Page 19

Grumpy and Grumpier

Z ayne seems back to normal—whatever that means—in the morning. At least his eyes have reverted to their usual silver gray.

“Stop fucking staring at me,” he growls.

We’re tacking up the horses, getting ready to leave, when Stella jumps and whinnies, clearly not impressed by my preoccupation with Zayne’s bad mood.

“Sorry,” I mutter. I’m not sure who to, Zayne or Stella. Probably both.

I’m struggling to get my blanket to fit back into the saddlebag. It came out of there yesterday, but for some reason, it seems to have swelled overnight. Zayne comes over, snatches it out of my hands, folds it up, and stuffs it into the bag.

“Thanks.” I feel responsible for everything that’s going on with him. I want to reassure him, but how? I’m not even sure what a basilisk is, and Khaosti had refused to say anything more last night. If I remember rightly, it’s a sort of cross between a lizard—which would account for the scary lizard-eyes—and… no idea.

I hate that he won’t look at me. I fumble with the straps, fastening the bag onto the saddle, and when I look up, I notice he’s really close. I turn to face him, slip my hands around his waist, and hold him tight. I don’t let go until the tension seeps out of him, and he squeezes me back. “It will be all right,” I say into his chest.

“Yeah,” he mumbles back, but at least he’s talking to me.

“I mean, how bad can it be?” Then I remember those scary lizard eyes.

“Pretty fucking bad.” But I can hear a smile in his voice, and some of the tension leaves me. We will get through this. Whatever “this” is. “Apparently, they’re pretty badass,” he says after a moment. “They have wings.”

“Basilisks?” I ask.

“Yeah. Maybe I’ll be able to fly. That might make up for a lot of shit.”

He’s obviously been thinking about it, and he clearly knows more than me. I want to talk some more and find out everything he knows, but at that moment, Khaosti approaches, leading his horse. “It’s time to go,” he says, his tone sharp.

I stay where I am for a few seconds, breathing in Zayne’s familiar scent. Except, it’s not so familiar. It’s changing. I sniff. “You smell different.” Sort of spicy and hot with an undertone of… sulfur. Maybe it’s a basilisk thing.

“Now,” Khaosti snaps. Zayne isn’t the only grumpy one this morning.

I sigh, then pull away and turn back to Stella. I tighten the girth, then look back at the camp to make sure I haven’t left anything behind. But it’s all clear, as though we hadn’t even been there. Only the ashes of the fire remain.

I pull myself up into the saddle, give Stella a rub on her glossy shoulder, and we’re ready to go. We take the same formation as yesterday, with Khaosti in the front as he’s the only one who knows the way, then me, with Zayne bringing up the rear.

At first, the countryside is the same as yesterday: rolling grasslands, with nothing of any interest to see except for the odd tree. But after a couple of hours of riding, we see the first sign that people might actually exist in this world—a house with smoke coming out of the chimney. It’s a stone-built cottage, with a lean-to shed at the side and a fenced paddock at the back, though there are no animals in there right now. I swivel in my seat as we pass, hoping to see an actual person. But maybe they’re shy.

After that, we see more houses and eventually a real live person. They run for cover as soon as they spot us. I don’t know whether it’s us they don’t like or whether it’s strangers in general.

Around noon, I spot something flying high above us, but it’s too far away to see clearly and soon disappears over the horizon.

It’s mid-afternoon, and my ass is killing me by the time our destination comes into sight. It still looks a long way off—high above us, on a flattened mountaintop, with blackened walls that look more like a ruined fortress than a city. It rises up like a twisted mirage. I nudge Stella a little closer to Khaosti. “Is that Zandar Aurion?” I ask.

He gives me a brief look and an even briefer nod.

“What happened here?” I persevere with my questions, despite suspecting that I’m not going to get anything useful from him. But again, he surprises me. He’s obviously feeling chatty again. I need to take advantage of these moments.

Zayne has come up beside us as Khaosti explains. “The city was besieged by an army of the shadowguard. It’s said that the people of the city fought fiercely for over a decade, but eventually, they fell.”

“When was this?” Zayne asks.

“Over a thousand years ago. It was soon after the shadowguard first appeared. They killed everyone, down to the last baby. The ruling family was massacred. There hasn’t been a king or queen in Valandria since.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

He shrugs but says no more.

As we approach the base of the mountain, I notice that the ground is black and scorched. “It looks like the land around the mirror.”

“Shadowfire,” Khaosti said. “After an attack, they often scorch the land. Nothing will likely grow here for another thousand years.”

“And this is where you’re taking us?”

I’m not sure how we’re to get up there. The rock face looks sheer.

“Yes. We’ll find somewhere inside the walls to shelter for the night. Then tomorrow, we will find Thanouq. If we don’t find him, we’ll need to procure more food—maybe from one of the nearby farms. We’re running low on provisions.” At his words, my stomach rumbles. The bread and cheese we had for lunch seem like a long time ago.

He falls silent, and we continue on our way until the rock face looms over us. Then I spot the track, almost invisible until we’re only feet away. It winds around the mountain.

We all dismount and lead the horses. The track is steep, and my legs quickly feel like lumps of concrete. Occasionally it widens, and we pass jagged piles of rubble that might once have been buildings. As we climb, my heart grows as heavy as my legs. I am not getting a happy feeling from this place. I sense… so much death and suffering. Maybe it’s the ghosts of all the people who were slaughtered.

Finally, we reach the top and halt in the shadow of the city walls. They’re at least twenty feet high, split by a huge empty gateway right in front of us. The archway that must have once held up the gates has fallen into ruin. It’s just a dark, gaping maw leading to God knows what. But there’s nothing to stop us from entering the city, which is sort of a pity because I almost wish there were a great big impenetrable barrier barring the way.

So I wouldn’t have to go in.

But I do.

I swallow the dread rising in my throat and take a step forward.