Chapter Twenty-Six

Rhylix

I would make a final request of you, my friend.

Watching the Zrelnach encampment, I despaired of ever sneaking into it in a conventional manner. They were too well-organized and from what I’d seen, on high alert as well. If I used an illusion or shape change to infiltrate the camp, they’d quickly pick up on the inconsistencies always present in a magical disguise.

So, how would I get in?

I’d rather not use Ele unless I must. The repelling knot that was Teron still felt far distant, but that distance was nothing to someone like him. Any significant pull of Ele to the physical plane—unlike the tiny sips of it I’d used to try reaching Sev earlier tonight—would orient the bastard in an instant, and I’d rather let whatever was slowing Teron down continue to do so.

If he changed trajectory toward Daira, where Kaedesa would surely be taking Raimie soon, then I’d light Sev up like a beacon for the monster but until then…

No Ele.

Which left me with a quandary. Without magic, I could either enter the camp as I normally would and hope Ferin hadn’t spread orders about me through the ranks, or I could wait for a Zrelnach to wander off so I could take their armor. Neither of those options sounded good.

Right as I was about to step out to do gods knew what, I noticed a disturbance on the edge of camp. A group of Zrelnach was ambling through it, angling toward the dark hills around Sev.

They were chatting and laughing and playfully shoving each other, acting like a group of friends who’d been given the night to themselves, and as they came closer, I realized that was exactly what they were: friends. Friends I knew.

Someone stopped them before they could leave camp, and after a moment of discussion, the group pulled aside to reveal one of them leaning on a fellow Zrelnach.

I could imagine the conversation taking place. The group of friends was probably begging the guard to let their inebriated member sober up away from the other Zrelnach’s watchful eyes, and it appeared as if the guard blocking them would have mercy. When she moved aside to let the friends pass, they headed into the darkness.

Rising from the grass, I dusted myself off before hurrying to intercept them.

Away from camp, the group behaved with far greater gravity, keeping their eyes on the move and their hands on their swords’ hilts. This would make approaching them difficult.

I waited for them to stop, and once they had, they exchanged a few words before most of them headed back, leaving three behind.

“-grateful they helped me this much,” I heard as I edged closer, “but I won’t let them betray Allanovian for our friendship, especially when we can’t know if Raimie… if he-”

“Come now. Don’t do that. Raimie’s strong, even if he’s not as resourceful as he once was. He’ll be fine, and you know it.”

“I… yes, I know. It’s just hard. Not half an hour ago, you came hustling into my tent to whisk me away, and we don’t know how Raimie’s involved in this. If nothing happens to him in Sev, we can’t know whether we’ll catch him while he’s on his way back. How do we help him when we don’t know the enemy’s plan?”

And there was my opportunity.

“I can help with that,” I loudly said.

In a flash, two of the three had their swords drawn while the third had his bow leveled at me with an arrow nocked. He barely stopped himself from releasing said arrow, and I thanked my lucky stars that he’d restrained himself. Even half in shadows as I was, he was aiming at my eye.

Wordlessly, I lifted my hands above my head, and the other three relaxed.

“Rhylix?” Aramar asked. “What are you doing here?”

“Well…” I drawled, looking over the three friends. “I was coming to get you out of camp, but it looks like you lot had that well in hand."

“Of course we did, healer,” Aya spat. “We’re there for the people who need us, unlike you.”

Aramar winced while Gistrick laid a hand on Aya’s shoulder.

“I know you’re tense, given what we’ve just done. I am too,” he said, “but there’s no need for hostility toward someone who seems willing to help us.”

Huffing, Aya turned away from them, crossing her arms over her chest.

‘Sorry,’ Aramar mouthed.

I shrugged at him. Disdain like hers had stopped affecting me ages ago.

“You said something about Raimie’s situation?” Aramar continued aloud.

“I did,” I said. “I have news. I’m afraid you won’t like it.”

