Wilde's Army (3 page)

“Interesting. I did not see you move a single muscle. Did you deliver the message?”

“Yes. We are to rescue the others and bring them to Willow Falls,” I say, leaving out details about who I had a discussion with.

Perth kneels beside me, offering his hand. “Will they be sending any soldiers to our aid?”

“No.” Scowling, I take hold of him, and he pulls me to my feet.

“We don’t need them. I’ve told you this.” His lack of confidence is annoying.

“Were you aware of a Leader’s meeting at Willow Falls?”

Perth’s face falls flat. “No. Who did you speak with?”

“What does it matter? Perth, I will not marry you. If you lied to me before, if I discover you ever lie to me, I will drive my sword into your heart. Do you understand me?” Flames spread over my body. I’m sick of being in the dark, and I refuse to be a pawn in
anyone’s
game or power struggle. I brush past him, heading straight for the hall.

He grabs my upper arm before I storm out of the room, pulling me around to face him. “Katriona, I swear to you what I said before was not a lie. Who did you speak with?”

I scowl at his hand on my arm.

He releases me.

“I spoke with Kimball Maher.”

Perth arches his eyebrows. “They allowed you to speak directly to the High Leader?”

Playing into his obvious insecurity, I smile. “I wouldn’t say allowed; he required it.”

His eyebrows return to their normal location, then he stares at something on the floor. “And he spoke of me?”

Perth wants to do right, I can tell. I hear it in his voice, I see it in his eyes, and yet I torment him. He knows no one will ever trust him, but he needs trust in order to do the right thing.

“Yes. He says I shouldn’t trust you, and I defended you. If you do anything to make me regret that—”

The floor no longer interests Perth; he looks at me with wide eyes and a genuine smile—the cold look turned warm. “You will kill me. I understand.”

“We need to leave. We have wasted too much time already—something the others don’t have. We’ll take the horses.”

“Okay.”

I turn on my toe, and we leave the communications room.

Relief washes over me after Perth and I enter the stables and find all the animals unharmed. I didn’t realize how worried I was. As soon as I hear the familiar clucks and occasional moos and nays, I sigh.

“How are the animals going to survive if we leave them?” I ask.

Perth casts a sideways glance in my direction. “Willow Falls may not send soldiers to
our
aid, but I guarantee you, they will send them here for the livestock. It may take a day or two for the boats to arrive, but arrive they will.”

It sounds as though Perth has lost faith in his fellow Draíochtans. High Leader Maher didn’t say he wouldn’t send soldiers to our aid; I never asked for them.

“Collectors, right? I think that’s what Arland called them.”

“Yes.”

Just in case it takes more than a few days for the Collectors to come for the animals, I grab a feedbag then fill the food troughs for the chickens, cows, and goats.

He enters the chicken coop after I finish feeding them.

I drop the empty burlap bag outside the goat pen and follow Perth inside. “What are you doing?”

“We are going to need food. There is no telling when we will have a meal again.” He chases after one of the white hens, then catches it by her bumpy, orange feet.

She pecks at his fingers, but Perth manages to get his hands around her neck.

I turn my head and close my eyes, but still hear the distinct sound of bones breaking.

“It would be better if we could bring more, but the meat would rot before we could eat it all,” he says, carrying the dead chicken in his hands.

I might not eat for days
.

“Why not let it live?”

“Too noisy.” He dangles the bird in front of him, indicating for me to leave the coop first.

We round the corner toward the horses. Their ears flatten against their heads. Mirain seems more nervous than the others, stomping and swishing her tail.

“What is it, girl?” I ask, approaching her with my hand held out, palm up.

“It is me. Animals have never liked me very much,” Perth says, still standing in the storage area, backed against the hay bales.

I eye the dead chicken in his murderous hands. “I cannot imagine why not.”

Leaving Perth, I gather Mirain and Bowen, then lead them from their stalls and into the storage bay near the stable doors.

Perth holds out the bird as I pass. “Here. Tie this onto Bowen for me?”

I crinkle my nose. “No, you can do that yourself.”

He doesn’t move.

Great
. He’s afraid. He can easily kill a chicken but is scared of a horse?

