Bricrui (The Forgotten: Book 2) Read online

  “Any thoughts on how we’re going to do this?”

  He didn’t answer immediately, but moved cautiously closer to the lowered gate. He knelt at its base, reaching out to touch the dirt that had been displaced as the iron spikes had been forcefully thrust into the ground. He stood and dusted his hands off on one another. He moved to the edge of the gate and angled for a better view towards the mechanism that lowered it.

  He grunted to himself. “The gate chain’s been cut,” he informed her over his shoulder. She started to move forward to investigate for herself, but he held up a cautionary hand. She watched him as his eyes scanned the empty courtyard beyond.

  “What does that mean?” she asked curiously.

  “It means,” he replied, “that for some reason they really didn’t want something getting in,” he paused in quiet contemplation and then added grimly, “or out. Ever.”

  They walked along the walls until they came across an archway, through which water poured out of the castle into the moat. Several boards had been haphazardly thrown over the grating that covered it and nailed into place. Sir Ruawn stood staring at this for some time.

  Finally, he commanded the troupe to withdraw to a safe distance while they pondered how to proceed. Obviously they still had to get into the castle in order to investigate, but without knowing the reason for the desperate action the occupants had taken, it was a bit of a gamble.

  “So what do we do now?” Natalya implored. “We can’t get in.”

  “We can,” Sir Ruawn countered, “just not through the gate.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I have a spell that combines with a special substance to blow a hole straight through the castle walls, and I have been authorized to use whatever means necessary by the Queen.”

  “Than what are we waiting for?” Natalya exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

  He didn’t move. “I have been contemplating the reason for the gate being closed,” he explained patiently, “and am not sure that blowing a hole in the castle wall is such a good idea.”

  “Why not? You said it yourself we can’t get through the gate.”

  He gave her a hard stare. “You saw what we might be up against,” he said in a whisper that was barely audible. “I am becoming more and more certain that this castle was closed off to keep something in. Can you not imagine what it might be that is locked inside?”

  She sat back down in a heap. She had spent all day trying not to imagine just that. So the castle could be filled with those, those…things. She shook her head. Those things that Alina might now be one of.

  “Well,” she challenged him in a sudden rush of confidence, “That’s why we stopped for reinforcements, isn’t it? We won’t find out anything by sitting here outside the walls.”

  Sir Ruawn gave her another intense look, searching her face. Then he sighed. “You are right, of course. But I am not wont to waste my soldiers’ lives purposelessly. We will proceed with caution, treating this as a hostile environment. We will not rush in and do anything rash, will we?”

  By ‘we’, Natalya understood he meant her. He didn’t want her overreacting if she saw her sister turned into a monster and do something foolish like running to her and getting herself killed. She lifted her chin.

  “No, we will not. I’ve been riding with these Knights for weeks now and do not want to see anyone hurt playing hero.” She paused a moment in thought. “Are you going to tell them what we may be up against?”

  Sir Ruawn sighed again, sounding genuinely distressed, and answered. “I believe they all already know. Rumors spread very quickly in the palace. And beyond.”

  Natalya caught a hint of something unsaid in his words, but didn’t press the matter. The important thing to her at this moment was breaking a hole through the wall that could be keeping her from her sister. She could not think of her sister being one of those things, but imagining her stuck in a castle with them was even worse.

  Sir Ruawn took forever, by Natalya’s calculations, to determine where best to blow a hole through the wall. To Natalya it was all the same, one way or another they were blasting their way in, who cared if it was ten feet this way or that? But she respected Sir Ruawn and his judgment, so she kept her complaints to herself.

  When he had selected the perfect spot, he withdrew a powdery substance from his pack. He mixed this with another, stirring the concoction together in a wooden bowl until the resulting mixture was a gooey consistency. He smeared this along the wall seemingly haphazardly, contrary to his previous precision, and stood back to admire his handiwork.

  He ordered Natalya and the Knights to take cover behind something, and he backed away himself. When everyone reported that they were clear, he readied a spell and sent it shooting from his palm towards the smeared stones.

  Natalya readied herself for the blast, mindful, like all the Knights were, of the possibility of the horde of monsters that might come streaming through the opening once their way was clear.

  The spell connected with the powder-turned-goo and Natalya was immediately deafened by the resulting explosion. She threw herself to the ground and covered her head with her arms. Rocks and debris sprayed out around them, clattering to the ground. With the booming sound still echoing in her head, she stood and helped the Knight next to her to his feet.

  Natalya glanced around quickly to make sure everyone was alright before turning her attention back to the wall. All eyes were glued to the spot where the explosion had no doubt blown a hole straight through as Sir Ruawn had promised, though one was not yet visible through the dust and smoke.

  The sounds of swords being drawn and battle stances taken – the clanking of metal on metal – met her ears as they regained their hearing.

  Natalya followed suit, drawing her weapons.

  They all watched tensely as the smoke cleared from the hole in the wall…

  CHAPTER 4

  Layna opened her mind to the power and scanned the palace. Something caught her mind’s eye and she zoned in on it. Someone was spying on them! She quickly threw a detaining spell around the probe and redirected her attention at the area. It was a focus point for scrying, making it easier for the person to find the spot. And it was focused in…

  Phoenix’s nursery!