Setting his jaw, Aramar said, “It has to be better than living in the dark.”

“Fair enough,” I said with a half-shrug.

But I glanced toward Gistrick to ensure he was ready to catch Aramar, if this news proved too much for him.

When Gistrick nodded, I asked, “First, how much do you know about what’s happened?”

“Not much,” Aramar said. “Just that the conspiracy we were investigating has made its move tonight, and somehow, every Zrelnach has received orders that they’re not to interfere. Most of them seem to be as much in the dark about this as us.”

That made a lot of sense, actually.

“Ferin wouldn’t have wanted to drive a rift through her people,” I mused, caught in my own head. “If they knew the conspiracy was Council-sanctioned, it would force them to choose between Allanovian and a boy many of them have grown fond of over the last few weeks.”

When a heavy silence fell, I realized how stupid it had been to say any of that out loud.

“Ferin?” Gistrick asked in a squeak.

With an eye half-closed, I nodded.

“She’s the leader of the conspiracy,” Aramar said, putting two and two together, “which means it’s not a conspiracy at all.”

“Unfortunately,” I said.

“Well, shit.”

Turning on his friends, Aramar looked over their tensed states and slowly breathed out.

“You should go back now,” he said. “If you hurry, you might catch the others before-”

“No!”

Aya jerked her head toward him, sending her hair flying, and with a completely red face, she struggled to keep the fists at her side from trembling.

“Ferin and the rest of the Council are cowardly wastes of space. They don’t know what Allanovian wants when it comes to most things and especially not with this,” she hissed. “You, Aramar, are the father of Auden’s rightful king, and unlike Allanovian, Auden is our true home. More importantly, though, you’re one of us. Everyone in your family is, and while most Zrelnach can’t break their oaths of loyalty yet, you are our friend, which gives us the extra incentive needed to do what’s right. Gistrick and I will help you, whether you like it or not.”

In this single moment, Aya redeemed the Zrelnach for every wrong they’d ever committed against me, at least in my eyes. Aramar was struck speechless until Gistrick stepped forward to squeeze his shoulder.

“Raimie?” he said.

With a grimace, Aramar flailed his arm, knocking Gistrick’s hand off of him, but his immediate wince showed the reaction to have been unintentional.

“Sorry,” he said. “It’s just this thing…”

He gestured to his waist, and I pursed my lips. Why was the device from the tear giving him so much trouble still?

“I’ll take a look at it soon,” I said. “In the meantime, you should know that Ferin doesn’t seem thrilled by the Council’s decision either. It’s why she saved Raimie’s life in the Withriingalm rather than letting him die like she planned.”

“She started that?” Aramar growled while scrunching his hands in front of his face. “Oh, oh, I’m going to…”

“Save your anger for worthier targets,” I said, “such as the person Ferin’s contacted to finish the job she couldn’t complete.”

I paused to let Aramar draw his own conclusions, and when he did, he stumbled backward until Gistrick caught him.

Swallowing hard, he rasped, “Kaedesa?”

I nodded, and Aramar shot upright, tearing at his hair as he paced.

“Fuck!” he hissed. “Oh, Alouin. Raimie… what will I do?”

“We will not panic,” Gistrick said. “We will calmly consider our options and form a plan.”

“I already have one, actually,” I said.

The other three turned on me with blank expressions, and I rolled my eyes.

“I know I’m primarily a healer to you lot, but you should know better than to think that’s all I can do,” I said.

Raising an eyebrow, Aya said, “All right, then. What’s your plan, healer?”

Gods. Yes, I’d fostered these people’s belief that I was useless in order to blend in better, but at times, dealing with it could be frustrating as hell.

Gesturing toward the city, I said, “We can’t enter Sev until morning, locked down as it is, so we use that time to rest up and prepare. In the morning, Aramar and I will go into the city and find Raimie. I have contacts there—Don’t look at me like that. I lived here for years before making my way to Allanovian—and they should be able to help us. Based on what they say, we can make further plans. As for our two native Zrelnach, you’ll return to camp and-”

Breaking off, I looked away, rapidly blinking while I considered how best to put this.

