The Tower of Bashan (37 page)

Though Andrasta had not heard that story before, she could tell it had merit.

“But even you are too easy. I want something challenging to start with.” It shifted in its seat toward Andrasta. “Torn between the past and the present, aren’t you?”

Her brow furrowed.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Something had changed about the creature’s voice. Each word seemed to enter Andrasta’s head and echo around her skull. “Sorcery. I’ve beaten sorcery before,” she hissed.

“Yes, you have. But you can’t fight the truth. Not once it’s been said anyway. So, should I be the one to tell your friends the truth of what you really plan to do with the jewel? Or do you want to break the news to them?”

“What is that thing talking about?” asked Rondel, voice groggy.

“Nothing. Have you figured out a way to kill it yet?”

“No. Not yet. I—”

“Oh, no,” said Yendoru, tsking again. “Trying to change the subject already? A sure sign of guilt I would say.”

Andrasta drew another dagger and threw it at the creature. It bounced off the same invisible barrier as before. “Shut up,” she growled.

It laughed. “Anger. Frustration. Your stomach must be in knots. Last chance to come clean, or I’ll do it for you.”

Andrasta seethed. She knew she should say something. The truth would sound better coming from her. Except if she was to be honest with herself, she had never really planned to tell the truth.

“Very well,” said Yendoru. “From the beginning, your partner never intended to sell the jewel. By doing so, she would be going back on a promise she made to her father to bring it to him in Juntark.”

Rondel frowned. “Is that true?”

“Yes,” said Andrasta, still staring at the creature, unable to look at her partner.

“And when were you going to tell me?”

“Presumably she wasn’t,” said Yendoru.

Rondel took three sharp steps and thrust out his arm, pointing at the guardian. “You stay out of this!”

The creature made a throaty noise, but added nothing more.

Rondel stormed over to Andrasta. “Well? When were you going to tell me?”

“I don’t know. Afterward.”

“After I risked my life helping you?” asked Rondel.

Andrasta looked at the ground.

“Say something.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“The secret is out. Start by telling me the story.”

No sense in hiding it any longer.
She nodded and began.

She told Rondel how she left Master Enzi to help her father. She went into every detail—how her offer was received, how she was treated, and the terms for her departure. She concluded the tale with her promise to return to Juntark with the jewel.

Andrasta hung her head during the story. With each breath, she felt more worthless and pathetic than the moment before. For the first time in years, she wondered what the world would be like if she had never been born or if she had died long ago. It reminded her of what she felt like after her mother passed away and she received her scar.

The deep baritone of Yendoru’s voice echoed in her mind.
“Some friend you are. Your life is worthless. You are worthless.”

Silence hung in the air. She looked up to Rondel, not sure what to expect. His face twisted in confusion and hurt.

He hates me. The one person alive who wanted anything to do with me and I ruined it. What a fool I have been.

“What a fool indeed,”
echoed Yendoru.

Rondel cleared his throat. “So, despite everything you’ve told me before about your father and what you told me just now, you are still willing to help him? To put him over our partnership? Our friendship?”

“This is where he tells you that he hates you,”
said Yendoru.

She sighed. “Yes.”

“I don’t know what I hate more, the fact you lied to me or that you didn’t trust me.”

“See? And this is where he tells you that you’re the lowest piece of scum the world has ever known.”

“I mean after all we’ve been through. Especially the stuff in Erba. . . . I’d rather take a punch in the gut than know you didn’t trust me. How could you do something so low?”

Her gut tightened. Nauseous, she felt sickened by her actions. Her hand opened and closed, it began to drift toward the hilt of her dagger.

“And this is where your friendship ends. Perhaps your life as well, if he decides to save you the trouble of having to kill yourself.”

Her limbs felt weak as she let down her guard.
Let him. I deserve it. Better it came from him than from someone else.

Rondel cursed. He took a shuddering breath.

Footsteps approached and she closed her eyes, waiting for the blade to enter her body.

Instead arms enveloped her.

She opened her eyes in surprise as Rondel pulled her into an embrace. Reminded of how her mother used to hold her as a girl, she found herself reciprocating the gesture.

“I forgive you,” he whispered.

The burden of guilt she carried melted away. Something wet rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away as they parted.

“What?”
Yendoru’s voice raged inside her head.

“You’re not angry with me?” she asked, ignoring the creature.

“Oh, I’m angry. But that’s no excuse for me to turn my back on you. However, you better learn to start trusting me or so help me it will take more than a hug to resolve the situation next time.”

She smiled. “Got it.”

“What? This doesn’t make sense,” Yendoru said aloud. “You’re not really going to forgive her.”

“Of course I am,” answered Rondel.

“But the jewel! She still hasn’t said that she’s changed her mind about it.”

“She doesn’t have to. If she still wants to take it to her jerk of a father, then so be it. I never thought about it much before, but the jewel was never really about the money. It initially gave me a purpose when I had none. And now it’s about helping my friend.”

“What about afterward? Remember, I can see in your soul. You assumed that your partnership would continue after stealing the jewel. She is not so sure.”

Rondel worked his mouth a second. “I guess we’ll have to talk about that after we steal the jewel.”

Yendoru’s voice grew more frustrated. “And the girl? She was counting on the money from selling it. You’re just going to forget about her?”

“Of course not,” said Rondel. “But we can always steal something else to get her the money she needs. We are thieves after all.”

