Legacy of the Blood (The Threshold Trilogy) (7 page)

L’iam continued to hurl his magic in her direction with dangerous
perseverance.

Her voice started to break, and tears blurred her vision. “L’iam,
it is Adesina. Your wife!”

Still no response.

Her mind was overwhelmed with desperation. How could she bring him
back to himself? There had to be a way to save him from whatever had been done.

Out of the corner of one eye, Adesina could see the Shimat that
Kendan had been fighting limping away as quickly as possible. Her hood and scarf
had been removed, and the young queen could recognize the hateful face of
Basha.

The Shimat gestured to L’iam, and he instantly ceased his attacks.
He paused to pick up the pieces of his mask, and then he followed Adesina’s
greatest enemy as they made their escape.

Adesina struggled to call upon her
vyala
, but she was far
too weak. She had expended all of her powers in the struggle with her husband,
and she could barely keep herself from collapsing. The plant life around them
had died, due to the extreme drain of its life force. She could feel the grass
crackling as she sunk down in a heap.

Blackness slowly covered her vision, as she gave one more futile
attempt to chase after the man she loved.

Adesina tried to get to her feet, but her legs refused to respond.
She held out a shaking hand to his retreating form.

“L’iam…”

As Adesina slowly returned to consciousness, every detail of her
battle returned to her with heartbreaking clarity. She wished she could erase
it from her memory.

“Adesina?” came a soft voice.

She opened her eyes and saw Kendan’s concerned face hovering above
her own.

“How do you feel?”

The young woman did an assessment of her physical well-being. The
pain in her legs and feet was completely gone. She was still exhausted, but she
knew that she could go on.

As for her emotional well-being…

Tears sprang to her eyes before she could stop them.

What had happened to her beloved L’iam? It did not seem possible
that he could ever do something so violent—especially against her. She was so
confused, and her heart felt as though it had been ravaged.

She wanted to deny L’iam’s involvement in the attack. She wanted
to preserve him as a figure of unchangeable loyalty and integrity. She wanted
to pretend that none of it had happened…and yet, she knew she couldn’t.

If Kendan noticed the tears in her eyes, he allowed her the
dignity of pretending not to see them. Adesina knew she shouldn’t care what her
former teacher thought, but her pain was too deeply personal for her to wish
for anyone to see it.

He helped her to sit up, and she saw Mar’sal slumped at her feet.
His eyes were barely open.

“What happened to him?” she asked, rushing forward to feel his
pulse.

“I gave him a stimulant to awaken him, because he needed to heal
you.”

“You could have killed him,” she snapped.

She connected to her
vyala
and searched the surrounding
area. The ground and air around them was dangerously low in energy. She had
used too much in her fight with L’iam, and the balance had been disturbed.

Adesina reached further out, towards the lake and the land beyond
the hills. She used the energy found there to restore some of the balance of
the land she had drained. The grass did not return to its previous shade of
green, but it was still alive. It would grow back in time.

She then revived all of the members of their party, including the
horses. She didn’t use enough to bring them to full strength, but they would
recover after a full night’s sleep.

Ravi was clearly unhappy about being rendered unconscious and
unable to protect Adesina during the fight. He kept close to her side, as if
determined that it should never happen again.

“Ma’eve, are you hurt?” asked her guardian.

She gestured to the recovering Mar’sal. “I have been healed. Do
not worry, my friend. It was my fault for not spotting the danger sooner.”

Adesina turned back to Kendan, and she could see the anger in his
eyes from her previous accusation. She knew that he had only wanted to save her
life. He had attacked Basha, forever branding himself as a traitor in the eyes
of the Shimat. He had offered to help them rescue L’iam with no request for
reward. He did not deserve her rudeness.

“I am sorry, Kendan.”

“I was very careful in the amount of herbs I gave him,” he said
stiffly.

She shook her head. “I do not doubt it. However, our powers use
our life force, and we can die if we use too much.”

Understanding dawned in his eyes, and regret tinged his
expression. “I did not know that.”

Than’os shakily got to his feet. “What happened?”

“We were attacked,” explained Adesina. “There was a magic-user
that rendered you all unconscious.”

“A magic-user?” asked Mar’sal, his wan face filled with
incredulity. “How is that possible?”

Kendan glanced at Adesina before making a casual gesture with his
hands. “The L’avan are not the only magic-users in the world.”

Maizah, who was sitting quietly by the resting horses, nodded in
support of Kendan’s statement.

It appeared that Kendan was giving Adesina a way out of the truth,
and part of her wanted to take it. It pained her to do anything that would
alter the way the others viewed her husband.

She shook her head. It was not right to lie to her companions.
They deserved to know the truth, even if it hurt her to admit it.

“But it
was
a L’avan. It was L’iam.”

The words were like poison in her mouth, but she knew that she had
to say them.

Ravi stiffened visibly, his golden eyes searching her face to read
her emotions. Than’os and Mar’sal stared at her, dumbfounded.

“That is impossible.”

“Why would he attack us?”

Adesina took note of Kendan’s careful expression, and she turned
to confront him. “You knew about this. You knew that Basha had taken him.”

“I considered it very likely,” he replied evasively.

A wave of anger swept over her, and she took several deep breaths
in order to stay calm. “Why did you not tell me?”

“My position in the Shimat order exposed me to hundreds of rumors
every single day. Plots, intrigues, alliances, conspiracies—most of which have
no real substance. Do you expect me to tell you everything I have ever heard
concerning the L’avan?”

