Well of Tears (Empath Book 3) (17 page)

“And what then?” Venn asked. “She does
this—kills Sammah. What then? We have a powerful Sha’sekian capable
of changing the
way we think
in Everfell, rather than
Sammah. The baron is just a despot. He can’t be reasoned with, but
the only danger he directly poses us is by the people he controls.
Don’t
give him
this girl.
Either way, it’s a mistake. Sammah either controls her, or
she
gets to control Vance. After the way she’s been treated,
do you think she’s just going to open the gate and let us in? Don’t
be a fool.”

Venn’s chest heaved. His words had been
impassioned. Eden let out a breath. Shiver looked tense too. Augyr
and Calvin sank in their chairs. They didn’t want to be a part of
this debate any more. They would let Venn and their new king decide
this girl’s fate.

“Eden? Can she be trusted?”

“To do what, sire? Quinn doesn’t want the
throne. She doesn’t want a part of any of this. If you ask her to
kill Sammah, and she succeeds, then she’s most likely to run away.
We’ll Never hear from her again.”

“Unless she goes back to Sha’sek, in which
case she will belong to Pax again.” Shiver sank a glass of wine in
one gulp. He held it out for Harn, who refilled it, stepping back
into the shadows. It was odd, seeing the grizzled captain act as a
page. “I’m not being given much choice here, am I? I
could
sent the girl, but there is no guarantee she will do what she is
told. If she does somehow succeed, and we are not exactly sure
whether or not she can, then she may still be used as a weapon
against us in the war.”

“The easy solution there, father, is to avoid
war.”

Shiver gave Eden a thin smile. “That is
not
the attitude I expect. You’ve heard what Pax wants. He’s
not going to stay on those islands. The war is inevitable. Our
approach to it now is what matters.

“
Sammah doesn
’t
have many allies. Lords Obrenn and Erran are weak. They’re not
gathering the men that they need, and I’ve received several crows
questioning if there’s a way back for them, if they abandon Sammah.
They don’t know why they’re there. They think Sammah is
manipulating Vance. I don’t want to raise a sword against our own,
but I feel that if we do, there won’t be much bloodshed, if any.
All we have to do is defeat Sammah.

“Can he take out an entire army? I don’t
think so. Thank you for your guidance, Venn. I think you’re right.
Keeping Quinn alive is too dangerous. That was the mistake Vance
made in the first place. I will make the right choice, for all of
us.”

“That is your burden, your highness. We trust
in you to lead us the right way.”

Venn gave Eden a smug smile. Eden swallowed,
suppressing his rage and the bile that tried to force its way up
this throat. Shiver caught Venn’s look, and glanced at his youngest
son. “Eden? Are you alright?”

Eden nodded, forcing the words out. “I am
fine, father. Venn is right. You are making the decisions for all
of us. We trust in your wisdom.”

“Your knuckles look very white, son.”

“I am fine, father. This is…difficult for
me.”

“You’ve been through a lot, Eden. I
understand your pain. You will, of course, not be forced to attend
the execution. Thank you for your time, everyone.”

Eden stood, ignoring everyone else. No, he
would not be forced to attend the execution. He would be getting
Quinn out. It wasn’t her fault. None of this. Eden would not stand
by and let her be butchered.

Rall sat on the
edge of the well in the healer’s residence. There were students all
around him. Most were sleeping, though others were reading. All of
them were so talented. Many, Rall had had the pleasure of teaching
personally. The most troubling of all those students was the one he
focused on now.

Maertn was frail. He had been asleep now for
a full day. His breathing was shallow. He wasn’t going to die,
though he was near to death. Rall had instructed Maertn to stop
using his ability. The boy was hard to control. Keeping him here,
in company amongst the other boys, was the only way to stop him.
After healing Quinn, as he claimed to have done, he had fallen
asleep. He hadn’t woken up since.

They needed Maertn. Rall needed Maertn to
stay alive. If Quinn was alive, then they would need this boy to
control her. They were meant to be together. He should have told
Pax that these two should never have been separated.