“Does everyone here know Dath?” I hesitantly asked.

Frowning, Aya said, “That’s the kid you were training with Raimie, right? I thought he disappeared in the Withriingalm.”

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“He didn’t, actually. He’s been helping with our investigation since then,” Aramar calmly said.

But his face, rapidly draining of color, belied that calm state.

“What happened, Rhylix?” he asked.

Closing my eyes, I said, “Earlier today, Ferin confronted me, hoping to stop me from helping Raimie. Despite our precautions, she knew about Dath, using him as leverage, and I…”

Gods, it hurt, even knowing I couldn’t have done anything else at the time.

“I left him in Ona’s hands, planning to reach Sev before the gate closed,” I continued with a thick voice. “Obviously, I failed to do that. So.”

Taking a deep breath, I caught Gistrick and Aya’s eyes, one at a time.

“I was hoping the two of you could find out what’s happened to him,” I said. “If he’s alive, I beg you to get him out of there. Please. If not…”

If not, another tragedy could be attributed to my name.

After an agonizingly long period of silence, Aya said, “Of course we’ll look for him, and… if you don’t already know, you did the right thing. You made the choice that any good Zrelnach would have.”

With a sharp glance at her, I struggled to identify what her change in demeanor had set boiling in my gut. It was with great difficulty that I find my voice and said.

“Thank you.”

Coming closer, Aramar clapped my shoulder.

“I like this plan,” he said. “Why don’t you and I discuss how we’ll get into the city while Gistrick and Aya head back?”

“Of course,” I said. “If my Zrelnach betters don’t mind?”

Rolling his eyes, Gistrick waved us off while Aya flat-out ignored what I’d said, but still, both of them started back toward camp.

Aramar waited until his friends had walked out of earshot before speaking again.

“I didn’t know that Allanovian wasn’t your home,” he led with.

With a faint smile, I said, “You had no reason to think otherwise, but no. My home lies far from here. We, however, should focus on Raimie, not me.”

Aramar gave me a look that showed how much he wasn’t buying my bullshit.

But he said, “How are we getting into Sev? No doubt Kaedesa’s spies will be watching for suspicious people, and they’ll have a good description of me.”

“Probably,” I said, making a face. “How good are you with sneak work, or rather, have you had any experience with it? If needed, could you get into Sev by yourself? Entering separately will lessen the chance of Kaedesa’s spies spotting us.”

Aramar regarded me with such amusement that I wondered what I’d missed.

“I can manage,” he said with an enigmatic grin.

“Wonderful. I can do the same,” I said. “So, let’s not worry about that problem. Once we’ve gotten through the gate, I’ll find you, but after we’ve met up? That’s when things will get tricky.”

----------------------------------------

The next day, I was standing in the closest marketplace to the gate that I could find, waiting for Aramar.

I was exhausted. The energy drain for the magic I’d used this morning had been brutal, but it hadn’t been so bad that I’d be out of commission. Not for a while, at least.

While scanning the crowd, all of whom were pointedly avoiding me, I caught sight of Aramar, only recognizing him because I’d expected him to be in disguise. It was amazing how a little dirt and a different posture could change a person.

Where I’d had to watch for my companion’s arrival, Aramar didn’t need to do the same for me, not when I was occupying the only bubble of empty space in the marketplace. As he approached, he glared at the humans giving me a wide berth with a wrinkled nose.

“I forgot about this part of living in a city,” he said. “I definitely don’t miss it.”

I pointedly did not ask him what he was talking about. As far as I knew, Aramar had lived in a forest until his son had found Shadowsteal, only leaving it to visit Allanovian so he could maintain his family’s alliance with the city.

