The Blood Forest (The Tree of Ages Series Book 3) Read online

  Oighear turned her lilac gaze to him and smiled, as if challenging him.

  He would do his best to not disappoint.

  “YOU ARE SUCH A FOOL!” Anna shouted over the thundering of their horse’s hooves.

  “Tell me something I’m not already aware of!” Kai shouted back.

  Having caught up to Sativola, for a day and a night they had done as Móirne bade them, resting little while taking the most direct route toward Garenoch. Then, during one of their short rests, Anna had a vision. She’d woken with a start and urged them onto their horses.

  Just as they departed, several cloaked figures came into view on horseback. They chased them now, on the final stretch toward Garenoch, though Kai feared they would not make it.

  “You may be glad to die for her!” Anna shouted back. “But I am not!” She kicked her heels repeatedly against her horse’s sides, but the animal clearly could not go any faster. As it was, their mounts were already frothing at the mouth from exhaustion, especially Sativola’s from the extra weight of his massive rider.

  “They’re going to catch us!” Sativola shouted. “We should turn and fight.”

  “If we fight, we die!” Anna shouted back.

  They could see Garenoch in the distance. If only they could reach it, they would be safe, at least, according to Móirne. Some of the townsfolk had come out of their homes to behold the commotion. Kai’s eyes squinted, then widened in surprise, recognizing a shock of blonde curls.

  “Is that Ealasaid?” he shouted, shocked.

  Anna didn’t answer, too intent on the Cavari, now just a few paces behind them. Kai darted his attention away from their pursuers and back to where he’d seen Ealasaid, only to find a tall, black clad figure had herded her behind a building from the sight of the townsfolk.

  Ealasaid raised her arms, and lightning crackled right behind Kai’s mount, nearly throwing him from his seat. The horses of the Cavari shrieked, tossing a few of their riders. Kai glanced over his shoulder as lightning struck again, hitting a few of the Cavari directly.

  The townsfolk in the distance were screaming in panic. Kai’s horse began to slow, unable to go on any longer. He looked over his shoulder again and nearly toppled from his mount.

  The Cavari were gone.

  Badly shaken and hardly believing their eyes, Kai, Anna, and Sativola continued trotting forward. The townsfolk watched them in terror, as if they were questioning their own eyes as well. Kai began to wonder if they would even be allowed into the burgh, but slowly the crowd dissipated. Avoiding the remaining townsfolk’s questioning gazes, they closed the final distance between them.

  Kai had barely dismounted when Ealasaid sprinted toward them, practically knocking him to the ground with a hug. He patted her back, holding onto his reins with his free hand, and let out a shaky laugh. “I must say, I’m pleased to see you too.”

  “Who were those riders?” she asked breathily, pulling away. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when they simply disappeared. It was like I blinked, then they just weren’t there anymore.”

  Kai glanced warily about as Anna and Sativola dismounted and joined them, followed by Maarav, approaching from the cover of the nearby buildings.

  “It’s a very long tale,” Kai explained, “one I’d rather tell from the relative safety of an inn.”

  “That is, if the townsfolk don’t run us off for being in the proximity of magic,” Sativola added.

  “Oh they won’t,” Ealasaid said happily. “We have much to share with you too.”

  With his horse’s reins in hand, Kai, Anna, and Sativola followed Ealasaid down the dirt road leading into the burgh. A few townsfolk remained outside their homes, watching the newcomers curiously, but to Kai’s surprise, no one accused them of Faie mischief, nor did anyone try to chase them off.

  He caught up to Ealasaid’s side where she walked beside Maarav. “Am I to understand that the people here do not fear magic?”

  “Quite the opposite,” Ealasaid replied. “The Alderman has welcomed magic users to protect the burgh. Although,” she rolled her eyes at Maarav, “someone demands I keep my skills hidden.”

  Maarav rolled his eyes back. “You’ll thank me for it later.”

  Kai observed the exchange curiously. He had definitely not forgotten the encounter with the assassins and their relation to Maarav, but he was also not going to turn down the friends who’d just saved his hide.