“Have you ever ridden?” I hope he has. Otherwise, there’s not enough time to teach him, and he’ll have to ride with me. The thought makes me cringe.

“We do not have a need for these creatures where I am from, but I have ridden. Neither the horse nor I will enjoy this much.”

”You should ride Cadman’s; he’s gentle and won’t fight you as much as Bowen will.” I point toward the end of the stables.

“He’s in the last stall.” Never mind the fact I don’t want him touching anything belonging to Arland.

Perth still doesn’t move.

“No, Perth, really, I’ll get him. Don’t you worry at all.” I march to the last stall, unlatch the gate, then lead the stallion out next to Mirain.

There’s an uneasy tension in the space between the animal and Perth. They stare each other down. Neither breathes. Both stand still.

“Are you going to get on?”

The horse and Perth startle at the sound of my voice.

“Why are we bringing three?” he asks, his feet still planted to the ground.

“I’d like to take them all. If we rescue the others, we’re going to need them, but I cannot imagine leading eight horses through the forest being the quietest adventure, can you?”

If Perth ever betrays me, I’m going to stick him in a barn with a hundred horses and let them scare him to death. This is ridiculous.

“You are bringing Bowen for Arland. You may admit it, it is okay.” The creepy Perth is back. His eyes lose their decency, turning into cold slits, and he puts on a wicked smile.

I climb Mirain and grab Bowen’s reins. There isn’t anything to tie him to Mirain since I ride her bareback, so I’ll have to lead him.

“Get on the horse, or I’ll leave you here.” I look over my shoulder where Perth stands, frozen.

There’s no chance I’ll find the others if Perth doesn’t follow, but I cannot imagine he wants to stay here by himself. I turn from him and wave my hand in front of the door. “Oscailte!”

Holding my breath as the doors open, I prepare to fight anything that might run in to attack. But no daemons jump out at us. There’s nothing in front of us other than the cold, eerie silence of the Darkness.

I click my cheek. “Let’s go, girl.”

Mirain trots outside the stables, then pauses. A few seconds later an extra set of hooves clop behind us, and I know Perth is following.

Mirain turns toward the nervous Ground Dweller.

“Where to?” I ask.

He looks up from his hands squeezing the horn of the saddle. “Go left, then left again, so we are heading north. We should travel in a wide arc and go beyond the cave. We will double back. The daemons will not expect us to come from the north … if that is where they are.”

“Are you capable of leading us, or are you too scared of the horse you’re sitting on?” I tease.

This seems to strike a nerve in Perth. He straightens his back, squares his shoulders, and kicks his feet into the horse’s side. They trot right by me, into the forest of Darkness.

I dig my heels into Mirain and follow along on a trail not well traveled. Tree branches hang low, and I have to move them out of the way in order for us to pass. These three miles—or more if we go beyond the cave—are going to take forever.

Perth rides about ten feet ahead of me, but it’s so dark I can only make out the white of his tunic. I’d love to have a torch or something right now, but we don’t need to bring any attention to us.

Moving along at a snail’s pace, I think of my sister, my mom, the children, and of Arland. Out of everyone, Brit is probably the most afraid. The children and Arland have lived this nightmare their entire lives. My mom prepared for this from before I was born, though she hasn’t lived here since these rough times began.

No, I’m positive Brit is out of her mind with fear. Just a couple days ago, she was upset about us being in the dark, about missing college, about losing a boyfriend, and not knowing her prophecy. Now she’s been captured by daemons and may not be alive much longer.

A tear races down my left cheek at the thought of my sister being dead. I wipe the tear away. My eye is still swollen. I almost forgot about it. Griandor took the pain from me but not the mark itself. The black eye is like a constant reminder of everything I’ve lost, of everything I stand to lose.

Reaching up, I move a branch out of my way and my vision fades to black. I cannot see Perth in front of me, or even Mirain. I struggle to maintain control, but lose feeling in my hands and feet. Tingling sensations work their way throughout my body.

