Cursed Bones

Cursed Bones - By David A Wells

Chapter 1

Isabel woke with a start, her heart hammering in her chest, her hand instinctively going for the hilt of her dagger. Once she realized where she was, she eased herself back onto her bunk and swallowed hard against the rising lump in her throat. She’d been dreaming again, the same dream she’d had for the past three nights, the dream, or rather the nightmare, where she killed Alexander.

A tear slipped down her cheek. She’d left him. The only man she’d ever loved, the best man she’d ever known, and she’d left him without even saying goodbye, without giving an explanation … nothing. And yet, she knew deep down in that calm place where reason prevailed, that she’d done the only thing she could have done. The dreams were proof of that. Proof that Phane’s dark magic was working within her, working to subvert her free will and turn her against the people she loved.

The solution was painfully simple and even more painfully difficult. She couldn’t afford to be around the people she loved anymore. As lonely a thought as that was, she knew it was the only way to protect them. More importantly, it was the only way to protect their common cause from her own inevitable betrayal.

She put her hand on her stomach and stared into the darkness of her stateroom as she swallowed back another sob.

It was one thing to face an enemy, to stand and fight, even against insurmountable odds, but this was profoundly different. It was so insidious. In the days since she’d left the dragon isle, she’d begun to carefully observe her own thoughts, scrutinizing each for its authenticity. Did it originate from within her own mind? Or was it planted there by Azugorath?

Phane’s dark minion was the immediate cause of her suffering, but the Wraith Queen was really just a symptom of a much larger problem.

Phane.

She meant to kill him.

The moment she’d left her wounded husband in his Wizard’s Den, she knew her course. It was the only path open to her. She couldn’t stay with Alexander, even though she longed to be with him. She couldn’t go home to Ruatha lest she become a danger to her friends and family. She couldn’t go to Ithilian or to the fortress island for the same reason. The only place she could go without endangering those she cared about was to her enemy.

Her intent was resolute—honed to a razor’s edge by desperation and a furious rage simmering in the pit of her belly.

That left the how.

Phane was more than a match for her in any kind of direct confrontation. She had to beat him at his own game. She had to deceive the deceiver. Only subterfuge would give her the opportunity she needed.

A little flutter of fear chased the pangs of loneliness and loss from her belly. She’d never been a very good liar. Surely, Phane would see through any direct effort at deception. In order to work, her ruse would have to be subtle and artful.

But how?

No matter.

She’d been turning these thoughts over and over in her mind for days, pondering all of the possibilities, but in the end, she decided that circumstances would dictate her tactics. Things would become clearer as she got closer to her target.

A soft knock at the door disturbed the darkness.

“Yes?” she said, quietly.

“We’ve reached the coast of Karth, Lady Reishi,” Captain Kalderson said. “We’re holding half a league from the surf.”

“How long before dawn?” Isabel asked.

“Couple of hours.”

She sat up and took a deep breath. It was time.

Captain Kalderson was waiting for her when she opened the door to her stateroom. “It’s not too late to set a new course, My Lady,” he said.

“Thank you, Captain, but I’m afraid you’re wrong.”

“At least let me send a squad of men with you.”

“No, you’d just be sending them to their death.”

“What about you, Lady Reishi? What’s to stop the Regency soldiers from killing you the moment they lay hands on you?”

Isabel shrugged. “Phane wants me alive.” She handed the captain a letter, sealed in wax with the medallion of Glen Morillian. “As soon as I’m away, make haste for Ruatha. Land at Northport and personally deliver this letter to Commander P’Tal in Blackstone Keep.”

“He’ll skin me alive for letting you go into harm’s way alone,” Captain Kalderson said, taking the letter and inspecting the seal before tucking it into his shirt.

“You have your orders, Captain. Now, show me to my boat.”



***



Even this far south, the night air was cold. Her face was red from the stinging, wind-whipped spray coming off the surf, as well as from the exertion of rowing the little dinghy to shore. Another wave caught her, pushing her toward the shallows, rocking her back, then forward, before passing beneath her and setting her boat on an even keel once again. The shadow of Captain Kalderson’s ship was lost in the predawn black.

Isabel was alone … well, almost alone. Slyder was nearby, as always. Her boat ran aground in the surf. She steadied herself as she hoisted her pack and gathered her resolve, then stepped into the water and dragged her boat toward shore.

After securing the dinghy just inside the jungle that hugged the beach, she built a small fire and ate breakfast while her clothes dried. She didn’t worry about the light of the fire attracting the enemy. If they found her, so be it. If they didn’t, she meant to find them.

