His Ancient Heart (22 page)

"I knew the moment I saw you. Who else would be seeking passage to Kregin Town from Fulton, instead of taking the Bridge?" She glanced over at Wilem. "I didn't realize your companion was a boy."

 
Wilem's face turned red when she looked at him. It turned a deeper crimson at the suggestion that he was the one they called the Whore.

"I have more than one companion," Talon said. "If you would, my true name is Talon. General Talon Rast."

She bowed her head to him. "You are well met, General Rast. Have no fear, my father has no interest in the affairs of the Empire, save one."

"Then why is he eager to meet me?" Talon asked. He wasn't ready to relax just yet.

"He is a collector of curiosities and valuables. That includes stories, and yours is both curious and valuable." She waved her hand towards a polished wooden door. "Please, follow me."

She led them through the door and up a staircase, her hips swaying rhythmically ahead of them, the flow of her pants lending to the effect. Talon was unimpressed by the display, but when he looked back at Wilem, he saw the Mediator's eyes had settled on her shapely backside.

At least until he noticed Talon was looking. He smiled sheepishly and lowered his eyes.

"What types of valuables does your father collect?" Talon asked.

"All kinds of things. Dal, for example."

"Dal?" Wilem said.

She turned her head to look back at him, and he had to hurry to lift his eyes again. "He and Abeleth are from an island west of Portsmouth. An island of savages. My father brought a ship there and purchased him in exchange of a large, black crystal. He taught him to speak and read and write."

Ebocite?

Talon had never heard of an island west of Portsmouth. Did Jeremiah know it was there? "Why did they want the crystal?" he asked.

"I don't know. You would have to ask my father."

She brought them to the top floor of the deck, and through a pair of ornate doors with large stained glass windows in them. Curio was waiting for them, leaning back in an upholstered chair, smoking a long stick of sacha. A couch sat near the window, with a short table between them.
 

An older man, he had olive skin, thick salt and pepper hair, a heavy mustache, blue eyes, and an angled jaw. He was dressed in a bright yellow shirt and orange breeches that matched the style of his daughter's, and when he stood to greet them, he was poised and confident.
 

"The infamous Silas Morningstar," Curio said, holding out his hand. "I am Curio Fastre. It is an honor to have you aboard the Delia."

It was impossible not to notice that he had named the boat after his daughter or his daughter after the boat.
 

Talon took the man's hand and shook.
 

Curio turned to Wilem. "And you are?"

"Wilem," he said.

"Just Wilem?" Curio asked with a laugh, his eyes on the wrapped staff. "Somehow, I doubt that."

"I was a Mediator," Wilem said. "I'm Cursed."

Curio pursed his lips. "Interesting." He turned back to Talon. "You're paying me, and I haven't even sold you anything yet."

"But you will?" Talon asked.

"I can offer you safe transport to Kregin Town on the Delia, and protection from the soldiers when you get there."

"How can you protect us from the soldiers?"

He smiled. "I have my ways."

"Name your price."

"I want to know everything."

"What do you mean, everything?"

Curio smiled and regained his seat. "Everything you know. The monster that is terrorizing its way to the east, for example."

"Why do you think I know anything about that?"

"A coincidence that such a beast appears shortly after the entire Empire goes on high alert to capture you? I think not." He motioned to the couch. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

Talon didn't take him up on the offer. "How do you know what the Empire is up to?"

Curio's smile got a little bigger. "Do you know what I learned, many years ago when I designed my first barge?"

Talon waited for him to answer.
 

"First, I learned that anything that exists can be improved upon, if only one looks at it in a new way. Second, I learned that with enough coin, I can do anything I want. Anything."

"Can you cheat death?" Talon asked.
 

Curio flinched. "Not that. No." He was quiet for a minute, and then his smile returned. "I understand, you don't want your secrets reaching the Empire. Believe me, I have no intention of sharing them with anyone. I want them for me, to add to my collection."

"I want to see your collection," Talon said.

