Witch Fall (8 page)

Lilette blinked at her. “You’re certain.”

“Oh, yes.” Jolin huffed. “And I’ll make sure they throw in a good lashing before they do.” Her eyes glinted with dark delight.

Lilette stared off into nothing. “And naked. They should make him face the crowd naked.”

Jolin nodded. “Brilliant.”

They were silent, reveling in their own dark fantasies. At almost the same time, their eyes met and they burst into laughter.

“Come on,” Jolin said. “You have to move if you want to get your strength back.”

With Jolin’s help, Lilette rose to stand for the first time in nearly three days. She felt shaky and weak, but the pain was gone. “My sister?”

Jolin threaded her arm through Lilette’s and helped her walk slowly around the room. “She insisted on heading the search. She was under the delusion that the listeners had found you. Obviously it wasn’t such a delusion after all.”

An ache flared in Lilette’s chest. Sash had stayed behind to finish her schooling as a witchling, while Lilette and their parents had come to Harshen. “What did she believe happened to us?” But what Lilette really wanted to ask was why her sister hadn’t come looking for her.

“That your ship caught fire and everyone died,” Jolin answered.

“And no one questioned it?”

Jolin looked away. “They had your mother’s body.”

Lilette took a few more steps, already winded. “And why did you come?”

“For the plants,” Jolin replied. “We have so little contact with Harshen. Their plants are unique to the islands. I couldn’t turn down a chance to study them.” She took a deep breath. “They sent over thirty of us—a bit excessive, but Harshen has a reputation for treating women poorly. We wanted over three full-strength circles.

“We stopped here to request permission from the emperor to search Harshen for you. Not surprisingly, he wasn’t cooperating. Then Heir Chen came to our quarters and offered a trade—heal his concubine and he’d grant our request.” Jolin chuckled dryly. “No wonder he was so eager to agree. He wanted us out of the city and away from you.”

“What were those glass planes you wore over your eyes?”

Jolin pulled them out of her pocket and handed them to Lilette.

“Spectacles. I invented them. They show me the true size of an aura, which directly correlates to how strong a witch is. Most witches have gold or orange auras. Yours is almost white. And you are very, very strong.”

Lilette put the spectacles on and stared at her hand. “I don’t see anything.”

“Not everyone can.” Jolin appraised her. “You’re doing surprisingly well for a woman who basically died two days ago.”

Lilette didn’t feel well. She felt battered and weak, but she was still moving, albeit slowly.

Jolin helped her sit down and glanced at the closed screen. She leaned in closer. “And what of Ko? Do you trust her?”

Ko had stayed by Lilette’s side for days, holding her hand and tending to her. Somehow a bond had formed in that time, but treason was bigger than a newfound friendship. “Only so far.”

“Until we know for certain, we should be careful what we say around her,” Jolin said.

Lying back, Lilette nodded. Then a rare smile overtook her face. “Are you really going to teach me?”

“I can’t. Whether you are willing or not, your song will be used against Haven. I can’t be responsible for that.”

Something sharp twisted inside Lilette. “Please. It’s all there—the creators’ language and the voice lessons—it’s just locked inside me. If I can just remember a little of it, the whole will come flooding out.” It had to.

Jolin closed her eyes. “He will turn you into a weapon.”

Lilette’s mother had called her a warrior. And Jolin could teach her to become one. Lilette was surprised how much she longed for that. “He can’t wield me if we escape.”

Jolin studied her. “And you will come to Grove City for learning?”

Lilette let out all her breath in a rush. “Yes.”

Jolin was silent a moment, her face hard. She glanced at the closed screen. “Very well.” The words seemed to cost her a great deal. “You’re woefully ignorant, so I’m just going to stick to what might be useful. Singing as a choir, we can control nature—the seasons, the storms.”

“I remember that,” Lilette breathed as the warm memory surfaced. Her mother singing in a circle with the other witches, strange colors dancing around them as the world shifted in response.

“Individually,” Jolin went on, “a witch’s song controls plants—singing a seed to a full grown tree you can then manipulate. The stronger the witch, the faster and better the response.”

