EPIC: Fourteen Books of Fantasy (159 page)

For a moment, I was lost in the vision before me. I followed Ivy’s eyes as they swept the crowd and settled for a moment on Gerrold, who was seated in the fourth row of blankets. Seeing him snapped me out of my reverie and brought me back to my task. I did not know his gift, but hoped that whatever it was, it wouldn’t get in the way of what I was about to do.

I skirted along the side of the crowd, making sure not to touch anyone in the slightest. The wind was calm and the lightest touch might alert someone to my presence. I kept pace with Ivy as we walked together, I on the outside of the row and Ivy in the middle.

As Ivy approached the steps to the dais, she paused. I grabbed the opportunity and ran past her. Reaching out with my hands I pulled the wig off of Ivy’s head, letting it drop to the ground. Before I even cleared the end of the row, I heard the scream.

I turned around and saw Ivy’s hands covering her short hair. It was only a few inches in length and the fox brand glared out from the back of her neck. It hadn’t fully healed yet and its pink edges rippled as Ivy whipped her head from side to side. I caught her eyes and shrank back in my cloak. I had planned to run after the wig fell, but my feet wouldn’t move.

“Where is she?” Ivy snarled, turning around to face the crowd. Guests were already talking and not quietly.

“What’s that on her neck?”

“Is it Kandek’s mark?”

“A slave!”

“That’s impossible.”

“Kandek,” a voice from the crowd roared. I recognized him as the man who had been at my birthday party. Blorn. “What is going on?”

I looked at my father as he rose up from his chair. I saw his eyes, but could make nothing out of his expression. For once, I didn’t know how to read him.

“Who are you?” he bellowed at Ivy. “Let me see your neck! Guards!”

Two of Kandek’s honor guards ran over to Ivy and grabbed her flailing arms.

“Bring her to me.”

They dragged Ivy over to Kandek, her dress tearing at the bottom as it caught under a guard’s shoe.

“Bind her hands,” he ordered, tossing them the scarf he’d had tied around his neck. The guard on the right held Ivy’s hands behind her back as the second tied her wrists. Ivy’s face twisted in agony as he tightened the knot.

Kandek grabbed Ivy by the elbow and spun her around so she faced the crowd. He pushed her head down until he could view her neck.

“You bear my mark,” he yelled. Then he spun her around again so all could see. Murmurs of disbelief and anger rippled through the mob of wedding guests.

“You knew exactly who I was,” Ivy screamed.

“She’s a liar,” Kandek roared.

He beckoned to a man who, until now, had been hidden behind the draped linen. No one noticed him, myself included, until Kandek asked him to approach. I felt my throat tighten as he stepped into the light.

“How may I help you, my lord?” Nemison asked.

“Check her,” he said, flinging Ivy to Nemison’s feet.

Ivy looked up at Nemison, her eyes filled with terror. She must have recognized him from the information she found that led her to Gerrold. Not knowing what to expect, I stood my ground.

Nemison reached down and grabbed Ivy’s chin. He stared at her eyes, but she refused to open them. Ivy struggled against the guards who had taken her arms again, forcing her into a kneel before Nemison.

“Open your eyes, child,” he ordered.

Ivy turned her head up toward Nemison and spat on him. The voices in the crowd grew louder and more agitated. I hoped that Mark and the rest of our friends were leading the prisoners to safety. No one could take their eyes of Ivy and Nemison. They wouldn’t notice if a dragon flew over their heads.

Nemison calmly reached down and pried Ivy’s eyelids open with his fingertips. He gazed into her eyes as she futilely struggled against his strong hands. I was amazed that a man who looked so old would have such strength.

To the crowd it looked as though he was simply looking into her eyes, but I knew better. I had been on the receiving end of Nemison’s powers to explore the mind. I wondered if Ivy was fighting back as his mind touched hers in places no one had ever been.

Within moments, my former friend’s head relaxed back into Nemison’s hands. He slowly removed his fingers from her eyelids. Ivy blinked her eyes, but did not close them. Her arms relaxed and her head rolled to one side as Nemison released his grip.

“Take her to her chambers,” he said to the guards, “but leave her hands bound. She is to touch no one.”

“Kandek,” Blorn roared as he stomped up the aisle. “What is going on here? Who is that man? And who is the girl?”

