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Chapter Twenty-Two

The muddy road stretched through mist, straight as an arrow and disappearing in the fog in both directions. High hedges lined the road. It was the closest this ordered steading came to forest, even this far from civilization. And they were far from civilization. The morning’s steady rain had eased off, but the threat of heavier weather was in the air.

Mahk winced as he shouldered his way through the hedge. He stood in the middle of the road, looking both ways before signaling to his friends. Rae came next, with La close behind. Estev stepped through last. The older mage was endlessly inconvenienced by the rough nature of their travel. He always looked like a high gentleman who just realized he’d stepped in dung, and was waiting for the smell to reach him. Once he was clear of the hedge, Estev stopped and plucked his cloak free of twigs. Rae shivered in the mist.

“This feels awfully . . . exposed,” Rae said.

“We don’t even know anyone is following us,” Mahk grumbled.

“If someone really did send a high mage to kill your parents, and then destroy all of Hammerwall Bastion just to flush you out, I can promise they’re still looking for you,” Estev said. “It just might take a while for them to catch up with us.”

“And you’re sure we’re safe taking a carriage?” Rae asked.

“As sure as I am about anything, young friend,” Estev said. “The carriage lines travel like clockwork. No pun intended.” He finished his grooming and tucked his hands into his belt, setting his feet and staring down the road. “All we have to do is wait for the next carriage. It shouldn’t be long now.”

“And they’ll stop?” La asked.

“As long as they don’t get startled by our looming friend,” Estev said, casting a long eye at Mahk. “I would suggest we tuck him into the hedge, but if they detect him, the driver might just shoot us all for good measure. Honest patrons never hide.”

“I don’t like this,” Mahk said.

“And I don’t like walking,” Estev countered. “So the matter is settled.”

Mahk’s grunt made it clear that the matter wasn’t settled. But the attack on the justicar camp had the siblings on edge. Every night Rae dreamed of the high mage’s eyes stalking them through the crowds. He didn’t sleep much.

It had taken two days for them to hike through the manicured forests of Anvilheim, two days spent flinching at every broken twig and jumping whenever they heard the burble of a stream or the rumble of distant thunder. Even if the fiendbinder was dead, Rae was convinced that something was following them. He could feel it, even if the others seemed oblivious.

“Here it is,” Estev said quite suddenly. The rest of them jumped to attention, but there was nothing to see. Eventually, Rae heard the grind of wheels on gravel, and the jangle of reins. “Spread out across the road. Hands where they can be seen. Try to look pleasant.”

Rae put on a stiff smile and kept his hands in the open, slightly away from his belt.

The carriage appeared in a swirl of mist and clattering stone. It was a lot closer than Rae expected, and coming fast. The driver was dressed in heavy wool, with a collar that nearly covered her face, and a tricorn hat pulled low to her nose. She didn’t flinch as Rae and the others came into view, but smoothly drew her flintlock and cocked the hammer. She’s going to run us down! Rae looked nervously at Estev, but the man didn’t move. The horse and carriage thundered closer. Rae was about to jump for cover just as the driver finally pulled hard on the reins. The team of two horses reared in their leads, and the hand brake on the carriage squealed and spit sparks, but the carriage stopped.

“Fulcrum stands, friend,” Estev said, as though he was greeting an old companion in the market square. “Thank Order you’ve come along.”

The driver didn’t answer. Her gray coat was immaculate, despite riding on the front of a carriage for who knew how long, and in what conditions. The silver buttons along the front and cuffs were as bright as stars. A single plait of white hair looped out from under her hat to hang across her shoulder. Though she didn’t point her flintlock at any of them, Rae had no doubt she could drop any of them who got too close.

“The girl has a knife,” she said after a few tense moments. They turned to look at La, who merely shrugged.

“Lalette, dear girl, if you could relieve the lady of her worry, it would be appreciated,” Estev said. La produced the blade, a thick infantryman’s dagger, and tossed it to the ground.

“And the two of you are spiritbinders. Part of the justicar’s northern march to reclaim Hammerwall?”

“No, no, we serve other masters, though the justicars have my blessings and my finest hope in their endeavor. My friends here are refugees from Hammerwall. I was in the area when the . . . incursion occurred. We are now fleeing south, as all right-thinking citizens must do in those circumstances,” Estev said. “For what I think are obvious reasons.”

The driver grunted. She looked from Estev to Rae, then back to Lalette. Mahk she ignored. “Crier at Alton Square said there was a demon. That straight?”

“Straight as Fulcrum,” Estev answered.

“That old tree died before my grandmother was born,” the driver countered, but seemed content with Estev’s response. “You’re looking for a ride?”

“Only as far as Aervelling, if you please,” Estev said. “And we have the coin to pay.”

“I should be in Aervelling by nightfall, though I have two stops along the way.” She gestured to the back of the carriage. “Ten silver for inside, five for the rumble.”