  “We have a room at the inn,” Ealasaid explained. “You can stable your horses there, and then tell us where the others are.”

  “Well that’s a simple answer,” Anna cut in. “We don’t know.”

  “What?” Ealasaid gasped, suddenly halting.

  Anna smirked and continued walking. Soon Ealasaid caught up, eager for an explanation.

  Kai sighed and caught up himself. “Just know you were lucky to part from us when you did,” he muttered, leaning close to Ealasaid’s shoulder to prevent eavesdropping. “We ran afoul of Aos Sí, a Faie Queen, and now even more frightening pursuers are on our trail.”

  Anna snorted. “The latter part is thanks to Kai.” She glared at him.

  He scowled. “You would have done the same for me.”

  She laughed. “If you say so. Now let’s find some fine wine, and agree to never leave civilization again.”

  “I’m with ye on that one,” Sativola agreed.

  Kai gripped the locket beneath his shirt with his free hand, wishing he could agree with them. Would the Cavari still wait outside of Garenoch now that they’d seen he wasn’t actually Finn, but a man with her blood, wearing her locket? They’d pursued them, sure, but now that they were within the town, would the Cavari not set their sights back on Finn?

  The scent of baking bread hit him, making his stomach growl, but he feared he could not enjoy it. He couldn’t let those fearsome riders seek out Finn instead. He needed a new plan.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Bedelia was not sure how much longer her legs would carry her. The heavy chains wrapped around her upper body, securing her arms, had fatigued her more than her injuries and restless nights spent in the cell with Iseult. They at least had left the deeper snow behind, though the ground was still icy. Around them lay numerous corpses, their frozen blood staining the ground in slick pools.

  “An Fiach,” Iseult muttered, his shoulder close to Bedelia’s.

  She nodded. She’d recognize the uniforms anywhere. Were these the same men from Port Ainfean, the ones who pursued Finn and Kai? Given their location, it would make sense, especially since Oighear now possessed Naoki. These men likely captured her when she protected Finn’s escape from the port town.

  Their Aos Sí minders, on horseback while Bedelia and Iseult walked, cleared their throats in warning. Bedelia instantly moved forward, closer to the corpses, not wanting to incite another lashing. Her back was still damp with blood from the last. She looked down at the dead men’s faces, most frozen in horror, or with blank open stares, their eyes iced over. She pitied them. Perhaps in some ways they’d been her enemies, but no one deserved to die in a battle they had no chance of winning. These men had been soldiers, and they’d been slaughtered like defenseless lambs.

  Iseult reached her side once more, putting some distance between themselves and their captors. Oighear had dismounted with Naoki’s leather cord in hand to let the little dragon sniff around. She’d layered a fluffy white fur cloak over her shimmering dress, though she didn’t seem to truly feel the cold created by her own magic.

  Bedelia turned her gaze away from Oighear and frowned down at the nearest corpse, its dark brown uniform soaked through with blood. “These are the men who attempted to delay us in Port Ainfean,” she suggested, wanting to make sure Iseult had drawn the same conclusions as she. “That’s why they had Naoki.”

  He nodded, observing their surroundings rather than the corpses.

  “But doesn’t that mean Naoki was leading them to Oighear’s compound?” Bedelia whispered. “If she was following Finn’s sc
ent, that’s where she’d go. So we’ll just be backtracking.”

  “These men are far west of our previous trail,” he muttered. He gestured to the frozen hoof prints in the mud, several paces behind where the battle started. “If they continued on in the direction they were heading, they would have missed the compound entirely.”

  “I don’t understand then,” she whispered. “Were they not tracking Finn after all?”

  She watched his expression as he stared coldly down at a corpse. Dried blood formed a messy pattern down his hairline, and she knew there was more on his back. She wasn’t the only one who’d sustained beatings and lashes.

  Iseult glanced back at their minders, then answered, “I believe the dragon tracks Finn by her magic, not her scent. They were likely heading toward the compound, but changed course when Finn escaped.”

  “Precisely,” Oighear agreed, suddenly appearing behind them.

