A Soul For Chaos (The Soulbearer Trilogy) (11 page)

“So you admit you’re only interested in her because of her magic.”

Kell gritted his teeth to keep from saying the first things that came to mind, mainly involving calling Dev out for his continued insulting behavior. He was a prince after all. If they’d been in Ranello, he could’ve had Dev arrested. But since he was on foreign ground, he needed to show he was above such behavior. “I care for her far more than you can imagine.”

“I suppose there’s some truth to that. After all, you haven’t tossed her aside once you’ve bedded her, unlike your prior conquests.”

His pulse throbbed through his limbs. It took every ounce of self-control to keep his voice low and calm as he said, “If you continue to demean my relationship with Arden, I will be forced to defend her honor. Remember, your shields are no match for my sword.”

Dev’s lip curled up. “You have no idea what you’re messing with.”

 “I think I can handle you in a duel.” Kell pressed his palm against the table, lifting himself up so he sat higher than his rival. “Shall we take this outside?”

Dev remained sitting. “You arrogant little fool. You act like you know her, what she is and what she’s capable of doing, but you live in a blissful world of ignorance. You have no idea of the creature living inside her and what he will eventually do to her.”

Kell sat back and rolled his eyes. “If you are referring to that fake god whose soul you claim lives inside her—”

“Shut up and listen to me for once.” Dev leaned forward, his green eyes glittering in the firelight like a feral cat’s. “Loku destroys his Soulbearers, one way or another. He’ll eat away at her soul until she’s nothing more than a hollow shell of who she once was. And the more you test her, the more you ask her to draw upon his power, the faster you will curse her to madness.”

“And what if I said I don’t believe a word of this.”

Dev lunged forward, but Fane placed a hand on his chest to hold him back. “Gentlemen, please, let’s not draw any unwelcome attention to ourselves.”

“Dev made the same threat when Sulaino was terrorizing Ranello. He told me that after the battle, she would awake a different person. But he was wrong then, just like he’s wrong now. He’s done everything in his power to keep me away from her, but he’s failed time and time again.” He stood. “I’ve grown tired of these lies. Good night.”

The scrape of the wooden bench shocked the room into silence. Dev caught up to him and grabbed his arm, jerking him close so no one would hear him say, “Keep living in your fantasy world, little princeling. One day, you’ll have to face the cold, hard truth.”

Kell shook his arm free and shoved Dev back. “Maybe you’re the one who needs to face the cold, hard truth. I love Arden, and I intend to do everything in my power to keep her.”

A sudden gust of wind ripped the door off the hinges, blasting the room with cold rain and dousing all the candles. The fire followed, plunging the room into darkness. Gooseflesh puckered his skin, and a rising wave of nausea churned in his stomach.

A bolt of lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the stricken faces of the people in the room. The wind howled. Kell raised his hands to his ears, hoping to ease the sharp pain that filled them. A sinister tingle crawled along his scalp.

Something was very wrong about this storm. When the lightning flashed again, the glimpse he got of Dev’s face confirmed his suspicions. They both ran toward the stairs.

Dev managed to get a few steps ahead of him before the room erupted in pandemonium. The walls imploded, shattering the sturdy beams that supported the building like twigs. A hand pulled him down to the ground, and the familiar warmth of magic enveloped him in a shield. Screams mingled with the cracking of the wood and the ever increasing roar of the wind. Tables and chairs overturned and flew through the air, as deadly as cannonballs.

Pressed against the floor, Kell’s hair whipped his face, but the shield protected him from the flying debris. He thanked the Lady Moon for keeping him safe. The next bolt of lightning offered him a glimpse of his protector—Fane.

Then, just as suddenly as the storm erupted, it dissipated. The rain ceased, and the winds vanished.

Moans and sobbing filled the silence that followed. A flash of fire rose from the far corner, and soon, the glow of candlelight revealed the extent of the destruction.

The entire inn lay in broken ruins far worse than the tower that had collapsed in Trivinus. Cries of help came from those pinned under the debris while some bodies lay in such a way that there was no hope of finding life within them. Those that were able starting digging their fellow guests out from the rubble, but Kell only cared about the safety of one person.

