Drawing his second sword, Han took a fighting position between Lilette and Chen, one blade high, the other low. “I can’t let you kill her.”
He and Han moved forward at the same time, their blades quick. The fight looked more like a dance than a brawl, deadly and impossibly fast. But even untrained in swordsmanship as she was, Lilette could tell Chen was quicker—or perhaps just more determined to kill his brother.
Before she could shout a warning, an elite came at Han from behind and kicked his legs out from under him. He landed hard but automatically brought one sword up to block a blow to his head. Lilette let out a strangled cry that immediately transformed into a song.
Dirt and rocks exploded around Han as roots the size of her wrist shot out and snatched at arms and legs, pinning elite where they stood. Why didn’t the plants react like that before? There wasn’t time to ponder it. The elite were already fighting their way free of the vines. Lilette pushed to her feet just as a shout rang out behind her.
“Guardians to me!”
Lilette turned to see dozens of guardians running toward them. Geth charged toward Han, sword raised.
“Not him!” She launched herself between them, her gaze locked on Geth, daring him to harm Han.
He seemed to understand, for he redirected his charge. “Get back with the others!” He and the guardians slammed into Chen and the other elite.
Lilette started off, but turned back when Han didn’t follow her. “You have to come with me now.”
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his expression was dazed. Her focus shifted to a blur of motion. An elite had sneaked up behind Han.
“Behind you!” Before the words had fully left Lilette’s mouth, Han spun, his blades blocking a thrust and a swing. This time, there was no hesitation as he twisted the tangle of swords in a circle, his body twisting with them. His elbow came up fast, landing square in the elite’s nose.
As the man reeled back, Han ran toward Lilette. She fell in beside him, knowing he would be a target now just as much as she was. She led him to where Galon lay unconscious. Han didn’t even have to ask. He threw the smaller man over his shoulder and took off after her.
Chapter 17
“The monster of my story was as beautiful and calm as a sunrise.” ~Lilette, quoted in Jolin’s biography
Lilette headed toward the clearing, and only then did she notice the singing. She slowed to listen to the unfamiliar song of growing and tearing. Her eyes widened when she realized what the witches were doing. Guardians had replaced the elite in the protective circle around the witches. Those in front of Lilette slid into a fighting stance as she came closer.
Thankfully, Han knew better than to reciprocate the action. “He’s with me,” Lilette said quickly.
The guardian directly in front of her narrowed his gaze. “And who are you?”
“Lilette!” Jolin cried. She darted between guardians and enveloped her in an embrace that made her side throb with pain. Lilette hugged her friend back, not caring how much it hurt.
Jolin turned to the guards. “This is Lilette, Sash’s sister. She’s the reason we escaped.” Her gaze took in Han, and her smile faltered.
“He helped me escape,” Lilette explained. Immediately the guardians stood down, and Han left Galon in their care.
Jolin motioned for Lilette to follow her past the perimeter. “Come on, there’s someone you need to meet.”
Trotting to keep up with Jolin, Lilette didn’t let Han out of her sight. Jolin led them to the center of the singing witches and paused in front of a woman with white-blond hair that matched Lilette’s.
“Sash!” Jolin said. “I found Lilette.”
Sash whirled around and her gaze locked with Lilette’s. It was like a lodestone between them, so strong they both moved to each other’s arms, both of them crying.
Sash pulled back first, and Lilette couldn’t help but notice the blood on her hands. “There’s so much between us that needs to be said.” Sash took a deep breath as if steeling herself. “When we’re safe.”
“But what are you doing?” Lilette pointed to the ramparts.
“Making our escape.” Sash backed away. “Sing with us. We need all the help we can get.”
Listening hard to the song, Lilette began to sing. Sash nodded encouragingly. Suddenly, Lilette realized she’d abandoned Han to go to her sister. She panicked—someone might hurt him simply because he was Harshen.
