Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Mavus followed our fleet onboard Wandershire, slipping onto the White Mare now and then during our journey toward Cinder Vale.
We laid our plans in secret under the guise of me doing trades with him and Mavus kept the Cascadian warriors content as his workers were able to offer fresh food, fine meads and supplies.
No one questioned his presence, Wandershire well-known for following armies around to earn some coin.
Father had finally decided to conquer Pyros fully and seeing as there was still an Avanis stronghold at its heart occupying Cinder Vale, that was where we were headed.
If we couldn’t find the citizens of Pyros then we could at least find ourselves a battle with the Stonebreakers.
And as Mavus and I couldn’t do anything about the monster until the blood moon, I was happy to seize a victory in the meantime.
We were closing in on Cinder Vale now, navigating the canals that drew us all the closer to our enemies and a true battle.
After our failure at Pomair, I’d been practising daily to control my Void better.
If I focused, I found I could steer the power here and there, curving it around my people and sending it onward where our enemies would be waiting.
It certainly wasn’t perfect but my accuracy was improving the more time I spent on it.
Mavus liked to watch my drills, helping to line up Cascadian warriors, splitting them into groups of allies and enemies in various orders to help me hone my skills.
Father was too busy laying his plans for the coming attack to pay us much attention and he hadn’t questioned the amount of time I spent with Mavus, perhaps assuming we were friends or perhaps not really caring.
I’d decided to keep Galomp in the dark about the plans I was weaving with the trader, not wanting to include him in a traitorous plot against the Reapers.
I couldn’t live with myself if I led him to his death.
So I’d encouraged him to ride with the cavalry once more since his uncle had decided to return to Cascada with news of our ‘victories’ in Pyros.
I hadn’t sent Galomp away without a token though, a silver brooch I’d forged now proudly worn on his breast that named him as my personal Sentinel.
That would stop anyone daring to breathe a nasty word in his direction.
And it had quieted his apologies about his uncle’s reaction to my request. He’d parted from me with the words ‘I believe you, Miss Everest. Even if the rest of the world does not,’ and I’d wondered if I’d made a mistake in keeping my distance from him.
But Galomp was too pure for this mission; it was too deadly a task to rest on his shoulders.
After my latest practise session with the Void, I retired to my quarters with Mavus swaggering in after me, a glass of water grasped in his hand which he glugged freely from.
He slung himself in an armchair, kicking his feet up on a footstool and Calcifiend landed on his arm, promptly receiving tickles under his chin. I cast a silencing shield before bringing up the subject that both of us were itching to discuss.
“It’s all well and good plotting to destroy this monster, but two of us isn’t enough to pull this off and you know it.”
“That I do, lass. We need a team of spirited Fae. The kind who would walk into their death knowingly for the chance to expose the truth.”
I’d been thinking about the Sky Witch ever since I’d received Harlon’s letter, sure she would take on this task. But I didn’t know how to tell Mavus I was open to working alongside a Skyforger. “There is someone…”
“Who’s that?” His eyebrows lifted, a keen curiosity burning in his green eyes.
Trusting this man was not something I did easily.
I was willing to place my neck on the line for attempting to stop the monster coming to this world but Mavus had proven he would sell my name for the right price.
What was to say he wouldn’t do so again?
But he did seem to be in on this plan whole-heartedly, though I didn’t yet understand why.
I ignored his question and asked my own instead. “Mavus… why are you really doing this? You don’t strike me as the kind of Fae to place his life on the line for the greater good.”
“Are you doing this for the greater good?” he threw back and I frowned, considering that. My reasons were selfish as much as they were for others. I wouldn’t see Cascada fall because of that monster beneath Never Keep. But I was doing this for Harlon too.
“Harlon isn’t safe among the Reapers. Now that he knows about their lies, I think he might leave with us after we deal with this monster.”
“And then you’ll kiss and run off into the sunset together,” Mavus said through a teasing smile, but it wasn’t cruel.
I blew out a breath of amusement, thinking on that. Once upon a time, I’d have jumped at the chance to run away with Harlon. But now…
“So you want to go rescue your boyfriend,” he taunted.
