The Crown of Stones: Magic-Price (43 page)

I slid my blades away. “And you had nothing to do with that?”

“Their hatred of you? No, you incited that when you killed Aylagar. As far as the split goes, Draken did offer an alliance to Arulla. Those with wisdom have taken it. Those without will suffer for their stupidity.”

“Your new watchdogs will suffer a lot more if they don’t release my friend.”

“I think you have it backwards. Instilled with my gift of speed, you can’t possibly cast faster than they can swing.” Reth held a hand out to the Arullan beside him. In silence, the man unhooked a metal flask from his belt. “This,” Reth said, taking it, “is the key to your friend’s continued health.” Removing the cork, he held it out. “Drink.”

I leaned in and took a sniff. It was pure
Kayn’l
. “I’m not drinking this.”

Reth gave a nod to the Arullans holding Jarryd. Shoving him roughly to the ground, they both started kicking him. He tried to fight back, but his attacker’s legs moved like a blur, and in mere moments, Jarryd had stopped moving.

“ENOUGH!” I shouted. Surprisingly, they left off. I turned to Reth and his guard’s fist struck my face absurdly fast. In a flash, I was on my back with the man on top of me, the flask in my mouth, and a steady stream of bitter, syrupy thickness pouring down my throat. I went to shove him off but I couldn’t lift my arms. I couldn’t move my legs. It was like the sand itself was holding me down.

“Swallow,” the Arullan ordered me. “Or the pretty Rellan boy starts losing important parts. Either is fine with me.” Grinning, he tipped the flask higher. The
Kayn’l
filled my mouth and overflowed; shooting out around the edges, rushing into my lungs, sputtered out my nose.

I heard Jarryd scream and I swallowed as much as I could. The rest, I choked on.

When the flask was empty my captor let me go. “Tasty, eh?” he chuckled. He sunk a fist into my stomach as he got up.

Gasping and gagging, I coughed out a weak, “Fuck off, Arullan.”

“Mind your manners, witch. Or I’ll give you something else to swallow.” Grabbing his cock through his pants, he let out a coarse laugh.

“Silence!” Reth thundered, and the Arullan’s body went unnaturally still. At the same time, the sand shifted, and mine became mobile.

Rolling onto my side, I wiped the gluey, black liquid off my face. A good deal of it was soaking the front of my clothes as well, but enough had gotten in me. Already, I could feel a slight numbness spreading through my body.

I snarled at Reth as I pushed to my feet. “What the hell was that for?”

“Your own good,” he answered boldly. “Trying to cast against me would not have been wise. So I removed the temptation.” Reth beckoned, and the Arullan woman left Jarryd’s side. The man, however, lingered. Grinning to himself, he squatted and put his blade to the back of his Jarryd’s neck.

No!” I started to go to him, but the sand tightened around my boots. I tried casting, but when I reached for the stones, there was nothing. Pleading with Reth would get me nowhere, so I tore down the wall that separated me from Jarryd and conveyed motion and urgency across the link. I flooded our connection with my own desperation and adrenaline, willing Jarryd to hear me. But the
Kayn’l
had reduced him to a fuzzy thought in the back of my mind and I had no idea if my warning was getting through, or if he was even alive.

Until, he struck.

In one, rapid, fluid move, Jarryd twisted away, wrapped his legs around the Arullan’s ankles and yanked his feet out from under him. The moment the man hit the ground Jarryd kicked him in the face, then kicked the weapon from his grip and snatched it up.

Brandishing the short sword in his hand like he was born with it, Jarryd hovered over his opponent. A slight, crooked grin tugged at one corner of his bruised mouth as went down onto one knee and without a word (or the slightest hesitation) drove the blade clean through the Arullan’s neck.

Jarryd got up. He walked away from the body. Watching him, I tried to reconcile the personality of the young man I met in Kael with the unflinching kill I just witnessed.

I couldn’t.

I felt the sand shift as Reth’s spell dissolved, and I ran up to Jarryd. “That was…”

“You,” he said. But it wasn’t resentment burning in his eyes as I expected. It was excitement. “Did you see that?” he laughed. “What I did?”

Appalled, I shook my head. “I never wanted this for you.”

