Trial of Fire (43 page)

He just hadn’t realised it would give him a headache like this. And then, of course, his stomach chose that moment to growl. By the gods! Was he to be tortured on every level?

A laugh escaped him. How, in the name of the gods, could he think
this
was torture? After what Robert had obviously just gone through with the Malachi, and before that, with the Key? How could Andrew lie in bed moaning about a little pain in his head when Robert was probably already up and moving around, doing whatever work he needed to do with the Key, before they launched off again into the rebellion.

He opened his eyes and stared up at the low roof of the cave above. That speech yesterday, the way Robert had given out orders, the way he’d moved, and spoken, looked at everybody—

It was just horrifying. There was no way, no matter how many years he practised, that he would ever be able to lead anybody like that – and if he couldn’t, how was he ever to be a good King?

No, the best way around this was for Robert to take the crown. Somehow or other Andrew would make sure it happened that way, no matter what.

His headache seemed to have subsided a little, so he tested it out by sitting up. It gave one vicious throb and then vanished, leaving him able to get up without any further trouble. One of the others had lit a lamp and he used this to find his clothes, pulling on his boots before brushing his hair. He probably should be getting it cut, but if he let it grow longer, it would be more like Robert’s.

Dressed, he turned back and tidied his bedding. With his stomach growling even louder now, he headed for the doorway – but the cave was suddenly plunged into darkness.

He froze, listening hard, but there was nothing there now that hadn’t been there before. He could hear the faint noise of other voices echoing around the Sanctuary, the rustle of horses not far away and, if he really tried, the trickle of water from the pool cave – but that was all: no exceptional wind, no physical reason for the lamp to suddenly go out – unless it had simply run out of oil.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned back and with his hand on the wall,
carefully retraced his steps so he could collect the lamp and refill it. But the moment he drew level with it, it sprang back into life.

He jumped back, letting out a yelp. His heart pounding hard, he stared at the flame, but it barely flickered. It simply stood there, on the small rock shelf he’d chipped out himself for that exact purpose. The glass bowl around the frame let out the light without impediment and nothing looked even remotely strange.

‘I’m going crazy,’ he murmured to himself. ‘Blue glows, lamps going on and off.’

Carefully, he stepped back, keeping his eyes on the lamp. One step towards the door, then another, and on the third, the lamp died again. Holding his breath, he shifted his weight onto his back foot and, miracle of miracles, the lamp sprang back into life. He tested it once more and on the third success, he simply kept going out of the cave.

He didn’t want to think about this. Ever.

*

‘Arlie! Quickly!’ Robert picked up Jenn in both arms and carried her to the other end of the cave, as far from the Key as possible. By the time he set her down, Arlie and Martha had rushed inside, the Healer immediately kneeling beside Jenn, one hand going to her throat.

‘She’s not breathing,’ Robert groaned, not letting go of her. ‘It’s the Key. It’s done something to her, I know it. It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have agreed to this. If she …’

He didn’t keep going. His curses and promises would mean nothing if Jenn never breathed again. But he did know it was the Key, he could feel it under his skin, as though it was laughing at him, taunting him like this, knowing how precious she was to him, but reminding him that ultimately she would die by his hand.

‘Robert, can you mindspeak her?’

Serin’s blood, he hadn’t even tried that!
Jenny? Jenny, answer me! Please, breathe. That’s all you have to do, just breathe. Please, Jenn, just breathe for me.

‘Robert, look!’

He opened his eyes and felt her shudder at the same time. He held her tighter as Arlie continued to check on her.

‘I can’t see anything wrong exactly, but she’s breathing without difficulty now. What were you doing?’

‘We were touching the Calyx, and she was asking it a question, that’s all. Nothing more dangerous than that, and this is what happens.’ Bile made him swallow hard, but he kept his attention on Jenn, watching her breathing, her fluttering eyelids, until the moment they finally opened.

He’d been thinking about marrying her, and how the Key was deliberately trying to keep them apart. How was this for proof? The Key didn’t want her dead – at least, not yet. It just wanted him to remember how powerless he was to stop what he was fated to do.

