Frey Saga Book II: Pieces of Eight (8 page)

She glanced forward, to the
backs of the others as they rode in front of us, and then again to
me. “Was there something specific you were looking for, in the
diary?”

It struck me that she had
no idea why I had been reading it again. I’d not mentioned my
dream, not my new knowledge. She must have thought I had been upset
about Junnie or the human. They must have all thought that. They
had no idea that I had remembered.

I realized I was smiling.
Some part of me, buried deep inside, was happy about this. It
relished the secret knowledge and wanted to protect it. I spoke
without thinking. “No, really, it was just a shock is all. I’m
fine.”

Her eyebrows
knit.

“
I’d been meaning to read
it. You know, closure.” I almost scoffed at my own words. She was
staring at me hard so I changed the subject. “So, where exactly are
we going?”

Her face was concerned but
she looked forward and nodded ahead to some structure I couldn’t
quite make out in the distance. I hadn’t even noticed it before, so
tied up in my thoughts.

We rode closer and the
shapes became more defined. I kicked up my horse to fall in beside
the others for a better view. In the bow of a large ring of trees,
pillars of stone rose up in patterns around a massive
amphitheater.

I gulped, cringing at the
thought of what this place could be. “Grand Council?” I
whispered.

“
No,” Anvil answered,
smiling.

I relaxed a little, letting
out the breath I’d been holding.

Chevelle spoke from the
front. “The temple of Loelle.”

I could see it more clearly
now. It looked like it must have been abandoned long ago. The
sandstone pillars were crumbling in places, weeds grew up between
the stones. The others stopped and dismounted, leaving the horses
as they entered the central building. I followed behind, still
cautious. I remembered now my plan to sweep the sky each day, I’d
forgotten that during the time spent fretting over Asher, and then
I caught myself and focused on the present.

The floors of the temple
were covered in a light dusting of the sand from the stones, which
made me feel a bit more secure in my abandonment theory. Regardless
of my concerns about the group’s relationship with Asher, I was
glad they were here now. I knew I would be unable to stand alone to
face Grand Council when the time came. Soon.

I shivered and Chevelle
stepped beside me, wrapping his arm around my back to place a hand
on my opposite shoulder. I forced myself not to look at him, not to
betray my emotions.

“
We will stay here until
Rhys and Rider can locate council.”

I expected to stiffen at
his words but realized I already was; I had when he’d first touched
me. He must have noticed too, because he dropped his arm as he
continued. “You will need to train.”

He turned and walked off
without another word but, as if on command, Anvil approached with
two large metal rods.
Ugh
.

We trained through the
evening as the others gathered in small groups, planning or
watching or checking perimeters. I was exhausted when we finally
stopped for dinner and then, almost before I’d finished my last
bite, Grey was urging me to train again, practice trying to stop
his disappearing acts. It was dark when I finally gave up. I had
thought I’d fallen asleep by the fire but when I woke, I was inside
my own small hut, complete with soft bedding. I pulled myself out
of bed and found immediately that the day’s training had already
been planned out. I forced myself not to groan aloud but,
internally, I was doing more than my share of
complaining.

By the third day,
exhaustion was winning out. They pushed me harder and harder,
relentless. I was too tired to even be miserable. It reminded me of
something that I couldn’t quite place, forced to train, exhausted,
paranoid. I cried out as Ruby’s whip cracked at my shoulder and it
was a cry of defeat. I fell to my knees, spent.

“
Up!” she
commanded.

I huffed out a breath,
having no intention of following her order.

She stepped forward, her
face trained on mine. “Up.”

I forced a look of defiance
and her face became heated.

“
You will burn,
Frey.”

I knew she didn’t mean at
her hand, not a personal threat. The truth. And I convinced myself
to stand, not for her, but for me, to give myself every possible
chance when the time came. On wobbly legs I fought back. When I
could stand no more, it was Anvil’s turn. But I didn’t have much
left to fight off electrical attacks.

And then, on the fourth
night, a dream surfaced.

It was twisted and
confusing, but I came away with an unmistakable feeling. I stayed
inside my room, pretending to still sleep, and pulled the diary
from my pack. I flipped forward to the pages of training. Asher,
her father, forcing my mother to train. For his benefit.

I was sure then, sure of
their actions. They weren’t training me for my protection. I had no
chance against council in my condition. They were training me for
him.

Lord Asher.

I gritted my teeth against
the hate that was filling me.

“
Frey?” a voice questioned
from outside the hut.

The part of me that had
acted before, relished my secret knowledge, was in control again,
taking a calming breath before answering. “Yes, Ruby?”

“
We should probably get
started.”

Two more deep
breaths.

“
Okay.”

I stood, trying to get a
handle on the tremor that was racking my body. One more deep breath
and I stepped out, into the sun.

I tried to keep my face
clear as I scanned the temple. Anvil. I remembered him before. He’d
been there in some of the older memories, helping the scarred man
with training, no, practice. I would focus on those memories later,
no reason to stare at him now. I continued, seeing Grey and Steed
by a pillar. I couldn’t decide on their involvement, they might
have just been here for Ruby.

Ruby. Ruby the
troublemaker? Was that why she was involved? For fun,
entertainment? And then I remembered what Steed had said. Her
interest in the diary was because of her mother. Was that the
reason? Revenge or some sick obsession because her fairy mother had
come up with a crazed plan because of my mother, because of
me?

“
Frey?” Ruby’s voice was
concerned. Her hand wrapped around my arm, pulling me to focus on
her face. “Frey, what is it?” She sounded panicked and I realized I
was shaking again.

