Legacy of the Blood (The Threshold Trilogy) (5 page)

She knew that her future would be filled with conflict and
sacrifice—after all, she had accepted the role of Threshold Child, and that
would not be an easy path. Still, her heart longed for a reprieve.

L’iam had promised her that someday they would live in peace and
prosperity. He had spoken of an end to the Shimat and the thriving of the
L’avan. Most of all, he had painted a picture in her mind of the happy days
they would share together, basking in the love that continued to grow between
them.

Adesina sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

She prayed that such dreams were still possible.

Chapter Five: Liberation

Adesina was waiting in the common room when Kendan
came down the next morning. He spotted her sitting quietly by the fireplace and
walked over.

“I was not going to sneak out,” he said with a hint
of annoyance.

The night before, she had told Than’os to move his
bed in front of the window so that no one could open it without his knowledge.
And that morning she had awoken well before dawn so that she would be able to
watch the front door. Ravi was prowling around the outside of the inn just in
case Kendan got past the L’avan.

“It is better to take precautions than to live with
regrets,” she answered with a smile. “The Shimat taught me that.”

“You have to start trusting me,” Kendan said softly, “or this
mission will fail.”

She gave him a measured look. “Trust does not grow overnight.
Especially when it has been broken before.”

Adesina detected a slight flush in his cheeks as he busied himself
with putting on his cloak. “Well, we should probably go before the sun rises. I
do not want to attract the eyes of onlookers.”

She nodded and donned her own cloak. She connected with her
vyala
,
manipulating the light around her to create an illusion. She gave her face the
appearance of Hestia, the leader of one of the Northern Tribes and one of her
dear friends. The Ojuri—Hestia’s people—often traded with the L’avan, and they
had developed a close bond between the two groups.

Adesina’s shimmering silver hair turned black with streaks of
grey. Her purple and gold eyes became a rich brown, and her face became
careworn and regal. Even Hestia’s children wouldn’t have been able to tell them
apart at first glance. Those who knew the Ojuri leader would notice that the
mannerisms were different, but that didn’t matter for Adesina’s purposes.

Kendan stared at her in fascination. “Amazing! There is no sign of
the illusion, even when you move.”

She tried not to look smug. “That is the idea. It does take a fair
amount of concentration, though, so I will not be very interactive.”

He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “That does not matter.
I will be doing the talking.”

They walked out onto the street, and Ravi was waiting for them. He
took in Adesina’s appearance with a glance and smiled.

“Hestia?”

The young queen shrugged. “There are only a handful of non-L’avan,
non-Shimat faces that I know well enough to duplicate.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, I suppose it would be easier to
mimic a face rather than create a new one.”

Kendan led them down the dim streets with barely a hesitation.
They left the main thoroughfare near the center of town, and made their way
down a small alley between two shops. The door where they stopped seemed to
lead to an apartment above the mercantile. He rapped his knuckles on the wooden
planks and then stepped back.

Adesina found herself holding her breath as she waited for an
answer. It took all of her training to keep her face neutral.

The door opened, and a wizened man in a nightshirt peered at them
in confusion. His wispy white hair was disheveled, and his eyes were bleary
with sleep.

“Yes?”

Kendan spoke quietly, but with confidence. “I am lost, and I was
hoping you might give me some directions.”

The old man frowned. “It is a strange time of day for a traveler to
be out and about.”

“I prefer to start early.”

“Hmph! Well, I suppose I can help you. Where are you trying to
go?”

“Bellflower Street.”

The man scratched his head with a bemused expression on his
wrinkled face. “I have never heard of a street by that name. Not in this town,
at least. Do you mean Flowervale Square?”

Kendan shook his head. “No, I am certain it is Bellflower Street.”

“There are not many streets in this town, young man, and none of
them bear names like that. You must be in the wrong town all together.”

He gave a small bow. “Perhaps you are right. I apologize for the
inconvenience.”

The old man shut the door, muttering to himself about strangers
and their lack of consideration for decent hours.

Adesina watched the exchange silently, attempting to puzzle out
the code that they must have been using. When Kendan started to walk away, she
followed closely.

“Well?” she asked in a low voice. “What did he say?”

“There is a secret entrance. Someone will be waiting for us.”

They stayed in the narrow paths between the buildings, using the
shadows to hide their passing. A small hatch in the back of the smithy swung
open at their approach, and a hawkish looking stranger waved them down the
rickety stairs.

The man was clearly a Shimat—Adesina could tell by the way he
moved. He closed the hatch and then turned on them with a knife drawn.
“Identify yourselves.”

“I am Shimat Shrike, personal assistant to the Sharifal,” stated
Kendan. “I am here for the alchemist.”

“Do you have proof of your identity?”

“I gave the appropriate codes for one of my rank,” he responded
coldly.

The man hesitated, and then nodded. “I apologize, Shimat Shrike.
We were not expecting anyone for another week.”

Kendan pulled out a sealed document. “Here are your new orders.”

The man broke the seal and scanned the words carefully. Adesina
prayed that it was a good enough forgery to pass such a close inspection. After
a moment, he walked over to the nearest lamp and burned the paper. “Follow me,”
he instructed.

They walked down two flights of stairs, and through a gloomy
passageway. The air was stale and oppressive, causing Adesina’s nose to wrinkle
in distaste. A wooden door stood at the end, with a sturdy lock on the latch.
The Shimat searched through his keys and then opened the cell.

