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The fire in Magnus’s veins turned to ice. Time seemed to slow as his guard’s words penetrated his fog of lust. With steady hands that belied his rising panic, he covered his goddess with a bed fur.
“Tell me again what you said,” he commanded, as he rose from bed.
Behind his guard was a middle-aged man, who had served in his army faithfully for decades. Brant stood tall and said, clear as day, “He speaks true, Sire. The children are missing. No one has seen any of them in hours. None can be found. They are gone. Every last one.”
All the children. Gone. Unthinkable. “Impossible. The children are adored by all, seen by all. Have you been to the classrooms? Have you inquired with Hatrick? Connoly? The tutors may be instructing the children in sum at the moment.”
Even as he said it, he realized how daft it was. There were twenty-eight precious ones under the age of twenty—still young enough to serve and required to take lessons. The younger ones took different lessons than the older ones. Having different schedules and chores, the lot would have no reason to be in the same place at the same time.
“Yes Sire,” Brant said. “We’ve been—”
“Of course we’ve been to the tutors.” Brant’s answer was flattened under the rolling barrel of Cathal’s growl. Magnus’s war chieftain shouldered through the door.
His personal guards peered into the chamber after Cathal. Each face bore the same worry gripping his heart. This was no misunderstanding.
“That was where we started, Sire,” Cathal said. “The children didn’t show up for their lessons, and only a few performed their chores this morning. We’ve been all over Glendall and the grounds, and we’ve searched all of Chroina. Every last man and trainee is actively searching as we speak. We didn’t come to you until we were certain.”
“The trainees are searching? They’re all accounted for?” Magnus asked. Between the ages of twenty and twenty-five, one hundred and thirteen adolescents trained in the king’s army. While not considered full-grown men, they were mature enough to wield weapons of war and learn to fight.
“They’re fine,” Cathal said. “It’s just the young ones.”
He could hardly comprehend what he was hearing. How could twenty-eight children disappear without a trace?
A cool hand came to rest on his bicep.
He glanced down to find Danu by his side, concern making sloping hills of her delicate eyebrows. The bed fur wrapped her from the neck down, obscuring her beautiful body from the eyes of his men. Good thing, since he would have hated to slay so many for ogling what was his.
It seemed not only natural but necessary to pull her close to his side as he addressed Cathal. “This is why Maedoc didn’t interview the prisoners this morning as I commanded,” he surmised.
“Aye, Sire.” Cathal’s face was a roiling storm. “I enlisted his help in the search. This was more important than Bilkes. Been looking for the pups all day, and I can confirm. The children are gone. Disappeared. All twenty-eight of them. None have been seen since this morning.”
“Three of the children brought me a bath this morning,” Danu said. “Where and exactly when were the others last seen? Some serve in the ladies’ residence, yes?”
Magnus’s chest filled with pride, even in this dire circumstance. How queenly his goddess was! Like a true ruler, she focused on the disaster at hand. He wished he could keep her, but she belonged on her throne above them all. One thing was certain, however. No one would take her from him before he showed her the worship she deserved—the worship she craved. Sadly, it would not be tonight.
Cathal blinked as if just realizing Danu was there. To him, she would simply be Seona. Shock showed in the lift of his brow, whether at her sudden interest in wolfkind affairs or at her state of dress, Magnus could not guess.
Cathal nodded at Danu but addressed Magnus. “Daly last saw the Glendall pups after they finished with your lady’s bath. They exited the castle through the bailey. Daly called for them to finish their morning chores, but they didn’t stop. He assumed they didn’t hear and were headed to the Fiona Blath to serve the ladies there. He thought naught of it and returned to his duties.”
Magnus remembered the three Danu referred to. Julian, Ruben, and Alexander, the latter of which had been seen in the dungeon before Bilkes’s escape. “Alexander, again,” he said. At Cathal’s confused look, he apprised the war chieftain of the conversation he’d had with Neil in the dungeon.
“We need to interview Diana,” Cathal surmised. “She’ll know if her third-born’s been up to something suspicious.”
“Not interview,” Magnus said, recalling how she lied to protect Alexander this morning. “Interrogate.”
Magnus saw red as he stormed to the dungeon with Cathal. He’d left his personal guard to watch over Danu. They were to protect her with their lives. No one was to be admitted to his chambers until his return. Which would be soon. He had no doubt Diana would talk, considering what he had in mind for her.
