“I’ll handle the beasts,” Kull said smugly. “Monsters don’t worry me, it’s what’s at the center of the lake that’s troubling.”
“You won’t slay the beasts without help,” Heidel said. “Not without Bloodbane, anyway.”
“Which is why you are coming with me,” Kull said. He sighed as he glanced at the sword he’d placed on the floor of the carriage. “Bloodbane would come in handy right about now.”
“But Bloodbane is not here,” Heidel said, “which is why you must let me help you.”
Kull raised an eyebrow. “One would think you are glad my sword is gone.”
“Glad? No. I am merely making the best of an unfortunate situation.”
“Or taking advantage of it.”
“Those are your words, Brother.”
Kull and Heidel, at it again. Would they ever get tired of their back-and-forth bickering?
“What will you do with Euric?” Heidel asked.
Kull shrugged. “Nothing. He’s been imprisoned by the elves. I don’t see that there is anything I can do.”
“You can demand the elves release him so he may serve his penance in the Wult dungeons.”
“No need. As long as he is detained, he can do no further damage to me.”
“Yet,” Maveryck said, “the damage may have already been done.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“I heard Euric’s speeches he made at the Wult inn near Dragon Spine Mountain. He was intent on rallying the people against the king. Some of His Majesty’s subjects may see Euric as a sort of martyr.”
“I disagree,” Kull said. “Once they learn that Euric stole the staff from the keep, they won’t see him as anything more than a traitor.”
“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I believe you fail to understand the power of a cult mentality. There were some who claimed Euric to be Odin reborn. And he did nothing to stop that belief. They followed him blindly.”
“What are you saying?” Kull asked. “If that’s the case, what would you have me do? Execute anyone who professes to follow the man?”
“No, of course not. His following was too small and insignificant to make a difference. But you must keep an eye on his followers.”
“This started because you lost Bloodbane,” Heidel said. “It was your symbol of power. Now that it is gone, they have lost their faith in you.”
“Unfortunately, I see no way to remedy the situation. Short of traveling to the outer isles and forging another sword, I am not sure what to do to restore our people’s trust.”
Silence filled the carriage once again. I rested my hand atop Kull’s. He seemed like he needed something to lift his spirits. I couldn’t help but feel guilty that I was the one responsible for destroying Bloodbane. The heirloom sword had been the symbol of his power, and it seemed I had become the symbol of his failure.
He stared out the window, though there was nothing to see but blackness broken up now and again by the lights of an occasional town or village, or a random flock of maywelters or nobbinflies.
Soft yellow lanterns illuminated Kull’s profile. Although tiny wrinkles lined the edges of his eyes and scars marred his deep bronze skin, I couldn’t help but find him irresistibly attractive. If not for him, I would still be dead inside. He’d saved me more than once, physically and emotionally, and I hadn’t been the only person he’d helped. I knew he cared for his people and worried about them, so to see him being rejected by his own kind made my heart feel heavy. Perhaps stopping the elves from summoning Theht would prove his worth once and for all.
Spending another night on a carriage wasn’t a habit I wanted to keep up, but since I knew I would need my strength, I gave up rehashing my worries and slept with my cheek resting on Kull’s shoulder, listening to the sound of his breathing and realizing I should probably take his advice and stop worrying.
Easier said than done.
I awoke with the whir of the carriage resounding in my ears. When I opened my eyes, I found the sky outside had lightened to a dull, gunmetal gray. Acid churned in my stomach as my thoughts returned to my daily to-do list.
Travel through the wild lands without getting killed.
Find an evil castle.
Steal a lost egg.
Stop a maniac queen from taking over the world.
Do it without dying.
At least I couldn’t complain of being bored.
I lay with my head on Kull’s shoulder a moment longer, feeling the strength of his deltoid against my face. I gently traced my fingers along his arms, letting the warmth of his skin thaw my chill. But with his nearness, I was reminded of the prophecy.
Would he really be the person who killed me?
That thought made me shudder. Somehow, I had to figure out a way to keep Theht from controlling me. I had to rescue Fan’twar—I wasn’t sure if he could remove Theht’s presence from my mind, but he could at least point me in the right direction.
As the sky lightened outside, I began to make out the shapes of mountains against the gray horizon. But before we reached the peaks, the carriage slowed. The others woke as we pulled to a stop.
“Have we arrived?” Heidel asked.
The doors slid open, revealing a desert of sand dunes pocked with rocks, reminding me of the surface of Mars.
“Yes,” I said, “we’ve arrived.”
Chapter 28
The carriage sped away as we approached the wild lands. Despite Maveryck’s description of the place, I couldn’t see life anywhere. No monsters or mutated plants, no pools of blood, only an endless, desolate landscape as far as we could see.
A dry, hot wind rushed past, stirring the sand into clouds.
“This isn’t so bad,” I said.
“That’s because this is only the outskirts,” Maveryck answered. “We’ve yet to cross the border.”
I tightened my grip on my pack’s strap. Father had given us enough supplies to
