The Shadow Games: The Chronicles of Arianthem VI (23 page)

Dallan was indecisive. “How many Tavinter do you have, Torsten?”

“I have twenty or so scouts, all hardened veterans. These men and women will die to get Skye back.”

“I’d rather do this without anyone dying,” Dallan said, frustrated.

“The sorceress fled from us before, remember?” Rika said. “When we charged the tower where she kept Skye, she left the Garmlain Chancellor behind and disappeared. Perhaps she’s not so powerful.”

“I doubt it will be so easy this time,” Jorden said. “But I will go if that is your word.”

Dallan turned back to Syn. “Is there any chance your presence was detected?”

“I don’t think so. But…”

“What?”

“When Skye saw me, the sorceress came out and questioned her intently. The witch never saw me, but right before she walked back in, she looked around the estate, almost as if she had sensed something.”

Dallan’s heart fell. “It has taken us months to get this close to Skye. If she moves her again, we may never find her.” It was enough to push her to make the decision.

“We leave now. Torsten, we will leave a trail as we go. Leave a scout behind to bring Idonea as soon as she arrives. Maybe they will catch us before we find the estate, for we will have to move slowly to search the entire area. We can always stage from a distance once we find it, then wait for Idonea.”

“It will be done,” Torsten said.

“I think I’ll go change into my armor,” Jorden said.

Ingrid sipped from her goblet as she gazed at the unconscious beauty in the bed. It was a double delight to fornicate that little Tavinter into exhaustion, then drain her blood after putting her out with a mild sleeping spell. She didn’t even need the doctor any longer; she could perform the procedure herself.

Ingrid took another sip, reveling in the power that coursed through her. Before, when she had captured the girl from that Ha’kan encampment, she had only been able to enjoy her for a short while before her friends came to her rescue. Now, she had been leisurely consuming her blood every day for months, and the dark magic in her had grown strong. Her skin was pristine and glowed with health. Her step was light and her body was firm. She laughed as she thought of that ailing old man, the one who had chosen another over her, the wizard who was drifting into the great night as she lived on. She wondered if he knew how much she enjoyed fucking his great-granddaughter, or that she intended to keep his precious little girl for all of time, even by force if her memory returned.

Ingrid laughed again. Right now, everything felt possible, for she was more powerful than she had been in her whole, long life.

Chapter 27

R
aine stood at the base of the mountain and looked up. It had taken them days to get here, and it might take them days to get to the top. Inside this massive rock was a fortress, a winding, twisting, turning, treacherous tangle of passageways that led inexorably upward through Mithril Caverns. And at the top of it, just shy of the peak, was a chamber that housed something she was going to have to kill before it killed her.

Unless of course, it was willing to bargain for the woman next to her.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Raine asked.

“I am,” Aesa replied firmly.

“I need you only to protect yourself,” Raine said, “and I will take the brunt of attacks. Stay close, but don’t endanger yourself.”

“I know you think me a shrinking violet,” Aesa said, “but I was Pernilla’s lover for years.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Raine said, laughing. “You’re probably more indestructible than I.”

Aesa was quite in love with the Scinterian at that moment, for this woman laughed at danger and looked forward to battles that would cause others to quake and collapse in fear. Even now, the blue and gold markings on her arms and shoulders rose to the surface and her blue eyes gleamed in anticipation of what was to come. Raine took one last, longing look up at the highest peak.

“If my love were here,” she muttered to herself, “she could just fly me up there and we could sneak in the back door.”

Raine shrugged.

“Let’s go.”

Torsten moved silently through the forest, followed closely by Dallan. They had decided to travel on foot as horses would make too much noise. Syn had made a wild guess as to the direction they had traveled from the village, and unexpectedly she had been right. They had picked up the caravan’s trail and followed it for two days before it disappeared. Syn said the caravan had never stopped, not even to camp. She had not sensed any great deviation in their path, nor any movement that would suggest a roundabout route was being taken. Based on that, and another quick triangulation of the known points on the map, they determined to keep moving in a straight line. Although Dallan had nothing to base her feeling on, somehow she felt they were getting close.

