A Crumble of Walls (The Kin of Kings Book 4) (16 page)

“And after these thousands of Krepps are wiped clean from Ovira?” Basen asked. “You expect Tauwin to hunt down the rest of them?”

“He will see them as a threat. I’ve learned enough about the boy to know how he deals with threats.”

“Krepps have done nothing but help you.” Basen’s voice shook as he spoke, devastation creeping up from his chest and taking hold of his throat. “And you repay them by attempting to decimate their race.”

“You know nothing of what they’ve done to my kind!” Fatholl’s face twisted with rage. “They are the scourge of the world. Their children don’t deserve to be born.”

This Elf…
god’s mercy
. Basen had assumed Fatholl wanted the Krepps gone from the village, but now everything made sense. The armor for the Krepps—he’d intended to convince them to fight from the beginning. He just needed some way of doing that, and Basen was the perfect solution.

Or so he thinks.

“Basen,” Zoke called to him. A couple of Elves had their hands on the Krepp, but he easily shrugged them off as he stepped up onto the platform. “Just make the portal and go now.”

“I can’t,” Basen replied. “Fatholl has my akorell stone.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter.”

“Why not?”

“I’m going to say something that will put an end to this. Will you translate for me?”

“Gladly.”

As Zoke screeched out something in Kreppen that broke through the clamor, Basen checked on Vithos at the side of the platform. He was still being held by a group of Elves, sure to be threatened in case Basen didn’t obey Fatholl’s demands.

This might not be the best idea, but it was Basen’s only option.

“I will take you to where you want to go,” Basen announced, waiting for Zoke to translate. “But first listen to what I have to say. Being the only human here, I have the unfortunate responsibility to speak for all of my kind.”

As he searched for the right words, one thought kept creeping to the front of his mind. “Fatholl is right. Humans are greedy.
Some
of us will never settle for what we have and will always want more.”

Fatholl was giving him a look that dared him to keep talking. Basen ignored it.
He can’t stop me from saying whatever I want, and he knows it. If he interferes, it might turn the Krepps against him.

When Zoke was done translating, with the other Krepps muttering in response as if they refused to believe what Basen had to say, he went on.

“Right now, a young human with more wealth than thousands of us combined has decided he wants control of Kyrro. He will kill anyone who stops him from getting it. Many have already died.”

Basen remembered Rickik’s reaction when he’d heard this news of Tauwin. The Krepp had been impressed, asking what weapon the young king had used. Basen could see the same reaction on the faces of some Krepps, taking this as a challenge to defeat the powerful human.

“This young man, Tauwin Takary, has personally slain only one human: an old, defenseless man who was loved by his people. Tauwin’s army has killed all the others. This human has no strength by himself. He does not fight in the battles he’s created.”

At that, the Krepps began to spit. Others yelled something to Zoke as they pointed their claws at Basen.

“They want to know why a coward has an army,” Zoke explained.

“Human greed,” Basen replied. “His troops believe Tauwin will win this war, and they receive money for joining. The rest of us are fighting against his army because we don’t want to live in a territory controlled by him or anyone like him. This war isn’t about humans fighting for more land than we already have. It’s about stopping an army from taking control.

“Fatholl has explained human greed to you in a way that makes it seem like humans will eventually come for all of Ovira. What Fatholl doesn’t know, however, and what I’ve come here to tell him, is that humans aren’t the only ones fighting this war. They aren’t the only ones who, if they win this war, will control Kyrro and have the power to seek more land to the north. Your land.”

Basen took a breath as he waited for Zoke to catch up in translating.
God’s mercy, I hope I’m right about this.

“Fatholl’s own
brother
came to this continent to join the coward king. He means to steal land from the humans for himself and the Elves with him.”

Basen looked at Fatholl and pretended to be unafraid. The Krepps couldn’t see his fear, and that’s all that mattered at the moment. The news apparently shocked them so much their enormous mouths dropped open in disbelief.

“Brother?” they repeated in common tongue.

Fatholl put on a smile and walked to the front of the platform with his arms raised. “The human doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“His name is Yeso,” Basen announced. “Fatholl wanted his brother’s help in Greenedge, but Yeso refused to help him. Instead, Yeso and many Elves joined with the coward Takarys.” He lowered his voice to tell Fatholl, “I
know
you met Ulric Takary.”

Fatholl put himself between Basen and the crowd, his teeth gritted as he whispered. “You think you can find out about my family and come here to threaten me? If you ever want to leave this place, you’ll remain silent while I clean up the mess you’re making. Then we will speak about my brother.
Privately
.”

The Elf put on his false smile again as he turned to the roaring Krepps. “This human doesn’t know me or any of you Krepps. He’s heard rumors…”

Fatholl’s voice trailed off. Basen was ready to interrupt him and point out the Elves with knives surrounding Vithos. However, it seemed that Fatholl wasn’t just searching for the right words. The news of his brother had begun to affect him.

The Krepps were dead silent. Despite how much Fatholl despised the creatures, he’d somehow earned their complete respect.

The Elf looked to be in pain. Fatholl shot a questioning look at Basen, his jaw clenched.

Basen shook his head. “It’s not just rumors,” he said only for Fatholl’s ears. “I know Yeso is there.”

Fatholl lowered his head and squinted, and Basen felt a wave of psyche crash through his mind. It almost took him to his knees, but he held onto his confidence to steady himself.
You must face him!
Basen screamed in his mind.
Don’t run from your brother.

He felt Fatholl rifle through any and all thoughts about him. Then Basen switched his thoughts to the Elves who’d attacked the Academy. He recalled the powerful image of them dashing toward him and his father, the Elves risking their lives to inflict pain.
They must be led by someone, and you know better than I do it’s Yeso.

