The Shadow Games: The Chronicles of Arianthem VI (22 page)

“They are near Thorny Peak,” Drakar said.

Talan considered the location. It was at altitude, many mountains, tricky currents, a few plateaus on which to land.

“That is a prime place for a battle of dragons.”

“Exactly my thought,” Drakar said. “I believe they are gathering in force.”

“Then we shall meet them with force,” Talan said.

“We are going to war?” Drakar said, his eyes gleaming.

“We are,” Talan said firmly. “Let’s end this one before the real one begins.”

“Was it wise, my Queen, to speak so openly front of him?”

Talan was again staring out the window, Drakar having gleefully bounded from her side. Elgar hovered off to the side, protective of his liege.

“Of course not. There will be a trap waiting for me at Thorny Peak.” Talan said, “But I will not be going to Thorny Peak.”

“But what will you do?” Elgar asked, confused.

“I will send all the others in great force, to make it look as if an attack is coming. If the attack is anticipated, I will know I have been betrayed.”

“But what will you do? Elgar repeated.

“I will remain here, alone. I must send enough of the others to make it look like a legitimate attack, but I will have them break off at the last instant, then return via the Frozen Straits. Those passages are narrow, but the winds will funnel them back here the quickest.”

Elgar went to one knee, awed at the brilliance of her plan. “You are wise beyond words, my Queen.”

Chapter 26

S
yn was half-asleep in the back of the caravan, sprawled on a bag of corn flour, a blindfold over her eyes. Packer, true to Noma’s word, had accepted her as temporary help. His reservations about her abilities were evident, but when Syn showed him she was far stronger than she looked, he nodded his acceptance. He was adamant that she must say nothing about the trip or that she would endanger his life and all others on the caravan. Syn convinced him her intentions were purely mercenary, some quick coin, and then she would be moving on to another town. Packer had agreed, but only on the condition that the first part of the trip be made with her blindfolded.

That was fine with Syn, it allowed her to sleep and not engage in conversation, which no one seemed partial to, at any rate. She would have been unable to reproduce their route, as none of her skills translated well in the forest, and she would have been instantly lost. This area was so large and the Tavinter so few, they could not reasonably search other than by blind luck. And if the trail was wiped clean by magic, they had even less a chance. But if Syn could verify that Skye was here, narrow the search area down by time traveled, then they might have a chance of finding her.

This would be one the most dangerous tasks that Syn had ever attempted, even more dangerous than sneaking into the imperial castle and stealing the Emperor’s scepter beneath his nose. It was imperative she not be discovered, for it would certainly mean her death. And if she was found out, it was likely the sorceress would flee with her prisoner.

Syn did not dwell on these possibilities. Instead, consistent with her roguish nature, she rolled over and went back to sleep.

Signe sat in the garden reading a book. She had given up on the vapid romances and determined she would never read them again, even if she had loved them before. There was not much of a selection, otherwise, but there were some bland historical tomes that were slightly better than the romances. Eydis sat across from her, also reading, but Signe would look up from time-to-time and find Eydis staring at her.

“Have I done something wrong?”

The corner of Eydis’ mouth turned upward, a small half-smile more acerbic than sweet. That hard edge that had appeared after Signe had killed the hell hound had become a permanent fixture. She was not cruel to Signe, far from it. But her cloying sugariness had turned to an amused sarcasm, her solicitous attention to a possessive fixation, and her gentle advances to fierce, dominating passion. Whereas before, Eydis had hovered about her, she now felt as if her lover stalked her from the shadows. It was such a dramatic change that Signe wondered if Eydis had been hit on the head as well. But then she wondered if perhaps this had been their relationship before her head injury and that Eydis had used her memory loss to attempt to reframe it to something more gentile. If so, the attempt had failed, for this felt far more natural to Signe than what had preceded it. And she had to admit, she liked it better, which confused her even more.

“No, my love. I have never been more pleased with you.”

