Witch Fall (12 page)

I have come to wonder if we abuse the elements as we did that elephant. ~Jolin

Lilette fixed her gaze on the serpentine dragon statues flanking the palace steps. Her gaze traveled up the red-lined steps, to the pinnacle, where the emperor stood in front of the open palace doors. What struck her most was how ordinary he was, with his wide stomach and his expression of disapproval. He assessed her with a shrewd, calculating gaze. 

She suppressed a shudder as Jia Li came to a stop at the base of the palace steps. The boy gave the elephant a bunch of bananas.

Chen called out for Jia Li to lift her leg. He held a loop attached to a harness around the elephant’s neck and chest, swung onto her leg, and dismounted.

The platform was brought out again. Taking a deep breath that sent a jolt of pain through her side, Lilette gripped the rails and stepped onto the surface. The eunuchs lowered her smoothly to the ground.

Masses of people surrounded her, all of them pressing their foreheads to the ground—all except the elite, who stood still as stone. She made her way slowly through them, hesitating at the palace steps—after all, Han had said she would be killed for merely touching them.

“You may enter my home,” the emperor said. With robes lifted, Lilette stepped between ranks of officials to stand before them. “For your dowry, you offer my son children with the power of the keepers’ songs,” the emperor continued. “In return, we offer a bride price of titles, land, silks, and jewels. I have found the bargain worthy.”

He nodded to his wife. She motioned to two eunuchs, who stepped forward, bearing a headdress between them. The monstrous thing, easily as big as Lilette’s head, was a half orb embedded with stones the color of shallow water.

“It has nine dragons and nine phoenixes. The number signifies your exalted status,” Empress Yuwen explained. The dragons were actually golden sculptures that seemed to be climbing among the flat bodies of the phoenixes. The four bobins” —the empress motioned to the couplings of wings that fanned out from the side of the crown— “signify you as wife of the crown prince.” The empress’s crown had six bobins.

Pearl strands dangled from the sides of the headdress, geometric patterns of gold giving them shape. The eunuchs placed it on Lilette’s head. It was terribly heavy, and the pearls clicked in her ears and brushed her shoulders when she moved. She could already feel a headache beginning in her forehead.

“It is done,” the emperor proclaimed. “All arise.”

And just like that, Lilette was married. The rustle of thousands of people moving to their feet was deafening. She could feel their gazes on her, though with her back to them, they would see nothing more than her fabulous robes and the boulder of a headdress.

The emperor raised both his hands to the air. “Let us now celebrate with a feast!”

As if they’d waited for the signal, eunuchs immediately moved through the crowds, handing out oranges from baskets tucked under their arms.

Chen stepped down and offered his arm. Keeping her face impassive, Lilette took it. This close, the details of the palace were amazing. Nearly translucent panels lined the entire front, all standing open to let in the occasional breeze. An interlocking, woven pattern ran below all the windows, the weave meant to keep out demons from below. The double doors featured carvings of serpentine dragons, which Lilette was studying when eunuchs opened the doors.

Inside, the main room took up nearly the entire floor. Officials and scholars in their best silks slipped into their kowtows beside low tables surrounded by cushions. Lilette tried to catch sight of Han, but she couldn’t find him.

The emperor and his wife went to the center table, which was raised above the others. Lilette followed them in a daze. Her bruises hurt, and she was so thirsty and hot. The headdress had made her head go numb. She maneuvered her way through kowtowing crowds of people, their faces a blur.

She took her place at the table. Eunuchs brought the first course. Lilette downed the wine and asked for water. They refilled her cup three times before she felt satisfied. She knew she should eat, since she would need all her strength for what was coming, but anything she put in her mouth stuck in her throat.

The men at the table spoke, their voices rising and falling without meaning. Lilette was glad women were discouraged from speaking in the palace, and glad her silence was marked as a sign of humility instead of terror.

Just as the meal started winding down, unease settled over Lilette. In less than a heartbeat, nature went from smooth and flowing to writhing in pain. In a daze, she rose to her feet. The room went silent.

“Lilette?” Chen said.

“Something is wrong.” She’d felt this before—this sense that something was deeply amiss, when the witches’ songs had attacked the Vorlayan armada. And long before that, when she and her mother had called down lightning.

