Dark Fate: The Gathering (The Dark Fate Chronicles Book 1) (35 page)

Bale smiled grimly.
You will not see the fruits of this, Erik. I swear it.

“D
O
you love me?” Sacha asked.

Renee turned from the window. “More than anything.”

Her pulse quickened at his words. “That makes me happy”—Sacha paused as he walked barefoot toward her across the cold stone floor—“for I have news,” she finished, and bit her lip nervously.

They had stolen away in one of the maid’s quarters high up within Stone Mountain. A fire in the hearth crackled with life, but the room still possessed a chill that made her huddle under the many furs they had brought with them. His eyes, dark and beautiful, held hers in thrall as he approached the bed. Her skin tingled at his touch as he slipped under the heavy furs.

He lay on top of her and began to gently kiss her neck.

She squirmed under his soft touch and giggled. “I’m serious.”

Renee did his best impression of a pout. “And what news might this be, that I must profess my love to hear?”

“Perhaps I won’t tell you,” she teased.

He arched a brow. “Oh, really?” His hands darted to her sides and he began tickling her.

Sacha bucked under his torture and laughed uncontrollably. “Stop!”

Relentless, he continued. “Tell me, girl. Or I’ll move to your feet!”

“I’m with child!” she shouted through her laughter, unable to endure any more of his wicked touch.

Renee’s hands froze in place.

She blinked away tears. “I’m with
your
child...”

He looked up, searching her eyes. “You are sure of this?”

Sacha nodded, smiling tentatively.

A broad smile made its way across his face as he came to understand. “My Princess.”

Her heart leapt yet again. He was happy—happy to be the father of her child. She lifted a hand to touch his face, but at the height of her joy, he began to fall away from her. She clutched desperately for him, but his handsome face receded into the enveloping darkness. “No!” she cried.

“Princess?” A deep voice echoed Renee’s last word. “Are you all right?”

The memory of her lover and that stolen afternoon was so vivid, it could have been yesterday, instead of almost two years past. The vision dimmed as her awareness of the present pressed though. She raised her throbbing head from its sagging position and blinked wearily.

There was precious little difference to be gained in opening her eyes. The room around her was dark, illuminated only by a square of moonlight coming through a window. She could make out the silhouettes of furniture and large, rectangular objects hanging from the walls. The shadowed form of a man leaned forward in a chair across the small chamber.

“Princess?” the deep voice whispered again.

His voice was familiar. Basinian. One of the emissaries. “Magistrate Harristone?” Her voice was rough and the effort of speaking made her throat hurt. She attempted to raise a hand to massage her throbbing temple and wipe the grains from her eyes but found that her arms were tied to the chair.

“Thank Eos, you are well. I was afraid you had”—he swallowed audibly before he allowed the last word to slip into the shadowed room—“perished.” The worry in his voice sounded genuine. The
fear
in his voice sounded genuine, too.

Sacha tried to shift her body but found her bonds to be too tight. “What happened?”

His voice remained low. “I’m not sure, really. I woke up as they were dragging you into the room.” His silhouette twitched as he spoke. “Back at the tavern, I was unpacking my trunk, and someone hit me in the back of the head. I don’t remember anything after that.”

Her frustration started to rise. “Do you have any idea where we are?”

“No, but I believe this place has long been abandoned. Until recently, that is.” His head swiveled as he looked around the room. “I was able to get a good look when they brought you in. The paintings are badly faded, and the dust on the furniture is very thick. Not to mention the cobwebs.”

She shook her head, thinking,
Not much help
. She closed her eyes again and focused her mind and body, one of the first exercises she had learned at the Monastery. With her thoughts, she reached out for the Shamonrae, the power that existed in every living thing, every inanimate object, and in every location on the face of Orundal. The power’s presence was soft and sweet, warming her insides as it rushed in to flow through her entire body.

Sacha gritted her teeth and said, “We are getting out of here.” Through force of will, she used the power to create searing heat around her wrists.

Harristone chuckled softly. “I had hoped you could do something. I have tried many times to escape our predicament with no success.”

The leather straps holding her hostage dried and cracked under the tremendous heat. She wrenched first with one arm, and then the other. The bonds fell away like crumbling parchment. She leaned forward and did the same to the restraints that bound her legs.

“Yes, I can do something.” She rose onto trembling legs and took a step to cross the room. Pins and needles peppered the flesh of her legs and feet. She had to stop and massage feeling back into her quaking limbs. “How long have we been here?”

“A full day and a night, since you were brought to this room. I don’t know how long before that.”

Has it been so long?
Sacha’s stomach growled in rebellion against its emptiness, confirming Brier’s words. Food and water would become a priority soon, but first they had to escape. Confident she wouldn’t fall, she crossed the room and released Harristone from his bonds. “Can you walk, Magistrate?”

“I believe there is little call for formality, Princess. Call me Brier.” He stretched his legs and rubbed his wrists. “Yes, I believe I’ll be fine.”

“Good. Just ‘Sacha’ will suffice as well.” She grinned at the irony in Brier’s statement. “I’ll check the window, if you keep an eye on the door.”