Damn it! How, in the name of Serin, could the Key have this kind of determination when it
postdated
the Prophecy? Why was it so necessary that he destroy Jenn in order to kill Nash? Why was she a part of this in the first place? And why, after all these years, was he no closer to answering that question?

‘Arlie?’ Jenn murmured, opening her eyes.

‘Just keep still,’ Arlie replied. ‘You’re fine, nothing wrong with you, but you stopped breathing for a moment and I just want to be sure there’s no damage.’

‘Can you See anything?’ Martha asked, holding Jenn’s other hand.

Her husband shook his head. ‘No, nothing in particular. I think she’ll be fine.’

After another few minutes, Arlie let Jenn first sit, then stand up. Only then did she turn to look at Robert. She appeared unharmed despite her collapse.

With the colour already back in her cheeks, he asked, ‘Do you know what happened?’

She shrugged. ‘I suppose I asked the wrong question. It wouldn’t be the first time.’

‘Perhaps, but it will be the last.’

‘Oh, Robert, whatever it did, it wasn’t deliberate.’

‘No? I suppose destroying the Enclave’s protection wasn’t deliberate either. I tell you Jenn, it was
very
deliberate, and for a reason. It doesn’t want us asking questions. It just wants us to follow the Prophecy. If we try to deviate from it, it will make you pay and, in turn, me. So yes, this is the last time. Until this is over, neither you nor I will go anywhere near the Calyx. This is all the Key’s doing and if you still can’t see that, then you’re blind.’

‘But, Robert—’

‘No!’ His shout reverberated around the cave, silencing everyone. Instantly, he felt their eyes on him, knew their shocked expressions without looking. Robert never got angry, never lost his temper, never showed
anything
that wasn’t carefully controlled. But that was before he’d seen the truth; now he just didn’t give a damn.

‘I mean it, Jenn,’ he added, his voice hard and uncompromising. ‘Talk to the Key if you must – and only if you must – but stay away from the Calyx.’

With that, he turned and leaped up the slope to the entrance, leaving
before he could say anything else, before he could let anything else loose, before she could see the thing she wasn’t supposed to know about.

But it hurt, walking away from her like that. It hurt a lot.

*

Jenn watched Robert go, tempted only for a moment to follow him. She felt fine, but the moment she went to move, a wave of dizziness washed over her, and Martha immediately reached out a hand in support.

‘What happened to him?’ she murmured. ‘Finn? He was fine when he left here two weeks ago. What happened? Did you find Micah?’

She turned to look at him, but he said only, ‘All I know is that Micah has somehow become involved with Malachi. Robert went to help, thinking Micah was in trouble, and Robert was captured and tortured. I don’t know what they did to him, or how he got free. But Micah is with the rest of the men. I know Robert didn’t want to bring him here.’

Tortured. She’d seen the bruises, hadn’t she? And he’d told her nothing, as usual. Even now, with them as close as they were, there were still huge walls separating them. He would trust her with some things, not with others. And she, damn it, she was no better!

But the demon was there again, inside him, growing every day as though it was trying to make up for lost time, as though it had double the power over him, as though he
wanted—

She pulled in a breath and straightened; she felt better now, at least after her collapse. Now she felt well enough to find a nice hard cave wall to bash her head against.

‘Did he say when you’d be leaving?’

Finnlay replied, already heading for the corridor, ‘At a guess, I’d say we’re probably leaving now.’ He shrugged and disappeared, leaving her to the scrutiny of Arlie and Martha.

‘Are you sure you feel all right now?’

‘Yes, thank you. There’s nothing wrong with me?’

‘I didn’t say that.’ Arlie half-smiled. ‘No. Whatever happened didn’t actually do you any damage.’

‘Good, then there’s no reason I can’t go with them, is there?’

Martha let out a loud chuckle. ‘You mean, other than Robert refusing to let you?’

Jenn headed for the entrance. ‘It won’t be the first time he’s tried to stop me from doing something.’

‘And it won’t be the last,’ Martha finished for her, the words fading quickly as Jenn almost ran down to her room. If she didn’t move fast, Robert would leave without her, and this time, she wasn’t going to be left behind to worry. She could do that and be with him at the same time.

