Lily of the Desert (Silver and Orchids Book 4) Read online

  Her eyes run over us, and then they pause on our alchemist. Slowly, her gaze rises to meet his. “You’re tall.”

  Expressionless, Yancey studies her. “As are you.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Yancey.”

  She snorts out a brief laugh. “That doesn’t suit you.”

  He crosses his arms, unimpressed.

  “I like to refer to him as The Boulder,” I offer.

  Esme turns to me and grins after she sizes me up. “You’re Lucia? The adventuress? Aren’t you a little…slight?”

  My, isn’t she honest.

  “Sometimes feisty things come in small packages,” Avery says, feeling the need to defend me.

  It’s the captain’s turn to fall under Gorin’s niece’s scrutiny. A smile plays on her lips as her eyes rove over him. “You’re a handsome one.”

  “Esme—” Gorin begins, flustered.

  “Taken,” Avery says before Gorin can finish. To prove his point, he puts his arm around me.

  Her answering laugh is friendly, and she finally turns to Adeline and Sebastian. “What about you?” she asks my partner. “Are you taken as well?”

  This has the potential to go very, very badly. I tense next to Avery, wondering how my idiot friend is going to reply.

  Adeline stares at Sebastian intently. He glances at her, unsure how to answer. She gives him a full three seconds before she makes a disgusted noise and disappears into her tent.

  Esme raises her eyebrows but stays thankfully silent. Sebastian rubs a hand over his neck, murmurs his apologies, and hurries after Adeline.

  “I’ve been trying to catch you for the last several days,” Esme ends up saying to Gorin.

  “I must have heard you in the canyon while we were in the Tairan Mares,” I say.

  “Probably. I was sure I almost had you that night, but I couldn’t find where you were camped.” She laughs. “And then I got lost.”

  Gorin clenches his jaw and looks up at the sky.

  “But I found my way.”

  “Did you bring a tent?” Gorin asks. “Supplies?”

  She shrugs. “I have everything I need.”

  “I’ll take that as a no.” He glances around and frowns. “I suppose you’ll have to share with Adeline.”

  Before I can tell him that’s a downright foolish idea, Esme shakes her head. “I’m fine, Gorin. Stop being so overprotective.” And with that, she flips her hair over her shoulder, digs a lantern from her pack, lights the candle wick with the dying coals from our fire, and walks into the fortress. “I’m going to explore. I’ll see you all in the morning.”

  Gorin looks downright livid, but he bites back his frustration and turns to us remaining three. “We’re protected from the desert here. I don’t think there’s need for a watch. Let’s all get some sleep.”

  Avery and I retire to our tent. Wrapped safely in his arms, the abandoned city doesn’t seem so unsettling. I’m just drifting off when I hear voices carrying from the city below. I roll over to face Avery. “Did you hear that?”

  “Hear what?” Avery mumbles, almost asleep.

  I listen again, but there is nothing but silence. I must have been half dreaming, either that or Gorin, Sebastian, and Yancey are still awake.

  “Never mind,” I say as I cozy up closer to him. He wraps his arm around my waist, tucking me close, and I let myself drift.

  ***

  “Lucia,” Sebastian hisses from outside the tent. “You need to get up.”

  I blink and groan. The courtyard floor was entirely too hard, and my back is sore. Avery mumbles next to me and draws me closer, trying to fall back asleep.

  “Avery, you too.”

  Growling, Avery sits up and stretches his shoulders. He peers at the light. Judging from what’s filtering in the tent, it’s far too early to start the day unless you’re a bird.

  We throw on clothes, and Avery yanks the tent flap aside. “What could possibly be so important that you have to wake us at the crack of daw—”

  He goes quiet, and I nudge my way past him.

  Apparently not all birds are starting their day.

  “Whose idea of breakfast is that?” I ask, disgusted.

  Five dead crows lie in a circle around the fire ring, all facing the same direction. I won’t lie; it’s a wee bit disturbing.

  “It’s a warning,” Gorin says. He stands with his arms crossed and a dark look on his face. “Something doesn’t want us here.”