Even her words now all seemed to have double meanings, as if Eydis were perennially entertained by some inside joke. But more than anything, there was some great tension present that had not been there before, as if something were coming, something that Eydis was waiting for with anticipation.

Signe returned to her book, chewing her lip, and that unconscious gesture was all that it took. Eydis stood before her, hand extended.

“Come my love, let’s go lie down.”

It was a euphemism, for most of the time Signe was not lying down. She might be on her knees, or even on all fours, or perhaps chained to the wall. But one thing was certain, Eydis would wring pleasure from her with a skill that was astonishing, doing exactly as she pleased and bringing both of them to a thundering release.

But today Signe would be lying down, for her love had put her on her back, strapped that contraption that she adored around Signe’s waist, and was now riding her vigorously in a manner that gave Signe the perfect amount of pressure between her legs while she watched those beautiful breasts glow with a sheen of perspiration and bounce in perfect rhythm. And the sorceress cried out with no inhibition, enjoying the strength in those slender hips as they came up to meet her, then lose control as climax overtook the girl and caused her to thrust deeply inside. And that was all that was needed, for it pushed the sorceress past her control and she bore down on the contraption and the girl beneath her until she collapsed on top of her, exhausted.

A jab to her side woke her up, and Syn sat upright in the back of the wagon, blinking against the light. They had come out of the coolness of the forest into a large clearing, one containing several structures including a barn, a mill, and what looked to be a small castle. There were fields of grain, an orchard, a vegetable garden, a flower garden, some cattle, chicken, and sheep. In short, almost everything anyone would need for a self-sustaining compound, right in the middle of the Deep Woods.

Syn scrambled down from the cart and began to unload the goods. Outwardly, it appeared she was daydreaming, disinterested in everything around her and not particularly interested in the work, either. In short, she appeared a mediocre employee doing a mediocre job.

But Syn was analyzing everything around her, memorizing the layout, the guards, the farm workers. She was calculating staffing, distances, elevations and angles. And mostly she was looking for any sign of Skye or the sorceress. She was keenly interested in the house, or rather castle, but it was far away. The wagons had stopped close to the mill and the barn, but that put her at some distance from the main structure.

She rifled through the inventory in the back and came up with a bag of flower seeds that she hefted upon her shoulder.

“That’s got to go to the garden,” Parker said gruffly, nodding toward the gated, groomed area near the house.

“Got it,” Syn said, and shuffled that way. Parker was surprised the woman had not found an excuse to avoid the trek, so listless a worker was she. Her sluggish pace across the field did not surprise him.

Syn walked as slowly as she could without generating any attention. She held the bag of seeds close to her face so she could examine the castle in depth. It was more a stone mansion than a castle, two stories, a terrace, several balconies, a lot of windows. The sun was at a favorable angle, not striking the planes of glass directly, so she could somewhat see inside. It was luxuriously furnished and had Syn been here on her usual business, she might have taken a quick tour inside.

But she could not risk that, given what was at stake. She sought to commit everything to memory.

Signe splashed water on her face and combed her fingers through her hair. In days past, Eydis had exclaimed that she should take greater care with her appearance, attempting to coif her hair and powder her skin. Now she just looked at her in that sensual manner and proclaimed she liked her just the way she was. Another welcome change, as far as Signe was concerned. She pushed through the double doors out onto the second floor balcony.

The caravan was here, one of the few events of curiosity in the unchanging landscape of the estate. Eydis had forbidden her to go near the wagons and Signe had obeyed, although it would have been fun to speak with someone new, or really, anyone at all. Even the farm hands were largely off limits to her. She watched with interest as a young woman approached the garden with a bag over her shoulder. There were hardly any women on the estate, and those were all advanced in years. No women ever came on the caravan. This was the first time Signe had seen anyone close to her own age, well, in long as she could remember.

“What are you looking at?” Eydis said. She came up behind Signe and put her hands around her, pulling her close.

“The caravan is here,” Signe said offhandedly, glancing down at the woman carrying the seed. She was glad to see that the woman had disappeared into the garden. That was good timing. Eydis had begun to display a streak of jealousy that felt dangerous. “I was just watching them unload.”