The large man nodded, then got to his feet slowly. He moved to the door with minimal noise and gently leaned against it.

Sacha stepped lightly to the window across the room. It was set fairly high on the wall and only one lone pane of glass remained. Sacha rose up on her toes and peered out, making sure to keep herself cloaked in the shadows of the room.

It appeared Brier’s assumptions about this place being abandoned were correct. Below their second-story window was a courtyard filled with massive trees that were draped with thick jungle vines. Heavy roots had broken the stones of the courtyard, seeking the earth below. Several buildings in varying states of ruin dotted the perimeter of the once-open area. The light of small campfires showed through the dilapidated windows and vegetation.

Beyond the buildings lay a great wall of stone that surrounded the entire compound. Past the courtyard, a gaping hole had been rent in the fortification. Stones from the wall lay scattered about the inside of the courtyard and were covered with creeping growths of all kinds that crawled from the night-shrouded forest beyond.

Around the perimeter, torches had been lit to fight the darkness. Some of those points of light bobbed as the sentries that bore them moved about on patrol.

“This will not be easy,” whispered Sacha.

Brier spoke softly from across the room, “I suppose not, but what choice do we have?”

“None.” She examined the window. “I can get this open, then we can climb down on the vines.” Sacha focused her arcane energies on the rusted metal latches, snapping them loose. She pulled on the iron frame.

The window squeaked as it swung open.

Sacha froze and cursed softly. She looked at the walls and courtyard for signs of alert.

Everything remained still, except the few sentries moving along the walls.

She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and reached up to find purchase on the windowsill. She pulled herself up and looked back at Brier. “Okay, I’m going down.”

“Be careful. I’ll be put to the lash when we get back if you’re harmed,” he said with a bit of humor in his voice.

Sacha slipped out the window, and realized as she did so just how small the space actually was. Brier might have trouble getting through to grab a vine without falling. She could use her magic to assist him, but the noise that arose from his struggle might prove to be too difficult for her to handle. She prayed the heavy magistrate could manage the climb on his own.

The vines that clung to the building afforded her many handholds, and she was able to quickly descend to the ground. Once on stable footing, she stepped into the shadows and waited for Brier.

He didn’t appear immediately, so she glanced around at her surroundings.

The trees looked like tall pillars of black that cast long shadows on the broken stone courtyard. The shadows and vegetation would provide good cover. The guards along the walls still seemed unaware and she could sense no movement in the courtyard.

A rustling sound from above caught her attention.

She looked up to see Brier coming out of the window. He moved fairly well for an old courtier and he made his way down without incident.

He came to a halt in front of her, beads of sweat glistening on his face.

She pointed to the gap in the wall. “Ready?”

He nodded.

Sacha moved from shadow to shadow, creeping across the ancient stone, Brier on her heels. They had crossed perhaps twenty yards of broken ground when she felt something pass through her. A subtle vibration, which felt much like her use of the Shamonrae, tingled through her body. She stopped to look at Brier. “Did you feel that?”

He shook his head. “Feel what?”

A horn blasted from one of the ruined buildings and echoed through the courtyard.

Sacha flinched at the sound and yelled, “Run!” She turned and sprinted for the gap. Whether or not Brier took heed of her panicked cry of alarm, she didn’t know. She knew that one of them had to escape, or they were both doomed.

More horns sounded around the courtyard and the howling of dogs and men joined in. Dark figures poured from the buildings, some holding aloft more torches. Guards hustled from their positions on the wall for the gap, intent on sealing her only means of escape. Only two were able to close the gap before she arrived. Each held a sword in one hand and a torch in the other.

She focused her will on the torch’s flames as she approached at full speed.

“Halt!” shouted the larger of the two.

She released arcane power into the flames and the torches responded, exploding violently. Splinters of wood and ash showered the faces and bodies of the guards and they staggered, crying out in pain and surprise. One of them was able to hold on to his weapon, and he swung it wildly in large arcs that endangered not only her, but his companion.

Sacha focused a gust of wind into the attacking guardsman, knocking him off balance as she sprinted past. She kept running.

The sounds of pursuit and confusion swiftly faded and she became aware of the sound of rushing water. She slowed, attempting to determine which direction the sounds came from, and she realized they came from every direction. The old ruin was atop a hill situated in the midst of the many crossing rivers of the Tanglevine. If she could get to the water below, she would have a real chance at escape.

She turned to the nearest sound and attempted to sprint again, but her feet became entangled in something. She went down with a bone-jarring crash. The gathered energies of the Shamonrae almost slipped from her, but she managed to maintain them through the turmoil.

Sacha gasped for breath and rolled onto her back to look down at her feet.

A rough leather cord with two heavy stones on either end was wrapped tightly around both ankles, binding them together. She reached a hand, bloodied from the fall, down for the restraints and tore them from her legs. Scrambling to her feet, she caught a glimpse of her pursuers.

More than just men and dogs chased her now. The dark forms of wargs and their goblin riders appeared from the jungles near the outer walls of the keep. One rider and his monstrous warg were almost upon her. The goblin reached for a wicked iron sword that was strapped to the matted fur of his charging mount.