The Blessed City

They rode hard into the night where they found shelter in a bushel of dead trees. They hadn't spoken since they left the city. However, the silence wasn't a friend. Rather, it fed anger and suspicion.

Maleah stared heatedly across the fire at Cam attempting to wager her anger but failing miserably as it began to boil over. The sizzling vexation egged her closer to bursting.

Rhys' face twitched as she drew her cloak closer. "For the mercy of the gods. Would you two just have at it?" She glared from Cam to her and back again.

"When were you going to tell us you were one of them? Did you plan to wait until we found the city, then run off to tell your master?" She spat at him.

"You have no right to scold me for my secrets."

"That's all you have to say? If it wasn't for me you would be a prisoner of theirs. Or worse, considering your broken oath, you could be dead. We trusted you and you have done nothing but lie to us since?"

"Nothing but. . .? Who told you how to blend in on the ship? Or saved you from that gross man on the port? Who was it that got you in and out of Aaurn without so much as a wavering finger to point our way?"

"No one denies your knowledge of the enemy's customs. But neglecting to tell us of your direct involvement is unforgivable. What else have you been hiding?"

"I do not owe you any explanation."

Her temper piqued. "You owe me your life."

Cam's eyes grew cold. She met their steel with her own blaze.

"You two can argue until your hearts are content but the facts remain unchanged. You lied to us, Cam. You put us in danger just by association. What if someone recognized you? What would you have done then?"

He gritted his teeth. "You wouldn't understand."

"Only if you don't explain it."

He drew several breaths. Perhaps he was considering lying again. Or twisting his tale to show only the surface. Regardless, Maleah eagerly waited to hear him explain away his deception.

"I never intended to swear their oath. I despised King's Men as much as any sane-minded man or woman. But when they took my younger brother, I had no choice." Cam twisted an apple between his hands, studying its red glow. "He's a naturalist. And when they found him, he stood no chance. He was only ten."

"How did you get away?" Rhys inquired.

"I hid in plain sight." When they frowned at him, he sighed. Maleah's eyes widened when he disappeared. Rhys leaned forward and waved her hands in the air. "Watch it," Cam said, reappearing with his hands clasped around her wrist.

"Vamirah said we were all Blessed." Cam nodded at Rhys. "Why did you take the oath, then if you got away?"

"I volunteered with the sole intention of finding and freeing my brother."

"Did you find him?"

Cam nodded. "Took me a few years. But by the time I found him, he was completely corrupted by their ways."

"So," Maleah said after a moment. Her stomach had dropped some and her temper subsided some. "Where is he now?"

"Back on the island. That's why I was there. I didn't want to be far from him, even though he's become possessed by his power. My kind brother has become a monster."

His story wasn't too dissimilar to hers or Rhys.' Something had been taken from him and for years, he'd been a prisoner in his own way. But something about his brother sparked familiarity in her. Piecing together elements of his story, it came to her with certainty.

"Your brother is Aedon." She saw the bump on his throat bob in answer. "So all this time, when we spoke of our guard and the torture he put us through, you knew we were talking about your brother."

He nodded. She fought the resurgence of resentment even as its claws wrapped around her throat. Before she could say anything, though, Rhys interjected.

"How did you break your oath?"

"It was not easy." He pulled the collar of his shirt. Just above his heart was the kings' crest. The ridges burned over his skin and rose slightly. Across it was a single jagged line. "I couldn't do it myself. Magic protects it, to ensure our fealty. I had to travel very far before I found someone willing to burn through it. Once it was done, I could no longer feel the loyalty toward the king. I no longer desired to do his bidding."

"How did you fight it for so long?"

"Every man is out for himself. Each with their own intentions and selfish desires. Mine was to find my brother."

"Why, then, lie to us?"

"Habit," he shrugged. "Survival, mostly." Maleah wanted to accept his story, wanted to believe it. But she didn't want to forgive him. Not then. She supposed, maybe not for a long time. But she would have to live with it for however long they were to travel together.

To break the tension, she said. "So, is Cam short for chameleon?"

They all laughed and settled into the chilly night

. . .

The wind oscillated between a howl and a moan as they sped through Sancor. Galloping ahead of the others, Maleah drowned herself in the pounding of her heart. Her body quaked with exhilaration as if she was flying. Atop a hill, she pulled the reins to a stop. There, she gazed down into a riverbank. Her stomach knotted; her thrill flattened.

The river flowed grimly. Water hardly ran what she guessed was ankle-deep. She could see rocks jutting awkwardly from the bed. Its sizes varied in both girth and height. The carcasses of river plants washed to the surface and floated drearily west.

When the others joined her, she asked Cam what had happened.

"The final battle of the Ogre Wars as fought along this river. Slave against master. Ogres and others against humans. Creatures, some who'd been enemies for centuries, allied together to fight their common foe. Humans, however, are vicious and cruel. They bribed, enslaved, and forced the night creatures to join them in this last battle. The crypt for the fallen rests several miles upriver in Ontor.

"We should move. These lands are still haunted with grudges. Scavengers have taken it upon themselves to feed them." Nudging his horse, he left the hilltop and guided them to the river.

As she suspected, the water lapped just over her calves and the rocks threatened to catch her off-guard. Looking down, she was reminded of her dream. History clung like fleshless bone to the rocky bottom.

Rhys stopped, drawing her attention from her step, Maleah turned around. "What is it?"

But she brushed her finger over her lips. Maleah listened, but all she heard was the swoosh of water. "We have company," she said at last.

Squinting, Maleah almost asked what she meant when she saw the outlandish-looking men appear at the top of the river. Swords raised, they stood with abnormal animals at their sides. Their tusks grew out of their pale-yellow skin and their teeth were too large for their mouths. They stood between them and the south. A wall of scavengers.