While they navigated Glendall’s passageways, he learned all he could about the search for the children.
“Have you given the children’s scents to the wolves?” he asked Cathal.
“Aye. We gave them clothing from several—all different ages. Each group of wolves tracked the scents to the same place. Brawhaven.” Magnus’s memory supplied Chroina’s stone and mortar schoolhouse. Now abandoned, the two-story structure had once been as grand as the Fiona Blath. In his grandfather’s time, the best instructors from all over Marann taught the city’s children at the prestigious institute for learning. By his father’s reign, most of the building’s classrooms had been converted to housing for the instructors, since they were no longer needed for lessons, so low had the population dropped. “The schoolyard is where the wolves lost the scents.” Magnus pictured the grassy yard with its swings and roundabouts, pole ball circles, and hop-square grids. “It’s like someone reached down and plucked them off the face of the Earth.”
Magnus felt the blood drain from his face. He knew of only one way a group of people could vanish like Cathal described. Hyrk’s gemstone.
He exchanged a dark look with his war chieftain. “Have you seen Riggs?” Had it been only this morning Magnus had sent the knight to search for the lost gemstone? It felt like days had passed, but in truth, it had been merely hours.
Cathal nodded. “He came back a little after dark. No luck finding that stone. Now he’s leading a group of civilians. They’re canvassing the east quadrant of the city.”
If the stone had been at the bottom of the canyon, Riggs would have found it. Magnus had a sick feeling the stone had been found by someone else, and that someone had used it to move the children somewhere. The question was, who had found it, and where were they now? He could only pray Hyrk was not directly involved.
“We need some idea where to search for the children.” His gut told him they wouldn’t be found in Chroina. Perhaps not even Marann. “Have their quarters searched. Especially Alexander’s.” Remembering Danu’s suggestion that they look for people who sympathized with Ari and Bantus, he added, “Look for any sign of Breeding First paraphernalia.”
“Yes, Sire.” Cathal left him at the entrance to the dungeon. It was the first time he’d been alone in a long time.
Weariness hung around his neck like a jougs-stone. And there was no rest in sight.
He didn’t deserve rest. Not when he had let this happen.
The youngest among them held service positions of honor, but the goal of such positions was so much more than the satisfactory completion of chores. He desired to teach the children humility through service. Furthermore, Glendall and the Fiona Blath were the two most secure places in Chroina. Serving in the king’s home and the ladies’ common house kept them safe and close at hand. Magnus was supposed to be watching them, caring for them.
And still, they’d been taken.
The fault lay squarely on him, but there was no time for self-flagellation. He must find them. Whatever it took, he would find them. And there was a certain prisoner who would help, whether she wanted to or not.
Simmering with rage, Magnus stormed through the dungeon until he reached the east wing. “Where are they?” he bellowed as he passed cell after cell. Near the middle of the block, he turned and pinned a wide-eyed Diana with his gaze. “Where. Are. They.”
Hand at her chest, she said, “Where are whom, Magnus?”
“You’ll call me Sire, like everyone else,” he growled, “And you know damn well I’m talking about the children. You’ll tell me where they are, and you’ll tell me now!” His shout echoed off the stone.
Diana feigned a look of shock. He repressed the urge to wring her neck. “Which children?” She sounded confused, the manipulative actress.
“Do not pretend you know nothing of this. You’re always involved when conspiracies are afoot. Where. Are. The. Children!”
She backed up to the wall of the cell. “Magnus—Sire, I truly have no idea what you are talking about.”
“No more lies, woman. I know you saw Alexander this morning. I know you were in on Bilkes’s escape. You’ll be in on this too. If I have to ask again, you’ll lose your hand, just like Ari.”
She paled. Her slender throat moved with a swallow. “Sire, if I can help, I truly will. Please, tell me which children you mean. Is Alexander among them?”
She continued to pretend ignorance. Magnus roared with rage. “Guards, take her to the interrogation room.”
They did not hesitate in obeying his order. The cell was opened, and two pairs of hands dragged a struggling Diana toward the dungeon’s entrance. One of the abandoned wings led to the room where Magnus had begun Ari’s interrogation by chopping off his right hand then commanding him to confess to the coup lest he lose the other.
“Magnus!” Diana sounded genuinely terrified. Good. He didn’t plan to actually harm her, but he needed her to believe he would. “Sire! If I knew what you were on about, I would tell you. Truly!”
