An Empire of Stones

  We made it to the stables. I exhaled some of the tension that had been building up in me since finding Ruby, and went to fetch us some bull-horses.

  I ran straight into a guard.

  “Ashbik.” He nodded in greeting. “How is the queen?”

  “She’s recovering well,” I bluffed.

  “Those trials.” He shook his head. “Too dangerous.”

  “I completely agree. Which is, incidentally, why I’m here—I’m going to speak with the Impartial Ministers. See if these trials can’t be cut short.”

  “Good. Do you need transport?”

  “For two,” I replied as firmly as I could. “I am going to ask one of the Impartial Ministers to return with me—confront him with Queen Trina’s wounds.”

  The guard nodded enthusiastically.

  “I like your thinking! Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

  “Just the bull-horses,” I replied.

  Soon I was walking two creatures out of the stables while the guard saluted me, pride in his eyes.

  I waited till I was out of view, then had to circle back around to where Ruby and Julian were hiding by the trees.

  “Was everything okay?” Ruby asked with a worried frown.

  “Fine. We just need to be quick.”

  I put Ruby on her own bull-horse, while Julian rode with me. He was so frail that the creature didn’t appear to notice there was a human on its back. As a result, it balked and whinnied until I jumped on, just at the moment that Julian looked like he was going to go flying off.

  “Whoa there!” I calmed the creature, and then, with Ruby riding by my side, we headed off at a brisk trot in the direction of the main entrance.

  “STOP!”

  I glanced over my shoulder to see the guard who’d just provided me with the bull-horses. His face was now contorted with rage as he identified Ruby, and no doubt Julian as the human he’d probably had a hand in locking in the dungeon.

  “Ride!” I called out to Ruby, and we both started to gallop.

  Up ahead I could see more guards circling around the courtyard. Both groups would eventually meet in the middle, blocking the entrance.

  Thinking quickly, I grabbed Ruby’s hand, leaning toward her as the bull-horse galloped at full speed. Not wanting to, but knowing that I didn’t have a choice, I syphoned off her swiftly. As the horses reached the courtyard entrance, I created a barrier on either side of us—just wide enough to allow the horses to pass through.

  The guards hollered angrily, but we didn’t let up on our pace.

  Soon the hooves of the bull-horses were kicking up dust on the open road back to Hellswan. Ruby was safe, and she was with me. I glanced over at her and she grinned.

  I love you, shortie, I said to myself. And one day the whole world’s going to know it.

  Hazel

  I had tried to dissuade Tejus from coming with me to revisit the Viking graveyard, but he wouldn’t hear of it—and secretly I was glad that I wouldn’t have to face my brother alone. Rationally, I knew that Benedict couldn’t help what was happening to him and that during the day it was likely that Benedict would once again return to normal…but I couldn’t help the faint sense of unease that had been with me all morning, and the reluctance to face Benedict after last night—not one hundred percent sure about what I’d find.

  It made me feel like a horrific sister, and deeply ashamed.

  We had also brought along a group of five ministers. I hoped that they would be able to somehow unlock the door of the temple, but I wasn’t holding out much hope. The ministers’ ability to do anything other than whisper didn’t exactly fill me with confidence. Still, it was currently the only help we had available to us and I was willing to try anything.

  We were flying to the graveyard with the vultures. I had chosen to sit behind Tejus, careful to avoid his chest wounds. They were healing at a rapid pace, but from the occasional wince, and his still-dull pallor, I could tell that Tejus hadn’t fully recovered. In the first few moments of the flight, I’d tried to cling on by tightening my thighs on the bird’s body. Tejus had turned around with a scowl on his face, and then proceeded to take my hands and wrap them around his waist, holding them there tightly with one hand.

  There was so much I wanted to say to Tejus. I hadn’t forgotten the promise I’d made to myself last night; I wanted to tell him how I felt, and that I knew that whatever was holding him back, we could overcome it, move past it, whatever. And if he wasn’t convinced? Then at least I’d told him—I’d given it one last shot. Without that, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to move on or get over him. I figured Nevertide would haunt me enough without that hanging over me too.

  I rested my head against his back. Now wasn’t the time to talk—it would have to be after we spoke with my brother. I was content just to be in this moment: my body pressed against his, neither of us in any immediate danger and miles above both Hellswan castle and our destination—free, just for the moment.

  All too soon, the group of us landed in the graveyard. We made our way over to the temple, finding it locked with the hole still covered. I looked at Tejus.

  “Is he in there?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know if he’s…”

  “He seems like he’s himself,” Tejus replied, answering my unspoken question.

  “Okay.” I nodded, mentally preparing myself. “I need to get to the door.”

  We walked over to the natural land dip where the door to the entrance lay, and I leaned against it once again.

  “Benedict? It’s Hazel,” I called out.

  “Hazel?” His voice came from behind the door. It was weak and sounded confused. If the entity was gaining power, then it stood to reason that Benedict was finding it harder to shake the creature off. I’d have gone half-mad anyway, spending my days locked up in a creepy temple, with or without an entity habitually invading my mind.

