The Lady of Toryn Anthology (Lady of Toryn trilogy) (32 page)

Realizing
that she was falling off the edge, Ashlyn began to scream. Her mind shrieked at
her to find something, anything to grab onto, but her hands clawed uselessly at
the ground, looking for and unable to find any kind of purchase.

Suddenly
strong, graceful hands closed over her left wrist, and Ashlyn was brought to an
abrupt halt before she started sliding again. Half-crazed with fear, she saw
brown boots skidding on the gravel as their owner struggled to hold her weight,
and beyond, Kou climbing to his feet.

"Restlyn,
look out!" she cried as the slender martial artist fought to keep them
both from going over the edge. Ashlyn scrabbled at the cliff face with her
feet, trying to find something to push herself up with, but there was no time
before Kou was upon them.

He
stood above her for a moment, and their eyes met.

A
gunshot rang out.

Kou
gasped, staggering forward, bumping into Restlyn and costing her even more
precious ground, and Ashlyn yelped as she twisted in mid-air, legs flailing
above the wild blue ocean beneath her. "Restlyn!" she screeched, but
there was only time for a single breath before Kou's body plummeted past her,
the
whoosh
of cold air from his passing sending Ashlyn into another
twist.

Horrified,
Ashlyn watched as Kou continued his free fall, his dark form getting smaller
and smaller as he neared the ocean, and finally disappeared into the water
below.

She
hardly noticed as she was pulled to safety, Drake's added strength making it
possible for Restlyn to brace herself enough to lift Ashlyn out of danger.

"Are
you okay?" Restlyn asked breathlessly, touching Ashlyn's shoulder with
cold hands.

Still
totally dumbstruck, Ashlyn looked at her friend, seeing that she wasn't the
only one truly terrified by the prospect of falling to her death. The older
girl's face was streaked with tears, wild strands of hair escaping from her
tight bun to whip around her face in the wind.

Kou was
gone, Ashlyn realized with a start. The man she'd believed was her brother had,
in fact, been a traitor all along.

She
climbed to her feet, slowly, wincing at the new bumps and bruises she'd gotten
from the battle.

“Do you
know if they got Tag?” she asked, glancing at Drake. “Did you see?”

The
gunslinger nodded. His red eyes stood out in the grayness, looking more vibrant
than ever. “Skye was able to subdue him almost immediately.”

“Good.”
Ashlyn turned, glancing down at the water one last time. Kou was gone, but Tag
had to know something.

Chapter 16

The Choice

Tag’s
left arm was covered in snaking black veins, twisting like lightning bolts up
the skin of his forearm. His right arm was completely free of marks, and Ashlyn
remembered that day that he’d rolled up his sleeve in front of her, just before
transforming into the bear. Obviously he’d known that the track marks would
cause some questions, and had deliberately kept them hidden from her.

“Why
don’t they look like regular track marks?” she asked Sara, who was standing
beside her at the base of her basement staircase, staring at the sullen ninja
through the cage bars. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“It
looks…almost like an infection,” Sara answered, folding her arms across her
chest uncomfortably as Tag glared at her. “If I had to wager a guess, I’d say
that the injected blood is being contaminated somehow. I’d have to examine him
and run some more tests to find out for certain.”

Ashlyn
pushed off the wall and walked slowly around the cage, trying to think what to
do. So far, Tag had refused to give up any kind of relevant information. She’d
questioned him for hours, even resorting to threats when he hadn’t responded,
and now it was nightfall and she was hardly any closer to knowing anything
about Kou or what his plans were.

The
only thing that Tag had revealed was that the man who had recognized Ashlyn
outside the city gates had caused an unexpected change in plans- with the Toryn
people aware of Ashlyn’s presence, Kou and Tag were unable to capture her, as
originally planned. But Tag had clammed up after that.

Ashlyn
was reminded of the conversation she’d had with Skye on the airship just days
earlier, when he was questioning Kou, but was unwilling to resort to the brutal
interrogation methods Ashlyn had suggested.