“Arden,” he shouted.

When no answer came, he jumped to his feet and ran toward the remnants of the staircase. He called her name out again and peered at the fragile remains of the third floor where her room was, praying even harder to the Lady Moon.

“Help me up,” he said when Fane joined him.

“Are you crazy? Those stairs will never support you.”

“I have to try.”

Fane shook his head but cupped his hands together to boost Kell to the first landing. The storm had sheared off the front of the inn, leaving behind fractured and missing stairs along the side wall. The wood crumbled under his fingers as he tried to hoist himself up. His body jerked down and dangled precariously until a hand reached out from the darkness to save him.

“Can’t stay out of danger, can you?” Dev asked.

For once, he was glad to see the sullen knight. “Not when it comes to her.”

Dev tested the weakened floor before giving him a final tug up. “Where was her room?”

“On the third floor.”

Dev cursed under his breath and looked up. The roof had collapsed, obscuring any view of the floor above. But despite his rough words, his face was pale and tight, his chest billowing. Dev was just as worried about Arden as he was. “I hope Cinder stayed close to her.”

He brought both of his little fingers up to his lips and whistled. The shrill call was answered by a low howl and a whimper. Dev hurried toward it, leaping over the fallen timbers as though he was skipping over puddles.

Kell envied the ease with which the elf crossed the inn. He stumbled and climbed over the obstacles in front of him, hoping he wouldn’t lose Dev in the darkness.

“Hurry up, Kell,” Dev barked. “I need your help.”

“I’m coming as fast as I can.” An unseen hole in the floor sent him sprawling, and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. “A little light would be helpful.”

“Cinder, light up.”

At Dev’s command, the wolf’s coat burst into flames that swirled around him like sheer silk veils. Kell’s breath froze. Never in all his dreams could he have imagined such a thing. “Does it hurt him?”

“No, but I’m having to cast a shield around him to keep from setting the place on fire.”

The impatience of the words nipped at Kell, and he wiped the blood away from his mouth before moving as quickly as he dared toward Dev. When he got there, Cinder was licking a small hand arising from the rubble.

Kell’s gut clenched, and his heart beat wildly. “Arden?”

“Kell?” a faint voice answered back.

Kell’s knees buckled under him, and he grabbed the hand, grateful to feel her fingers curling around his. She was alive.

“Are you bleeding?” Dev asked, slinging away a portion of the thatched roof that sat on top of the pile.

“No, just a few bumps and bruises.” Her voice seemed higher than normal, a mixture of pain and false cheer. “I’m stuck, though.”

“I’m trying to dig you out.” Dev tossed a section of the wall behind him, exposing her face. “If your lover would care to help me instead of holding your hand, we might be able to get you out of this quicker.”

Kell’s pride stung from the admonishment, so he kissed her forehead and went to help Dev. As the glow from Cinder fell on her face, he noticed a small cut above her eyebrow that sent a trickle of blood along her cheek. She appeared calm, despite her circumstances, but the paleness of her coloring worried him.

She closed her eyes and gripped the solid beam that lay across her stomach. “What was that, Dev?”

“A whirlwind.” His jaw clamped closed after answering her questions, indicating he knew more about the storm but didn’t want to tell her. Hopefully, he’d be more willing to share this information once they got her out.

“Need some help?” Fane asked from behind them.

“Yes.” Dev removed the last piece of debris lying over the beam. “If you can help me lift this, then Kell can pull her out.”

He grasped both of her wrists and nodded to the two knights.

“Ready?” Dev wedged his arms under the beam. “One, two, three.”

The two men grunted as they lifted it up a few inches, giving Kell just enough room to shimmy Arden out from underneath. He’d gotten her free to her knees when the floor shook beneath them. Fane lurched to the side, his hands slipping from the beam. For the first time he could remember, Kell saw Dev panic as he had to decide in a split second whether to save his friend or his charge.

Kell’s heart jumped into his throat. If they didn’t act quickly, two lives could be lost. He threw his weight back, sending both him and Arden crashing into the wall behind them. At the same time, Dev caught the edge of Fane’s jerkin and pulled him away from the new hole that formed below them.

