Return (Lady of Toryn trilogy) (15 page)

He never had. Ashlyn wondered why; she supposed that there were too many memories, both real and imagined, keeping him away from the cold city.

"Yeah, I know this place pretty well," she said, and frowned, suddenly realizing that while Kou seemed to have basic geographic knowledge of various cities, he was completely clueless about their physical location and direction.

"You haven't been here before, have you." She phrased it as a question but spoke as though it were a statement of fact.

"Until a few weeks ago I had never left the island of Toryn," he answered, his tone defensive.

Ashlyn, though, didn't see anything unusual about his lack of travel. Most Toryn youth were restricted to the island until they came of age at eighteen. Ashlyn had been the exception, of course. She had ached to see what the world held in store for her and had left the island at fifteen. She had gone alone, as her peers had seemed fairly content to limit themselves to Toryn and its various surrounding tribes.

"Where'd you manage to get on Aaron‘s airship?" she asked, running her fingers through Suki’s mane. It shone white in the sunlight, almost silver, the same color as Drake’s metal glove.

"We were transported on a flying machine to the plains," Kou said. "To a stable by the marshes."

She was vaguely surprised that he'd answered her so easily; perhaps he trusted her more than she'd thought. "So…from Toryn to the plains, to Storim- did you get off the ship at all in Storim?"

"No."

"And then I found you in the ship's galley, before we could go anywhere else," she said. "You haven't really been
anywhere
yet."

"I've been to Cosmea," he replied tersely. Ashlyn almost smiled, then stopped, horrified that she could even think of such a thing after what had happened.

"Yeah…you saw the entrance, the tavern and my bedroom, and you saw it in pitch-black with nothing but the Eternal Flame to light your way," she said heavily. "Sounds like a raw deal to me."

They fell silent for several long moments.

"I have longed to travel since I was a child," Kou spoke up at length. "Though I have not witnessed what lies beyond the marshes, or even the sight of Cosmea in the daylight, I hope to see a great deal before the gods take me. I wish…"

He trailed off for a moment, then continued, "I wish to see these things of which I have read. I have seen paintings of the plains of snow-fire that span the northern continent. I have heard stories of powerful stanes in hidden caves. I long to see the ruined town of Landi, to enter the Heavenly City and see how the Angels lived."

There was a raw yearning in his voice that reminded Ashlyn of herself at the same age, so eager and innocent, so bold and yet completely awestruck at the same time. She too had longed to witness the cities she had read of in the scrolls of her ancestors, and she had seen them all in her adventures- the snow plains blazing with sunlight outside North Camp Inn, the
reveal
stane glittering facets of orange and ember in the cave on Hidden Island. She had spent many nights at the Heavenly City, and looked into a lake so perfectly clear that she imagined she could see Jenn's spirit smiling at her from beneath its gleaming surface.

It was ironic, after all these years. She had traveled the world over again, yet no place had claimed her heart so completely as her homeland.

The air was chilly. It still amazed Ashlyn how greatly the climates differed between cities. With only two days’ journey to separate Cosmea and Eastern City, she always expected the temperature change to be mild. But nothing was warm in the Eastern areas…snow was common in summertime.

She told herself that when they reached Eastern City, she
would
buy new clothes. The clothes she was wearing would be practically indecent even in a dry heat. With the threat of rain overhead she figured that she'd soon be regretting the skimpy outfit more than ever.

She felt another sudden, intense wave of shame that she could be shallow enough to think of something like clothing when she'd all but thrown the sword at Drake. Ashlyn swallowed hard, drawing a hand across her eyes as if the motion could wipe away her guilt along with the raindrops that sprinkled her face.

The first outcropping of the mountain range came up on their right as dusk began to fall. Despite her usual misgivings, Ashlyn felt miserably content in the gray-tinted light. The color seemed fitting.

She pulled the horse to a lazy halt outside Eastern City. "Should we go in?" she asked skeptically, wondering if staying at the inn would just make it that much easier for FLD to find them.

"We need supplies," Kou answered. He swung down from behind Ashlyn, his soft boots making no noise on the grass. Looking up at her in the darkness, his gaze went from her wet face- tear-stained or rain-streaked, she wasn't sure which one was more accurate- to the saddlebags draped across her thighs. "You haven't got anything else to wear, have you?"

Ashlyn smiled, tremulously. "Nothing any different than what I'm wearing now," she said. "You're right. We do need supplies." Neither of them had eaten anything all day, which could have contributed to the super-intense emotions she was suffering at the moment.

The rain chose that exact moment to pick up, droplets spattering Ashlyn's face and bare arms deliberately, a chill weaving its way through the damp air.

"Great," Ashlyn said, to no one in particular. "I hate rain."

"It will wash away our tracks if it continues," Kou said.

He reached up a hand to help her down, but she ignored it, swinging her leg over Suki's back and dropping to the ground. Suki nickered and moved away, eagerly reaching down to nose the ground for grass.

"I think they could find us if they really wanted to," Ashlyn told the other ninja. "Rain or no rain." Though if Drake was hurt badly, it probably would have slowed FLD in their efforts to find her.

Kou looked at her keenly. "You may be right."