She was
acting Lady of Toryn now, and it was up to her to decide how Tag would be dealt
with. But Ashlyn was realizing just how complicated leadership really was.
Would she lose the respect of FLD if she tortured Tag for information? Would
she lose respect for herself?

She
glanced at Skye, the only other person in the room besides Sara. He raised an
eyebrow, clearly intending to let her figure this out herself.

Sighing,
she smoothed a hand over her hair. “Upstairs,” she said, shaking her head.
“We’re done with him, for now.”

They
climbed the stairs to the front room, where the rest of FLD were waiting for
them. Ashlyn wondered numbly if the room had grown colder or if the emptiness inside
her heart was seeping through to her skin.

Folding
her arms across her chest, she glanced around the room, noting the expressions
on her friends’ faces. For a moment she recalled how she’d felt three years ago
during the battle with Lord Angelo, waiting for Skye to tell her what to do
next and hoping that he would know just how to fix what was wrong. At that
time, Skye had been only a couple of years older than she was now. How scared
had he been of making the wrong decision? How overwhelmed had he felt, with the
future of the Free Lands resting on his shoulders?

As a
bratty fifteen-year-old, she hadn’t bothered to respect what Skye was doing.
She’d just been along for the ride, happy to go with the flow if it meant some
kind of adventure. But now, for the first time in her life, she was realizing
what being a hero was all about.

She
would have to find her father alone- it would be nearly impossible for more
than one person to sneak into whatever camp he’d made for himself, and pulling
FLD from Toryn would leave the city unprotected, without any real leadership.
She couldn’t bring herself to abandon her people again.

Unfortunately,
there was no way her friends would let her leave by herself. And basic common
sense told Ashlyn that she needed a backup plan anyway- some way to make sure
that FLD followed through if she failed. Sneaking out without telling anyone
where she was going was totally out of the question.

“I’m
gonna fix this,” she said. “I know you guys are worried. I know I haven’t
been…I haven’t been who you need me to be. I haven’t been who
I
need me to be. I could stand here and
tell you how sorry I am that I caused all this. I know some of you have been
waiting for that. I get it. This is my fault. The war is my fault- Kou was my
fault. The
shift
stanes are
definitely my fault.”

She
paused, and took a deep breath. “But I’m not going to apologize anymore,
because I can’t change the past, and I’m done trying to. What I have to do now
is make it right. I know at least part of what that entails is to step up and
take responsibility for Toryn.”

She
glanced at Skye, noting with some surprise that he was trying- and failing- to
hide a smile behind his hand. He nodded at her, urging her on. This was
probably what he’d been waiting for all along.

Ashlyn
cleared her throat and continued. “But first, we need to stop my father. As
long as he’s supplying blood, there will be Toryns who will be willing to
inject with it so they can use the
shift
magic. It stops now. First thing in the morning, we’re going after him.”

“Who’s
we?” Aaron spoke up. “Ain’t no way the Toryn army’s gonna spring a surprise
attack on your old man. Poor kids can hardly tie their shoes without trippin’
on somethin’.”

“I
wouldn’t leave Toryn defenseless anyway,” Ashlyn reassured him. “And yes, I do
think a surprise attack is best. That’s why I’m not taking an army with me.
It’s just going to be me, Skye and Drake.”

“Hold
on just a minute,” Vargo said, shaking his head. He was slumped in a corner,
arms folded across his chest, an unlit cigarette dangling from his fingers.
“You have no idea how many clans have joined up with your dad. He could have
dozens- hell, hundreds of people injecting with his blood just so they can use
the
shift
magic.”

There
was a short pause.

“It’s
unlikely that there would be hundreds,” Sara spoke up timidly. She seemed to
shrink into herself when Vargo turned to look at her, but continued, “The
amount of foreign blood that Soryl had injected was significant. If that’s any
indication, I don’t believe Lord Li would be able to supply more than fifty,
possibly
close to one hundred soldiers,
at least not without placing himself at death’s door.”

