Rout of the Dem-Shyr (The Ascendant Series) (23 page)

I think that my mother, at least, knew this was coming
, she admitted. The words depressed and angered her, an odd and uncomfortable blend of emotion.

Brunyr wasn’t in Vycor’s chambers
, Gren thought,
but that doesn’t mean he isn’t involved. Based on what you overheard, the plan is for both Guardians to assume power, so Brunyr has to be aware of what Vycor and Shaya have planned
.

Kyr’s fingers tapped on the table as she thought things through.
We have to do something. We can’t let the Vawn appoint the Guardians to power. You heard what Vycor said about him protecting their interests. I don’t know what he’s referring to, but if it’s something secret, it can’t be good.

Sem came to a stop.
I can get us into contact with the members of the Vawn council. We could influence them before the meeting so they don’t—

Vycor would detect our influence,
Gren interrupted.

Not mine
, Kyr argued. The idea blossomed in her mind.
That’s an excellent idea, Sem. I know I can influence the council members in a way that Vycor won’t be able to detect
.

Kyr, you’re going to exhaust yourself
, Gren cautioned.
There are twenty-one council members. You can’t possibly influence so many.

I could
, she contended,
but I won’t have to. I only have to get to a majority of them.

She has to do this
, Sem insisted when Gren was about to argue further.
We’ll monitor her and make sure she doesn’t do more than she can handle.

Kyr touched Gren’s hand and met his gaze.
We can’t leave to find Ty if we know we’re coming back to the Guardians in power. Between them and Vycor, they’ll have full control. We’ll be hard-pressed to stop them then
.

Gren sighed.
Fine. Let’s get this over with
.

Kyr sent him a grateful thought as they got to their feet. Sem led the way, with Kyr following at a discreet distance. Gren was her shadow, somehow managing to disappear from her sight while still remaining nearby.

She called forth her power as they walked, focusing on her ability to influence others. She was going to do this quickly and carefully. There was no way she was going to let Vycor discover that the council members had been influenced.

He wasn’t going to be able to use his own influence on them, either. She’d block him. Let him and Shaya fumble around and try to figure out why the council wasn’t cooperating with their plans. By the time they had any glimmer of what had happened, she had every intention of being back at the palace with Ty by her side.

Gren and Sem both appreciated her confidence and were in full support of her plan. Still, they both issued warnings to be careful when Sem brought Kyr to the doors leading to the first of the Vawn council members.

This is IonyVawn’s chamber
, Sem conveyed as he continued walking around the corner.
He’s a late sleeper. If you sneak in quietly, you should be able to influence him while he’s sleeping
.

The hallway was more traveled than Kyr had expected. She’d look strange walking into Iony’s chambers without an obvious reason.

Spotting a passing Wrym carrying a stack of folded linens, she got an idea.
Give me those linens
, she silently commanded.

The male obeyed without hesitation, handing off the linens and continuing on his way. To anyone who might be observing, it looked like they had planned the exchange. She carried the linens to Iony’s door and listened with her mind to be sure he was actually sleeping.

He was.

After pretending to knock but not actually touching the door, she slipped inside. The chamber was dark. She used her new ability to see in the dark to make her way to Iony’s bedside.

A hint of remorse touched on her conscience as she thought about what she was about to do. Was she really any better than Vycor, forcing her influence on an unsuspecting person?

If you don’t do this, Vycor will
, Gren assured her.
You’re not doing this to harm them. You’re doing this to save them
.

Nodding to herself, she placed the linens on the side of the bed. She considered touching Iony’s head, but decided against it. She didn’t want to risk him waking up. Instead, she gently touched the back of his hand where it rested above the covers.

And immediately detected that Vycor had already been there.

Oh, no, you don’t
, she silently fumed.