“And you want to know what’s in it for me?
Well let me tell you. It ain’t what you’ll be hoping to hear, I’m afraid.
I have no boyfriends to rescue meself. No.
What drives me is different than most folk.
See, I’m a real pursuer of chaos, lass. I like to shake the tree and see what falls out.
” His eyes flashed menacingly. “And that Reaper tree has been producing the finest fruit around here for far too long. I’d like to see what happens when those fruit start to fall.
Mayhem is what I thrive on. It’s what makes me burn inside, do you get that? ”
The air shivered with the intensity of his words, the truth of them ripe and undeniable.
“So what’s to keep you loyal to me during all this? What’s to say you won’t sacrifice me to save your own skin if we get in too deep? You may like chaos, Mavus, but I know you value your life above mine. So say I go through with this with you by my side, how can you assure me you won’t turn on me?”
He considered my words, stroking Calcifiend as he did so before finally giving his answer.
“Perhaps I can’t do that, lass. Does that mean you won’t go through with this anyway?
If you have those doubts crawling through your mind, will it stop you on this path now you’ve begun down it?
Truth is, you need me to pull this off.”
“You need me too,” I pointed out. “Without the Void, you won’t get past the front gates of Never Keep.”
He grinned wickedly. “That’s where the trust lies then, ain’t it? You and I need each other. So shall we stop nattering about death and deception and lay our plans good and true? I fancy saving the world, that’s all you need to know.”
I nodded slowly. “Fine. I can likely bring one other Fae to this plan. She’s powerful. Together, we’ve done the impossible, we can do so again. But I’m not going to name her until she’s agreed.”
“Can you trust her?” he asked.
“I can.”
“Good,” he purred. “Get her agreement and then she and I can meet, how’s that for a plan?”
“That’s going to be a challenge,” I murmured. “But if I can find her, I think she’ll join us.”
“I could always find her for you?” he offered in a purr.
I said nothing in reply.
“If we don’t trust each other, this will never work, lass,” he urged.
“It’s up to her if she wants to offer her sword to our plan. She can introduce herself to you if she chooses this fate.”
“Then find her. And do it sharpish,” he said in a growl, pushing out of his chair. “And if there’s any others you can think of who might fit the bill, you’d best bring them too. We’ll need traitors a-plenty to achieve this.”
“I’m not a traitor,” I growled. “I’m trying to protect my people.”
“Traitor to the Reapers. That’s my meaning, doll.” He chuckled low in the back of his throat. “You’re a little touchy about that word though. What other traitorous acts have you been committing lately?”
I pursed my lips, ignoring that question and asking him one instead. “Who will you bring to this mission?”
He released a dismissive breath. “I wouldn’t trust the Fae of Wandershire with this. They’d sell our names for coin quicker than a mouse can squeak for cheese.”
“They learned from the best,” I jibed and Calcifiend flew to land on my shoulder, nuzzling my cheek.
“Ha, that they did, lass. That they did.” He saluted me and sauntered to the door, glancing back as his hand rested on the handle.
“We’ll strike upon the blood moon regardless even if it’s just you and I and Harlon against that beastie.
You’d better be ready to shake the tree, Everest Arcadia.
Because once the fruit starts falling, there’s no going back. ”
The bellow of Father’s voice cut through the air, amplified by magic and making the ship tremble with the force of it. “The time is nigh! All warriors assemble on the decks and dive into the canal!”
We’d been waiting for this moment since Father had sent word of his plan to all legions and now it was here, adrenaline burst through my veins. This was our chance at our first true victory, and I had to prove myself out there. Cascada was counting on me.
I grabbed my armour from where I’d hung it on the wall, the dark green metal shimmering with all the new lacquers I’d applied to it.
I’d attempted a mix of my most tested concoctions, hoping that one wouldn’t cancel out another, and I supposed I might find out now.
This metal wasn’t just fireproof, it was stronger than iron, it could provide warmth in freezing temperatures and was even light enough that I could swim in it.