CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR TREW
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
TREW
The wasteland had never looked more like death, with skeletal trees reaching up toward the sky, pools of fetid water, and silence so complete it screamed.
Our dragon’s wings beat with exhaustion, each stroke dragging us through air that smelled of things long since rotted.
Isi rode with me while Kerralyn and Addie flew on Nim, Addie’s body flickering translucent before returning to full color.
The veil-sickness still haunted her. We had very little time before the controllers’ ritual tore the veil wide enough to let in more Skathes.
Their army would then consume everything we knew and loved.
Gavelle and Pherin soared ahead, Pherin’s teal and gold feathers barely visible against the gray sky.
Per Kerralyn, the fortress sat in a canyon a day’s walk southwest of Marlane’s property.
Once we found it, we’d move as close as we dared, then send Pherin in to scout.
She was so tiny, she might not be seen. As long as the second controller didn’t recognize her, she’d be safe and could report back what she found.
There were too many unknowns in this plan, and I didn’t like it. But we had no choice. We had to stop the controllers or our world would be jeopardized forever.
“Addie’s fading again,” Isi said softly. “We should’ve made her remain behind.”
“She wouldn’t have done it. Better to bring her with us where we can watch over her.”
Kerralyn leaned forward, pointing. “Can you see that low mountain range? The fortress is carved into the northern canyon wall. It’s three levels of stone reinforced with magic.”
Gavelle flew ahead, and I studied it through his eyes, a large structure of dark stone rising from corrupted earth. Skathe patrols moved around the perimeter. Someone was directing them and the thought of that made my skin crawl.
I guided our dragons to a narrow ridge a few hours’ walk from the fortress, hidden behind a spine of jagged boulders that would conceal us from any far-reaching patrols. The moment we landed, Addie swayed and Kerralyn caught her with an arm around her waist.
“I’m fine,” Addie said, though her voice carried the breathless quality of someone fighting to stay alert. Her fingers flickered translucent before going solid again.
Isi slid from the dragon’s back and rushed over to hold her arms up. Kerralyn helped Addie down and Isi wrapped her arms around her sister, helping her remain upright.
I dismounted, surveying the corrupted landscape stretching toward the fortress. “We’ll go on foot from here. Gavelle, Pherin, and Dare? Scout ahead. Report any patrols, any movement.”
The three winged companions launched skyward, disappearing into the gray wasteland. Kerralyn’s mole clung to her shoulder while Addie’s small silvery drake pressed against her leg.
We moved in single file down the rocky slope, using the skeletal remains of what had once been a forest for cover. Silence throbbed in my ears. No birdsong. No rustle of small creatures. Just the whisper of wind through bone-white branches and the soft crunch of our boots on corrupted ground.
Isi held up her hand and we froze.
“Pherin said there are Skathes coming our way,” she whispered.
We ducked behind boulders, and I counted heartbeats while we waited. The creatures passed in the open area below us, their movements coordinated. Someone was definitely controlling them.
After they’d disappeared around a bend, we continued our descent. It took over an hour to reach a position where we could observe the fortress directly. It looked even more imposing up close.
“There,” Kerralyn breathed, pointing to a narrow entrance carved into the cliff face. “That’s where they took the others when they were caught.” Her jaw tightened and tears shimmered in her eyes. “I don’t know how they missed me. Just lucky I guess.”
Isi squeezed her friend’s hand.
Gavelle and Dare returned first, Gavelle landing on my shoulder and Dare on the ground. Through our bond, I felt my companion’s unease. Too many Skathes. Too much magic crackling through the air. The place reeked of corruption.
“Pherin is going inside now,” Isi whispered. “She’ll look for our friends.”
“Tell her to be careful,” I said. “One glimpse of trouble and she comes back.”
Isi nodded.
We settled on the ground behind the boulders, laying sacks with the weapons we’d brought nearby. Addie leaned against Kerralyn’s shoulder while I kept watch on the patrols with Gavelle and Dare. Isi pressed her fingers to her temples, maintaining the connection with Pherin.
“She’s inside,” Isi said softly. “Flying through corridors. There are many Skathes. They’re everywhere, and they’re not moving randomly. They’re stationed like guards.”
Whoever controlled them was expecting trouble.
“She’s found something,” Isi said, her voice tight. “A large chamber. Lord Alfred’s there, speaking with a woman who has long red hair. She’s wearing a cloak with the hood pulled up. Pherin can’t see her face.”
“Tell Pherin to stay back,” I growled. “Don’t risk getting closer.”
