Lichgates: Book One of the Grimoire Saga (an Epic Fantasy Adventure) (31 page)

A warm bath and a hot breakfast later, Kara was sitting on Goliath, waiting for the company to head off for the last leg of their trip. The sun stretched over everything, chasing away the dusk that still lingered between the trees.

Goliath no longer shivered, but his ears still twitched at sounds she couldn’t hear. He was calmer, but not quite yet at peace with the summer morning that waited for the hot afternoon ahead.

The captain finally mounted and started off into the trees, the rest of the band following behind him. Kara looked back as they crossed into the forest, glancing over the sloping barn and giant farmhouse to see a gray head dart away from the very window through which she herself had been spying that morning.

They stopped in front of another lichgate after about ten minutes of walking. This one was smaller than the last and hidden in the farther reaches of the woods without any path to find it. It was made of thick thorny vines that spanned a tall bridge between the trunks of two oak trees. She would have missed the lichgate entirely, in fact, if the captain hadn’t pulled back a few bushes to reveal it.

He ushered a few guards through first, and each of them flinched as they rode through. They looked like ghosts on the other side, hazy figures that crossed in and out of sight as they moved over the forest floor beyond. The captain tapped her shoulder and nodded, indicating that she was next, so she nudged her horse along.

The familiar kick in her gut made her cringe when she passed under the gate. The forest on the other side was lush and green, dotted with twittering birds that flitted through the branches.

“Where exactly on the Rose Cliffs are we supposed to meet the Kirelm soldiers?” she asked once the captain had joined them.

“They will meet us at the peninsula with a few men,” he answered. “It’s the point where the cliff stretches out the farthest over the valley below. Do you know the legend of the Rose Cliffs?”

“I read about it.”

“Personally, I think they’re just a great big set of cliffs and that the story is a fairytale for children, but the Kirelm take it to heart. Be careful not to make light of it or you might upset someone important. Here now, we’re close.”

A strong gust of wind ruffled Kara’s hair, and the forest broke suddenly away to reveal an endless sky. A quarter mile away, a sharp ledge stretched around to the left and right, curving until it disappeared behind the tree line. A brilliant landscape dotted the distant ground, tiny and much too far away. Small mountains framed the horizon, mere hills compared to the massive cliff on which they stood.

The guards halted. A long stretch of cliff jutted several hundred feet away from the forest on a wide catwalk above the valley thousands of feet below. Balanced on this rock-peninsula were at least one hundred Kirelm soldiers, their broad wings tucked in tightly to their sides, silver skin glistening. They wore royal blue tunics and sleek black pants, and everything they wore was branded with an image of a silver sun with pointed beams radiating from its center.

“This is a ‘few men’?” she asked, reclining toward the captain. He wasn’t listening, his glare instead focused on the rows of Kirelm soldiers before him.

The rest of the Hillside soldiers filled the gaps in the trees, creating a wall of green tunics and scowling faces. Gavin must have sent this many soldiers to make a statement, not just to keep her safe. She glanced over her shoulder to look deeper into the woods, where a pack of rider-less drowngs hovered behind the troops, each tied to a mounted rider’s saddle. Guilt stabbed her as she wondered how many yakona had died in the skirmish.

The nightmare resurfaced when she turned back to the rows of immobile Kirelm soldiers, but she forced a deep breath. Even if her dream had been the Vagabond’s memory, these were different people. They wanted peace. She could make it happen.

She dismounted Goliath, who nickered and nudged her as she passed him, and walked alone to the silent party of Kirelm yakona on the jutting strip of rock. The ground on either side disappeared into a dizzying drop to the far-off valley, so she held her breath as she walked. If she fell, she would lose her voice screaming before she hit the ground.

A Kirelm soldier walked forward to meet her. His uniform was more elaborate than the rest; its hems were lined with silver trimming, and several medals were pinned across his chest. He stretched his pale white wings, which glowed in the sun. She squinted at the sudden influx of light, so he tucked his wings in close once more. He took a deep breath and sighed as he looked her over.