  Layna hurried to her daughter’s room and scooped the child into her arms. Amelia looked at her worriedly.

  “Is everything all right?” she stood quickly and scurried over to Layna’s side.

  “I just found evidence of someone scrying in here,” she told her, her eyes inspecting the room.

  “What?” Amelia exclaimed in alarm, her gaze flying to the air around her.

  Layna closed her eyes to give her full attention over to the power, watching the flowing magic swirl around the room. It seemed to be drawn to a particular area, where a concentration of magic was spiraling around. There was something magical there.

  She opened her eyes and moved to the spot. Rummaging around in the box of toys, she brought out the object. She held it up for Amelia to see.

  “Where did this come from?” she demanded.

  Amelia scrunched up her face in thought, then comprehension dawned on her. Her expression turned to one of guilt. “Phoenix had it around her neck when she was rescued by Natalya and Hunter. I just assumed that one of them had given her a trinket. I didn’t even think…” she hung her head and Layna’s anger evaporated.

  “It’s not your fault,” she assured the woman, taking the offending object and examining it carefully. Between the baby returning, her and Gryffon waking, and Telvani’s escape, she could hardly blame anyone for not thinking to search the child. Whoever had been spying had withdrawn, so it was impossible for Layna to confirm that this was the object they had been using to find the focus of their scrying, but it definitely was magical. And it definitely hadn’t come from anyone here, the ‘taste’ of the spell was unlike any she knew.

  She re-warded Phoenix with another layer of shielding and handed her to Amelia. �
�Keep an extra close eye on her while I sort this out, would you please?”

  Amelia nodded and clung to the baby. Layna swept out of the room with the necklace, already strengthening the hold she had over its magic now that she knew where it was coming from, and blocking anyone from using it to spy on what she was up to.

  She carried it to the room which had been cleared out for magic use, shielded from the outside so that spells gone awry would not damage the neighboring rooms. She entertained the thought of sending for Gryffon, but he was in the middle of a meeting with Aria, discussing details of a possible merger, and interrupting them would only bring up questions as to what was so urgent.

  Instead, she set the necklace on the table and sat down heavily in front of it. She stared at it and willed it to reveal its secrets to her. How it had escaped their notice for this long was appalling, given all they had gone through and the precautions which had been taken to prevent such things from occurring.

  As she unwound the intricacies of the spell, she felt a little better. It was one of the most complicated enchantments she had ever seen and it took her hours to unravel it all. It was unlike any scrying tool she had ever seen. It seemed to be dampening magic, not amplifying it. No matter, however, she was going to undo it regardless. She was covered in sweat and breathing hard by the time she got it completely undone, but she was still no closer to figuring out who had sent it. Not that she needed magic to guess that it was either one of Telvani’s people, or – the more likely choice given the unfamiliar magic that was used – the tribe.

  So the tribe wasn’t done with them yet. They had suspected as much, though Layna had fervently wished that they would have given up. Their attempts to find the tribe to confront them had all fallen short, even with her and Gryffon’s impressive combined power. There seemed to be some sort of enchantment on their forest grove that prevented people from finding it. Likely it was one that recognized only those who had been there before or those who were led in. So far, they hadn’t come up with any way to get past such an enchantment. She had wanted Natalya to go back with a group of Knights in hopes that her having been there before could find it for them, but she could not ask her to do that until her sister was found. Since things had seemed quiet, she and Gryffon had decided to wait until Hunter returned and beg his assistance instead. But his communications had suddenly stopped. It was frustrating.

  Layna had to admire the tribe’s creativity, however, and though she was angry at their actions, she could not help but feel sorry for them. Knowing that they were the mages who had been driven out by the Dark King’s horror, it was easy to see how they may have become bitter.

  She jumped as someone touched her arm, and was surprised to see Gryffon standing above her when she looked up.

  “Gryffon,” she murmured, “What time is it?”

  “Time for you to stop whatever it is you’re doing in here and come to bed with me.”

  She sighed. “I have some more bad news I’m afraid.”

  “Bad news right before bed?” Gryffon moaned, “Do we have to do this now?”

  “I can’t sleep unless we talk about it,” she persisted.

  “And I can’t sleep if we do,” he complained.

  She pouted at him.

  He sighed. “All right, all right,” he gave in, throwing up his arms in surrender, “you win. I have some news for you as well. Out with it.”

  “I felt someone scrying in the nursery today,” she informed him. “And when I went to investigate, I found a necklace that had some sort of elaborate spell on it in Phoenix’s toy-box.”

  “What?!” he glared around at no one in particular. “Is Phoenix okay?” He started moving towards the door, as if to check on her.

  “She’s fine,” Layna put a restraining hand on his arm. “I’m sure Amelia has her asleep already.” She paused guiltily. “I had meant to stop early enough to tuck her in, but got caught up with the necklace.”

  “Were you able to break the enchantment on it?”