They were suddenly flooded with white, an obscenely bright light overwhelming them in the darkness of the storm. Ashlyn flinched, her hands automatically flying up to shield herself. She glanced over and saw that the illumination was coming from a hand-held torch. She couldn't see who was holding it, her vision obscured beyond the circle of light that was nearly blinding her.

"I knew you'd come here," a voice rang out. Clear and cynical, it was familiar to her, Ashlyn only knew one person with that same rough, blue collar accent.

"Vargo?" she exclaimed.

"The one and only, babe." He set the torch on the ground and advanced, the battery-powered cylinder throwing him into silhouette as he walked closer.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded furiously. "Are the others with you?" She wanted to, was
dying
to ask about Drake, if only to know for sure, but she couldn't bring herself to confront the reality of what she'd done. What if the red-eyed gunslinger was seriously injured…or worse?

Blinking back tears, Ashlyn realized belatedly that her eyes were adjusting a little in the dark.

She could see that Vargo was dressed in jeans and a white shirt that was nearly transparent from the rain, and he carried his baton expertly in his right hand, poised and ready for defense. He was soaked and shivering, his wet hair plastered to his cheeks. But somehow he managed to summon the courage to smirk at Ashlyn.

"You'd like to know, wouldn't you," he said. "You thought you'd be able to get away, but you forgot that the airship is a hell of a lot faster than any horse."

Ashlyn swallowed hard, rain dripping off her chin. "You've got it all wrong. I'm trying to help you."

The Spartan cocked an eyebrow. "Really," he said, and it was obvious that he didn't believe her.

"Yes!" Ashlyn said in exasperation. "I don't want anyone to get hurt, don't you see? I'm the one who has to-" she glanced at Kou- "finish this, I'm the one who has to make peace with Devlyn. It's my responsibility, and I don't want to put everyone in danger any more than I already have."

"You were gone for eight years," he snapped. "Little late to start protecting them now, don't you think?"

"I know I've made mistakes. I know that. But I can't just stand by and do nothing." She nodded her head towards Kou. "He's taking me to Toryn. I'm going to speak to Devlyn and see if we can resolve this war before anyone else is hurt."

"Devlyn’s not the type to talk things out. He's a warlord."

"Then I'll challenge him in the Leadership Duel, and I'll defeat him, I swear I'll do everything I can to
defeat him
," Ashlyn said firmly. "This may end in bloodshed. I may not be able to stop him if he's out to kill. But I can try."

"You can do nothing," Kou spoke up.

Ashlyn looked at him, careful not to let her attention waver from Vargo. "What are you talking about?"

"Regardless of whether I agree with your…thoughts…of Lord Devlyn, you cannot fight him," Kou answered. Vargo shifted, and Kou twitched, the knife gleaming in his hand, before he looked back at Ashlyn. "I know this Duel you speak of. It is impossible to challenge the reigning Elder Lord unless you are heir to leadership."

Vargo glanced at Kou, then at her. She shook her head, silently pleading with him not to say anything, but the red-haired man scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"This is pathetic," he said disgustedly. "This guy doesn't know who you are. He's risking his life for you and you haven't even told him the truth."

"I know she is not who she says," Kou retorted. "I know that she has lied to me. I am not as stupid as you may think."

"But you don't even know who she is," Vargo said, once again sporting his condescending smirk. "Has she told you her name? Do you
even
…
know…
her
name
?" He spoke deliberately, dragging out each syllable until Ashlyn thought she would cheerfully strangle him if it meant she never had to hear his voice again.

"Vargo, shut up!" she cried. "Kou, my name's not important, he doesn't know what he's talking about." Her mind was running wild, hoping against hope that Kou would somehow remember the way the Spartans had treated the Toryn people during the war. She knew it was too much to ask but couldn't shake the absurd possibility from her thoughts.

"Your name is the whole reason for this war," Vargo said, taking a step closer to Ashlyn.

She made no move to stop him, partly because she was trembling with apprehension, partly because she was suddenly wondering if he would get careless enough for her to attack.

"Her
name
," Vargo seethed, looking at Kou again, "is Ashlyn Li.
She
is the rightful heir to Toryn. And she would be reigning over Toryn right now if it weren't for the fact that she decided to 'take leave from life' for
eight freaking years
while the rest of us fought to hold the world together."

That was it. Her secret was out. Dismayed, Ashlyn shifted her gaze to Kou, expecting him to be glaring at her with betrayal and rage in his eyes. But he was focused entirely on Vargo, his weight balanced evenly on the balls of his feet.

"We are still bound by the blood of Toryn. She is kin to me," he said in a low, dangerous voice. "And you are not. I would die by her hand before I would trust a Spartan."

Thank the gods, he did remember.

Vargo stared the ninja, jaw flexing as he digested this bit of information, and Ashlyn took the opportunity to make her move. She lunged forward, closing the distance between them in the space of a second.

The Spartan's reflexes were faster than she expected, and he whipped the baton up. It was too late to dodge, and Ashlyn yelped in pain as the stick connected with her ribs, sending shocks of electricity shuddering through her body. She knew from experience that there was no way to stop the jolt- she'd never stayed conscious through any of the battles with Vargo. There was only one thing she could do.