Spark (Legends of the Shifters) (35 page)

Bryson
nodded. Roland grabbed my hand, and I shrunk back. “Let go of
me, traitor,” I growled as menacingly as possible.

“
Calling
me names won’t do anything for you, Ivy,” he said,
pulling me out. Emotion was lacking in his voice.

I
nearly fell once my feet were on the ground. It had been so long
since the last time that I walked. He swung me up into his arms
unexpectedly. “Put me down!” I shrieked. I struggled
hard, but to no avail. He was too strong.

I
tried to change form, but it still didn’t work.

“
Your
mind is very strong, Ivy,” Roland said as he walked. “Stronger
than most. But you will not be strong enough to break my spell unless
you sign under the master.”

“
I
don’t care about you or your master or your power.” I
tried to jerk out of his grip. “I just want to finish the
quest!”

He
finally put me down, but in the carriage that he had arrived in. He
backed away to let Bryson get past him.

Bryson
helped Kurt into the carriage, but I ignored him and kept my fiery
gaze on Roland. Before Roland shut the door, I said, barely above a
whisper, “What would Burton think? What would
Matilda
think?”

His
appeared confused for a few seconds before the door slammed shut. The
moment didn't last long, and then he was glaring at me through the
window.

I
already knew the answer to the questions I'd asked, and so did he.
They would be crushed, just like I was.

It
didn’t take long for Roland to come back. He actually had the
nerve to sit with us in the small space that the carriage provided.
It reminded me of the trip to the conservatory with Niko, and I did
the exact same thing that I had done before. I ignored him.

He
set a damp cloth on both my lap and Kurt’s. “I thought
you would want something to wash up a little. It was not my intention
for you to be neglected.”

I
didn’t answer and I most certainly didn't touch the cloth.
Neither did Kurt.

Out
of the corner of my eye, I saw Roland assessing us. Then he pursed
his lips.

I
deigned to glare at him, before looking back out the window.

“
You’re
probably wondering about the future,” he started. When we
didn't say anything, he continued. “…about where we’re
going. But I’m not going to tell you…yet.”

I
didn't want to hear his traitorous voice, and before I could hold it
back, I was talking to him. “Neither Kurt nor I care one bit
about what you have to say.”

He
met my fiery gaze with his frosty one. “You do...you just don’t
want to admit it.” He knocked on the ceiling of the carriage,
and it stopped abruptly. “Enjoy the ride,” he said.
“It’ll be a few days longer.”

Then,
he shut the door. I watched as he headed to the back. After a few
minutes, I heard the clopping of hooves and a white horse galloped
by. My head bumped against the headrest of the seat as the carriage
lurched forward to resume the journey.

Kurt
and I glanced at each other, but we shared no words. It was obvious
that the person who was once our friend wasn’t who he had
always seemed to be.

The
rest of the day was much more comfortable than it had been in the
back of the wagon, although I would never admit it to Roland. We
stopped once and Bryson let us out to eat with him. I could tell that
we were in the middle of nowhere even when I was still in the
carriage. The road was overgrown with brush and was full of holes.

I
thought it was strange that Roland had left us with only one guard.
It was two against one. I assumed that he must have confidence in
Bryson to keep us straight. He must have magical abilities like
Sheena did.

“
So,”
said Kurt, eying Bryson. “Do you know where we’re going?”

Bryson
nodded. “Yes, but I’m not allowed to tell.”

Kurt
sighed. “Surely keeping it a secret is not that important.”

“
It
is if Roland says it is,” Bryson answered without a second
thought. He took out his knife and a whetstone, starting the process
of sharpening the blade.

Kurt
raised his eyebrows. I noticed a glint of mischief in his eyes and
wondered what he was up to.

“
By
what the sun tells me, we’re headed southeast,” Kurt
said.

Bryson
looked up momentarily and nodded guardedly. “That’s
right.”

“
And
if what Sean said was true—that we’ve been on this
journey for about one week—then I think that it’s
definitely a possibility that we’re near King’s Crest
City.”

Bryson
swiped his knife over the stone a little harder than necessary, and
ended up slicing his thumb open. “Shoot,” he muttered
under his breath. He wrapped his finger in his shirt and stood up.

“
I’ll
be right back,” he said. Before he started into the trees, I
heard the muttered word, “
Izere.
”

I
looked at Kurt. “How did you know where we are?” I asked.

“
I
know my way to King’s Crest by heart. Actually, I pretty much
know anywhere by heart, except for the lands past Ginsey's capital
and Pira, of course. Pirans are said to have powerful magic
abilities, making them the most threatening of all the kingdoms.”

“
So,
are we headed in the direction of the Isle?”

He
nodded. “Yes. That should work in our favor, if we are able to
escape.”

I bit
my lip, looking the way that Bryson had gone. “Think we should
make a run for it?” I asked.