"That isn't possible," Curio said.

"Why not? If you want what I know, then I want more than just a berth on your barge. I want to see your collection."

"Why?"

"I'm seeking answers. You might have them."

Curio dropped back into his chair. His eyes stayed on Talon while he considered.
 

"Information," Talon said. "If I learn more, then I can tell you more. My words become more valuable. What are you hiding that you don't want me to see? I certainly won't be the one to tell the Historians about it."

"I don't have the answers you seek," Curio said.
 

"How do you know?"

"I don't collect books."
 

"You want everything I know, but you don't collect books?"

"Not anymore. Not after General Spyne killed my Delia."

Talon froze. He hadn't guessed that Curio ever had a confrontation with Spyne. "Your wife?"

He nodded. The pain was obvious on his face. "My daughter is all I have left of her."

Talon looked back at her. She was still standing near the doorway with Wilem. Her face was angry. Vengeful. Another victim of the promise.

Murderer.

"Show me the collection," Talon said, his anger growing. "Show it to me now." He shouted the words, a command from a General.

Curio drew back in fear and surprise. "Why?"

"My memories are like pieces of a broken vase. Anything I experience, anything I see can bring them back to me, help me put them back together. Whatever you have. If it is from the time before the Empire... I need to see it." He paused, and then made his decision. "I
will
see it, or I'm going to kill your daughter."

"What?" Curio's face paled, and he pushed himself to his feet, as if he could protect her. Talon took three steps across the room and grabbed Delia by the wrist before she could think to move. He spun her in his arms, wrapping his forearm across her throat.

"Talon-" Wilem started to say.

"Silence, Wilem." He held Delia in front of him, dangling her at Curio. "I have lost more than any man should ever have to lose. My wife. My sons. Everyone I knew. I'm not going to lose more because of you. I'm not going to let anyone else lose more either. If I have to take one life to save a thousand others, I will do it. Show me the collection."

Curio's eyes danced from Talon to Delia. Even with his daughter's life at stake, he was hesitant. What was he hiding?

"Talon, you don't need to do this."

"You'd let me kill your daughter?"

"Would you do it?" Curio asked.

Talon pressed his arm tighter against Delia's neck. Would he? Could he? It would be so easy to grab her jaw and twist; to break her neck.
 

Murderer
.

No. Not this time.

"Show it to me, and I'll kill General Spyne."

Curio's eyes brightened, and he took a step back, laughing. "You should have used that one in the first place. I would give you all of my fortune to see that monster dead. Let her go. I'll show it to you."

Talon held her for a moment more, leaning down to put his lips to her ear. "I wouldn't have hurt you," he said. "A bluff to convince your father. My apologies." He removed his arm.
 

She spun around and smacked him hard across the jaw. She was stronger than she looked, and she knew how to throw a hand.

"Delia," Curio said, as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. "Stay here with the Mediator. Talon, follow me."

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Eryn

Eryn had only been sitting with the Overlord for a minute when her eyes fluttered open.

"Overlord Prezi," Eryn said. "I'm sorry."

The woman turned her head so she could see Eryn. "It wasn't your fault," she said in a dry whisper. "The sickness... it seems to be defending you."

"Defending me? All you did was touch me."

"I tried to use my Curse on you. It was enough. Help me up."

Eryn held out her hand to help the Overlord to her feet.
 

The door swung open behind her, with enough force that it felt as if the air was sucked from the room.
 

Eryn saw the Overlord's face tighten and pale, a look of anger and fear in her eyes. She whirled around, ready to... do what? The man standing in the doorway was large and broad, with a thick beard and a wide, flat nose. He wore the blacks of a soldier, though there were no decorations on them to suggest his rank. He was an imposing figure, obviously strong and confident. He stared back at her with a look of curiosity, his eyes starting at her face and traveling to her cheek, down her neck, and into the low neckline of her dress.

The blood. I'm still covered in blood.

"Who are you?" he asked. His voice was deep and parched, as though it were being dragged over stones.
 

