Eventide (Meratis Trilogy Book 2) (24 page)

Jayden, Brady, and Jeff left together, turning the other way to leave the Keep and go out to the stables.

Inside, Paul was brushing Nalen, Jasmine’s black Friesian, the horse chewing happily on a pile of hay. He flicked his head towards them as they approached.

“They’re all here,” Brady said, looking at the full stalls.

“All except two,” said Jayden, pointing behind him. Brady looked over his shoulder. “Corsa’s gone, of course. But so is Harold’s ride home.”

“He left a couple of hours ago,” said Paul. “Around dinner time.”

Jeff went to Swish’s stall and rested his hand on the gelding’s nose. “Did he say where he was going?”

“Nope. Was in a hurry, though. Didn’t even give me a chance to tack him up, just did a rush job himself and bolted. Wouldn’t surprise me if he fell on his ass right outside the gate.”

“Did you see which way he went?” asked Brady.

“No, sir, not after he left the stables.”

“What about Lady Jasmine?”

Paul’s eyes lit up. “She was here about half an hour ago. Came to get Corsa. Had her bow with her.”

“Yep, that sounds about right,” Jayden said with a sigh, running his hand over his hair. “Thanks.”

Paul drew his attention back to his task, and the three men stood huddled in the aisle.

“So what’s next?” Jeff asked, keeping his voice low. “We have three plotlines running and somehow they converge in the middle. Which thread do we pick at first to pull apart the others?”

Brady chewed on his cheek. “The easiest is Harold, of course.”

“Would have been,” Jayden corrected. “If we hadn’t let him get away.”

“If he hasn’t gone home, where else would he go? Do you think he knows where Raul is hiding?”

A shadow stretched out between their feet from a figure standing in the stable door, and the three men turned to see Jasmine. Her face was flushed with exertion, her eyes red and puffy from a more emotional ailment. Her long braid fell over her shoulder, flyaway hairs sticking to damp cheeks. Over one shoulder hung a quiver, her bow in hand.

“Why did I see the first counsellor’s man riding like the wind down the road?”

“Where have you been?” Jayden demanded as Brady asked a quieter, “Are you all right?” and just as Jeff asked, “Did he see you?”

Jasmine looked from one man to the next, hoisting the quiver further up onto her shoulder. “I was in the woods. Walking. So no, he didn’t see me from the road, but I was close enough and curious enough to look when I heard him tearing past. What’s going on?”

She didn’t address Brady’s question with anything but a brief smile, Jeff noticed.

They filled her in, and once all the details were shared and discussed, Jayden said, “I don’t think he should be our biggest priority.” He flicked his thumb over the embroidered hawk on his breast. “Whether he went to warn Raul or not, if he even knows where he is, it doesn’t matter. The scouts are already out there. We find Raul, we find them both.”

“So we should keep waiting for the messengers?” Jeff asked, a little disappointed. It was such a lacklustre plan.

“I doubt we’ll need to wait much longer,” said Jasmine. “I received word earlier from two different units. The northeast road is clear all the way to the Andine River, but the scouts heading south have found more than one drained villager on the road.”

“It’s nice that you decided to share this with us, Jax. When did the message come in? I’m surprised you thought it important to tell us at all.”

Jayden’s open frustration surprised Jeff, but Brady or Paul kept their attention on the ground. He guessed the tension between the siblings had been an ongoing issue the last few months.

“I just thought you’d prefer me shooting at trees instead of at you.”

“I’d prefer it if you dealt with your issues and moved past them, instead of hiding away on your own. Corey is dead. You need to accept that.”

“You’d think he wasn’t your best friend, the way you’re acting like such a cold-hearted son of a bitch.”

“Or I just focused on what needs to get done and leave my grief for the privacy of my room. I’ve tried to be patient, but we need to organise our priorities. What would Corey say to see you like this?”

Jasmine’s face and knuckles went white and she looked ready to spit in her brother’s face. Jayden braced himself, leaning towards her, over her.

