Huntress Lost Read online

  “What’d you do to get blocked?” His tone was curious, not judgmental.

  “Exist,” I said.

  He raised his eyebrows but he didn’t press further. With a quick snip, the diamond blades sliced through the silver of my Rai and it fell to the carpeted floor of the tent.

  “Do you want to keep it?” he asked, lifting the Rai off the floor.

  “No,” I responded, rubbing my wrist where the thing had been. “I never wanted it to begin with.”

  “Hey, I know who you are,” the locksmith said. “You’re the one the Hunters sought for so long. What’d they call you—the Lost One?”

  “Well, they found me.” I rolled my eyes.

  “I suppose you’ll be needing something to hide you now, then, huh?”

  “Yes—you can do that?”

  The little man looked offended. “Of course. Keys unlock things, but they hide them, too. Any good locksmith can do both.”

  He turned around to rummage in some boxes along the wall. With his back to us, I could see that he had a tail like a fox. He hummed as he dug around in his supplies, tossing things over his shoulder to get them out of the way. After a couple of minutes, he emerged with two necklaces hanging from his finger. Each had a small silver disc engraved with runes hung on a thick chain.

  “Here you go,” the locksmith said. “As long as you keep these around your neck, no one will be able to track you. It’s not an actual cloaking device, so if they are close enough to see you face-to-face, it offers no protection. But those Hunters would have to be right on top of you before they knew you were there.”

  “Do you happen to have three additional necklaces?” Xavyr asked.

  “Certainly.” The little man looked fairly gleeful, probably on account of the massive bill we were racking up.

  Xavyr and I strung our necklaces about our necks as the locksmith retrieved three more. “Anything else?” he asked as he handed us the extra necklaces.

  “We’d appreciate your discretion,” Xavyr said. His tone was mild, but in its mildness was a promise of more should the request not be respected.

  The locksmith snorted. “Of course. I’m a professional.”

  Xavyr simply nodded in response and handed the small man a bag of coins.

  “Thanks,” I said, getting to my feet.

  “Happy doing business with you,” the man said.

  I turned to Xavyr. “How do we get out of—”

  And the room vanished and we were standing outside the tent of shadows once again. “Man, that’s annoying,” I said.

  Xavyr grinned. “Welcome to Xayl.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  We headed back the way we’d come. I fiddled with the cool disc of metal sitting over my heart, feeling a slight sense of relief for the first time in days. We’d saved Skye (sort of) and claimed Kellan back from the Timekeeper. Now we just needed to figure out how to get Kellan’s mind back, avoid getting rounded up by the Council, and maybe learn how to truly disarm the Artifex. Of course, Soo Kai was still out there, and there was the small matter of Casseroux, but one thing at a time.

  I was suddenly overcome by a huge yawn and realized that I was utterly exhausted.

  Xavyr looked over at me and frowned. “You need sleep.”

  “But we need to find that wizard you talked about. Get him working on a cure for Kellan.”

  “That can wait until morning. You’ve done a number of incredible things in the last twenty-four hours. Jumped two dozen Hunters to Skye. Fought in a battle. Nearly blew up a ship. Visited the Timekeeper. I think that’s deserving of a night’s rest.”

  “You did all of those things, too,” I said. “Minus the realm jumping and blowing things up part.”

  “And I will rest, too,” he said, though his tone indicated he was being less than truthful.

  I opened my mouth to call him out, but something drew my attention in the tree line. At the base of one of the massive Xaylian trees a simple wooden sign hung over a yawning black opening leading down into the earth. The letters burned into the wood of the sign said:

  SORENSON SISTERS

  Weapons for the Distinguished Warrior

  (and not so distinguished)

  “What is it?” Xavyr asked.

  I pointed to the sign. “I’ve visited the Sorenson Sisters, but in an entirely different realm,” I said. “I wonder if they moved?”

  Xavyr shrugged. “Those in my Order use only weapons made by one of our own. I do not know of these sisters.”