Rall sipped from a glass of water. A passing
journeyman nodded. Rall returned the gesture. Other men were taking
the lessons, for now. Rall wasn’t going anywhere until he knew
Maertn was past the worst.

* * *

Eden had hoped that, in the dead of night,
Sevenspells might rest. He had been wrong. Eden was now seeing how
his father operated under conditions of war, and the Shiver he was
seeing now was very different from the man he had grown up
loathing. Armed men were patrolling everywhere. Not because Shiver
expected a threat from within, but because he was conditioning them
to be alert at all times. Because he was from the royal household,
Eden wasn’t questioned as he moved around, but meeting the wrong
person would send immediate word back to his father that he was out
of his rooms.

Getting past his guard had been easy. It had
been a poorly-chosen cluster of men he had grown up with and
trained alongside before taking over from Harn as the guard
captain. Eden had explained he had arranged a tryst with a maid
from the kitchen. All young men, they had been eager to let him out
and on his way.

Eden picked his way carefully through the
hallways. At the back of his mind he kept Tarik and Under, their
skills and Under’s lessons especially keeping his feet light. Under
had loved training in the quiet of night, and it was in the
darkness that Eden ironically felt most comfortable. Once he made
it to the cells, he was confident that no one else would challenge
him: he just had to get into them first. He had one chance to do
this right. Once he got through to Quinn, Shiver would be alerted
as soon as he was awake. If Harn found out, Eden suspected he’d
wake the king just to deliver the news. He reached the bottom
stairwell, leading to the row of empty cells—Quinn would be in one,
isolated, right at the end. Eden hated the thought of her sitting
there in the dark, alone, angry, and hurt. A pair of guards stood
watch. They looked bored, sloughed in their spots and chattering
with each other. Taking a deep breath, Eden straightened his back
and strode straight up to them, looking for all the world like he
belonged in that place at that moment.

“Your highness, we weren’t…”

“
You weren
’t paying
attention, you weren’t standing correctly, you weren’t holding your
weapons correctly…which one of these was going to be your answer,
guardsman?”

Both men stuttered for an answer. Eden didn’t
give then the time to think, to form one. “Enough. I was sent down
here to check how well you’re guarding this empath, and here I see
you’ve been doing a useless job. You’re relieved. Go back to the
barracks, get two more capable men to take over, and report to Harn
in the morning for less important duties.” They hesitated, so Eden
roared at them. “Now!”

At that, they took off. Eden guessed he’d
have around fifteen, perhaps twenty minutes at most, to get Quinn
clear of here before he had to be back waiting here for the relief
guard. The men could spend the rest of the night guarding nothing,
before Harn was updated in the morning and inevitably found Quinn
gone. Eden would take any punishment his father chose to mete
out—he didn’t fear for his neck. Rushing down the thin corridor, he
didn’t bother checking in any of the rooms, not until he got right
to the end. Seeing Quinn huddled in the back of the farthest room,
he fumbled at his belt for his keys, thanking every spirit he knew
that his father hadn’t taken them from his rooms. Many of Shiver’s
senior retinue had keys for the majority of rooms in the castle.
Eden had been one of those when he was made captain of the guard.
Shiver had just forgotten to take those keys back.

The door made a horrendous noise as Eden
threw it open. Quinn rose, and seeing Eden, squealed in surprise.
He scrambled over to her, sweeping her up. She hugged him, but he
didn’t let her hold it for long. “
We
haven
’t got long, Quinn, we have to go.”

Eden took off his cloak, wrapping it around
her and covering her head with its hood. “What’
s
happening?
”

“You’re leaving.”

“What? How?”

“I’ve got no time to explain, Quinn. I need
you to get out of the city, as quickly as you can. There’s already
a horse waiting for you in the courtyard, and if I do this right,
you’ll have until dawn before they start chasing you down.
Hopefully you’ll be through Lancing by then. Trust me, it’s easier
to get down the cliff than it is to get up.”

“Eden, you’re going too quickly. Slow down, I
don’
t understand.
”

“They’re going to kill you, Quinn. My father,
he’s decided you’re too dangerous. He’s going to have you executed,
soon. I’m not going to let him do it.”

