Heir of Pendel (A Pandoran Novel, #4) (19 page)

She frowned. "Then what's taken you so long?"

"I haven't exactly had a chance to write you a letter, you know—not without being caught. After that little stunt you and pops had me pull at the castle, wouldn't you know people aren't really that willing to trust me. I was hoping to play this game a little longer, too, but Del Can't will die before he ever tells you anything, and I know pops will be furious if you don't bring him back alive. So I'll save you the drama and out myself by telling you where the sword is."

"You…lying…" I fought for air to speak, my rage contained only by Mistress Dothrai's hold. "I knew…"

"Better save your breath, Del Can't. She'll only squeeze tighter." Thaddeus patted me on the shoulder and let out an exaggerated sigh. "The things I go through for this family."

"The sword…?" Mistress Dothrai said, impatient.

"Right. I'll go get the sword. But first we need to tie up Del Can't. You saw what he did upstairs, and I'm not taking my chances. Plus, you need to save your power if you plan on holding him on the other side, because he's pretty good with magic, too. Trust me. I lived with the guy for five years."

Mistress Dothrai looked skeptical, but she nodded.

"Finally," Thaddeus said, strutting past his mother. "Never thought I'd have to work so hard to get my own ma to believe me," he said while searching through scattered odds and ends. "After everything I've done, one might think I'd get a 'thanks,' but
noooo
. Not in this family. You aren't doing your part if you aren't throwing yourself to the gargons on a daily basis."

"Thaddeus," she snapped.

There was a clank and some shuffling behind me. "One sec. Gotta make sure I got something strong enough."

I was going to kill him. I didn't know how or when, but he was going to die, and I was going to be the one to do it.

"Ah! Perfect." Thaddeus appeared beside me wearing that proud smirk. I wanted to rip off his face. His hands were behind his back, so I didn't know what he'd found.

There was a whir of movement and a click, and Mistress Dothrai's wrists were bound in cuffs. Magic-binding cuffs.

Mistress Dothrai's hold on me evaporated. I collapsed on the floor, heaving. There was a thud beside me, and I lifted my head in time to see the Mort collapse. The half-giant fell seconds after, sliding face first down the stone steps and onto the floor where he lay, motionless. Vera staggered down the stairs, choking on air. A tiny, red-feathered dart protruded from the back of the half-giant's thick neck. I looked down at the fallen Mort. A dart stuck out of his neck, too. Thaddeus preened, dusting his hands.

Mistress Dothrai screamed and lunged at Thaddeus. He sidestepped and waved a finger in condescension. "Ah, ah, ah. It'll only make it worse, Ma, and you look tired enough as it is. Actually, I think this is the first time you've ever looked your age, and let me tell you—two-hundred and thirty-one does
not
look good."

"You miserable…how dare you!" She fisted her hands and swung back to strike him. He ducked, and I came in from behind, grabbed a fistful of her hair, and wrenched her head back.

She struggled against me, but her hands were bound, and without magic she was as brittle and light as an autumn leaf. "You'll die for this!"

Thaddeus folded his arms over his puffed up chest. "Probably. So I guess this is where I tell you thank you for everything, because I learned all my tricks from you, Ma. Couldn't have had a better teacher." He winked at her.

She spat at him but missed. "Mortis curse you. You are no son of mine. From this day until your last, may you never find what you seek, and may all those you hold dear spurn you as you have spurned me." The runes on the cuffs glittered, absorbing the magic pulsing through her body. "I cast you forth from Gaia, never to belong, not even in death—"

Her jaw fell slack and her body slumped against mine. Vera had jammed a dart in Mistress Dothrai's neck.

"Thanks, V." Thaddeus smiled at Vera.

Vera gave him a sharp, affirmative nod.

I laid Thaddeus's mother on the ground, then stood tall and looked straight at Thaddeus.

He recoiled a bit, his hands splayed in defense. "Hey, now…you better know I made all that up."

I stared at him, trying to stare the truth out.

"Seriously, Del Can't. I swear on the spirits I didn't mean any of it! I mean, it's true my ma wanted me to stay behind and see what you all were up to, and she did put on that act for Rook so the princess would think my ma and pops had abandoned me, but what my ma didn't know was that I really had made my decision to stay. For good. I couldn't have told her that before, or she would've never let me leave and find you guys in the first place. I swear!"