Lilette’s eyes widened as she understood. “They’re singing against us.” And then she remembered her mother showing her scenes of death and destruction that had ended with the island sinking below the waves. “Grove City is attacking!”

Chen was on his feet now, his arms on her shoulders, trying to convince her to sit down.

“You have to let them go! Let them go or the witches will destroy you!” Lilette shouted at the emperor.

His gaze flashed to the back of the palace. The screen there had been slid aside, providing a perfect view of the gardens where the witches were held. “See they are all secure!” the emperor commanded. Elite standing guard shouldered their halberds and started running.

“No!” Lilette said. “It’s coming from Grove City.” No sooner had the words left her lips than the palace bucked beneath her, sending her flying. Her ridiculous headdress toppled off and cracked nearly in two.

The world roared in protest—a sound full of breaking and crushing. The palace shook as if it would come down around them. Lilette tried to crawl away, but the ground shook her to the floor. She curled into a ball, hoping the entire structure didn’t crumble on top of her.

Somehow, Chen managed to reach her. He wrapped his arms protectively around her, and she was so terrified she turned to him and buried her head in his chest. The shaking seemed to go on forever, but when it finally ended, she peered out. She barely recognized the room. Tables had been upended, food had spilled, carved reliefs had cracked, and sculptures had toppled.

“You have to let them go, Chen,” Lilette murmured against him. “They’ll destroy us all if you don’t.”

“Shh,” he said comfortingly before pulling her to her feet. Frenzied eunuchs rushed about the room, tending to everyone.

“You knew that was coming?” the emperor demanded of her.

Lilette braced herself. “I knew something was coming. I did not know what.”

Suddenly Han was there, his gaze on her in Chen’s arms. “There’s always a second one. Get everyone out!”

Everyone rushed outside. Lilette gasped in a breath full of dust and fear before the second wave hit. Chen wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, making her bruised side ache anew. This one didn’t knock her down, nor did it last as long. When it had finished, Lilette was surprised the palace still stood.

“It is an ill omen,” the empress said, her gaze fixed on Lilette.

The emperor’s face was red. “Have our witches fight back! Level Grove City!”

Lilette shook her head. “For a song that powerful to travel such a distance, hundreds of witches must have been singing.” Even she knew that. “You have just over thirty.”

The emperor’s face went even redder, and his gaze focused on her bare head. “That headdress has been in my family for generations. Where is it? What have you done?”

Lilette crossed her arms over her chest. If he had to blame someone, apparently it had to be the witch closest to him.

Chen moved between her and his father. Han edged up from behind. “We must see to the city, Emperor. There will be injured. Collapsed buildings. Fires.”

The emperor began roaring commands, ordering elite into the city and calling for the imperial soldiers to be mobilized.

Lilette watched soldiers running from the palace. With them gone, it would be much easier to escape. She put her hand in her pocket and rubbed her thumb along the chipped edge of the phoenix wing. She just had to slip away.

But she hadn’t taken two steps before Chen found her. He looked around. “Where are the blasted eunuchs when you need them?” He pushed her toward his brother. “See that she’s taken safely to my rooms and keep her there!”

Han grunted. “Where are you going?”

Chen had already started running. “To prepare the witches for a counter song if we’re attacked again!”

Han motioned for Lilette to walk in front of him. “This is only the beginning,” she said once they were out of earshot. He clenched his jaw as they stepped back into the chaos inside. “They will not relent,” she continued. “And you don’t have enough of us to fight them. If you let us go, we can negotiate on your behalf.”

They passed a pair of gold-plated lions guarding the symmetric staircase. “I saw this happen,” she insisted. Han showed no sign that he was listening. “The witches will sink the whole island.”

He spoke through clenched teeth. “You’re saying you’re some kind of seer?”

They’d started up to the second level. “I was shown it, by one of the Creators.”

Han stiffened. “You saw the Sun Dragon?”

If Lilette’s mother couldn’t be called a Sun Dragon, who could? “Yes. And I saw Rinnish sink below the waves, witches and all.”

Han briefly closed his eyes. “Kalari won’t destroy the city, not with their witches still inside.”