Kurt’s
face screwed up. “We can’t.”

“
Why
not?”

“
He
put a spell on us when he left. Izere. I think it means something
like “stay put” in the ancient language. I’ve had
it muttered over me before.”

“
Then,
there really isn’t an escape,” I said with a sigh.

“
Not
right now. We'll have to be patient.”

Bryson
came back a few minutes later with a newly bandaged thumb.

“
Where
did you get the bandage?” I asked.

He
patted the bag that was at his side. “I always try to keep them
handy in case I or one of my comrades gets hurt.”

“
Then
why did you go off into the forest when you already had it by your
side?”

“
I
knew there was a stream nearby,” he answered.

I
looked at him doubtfully.

“
Back
in the carriage,” Bryson said. “We’re wasting
time.”

Kurt
went in first and I went in after him. Bryson slammed the door shut
and a few minutes later the carriage lurched onward.

I
watched the trees go by for hours. At one point, it started to rain,
reflecting my mood. There were two things about this journey that
made it a little better. The first was Kurt, and the second was the
fact that every mile we went took me closer to the Isle of Ginsey.

*****

The
next few days were barely notable. It was the same thing over and
over. We would spend the night in the carriage, and then, after a
small breakfast, the carriage would forge ahead, only pausing when it
was lunchtime and stopping for the night when the forest was
diminished to shadows. Every meal was just about the same thing.
Bread, dried meat, and water.

After
the third day, depression started to close in, and I refused to eat
anything that Bryson gave me. It was the same the next day...and the
next.

Kurt
gave me worried glances every time I would turn my nose up at food.
“Please eat, Ivy,” he said. “I don’t want you
to get sick.”

But I
averted his gaze and stared into the woods.

The
fifth day was the day that we arrived at King’s Crest City. The
gates to the city were large and black and dripping with rain. The
wrought iron was curved into shapes of starved animals with sharp rib
bones and shriveled plants that were withering away into nothingness.
The buildings were gray, the pavement was gray, the people were gray.
I thought in the back of my head that it might be my depression
causing me to think that, but when I saw the castle, I knew that that
wasn’t true. The castle had sandy-brown stones, its flags a
vibrant purple and green. Beggars, more than I had ever seen, were
crowded around its gate in rags.
Gray
rags.

I
think that was what finally broke me out of my depressed state. Being
depressed didn't help the fact that I was being held in captivity or
the fact that this vile king was allowed to live in such magnificence
while his people starved on the streets.

With
that in mind, and the fact that I would have to see Roland soon, my
mood turned from gray to red. Anger boiled through my veins, and I
had to bite my lip hard to control the sudden rush of emotion. The
carriage stopped in front of the castle. The castle of King Ciaran,
the enemy of our country and King Giddon. I glared at its sprightly
flags. Purple and green. How I hated those colors right then.

I
watched through the small window as Roland came out of the castle
accompanied by a middle-aged man with stringy gray hair that hung
limply around his plump face. His body was the shape of a lumpy
potato. A golden crown rested atop his pinched forehead. His people
were starving while he feasted every day, perhaps all day by the
looks of it.

I
glared at the man, and I didn’t stop glaring even as he rested
his beady little eyes on me.

Roland
watched me also, and he made a slight shake of his head as if to warn
me from doing it.

Bryson
opened the carriage door, and I stepped out, ignoring his hand and
walking to the side to wait for Kurt. Once he was out, Bryson shut
the door and led the way up the steps to King Ciaran and Roland.

When
we reached them, Roland said, “Thank you, Bryson. You are
dismissed.”

Bryson
nodded to him and bowed to the king before heading up the remainder
of the stairs and into the large double doors.

King
Ciaran’s gaze shifted to Kurt, and his meaty face appeared to
be concentrating. “I know you!” he said. “You’re
the one that caused all that trouble a few years ago.”

Kurt
smiled unfeelingly. “The very same,” he answered.

King
Ciaran coughed out a laugh. “Old Giddon will be so angry when
he hears that I’ve captured his champion once again!”

Kurt
didn't reply.

The
king looked at Kurt and then at me. “Who’s the girl?”
he asked Roland quietly.

Roland
gave him a strange look. “She’s the phoenix.”

King
Ciaran’s face displayed a look of surprise, but he quickly
turned to glare at Kurt. “Then what is
he
doing here?”

“
He
was traveling with us,” Roland said.

King
Ciaran huffed, and then nodded. “Well, let’s go inside,
shall we?”

Roland
motioned for him to lead the way with a bow, and then waited for Kurt
and me to go first before tagging along behind us. I hurried to be
shoulder to shoulder with Kurt, not wanting to give Roland the chance
to talk to me.

“
Kurt,
do you have any idea about what’s going to happen to us?”
I asked him quietly,