There was another Shimat sitting on a stool by the door. She
looked up at their entrance and quirked an eyebrow questioningly.

“Change of plans,” the man said briefly. “These two will be taking
the alchemist with them.”

On the far side of the room, the prisoner lifted her bedraggled
head to look at her new captors. She was alarmingly thin, with a gaunt face and
haunted eyes. Her hair was dingy, but it looked to be a shade of auburn, and
her eyes were a vibrant green. It took Adesina several moments to recognize the
face of Mistress Faryl, a woman she had known years ago in the High City.

Adesina’s mind filled with questions, but she kept her expression
passive. They would have time to talk later, if they could escape without
arousing the suspicions of the Shimat.

The woman guarding the prisoner walked over to unlock the shackles
binding Faryl to the wall. The former apothecary shop owner got to her feet
shakily, and tried to hold her head with dignity.

“Just this one?” asked the male Shimat.

Kendan nodded once. “Yes.”

“Do you want any of her work, or shall I send that back to the
fortress?”

“Her notes will suffice,” he replied. “Send the supplies back.”

The man went to fetch the notes, while the woman wrapped a thin
cloak around Faryl’s stooped shoulders.

“This will help avoid suspicion while you leave town,” she
explained.

In the corridor a small bell rang twice and fell silent. The
Shimat woman glanced in its direction with surprise. “It seems we have more
company on the way.”

Adesina felt a spike of panic. Had they been discovered?

Kendan cleared his throat and tried to keep his voice casual. “We
have no other business here, so we shall be going.”

Adesina thought that Kendan’s voice was a little too insistent to
be natural, and she was not the only one. The Shimat woman studied him
carefully.

“What if it is a messenger with updated orders?”

His expression became haughty. “I have my orders from the Sharifal
herself. I doubt she would have changed her mind the moment I left.”

She didn’t respond, but continued to watch them closely.

Adesina made an imperious gesture to Faryl, and the prisoner
obediently walked over to stand at her side.

Kendan sniffed in disdain and spun to march out of the room. The
male Shimat was exiting a room just ahead, and he fell into step with them.

He handed Kendan a sheaf of papers. “Here are her notes, Shimat
Shrike. I will see you out.”

Adesina could feel her heartbeat speeding up with each step and
she strained to keep her breath steady. Her muscles tensed in automatic
preparation for a physical attack. There was no way to know who was heading
toward them, and they needed to leave with Faryl before that happened.

The tinkling of the bell could be heard once more, and the Shimat
glanced towards the hatch with a furrowed brow. “Someone is fast approaching. It
would be best for you to wait here while I let them in.”

Kendan knew that protesting would appear suspicious, so he nodded
and walked into the shadowed alcove indicated.

The man opened the hatch and waved in a cloaked figure. Then, as
he had with Kendan and Adesina, he pulled out his knife in a threatening
gesture.

“Identify yourself.”

“I am Shimat Fox, I am here for a prisoner transfer.”

A chill ran through Adesina as she recognized a voice she had
hoped to never hear again.

It belonged to her lifelong enemy, Basha.

Basha had trained as a Shimat with Adesina, and they had never
liked each other. Their rivalry wouldn’t have been a problem in itself, but
Basha had spent years attempting to injure or even kill Adesina while making it
look like a training accident. The last time they had met, Adesina had been an
acknowledged enemy of the Shimat and Basha had tried to kill her in
earnest—tried and failed. That failure would only have fueled the hatred that
already burned in Basha’s chest.

Adesina reached over and gripped Kendan’s wrist, and she could
tell by the grim expression on his face that he also recognized the danger. She
leaned down so her mouth was next to Ravi’s ear, and she whispered as softly as
she could, “Go warn the others that we need to leave immediately. I will use my
vyala
to get us out of here, and I will catch up as soon as possible.”

Ravi wasn’t pleased with the idea of leaving her side, but he
nodded once and then disappeared from sight.

Faryl looked at her supposed captors with a trace of suspicious
confusion. Adesina knew that they were not acting as they should, but she just
hoped that the prisoner woman would do nothing to compromise their escape.

Basha’s voice could be heard from just around the corner. “I have
orders from the Sharifal.”

Kendan swore under his breath. “I fear we will have to fight our
way out of town.”

He moved to grasp the rope dart he kept in a pouch on his belt,
but Adesina laid a hand on his arm to stop him. She released the illusion that
altered her appearance and she created one that shrouded all three of them in
complete darkness.

Adesina motioned for them to move towards the exit, and she wove
the shadows to cover the light of the opening hatch.

Kendan exited first, making sure there was no one waiting for them
on the other side. He was followed by Faryl, who knew by now that something was
afoot but obeyed without question. Adesina was the last to leave the Shimat
post, using her
vyala
to cover their escape. She used her senses to find
the room where Faryl had been conducting her work and sent a flash of pure
energy to start a fire there. Then she set up a mirage around the entrance of
the hideout, making it look like a solid wall. Finally, she fused the hatch to
the ground, which would make it impossible to open without breaking it. That
would buy them enough time to escape their pursuers.

She could sense Kendan and Faryl waiting just around the corner,
and she hurried to catch up to them.

The former apothecary gasped when the young woman came into sight.
“Adrie! What are you doing here?”

It had been years since anyone had called Adesina by the alias she
had used while in the High City. Hearing it brought back a flood of memories
and a stab of regret.

“There will be time for explanations later,” she said shortly.
“For now, we need to leave town as quickly as possible.”