The Void of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood Book 3) (5 page)

“Are you providing us something else to wear?” she challenged, before handing over the clothes.

“Of course,” Kranmir said. He stepped forward, giving Suzenne a critical look. She trembled with embarrassment, unable to meet anyone’s eyes. His voice was smooth and dark. Maia could not see the Myriad Ones prowling throughout the room, but she could sense them, their mewling shadowforms snuffling about, greedy to taste the emotions in the chamber. “A kystrel,” he said with exaggerated sanctimoniousness, “leaves a taint on the chest bone. A whorl of tattoos that begins to rise up to the throat. You do not seem guilty, my dear, so that is in your favor. Lower the chaen slightly to be sure.”

Suzenne flushed even more and tugged limply at the front of her bodice. There was no stain.

Kranmir nodded and clasped his hands behind his back. “There are records, however, that an ancient Family in Dahomey was not afflicted by the kystrel’s taint. The only way to be certain is to see the shoulders as well. If you please, my dear. Or as I said, Captain Trefew will be only too eager to assist you.”

Suzenne gave him a black, angry look. She nodded in meek compliance and carefully pulled down the chaen to expose her left shoulder, covering herself as best she could. Maia was furious, but of course this was all a playact for what would come next. She knew it with savage certainty. They were drawing out the charade to make their suffering more acute.

“Thank you,” Kranmir said. “But just to be sure. The
other
shoulder too.”

Suzenne obeyed and revealed her other shoulder, which was also free of any brand.

Kranmir nodded with satisfaction. “Lady Shilton, you are my witness. So are these soldiers. Lady Suzenne Clarencieux is free of the taint. Now, Lady Maia. If you would submit to the same procedure, we shall examine you next.”

His eyes looked into hers, and her suspicion was confirmed. Yes, he knew . . . he had probably known for a while. He nodded to Captain Trefew. Suzenne moved forward to help her, but the captain shoved her away. Maia cringed as she felt the hands touch her, yanking loose the girdle and tearing the sleeve of her gown. She wanted to strike out, to scream, but she endured the humiliation as he nearly ripped the dress from her. It was what he had wanted to do on that long-ago day when she had been taken to Lady Shilton’s manor, when her remaining privileges had been stripped away, as well as her clothes.

Maia stood in her chaen, feeling the same awkwardness to be stared at by so many, but she lifted her chin in defiance and refused to cower. Trefew gathered up her gown in a heap under one arm and stared at her with vile emotions burning in his eyes.

“Let me see your hand,” he said, gesturing for her right. She opened her palm and showed him the pink scar on it. He nodded, frowned, and then folded his arms.

“Even the chaen does not conceal the kystrel’s taint on your breast,” he said sternly. “I am shocked that Richard Syon did not have you examined when you came to Muirwood. Did he know what you are? I cannot say the word, you know. Obviously a binding sigil is at work here.”

Maia clenched her teeth as she stared at him in anger. She said nothing.

“Your shoulder, please,” he said, motioning for her to bare it.

Maia kept her expression as calm as she could. “I bear the mark,” she said simply, her voice quavering. “But I am not what it implies.”

Kranmir smirked at her in response. “Show me.”

Maia sighed, anguished, and slipped the chaen over her shoulder, exposing the hetaera’s brand. As soon as she did, a veil of blackness drew over her eyes like a cloud blotting out the moon.

And then she was falling.

CHAPTER FOUR

Gallows

I
t was a struggle, terrifying and sudden. Blackness shrouded Maia, enveloping her in dark coils of smoke and suffocation. She felt a wrenching sensation in her mind and body, as if her soul was about to be sundered. On instinct, she battled it, refusing to yield to the vapor that threatened to stifle her. She groaned and thrashed, trying to repel the invasion. It was like fighting off an ocean’s tide. There was nowhere to anchor her feet, no way to shove against the amorphous waves that wished to bury her alive. She was drowning in the blackness of the Myriad Ones.

A sudden light pierced the darkness, knifing through it like a glowing Leering. That blackness melted away from her, unable to cling, and seeped through the stones and crevices of the rock around her instead. The Leering in the ceiling was blindingly bright, and Maia discovered when she opened her eyes that she was curled up on the ground.

As her eyes adjusted to the brilliance, she watched as Suzenne’s hand lowered from the maston sign. Her other hand was pressed flush against Maia’s brow. Though her friend was strained and weak, she had a look of defiance mingled with fear as she covered Maia’s exposed shoulder with the chaen.

“You did that deliberately,” Suzenne said to the men.

Kranmir’s eyes were wide as he stared at the two girls on the floor. His nostrils were rimmed with white. A look of fascination mingled with dread transfixed his face, and a single ball of sweat trickled down his cheek.

“So it is true,” he whispered hoarsely.

Lady Shilton was fanning herself, her eyes wide with unalloyed horror. She cowered by Aldermaston Kranmir’s side, trembling, groping for a chair to sit on, though none was there.

Maia gave Suzenne a grateful look and tried to rise, but her muscles quivered and trembled, her energy completely sapped by the ordeal. Suzenne helped her sit up, hushing her gently.

“What I did,” Kranmir continued, shaking his head stubbornly, “is prove beyond a doubt that you are a danger and a threat to the kingdom of Comoros. Who wears your kystrel?” he asked.

Maia’s throat felt raw, as if she had screamed for too long. “I do not know.”

The Aldermaston looked far from convinced. “Whoever it is, they must be found and destroyed. Did Walraven give the kystrel to you? Hmmm? Absolute treachery. Your father will be displeased.”

