Huntress Lost Page 4

  “Rest assured that justice will be served,” the Rosewater said. “But that is not your concern.”

  “We are done then,” Waylan said. “The Rosewater, Grayfeather, and Stag Clans will gather at dawn the day after tomorrow to depart for Skye.”

  “We are not quite done,” the Rosewater woman said. She turned her gaze to me, and her brown eyes bore a chill I didn’t care for. “You, Evryn Ashe, have skills that far exceed that of the average Hunter, and the Council feels that limits should be placed on your activities.”

  “Limits?” I asked.

  “I haven’t heard anything of this,” Waylan said, his voice sharp as a blade.

  “Nor have I,” the Grayfeather said, his eyes darting to Veron as if in apology.

  “It was discussed between the three of us,” the Dragon member said, pointing to the Rosewater and the Raven.

  Veron leaned forward across the table, imposing as a mountain. “What exactly are these limits you suggest?”

  The Rosewater caught my eyes again. “We will need your abilities to get the war party to Skye, as you are the only Hunter that has been able to jump realms directly onto a moving target.” She paused, folding her hands neatly across the top of the table. “However, an escort will oversee your movements, and as soon as the city is secured, you are to return to Solara. Your Rai will be locked to prevent further movement between realms.”

  Somewhere, deep within me, it felt like my soul was tearing. “For how long?”

  “That has not yet been determined. We need to observe you for a time.”

  “This is outrageous!” Veron roared, standing up and shoving back from the table.

  “I am sorry the decision of the Hunter’s Council is not satisfactory to you,” said the Raven Councilman crisply. “Perhaps you would like to relay your concern to Lord Casseroux.”

  At these words my father stiffened, and the blood drained from his face. “This is on his orders?”

  Beside me, Xavyr stiffened slightly as well, and I was suddenly quite unnerved.

  “Indeed,” said the Rosewater. “He received a full account of the descendant’s actions of the last two weeks from another Hunter, and he contacted the Council right away. Or, some of us.”

  “I see.” Veron’s voice had lost its heat, even its smolder. “Is there anything else the Council wishes us to know?”

  “No, that is all,” said the Dragon. “We hope that you are successful in returning peace to Skye in an expeditious manner.” The woman darted a glance at me and offered a small smile that bit like a snake.

  “There is one more thing,” Waylan said. “Bring us the Artifex. It may be thought to be disabled, but we’d rather be the judge of that ourselves.”

  “Of course,” I said, nodding sharply.

  Veron looked down at me and I stood. He bowed his head and upper body slightly to the Council, then strode from the room. When we reached the metal disc at the end of the room, we paused to wait for the others. A moment later, we were in the lobby again, and then out beneath the night sky. I sucked in a deep breath, as if that would cleanse me of everything that had just happened.

  “So, that’s the Council,” I said, a slight crack in my voice.

  Veron didn’t say anything for a long moment. “We’ll figure everything out,” he said, though his voice held little confidence.

  He summoned for our horses, and a couple of minutes later we were riding back toward Grayfeather Tower. Xavyr rode at my right and my father on the left, with the other Grayfeathers behind us.

  “You mentioned in there that Titus knew you weren’t his daughter,” Veron stated, but it was a question.

  “Yes.” I told him of our little run-in a couple of hours before. “I’m sure it was him who warned Lord Cassa-whatever.”

  “Casseroux,” Veron said softly.

  “Who is he?”

  “He is the ruler of all realms.”

  I opened my mouth, closed it again, then tried once more. “There is a single person that rules all the realms?”

  Veron nodded. “There is. He is a very important and very dangerous man. It would have been better had you not drawn his attention.”

  It hadn’t occurred to me that whoever ruled the capital ruled everything else, too. It sort of made sense. On the one hand, there were countless realms, and each realm had their own ruler, so how could one person then oversee all of them? That was like having a President of Earth or something. But on the other hand, the fact that there was a capital realm made it logical that that realm oversaw the others. One realm to rule them all…one realm to yield absolute power. It was more than a bit frightening.