Lilette’s shoulders fell. “They will have to in order to prevent this kind of thing from happening again.”

Han paused before an intricately carved door. He pushed it open to reveal a room with an actual bed littered with silk cushions. Beautifully carved tables had tipped over, spilling the glittering contents of jewelry chests across the floor.

She hurried to the opposite door and stepped onto the porch. Parts of the city were burning, smoke rising into the midday sky. Other parts had collapsed into rubble. People would be buried there, their homes becoming their graves. Lilette pressed her hand to her mouth.

This was just the beginning. “I have to free my sister and the others. It’s what I was saved for.”

Han rounded on her. “Save them? They’re guarded by over seventy elite. The guardians are in the enclosure where the lions used to be kept. And only the emperor has the key.”

She swallowed against the tightness in her throat. “Han, you have to let me go.”

“So you can die?” He gripped the banister, his knuckles turning white. “Do you know what you’re asking me? When you’re caught, my father will have you killed. Neither Chen nor I will be able to stop him.” Han stared at her fabulous robes. “My brother will never forgive me. He trusts me. And he’s your husband.” Han’s voice broke on the last part. “Then my own father would kill me.”

He wasn’t going to let her go. “Death is not something to fear, Han.” She reached into the folds of her sash and gripped her knife. She tipped forward as if to kiss him. He took hold of her arms to push her away. “I’m sorry,” she breathed, then swung her arm out in an arc and slammed the butt of the dagger into his temple.

He collapsed in a heap on the floor. Lilette stared at the blood-red stone in the hilt. She should kill him. He would be coming for her when he woke. But she couldn’t bring herself to do
it.

That tremor was a warning from the keepers. We all knew it. And all of us secretly wondered how expendable we were. ~Jolin

Lilette unstrapped Han’s armor and stripped off his clothing, trying hard not to look at the scars that cut across his body like the lines of a map. She tore off her elaborate robes and dropped them on the floor. Standing in nothing but her smallclothes, she wrenched the combs and flowers from her hair. She found a basin of water and scrubbed her face and neck clean of powders.

Next, she snatched a silk purse, stuffed it with jewels, and tied it to her waist, then pulled on Han’s tunic and trousers. She twisted her hair up off her neck and tugged on his leather-and-bronze-plated helmet. It promptly fell over her eyes. She stuffed it with squares of washing linen. The helmet’s flaps covered her neck and ears, and there was an optional faceguard. She strapped it on, tightening it with the leather straps. It was stuffy, but now only her eyes showed. Too bad they were blue.

Luckily, Han was only a little taller than she, so although they were baggy, the clothing and armor fit her fairly well. His large boots would be the biggest problem.

Creators’ mercy, she was terrified. She opened the screen and peeked outside. She cast one final glance at Han’s motionless body before fastening her eyes to the floor and retracing her steps through the wide corridors, the swords at her back clanging together with each of her steps.

She trotted down two flights of stairs to the main room. Eunuchs and elite bustled about. No one made a move to stop her as she rounded one of the golden lions and headed straight for the gardens. She was halfway there when Chen strode through the garden doors, Wang at his side. She ducked her head, sick with fear. The nearby elite paused to bow as Chen passed, so Lilette did the same.

“Keep an eye on her. I don’t trust her,” Chen said as he drew even with her. “And tell my brother to meet me at the stables. We’re needed in the city.”

Chen pulled his helmet onto his head and didn’t look back as Wang trotted up the stairs, his belly bouncing. The moment Wang arrived at the rooms, he’d find Han unconscious and Lilette missing. It would be over before it had even begun.

It took everything she had to wait to burst into a run until she reached the shadows of the garden. She raced toward where they kept the Guardians, her heart pounding frantically and weakness assaulting her. But she couldn’t slow down. Couldn’t stop.

She’d nearly made it when the alarm rose up from the palace. It was too far away for Lilette to make out the words, but the meaning was clear. Wang had discovered her missing. 

Knowing there was no time for subtlety, she didn’t slow down when she reached the enclosure where the guardians were kept. She simply ran to the gates. Unfortunately, her breath was coming so hard she couldn’t talk.

