Maylin's Gate (Book 3) (51 page)

The sun stood three fists over the eastern horizon. The high-pitched drone from an army of cicada marked the first time he’d heard or seen wildlife in days.

He inhaled a slow deep breath and his stomach settled.

A figure appeared above him and blocked the sun.

General Demos knelt and offered a hand. “Can you rise?”

“I can try.” He took the general’s hand and the old trooper pulled him to his feet.

Dizziness swept through his head and his muscles groaned with the effort. He placed his hands on his knees and breathed in the clean savanna air. “I haven’t felt this bad since I had the flu. It took me two weeks and a steady diet of Rika’s chicken soup to recover.”

“Perhaps Lady Rika can make you the soup when we get home?”

Home sounded good. He nodded and stood upright peering across the grass.

A swath of flattened grass offered proof of the fight that had taken place. Empty grass appeared where the faceless man had fallen.

“Where did he go?”

General Demos’s tongue flickered. “I can’t say. The body disappeared.”

How could a corpse vanish into thin air? Was there a corpse? His head hurt too much to think. “We need to go.”

“Are you able to travel?”

The world settled into place. “I think so.”

“Can you…?” General Demos stared at him cock-eyed.

“Can I what?”

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

“No. Ask. Can I what?”

General Demos paused and stared at him for a long moment before speaking. “Are you able to use your…?” The general gestured toward him. “Power. Are you able to use your power to construct a portal?”

He glared at General Demos. “Why don’t you ask me to grow wings and fly while you’re at it? I might have more luck.”

“I’m sorry.” General Demos’s gaze fell away. “I thought…perhaps…never mind.”

“No.” He waved away the general’s awkward apology. “I don’t know what I can do. Maybe I could, but I’m scared to try.”

“What about the other magic. Can you access its power?”

“Elan’s magic?”

General Demos nodded.

“No. It’s gone. I don’t think it’s ever coming back.”

“What of the knights under your command? Can they still access their power?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t say.” He shifted his gaze north across the savanna. “Do you think the sansan will make good on their promise?”

“Will they kill us? I think yes. Their warning was clear.” General Demos peered across the savanna. “Perhaps they’ll listen to reason.”

“We have a long way to go," he said. "Let’s get on with it.” After a final glance at the ruins, he faced home and walked ahead.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

Church Fathers

The monk's grip tightened around Tara's arm and the double doors burst open. A monk with snow white hair and matching eyes shoved her forward.

The monk spun and yanked Jo's arm pulling the girl through the open doors. "Move it, whore."

She stumbled and banged against a smooth marble wall. Two more gray-robed monks appeared on her right and left and pulled her away from the wall.

"Please, I've done nothing," Jo said.

"We'll see about that," the white-haired monk said shaking Jo in an iron grip.

"Don't you dare hurt her," she said.

The albino monk glared through snow white eyes. "If you know her, then you must be a whore too."

Behind her eyes, heat simmered and the first curls of black magic crept through her mind. She eyed her journal tucked inside the monk's belt. The journal held information that might cure her and convert people into soul knights. Soul knights who held power enough to push back a horde of desperate baerinese. She had to get the journal back.

Jo's gaze met hers and tears rolled down the girl's cheeks.

The albino monk dragged Jo along the marble hallway deeper into the monastery.

She gritted her teeth and something sharp jabbed her lower back.

"Move," a monk said from behind.

She stumbled forward and followed the albino monk dragging Jo around a corner.

Blue, gold, and white soul threads blazed in the hallway ahead. Two knights, a blue and a gold, guarded a door. White and gold soul threads blazed from the room ahead. More knights approached from further down the hallway.

She couldn't defend against so many knights. Hadn't she killed enough for one lifetime anyway? Humanity would need these knights in the dismal days ahead. She staggered forward and lowered her gaze. The soul knight’s curious stares settled on her like stone weights.

A voice came from the room behind the knights. A woman's voice. The king's lady.

She glanced up and peered through a broad crack in the open door.

Lady Rika stood before a room filled with soul knights, soldiers, and officers.

The king's lady paced before the room speaking words lost in a chorus of mumbles. Lady Rika glanced up and met her gaze. Rika's mouth fell open as recognition dawned.

Her stomach dropped and a rash of goose bumps flared along her arms and legs. Not here. Not now. It couldn't end like this. Had the king's lady recognized her as the witch of Ripool? Or as Becca, the woman she saved from the ship? She should take the journal and run.

"Stop gawking," the monk said from behind.

A monk escorting her stepped between the soul knights and pulled the door shut blocking her view of Lady Rika.

Ahead, the albino monk tossed open a steel door and shoved Jo through.

The second of her escorts pushed her forward toward the room with Jo and the albino monk.

"In you go," one of the monks said.

She stumbled through the doorway into a room barren of furniture. At the room's center, a wooden column ran from floor-to-ceiling.

The albino monk pressed Jo, face-first, against the column. The monk produced a length of knotted rope and secured Jo's wrists around the column.

With bleary tear-stained eyes, Jo tracked her entrance into the room.

"I'll show you what we do to traitors and whores," the albino monk said. "Rodney, hand me the correction rod."

Heavy hands shoved her to floor while the door slammed closed and a deadbolt slid into place.

Jo's body shook and tears fell from the girl's face.

The albino appeared behind Jo carrying a thin wooden pole. Raised bumps covered half the rod. "Where is she?"

The albino whipped Jo's lower back and the girl howled with pain. "I don't know. I swear, I don't know."

