Legacy of the Blood (The Threshold Trilogy) (6 page)

Mar’sal and Maizah were waiting outside of the inn when they
arrived. Adesina gave the soldier a questioning look.

“Where is Than’os?”

Mar’sal’s expression was instantly apologetic. “We do not have
enough coin to cover our bill. He promised to stay within sight of the
innkeeper while we waited for you to settle our account.”

“I will go,” volunteered Kendan. “Make certain our horses are
ready.”

They rushed to the stable, where their mounts were waiting.
Adesina slipped the groom an extra coin in thanks, and helped Faryl into
Torith’s saddle. She climbed up behind the emaciated woman and waited anxiously
for their missing party members.

Than’os and Kendan wasted no time in joining them, and they all
rode out of town as quickly as they could without attracting attention. The
streets of the city were beginning to fill with vendors and customers alike.
Adesina’s eyes darted from face to face, searching for any sign that someone
might be taking too much interest in their departure.

The young L’avan queen breathed easier once they left the bounds
of the village.

The group headed east towards the river, breaking into a gallop as
soon as they were far enough away from civilization.

Adesina turned to Than’os, who was riding beside her. “Cover our
tracks,” she ordered, as she used her own powers to create an illusion to
shield them from onlookers. The illusion blanketed the group of travelers with
the appearance of the surrounding terrain, so anyone looking in their direction
would see only grassland.

Than’os obeyed immediately, the dark red of his eyes glowing with
a metallic sheen. The indentations of the horse hooves in the soft ground
behind them rose back to its original state, as if the riders had not passed
that way at all.

When they reached the edge of the river, they turned south and
followed the water to the lake. They stopped briefly to rest their horses, but
they knew they had to keep moving if they wanted to escape the Shimat.

The danger seemed much less pressing now that they were away from
the village, and the rescued prisoner began to ask questions.

“Why did you rescue me?” asked Faryl as they continued southward.
“And who are you really?”

“My name is Adesina,” explained the young queen. “The reason I
left the High City all those years ago was to rejoin my people. We had nothing
to do with the attack on the city.”

“I know you did not,” Faryl replied in a voice that was both
matter-of-fact and pained. “The Shimat attacked the city.”

Adesina frowned. “How can you be certain?”

Faryl’s fists clenched in controlled anger. “I saw them. There may
be those who would not recognize the shadows that infested the city that
night…but I did. It was during that attack that the Shimat
retrieved
me,” she said bitterly. “The Shimat always have many purposes behind a single
action, but one of the reasons for the destruction of the High City was to make
an example of me. I was proof that no one can escape from the Shimat. No one
can hide from them. And they will make anyone who causes them trouble pay
dearly.”

Adesina could not see Faryl’s face as she spoke, but she could
sense the depth of her pain. Adesina had felt that same pain many times in her
own life. “But you are not Shimat,” she stated, confused as to why an
organization of assassins would care about an apothecary.

“No,” Faryl admitted, “but I am a useful tool to them.”

“I am sorry,” Adesina said quietly, and she meant it with every
fiber of her being. She knew all too well what it was like to be hunted by the
Shimat. She had spent the last five years feeling as though she was mere
moments away from a Shimat attack. She did her best to be prepared and to
prepare those around her, but there was always a nagging doubt that it was not
enough.

“I am surprised that a L’avan would have ties to such an
organization.”

Adesina felt a surge of surprise at the other woman’s statement.
It had been a long time since Adesina had trained as a Shimat, and she did not
feel that bore any resemblance to them anymore. “How could you know that I do?”

The middle-aged woman nodded in Kendan’s direction. “I know that
he is a Shimat. He is the one that arranged for my ‘probation’ at the post
where you just rescued me.”

“Why?”

“I am very skilled at what I do,” she explained softly. “That is
why the Shimat have not simply killed me. I was imprisoned after they
re-captured me from the High City, and I grew close to my cellmate. They were
torturing him mercilessly, seemingly without any real purpose. Finally, Breyen
said that they would stop hurting my friend if I agreed to continue my work for
them and never try to escape again. Kendan arranged for me to be transferred.”
Faryl trailed off, her voice overcome with the pain of the memories.

There was something familiar about Faryl’s story. Adesina frowned
thoughtfully as she tried to recall what it was.

The High City had been destroyed around the time that Adesina had
mounted the rescue mission at the Shimat fortress. That meant that Faryl would
have been a prisoner at the same time as Me’shan, Adesina’s father.

The L’avan queen suddenly remembered a statement made by her
father as they had tried to escape. He had mentioned Faryl by name, and
insisted that they rescue her as well. However, they had been unable to find
her, and they had been forced to leave her behind.

“You sacrificed your freedom for my father’s sake?” Adesina asked
quietly.

Faryl’s head whipped around. Her green eyes were wide with shock
and her jaw dropped. “Your father?” she gasped.

Adesina nodded. “Me’shan is my father.”

Faryl’s voice filled with urgency. “Is he still alive? Did they
keep their promise?”

“We rescued him, probably no more than a few hours after you left
the fortress.”

The former apothecary stiffened. “Are you saying,” she said
slowly, “that I have been a prisoner to honor a promise that became void before
I even left Shimat lands?”

Adesina didn’t know what to say. There was no comfort that she
could give this woman who had sacrificed so much for a lie.

Kendan slowed his horse, and the others did the same. Adesina was
glad for the distraction from her conversation with Faryl. She needed time to
consider what she could say to help the rescued prisoner overcome the pain and
sorrow of the last five years.

