The Black King (Book 7) (45 page)

Skya wasn’t sure. She was waiting until she had a chance to see some of the Island’s Healers to see if they would help her. But she never got a chance to get off the ship. Then Gift found out. He wanted to marry her and have the child. She said she wanted neither.

I don’t want to be bound to you in any way,
she said over and over.

Finally he had said to her,
You are. Now.

Since then, they hadn’t spoken.

But Skya was the smallest of his problems today. He also had to try to talk with Arianna one more time. She said she understood the implications of this path that they were going to take against Rugad, but Gift wasn’t convinced.

He heard a creak on the deck behind him. Coulter came up beside him.

“They don’t change, do they?” he said, looking at the mountains.

“They’ve been here a lot longer than we have.” Gift sighed. “Sometimes it feels like I never left this place.”

“It’s gone through a lot of changes since you were here.”

Gift smiled. “So have I.”

Coulter put a hand on Gift’s back. “Chandra doesn’t want Matt taken off the ship.”

“I thought you have a good team of Healers at the school.”

“I do,” Coulter said. “And his mother is one of the best Healers in Constant, although she doesn’t call her abilities by that name.”

“What’s Chandra’s hesitation?”

“I think she’s worried about him leaving her care. Sometimes magick is specific to its user, you know.”

“Do you have any Healers to spare from the school?”

“Yes.”

Gift nodded. “Bring Matt up and tell Chandra she can come with him. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Coulter headed below decks. Gift watched him go. This would be the difficult part. He went to the Sailors and asked them to lower one of the small boats. Then he had a Nyeian get Bridge and Dash.

While he waited, he watched the Sailors load the boat with a few provisions, some Tashil floating cushions—guaranteed, or so he had heard, to keep a swimmer afloat until someone could rescue him—and oars.

Gift glanced at the sun. It still hadn’t risen above the mountains. He had some time, then.

Bridge came to the deck first, looking sleepy, followed by Dash.

“I’m going to need you both today,” Gift said. “You’re going to Constant. The Sailors will help you get in the boat. Dash, have you ever rowed before?”

“No,” he said.

“I have,” Bridge said.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to row today. Are you in good enough condition?”

Bridge grinned. “One thing I learned from my father is to make sure you’re always in shape to run.”

Gift smiled. He remembered how Bridge’s father, his grandfather, used to say that to him. “Good, then. The Sailors will help you into the boat. Leave room for Matt.”

A Sailors helped Bridge to the side of the ship and then threw over the rope ladder. Bridge climbed down it like a pro. Dash was the one who balked.

“I can’t swim,” he said to Gift.

Gift didn’t have time for these kinds of worries. “I need you in Constant. You’re going to have to go by boat. Have one of the Sailors explain the floatation cushions to you.”

The Sailor who was beside him rolled her eyes. But she started to explain how the cushions worked to Dash, and her voice was surprisingly compassionate.

Coulter backed out of the deck house, giving instructions. Gift approached and watched. Matt was on a litter being carried by two Nyeians. He hadn’t been heavy when Gift carried him back from the palace and he looked even lighter now. Matt had used most of his energy talking to them two days ago. He was improving, Chandra said, but not quickly and not as much as she would like.

Gift had wanted him walking by now. He wanted Matt to help them get into the Vault. Chandra had told him that was impossible.

She followed the litter up the stairs.

“We’re going to have to get him to the boat,” Gift said. “Is that going to be possible?”

“I can levitate him down,” Coulter said.

“Can you do it from up here?” Gift asked.

“Sure.” Coulter apparently saw no reason for the request.

“Chandra, you’re going with him,” Gift said.

“Good. I don’t think he should be alone, not for anything.” She looked at him. “I’m not sure moving him is the best thing.”

“We’re going to take this ship back to Jahn, and I fully expect to be in the middle of a battle by the time we get to the city. It’s better that he be with friends and family.”

“Coulter and Arianna are his family. Wisdom was too. His mother and brother want nothing to do with him.”

Gift was silent. He hadn’t thought how Matt’s actions—maybe even his magick—would have been seen as a betrayal by his family. His father had been strongly anti-Fey, and anti-magick, despite his own powers. Perhaps the rest of the family was too.