About halfway through this third day, Torsten stood upright and raised his hand. All the Tavinter stopped instantly. Dallan, Rika, and Jorden were half an instant behind them, but it took Syn several steps and bumping into the back of Rika before she, too stopped. Her look of chagrin went unnoticed, however, as all eyes were on Torsten who stood tensely, a look of concentration on his face. He signed something to Aeric with swift, concise hand motions, Aeric nodded, then disappeared.

Several long moments passed and the weight of the silence was crushing. Sweat beaded on Dallan’s forehead even though the air was cool. She could even feel it run down her back beneath her armor. Her heart pounded, but then settled into the drumbeat that it always did before battle: faster than normal, but stable and steady. Her breathing was the same.

Aeric returned and gave several excited hand signals. Torsten nodded his understanding, and indicated that they were to retreat. They retraced their footsteps for some distance before Torsten was willing to speak.

“Aeric thinks he’s found the estate.”

Aeric turned to Syn. “A two story stone house, balconies, windows. A barn, a mill, some fields. All that?”

“That’s it,” Syn said.

“Would there be another out here?” Jorden asked.

“Probably not,” Torsten said, “but I would hate to waste time camping outside some noble’s summer retreat while Skye could be spirited away.”

“Point taken,” Jorden said.

“So what do we do from here?” Dallan asked. “I’d like to get a closer look.”

“There is a spot on the other side of the fields where the forest is closest to the buildings,” Aeric said. “If we circle around, we will have a good vantage point where we can see without being seen. We can send a scouting party.”

“I wish to go,” Dallan said firmly.

“Of course,” Torsten said.

“And I,” Rika added.

“That goes without saying,” Torsten agreed. “The three of us will go, and, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you will go, too, Syn.”

“Me?” Syn said in surprise. “You’ve seen me in the forest. I’m terrible.”

“But Skye isn’t in the forest right now. She’s in a house. And I remember one thing she told me that I have never forgotten, that if I ever needed Tavinter stealth inside a structure, you were the one to depend on.”

“That is true,” Jorden said reluctantly.

“Then I will go,” Syn said. She kissed Jorden on the lips, then fell in behind Dallan. “I will try and not trip over you.”

The four made a wide circle around the fields and found the place that Aeric described. He had picked well. Not only did they have a full view of the clearing and an unobstructed view of the house, they were still far enough away they could speak softly.

“The sorceress could have kept Skye here indefinitely were it not for your lost scout, Torsten,” Dallan whispered.

“Aye,” Torsten agreed, “although the vial that your mage holds would have found her eventually.”

“It would have been slow,” Dallan said, “the vial doesn’t glow if Skye doesn’t remember.”

All four crouched at the tree line, each looking at different things from different perspectives. It was Syn who saw her first.

“There’s Skye,” she whispered.

Dallan saw the fair-haired beauty wander from the house into the garden. She actually trembled, trying to control the urge to run to her, and her throat become raw and hot tears gathered on her eyelid. Rika saw her struggle and put her hand on her arm.

“We’ll get her, Dallan, don’t worry.”

“We can’t wait for Idonea,” Dallan said in a hoarse whisper. “If the sorceress flees with her again, I don’t know if I…,” Dallan trailed off, unable to continue.

Torsten, too, was struggling at the sight of his beloved friend, and a muscle in his jaw jumped.

“But what can we do? Skye clearly has no memory.”

They watched as the beautiful young woman wandered aimlessly amongst the flowers, playing with butterflies and gently relocating insects that the gardeners would otherwise kill.

“There’s the sorceress,” Syn whispered, and all drew back instinctively although they were well-hidden. Ingrid walked out on the balcony, watched Skye for a moment, then her eyes swept the fields, the buildings, and then the horizon. All held their breath until her gaze returned to Skye, and she went back inside.

“It’s almost as if she senses something,” Dallan said.

“But none of us are magical,” Torsten said, “what would she be sensing?”

“I don’t know,” she said grimly, “I don’t know how oracles work. But maybe she has that kind of sight.”

“What do you think we should do?” Torsten asked.