“We will rest here for a while,” said Kendan.

There were two large hills that provided cover for them—one to the
north and one to the south. The twin lakes sat on the east, which meant that
their position was accessible only from the west.

The travelers began caring for the horses and preparing a midday
meal. Kendan and Adesina climbed the northern hill to keep watch. As they
reached the summit, they crawled on their hands and knees to avoid being seen
from a distance.

Adesina settled onto her stomach and began scanning the north and
east. The lakes took up the majority of her field of view, which made it easier
to focus on the land that remained. Kendan faced the opposite direction and
watched the south and west.

Adesina could not help wondering about her former teacher. Kendan
had done so much to prove his loyalty to the Shimat organization, and yet there
were inconsistencies in his behavior.

After a handful of minutes she asked, “Why did you arrange for
Faryl to leave the fortress?”

He glanced at his former student out of the corner of his eye.
“She was Breyen’s responsibility. I only followed his orders.”

There was a brief pause.

“Why did you not tell me your plan for retrieving her? Allies are
more effective if they are allowed to help.”

He snorted. “Are you disappointed to have missed an opportunity to
argue?”

She frowned. “No, Kendan. I am disappointed that because of your
pride we missed an opportunity to rescue Faryl without alerting the Shimat.”

“My
pride
?” he sputtered. “I was giving you the chance to
show a little faith in me. To show that you could look past my former weakness
and that we could work together as a team. Instead, you have proven that you
are too stubborn to forgive and too narrow-minded to believe that you might be
wrong.”

“Purposefully hiding your plans is not working as a team,” she
hissed.

Warning bells sounded in the back of Adesina’s mind.

Kendan must have sensed it, too, because there was an abrupt
change in his expression. His indignation froze, and he quickly began searching
for what was wrong. He pulled out his Blood Weapon—a meteor hammer—in
preparation. The finely wrought steel braid was almost twenty feet long, with a
throwing knife attached to one end and a lemon-sized metal ball attached to the
other.

Adesina’s eyes intuitively turned towards the lake, and she
spotted a small boat resting on the banks.

It had not been there before.

She silently cursed her negligence. Why hadn’t she been watching
the water as well as the land?

“Kendan,” she half-shouted as she pointed in the direction of the
boat and scrambled to her feet. Adrenaline began pumping through her veins and
she sprinted back towards the others.

With an ear-splitting crack, the ground erupted beneath her,
sending her flying into the air. Clods of grass and dirt confused her vision,
and it took her a moment to reorient herself and to react accordingly.

Adesina’s instincts kicked in, and she used her
vyala
to
land softly on the ground. Her eyes darted over the scene before her.

The other members of their party were lying on the ground,
unconscious. Even the horses were on their sides. The dark figure of a Shimat
in full uniform moved towards Faryl’s unmoving body, a dagger in hand.

Kendan flashed past her, his meteor hammer spinning. He held the
knife in his left hand, with the steel braid wrapped around his wrist three
times. Using his right hand, he whipped the ball in circles and prepared to
send it flying at the assassin.

Adesina reached out with her powers to locate the other enemy.
There was a magic-user somewhere close by that had caused that explosion.

There. On the far side of the hill.

She ran up the slope, knowing that she would need height for what
she was about to do.

Adesina leapt off of the apex, letting her body glide through the
air. She ignited the energy at her fingertips and sent the bullets of fire
raining down on the opposite side of the hill, where her opponent was hiding.

The muscular build of her enemy betrayed his gender, but that was
all that she could surmise from his appearance. He was completely covered in
black robes and a strange grey mask that had a slightly wolfish appearance.

He dove out of the way of the fire, extending his gloved hand in a
commanding gesture. Adesina could feel energy being drawn out of her, causing
her to curse under her breath.

She touched down on the ground and began running. It would not do
to give him an easy target. The earth around her feet exploded in a wave of
shattered stone and pulverized sod. She hardened her skin against the flying
debris, but not before several shards of rock pierced her legs and feet.

She gave a sharp cry of pain, but allowed the force of the rupture
to take her into the air, where she hovered to regain her bearings. She
redirected the flying dirt and stones back towards her attacker with an
enormous push of force. One of the fist-sized rocks slammed the magic-user in
the face, cracking the mask in two. The pieces fell to the ground, revealing
the face of her enemy.

It was L’iam.

Adesina’s heart stopped. Her stomach felt as though it was filled
with weights and she struggled to draw breath. Her mind refused to process what
her eyes were seeing. Why was her husband attacking her?

He was already on the move. He vaporized the remaining debris with
a wave of pure energy, and he reached up to the sky. The smell of ozone
permeated Adesina’s nose, and dozens of bolts of lightning struck the ground
haphazardly. Adesina called on all the energy she had left to protect her
friends as well as herself by casting a magical barrier over them.

“L’iam, stop!”

Her entire body trembled with emotion that threatened to overpower
her. L’iam had never even raised his voice to her, let alone made her feel
unsafe. She had never seen him use his powers to such a magnitude, and she
never would have guessed that her gentle husband had such destructive ability
within him.

“L’iam!”

The L’avan king didn’t respond to her shouts. He continued to throw
everything he had at her, as if intent on seeing her obliterated. Adesina, on
the other hand, stopped attacking and focused all of her power on defense. She
would not hurt her husband if she could help it.

“Please, stop,” she begged. “Something is wrong with you. You are
not yourself.”