Rhys leaned into her horse's ear, then with a swat to its rear it whinnied and ran upstream. The others followed eagerly behind it. Cam swore at her, but Rhys wouldn't hear any of it. She waved him off as the leader of the first men called down to them.

"Well, what do we have here? Some King's Men far from home, I see." His hair was a rugged mess and its sun-bleached strands spilled over his eyes, teasing the scars that ran down his cheeks.

"We have no business with you. Let us pass and we will be on our way," Cam declared.

"It's a bit off the normal course for King's Men to be this far south. Surely the lords will be wanting your papers." He hesitated, grinned. "Just a moment." He looked to each of them, lingering on Maleah when they didn't move. "Three traveling King's Men, without papers no doubt. Coming from the Burrows. Oh yes, this is quite the prize."

"Hands off my bounty, Lean." Maleah swiveled. Another group of scavengers lined the river.

"You've no claim, Demir. They are on Cervius land now."

"My men have trailed them for miles. Their passage through Sancor leaves them in our custody."

"Clearly you have forgotten the borders between our lands."

"Surely the spoils of war have poisoned her mind."

Their squabble quickly escalated. Lean raved; Dremir spat. Their followers joined in the antics, engaging in their own targeted squabbles. The verbal abuse clung to the air like a foul stench. With every exchange, they grew closer to the streaming water.

Maleah leaned to Cam. "Are they truly fighting over who captures us?"

He shook his head. "An old rivalry that predates the Ogre Wars. They do not fight over us, but land and honor."

Honor? she scuffed. Where was their honor?

The rivals grew more tempered in their debate, closing the distance between them all. Angling to escape, the three of them crept over the rocks. But a clean breakaway was far from possible. Caught between the crossfire, Cam reached for his sword and Rhys mimicked his movement.

Lean's men stalked behind them and gave little care to the three of them as their own feud became their central focus. Unknowingly, a man swung his sword out. Maleah froze in shock as the blade neared her head. She flinched as Cam lunged in front of her, his sword clashing with the scavengers.

"Watch your head," he grumbled as he pushed back. Grabbing her hand, Cam pulled her through the water and up the river bank. Rhys met them at the top. "Where are the horses?"

"I sent them away to protect our possessions. They will only return when I call them." They sprinted from the battle.

The outcry crippled her ears. Lean and Dremir called for their men as they noticed their prize's absence. She could hear the animals snarling as they burst from the river, scavengers saddled atop them.

Rhys shoved her sword into Maleah's hand. The steel sunk her arm to the ground, its weight almost too heavy for her. "Take this."

"What? I don't know how to use it." She tried to give it back, but Rhys waved her off.

"It's easy. Just keep the pointy end away from you."

Maleah frowned. "How will you defend yourself?"

She winked. Reaching behind her head, she unclipped her hairpiece. Holding the small silver, she pulled the dragon's head and held it in her hand. It shimmered in her hand, growing until a sword glistened in her hand. The round piece molded and expanded into a shield.

Rhys turned just as the men arrived at their heels and fought like a trained warrior. Unable to gape in shock, Maleah followed her lead. Swinging in defense and ducking blow after blow. She hissed whenever a blade nicked her skin. Red stained the grass beneath their feet. Death had found them as bodies fell from their steeds and failed to rise again.

The three of them stood back-to-back-to-back, swords held high as the animals and men inched closer, closing them inside a circle of scavengers.

They had to do something. She thought of all their escapes. Her gift being the common thread.

"Call the horses," she said to Rhys before turning her hand. The air rose around them, a chilled circle grew between them and the scavengers. The animals squealed; the mean groaned. Rhys' whistle split her ears.

The horses raced towards them. Clearing the path, Maleah pushed the men away and climbed atop her horse. She heard the ripping of dirt and snarls. A piercing sound whizzed by her ear, nicking the tip. Instinctively, she reached for her ear and felt hot blood on her fingers.

Twisting, she saw the animals competing for revenge. Their riders fought even as they lunged at their prizes. The desperation was a stench she would never forget. She had to delay them. With a jerk of the reins, she plowed away from Cam and Rhys.

"Keep going!" she called when they protested. Her detour worked; she lured several of the animals after her.

She rode backward on her saddle and faced her pursuers. Her hands trembled threatening paralysis. But rather than succumb, she used it. Bottling fear, anger, and panic she let her instincts take over.

She arched her arms. Drawing them back as if pulling the string of a bow. The wind bowed to her, stretching, narrowing. On her exhale, she released it and watched with satisfaction as it fractured the air and spiraled into the animal's face. It reared back, sending its rider sprawling onto the ground.

With the intention of a true archer, she aimed again. Loading her nonexistent bow and sending the arrow into the chest of the riders behind her. As her fourth victim crumbled, she reseated herself and steered herself to her companions.

She reared her arms and shot arrows at their pursuers. She closed the distance. Ripping the air from under the animals as if it were a blanket. Watching as their riders fell. She forced a scavenger from his saddle before he had the chance to swipe at Cam's horse.

Swinging his head, he sent her a gratuitous look. Then, it contorted. "Behind you!"

Just as she turned, her attacker collided with her horse and she flew.

The world flattened, disappeared. Her body slammed into the ground. Her head smacked its hard surface. Spots shrouded her vision. Blinking, she attempted to dispel them but the world remained hazy and out of balance.

Muffled footsteps thumbed near her. She could see his dark silhouette looming over her as she strained to lift her head. She didn't need to see his face to know he grinned with pleasure.

The rock met her temple with a force that sent her into darkness.