Shaking himself, he said, “Right. What are we looking for?”

“Pickpockets or destitute children. Basically, anything that makes you uncomfortable,” I said.

“Like… a seedy-looking man leading a woman into an alley?” Aramar said.

“Where?”

Frowning, I looked in the direction Aramar had indicated. That had been fast…

When I found what he’d been talking about, everything that was good in me was scraped free, replaced by something else entirely.

“Exactly like that,” I growled.

I stormed toward that alley, digging my heels into the ground with each step, while Aramar hurried to get in front of me. Once he had, he flipped to walk backward.

With a worried frown, he said, “Rhylix, what-?”

“Just follow me and stay back,” I snapped.

It was a testament to the other man’s trust that he didn’t demand an explanation from me after that. I knew what I looked like right now. It was a demeanor that sent people scattering before me until I’d reached the isolation found in the alley, and once there, I started running.

I barely stopped the aforementioned seedy-looking man from smashing a club into a young woman’s head, catching his wrist as he raised it. When I swung his arm around, pressing it against his back, he yelped, and jumping, the woman spun toward me, opening her mouth to scream once she’d seen us. Aramar was there to cover her mouth before she could.

“Will you take the young lady elsewhere, please?” I asked. “Explain what’s going on, if you will.”

Nodding, Aramar guided the woman away, already murmuring reassurances to her, and once they were out of sight, I threw my captive into a house’s wall. While he faced me, I plucked my dagger from where I’d hidden it.

“Hullo, Hux,” I said.

The other man froze, peering at me, and I stepped out of the shadows, hoping to speed up the identification process. Surprise flashed across Hux’s face before he started laughing.

“Well, if it isn’t little gray-eyes, all grown up,” he said. “Why are you back? No, wait! Let me guess. Your people’s filthy haven didn’t want you? Nah, nah, that can’t be it. Did you just miss me that much? Sorry to disappoint you, but I have another kid to torment now, one who actually shows a reaction when I’m hurting him.”

Without expression, I balanced my dagger’s point on a finger, watching the blade as I spun it. I knew better than to give this man the pleasure of acknowledging his taunts, no matter how much they might rile me up inside.

“Where’s Ash?” I asked.

“Oh… I see what this is about. I always knew you two had a thing,” Hux said. “Well, I’m sorry to say that she’s moved on too. She’s with some half-Eselan brat now. Honestly, I can understand most deviant behaviors, but people finding Esela attractive? It’s disgusting.”

He clicked his tongue, which almost had me bristling, but instead, I calmly stepped into Hux’s personal space, and I calmly rested my dagger’s edge on the bastard’s neck.

With a pleasant smile, I again asked, “Where’s Ash?”

Scoffing, Hux rolled his eyes.

“You don’t scare me, gray-eyes,” he said. “You couldn’t kill me back in the day, and I seriously doubt that’s changed.”

Removing my dagger from Hux’s neck, I punched him in the face, hard enough that his head bounced off of the wall behind him.

“As you so poignantly reminded me when I lived under your care, there are worse things than death, things that I’m more than happy to inflict on you,” I said. “Now, where the fuck is Ash? I won’t ask you again.”

But Hux wouldn’t stop groaning, clutching at his face, and I was done with accommodating him. Pinning the bastard with my dagger, I magicked a knife into my hand, lowering it to rest on the most sensitive bits of human anatomy.

“I will maim you,” I growled.

Sucking in a gasp, Hux frantically nodded.

“Butcher’s district, portside of the city,” he said. “The old safehouse there.”

Was he telling the truth? Probably. The bastard wouldn’t lie in a situation like this. He was too much of a coward.

So, the question became what to do with a man who’d tormented me, so many years ago? He had so much innocent blood on his hands, but Hux had been right about one thing. I couldn’t kill him. I just… couldn’t.

I could, however, pin his hands to the wall before sending the city guard looking for him. I could hurt this man if I so chose.

