The Lady of Toryn Anthology (Lady of Toryn trilogy) (39 page)

As she rode, with Skye flanking
her and Drake lingering further back, she wondered again how Kou had managed to
survive his fall off Na Michico. Ashlyn had no idea where Drake’s bullet had
struck the younger Toryn, but it had clearly been well-aimed enough to have
knocked Kou off the steep cliff and into the roiling ocean below. Kou must have
some experience with healing magic. Unless he’d been desperate enough to fake a
gunshot wound and take his chances in the water, of course. That seemed a
little extreme, even for a man who had falsely professed to be Ashlyn’s younger
brother without a trace of shame or conscience.

She set her jaw at the memory.
Kou’s claim that Lord Li was his father had rocked her world to the core. In a
fit of rage, she had used a sanding stone to remove the tattoo over her left
ankle that signified the Li bloodline and its purity. But after the recent
revelations involving Kou and the man he claimed was his- and her- younger
brother, Tag, Ashlyn realized that she might have been too hasty.

And what about her father? What
if he hadn’t been unfaithful to her mother? Had he truly been driven mad by
shift?
Ashlyn felt no particular ill
effects after having used the magic twice. If she was unaffected, then why was
Lord Li leading an army against his own kingdom? She supposed that the presence
of FLD had discouraged him from coming back to reclaim the city of Toryn, but
there were so many frustratingly unanswered questions lingering in her
thoughts- and that was on top of the total mess of her love life, which up until
two weeks ago had been virtually non-existent.
See, this was why I steered clear of social circles for the last three
years,
she told herself bitterly.
I
seem to attract drama wherever I go.

Chapter 4

Twist

Ashlyn’s eyelids were
drooping, but she was reciting the ninety-one Drago proverbs in her head
repeatedly, doing her best to stay awake in the lulling twilight. Her horse
seemed content to follow Skye’s, plodding along without prompting.

It seemed
anti-climactic, really. All that running and fighting and death-defying
earlier, and now here she was, tagging along after Skye and trying not to nod
off. Her father’s army was on the move, and once they had found the trampled
path telltale of marching soldiers, Ashlyn had put away the
reveal
stane and allowed Skye to take
over. Her tracking skills were good,
but
Skye’s were exceptional.

Skye turned then,
twisting in the saddle to look back at her, and Ashlyn bolted upright, trying
really hard to look alert and vigilant.
I
wasn’t sleeping,
she almost said, but thought better of it. “What?” she
asked instead, keeping her voice low.

“I think we’re
close,” Skye said. He halted his horse, turning the animal so that he could
face Ashlyn more easily. “I think it might be best if Drake takes the horses
and keeps some distance away, while you and I see what we can find.” At her
dubious look, he added, “The horses will be too easy to spot. You and I can get
much closer without them.”

In no way did Ashlyn
feel comfortable with giving up her horse, especially after the narrow escape
she and Drake had managed back at the cave, but…she supposed that Skye was
right. “Fine,” she said grudgingly. Skye dismounted, and she followed suit,
meekly following the blond man as he led his horse towards Drake.

“This is
so
lousy,” she muttered as she handed
the reins to the vampire, keeping her eyes averted. She had already experienced
a plethora of emotions over Drake in the last two days and she didn’t feel like
encouraging any errant feelings now.

Skye nodded at her as
he reached up to ensure that his sword was secure in its sheath on his back.
Ashlyn untied the hira shuriken and her sword from the back of her saddle and
strapped them into the makeshift harness she’d made, feeling the reassuring
solidity of the weapons against her fingers. She allowed herself a brief moment
to wonder what had ever become of her favorite bo shuriken, the one that she’d
lost in Storim so many years ago. Supposedly her father had it. If that was
true, she definitely wanted it back.