A deep scream of anger erupted from the creature. Its voice bounced around the room, vibrating even the soles of Andrasta’s boots. It died down and was replaced with Rondel’s sobs. He had fallen to his knees and was mumbling to himself, shaking his head as tears flowed from his already reddened eyes.

Andrasta wheeled on Yendoru. “What are you doing to him?”

The creature ignored her, its eyes focused on Rondel. She turned back to her partner, just as his hand was reaching for a dagger at his belt. He whispered he was sorry over and over. She tried to knock his hand away but could not. She tried to pry the blade free, but couldn’t so much as move a finger. It was like the trance had somehow imbued him with tremendous strength.

“You can’t stop him. He’s too far gone. His guilt is much greater than yours.”

“Don’t you dare do it,” she said to Rondel.

Andrasta ground her teeth, drew her sword, and sprinted at the creature. She climbed up the stone chair and brought the sword down, striking the invisible barrier protecting Yendoru. She turned her blade, and drove it with all her strength. She glanced at Rondel. He gripped his knife in white-knuckled fingers as he sobbed uncontrollably. She closed her eyes and leaned into her sword. She felt a shift and looked down. The tip of the blade had wedged itself into the barrier. She pushed harder, the muscles in her arms and shoulders straining under the pressure. The blade went deeper.

She felt the creature panic. The thing’s voice worked its way back into her mind, telling her she would fail again, that she should just kill herself now, and get it over with. She felt weaker until she looked back at Rondel on the floor. The blade of his knife was inches from his throat. The despair and guilt she battled left her, replaced by anger. She screamed and drove the blade through the barrier, down into the creature’s chest.

Sorcery threw her back. She landed hard against the floor, jamming her elbow and hip as the agony of the creature shook the room. Pain, disbelief, confusion, and misery combined to rattle her mind. Yendoru could not understand how someone had overcome him. The creature slumped in its seat and took its last breath. The chaos in her mind died with the guardian.

Andrasta turned to Rondel. He was on his knees shaking his head. The knife lay on the floor beside him.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

He looked up with bloodshot eyes. He croaked a raspy reply. “Eventually, I’ll be. A drink would help. Or a dozen.”

She nodded.

Andrasta looked over to Lela. Rondel followed her gaze. The little girl still sobbed on the ground in a ball. He stumbled over to her.

They whispered something back and forth before Lela buried her face in his chest.

“Is she all right? That thing doesn’t somehow still have a hold of her, does it?” Andrasta asked.

“No,” said Rondel. “She just needs more time. Why don’t you give us a few minutes and see if the door to the next room is on the other side of that throne? We’ll leave once she’s recovered.”

“You mean you still want to finish this?”

“Of course. I’m not about to stop now. Besides, you still have a promise to keep.”

“I’m not sure if I care about that anymore.”

“Let’s just steal the jewel first. You can figure out the rest later.”

She nodded in agreement and walked away while Rondel stroked the back of Lela’s head.

CHAPTER 34

A part of Rondel was thankful for the extra moments it took to calm Lela, for as he tried to ease her worries, he reburied the guilt the creature had brought to the surface. He’d have to address it eventually, just as he’d have to properly mourn Shadya and their child when the business with the jewel was over.

I’ve got an ambitious amount of drinking ahead of me.

He felt a soft squeeze of his hand. He looked down as Lela slipped her fingers around his palm.

“Are you all right?” she asked, eyes still puffy.

“Never better,” he lied and gave her a big grin.

Andrasta stood frozen near the open doorway just ahead. Nothing could be seen inside except blackness. She held her sword in one hand and a torch in the other. She glanced over her shoulder. “Ready?”

The last of the clues ended with the guardian that called himself Yendoru. Though Rondel had read several possibilities of what waited in the chamber holding the jewel, each varied wildly.

If one has to be right, I really hope it isn’t the one about the dragon.

He took a slow breath and eased Lela behind him as he moved closer to Andrasta. “Let’s do it.”

Andrasta crept inside with Rondel on her heels and Lela on his. All three halted as the blackness fell away and a ruby red glow replaced it. The circular room was mostly bare except for a black marble pedestal that stood at the center of the spaces. On top of the pedestal rested the largest gemstone Rondel had ever seen. It was red like a ruby, but it sparkled like a diamond.

Several small windows, too small for a man to pass through hugged the ceiling, allowing light from outside into the room.

And thankfully not a dragon in sight.

“It’s as big as an ostrich egg,” whispered Andrasta. She turned back to Rondel. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Are there traps?”

He shrugged. “I told you that no one knows. Out of all the stories I read, none described the room. Best to be cautious. You take the left and I’ll take the right.”

“What about me?” asked Lela.

“Stay here and guard the door.”

Slowly the two circled the room, gradually closing the gap between the wall and the pedestal while scanning the space for anything suspicious. They stopped inches from the pedestal and stared at the jewel.

“I don’t see anything,” said Andrasta.

“Me either.” He looked up. “And no skylights for Kamal and Wabu to descend from.”

She snorted. “So now what?”

“Just take it.”

“And if there’s a trap we don’t know about?”

“We just spent several minutes examining the room and pedestal. I can’t see anything, can you?”

“No.”

“Then I say we just take it. If there are any traps left, they’re sorcerous in nature and we won’t know them until they’ve been triggered. C’mon. After all your hard work, you’re finally here.”