“Sparrow.” Pulling back, the Fatechaser grinned, not bothering to hide his relief. “You made it. I told Kysa you would. Where’s Raithe?” he added, looking around in sudden alarm. “Is he here? I see Ratuk, but no sand dragon Did our good assassin...?”
He trailed off as the tower door squeaked behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Raithe step out and nod to both Halek and Kysa. He had put his hood and tunic back on, hiding the binding over his ribs, but I could see the stiffness of his movements and knew his wound still hurt.
“Oh.” Halek straightened, then gave the iylvahn a wry grin. “You’re alive. Thank Maederyss.” Though his words were teasing, the tone and the look in his eyes were genuine. “I was worried about what our Fateless would do if her kahjai were suddenly no more. Also, I would much rather have you around to protect us. I would do it, of course, but I’m far too charming to be an effective killer.”
Kysa approached on Rhyne, the insect rider studying him critically from atop the beetle’s back. “You’re injured,” she said flatly.
Raithe gave a tired nod. “Broken rib. Nothing serious. It won’t affect my abilities.”
“Good. Your abilities are the only reason you are here, after all.”
Raithe didn’t react to that, but I suppressed a wince at theinsect rider’s tone. I was about to say something, but suddenly noticed a patch of dried blood on Halek’s jacket sleeve, where the fabric had been torn. “Halek, what happened?” I asked, touching the ripped, bloody cloth, trying to see the injury beneath. “Are you hurt?”
He saw where I was looking and grimaced.
“Oh, this. We were under a temple or something when one of those statues suddenly dropped from the roof and latched on to my arm. Thankfully, it fell when my sleeve ripped, but it took a bit of skin with it, and worse, it tore my jacket. I like this jacket.” He pouted.
“You’re lucky it didn’t tear off your arm,” Kysa remarked, her lips drawn in what was either annoyance or worry. She huffed. “But I suppose luck is something you just have in abundance, for I have never seen someone dodge Fate as much as you.”
“Ha-ha, and I will continue to dodge, as long as our beloved Fateless is with us.” Halek grinned at me again, and I couldn’t help but smile. We were back together, everyone was alive, and we had survived the night of killer statues. The hardest part was still to come, but I was pretty content with Fate at the moment.
“Oh, and Ratuk? He was amazing, by the way,” Halek continued, gazing past me to where the rock beetle was standing by the tower door. “Cutting through those statues like they weren’t even there. I’ve never seen him so riled up.”
“Yes,” Kysa agreed. She slid off Rhyne, patted the rock beetle’s shell, and walked up to me. Her dark eyes were appraising as they met mine. “The rock beetles don’t react that way for everyone,”she told me. “Only for their riders, and only if the connection is real. Now you know your mount will do anything for you. Treat him well, rider. He is very much a part of you.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. Kysa sighed and looked around, surveying the watchtower, then the surrounding forest. “This place appears safe enough,” she mused. “Not that I wish to stay in this forest longer than we have to, but I am exhausted, we’ve sustained injuries, and the beetles could use a few hours to recuperate.” She paused, then turned stiffly to Raithe. “What are your thoughts, kahjai? These are your people’s lands. Do we rest here, or should we move on?”
“We can rest here for a bit.” Per normal, Raithe did not react to the insect rider’s coldness toward him. “Now that the suns are up, it should be fairly safe. I’ll keep watch for any statues, but the spirits should be quiet until nightfall.”
“But we should be out of the Dead Lands by then, right?” Halek asked, gazing around nervously, as if he could sense statues watching us from the trees. “No offense, kahjai, but I think I’d rather spend the night in that haunted tomb I mentioned. At least there, all I had to worry about was candles being stabbed in uncomfortable places.”
Raithe shook his head. “Unfortunately, we have one more night of this,” he said, to Halek’s obvious dismay. “It takes three days to cross the valley on foot, assuming you can make it out alive. But we should be past the most populated area. Now that we know what to expect, we can avoid the statues until morning.”
A grim look passed through his eyes. “I just wish I knew whatwas happening,” he said, gazing at the trees. “Why there are suddenly so many restless spirits now. We’ve always known they roam these lands, but never in such numbers, and never all at once.”
“Maybe it has something to do with the Deathless King coming back?” I suggested.
“Maybe,” Raithe said, crossing his arms. “I don’t see how it would, though, unless...” He trailed off, sudden understanding flickering over his face.
“Unless it’s the king who killed them that has returned,” Halek said quietly.
We all glanced at the Fatechaser in surprise. He shrugged. “You said the name of the king who destroyed these lands has been lost to time,” he told Raithe. “But if he’s back, and he did kill an entire nation of people, I would think the spirits left behind would know. And they wouldn’t be happy about it.”
I suddenly remembered something the queen had told me in the throne room, right before we’d left.He has already tried to wipe out my people once. If he becomes the new god of Fate, he will certainly finish the job.
“That would make sense,” Raithe agreed, his eyes narrow and dark. “And if it is true, then the Deathless we’re going face is the one who turned this whole valley to stone, who tried to kill my people all those centuries ago.”
“Yes,” Kysa said, also sounding grim. “It also means he’s getting closer.”
We rested a bit in the tower, taking turns at watch so everyone could grab a couple hours of the sleep that had been denied usthe previous night. I spent most of my watch time with Ratuk, rubbing down his carapace, feeding him the dry twigs he enjoyed, and telling him over and over again what a good boy he was. In true Ratuk fashion, he accepted the praise with his usual stoicism, calmly chewing the sticks I offered. His demeanor had completely changed from the raging berserker of last night, but I knew it was there, buried beneath his tough shell. And the knowledge that I could call on it with a touch filled me with both pride and terror.
As I was wiping down the bottom half of his shell, Ratuk suddenly moved. His carapace half opened, and the wings inside gave a loud, brief buzz, before the shell closed again. It was a natural behavior, similar to a dog or a horse shaking itself, but it still made me jump. Ratuk settled down again, chewing contentedly on a branch, but worry gnawed at me. I’d checked his injured wing earlier, and though the gash in the membrane hadn’t gotten any bigger, it didn’t seem to be healing, either. If we kept trekking through lands as dangerous as this, fighting our way through statues and other monstrosities, I wondered if it would ever heal, or if it would cripple him permanently.
With a sigh, I gave him the last of the twigs in my hand, smiling as he took them as daintily as a cat. Which, given the strength and crushing power of those mandibles, was pretty impressive.
“You’ll spoil him if you keep that up.”
Kysa appeared around the rock beetle, smiling faintly. Her dark gaze swept over Ratuk appraisingly, before she nodded once in satisfaction. “But at least you’re keeping his shell polished,” she observed. “Good. His previous owner had atendency to let it get a bit dusty and cracked. I’m sure Ratuk appreciates the attention.”
