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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

It’s another day and a half before we reach Josanin, but oddly, I don’t consider stopping for a few days in the capital city. My mood’s been low since the last attack, and I know I haven’t been great company, but I just want to get this godsdamned mission finished so I can go back to the City of Knowledge and help prepare for whatever happens next. I feel helpless and useless trekking across the continent in the winter, searching blindly for the person who can help, and yet, what we’re doing right now is more important than any of the other preparations could be.

I just wish it felt that way.

At least the farther south we go, the milder the weather becomes. The snow and sleet have stopped entirely, though I know it does still sometimes snow in this region. But it’s definitely been warmer, and I won’t complain about that.

It’s late afternoon our first day out of Josanin, and Tia’s just promised me there’s a village about an hour’s ride ahead. It’s small, but even if it doesn’t have an inn, it will be a better place to stop and camp than anywhere else. I may be leaning into paranoia at this point, but I have a strong feeling of impending doom. It’s looming over me like a shadow, making me twitchy as well as moody. I haven’t missed the way Jaimin keeps giving me sidelong looks, and Coryn’s dropped back a fair distance.

The road winds through the Queen’s Forest, and the density of the trees makes me very uncomfortable. We should break clear soon—Tia says—but it’s hard to see what’s ahead or what’s coming up behind us, and I don’t like it.

Soon, though, the trees begin to thin, and I breathe a little easier. Another forty minutes or so and we’ll be with other people again. Maybe tonight’s the night the stone will finally give us some different news.

Tia tugs urgently, and I go on high alert, reaching out immediately. “What’s wrong?”

“There are some people coming toward you. I’m not completely certain, but I think they’re from a temple—Leicht says they’re wearing white robes with blue sashes.”

Priests of Wasianth, then. He’s a mellow kind of god, as far as they can be mellow, but oddly, his priests in the last few generations have leaned toward fanatical. Even if they aren’t looking for us, we don’t want to clash with them.

“Anything else? Where even would they have come from?” I rack my brain, trying to remember if there’s a temple in this area. Josanin has one, of course, but if they’d come from there, they’d be behind us, not ahead.

“I don’t know. When we scouted over the village, Leicht saw a cluster of buildings over by the coast. We assumed it was a fishing village, but it could be a temple compound?”

All the way out here? Away from cities and politics and worshipers? Unlike some of the religions of the Baswich Empire, none of ours have monasteries or convents. The priesthood is expected to mingle with people and guide them in their faith.

“Okay. Thanks for the warning. I’ll be ready, but it’s not like I can say anything to the others.” Not for the first time, I wonder if I should have shared our secret with Jaimin. The very idea terrifies me, but also… not.

It’s too late now, though—as much as I like Coryn, I’m not willing to let him know, and there isn’t a lot of privacy for chatting at the moment.

Sweetie must feel my rising tension as we continue down the winding road, because she starts to act up, dancing sideways and nearly colliding with Jaimin’s tall gray.

“Sorry,” I mutter, reining her back. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”

“Maybe she’s just—” He breaks off and frowns. “Do you hear that?”

I do—it’s hoofbeats, quite a lot of them, moving fast. Which, with the road in such a bad state, can’t be good for the horses. Coryn rides up to join us.

“They must be coming from ahead,” he says, frowning as though he’s concentrating. “They couldn’t be moving that fast along the bendy road behind us.”

“It’s soon for another attack,” Jaimin adds. “I hope. How do they always seem to know exactly where we are, anyway?”

“We’ve pretty much stuck to this same road the whole trip,” I remind him. I feel a lot calmer now that I know they’re almost on us. “But we can’t be sure they’re looking for us. Let’s get over to the side of the road and hope they’re just passing through.”

Wishful thinking? Maybe.

Jaimin looks at me as though I’m crazy, and Coryn shakes his head. “I’d rather we got around this next bend first so I can see them. But we can ride on the side of the road.”

“We’ll be currying the horses later,” Jaimin warns as we steer them that way. Joy. One of my favorite jobs.

We make our way around the bend and find that the trees are even more sparse here, allowing us to see where the road breaks free of them entirely into the fields.

And to see the score or so of people riding hard toward us, all of them dressed in white robes accented with blue.

Fuck.

“Are those priests?” Jaimin demands incredulously, reining in. We stop beside him. “Since when do priests ride like that?”

“Uh-oh,” Coryn says, and Jaimin instantly turns to him.

“What uh-oh?”

“Talon made a priestess mad,” he reminds him. “And then we raced out of Lenledia before she could call the convocation.”

“Gods’ turds,” Jaimin swears, shocking us both. “I was so focused on the zombies that I’d forgotten that.”

“Master was supposed to smooth things over.” When I last spoke with him, he said the temples had been placated. “There’s a chance they might not be looking for us. Maybe there’s a religious crisis somewhere that they need to get to.”