I drew an inordinate amount of pleasure watching him squirm beneath my scrutiny.

"I believe him," Vera said.

Thaddeus's shoulders sagged with relief.

"But don't"—she jammed a finger in his shoulder—"think for a second I won't be watching every single move you make."

Thaddeus grinned at her. "
Every
move…? Even when I bathe—Ow!"

She'd punched his shoulder.

"How'd you know those cuffs were here?" I asked Thaddeus, glancing down at his unconscious mother.

"I didn't. There seemed to be enough Gaian paraphernalia down here…I just hoped I could find
something
useful. And since this home belongs to one of
the
most paranoid and overprotective aegises I've ever known,
ahem
, I thought finding magic-binding cuffs down here wouldn't be a stretch. The darts, though—didn't see those coming. They're a little black market for your style. Been making secret trips to Thieves over the years, eh, Del Can't?" He winked at me.

"No, actually, I stole them from your private stash at AQ."

"You? Steal? I must be wearing off on you."

I raised a brow. "If that ever happens, please let me know so I can go kill myself."

"No way! Rook would never forgive me."

Mention of Daria brought me back to the task at hand. I looked at Vera. The line on her cheek had stopped bleeding and was starting to clot. "You okay?"

"Fine."

Thaddeus rolled his eyes and grunted.

"We need to get the sword and get out of here," I said.

I stepped around bodies, over books and other scattered objects, until I reached the armoire. The drawers sagged, clinging for life on the very ends of their hinges. I tugged them free, one by one, setting them carefully on the floor. Crouching low, I reached in and slid my fingers along the bottom panel. The joints were smooth—nothing at all suggesting a hidden compartment. I searched for any sort of latch or indentation, but there was nothing.

"Find anything?" Thaddeus asked.

"Nothing so far…" Again, I slid my fingers along the inner framework of the armoire's face, until my fingers grazed a raised surface of cool metal no larger than a thumbtack. I pressed it in, there was a click, and the bottom panel of the armoire disengaged. Brilliant.

Carefully, I lifted the front edge, lifting and sliding the wood at an angle through the bottommost vacant drawer frame. Sure enough, there was a hidden slot beneath. It wasn't very large, only a few inches deep with a surface area of about four square feet. Inside was a bundle of black velvet, tied with a red, satin ribbon. I set the counterfeit base on the floor behind me then reached inside the hidden compartment to remove the bundle.

It was surprisingly light, weighing in at around a pound, which meant the sword weighed even less. I pulled the ribbon free, lifted the edge of the smooth velvet and unwound the bundle, turn by turn, and there it was.

There were four fragments in total—each bone white, with marks and chips from use. It had lost its sheen over the years, and if I was being objective, it wasn't much to look at. Other than the chalky quality, it looked like any old, broken sword. The hilt was intact, with a crossguard that tapered at the ends toward its wielder. Rubbery black leather wrapped around the grip, remarkably preserved for a relic so many centuries old. The pommel was circular in shape, though flattened into a disc, and all along the fragments were small etchings in what looked like ancient Karthan. Carefully, I pressed my thumb against the edge of the blade. It was sharp, as if it had seen a grindstone only yesterday.

So this was dragonbone.

"Huh. Not much to look at, is it?" Thaddeus remarked behind me.

"Neither are you, but you're incredibly resourceful," I said.

"May I see it?" Vera asked.

Her gaze was awed—reverent, even—as she stared at the fragments. And then I remembered she was from Gesh, and the people of Gesh worshipped the dragons. She may have left her homelands, but her homelands hadn't left her.

"Sure…" I stood, handing her the cloth with the sword fragments.

Vera reached out and trailed a finger along the flat of one of the fragments, hesitant as though it were a dandelion puff and one touch might dispel all the seeds. She held the cloth back to me. I took it from her, wrapped it, and refastened the crimson tie.

"Do you think there are more of them?" Vera asked, gesturing to one of the fallen Morts.

"I have no idea, but it looks like Rome isn't the only city that'll need backup."

"Now what?" Thaddeus asked.

I exhaled, glancing at the disaster around me. I hated leaving the place like this, but there were so many other, more pressing matters to deal with. And there was a particular matter I wanted to handle right now.