Eydis put her finger beneath Signe’s chin and turned her head so those hazel eyes looked up at her. She held her gaze for a long moment.

“Are you sure that’s all?”

Signe knew she was a terrible liar. She had figured that out very quickly. But fortunately, when Eydis turned her chin, her cheek was pressed into that magnificent bosom and her eyes went magnetically to that deep, round cleavage. She did not have to lie if she was completely distracted.

“What?” Signe asked, her senses befuddled.

Eydis leaned down and kissed her deeply, burying her tongue in that compliant mouth, still holding her tightly in front of her. She thought about taking her on the balcony floor, and was again incredulous at her lust for this girl.

“Let’s go back inside.”

Syn’s heart thudded in her chest. First off, she could not believe that she had seen Skye. But Skye had looked at her with no recognition at all, and Syn had forced herself to look away. And then the sorceress had walked out, who surely would have recognized her, and Syn ducked into the garden under the load of seeds. She watched between the slats of the trellis as Ingrid embraced Skye, kissed her as if they were lovers, then with one last look around, took her back into the house. She walked back to the wagon, wanting to run, but forcing herself to move as lethargically as she had on the way out.

The unloading was accomplished quickly for Packer did not wish to stay any longer than necessary. He signed the bill of lading, said a brusque goodbye to the foreman, and they were off. Syn lie in the back of the wagon, staring at the estate, trying to commit as much to memory as possible. Thankfully, Packer forgot about the blindfold, and they were far into the forest before he insisted she put it back on.

Syn lie back down and pretended to sleep once more, but this time sleep was nowhere near. She stared into the blackness of her blindfold, her thoughts racing and time crawling by as the horses drawing the wagons picked their way home.

“I found her!”

“What?” Dallan exclaimed, leaping to her feet. “She was there?”

As soon as they arrived, Syn had ducked out of sight from the caravan and sprinted toward the inn. She was breathing hard.

“Yes,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “She was there, at some estate. And the sorceress was there. And—“

Syn paused frowning, for as many times as she had framed this conversation in her head, it still sounded wrong.

“It was almost like they were lovers.”

“What?” Rika said in disbelief.

“Skye looked right at me and it was like she had never seen me before in her life. And then the sorceress came out and held Skye, and they kissed, and then they went back inside. I think she has her bewitched or something.”

“Maybe you were right, Rika,” Dallan said. “Maybe she has taken Skye’s memory.”

“If she did,” Rika said, “she could fill her head with anything she wanted.”

“That makes things a little difficult,” Jorden said, “what if Skye doesn’t remember any of us?”

Dallan’s face fell. “Surely she would remember me, surely she would know Rika. We’ve been with her for years.”

“I think she will remember you,” Torsten said from the doorway, “she loves you both with all her heart.”

“Torsten!” Dallan said, leaping to her feet. She went to hug the Tavinter scout, happier to see him than she had ever been. “She will remember you, as well. You’re her best friend and have known her all her life.”

Torsten had only caught the tail-end of the conversation, and he turned to Syn.

“So you found her?”

“Yes, she’s on an estate some distance from here. Four days out, three days back unladed. We did not stay more than a few hours.”

Jorden spread out the maps on the table once and Torsten examined them carefully.

“The scout went missing here, and we’re here. Aeric, Flynt,” he called over his shoulder, and two more Tavinter slipped into the room. “I say she is somewhere in this area, what say you?”

Aeric nodded, his handsome features grim but excited, and Flynt’s grizzled face grinned with anticipation.

“How was the place staffed?” Dallan asked Syn. “Were there many guards?”

“No,” Syn said, shaking her head. “The entire place was lightly staffed. Its strength is its isolation. I think the sorceress thought no one would ever find her.”

“We should leave now,” Rika said.

“Do you think that’s wise?” Jorden said, trying to be the voice of reason. “Idonea should be here any day, and Raine was adamant she should be the one to deal with the sorceress.”