The Fiend Queen (29 page)

“And Redtrue already knows just about everything.”

“I’ll leave her to you.”

“Lucky me.” Katya yawned hugely. “Don’t you need me at the council?”

“I have plenty of allies in Countess Nadia and a few of the others, and as much as Dayscout has his own people’s interests at heart, I trust him not to stab me in the back. No, Starbride remaining attached to Yanchasa is a problem for the kingdom as well as her family. And it’s one we have to figure out while she’s gone.”

Katya smiled softly. “Her family?”

“Of course, my girl. Don’t you think I know how much you care for her? I know she’ll be my daughter soon. Under the law, this time, not just in your heart.”

“Thank you, Da. Ma said something similar before she…” She cleared her throat roughly.

“I believe it, my girl. We’ve discussed it many times, she and I. She always took longer to warm than I did, but she was getting there.” He reached out, his large palms enfolding hers.

“I’ll invite Master Bernard up for a chat.”

*

Master Bernard listened to Katya’s story so closely she feared he might tumble out of his seat. She laid it all bare for him. If they had until Starbride’s return to figure out how to free her from Yanchasa, there wasn’t time to hold back.

He didn’t look as strong as she remembered. He’d shaved his beard when he’d went into hiding, and it was only now growing back, a shade of its former bushy red self, and she noted more white streaks than before. He was thinner, too, but so was everyone who’d been left behind when the city fell.

“So much makes sense now,” he said, “all the secret ways Starbride knew of combatting the corpse Fiends, how she was familiar with anti-Fiend magic and the Fiend king.” He pointed toward his feet. “And the great Fiend is down there now? I thought all the talk of ritual and placating such a creature was a children’s tale.”

“It’s down there, and it’s awake.”

He paled. “I saw the physical changes in Starbride, but I sensed others as well. I admit to a tremendous sense of relief when she took our
guards
away this morning.”

“She’s blind to the Fiend’s malevolence.”

Master Bernard tapped his chin. “And besides the anti-Fiend knowledge that Starbride imparted to us rebels, no one else knows Fiend magic?”

Katya told him what Starbride had told her, of the Belshrethen eventually becoming the Allusians, but how they seemed to have forgotten—on purpose, perhaps—the secrets of flesh or Fiend magic.

“Interesting. There must be something wrong with it on a fundamental level, some corrupting energy, or else why throw away such power?”

“It would explain why the adsnazi are so hesitant to use destructive magic,” Katya said. “They see it as all stemming from the same source.”

Master Bernard snorted. “I don’t recall a fire pyramid ever urging me to kill my family, or whatever it is these Fiends do.”

“You probably shouldn’t get into a debate with Redtrue.”

“Oh, I’ll debate,” he said, “as long as she wants.”

Katya blinked. “You’re hired.”

He stared before he laughed, slapping his knee. “I’ll look at this capstone whenever you’re ready. As for the underground city, I’d love to see it, too, and I know just which knowledge monks to call on to help in our research.”

“Urge them to keep quiet. Too many onlookers will get in the way. I’ll get Dayscout to assemble some Allusian scholars, and Redtrue can gather more adsnazi. I’ll meet you at the entrance to the royal quarters in an hour.”

*

Dayscout had to attend the nobles’ council with Da, as did Leafclever, but the looks on both their faces said they were dying to get into the underground city. Redtrue brought along a couple of adsnazi, and Master Bernard brought a few knowledge monks who wrung their hands in anticipation.

The monks had brought laborers armed with shovels and pickaxes. After half a dozen deep breaths and self-assurances that she would see the sun again, Katya showed them the spot where she’d fallen during the fight with Roland. She called on Brutal and Maia to watch over the monks and make sure they didn’t wander into the capstone cavern. She would have had Freddie and Hugo standing guard as well, but they’d ridden out with Starbride.

That had to have been Da’s idea. Katya bet Starbride didn’t think she needed help. Da had probably had to sell the idea under the excuse that she would need messengers, though she’d taken three other riders for that. Whatever the reason, Katya was glad that someone besides Yanchasa and a host of Fiends were watching Starbride’s back.

Katya shook those thoughts away as she continued toward the capstone cavern with Redtrue, Dawnmother, Master Bernard, Castelle, and one other adsnazi. The other had elected to go down into the ruined city.