“She’s moving deeper. Lower level now.” Time passed, and Isi’s breathing quickened. “Dungeon. She doesn’t dare fly past the Skathes standing guard, but she thinks she can see people in the cells beyond.”
Kerralyn’s breath hissed out. “If our friends are there, we have to rescue them.”
“Pherin’s going higher now,” Isi said. “Second level. There’s a room with… Oh.” Her face paled. “It’s like the tower in Caldrith. Tables. Restraints. Blood on the stone. Kira’s there, lying on a table. Not moving much. She’s wounded.”
The bottom dropped out of my stomach. Despite our difficulties, we’d been friends. She was a savvy advisor and a brave warrior. I’d been proud to have her by my side.
“Pherin’s checking other rooms, but there are doors she can’t get through. Fenmark could be behind any of them.” Isi’s eyes snapped open. “She’s coming back. Says we need to move now. She heard them talking about doing the ritual soon.”
“Disguises.” I handed out the pendants I’d crafted during our last hours at Syllavar, before we knew exactly what we’d face, just in case. “We already know they’ll fail near the veil, but they’ll last long enough for us to rescue our friends.”
Once we donned the pendants, our bodies began reshaping our forms into the twisted figures of Skathes. Elongated limbs, gray-scaled skin, and needle teeth. A revolting sensation, but necessary.
Isi shuddered as her body shifted. “I hate this.”
“I do too.” I touched her scaled cheek with a clawed finger, letting tenderness show in my eyes despite the monstrous face. “But it’s the only chance we have to get our people out alive.”
A patrol was making its way up the canyon toward the fortress entrance. Perfect timing.
“Stay close,” I told the others. “Move like them. Don’t speak unless you have to.”
We slipped from cover and joined the back of the patrol group, matching their gait. My heart thundered against my ribs as we approached the entrance, but the disguised Skathes ahead of us didn’t even glance back.
The fortress loomed ahead of us, Skathe guards flanking the doorway. One turned toward our patrol as we approached.
I forced myself to meet its black eyes with the dead stare I’d observed in real Skathes. It studied us for a heartbeat that felt like hours, then stepped aside.
We were in.
The corridors reeked of decay. Torches lined the walls, casting shadows that made the stone appear to writhe. I guided our group away from the main patrol as soon as we reached a junction, following Pherin toward the torture chamber.
I nudged the door open, finding Kira bound to the top of a wooden table.
Dried blood crusted her wrists and temples where the leather restraints bit deep.
Her matted, tangled hair draped across her shoulders, her usually pristine appearance shattered.
I couldn’t find her death adder, but if her companion was wise, she’d hidden herself nearby.
I eased the door open further and we slipped into the room. The moment I saw her up close, rage burned through my chest. Cuts covered her exposed arms, and her breathing came deep and labored.
Isi moved to the table while I kept watch at the door.
“Kira.” She touched her shoulder gently. “Wake up.”
Kira’s eyes fluttered open, unfocused and glazed with pain. When she saw our Skathe faces, terror flooded her features and she recoiled.
“Easy. It’s Trew. Isi’s here too.”
“Not Skathes?”
“Not Skathes.”
Recognition filled her eyes, followed immediately by tears that cut tracks through the grime on her cheeks. “You shouldn’t have come. They’ll catch you, they’ll—”
“We’re getting you out.” I was already working on her wrist restraints, slicing through the leather, before releasing those at her ankles. “Can you walk?”
“I think so. I was trying to help. Trying to investigate the controllers on my own. I thought if I could prove myself worthy again after how I behaved…”
She struggled to sit up, her movements jerky and uncontrolled.
“They used a toxin to keep me conscious during—” Her voice broke.
“I can still feel it burning in my veins. My hands won’t stop shaking.
” Blood seeped from half-healed cuts on her arms, and her fingers trembled.
Whatever they’d done to her had left marks that went deeper than flesh.
“I don’t know if I can fight,” she whispered, shame coloring her voice.
“But I’ll try.” She peered around. “Lexie and Derren?”
“They’re in the dungeon,” I said. “We’re getting them next.”
“Fenmark’s here too. Or he was.” Kira’s voice cracked. “They talked about moving him earlier.”
Gone, then. My blood turned to ice. “To the breach site?”
Her penetrating gaze met mine. “Yes. They’re going to use him to fuel a nasty ritual, something called bloodfire.”
Addie made no sound. She’d gone very still, the kind of stillness that came before something broke. Her drake pressed against her leg, and she reached down to grip his neck spike hard.