Treason: Book Two of the Grimoire Saga (a Young Adult Fantasy series) (31 page)

In the blink of an eye, Kara stood by the waterfall. Mist swirled over her arms and clung to the back of her neck. She took a deep breath to savor the water’s chill as it rolled over her.

The rest of the group didn’t enjoy the trip as much.

Twin cursed and put her hand on a tree to get her balance. Richard doubled over, hands on his knees, and heaved. Kara set a hand on his back, but he muttered something about her needing to make sure they were alone.

Kara glanced around. The sun’s evening rays burned through the trees, casting dappled shadows along broken twigs and spots of grass on the ground. A squirrel knocked an acorn against a tree root sticking up from the dirt, but couldn’t quite crack the thing. No one else seemed to have seen them.

Twin laughed and pushed Kara’s shoulder. “What’s wrong with you? Warn me before you do that!”

“I’m sorry, but I had to get us out of there. We still need to hurry.” Kara forced a smile. They were wasting time.

Twin just shook her head and walked toward the waterfall. The girl knelt and peered behind the tumbling water, her body blocking the small passage. After a moment, she wiggled inside. Her feet disappeared. Ragged breaths and muffled curses drifted back as she pushed her way through.

“I see it!” she said, her voice muffled by the small space.

Richard bowed to Kara. “Ladies first.”

Kara knelt. The perfectly round hole only gave her about three or four feet through which to move, and she couldn’t see the other side. She couldn’t see Twin for that matter.

“Twin!” she called.

If Twin responded, the water’s rush drowned it out. Kara hesitated. This didn’t look like a lichgate—only darkness, dirt, and a little bit of mold filled the tunnel.

“Something wrong?” Richard asked.

Kara shook her head and sighed. “Here goes nothing.”

She slid into the small space and crawled on her forearms and knees. Dirt clung to her skin. Twigs pinched her elbows. The waterfall’s echo doubled in here, the noise drowning out even the sound of her own breath. She wanted to call for Twin again, but didn’t see the point.

Light flashed ahead. Shapes formed a short ways off. As though through a screen door, the gray outline of a fallen log sat in the twitching grasses of a meadow. Kara grinned.

What a relief.

Blue light split through her peripheral vision, and her stomach twisted as she passed through the still-unseen lichgate. As if on cue, the meadow came into sharp color. The murky greens of moonlit grasses blinked back at her.

She stuck her head out of the tunnel and took a breath of air. The sweet tang of honeysuckle blooms floated on a breeze that flew down her collar. Sweat dried on her neck. She wiped her face and sucked in another deep breath.

A hand grabbed her arm. Thanks to Braeden’s training, Kara’s first instinct told her to counter, grab the attacker’s wrist, and twist until it broke. She grabbed the hand, but paused long enough to look over before breaking anything.

Twin smiled, apparently oblivious to the fact she’d almost gotten a broken arm. Kara took a deep breath and smiled back.

Richard grunted from the tunnel. “A little help, ladies?”

His head poked out of the tunnel, sandwiched between his arms as he groped for the leverage he needed to pull himself out. Twin giggled and grabbed one arm while Kara grabbed the other. Together, they pulled the retired king from the tiniest lichgate Kara had ever seen.

“Where to next, Vagabond?” Richard asked with a grin.

Kara smiled and wiped the dirt off her hands. “Next, the village. Are you two ready for this?”

Twin grinned. “You have no idea.”

Richard and Twin set their hands on her shoulder as if on cue. Kara scratched Flick’s head and closed her eyes. She envisioned the Amber Temple, with its four towers and cobblestone road—

Crack!

“It’s beautiful!” Twin said before Kara could even open her eyes.

Kara peeked through an eyelid and sighed with relief when she saw the Amber Temple’s main entrance. Leaves tumbled over the cobblestone and fell from the low-hanging branches above, but the lyth was nowhere in sight.

“All right, guys. Let me show you to your new home,” she said.

Kara would have to introduce them to the lyth later. Some guardian he was. Right now, she had to hurry. She wanted to stop Braeden from whatever mistake he was about to make, but she had to make some vagabonds first.

Kara opened both doors to the Vagabond’s study.

She grumbled under her breath. She really needed to start calling it
her
study. A ghost hardly needed a desk.

She had given the barest of tours, showing them the war room, treasury, kitchen, and a few bedrooms—just the basics. They could explore the rest on their own. She had to get out of here.

“Are you two ready?” she asked.

Richard leaned against the door to catch his breath. “You just took the stairs three at a time, Kara. Why are you rushed?”

“I need to get back, but I can’t leave you here without changing you. I need to turn you both now.”

“That’s not an answer. What happened to get you so upset?” he asked.

Kara sighed and walked over to the bookshelf holding the Grimoires without answering. She stared at the books without looking at them. To distract herself, she thrummed her fingers along the top of the shelf once she got there.

“Did something happen between you and Braeden?” Twin asked.

Kara sighed. “No. I mean, sort of. Something is wrong with Braeden. I can feel it. He’s going to do something stupid, and I need to get back before he does it. I don’t mean to rush you two, and I’m sorry. I’m just worried.”

Twin nodded. “Well, let’s do this, then.”

“Before we start, I need you to know why I’m doing this. I didn’t want to talk about this in Ayavel, but I need you both to create a vagabond for every Grimoire on this shelf. I have maps to get you into the kingdoms, just like the one in Ayavel. Do you think you can do that?”

“How will we travel?” Richard asked.

Kara paused. Flick purred on her shoulder, his eyes closed. She didn’t want to do it, but it just made sense.

