CHAPTER 16
Estrid had a day to decide to either accept the unconditional surrender or to condemn us all to death. The atmosphere sizzled with tension and fear. But for me, that day passed in a watery blur. As I checked on my patients, tears leaked until they built up so much pressure I had to run to my room to muffle my sobs. Most of the people in the infirmary believed I was upset about the potential surrender, and I didn’t bother to correct them as I stumbled through the day like one of Tohon’s dead.
My thoughts kept returning to what Cellina had told me. At first, I had thought she lied just to be cruel. But she had described Kerrick’s death with such horrific detail. Plus she had his sword. The one his father had gifted to him. Kerrick would never part with it willingly.
Sleep was impossible. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw an image of Kerrick being torn apart by a pack of ufas. Grief and guilt filled me until I thought I’d burst into a thousand pieces. Giving up, I returned to the infirmary. I hadn’t had a good rest in days, and I doubted one was in my future.
While my patients slept, I organized the supplies and prepared the morning’s round of medicines. When I exhausted all those tasks, I returned to my room, settled on my bed and sorted through my meager possessions. If Estrid surrendered, I had no doubt I would be claimed by Tohon and would need my pack.
The gloves Belen had given me caused tears to flow. I crushed them in a fist, hoping he was still alive. Perhaps I could ask Cellina if he’d been captured when she returned for Estrid’s answer.
I found the Death Lily’s toxin sacks as I dug deeper in my pack. Why had the Death Lily given them to me? The toxin wouldn’t work on Tohon’s dead soldiers, and I wouldn’t use it on anyone living. Well...I’d love to inject it into Tohon, except he was immune. I placed the sacks on the night table, considering.
Tohon would have no qualms about using these to threaten and/or torture his enemies since almost everyone pricked by the poison suffered a long, horrible death. And those few who survived turned into healers. That was the theory. Tohon had been trying to create more healers, but I had destroyed his garden of Death Lilys and rescued Danny and Zila—the only survivors of his horrendous experiment—before it could be proven. It might be years before we’d know for sure.
I should destroy the sacks so Tohon couldn’t confiscate them. Yet, the Lily had wanted me to have them. I mulled over what else I’d learned about the toxin. When Tohon had injected it into me, my body had reacted as if I was inside a Death Lily. My consciousness had floated free from my body, but my body had obeyed Tohon’s commands. When I’d witnessed Tohon creating his dead soldiers, he’d injected something into them before freezing them in a magical stasis, keeping their bodies from decomposing.
Rolling one of the sacks along the table, I remembered believing he had used the Death Lily toxin to animate the dead, but they had no consciousness to detach. Plus he froze them so the toxin wouldn’t work. Except the substance he’d injected had worked despite the stasis.
The Death Lily had also made a point to show me that the Peace Lilys didn’t bring me and Flea back to life...well, not technically. That it had been a combination of the serum and a touch.
Tohon had hundreds of Peace Lilys growing all around his castle in Sogra. What if Tohon had injected Peace Lily serum into someone who had died? Horror welled. Were they really alive?
No. With a shudder I recalled their lifeless gazes, black blood and rotting smell when they’d been decapitated. Not alive, but able to understand and follow orders. Why? Tohon had touched them after administering the serum. I’d assumed he was putting them into a stasis to keep them from decomposing, but what if it was the serum that kept them from rotting? Flea had been inside the Lily for six months and had been perfectly preserved!
So then Tohon’s touch revived the dead. But they weren’t truly living. Tohon’s magic must not bring the dead all the way back. Or else he manipulated his magic so he’d have these obedient, unstoppable creatures. That made the most sense.
I considered. Perhaps if his dead were injected with Death Lily toxin it would counteract the effects of the serum and stop them. I picked up the sacks and was halfway to the door when I remembered we were under a flag of truce. Estrid would never agree to break that for my crazy theory. If it failed, the consequences would be her entire army’s lives.
