Orphan's Blade (27 page)

Valoria wondered what thoughts were written on those pages.

Her one good eye shone bright green with surprise while the other one stared blindly under a milky white sheen. “My, the princess, come to visit me? Don’t worry, they’ll be back. Come in, come in. What can I help you with, my dear?”

Who would come back? Did she mean the birds? Valoria stood awkwardly in the doorway, not knowing where to sit or what to say. “I’ve come bringing news.”

“You should tell the queen, my dear. She would benefit from any news.” The old woman shuffled her bare feet across the floor. At first, Valoria thought she walked with no purpose. But, the old woman was more alert than others would think. She reached beside the bed and unfolded a chair. “Sit, please.”

Valoria sat in the unfolded chair while Sybil sat across from her. “This news doesn’t concern her directly.”

Her bright eye blinked. Age spots covered every inch of her face, but Valoria could see she’d been quite beautiful with delicate, foxlike features and fine-boned cheeks. “It cannot possibly concern me.”

“It does.”

The old woman started as if Valoria was the madwoman. “Nothing has concerned me for fifty years.”

“This news is more than fifty years in the making, my lady.”

“Call me Sybil. That’s what my father calls me. He’s coming to see me soon.” She folded her hands in her lap like a schoolgirl.

Her father? It could not possibly be true. He’d be long in the grave by now. Doubt clouded Valoria’s determination. Why cause this old woman more pain?

Nathaniel’s insistence came back to her.
She has a right to know.

“Sybil, do you remember visiting the House of Song?”

“The House of Song.” Her hand touched the side of her face where a crescent scar decorated her cheek. It was the same place the rock had hit her. “That’s where you’re from, my dear? Is it not?”

“Yes, but did you ever go there?”

Her lips trembled. “I didn’t stay long. Not long enough to hear the music. The minstrels were unhappy. Told us we had no right to come. That we’d start a war. I wanted to hear the music, but I didn’t stay long.” Her face broke into a sorrowful, fearful expression.

Valoria reached over and held her hand. Should she bring up more pain? The sudden urge to change the subject overwhelmed her. There were so many other subjects to talk about. Why not ask about her birds?

The kingdom might need the answers hiding in her memory. Valoria breathed deeply. “Do you remember who you were with?”

She nodded and wiped her good eye. “He didn’t save me.”

“I know.” Valoria squeezed her hand. “He left you in the forest while the minstrels threw rocks.”

“I thought he loved me.”

As unpleasant as they were, Valoria thought back to the necromancer’s memories. “He did. But he wasn’t strong enough to bear the humiliation. He’s regretted leaving you all this time.”

Sybil eyed her with a look of suspicion. “How would you know of this? Have you found him?”

Valoria paused, not knowing how to tell her the man she’d loved had become a monster. “In a way, yes, I know where he is.”

Sybil’s face filled with hope. “For many years I did not want anything to do with him, but now that I’m old and time has healed my resentment, all I have left are my memories.” She grabbed Valoria’s hand. “Will he see me?”

Valoria swallowed hard. “Seeing you might be the only way to save him. That’s if you’re willing to try.”

“Why? Has he followed a dark path?”

“Darker than the blackest, starless night.”

Sybil covered her mouth with her hand. “What has he done?”

“He’s raised an army against us.”

Sybil gasped as if it were her last breath, and her face contorted in pain. “The necromancer. No, tell me ’tis not him.”

Valoria’s heart broke apart. Regret, guilt, and shame piled on top of her. Whether it was because she’d inhabited the necromancer’s mind, or because she felt a connection to the old woman, Sybil’s pain was her own.

A single tear formed in the corner of her eye and ran down her face. It was enough to show Sybil she spoke the truth.

Horizon’s Secret

Nathaniel surveyed a young man as he swung a gleaming sword in an arc above his head. “Remember, it’s heavier than the weapon you are used to. It will take more time to reach its target, but the blow will be devastating.”

“This armor feels like rocks are in my boots.” He wiped sweat from his brow.

“But it will protect you from the undeads’ teeth.” Nathaniel tapped on the arm plate. “One bite and you’re a goner.”

“They’re saying we’re all goners.” He swung again, this time hitting the scarecrow in the chest. Hay cracked and fell on the ground.