  I thought of making a joke about how distinguished a warrior he could be, but I held my tongue. “When I visited the sisters before, they could tell things… about me and Kellan. A prophecy almost.”

  Xavyr raised his eyebrows. “And what was their prophecy?”

  I swallowed, my throat dry. “That I would be Kellan’s downfall.”

  Xavyr’s eyes flared slightly. “I see.”

  “I’m going down to see them,” I said, my feet already moving toward the door in the tree. “I want to see if they can tell me anything else.”

  “Can they be trusted not to reveal your location?” Xavyr called after me, but I was already descending into the tree.

  “I think so,” I called back.

  He made a sound in response that might have been a sigh or a groan, but he said nothing else.

  The steps leading into the darkness were cut from the earth, with rough-hewn logs laid into them. Above, a strip of glowing moss lined the slope of the ceiling, providing dim lighting. Before too long, the steps turned and began to spiral down deeper. I thought once I heard the rush of wings, but I saw nothing to give off such a noise. A centipede skittered along the wall next to my face, making me jump to the opposite wall and sending an echoing screech out of my lips and down the dark passage. I smiled sheepishly at Xavyr and continued.

  At last, the stairs turned abruptly and a cavern came into view. It was undoubtedly the same cavern Kellan and I had visited before, though I could tell that I was entering from a different side of it. I recognized the rows of shelves and the categorized areas for different weapons, the target area off to one side of the massive space where Kellan had first taught me to use my bow. I sucked in a sharp breath at the memory of it. I wished he was here with me now and we were so innocently arming ourselves to the teeth. Things had been so much simpler then, when we thought finding Skye was our biggest problem.

  “We have a visitor,” came a wizened voice from somewhere within the maze of weaponry.

  “Ah, yes,” came a reply. “One who was lost, then found. And now seems lost once again.”

  Two old women came into view, both with silver hair, faces as wrinkled as elephants, and clothing made from layer upon layer of shabby fabric, as if they’d raided a destitute gypsy. Each also had a milky white eye, but Madra’s second eye was bright purple, whereas Yabel’s was lemon yellow.

  “Sisters, it’s good to see you,” I said. I pointed to my left and said, “This is my associate, Xavyr.”

  “Associate, eh?” Yabel pointed her gnarled cane at me.

  “You always do have the nicest looking male accessories,” Madra said, walking slowly around Xavyr and looking him up and down. Though it was hard to tell with his cocoa skin, I’d swear he was blushing.

  “But where is Seeker?” Yabel asked.

  I looked back and forth between the two of them. “That’s where I’m hoping you can help me. The prediction you made—”

  “That you would be Seeker’s death,” Madra said bluntly.

  “Yes, well, he’s not dead, but he got stuck with the Timekeeper, and now his mind is sort of… gone.” I splayed my hands out in a helpless gesture on the last word. “I’m hoping you can tell me something that can help the situation.”

  Yabel looked at Madra, puckering her lips together and scrunching her eyebrows. Madra tapped her cane on the stone floor of the cavern.

  “Weapons are more our specialty than predicting the future,” Madra said. “Perhaps we shouldn�
��t have said anything before.”

  “But you did!” I said, my frustration bubbling over. “And I need to know if Kellan losing his mind, which is kind of a death when you think of it, is that what you were talking about? And can I fix it?”

  Yabel gazed at me from behind her unruly silver bangs, which hung like spider webs in her face. “The death we saw was quite literal, I’m afraid. So whatever has happened now is something else.”

  I felt as if each of the weapons in the cavern had pierced me through the gut. “Then…it’s just going to get worse.”

  Xavyr reached out and laid a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t believe anything is set in stone.” He flickered his golden eyes up to meet the sisters’ own bright gazes. “Even prophecies.”

  “Your young man is right,” Madra said. “When you came here before, we saw something that would come to pass. But that was then. A million moments have passed since then, a million opportunities for something to shift that future.”

  Yabel pointed her cane at me. “The bigger question is, what are you going to do with that weapon in your core?”