I could treat my throwing knives, sneak out to the eastern edge of the combat zone and trigger the dead to test my hypothesis. Of course, that was assuming I could keep out of their reach. What if it didn’t work? And what if Tohon found out? He could say I’d been acting under Estrid’s orders and use it as an excuse to kill everyone.
Why hadn’t I thought of this before? I returned to my bed. Setting the sacks back on my night table, I lay down. If I couldn’t test my idea, then who could? Ryne. He wasn’t working for Estrid. Tohon’s encirclement prevented me from searching for him. Although if Estrid surrendered, there would be no need for the dead. Perhaps I could slip away then.
No. Tohon would never allow me to leave. I could ask Saul or Odd. Would they be able to find him? He had to be nearby. I refused to believe he’d abandoned us. Once again I hopped out of bed. I needed to talk to Saul before Tohon arrived, which would be anytime after Cellina reported Estrid’s answer back to him.
Grabbing the sacks, I placed them in my pack. On my way out, I passed Flea’s bed and paused. Flea and I had a connection. Could I use that bond to find him as he had found me when I’d been in trouble?
Flea had said he’d been dreaming. Since there was no way I’d be able to fall asleep, I would need to take a sleeping draft. I glanced out the window and hurried to the infirmary. Dawn was about an hour away.
After giving one of the caregivers instructions not to disturb me unless it was an emergency, I poured a small dose of the draft and returned to my room. Hiding my pack under Flea’s bed, I slipped between his sheets, hoping his scent of earthy vanilla would help me. I swallowed the draft in one gulp.
With my thoughts firmly on Flea, I lay there until my body relaxed. My limbs felt heavy, and then a numbing nothingness pressed down on me.
* * *
“Avry, wake up,” an annoyed voice said.
A hand shook my shoulder. I batted at it. “Go away.”
“You don’t want to miss this,” Saul said, pulling me up.
“Miss what?” My groggy thoughts couldn’t keep up, and I stumbled.
Saul caught my arm. “Cellina’s back.”
“Oh.” The fog in my mind disappeared with a cold realization. I had slept the morning away and hadn’t dreamed of Flea’s location.
With disappointment filling my chest, I followed Saul from the manor house. Cellina and her ufa entourage waited in the courtyard. Estrid’s army had gathered close, but not too close to the ufas.
Soon Estrid and her staff arrived. One look at the High Priestess’s defeated expression and everyone knew her decision. Jael stood to the side. The wind gusted with her anger.
“What shall I tell King Tohon?” Cellina asked.
“We...” Estrid paused. “We surrender.”
The truce flag fluttered. The flaps of the tents snapped. Tree limbs bent and shook. Otherwise, not another sound pierced the air.
“Unconditionally?” Cellina asked.
“Yes.”
“Wise choice.” Cellina unrolled a scroll and read from it. “Tomorrow morning a company of King Tohon’s soldiers will come to confiscate all your weapons. You will also release all your POWs. After both are secured behind our lines, King Tohon will arrive. You will prepare a royal feast for him and his retinue. The High Priestess, her staff and all her high-ranking officers, including Jael Ozero and Healer Avry, are required to attend, along with Prince Ryne and his staff. After—”
“Prince Ryne isn’t here,” Estrid interrupted.
Cellina covered her surprise quickly. She lowered the scroll. “Where is he?”
“We’ve no idea. He and his little army disap
peared the night before midsummer’s day.”
Scanning Estrid’s soldiers around the courtyard, Cellina didn’t appear convinced. “I will inform the king.” She resumed her instructions. “After the feast, King Tohon will conduct the fidelity ceremony. Every single soldier in your army, every priest, priestess, staff member and member of your family shall kneel before King Tohon and swear loyalty to him.”
Cellina rolled up the parchment. “Failure to comply with his wishes or any attacks on those under his protection will be considered a violation of your surrender and will result in the total annihilation of your people. Until tomorrow...” She swung her horse around and spurred it into a gallop. The ufas kept pace.
After that little speech, I’d leave quickly, too. The murmurs from the soldiers increased to an angry buzz. Estrid returned to the manor house without addressing her troops, which caused even more consternation.