  “I was,” Layna confirmed, “but there was something odd about it. Not like anything I’ve ever encountered as an object of scrying.”

  “Maybe it was nothing then,” Gryffon suggested.

  “No,” she disagreed, “Someone was definitely scrying, I just didn’t understand it. This whole thing with the tribe is so frustrating! I feel as though we cannot fight them when we have no idea what we are up against or even a face to put with who we are up against. And with all the distrust in the palace, trying to weed out Telvani’s supporters…” She was on a roll now. “And the Council not being able to help with the daily maintenance, I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to do this, Gryffon!”

  Gryffon positioned himself behind her and massaged her shoulders. “Did you add wards to Phoenix to account for the scrying person’s aura?”

  “Of course. And I had more mages assigned to watch her around the clock.”

  “Then you have done all we can about that matter and must not let worrying about it distract us from other matters that need to be addressed.”

  His hands were working magic on her muscles, kneading away her stress and fatigue, and she leaned back into them. Warmth seemed to spread out from his fingertips wherever he touched, melting her body behind them.

  “And what bad news did you have for me?” she asked, turning to face him.

  His hands ran down the length of her, lighting fires in their path. “My news,” he whispered in her ear seductively, “Can wait until tomorrow.”

  His hands were all over her now, distracting her over-worked mind from focusing on the problems she should be thinking about. She tried to squirm out of his embrace, to get back to the serious discussion they needed to have, but it was too late, she was already caught up in his seduction. He opened himself to the power and she met him body and soul, feeling the intense rush of confidence and power that their combined talent inspired. She let herself be swept up in the moment, allowing herself to enjoy the bliss that only Gryffon could awaken within her.

  All the problems would still be there tomorrow…

  *

  The smoke cleared around the large hole that had been blasted in the castle’s otherwise formidable wall, and Natalya waited anxiously with the Knights for something to emerge. When nothing did for several long moments, Sir Ruawn approached the opening carefully. Looking around, he gestured for the awaiting Knights to advance.

  Natalya and the Knights entered the courtyard, strangely unmolested, and Sir Ruawn waved his men to spread out. They flanked them on both sides, inching their way along the side walls, alert for danger. Still nothing popped out at them, there was no alarmed shouting at their entrance, and no one made an appearance.

  Natalya’s nervousness increased. Sir Ruawn had prepared her for an attack, but the ghostly quiet was unnerving. Three Knights closed in around her, holding their shields up in a protective triangle, and Natalya’s eyes roamed the towers for signs of movement.

  They entered the main hall and she sucked in her breath. The long table was completely overturned, a feat that must have taken some doing, and debris littered the ground. Several tapestries had been ripped from the walls and were now sprawled out across the ground.

  Natalya and the Knights spread out and searched the room. Natalya edged her way along the far right-hand wall. She held two dirks out in front of her that Sir Ruawn had insisted she train with. Jeremy had volunteered for the job and the two of them had been working tirelessly to prepare her to defend herself should the need arise. In the beginning, Sir Ruawn had tried to convince her to stay behind and let the Knights do the dangerous job of actually searching, but Natalya was not about to stand around waiting for someone else to find her sister. He had quickly learned that she could not be dissuaded, so had changed his tactics to keep her protected the best he could instead in compromise.

  She thought she saw a flash of motion flit by the doorway, reflected in the blade, but when she looked, there was nothing there. She ste
pped carefully around a shattered bowl, the pottery left strewn over the floor, its contents dried and unrecognizable, covered in flies. Her eyes darted back up to her surroundings.

  The castle itself was huge, though the decoration was strangely disturbing. Lord Farthen had a reputation for being very under-handed and rather peculiar. He had controlled a monopoly on certain trade goods which was suspected to have been obtained, and maintained, through illegal and violent methods. He also had been arrested for being extremely involved in blood-magic, having been a part of the Order and in charge of their bloodbeast experiments.

  If they had moved from creating vicious magical beasts out of dogs and cats into using these practices on humans, it would explain the appearance of Lord Telvani in his current state. Though why he would have used such practices on himself was still a mystery.

  The Knights in each section of the main hall yelled to Sir Ruawn that everything was clear, and he waved them all forward. Natalya followed her three Knights towards the nearest doorway. The first put his back to the wall and held his sword out in front of him at the ready, and then whipped into the hallway. He twisted around, searching for signs of trouble, then nodded to the rest of them to follow.

  Natalya peered around uneasily. Here there was more evidence of a struggle, but as of yet, still no people. Or monsters. One of the Knights in front of her paused and knelt, and Natalya shifted to see past his bulk to identify what he was looking at. There was a dried stain on the stone floor, a stain that Natalya was all too familiar with after visiting the remains of her town. It was blood. It appeared to have been largely spilt in the center of the hallway, but it smudged outwards as though the person had been dragged off.

  Natalya caught the eye of one of the Knights watching her. She hardened her face, determined not to let the nausea overtake her. He dropped his eyes back to the blood. The first man stood and made sure he had the attention of each of them, before indicating that they were going to follow the blood, and to stay alert.