A heavy moment stretched between them before
Quinn nodded. “Okay. I…I’m not a good rider, Eden. I don’t know if
I can get to the bottom before the night is out.”

“You could walk the horse down before the
night is over, Quinn. It’s my own mount—a confident horse. Trust
him, and let him lead the way. You’ll be fine. Get to Port Kahnel.
Go back to Sha’sek. It’s the only place you’ll be safe, now.”

“But Pax…”

“No, not Farn. Don’t go back across the
Sighs. Go to any other island, Quinn. Just…go.”

Eden tied the cloak shut and pulled her
along. The corridors were still empty directly outside the cells.
As Eden led Quinn to the courtyard, they had to duck into side
rooms to avoid guards—this time Eden wouldn’t be able to talk away
his presence. Out in the courtyard, in the shadow of a wall, his
steed had already been prepared to ride. Saddlebags contained water
skeins, bread, and a small amount of silver—enough to keep Quinn
going to Kahnel and over to Sha’sek. She stopped short of the
horse. Eden cupped his hand to help her mount. “I can’t do this,
Eden.”

“
You have to, Quinn.
I
’m sorry, there’s no other way.”

“But what about you?”

“I’ll deal with things here.”

“Your father…he’ll kill you for this.”

Eden gave her a lopsided smile. “He won’t,
Quinn.” He pecked her on the cheek. There wasn’t time for emotional
goodbyes. “Go.”

He helped her up on the horse and led it to
the gates. There was another set of guards here, already standing
stiffly to attention. “Hold.”

“Eden, on the king’s business. I have an
urgent messenger for Kahnel, to follow Prince River.”

Eden went to pass over a hastily forged
parchment. The guard waved him away. “No need, your highness.” The
guard waved behind him, and two men tugged one of the huge gate
mechanisms. One door swung open enough to let a single rider
through. Quinn didn’t look back. Eden swallowed the lump in his
throat. She was free.

Eden’s tongue
searched around his mouth, and he spat a glob of blood and bile to
the ground. Two of his teeth were loose, another one broken, and he
didn’t want to know what his nose looked like. He had never seen
his father so furious. Harn had hauled him back, fearing the king
might accidentally kill him in his rage.

“How could you do this to me? Do you have any
idea how foolish you’ve made me look? I should kill you in her
place!”

“She didn’t deserve to die!”

“They all deserve to die, Eden! They’re
abominations, every single one of them! All you’ve done is stay the
inevitable. I’ve already got riders chasing down all the main
roads. You won’t tell me where she’s gone? Fine. I’ll send soldiers
to every city. I know you sent a rider to Kahnel. They won’t stop
until they’ve got her, and they’ll bring her head back to me on a
spike. It can take the place of honour behind your chair at your
wedding, to show people just how loyal to
Sevenspells
you are!”

Ride
. Eden whispered to himself.
Ride like the wind, and take the first boat you find
.

“Take my
son
to his rooms and send up
a healer. Clean this mess up.” Shiver shook his hand, turning his
back on Eden. “Don’t let him out until his wedding day.”

* * *

Eden should have warned her to stay off the
roads. Luckily, Quinn had sensed them coming before she could even
see them. Her abilities were getting stronger. Now, more than ever,
she needed them. Physically, she felt weak, her body stretched.
Mentally, she felt like she could go on forever. Their urgency had
tugged first, followed by their concentration, and their panic.
They were searching for her, and they weren’t happy that that
hadn’t found her yet.
Keep trying,
Quinn thought as she
guided her horse off the main road, dismounting and finding
covering nearby. The horse was huge, and twice now she’d almost
panicked, not knowing where she could hide. She’d made it to a
copse of trees just in time. They weren’t expecting her to have the
common sense to evade them, apparently.

Using a tree stump to remount the gigantic
horse, Quinn munched on some bread before walking gently back to
the main road. In the distance, the group of men carried on,
kicking up dust. Quinn had camped on the road, avoiding people,
staying out of even the smallest hamlet. She had been spotted, so
they were aware she was out here
somewhere
. They wouldn’t
find her before she reached Kahnel.

What then?