“You need to travel fast,” she said.

“Yes,” Richard agreed.

“You’ll have to be stealthy. Unseen.”

“Makes sense,” Twin added.

“So I think you should take Flick,” Kara finished.

Breep!

Flick made his angry noise, as if he’d understood her. Most of the time, she was pretty sure he could.

“Don’t you need him?” Twin asked.

“Not as much as you do. I need to distract the Bloods while you two do this, but even that won’t buy you much time. You need to move quickly and stay under the radar. Flick is the fastest way to go. If you want to split your efforts, I can also call a flaer.”

Richard laughed. “A flaer! A real flaer! How do you do it?”

Kara chuckled. “I guess we know which one Richard wants to take.”

Flick nudged Kara’s neck, which pulled her away from the plotting. She scratched his tiny head. He whimpered.

“It’ll be okay, boy. Twin will take good care of you, and I’m not leaving yet. I still have to show her how to teleport with you, silly.” She turned to the Hillsidians with her. “Twin, Richard, do you both understand what I’m asking?”

“I do,” Richard said with a nod.

Twin smiled. “Me too. How does this work?”

“Both of you pick a Grimoire. The first Vagabond said they’re similar to mine. Mine has an attitude, so I can only imagine that each book has its own personality, too.”

Twin stepped toward the shelves first. She lifted her finger over the spines of each book, her hand hovering without touching any of them as she scanned her way across them. After a few moments, she pulled a tome from the shelf.

Her fingers brushed a string of silver wrapped around the leather cover. She yelped and dropped the book. It landed on the floor with a
thump.

Kara cringed. “I’m sorry, I forgot about the silver. It’ll sear your skin.”

“I figured that one out,
thank you
.” Twin picked the book up with the edges of her dress and carried it over to the desk. The unclaimed Grimoire made a
thud
again as she set it on top. A chain dangled from a pendant set into the lock.

Richard followed suit. He grabbed a book and set it on the desk, careful to avoid the silver chain wrapped around his Grimoire. Both he and Twin eyed the pendants.

“This is going to hurt,” Kara said.

Twin looked up with wide eyes. “How much?”

“A lot.”

Twin groaned.

“Hey, I’m here. And you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. This is your choice. Being a vagabond…it’s lonely, but at least we’ll have each other. This is a hard life, and I want you to know that before you get into it. I didn’t have that warning.”

Twin took a deep breath, nodded, and grabbed the pendant from the lock without hesitating.

A gale ripped through the room. Both Kara and Richard watched in horror as Twin seemed to stifle a scream. Their hair whipped about them, Kara’s stinging her skin as she held onto the desk for support. Twin writhed in agony. Her skin glowed blue.

A mist blew from Twin’s mouth like a ghost. The pale green haze spun from her mouth and dissolved into the air. When the last of it disappeared, the gale stalled. Twin fell into the office chair, panting.

Kara knelt and grabbed her hand. Richard appeared on the other side. Twin couldn’t speak. Kara didn’t expect her to.

“Ow,” Twin finally said.

Kara laughed, and soon the others joined in.

“So this is mine?” Twin asked, rubbing her finger along her Grimoire’s spine.

“Forever,” Kara said.

Twin laughed again, and strength seemed to seep slowly back into her. “So, we have to find owners for the rest?”

“As many as you can. Choose the best of the best—soldiers, scholars, healers, you name it. I brought you here because I trust you. I only brought Richard because Braeden trusts him. No offense, Richard.”

“None taken. I deserved that.”

Kara stood. “I don’t think either of you should bring anyone else here until they’re turned. The first Vagabond isn’t big on trusting those with the blood loyalty.”

Twin laughed. “He must love your little tryst with Braeden, then.”

Kara looked down at the floor. “How obvious is it?”

“I just know you,” Twin said.

Richard rubbed his eyes. “Kara, you’re tough to read. I only knew about the two of you because Braeden cannot help himself around you.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“He watches when you leave, waiting for you to turn around and catch his eye. He dove in front of you at the Gala, protecting you when Carden had you at his mercy. My girl, I’m fairly certain Braeden would die for you.”

“I don’t want that!”

“Love is a strange thing, and not often wanted,” Richard said.

“I never—”

Richard shrugged. “Some things need not be said.”

Kara sighed. “Well, neither of you can tell anyone. As far as I know, that’s over anyway.”

“What?” Richard asked.

“Oh, Kara, I’m sorry,” Twin said.

“Don’t be. Just please don’t mention it.”

“What do you mean, over?” Richard insisted.

“He found me after his meeting with the Bloods and…” Kara trailed off. She couldn’t explain what had happened.

“And what?” Twin prompted.

“He said goodbye,” Kara said softly.

“You need to find him and stop him from doing whatever he’s about to do,” Richard said.

“I will. But first, I need to show you both something. I’m not sure what help they’ll be, but there are keys to Losse and Kirelm in that drawer,” Kara said, nodding toward the desk.

“How—?” he asked.

“Drenowith.”

“My life just got a lot more interesting,” Twin said.

“That is one hell of an understatement,” Kara said with a laugh.

Richard rubbed his hands together and reached for his Grimoire.

“All right. My turn,” he said with a grin.

The grin faded, though, as soon as he pulled his pendant from the lock. Kara watched his face distort in pain, and the pang of fear that she’d made a mistake shot through her chest. But Braeden trusted Richard, and so should she. She would show him and Twin how to teleport. Only then would she let herself go back to Braeden.

Trust
. She had to trust that this was a good idea
.