Hunched over, she braced herself against her thighs, as much because she was about to fall over as because it would hide her face. She waved toward the main gates. “Earthquake, distraction,” she said to the elite guard. “Vorlayans in the compound.”

Her distress must have convinced them, because all but two of the elite ran off. Two she could handle.

She followed the ones who were leaving. As soon as she was hidden from view, she found the tallest tree in sight and climbed until she could see the guardians and the two remaining elite. There wasn’t time to hesitate. Chen would guess where she’d gone. Elite would be coming.

Unstrapping one side of the useless faceguard, Lilette sang between gasping breaths. Of course the two remaining guards heard her, and of course they came running. But that’s why she’d climbed the tree, to buy herself time.

She considered singing a song to bind them, but she didn’t dare take the time for it. Instead, she sang for the plants to wrap around the bars holding the guardians prisoner.

The two elite found her quicker than she’d hoped, and immediately started climbing the tree. Arms trembling with exhaustion, Lilette climbed higher, still maintaining her song.

On the fifth repetition, she’d gone high enough that the tree had started to tip with her weight. She made the mistake of looking down, and her head went light.

A branch broke beneath one of the elite’s feet. He scrambled for purchase, barely managing to hang on. When he regained his footing, he and the other guard didn’t try to climb any higher. Instead, they hacked at the tree with their swords.

Cries of outrage came from the guardians. They yanked harder on the bars. Hundreds of vines had curled around the bars, squeezing and tightening until the empty spaces bulged. One of the slightest guardians—he looked no older than a boy, with a shock of copper hair—squirmed through the bars and darted toward Lilette. 

An elite below her gave a shout when Copper Hair appeared at the base. Quick as a monkey, he clambered up. A grim-faced elite dropped down to deal with him. The other hacked harder at the tree.

With a crack, the trunk suddenly dropped beneath Lilette. She screamed as it fell forward. It jerked to a stop, and the momentum swung her around until she was dangling by her fingertips just a few lengths from the elite.

A gurgling shout sounded below her. Lilette looked down in time to see one of the elite plummet from the tree. He hit the ground and didn’t move again. Copper Hair barely paused to tuck his sword away before he was climbing again.

Lilette met the remaining elite’s gaze and saw murder bright in his eyes. He must have known he was going to die, but he was going to kill her first. He stepped onto one of the branches and eased toward her, his sword outstretched.

“Hurry!” she called to Copper Hair.

The elite steadied himself and swung his sword. Lilette had no choice but to let go. She screamed as she fell, crashing through branches, her arms desperately flailing.

A hand shot out, grabbing hold of her trousers and nearly pulling them off her. She squealed and glanced up to see Copper Hair looking down at her, his expression strained as he held on. Half a moment later, another guardian grabbed the back of Lilette’s breastplate and pulled her onto the branch with him. Copper Hair nodded at them both before scrambling after the remaining elite.

The tree was crawling with guardians now. They helped her to the base. She promptly collapsed and lay panting. Her side throbbed, and stars swam in and out of focus before her.

A man, his dark hair streaked with gray, hovered over her, wearing a stunned expression. He had dark features like a Harshen, but his eyes were different—more rounded—and his skin had a reddish-brown tone. “You’re not Sash?” he said in Kalarian.

“No. I’m her sister, Lilette.” She struggled to sit up while pulling her trousers back on. At any other time, she would have been mortified, but she was too relieved to be out of the tree to care. 

He reached down and pulled her to her feet. “How—”

“No time. They already know I’m missing.” She handed him Han’s swords—they were useless in her own hands.

“I’m Second Leader Geth.” He took them, keeping one for himself and handing the other to a mountain of a man with kind eyes. Two other guardians stripped the swords from the dead elite.

Geth nodded to two of the guardians who dropped out of the tree—Copper Hair and another small man, each of whom had a sword now. That left six swords to share among what appeared to be over fifty guardians. “The rest of you grab sticks or rocks,” Geth ordered. “Let’s go.”

He motioned for Lilette to come with him. “Soon as we’re in position, I want you up a tree again, singing.” She blanched at the thought of climbing another tree. “Bind up as many of the elite as you can. I’ll leave Galon to guard you.”

