Shard Knight (Echoes Across Time Book 1) (44 page)

Danielle pushed magic into her staff, but the vines coiled around her armor and looped up her arm knocking away the staff. “No!”

She lunged for her staff as it tumbled to the ground, but thick vines looped too fast for her to counteract locking her in place. She channeled nature magic into her armor trying to keep the thickening vines from crushing her like an egg.

Brendyn crept out from behind a purple shrub and stood before Danielle wearing a satisfied smirk. “I’m sorry it came to this Danielle. Killing you was never my intention I can assure you.”

Danielle channeled flows of magic into the vines constricting her, but she knew it an exercise in futility. She recalled one of her earliest lessons after she’d first received her magic. Her trainer had wrapped her tight in rope vines and commanded her to take control of the plants, but she couldn’t. “Brendyn! What’re you doing? Let us go.”

Brendyn ordered the vines open around Danielle’s wrapped hand, removed Lora’s Heart, and stashed it in his belt pouch. “I need Lora’s Heart and the ring the Meranthian wears around his neck.”

“I knew you didn’t escape. A man like you would never take the risk.” Ronan managed to grunt out the words through his clenched jaw.

“You’re right there Meranthian. I’m a survivor. Pride released me only after I agreed to find the ring and the book. He placed an energy trap inside my body. If I’m not back within a week I’ll die.”

“So you’ll kill us all to save yourself? You’re pathetic!” Danielle said.

Brendyn found the ring beneath Ronan’s armor and pulled it from his neck. “I’ll see what I can do after Pride removes the spell. Maybe I’ll find a way to save us all.”

“Unfortunately, the three of you won’t be so lucky. The vines will drain you of magic soon enough. Good-bye Danielle. I’ll let Connal know you fought bravely until the end.” Brendyn crossed the meadow and disappeared beneath the crystal arch.

***

Ronan widened the channel to his power reserve, but the dull ache of exhaustion hovered like an unwanted guest. His head pounded as blood rushed through his skull and into his throbbing teeth. Within minutes the heavy vines would crush him. “Danielle, can you contact Lora?” Ronan said.

Danielle’s armor creaked and popped as the vines bore down further constricting by the second. “I’ll try.” Her eyelids closed tight, and her face twisted into a mask of nervous concentration. “She’s not there.”

Ronan’s arms strained under the increasing pressure as he kept the heavy vines from touching Rika’s body.

Rika’s breathing came easy as she remained lost in sleep.

“I can’t hold out much longer,” Ronan said.

A loud crack rang from the carapace surrounding Danielle’s chest, and she gasped for air. “My armor’s broken.” Blood drained from her face, and Danielle’s eyes glistened with moisture. “I’m sorry Ronan.”

A storm of raw anger boiled in Ronan’s emerald green eyes. “No. This won’t end here. Not like this.” He screamed with primal rage and channeled a vast amount of shard energy.

His eyes widened as the vines froze in place. “Danielle, the vines stopped moving.”

She nodded and pulled in short quick bursts of air unable to speak.

Ronan’s breathing came easier as the vines loosened, and he pushed outward with his free arm.

The vines burst spraying thick clumps of woody tissue across the path and into the purple flowering shrubs.

The vines surrounding Danielle relaxed, but she lacked strength enough to push away the large tangle of thorny plants.

Ronan placed Rika on a soft patch of grass and pulled free his sheba blade. “Don’t move Danielle.” With one swift strike his blade cleaved the vines, and they fell away landing with a heavy thud.

With the vine’s removed, Danielle’s legs wobbled, and she fell under the strain of exhaustion.

Ronan caught her before she landed and eased her onto the ground next to Rika.

Danielle pulled in long strained gasps of breath as she sat and recovered on the carpet of ankle-deep grass.

Ronan sat down next to Danielle and shut his eyes allowing his breathing and heart rate to slow. “Why did the vines stop Danielle?”

Danielle shook her head. “I don’t know. He had no reason to free us.”

“We need to go after him right now Danielle. We can’t let him get away with Lora’s Heart and my ring.”

