Well of Tears (Empath Book 3) (27 page)

“No one else wanted to hurt you, Neyv. It was
all Sammah’s doing. He has used us both, for all of our lives. I’m
not your enemy. He’s made you think it, but really, he just takes
what he wants. When he has the throne, and when he’s defeated his
brother, he’ll kill us both.”

Neyv began to sob, and her influence dropped
completely out of the room. Quinn’s power was extinguishing the
fight in her, and now the emotions Quinn was forcing on her had
started to overwhelm her mind.

“
I don
’t want to
feel like this, Quinn. Everything he says sounds true. Who am I
meant to believe?”

“Who do you think is right, Neyv?”

“
I don
’t know!”

Neyv hid her head in her hands, sobs
overwhelming her body. Eden had gone silent. Quinn carried on
stroking Neyv
’s hand to keep contact with
the girl whilst she sought out her lover. Eden was lying prone. He
was still, but Quinn could see his chest rising and falling; he was
still breathing at least. If Eden was safe from Neyv for now, Quinn
had to make sure that everyone in the future would be protected
from her devastatingly invasive ability.

“Only you can decide who’s right, Neyv.”

“But whenever I tell someone something, they
believe it! It used to be easy. Father told me to say things, and
those things were true. I always believed what he wanted. Then you
came back, and you didn’t believe me all the time. You could
remember
me. No one remembers me, Quinn.”

“There are ways to control yourself, Neyv. We
can learn. Together, we can help you. I won’t forget you now. I
know you. I’m not safe from your ability, but I can resist it. I’m
stronger than other people around you. You can learn not to use it
on everyone, like I learned how to stop everyone from getting into
my head. You can have peace. Do you believe that?”

Neyv nodded, sniffing and peeking at Quinn
through the one hand she had covering her face. “I want to. I don’t
want to be like this. I want to know people.”

“Together, Neyv. We can help you. But first,
we need to kill our father.”

* * *

Sammah staggered through the corridors. He
was trying to ignore his heavy legs. If he stopped running, Shiver
would catch him. Sammah’s only hope now was to get to his rooms and
the safety of Elias, though Sammah feared that even that man’s
mighty swing might not be enough to defend him against the
vengeance of the king.

He shouldn’t have attacked Neyv. The girl was
near useless to him unconscious, and Quinn had been just as bad.
Together, their combined abilities might have been enough to win
him the ruling seat of both lands. Without them, with no armed men
at his back, Sammah was rapidly, and nearly fatally, reminded of
just how weak he was. He couldn’t fight, nor could he combat Shiver
with an ability of his own.

Apaths within the shores of Sha’sek caused
fear wherever they went. The reason was simple; they were
practically immune to most of the aggressive abilities. Anything
that touched the mind or changed the environment, did nothing to an
apath. To Sammah, Rhi was just another singer, no more or less
talented than the drunkards that warbled in taverns. Neyv was just
a simple child; Quinn a petulant teenager. Yes, he was aware that
sometimes people were capable of growing stronger than he,
therefore Sammah was put at risk. Nerren had been a danger to him,
which is why in the end, he’d needed to die too.

If Sammah had managed to evade and defeat the
empath who had caused the Empath Wars, then he couldn’t die at the
hands of his two adoptive daughters. Even worse, he couldn’t let
himself be run through by a mere mortal. Shiver might proclaim
himself king, but the man was nothing special. He was nothing
compared to Sammah and his kind.

“You’ve got nowhere to go, Sammah! Turn
around and face me like a man!”

Shiver wasn’t going to stop pursuing him,
Sammah knew that. Sammah wasn’t going to beat him in a swordfight.
He’d get to Elias’s protection, and whilst Shiver was preoccupied
with his final bodyguard, then he’d make a run for the courtyard.
His only chance now was to get onto a mount and through the
besieging army before they realised who was trying to escape. It
was a slim chance. He needed Neyv, really, for the ruse to have any
chance of working.

“Stop, you coward!”

Sammah didn’t waste any of his breath
replying—he couldn’t have even if he’d wanted to. He wasn’t sure
that he had the lungs to make it to his rooms, but he was going to
try. They weren’t far. He still stood a chance.