She wasn’t sure how Phane would react to her arrival, especially since she wasn’t bringing him the Sovereign Stone, but she was confident that he wouldn’t kill her, at least not right away. He wanted to use her against Alexander, and besides, she was a valuable captive if nothing else. Phane would keep her alive to use as leverage, probably offer her in exchange for the Stone. Regardless, his machinations would work against him. He would take precautions, no doubt. But she would find a way to circumvent those precautions and land a killing blow.

One way or another, she would see Phane bleed.

Slyder landed, cocking his head at her quizzically. She scratched him under the chin.

“It’s just you and me now.”

He leaned into her affections.

She sat quietly, staring into the flames and pondering her future as the orange glow of her fire gave way to the light of dawn. Her clothes dry, she strapped on her pack, checked her sword in its scabbard and set out into the jungle.

It was a different kind of forest than the Great Forest of Ruatha, but it was a forest nonetheless. The trees reached high into the sky, shading the undergrowth and providing a framework for the multitude of climbing vines that seemed to thrive in the warmer, wetter climate of Karth. The canopy above was an intricate network of vegetation, teeming with life. Birds and small mammals woke with the dawn, filling the air with sounds of countless jungle denizens starting their day.

Isabel kept Slyder low and close as she carefully threaded her way through the dense undergrowth. She wasn’t sure where she was going but reasoned that she’d find a road near the coastline. From there, whatever passed for civilization on Karth couldn’t be too far.

She’d walked for nearly an hour when she heard a noise in the jungle that didn’t fit. Frozen in place, her ears straining, she waited. The instant she heard it again, she linked her mind with Slyder and directed her familiar to the source of the noise.

Her forest hawk came to rest on a tree limb overlooking a young boy buried to his armpits in sand. Using Slyder’s eyes, Isabel plotted a course to the child and set out, cautiously and quietly. When she stepped into the clearing, a dog challenged her. He was big, built very much like a wolfhound, standing three feet at the shoulder. He had a long snout and powerful jaws, and he was very unhappy with Isabel’s presence.

The child was now nearly up to his neck in sand. Isabel might have been more concerned by his plight if she hadn’t been preoccupied with the dog. She reached out with her mind and touched the animal, soothing him and gently gaining control of him. He sat down with a barely audible whimper.

“Will you help me?” the boy said. “Please?”

Isabel started toward the child without hesitation. He looked to be about ten years old, and had dark eyes, black hair, and a swarthy complexion. She could see fear in his eyes but also determination. He meant to live.

“No! Stop!” he said. “You’ll just get stuck too.”

Isabel stopped, perplexed.

“Get a stick or a vine and pull me to you,” the boy said.

She looked down and saw her feet sinking into the sand. Sudden realization flooded into her mind. She remembered Wizard Kallentera telling stories about the quagmire sands of Karth that could swallow a horse without any trace. When she looked behind her and saw a safe spot within reach, she quickly sat down and worked her feet free. Then she found a stout fallen limb and laid it out across the sands to the boy.

Nearly half an hour later, he came free of the muck, scrambling onto solid ground, breathing heavily from exertion and fear.

“Thank you,” he said. “I was looking for my dog and I got so worried about him that I wasn’t watching where I was going until it was too late. Figures … he found me a few minutes after I got stuck.”

Isabel smiled at the child. He was covered from head to foot in mud, but his eyes sparkled with a mixture of inquisitiveness and mischief.

“I’m Isabel. What’s your name?”

“I’m Baqi. And this is my dog Kolo.”

“Hello, Baqi. Can you tell me about your village?”

“It’s not far,” Baqi said, pointing off into the jungle. “Mama will be worried if I don’t get home soon.” He looked down at the mud drying on his clothes and shook his head. “She won’t be happy about this either.”

“Are there soldiers in your village?” Isabel asked.

Baqi frowned, nodding. “Used to be we were left alone, but now the soldiers always want to know what we’re doing. Mama doesn’t like them, but I’m not supposed to talk about it. You won’t tell, will you?”

“Of course not, but I do need to go see the soldiers,” Isabel said. “Could you take me to your village? I promise I won’t tell anyone about you and Kolo.”

“All right, just so long as Mama doesn’t find out. She doesn’t like me talking to outsiders,” Baqi said.

“I won’t tell her if you won’t,” Isabel said.

“The village is this way,” Baqi said, pointing into the jungle again. “Once we get close, I’ll go around to the other side so people don’t see us together. Nothing personal. You seem like a nice person, but I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“Sounds good to me,” Isabel said.

