’t just disappear without informing us. They could be planning something behind our backs!”

He shook his head and waved the suggestion away with a lazy movement of his hand. “Azurynn and Sadira are incapable of planning anything together without going for each other’s throats.” He sat up. “In fact, it’s entirely possible that is exactly what happened.”

She paused in her pacing to study the new expression on his face. “What do you mean?” she said in an interested tone.

“Did it occur to you that the reason we haven’t seen them in nearly a fortnight, even though the moment of our advance against Markene nears, is because they killed each other?”

Oksana started to scoff but stopped as she thought of all the times the two had looked at each other with murder in their eyes. Granted, most of them wanted to see each other dead, but not like those two. Excited relief washed the anger from her. “It’s ours. It’s all ours! None of the newer riders are strong enough to challenge us.” The sudden charge in her blood started her pacing again. “Once the Guardians are wiped out, it will all be ours. No more having to deal with either one of them.”

Kovan nodded and relaxed again with a smile. “Though I wouldn’t care if you died as well, I won’t actively seek it. We’ve held a truce this long, there’s no reason it can’t continue.”

She flashed him a wide, triumphant grin. “I feel the same way. I wouldn’t weep to see you dead, however, together we are stronger. The truce will continue. We can split things up evenly when it’s over and both rule from Galdrilene.” Oksana let out an exulted sigh. “I can almost taste the full impact of all that power. I can’t wait to stand so close to where the magic pours through this world and bend it to my will.”

Her laugh echoed off the walls as she spun in a circle.

M
aleena stood on the wall walk that ran around the castle of Markene leaning against Mckale. Their time was running out, she could feel it. For this moment though there was nothing but the sun that still held a hint of warmth as it slowly started its downward path after reaching its peak, the feel of the cold wind that blew off the early, newly fallen snow, and Mckale’s arms around her.

The other riders were there along the walls too, taking in the moment of peace. Marcaius sat on the walk, leaned up against the parapets with Nira in his arms. Kellinar and Taela were farther down. Nolan, Serena, Nordhas, and Toren gathered a short distance away, conversing quietly. Jocelynn leaned back into Varnen’s arms. Sumara, Belynn, and Kirynn sat on the parapets with their legs dangling as they laughed together.

Everything was as prepared as it could be. The Kantherian soldiers and one finger of the Boromari warriors had rearranged themselves on the far side of the river along with the Ke’han, the land dragons, and the Border Guards in anticipation of the coming battle. Four more fingers were arranged to the south of the castle, though a great many Boromari were in the various tunnels, they were far from being underrepresented on the soon to be battlefield. The smaller Markeni army was arranged among them. The village of Kadear on the other side of the river had been evacuated into the city of Markene. Plans were laid, every contingency thought of, all there was to do now was wait and soak up as many of these peaceful, quiet moments as they could.

Her mind drifted to Emmaleen, who was now walking and talking, even if what she said didn’t make sense. Though she adored Marda—Maleena could sense it clearly—there was no doubt in Emmaleen’s mind who her mother was or how much she missed her when she was gone. A pang of sorrow touched her heart. Would she get to see Emmaleen grow up? The cloudy future she couldn’t see nagged at her. Had something changed?

Mckale picked up on her emotions and tightened his arms around her as he bent his head to whisper in her ear, “Don’t lose hope.”

She only nodded. Kellinar’s message came unbidden to her mind.
“The incomplete weave breeds the darkness. When the sun sets on bloody snow and the shadows touch your hands, accept it.”
The sun crawled lower in the sky, casting shadows out onto the snow. The Markene she saw faded and was replaced by a desperate and bloody battle. It was only a flash, enough to leave her feeling dizzy, and she leaned heavily on Mckale.

“Maleena?” His arms went from gently holding her to holding her up. “What happened?”

The scenery around her settled, and a deep calm washed through her. This was it. “They’re coming. Before the day is out.” She pushed lightly against him. “I’m all right now. We have to sound the bells.”

Nydara trumpeted a warning that was picked up by all of the dragons until the very air shook. In the towers the bells began to toll. On the ground the warriors leaped up, falling into position. Along the wall, Maleena was already running with Mckale and the rest as Nydara and Tellnox landed in the courtyard while most of the others hovered in the air, waiting for their chance to pick up their riders.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maleena saw Syrakynn streak by below the level of the outside wall just as Kirynn dropped over the edge. A moment later, the red climbed into the sky with Kirynn in the saddle fastening the straps. Tanis and Adirynn followed suit as Marcaius and Jocelynn jumped off the wall. They too were visible a second later securing themselves in their saddles.