  I didn’t know what to say, so I changed the subject. “How does the Hunter’s Council ever get anything done with so much fighting? The system is seriously flawed.”

  “It was not always that way,” Veron said, his jaw grinding. “It was disintegrating even before the war, but then…” he shook his head and didn’t finish.

  “But we must abide by their laws,” said one of the other Grayfeathers, whose name started with a Y if I remembered correctly. “Antiquated, but that’s how it is.”

  “We should change things then!” I spat, so loudly that I made Brynwyn jump.

  Veron looked like he might smile, despite the gravity of the situation. “One thing at a time. For the moment we must focus on the positives. We got what we wanted. We’re riding to Skye to save your mother, and hopefully avert all-out war.”

  “But then I get banded. What do we do after that? What about Kellan?”

  “I don’t know.” He looked down at me with those eyes so similar to mine.

  “I wish none of this were happening,” I said softly.

  Veron sighed. “You came back to me. That’s worth something.”

  I smiled, feeling that wild tilt of emotion again. Finding my real father was certainly a highlight. But none of it meant anything if we died trying to liberate Skye. It was highly doubtful that the Grayfeathers, Stags, and Rosewaters would form a united front. How could such a fractured war party end this without everyone dying?

  Probably in an attempt to lighten the mood, the topic of conversation turned to various bits of news in Solara. I remained silent the rest of the way back to Grayfeather Tower, tuning out the others. My brain spun through potential strategies for regaining Skye. Soo Kai would be even more devious than before since she knew the things the other Hunters would try to gain access to the city. And now I was supposed to produce the Artifex, something they thought was still an object and not a person.

  When we reached the tower, we dismounted and Veron turned to me. “Let’s call it a day, eh? Try and get some rest, and we’ll come up with a plan tomorrow.” He smiled and squeezed my shoulder.

  I nodded and allowed one of the stable hands to take Brynwyn to her stall. I was too worn out to argue this time. I’d only been here a few hours and it felt like the city had sapped all of my energy.

  I spent the next hour wallowing through dark thoughts of all the problems piled on my plate. Then, because I was bored and there was nothing else to do, I decided to try the crazy bathtub/spring contraption in my room. The water ran continuously between the pools on some sort of recycle loop, and when I felt it for temperature it was already hot. I checked that the door was locked since Xavyr was in the next room, then I disrobed and climbed in. The water was glorious. It had a silky texture and a mineral scent as if something medicinal had been added. I sunk into the largest pool up to my chin. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the rocks lining the pool, which looked like normal rocks, were actually slightly buoyant and comfortably supported my head as I leaned back. A sigh escaped my lips.

  For a short time, my worries fell away and I basked in the heat and the magical water. I must have started to doze off, because it was with great abruptness that I suddenly jerked back to consciousness and realized that I had somehow activated the Call. I must have started thinking of him when I drifted off: Kellan, of course. The ma
gnetic tug of it burned in my stomach, yearning, stretching, tugging at me from across countless realms. For a moment, my stomach lurched with hope: if I could feel Kellan, that meant he was still alive. An instant later, though, I realized the fallacy in my hope. I had been to the realm of Death, and it could also be from there that I sensed him. The only reason I’d been able to escape was because I had the stag’s antler embedded in my heart, a strange magic that somehow kept me alive.

  A thought occurred to me then, a perilous idea that reeked of disaster. I kind of liked it.

  I would be banded and locked in place as soon as I got the war party aboard Skye. Which meant that I couldn’t save Kellan from the Timekeeper’s realm. Unless of course, I went alone, tonight, to get him.

  I could sneak into the Timekeeper’s realm and be back before we left for Skye the day after tomorrow. Or, of course, die in the Timekeeper’s realm. But if that was going to happen, it would happen. Might as well not endanger my father and other Hunters when I could get the job done myself.