“Yes.” Danielle crawled through the thick grass, recovered her staff, and used it to push herself up. “Let’s go.”

As Ronan went to scoop up Rika her eyes fluttered open.

“What happened?” Rika’s brow furrowed with a look of confusion as she suppressed a yawn. “Why are you sitting there?” She rubbed her eyes and pushed herself to a sitting position.

Ronan smiled. “We got tied up for a few minutes.”

Danielle shot Ronan an incredulous look.

“Rika, can you walk? Brendyn stole Lora’s Heart and my ring,” Ronan said. “He’s a few minutes ahead, and we need to catch up,”

Rika pushed herself to her knees and stood. “Let’s go.”

Ronan jogged across the grassy meadow leaving Lora’s Garden beneath the crystal archway.

As the group splashed into the serpent pool’s icy water, the crystal door slammed shut, and a veil of darkness descended.

“Rika, can you see serpents in the pool?” Ronan said.

Rika gasped. “Yes, it looks like you weren’t the only one to get tied up. Can you give us some light?”

Ronan forced a wave of power through his sheba blade illuminating the room with red light.

Danielle channeled nature magic through her staff, and green incandescence added to the sheba blade’s red aura.

Just below the waterline, a thick white serpent coiled around Brendyn’s corpse. Through lifeless eyes, he stared without focus, and his tongue rolled out the side of his gaping mouth. The serpent unhinged its jaw atop the crown of Brendyn’s head as it tried to swallow him whole.

Danielle shuddered and diverted her gaze from the carnage.

“Rika, will the serpents allow us to recover the ring and heart?” Ronan said.

Rika stepped forward, unhooked Brendyn’s leather belt pouch, and handed it to Danielle.

Danielle opened a few compartments until she found Lora’s Heart and transferred it to her own belt pouch. She found the gold ring and handed it to Ronan.

“Thanks,” he said.

Rika transformed into a white serpent with thin black stripes and disappeared beneath the waterline. She returned a moment later with a glowing shard trapped in her mouth.

Danielle pulled the shard from her mouth and secured it within her belt pouch as Rika shifted into her human form.

“How do we get out of here?” Rika said.

“Back the way we came,” Ronan said. “Danielle if you can create a vine long enough to reach the shaft’s drop-off, Rika can fly up and secure it. I’ll climb the vine and pull you out.”

Danielle nodded as she went to work.

“After we escape, we’ll find Sir Alcott and the others at the Queen’s Heart,” Ronan said.

The Last Plan

Ronan sat astride Rika as she glided high over Freehold’s western gates under cover of the cloudy night sky. As Rika began her descent, thin cool air rushed over Ronan’s face, and Freehold’s twinkling lights grew larger beneath him.

Rika soared over the citadel and glided past the dark empty arena before curving from the royal palace.

Ronan shivered as he recalled details of his last trip inside Freehold’s walls. The night he’d nearly lost Rika seemed an eternity ago.

The Queen’s Heart came into view with warm light streaming from its foggy windowpanes. Rika extended her talons and glided toward the awaiting rooftop. She flapped her wings slowing their descent, reached out with her sharp claws, and touched down.

Ronan slipped from her back as Rika shifted into her human form. “Another perfect landing,” Ronan said. “You’re finally getting the hang of this.” He lowered his voice to a whisper, but the inn’s music masked any noise their conversation might produce.

Rika curtsied and bowed. “Why thank you Your Majesty.”

Heat flashed through Ronan’s cheeks. “Ha ha. Very funny.”

She crossed the few feet between them, stood on her toes, and planted a firm kiss on his lips. “Thank you.” She said the words in a breathy whisper and smiled. “Is that better?”

His legs wobbled as he tasted faint cinnamon from her lips. “Much. I’d like to spend more time having you thank me like that.”

Rika intertwined her fingers through Ronan’s and pulled him toward the rooftop door. “And I’d love nothing more, but we have people waiting on us. Come on.”

Ronan followed her through the open door and down the narrow stairway leading to the inn’s top floor.

