“Now, now, there’s no point in fighting,” one of them said. “We just want to see justice served. It’s not right for a traitor’s daughter to have such trinkets, even if you are favored by that fool Corwin. Good thing the Errant Prince isn’t here to protect you now.” The man grabbed at one of the ruby buttons on her doublet and pulled it off.
“You’re a thief,” Kate said. “This has nothing to do with my father.” She kicked out, striking the man on the wrist. Yelping, he dropped the ruby, and Kate kicked again.
The man stepped back, out of reach. “Make her pay for that one, John.”
A big man, easily the largest of the group, approached her, his right hand balled into a fist. Kate kicked out at him, struggling harder than ever to free herself. John deflected the kick with one hand and landed a punch with the other. It struck her belly, robbing her of the ability to breathe, let alone scream. She wanted to curl inward, to ease the pain rippling through her, but the cruel hands holding her kept her upright. The man called John struck her again, then stepped aside, letting the first man have a go at her. He kicked her in the side of her leg, and agony lit up her body all the way to her teeth. The next moment all of them were coming at her, raining down blows.
Kate felt her consciousness slipping but fought to stay awake. She had to keep fighting. These men wouldn’t stop until they killed her. Forcing her eyes open, she saw moonlight spilling over her, bright as the day.
Summoning all the strength she possessed and more, Kate sucked air into her lungs, then screamed, “LET ME GO!”
More than just words filled the command. Somehow, impossibly, she invoked her wilder magic. It was the deepest part of her, the truest part—and it refused to surrender. The magic swept out from her like an explosion. The men holding her stumbled back, dazed and reeling.
Realizing she was free, Kate scrambled to her feet and ran.
21
Kate
PAIN LANCED THROUGH HER LEG with each step, but she barely felt it as she darted down the nearest alley. Straining to see in the darkness, she stumbled over litter and debris, feet slipping in the muck. She started to fall, only to have someone reach out and catch her.
“No!” she screamed, lashing out with her magic again. It answered the call, more sluggish than before, but still there, despite the presence of night.
The hand on her arm loosened but didn’t let go. “I’m not going to hurt you, Kate.”
Recognizing the voice, Kate felt an insane urge to laugh. Of all the people to find her now, why did it have to be Master Raith?
“But please, refrain from using your magic on me,” the magist said. “It’s very disorienting.”
Kate gaped up at him, too stunned to respond.
“Let’s be off before those men recover and give chase.” Raith tugged her forward.
Dazedly, Kate followed the magist out of the alley and back onto the main street. She was afraid of Raith, but the threat posed by those other men was more immediate. The street wasn’t as busy as before, and Raith stepped beside her, holding her arm as if he were her chaperone.
“Just be calm and act naturally. Hold the doublet closed as best you can,” Raith said in a hushed voice.
Kate obeyed, grimacing at the state of the shirt, torn and dirty and with half the rubies missing. Signe will murder me when she finds out.
They walked on in silence for several minutes, and after a while, Kate felt the first small waves of relief slipping over her. With it came full awareness of her injuries. Her right leg was throbbing where the man had kicked her. She tried not to limp, but it was impossible.
Noticing it, Raith slid his hand into his pocket and withdrew a plain gray stone. He raised it to his mouth, the gesture disconcerting with the sight of his permanently blackened fingertips. He whispered a word of invocation, lips brushing against the stone, and a faint white light crawled across its surface as the spell activated. He handed it to her. “Hold this against your heart. It will ease the worst of your injuries.”
Kate accepted the healing stone. With a grateful sigh, she held it cupped over her left breast. The magic worked at once, a tingly heat slowly spreading through her body. In moments she could walk without limping, although the ache remained, reminding her in visceral detail of what had happened. With the magic in the stone now spent, she handed it back to Raith.
“Why are you helping me?” Kate glanced up at him. In the weak light, his birthmark appeared as nothing more than an unusual shadow across his face.
“That’s a rather strange question,” Raith replied, not looking at her but keeping his gaze fixed ahead where the street began to bend. A leather worker’s shop sat at the corner. “Why wouldn’t I help you?”
She frowned, unsure if he was playing with her or being unintentionally obtuse. Either way she was too tired for games. “Because you threatened me the day we arrived at Norgard.”
“Threatened?” Now Raith tilted his chin toward her, brows raised. “I don’t recall threatening you.”
Kate scowled and lowered her voice, even though the only person in view was still too far away to overhear them. “Yes you did. You said you know what I am.”
“And what are you, Kate?”
The question caught her off guard. But he knows! Unable to answer, she turned her gaze ahead, concentrating on the road. The person soon drew near enough for Kate to see it was an elderly woman, her narrow shoulders stooped with age and her gaze fixed on the ground as if she feared tripping. A moment later, though, she looked up, glancing first at Kate, then Raith.
“Good evening,” he said, nodding toward the woman.
She stared hard at his face, taking in the mark of the Shade Born. At once her eyes widened with fright. Then she made a warding gesture before deliberately turning away to walk on the other side of the road, his greeting left unanswered. Kate took in Raith’s expression, expecting to see anger or annoyance at such rudeness. Instead he seemed as if he hadn’t even noticed.
Once the woman had passed, Raith said, “You have nothing to fear from me, Kate Brighton. I’ve kept your secret all this time, and that will not change. But I wish you would have the courage to claim what you are. Your father never did, and that doesn’t sit well with me.”
“You knew my father?” The words came out more accusation than question.
Raith nodded as he stepped over a pile of trash left out in front of a dark doorway. “Yes, well enough to know what he was and about his ability to influence minds.”
Kate held her breath, wanting to deny it, but there seemed no point. “You mean influence the minds of animals,” she corrected.
Raith shook his head. “Animals were only the beginning of his power, easiest to touch and manipulate because of their simplicity. But as he grew in skill, he became capable of so much more. But surely you already know this, given the way you drove off those men.”
My magic. I used it on a human! And at night. Shock made her stumble, and Raith grabbed her arm to keep her from falling. But no, it was impossible. Her magic didn’t work that way. It only worked on animals. And yet . . .
“I didn’t know,” she said, voice barely a whisper. “That was the first time I’ve ever done such a thing.”
Raith abruptly stopped walking, his eyes locked on something in the distance—a man on horseback, bearing down on them. No, not any man, but Corwin.
Raith turned his gaze on Kate and said hurriedly, “We need to talk more, once you’ve rested. I can help you, Kate. And more important, you can help me.”
“With what?” She narrowed her eyes, a warning sounding in her head.
“To save Rime from its own destruction and finish the task your father started.” Raith broke off, falling into a bow as Corwin reached them. “Your highness.”
Corwin dismounted, his attention centered completely on Kate. “Oh gods, what happened?” He swept his gaze over her torn, dirtied clothes. Then he pulled her into his arms. “Are you all right?”
Kate sagged against him, relief leaving her weak. Raith’s words still echoed through her mind, but she couldn’t make sense of them right now. And with those warm, strong arms around her, she didn’t want to.
Wait, what am I doing?