Katya chatted incessantly. She kept waiting for Redtrue to make a snide comment about that. She’d fought down her panic, but it threatened to come back every time she looked at the stone walls, or spirits forbid, the ceiling. It was as if she could feel the rock waiting to collapse and swallow her again.

“How are your ribs?” she asked Redtrue, hoping her voice seemed normal. Her skin felt far too tight from the inside.

“Sore. I don’t relish being close to the capstone again.”

Katya nodded, but she bet their reasons for discomfort were far different. Their time underground hadn’t seemed to affect Dawnmother or Redtrue as it had her. When they passed the door and emerged into the capstone cavern, Katya’s eyes snapped to the hole they’d climbed up, and she had to force the memories down. The cavern was wider than the tunnels, at least.

Redtrue glared at the capstone. “I don’t know what else this abomination can tell us.”

“Can you tell what purpose it was originally meant for?” Katya asked.

Redtrue pulled a pyramid out of her bag, but the look on her face said she was already out of her depth.

Master Bernard’s nose nearly touched the capstone as he leaned close. “It’s the same sort of energy I detected from the corpse Fiends but slightly different from the pyramids Starbride designed to hide us from the corpse Fiends’ senses.”

“Meaning that its purpose always had something to do with Fiends?” Katya asked.

“That would be my guess. But it sounds like Starbride has found a way to retune pyramids entirely, some new way of accessing pyramid magic.”

“She said she was letting the adsna flow,” Katya said.

Redtrue glanced at her sharply. “That is an adsnazi saying.”

“I would love to hear all about it,” Master Bernard said.

Redtrue stared at him as if doubting his words. The other adsnazi spoke first. “The adsna, the world spirit, is like a great river. It travels up from the world and all around us, and those that can sense the energy can let it flow through them.”

“But,” Redtrue added sternly, “we only work in harmony with the adsna and do not twist it to our own ends. Right, Riverwise?”

He shrugged. “Isn’t using it at all twisting it to our own ends?”

Redtrue looked at him as if he’d grown another head. “Leafclever recommended you come with us.”

“So?”

“How could he give me someone who spouts such nonsense?”

“Not everyone is as stubborn in their philosophy as you.”

Katya found it hard not to adopt the young man on the spot. “And what do you think of our capstone?”

“It feels more like our magic than Farradain pyramids do.”

“And what do you know of Farradain pyramids?” Redtrue asked.

He shrugged again. “I talk to people.”

Katya had to chuckle. “If what Yanchasa said is true, and the Belshrethen became the Allusians, I don’t think they all went to Allusia.”

“You think some of them came here and brought their magic with them?” Master Bernard asked. “That sounds like a workable theory.”

Redtrue harrumphed. “My people are not descended from Fiends.”

Katya’s eyes rested on the glowing capstone, and she pictured the monster trapped beneath their feet. “There are no such things as Fiends,” she whispered, but she couldn’t believe it. There were monstrous people in the world. Surely, they deserved a label all their own.

Starbride

Yanchasa’s children kept their distance, hidden among the trees as Starbride rode north through the forest to Roland’s rumored hypnotization camp. Every once in a while, one of Starbride’s companions would glance into the woods as if they felt the children’s icy stares.

Starbride couldn’t help but think of her companions as nursemaids. They weren’t as bad as Dawnmother, but she felt Freddie’s and Hugo’s eyes on her all the time. They rode just behind her, the three messengers packed in tightly behind them, and the remnants loping a few paces around the entire party, just far enough away to not scare the horses.

Starbride was tempted to bark at her companions that if they didn’t like the children’s or the remnants’ presence, they were welcome to return to Marienne. But she needed the messengers, and Freddie and Hugo would refuse. They couldn’t spy on her if they didn’t keep close.

Hugo nudged his horse next to hers. “I’m fine,” she said before he could speak.

His mouth snapped shut before it edged open again.

“And no, I am not reading your mind. You’re simply very obvious.”

She was trying for insulting, but he beamed. “Always happy to oblige.”

A tremor of guilt made her sigh. “Sorry, Hugo. I don’t like being looked after.”

“It’s my pleasure to inquire about your health, Miss Starbride. You looked after all of us for so long, remember?”

“And now you think I need you instead?” she asked.

“That’s not what I meant.” Had his voice always grated on her nerves so much?

“Come and ride back here, Hugo,” Freddie called. “You can ask me how I am.”

Now that was more like it. If she couldn’t have some actual combat, she’d take some verbal sparring. “Afraid I’ll hurt someone, Freddie?”