  My mouth dropped open and my hands went to my stomach in an almost protective gesture. “You can see the Artifex?”

  “Weapons are what we do,” Madra said, a tad derisively. “Of course we recognize one when we see it.”

  “I—I hadn’t gotten that far yet,” I stammered. “My focus now is Kellan. Later I can worry about this.” I pointed at my abdomen.

  “Well, you’re in the right place. What you need for that is a good witch,” Yabel said.

  “You came from the Xayl entrance, yeah?” Madra asked, though it was more of a confirmation. “Xayl is chock full of witches. When you’re ready, head to the Obsidian Quarter. Find a witch by the name of Mirelda. She might have a shot at fixing you up.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “And we assume you know you’ve got about every Hunter in all the realms looking for you?” Yabel asked, scratching a single silver hair on her chin.

  “I’m aware,” I said, my hand reflexively moving to my new necklace.

  “When were the last Hunters here?” Xavyr asked, his body going rigid.

  “Probably half an hour before you two came traipsing down here.”

  Xavyr caught my eye. “We should go.”

  I nodded. “Thanks, sisters. I appreciate it.”

  “Before you go,” Madra said, “I’m curious about that weapon there.” And she pointed to the staff strapped to Xavyr’s hip.

  A look of impatience crossed his face, but at my pointed look he pulled the staff out, and with a twist of his wrist, the blades on each end shot out.

  “Ah, very fine,” Yabel murmured, licking her lips.

  “Fine indeed,” Madra agreed. “You’re of the Order of Syon.”

  Xavyr nodded.

  “Well, you’d best be on your way,” Yabel said. “Good luck with Seeker.”

  We bid our farewells and headed back up the stairwell into the marketplace by the river. I stopped in the doorway when we reached ground level, looking back at the tunnel. How many entrances from how many different realms did the Sorenson Sisters have into their cavern? It boggled my brain. Sometimes I felt I’d never get used to this new reality I found myself in.

  Xavyr touched my arm. “Evr, come please. We need to go.”

  I turned at the tenseness in his tone, and he reached down and flipped the hood up on my cloak. One of his fingers brushed my cheek, and his eyes locked on mine for a moment. “Follow me and don’t look around. We’re going to stick to the edge of the trees.”

  “Xavyr?” I asked, a tremble in my voice.

  “Titus and Casseroux,” he said softly. “Over by the river.”

  Chapter Twenty

  My heart stopped beating and my breath caught in my lungs. “Casseroux? They found us?”

  “Not yet,” Xavyr said. “They haven’t spotted us. Now, we’re going to turn around and walk, very casually, along the trees. Hold my hand. Act as if you don’t have a care in the world.”

  He slipped his hand into mine and we turned and headed down along the tents. It took a supreme exercise of willpower, but I managed not to turn my head toward the river to see where they were standing. Had they sensed us here in Ellsmer before we’d gotten the necklaces? Or had they received a tip-off from someone?

  We walked slowly, acting like two shoppers merely enjoying the day. Xavyr’s fingers around mine were relaxed and he even swung his arm slightly, looking down at me with a smile from time to time. He was a frighteningly good actor.

  “You missed your calling,” I said, keeping my tone light and conversational.

  He looked over at me. “You think I couldn’t actually enjoy myself? Just shopping like a normal person?”

  I let out a small laugh. “We’re not normal people, either of us.”

  “I suppose you have a point.”

  We stopped under the shadows of a tent where the merchant sold potted flowers that were enchanted to play a variety of melodies, and could also alert you if someone with negative intent came into your house. Xavyr scrutinized several of the flowers, chatting easily with the merchant, a woman with metallic gold hair cut in a short bob around pixie ears. I remembered the day I’d met him, when he’d blended in with the stark, cloudy day, my eyes glancing off of his as if he was reflective. Oddly, this change in his normal demeanor had the same chameleon effect—he was so normal, so at one with his surroundings, that he wouldn’t catch anyone’s eye.