“For that amount of money, it should be an express,” Estev said. “I don’t know that I can brook—”

“Free to walk, then,” the driver said quickly. She snapped her reins. “Clear the road!”

“Fine, fine, Fulcrum bless your generosity, milady.” Estev dug into his coat and produced a neat stack of coins. They snapped together like magnets, though they only seemed to cling to one another. He peered at them. “Ten for inside and five for the rumble . . . um. Well.”

“I’ll take outside,” Mahk said. He crossed in front of the restless horses and went to the back of the carriage. The rear shocks groaned as he boarded. Estev raised his eyes to the siblings.

“Hell if I’m sitting in the rain, old man,” La answered the question he daren’t ask, as she retrieved her knife. Estev nodded and slid a collection of coins out of the stack. He tossed them to the driver, who pocketed them without looking.

“Aervelling by nightfall,” the driver said. “Assuming you don’t delay me much longer. We are running late.”

They piled into the carriage. Rae checked to see that Mahk was comfortable before they hurried off. Mahk was bundled into his stolen cloak, eyes locked on the road behind them. As Rae hurried back to the cabin, he noticed that the driver was watching him very closely, pistol still in hand. The corner of her collar had pulled back far enough that he got a glimpse of her face. To Rae’s surprise, the woman’s right eye appeared to be a miniature clock, set seamlessly into her flesh.

“Problem?” she asked. Rae realized he was staring.

“No, no. Thanks for picking us up,” he said, ducking his head as he climbed into the carriage.

As soon as they were seated, the driver snapped her whip and the whole carriage jerked forward.

Thankfully, there weren’t any other passengers. The inside of the carriage was warm and comfortable, aided by a narrow stove situated under the driver’s seat and radiating into the main cabin. Rae and his sister sat facing the rear of the carriage, while Estev settled in opposite them.

“So will we be safe in Aervelling?” Rae asked.

“Safer than we are on the road. Safer than we were in the wastelands,” Estev answered, shifting back and forth in his seat, trying to get comfortable. “I swear they make these benches stiffer every year. If I—”

“Safer than we were in the justicars camp?” La asked. “Surrounded by soldiers, with a lawbinder to protect us?”

Estev stopped and stared at her. “Apparently,” he said. “Now quit worrying and enjoy the ride. It’s costing enough to be a luxury cruise. We might as well pretend we’re traveling in comfort.”

“How is this getting us closer to finding our parents’ killer?” La asked sharply.

“The simple answer is that it’s not. Hopefully it’s getting us farther away,” Estev said, then held up a hand to cut off La’s protest. “The high mage back there, the one that turned into a demon. He’s your murderer. Do you think you can kill a demon that size?”

“Willing to try,” La growled.

“Such energy. Such pluck. But energy and pluck will get you killed,” Estev said. “If the high mage survived such a violent manifestation of his bound demon, then he’ll need a little time to recover. That’s probably the only reason he hasn’t run us down already. And the farther we are, the better.”

“Then we should be hunting him down. Trying to find him,” Rae said. “Not running away and hoping things blow over.”

“We can continue this conversation in Aervelling. A warm bed and warmer meal will make everything clear. Now, if you’ll pardon me, I need to sleep.” He settled back in his seat, folding his arms tight and closing his eyes. “I’ve been walking.”

Estev said “walking” the way most people would say “convicted of murder.” Rae shot his sister a look, then put his head against the wall of the carriage and tried to rest.

There was so much going through his mind. Could he trust Estev? Or the justicars? What about his father? What had Tren Kelthannis known about this sword, and the soul engraved in its core? Rae hugged the scroll case to his chest, feeling the weight of the sword bump against the interior. And why had he fled all the way to Hammerwall, just to hide this sword?

All Rae knew for certain was that the high mage had killed his parents, and all of Hammerwall Bastion, to get this sword.

That left so many questions unanswered. Who did the spiritblade belong to? Whose soul was inscribed in its depths? Could it be the high mage’s? No, they had seen him draw his spiritblade, back at the camp, that horrible crooked thing that nearly killed Caeris. Could a spiritbinder forge a new ’blade? What power did the ’blade have? What secrets did it hold? And what did it all have to do with the Heresy?

Questions and incomplete answers swirled through Rae’s head. He couldn’t possibly hope to answer them now. Maybe once they reached Aervelling. Maybe then.

Eventually, Rae settled into a deep and dreamless sleep, disturbed only by the clinging feeling that something was getting closer. Something dark, reaching directly into his soul. Even in his sleep, Rae could feel an anchor dragging behind him, a line that reached deep into the ether. He remembered the voice that spoke through him in the justicar’s camp, and warned of the erosion imp in the wilds. Something was speaking to him through the storm mote bound to his soul.

The question was, what was on the other side of that binding?


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