“Calm down, Blorn, I can explain everything,” he said, patting his friend’s shoulder. The man’s chest heaved with the exertion from yelling and stomping. He was obviously used to having people come to him.

“That slave,” Kandek pointed in the direction Ivy had been taken, “had me under her spell. She’s gifted.”

“Slaves aren’t gifted,” Blorn said. “It’s impossible. They are supposed to be tested before entering a household.”

“Apparently my former advisor was lacking,” Kandek said. “My new advisor, however, is obviously worth the money I paid for him.”

My confusion grew by the moment. Nemison? Paid for? A slave?

“What will you do with her?” Blorn asked.

“I’ll take care of her,” Nemison said, his mouth twisting into a cruel smile. Blorn backed away as a gasp popped out of his throat. No one messed with gifted people, even if they were considered property.

Chapter XXVI

“I
SUGGEST
ANYONE
ELSE
WHO
might be hiding among the crowd to show yourself to us immediately,” Nemison said. I looked at him, stunned. He was calling me out. He knew what we were planning thanks to Tania, who thought he’d come to help us. But here he was asking me to reveal myself.

I watched as he scanned the crowd and gasped when his eyes settled on me. I moved to the side, sure that his gaze wouldn’t follow. I was hidden from everyone in the cloak. But his eyes did follow and a smile spread across his face.

“Take off the cloak,” he said.

My hopes he wouldn’t see me were dashed as I remembered what Tania had told me the day of my birthday.

Only a friend can see what no one else can see.

Was Nemison my friend now or was he in league with Kandek?

I hesitated a moment, pulling the cloak tightly to my body. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know who to trust. I looked up toward the sky, hoping for an answer.

One lone cloud meandered in from west, its puffy ends undulating like tentacles. I felt my mind go blank as images formed in my mind. I saw myself standing next to Kandek, one of his hands resting in mine and his other arm outstretched toward the crowd. I saw Nemison standing behind us, a grin on his face. Most telling, I saw a grin on my face.

Determined that my vision was leading me down the right path, I strode up to the platform. I took my place next to Kandek and pulled off the cloak with a flourish. I looked at my father and noticed that he barely flinched, almost as if he were expecting me.

“What is the meaning of this?” Blorn roared. “Kandek! You are wearing on my patience. If you ever expect to attain a higher office, you’d better tell us who this other girl is.”

“May I introduce my daughter, Reychel,” he said, grabbing my hand and outstretching his other arm toward the gathered people.

“You don’t have a daughter,” Blorn yelled.

“I do,” Kandek said. “And she’s coming to live with me.”

I turned back and looked at Kandek. The smile I had seen in my vision was beaming from his face. But one thing I hadn’t seen in my vision was the wink Nemison gave me and the message he sent into my mind.

Play along, child, play along. Kandek will soon face his fate at the council’s hand.

Was the ability to speak to my mind part of the mark he left when he had explored my gift? Or were Nemison’s gifts more extensive than I knew?

I smiled to the crowd, unsure of how to proceed. I felt exposed and trapped. Kandek had never physically hurt me, but I was sure he’d never planned on introducing me into his world. It’s a good thing I threw the wig on underneath the cloak. I hoped it was still straight.

As I raised my arm to wave to the crowd in an imitation of the many ladies I’d witnessed over the years, a roar broke out from the forest. Nemison’s face clouded over, telling me immediately this was not part of his plan.

Dozens of men waving swords spilled from the trees, yelling at the top of their lungs. Ladies on blankets screamed in horror as their defenseless husbands, who were forced to leave their weapons at the front gate, stood up to defend them. Malborn against Serenian. But this time the attack was started by my people. The attackers spread out, forcing their blades to the necks of the Malborn nobles.

A tall man leapt to the dais, forcing Kandek to the side with the tip of his blade. His smile, no snarl, grew as he turned to face the helpless people before him.
 

“None of you blasted Malborn move or you’ll die by our swords,” he yelled to the crowd.

A man near the center struggled with his captor, elbowing him in the stomach.

“Kill him!” the man on the dais next to me yelled. The injured Serenian pulled his blade across the noble’s throat and tossed him to the ground next to his screaming wife. Blood poured from the wound. His wife gathered up the bottom of her gown and pressed it to his neck, but it was too late. He was dead.
 