“I am General Gurien,” he said, bowing. “I will warn you, we were expecting someone, uh—taller.”

“No, you were expecting a big burly man,” she corrected. “I’ve heard this already. Let’s get on with it.”

He chuckled and stepped aside to reveal a griffin covered in black fur and gray feathers. Its massive eagle head tilted as it saw her, mildly interested in the color of her hair, but it clawed at the cliff rock when it once more became bored. The general turned to Captain Demnug and arched his shoulders in what Kara assumed was a suppressed sigh.

“I can’t help but notice, Captain, that several of your dogs”—he said the word with distaste—“are without their riders. May I ask what happened?”

“We were ambushed by Carden’s men. The Vagabond will tell you the rest.”

“Unfortunate,” Gurien said, clicking his tongue in forced disappointment.

Kara turned toward the griffin, shaking her head and trying to avoid any more forced pleasantries. Someone nearby cleared his throat. She turned and caught the gaze of a Kirelm guard with rich black eyes, his brow furrowed with worry. He winked when she looked over, and it took a moment before she noticed his white shell necklace. She hid her relief that Braeden had found them and pulled herself onto the griffin.

Soldiers jumped off of the cliff at a silent command from General Gurien and one-by-one spread their wings to catch the drafts coursing around the edge. Gurien soared over her and waved for her to follow, but she peeked out over the cliff. A thick wind ran through her hair as the sheer drop below made her head spin. She clung to the griffin’s neck and urged him over the edge with a timid tap of her heels.

The creature bolted as if she’d kicked it and jumped into the air, opening its wings as a draft caught them and lifted them higher. It took every fiber of her being to suppress the scream that so badly wanted free as she jumped off what had to be the tallest cliff on Earth on the back of a flying lion-eagle hybrid.

They flew into a thick cloud cover. Her griffin directed itself, weaving in and out of the flying soldiers until she completely lost sight of both Braeden and the ground. The swarm climbed in and out of clouds as a single unit, confusing her until she had no idea of where they were going. She gathered that this was the point of the whole show, though, so she just held on for the ride.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

THE KINGDOM OF KIRELM

Kara counted the hours she spent in the sky by the growing soreness in her rear. Luckily, the griffin kept its head high enough to block the wind, so all she could feel of the icy altitude was a quick breeze that tickled her elbows if she didn’t tuck them in. The steady pump of the beast’s wings beneath her made her legs go numb, and it wasn’t long before pins and needles replaced all sense of feeling in her lower back. She was about to cave and ask for a break when two clouds parted and a glimmer on the horizon caught her eye.

It was a flicker of light, like the sun glinting off of a piece of glass. They flew toward it, and after a few minutes, the light became a spire. She could make out another tower, and another, each blinking into view with a spark. A floating castle bled into sight, peeking around gaps and breaks in the cloud cover until a vast, teeming city of spires rose out of the clouds.

The city was surrounded by a thick circular road paved with polished silver stones. The entire kingdom was covered by a huge dome made from millions of intertwining metal wires, each curled around its brothers in an intricate pattern. The wires were thin, woven loosely enough that they appeared invisible unless an onlooker was close. A tall wall enclosed the city and ended in a single, massive gate, its doors composed of the same curling wires as the dome. A hundred thick, sharp spikes fortified the top of the gateway in what Kara assumed was mere show.

The massive gates opened as they drew nearer. Kara expected to land—no, needed to land—but the army sailed through the gates like a flurry of snow. The swish of air over their wings echoed as they passed. The wind howled over her. The company breezed by houses and buildings too quickly for her to make out anything more than white roofs and gray streets.

General Gurien appeared above her, snapping his wings in sharp bursts, just out of reach. The army broke away after a few moments and pulled behind, so that she and the general led the way.