  I step closer, looking at the birds. “I don’t care for the way you say something.”

  “It’s an ancient Elrija saying—an old wives’ tale,” Gorin explains. “Five crows in a ring, death it will bring.”

  Sebastian glances around the camp, searching the ground for tracks. Finding none, he turns back to the fire pit. “We need to get rid of them before Adeline wakes up.”

  Yancey hasn’t said anything since I left my tent, but he kneels to remove the poor birds. Just as he’s reaching for the first one, Esme strolls from the fortress.

  She looks different in the early light of dawn. Her long, tightly-curled hair is lighter than I thought—honey blond, and her complexion is a warm, dark tan and as flawless as a young girl’s. From this distance, I can’t tell what color her eyes are, but they look light. She’s exotic and positively stunning.

  “Good morning,” she says brightly, and then she frowns when we only murmur our hellos. “Sour bunch you all are before breakfast.”

  Then she sees the crows. Her eyebrows shoot up, and she takes a step back.

  Gorin looks up, half-livid. “If this is your idea of a joke—”

  “Excuse me,” she hisses. “That’s not amusing in the least. How could you accuse me of this?”

  His expression falters, and then he looks down. He rolls his shoulders, trying to release the tension. “No—you’re right. I’m sorry. But if it wasn’t you, who did it?”

  We end up looking at each other, waiting for someone to shed some light on the situation.

  When no one has an answer, Yancey resumes his task, taking the birds far from our makeshift camp. Adeline joins us in a few moments, and on Sebastian’s request, we pretend nothing is amiss. We don’t mention the birds at all.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Serpents of Elrija

  “Lucia, I think I’ve found something,” Sebastian hollers from down a hall.

  I pick up my torch, leave the room I’ve already gone through twice, and follow his voice. Gorin claims the map’s supposed to be somewhere in the castle fortress, but the place is a lot bigger than it looks.

  We’ve already wasted three weeks, and we have nothing to show for our time. So much for an easy expedition.

  I find Sebastian leaning over an old desk, studying a thin leather sheet.

  My heart leaps, and I race forward. “Did you find it?”

  “Not exactly.” He turns the old leather so I can take a better look.

  Squinting, I hold the torch closer and turn to my partner. “It looks like a map of this castle.”

  “It is.” He points to an alcove in the very center, near the main entrance. “But what’s this?”

  I study it and nibble my lip, thinking. “I have no idea. Why haven’t we found it?”

  “I think it’s been sealed off. Remember the mosaic in the hall?” He points to its approximate location, which just happens to be where the map shows the door to the alcove. “Doesn’t that look like a place where a door once stood?”

  A tiny flicker of excitement lights in my belly. Somehow, I know he’s right. “We should show Gorin.”

  We hurry through the fortress, trying to locate the others. Avery’s off “exploring,” which is a Greybrow codeword for treasure hunting. He’s already found a passel of artifacts to bring back home, including a couple impressive enchanted blades. The captain’s like a young child in a confectioner’s shoppe.

  Gorin and Esme are working in a lower level where a combustible fuel was stored in urns. Sinc
e they didn’t dare take a torch, Gorin requested Adeline’s magical services.

  Yancey’s outside, not being the slightest bit helpful. He poked around a bit on the first few days, but then he grew bored.

  We reach Gorin’s underground storage room, but it’s empty.

  “Adeline was complaining of a headache when I saw her earlier,” I say to Sebastian. “They probably went out for fresh air.”

  After looking around for another fifteen minutes, we make our way outside. Adeline’s in the shade of a pillar, resting her head against the stone. Sebastian kneels in front of her. “How’s your head?”

  She opens her eyes, gives him a sweet smile, and waves his concern away. “The dust and fumes got to me, but I’m feeling better now.”

  I look around for Gorin. He, Avery, Yancey, and Esme share a packet of dried meat. We’ve had the same thing for weeks now. I can barely stomach it anymore—even the smell makes me queasy.

  “We found something interesting,” I say to Gorin.

  His eyes light. “What kind of interesting?”

