Crowned (Beholder #4)(25)
Three temples.
“Fine,” sighed the younger man. “We’ll leave.”
It seemed to take an eternity for them to march down the tower stairs. A low murmur of voices sounded from outside. I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but I recognized Kade’s voice in the mix. Next there came one of the most beautiful sounds I’d ever heard.
Three short whistles.
Kade was giving the code to retreat. They were all leaving the tower grounds. Jicho whispered to me from under the floorboards. “Should we get out Elea? This dust itches my nose.”
“Not yet, Jicho. Let’s give it a few minutes.”
“This is the part I saw in my visions, Elea.” Jicho’s happy, sing-song voice carried under the floorboards. “Once they’re gone, I’ll lead us on our very own adventure.”
Jicho was so excited I couldn’t help but chuckle. “And how will you take me there?” No sooner did the question leave my mouth, than I knew the answer. “This is why you’ve been helping Amelia with the boat, isn’t it? We’re escaping on the river.”
“Of course,” said Jicho. “I’ve seen this coming for ages.”
“I’m glad one of us did.” Because if anyone had told me yesterday that I’d be hiding in the subfloor of one of Rowan’s towers, I’d have said they were crazy.
Instead, it seemed like the world had gone mad.
Chapter Twelve
After the palace mages left, Jicho and I waited under the floorboards. Around me, thin shafts of moonlight broke through the wooden seams above my head. My thoughts kept returning to Rowan.
My miserable mate. When I last saw him, his green eyes had brimmed with pain. What a weight of loneliness he now seemed to carry.
I’ll be back with you soon, my love.
After a while, the silence became deafening. Even the distant rumble of voices from the festival had died out.
“We can get up now,” I said.
“That took forever,” called Jicho.
Setting my hands flat against the boards above my head, I pushed until the wood flipped open. Standing up, I found my black Necromancer robes were now covered in a thin sheen of dust and dead bugs. I hadn’t noticed the insects before. Thanks to my mage training, a single thought appeared in my mind.
Insect husks. What a nice source of death magick.
Then, I remembered that I couldn’t cast any spells right now. The trickster gods Mlinzi and Walinzi had stolen every memory of an incantation.
Frustration tightened up my back. I was really starting to hate those two.
Leaning against the wall, I brushed the dirt off my robes, and contemplated my sorry state. How could I possibly find the Sword of Theodora without using magick? I straightened my stance and firmed up my determination.
Possible or not, there was no choice but to move forward.
I simply had to recall how to cast spells. A sigh escaped my lips. More importantly, Rowan needed to remember me. Soon. That left only one option.
Find Nan and the Sword.
I turned to Jicho. “I need to find my friend.”
“Nan?”
“Yes. Nan has part of the Sword of Theodora. You said you had a vision of where she was?”
Jicho wiped at his face, which only served to make the dust at his cheeks turn darker. “I know where Nan is, and I’ll take you to her.”
I opened my mouth, ready to give another speech about how all my quests tend to turn rather bloody and disgusting. But we’d covered this before and Jicho was right. Viktor wiping out many worlds was reason enough to take some risks.
I gestured toward the door. “In that case, lead on.”
“Yes, fair death maiden.” Jicho puffed out his chest as he marched toward the door. He couldn’t be prouder about helping me on a real adventure.
I could only hope he wouldn’t one day regret it.
Chapter Thirteen
When Jicho and I stepped outside, the landscape was absolutely deserted. No more guards or mages lurked in the shadows. Even the partygoers had vanished. This was how Caster parties always went. Once the king left, everyone fell into a drunken stupor.
Perfect.
Jicho and I left the tower and snuck past the nearby village. With every step, we were careful to stay behind trees and in secluded alleys. In truth, there wasn’t much to hide from. Most of the Casters were drunk, asleep, or both. Jicho indicated the path we should take with slight gestures. Beyond that, he refused to tell me where we were going.
Most likely, he thought that if I knew the destination, I’d still try to find Nan on my own.
And yes, he was probably right.
Soon Jicho and I were racing along the edge of one the tributaries that connected to the main river. Moonlight glinted off the still water. The village was now far behind us. Here only a few ferns and stubby trees lined the water’s edge.
Still no sign of any people. Excellent.
After a short run, we reached a small construction by the riverside. The spot consisted of a stack of large wooden boxes on the shore. Beside them, a thin wooden plank jutted out over the dark water. And at the end of that thin walkway, there docked the strangest boat I had ever seen.
Not that I’d seen many water vessels, mind you, but I’d visited a few. Tristan, my one-time friend who’d turned out to be a godling, had told me he was a merchant. What he really was, I may never know. Even so, I’d visited Tristan’s ship from time to time. It was a stocky, wooden affair that bristled with sails and ropes. The moment I’d stepped on board, I’d instantly felt seasick.