The Swarm Trilogy (10 page)

A battle waged in my body. The flames in my belly licked upwards, striking at my heart, but it fought back by flashing pictures of the good times I had in my life, when things were simpler and I didn’t have to worry about using my skills as a fighter to actually hurt someone. I’d trained for love of exercise, of the way it made me feel power over my body, not power over someone else.

I had never trained with the intention to kill, yet here I was with hatred and death creeping into the corners of my heart. I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t stand myself. A life for a life. Why had it all come to this?

I jumped off the rock and landed on the ground with a stomp that stung the bottoms of my feet. Raising my hands to the sky, I screamed. Every emotion I’d been feeling flew out of my mouth. I didn’t care if anyone was nearby, though the village outside the castle was a good fifteen minute walk away. I was probably alone in the forest, a feeling I treasured as much as the love I held in my heart for Mags and Trevin.

When my voice cracked and the scream subsided I crumpled to the ground, landing in a tiny heap. The tears dried. The anger subdued. The only thing that remained was love and a strange tingling in my hands.

Under the cave of my body, I opened my fist, one finger at a time. There were no nettles stuck into it, as I first thought. Nothing punctured my hands, but the tingling grew anyway. I stretched my arm out, afraid of what was happening. I looked beyond my hand at the rock I’d been sitting on. It wobbled and then toppled over. The tingling in my hand stopped as the rock settled in its new position. A rush of ice swept through my veins and my breath caught in my throat.

“How?”

I never would have been able to move such a huge rock on my own. I glanced back at my hand and again at the rock. The tingling started right before it moved and stopped when the rock landed. My palm had been pointed toward it.

“Magic?” I don’t know why I whispered since no one was nearby. “Impossible. It’s gone. Bled away.”

I glanced at my palm again as the sun moved behind the line of trees. Tentatively I reached out to the rock, but nothing happened. No tingling, no movement, nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe I’d had nothing to do with the rock’s movement.

I lay on the ground for a few more seconds, waiting to see if the tingling returned, but my body felt barren, empty of everything. The fires cooled, my heart didn’t pound, and I felt at peace for the first time since the day before my birthday. Enjoying the silence, I closed my eyes and listened to the wind rustling in the trees.

For a moment I wondered if everything would be okay, but then the thought of Mags’ arrest invaded my mind again. I sighed, knowing no matter how peaceful I might feel now, it was only the calm before the storm.

I stood and brushed the dirt off of my pants. Time to sneak back to town and Kellan’s house.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I crept through the darkness, exhausted and wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep the night away. But when I squeezed through Kellan’s window, I wasn’t alone. Kellan and Aric were waiting for me. I’d have to face them, but I was hoping it would have waited until the morning.

Aric reached out a hand, grabbing my pack as I squeezed through the window. I tumbled on Kellan’s bed and kicked my shoes off before they could touch his sheets. The soles were littered with grass and gravel and I didn’t want to get his bed dirty. They were being kind enough allowing me to stay here. The least I could do was keep the place clean.

“Why did King Rotlar take the queen into custody?” Aric asked before I could catch my breath. He reached behind me, glanced out the window and closed the curtains. I knew he was worried about getting caught and I worried I was putting him in too much danger.

“He made an accusation against her. The king contends Trevin is not his,” I said.

“The queen cheated on the king? It’s unbelievable.” Aric stared at me, not blinking. “Does he have proof?”

“He says he does, but I haven’t seen it and neither has the queen. We don’t know what kind of proof there could be for a transgression like that anyway. Mags is clearly upset and scared for Trevin.” I decided not to tell Aric the truth. What would be the point? He’d only feel obligated to tell the king. “She’s horrified he would give credence to any rumors.”

“Well, if the king says he has proof, then he must,” Aric conceded. “But why were you dismissed? I don’t understand.”

I wondered the same thing. Other than my heritage, there was no good reason for him to dispose of me. But to protect the queen, and the plan I was hatching, I had to continue lying to the one man who’d always been so kind to me.

“I believe he thinks I helped her. Maybe he also thinks I’m a bad influence. I don’t really know for sure. His guards ordered me out, not the king himself. I packed up and came here for help.”

Kellan stayed silent. I wanted to talk to him so badly, but I couldn’t be open in front of Aric. I know he agreed or he would have already jumped in and corrected me. It was nice to know someone so well that we could communicate without words. I’d come to the right place.

“I’m sure I’ll be briefed in the morning,” Aric said. He placed his palms on his knees and pushed up to standing. “Keep yourself hidden and don’t come out. I might be joining the queen in the dungeon if anyone finds you here.”

I nodded. “Of course I’ll be careful Aric. You’re like a father to me. I’m so grateful you’re allowing me to stay here.” I jumped up and hugged him. That wasn’t part of the lie; I genuinely appreciated the risk he was taking for me. He wrapped his strong arms around me and squeezed. I pulled back and kissed him on the nose.

“For a warrior, you can be very soft, Aric.”

He smiled and patted me on the head. “Just don’t tell anyone.”

He closed the door behind him, leaving Kellan and me alone. I collapsed into his open arms and rested my head on his shoulder. He stroked my hair and he kissed my temple.

“What happened today?”

I told him everything, every last detail, except for what happened in the grove. I still wasn’t sure what it meant, if it meant anything. He grumbled and I felt his embrace tighten when I mentioned how Mags was taken away. He even sighed when I told him about Albree waving out the window to the practicing warriors. One thing I loved about Kellan, he always listened to every word I said.

“I have to save Mags and Trevin but I don’t know how to do that without killing the king.” Sure, I’d had moments where I wanted to kill him, but I didn’t know if it was something I could actually go through with. Killing someone wasn’t the same as forcing them down on the mat for five seconds to win a fight.