“So where are you from?” Baqi asked while they walked.

“I come from Ruatha,” Isabel said.

“I don’t know that village,” Baqi said.

Isabel smiled. “It’s not a village. It’s an island and it’s a very long way away.”

“Did you come through the ancient gate?” he asked. “I heard it came to life and a giant monster came through and killed a bunch of Regency soldiers.” He looked at her expectantly.

“No, I came by boat,” Isabel said, smiling at confirmation that Alexander’s gift for Phane had arrived.

“Oh,” Baqi said, the light of excitement fading from his face. “Someday I want to go through the ancient gate and explore other lands. Mama says it would be too dangerous, but I can handle it. I already know how to survive in the jungle.” He looked down at the mud caking his clothes and grimaced. “Well, mostly, and that was Kolo’s fault anyway.”

Isabel heard voices off in the distance and stopped.

“We’re getting close to the village. It’s right over that way. Well, it was nice to meet you,” he said with a boyish smile, then turned and disappeared into the jungle.

Isabel heard him say, “Kolo, don’t you wander off again. I’m already going to be in enough trouble for getting so dirty.”

She waited for several minutes, listening to the distant voices of the villagers and steeling herself for the encounter that was coming, the challenge she was about to make to the soldiers. She was betting that Phane had made preparations for her arrival, that his soldiers had standing orders to escort her to him. If they didn’t, things might go badly.

Once she was certain that Baqi had had plenty of time to make it safely home, she set out, moving cautiously. The undergrowth started to thin, giving her a glimpse of the timber wall surrounding the village. It was made of stout, twelve-foot wooden poles pounded into the ground and tied together. Isabel could see an open gate at either end of the wall and two Regency soldiers standing guard in the village watchtower.

She took a deep breath and stepped out into the fifty-foot swath of cleared jungle surrounding the village. It didn’t take long before the soldiers in the tower noticed her.

“You there, stay where you are,” one shouted while the other rang a bell. A dozen men poured out of the village, approaching her with weapons drawn.

The moment the warning bell tolled, Isabel began casting her shield spell. If Phane hadn’t given orders for her arrival, she intended to be ready for anything. The soldiers fanned out around her. She stood her ground, her head held high, and waited.

The largest of the bunch pushed his way through the cordon of men and stopped several feet outside of sword range. He was easily six and a half feet tall with a barrel chest and broad shoulders. He crossed his arms as he appraised her. A series of scars ran across the back of his right arm that looked too even to be anything but self-inflicted.

“Might be the men could have some fun with you,” he said, smiling lewdly, broken and stained teeth showing behind his lips.

“I doubt they would enjoy that as much as you might think,” Isabel said, ignoring the dozen soldiers ogling her. “Are you the commander of this garrison?”

“No,” he said, “I’m the sergeant. The lieutenant is inside the walls, preening himself or something about as useful.”

His men laughed. Isabel ignored them, focusing on the sergeant.

“Take me to him.”

“I don’t think I like your tone,” he said. “You’re an outsider here. You’ll answer my questions and then I’ll decide what to do with you.”

Isabel could see some of the villagers peeking through gaps in the wall.

“This will all sort itself out much faster if you’ll just take me to your commander,” she said.

“I think maybe you need a lesson in manners first,” he said, motioning to his men with his head.

Two men tried to grab her from behind but her shield stopped them a foot short. She muttered the words of her force-push spell, blowing the sergeant eight feet backward onto the ground, then drew her sword.

“This is unnecessary,” she said into the stunned silence.

All of the men surrounding her stopped for a moment, unsure of what to do until the sergeant growled, “Kill the witch.”

They rushed in unison but their weapons were easily deflected by her shield. She bowled another man over with her force-push. Thwarted by her magical defenses, two soldiers tried to knock her down by holding either end of a spear and rushing her. It smashed into her shield, knocking her back a few feet until she stabbed one of the men in the leg and he dropped his end of the spear.

“Stop this or I will start killing you!” Isabel shouted.

The sergeant had regained his feet. “Too late for that, Witch,” he said as he approached, preparing a mighty downward attack with his two-handed sword.

Isabel started casting her spell. Moments later, just as the sergeant brought his sword overhead, she unleashed her light-lance, burning a hole through his chest and dropping him at her feet, dead.

The rest of the men became far less certain, backing off and raising their shields.

“You’ll pay for that, Witch,” one of them said.

“Can I assume that you’re in command now?” Isabel asked.