“Sire.” Neil called out to them as they passed his cell.
He paused while the guards continued to the interrogation room. “What is it?” he asked shortly.
“What’s this about? Children are missing? Which ones?” Neil asked.
Magnus wiped a hand over his face. By the moon, he needed rest. “All of them. Every last one. Disappeared without a trace from the schoolyard.”
His former war chieftain paled. After a moment’s shock, he stroked his beard and said, “No such thing as without a trace.”
Magnus nodded. “That’s why I need Diana to confess what she knows.”
“Well, don’t go cutting off anything that won’t grow back. I think she’s telling the truth this time.”
“How do you know?”
“Don’t know. But for all her selfish ambition, she’s devoted to Alexander. If he’s in danger, she’ll help all she can.” Neil’s words cooled his head.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “You were right,” he confessed. “I cannot do it all alone.” Nodding with decision, he met the dark eyes of his former war chieftain. “Help bring the children home, and I’ll give you your freedom.”
Neil jerked his head back, as if he’d been punched. “Tell me you’re smarter than this. I can’t be your new second. I’m a fucking traitor.”
Magnus huffed. “Do not worry. That honor will go to your nephew. But you’re a good tracker, and an even better strategist. I fear there’s a battle to come, the likes of which we’ve never fought before. I’ll need you standing with me. Can I count on you?”
Neil drew himself up to his full height, nearly half a head taller than Magnus. With a steady hand, he made a fist over his heart. “Aye, Sire. You can count on me.”
* * * *
Travis hugged himself as his brother issued orders. Bitter cold blanketed the great hall of the abandoned fortress Alexander had claimed as their headquarters. He might have mentioned they were going to northern Larna’s Black Mountains—a misleading name, since the range was always covered with snow. They were all dressed for the mild, wet winters they were used to in Marann, but none of them had been prepared for this bone-chilling, finger-numbing cold.
“Blue party,” Alexander said, his voice ringing off the black stone of the great hall. “You’re on fire detail. Red party, you’re hunting. Find us some dinner. Green party, you’re on cleaning detail. Sweep this place out and drag down whatever furniture you can find. Seal up the windows with tapestries. Until the weather warms, we’ll huddle in here for eating and sleeping. Yellow party, scout the area and familiarize yourself with the grounds. Bring in snow for melting, then search the fortress for usable supplies. You have your orders. Let’s go!” He clapped his hands and joined the oldest boys with the red party.
Travis huffed warm air over his icy hands and set off to find the kitchen, and a broom. Being in the youngest cohort, the green detail, he was happy to remain indoors and carry out familiar chores. He would pretend to cooperate for now and use the time to plan his next move.
It hadn’t been difficult for Alexander to convince every last child to meet at the abandoned school yard for a meeting this morning. Many of them, Alexander included, had abandoned their duties to do so. Then, showing he’d inherited Ari’s talent for public speaking, Alexander had spouted propaganda that turned Travis’s stomach but seemed to energize the other children.
The kitchen was a garbage-strewn, frost-covered room with a hearth at one end and a butcher block in the center. At least he thought that’s what it was. At the moment, it looked like a mound of frost topped with dented pots and pans. Shuffling through inches of snow, blown in from the window and open door, he started digging through piles of stiffly-frozen rags, broken utensils, and dried leaves. There had to be a broom in here somewhere. Though a shovel might prove more useful.
While he searched, his mind replayed the scene from a few hours ago.
“Every one of us has spent our youth serving the ladies,” Alexander shouted from his elevated position on a climbing tower. “But will we ever get a chance to breed with them? No! By the time the youngest of you are old enough, there won’t be any ladies left still able to breed.”
Looking around, Travis saw the other children nodding in agreement. He counted. All twenty-eight pups under the age of twenty were present.
“What about Anya?” an older boy named Linas hollered.
“What about her?” Alexander scoffed. “She’s not one of us. Her get won’t be pure wolfkind. It’ll be smaller. Weaker. Shorter-lived. And how do we know it’ll be female?”
Travis was not surprised to hear Alexander taking up his father’s torch for Breeding First, but this purity nonsense came as a shock. Sure, Travis had heard grumblings about Anya not being wolfkind—especially from his mother, but most were pleased there was a pregnant lady among them. Most wanted their people to live on, mixed blood or not.