“Well I got it.” Jarryd rubbed at his chest like it hurt. His face probably did as well; it was a mess of cuts and bruises. “It’s a good thing, too. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to stay alive at your side?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer that. “You can’t be here right now, Jarryd. With the
Kayn’l
in me I can’t connect to the stones. I can’t protect you.”

Jarryd glanced at Reth. “I don’t trust this.”

“Me neither.” I gestured at the bridge. “It looks clear, but there could be sentries on the other side, so don’t travel the road. Stay in the trees alongside it and take the first fork. The house at the end belongs to an old healer friend of mine. His name’s Broc. It’s been years, but if you tell him you’re with me, he’ll hide you. As long as you don’t flirt with his daughter,” I threw in.

He gave me a half-hearted grin. “If you don’t show...”

“I’ll show.”

There was skepticism in Jarryd’s nod, but he winced his way up onto the back of his horse, turned, and rode swiftly up the beach to the bridge. When he crossed over into Rella, I grabbed Kya’s reins and went back to Reth. “So let’s have it.”

He dismissed the remaining two warriors. As they started walking mindlessly toward the road, like an invitation, Reth said, “Neela Arcana?”

My grip tightened on the reins. “Sienn broke your dream spell.”

“I’m not surprised. She’s powerful magic user.”

“Maybe you should stop hurting her then. Or someday she might hurt you back.”

Reth’s white eyes tensed. “Sienn won’t betray me.”

“Sienn’s loyalty isn’t real. You created it with magic.”

“I enhanced it. She wanted someone to save her. All it took was a little push.”

“That’s quite a skill you have, finding and exploiting the weaknesses of others.”

“I prefer to call it, motivating.” He lifted his head up and down, scrutinizing me. “I see your mental and physical state has improved since the dreams stopped. You do understand that the reprieve is temporary? That when the woman you crave is standing before you in the flesh, your desire will return anew. And if I hurt her,” he paused to smile, “you will do anything to make it stop.”

“I won’t go against Rella. I can’t. The spell that binds me to protect the realm is older and stronger than yours. It will always be the dominant force in my life.”

“When Draken claims it, Rella will no longer be. Which means your spell to defend her will have no basis to exist.” Watching me expectantly, he stepped closer. “Draken will forgo his marriage to Neela. Cast her into exile, somewhere remote and private. She will no longer be a Queen. Just the girl you felt at peace with in your dreams. You can go to her. Live the life you played at. Have a child. Several if you like. There will be no more fighting. No more wandering. Just a happy, stable existence growing old with the woman you love. All you have to do is remove the shard.”

I turned from him and wandered out into the waves. Staring at the horizon, watching the evening sun turn the water into a bed of diamonds, I struggled like hell to ignore the need in my gut. I couldn’t believe how strong it was. I hadn’t even known I wanted the things Reth offered until he showed them to me. Now, I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

There was only one thing he did wrong.

“It isn’t love,” I said, “what I feel for Neela. What you made me feel.”

“You’re right. Obsession was better for my plans.”

“Obsession and I are old friends.”

“Then you know how hard it is to shake. How it clings to you. Suffocates you.”

“I know how to fight it.”

“Do you?” he chuckled, and my confidence wavered.

I have to,
I thought.
I have to fight it, to bury her, like Jarryd did.

Jarryd…

Gods, maybe I was wrong. Maybe he can protect me from something.

Reth was still talking, but I shut him out and delved deep inside; to the place that harbored a part of a soul that wasn’t mine. I started peeling back the layers like the petals of a flower. Concentrating on Jarryd’s memories of Neela, I rummaged swiftly through them. Every strong thought of her, every recollection and emotion, all the things I’d been dodging since we joined, I reviewed. They flashed across my mind in the blink of an eye and I began to grasp the impact she had on his life. I witnessed their early friendship and their budding, adolescent flirtation. I saw the physical closeness that almost
was and the frustration that grew as their relationship fell apart. I watched them become strangers as Neela’s tenderness, warmth and trust wilted beneath an emerging coldness. I felt Jarryd’s pain as he tried to accept their separate paths, how he struggled not to hate her and to instead transform his desire and affection into a fierce, undying loyalty.

Converting resentment into resolve, Jarryd’s disappointment became conviction. He turned heartache into a steadfast devotion, allowing him to faithfully uphold his oath to Rella’s crown.