“I don’t know,” Dallan said, her frustration peaking.

Raine made it past the first vampyres, if not with ease, at least with style. Her deadly bow snapped out to its full length, she fired a volley of arrows that all found their mark, then went in feet first and swords swinging, removing appendages right and left. The vampyres did not go down easily, but they did wind up in a pile of black ash all the same. Aesa coughed slightly as Raine brushed the black residue from her leather armor.

“Are you all right?” Raine asked.

“Of course,” Aesa said, “I did nothing but hide back here.”

“And a fine job you did of it.” Raine looked up. “Well, we only have about forty more levels of this to go.”

Talan stood alone in Kylan’s keep. All of the dragons had been dispatched and now she waited for word. The castle was quiet, utterly silent, and the snow outside blanketed and muffled the world. The footsteps behind her, therefore, were very loud in that silence. She turned to face those who should not be there.

“How nice to see you, my Queen.”

Volva sauntered into the room, her golden cape flowing behind her, her breasts jiggling with every accentuated stride. She bit off the last two words, imbuing them with spite. She was accompanied by Jörmung, who looked less fashionable but just as spiteful, and far more smug. Both wore looks of barely concealed triumph that bordered on glee.

“And to what do I owe this pleasure?” Talan asked, calm but wary.

“We thought you might need some company after you sent your entire force down to Thorny Peak.”

“I see,” Talan said as Volva approached her. She was not afraid of either of them, but perhaps that was her undoing. Volva leaned to kiss her, a kiss that Talan did not return.

“What?” Volva said. “No small token of affection for old time’s sake?”

“That was eons ago, Volva,” Talan said, “and will go down as my second worst decision of all time.”

Volva took Talan’s hands in her own, and before Talan realized what she was doing, Volva had slipped a pair of restraints over her wrists. It was easily and slyly done because they were slender and made of nothing more than a fine, glowing filament. She might as well have slipped a bracelet on her.

“What is this?” Talan said, attempting to pull her wrists apart as if the filament would break with ease. But the manacles did not budge.

“A gift,” Volva said, the triumph now in full display, “from your very worst decision of all time. A gift from a goddess who bears you considerable ill will.”

Talan raised the fetters so she could look at them. They seemed something alive, glowing and writhing with a soft light. She tried again to break them, but as insubstantial as they seemed, her massive strength had no effect and she could not move her wrists at all. Worse, she began to feel a subtle weakening in her body.

“From what I understand, those have been fashioned from petrified resin from the Tree of Life,” Volva said conversationally, “a kind of fluid amber if you will. In fact, I notice that they quite stylishly match your eyes. Not only are they unbreakable, but they will begin to leech your life-force from you, something I see that you are starting to feel now.”

Jörmung tried to circle around Talan, but she turned and gave him such a withering look he skulked back to Volva’s side as she continued her exposition.

“From what I was told, they will slowly weaken you until you are incapacitated, incapable of even moving, and eventually you will die. But that will take a very long time, and during that time you will still be conscious, able to see, and feel, and hear, and smell. And Jörmung is going to put you in a very special hell, because he is going to do things to you that are utterly depraved.”

“He’s going to have a hard time getting through my armor,” Talan said sarcastically, “and if he sticks it in my mouth, with my last bit of strength I will bite if off.”

Jörmung took a step back at this threat, dismayed that all his perverse dreams were going to be denied.

“Relax,” Volva said, frowning at her cowardly ally. “Her armor will retract once she is weakened, and then she will be helpless. I might even take a go at you myself,” Volva said to Talan, patting her cheek. “I forgot how incredibly attractive you are.”

Talan eyed the window, thinking she could beat that fat fool to the sill and then leap to her freedom.

“Oh yes,” Volva said, “I almost forgot. Really, the best part of all is that you cannot revert to your true dragon form while the restraints are on.”

Talan still considered the window, but the fall was straight down, thousands of feet. She would probably survive it, but with significant injury, and that would merely accelerate the weakness she was already feeling. She would have had a fight on her hands dealing with two Ancient Dragons at once regardless, and the restraints now put that battle out of the question.