  Bedelia nearly jumped out of her skin. Iseult did not. Instead, he turned his cool gaze to the Faie Queen.

  Bedelia tried to quiet her breathing. Hadn’t Oighear just been several paces away, over by the next group of corpses? She internally scolded herself. One would think after all her time with Keiren, she’d be used to magic. She turned to glare at Oighear, but the woman’s eyes were all for Iseult.

  “You don’t seem to regret speaking your suspicions near me,” Oighear commented. “That means you knew I’d already figured it out?” She raised her colorless brow.

  Iseult nodded once, making Bedelia feel like a fool for not figuring things out as quickly.

  “You would not return to this place for Naoki to find Finn’s scent trail,” he explained. “She would then only lead us back from whence we came. You knew Naoki had been tracking Finn’s magic, not her scent. She’d last sensed her from this location, leading these men here, so it’s a sensible area to begin anew.”

  Oighear reached down and stroked Naoki’s bony head. “Dragons can sense magic better than any other creature, except unicorns, perhaps. Even a fledgling like our little friend can sense the magic of its familiar spirit across an entire ocean. This dragon has chosen the Cavari girl. We returned here because it is the border of my domain. Here ends my warding against foreign magic. It’s as good a place as any to begin her tracking.”

  Bedelia began to sweat despite the cold. If what Oighear said was true, as long as she had Naoki, she’d always be able to find Finn. With her and Iseult along, Naoki seemed comfortable, as if believing her friends would never cause Finn harm.

  Oighear smiled wickedly at Bedelia’s expression. “I suppose you now realize I have nearly won this game.”

  Bedelia glared at her. “Perhaps, but the next time you meet Finn, it will not be in a room warded against her magic.”

  Oighear snorted and gave Naoki’s tether a tug. “I am not afraid of a single Dair. An entire clan, perhaps, but one girl is no match for me. Now let us be off, we have much ground to cover.”

  She strode past them, tugging Naoki along, then mounted her gray dappled horse. From her perch, she cast a smug gaze upon Bedelia and Iseult as their keepers rode up behind them, prodding them forward.

  “We have to do something,” Bedelia whispered, leaning in toward Iseult’s shoulder.

  He did not meet her worried gaze, but answered with a slight nod, barely perceptible.

  She could only hope he had more ideas than she, because if left up to her, they’d likely both die from exhaustion long before Oighear found Finn.

  EALASAID COULD HARDLY BELIEVE her ears upon hearing Kai’s story. Here she’d thought she would be the one with all of the information to share, but the Alderman of a small burgh like Garenoch gathering magic forces was but a trifle compared to encounters with the Faie Queen.

  She took another sip of her hot tea, then pushed away her empty plate. They’d all had a hearty meal at their inn, an odd place called the Sheep’s Delight, while Kai told his tale. Anna had remained mostly silent throughout, while Sativola drank more whiskey than Ealasaid thought possible for a single man.

  “It’s odd being back here,” Anna muttered to Kai, staring down into her half empty mug of wine.

  “The place where it all began,” he mused. “Think what might have happened had Anders and Branwen not recognized Àed.”

  Anna snorted half-heartedly. “We’d likely be much better off. Not chased by the Faie and An Fiach. Speaking of An Fiach,” she continued, raising her gaze to Maarav and Ealasaid, “has there been any word of them this far south?”

  Ealasaid shook her head, wishing she had known the group from the start. As it was, she’d always be an outsider, unable to reminisce about the past. “Only from travelers coming from the North,” she explained. “The last we saw of them was in Badenmar.” She turned a quick glare to Maarav, still angry that he’d refused to help the townsfolk . . . not that she’d been able to do any better. “Most have not even heard of them in these parts,” she continued with a sigh. “These lands are still under the rule of the Gray City, or so I’m told, though most of the guard has withdrawn from the countryside, leaving the smaller burghs to fend for themselves.”

  “Hence the Alderman here welcoming magic users without drawing much notice,” Maarav added. “Though I imagine it won’t last for long.”