Adrenaline coursed through her body and anger flared. "Stop it. Stop it this instant. She's done nothing to you."

The albino raised the rod and pointed at her. "Shut up or you'll be next. Stealing the church's property has earned you one flogging. If you keep this up, you'll not walk out of here under your own power."

The monk reared back the cane and whipped Jo's back again. "Tell me or I'll break your back."

Jo screamed. "I don't know. She wouldn't say. I promise that's the truth."

"Liar." The albino monk unleashed a barrage of reedy cracks on Jo's shoulders, neck, and back.

Her blood boiled and she drew deep on the black magic. She would rather die than watch Jo suffer another blow. "I told you to stop," she said, her voicing taking on a menacing tone.

The albino monk froze mid-swing and gaped in her direction.

Black mist curled from her fingertips and she guided it across the room.

Jo's gaze fell on her pleading. "No. They'll kill you. You can't"

A sharp bang sounded against the locked door.

She withdrew the mist and jerked her head toward the sound.

Another bang. Louder than the first, sent the door bursting inward.

A shaggy white bear, five-feet tall at the shoulders, lumbered through. A pair of white horns speckled with thorny protrusions sprouted from the bear's face. The bear unleashed a menacing growl that reverberated from the marble walls. The bear took two steps toward the albino monk and flashed a set of razor-sharp teeth.

In the bear's wake, a petite woman with raven hair and a golden complexion strode through the doorway.

She turned her gaze to the floor to avoid the guardian's scrutiny.

"I demand you stop this instant," Rika said.

The albino monk stared the king's lady up and down appraising the woman as one would a cellar rat. "This is church business. You've no authority here."

"Is that so?" Rika's fingers glided through the ice bears white fur. "Ahab, attack."

The ice bear snarled and bounded forward.

The yellow correction rod tumbled from the albino monk's hands. The monk recoiled backing into the corner. "Get it away."

"Ahab, heel," the king's lady said with authority.

The bear paused and sat on its haunches glaring at the cornered monk.

The king's lady stepped forward bearing a curved steel blade. "No matter the crime this child may have committed, I will not condone this brutality."

The tension in her shoulders eased and she dared a peek at the guardian she'd tried to kill in Porthleven. She gave a silent thanks for her failure and decided she liked Rika Finn.

Rika's blade sliced through the rope holding Jo to the wooden pillar.

Jo pushed away and darted across the room toward her.

Her stomach spun. Was Jo coming for her? Seeking her for comfort? She opened her arms and Jo sank into her embrace.

Like a spring day after a long winter, warmth poured through her body and tears welled in her eyes.

The girl trembled, sobbing in her arms.

She stroked Jo's golden hair and rocked the girl in a tight embrace. "You're okay. I have you now. He won't hurt you again."

Wearing a look of satisfaction, Rika nodded and turned on the albino monk. "Explain."

"The girl is a criminal. She stole church property and fled Prynesse. She also violated the terms of her contractual obligation with the church." The albino monk glared in Jo's direction. "She owes the church many crowns that we will never recover. Now that I've explained, remove yourself so I may finish my interrogation."

"What has the other woman done? The girl's sister." Rika gestured toward her.

"Sister?" The albino monk chuckled. "Is that what she told you? This girl has no sister. She's an only child."

Her stomach sank. They would hang her and she had no one to blame but herself.

Wearing a grim expression, Rika glanced between her and Jo. "Is this true?"

For a fleeting moment, she met the guardian's gaze. She wouldn't lie. Not anymore. She would rather die than live as a monster. "Yes." She dropped her gaze and wrapped her arms around Jo.

The albino monk pointed toward her. "This woman broke into the library and damaged irreplaceable books. She stole a handwritten journal, and Elan knows what else," the albino monk said.

In the doorway, a trio of soul knights loomed casting hard glares at the gathered monks.

"All that may be true, but I will not stand idle while you beat the girl senseless. You are not a judge or a jury."

"This isn't Ayralen," the albino monk said. "Here in Prynesse —"

A burly white-souled knight stepped through the doorway. A long gray beard extended from the knight's face. Laugh lines decorated the healer's cheeks and eyes. "Here in Prynesse we follow the king's law," the knight said.

The albino monk's hard glare fell on the soul knight. "Until recently, this was the king's law."

Rika turned away from the monk and knelt before her and Jo.

"What's your name child," Rika said staring at the back of Jo's head. "I want the truth this time."

"My —" Jo sniffled and took a deep breath. "My name is Josephine Simms m' lady, but nobody calls me that." Jo dared a glance at the king's lady. "My friends just call me Jo."

Rika smiled. "Do you mind if I call you Jo?"

Jo's head shook and Rika extended a handkerchief.

"Jo, is what this man said true?"

Jo held silent.

Her heart broke for the girl, but she'd lied enough for the both of them. "Tell her the truth," she said. "No more lies."

Jo met Rika's intent gaze. "Yes m' lady. Technically it's true."

"See.” The albino monk stepped forward eyes blazing with triumph. "She's a thief and by the king's own law, she hangs."

Rika shot the monk a hard glare. "If you don't shut your mouth, it's you who will hang."

"Tell me child, what did you steal that has the Church Fathers so upset?"

"Not what m' lady," Jo said. "Who."

"Who?" Rika said.

The albino monk stepped forward in a rush and circled the wooden column. "That will come out in the inquisition. There's no need to go into details here. This is church business."