To her relief he stood nearby watching her sing, his gaze unreadable. She approached him as she would a wounded animal, her movements slow and even. She took hold of his hand. He winced but didn’t let go.
The crowd parted for Geth as he strode toward them. He nodded to Sash. “They’re rallying at the palace, gathering elite back from the city to come against us in force. The gates are already closed against our escape.”
“I expected as much.” Sash pursed her lips and studied the green half-circle eating away chunks of the north ramparts. Crushed bits of brick rained down. “We’re almost there.”
Geth jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Han. “What about him. Isn’t he Chen’s brother?”
Lilette stepped between Han and Geth. “He saved my life—helped me when no one else would.”
Sash looked at Lilette and then Han. “Leave him be. For now.” She glanced around. “Where’s Leader Gyn?”
The guardian shook his head.
Sash frowned. “Very well. You are first leader now, Geth.”
The man gave a curt nod. “They’re coming!” someone shouted.
The witches turned as one. Taller than most of them, Lilette could see over heads and past shoulders. Elite soldiers rushed at them from the east. A few of the front runners reached the guardians, who shifted their defenses to block them.
“Stick to the ramparts,” Sash ordered. “Let the guardians take care of it.”
Han’s hand went for his sword, but he hesitated. Lilette wondered how many of them were his friends—men under his command.
“Will you fight?” Geth asked.
Han swallowed hard. “I’ll defend myself, Lilette, but I won’t kill them. I can’t.”
“Stay by her then—protect her,” Geth said as he ran toward the fight.
“We need the safety of the barrier,” one of the witches called out.
Sash studied the advance. “Form up! Wait for my mark.”
Another witch grabbed Sash’s arm. “We can’t wait! It has to go up now!”
She shoved her toward the circling witches. “Do as I say.”
Lilette glanced around, wondering what to do. Jolin pushed her into the circle with the others. “Sing—we need you!”
Following the others’ lead, Lilette straightened to her full height and sang with all her strength. After a moment of faltering, her voice moved seamlessly with theirs.
The elite broke through the guardians, and the fighting grew intense. More guardians around the perimeter ran to help.
At the sound of rushing, Lilette whirled around. A dozen elite were charging toward her. With a groan full of pain, Han pushed past her and slid to his knees under a wild swing, his swords snapping up and into an elite’s body. Han rolled to the side and rose in a crouch, his blades flicking out, hitting the unarmored throat of one of the elite. He gurgled as he fell.
Han was no longer simply defending. He was killing his men. For her. An ember seemed to ignite in Lilette’s chest, and her song changed. She wasn’t even sure of the words she used. But the men cried out in pain and dropped their smoking swords before retreating.
Han turned toward her, someone else’s blood running down his face. Around them, the witches sang again once, twice, three times. But for Lilette there was only Han, the pain she knew was there, buried under his stony exterior.
She didn’t say she was sorry. The words would have seemed hollow. Instead, she simply turned sideways, making space for him to come back into the circle. After glancing behind him once more, he did.
&
nbsp; A crack split the air. Through the plants, a fracture had appeared in the ramparts. More vines curled around rectangles of bricks, crushing them into rubble that tumbled down in little piles. Yellow dust billowed into Lilette’s face and coated her lungs, making her cough.
Sash marched in a circle in front of them. “Switch to pushing back the elite.” Her voice rose to a shout. “Guardians, on my mark!”
The witches’ songs shifted to stopping the elite. A wall of green rose up between elite and guardian, pushing the elite back.
“Guardians,” Sash called. “Inside the barrier!”
As soon as the last guardian was inside, the witches gripped hands and their song switched from pushing the elite back to forming the barrier. Without songs to hinder them, the elite surged forward.
“Now!” Sash cried.
Seconds before the charging elite would have hit them, there was a sound like a clap of thunder. The percussion pulsed around them, blasting a hole through the weakened section and knocking the elite to the ground.