Geth and the guardians spread out as Copper Hair—Galon—came in beside her. When they were close to where the witches were being kept, Lilette spotted a fairly tall, sturdy-looking tree. Touching Galon’s arm, she motioned toward it. He nodded wordlessly and secreted himself in the foliage at its base.

She climbed, her hands stinging with scratches from the previous tree. She concentrated on gripping one branch at a time, and never once did she look down. She came high enough to see the witches and the elite who guarded them. It appeared Chen hadn’t pulled any of them to clean up the streets. With about two elite per witch, their numbers were fairly even with the guardians.

Taking a deep breath, she fixed the song in her heart. As soon as it passed her lips, the guardians charged. The elite saw them coming and positioned themselves between the charge and the witches.

It was a terrible thing, watching unarmed guardians charge men armed with two blades. But they did it, fiercely slamming into the enemy and knocking them back.

Lilette’s song faltered when the witches rammed the elite from behind. The witches were bound and gagged, completely defenseless. But the elite didn’t turn and slay them. Instead, they beat them back with hilts, and then turned to face the guardians again.

The guardians were brilliant to watch. Even with her ignorance of sword fighting, Lilette could see their skill. They ducked blades, kicking out with feet and hands. They twisted into the elite’s guard and came back with one of their swords.

And they died. Even with the guardians’ skills and determination, elite reinforcements would arrive any second, and then it would be over.

They didn’t just need to win, they needed to win quickly. Lilette steadied herself. She had to sing perfectly. She had to save them. She put everything she had into it, her voice chiming over the fray.

Vines shot out of the ground, wrapping around the elite’s feet and tripping them, slowing them down. Another voice joined hers. A guardian had managed to free one of the witches. As she sang, she started yanking gags out of other witches’ mouths.

Within moments, half a dozen witches were singing, their voices blending with Lilette’s. In turn they moved to other witches, freeing their mouths.

Growing impossibly fast, plants shot from cracks between the bricks. They stretched, catching at the elite’s feet and binding them. Guardians promptly finished them off, taking their swords—two swords to arm two men. It was over. 

Lilette scrambled down the tree. Not trusting her trembling body, she took great care. When she reached the bottom, she braced herself against the tree to keep from falling over.

The witches had switched their song and might need her help. She looked around expectantly for Galon, but he was nowhere to be seen. “Galon?” She took half a dozen steps before freezing. He lay still on the ground, his hair a shock of color against his pale face. She dropped beside him and held her hand in front of his mouth. His breath touched her fingertips.

A sound made her turn. Two dozen elite stepped into view—Chen and Han among them. Lilette’s faceguard was down. Her gaze flitted across Han—fully clothed and armored—to Chen, who wore the same dead expression as when he’d killed Laosh.

Lilette bolted, but she hadn’t made it five strides before Chen grabbed her hair. She clawed at his grip, tears welling in her eyes from the pain. He forced her to her knees. She twisted just enough to see him raise his sword, his face conflicted.

A hand shot out and gripped Chen’s sword arm. Han came into view, and he wore death as armor again. “What did you expect her to do?” he hissed. “You took her by force, married her by force.”

“She has betrayed our people!” Chen shouted.

“Our people! Not hers!”

Chen tried to jerk free. “This is a kindness. You know what Father will do to her.”

Han shook his head. “I can’t let you kill her.”

Chen released Lilette. She pitched forward, landing hard. She gathered herself and looked back to find Han sprawled on the ground. Chen’s hand fisted. “She was raised among us!” he said.

Han shot to his feet. “Because we killed her family.”

Chen’s expression changed to something unreadable. “No. The witches did that.”

A lie.

Han held out a placating hand. “Just let her go.”

Chen tightened his grip on his sword. “That’s why Father chose me as the heir instead of you. Because I do what must be done.”

He turned toward Lilette and raised his sword. She cowered as it came down, but it was blocked with a clang of steel. Han had drawn his own weapon. He threw his brother’s sword back.

In a flash, Chen’s expression changed from disbelief to betrayal. “You sure you want to do this, little brother?”

Drawing his second sword, Han took a fighting position between Lilette and Chen, one blade high, the other low. “I can’t let you kill her.”