It took more effort than if she’d just had to influence him, but she went through Iony’s mind and did what she had with Sem’s. She obliterated Vycor’s influence and imposed her own, implanting the idea that assigning the Guardians or Vycor as the ruler of Alametria was an abhorrent one. She finished up by establishing blocks that Vycor shouldn’t be able to get past. When she was satisfied she had done the job, she broke contact with him.

The room shifted beneath her as she fought to maintain her balance. Her efforts had taken even more of a toll than she’d anticipated. Maybe it was because she had already extended herself earlier with Sem.

You can’t do this with ten more people, Kyr
, Gren insisted.
You’ll kill yourself.

We don’t know that Vycor influenced them all
, she countered.
It won’t be so hard if their minds are clear
.

Damn it
, Gren grumbled.

Get me to the next one, Sem
, she thought, grabbing the linens and leaving the room as quietly as she’d arrived.

The next Vawn, a female named Nari, was also still asleep. Fortunately, Vycor hadn’t gotten to her yet. Sem explained that she had only just arrived at the palace the night before, which probably explained why. Influencing her was definitely easier than it had been with Iony.

By the time Kyr got to the eleventh Vawn, she knew Gren had been right to be concerned. Vycor had influenced more than half of the council members she had visited. The world around her was starting to blur. Her head throbbed with pain. Exhaustion threatened to claim her.

Stubborn will had her pushing one foot in front of the other as she followed Sem to the last bedchamber. She did what she could to keep her friends from knowing how deeply affected she was by her efforts, but she felt their worry for her.

One more
, she thought.
Just one more
.

Like a couple of the other Vawn she had encountered, this one was awake. Kyr vaguely registered Sem telling her his name was MycahVawn as she walked into his chambers and closed the door behind her. The door closed heavily, snapping Kyr out of her slight daze.

“Who is that?” called a male voice.

Before Kyr could respond, Mycah walked out of his bathing chamber wearing nothing but a towel. She couldn’t even be bothered by his near nudity. Time was working against her.

I’m here to change your linens
, she thought as she approached him.
You’re not concerned
.

His head tilted as if in consideration. She tucked the linens under one arm and reached out to touch him. She missed the first time. The second swipe, her hand landed on his bicep. The moment they were connected, she drew forth her strained abilities.

Vycor hadn’t influenced this one. Kyr wanted to dance in jubilation when she realized it. She used her grip on Mycah’s arm to hold her upright as she influenced him. By the time she started placing her shields, she knew she had pushed herself too far. Blood didn’t just drip from her nose. It gushed. She used the linens to catch the steady flow. Just as she heard the knock on Mycah’s door, she gave her abilities one last push to make sure the shields would stand.

Sem walked in and rushed over to her. He caught her under the armpits as her legs gave way.

Shit. Gren, get in here
.

Kyr heard Sem’s command, but she didn’t have any energy left to try and alleviate his obvious fear.

She faded in and out of consciousness. She was aware of being placed in a bed. She felt cool cloths on her face. She felt attempts made to connect with her mind, but that part of her had closed up shop.

Time passed. Part of her was only too aware of it. Every moment that passed was a moment Ty was alone out in the Dark Lands. It was a moment they weren’t together.

Ty…

Eventually, she opened her eyes and kept them open. Her head throbbed, so she didn’t move much as she looked around. Once again, she was in Gren’s bed. She was still fully clothed and armed. Gren sat beside her. He looked down when she spotted him.

Drink this
, he instructed, lifting her head slightly and bringing a cup to her lips.

Nausea threatened her, but she drank it. It tasted bitter, like medicine. Her headache eased and her limbs started tingling after a couple of minutes as the beverage made its way through her system. She didn’t even bother asking what he had given her. She was just grateful he wasn’t lecturing her.

Oh, the lecture is still to come
, he conveyed.

I’m okay, Gren. I’m a quick healer, remember? I rose from the dead.

Please don’t make light of this, Kyr. They just buried your death box. I’m more than aware of your abilities right now
.