“Then that’s what we’ll have to do. We just need to come up with a solid plan. There must be a way to get you back in the castle.”

I shook my head. “It’s too late. Everyone already knows I’ve been dismissed and it’s not like I can sneak in. I’m too obvious. It will have to be at the time of the execution. I’ll have to do something then. But what? I can’t use a bow and arrow or a dagger. I’m only skilled in hand-to-hand combat.”

Kellan ran his fingers through his hair. He always did that when he was thinking. It was cute, one of the reasons I found him so charming. I followed his hand with mine, and then let my fingers stroke his neck. Feeling close to him stoked the fires.

“Will they allow you to attend Mags before her execution? My guess is no one else will want to do it. Certainly not Albree, she wouldn’t be caught dead near the execution site. If you petition, maybe they will let you be there for her in her last minutes. Then you’ll be close enough to the king to take him out. Everyone will be there to witness it.”

I shuddered inside. Planning to kill the king was one thing, but to do it in front of all of the blood-thirsty people who’d come to watch Mags’ execution was a lot to bear. In my mind, I pictured the scene. Mags’ head on the block, the executioner standing above her, his axe gleaming in the sunlight. I hoped Rotlar wouldn’t force Matthew and David to watch the execution. What was he telling them now while she was in the dungeon?

“I don’t know if I can do that,” I said, sliding off of Kellan’s lap and sitting on the bed. I needed to be away from him, to stop touching him. It was too distracting, too easy to forget how serious, how real, my plans were becoming.

“Why don’t you do it?” I asked.

“I’d never get close enough or I would,” Kellan said. “Do you think I like seeing you like this? Knowing that what you’re going to do might tear at your soul? But, Lianne, there’s no other way. We have to do something. For our people. For Mags. For Trevin.”

He was always right. I had to do it. There was no one else who could get close enough. No one else with the skills. No one but me to save Mags and Trevin.

“You’re not alone,” Kellan whispered, slipping on the bed next to me. “Even if I can’t do this for you, I am always here for you. You know that, right? We’ll write a formal petition tomorrow. They can’t deny you the right to help her. Even hardened criminals are afforded that one luxury. They’ll grant your request and then all you have to do is take him down. I’ll take the petition to the castle tomorrow for you.”

I sighed. Could it really be that simple?

“How many moves will it take? Three? Maybe four? He’ll be dead before anyone can blink.”

All I had to do was snap the king’s neck. It would be a clean death, quick. Kellan was right, three, maybe four moves and it would be over. I could free Mags and we could escape with Trevin.

Kellan slipped his arms around me and kissed my neck. I relaxed into him, forgetting my worries again. Kellan knew exactly how to chase my fears away.

“Tonight?” he murmured in my ear. His hands stroked my body, stoking the fires in my belly. Usually they grew out of anger, but when Kellan touched me like that, they flickered hot and sharp through my body. I didn’t like the way it made me feel, as if my love for him was related to the anger. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel, maybe this was normal, but it made me uncomfortable, no matter how much I craved his touch.

I shook my head and then buried it in his shoulder. We laid down on the bed together, arms and legs tangled, but never going any further. Mags had wanted details and I had none to give her.

She’d given in to her needs with a man she wanted. Why couldn’t I?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I looked for Bryden for the next two days. As always, he proved to be elusive, but I needed his help and his advice. I couldn’t kill Rotlar without telling him first. He had to understand why I was doing it. It wasn’t out of some misguided loyalty to a home I’d never known, but out of love for a friend and her infant son.

I asked around at the local stores, knowing he kept himself fed and clothed by transcribing bills, checking ledgers, and any variety of writing tasks his patrons needed. Some of the older merchants couldn’t read, either from lack of knowledge or from the seeing difficulties old age brings. Bryden couldn’t go without work for long. He needed the money.

Finally I had luck in the shop of Galdun, who sold fabrics rough and fine to everyone from the lowest peasant to the queen’s seamstresses. She said she’d given Bryden her books not more than a few minutes ago. He’d told her he was headed to his desk to transcribe them. The only problem was that no one exactly knew where that could be. Bryden made moving his office a habit. One day he’d be in the castle library, the next he’d be in the park on a bench.

“How many books did you give him?” I asked.

“Oh, about ten,” she said. “They were thick too. Bryden brought a cart with him because it was too much for him to carry. It’s hard to balance with that leg of his.”

“Thank you.” I ran out of the store and looked at the dirt road, seeing little tracks from the cart, barely noticeable among the dusty footprints. Without being too obvious to raise suspicion, I followed the tiny lines along the streets until it ended at the grass.

Puzzled, I stepped into the lush grass, barely noticing the tracks created by the wheelbarrow. The grass sprang back together, hiding his trail. But I kept on, following as best as I could until I stopped at a wall of trees.

I peeked around, finding the cart stuffed between two sturdy trees and hidden by large branches. I laughed, realizing this wasn’t the first time Bryden had come here. No wonder no one ever knew where he worked.

I pushed through the trees gently, trying not to be heard. I didn’t want to scare him away. Though with his bad leg he could hardly run from me if he wanted to.

I paused before the grassy opening inside the trees, surprised to see this was the same grove I’d been escaping to for years. I’d always entered from the north, never daring to push through the dense trees on this end. I saw Bryden sitting on the ground, his back against the large rock I thought I’d moved. All of his weight was against it and it didn’t budge.

“Hi, Lianne,” he said, not looking up from the book he was transcribing.

“How did you know?” I sat down across from him, my legs bent and my arms encircling them.

“You’re clever in battle, but not so quiet in the trees,” he said. “It’s a learned skill.”

“You could teach me sometime,” I said.

He looked up at me and smiled. “Doubtful.”

“You don’t think I could learn?”