Chapter Thirteen

The brazier in the corner of the hut cast a dim orange light across the interior. Axxon lay on his side, a change from the stiff almost-corpse he’d been when we’d left. I smoothed my hand over his warm shoulder. “Axxon? Can you hear me? It’s time to wake.”

Nothing. He might be improving, but he was still far from himself. I sat a moment longer, my fingers tracing the tattoos on his collar bone. I was aware of a sense of stolen time. I wouldn’t dare to touch him this way if he wasn’t sleeping.

“They are showing more signs of wakefulness,” Essa assured me.

“How long might it take them to waken?”

“I have no idea. This isn’t an illness I have experience of.”

I shifted to the other bed and stroked Rey’s hair away from his forehead. “Come back to me,” I whispered. I could feel their absence, as though a part of my own soul was missing. The bodies in the beds were still, lacking the vital substance of the men I knew.

I snuggled into Rey's side, tucking my feet underneath me, twisting my fingers into his dark hair. The ends curled around my finger and I stilled, holding the silken threads, unwilling to part from him.

“All they need now is time,” Essa said, sitting on the other bed at Axxon’s feet.

“We don’t have much of that. Midsummer is nearly upon us.” The day when magic reached its peak. The day when, if we weren’t there to stop him, the Emperor would cast his spells to become immortal. The day the goddess had said we five must stand and face the sun.

I sighed. “I need to speak to Fon and Vashri. We must decide what to do next.” How long we were willing to wait for Axxon and Rey to recover. I straightened and headed for the door, Essa at my heels.

As I stepped out of the hut into the evening’s stillness, a scream rent the air. I froze. There was a sudden, shocked moment of stillness, then everyone in the village burst into movement. Essa clutched my arm. “Something’s wrong.”

We started to run. I wondered what creature had made its way into our world now. Another scream sounded, abruptly cut off. My heart went cold. A crash sounded behind us and a horse burst between the huts, heading straight for Essa and me. Its rider was uniformed. And armed. I just had time to see the flash of steel in the sword held in the soldier’s raised arm before he brought it swinging down.

I threw myself at Essa and we both crashed to the ground. The air shifted as the sword sliced through the air above our heads, missing us by a hair’s breadth. The rider didn’t look back, not caring to see the damage he’d done.

“We’re under attack,” Essa breathed, eyes wide.

I nodded grimly. “The Emperor’s men.” Because these weren’t creatures from the underworld, they were as human as Essa and me.

We flattened against the side of the hut as another rider came crashing past. “I need to find the kings.” The villagers were unarmed. Half of them were asleep. The Emperor had deliberately targeted weak, innocent people at their most vulnerable.

Another scream rent the air behind us. I spun to see a gout of fire rise into the air. Fon. The kings were aware of the situation – and using their magic to fight back.

Essa and I ran in the direction of the scream and found the village healer sprawled on the ground, trying to crawl out of danger. She couldn’t stand because of the sword wound in her leg.

“We can help, Syra.” Essa reached her side first. “Don’t exert yourself.” As she bent to put the woman’s arm around her shoulders I reached her other side. Sticky blood trickled down her leg.

“Don’t worry, Essa will sort you out,” I promised.

Syra, face pale and hair wild, just nodded. I don’t think she had the strength for anything else. “The kings’ hut,” Essa said over the healer’s head. We half-led, half-carried her there, the scene around us alternately pitch-dark and garishly bright as Fon used his fire to fight the soldiers, Vashri directing the flames towards the village’s enemies.

Essa and I laid the woman down on the floor between the two beds occupied by the kings. My sister had already shifted into her role as healer, venting the brazier so the flames burned higher, and fetching water and a cloth. It only took a glance to see that the injured woman was in the safest hands she was going to get.

“I’ll send any more casualties to you,” I promised, and left the hut at a run.

It was easy to find Fon and Vashri. I just had to follow the firelight. Their defence of the village was beautifully co-ordinated. A line of fire filled the ground, dividing the kings from two dozen enemy soldiers held back by the fiery barrier. Vashri flung debris at the uniformed men to drive them back. Most of the villagers were behind the kings and Lord Hullar’s warriors. Some stood beside them, weapons raised and ready in case the Emperor’s soldiers broke through. My heart lifted into my throat with admiration for their bravery. They had offered us safety and hospitality and we’d brought carnage down on them.

My jaw clenched. The Emperor had made a mistake in bringing his battle to us. We might be weakened without Axxon and Rey, but we were still powerful. My powers worked as well as ever. All I needed was to touch the Emperor and I’d destroy the magical strength he valued so highly.

But to touch him, I needed to find him first. Might he have come with his soldiers this time?

I reached Vashri’s side. “Have you seen the Emperor? Is he here?”

Vashri shook his head. “All I’ve seen are ordinary soldiers. I haven’t seen him.”

“I need to get to the other side of the fire.”

Fon overheard me. “No, Kyann. It’s too dangerous.” He sent another burst of flames into the middle of the soldiers. One of the horses whinnied in terror and reared, throwing off its rider before bolting away from the blaze.

