The Frostwoven Crown (Book 4) (33 page)

“Garrett!” Banden shouted.

Garrett turned to see the spot on the floor that Banden was pointing at and recoiled in horror.

Thick, black worms the length of a man’s arm were wriggling up through the holes in the floor to form writhing mounds of worm-flesh that spilled out like dark pools across the glowing stone.

“What are those?” Banden gasped.

“Holy Mother, Holy Mother,” Frae sobbed, “Spare me, your humble servant! Spare me, your humble servant!”

Garrett stared at the thickening mass of black flesh oozing toward them, and then jumped back as more of the creatures began to push up through the holes beneath his feet.

“What are those things?” Banden screamed, shaking the young priestess’s shoulders.

“Holy Mother… Holy Mother,” Frae mumbled, her eyes fluttering back in her head as she swooned in Banden’s arms.

“Garrett, help me,” Banden cried as he tried to lift the unconscious girl away from the floor.

Garrett hesitated a moment but then groaned in resignation, he stuffed the flask back inside his bag and moved to pull one of Frae’s arms up across his shoulders, helping Banden to carry her between them as they fled back toward the bodies around the bend.

They stopped at another bronze door and found it barred from the outside as well. They hurried on to the next without any luck. Garrett had to stop to shake one of the black worms from his boot. It clung for a moment, sucking at the leather with its ringed mouthparts before he could dislodge it. Beside him, Banden cried out as he kicked his leg trying to shake off one of the creatures that was anchored to a bloody patch on his pants leg.

Garrett pulled the knife from his belt and severed the worm’s body from its head that still clung tenaciously to Banden’s wounded leg. More of them were piling up all around.

“You have to hold her, Banden!” Garrett shouted, pushing the unconscious priestess off onto the terrified boy.

Banden nodded fiercely, and Garrett pulled the essence flask from his satchel with his free hand.

The smell of scorched blood filled the pit as Garrett incinerated the worms in a ring around them with a lance of faefire.

“This way!” he shouted, leading them toward the bodies. He had no other thought than that the dead men might provide a distraction for the worms, buying him enough time to think of something.

The boys skidded to a halt as they came within sight of the dead Chadiri soldiers. The dead men were now completely covered in writhing worms, their bodies seeming almost to move of their own accord as the worms stripped the flesh from their bones. Then, with a sickening revelation, Garrett realized that it was no illusion.

The lumpy shapes of men moved beneath the swarming mass of worm-flesh, some now struggling to their feet and swaying drunkenly.

Garrett stared, mouth agape, as one of the men turned to face him and lifted his arm toward him. The worms dropped away from the glistening bones of the skeletal hand beneath, and the eyeless sockets of a grinning skull stared back at him as the black worms dropped away from the man’s face.

Suddenly the bronze door behind them wrenched open, and Garrett spun toward the sound of salvation.

The canister of essence dropped from his numbed fingers at the sight of the brown-eyed girl in the doorway, and his knees crumpled beneath him.

The crawling black flesh of a thousand worms stretched up with hungry mouths to catch him as he fell.

“Who are you?”

Garrett heard the boy’s voice speaking from somewhere far away. He felt the icy weight of what felt like dark waters passing above his body, as though he lay at the bottom of some great river, his body crushed into the soft, dead mud beneath.

“I’m a friend,” a girl’s voice answered, a familiar voice.

Garrett reached up toward the distant greenish light far above, his fingertips seemed to brush against the glassy surface of a black door… a tomb. Something waited for him inside that tomb… the tomb of a king.

Garrett gasped for breath, his eyes fluttering open.

“Garrett!” the Girl in Brown cried out. She was kneeling beside him as he lay on his back upon the floor of a narrow stone tunnel. The moment she saw he was awake, she caught him up in a crushing hug.

“I lost you!” Garrett gasped, “I lost you…”

“No, I’m here,” she said, fighting back tears as she gently laid him back down to the floor, “I’m here now.”

Garrett put his hand to his chest, feeling the lingering weight of the icy river on his heart. “I was dead,” he whispered.

The Girl in Brown’s lips tensed, her eyes brimming with tears.

“No,” Banden said, “She saved you. She saved all of us!”

Garrett looked around, the memory of the night’s events returning to him, fighting its way back through the memories of that black tomb. Banden sat beside him on the floor as well, and Frae lay unconscious on the floor behind him. The Girl in Brown held Garrett close again, and he laid his head against her shoulder.

“No,” he said, “I died before. I…”

The memory of Garrett’s brother, speaking to him in that world between worlds, returned now with every other memory he had lost to the power of the Girl’s curse. A sick, hollow feeling bled through him, and he began to weep with despair, knowing that it would all be gone again, the moment she went away.

“I’m so sorry, Garrett,” she said, “I’m so sorry.”

Garrett held her close for a long moment, and then he released her. She let him go as he got to his feet, leaning against the wall for support. He glanced back toward the bronze door and heard the gruesome sound of the black worms still squirming and sucking at the metal, trying to reach the flesh of those who had just escaped.

“We have to get out of here,” Garrett said.

Banden and the Girl in Brown stood up, lifting the senseless young priestess between them and carrying her as Garrett led them up the stairs toward the upper floor. He paused just before reaching the top of the stairs, feeling for his essence flask, but it was gone.

“The Matron left after ringing the gong,” the Girl in Brown said, “She was in a hurry to get back to the meeting.”

“Shelbie?” Garrett asked.

“Yes,” she answered.

Garrett swallowed his nascent rage and motioned for them to follow him up and around, toward the hidden passageway behind the tapestry.