The matching expression of anger on their faces grew as each one prepared for the other to lash out. Jeff caught Brady’s eye and the scholar just shrugged and gave a slight shake of his head.

Before anyone could interrupt, cries and shouts sounded from the courtyard, the tremble of horses riding towards them in a mad dash.

The four of them left the stable to see what the fuss was about and stood in awe at the dozen men drawing to a halt in front of the stable. Horses and men bloodied and shaken, many of the riders couldn’t hold their feet when they dismounted, or their stomachs.

Jeff noticed the royal sigil on their chests. Queen’s scouts.

One man stepped forward to greet them, and fell onto his knees. Jayden and Jasmine rushed over to help him.

“What is it? What’s happened?”

“Please,” the man said. Blood gushed from an open wound on his forehead, the odour that came with it suggesting more than just a battle with a blade. “Close the gates. Bar them. Keep them out.”

And then he collapsed in a dead faint.

***

Without further question, Jayden gave the order to close the gates, and then all energy went to getting the twelve men to the Healing Ward. None of them seemed able to speak of what had happened, so the Lord and Lady of Feldall held their questions, sharing amazed glances with Brady and Jeff at the extent of the scouts’ injuries. Gouges, slashes, the stink of poison: whatever they had got themselves into, they hadn’t come out of it well.

“You stay with him,” Jasmine said to Jeff and Brady, gesturing to the man who had spoken as the physician’s aides carried him through the Keep. “Let us know if he wakes up.”

She and Jayden split up to see to the arrangements of the horses and rooms, and if any word of what happened had followed the men.

Jeff stayed put, keeping his eyes averted as the physician stripped the man down to inspect the wounds. What he saw was enough to turn his stomach. Deep, oozing gashes in the soldier’s shoulder and torso, the skin had already started to turn into black branches that stretched out from the wound. Unconscious, he struggled to breathe, ragged gasps that sounded wet and raw.

Beside him, Brady couldn’t keep his gaze away, studying every last blood drop as if it would give him the answer to all life’s questions.

“Incredible,” the physician said. “I’ve only seen this once before, and it was a miracle we saved him.”

“Saved who?” asked Brady.

“Lord Jayden.”

Jeff’s mouth fell open, and he turned with more interest to the patient, doing his best to see but not see. He and Brady exchanged a knowing glance.

The physician poured some alcohol over a cloth. “You don’t suppose Maggie—”

“No,” Brady cut in. “She doesn’t have the strength to handle this many. She nearly didn’t survive with Jayden. In fact, I think it better she not know anything about this. Not yet.”

With a disappointed turn of his mouth, the physician nodded. “In that case, you’ll have to step away, please. This won’t be pretty or easy. Please advise Lady Jasmine we may not be able to save him. Any of them.”

Jeff followed Brady on shaky legs to try and find Jasmine, but she was nowhere to be found.

“They were attacked by Raul’s pets,” said Jeff.

“It means they had to have been close enough to him to be considered a threat.” Brady grimaced. “Hopefully one makes it through to tell us where that was.”

Screams drowned out any other sound as one man woke up. And Brady and Jeff left the Ward, not wanting to get in anyone’s way. As they reached the corridor, Jasmine and Jayden returned.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay with him?” said Jasmine.

“He won’t be talking for a while,” Jeff replied. “If he ever talks at all.”

“But we did learn something about the attack. The injuries are the same nature as yours, Jay. Raul’s sent out scouts of his own.”

Jayden’s face paled and turned slightly grey. “We need to find out where they were.”

“By going out ourselves?” Jeff asked. “We don’t know what’s out there. What if the creatures followed these guys back here?”

He knew he shouldn’t have said it. Knew he was tempting fate.

Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, a horn blast cut through the noise of the Ward. Jasmine and Jayden didn’t hesitate to break into a run, and Brady and Jeff followed.

Why am I following? Go back to your room, you idiot!
Jeff berated himself as he ran. His vision got spotty with the effort. But no matter how many names he called himself, he knew he would go. He had to know. His curiosity would kill him, one of these days.