Dust filled the area, choking their lungs. When it cleared, a burning Cinder looked down at all four of them with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Kell wrapped his arms around Arden, relishing the way her chest moved in and out with each quick breath she took. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “Just very sore.”

Beside them, Fane mumbled his thanks to Dev and rose unsteadily onto his knees. “I think we need to get out of here before the whole place collapses.”

“Agreed.” Dev turned to them. “Nothing broken, Trouble?”

She shook her head again.

“You can walk?”

She nodded and took his offered hand. She wobbled when she stood, her hand flying to her forehead. “Dev, I’m feeling a little dizzy. Can you…”

Her eyes rolled back, and her body crumpled.

Kell dived to catch her. “Arden?”

But her eyes remained closed. Her skin was cold and waxy, and her pulse fluttered under his hand.

He looked to Dev. “Help her, damn it.”

The knight knelt beside them, checking her for any obvious injuries. “I can’t see any cause for this. A head injury, maybe.”

Arden’s body stiffened, and her eye snapped open. Only instead of their usual blue, they glowed an eerie yellowish-green color whose brightness rivaled the flames coming from Cinder.

Kell’s skin crawled, and his pulse quickened. But it wasn’t until she spoke in a deep raspy voice that he let go of her.

“Blood. So much blood hidden inside, filling her up as it flows out of her.” The eyes rolled toward Dev, and a vicious smile curled up her lips. “If you don’t save her, I’m going to invade the prince as punishment.”

Kell scrambled away from Arden, from the thing she’d become. He bunched his hands into fists. Terror rose in his throat. “What kind of magic is this?”

Dev turned to him, his face grim. “Loku.”

***

Dev draped his cloak over her hips before lifting up her shirt. Hidden under the fabric, her stomach was as distended as a woman with child. A deep violet color stained her skin. “She’s bleeding inside here.”

Fane placed his hands on her flesh, his gaze turning glassy as he cast, and gasped. “It’s worse than I imagined.”

His palms grew damp as he repeated his friend’s spell to see the extent of the injuries for himself. Inside her abdomen, blood gushed from the ruptured spleen. He focused his magic on repairing the shreds of the organ, knitting them together and staunching the bleeding. Then, once he finished, he faced the arduous task of returning all the blood she’d lost back into her vessels. Sweat beaded along his forehead, and his gut tied in knots from the exertion of the spell. He was just about spent when a fresh wave of magic finished the task for him.

The ruined inn came back into view as he released the spell. His muscles ached as though he’d been in battle all day. “Thank you,” he whispered to Fane.

His friend rested his hand on his shoulder. “I promised I would help protect her.”

Arden lay peacefully on the rubble, her eyes still closed. The rosiness had returned to her cheeks, and her breathing was slow and easy now.

In contrast, Kell crouched in the corner, his eyes wide with terror. His hand gripped his sword with white knuckles. “Explain this to me.”

If he wasn’t so exhausted, Dev would’ve laughed at the prince. Wasn’t he saying just before the storm hit that he didn’t believe in Loku? “She was injured internally, and I healed her.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” He pulled his sword out and pointed it at Dev, its tip shaking. “What was that thing that took control of her?”

Dev gathered Arden in his arms, debating how much of an explanation he dared to give in this place. “That was Loku.”

Kell rose slowly, his sword still out in front of him. “Has he done that before to her?”

“Many times, just as he’s done to prior Soulbearers.” He sidestepped around the hole that had almost swallowed up Fane. “Can we please continue this conversation outside? I have no desire to dig you or anyone else out should this place decide to cave in on us.”

Kell sheathed his sword, his gaze never leaving Arden. Fear had replaced the lust with which he once regarded her, and Dev almost thanked Loku for revealing himself like he did and scaring the prince.

The floor creaked and groaned under them as they edged closer to the broken stairs. Fane crawled down first and caught Arden as Dev lowered her to him. Once he was on the ground floor, he reached up and helped both Kell and Cinder down.

Fane leaned close to him. “I say we risk the weather and go to the safe house.”

Dev looked down at Arden. Would it be safe to take her out so soon? “How far away is it?”

“Maybe an hour now that the rain’s slowed.”

He nodded. “Let’s find the horses.”