  Sebastian comes up behind us and spreads the map out on the makeshift table Yancey constructed last week when he was exceptionally bored. Sebastian tells them just what he told me, and by the end, they’re nodding.

  It takes the men no time to gather an assortment of picks, hammers, and one immensely large ax, and then they gleefully head into the fortress to do some damage. Even Yancey volunteers to be of assistance this time.

  I follow, ready to demand someone hand me a tool so I can assist, when a bout of nausea overwhelms me. I set my hand on the wall, willing it to pass.

  “Lucia?” Avery asks, setting his pick aside. “Are you all right?”

  “I didn’t eat this morning,” I confess. “Or this afternoon.”

  “Tired of dried meat?”

  “So tired.”

  He chuckles and retrieves his pick. “Let’s break this door down, find the map, and ride to the closest city for a real meal.”

  The entire party enthusiastically agrees. Unfortunately, the picks aren’t doing the job.

  “We’re going to need something stronger,” Yancey finally says. He wipes the sweat from his brow and tosses his hammer aside. “I think it’s spelled.”

  Sebastian nods. “It must be.”

  “What do we do?” Adeline asks from beside me.

  We all stare at the wall, thinking. Finally, Gorin heaves his pick aside. “It’s getting late. We’ll return to it in the morning.”

  Murmuring our agreement, we leave the tools behind, ready to return to them tomorrow.

  As Gorin starts a fire, I settle on the ground next to Esme.

  “So Gorin is your uncle?” I ask Esme as the tinder ignites.

  Esme glances at me, amused by the question. “Yes, and yet I am eight months older.”

  “How does that work?”

  “My grandmother was very young when she had Father…and very old when she had Gorin.” She grins. “If she heard me say that, she’d knock me upside the head.”

  I glance at Esme, who towers over me, even when we’re both sitting. “Can she reach you?”

  I don’t say it to be rude; I’m actually curious. Esme’s built like a classic adventuress. She’s everything the people of Kalae expected me to be when they learned I slew the sirens—everything I am not. Where she is tall, strong, and strikingly beautiful, King Harold once said I look like a doll. I think it’s what’s caused the fascination. No one looks at me and thinks “siren slayer.”

  I like to think you don’t see me coming.

  Esme glances at me, laughing. Her eyes are tawny—so rich a brown they are gold. Almost catlike. They give her a mischievous look, and I have not decided yet whether they are misleading. “Not since I was twelve.”

  I laugh with her and then look out over the city. It’s not yet dusk, but it will be shortly. The light is still golden, and it shines down on Struin Aria, making it look friendlier than it is.

  Esme goes to take a drink from her waterskin, but it’s empty. “Do you have any more water, Yancey?”

  He looks for the bucket where he’s been keeping the cleansed supply, but it’s missing. He looks this way and that, and finally, Sebastian clears his throat and points to the middle of the courtyard. Flink lies in a muddy pool of his own making. The bucket lies empty beside him.

  “Wretched beast,” Yancey snarls as he stalks toward the dragon. Before he can reach him, I run ahead and snatch the bucket from the ground.

  “I’ll fetch more from the well,” I tell him.

  He looks like he wants to argue, but he finally nods and walks back to his newly constructed table to set up his alchemy supplies.

  After a moment, he asks, “Where’s the map?”

  Sebastian and Avery stop mid-conversation and turn toward Yancey.

  “It was right there,” Sebastian says.

  Yancey gestures over the empty table. “It’s not here now.”

  An uneasy silence blankets the group. We haven’t had anything strange happen in weeks, not since the crows. I think we all tried to put it behind us.

  Unable to bear the tension, I start walking. “I’m going to the well.”

  My proclamation must startle our party out of their silence, because they begin to murmur amongst themselves.

  The wind probably blew it away. No reason to jump to conclusions.

  I’ve been to the well several times, and I’m not usually as uneasy as I was that first night. But tonight…tonight I feel as if someone—or something—is watching me.

  I quicken my pace and reach the well just as the sun sets. There’s still plenty of light, but I’m spooked. I fight with the crank, which decides this evening of all evenings is the time to stick. Finally, I hook the bucket to the latch and lower it into the water.

