Page 67 of Among the Burning Flowers
‘The wyverns and their offspring are all over this country. I decided to make my way to the South through the mountains, to stop the creatures sensing me. It did not work.’ She fixed a steady look on Marosa. ‘The torturers informed me that Fýredel has wakened here. Is it true?’
‘Yes,’ Marosa said. ‘In a cave to the east.’
‘And where is Denarva uq-Bardant?’
It was such a sudden and drastic change of subject, Marosa hesitated. ‘You knew Denarva?’
‘Tell me where she is.’
Marosa was not used to being given orders, but Jondu spoke with such authority, she obeyed by instinct.
‘Denarva has been dead for years,’ she said. ‘She tried to help my mother flee this city, after she learned that my father had Queen Rosarian of Inys murdered.’
Jondu slumped against the wall again, gazing at the opposite side of the cell. Her cheeks were damp, either with sweat or tears.
‘It is as we feared,’ she said to herself. Marosa stepped closer, her brow creased, and Jondu looked back at her. ‘Denarva was my friend. I cannot say from whence I come, but I am a protector of the South, loyal to the House of Taumargam, known and trusted by your uncle, Jantar the Splendid. Can I trust you, Princess Marosa?’
‘If you were a friend of Denarva, you are mine as well.’
‘Very well.’ Jondu glanced at her foot, which had started to bleed again. ‘Your Vardya seized a box from me. If you value human life, you will find a way to get it to Chassar uq-Ispad.’
‘Chassar uq-Ispad,’ Marosa echoed. ‘The Ersyri ambassador?’
‘Yes.’
‘What he has to do with your box?’ she asked. Jondu did not reply. ‘I would imagine that His Excellency is in Rauca.’
‘More likely at his estate in Rumelabar.’
‘It makes little difference. None of us can leave Cárscaro.’
‘There is a way out through a lava tunnel, which leads farther into the Spindles. From there, you can take the old Pass of the Imperator to the Ersyr. A horse trail laid by the Gulthaganians,’ Jondu said. ‘I am sure that is the path Denarva would have used to get you to safety.’
‘How do youknowany of this?’ Marosa said, frustration surging up. ‘I have lived here all my life, and never have I heard of this tunnel. Even if I could find it, the Spindles are swarming with Draconic creatures.’
‘They will not attack a person who carries the plague.’
‘But the plague would kill anyone who contracted it.’
‘Not immediately. It steeps in the body for some time before the bloodblaze takes hold. And if the person you send forth is able to reach Chassar … he will be able to cure them.’
Marosa stared at her.
‘Ambassador uq-Ispad has a cure to the Draconic plague?’ She grasped the bars. ‘Hundreds and more of my people may have it, after two years of occupation, and he dares to withhold a remedy?’
‘It is not my place to say the reason.’
Marosa tightened her grip. It took her a long moment to master the anger that had risen in her.
‘This lava tunnel,’ she finally said. ‘How would I find it?’
‘It adjoins the foundations of this very building. If you still have the plans, you should find a stairway leading there, likely hidden in some way. But Denarva would have opened it.’
‘And what is in the box?’ Marosa asked her. ‘If I am to risk enraging Fýredel – to gamble with the lives of every person in this city – then I must know why.’
‘It is the key to a weapon. A weapon that may help defeat the wyrms.’
‘A mangonel, a springald?’ Marosa pressed. ‘What in the name of the Saint can you mean?’