It was an impressive feat. I was proud to let those parts of him become part of me. And as I did, as I saw Neela through Jarryd’s eyes, the woman he knew started to prevail over the illusion in my mind. His version came into focus and the allure of mine, dimmed. My emotions surrounding her evened out and I felt stronger than I had in weeks.

I knew better though than to think I was cured, or that Reth couldn’t destabilize my newly found armor with a few, choice words. He was damn good at that. He was also damn good at making me want to kill him. Only, this wasn’t the time. He didn’t have the crown on him and I couldn’t even cast. Without access to magic, remaining in his presence right now wasn’t looking like a very smart move.

I grabbed Kya’s reins and started pulling her down the beach.

“Where are you going?” Reth demanded. “We aren’t finished.” He got louder as I kept walking. “Don’t turn your back on me. Troy! Get back here. Do you hear me? I
said
, get back here!” I didn’t, and rage shook his voice as he called out. “L’TARIAN!”

Kya bumped into me as I stopped short. “What did you call me?”

There was a short hesitation. “L’tarian.”

“My mother was the only one to call me by that name. How do you know of it?” When he didn’t respond, I drew a breath and faced him. “I asked you a question.”

Reth threw the heavy cloak back over his shoulders. He unhooked the clasp and let the dark covering drop to the ground. “L’tarian was your birth name.” Reaching both hands behind his head, he undid the buckles on his mask. “It was chosen by the man who gave you life.” He pulled the covering away from his face. It made a soft squelch as it hit the sand. “It was chosen by me.”

FORTY TWO

A
ge and slavery had taken little away from Jem Reth. His chin was sharp and defiant. Prominent cheekbones rested high on a strong face. His tall frame, similar to mine, was impressively built. At one time, standing side by side, there would have been no mistake that I was his get. Now, you had to look real close. My parentage wasn’t the only thing he’d been hiding behind the mask.

“Your face,” I said tensely. “The Crown of Stones did this to you?”

“You just learned your father is alive and that’s all you have to say?”

He was right, I suppose. But how could I say anything else? It was as if someone had taken a shade from each of the crown’s stones, blended and twisted them together into a dank, ugly color. And then they used that color to patch my father’s face together.

Magic scars, infinitely worse than mine, streaked his nearly bald scalp. The few patches of hair he had left were dull, thin strands that were no longer white, but a murky, grayish brown. The same muted, mottled color stained his skin. It bled down in wide, jagged seams out of his hairline, across his brow, over the length of his cheeks, to cross his nose and dip down past his jaw, into the collar of his shirt.

It was repulsive. Yet in his ruin, I saw common ground.

Putting a hand in the fringe of hair over my eyes, I pulled it back, showing him the vague, colored imprints on my skin. “They’re not like yours, but…”

Reth looked at me with blatant disinterest. “Power comes with a price.”

I let the hair flop back down over my forehead. “Perhaps this one is too high?”

“Do you care, L’tarian?” He eyed me inquisitively. “Do you truly care?”

“About what you’ve done to yourself? Did you think I would?”

“What I thought was to see more of me in you.” His lips hooked down in a deep frown. “And a bit less of your mother.”

“I am nothing like her.”

“Nonsense. Her blood has tempered you. It kept you from your full potential.”

“And what’s that,” I laughed, “to become like you?”

His stained jaw tightened. “The origin of your name goes far back in the Reth line. It actually pre-dates the empire. Do you know what it means?” He answered for me. “Dark Lord. V’loria didn’t want such a label for you, but my ancestors deserved to be honored, and you deserved a worthy a name. It was my right after all, to name that which I created. And it isn’t every day a descendant of our Emperor is born.”

“I don’t want to hear this.”

“It’s important that you understand how you began.”

“No. It isn’t.”

“You will listen when your father speaks.” He raised a muddy-hued eyebrow for my reaction. I was too sick to give him one and he went on. “It was a different time then in Kabri, before you were born. The war you knew was just beginning. But the estimate for casualties on the Rellan side was grim. Raynan’s father was yet King, and he decided they needed an edge. He chose me to lead his army.”

“You were a soldier for Rella, like me?”

“Not quite like you. Having been on
Kayn’l
all my life, my natural inclinations took a while to emerge. I had to be taught how to cast and how to fight. Raynan and I sparred every day. He was quite the swordsman in his youth.”