Ashes And Spirit (Book 3) (25 page)

She hadn’t raised her voice, yet they flinched as if she had screamed.

An ashen-faced man took a small step forward. “We…we had no choice. His majesty…he commanded it.”

“Spineless wretches, the lot of you.” She built her power inside until it filled her. “You think Rehnlas still rules you? You think he truly makes the decisions when it comes to the boats? You will pay with your lives for forgetting who rules you now.”

They fled. Azurynn watched them shove each other down and ruthlessly crush anyone in their way as they ran through the streets between the large warehouses that filled the riverfront. As if that would help them. Unleashing a dark weave, an agonizing pain pulsed through her head. She grabbed the minds of everyone on the docks, including those beyond who ran. The screams of hundreds of people sang in tune to the pulsing of her magic. She would make them feel it, all the misery and pain that a boat slave endured before ripping their soul shields to shreds.

All except the man that spoke. His turn would come soon enough. For now, she held him motionless, like a puppet.

A slow smile spread across her face as she watched the screaming crowd thrashing on the ground, still trying to drag themselves away. Others clawed at their faces, gouging out their eyes as they tried to erase the images she showed them. A man slammed his head against the paving stones on the street until he slumped to the ground, his skull cracked open.

A woman in a fine dress howled in misery. Only one kind of woman came to the docks dressed like that—a seller. Azurynn altered the weave on her. Laugher erupted from Azurynn’s lips as the woman thrashed about, throwing herself against walls, and fighting assailants that existed only in her mind.

The massive weave wound toward its end. The cries in the streets ceased as seizures took over. Azurynn took a deep breath and sighed as she watched the soul shields shred, an agony so painful it made burning to death a pleasant experience. Except death would allow no release for these people. She’d made sure of it. Their souls would never pass through the void and reach Maiadar. They would be trapped forever with their pain, their cries a melody for her every time she Jumped with Murynn.

When the last spark of life left the last body, Azurynn turned to the man held frozen by her weave. “Tell me how many boats are already out on the Saragon and in which direction they went.”

“I don’t know.” He trembled so hard his entire body shook.

“Are you not the dock master?”

“I…” His throat worked in an attempt to swallow.

Azurynn smiled at him. “You have logbooks, where are they?” When he didn’t answer, she grabbed his mind, putting heavy pressure on his soul shield. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and his eyes bulged as a strangled scream ripped from his throat.

Sadira moved next to her. “Careful, Azurynn. You don’t want to kill him yet.”

“I have no intention of killing him.” She released his mind, and he slumped in the weave that still held him rooted to the street in front of the warehouses.

Defeat washed over his face. “In the dock master house.”

“I thought so.” She knew where they were but forcing him to answer was a pleasure she was unwilling to deny herself. “Oksana, fetch those logs for me.” She pointed to the small stone building near the shore end of the largest pier.

Oksana cast a wary glance at her before walking toward the shack without a word. The boats at the docks when Murynn landed had cast off their mooring lines and were well out into the channels with their sails up, attempting to escape to the sea. Azurynn laughed. There was no escape.

“It’s your turn now, Murynn. Sink those boats however you see fit.”

Oksana brought the logbooks to her as Murynn lifted off. “You don’t want to free the slaves first?”

“They are better off dead.” Azurynn sighed. The loss of the slaves was the only regret she felt. As much as she wished to free them, they would be broken beyond repair like her. In many ways, death was far kinder. “Feel free to let your dragons enjoy themselves.”

The other two women sent their dragons into the air while she opened the first logbook. This one was for boats headed with merchandise to Las Fane and Port City. Nine boats were loaded with leather, rice from Turindar’s marshes, and olive oil. They also carried silk from Boromar, grain from Hanover, and sharfa beans from Kanther.

Deep in the hold, beneath the merchandise, the boats also carried several women. One had as many as seven, and a couple as few as three. Those women weren’t for sale at the next port. The other nations didn’t trade in human flesh, not buying it anyway. No, those women held in the damp, windowless bilge would likely never see the light of day again. Their skin would never feel the sun until they died from the horrible conditions and cruelties inflicted upon them. Once used up, they would be tossed overboard.

Only one boat in the log had sailed without slaves. Azurynn recognized the name of the captain. Dohnlas didn’t believe in boat slaves. He figured if the men in his crew were that desperate, they could spend their earnings in the whorehouses at the various ports. If that wasn’t enough for them, then he didn’t want them in his crew. Azurynn tapped the name on the page with her finger. She would leave that boat alone as an example. She didn’t have a problem with boats and trade, just the slaves.

T
he clatter of hooves pounding across paving stones echoed off the red-brown walls of the warehouses. Rehnlas and a large contingent of guards burst into the wide, open space between the warehouses and the docks where Azurynn stood. They yanked hard on the reins. The horses slipped on the paving stones and tripped over bodies as they came to a stop, throwing their heads in the air.

“What is the meaning of this?” Rehnlas’ enraged shout carried over the chaos in the water of the channels.