His hand moved to the hilt of a large broadsword. Eryn could see the edge of the blade before it vanished into the leather. Ircidium.

"General Spyne. It's Eryn Albion," the Overlord said. "She was going to kill me."

General Spyne?

Eryn's head whipped back to the Overlord. She looked guilty and sad. Her eyes were watching the General.
 

Get to the dungeon. Get to Oz.

She heard the Overlord's voice in her head. She wasn't turning on her, but she needed to keep her cover. It was the only way she would be able to help Talon.

Eryn turned back to the General. His sword was already halfway from its scabbard. If he got it free, all of her power would be useless against him.
 

She felt her heart begin to beat faster, and she forced herself to calm, for the magic to rise into her. The General took a step towards her, his large blade almost free.

There was a grunt, and he vanished from the doorway, thrown aside by Fehri. She heard the clatter of his sword falling from his grip and hitting the ground. She didn't waste any time, dashing towards the only exit, stooping to grab her pack as she did.
 

A new person stepped in front of her. He was small and thin, his body covered in lines and markings that gave him a frightening appearance. He had a knife in each hand, and he set himself to use them.

Eryn didn't slow. She used her momentum to swing the pack up, catching him off guard and slamming it into his jaw. The force threw him away from her, sending him sprawling to the side. Eryn turned her head. The General had gotten on top of Fehri, and was trying to press a boot knife into the Captain's throat. Fehri had his forearm locked against Spyne's, keeping the blade away, but she could tell by his face that it was a battle he wasn't strong enough to win.

Eryn felt the magic pour into her, her entire body tingling with anticipation. She took a deep, calm breath.

"Incitat."

Time stopped.

She knew she couldn't hold the distortion field for long. She took a step towards Fehri, finding the General's sword on the ground at his side. She would pick it up and put it in the man's back, the same as she had done to the Overlord of Elling.

General Spyne moved.

He glanced back at her, his eyes dark with anger. Fehri remained frozen beneath him.

"No," Eryn cried, watching in horror as the General pushed the Captain's arm out of the way, and finished burying the knife.

He left Fehri impaled on it, the wound not able to bleed in the distorted timeline. He rolled smoothly to his feet, grabbing his blade as he did.

"I'm one of the Nine," he growled. "I was made to fight the Shifters. I'll not be put down by a whore of a girl."

Talon had never said anything to her about being able to join the distortion field on his own. She had made a grave mistake.

One that had just costed the Captain, her friend, his life.

She dropped the field. It would speed up Fehri's death, but there was nothing she could do about that now. To hold it was to kill herself with him.

Spyne grinned at her, showing off his pointed teeth. Fehri writhed on the ground behind him, pulling the knife out and pressing his hands tight to the wound. She could see the blood running over his fingers, his life going with it. Eryn fought to keep herself from panicking. She had to get away somehow.

A pair of arms wrapped tightly around her from behind, arms that were too strong for how narrow they appeared. She felt the tattooed man's hot breath on her neck, as he clenched her against his body. She struggled uselessly, the pack in her hand falling to the floor. She was strong, but not this strong.

Seeing Eryn captured, General Spyne turned back to Fehri, driving his sword into the man's chest without word or hesitation. Fehri's fight for life was over. He had given his loyalty to Amman, and now he would join Him.

General Spyne approached her slowly, his eyes locked not on her face, but on her heaving chest. He stared at her like a hungry animal. His tongue slipped between his lips, wetting them.
 

He took another step.

He was only a few feet away when he seemed to snap out of it, his head jerking up and his eyes refocusing on her face. He came to a stop, lifting up the point of his sword, aiming it at her gut. "Talon's whore of a Cursed. Where is he?"

"I don't know," Eryn said. It wasn't a total lie. She knew he was going to Edgewater. She had no idea where he was right now.

Spyne smiled again. "I expect even if you did, you'd die instead of telling me. What is it about him that makes him so appealing to you?"