Another, much darker memory assaulted Lilette. Singing with her mother in a dim corridor as men bore down on them with spears. Her song had woken a beast that had crashed down on the men with lightning and wind.

She’d only been child at the time—incapable of understanding that the elements were simply responding to her call, that killing men who threatened her family was justified.

Jolin must have seen the anguish on Lilette’s face. “I’m sorry.”

Lilette wiped the tears from her cheeks. It had been a very long time since she’d cried. “No, I need this—need to remember. It isn’t right to forget people who loved me so much.”

Jolin took a deep breath and winced as if in pain. “Let me hear you sing.”

“I can only remember one song, and I understand little of the creators’ language.”

“Just sing anything,” Jolin said.

Lilette sang a fisherman’s song. Jolin listened, her face screwed up in concentration. As the last note eased to silence, she took a deep breath. “Your voice is very beautiful,” she admitted reluctantly. “And the more beautiful your song, the stronger.”

Jolin began teaching Lilette the Creators’ language, the language of power. The words molded themselves to her tongue before cutting through the air like a bird in flight. The elements came alive around Lilette.

Jolin made her perfect each song before they moved onto the next. The more Lilette sang, the more the memories locked in her mind pressed against the barrier holding them back. By nightfall, her head ached and she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.

After dinner, she and Jolin slept in the same room. Lilette’s dreams were full of swimming with her father, mother, and sister playing in the sand on shore.

Her dreams were interrupted when Ko shoved aside the screen, a lit lamp in her hand. Lilette sat up, holding up her hand to shield her from the brightness. A glance out the window revealed that it was sometime in the darkest hours.

“Vorlay’s armada has been sighted,” Ko said breathlessly. “Their king has come to make Harshen pay for killing his daughter.”

I saved her life. She never thanked me. ~Jolin

Jolin shot to her feet. “What?”

“Chen’s wife, Laosh, was the one who poisoned Lilette. She was a Vorlayan princess, and Chen killed her,” Ko explained. “There are over a hundred ships, all of them flying Vorlay’s colors.”

Struggling to make her weak body work properly, Lilette pushed herself to her feet. “That’s impossible. Laosh has only been dead four days! How could they have received word so soon? And Vorlay is over three weeks away with good winds.”

“Laosh had more spies than the emperor, and she was fond of her pigeons.” Ko turned back to face the main room, which the eunuchs were entering. “Light the lamps. Then wait at the gate and do not leave until the emperor sends word.”

“But madame, the harem will be the last to receive word,” said Ko’s eunuch, his head bowed.

“I said go.” Ko looked pointedly between Lilette and her personal eunuch.

“Go with him,” she said to the eunuch. “Hurry.”

The two men exchanged glances and donned their outer robes. Before they left the house, each lit his lamp, a bowl of oil with a bobbing cork and wick in the center.

Lilette began to dress as quickly as her slow fingers would allow. Jolin helped her finish, and they shuffled into the main room. In the dim lamplight, Lilette glanced around. The house was much like the first one—a long rectangle with rooms on both ends of a main living area. The eunuchs slept in the room where food was stored. There was the room Lilette and Jolin had just left, and a fourth room that shared a wall with it. Ko came out of the room and set a lamp in the window.

“They’ll be gone for a while.” She knelt before the brazier and lit it with the cork from another lamp. “Sit down, both of you,” she said. “You’re making me nervous.”

Lilette hesitated before moving to obey. “What do we do now?” Jolin asked.

Ko disappeared into the kitchen and came out with bowls of rice and vegetables. “The only thing any woman can ever do—wait.” She motioned to the bowls. “And while we wait, we can make breakfast.”

As Lilette helped Ko cook, she realized the room where she and Jolin had been sleeping was Han’s. He’d changed so much since he was a boy. His gentle smile used to come easily as he followed Lilette everywhere. What had turned him into such a hard man?

After eating, the three women cleaned up the dishes in silence. Light gradually touched the sky. Soon, the light overshadowed the lamps. When Ko blew them out, the cork plugs bobbed in the oil. Just as Lilette was about to demand they go find out what they could themselves, the outer door slid silently open and a eunuch she’d never seen before slipped inside.