“Then, for a short time,” Gift said, “you’ll have to be his family. I need Coulter and Arianna.”

Chandra frowned. “I can’t convince you to wait?”

Gift shook his head. “I no longer have the time.”

She sighed. She apparently understood much of what was going on and didn’t seem to approve. “Then,” she said, “I wish you the best of luck.”

“Thank you.”

She walked to the deck. He followed. Coulter was leaning over it, his face red, his hands outstretched. He was lowering the litter all by himself, using only his magick, keeping its ends level and its movement slow.

It had nearly reached the boat when Gift approached. Dash and Bridge reached up and took the ends of the litter, holding it gently as Coulter lowered it to the bottom of the boat.

The boat was long and wide in the center. Still, it would be a tight squeeze with four adults and one injured boy.

Coulter started to climb over the rail.

“Wait,” Gift said. “Let Chandra go first.”

She gave Gift a funny look, then climbed over and made her way down the rope ladder.

Gift waited until she was near the bottom before he said to Coulter, “I want you to stay on the ship.”

“Why?”

“Because of that Assassin.”

“He won’t get me,” Coulter said. “I’ll be cautious.”

“It’s both of our lives you’d be risking.”

“I could say that same about you.”

Gift shook his head. “I’ve been thinking about this. The Assassin wouldn’t dare kill me. He’s promised not to kill Black Family. Besides, he’s Fey. He knows the strictures. He’s after you.”

Coulter looked down at the boat. “I know Constant better.”

“Dash knows Constant.”

“How are you going to get to the Vault?”

“The same way you would, I suppose.”

“But Matt’s brother Alex, who guards the Vault, hates Fey as much as his father did. That would be like me facing the Assassin.”

“Not quite,” Gift said. “I’m only half Fey. The other half gives me every right to go into that Vault.”

Coulter wasn’t looking at him. “Have you told Ari?”

“No.”

“She won’t like it.”

“She’s one of the reasons I’m doing this,” Gift said.

Coulter looked over his shoulder. The gesture was appealing and rather young. Coulter obviously still loved Gift’s sister, and they hadn’t acted on it in all these years. “You aren’t playing fair.”

“I’m not playing,” Gift said. “My sister and I both need you. There is a good chance you’ll die if you get off this ship. As long as this ship is in the middle of this river, and the Assassin is on the shore, you’re safe as long as you stay out of sight. The moment you put your foot on the ground, you’re a doomed man.”

Coulter turned back toward the water. “Constant isn’t the town you remember.”

“Good,” Gift said. “I remember a rather bleak place.”

Coulter leaned over the railing again. “I don’t like this.”

“I know,” Gift said. “But you have to accept it.”

“Do me a favor then.”

As he spoke, Gift knew he had won the battle. “What?”

“Take a Gull Rider or two. Make sure someone guards you from above.”

It was a good idea, and one he should have thought of. “All right. Send Ace with us, will you?”

He grabbed the rope ladder, and swung himself over. He hung onto it for a moment and looked at Coulter. “I made a lot of mistakes, Coulter. I didn’t realize how good a friend you were. And I left you here, alone, doing the job I should have done. It’s time I take responsibility for things. Maybe past time.”

Coulter leaned toward him. “Be safe, Gift.”

Gift grinned. “I plan to.”

THIRTY-NINE

ARIANNA HAD SET UP a temporary post in the South Tower. It looked a lot like the North Tower had—columns and floor-to-ceiling windows, tables and wooden chairs scattered about—but it wasn’t quite the same. The South Tower’s views were partially blocked by both the North and West Towers. Xihu hadn’t realized until she walked in this room that the North Tower had been slightly taller than the others.

This tower was in one of the older parts of the palace, and its staircase was crumbling. Xihu had had to keep one hand on the wall as she came up, and she was careful to step on the outside of the stone stairs so that she would miss the cracked centers.

At least this wing didn’t smell of smoke. The scent had gotten into everything. She could still smell it on herself. She was beginning to wonder if it would ever go away.