The sun began to set behind the castle, bleeding red light onto the purple horizon. Kara paused. They hadn’t been flying that long. Then again, it was possible that the lichgate this morning had taken her to another “time zone,” as Braeden put it. After all, the Stele had been snow-covered and bright; and yet, back at the rental in Montana only hours later, it was still dark and only hours had passed.

Anything was possible in Ourea.

Thin gold lamps lit themselves on the street below in the coming dusk, flicking on one after another as she flew over them. Eyes peered from the windows she passed. She caught sporadic glimpses of the Kirelms, all with the same silver skin that began to glow subtly green in the growing night. Everyone wore brilliant blue and silver clothes, and though the men wore their dark hair cut around their shoulders, the women seemed to never cut their hair at all. Every adult woman Kara passed wore a floor-length gown and had her hair braided behind her, its tip brushing the ground as she walked.

Kara’s convoy rounded a bend in the road, and a second gate came into focus. It contained the towering castle and its glinting spires, as well as several taller and more ornate homes than those which she’d already passed. The gate and its walls were thicker than the first and bigger, with yet another dome that stretched just beneath the first one. Kara looked back toward the outer wall, but could only see the clear sky beyond. The bars of the first wired dome were invisible, giving her full view of the clouds burning in the sunset.

The general grabbed her griffin’s reins and led it to the street. They landed with a heavy thud at the foot of the closed gates, his hand gripping the creature’s bridle long after they had stopped. The second gate opened to greet them, its deafening grate of metal on stone drowning out her request that he let go.

He strode through first and dragged her along behind him, leaving her little choice but to just go with it and suppress the urge to roll her eyes. The rest of the army waited at the open doors in militant rows, staring ahead with their wings tucked at their sides, and did not move or try to follow. Her palms began to sweat. She couldn’t see Braeden’s white shell necklace anywhere.

The palace itself was made of a pale blue stone and loomed over her, vast and unending. Dozens of towers with blue and red stained glass windows battered the sky, blocking out bits of sunlight and casting long shadows over the road.

Gurien stopped in a small courtyard that led to the castle’s main stairs, where the palace doors stood open. A stunning young Kirelm woman stood on the first step, her hands tucked in front of her. Her oval face was smooth, her large black eyes masked with thick lashes, and dots of black freckles brushed her silver nose. She smiled as they approached, the warm gesture wrinkling her eyes ever so slightly. Kara’s heart settled.

“Welcome to Kirelm, Vagabond. I am Heir Aurora. Please, take a walk with me. Blood Ithone will be able to meet you tomorrow afternoon, but for now we hope that you will relax after what must have been a long journey.”

Kara smiled. Relief washed over her. Sleep and a soft mattress were all she really wanted at that moment anyway. She rubbed her lower back and dismounted, readjusting the satchel around her shoulder before she headed toward the princess.

Her mind flickered back to the first Vagabond as he stood by the creek in all his wispy glory.
“Four of my vagabonds each hid a map piece in the various kingdoms’ gardens,”
he’d said.
“It’s best you look there first.”

“Um, will you show me your gardens, Heir Aurora?” Kara asked, hoping she sounded relaxed despite the cool sweat forming in her palm.

“It would be my pleasure.”

The princess gestured toward an iron gate in a nearby stone wall and began toward it. Beds of blossoming roses came into view through its gaps as Kara followed. Aurora held open the gate when they came to it, but thereafter, they walked in silence. There was no sound but the rush of the periodic breezes breaking over the walls and rustling through the garden.

Kara casually examined the vines and flowerbeds, looking for some sign of the map piece and occasionally stealing a glance at the princess. The young woman’s eyes were deep in thought, and her cheeks puckered slightly, as if she was biting them. There was something on the princess’s mind.

A golden glint shimmered in Kara’s peripheral vision. It flickered out and then flitted across her vision again, so she scanned the garden, searching for its source. Vines covered almost every inch of the stone walls, and in one section of the garden, blue roses blossomed among them. In one break in this color, a blue stone glinted in the fading red sunlight. Embedded gold flashed in the rock.