Most of the eunuchs were a little plump, their bodies strangely hairless, but this one was on the thin side. There was something harder about him—not just his body, but the way he carried himself. Nothing like the soft hands and manners of most of the eunuchs. He looked different from the other Harshens as well. It was something in the shape of his eyes and the length of his face. With a start, Lilette realized he was the same race as Ko. The eunuch’s gaze took in Lilette and Jolin, and his expression closed off.

Ko pushed herself to her feet. “Lang, what’s going on?”

His gaze flicked warily to Lilette and Jolin. “You trust them?” he asked in disbelief. “They’re witches.”

Ko took a deep breath. “They’re not like the others.”

He grunted. “I very much doubt that.”

“What—” Jolin began.

“Is Vorlay’s armada really out there?” Ko interrupted.

Lang’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Yes, they’re surrounding the island now. The emperor has sent out his ships, raised the harbor chain, called up all his troops, and armed the citizens.”

“Will it be enough?” Lilette asked.

His frank gaze met hers. “No. Vorlay is a beast compared to us. Chen was a fool for killing their princess.”

Lilette slapped her leg in frustration. “Then why did he do it?”

“Because the same poison was used to kill his mother about a year ago.”

Lilette’s mouth fell open. “Then Laosh . . .”

“Killed at least four people,” Lang finished. “Most of them were murdered as part of her political maneuverings.”

After several seconds of silence, Ko said, “You’re underestimating Emperor Nis.”

“Nis has relied too long on our distance from other nations to keep us safe.” Lang’s voice was tight with anger. “Harshen has a third less ships—few of them war ships. The city doesn’t have ramparts to speak of. The defensive line will be spread out and ineffective. The palace compound is well fortified, so it will endure for a little while after the city proper falls. But walls cannot stand forever, not against battering rams and arrows and soldiers with hooks and rope. Fighting back will buy us some time, nothing more.”

Lang made a sound low in his throat, his gaze settling on Lilette. “It would have been much better for Harshen had you just died when Laosh poisoned you.”

Guilt and anger twisted Lilette’s insides. None of it was her fault, but she had been the catalyst. “Laosh chose her own path.”

Lang huffed. “And the heir chose ours.”

Lilette shook her head, still not really believing it. “They couldn’t have come this far so quickly. It’s not possible.”

The eunuch studied her coolly. “Isn’t it?”

Lilette rubbed her temples and pictured the charts she’d seen in Bian’s home. “This time of year, the winds are wrong. Tacking into the wind, it would have taken them weeks to travel from Vorlay to Harshen.”

Lang crossed his arms. “It is said they had help.”

“What are you implying?” Jolin demanded.

He met her gaze head on. “That the witches in Kalari are helping them.”

Lilette froze as understanding washed over her.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jolin exclaimed. “We don’t involve ourselves in wars between nations.”

Lang’s brows came up. “Do you have another explanation for how they made a three week journey in three days?”

Lilette bit her lip. He was right. It was the only explanation that made sense.

“No,” Jolin admitted.

“See what you see instead of what you’re told to see,” Lang said.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jolin spat.

Lilette rested her hand on her friend’s arm. The only people capable of moving the armada that quickly were the witches. She knew it and so did the others—Jolin just wasn’t ready to accept it yet. “What of the witches in the palace?” Lilette asked Lang.

“They were supposed to leave this morning, but Vorlay’s arrival put a stop to that.”

Jolin’s face drained of color. “They believed Chen’s ridiculous story?”

“None of them carefully inspected the body before they burned it,” replied Lang. “I suspect the boils put them off.”

Lilette gasped. “But the listeners would have heard us sing.”

“They wouldn’t have been able to differentiate us from Sash and the others.” Jolin gripped Lilette’s hand. “I must escape. You must come with me.”

Incredulous that Jolin would say as much in front of this eunuch, Lilette elbowed her. “You too, Ko,” Jolin added quickly.

Lilette rolled her eyes. That wasn’t what she’d meant, but she couldn’t say it in front of Lang.

“I can’t,” Ko murmured. Her face had gone gray, her eyes pinched shut as if to block out some terrible sight.

Lang raised a hand toward her before dropping it back to his side. “Ko . . .”