“What even constitutes a religious crisis?” Jaimin wonders, and I snicker.

“So we’re waiting and hoping they ride past?” Coryn checks, and I nod.

“Yes.”

We sit, trying not to be tense, and I send Tia a quick update. Just before the riders reach us, I spot Leicht in the distance, winging toward us. That’s a relief. The trees are thin enough here, and wet enough, that he’s a real threat to any attackers without also being a threat to the Queen’s Forest.

My hopes of avoiding confrontation are dashed when the riders begin to slow. They’ve seen us, and for whatever reason—probably my arrest—they want to talk to us. Anything you want to tell me that could prove helpful? I ask the stone.

It merely pulses a feeling of anticipation. Does that mean it’s expecting something to happen soon or that it’s excited about me getting arrested? Because I could live without that. I’ve heard the food isn’t all that good in prison cells… and that temple food sucks even for the priests.

The front riders rein in fifteen or so yards from us. Coryn draws his sword halfway but waits. I take my cue from him.

The cluster of priests parts, and a man rides forward from the back. Even if he wasn’t wearing his rank on his robes, I’d guess he’s the one in charge. Who else would have their horse’s mane and tail braided with gold thread and jewels ? I mean… jewels on a horse to ride hard through the country? How fucking pretentious. Surely Wasianth doesn’t know one of his high priests is this much of a waste of space?

If he does, I might need to revise down my opinion of the gods.

“Which one of you is Talon Silverbright?” the senior priest demands. His robes proclaim him to be a bishop.

“Who?” I ask, seizing on that delightful opportunity. “I’m Pat Miller, good sir.” Some of the priests look confused, but the senior priest smiles thinly.

Just as Leicht swoops overhead.

“Dragon!” I shriek, cowering down like I’ve never seen one in my life. My hopes that the priests would be terrified and flee are dashed when they… don’t. A few of their horses startle, but that’s the extent of it. So they really do know who we are, then, and they came prepared.

“Charming,” the bishop says. “I was told you thought you were clever.”

Ouch. “I haven’t been told anything about you at all.” I resist the urge to add that I am clever. Definitely more clever than an idiot who decks his horse out in jewels.

“I am a Bishop of Wasianth,” he declares, then pauses.

I wait. If he thinks I’m going to make some gesture of obeisance, we’ll be sitting here in silence for a while.

He doesn’t continue, just looks at me expectantly. Leicht swoops overhead again, and Tia tugs at my mind.

“I’m trying to outwit a bishop here, Tia.”

“Gods help us all. Want Leicht to set them all on fire?”

As nice as that thought is… “They haven’t said what they want yet.”

She scoffs.

“The dragon will get impatient soon,” I tell the bishop. “They’re not known for waiting quietly.”

“Are you threatening us?” He sounds outraged, but behind him, some of his followers look nervously toward the sky.

“I would never threaten a servant of the gods,” I proclaim with fake piety. “I’m just pointing out a fact. Dragons have short tempers, and this one is going to want supper soon.”

Oh look, is that outright alarm I see on some of those faces? Maybe I should have Tia ask Leicht to scream. There’s nothing quite so blood-chilling as a dragon’s scream. Especially when it wakes you from a sound sleep in the middle of the night.

“I tire of this game,” the bishop sneers, and Coryn tenses. “You fled from a convocation after denying the holy request of the high priestess of Malna. This brands you a criminal and?—”

“Actually, it doesn’t,” I interrupt helpfully. “Criminals have to commit a crime. Crimes are, by definition, the breach of a law. I have broken no law.” Jaimin swears softly, likely because antagonizing the temples is the last thing I should be doing.

Personally, I feel as though that ship has sailed.

“You refused to surrender the holy stone to the temples!” the bishop shouts, outraged.

“And when you can show me the law that says I’m required to, I gladly will. Unfortunately, I can’t wait here while you search, but when you find it, you can send word to the Academy of Mages, and they’ll pass the message along.”

He begins to sputter, his face turning puce. Seriously, though—did he think coming out here with no guards or soldiers, just priests, would convince me to change my mind?

“Get ready to create a distraction,” I warn Tia, eyeing the priests. None of them look particularly like fighters, and maybe if Leicht swoops again, breathing some fire—though not at them—they’ll run. I need time to talk to my master and make a plan, because we can’t be watching out for the temples the whole way across the?—

The stone pulses, and I freeze, my gaze on a young, nervous-looking acolyte near the back of the group. Oh, no.

No. No no no.

You’re joking.

~No~

Fuck.

“Change of plan,” I tell Tia. “One of them has to come with us.” I ignore her shocked exclamation, leaving a path open for her so she can hear what’s happening, and turn to Jaimin and Coryn. “The stone’s just given me a message,” I murmur, not wanting the bishop to hear. “See that acolyte at the back? Ginger hair, skinny, looks like he should be at home with his mama?”

