Fortune Favors the Cruel - Kel Carpenter Page 0,101

to come into these woods. Now, it’s your wife and son that will have to live with the consequences of your failure.” Her voice had gone from playful and deceptively soft, to hard and clear as the Servalis stone in his satchel.

Quinn rose to her feet and extended a hand. The tendrils of fear crawled back out the other ear and slithered over the husk of a man that lay prone and moaning in her wake. They drifted into the air, settling on her skin before slinking under. Only then did anyone speak.

“We won’t be able to interrogate him now,” Dominicus started. His tone was frustrated, but the careful glances in her direction meant he did not want to push her when she was like this, no matter the consequences.

“You won’t need to,” she replied. “He feared for his wife and son. Gadmor was a dead man that couldn’t provide, so he traded all he had to give. His life.” Her hands fell to her sides and she clenched them into fists. “He and the other seven didn’t come into these woods to kill you—though they would have, given the chance. They came to distract you, so that the real threat had time to find us before we reached Tritol.” Quinn paused. “And before you ask, no, they weren’t given knowledge of who sent them. Whoever it was at least had the forethought to not leave a trail.”

Lazarus let out a curse, but all Quinn did was turn on her heel and start for the camp. “We need to leave. Now. So we stand a chance of crossing the rest of Ilvas before they find us,” she said over her shoulder.

Dominicus slit the suffering man’s throat and turned to Lazarus. “I don’t know what’s going on with her, but that wasn’t normal. We need to talk about this when we get to Tritol. I don’t know if bringing her to N—”

“We’ll talk, but for now, she’s right. We need to go,” Lazarus said before he followed after her into the darkness—where they both belonged.

As the Sun Rises

“A creature who does not need a weapon is one.”

— Lazarus Fierté, dark Maji, heir to Norcasta, soul eater

Bastian carried its master as Lazarus leaned forward over the horse’s neck, urging the beast to go ever faster. Hours they had ridden through the night. Even for an experienced rider it was a difficult pace to set. He could hear the heaving of the others, and though they struggled to keep stride, none spoke a word of complaint. They, too, could feel the rising urgency as if the dark realm’s shadow wolves were upon them, ready to tear their bodies limb from limb and feast upon their flesh.

The land shifted as they rode, changing from narrow passages through forests to open plains as they exited the woods. The tree line still stretched alongside them as the roads widened, obviously built in a way that was meant for carts and coaches rather than lone riders. As everyone spread out, in Lazarus’ peripheral he noted that Quinn was riding just as hard as the others, her skills on a horse having grown significantly since their first encounter. So much so that Lorraine was now to the side, riding along with Dominicus.

His newest vassal had certainly changed. When he had first met her, Lazarus had thought Claudius already mad for possibly thinking that such a small, inexperienced Maji could be what either made or broke his empire. But now, he saw something different in her. A darkness had risen to the surface, one that she fully embraced.

Across the plains, the sun slowly began to rise, bleeding out the new day across the skies as the night receded. The land spread far and wide, and beyond it the ocean lashed against far off cliffs. The air was thick with the scent of salt and sea.

Had they taken their time as travelers normally would, it might have taken them another full day to reach even this far. They were getting closer. It wouldn’t be long now.

“There! I see it!” Draeven called out. Lazarus turned his head and noted that he was correct. The capital of Ilvas rose, a single shining city along the flat lands bordering the edge of the ocean and the wide mouth of a river.

Tritol was the gem of Ilvas with capped golden rooftops and wide pillared buildings, all surrounded by a sandstone wall meant to protect the city from land marauders. Lazarus nudged Bastian in the