"I want to put Clara somewhere safe," I said. "At least until we can give her a proper burial." No matter how tight our timeline, I couldn't leave her out there, alone and discarded by the dumpster where more animals could feast on her.

The whole thing took almost three hours. We weren't able to bury her since the ground was frozen solid, and I wasn't about to call the police. Instead, I had the others help me wrap her in blankets, and the three of us carried her down into the detached cellar on our property. It was cold and deep enough to hide the smell, and this way she'd be protected from the elements until we could formally do something about her body.

Still, I said my blessings over her, down in the cellar, and when I finished, Vera said, "I can see your family loved her very much, and I am sure she knew it. You can't…hide that kind of love." Her voice broke a little over the last word.

In the kitchen, we found the box with our weapons. The box looked as if it'd been mauled by a black bear. Whoever had opened the package had apparently never encountered packaging tape. Thankfully, all our weapons were accounted for and sprawled across the kitchen table.

Thaddeus lifted an edge of cardboard, scrutinizing the tape it was stuck to. "What kind of magic is this?"

"It's not magic. It's tape." I snatched my blade by the hilt, eyeing the smooth metal. At least whoever had brutally disrespected the package had found ample respect for our weaponry. My sword was in perfect condition.

"Tape..." Thaddeus tasted the word in his mouth.

Vera scooped up her blades, also checking for signs of abuse.

A sharp
pop
sounded right behind me. I jumped, spinning around, the tip of my blade landing inches from Thaddeus's nose. Thaddeus looked startled, holding a large sheet of bubble wrap in his hands. His eyes crossed as he studied the tip of my sword.

I lowered my sword, narrowing my eyes at him. "Is it too much to ask that you keep your hands to yourself?"

He looked genuinely thoughtful for a second, then smiled and said, "Yes."

I glowered at him a moment longer before setting my sword back on the table, and I walked to the pantry.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

Vera cursed, followed by a sharp, "Knock it off!"

"It's fun!" Thaddeus said. "Here. You try…" He held the bubble wrap out to her.

She rolled her eyes with an emphatic
harrumph
and stalked away from him.

"You know, V, it won't kill you to let loose every now and then," Thaddeus remarked.

"No, it won't kill me," she replied. "It'll kill
you
."

It took all of five minutes for us to change out of our things and into our aegis gear. Thaddeus made some remark about preferring Vera in a skirt, and Vera almost skewered him to the stair banister. I made my way to the upstairs closet and grabbed a few cloaks—just in case we needed them—snatched a handful of energy bars from the kitchen pantry, and soon we'd all loaded back in the Jeep with me driving into the heart of Yosemite Valley.

The other two were quiet during our short drive. They still didn't speak when I rolled the Jeep into the familiar, empty lot at the base of Yosemite Falls. The last time I'd been here, I'd been with my parents and Daria, and Clara had been driving.

I killed the engine. The three of us got out of the car and stepped out into the stiff chill. The Falls were quiet, still dehydrated from the summer heat, and the air smelled like balsam and campfire. I'd always loved Yosemite this time of year, when tourist season was over and winter nestled in. In winter, Gaia felt closest, when the snow covered the earth and trees, baptizing everything in white. It was then Yosemite became fully tranquil and magical, but it didn't feel so now. Now, I found no tranquility in the silence, only anxiety, and the remnants of white snow brought thoughts of death, not magic.

I left the keys inside the Jeep. We wouldn't be coming back here anytime soon. A breeze whispered through the trees, dusting flakes of snow from the giant branches.

"It looks like Gaia, here," Thaddeus whispered.

"I know," I said, staring up at the starlit sky. There were thousands of them, so bright and so close. Stars always reminded me of Daria. When she'd visit, we'd try finding the various constellations. It was a difficult task with so many stars visible. She was always better at finding them than I was. But that might've been because I'd been too distracted by her proximity.

I motioned for the other two to follow, and we headed for the trailhead. We walked up the dirt path in silence, winding around large boulders and pines. My mind kept wandering to Daria and the day we'd brought her here. She'd had no idea what awaited her on the other side. She hadn't cared much because she'd been too focused on her anger toward me. So much had changed in such a short amount of time.