  I’m just cranking it up when I hear the strangest noise behind me. Before I turn, there’s a whir of air, and an arrow sinks into the soft wooden frame, inches from my head.

  I gasp and step back, dropping the bucket into the well. But it’s not just an arrow; there’s a map attached to it. The map. And written across it in black, dripping letters is a warning. I whirl around, hoping to find the archer before he disappears.

  Instead, I find three cobras.

  My stomach leaps to my throat, and I freeze. The black and bronze serpents watch me, already agitated. Their hoods are raised, and they weave back and forth, scenting the air with their tongues. They are huge, far larger than I would have guessed. Their bodies are wider than my fist, and the largest is several yards long.

  What am I going to do? I don’t have a weapon, and what good would it do me anyway? As soon as I went for one snake, the other two would attack.

  I stay as still as possible as I think my options over. I can only see one outcome—I’m going to die.

  Just as I’m debating leaping into the well, something startles the snakes. They whirl their heads around, looking down the street I just came from. Their eyes dart back and forth, keeping an eye on me as well.

  Avery steps into view, followed by Flink. “Lucia, I thought I heard—” He goes as still as me, his eyes widening when he sees the cobras. “Don’t move.”

  Do I look like I’m going to?

  Flink spots the snakes moments later. Avery realizes the dragon’s intentions seconds too late. He tries to grasp Flink’s harness, but the dragon is too quick. Flink darts for the snakes, weaving back and forth like a cat wary of its prey.

  Deciding the dragon is the greater threat, the serpents turn from me.

  I back around the well, careful not to draw their attention again.

  “Give them a wide berth,” Avery warns, his eyes on the snakes.

  Flink lunges for one but leaps back when the second attacks. They’re fast, but he’s faster. And he appears to be enjoying himself.

  The dragon makes his first kill, and the other two cobras attempt to retreat. He lunges at the second, and then finally, he kills the third.
>
  My heart beats wildly in my chest, and I feel as if I’ll never draw in a full breath again. As soon as Flink vanquishes the threat, Avery runs for me. He frantically runs his hands over my shoulders and down my sides, checking me over.

  “I’m fine,” I assure him once I can speak.

  “Thank goodness for Flink.” His voice is low, and I know the encounter rattled him.

  “I’m fine—just a little shaken, I promise.” I wish there were a way I could assure him more, but even if there were, I know he’s not going to take the next part well. “But, Avery, there’s more.”

  I point to the arrow.

  His mood changes in an instant. Before, he was worried, perhaps a bit regretful he wasn’t the one to save me. But now he’s livid—the kind of livid that should make that archer hope the captain never finds him.

  Avery rips the map from the arrow and reads the words aloud. “Five crows in a ring, death it will bring.”

  On the map, right over the ancient cartography, encircling the warning, are five sketched crows.

  ***

  Avery slams the parchment on Yancey’s table, making the whole thing shake, and he glares at Sebastian. “We found your map.”

  Yancey scrambles to right his wobbling equipment. He’s about to holler at Avery, and then his eyes narrow on the warning scrawled across the leather.

  Before anyone can comment on it, Flink strolls into camp. The largest of the cobras, his prize, is clamped in his jaws, and its tail drags behind him like a banner.

  Esme gasps and leaps back. “That’s a bronze cobra!”

  Adeline scrambles away as well, but Gorin takes a step closer, his forehead knitting. “We’re too low. They live higher, in the Tairan Mares. It shouldn’t be here.”

  “Yet him and two of his companions found Lucia,” Avery snarls.

  Gorin flinches at the captain’s tone.

  “We must scout the city, see if we can find who’s responsible for this.” Avery steps toward Gorin, his expression hard and unyielding. “But when we get back, you have some explaining to do.”

  We split into two groups. Yancey comes with Avery and me, and the rest go with Sebastian. I feel far more confident with my bow on my back and one of Avery’s new blades at my side. We search until dark, but we never see a sign of the archer who dropped off my slithering gift.