Page 33 of Of Serpents and Ruins
BRANDT
Cahji barely caught his balance before I was charging toward him. "What news?" I demanded, seizing him by his pale-blue tunic.
His silver eyes widened even more, making him look even younger than he was. "F-Father—I mean, Arch General Hord is in the inner dungeon," he stammered. "He said it was important and confidential."
I swept briskly toward the staircase.
Not dignified. Not formal.
Didn't matter.
Scarcely anyone was about. My boots echoed on the stone floor. Kine hadn't responded to my summons through the water mirror when I'd first tried this morning, which meant that he hadn't yet reached Auntie Runa's or another place where he could make a report. Hord's warriors had caught the attackers and brought them back, but Kine might have made it back to Auntie Runa’s between that time.
The heavy iron-bound door creaked open, and I went down the staircase. As I descended into the depths of the dungeon, the air grew cooler. The bright slickness from the sound-devouringgel glistened on the walls. Torches set in metal sconces cast ominous shadows.
Cahji followed after me, padding down the steps at an uneven pace.
The stairs curved down and around. Down, down, down. At the very base stood another black iron-banded door. With a swift gesture of my hand, I tossed it open and strode inside.
Hord, my arch general and cousin on my father's side, stood with his back to me, facing the nearest cell. He hadn't changed out of his clothing from the night before, the sash over his tabard still stained with blood and grass and his boots streaked with mud.
He bowed his head. "Brandt." As we were in private, neither of us worried about formalities. He kept his arms banded over his broad chest. "Two things."
"Speak, then." I stopped in front of him, setting my arms akimbo with my hands braced against my belt. Cahji had not followed me into the chamber, instead waiting on the stairs. The door at the base of the stairs snicked shut.
Hord nodded and jerked his head toward one of the more secure inner chambers so we could talk. Like the others, this one was simple, the door banded with iron and secured to block sound from leaving it. This was a smaller interrogation room, holding a single heavy-legged table and two rickety chairs. The torch sputtered on the wall, the red oil in its basin low and smelling of must and grime. Hord closed the door at once, pressing his hand to it to ensure it was closed.
"What news?" I demanded again. "Are the prisoners talking yet?"
The would-be assassins had been dragged here shortly after Candy and Hord had brought me back. Exhaustion had kept me from speaking with them in any rational fashion. If I'd had my way, I’d have ripped out their throats.
Hord's dark-red eyes met mine, his expression like granite. Once again, he was the stable voice of reason. He braced his hands against his belt, his left hand grazing the hilt of his sheathed hunting knife. "Kine has reached Auntie Runa. He was terse."
My eyebrow lifted. "Really?"
Kine was usually a chipper, cheeky bastard. The fact that he had added no element of fun or play told me almost as much as the message. Even after I had him imprisoned, he had retained that annoying wit, though he'd slowed down. He’d even remained confident that his decision to go and get Stella before we had the answer was right. So for him to be terse meant something was wrong.
"What has happened to make him so? Is Stella not safe?" I asked.
"No. She's there. She's safe, but they believe she was attacked by the Gola Resh."
My shoulders squared. Rage clenched my heart in an iron grasp that my beloved had been attacked. Then Hord’s words settled over me. The Gola Resh had survived. Somehow. Fear and hope alike warred within me. The Gola Resh had survived? Hope and disbelief roared within me.
"What did he say?"
"Not much. The reason that Stella disappeared in the cavern was because of the Gola Resh's interference. At least that's his theory. Stella said the Gola Resh taunted her." Hord glanced at the door, as if worried someone might overhear us. "Which means that the Gola Resh has been waiting for Stella's return as well. The halting of the curse was simply to ensure that the Gola Resh could inflict the most pain and sorrow possible."
If that was the case, it meant Kine and his ally had doomed us even more by bringing Stella back before we found a solution.
Dragging my hand across the back of my neck, I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath.
No.
No, we weren't falling into the Gola Resh's trap. We were going to find a way to undo her. Even if this was a trap, we would figure a way out.
"We have no proof that the Gola Resh is alive beyond the encounter Stella had—" Hord started.
"The Gola Resh lives. What else could it be? There’s nothing else like her." I paced to the other side of the room, turned, and paced back, my steps steady. I didn't need any more proof than that, but we would find it. The Gola Resh was planning to finish her work, perhaps even to twist the knife a little deeper.