He looked to the others for support. They were only too happy to have him do the talking, given the fate of their previous sergeant.

“I am,” he said, puffing up a bit past the fear in his eyes.

“Good, send a man to fetch your commander … or join your sergeant,” Isabel said, raising her hand toward him. “Your choice.”

He flinched, then shouted impatiently at one of the soldiers, “What are you waiting for? Go get the lieutenant!”

The man hesitated for a moment, looking first to Isabel and then back to the new sergeant before hurrying away toward the walled village.

Isabel waited silently with a dozen men standing nervously in a loose cordon around her. She didn’t have to wait long before a Regency officer came from the village, with the soldier sent to fetch him trailing close behind.

He appraised the situation as he approached and wary anger started to build on his face. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded as he stopped in front of Isabel, his fists planted on his hips. “My man told me you’re a witch, but I’ve met one of the witches, and you’re not even close to pretty enough to be one of them.”

Isabel filed that little piece of information away for future scrutiny and fixed the lieutenant with her flashing green eyes. “My name is Isabel Reishi. You will assemble an honor guard and escort me to Prince Phane at once,” she demanded.

A little of the color drained from the lieutenant’s face. When he noticed the cauterized hole burned through the chest of his dead sergeant, his face went whiter still.

“Lady Reishi, you have my most sincere apologies for any mistreatment you’ve suffered at the hands of my men. Prince Phane has issued strict orders to all Regency forces on Karth that you are to be treated with the respect accorded a queen and brought to him at once. He has been anxiously expecting your arrival.”

Isabel inwardly breathed a sigh of relief mixed with trepidation. Phane was expecting her. She knew he had ways of gathering information, so it could be that he’d been watching her, or it could be that he knew Azugorath’s darkness was overpowering her free will. Either way, her plan suddenly became very real. Her resolve hardened. The only path to salvation lay through Phane.

“How long before a suitable honor guard can be assembled for the journey?” she asked.

“First light tomorrow at the earliest, Lady Reishi,” the lieutenant said. “I’ll need to summon men from a nearby garrison to ensure your safety. The jungle is dangerous, all the more so with the insurgent threat.”

“Explain,” Isabel said. She’d decided to play the part of a queen, even if it wasn’t in her nature to be so demanding.

“When we invaded under Prince Phane’s command, Karth’s army melted into the jungle without much resistance. Since then, they’ve been waging a war against us from the shadows, never standing to fight, bleeding us a nick at a time. We’ll be most vulnerable on the road, hence the need to summon additional troops.”

“Very well, Lieutenant,” Isabel said. “Show me to my quarters while you make preparations.”

The rest of the men were clearly unhappy with the turn of events, but nonetheless, they obeyed the lieutenant’s orders, sending riders to the closest village to gather more men for the journey to the Regency headquarters.

“I’m Lieutenant Febus, commander of the garrison here,” he said as he escorted her into the village. “You can have my chamber for the night, Lady Reishi. It’s the most comfortable and secure room in the village.”

Isabel nodded absently, taking in the people of the village. They lived in a state of terror, scurrying from the path of the soldiers, never daring to make eye contact with any of the men from the Regency. They were a subjugated people, broken and cowering in fear of their occupiers. A few cast furtive glances her way, appraising the newcomer and likely wondering if her arrival would change things.

She nearly spoke up when one of the soldiers kicked a woman, knocking her to the ground and spilling her freshly washed laundry into the muddy street because she didn’t get out of his way fast enough. Several of the other soldiers laughed at the shaken woman scrambling to collect her laundry without giving any further offense. Isabel kept her a face a mask of indifference while her emotions roiled within. She reminded herself that she couldn’t risk her ultimate goal by going to the aid of a woman who wasn’t in any real danger … but the behavior of the Regency soldiers galled her.

Just as she arrived at the barracks building, she caught Baqi looking at her from a hiding place under a wagon. She met his eyes and shook her head ever so slightly, warning him to stay where he was. He frowned but nodded and remained hidden.

The lieutenant’s quarters were obviously confiscated from the village elder who had once guided the people of this little community. The decorations and furnishings were carefully crafted with great attention to detail and pride of workmanship. Isabel got the impression that most of the art was made by the hand of the man who had once lived there. She wondered if he was still alive.

“I’m afraid it’s not much,” Lieutenant Febus said, “but it’s the best we have to offer so far from civilization.”

“It’ll do,” Isabel said, sniffing and wrinkling her nose. “Send a meal and hot water so I can get cleaned up.”

“Of course, Lady Reishi,” Febus said, bowing as he left.