  Mind made up, I stood. Water streamed off me, and I grabbed a towel from a hanger on the wall. I needed clothes—facing the Timekeeper naked was not part of my plan. I strode purposefully into the next room and dressed quickly, tugging on breeches and boots and a fresh tunic. Plus weapons. I needed weapons. Luckily, my closet was full of them. Perks of staying in a Hunt Clan tower. I grabbed a couple of daggers and the small cross bow I’d been given. I stuck the knives inside my boots, and the bow I slung along my back.

  Then, taking a deep breath, I stepped forward to follow the Call across realms. Except as I tried to step forward, my Rai flashed red.

  With a growl, I closed my eyes, focused on the Call, and tried again.

  Nothing.

  The Council had said I had until after the battle on Skye, but clearly that wasn’t the case. Panic flamed through my blood. Fingers trembling, I tried to pull off the bracelet, futile as it was. The clasp seemed welded closed, without even a seam, as if it had never been open to begin with. I tried breaking the bracelet, pulled one of the daggers from my boot and sawed at it, but to no avail. I slumped to the floor.

  Everything that had happened in the last forty-eight hours rose up inside of me and I screamed.

  The door flew open and Xavyr lunged into the room. His face was utterly calm, but he radiated with an intense ferocity that made my heart stop. I knew without an ounce of doubt that he could kill me, quickly and efficiently, in the matter of two breaths. When he saw me sitting on the floor, he went from movement to stillness in an instant with dancer-like grace.

  “My apologies, I thought you were in danger.” His voice held an edge I hadn’t heard before.

  “My Rai is already locked,” I said, my voice thick with unshed tears.

  “You attempted to jump realms?” His tone wasn’t judgmental, but held a tinge of surprise.

  “I was trying to save Kellan. Before we go to Skye, and I get permanently banded.”

  His golden eyes flickered to mine. “The Council did not say it was permanent.”

  I shot him a sour look. “We both know that’s the likely outcome. I’m basically a prisoner. Life sentence.”

  What had moments ago been despair morphed into a hot rage. I was trying to stop a war amongst the Hunters, but somehow I had been branded as the bad guy. The absurdity of it made me furious.

  “This is bullshit!” I climbed to my feet and slammed my fist into the wall, which surprised both Xavyr and myself.

  Silence fell between us, hanging heavily in the air along with my anger. But instead of cooling down, it only grew. My insides actually felt hot, and a small vibration moved up from my solar plexus. Everything inside of me shimmered and I felt a surge, building and building and building…

  The blood left my face as I realized what it was.

  The Artifex.

  Chapter Seven

  “Are you all right?” Xavyr asked. He did not move and his voice was very, very calm, but every muscle in his body was taut.

  “I’m fine,” I said breathily.

  I’d shocked myself so much that my anger had been jostled aside, and as soon as that happened the Artifex began to cool. I took a calming breath, and then another. The fire in my stomach settled and the vibration ceased. “Sorry about that.”

  His eyes burned into me. “You don’t look fine.”

  “I will be. Just got upset. I need a few moments.” I took two steps to my left and sat down at the edge of the tub.

  Xavyr watched me intently. “Would you like to talk about it?” he asked after several moments.

  “You can’t be my bodyguard and my therapist.”

  “Therapist?” His face twisted in puzzlement.

  Clearly he had not spent time in the Earth realm like Kellan and some of the other Hunters. “It’s a…person you pay to listen to your problems.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “People charge money for that? That seems very bizarre.”

  I chuckled. “Well, people might say the same about someone who is hired to protect someone else with their own life.”

  “I am a warrior.” Something, an energy, rippled over him and I shivered. “It seems a logical use of my skills.”

  I sighed. “I still can’t believe the Council already locked my Rai. I guess they thought I was a flight risk. They weren’t wrong.”

  “Your reputation precedes you,” Xavyr said. There was almost a note of humor in his voice.

  “It still doesn’t mean they have the right to do that to me. I don’t belong to anyone. The clans cannot claim me.”