  Anna took a long swig of wine, then returned her mug to the table. “Yes, I imagine as soon as magic is used against the Alderman, all the magic users that have come to fight will be thrown to the dogs.”

  Maarav nudged her with his elbow. “I told you so.”

  She glared at him. She’d been arguing with him since Badenmar about her magic. What was the point of having special gifts if she did not use them to help people? “Forgive me for wishing to use my gifts for good,” she muttered.

  He grinned. “And protecting me isn’t any good?”

  Sativola burst into drunken laughter at that and she tried not to blush. She had become rather protective of him, though she wasn’t sure why. She knew full well that remaining by Maarav’s side was not the most noble choice, but if she didn’t, who would? Out of everyone, he was the one who’d remained by her side the most. What type of woman would she be if she didn’t return the favor?

  Anna sighed, not seeming to notice Ealasaid’s embarrassment. “Well, regardless of magical acceptance, we’re stuck here for the time being, thanks to Kai.”

  Suspicion twisting his features, Maarav drummed his fingers on the table. “Please explain to me again, why those dark riders will not come to find you within the burgh?”

  “That is simply what we were told,” Anna answered, “and it has fortunately proven to be true, at least thus far, seeing as we’re still alive.”

  Ealasaid nodded. She’d seen the riders disappear with her own eyes, and she highly doubted it had anything to do with her lightning. She pursed her lips, looking at Kai. “So at what point will you be able to leave the burgh then?”

  Kai shrugged. “The one who gave us this task simply said to get here, and to not leave.”

  Ealasaid noted Maarav’s expression as it once again turned suspicious. Neither Kai nor Anna had divulged who’d sent them on their near-death mission, and it was clear Sativola knew little more than he or Ealasaid. She supposed she could not throw stones in any case. It wasn’t like she’d been terribly forth coming with her own secrets all along.

  “And what about Finn?” she asked, genuinely worried about her friend. She still felt the sting of the moment they’d parted, and the shocked look on Finn’s face. “Why did you need to distract the riders from her? What task is she supposed to accomplish?”

  Anna and Kai met each other’s gazes for a brief moment, then Anna turned to Ealasaid and shook her head. “Please trust that you are better off not knowing. You do not want to be any more involved in this than necessary.”

  “Wise advice,” Maarav concluded, emptying his dram of whiskey then thunking the empty container on the table. He stood, then offered Ealasaid a hand up. “Now if you do not
mind, we have a task that needs tending.”

  Ealasaid let out a heavy sigh, her mind now turned toward their task. While she truly believed that Maarav cared for her, at least a hair, it didn’t stop him from taking advantage of her magic for his own gain, even if it meant risking both their skins on a near constant basis. All this, while cautioning her from helping people if it meant revealing herself.

  Saying their temporary goodbyes to Kai, Anna, and Sativola, who would be staying at the inn that evening, Ealasaid allowed Maarav to lead her outside.

  The sky was now dark, and she had to watch where she stepped on the rutted, muddy road, only sparsely illuminated by lantern light. Maarav removed a piece of parchment from his breeches pocket and looked it over, then pointed in the direction they were to go.

  “Are you sure this is a wise idea?” she whispered as they began to trot along down the dark street.

  “Now more than ever,” he replied, his green-gray eyes scanning the road ahead, looking for the next landmark.

  The directions they’d been given were confusing at best. If this was all a trap, she could only hope her lightning would save them.

  She bit her lip and continued jogging forward, remembering the old woman they had met earlier. The gray-haired woman, Grelka, had known of her powers even though she hadn’t used them in front of anyone in the burgh. Grelka had urged her to stop hiding, and to bring in a new era.

  It had sounded like crazy ranting to her, but Maarav had become instantly intrigued. He’d seemed to sense an opportunity. Grelka had handed her a piece of parchment with a time and a place, instructing her to show up if she hoped to change her fate.

  She lifted her skirts a little higher to avoid the mud as they jogged on, rounding several more corners, until finally coming to a halt. The directions stopped there . . . in a dead end. The narrow space in between buildings ended in a solid wall, blocking passage back to the main thoroughfare.