The witch holding Lilette’s hand suddenly screamed. Lilette’s eyes widened in horror at the sword sticking out of the woman’s middle. Her eyes glazed over and she slowly toppled forward, revealing an elite behind her.
Lilette tensed to run, but the man was already dead. He slowly collapsed in two halves—the barrier had split him neatly in two.
A sob hitched in her throat, and the barrier flickered as if it would go out. The witch next to her stepped over the bodies and gripped her hand.
Lilette became aware of a voice in her head. Lilette! Lilette, look at me! With a start, she realized it was Sash. You must focus.
“How is this possible?” Lilette murmured, but Sash had already turned from her and issued a silent command that reverberated inside Lilette’s head.
A song took shape in Lilette’s mind. Somehow, she knew it because everyone else did—as if their minds were linked.
“That’s exactly what it is,” Jolin said beside her. “Now stop thinking so loud. It’s making it hard to concentrate.”
The witches sang. Belatedly, Lilette joined them. The air thickened before her sister shot into the sky.
“Retreat!” one of the Harshens cried. “Find shelter.”
As elite scrambled for cover, Sash climbed above the ramparts. With a change of song, the witches’ voices stirred up a vicious wind. Elite armed with bows toppled from the ramparts, their screams ending with a sudden silence.
Their next song twisted the wind down on the garden. It ripped trees from the ground, flinging them like sticks. Sash surveyed the damage, her mouth tight with something like indecision.
We have to bring down the city, said one of the witches in Lilette’s head. Others echoed her sentiment.
Sash held out her hand. I don’t know how, but Grove City has already done that. I won’t kill more innocent people than we already have.
The witches stopped singing. The barrier cracked and shattered into shimmering flecks that drifted like burning bits of light. Moments later, Sash touched down.
“Guardians, clear the way and cover the rear!” Geth called as he surged over the rubble toward the breach in the ramparts. Guardians moved to the front and back of the witches.
“Stay together and move!” Han followed them, one sword drawn as he watched for any elite coming up behind them.
Side by side with Jolin, Lilette scrambled over the rubble and through the shredded garden. After only a few minutes of running, her legs trembled and she gasped for breath. She was falling behind. “Just go without me,” she panted.
Growling in frustration, Han threw her over his shoulder. With his powerful strides, he quickly caught up with the others. Once they passed beneath the breach, he set Lilette down with her back against the ramparts. Sweat running down her face, she gasped for breath, relieved to have something solid between her and the elite.
“We need a barrier tree to block this up,” Sash called to those around her. “Surely someone managed to hide a seed?”
A woman stepped forward, swept aside a jumble of bricks, and shoved a seed into the earth. The witches around her began singing.
Oh barrier tree, I sing to thee,
Take up thy boughs and cover me.
In front of them, a green shoot burst out of the ground. Within moments, it was taller than the witch, with branches and leaves curling toward the blood-red sun.
Lilette watched as the tree’s boughs covered the sky. Within a few minutes it had gone from a seed to a tree as ancient as the rocks around the waterfall back home.
Their songs song turned dark and sinister.
Let no one pass.
Lilette gaped as the tree moved. Not shifting with the wind, but reaching to snatch an elite by the waist and hurl him back the way he’d come. The tree reached down for more elite, who hacked at it with their swords as they screamed in terror.
“Geth,” Han called, “you have trouble.”
Lilette followed his pointing finger. The palace compound was built on a rise. Below them, weaving through the webbed streets of the city, were pockets of imperial soldiers—all marching toward them from the northwest.
Leader Geth glanced about, as if searching for some kind of escape. “We can’t cut through that.” He pointed along the ramparts. “The only other way is to the east.”
Lilette groaned as Han pulled her to her feet. At least she’d caught her breath enough to keep up with the others as they dashed parallel to the ramparts. After only a few dozen steps, she ran into the back of the witch in front of her. The whole group had slammed to a halt.