“There’s
no way to know that for certain,” Aik replied. “He may have been stockpiling
it.”

“Not to
mention, Lord Angelo was willing to destroy the sun,” Vargo said. “He would
have killed every living thing on Kresmir, including himself. I’m not thinking
that megalomaniacs really plan ahead when they’re set on world domination.”

“
Regardless,
” Ashlyn interrupted, “My
plan is to take my father into custody and cut off the supply. No blood, no
shift
magic. It’s that simple. But I’m
not going to put us all in danger. The Toryns still need their army and people
who know to lead.”

“If
you’re looking for somebody to lead, then why are you taking Skye with you?”
Restlyn asked. “If anyone has the knowledge to lead Toryn-“

“I need
Skye with me,” Ashlyn said firmly. “You can handle leadership while I’m gone,
Restlyn. I want someone with me who knows what he’s doing, and Skye more than
proved he was capable of executing a sneak attack back when FLD was destroying
Lord Angelo’s power plants. Skye and I will work together. I’m taking Drake
because if something does go wrong, if we are captured before we get to my dad,
I think Drake’s got a better chance of surviving than anyone else here.”

“That’s
not true,” Trace said. “Without the
resist
stane, Drake would be more vulnerable than any of us. You would be in
danger from him, if it came to that. Your father knows about the stane, and
knows why Drake wears it. He might use that against you.”

“She’s
right,” Vargo added. “If they capture all three of you and tear off the
vampire’s pretty little necklace, there’s no telling what he might do to you
and Skye.”

 
“This is
not
something I’m willing to address,” Ashlyn snapped, surprising herself with
the ferocity of her response. “The possibility of losing the
resist
stane is not something we will
consider. It’s never happened before and I don’t expect it to. Drake is going
with us. End of discussion.”

“For what
it’s worth,” Drake spoke up from his place beside Skye, “If the
resist
stane were taken from me, I would
not allow the situation to reach the point where either Skye or Ashlyn were in
danger.”

His
words hung in the air, heavy with implication. Ashlyn had no doubt that Drake
would rather die than once again live with the guilt of thinking he’d murdered
someone he cared about- even if that someone was her.

“We’re
leaving first thing in the morning,” she said. “Kou told me on our way here
that the majority of Toryn forces were restricted to the southern half of the
island, and from what little Tag has told me, I think that’s where we’ll find
my dad. We’ll meet in the morning to review the plan- for everyone, not just
me, Drake and Skye- and then we’ll head out.” She paused, wondering if she
should say more, then finished lamely, “I’ll see you then.”

Vargo
stomped out of her house first, shoving the door open so hard that it rattled
on the track. Ellis and Trace followed him. Restlyn leaned over and hugged Ashlyn
quickly before hurrying out.

One by
one, Ashlyn watched her friends leave, feeling drained, but unsure if she would
even be able to sleep tonight. At last, Skye paused at the door, with Drake
behind him, and turned.

“You
made a good choice, Ash,” Skye said approvingly, and Ashlyn smiled, rolling her
eyes.

“Yeah,
but was it the right choice?” she asked. “Who knows?”

“There
is no right choice in this situation,” Skye said. “You could take the entire
Toryn army with you and leave the city unprotected. You could take a small
contingent and risk their lives. In the end, we may be in danger tomorrow, but
we’re far more likely to be able to judge the situation accurately if it’s just
the three of us, even if it turns out we can’t get to your father.”

“I hope
we can,” Ashlyn said, no less troubled. “I just want this to end.”

Skye
nodded. “I understand.” He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and walked out
into the darkness.

Drake
turned to leave, and Ashlyn watched him, her heart in her throat. They hadn’t really
talked since that day in her father’s house, and they hadn’t been alone for
even a moment in the last few days. She was still unsure of how to act around
him, and whether or not she’d be making a total ass of herself if she confessed
to what she was feeling.