He had not known Alexander cared one way or the other. But then, he didn’t spend much time with his brother, not when there was so much to do between his lessons and seeing to Anya’s needs.
“Are we content to trust our future to a race we know next to nothing about? To a king who worships an archaic goddess? If Danu exists today, where is she?” He motioned and looked around himself, as if inviting Danu to make herself known. The action struck Travis as blasphemous, but no one else seemed bothered. “Where is her blessing? What kinds of fools continue to rely on a deity that shows no interest in them?”
“If we want to survive, we must carve our own path. We must take matters into our own hands.”
Nods and murmurs of approval filled the schoolyard.
“No more will we serve those who deny us a future! No more will we accept the lies our elders tell us.”
“What lies?” Ruben asked.
Alexander met the eyes of each child as he answered. “We have been told over and over again that the only females in existence are here in Chroina. Yet just two moons ago, twelve new females were found in Larna.”
“Human females,” someone scoffed.
“The point is,” Alexander said, “King and council were wrong. The point is there are more females out there, and they can be ours for the taking. If we’re brave enough. If we work together.”
“What females?” Craiden asked. His scruffy face twisted with skepticism. He was the second oldest among them, his twentieth birthday only weeks away.
Alexander paced to the end the platform where Craiden stood, feet planted and arms folded. “There are females in Larna,” he said with a toothy smile that made the hackles on Travis’s neck rise. “And they’re ripe for breeding.”
“Boar-shit,” Craiden spat.
“I can prove it,” Alexander said. “All you have to do is come with me on a short journey, and you’ll see. Our elders don’t want us to know that there are females to be had. They think they’re lesser because they’re Larnian. But I say they’re a far sight better than human women. They’re Larnian, yeah, but they’re one-hundred-percent wolfkind. They’re part of us. They carry the same blood as us in their veins, and they’ve been hidden from us all our lives!”
“How do you know this?” Ruben’s measured voice cut through the rising grumbles. Though not the oldest, the others always seemed to look to him as their leader.
“I know because I’ve had my ear to the ground. I pay attention. I read between the lines. And—” Alexander paced while he spoke, but stopped dead center to make eye contact with the children on the outskirts of the group. “Because I’ve seen them.”
A collective gasp lifted on the cool breeze.
Alexander spread his arms like Travis had seen their father do. “We have the opportunity today, right now, to make a stand. To say to the council, to say to Magnus ‘We Will Not Walk Calmly into Extinction!’ We may be young. We may be overlooked. But if we work together, we can Change. The. World!”
Cheers soared into the sky. The other children were soaking up Alexander’s rhetoric. One voice Travis recognized as belonging to Julian, Riggs’s youngest brother, said, “What’s your plan, Xander?”
Alexander grinned. Holding his fist high over his head, he opened his fingers. Between his forefinger and thumb was the gemstone that had been stolen from the temple that morning. “We take a little journey, friends. We show our elders that they cannot overlook us anymore. And we claim what’s ours!”
Beneath a pile of straw and broken jugs, Travis’s frozen hand met a wooden handle. Shifting debris aside, he found not a broom, but a pitchfork. “Good enough,” he muttered. Taking the tool to the great hall, he started to make a plan. He had to get back to Marann and tell King Magnus where the children were. And that they had the red gemstone.
The only problem was the journey. The Black Mountains were on Larna’s northwest coast. Chroina was the crown jewel of Marann’s eastern harbor. The entire island of Eire stretched between. In the most pleasant weather, the journey would take two weeks on foot. Here it was the dead of winter, and Travis had no experience cutting a trail through wilderness.
Then there were the tales he and the other children liked to frighten each other with. Of course, they were all make-believe, but Travis couldn’t help his wariness at the thought of passing through the Larnian forests. It was said the mutant wolves rejected from Jilken’s breeding experiments roamed there, monstrous, murderous, and fertile enough to have maintained their numbers all these years.
He sank the tines of the pitchfork into a pile of bracken and garbage and began pushing it toward the nearest door.
I can’t do it alone. It’s too far. Too dangerous.
But he must. Otherwise, Magnus would have no idea where to look for them. The whole of Chroina was likely already turned inside-out with every able-bodied man searching for them.
I could try to take the gemstone from Alexander.
And likely be discovered.
Digging the pitchfork into a new pile, he tried not to let hopelessness sink as deeply as the cold had. Danu, he cried from his heart, please help me.