My eyesight returns gradually, but I’m not riding in the dark forest on Mirain. Torches hang on gray-rock walls and are burning brightly, revealing a cave full of daemons and soldiers. Rushing around and tying people up, the daemons are a kind I’ve never seen or encountered before. These beings are tall and have black, hairy legs and hooves for feet. Their torsos are human-like with broad muscular chests and big arms. They have heads of men and eyes the color of blood.

Lann comes into view as my vision clears. He’s not tied up, and he’s speaking directly to one of the daemons. Judging by the way Lann throws his hands around in conversation, it looks as if they’re arguing. I cannot make out what they’re saying. They move closer and stand in front of me.

My heart thuds hard in my ears; my fingers are numb. I’m cold. I’m wet.

“This is the girl’s sister. She is the one I spoke about to you. If you want to kill the one who brings Light, you must use this one against her—and him”—Lann points to someone next to Brit—”This one is her lover.”

Arland
! Anger, rage, and hatred all surge through me. Why would Lann betray his people? He’s a high-ranking soldier. What does he stand to gain from this?

The eyes I’m seeing this disturbing scene through fill with blinding tears. “Kate, if you can hear me, Lann is with the daemons. We’re in a cave not far from the base … please, help us!” My sister’s voice comes out in a whimper, in my head.

She turns her neck to the left and stares at Arland—the pain of this turn radiates through my neck. Arland’s head hangs, his hands are tied above him, and he’s been beaten. Cuts and fresh pink bruises cover the side of his face, and blood drips from his mouth.

“Do you know if Kate can hear you or not?” he asks, his voice ragged. He doesn’t lift his head to look at her.

“I haven’t told her I hear and sometimes see her thoughts; I’m just praying she hears mine, too,” Brit whispers.

My sister and I
are
connected. I heard Brit in my head last night when the daemons attacked Brad—she told me to stay with Arland or he would die.

Brit must have wanted me to see Lann talking to the daemon.

I want to make Lann hurt. I want to kill every single daemon that has laid a finger on Arland and anyone else. I want to kill
Dughbal
.

The vision fades.

I open my eyes and a tree branch smacks me in the face, knocking me from Mirain.

“Ow!” I wheeze for air.

“Katriona, are you okay?”

I hear concern in Perth’s distant voice, but I cannot see his face. Sparks of black and white light explode in my eyes.

He slides his arms under my back and legs, picks me up, then props me against a tree. “Can you hear me?”

I nod. My sight has not completely returned to me yet, but Perth is beginning to take on the form of a person rather than a blob.

Kneeling beside me, he laughs. “Who has the problem with the horses now?”

“L-Lann,” I manage to get out through gasps for air.

“No, I am Perth. You must have hit your head.” He runs his hands over my scalp, inspecting for injuries.

I shake my head and take a short breath without wheezing. “Lann betrayed us.”

“How do you know this?” He removes his hands from my hair.

Telling Perth about my powers seems like a dangerous thing to do, considering what Leader Maher told me, but this one Perth needs to know about. I think.

“I have visions of things that can happen. And from what I experienced just now, I think I have the ability to connect to my sister’s mind,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose. My head does hurt.

“And what do you see in these visions?”

Closing my eyes, I take a shallow breath. “Death, destruction, things that leave me confused.”

“And what happened while you were in Brit’s mind?”

“They are in a cave.”

“Can you recall the details?”

I open my eyes. “Details?”

“How many daemons were there? What kind? How badly were people injured?”

I cannot answer all of these questions. Paying close attention wasn’t on the top of my priorities list. “The daemons had hairy legs and hooves, but the rest of their bodies looked like men. That’s all I know.”

Perth shakes his head. “Tairbs. They are strong, but their numbers are weak. I saw coscarthas leading them from base, did you see any?”

“No.”

“Do you have any control over the connection to your sister’s body?”

“I don’t know.”

Perth purses his lips, stands then offers me his hand.

I take it, then he pulls me to my feet.

“We should continue moving. Lingering in the forest is dangerous. I know a place along the river where we can set up camp. It is north of the cave. The daemons should not be looking for us there. Are you okay to ride?”

“Yes.”

Perth cups his hands; I step on them then climb onto Mirain’s back. Once I’m settled on her, he climbs his own horse. With the push of a branch and a kick of his feet, he starts riding again with Bowen and me following behind.