Fatholl brushed his hand through the air at his Elves. “Ready the animals going with them. Basen will still make the portal. Bring the akorell stone.”

“What of your brother?” Basen asked quietly.

“I will speak with him when the time comes.”

“Waiting to speak to him will do nothing,” Basen implored. “He’s already there with his Elves, and they’ve begun to fight. If you let them continue, there’s a good chance they’ll kill us and take Kyrro. You plan to eradicate the Krepps. You believe they will fight against the humans, and the humans will retaliate and kill them all. You might be right. You might even be right about the humans eventually trying to take all of Ovira, once we’re done fighting each other for Kyrro. You should know better than anyone that we will extend our civilization as far as possible and fight each other for land instead of aligning to overcome what’s stopping our further expansion.

“I know that’s what happened in Greenedge. But what do you think will happen when your Elves get in the way? If you’re right about any of this, then Elves and humans will eventually be at war.”

“Psyche—”

“Your numbers will never be enough, even with psyche. Chemists at the Academy are developing potions to resist psyche, no training needed. I’m sure other potions will be developed by the time the first battle comes. You can’t rely on psyche.”

“Stop. Talking.” Fatholl muttered something in Elvish. “You’re so full of words, you look as if you’re about to burst if you don’t shut your mouth.” He started to turn back to face the Krepps as his animals arrived from the outskirts.

Basen grabbed his arm. “Humans remember our history. When we win this war with your help, we will see that the Elves are on our side.”

“Let go of me.”

“
Yeso’s
Elves are cowards. They choose to take land from others instead of standing with you in Greenedge. You are a hypocrite to put so much effort into eradicating Krepps who have done nothing to you, yet you let your own race destroy life so selfishly.”

“Let…”

Basen released his hold. “I’m not wrong.”

“And that’s the only reason you’re still standing before me instead of crumpled into a ball.” Fatholl sighed. “Yeso and the fools who follow him are a blight on this world. We spent many months in debate. Speaking with him
will
do nothing, and I’m not stupid enough to confront him expecting anything to change.”

Fatholl leaned closer, lowering his voice even more. “Nor am I stupid enough to face an army of his Elves in which we would be outnumbered.”

“Right. Which is why I have a plan.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Sanya had spoken to no one at the castle since her midnight encounter with Yeso. The Elf expected her to protect Ulric from assassination—to kill Tauwin’s most trusted psychic. She’d spent the last day following the man around the castle, hoping to learn without a doubt whether he really was the king’s chosen assassin.

She’d found out nothing. Not even his name. No one spoke to him when in his company, and no one spoke of him after he left. He seemed to have no family, no friends. It was almost like he didn’t exist.

Almost like Sanya.

His only purpose was to notify Tauwin when someone told a lie, but his very presence behind Tauwin resulted in everyone telling the truth anyway. Sanya couldn’t stomach the idea of murdering him, one ghost ending the life of another.

She was in no rush. Yeso had gone with the majority of Ulric’s army to the Fjallejon Mountains, Ulric as well.

Ulric would be safe from assassination there. Rockbreak would guard him like a loyal dog, and if Sanya couldn’t use psyche against the giant, no one could.

She needed to speak to Ulric, but he hadn’t given her the opportunity. A note had been left for her with his signature.

“The cane of my great-grandfather is no longer sturdy enough to offer support. The temptation of using it has made it become a danger to anyone who sees it. I need you to get rid of it before it hurts someone. You’re the only one who knows where it belongs and the only one who knows how to put it back there. I’m trusting you with this task.”

She knew he was speaking of the weapon. There was only one other person who knew of it—Yeso—and she doubted the Elf would write as delicately. She’d already seen one of his false notes and spoken to him enough times to understand he was much more blunt than Ulric.

Sanya now had to make some decisions that were sure to change her life.

She made her way to the dungeons and found that the tower of enormous rocks had been toppled. Someone had propped the weapon against the wall, its imposing black spheres beckoning Sanya toward them while she fought the urge to run away.

The last time she’d used this weapon, a portal had shot out and ripped the life clean out of Alex and Lori’s bodies, but the portal had opened and closed too quickly for her to have any hope of controlling it.
There’s no way I could discard the weapon into one.

She needed an akorell stone, but there was only one she knew of, and she had no idea where Basen was now. He’d been making many portals since they’d last met, and the most recent one was far to the north.

He doesn’t seem to be spending much time training at the Academy.
Sanya supposed now that he was a portal mage, he would be used for more important tasks than hurling fireballs at enemies.

In his note, Ulric had mentioned nothing about stopping an assassination attempt. Either he wasn’t aware of Yeso’s threat or he was careful not to even hint at it in a letter that might be seen by others. A day wasn’t enough time to determine whether Ulric was actually in danger from this psychic, and she figured Ulric would understand her delay.

Yeso’s probably whispering in his ear that he can’t trust me.
But Sanya trusted Ulric. Their bond had become strong, while it appeared Yeso’s bond with him was getting weaker.

She decided to remove a threat after all—a threat to herself. Yeso could be disposed of at the same time as the weapon. She carefully moved around the boulders until she came to the heavy staff. The cold bit her skin while the dense energy of the black spheres caused a terrible ringing in her ears. She shoved the weapon into a cloth bag as fast as she could.

Some relief came once she closed the bag, but she still felt the weapon draining her energy. She carefully dragged it out of the hidden room, using the bag’s long leather strap to keep her distance. She fit the bag into a larger one of leather. It was the second largest bag she could acquire, the first being the final one she used to hold the other two. This one had an even longer and sturdier strap so, while dragging it, she could keep the weapon at an even greater distance from her body and ultimately her heart, which ached worse than her head.