* * *

“The last news from Everfell, is that the
King Shiver has laid siege to the city. There is very little by way
of resistance from Sammah. He still had his skilled within the city
walls, but it remains to be seen whether or not he’s able to use
them for his own ends.”

“Your calculations appear to be correct,
then?”

“Mostly. I was hoping for more conflict. It
seems that Shiver is going to escape this with most of his armies
intact.”

“What is your plan next?”

“We have to see what Shiver decides to do
next, and whether any of our own make it out of Everfell alive. It
still isn’
t our fight.
”

“And if he chooses to attack us? They have a
fleet in Kahnel.”

“Not enough to be a threat. We will have
years to prepare, even if Shiver does elect to be stupid enough to
attack us within the islands of Sha’sek.”

“What alternatives do we have?”

Pax didn’t like this. He wasn’t used to
having his judgements questioned. Despite the fact that the
situation in Everfell was panning out largely as he’d predicted it,
they were starting to doubt him. There
was no
alternative
.

“If you mean our attacking first, I have not
considered that as a possibility. We don’t have enough fighters. We
haven’t prepared. Tarik is lost, and we’d need to gather our
swordmasters together. When was the last time anyone saw Under? If
you want Sha’sek to be the aggressors in this, then we need to
change our mindset.”

“We have been guided by you this far, Pax. It
is you who has dictated the pace of our development and we have
trusted you this far. If you say that we should remain in Sha’sek
and monitor the situation, then we can continue to do so.”

“It is still the best way. Just because
Shiver is the king, does not mean he has the power. Everfell will
be in a state of chaos whilst they recover from everything Sammah
has done to them. We will still have a long time to consider our
battle plans. We do not need to change our course. Vote. Disband
the council in Farn until such a time as we are needed again.”

Eight hands went up in Pax’s favour. It would
be enough, for now.

* * *

The mercenaries were all dead. Quinn made
sure of this, before dragging Eden to the far wall of the cavern
and propping him up in a sitting position. His tunic was soaked
with sweat and vomit. Neyv helped, though her thin arms didn’t do
much as they both struggled to move his bulk to somewhere safe.
Quinn cushioned the back of his head, making sure it rested safely
against the rocks. She didn’t want him sliding around, hurting
himself in his stupor. She wiped with her sleeve at the blood
caking his cheeks and chin, just to reassure herself he wasn’t
mortally wounded.

“Quinn?”

“Hush Eden, you’ve been hurt. You need to
rest.”

His eyes fluttered open. “Where am I?”

“You’re in Everfell, in the springs.”

“Who hurt me?”

Quinn’s eyes drifted to Neyv. “Sammah
did.”

Eden nodded, not disputing this. “Where’s…my
father?”

Quinn didn’t know, but she could make a solid
guess. “We’re going to find him. We think he’s going after
Sammah.”

Eden struggled to get up. He might have been
weak and half-awake, but Quinn still struggled to hold him down.
“No, Eden, you need to stay here. You can’t come with us.”

“I need to fight with my father.”

“You need to stay down here, otherwise you’ll
get yourself killed.”

The fight burst out of Eden, and he flopped
back to the stones. Quinn hadn’t been telling the full truth—she
had no idea whether or not Eden would die if he followed her—but it
had been a safe assumption, and Neyv’s ability had stretched to
fill the gap. Quinn felt for his mind. She could feel it
pulsing—the concern there, and the pain. This had to end.

“Is he okay?”

Neyv sounded concerned. Quinn grabbed out for
her, squeezing her hand again, the way an older sister should
comfort her younger sister. “He’ll be fine. He’s been through worse
than this.”

“Are you sure? He looks terrible. I caused
that, didn’t I?”

“It wasn’t your fault, Neyv. I told you, it’s
Sammah that’s made you like this. We can change it.”

“Won’t he hate me?”

Quinn smiled. “I’m not sure Eden’s capable of
hating anyone.”

“I wish that was an ability. I bet a person
with that ability has an amazing life.”

“I think anyone forced to like everybody
would have just as horrid a time of things as us, Neyv. We make our
lives good by making the best of what we have, not by wishing we
had what other people have got.”

