Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
We’d left Karkinos, Bay and Lalakin deep in the forest in a concealed cave awaiting our return and had cautiously made our way to the edge of the flooded valley once again with a tenuous plan in mind.
We’d hurried along the water’s edge for over half a mile until we reached a good viewpoint of the village perched upon the hill ahead.
I gazed out between a gap in two trees which had wound themselves together as they grew toward the sky.
The newly made river was busy with boats near to where we’d escaped into the forest earlier and the sound of warriors hunting us in the woodland made my heart race.
Kaiser and I had barely spoken since we’d formed our plan to rescue Ransom and Galomp but he’d silently followed me since, hounding my footsteps in a brooding mood.
I could feel his ire seeping from him but he didn’t try to force me from this path again. I wasn’t going to leave them behind and that was that. He could assist me or run and save his own ass. It was up to him.
“Can you see a good target, silka la vin?” Kaiser muttered in my ear, the sound of his voice after the unending silence making my pulse skip.
I couldn’t ignore the heat of him as he pressed close to my side and peered through the gap between the two intertwined boughs.
His cheek brushed mine, fresh stubble like grit against my skin.
The sensation drew a breath between my lips, the nearness of my enemy feeling like a sin against the stars. But I didn’t draw away.
Whatever shaky alliance we’d formed was holding firm in the face of our joint endeavour. Besides, for reasons better left unexplored, I didn’t currently have the desire to plunge my dagger into his heart anyway.
My gaze fixed on two warriors guiding a rowing boat across the water to our left, using their magic to drive it fast toward the forest’s edge.
“There,” I whispered, my eyes never leaving the pair as they met the riverbank and disembarked twenty feet away.
I felt Kaiser draw more concealment spells around us, tugging the shadows of the trees over us like a cloak.
“Stay here,” he commanded, then strode off in the direction of the warriors, keeping his approach quiet with a silencing shield.
I cursed and chased after him, ignoring his order and hurrying along in his wake.
“I can handle a couple of warriors, hollow man.” I went to elbow my way to the lead, but he caught the crook of my arm and his fingers locked tight.
His touch was unyielding, the kind that left no room for questions. But I wasn’t his to command anymore.
“You’re the most valuable asset in The Waning Lands. They will stop at nothing to capture or kill you,” he warned. “I will handle this.”
“I’m no one’s asset,” I said venomously. “And there’s a reason I’m wanted.” I turned and sent the Void tearing out ahead of me, finding the two warriors within the trees.
Kaiser hurtled forward as they let out gasps of alarm and I raced after him, rounding a large oak to find both warriors dropping to their knees before him. Kaiser’s eyes were darkest red, gleaming bright as he caught both men with his possession.
“Strip,” he ordered them and they did so, pulling off their clothes and laying them at the Fury’s feet. “Now sleep.” They lowered to the ground, falling into sleep and quickly curling in on themselves, shaking with terror.
Kaiser stepped toward them, releasing a low breath as he fed on the fear caused by whatever nightmare he’d trapped them in.
I couldn’t tear my gaze from his face, the way his eyes lit with their terrors, the closest thing to elation I’d ever witnessed from him.
He was a master of horrors, wielding the deepest, darkest terrors of his foes and feeding them the worst visions he could conjure for them.
Kaiser Brimtheon was a formidable creature, a monster even.
And with the fears of others bringing him satisfaction, I wondered what he’d become now he was able to feel so much more than that one, harrowing emotion.
Would he dwell in the darkest delights of war like my father had?
Or would he learn empathy for those he tortured?
I picked up the standard Cascadian armour that the smaller man had been wearing, pulling my own off and replacing it with the drab metal that held none of the lustre mine did.
I tied my hair back with a ribbon, keeping my curls contained and hoping it would pass as enough of a disguise to let me reach my brother and Galomp.
Then I carefully hid my armour in a hollow beneath a leaning elm while Kaiser pulled on the Cascadian uniform of the other warrior.
He was too large for it, the armour not fitting him well at all, so I moved forward to adjust it for him, loosening the leather straps that held the plates in place until they fit him well enough.
“You’ll pass for a Cascadian,” I said, studying him with a frown. “So long as no one examines you too closely. It doesn’t look like you’ve seen the sun for months.”
“That’s not too far off the truth,” he muttered and my frown deepened.
“Where has Pyros been hiding exactly?”
“You’ll see soon enough. Get moving,” he growled, jerking his chin at the rowing boat that had been pulled onto shore.
“You’d better watch your tone with me, hollow man,” I warned. “I’m not your Fearsire anymore. This is my plan so I’m leading it.”
I shoved past him and in a flash he whirled toward me and raised his sword to point at my throat.
To make it worse, I realised it was my mother’s blade in his grip, the shining steel perfectly crafted, gleaming with strength.
She’d hammered that blade into shape, she’d crafted that hilt with her own fingers, and he dared wield it against me.
Kaiser’s teeth were bared, a wild madness coursing through his eyes which slowly ebbed away as his gaze bored into mine. His lips twitched as he realised I’d unsheathed my own dagger and had jabbed it right against his cock.
“Are we working together or against each other?” I demanded. “Because I’m happy to de-cock you here and now if it’s the latter.”