They followed as quietly as they could, only stopping to rest when they reached the safety of the ancient stairwell beyond the hidden door.

Garrett looked at Banden and saw the devastation and fury in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Banden,” Garrett sighed, “The trap was meant for me.”

“It was meant for both of you,” the Girl in Brown said.

Garrett and Banden looked at her.

“You were both brought here by Serepheni,” she said, “If you died breaking into the sanctum, she would be disgraced. I’m certain Shelbie thought it convenient, disposing of three enemies with one plot.”

“We’re not her enemies!” Banden said.

“Not from your point of view, perhaps,” the Girl in Brown said.

“But what about Frae?” Banden asked, “How could she just leave her to die like that?”

“We don’t have time to talk about this,” Garrett said, “We need to get out of the temple before someone finds us here, and we need to decide what to do with
her
before she wakes up.”

“I’ll take her back to her dormitory,” Banden said, “I can leave her just outside. When she comes to again, she’ll be able to get back in without any trouble.”

Garrett stared at the unconscious priestess with a cold sneer.

“I’ll take care of it, Garrett!” Banden said, stepping between Garrett and Frae.

“She tried to kill us, Banden,” Garrett said.

“That doesn’t matter now,” Banden said.

“She doesn’t love you,” the Girl in Brown said.

Banden looked at her, and then his eyes fell. “I know,” he said, “That doesn’t matter now either.”

Garrett nodded. “Let’s go,” he said.

They encountered no one as they made their way through the deserted temple. The Girl in Brown helped Banden carry Frae all the way to the open courtyard between the temple and the girls’ dormitory.

“I can carry her from here,” Banden said.

“Let me do this part,” the Girl in Brown said, “I’m stronger than you.”

Banden stared at her incredulously.

“I’m stronger than I look,” she said. She stooped and caught Frae’s unconscious body up onto her shoulder, lifting her effortlessly.

“I…” Banden started to speak. He looked at Garrett uncertainly.

“I promise that I won’t hurt her,” the Girl in Brown said, “I’m just going to leave her in the shadow of that awning over there.”

Banden nodded, and the girl moved quickly and silently around the perimeter of the courtyard. Garrett kept his eyes on her the whole time. A few moments later, she returned, unburdened.

“She’ll be all right, Banden,” the Girl in Brown said.

The boy’s eyes were still on the dark shadow where Frae lay beside the dormitory. He looked as though he were fighting back tears.

Garrett sighed and placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Banden,” he said.

Banden nodded without looking at Garrett. Then, he squeezed his eyes shut and breathed in deeply.

“Follow me,” the Girl in Brown said, “I know a safe place.”

The boys followed her as she led them through a side door into the garden. They said nothing again until she ushered them inside a small tool shed and shut the door behind them.

In the darkness, Garrett reached for his canister of essence, forgetting again that he had lost it. He sighed with the realization that it was probably now buried under several feet of writhing worms.

The Girl in Brown produced an algae lamp from her pocket, and its dim blue glow cast a ghostly light on her sad face.

“Where have you been?” Garrett asked. Dark memories churned within his heart, threatening to drag him down into the shadows of grief.

She looked at him, her eyes tightening, and then looked away.

“Who are you?” Banden asked. He was sitting on the edge of the gardener’s worktable, and he was shaking.

“She’s a friend of mine,” Garrett said, “She’s not allowed to tell you her name though.”

Banden looked confused, but he was too overwhelmed to press the matter. He simply nodded and said, “Thank you.”

“You have to leave,” the Girl in Brown said.

“We’ll be safe here until morning,” Garrett told her, “Banden can go back to the barracks. You and me need to talk about some things.”

“I mean you have to leave the city,” she said.

“Because of Shelbie?” Garrett scoffed, “I’m not running away from her!”

“No,” the Girl in Brown said, “It’s something else. The city is going to be destroyed, Garrett! You have to get out.”

“What?” Banden asked, suddenly alert.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, or when,” she said, “but Wythr is going to burn! You have to leave! Just get out of the city and go south.”

“What are you talking about?” Garrett asked.

The Girl in Brown shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said, “It’s just something that’s going to happen, and we can’t stop it.”

“How do you know?” Garrett said.

“I just know!” she sighed, “Garrett, I don’t want you getting hurt… no matter what else… I just want you to be all right.” Her eyes fell.

Garrett felt the shadows fall away from his heart, and he stepped forward, taking her in his arms. She remained stiff and trembling for a moment and then softened, embracing him as she let out a ragged sigh.

“If something bad is going to happen, we have to warn people,” Banden said. He dropped from the edge of the table to his feet and wiped his brow with his sleeve.

Garrett chuckled.

“What?” Banden asked.

“We can’t warn anybody, can we?” he said, stepping back to look at the Girl in Brown.

She looked away.

“Why not?” Banden said, “Garrett, we can’t just run off and leave everybody without telling them.”

“We can’t tell anybody, because we won’t remember anything that happened tonight.”

“What?” Banden asked.

The Girl in Brown sighed.

“There is a magic spell that makes it impossible for us to remember anything that happens when we’re around her,” Garrett said, “As soon as she leaves, we’ll forget everything that happened… everything she said to us.”

Banden looked at Garrett and then back at the girl.

“It’s true,” Garrett said, and then he chuckled again, “but I don’t know why she’s bothering to tell us we have to leave the city, if we aren’t going to remember the warning anyway.”

The Girl in Brown looked at him with a hurt look in her eyes. “There is a way you can remember,” she said.

“What?” Garrett said.