My hands were bound in front of me. I could untie them easily by pulling on one of the ropes, but we’d wanted our capture to appear as real as possible. Tewy was on my shoulder, Nikon tied up on my left, with Zoe to my right, carrying my cane. On Nikon’s other side was Kaius, who had Nikon’s sword. I was certain Nikon had more weapons hidden on his person than the others knew. Zoe and Kaius were both dressed as warriors with the hopes they could get us all the way to the Reding and Vading.
“This is your last chance to back out of the plan,” Zoe whispered to me. “Once we cross over in front of the other warriors, there’s no turning back.”
“I want to do this.” Though I hoped it went smoothly. I wanted to keep the Reding and Antonia safe but worried what Zoe would say. Her friendship meant much to me, but taking lives? No, she would understand what I was trying to do. I hoped.
Nikon and I hadn’t talked much about our plan, because too many other people had been around. He wanted the same thing as me, though. A change without bloodshed. Or with as little of it as possible.
Zoe wrapped a hand around my upper arm. “Let’s go, then. And hope to the sands that this plan doesn’t go awry.”
It was more awkward being dragged by my arm than having someone guide me, but it was what it had to be for this ruse to work. It wasn’t clear how long Tewy would stay with us, if he came at all. At this moment, he was tugging on my hair and hooting.
I wanted to ask him what had caught his attention, but I had other things to focus on—like not falling. I stepped forward, the hard-packed dirt turning to stones beneath my sandals that gave a slight slap with each step.
We weren’t alone. Other feet marched along the way—more, the farther we went—until finally a man called out, “Stop. Where are you taking these prisoners?”
“To the Reding and Vading,” Zoe said.
“I don’t think so. The rulers have an audience with their people coming up. Now isn’t the time for them to be meeting with two nobodies.”
Zoe yanked me forward. “They’ll care about these two. This is the blind woman they’ve been searching for, and he used to be an elite warrior of rank. They won’t want to miss these two for anything.”
A quick wind brushed across my face.
The man said, “It would appear these two need to go up to the throne room as soon as possible. We’ll escort you.”
Sand blast it. I knew it was a possibility that others might join us, but we were hoping they wouldn’t. But it made sense. We still had the upper hand. Our skills and the ease with which we could free ourselves remained hidden. We’d do what was needed.
We walked some ways, the people around us making chitchat as we passed, but the real warriors with us didn’t say anything at all. It wasn’t too long before the heat of the sun gave way to coolness. We’d made it inside.
We trailed some distance, the way making me sick. Last time I’d been taken up and turned every so often like this, I was led to Antonia. If it hadn’t been for Nikon’s quick thinking and Tewy’s vulgar act, we’d still be prisoners now—if not dead or slaves.
The lump in my throat turned into a heavy stone that dropped to the floor. Out of nowhere, the answer to the sphinx’s riddle came to me. Heart. I needed to have heart and courage, for the plan. I wasn’t sure if this was why I was supposed to remember it, but I’d use it anyway.
“Stop,” a familiar woman’s voice called out.
Who was that? Why was her voice so recognizable? I wished I could place the melodic tone. It was just familiar enough to send a chill of pricks down my arms, but not so I could place it.
“We’re taking these prisoners to the Reding and Vading,” Zoe said.
“Where did you find such prizes?” the woman asked.
“Down by the river.”
True, but not.
Zoe continued, “They were spotted and we went after them. They resisted, but in the end we got the better of them.”
“How did you get the better of the great Nikon?” the woman said.
“It wasn’t easy. We lost eight warriors in the fight.” Zoe’s words were calm with just a hint of grief to sound real.
“I see.” The woman clapped. “I’ll take them from here.”
“And get all the glory? I don’t think so,” Zoe said. “You’re welcome to assist us, but we’ll be the ones taking these problems to our leaders.”
Tewy chose that moment to let out a squawk.