“That’s it!” Nathaniel clapped his shoulder. “With an arm like that, the undead are the goners.” Despite his encouragement, unease crossed his mind. These people were trained as thieves, not warriors. They didn’t even know how to properly wear armor. Some of them had never held a real sword in their hands.

“They’re goners to begin with.” The boy laughed and hacked again.

At least they had spirit. Nathaniel smiled and walked to the next trainee. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a head of hair. He changed direction.

The same young man who’d brought them to Gibson stood with a bow and arrow, aiming at a target board. Nathaniel approached him as he let an arrow loose and it hit the bull’s-eye. Perhaps they weren’t all inexperienced.

Nathaniel clapped, and the young man turned around.

“What are you looking at?”

Nathaniel crossed his arms over his chest. “I did not expect to see you here.”

“I didn’t expect to be here.” He scowled and leaned on his bow.

Some of the raiders who’d followed them had turned around, and others stayed for the hot meal and then fled. Still others had taken their swords and disappeared. But he’d remained. “You mean to fight?”

“I mean to make a place for myself.”

“What’s your name?”

“Flip.”

Nathaniel laughed.

“It’s a decent name.” He glared defensively. “Given to me by my late mother, Helena bless her grave.”

“That’s not what I find amusing.” Nathaniel stepped closer to him. “My name is Nathaniel Blueborough, but as a boy people called me Nip.”

The young man studied him with suspicion, but Nathaniel knew the truth would sound sincere. “My late mother named me after the blizzard she had me in.”

“So why did you give it up?” Flip scratched his head, looking younger than he usually let on.

Nathaniel shrugged. No one had asked him that before. “I suppose I wanted to be taken seriously by the castle folk. After I was adopted by the queen and late king, everyone asked what I was doing here at the castle. I felt out of place, and I missed my home. So I tried to leave the past behind and move forward. In my old life I was known as Nip, but in this one, I was to be Nathaniel.”

“Does that mean I’ll have to change my name?”

Nathaniel smiled. “Not if you do not wish to.”

“I want to keep it.” Flip picked up his bow. “I want to remember where I came from.” He aimed another arrow at the target.

“Then keep it, and do not let anyone convince you otherwise.” Nathaniel watched as the arrow hit the bull’s-eye once again.

A horn blew, and Brax jogged across the field to meet him.

“What is it?” Panic rose inside him.

“A warning.” Brax gestured for him to follow him to the battlements. “The queen is about to employ the blue fire.”

Nathaniel followed him, anxiety creeping into his gut. “Do you think it wise to draw their attention before the minstrels reach our front line?”

Brax tapped his hand on the hilt of his sword. “She wants to see what’s under the swamps. We cannot defend ourselves from an enemy we cannot see. What if they are already at our doorstep?”

It was a gamble, but they’d waited long enough. Nathaniel increased his pace, taking the stone steps two at a time. He reached the battlements along with the other soldiers, forming a line across the turrets. The queen stood at the highest point where the wall rose on top of a hill. Dressed in her armor, she held the vial above the swamps. Valoria stood beside her like an apprentice in training.

Brax clapped Nathaniel on the shoulder. “Now we will see if the princess is right.”

“She’s always right.” Nathaniel had full faith in her. Valoria had powers he could never understand, but there was also a goodness inside her that prevailed against all odds, as if the gods themselves kissed her steps.

The queen upended the vial, and the shimmery blue liquid spread in a line, sparkling in the sun as it fell.

Nathaniel held his breath. The liquid splashed into the muck, forming blue puddles. It disappeared as it dissolved.

“Damnable mermaid nonsense!” Brax pounded his fist on the stone. “And they said my ancestor was the trickster.”

“Wait.” Nathaniel refused to believe the minstrels’ songs were based on a lie. Everyone in Ebonvale thought them sly swindlers, but he knew Valoria’s integrity firsthand. He’d known her father as well, and Valorian had always been kind to him. There was more to the minstrels than magic and deception.

A few soldiers turned away, cursing. Nathaniel stayed, watching intently. “Look! Over there!” The horizon shimmered, like the sun baking the cobblestone on a hot summer’s day. The shimmering spread until the entire swamp glittered like a thousand diamonds.