She hadn’t been making light, but she understood why he might think so.
I’m sorry, Gren. But I’m here, not in the ground. What I just did had to be done. At least now Vycor and the Guardians are delayed in whatever plans they might have. Maybe this even stopped them.

I doubt that.

Me, too
.

She closed her eyes, overcome with exhaustion.
Why do you think no one knows where Ty is?

If I had to make a guess, I’d say EyraRowe disregarded a direct order to take Ty to this Hub place and dropped him off somewhere he thought Ty might have a fighting chance. Eyra knew his memories would be erased as a matter of protocol as soon as he returned from his mission. He’s Ty’s friend. They’ve flown together a number of times. So that’s what I think happened
.

She couldn’t fault his reasoning.
Do you think that I might be able to recover the memory Eyra had of Ty’s trip to the Dark Lands?

I think you can certainly try…
after
you heal from all of this
.

She wanted to argue. Now that she had more of an idea what Vycor and the Guardians were planning, she wanted to go after Ty right that moment. Alametria would be safe enough without her for the short while it would take her to find Ty.

But she knew she’d be more of a hindrance than a help to Ty if she did anything in her current condition. She’d have to hope her healing abilities worked fast.

That made her think of Ty and the fact that all of his abilities had been stripped from him. How was he faring out there? Was he even still alive?

Of course he is, Kyr
, Gren thought.
Ty has been trained his entire life. He’ll be fine
.

She hoped he was right. Anger towards her mother surfaced as she wondered whether any of this would have even happened if Shaya hadn’t withheld some of Ty’s abilities all this time. But there was no changing where things stood now. They just had to move forward.

You and Ty will have your chance
, Gren told her.
But, Kyr, I think you should let me and Sem go after Ty. You should—

Kyr silenced him with a look. She didn’t even have to send him the thought. He stopped and nodded.

I had to try
, he thought.

And I appreciate your concern, Gren. I really do. But you’ll appreciate me being along when we go after Ty.

Why?

I’m the only one who can break through the protections to get us home.

Chapter 30

The sky was a darker shade of pink by the time Barto finally pulled the rover into the hanger at the Harvester homestead. They had taken an entirely different route back than they’d taken to get there. Ty figured that was a safety measure to keep anyone from being able to track them or predict their route in order to ambush them.

They disembarked and entered the first small chamber of the homestead, returning their firearms to the locked case. Then they went through the decontamination process. Ty had no idea what blasted all over them, but it was fast and loud enough to nearly deafen him.

No wonder Barto yelled every damn word, he thought.

The process was thankfully quick, and before too long they were stepping inside and removing their gear. Ty didn’t see Orran. Hope stood in the food preparation area chopping something.

“The Growers came by, did they?” Barto asked.

“They did,” Hope confirmed. “Stew’s on.”

“Better’ve gotten some good bargains,” Barto said with a warning in his tone.

“‘Course I did.”

She glanced up. Her gaze moved to Ty. She tried to be subtle, but he noticed her eyes scanning him from head to toe before they returned to her knife.

“Freshy sure ain’t smellin’ so fresh right now,” Barto declared, waving in the direction of one of the hallways. “Show him where the wash stall is, Reider. The only thing we want scentin’ the air ‘round here is Hope’s stew. Sure smells damn good.”

Barto’s words brought Ty’s attention to the smell in the room. He was right. It did smell good. His stomach rumbled loudly in protest.

Inexplicably, his appetite made him feel guilty. He frowned as he removed his boots.

“It’s okay, ya know,” Hope said in a soft voice as Barto and Reider stepped away.

Ty looked at her, wondering what she meant. Reider turned towards him from the hallway, expecting him to follow.

“It’s okay ta go on livin’,” Hope explained.

He didn’t reply, turning instead and heading after Reider.

She was wrong. So incredibly wrong. It wasn’t okay to go on living. It was cruel and vicious torment. It was more excruciating than any tortures hell could offer.