I wasn’t sure if Aramar would understand that, though. So, I sent Hux into a deep sleep and waited for my companion’s return.

It didn’t take him long.

As Aramar turned the corner, he asked, “What was that about?”

But at the sight of Hux at my feet, he went quiet.

“He’s alive. Don’t worry,” I said. “As for your question, he’s the leader of my old thieves guild. I was hoping to contact an acquaintance from that time. If anyone knows where Raimie is, it’ll be her. Fortunately for us, Hux has given me her location.”

I couldn’t help kicking the unconscious man, and watching this, Aramar frowned.

“I’m guessing you don’t like him,” he said.

“Well, the bastard used to starve me when I lived here,” I said. “That, plus the fact that he’s… abused, we’ll say, and murdered at least a dozen women leads to an extreme dislike, yes.”

“I see,” Aramar said while his face went unreadable. “And why is he still alive?”

That was an odd question, coming from whom it had. Aramar had always seemed like a compassionate fellow.

And I was unwilling to lie to him. He trusted me, even though I was a primeancer, so I resorted to half-truths in my answer.

“He should face justice for what he’s done,” I said. “If he died now, his victims’ families might never know what happened to their loved ones.”

For several heartbeats, Aramar stared at me before releasing a quiet sigh.

“All right. I’ll take him to a lockup while you get the initial negotiations with your contact out of the way,” he said. “Where should I meet you when I’m done?”

“Telling you a location won’t be helpful if you’re not familiar with Sev,” I said.

Snorting, Aramar said, “Oh, I’m plenty familiar with this city. Just give me directions, please.”

So, I did, although I was a little curious how Aramar knew a Robzul city state as well as he'd claimed. I didn’t ponder the question for long, though. After rounding onto a busy street, my full focus went to my upcoming reunion.

It had been years since I’d been in this city, years since I’d seen her. After weeks of abuse and hunger, she’d been the first friendly face I’d found on this side of the Narrow Sea, and I’d left her here without saying goodbye.

She was going to kill me.

The butcher’s district smelled delightful, as always, and as I wandered past identical homes, all neatly ordered in rows, I relived memories I’d rather forget. They were nowhere near as bad as the ones I kept locked tight in my heart, but they still hurt, making it a relief when I reached the safehouse that Hux had mentioned.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped up to the door, knocking on it in the guild’s old pattern. It took a while, but when the door eventually opened, it was only by a crack.

“Whatever you’re selling, we don’t want it,” a familiar voice snapped. “Go away.”

She tried to slam the door in my face, but I slapped a hand on it, stopping her.

“Ashella!” I hissed. “It’s me, Rhy.”

When she didn’t respond, I removed my hand…

And the door slammed shut.

Gods damnit. It looked like she was going to be difficult about this. When several minutes passed with nothing more happening, I spun in place and folded to the ground, leaning on the door.

With nothing to occupy me, I couldn’t keep my fears at bay anymore. What would I do if my ally had been dragged to Daira, a city almost as far from here as Allanovian?

What if Raimie had been taken there for execution? Could I reach the capital in time to stop it? If I couldn’t and Raimie died, this struggle would have been for nothing.

I couldn’t touch the idea of what Raimie’s death would do to me personally.

With Raimie gone, what would my next steps be? How long would it take before another ally was found?

Grimacing, I called for Creation so we could discuss these possibilities, and my back support gave way, sending me tumbling to the ground. Lying in the house’s threshold, I blinked up at a red-faced woman with frazzled hair floating around her head.

With a weak grin, I said, “Hey, Ash.”

“Don’t you ‘hey, Ash’, me, you delinquent guild rat,” Ashella snapped.

In an abrupt about-face, she took off inside, leaving me lying on the floor, and I scrambled to follow her.

The house was strangely empty. No small ones were running about the place, and seeing this, I frowned. Was something wrong in the guild?