  “I’m so sorry, Benedict,” I called to him.

  “I-It’s okay. I don’t think I was at the castle last night anyway…I didn’t come back with a stone. Was I there?”

  I looked at Tejus, who returned my gaze with a calm expression. It was up to me.

  “No,” I replied, “you weren’t there.”

  “Good.” He sighed.

  “Benedict,” I continued, “I’ve got some ministers here, and they’re going to have a look and see if they can open the door—is that okay?”

  “They won’t be able to. No one can get in or out. That’s the way he wants it.”

  “I know—but we need to try,” I pressed.

  I could practically hear his unenthusiastic shrug. Had it not felt so heart-breaking, it would have been comforting that I could still predict my brother’s mannerisms…when he was himself.

  “Okay,” he said.

  “I’ll come back and talk to you in a bit.”

  I stood aside, and the ministers gathered around the door. I walked back up the slope and joined Tejus as he watched them work.

  “What do you think about the stones?” I asked. “Why didn’t he return with any of them?”

  Tejus shook his head grimly.

  “I don’t know…it doesn’t really make much sense. I thought that perhaps there were stones kept in our living quarters, but why not just blow the door in? It should have been easy for him—it’s exactly what he did at Danto’s tower.”

  Our living quarters?

  I felt an intense heat creep up my neck, and tried to ignore what he’d just said. Obviously it was just a slip of the tongue, and besides, we had far more pressing matters on our hands…but.

  “What?” Tejus asked, looking at me in confusion.

  “Nothing,” I replied too quickly.

  He gave me a peculiar look, and I turned my attention to the ministers who were muttering and gesticulating around the door of the temple. It looked like they were performing some kind of ritual.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” I replied eventual
ly. “About why Benedict couldn’t get into my room. The frustration in his voice…all the pleading. It seemed like a lot of effort just to scare me or make me upset. There must have been some reason that he wanted to get in there.”

  “And why he couldn’t,” Tejus agreed.

  I thought about last night. If the entity was using Benedict to try to manipulate me, rather than just use brute force, then it meant he still didn’t have much power…but why not? He had full control of Benedict, and had syphoned the energy off at least half the castle so far.

  “Okay, we know that the stones are the key to unlocking him and giving him power,” I started, thinking out loud, “and so he needs those…but in that case, why did he even bother going to Danto’s tower in the first place? Why not just get Benedict to take all the stones from the passageway—that’s easiest for him, right? Why even go into the castle at all?”

  “It’s a pattern,” Tejus murmured. “He must need only certain stones—or stones removed in a particular order…and if so, then somewhere in my tower, there’s another lock…” He trailed off.

  “The stone is what gave him the power last time,” I added. “In Danto’s tower—the reason he could syphon off you so aggressively and knock us back. He must then lose power when he can’t get to a specific stone—which is why he couldn’t get into the room without my help.”

  Tejus nodded.

  “We need to find the next lock, and guard it. We could end all this before he rises to full power.”

  I was silent. I wasn’t sure it was going to be that simple. I felt there were still so many things we didn’t understand, like the role the Acolytes were playing in all this, why they had murdered Varga, and just how much Queen Trina knew about Benedict and the stones—and the entity.

  The ministers came over before I could question Tejus any further.

  “Your highness,” one of them muttered, “there is nothing we can do—it’s not a barrier that we understand. It is a powerful force that we can’t penetrate or disable. We wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

  A huge surprise, I thought uncharitably.

  “Keep trying—anything that you think might help,” Tejus commanded. “Consult the Impartial Ministers, do whatever it takes, but I want that door opened.”

  The minister bowed his head in acknowledgment, and returned to the door.

  Once he was gone, Tejus cleared his throat. “I need to return to the Fells. There’s a meeting to discuss the last trial. I need to be there,” he informed me.

  “Are you up for that?” I asked, privately thinking that he still didn’t look completely healed and would have been better off staying indoors—and far, far away from the Impartial Ministers and the trials.

  “Yes.”

  The reply was curt, and I smiled to myself. I didn’t think that Tejus would ever admit to being in any kind of pain, physical or otherwise. It made him impossible, but I knew a lot of men back in The Shade like that—my dad, grandfather and uncle included.

  “I’m going to stay here with the ministers and keep Benedict company,” I replied, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to talk him out of attending the meeting.

  “I’d rather you didn’t. It’s not safe, and there’s nothing more you can do for your brother right now.”

  “I disagree—I can keep him company. That’s what he needs right now. He’s all alone, Tejus. I can’t just leave him here,” I argued.

  “And I can’t focus if I think you’re in danger,” he retorted.

  I sighed.

  “Tejus, I’m always in danger. Here or at the castle—it never stops coming. Haven’t you noticed that already?”

  “I am all too aware of that, but here you’re right where the entity is going to be—and presumably the Acolytes use this place too. The ministers are next to useless; at least I know that the entity can’t reach you in my chambers.”

  “This isn’t up for discussion, Tejus—I’m sorry. I’m staying with my brother.”