The soldiers beside Nathaniel collectively gasped as the shimmering diamonds burst into specks of stardust, disappearing in a chain reaction. When the stardust cleared, dead trees, old carriages, bones, and muck stood uncovered.

Everyone began to cheer. Joy spread through Nathaniel, and he jumped and hollered. Brax clapped both his shoulders. It was one of the only times he’d seen his brother smile from pure triumph. They’d done this together.

Cries of shock and outrage cut through the celebration. Nathaniel turned back to the horizon, where soldiers with faces full of fear pointed to the swamps. Dread chilled his stomach as the horizon moved in an endless tide of bodies.

The undead were on their way.

* * * *

Valoria stepped back in horror as innumerable bodies writhed on the horizon. There were so many they could trample the entire continent, killing all life in their path. Victory seemed impossible.

The queen unsheathed her sword. “All elderly and children are to be brought to the inner keep. Everyone that can fight will suit up.” Ferocity burned in her eyes. The undead had taken her father and her husband. Valoria couldn’t imagine the vengeance burning through her veins. She pointed her sword into the swamp. “Let them come.”

Her courage brought Valoria to her senses. They had a few hours at most. The minstrels wouldn’t arrive for another two days. She needed her harp, but most of all, she needed to find Sybil.

Valoria threw herself down the steps as chaos broke out. The fastest way to Sybil’s tower lay across the courtyard. She turned left and shot through the main corridor, bumping into a servant holding all of her belongings in her arms.

Was she abandoning them?

Valoria didn’t have time to judge. Three men passed her by, running toward the battlements dressed in thick leather and metal armor. A noblewoman clutched her baby to her chest, jogging toward the inner keep.

Valoria leapt down the main steps toward the courtyard. Daisies bloomed unaware of the coming horde around the fountain where airborne dolphins and mermaids dove and twirled. Would this stand as a relic of a long-lost people while undead shuffled across the cobblestone forever?

“Valoria, wait!”

She whirled around expecting the necromancer to entrance her with his dark eyes, or for Nathaniel to give her a sweet, parting farewell. But, it was neither. ’Twas the last person in the world she would have thought would seek her out.

Brax ran toward her. His armor gleamed in the sun, polished to perfection. She must have misheard him. Why would he bother with her at a time like this?

Brax took his helmet off, revealing his blunt forehead, thick nose, and shaved head slick with sweat. He panted as though he’d been running hard. “I was looking for you everywhere.”

Valoria stared at him with disbelief. “Should you not be with your army?”

Brax shook his head. “I must speak with you first.”

Valoria hesitated, speechless, waiting on his words. What could possibly be more important to Brax than preparing for battle?

Brax gestured toward the fountain. Valoria sat on the edge underneath a mermaid holding a stone fish. Brax sat beside her, closer than he’d ever ventured before. “I should have told you back on Amok’s boat, or even back at the first dinner feast, and I’m sorry I waited so long.”

Valoria’s heart beat quickly as he took her hand. Disbelief mixed with confusion perplexed her. She’d attempted closeness like this so many times and failed, and now that he was in her grasp, she had no idea what to do with him. She did not feel lust, or attraction, or excitement, but she wasn’t repulsed, either. He’d grown in her estimation from a brute to an honorable man. What would he say?

“I lied to you.”

Her stomach dropped. Had he loved her all this time? The thought was preposterous.

Brax wiped sweat from his forehead. Words did not come easily for him. “When you asked me if I ever had fantasies of my own, I told you no. But, I do have fantasies, dreams I keep secret from everyone in the world. I saw those dreams in the waters with the mermaids, and that is why you will never own my heart.”

Valoria’s stomach hollowed out. Was he turning her away?

Brax touched her cheek. “I have come to admire and respect you, so much so, it would be dishonorable to marry you.”

Shock stole her breath away. Hadn’t she wanted this ever since she saw him drop that head on the floor of Ebonvale’s great hall? The undead were knocking on their doorstep, and he decided to reveal the truth. It didn’t make sense. “Why are you telling me now?”

“I want to free you from obligation. If anything happens to me on that battlefield, I want you to live your life and choose your husband. Do not live alone to honor me. It would be a false life.”