  “And yet that’s all any of them want to do.”

  We stared at each other for several long moments, my eyes of jade against his strange amber ones.

  “This will stay between us,” Xavyr said. “There’s no need for Veron to know you tried to leave.”

  “I would have been right back,” I said with a groan.

  Xavyr raised both brows. “Oh, just a jaunt into the Timekeeper’s realm and back out again? You are an interesting woman.”

  I shrugged off Xavyr’s comment, which had the ring of a compliment. If I was locked down, then how was I ever going to get to Kellan? I couldn’t just leave him down there. And I also wasn’t about to live the rest of my life with my every move monitored by some dickhead council. I needed time to think. Think and stay calm, so I didn’t start to supernova again.

  “I’m headed down to the barn,” I told Xavyr. “I need some fresh air.”

  A far off booming sound filtered through my dreams in that surreal, underwater way things sound in dreams. It got louder and louder and closer until I realized it wasn’t a dream. Someone was knocking on the door of my room. And farther off, someone was pounding on another door.

  I was disoriented until I remembered coming up to bed after spending a couple of hours down in the stable with Brynwyn. Falling into an exhausted sleep… a sleep I needed more of. Who was trying to wake me so desperately?

  Xavyr stepped into my room as I flipped on the light by my bed, a tall slip of shadow in the golden light. “Your father is here. With another man,” he said. His usually neutral tone was tight, and the muscles along his jaw were clenched.

  I got up, feeling slightly self-conscious in my nightgown. Xavyr’s eyes stayed off of me, however, and he moved across the room and grabbed a robe for me. “Thanks,” I said as I slipped my arms into the velvety robe and wrapped it around my torso. “Let’s go see what they want so badly in the middle of the night.”

  We made our way to the common area of my suite, and Xavyr gestured for me to stand back as he opened the door. As soon as he’d opened it, a man I didn’t recognize glided in, followed closely by Veron. The stranger was tall, taller than Xavyr by far. Something about him made me feel he wasn’t quite human, though I couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe his eyes, which were a tad too large, with black pupils that didn’t reflect the light. Or his hands, which almost looked as if they had an extra joint in the fingers. Pe
rhaps it was his immense chest and shoulders, hidden beneath a cloak which shifted oddly over his body as he moved.

  The man stopped abruptly when he saw me standing there, from movement to stillness with a disturbing fluidity. His chest didn’t even rise and fall to indicate he was breathing. He had no hair, and the dim pin lights in the ceiling shone off his pale head.

  “The descendant of Artemis,” he said after a long moment of silence. His lip curled slightly. “At last we meet.”

  “Was I supposed to be expecting you?” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked up the length of his massive body, meeting his strange black eyes unblinkingly.

  Veron stepped around the man and came to my side, a stilted laugh escaping his lips. I realized he sounded… nervous. “Pardon my daughter, she has a bit of a sharp tongue at times. Evryn, this is Lord Casseroux.”

  The leader of all realms? Apparently he thought this kind of intrusion was acceptable behavior given his title. He looked down at me as if expecting an apology. Well, he was going to be disappointed. I stared back at him impassively.

  My father cleared his throat. “Yes, well, Casseroux was anxious to see you, Evryn, since there has been so much talk of your abilities.”

  “It’s the middle of the night,” I said slowly, trying to keep the growl out of my voice. Beside me, Xavyr seemed to inch closer. “This couldn’t wait?”

  “My, but you do have a sharp tongue,” Casseroux said. His voice was high and whispery, which contrasted sharply with his physical bulk. “I’m afraid I want more than to just lay eyes upon you. The Hunters are about to start a war, and you seem to be at the core of it. I can’t very well have one of the races I oversee annihilated because of one little girl.”

  I tensed, and my father laid a hand over mine down at my thigh. “What do you have in mind?” he asked Casseroux.

  “I’ll need to conduct some tests to confirm the validity of these claims. To see if she really is who she says she is. And to ascertain the extent of her skills.”