I had to cover. I couldn’t
think clearly so I spat out the first reasonable truth I could
give. “I… I just remembered something.”

She waited.

“
Council… a council
member.”

“
Who?”

“
I don’t know. I only see
his face. Nothing else.”

She nodded and rubbed her
hand on my arm in an attempt to soothe me. I played on her sympathy
and eventually she encouraged me to lie back down.

When I was alone again, the
rush of thought and emotion tore through me. I struggled to hold
myself together. I couldn’t believe they would betray me but how
else could I explain their association with Asher, the man who had
ruined me, my mother, the North? A wave of nausea hit and I doubled
over, sweat thick on my brow. I tried to wipe it away with a shaky
hand but found I needed it to keep from falling. My eyes closed as
dizziness took over. Someone was coming in and I realized I had
been moaning in agony.

I heard them talking.
“What’s wrong with her?”

“
Get Ruby.”

And then, moments later,
Chevelle’s voice. That pushed me over the edge.

Fever drove my dreams to
new heights. The most irrational paranoia seeped through all of my
old dreams, turning them to nightmares. But it was the new ones
that were most disturbing. Even the colors frightened me. Blood red
and flame orange saturated everything one moment and then the next
stark white swallowed me whole. My companions, my guard, surrounded
me in the long robes and tassels of Grand Council. Chevelle
approached me, his face hard. As he closed in, his mouth twisted in
a menacing grin and he grabbed me, pulling me close for a deep
kiss. When he pulled away I tasted blood. Then the fire lit around
me and they gathered to watch me burn. I tried to scream but my
throat was dry and I knew intuitively it was dust from the sandy
pillars that surrounded me. The flames threw wicked shadows across
the ground, which began to sway, and I lost my footing, falling
down only to be kicked by the watchers. I laughed then, crazed by
the flame, and I could feel my mother. I knew she had done so,
laughed as she burned, and I began to scream.

This time, the sound woke
me, my own hoarse scream. I started up in panic but Ruby held me
down, patting my forehead with a damp cloth. I was drenched and an
errant thought wondered if her cloth had started out dry. My
eyelids fluttered and I fell back into a deep sleep.

When I woke again, a groggy
relaxation kept me from opening my eyes right away. I could hear
their whispers. “… maybe that’s not even why… maybe we overdid the
training… no, let her rest…”

I silently took stock. My
body seemed to have recovered from the days of practice. My mind
was rested though still in pain. I tried not to think of why,
wanting to stave off the worst of the pains.

They gave me the rest of
the day to recover. That evening, after Ruby had brought me dinner,
the door to my room flew open.

Chevelle stood, staring at
me. His voice was impatient as he commanded me to get up and return
to my training.

For just a moment I was
surprised. And then, in a flash of violent anger, I found myself
responding without thought. “Why? For him?”

He looked irritated that I
was talking back to him but then his face turned to
confusion.

I couldn’t stop myself.
“How could you? After what he did. How?”

A small group had gathered
behind him, seeking the source of the commotion. It enflamed
me.

“
All of
you. My guard,” I spat. They stared at me like I had lost it. Maybe
I had, because I continued. “Training me at his command. Slaves to
Asher. Your
Lord
Asher.”

I had directed that last
part to Chevelle and his face went white. He wore an expression
that I had never seen and, honestly, frightened me even in my
anger. I tore from the hut, making a new door in the back wall, and
ran from them as fast as I could.

Breathless, I had no idea
where to go. I just kept running until my shaking legs would carry
me no farther.

Apparently, it wasn’t far
enough. When I’d finally risen up from the ground to look behind
me, Ruby was already there. I was pretty sure she’d been right
behind me the entire time, silent. She looked annoyed.

I turned my head away from
her and dropped it to the ground.

Eventually, I gave up and
followed her back to the temple. I was slightly embarrassed by my
outburst, but no one had denied my accusations so I felt justified.
And wronged. And bitter.

I continued to practice
through my bitterness because, no matter their reasons for training
me, I knew I’d not be able to face Grand Council without
them.

A few nights later, I woke
with a start, remembering that I had abandoned my plan of sweeping
the area. I knew that Rhys and Rider were on guard, and the wolves,
but I also remembered the last time, when council had gotten past
them. I hoped I could locate a vessel as I closed my eyes and
searched past the temple, past the pillars, into the surrounding
trees.

I found an owl and decided,
under the circumstances, he would suffice. I started to take him
out of his tree to check the grounds when his keen eyes caught a
group standing together not far from his perch. I focused and
realized it was Anvil and Grey speaking close and Chevelle, facing
away from them, his arms crossed, giving his stance an irritated
feel.

I was afraid to get closer,
sure the flap of wings would alert them. I started to check for
other nearby animals but imagined Chevelle spotting a clumsy
squirrel with his knowing eyes, catching me spying. The
uncoordinated squirrel was taking over my thoughts and I had to
focus (and try not to laugh at my sleepy efforts).

I concentrated, finally
hearing their words but just as I caught them. “… Fannie’s doing
our job…” Chevelle spun, facing them, his anger clear. Grey held up
his hands as if to say “no harm,” but it didn’t matter, his face
was beyond calming. And then his eyes scanned the clearing and I
jumped back to my own mind, afraid somehow he’d know I was
there.

I couldn’t fall back to
sleep after that. I couldn’t understand what they’d meant. Why were
they talking about Fannie now? And what was their “job”? Something
they were doing for Asher? But how could Fannie be doing that? She
wasn’t training me. Something else, then. They had more than one
task?