Page 23 of Tree of Ash (The Runic Saga #2)

Property and Companions

Halla

Sunbeams hedged over the horizon; light flickered over the sleeping city, but the sun couldn’t rise fast enough for Halla.

It’d been hours since Kai and Halla had been loaded into the transport truck.

Though the bed was covered with thick canvas sheeting, Halla’s only source of warmth had been Kai, who still slumbered next to her.

How he’d been able to sleep in the cold was incomprehensible to Halla, who had shivered all night.

Perhaps it wasn’t just the cold, but the unknowing that kept her awake. The tattooed man had left them under the watch of a sentry to make arrangements in the city, but that was all Halla had overheard.

She touched her wrists where her amulets of Frigg and Eir used to reside.

The thraell had taken them from her upon her capture.

As it so often did, her mind turned to Larissa.

There was no proof, but Halla knew with all her heart that Larissa had made it to the Vienám.

With the same assurance, Halla knew that Larissa would come, but she couldn’t come soon enough.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Halla bolted upright, then groaned as the blunt pains of agony shot down the back of her neck and spine.

Kai stirred and looked her over once. “You shouldn’t move so quickly.”

“Oh, really?” Halla hissed through gritted teeth.

Kai rolled his eyes and neck, cracking the bones and setting Halla’s teeth on edge.

His nonchalant attitude was both reassuring and irritating.

The truck door opened, followed by the sudden turn of the engine.

Then they were moving again toward an unknown destination.

Unable to see through the thick canvas surrounding them, Halla closed her eyes, imaging the city as she had first seen it.

Toward the Outer Wall, there were many warehouses, like the one in which they’d fought off the draugr and Calder.

The further in they went, the more the city turned from industrial to residential, but the houses near the rim looked desolate and damaged, nothing at all like Halla had imagined them to be.

Though the exteriors of the buildings improved the closer they got to the Second Wall, Halla couldn’t stand the lack of space.

Every building was pushed up against the next, built on top of one another with only thin alleys separating them.

Though she’d dreamed for so long about exploring the city within the Walls, it paled in comparison to the beauty of her farm.

But thinking of her farm made her think of Pappa and Mamma and Tucker. She pulled her knees in tight to her chest and stared at the shadows that the sun cast alongside the canvas.

Kai watched her. “You okay?”

“We don’t know who we’re being sold to or where we’re going. Doesn’t that bother you?”

He shrugged. “Can it be any worse than being shipped to the Empress?”

He had a point.

The noise of the city increased as its citizens came alive with the light of the day. Even now that Halla was in the city, she was still apart from it, not one of them.

“Who do you think the man is?” she asked.

“The one covered in runes? One of the Hoorg. Someone high up, too, with all those tattoos.”

“The what?” she asked, certain she’d misheard him.

“The Hoorg,” he repeated more slowly. “They worship the gods.”

“Don’t we all?”

“Not like them. They’re practitioners of the runes.”

Halla gasped. “They have galdr ?”

He paused. “How do you know what galdr is?”

“My Pappa told me stories.” Halla’s words raced over one another.

“Hmph.” Kai’s narrowed eyes revealed how little he believed her answer. “But no, they don’t practice galdr . Only those with Ancestral Blood can do that. I mean, I guess maybe some of them might, but most of them don’t.”

“Then what do they do?”

“Supposedly, they’re the voices of the gods. Their worship is what keeps the gods alive and willing to intercede on our behalf. They offer sacrifices, burn incense, you know”—he shrugged his shoulders—“stuff.”

Halla gulped. “Sacrifices?”

“Not human.” He grinned. “At least, not that I know of.”

The transport slowed to a stop. The rumble of idling engines intermingled with shouts from sentries. Kai looked up as if he could see through the canvas. “We must be at the Second Wall.”

Despite herself, a strange sort of giddiness eased its way into Halla’s mind. “What’s beyond the Second Wall?”

“The Court of the Aristocracy. It’s where all the upper-class citizens live. They’re usually favorites of the Regent or families of the Empress’ generals. It’s also where the Hoorg’s main temple is.”