He lowered the sword, carving a hand over his face with a grunt then jamming the heel of his palm to his forehead in frustration. “It was just a reaction,” he snarled, seeming no less angry than before.
“A big fucking reaction,” I accused with a sneer, lowering my dagger cautiously.
“I can’t control it. Not yet. North says I need to learn to breathe more, but what the fuck does breathing have to do with it?
” He jammed the heel of his palm against his head again and I regarded him, hating the way my chest panged at his struggle.
I moved forward, one step then two, catching his wrist and lowering it for him so he didn’t strike himself again.
He met my gaze, a harsh rage lining his features like he was a wild animal that had been baited and beaten. He looked… broken.
“North has a point – and do not ever tell him I said that,” I warned.
“That feeling…it’s here, right?” I hesitantly loosened the straps of his breast plate and drew it off of him, tossing it to the ground.
He eyed me closely as I placed my palm on his chest, feeling the furious pumping of his heart beneath my fingers.
He nodded stiffly.
“Breathe into it,” I instructed and he sucked in a breath, following my instruction.
I lowered my hand to his stomach, feeling his muscles firm as my fingers sailed lower. “And here,” I whispered, my voice coming out soft instead of hard.
He did so, his obsidian eyes still pinned on me. So harsh and unyielding was his stare that I couldn’t help but meet it, unblinking and drowning in those molten black eyes.
“Better?” I asked, my voice nothing but a whisper on the wind.
“Much,” he exhaled and the tension rolled out of the taut muscles that were knotted beneath my hand.
I withdrew but he caught my wrist, reeling me in, keeping me there a moment too long. A moment in which it felt like the stars had paused all of their great dealings to observe it.
“Wait,” he growled, his gaze heated, still riveted to mine. “I’ve never seen your eyes without hatred in them.” He stepped closer, invading my personal space like he belonged there, his thumb pressing to my temple and circling my right eye.
I pulled away, breaking the connection between us as panic rose in my chest and welded the gates shut between us. “There is never anything but hatred in my eyes when I look at you,” I snarled then I picked up his breast plate and hurled it at him.
He caught it, pulling it on and tightening the straps as I turned and made for the boat, trying to ignore the erratic tune of my pulse in my ears.
I climbed into the boat, not looking back as I felt Kaiser climb in behind me. Then I placed my hand in the water and guided the little vessel forward, leading us across the flooded valley toward the base of the hill.
Kaiser dispelled the concealments around us, unveiling us for all to see as we made it to the other side and disembarked.
I walked with him up the hill, not too fast, not too slow, heads down.
We made it into the village without notice and headed toward the town square where Calcifiend had been keeping an eye on Ransom and Galomp. A ruckus reached us as we walked along an alley between two stone houses and we found a group of generals arguing loudly over what to do with their prisoners.
My hand curled around the hilt of my dagger at my hip and I drew in a deep breath. We were only going to get one shot at this and that time was now.
Galomp and Ransom were wedged up against a fountain at the heart of the square and as we started toward them, they broke apart, their hands coming free of the tethers which had bound their wrists together.
“Get them and run.” Kaiser pushed me toward the fountain, giving me no room to argue as he went striding over to the generals like he could take on all ten of them at once.
I had no choice but to obey as he was about three seconds from giving us away so I ran straight for my brother and friend, taking out my dagger and slashing through the tethers that secured their ankles in place.
“Miss Everest, you came back for us,” Galomp said with a bright smile as I dragged him to his feet.
“You’re an idiot, runt,” Ransom added as he jumped up.
A scream came from behind me and I turned to find Kaiser had caught Lisbeth Regal with his possession along with half the other generals.
For a moment I feared he’d ignore my instruction and start killing them all, but relief filled me as he directed them to grab hold of their comrades and force them to the ground.
The confusion caused by their own people turning on each other gave us long enough to run.
“Go.” I shoved Galomp, pointing for an alley across the square and we sprinted for it just as Calcifiend came darting down from the sky to guide the way forward. He clicked his teeth in encouragement, flying ahead of us toward a street and leading the way across it, checking if the path was clear.
I glanced back, finding Kaiser tearing after us. I hated the relief I felt at finding him there, sure I should have been wishing for his death. But I supposed I needed him for now.
Calcifiend led us out of the village, ensuring we didn’t cross paths with any more warriors. When we made it to the water’s edge, I Voided the magic-blocking cuffs on Galomp and Ransom’s hands, then shattered them to pieces with ice.
“Thank you, Miss Everest.” Galomp beamed, then he shoved Ransom headfirst into the water.
“You bastard,” Ransom spluttered as he came up for air.
“Oh do not be a boring Bob.” Galomp dove in after him, and they wielded their element, letting the river swallow them so that they could sail across it undetected.
I snatched Kaiser’s hand, tugging him after me into the water and he waded in with his fingers knotting around mine.
“I can’t promise I won’t get the urge to drown you,” I taunted. “But I guess you’ll find out one way or the other.”
“I hardly have a choice then, do I?” he said with a dark look and I yanked him under the water, wielding the cold grasp of the river like a hand and dragging us away into the abyss.