Skye began to move,
weaving his way through the trees in a quick, agile jog, and Ashlyn ran after
him. They ducked behind trees as they moved, and fell into a slingshot pattern,
with Skye moving forward to secure the first area, and Ashlyn running past him
to the next after receiving the all-clear signal. It was something they’d done
numerous times back when Lord Angelo was still alive, but Ashlyn had forgotten
what an effective tracking partner Skye was. He’d gotten that way from all that
DEMON training, probably, since most non-Toryns didn’t know the first thing
about stealth and sneakiness.

They were moving to
the western side of the island, very close to the beach, and as the trees began
to thin out, Ashlyn became cautious, crouching lower when she moved and seeking
cover more quickly. She glanced around the sparse forest, eyes searching for
threats, but finding none. She turned and motioned to Skye that the way was
clear, and he moved past her, his boots making no sound on the forest floor.

He froze about a
dozen steps ahead of her, and ducked behind a large boulder. Ashlyn stilled,
waiting for a signal. Her gaze caught his. He nodded slightly, confirming that
he’d seen her father’s army, and motioned her closer. Ashlyn peered out from
behind her tree before dashing to him, staying low and silent.

“I see the
stragglers,” Skye whispered to her when she approached. “Is there a route that
will take us to high ground at their flank so we can avoid being seen?”

Ashlyn frowned,
pursing her lips as she tried to remember the layout of the island. “I don’t
know,” she admitted. “It depends on the route they take. There’s some high
ground further up but I doubt they’ll be going through the canyons. It would be
too easy for them to get ambushed.” As she spoke, she realized that the path that
her father’s army was currently on would eventually lead them to Toryn. “Should
we send Drake back to the city?” she asked Skye nervously. “What if they’re
planning an attack?”

At first he shook his
head, but then he hesitated. “What do you think?” he said at last, and it
became obvious to Ashlyn that he was trying to let her be the leader.

She glanced around
the rock, noting that the last of the troops were nearly out of sight, and
frowned. “Let’s follow them for now,” she said. “I guess if there’s a need
later, we can warn the city. I’d like to get to my father before an attack on
the city even becomes a possibility.”

Skye nodded, waiting
for her to continue.

“We’ll…move up the
line until we find my dad,” she said, a little uncertainly. “He’s the most important
thing right now. Even if I see Kou, I don’t want to stop searching until I find
my dad. Then we can regroup and…figure out what to do next.”

When they began
moving again, Ashlyn made a conscious effort to take a path further east,
allowing some space between herself and the army as she and Skye drew up
alongside the marching soldiers.

She noted that her
father’s army was in no particular formation, with some soldiers lagging behind
and a few clustered together in tight groups. None of the soldiers appeared
particularly lively or energetic, which might have been encouraging- except
that she was exhausted, too. A few of them were lighting torches, perhaps
preparing to march through the night.

One particular
soldier caught her eye, and she slowed, recognizing Kou’s naked face amidst the
sea of masked ninjas. He was riding a horse, one of just a few dozen mounted
soldiers in the entire army, and his long hair was pulled back loosely, his
features set in a scowl. Clearly he wasn’t happy with the day’s developments
thus far.

Ashlyn crept closer,
trying to see if one of the mounted ninjas was Lord Li. Even though their faces
were mostly covered, she figured she could probably recognize her dad’s eyes.
She could really only make out the eyes of those who were riding closest to
her, and none of them seemed familiar, but that still left fifteen or so who
were just too far away to identify.

One horse tossed its
head and trotted a few steps, bumping into the horse in front of it and causing
the second horse to pin back its ears and swish its tail angrily. The chain
reaction ended there, but Ashlyn’s attention was focused on the lead rope in
Kou’s hand- a lead that had previously been obscured by a horse. He was leading
the horse of another ninja, but why?

She was momentarily
distracted by a large fallen tree in her way, and hastily followed the trunk
until she found a place she could duck under. When she glanced over her
shoulder, she noted that Skye was following at a distance, close enough that
she could signal him if she needed to. For being such a blockhead over romance,
his intuition on the battlefield was surprisingly sharp, and right now she was
grateful for it.