Wiping sweat from her temples, she stood on her tiptoes and found the way blocked by another group of elite. Smoke billowed around Lilette. The tree was on fire. Though it continued to grab soldiers and throw them back, its branches were breaking off, and burning leaves twirled on the air currents.
Through the smoke and fire, Chen appeared at the apex of his elite. The witches were trapped.
Chapter 18
The poisoning left Lilette breathless and weak whenever she exerted herself. I could never bring myself to tell her it was a malady she would live with the rest of her life. ~Jolin
The witches packed together under the late-afternoon sky, guardians surrounding them.
“Keepers, there need be no more death. Surrender!” Chen said.
Lilette promptly ducked behind another witch. Her hand found the phoenix comb, and she squeezed it for reassurance.
Sash met Chen’s gaze. “Give me a moment to confer with my advisors.”
“One minute. No more.”
“Keeper Sash, your orders?” Geth asked.
She met Lilette’s gaze, tears glazing her eyes. “We don’t have our seeds, our potions.” It was almost like an apology.
“You can’t surrender,” Lilette said softly. “He’ll make you all concubines, and probably kill all the guardians.” And her.
“You don’t understand.” Sash took a deep breath. “Our songs won’t be strong enough to fight them without a circle.”
“But we can’t hold a circle forever,” Jolin said. “Three days at most.”
Sash smiled sadly. “I know.”
Horror washed through Lilette. “No! You can’t!”
“This was my expedition. My responsibility.” Sash took a deep breath. “Lilette, I’m going to need you to take my place as point.”
Lilette shook her head. “I don’t know how.”
“Doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’ll get them out.”
“But I just found you,” Lilette whispered. Sash drew her in for a hug.
“Keepers!” Chen barked. “What is your answer?”
Sash squeezed Lilette tight. “When you arrive in Grove City, Merlay will find you. Trust her and no other.”
Sash pulled back and spoke just loudly enough to be heard by the thirty or so witches around them. “I need volunteers to stay behind and create a circle.”
“I don’t understand
what’s happening,” Han whispered.
Jolin blew out a breath. “Those in the circle will stay and fight, while the rest of us try to escape. And I can’t be one of the ones to stay.”
“Why?” Lilette asked quietly.
Jolin shook her head. “It’ll be a small circle—they need the strongest singers to make it work.”
Lilette gasped. “She chose me as point so I couldn’t stay behind.” Her sister was just as brilliant a tactician as Chen.
Gray head bent, one woman stepped forward. As she moved, she took the hand of another. The two locked gazes, a lifetime of memories passing between them. Both moved forward at the same moment.
Lilette turned at a flurry of movement off to the side. A girl wrapped her arms around one of the older women. “No, Grandma, don’t,” she begged.
The older woman hugged her fiercely. “Just don’t—” She shuddered and took a calming breath. “Just don’t waste it.” Another keeper pulled the young girl away.
Sash was crying hard now. “It’s not enough.”
“Keepers, what is your answer?” Chen asked again, his patience obviously gone.
“There aren’t enough.” Sash wiped her cheeks. “You older women—those of you who are injured—you won’t be able to run. This way if you die, you’ll be dying for something.” Four of the younger keepers joined them.
Sash gave a shaky smile. “Does anyone have any water? We’ll be able to last longer with it.” A few water skins were passed forward.
“Thank you, your sacrifice—” Sash began.
“They’re forming a circle! Charge!” Chen cried.
“Form up!” Sash ordered. “We’ll clear the courtyard and guard your backs. Creators’ mercy, I hope you make it.”
The women curled into a circle, eight women strong. “Get down,” Sash said.
All the witches and guardians around the circle dropped, Lilette and Han half a beat behind. The other witches joined hands, their song shooting forth just as the elite surged forward.
The barrier again rose into the sky. A shock wave rippled out from the witches, whipping the flames from the dying tree and flinging the brittle, burning branches into the nearby elite.