The Scourge of Muirwood (Legends of Muirwood #3)

“Lia is here. I am astonished that she found us so easily. Somehow, I knew that I would have to face her again. The Aldermaston said it would happen. Not directly, but he said that before I could gain my deepest desire, I would face an obstacle to that desire which would seem insurmountable. She is the one person who threatens my happiness with Colvin. I imagined her far away, safely away, and that it would be too late when we next met. But here she is, come all this journey to save us. I know she will resent me for taking Colvin away from her. But she does not deserve him. It is a mockery to think that a wretched deserves an earl. If I were but a wretched at Sempringfall, I would not aspire to someone like him. When I think of her, I remember that terrible dawn when Colvin abandoned me to the ossuaries to rescue her. It was not until that moment when I realized how much I cared for him, and how much he would not return my love because of her. I hate to admit it to myself, but I was glad when she was injured. I even secretly hoped she would die. She did not. There is an image that keeps coming to my mind, again and again. I am putting rocks on her grave. I am burying her beneath a mound of stones. Colvin is with me. I know it is the Medium. I do not know what it means. I think the stones are symbols. They are concealment. They are walls. I must help Colvin bury his affection for this girl so that he can then in turn care for me as he ought. There is a noise.”





- Ellowyn Demont of Dochte Abbey



*





CHAPTER TWENTY THREE:


Dieyre’s Chamber





Lia finished ascending the spiraling stairs outside the tower and her legs throbbed with the exertion. The night was cold and windy and threatened to yank her from the steps. She focused on the final blocks and reached the balcony ledge as she had before. It was nearly midnight. Sweat trickled down her ribs as she raised her arms and pulled herself over the lip of the balcony. Her breath was harsh in her ears and she waited a moment to rest and calm the wild shuddering of her heart. Soon, if her plan worked, Colvin and Hillel and Martin would be gone and slipping away with the tide. She still had a duty to perform – to confront the Aldermaston of Dochte and give her warning. The orb would guide her on the safest route to him and away again. She longed to be back at Vezins, aboard the Holk with the others and casting off. The feeling of Dochte Abbey filled her with dark thoughts. Something ancient and terrible lingered in the stones.

The door was shut from the balcony and she peered between the gap. There was little light – only a few candles burning, filling the room with shadows. It meant the residents were still cavorting at the dance. Lia pushed on the doors and they opened soundlessly. There was no one inside. Her heart filled with courage, knowing she would have time to search the room and learn of Hillel’s existence at Dochte. First, she needed to find a place to hide.

As she entered, she caught sight of a large desk nearby and on it, an open tome. There were scriving tools around it and small shavings of aurichalcum. It drew her there, or was it flame in the candle next to it that shimmered off the gleaming surface. She approached and a feeling of envy struck her next, seeing the words etched on the tome but not able to understand them. It was her place to be studying – it had always been her wish to read. Lia stared at the tome, feeling a surge of resentment threaten to overwhelm her. It was a violent feeling, one that bubbled up inside her with great force and power. She was envious of Hillel and the time she had been granted to spend with Colvin. The wood of the desk was highly polished, the work of a master artisan. The tiles on the floor were shiny and clean. All her life she had lived in an Abbey kitchen, instead of the palace she deserved. The envy twisted darkly into resentment.

Why were these feelings so strong? She had not given her upbringing much thought recently. She had never regretted being raised at Muirwood. It was leaving the Abbey that had made her miss it most. Why the envy now? Why the dark thoughts to brood on?

Almost to answer the impression, she felt the Medium warn her – because the thoughts were not coming from inside her. The feelings came from outside herself.

Lia turned and saw a set of glowing eyes approaching. Then another. Then yet another. There were six in the room, dressed in black cloaks and wearing the black cassocks she had encountered previously. Her heart shrank. The Dochte Mandar had found her.