She met his gaze, tears lining the rims of her eyes. “I can’t. My son is here.”

“Is he not already lost to you?” Lang said so softly Lilette could barely hear him. Ko turned away. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. “If the witches truly are helping Vorlay, we stand no chance. I’ll get you off the island if I can, and hide you if I cannot.” He reached forward and brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek.

Ko took his hand briefly in hers. “And if you fail? You know what the emperor will do to us.”

Lilette gaped at them.

“Ko, please,” Lang implored. “I have the resources this time. I swear I’ll keep you safe.”

“I can’t,” she whispered.

He reached into the folds of his robe and handed her a dagger. “Then take this.”

Ko blinked at wicked gleam of the blade. “Lang . . .”

“Take it.” He curled her fingers around the hilt and turned his attention to Lilette and Jolin. “Many of the elite guards have been reassigned as leaders of the militia. You stand a chance at escaping tonight. Climb the harem wall and hide. When morning comes, join one of the groups leaving the compound.”

Fear curled around Lilette’s belly, leaving her cold and shaking.

Lang studied her, his eyes glittering. “I will bring you some eunuch’s clothes. You’ll be less conspicuous that way. They’ll be hidden in the tree outside your room. May the Sun Dragon see you safely to your journey’s end.” He sent Ko a longing look. Then he turned and was gone.

“Safe journey,” Ko seemed to whisper to herself after he had gone, tears still brimming in her eyes. She glanced down at the dagger in her grasp and retreated to her room.

Jolin leaned over and whispered, “She’s in love with a eunuch?”

“Shh.” Lilette glanced back at the doorway. “He’s still a man, isn’t he?”

“Strictly speaking.”

Ko stepped back into the room, and Lilette could only hope she hadn’t heard Jolin. Ko knelt down and wiped her face. “He has loved me faithfully and at great risk to himself for nearly two decades. You could only hope to find such love someday.”

Jolin flushed bright red. “I apologize for what I said.”

The sudden silence was uncomfortable. Ko sat back on her heels. “You need to understand what happens if you’re caught,” she said softly. “Before the palace steps, with the emperor and the heir watching, they will behead you. Your body will be given to the peasants, who will display you in pieces before selling the remains for curses.”

Lilette shuddered. “How many times has this happened?”

Ko turned away, refusing to meet Lilette’s gaze. “Once in my lifetime. No one has tried it since.”

From the pain in Ko’s voice, Lilette knew that whoever had died had been close to her. “Who was it?”

“My sister.” Ko sniffed. “We were twins—the daughters of King Mu’Fa of Jinji. Our father valued a trade agreement with Harshen more than my sister’s marriage to a merchant’s son. Lang followed us here. He managed to sneak into the harem. He and my sister tried to talk me into escaping with them, but I was already pregnant.”

Tears rolled freely down Ko’s face. “Carrying a child wouldn’t have stopped the emperor from killing me. I couldn’t risk it.”

Lilette rested her hand on Ko’s shoulder. “He caught them, didn’t he?”

Ko nodded. “Emperor Nis could have killed Lang too. Instead, he made him watch. When my sister was . . .” —a sob caught in Ko’s throat— “Lang begged for death. Instead, the emperor made him a eunuch and locked him in the harem.”

She took a deep breath and wiped her cheeks. “At first, Lang simply looked after me because he blamed himself for my sister’s death.” Ko shrugged. “How could I not fall in love with him? That kind of honor and determination . . .” She gave a watery smile. “And I made sure to teach my son that same honor.”

Lilette thought of Han’s small acts of kindness and selflessness. He may look like his father, but he’d learned his goodness from his mother.

Jolin suddenly jumped to her feet. “Someone’s coming!”

Lilette could hear singing, so far away she couldn’t make out the words. There was something dark and sinister about it—it was almost more of a chant. Something wrenched inside her, a feeling of terror like a silent scream.

“My keepers are fighting,” Jolin cried. She started toward the outer door, but it opened before she was halfway there. A handful of eunuchs were on the other side, the chief eunuch among them.

Had the eunuchs overheard their talk of escape? Were they coming to take them to their execution? Lilette pushed herself to her feet—to do what, she didn’t know.