Adesina clenched her fists tightly at her side, restraining
herself from punching Kendan in the face. “I would think that a rumor
concerning
my husband
might be worth sharing.”

Faryl had gone pale listening to this exchange. “Was he following
the orders of a Shimat?”

All eyes turned to the frail woman.

Adesina sensed that she was about to receive some very bad news,
and she was not certain she was prepared for it. “Yes,” she said quietly.

Kendan indicated that they should all sit down. “Faryl, please
tell these people about your work for the Shimat order.”

The former apothecary studied her twisting hands as if she were
trying to decide where to begin.

“The Shimat have always craved power. It was not enough that they
overthrew the monarchy in this land or that they influence the leaders of every
city. They want to be invincible. Their attention was soon drawn to magic, and
they wanted to make it their power alone.”

Mar’sal snorted. “That is impossible. No one can hoard
vyala
.”

She inclined her head. “That does not mean that the Shimat are not
willing to try. At first they tried recruiting magic-users, but their overtures
were rebuffed. There was a moral code inherent in the magic-users of the day,
and they would have nothing to do with such an organization.”

Adesina nodded. She had heard a similar story when she had been
told the history of her people. It was because of this decision that the Shimat
had gone to such lengths to make others fear the L’avan.

“After that, they began their studies of magic. They wanted to
understand everything about it, so they could discover how to create their
own.”

“Artificial magic?” asked Ravi.

“Yes,” Faryl said. “They have been studying magic and conducting
experiments for generations. Some attempts have come close, but none have been
enough to satisfy the Shimat.”

She took a deep breath. “They have found that magic is a trait
that is passed through bloodlines, and so they began to attempt to breed Shimat
magic-users.”

Adesina felt nauseated by the implication. “Do you mean…?”

“The children born from a L’avan father had no indication of any
magical ability, but the children born from a L’avan mother showed signs of
potential.” Faryl lowered her eyes in shame. “I am one of those children.”

All of the L’avan were clearly shocked and sickened. There were
several moments of silence as they all composed themselves.

“What does this have to do with our king?” asked Than’os.

Faryl finally looked up, her vibrant green eyes glittering in the
light. “I have never been able to use magic, strictly speaking. However, I have
a deep understanding of nature and the elements. I know how to combine herbs
precisely to obtain rare results. This is what made me an exceptional
apothecary. Unfortunately, my
intuition
also made me an invaluable asset
to the Shimat.

“I could do things with their experiments that they could not have
imagined. My results were unique and powerful. They believed that if I were
given the proper materials, I could create anything. That is why they began
calling me an alchemist.”

Ravi’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. “Given those circumstances, I
am surprised that you ever escaped.”

“More than two decades ago, the breeding experiment came to an
end. They captured a full-blooded L’avan infant, and a new experiment began. I
was still developing my skills, so I was considered less important back then.”

All gazes flickered in Adesina’s direction, and she felt her chest
constrict. She had been that infant, and her whole life had changed its course
on that tragic day.

Faryl took note of the shift in emotion, but she did not know its
significance. She did not know the details of Adesina’s past. Maizah also
seemed aware of the change, but her eyes remained fixed on the ground in
habitual subservience.

The former apothecary continued her narration. “I found that if I
dropped certain herbs on the ground, the fumes released when stepped upon would
render the closest people unconscious. I also found that if I chewed a
different herb, I would remain alert despite breathing in those same fumes. I
used this knowledge to escape my captors, and I did everything in my power to
hide from the Shimat. I settled in the High City after moving constantly for
five years. I didn’t intend to stay for long, but it seemed that I would be
safe there. I grew careless over time, and I was discovered.”

“And that is when you were recaptured,” concluded Adesina.

She inclined her head. “Yes, but that is not the end of this
story, I am afraid. As I told you before, I bargained for the life of Me’shan
and I agreed to continue my work for the Shimat. I had honed my abilities quite
well during my time in the High City, and they were impressed by my research
notes. They set me to work on various experiments, and soon I was given access
to all of their most valuable resources.”

Here she hesitated, reluctant to go on.

“I was given two vials of L’avan blood with which to
experiment—the only blood to have ever been given willingly.”

Adesina leaned forward. “Why would that make a difference?”

“The magic in the blood is more potent when given of free will.
Blood taken by force is muted, at best.”

The young queen’s pulse began to race and a feeling of dread
filled her mind. She was almost afraid to ask the question that came next.
“What did you do with that blood?”

Faryl took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I created a potion
that erases the mind of the one who drinks it. They are bound to the giver of
the potion, and must follow their every command.”

The color drained from Adesina’s face and she struggled to find
her voice. “Why would you do such a thing?”

“I created many terrible things during my imprisonment,” the
alchemist whispered. “It was just one more assignment.”

“Basha has forced your king to take that potion,” Kendan explained
unnecessarily.

“It was your blood in the vial,” Faryl said suddenly, her gaze on
Adesina.

The queen nodded numbly.

“And that means that you were the L’avan child that was captured
all those years ago,” she continued.

“Yes.”

Kendan appeared to be the only one to have known all of the pieces
of the story beforehand. He spoke quietly, but with conviction. “I knew that
Basha would try to kill Faryl, since she is the one who created the potion. That
is why Basha was at that Shimat post, and that is why she followed us.”

“Why does that matter?” asked Mar’sal.

“Because,” Kendan replied with emphasis, “Faryl created the
potion. Therefore, she can create an antidote.”