Arianna stood at the south windows, which provided the only clear view of the city. Xihu hadn’t seen Arianna much after the disaster. She hadn’t realized that the Black Queen had hacked off her hair like a soldier’s—so short it barely covered her ears.

She still wore her soldier’s clothing—the jerkin and breeches—only now she no longer hid her military bearing. She wore a sword on her right hip, a knife on her left. But unlike her defenders, she was uninjured from her meeting with the Islander Enchanter.

“When I summon you, I expect you to report promptly.”

Xihu sighed. From this vantage, Arianna had probably seen her talking with DiPalmet in the courtyard. “DiPalmet had questions only I could answer.”

Arianna turned. Her face seemed harsher than it had just a few days ago, as if this attack had hardened her resolve. “What kind of questions could a Charmer have?”

Technically, Xihu didn’t have to answer that question and they both knew it. But Xihu wanted to answer it. It allowed her to discuss some of her concerns. “He wanted to know if he’s responsible if the Blood comes because he carried out your orders.”

Arianna smiled slightly. “What did you tell him?”

“I didn’t know.” Xihu crossed her arms. “You know that Gift has gone east. You are also planning to send troops there. Are you going to instruct them to leave him alone?”

“Would it ease your mind if I did?” Arianna asked.

That was too easy. “Yes.”

“Then I will. I will remind my troops that any attack on Gift is an attack on the Black Family and therefore an attack on me. Was there anything else my Charmer wanted you to do for him?”

Xihu bristled as she supposed Arianna wanted her to. They both knew that a Charmer’s magick didn’t work on a Visionary, but the implication was still irritating. “No.”

“Good.” Arianna walked toward the nearest chair and kicked it toward Xihu. “Then we’ll discuss what’s really important. Sit.”

Xihu grabbed the back of the chair and pulled it close. She sat down and immediately wished she hadn’t. Her exhaustion caught up with her and made her woozy. She willed herself to ignore it. Her mental abilities had to be at full when she spoke to Arianna.

Arianna brought over another chair, and then, before sitting, went to a table toward the back. She picked up a smoke-stained knapsack and brought it toward them.

She sat down and put the knapsack on her lap. Then she reached inside, and removed a glass doll.

“Have you seen this before?” she asked.

It seemed like an important question. Xihu shook her head.

“The Islander Enchanter brought it. He also brought some vials of blood.” Arianna took one out. “I saw these years ago in the Islander Place of Power. They’re called Soul Repositories. They capture loose souls and trap them, rather like Fey lamps.”

“The souls in Fey lamps weren’t loose when they were taken.”

“I know,” Arianna said. “That’s why we have Lamplighters, to facilitate the transition. But Islanders weren’t as sophisticated with their magick. They put a few drops of their former leader’s blood in the base of the doll and the loose soul would have to investigate. It worked then, and I saw it work when I was younger.”

Xihu looked at the doll. It was very old, the glass flawed. Its head wasn’t attached, but could come off like the top of a jar.

“He brought one into the room with him,” Arianna said. “I think he didn’t understand how these worked and thought he could capture me.”

“I heard that Gift rescued him,” Xihu said. “Surely, if you knew how these dolls worked, Gift would too.”

Arianna raised her eyes to Xihu’s. There was a flatness to Arianna’s expression. “Who told you that Gift rescued the boy?”

“Several people,” Xihu said. “None saw it directly.”

“I had heard nothing about Gift.” Arianna spoke so calmly that Xihu was convinced she was lying. If Arianna really hadn’t known about Gift, she would have been very angry. “Perhaps the boy thought to do this on his own. After all, these dolls come from his father’s religious magick.”

“Aren’t you afraid to hold it, then?” Xihu had heard that some of the Islander religious magick could kill with a touch.

“No,” Arianna said.

She held it out to Xihu. Xihu took it. The glass was smoother than she expected and cool against her skin.

“Souls inside a golem are loose souls,” Arianna said. “These things capture loose souls.”

Xihu ran a finger over the doll’s delicately formed face. “You want to use one against Sebastian.”

“I want to capture the soul inside, and destroy the golem. However, when we had our discussion the day you decided to join me, I forgot to ask you how to destroy the stone body.”