Ashlyn sprinted up
ahead, trying to get a lead on Kou, then slowly edged closer to get a better
look. When Kou drew near, she confirmed her suspicions- the masked ninja on
horseback was definitely her father. She’d recognize those dark eyes anywhere.

He was slumped
exhaustedly in the saddle, barely staying upright. The war was clearly taking
its toll on him. Even more surprising was the slightness of his figure, the
tunic doing nothing to disguise the angular cut of his shoulders and the
thinness of his arms. Her eyes followed the lines of his torso down to his
lower half, noting that his legs were particularly skinny. His knee-high boots
swallowed up his calves with room to spare.

Her gaze lingered at
his thighs, where ropes cut across his flesh tightly. Ashlyn frowned. Ropes?
Was he tied to the saddle? Perhaps he’d been giving so much blood to the soldiers
that he was too weak to sit in the saddle on his own strength.

Suddenly Lord Li fell forward,
and he did nothing to stop his descent, simply falling against the neck of his
horse. The horse didn’t falter, seemingly accustomed to the motion. After a long
moment, Lord Li’s hands came up, weakly pushing at the horse’s neck in an
attempt to lift himself, and Ashlyn saw with a shock that his hands were tied
as well.

Her father was a
prisoner!

Ashlyn’s hand flew to her sword,
ready to yank it free and unleash on these monsters who would dare to imprison
the Lord of Toryn, but Skye suddenly appeared next to her, his hand against
hers. He shook his head and put a finger to his lips.

She trembled, staring at the
swordsman furiously, wanting nothing more at that moment than to rescue her
father from the clutches of the most evil man she’d ever known. How long had
Kou been keeping him like this? Was this army extracting her father’s blood
against his will? How sick was he? Ashlyn felt ill when she thought about all
the time she’d wasted researching a Leadership Duel and arguing with herself
over her responsibilities as Lady of Toryn, when all the while her father had
been held prisoner, growing weaker every day.

With effort, Ashlyn lowered her
hand, leaving the sword strapped on her back. In front of them, the soldiers
marched, their footsteps drumming a rhythm into her conscious that served to
slow the frantic beat of her heart.

 
She nodded at Skye to follow her, and then
began retreating. Abandoning her father was the last thing she wanted to do
right then, especially when her first urge was run to him and throw her arms
around him- and then kill every single one of the monsters who had imprisoned
him all this time. But she needed to regroup with her comrades and figure out a
plan of action.

She and Skye reached Drake
quickly, and each of them mounted their horses so they could keep pace with the
army.

“My father is a prisoner,” Ashlyn
hissed as Skye drew even with her.

“A prisoner?” In the
near-darkness, Skye’s expression was almost unreadable, but his eyes were
glittering. “Are you sure?”

“
Yes.
I saw him- he’s tied to a horse and Kou is leading him. Skye,
my dad is so weak he can hardly sit up. They’re draining him dry!” Despite the
gravity of the situation, Ashlyn felt a sudden and profound sense of relief at
the knowledge that her dad wasn’t the bad guy after all. There would be no
Leadership Duel. Kou seemed to be the only enemy now.

“If we wait until they stop and
make camp,” Drake spoke up from behind her, “it’s possible we could stage a
rescue.”

There was a pause.

“It’s possible,” Skye said at
last. “Not easy, but not impossible either. They might not stop to make camp,
though. They could march on through the night.”

“Either way, we’ve got to get my
father out of there. If we can get him and head straight back to Toryn, I think
we’d be able to hold off my dad’s- Kou’s- army,” Ashlyn said. “Maybe if we got
my dad on the airship and off the island, it would discourage them from
attacking further.”

“You have the same blood,” Drake
pointed out. “The only way that theory would work would be if you evacuated
with your father.”

“I could do that,” Ashlyn said
reluctantly. “I’d prefer not to. I don’t want to abandon the city.”

“You may not have to,” said Skye.
“But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. They’re slowing down.”