They climbed three series of stairs up into a guard tower, another area of the Keep Jeff had never visited in person, and only once in his series. The view from the window was breathtaking. Not just for its beauty, but for the sight of three eagles swooping down on the courtyard.

The alarm had come early enough for most people to hide inside, but those trapped in the lanes fell victim to the bird attacks. Jeff couldn’t see the details from up here, of which he was relieved, but at least one dark shape on the road didn’t get back up again.

“Get to the crossbows,” Jayden ordered his men. Jasmine took the first floor-mounted weapon, while the guards manned the others. Jayden stood in the window, unable to wield the weapon single-handed. Jeff and Brady stood in the next window, trying to get a good look at these circling demons.

When Jeff did, he wished he hadn’t.

The faces bore no feathers, the skin a mottled grey. Red eyes stared out and the pointed beaks reflected in the sunlight. Metal. Around their necks, a large mane of soft brown feathers, a deceptively cuddly part that likely contained enough poison to kill Talfyr. The talons were daggers, curling and uncurling as they pushed off roofs, and left rock crumbling beneath them.

Jeff watched the archers to see if the weapons would have any effect on the birds. He kept his fingers crossed against the waves of doubt.

Jayden gave the order and the three crossbows fired. Jeff watched the arrows fly, and fist pumped when the first bird fell. Those arrows packed a punch. The bird swirled in the air like a vulture before landing in a heap on the ground.

He saw Brady’s eyes light up, remembered how the scholar had wanted to study the cougars after the attack in the woods.

“Think you’ll get your chance this time?” Jeff asked.

Brady’s face fell, and he pointed out the window. “Nope.” The dark spot on the ground had already disappeared into a pile of ash. But a sudden revelation changed his expression again, his brow rising, and he leaned forward to grip the window sill. “They’re dead.”

“Not all of them,” said Jeff, pointing to the other two in the sky.

“Yes, they are. These animals aren’t alive, just animated. That’s why they decompose so quickly.”

“So what does that mean? Doesn’t make them any less deadly.”

“No, but it might mean Maggie can help us get rid of them.”

Jeff grinned at the thought. No more fighting these messed up beasts with the thousand and one built-in death traps.

He let out a cheer as the second eagle fell, and was just about to let out another “Whoop!” at the death of the third when Brady stumbled. Jeff grabbed hold of him, and didn’t let go until his friend appeared steady on his feet.

“I’m fine. Just need something to eat. I’ll check in with you guys later.”

He left, holding onto the wall as he went down the stairs. Jeff didn’t feel right letting him go alone, but by the time he decided to follow, Brady had already disappeared.

Trusting Brady knew best, he turned back to Jasmine and Jayden. “Congratulations on some good aim. Sure showed them.”

“For now,” Jasmine said. “Who knows how many more he’s got coming.”

“We’ll spread word for people to remain indoors,” said Jayden. “I don’t think it will be much longer now. Just like last time, he attacked us to keep us away. It has to mean he’s close.”

Jasmine twisted her head around. “Where did Brady go?”

“To get some food. Said he felt dizzy. But he thinks Maggie might be able to help us with the animals. He thinks they’re dead. Some kind of necronomicalmancy spell or something. Might be worth talking to her about.”

His last words slurred with a yawn.

Jasmine smiled. “I’ll go talk to her. You get some sleep. I think our lives are about to get even more exciting.”

***

After Jasmine went off to talk to Maggie, and Jayden disappeared to update Michael, Jeff thought only of getting to bed. On his way, he passed by the library, but once again the door was locked and, although light flickered under the door, no sounds came from inside. Brady already back at work. Jeff wondered what his research involved. And whether it was as harmless as Maggie thought. He trusted her opinion—anyone who knew what to do with books full of maggots and moths had to know something about rituals—but he still worried. Brady was the rational one, the level-headed one. He suspected they would need his specific type of strength in the days to come.