“I guess that’s it,” Saul said. “All that training for nothing. General Jael was right—we should have gone on the offensive months ago.”
“And you would have lost many more lives,” I said.
“Better than being forced to fight for Tohon.”
I paused as a terrible thought welled. From what I knew of Tohon, he didn’t seem the type to trust an entire army to keep to their word. Would he do something to ensure their cooperation? Just when I thought I couldn’t feel worse over this situation, I was proven wrong.
“Your training wasn’t wasted,” I said to Saul. “I’m going to need your help.”
Saul hesitated. “I won’t break the truce.”
“This won’t.”
After stopping in the infirmary for a few supplies, he followed me back to my room. I wrote instructions and then wrapped them, a couple syringes and all but one of the Death Lily sacks in bandages, making a soft package that I tied tight.
I handed it to Saul. “Since Tohon didn’t know about Ryne’s disappearance, that means the prince hasn’t been captured. I need you to find Ryne or one of his men—doesn’t matter who—and give this to them.”
“How will I find them?”
“They have to be out past the encirclement. Probably to the north.”
“Why north?”
“If it all goes wrong for Ryne, the Nine Mountains would make a nice temporary barrier.” That was if the tribes hadn’t invaded that far south. “Also, if Tohon doesn’t keep his word, I want you to open the package and follow the directions inside.”
“Do you think he’ll kill us anyway?” Saul didn’t act surprised. Guess I wasn’t the only one with terrible thoughts.
“I hope not.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“My gut feeling is he’ll either turn you into his dead or drug you or use his magic to influence you.”
“Thanks for putting it to me gently.”
“You asked.”
“And we won’t have any weapons.”
“You have your silent training,” I said. “And you could get creative with the definition of a weapon.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“At least you haven’t been invited to the feast.” A shiver raced over my skin.
“It sucks for all of us.” Saul put his hand on my shoulder. “Come to the sergeant’s fire tonight.”
“All right.”
After Saul left, I checked on my patients. The news of Tohon’s terms had spread throughout the camp at lightning speed. The mood in the infirmary was downright glum. My caregivers tried to remain upbeat, but I told a few of them to take a break to compose themselves. I wondered how many people would try to escape tonight. They wouldn’t get far, but desperate people do desperate things.
I, on the other hand, felt eerily calm. Considering how terrified I had been of being Tohon’s prisoner again, I had settled into a detached state. I’d done what I could. The rest would be inevitable. Plus, with Kerrick gone, life seemed lackluster.
Not that I’d given up. If Tohon made a mistake, I’d be the first one to take advantage of it. Despite his powerful magic and keen mind, he had made them before. In fact, Tohon’s army hadn’t spotted Ryne’s leaving.
I mulled over the implications. Four hundred soldiers were hard to hide. And the encirclement had to have been in place before midsummer’s day. The image of Jael’s map with the red circle came to mind. Saul and I had crossed it on our way back from feeding Ursan to the Peace Lily. Then I remembered the horses spooking. Was that where the dead had hidden underground? Ursan had used his last breath to warn us about it.
I was an idiot. But Ryne wasn’t. Oh, no. He’d figured it out long ago. Combined my theory about Ulany’s magic with Ursan’s message, and he’d known. I hoped he also had a plan to stop Tohon.
When my patients were settled in for the night, I joined Saul, Odd and Wynn next to our fire. I gave Wynn and Odd each a long hug before sitting next to Saul. No one said much at first. We stared at the dancing flames, lost in our own thoughts.
“Remember when Liv liked Sergeant Kol?” Wynn asked.
“Yeah, the entire camp knew she was sweet on him,” Odd said.
“She wasn’t the most subtle,” Saul agreed.
“Then when he finally invited her into his tent for dinner, she bolted.” Wynn laughed.
“It’s hard to believe she’d be scared of sharing a meal,” I said.
Wynn laughed harder, gasping for breath. “Oh! Baby Face...you’re so...”
“What did I say?”
