Wicked Path (The Daath Chronicles Book 2) (20 page)

should have been mad at Cael, but I couldn’t be, not after he saved Raven. My emotions rolled back and forth from jealousy to anger to gratitude. Being stuck in a cave with him didn’t make it easier. With nowhere to go, nothing to do, and the itch from my stitches intensifying, I was on edge. I spent three whole days studying the different scrolls in the cave. The Order had stocked the cave with every essential item, including literature, which I didn’t think was so essential. It seemed a waste to have all these extra items in here. How many times could The Order really have passed through the mountains?

Only Cael would know.

He sat against the wall sharpening his sword.

“How many times has The Order been to Daath?”

He stopped running the stone against the blade. “Only twice.”

“And how did you find The Order?”

He put his sword on his lap and leaned his back against the cavern wall, staring up at the ceiling. “They came to the Shores first, just by chance. When they heard our stories about Lucino and how Daath was impenetrable from the outside, they decided to create a hideout there. The Order planned to free Daath of Lucino’s rule. They didn’t like the idea of a powerful person other than them ruling.”

“Is that why you came to Daath? To investigate?”

He nodded. “My father was exiled to the Shores when I was a boy. Since then, I wanted to make sure it happened to no one else. You have no idea what’s it like to see your father sent away, and you can’t do anything to stop it. When I went to the Shores to find him, I found The Order instead.”

“Did you find your father?”

“No. He had passed away.”

“I’m sorry.”

“His friend, Mariana, said he never stopped talking about his family and how he planned to return to Daath and find a way for us to be together again. He drowned during a fishing expedition.”

“I’m so sorry,” Raven said.

We both looked at her as she sat up.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We had other stuff going on,” Cael said. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been hit with a pot. What happened?”

The image of the spider biting her ran through my mind. I wrapped my arms around her. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

“What? Save your life?”

“I’ll give you guys a moment. I’m going to check outside. Now that you’re awake, we’ll need to be leaving. We’ve already spent too much time here.” Cael stood and walked outside of the cave, taking his sword with him.

I moved to her side, reaching out to brush her warm cheek. “I thought I’d lost you.”

She touched my hand, holding hers against it. “You’ll never lose me.”

Holding her face in between my hands, I kissed her, afraid to let her go. Nothing mattered but her lips on mine. I didn’t care about Lucy, or Cael, or anything, except her. When our kiss broke, she breathed heavily on my lips.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you, too.”

I lost myself in the depths of her brown eyes, thankful beyond words she was alive.

“Avikar…”

“Yes?”

“Is there anything to eat?”

I smiled and kissed her again. “Yes.” I grabbed a bowl and filled it with soup, which she shoveled into her mouth.

“We have a problem.” Cael stood at the cave entrance.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Lucy.”

We walked past the frozen water to a small break on the ledge. We were high from the ground, and the waterfall plunged from somewhere up the mountain and disappeared into the river below us. When we left the pass, we had to climb back up just to get here.

Cael held a tube in his hand, this one smaller than the one he had used to create the explosion.

“Look down there.” He pointed past the few trees that lined the ground, then handed me the tube.

The tube had glass on the end, and I could see much farther with it than my own eyes. Lucy and her hulking guards had set up camp on the south side of the river. Broken boulders created a rocky hillside to our right and open land to the left near the river. Only one way forward, and that route went straight to her.

“I thought you killed one?” I had counted five other men with Lucy.

“So did I.”

“What are we going to do?” I said, still looking through.

“There.” Cael pointed to a rocky slope of the mountain to the right of us. The slope landed on the opposite side of the broken boulders, a mix of jagged rock and ice.

“How are we going to get down?”

“Climb.”

“Raven just woke up, and you want us to climb? She won’t have the strength.”

“We’ll tie a rope between us. If she falls we can pull her up.”

No. It was too dangerous.

“We’ll stay here until they leave. Lucy will realize we’ve moved on and go.”

Cael shook his head. “We’re low on food. We can’t stay here. The descent will take a few hours. We’ll leave at night and be gone before morning.”

“Won’t climbing at night be even more dangerous? We won’t be able to see.”

“Yes we will.”

I held the spyglass to my eye, looking at the mountain. The vertical slope made my stomach churn. Heights made me nervous. Man was meant to stay on the ground.

“This is crazy.”

“We’ll start preparing now.” Cael walked past, leaving me to stare at the deathly drop.

It was impossible and dangerous.

“One more night,” I pleaded, following Cael back into the cave. “She needs one more night.”

Cael watched Raven scoop another portion of soup and wince.

“One more night, then. We need whatever food we have until we get to the next location. There’s nothing but huckleberries down there.”

Raven’s movements were slow and her face paled with any exertion. How could she make a trek like we were about to do when just standing took everything out of her? Travelling now might kill her.

I wouldn’t let that happen. I’d never let anything happen to her again.

re you sure about this?” I held Raven’s shoulders, her eyes were glassy like she hadn’t slept in days.

She nodded. “I can do this. I’ll be okay.”

I kissed her forehead and checked the pulley around her waist, which Cael checked after me.

He secured a main line to the top and attached all our ropes to it with metal carabiners. We spread out, each taking a spot on the mountain.

“Remember to test the mountain as you go,” he said. “Look for footholds and move slow. The crampons on your boots will help secure your footing, and the glow worms will give us enough light to descend.”

“What about Lucy? Won’t she see us?” Raven asked.

Cael shook his head. “Night time is different up here. Strange lights reflect off the ice, and luminescent bugs crawl all over. We’ll be covered.”

The tiny jar of glowworms emitted a blue light that covered me in an eerie halo. I could see, not far, but enough to figure out where I needed to put my foot.

“Ready?” Cael asked.

Raven and I nodded, then we all began to descend, Cael taking lead.

It was hard not watching her every second, but I couldn’t be stupid. I needed to pay attention to my own footing. One misstep and I’d bring both of them down with me. Using the tip of my boot, I searched for a foothold in the mountain, then another. In some areas, the slope was a straight drop and I had to think five steps ahead of where I needed to go.