  He scowled at me, clearly furious but for once trying to hold his tongue.

  “I’ll leave before nightfall,” I promised him.

  Tejus growled and then cursed under his breath. I appreciated how difficult this was for him—I knew that he needed to feel like he was protecting me at all times, and would have felt that he had failed dismally at that lately, but I also knew that my brother needed me.

  “You’d better,” he warned.

  Or what? I thought facetiously.

  “I will,” I replied instead, not wanting to enrage him further.

  “Lithan, Qentos!” he barked at the group of ministers, “We’re leaving. Praxus, make sure Hazel is home before nightfall. Hours before.”

  He stalked off, Lithan and Qentos stumbling over the uneven surfaces of the cove in their effort to keep up. I watched Tejus depart, and then weaved my way through the group of ministers around the door.

  I wanted to speak to my brother in the short time we had left.

  Tejus

  The meeting was over.

  All had long since departed, and I had dismissed Lithan and Qentos. I was left alone in the empty pavilion, the sunset staining the ivory white of its structure a deep red. I should have left hours ago, but I had a decision to make—one that left me feeling completely adrift from the carefully orchestrated plans I had envisioned for myself.

  There were three more trials left before the emperor would be announced.

  For the first time since they had begun, I was seriously questioning my ability to succeed.

  When the ghoul had taken a swipe at me, the feeling had been utterly soul-destroying. Not the pain of the wound, that was a mere scratch. It was as if the repugnant creature had left something inside of me—or taken something out. My insides felt utterly empty, as if its touch had sucked the life from me. My entire body hurt, and was plagued by an exhaustion that I couldn’t shake. Syphoning off Hazel had helped, but only temporarily.

  The Impartial Ministers, in their smug, self-satisfied way, had apologized for the trial and their part in it, but they would not slow down the process. It would all begin again tomorrow, and I could not fight—I had little mental energy left. Just controlling the vulture to the graveyard and then using True Sight to see Hazel’s brother had wiped me out. The ride here had been even harder.

  I didn’t understand it.

  The night of the ghouls, I could have sworn on my life that I’d seen Queen Trina Seraq attacked in much the same way, but nothing seemed to have been troubling her in the same way during the meeting—if anything, she seemed livelier than I had ever witnessed before. Perhaps I was wrong, and she hadn’t been injured—it had just been wishful thinking on my part.

  I thought about what my mother had said in the dream, and the way the entity had addressed me.

  False king.

  It was a label I did not like. Was this some higher power proving my inadequacy against those who were better suited to rule? Memenion and Hadalix were the only kings left. Memenion would do a good job—he was a righteous and honorable man, but I knew he didn’t want the position as some might. His kingdom had always remained so isolated and removed from the politics of Nevertide, would he truly have the ability to rule all the kingdoms? Hadalix I believed to be inadequate for the position—he lacked the courage and the foresight…which would then leave Queen Trina. A vicious and ruthless ruler, who would not be around long enough to enjoy the spoils of emperorship if I discovered that she was involved in Varga’s death.

  I had felt that the crown was mine for the taking.

  Yet my own dead mother had disagreed with me. What had she said? That there was a different path open to me…that I could follow my true destiny.

  I had a difficult time envisioning what that could possibly be. Though even Hazel had told me that I had a choice—that I could forge a different path for myself than the one I had already mapped out. Yet I had no idea if I even wanted to. I had no idea what such a thing might even look like…

&nbs
p; Don’t you?

  Hazel’s face, calm and clear, appeared in my consciousness.

  But she was out of my reach. She would never wish to stay here, to rule by my side as queen in a land that she detested, far removed from her family and friends—and I would never allow her to make that choice to become a sentry. Not when there was a chance that she would regret it forever, and come to loathe me. I could not stand it.

  With a sigh, I walked away from the pavilion. Pausing by the arch where my friend had breathed his last, I placed my hand on the cold stone in memory. What I wouldn’t give for his advice now—now, when no road looked clear to me, and I had impossible choices to make.

  Hazel

  He hadn’t returned.

  I paced up and down the living room, watching the sun sinking deeper and wondering where on earth he could be. I’d seen both Lithan and Qentos arrive by bird, but no Tejus. I’d gone down to find them, to ask where he was, but they had vanished completely, and so I’d ended up returning to my room, frustrated and worried. I had seen a few ministers in the hallways, but none of them knew where their king was, and dismissed me quickly—hurrying off in the opposite direction.

  I leaned against the window, trying to spot his bird approaching from the direction of the Fells. Eventually I saw something flying toward the castle, and hastily wiped away the condensation that I’d caused on the window. It was a vulture. And as it became larger, I could recognize the posture of Tejus, and sighed with relief. He was home.

  Wanting to meet him in the courtyard, I turned to leave the tower.

  I raced down the staircase and along the main corridor.

  “Hazel!”

  An achingly familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.

  Ruby?

  I spun around, and saw the familiar blonde hair and blue eyes of my friend. I started to run toward her, disbelieving and overjoyed at the same time. She hugged me, and I felt a lump form in the back of my throat.