Every boat in the channels burned with crackling green fire. The three black dragons splashed through the water as they killed those who jumped overboard. A thick haze of smoke blown by the chill wind whipped over the winter-brown marshes between the channels.

Azurynn glanced over her shoulder, her eyes like ice. “I could ask the same of you, Rehnlas.”

“You have no right to destroy our trade this way!”

“I have
every
right as a Shadow Rider and even more as a former slave on one of your precious boats.” Her magic hummed inside as her control slipped, and she almost lashed out with it.

Rehnlas stared at her in wordless fury.

“In case it wasn’t clear enough the day I was freed by my magic, there will be no more boat slaves. If you start it up again, I will happily kill everyone involved, including you.” The intention to try to stand up to her was loud in his mind when he dismounted from his horse. “Careful, Rehnlas. I’m not in complete control right now and would find much enjoyment in sending you to a painful eternity. It would be nothing to me.”

Sadira glared at him. “Remember, Rehnlas, you hold your throne only by the grace of the Shadow Riders. It would be easy for us to replace you. When you accepted us as your protectors we were quite clear there would be no more boat slaves and yet, here we all are.” Her glare slid into a sadistic smile. “We really can’t let such open disobedience go unpunished.”

Azurynn refrained from rolling her eyes. Sadira and the other Shadow Riders didn’t care about boat slaves. It was part of the agreement Sadira, Kovan, and Oksana had struck in order to keep Azurynn from coming back and leaving Turindar nothing but a feast for crows.

Sadira only cared about disobedience and the chance to torture Rehnlas. Azurynn shrugged. Who was she to stand in the way of discipline or pleasure? “Do as you think best, Sadira. Make sure you get his face. A permanent, visible reminder of what happens when we are defied on the face of their king will do the populous of Turindar good.”

Malicious light brightened Sadira’s eyes as her shadows curled around her hands. Azurynn swept the assembled guards with a hard look. “Anyone that tries to interfere before Sadira is done will join him in his punishment.”

Sadira’s shadows struck Rehnlas at his waist. They burrowed under his skin and climbed toward his face. He collapsed on the ground, screaming until he ran out of breath only to suck in another and begin again. Azurynn turned back toward the water without a shred of remorse for the man writhing on the ground. He should have known better. They all should have.

She resumed studying the open logbook in her hands. Dohnlas was still sailing the Arcaia. Good, she would know what it looked like.

“Oksana,” she called over the shrieks of Rehnlas. “I need you to send Dusa east along the coast. There are nine Turindar boats on the eastern route. Eight need to be destroyed and no person left alive. Let her do it however she wishes.”

“I’m sure she will enjoy the task. Which boat do you want left alone?” Oksana glanced toward the channels and called for Dusa.

Azurynn pointed to the listed boat. “The Arcaia. According to the log it’s a two-masted ship with a large arcaia fish carved into the prow.”

Dusa took off in a rush of wind and malignant emotions, winging her way south to the mouth of the river before banking to follow the coast.

Azurynn flipped open the other logbook. This one had six boats listed bound for Kanther and Boromar. Each carried Turindar trade as well as the newly coveted tobacco grown in Shadereen, wine from Las Fane, and the fine wool and lace that came down the Blood River from the mountain towns west of Calladar. And each boat carried slaves.

She hated to interrupt Sadira’s time with Rehnlas to send Ranit for the task. Murynn could do it. As soon as Azurynn finished her thought, Murynn raised her head and stared at her for a long moment before taking off and flying west while Ranit continued the job of dispatching the few tattered remains of the crews in the channels.

Rehnlas’ screams finally stopped. Azurynn tossed the logbooks into the water and crossed the open space until she stood over the king. He lay gasping on the paving stones. The entire right half of his face was blackened and blistered. She studied Sadira’s work. He might never see out of his right eye again. Azurynn knelt next to him, leaned close, and whispered, “If you defy me again, you will beg me to hand you over to Sadira.”

She stood in a smooth, graceful movement and walked over to the dock master. Putting her finger against his temple, she reached into his mind and burned the memories of every scream, every dying person, and the destruction at the docks with perfect clarity. “I have made sure you will never forget what you saw here today. I’ve made sure the images and sounds will have you waking up in a cold sweat every night for the rest of your life. And, before you get any ideas, I’ve also planted a command deep in your mind.” She gazed into his frightened eyes and said softly, “Though you will want it more than anything else in the world, you won’t be able to take your own life or even put yourself in a situation where someone else will take it from you. You will never be able to drink enough wine to kill yourself and if you are drunk, you won’t be able to walk anywhere near anything you might fall off.”

“Hear me now, Rehnlas.” Azurynn spared a brief glance at the king before fixing her eyes on the dock master’s again. “No matter what law this man breaks, he cannot be put to death. Imprison him if you wish, but he must always remain well fed and watered so that his health remains good.”

She smiled at the dock master. “You will live a long and tortured life from this day forward. You will never defy me again, no matter who gives you the command. If those who replace the dead are smart, they will learn an important lesson from you and Rehnlas, and never forget it.”