“When you invite a woman into your tent for dinner, that’s code for inviting them into your bed,” Odd explained.
“Oh. Does the Purity Priestess know this?” I asked.
“She hasn’t bothered our platoon since Ursan invited her for dinner,” Odd said. “She said it was the sweetest—”
“Odd, that’s enough,” Wynn said. “Ursan was just yanking your chain.” She looked at me. “Every guy in the army claims he’ll be the one to take the pure out of the Purity Priestess.”
Our conversation didn’t improve after that. It was raunchy, irreverent and silly. Our neighbors probably thought we were drunk. We talked about everything and nothing. We all knew it was the last time we’d have the sergeant’s fire, but no one wanted to acknowledge it. No one wanted to say goodbye either.
Instead, when it grew late, we said good-night as we had all those times before. We pretended we’d see each other in the morning.
Deep sleep remained elusive. I drifted in and out, dreaming of being locked inside a familiar jail cell. The same one I’d occupied back when I’d lived in Jaxton. Tohon’s dead surrounded the building, but Kerrick stood on the other side of the bars.
“Come on,” Kerrick said, opening the cell door.
Unable to move, I said, “I can’t. I’m trapped.”
“It’s not so bad,” Flea said. He was lounging on a mat in the next cell.
“Flea, what are you doing?” Kerrick asked.
“Hiding. This is a great spot. No one will think to look for me here.”
“Who are you hiding from?” Kerrick asked.
“Tohon.”
“We need to go, now.” Kerrick held out his hand to me.
Feeling as if my legs were mired in mud, I took a step toward him. Our hands almost touched.
“Not so fast, my dear,” Tohon said. He breezed pass Kerrick and snatched my hand. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”
Pain shot up my arm, waking me. The fingers on my right hand tingled, and my heart thumped in my chest. My sheet was tangled around my legs. Giving up on sleep, I rolled out of bed and changed.
A loud and fast knocking sounded as I buttoned my shirt. Muffled words, “...an emergency...the High Priestess...” reached me. I sprinted for the door. Christina stood with her fist raised in midknock. Her red cheeks and messy hair indicated her distress.
“You’re needed in the infirmary now,” Christina said.
We ran the short distance. Estrid waited with two of her priests. She didn’t appe
ar to be sick or injured, but she was clearly upset.
“What—” I started.
“Wake her.” Estrid pointed to a prone figure on a nearby bed.
Recognition spurred my steps. Noelle was unconscious, and her face was as pale as snow. She had no visible injuries, but blood stained the pillow.
“What happened to her?” I demanded.
“That’s what we want to know,” Estrid said.
I gasped. “Did someone attack her? Where’s Jael?”
“Wake her and we’ll find out.”
When I placed my hand on her forehead, her eyes fluttered open. My magic sought her injury. There was a serious gash and lump along the back of her skull. She must have hit her head pretty hard. She also had a few bumps and bruises on her limbs, but nothing serious.
As I drew her injury into me, she blinked. “Avry?”
“Who hurt you?” I asked.
“Jael.”
Pain exploded in my head. I would have to wring the bitch’s neck when I recovered. Groping for an empty bed, I collapsed onto it, squeezing my eyes shut against the searing lantern light. I teetered on the edge of consciousness.
“Where’s Jael?” Estrid asked.
“I tried to stop her, High Priestess,” Noelle said.
“Stop her from what?”
“From leaving.”
KERRICK
His dream seemed so real. The tips of Kerrick’s fingers tingled and Avry’s scent lingered on them. Longing and fear filled him. She was in trouble. But he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Probably why Flea was in the dream, as well. Another he couldn’t save.
As he lay in bed, he concocted an escape plan and calculated how long it would take to reach Avry. Thirty days if he was on foot, ten by horseback if he managed to find a horse and it didn’t balk at crossing the Nine Mountains. Either way too long.
Giving up on sleep, Kerrick rose and headed downstairs to the library. Danny had discovered an apartment on the second floor when he’d collected the books. Noak had allowed them to use it while they researched.