Chapter 51 Odessa #2
I dodged men and women as they moved in all directions, bumping into me as I bumped into them.
“Out of the way,” a man barked as I nearly tripped over his foot. He realized too late who he was addressing. “Sorry, Princess.”
I ignored him and kept going, finally making it to the corridor.
Empty.
“Damn it.” I pushed the curls from my face and ran to the end of the hall, where it branched in three different directions. Straight. Left. Right. Where the hell had he gone? “Brother Skore?”
My shout bounced off the walls. I held my breath, ears straining for an answer.
Nothing.
Maybe it was a different priest. Maybe they were all swapping burgundy robes for pale blue.
“Shit.” I took a step down the hall to my left, hoping for once I’d sense the sting of Voster magic. But all I felt was sweat snaking down my spine and a panic that I’d lost my chance. I sprinted the length of the hall anyway, and when there was still no magic, I whirled and ran back.
“Goddess Daria, how about a little luck?” I jogged down a different hallway, hoping I’d made the right choice this time.
It led to an unguarded door that opened to the gardens. I burst outside, looking both ways, searching past shrubs and trees for any sign of the Voster. But he was gone, likely down another passage in the castle’s labyrinth of halls.
“Gah.” I fisted my hands, letting out a frustrated grunt.
At least there was a Voster in the castle. If it took me all day, I’d hunt the priest down.
I’d seen Skore pull blood from those bariwolves and drain their bodies to husks. He might be exactly who we needed until Alore found a cure.
Spinning for the door, I was about to retreat inside, when a distant scream pierced the air.
A scream so familiar my heart stopped.
“Evie?” I called her name but was already running toward the sound, racing around a tall hedge and into a round courtyard.
A stone fountain bubbled in its center. Beside it, a guard, dressed in his teal uniform, had blood streaming from his nose.
Ransom stood with his fists clenched, seething at the guard.
And Evie was kneeling on the ground, holding Faze as tears streamed down her face.
I ran to her, picking her up, checking her head to toe for injuries. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, sobbing. “I w-wanna go home.”
The last word was a wail of heartache.
Gods. What was happening? I stood and eased her behind me, keeping one hand on her shoulder as I took in the guard.
He wiped at the blood dribbling down his chin, then spat a glob at Ransom’s feet.
“Leave,” Ransom ordered the guard. “Now. Before I do far worse than break your nose.”
The guard sneered, but he backed away, flashing me a smile with bloody teeth.
I waited until he was gone, then wrapped Evie in a hug. “What happened?”
“He tried to take Faze.” She buried her face in my shoulder.
I looked up at Ransom.
Rage simmered in his molten eyes. “We came outside to let Faze run and play. The guard lured him away with a hunk of meat. Evie whistled for him, and it made him pause enough for me to catch up.”
Evie’s cooing noise. The birdsong she’d learned from Brother Skore.
Ransom dragged a hand over his face. “These godsdamn guards.”
Bastards. This was my father’s castle. This was my childhood home. If they were trying to run us out of Quentis, they were doing a damn fine job.
My mind stopped.
Could that be true? I’d never had an incident with the guards before. They were trained to all but blend into the walls. Granted, I’d never brought a baby monster into the castle.
Was this Mae’s doing? She’d been so strange since we arrived. And it was a well-known secret she was involved with Captain Brix. Had she enticed her lover to intentionally torment us so we’d leave?
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as the feeling of being watched brought me to my feet. I turned in a slow circle, scanning the courtyard and gardens.
But we were alone with the trees and hedges and wind that rustled their changing leaves.
“Let’s go inside.” I reached for Ransom’s hand but froze as my attention swung to the castle.
Brother Skore stood in the window, his tall body framed by the sill. His pale blue robes blended in with the light walls at his back.
I gasped.
“What?” Ransom asked, following my gaze.
I held up a hand, silently begging for Skore to wait.
Except before I could run inside to find him, Ransom stepped in front of me, blocking me from the Voster. “Odessa, get out of here.”
“Brother Skore?” Evie rushed forward.
“Stay back.” Ransom caught her around the waist before she could go to the glass, pulling her behind him. “That’s Skore?”
“Yes.” I nodded, trying to move past him, but he blocked me again. “Listen, I know you’re mad that he left us in Ozarth, but I need to talk to him.”
Ransom picked up Evie and grabbed my hand, dragging us through the gardens to leave.
I twisted back to the window, but Skore was already gone. Damn it. “Ransom, what’s going on?”
“We need to get out of Quentis.”
“Why?”
“He’s Kennin.”
“Say that again?”
“Kennin. They’re a faction of zealots. If Dime is associating with Skore, then it’s likely he’s a radical, too.
It means he’s a traitor to the brotherhood.
” Ransom lowered his voice, checking over his shoulder as he walked faster.
“Anyone found to be associated with the Kennin is put to death by the High Priest.”
“Oh.” Well, fuck.