The cranking of a gate squealed uncomfortably against Halla’s ears. Then the truck jerked beneath her. Kai swayed as the truck moved on. “Halla, is there something you should tell me?”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged, but the intensity behind his eyes spoke volumes.

“You showed up in the barracks the day after something major happened in the city. Something related to the Vienám, where your sister may be hiding. You know about galdr , but not about basic city layout. I can’t help you if I don’t know how. ”

“I don’t know why you’re helping me at all.”

He didn’t offer an explanation.

Halla didn’t know how to break the silence.

She resisted the urge to touch the bandage that covered her burn; the movement reminded her of Juni.

Her skin throbbed constantly, but underneath the soreness was a tight, stingy feeling.

She did her best to keep her head forward, but even when she stayed still, the pain was her constant companion.

By the time the truck stopped again, Halla’s stomach was protesting loudly. Her hunger was quickly stifled by fear as the zipper to the canvas slid open. The tattooed man beckoned them forward.

Kai stood first, awkwardly offering Halla his bound hands to help her up.

Maneuvering around the restraints, Halla’s fingers grasped his and stepped out of the truck and onto the street.

Her mouth fell open, and her feet froze.

She could not have moved if she wanted to; her eyes were too busy taking in the sights of a world she had never known existed.

The Court of the Aristocracy looked nothing like the city within the outer section.

From the smooth paved streets, to the groomed lawns, to the mansions with stone walls and glass windows, to the fountain that gurgled in the courtyard, every portion of the Court was properly spaced and designed.

Though the transport had stopped in front of one mansion, Halla could see another further down the lane.

Unlike the outer city, in which the buildings had been pressed together with disinterested care, there was space here to breathe.

The smell of the sewers was gone, replaced by roses that grew all along the drive.

A butterfly fluttered from petal to petal in idyllic serenity.

Halla could have stayed and watched it all day, but the unyielding tug on her wrists would not be denied as she was dragged toward the back of a red-brick mansion with massive columns lining the porch that wrapped around the house.

Despite the pain in her neck, Halla’s head swiveled from side-to-side, her eyes drinking in the sights.

This was what she had imagined from the city.

Far off in the distance, behind yet another wall, Halla could discern the top towers of the palace.

The sight of them sent a thrill through Halla’s heart.

That had been Lara’s home once, and, Halla had to believe, it would be hers again one day.

Arriving at the back door, the tattooed man pressed his finger against a button that sent a clanging response throughout the house.

In mere seconds, the door opened, revealing a tall man in a crisp suit and tie.

He peered down his particularly long nose at the children, wrinkles creasing around his eyes.

The tattooed man extended the length of the chain that bound Halla and Kai. “Brought for your master, a gift of the gods, in exchange for his recent generosity to their temple.”

“Remove the chain, Brother Gorthr, but leave the restraints and the key.” The man’s voice sounded overly formal to Halla. “My master thanks the gods for their gift.”

Brother Gorthr removed the chain and vanished back toward the front of the house. Halla had not been fond of the man, but his absence brought further uncertainty.

The man in the suit twitched his thin mustache. “I am Hovmester, steward of this home. It is my duty to keep charge of and maintain order among its various lower inhabitants. You will follow me.”

Halla spared one last glance at the beautiful garden. No doubt Ieunn’s own garden looked similar.

“Do not think of running. It will only end poorly for you.” Hovmester sneered at the bandage on her neck. “Though perhaps, you’ve already learned that.”

Heat rushed to Halla’s cheeks as she stepped inside the doorframe.

If the exterior had been refined, it was nothing compared to the luxury within the home.

The marbled floor led down a hall decorated with gold-embossed lights that never flickered like they had back on Halla’s farm.

Her bare feet slapped uncomfortably loudly as they made their way toward the end of the hall where two doors waited.

“You”—Hovmester looked at Kai and pointed at the left door—“will enter through here. And you”—he glared at Halla and motioned to the other door—“will go here. I cannot allow the family to come across either of you in your current state. The others will instruct you on your tasks.”

With effective swiftness, Hovmester turned the key in each of their restraints.

Halla rubbed the skin around her wrists.

She looked to Kai, but he was already heading toward his door.

Though she feared leaving him, the look on Hovmester’s face allowed no room for argument.

She bowed her head and entered through the door.