“Who are you?” I demanded, acting every bit the noble lady my parentage gave me. Violence was one thing I couldn’t bear. If it was my destiny to free my people, I wanted it to be my terms.

“Don’t you know?” He laughed, tossing his arm around my shoulders. I stepped away, sickened by his touch. Whoever had sent him, whoever orchestrated this covert assault would face my wrath.

I turned to Nemison but he only shrugged. He didn’t appear concerned, but he also didn’t have any information to give me.

“Aren’t you Mark’s girl? I’m his brother in arms, Ace. We’re all his brothers. The Sons of Silence.”

Mark? Mark did this?

“He told us yesterday to save you by whatever means necessary.”

“That,” I yelled, pointing to the dead man and his screaming wife, “was not necessary!”

“We’re here to liberate the Serenians, just like you.”

“This is not how it should be done,” I yelled. “You make me sick. Violence is not the answer!”

“What is the answer, my lady?” The snarl returned to his face. “Did you peek at the clouds? What kind of little shapes do you imagine you saw? Don’t think for one moment your supposed visions mean anything to us. We are going to take back our land from the Malborn regardless of your so-called prophet status.”

He paused and his eyes narrowed as he stared at me. “But I do wonder, did Mark set all this up to help you or his people?”

I shook from head to toe. If I had run away the moment I’d ripped off Ivy’s wig instead of staying to see her punishment would all of this have been avoided? And Mark. Why didn’t he tell me about this? I could have been prepared. That man’s death might have been avoided. Even if he was my enemy, he did nothing more than try to protect his wife.

“Reychel,” Grey yelled, running to my side. Ella ran not far behind him.

A member of The Sons raised his sword in pursuit.

“Leave them be,” I yelled. “They’re Serenian, slaves.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as Grey jumped to the dais and stood between myself and Ace. Ella grabbed my hand on the opposite side.

“The prisoners?” I asked. “Were the prisoners freed?”

Grey nodded, not taking his gaze from Ace. “Ella told me everything after everyone entered the garden. I helped get them out.”

“How many?”

“About forty,” she said. “Some of them live here in town. They’re already on their way home. The hardy ones are leaving town. The rest of them are on their way to Tania and Jon’s house.”

“Roc?” I asked, looking around.

“He’s on his way home too. After everything he’s been through he needed to see Bree and the girls.”

“But it’s a long walk alone,” I said.

Ella smiled. “We liberated a horse for him.”

My eyebrows arched.

“He’s going to point it in the right direction when he gets home,” Grey said. “He’s only borrowing it. Not stealing it. We all knew you wouldn’t approve.”

“The prisoners are free?” Ace asked. “Then our work here is done. Come with me.”

He grabbed my wrist and twisted it, forcing me to follow him. A moan escaped my throat, the pain too much to bear.

“Let her go,” Grey said, directing a hit to Ace’s arm, forcing him to release his grasp on me. Grey followed up with a backhand to his face.

Ace laughed, holding his bloody nose with his hand. “You obviously don’t want our help to escape. I’ll be sure to inform Mark that you’d rather stay here with our enemies than come with him.”

I looked across the crowd, seeing the frightened looks on everyone’s faces, not just the women. Sweat rolled down Blorn’s face as the man holding him from behind moved his sword a little closer to Blorn’s throat.

Ace bounded off the dais, as quickly as he had arrived. With a snap of his fingers, the rest of his followers withdrew their swords and ran off into the woods.

In the back, I saw Mark enter the garden through the main hall’s door. He looked at me, his eyes penetrating mine. I shrunk backward from his gaze, not sure what to think. Why didn’t he tell me he was planning this? Was this his goal all along? If he was only here to cause a scene with The Sons, then was everything we’d shared a lie?

Grey placed a protective arm around my shoulders, but I was too numb to decide whether or not I wanted it there. Mark’s eyes traveled to Grey’s arm. He had hurt me with this unnecessary attack. If all he wanted was to attack people, then I wanted to hurt him back.

I didn’t move from Grey’s embrace.

Mark’s head dropped and I gasped. I slid out from under Grey’s arm and reached out to Mark. But he had already turned and run into the woods with his brothers. The pain in my chest echoed the hurt I’d seen in his eyes. For once I wished I had another gift. One that allowed me to see into someone’s mind, to know their true feelings.