Much more efficient.

*

Finnlay paused one last time to look around the small cave he shared with Fiona. It didn’t look like he’d left anything important behind, but that didn’t stop the feeling that he had. Even so, he finished tying the laces on his saddle-bag, drawing them tight, making sure the few things he did take wouldn’t fall out, knowing in the back of his mind that he was also drawing the moment out, reluctant to leave. He was indeed leaving something behind.

He turned to find her watching him. He said nothing.

‘This is the last time, isn’t it?’ Fiona murmured. ‘Robert will kill the beast who murdered my mother, and you won’t go traipsing off after him any more. Will you?’

‘Yes, it’s the last time.’

‘And then you’ll come home, won’t you? Come home and …’

He could feel her throat tightening as she tried to find the words and he knew he couldn’t address the fear inside her. She’d always known this would happen one day – hadn’t there already been so many of these days? But this time it was the last time, and if he returned safely, she would never have to feel like this again.

‘I’ll come home,’ he whispered. ‘No matter what happens, I’ll come back.’

She nodded then, looking around, as though she’d forgotten something as well. He knew her too well to ignore such a sign. With a sigh, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the comfort of her, the absolute knowledge that she loved him. When she lifted her head, her eyes were closed and she kissed him hard. Then she stepped back, as though holding on longer would diminish his chances of returning alive.

‘The girls are waiting with the horses. Helen is very upset that Andrew is going with you but she can’t. Whatever you do, don’t tell her she’s too young. You know how attached she is to that boy.’

Finnlay took her hand, kissed her palm, grabbed his bag and left, feeling the weight of the caves pressing down on him. He barely saw where he was going when he reached the horses. His eyes would only find his girls, Helen, Bronwyn and Anna. He held each one, kissed each one and lingered with Helen, even though he knew he shouldn’t. He wanted to whisper to her that he would make sure Kenrick would never live to threaten anyone again, but the promise died on his lips against the sight of her tears. Turning away from her was almost impossible. But she knew better. She stepped back, wiped her eyes with her sleeve and handed him his reins with a smile.

‘Make Andrew King, Papa.’

He had no choice then but to smile back at her, and at his younger daughters. Then he took his reins and led the horse away towards the cave entrance, completely in awe of his family’s courage. It was a fine gift to take with him.

*

‘No.’

Jenn sat upon her horse, deliberately looking up at the sky to see what the weather might do. Robert mounted his in front of her, drawing up beside her, leaning over, making sure she heard him the second time. He kept his voice low, so it wouldn’t look to the others like they were having the argument they were having.

‘No. You are not coming with us.’

By the look of it, there could be rain that night, but for the moment, it was clear, if a little chilly. It was a good thing she’d brought a warmer jacket.

‘Andrew, would you mind taking the others down the gully? I’ll catch up with you shortly.’

As Jenn kicked her horse to follow them, Robert reached out and grabbed her bridle, holding her horse in place and his words in check until the last sign of them had disappeared down the hill.

‘What are you doing?’ His tone was light, a little mystified, more than a little determined. ‘At what point do you finally accept that you could lose your life if you don’t stay put? I don’t want you with us. I can’t concentrate on watching out for you and keep everything else—’

‘You’re assuming I want you to watch out for me.’

‘Oh, by the gods,’ Robert groaned, releasing the bridle. His horse stamped as though in sympathy. ‘What do I have to do, Jenn? How can I keep you safe?’

She met his gaze squarely. ‘That’s simple. You can’t. What’s more, you never should have tried. Robert, what do I have to do, what do I have to say to make you understand –
I have a part in this, too!
I have a say in what happens. I’m mentioned more times in the Prophecy than you. I have a role to play, and I can’t do it hiding in some cave waiting for it all to be over. I can’t do that to myself, and I certainly can’t do that to you! You think it’s fun sitting in there, worrying about you? Worrying about my son? You think that’s what the Prophecy meant when it said not to leave me alone? Well, I think it means you’re supposed to keep me with you and, by the gods, Robert, you
will
keep me with you! I’m not going to let you shut me out any more!’ Jenn gulped in a breath, startled to find tears stinging her eyes.