Rika stopped in front of a worn door at the end of the hall and knocked twice, waited two beats, and knocked two more times. The door swung open, and Sir Alcott greeted them with a broad smile and open arms. He folded Rika into his arms. “Well done young lady. Well done indeed.”

Sir Alcott stepped back giving Rika and Ronan room to enter.

“Hey, what about me?” Ronan said.

“Yes, you too my boy.” Sir Alcott patted Ronan on his shoulder.

Ronan smiled, shook his head, and stepped into the room closing the door behind him.

Devery, Keely, Danielle, and Kelwin sat at a long wooden table. Steam circled from bowls brimming with Mistress McClaren’s lamb stew, and a basket heaped with fresh rolls sat at the table’s center.

Visible relief washed over Danielle’s face as Ronan and Rika came through the door. “I was beginning to worry.”

“We waited until after the western gate’s shift change,” Ronan said.

Cordial smiles and greetings passed among the group, but with the plan’s major section still remaining, nervous energy lingered.

“Sit and eat. Mistress McClaren dropped off dinner only a moment ago,” Devery said.

“Danielle just finished telling us what happened with Brendyn,” Keely said. “I should’ve pushed the worm from Salem’s Peak when I had the chance.”

“At least he didn’t get away with it,” Kelwin said.

Keely grumbled profanity under her breath and returned to her stew.

“The important thing is that we’ve collected Lora’s Heart. That’s quite an amazing story Danielle shared with us,” Sir Alcott said.

Ronan and Rika slid into the last two available seats at the table.

“Well there’s no sense in letting this stew get cold,” Ronan said as he grabbed a hot roll from the basket. He scooped a heaping portion of lamb stew and vegetables onto his dinner roll and swallowed it in a single bite.

“Yes, please eat.” Sir Alcott cleared his throat. “Devery and I will do our best to fill you in on the latest events here in Freehold.”

“We’ve acquired a schedule listing shift changes for the shard knights guarding the heart room.” Devery slid the document to Ronan. “The knights change shifts every four hours as you can see here.” Devery pointed to the document.

“When the knights change shifts, they travel from the citadel’s rear entrance to the palace.” Sir Alcott handed Ronan a map of the palace grounds. “They leave the citadel here.” He pointed to the door nearest the palace. “Next, they pass through the citadel’s guard posts, cross the king’s road, and walk around to the palace’s servant entrance located here in the back.” Sir Alcott pointed to the map’s location with the letters ‘SE’ scrawled beside it. “They travel through the royal guard post here before entering the door leading into the palace itself.”

“I don’t see any place to intercept them,” Ronan said. “There’s guards or citizens watching every inch of that route. Someone will see or hear something.”

Devery eyed Sir Alcott. “Actually, we don’t plan on intercepting them at all.”

Ronan raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. He’d never underestimate Sir Alcott. “What’ve you planned?”

A devious smile lifted Sir Alcott’s long gray beard. “It was your idea that provided inspiration for our plan.”

“My idea? What’re you getting at?” Ronan slid a heaping spoonful of stew in his mouth and waited for a response.

“Poison,” Rika said. “You’re going to poison the knights.”

Sir Alcott smiled. “Such a crafty young lady. I should’ve known you were the actual brains behind the operation.”

Rika grinned with a satisfied expression.

“But how are we going to make the knights eat the poison?” Danielle said.

“I’m going to do it,” Keely said.

“Through the top of the arena,” Ronan said. “The one entrance the citadel’s guardsmen don’t watch.”

Keely grinned. “You’re smarter than you look.”

“How will you know which knights to poison?” Rika said.

“We won’t know until an hour before the shift change. That’s when the commanding officer assigns the knights for watch,” Sir Alcott said.

“I’ll find out that information,” Keely said. “If you’ve ever wished you could listen to a conversation like a fly on the wall…well I can.”

“The guards eat before changing into their dress uniforms, and that’s when we’ll poison their food. It won’t kill them of course,” Devery said. “Just put them to sleep. The tricky part will be the timing.”