Throwing herself into a shabby chair, Ashella propped her feet up on a table, looking down her nose at me. She said nothing, and after a moment, I shifted in place, which was what she’d been waiting for.

“Well?” she drawled.

After a beat, I realized that I was supposed to answer.

“Well, what?” I asked.

Folding her hands on her stomach, Ashella said. “Will you give me your report for the last ten years, you delinquent guild rat?”

Oo, she was mad.

“I don’t have much to report,” I said. “After I left Sev, I made my way to Allanovian, like we always talked about. I was living there until a friend asked for my help, and that brought me back here.”

“You. Made a friend.”

Ashella said the last word as if she’d consumed something distasteful. Before she could continue, I rushed to finish.

“He’s actually why I was looking for you,” I said. “I need your help with finding him.”

“My help,” Ashella echoed. “Don’t you mean the guild’s help?”

Wincing, I said, “I meant the small ones. Are you still in charge of them?”

Ashella rolled her eyes.

“Of course. Who else has the patience to deal with them? Hux?” she asked with a snort. “And he’s the reason I can’t help you. If he learns that I did, if he even learns you were here, he’ll take it out on my kids, and I-”

“He won’t be hurting anyone ever again, Ash,” I said.

Ashella blinked once before her feet slipped off of the table, thumping to the floor.

Clearing her throat, she asked, “What do you mean?”

“I finally made good on my promise to you,” I said. “I’m sorry it took so long.”

Slowly, Ashella got to her feet, pressing her fingertips into the table.

“He’s gone?” she said in a small voice.

Nodding, I said, “He’s in the hands of the authorities as we speak.”

With a choked sob, Ashella vaulted over the table, running to me, and at her impact with my body, I rocked in place, awkwardly patting her back as she soaked my tunic with tears.

Gods, saying that after all these years had felt good. Finally, I’d fulfilled my long-held promise to her. I so rarely got to do that.

When she pulled away, Ashella wiped her eyes before softly laughing.

“Been a while since I lost it like that,” she said. “So. You need help with finding someone? Can I get a description?”

Straight to business, huh? All right.

“His name’s Raimie, and an older man would have accompanied him,” I said. “As for a description, he has a plain face with a large nose. Middling height. The most drab, brown hair. Large ears. Really, he’s quite average in general, except that he has the most piercing, blue eyes I’ve seen on someone in a while and… Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh, Rhy. Honey.”

Sighing, Ashella circled the table to retrieve her chair.

“Sit down,” she said.

As comfortably as I could, I settled into the chair, dreading what Ashella meant to tell me.

“My small ones saw the man you described on and off yesterday, but they didn’t pay him much mind, thinking he was a tourist,” she said. “That opinion changed when Queen Kaedesa revealed herself to him that afternoon. She took him and the older gentlemen with her, and Rhy? Her ship left last night.”

Well, fuck.

“That’s… disappointing,” I said.

I wasn’t sure what else to add. For now, Raimie was well and truly out of my hands. I couldn’t catch up with a ship, for gods’ sakes, and when rescuing the kid, I most certainly couldn’t take on a capital full of soldiers alone. I’d need help with such a dangerous undertaking.

So. First thing’s first. Aramar needed to hear what had happened to his son, and then, we should gather Gistrick, Aya, and—please, gods—Dath to discuss our options.

And while doing that, I’d contemplate plans of my own. I’d think of something. I always did.

I refused to consider what might happen if I couldn’t this time.

“Rhy?” Ashella cautiously said. “If there’s anything I can do to help-”

“There is, actually,” I said. “I’ll have some friends joining me shortly. Can we stay here for a couple of nights?”

Grinning, Ashella said, “You can stay for as long as you need. Anything for our delinquent guild rat.”

I returned her smile.

“Thanks, Ash,” I said.

I wouldn’t give up. If Raimie could keep himself alive while in Daira, I’d save my friend from a violent queen.