“My father knew I had it,” Maia contradicted, trying again to rise, and failing still.

Kranmir clucked his tongue triumphantly. “Please, child. His memory lapses have always been very convenient. You have given me all that I need to secure your father’s throne. The people are rioting to see you, and they
will
. Let no one say we do not give them what they want. Yes, I can see it now. There you will be, up on that platform with your shadowstain and shoulder brand for all to see. I cannot say what you really are for the sigil binds my tongue. But the evidence . . . the evidence will be seen with the people’s eyes. Your grandmother knows the truth. There is no need to lie and cover for her.”

“She does know,” Maia angrily contested. “I never accepted this brand willingly. My father sent me—”

“It does not matter!” Kranmir thundered, his voice hot with rage. “It does not matter why you received the brand. It only matters what you
are
. What you let yourself
become
. The people clamored long for Queen Catrin to rule. She was a true threat to your father’s power. But you . . . you were always the greatest threat. That is why he kept you so near him. That is why Lady Shilton watched over you. Did you know, Lady Shilton, that Maia had the mark on her shoulder?”

Lady Shilton cringed away from the Aldermaston, her voice trembling. “I swear I did not!”

“She did not when she lived at your manor?”

“No!”

Kranmir looked vindicated. “She visited Dahomey. And she returned to despoil Comoros, to bring the Scourge back to this land once more.” He shook his head, clucking his tongue in mock disappointment again. “And the High Seer of Pry-Ree knew it!” he snarled. “She knew what you were. She hid the truth in a tome and sealed it with a binding sigil. Oh, my dear child, how can I ever thank you! All was lost at Whitsunday, but now all is recovered. The people will cry out in rage for your death when they learn what you really are. Of course, there is no heir, but perhaps Lady Jayn will bear a son. She is young still. One heir is all it will take for people to be satisfied. Thank you, Maia. The Medium has delivered you into my hands. Truly it has ordained that
I
shall be the new High Seer.”

His eyes were wild with the fervor of power lust, his lips quivering as he spoke his ambition aloud. He turned to Captain Trefew, who was skulking outside Maia’s vision. “Captain. She is under your watch. Move her and the other from room to room until dawn. There can be no mistake. When she dies in the morning, you will become an earl yourself.”

“Yes, Aldermaston,” Trefew said, his eyes as wide as a child with a bag of sweets. He came and yanked Maia up by her arm.

“It is selfish, yet I am glad you are here with me,” Maia said as they were forced awake, yet again, and marched to another location in Pent Tower. The corridors were thick with guards and torches. “You saved me.”

Suzenne smiled nervously and squeezed her hand with affection. They had been given new gowns to wear, simple servants’ attire with no fancy trims or edging. “When I saw your eyes roll back in your head, I truly feared you were overcome,” Suzenne said. “You started trembling and thrashing, and the room was . . . dark. The Medium told me what to do, Maia. It is still with us.”

Maia nodded and squeezed her hand in return. She was grateful the moment with the Myriad Ones had not lasted long. In the past, Ereshkigal had taken over quickly, and it had taken her hours to regain control of her body. Suzenne had drawn power from the Leering in the ceiling and the maston sign. She would not have been strong enough to cast the evil being out if Maia had been successfully occupied. But she was strong enough to prevent the takeover. If Maia had been alone, she knew she would have lost the struggle.

“I need you near me,” Maia said with relief. “Until the end.”

Suzenne nodded firmly, her eyes determined. “Until then.”

“The
end
is not far distant,” Trefew chuckled darkly from nearby. “The cocks will crow ere long, lasses. Somehow word got out yesterday that you were in Comoros, Lady Maia. We are suspecting a full riot this morning. Most of the king’s soldiers are still returning from the celebrations. But we have enough to hold the tower. Never fear that.”

Maia turned to look at him. “And what earldom were you promised?” she asked disparagingly.

“Any will do,” he replied smugly. “But I think the Earldom of Dieyre will be open once your marriage treaty is over. Always fancied that one.”

“It will bring you as much joy as it did its earlier ruler. That earldom is cursed.”

Trefew smiled slyly. “So much the better.” He gave her a look that revealed a mind full of darkness and corruption. She could see the evil of his thoughts plainly on his face, in the Myriad Ones dancing gleefully behind his eyes.

They reached their next destination, and the doors were unlocked. Several guards awaited them within the cramped cell and Trefew waved them out and entered after the last man left. He looked around at the small cot, checked the bars at the window to be sure none were loose, and sniffed the air, which was odorous, before gesturing for them to enter.

Suzenne and Maia did, and he went to the cell door, key in hand. He looked at her again, grazing her up and down with his eyes. “I wonder . . .” he said offhandedly. He paused for dramatic effect. “I wonder if those lips will still kill after your head is struck off.” His eyes wrinkled with perverse glee as he slammed the door and locked it.

Suzenne hung her head, sighing deeply. “A truly odious man.”

“Indeed,” Maia answered. “If I am ever queen, I will only allow true mastons to serve me.” She shook her head sadly and smiled. “It will lower the costs of the household, to be sure, given that there are so few left.”

“How can you joke,” Suzenne asked in amazement, stifling a laugh. “Look at the sky. Is it yet dawn?”

“I think it is,” Maia replied. “Can you see outside?”

“The window is too high.”

“What if we move the cot over?”

They both grabbed an end and arranged it by the window. The narrowness of the cell indicated it had only been meant for one prisoner. Suzenne ambled onto the cot and pulled on the bars so she could see better.