The other soldiers shuffled closer, regrouping. They were disciplined, but seemed taken aback to meet organised resistance. My lip curled. They’d expected slaughter, not to face men more than their equals. Surely the Emperor cowered behind them. If he knew the kings were here and powerless I was sure he would want to kill them himself.

“This is my chance to stop the Emperor. If I remove his magic, he’s no stronger than any mortal man. We can bring his reign to an end right now.” I began to walk to where the flames faded and I could sneak into enemy lines.

Fon called something that I didn’t quite catch. I called back, “If I need your help I’ll call, Fon!”

Half a dozen steps later, I halted. A figure lay in the scorched grass, hidden in the shadows. What had caught my eye, glinting in the last of the sun’s light, was the terrifyingly broad, sharp sword he pointed straight at me. The Emperor’s man couldn’t get up, but he could still defend himself.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. His eyes were wide with fear. The sword wavered, although that could have been due to bodily weakness and not a lack of resolve. He must have been thrown from the bolting horse, and from the look of his leg, it had been badly broken when he landed.

He was little more than a boy. I spread my hands, as though I were approaching a frightened animal rather than a deadly warrior. “I won’t hurt you.”

“I’ll kill you!” he threatened.

“And then my friends will kill you. Or we can avoid all that. Tell me where I might find the Emperor and I’ll get you to a healer.” I wondered what lies the Emperor had told his men to compel them to attack these people. People who might have been friends under different circumstances.

“I won’t tell you a thing. My troop will come and rescue me.”

“Your troop are too busy trying to survive themselves.” I pushed a hand into my pocket, selecting a stone. “It’s me you need to look to for help. I’m the guardian. My friends are the kings, the four kings mentioned in legend. We are here to help Charnrosa, to save its people. You are on the wrong side.”

“I have my orders.” The sword’s tip drew a wonky circle in the air.

“That looks very heavy for someone so injured.”

“You won’t come near me.”

I removed my hand, checked my target and threw the stone. A whistle and a snap split the air.

“Argh!” I’d struck a direct hit on the back of his right hand. He dropped the sword and I snatched it up. It was heavier than I’d expected. No wonder the boy’s arm had been wavering.

I held the sword double-handed, my grip pleasingly more solid than his had been. The youth cradled his injured hand to his chest. I didn’t feel any sympathy. The blow would sting, but there’d be no permanent damage. It had been shock that had made him drop his weapon more than anything else.

“Now.” I levelled the tip of the sword with his throat. “Where is the Emperor?”

His eyes were wider now, terror showing his inexperience. He was clearly shocked by the reality of battles. No doubt most shocked to find himself on the wrong end of the sword.

“He isn’t here. Safe in his palace, probably sleeping.”

“He didn’t come with you?” Disappointment swooped around me.

“No. Why would he bother with a backwater place like this?”

The Emperor hadn’t come to gloat over the deaths of the kings. He was miles away, safe and no doubt plotting what atrocities he would visit on Charnrosa next. I lowered the sword. I would love to think he was too scared to face us, but I couldn’t doubt the truth. He knew Lady Ullagar had stolen away the souls of two of the kings. He knew we were little threat. And the magic he would conjure on midsummer’s day was too important to risk a threat to his own safety.

I looked down at the young man lying before me. Pain and powerlessness had stripped all his bravado from him. I understood how that felt. “I’ll send a healer to you.” I lowered the sword.

His lips pursed. I thought he wanted to throw more anger at me, but he wasn’t capable of it. “Why would you do that?”

A smile tugged at my lips, although my heart was aching. “Because it’s the right thing to do.”

I strode away, making my way back to the hut Essa was using for healing. The village was deserted but for the cluster of people facing the soldiers with Fon and Vashri. Everyone else, I hoped, was hiding, barricaded in one of the huts until the battle was over.

I drove the sword into the ground beside the door and walked inside.

Essa was busy. Three more patients had joined the woman with the sword wound. But my sister had also gained two helpers, so I walked into a bustling place of healing.

My sister was stitching a wound. As I approached, I was glad to see she was almost done. I didn’t want to have to wait. Time was short enough as it was.

As she cut the thread for a final time, I touched her shoulder and jerked my head. Frowning, she rose and followed me to a corner. “There’s an injured soldier,” I told her in an undertone. “On the eastern edge of the village. He was thrown from his horse and has a bad break, from the look of it. He needs medical treatment.”

Essa nodded. I didn’t have to explain matters to her. She would offer help to any who needed it. “I’ll go as quickly as I can.”

“I relieved him of his sword, so he shouldn’t be a danger.”

“That also leaves him vulnerable.” She snatched up a knife, ready to protect herself and her patient, then called to another villager for help, grabbing a rolled-up stretcher from the corner of the room. “We can deal with him,” she promised. We slipped out of the hut together and I pointed out the direction. “He’s weak, in pain and pretty angry.”

“My favourite sort of patient.” They strode away. Fon’s bright fire still shone out on the other side of the village. The Emperor’s soldiers were dutiful, I acknowledged grudgingly. I hoped for minimal casualties, but if they couldn’t be peacefully persuaded to support the kings…

“What in the name of the goddess is going on?”

I spun at the impossible, wonderful voice behind me.

Rey spilled out of the hut, with Axxon a pace behind him.