A small glimmer of light lit the trail ahead of us, distinctly looking like something Rilen conjured. It was enough to light the way and low enough to the ground not to attract attention.
The horses continued for about ten minutes when Rilen brought us up. He hopped off and motioned for us to do the same.
Once again, on the left, was a false patch of foliage, this one of fern and rhododendron. We led the horses in and tied them to a tree.
Another path led away from the horses, and the light once again hugged the ground and showed us the way.
“Can you tell me what’s going on?” I whispered.
Roran spoke quietly from behind. “We found a splinter group of the rebels in the city. They’re far more subtle than the one who tried to kidnap you at the dance.”
Master Dorian’s voice carried from behind Roran. “I have not been here yet myself, but the twins tell me this is a viper’s nest.”
“So that’s why the sword?”
“Your sword, yes,” Roran said. “We will only call ours if we need them. You don’t have enough power to do that, and no one has shown you. Best to have it on you.”
Yet another jab to my powerlessness.
I let it go. None of the three of them had scowled at me since we’d left the temple dorm. I took the trade-off.
In the distance, I could see the flicker of a campfire, and a few moments later, the crackle of wood and a lot of male laughter.
Rilen extinguished his light, and I knew we had to watch our step. Even though they were loud, we didn’t want to startle them.
Whoever they were.
Minutes later, we were crouched in the bushes around the clearing, just out of sight of the men around the fire. I studied the camp, and there was nothing unusual about it. It was just a camp of men meeting in the woods. They could have been hunting or hiking or searching for some supposed lost treasure.
They laughed and chatted, and two or three left the circle, heading away on a different path.
That’s when his voice cut the air.
“Well, gentlemen, as fun as this outing has been, I’m afraid I have to go back again.”
Elex.
The man with his back to us stood, and I recognized his coat.
What the hell was Elex doing out here?
“You managed how many days this time?” another asked.
“Three full days. Donovan’s timing that morning was perfect,” he said.
“How do you manage it?” one on the left chuckled. “I’m not encouraging you, but she is a gorgeous creature, and I would be inside that every waking minute.”
“It’s not easy,” Elex chuckled. “But why do you think I have brandy and the Vampire’s Draught? She thinks I keep it for night terrors.”
All the men around the fire chuckled.
I was shocked they hadn’t heard my heart breaking.
“You’ve really managed to keep from fucking her all this time?”
Elex’s head bobbed. “It hasn’t been easy. She’s a na?ve, sexy little thing with a pussy to die for. But the cause is greater and having her trapped like this is for a good cause.”
“She won’t find another cock to ride?”
He chuckled. “No. Too honest, too loyal. She didn’t even have a male in her life for the past forty years. She’s got high standards.”
“Sounds more like she has a tight cunt, not sharing like that.”
Grabbing a bag on the floor, Elex hiked it up on his shoulder. “She does have it on lockdown. But, gentlemen, I must return and make new excuses to her. I also have to find out how she stopped this last tremor.”
The four remaining men around the campfire made grunts of farewell and watched as Elex disappeared down the other path leading away from the clearing.
“Do you think he can keep this up?” The question came from a tall man on the other side.
“I think he can, as long as we keep him plied with that Vampire Draught.” The stocky man who answered poked the fire a bit. “I’m hoping he can detain her and keep her away from anything that might lend her power next time. It’s time for the S’Kir to fall and our vampire brethren to return.”
Rilen and Roran unfolded themselves from the bushes and stepped into the light on either side of the clearing.
I hadn’t even realized they’d moved.
The four men in the center yelped in surprise. Leaping up, they pulled swords from their waists and headed toward the brother they could see.
The two of them circled, leading the men around. They had wicked grins on their faces, and I could see magic swirling around them.
“Who are you?” one of the campers demanded, moving his sword to a strike position.
In perfect sync, they answered, “We are the Masters Rilen and Roran Wolf of the Temple of the North. You have threatened the lives and livelihood of the people of S’Kir. Your treachery will not go unpunished.”
“Fuck,” the tall man ground out.
“You have no weapons. You think your magic can beat us?” the stocky man asked.
Snapping their hands out to the sides, a brilliantly polished sword appeared for each of them. The magic bowed around them, and the swords flashed to a tinted color.
Both of them, while mostly white, carried a hint of red magic.
Anger.
“Your treachery will not go unpunished,” Rilen repeated.
“Do you think we were raised to the robes because of our good looks?” Roran was always irreverent.
“The Spine needs to fall!” the tall one screamed.
“The Spine will fall, when the Breaker is ready.” Master Dorian had joined them in the clearing. “You are no one to determine what that time is. Only she breaks the Spine. Only she determines when that time is.”
“You talk like you know more than anyone else about this,” the stocky one said. “You could never know more about this than our Lost God.”
Tossing his head back, Master Dorian laughed. “And yet you stand there, drenched in hypocrisy, telling me that you know when the Spine should fall.”
“The Breaker is a na?ve fool, who doesn’t know what’s good for her.”
I was done with other people speaking for me.
Walking out of the bush, I pulled out my sword and held it at my side, in a neutral position. “I am the only one who knows when the Spine is ready to break. And I am the only one who will break the Spine.”
“Oh, shit.” This from one of the men who hadn’t said anything to that point as they stepped back away from me.
Master Dorian held up a hand, palm open. “It was not our wish that anyone would die from the end of the Spine. But you have made this a war, and in war, people die.”
He closed his fist.
The twins moved like lightning in high summer.
The steel they carried flowed through the air and beheaded two of the men by the fire before they even registered the swords had moved.
The other two tried to scramble away, down the path.
I hurled myself into their path and held the sword at attack ready. “No.”
Just enough time for Roran and Rilen to each take a head.
The bodies fell toward each other and paused as they collided. A moment later, they fell back, almost seeming to chase the heads that were rolling away.
For a few moments, the wind rustled the changing leaves on the trees. The fire crackled merrily. The scratch of small animals could be heard in the underbrush.
My legs gave out.
I was still holding the sword in a defensive position.
And my heart had cracked and shattered.
Chapter Seventeen
Kimber
Roran’s and Rilen’s swords disappeared. Master Dorian broke his stance and moved the nearest headless body.
Roran joined him while Rilen offered me a hand to help me stand. I waved it off.
“It’s better if I sit for now.”
“Take her back to the horses,” Master Dorian commanded. “She does not need to be here for this.”
“For what?” I barked the words, suddenly leaping to my feet. “They’re dead. They’re already dead. They don’t have heads! Why did you kill them?”
Rilen pulled me into his side. “They had to be, Kimber. You had to see what was going on.”
“That doesn’t explain why you killed them.”
We started walking out of the clearing. “This group that Roran and I have uncovered in the past three days was far more dangerous than anything else. They want to make sure that the mountain falls before it’s ready and before you’re ready.”