They met Maarav, his men, and Ealasaid further down the walkway. Maarav now held the reins of both his and Iseult’s horses, brought down from the ship. Once everyone was gathered together, Iseult repeated his plan.
“What about the ships?” one of Anna’s men, with deeply tanned skin and short yellow, hair argued. “We can’t leave them behind.”
Iseult sighed. He didn’t have time for these men. Greenswallow was a long way off, and they needed to arrive there before anyone else discovered the location of the Faie Queen’s shroud, buried where Finn once stood as a tree.
“I had hoped to leave my ship in a safe harbor as well,” Maarav cut in smoothly. He raked his fingers through his black hair, peppered with a few strands of white, just like Iseult’s. “But we must adapt to the current situation. Many of us have places to be inland, and those left can hardly manage to sail two ships on their own. We’ll have to leave them, and hope for the best.”
“Or someone can stay to guard them,” the yellow-haired man spat.
“Are you volunteering?” Kai questioned. “I’m sure a brawny man like yourself can hold off an entire army of Faie on your own. We’d be much obliged if you’d watch the ships for us.”
The yellow-haired man snarled his dry lips, but didn’t speak again.
Iseult took a step closer to Finn, still holding the dragon in her arms with its limbs curled around her. Tavish, Rae, and Ealasaid were all staring at the creature, but said nothing.
“We’ll divide into two groups, search for supplies, then meet at the front gates,” Iseult instructed.
No one argued. Instead, all glanced warily at the smoldering city, wondering what dangers might still lurk within its walls.
Finn straightened her satchel strap across her chest, trying to balance its weight with the awkward addition of Naoki on her shoulders. It seemed the dragon had grown a bit in their time apart, but still insisted on her chosen perch.
Finn suppressed a grunt of effort. Her legs already felt like pottage transitioning from the ship to dry land, and the added weight made her feel even more off balance. It would not do to topple over and land on one of the corpses, visible now that they’d entered the city.
Iseult prowled at her side, his eyes keen on the surrounding buildings, all showing signs of being touched by fire. At their backs walked Ealasaid, Maarav, Tavish, and Rae. Maarav still held the reins to his and Iseult’s horses. The animals remained eerily quiet, as if sensing the ghosts of the dead. Kai, Anna, and Anna’s crewmen had taken another route. They would all search for supplies, then reconvene at the city gates to begin their journey.
They now walked in the direction of Maarav’s inn, since he’d insisted they check in on the establishment. Finn didn’t know what he was hoping to find, it seemed most everything had been destroyed, but she supposed if he had a cellar some goods might remain.
She quickly averted her eyes from the ground as she stepped around another charred corpse. It wasn’t the first body they’d come across, and it surely would not be the last. Many had been killed.
She hurried forward, only to have Iseult reach out a hand to stop her. “Don’t look down,” he instructed, but the warning came too late. At their feet lay a child, badly burned like many of the other bodies.
She raised a hand to her mouth, afraid she might be sick.
Seconds later, from behind her, Ealasaid gasped. Naoki hissed at the noise, prompting Ealasaid to then let out a surprised yip.
Iseult put an arm around Finn and led her forward. Surprisingly, Naoki did not seem to mind his presence, or else found him more frightening than Kai, and so refrained from hissing at him.
“Are you sure you want to walk all the way to your inn?” Iseult grumbled, looking over his shoulder toward Maarav.
“We need supplies,” Maarav replied simply, “and our best chance of finding them is my inn. With any luck, the cellar will be intact.”
“I think I’m going to be ill,” Ealasaid muttered as they passed another body. “This is far worse than Uí Néid.”
“The dead there were freshly killed,” Maarav explained. “It’s different once they’ve been lying around for a while, but you’ll get used to it.”
Ealasaid snorted. “I’d rather not get used to seeing corpses at all.”
Finn attempted to take a steadying breath, but inhaled too deeply. Her stomach convulsed, forcing her to bend forward. The smell of the charred corpses was too much for her, and she found herself expelling what little food was in her belly. Naoki hopped to the ground and chittered nervously at her side as Iseult kept a hand on her back, waiting for the moment to pass.
As Finn’s nausea began to wane, she heard someone else retching behind her, and turned to see the red-haired man, Tavish, had also lost his morning meal. The sight somehow made her feel slightly better.
“Perhaps some of us should go ahead to the gates,” Maarav sighed, glancing between Tavish and Finn. “Rae and I can gather the supplies on our own. With only two of us, we can ride the rest of the way.”
“And what if you encounter whoever killed all these people?” Ealasaid gasped.
Maarav gestured to the desolate streets. “Take a look around you, my girl, no one is left in this cursed place.”
Finn crouched to allow Naoki back onto her shoulders, then looked to Iseult for his opinion, secretly hoping he’d agree with Maarav so she wouldn’t have to continue looking at the bodies.
Iseult nodded in understanding, then turned his gaze to his brother. “I’ll take the women . . . and Tavish, to the gates,” he agreed. “But be quick with your tasks, I’d like to be far from this place come nightfall.”
“We all would,” Tavish muttered, then gestured for Ealasaid to walk ahead of him toward Iseult and Finn.
The four of them changed directions, making their way toward the gates, while Maarav and Rae climbed atop the horses and continued on toward whatever might remain of Maarav’s inn.
Finn walked beside Iseult in silence for some time, deep in thought, keeping her gaze upward to avoid looking too closely at any more corpses.
“Do you know what’s odd?” Tavish blurted suddenly.
Finn jumped, realizing the man was walking close to her other side, though she noted he was peering around her toward Iseult.
Iseult did not reply, but Tavish still continued, “It’s odd that we seem to only be seeing the corpses of townsfolk and the city guards.”
“Why is that odd?” Ealasaid questioned, walking a few paces behind them.
“Because in any battle there are casualties on both sides,” Iseult answered grimly.
“So you did notice,” Tavish commented, seeming relieved that he wasn’t the only one to find the situation strange.
“Yes,” Iseult replied simply.
Finn wished she could be so observant, but she’d been too busy trying to pretend they weren’t surrounded by any corpses, let alone only those of the townsfolk.
“So what do you think happened?” Tavish continued, once again looking past Finn at Iseult.
“Either the bodies of the opposing forces were taken,” Iseult explained, “or the townspeople were killed by a force so great they all died where they stood. Now keep your mouth shut. Dangers may still lurk.”
Wide-eyed, Tavish snapped his mouth shut and glanced around warily. Finn couldn’t say she was glad for the silence. It seemed to bring out the eeriness of their surroundings. As far as she was concerned, they couldn’t reach the gates soon enough.
Naoki let out a sudden squawk from her perch on Finn’s shoulder. Finn stumbled, but Iseult’s hand darted out to catch her arm before she could fall.
Maintaining his grip on her, Iseult glanced around for what had alerted Naoki. Finn looked too, until her eyes caught a hint of movement a few feet away. She pointed, just as Tavish seemed to notice the same movement.
It was the corpse of a young woman, less burned than the rest, but still just as dead. Her limp body was wriggling back and forth, though none of her limbs seemed to be responsible for the movement.
“The dead are coming to life!” Tavish gasped.