They both look that way. “Yes?” Jaimin ventures cautiously.

“He’s coming with us. Go along with me.”

“I don’t like this,” Coryn whispers, but nods.

“Excuse me, Bishop?” I call, interrupting his fit of stutters. “I am, of course, a true son of the gods, and I find it hard to defy the temples in any wish. If I could surrender the stone to you, I would.” I’d think about it, anyway. “But my mission is from the gods themselves, and I cannot rest until it is fulfilled.”

The bishop opens his mouth, probably to yell.

“However,” I continue, “because of my deep, sacred respect for the temples, I offer a compromise. I will continue my quest under the watchful eye of one of your faithful acolytes. He will ensure I guard the stone with my very life and, upon the completion of my task, will escort me to deliver it into the hands of the convocation and submit myself for judgment.”

“Judgment?” Jaimin hisses, but he sounds amused.

The bishop narrows his eyes, appearing to consider it. “And if I refuse this absurdity and demand you surrender the stone immediately?”

Fuck. He’s not buying it. “I would refuse and continue on my way. With the stone.”

The bishop smiles thinly. “It seems you leave me no real choice.”

~!~

It’s the only warning we get, and I shout to the others, sending a mental cry to Tia as the first arrow winnows toward us. Sweetie shies, and I barely manage to keep my seat, only to be knocked out of it a moment later when Coryn dives for me.

“Turds, Coryn, what?—”

“They’re shooting from above. Get into the trees!” he yells, yanking Jaimin down from his saddle and shoving him after me. The horses, not being stupid, bolt. I hope they don’t go far.

Keeping low, we run into the trees, and I try not to think about the fact that the only place “above” for anyone to shoot from is in a tree. Let’s hope we’re not hiding underneath the person trying to kill us.

“Now what?” Jaimin asks as we huddle around a thick trunk with low branches. They impede our visibility, but that also means any archer won’t be able to get a good shot.

Coryn shrugs. “Usually I have other fighters with me. I need a minute to think of a plan.”

“Where’d the archers come from, anyway?” I ask.

“They must have been here before,” Coryn explains. “That’s probably why the priests were riding so hard—they knew we’d clear the trees soon and wanted to catch us first.”

Above, Leicht swoops close again, screaming in fury. I reach down my path to Tia.

“No fire yet. We’re in the trees.”

“We know. Leicht can see roughly where you are and thinks he can avoid you.”

That’s pretty risky. “Coryn’s working on a plan. Give him a minute before we set fire to priests.”

“How’s that plan going, Coryn?” An arrow bounces off a branch above us. “Do I need to shield us? Could we just ride through them?” Although a moving shield is going to tire me quickly.

“How long can you hold that shield?” Jaimin counters. “If we don’t do something about them now, they’ll just follow us. We can’t shelter in the village if there are angry priests after us.”

“I think we need to go deeper into the trees, then have Leicht set this part of the woods on fire,” Coryn adds regretfully. “Without more of us to hunt down the archers, I don’t see another choice.”

Great. Anything to add? I ask the stone. Its only reply is to show me the acolyte’s face. Yeah, fine, I’ll tell Tia to aim for trees and archers, not priests.

Looking up, I can see Leicht swinging back toward us again. He’s still some distance away, over the fields, but as he gets closer, an arrow rises from the trees in his direction. It falls well short, but another follows, and this one bounces off his hide.

I snort. “Those idiots are shooting at Leicht.”

Coryn’s eyes widen. “Will they hurt him?”

“They’ll make him mad, but nothing short of a giant crossbow can get through dragon hide. He’s going to enjoy?—”

The world slices away, and a scream tears from my throat.

“Talon?” Jaimin demands, grabbing my shoulder. “What— Tia!” he shouts, following my gaze.

My sister plummets from the sky, and my feet move, racing through the trees. An arrow buzzes past me, and rage cuts through my fear. Magic surges from me, but I don’t know what it does. All my focus is on getting to Tia, stopping her from crashing to the ground. Leicht’s diving after her, his screams enough to shake the forest and hurt my ears, and his massive claw snatches her from the air.

A moment later, as I finally break clear of the last of the trees, he lands with a shuddering thud and sets her gently on the road.

I skid to my knees beside her, my vision blurry, scrabbling to grab hold of her hand. I don’t need to see the arrow in her throat to know she’s gone. I knew the second it struck. My mind feels wrong, empty… hollow.

Leicht’s screams echo across the fields, bouncing off the trees.

Tia’s dead.

Leicht’s screams echo in my ears, a heartrending mourning dirge.

My sister’s gone.

Leicht’s screams rip through my head a?—

Through my head.

In my head.

I jerk my gaze up just as Leicht’s scream cuts off. He stares at me, giant golden eyes boring through me.

Oh no.

No.

It’s impossible.

“Impossible.”

Fuck.