  I, on the other hand, drew the attention of a couple of shoppers standing at the neighboring tent. Despite my cloak, they kept glancing over at me and whispering, and one of them pointed. They must have seen my face being splashed all over the news holograms. I cursed inwardly and nudged into Xavyr, but he’d already noticed. I felt his hand tense around mine, and then he said, “They’ve seen us. We’re going to run now.”

  And then he was yanking me forward, past the row of tents and into the trees. Cries rose up behind us, but I didn’t turn and look back. My boots felt like they were churning in the loamy soil, like I couldn’t gain speed. All I could think of was being locked in Casseroux’s tower again with all his ghastly tools and contraptions.

  Instead of sticking to the forest, Xavyr plunged us back into the city. It seemed somewhat counter-intuitive, but then, the crowds in the city provided the best cover to lose our tails. We darted down several streets, not sticking on any particular one for long before zig-zagging over to another. Then, after moving through a narrow space between buildings, Xavyr slowed to a walk and picked up his casual air again.

  We didn’t stroll slowly like we had in the market, but we didn’t hurry either, so as not to draw attention. One street over, I saw what had to be a police patrol car zoom by. It was a small hovercraft, platinum on the bottom and solid glass on the top with flashing purple lights. Inside, the creature that drove it looked like a werewolf or some other kind of human/canine hybrid. Xavyr kept walking and I only allowed myself a glance at the passing vehicle, as if I had only a casual interest.

  Our path took us straight through the city again, though I noticed that Xavyr went slightly around the big central square that flashed our pics. After passing city center, one of the patrol cars turned down the street ahead of us. We ducked into a cauldron shop on our left until it passed, then stepped back out and continued toward the inn. Had Sabin and Kellan been discovered? The thought made my insides icy. I couldn’t lose Kellan again so quickly.

  A public transport passed by and we hopped on. The seats were in the open air, situated around a sort of metallic spine with the seats facing outwards, all in a row, which is what made me think it looked like a centipede. One could literally step on and off at their leisure. We rode this for several minutes, getting off when the transport turned and started heading away from our destination. As we got closer to the inn, Xavyr took us on several wide loops, stopping in the shaded doorways of shops from time to time to see if anyone was followi
ng us. Finally, I saw the inn’s entrance ahead of us, and we scurried across the street and down beneath the roots of the great tree.

  Xavyr paused as we passed the reception desk. “Any messages for me?” he asked the blue-haired girl.

  She smiled and shook her head.

  We moved on down the hall toward our rooms, and I looked questioningly up at Xavyr. “I just wanted to see if law enforcement had been here,” he said.

  “Surely she wouldn’t tell you.”

  “Not verbally. I was reading her body language. She suspects nothing. So far, so good.”

  “And they don’t send alerts to the hotels? I saw your picture in their holographic database or whatever that was when we checked in.”

  Xavyr looked over at me as we walked. “Remember, Ellsmer hosts a great many beings that don’t operate in accordance with the law, and those clients are very lucrative to places like this. They aren’t going to turn in their guests unless a law enforcer comes here in person and conducts a search.”

  We reached our rooms and I noticed one of the doors was slightly cracked. I heard heated voices from within and pulled Xavyr to a stop.

  “Were you just going to let me and Jaffe rot there with the Dragons?” Sabin snapped. Her voice came through slightly muffled from the door, but clear enough to make out her words. Plus, she wasn’t exactly being quiet.

  Rorie’s response was harder to pick up. “It wasn’t part of the agreement that you were taken.” His voice was sullen, defeated. I had a feeling they’d been at this a while.

  “Well, that’s why you shouldn’t make agreements with other clans, Rorie. I mean, was there ever a time you were truly loyal to the Stags? Was there ever a time you cared for any of us?”

  “Sabin…” Rorie trailed off, and I could imagine he might be running his hands over his face. “I love Kellan like a brother, and you, Jaffe, Etienne…”

  “Etienne is dead because of you. You realize that, don’t you?”

  “That wasn’t my fault,” he growled. “I told you, it wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”