“Fine, but the monkey can’t come. After what happened last time, the Vading said no such creatures were allowed in her presence.” The woman stepped forward. “We’ll have him killed instead.”
My chest clenched. Tewy jumped from my shoulder, skittering down a different way that quickly went out of hearing.
“You and you, after that monkey,” the woman yelled. “We can’t have him causing any more trouble than he already has.”
Footsteps left in a hurry. I hoped Tewy made it away. He was smart. He’d evade them. If I thought I could have left him behind without Hupsheta probably leaving him to die if something happened to us, I would have done so. At least on his own, he stood a chance.
Zoe pulled me by the arm again, and we stumbled after the footfalls of others.
That woman’s voice... Where had I heard it before? And why did it fill me with chills? As much as I didn’t want to find out, I probably needed to. The question was, how? I wracked my memories, searching for her voice, but the answer hovered just out of reach.
We continued up and up and up, the corners we turned becoming closer together every time. When my legs burned and my lungs gasped for oxygen, there was chatter up ahead. It didn’t sound happy. In fact, it sounded rather like Antonia, harping on me.
We had reached the Vading.
Was the Reding with her? Were they getting ready to give their speech? Would Zoe and Kaius kill them before we had a chance to extract them? Would we be able to kidnap them, with all these other warriors around?
Too many questions I had to shove from my mind, to think on the present. The moment would come quickly. How would she react to my presence? How should I act in hers? I’d have to take what the moment brought me.
Zoe pulled me to a halt, as the footsteps in front of us did the same. A man—the Reding?—said, “What are you doing with priso—Nikon?”
A sharp, “Cassandra Palmira.” That was definitely Antonia.
I lowered my head and clenched my jaw. A strange coldness bubbled up from my stomach, to quickly fill my whole body.
“We don’t have time to handle this right now,” the Reding said. “We are past due to address the people. Keep the prisoners back here until we’re finished, then we’ll deal with them properly.”
I didn’t like the way his tone shifted on properly. It sounded threatening.
The room grew silent, though I could hear the dull roar of people outside—probably those waiting to hear their leaders, like the group Nikon and I had been a part of when Tewy gave us away to Antonia. There was a swift movement of feet ahead of us. Zoe pulled me forward, less forcefully this time, but I struggled to keep up. We should have practiced beforehand. Then again, this way, it looked more real. We came to a stop, a hot breeze swirling around me.
The woman I couldn’t quite place said, “We should tie Nikon up better. He’s too dangerous. Tie her up better too.”
The crowd grew quiet, and the Reding said from a ways off, “Zaykai, my people. It is a good day to be your Reding.”
Zoe whispered in my ear, “Now.”
Before they could come tie us up tighter, I tugged on the rope the way we’d practiced, and the bonds came loose. Less than a moment later, my cane was in my hand, buzzing with power and desire to hit something—or someone. I untwisted it, grunts and the clanging of fighting already reaching my ears.
“We welcome you to our glorious vision that will bring our people prosperity. May I present to you the high priest,” the Reding said as my stick tingled. Someone was coming on my left. I blocked them, a familiar surge of adrenaline rushing through me.
“Thank you for that warm welcome,” a smooth male voice said. “I’m pleased to be among so many for whom I’m an emissary to the magic sand.”
Did he have control over the sand that made me blind? No one had ever explained to me how the priest really worked, other than he was supposed to help with magic. That wasn’t happening though.
I pushed the thought away as hard as I shoved aside the weapon coming at me. My arms ached in a familiar, welcome burn. I let loose, attacking what came flying my way. I blocked and blocked and blocked some more. I worked so hard at protecting myself, I couldn’t focus on the high priest’s words any longer.
The noise of fighting grew. The scuffling of feet. The grunting. The clink of metal against metal. The heavy breathing that was not only mine. We were struggling.
Nikon called out, “Retreat.”
We were overwhelmed. How would we get out of this place?