“Yes.”

She frowned. “I expected you to say no or comment on how I’ve changed.”

“Starbride would know how she’s changed. I won’t play games with you, Yanchasa.”

She wheeled her horse around. “I’m not Yanchasa!”

“Yeah? Prove it.” He gave her a hard stare, and the others looked at her anxiously. The remnants skidded to a halt.

She gestured to her own body. “You have eyes, yes?”

“They’re one of the senses I’m currently trusting.”

“Well?” She didn’t know what to say, searching for some way to refute his claim, though she didn’t know why she bothered.

“Nor do I, daughter. Ignore him,” Yanchasa said.

“Well?” Freddie asked. “Is that your entire argument?”

“I don’t need to argue with you.”

“I suppose you don’t, Yanchasa.”

Heat prickled her temples. “That is not my name!”

Yanchasa leaned against a tree just behind Freddie’s shoulder. “Kill him, daughter, if he bothers you this much.”

Starbride glared at her. “I do not need to punctuate my arguments with force!”

That seemed to shut them all up. Starbride turned her horse and kept going. As they journeyed farther into the forest, she rubbed her arms. She should have brought a cloak. It had started snowing again, and they might be traveling all the way into the hills.

No, she shouldn’t be cold. The adsna kept her warm, but she couldn’t quite reach it. The chill of winter wormed into her core.

“What’s happening?” she whispered.

“Oh, are you talking to me?” Yanchasa asked.

“Why can’t I…”

“What is it, daughter? Feeling the cold wind, are we?”

And it wasn’t just that. She hadn’t been on a horse in ages, and she was starting to feel a deep ache in her legs. The wind knifed through her clothing and turned her hands and face to ice. Her head began to throb, and the emotions that had tormented her before she’d found Yanchasa’s peace, the sorrow she’d felt when Katya and Dawnmother had died, threatened to engulf her.

But they were alive! She should have rejoiced, but all she could remember was the power she’d lobbed around so casually, the suspicion of family and friends. They wouldn’t want anything to do with her now. Even Freddie had become her enemy.

“Please,” Starbride whispered.

“I am not your slave. You do not beckon me forward when you need me and dismiss me when you’re through.”

“I meant no disrespect.”

“You do not shout at me, daughter. I am the one with centuries of knowledge. I am the one whose experiences can save you. I am the wellspring of your power.” Heat flooded her, thrusting the chill away. As the adsna pounded in her veins, it banished her guilt, and she sighed as if relaxing into a lover’s embrace.

“I do not like teaching you these lessons, daughter.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“You know that I love you.” His affection coated her like honey.

“Me, too. I’m sorry.” No one else could ever love her like this. No one could ever be so close, so intimate. Not Dawnmother, not even Katya. And Yanchasa’s love was immortal. Starbride saw that now.

*

They camped for the night at an abandoned village. Starbride wished they could keep going, but her mortal companions couldn’t see at night, and they felt winter’s chill more keenly than she could. She left the remnants and the children to guard outside while she and the rest stayed in a large, abandoned tavern.

The others camped in the common room, Freddie and Hugo agreeing that would be safer. Starbride took the largest bedroom. There was another, but she didn’t bother to mention it. If they wanted to stay together, they were welcome to each other. She wouldn’t miss their accusing eyes.

She laid in the bed and stared at the ceiling. After an hour passed, she stood and snooped around. With her adsna-augmented eyes, she didn’t need light. A knitted coverlet sat at the foot of a bed big enough for two, probably the tavern’s owner and their spouse, unless the owner was accustomed to taking different people into his or her bed. A dresser sat across the room, a white doily masking the dark mahogany wood of the surface. Starbride pawed through the objects that dotted the top: a glass lamp, an empty bowl made of tarnished silver, and a jewelry box.

Starbride opened the box slowly, listening to the creak of the carved wooden lid. Her hands trembled, and she paused to marvel at them, thinking of all the times she’d gone through her own beloved jewelry. These objects were flotsam compared to what she was used to, but she could sense the love in the battered copper comb, the bronze pin in the shape of a sunburst, and the strand of glass pearls. She thought of Countess Nadia’s string of perfect Lanaster pearls, something this box’s owner couldn’t even dream of. She could almost smell the crisp air on Nadia’s balcony and hear her throaty laugh as Starbride asked her again for the naughty story that went with those pearls. They had time to tell that story now that Roland had been dealt with.