“What are we going to do when we find
Sammah?”

“We have to stop him.”

“But…how?”

It was a good question, and Quinn hadn’t
actually considered
how
she would do it, she’d been so
focused on the task itself. Maybe Shiver was closing down on him
now. Perhaps the king would already have his blade through the
baron before they got there. Then what would Shiver do? Quinn and
Neyv would definitely have to use their combined abilities to
defend themselves, if they came across an angry king with a blooded
sword and his anti-Sha’sek agenda.

Quinn picked up Eden’s sword. “I can use
this.” Neyv didn’t look convinced. Quinn tried a toothy smile,
which wasn’t received well. “We’ll do what we can. If all else
fails, there are two of us and one of him.”

Working together for the first time, Neyv and
Quinn ran the halls of Everfell. Quinn revelled in the feeling that
she was helping the little girl. She should have done this years
before—if she had, they might not have even been in this situation.
Well, Neyv had an older sister now. Quinn wasn’t going to let her
down. Eden was safe; now they just needed to make Everfell safe for
everyone else.

When Sammah was gone, Quinn would go too.
Shiver would rule this place. Quinn didn’t want any further part in
the politics of these men. She would take Neyv with her. Once they
were safe, Quinn would take Eden’s advice. They would go and hide
together on an isolated Sha’sekian island and make their own way in
life, without anyone trying to tell them who or what they were to
be.

First, they had to find Sammah. They were
running for his suites. It was the only place Sammah could go,
Quinn reasoned. Shiver’s armies were still camped outside the
city—he wouldn’t be able to just run. Where else could he leave the
city? Everfell was enclosed on most sides. He’d have to try to
sneak out. Neyv could help him do that. Quinn skidded to a stop,
pushing her little sister to one side.

“
I don
’t think you
should come with me Neyv.”

The girl looked hurt. “We’re doing this
together Quinn, you said.”

“Sammah will still try to use you…I think
you’re the only way he can get out of Everfell alive. We can’t let
him do that.”

“By telling people, when I’m there, that we
need to let him go?”

Quinn nodded. “Exactly.”

“But you can see through that. You’ll be able
to stop him, still. I can’t get through to you Quinn, not when you
don’t want me to. You wanted to lose your power. You thought it
would be a better way for you to live, so it was an easy lie. You
don’t want Sammah to survive. So you’ll be able to resist me.”

Quinn didn’t like the risk. Was Neyv telling
her the truth, or was it something Quinn desired, so like Neyv had
already said, it would be that much easier for her to cooperate?
Quinn was getting confused. There was no pressure though, like
she’d experienced before when Neyv’s untruths had tried to warp the
real world around her. Neyv just wanted to help, and knew that
Quinn would be there to show her the way.

Could she leave Neyv behind? Again?

“Come on.”

Quinn tugged at Neyv’s sleeve, setting back
in a run to Sammah’s apartments before she could change her mind.
It didn’t feel safe, taking Neyv with her. Their reward though, was
immense: if they succeeded, they would never have to see these
depressing grey corridors, nor obey their grease-slicked
power-hungry father ever again.

Up ahead, the door to Sammah’s antechamber
was already open. Quinn ran through it first, and she could hear
the patter of Neyv’s feet behind her. Before she skidded into the
main chamber she could hear the clash of steel against steel. Quinn
held out both of her arms, feeling Neyv slam into her back. The
girl was slight, so Quinn only slightly rocked on her feet, her
outspread arms keeping her balance steady.

Quinn tried to arch her neck around the door
to see what was happening. An arm snaked through the open doorway,
yanking her into the room. Quinn heard Neyv’s yelp, and cried out
herself as Sammah’s face, his mouth creased in a bloody smile, swam
into view.

“Just in time, my daughter.”

The last they’d been in this room all
together, Neyv had been the manipulator, and Sammah had ended their
conversation with Quinn on her eyes, bleeding and in agony. This
time, the game again appeared to be stacked in Sammah’s favour.
Shiver was in the corner. Elias held a bloodied sword, but the
king’s eyes were open. They were wide in shock, his breathing was
heavy, but he was alive—for now.