Lacuna - N.R. Walker Page 0,74
was made from yellow clay walls, red tiles on the floor, and spiked plants and palms. The air was dry and it was hot outside, Crow had no doubt, but inside was cool by design alone. Well, cooler. It was still too hot for Crow to feel comfortable, and as much as he wanted to, he didn’t think it appropriate to strip out of his clothes.
But Samiel took the news of their findings, and their plans to go back to Aequi Kentron, as well as Elmwood had. As strange as it all was, and as little as they knew about each other, there was an unspoken trust between them. Being equal rulers conspired against by their trusted elders would do that. Crow asked her if she could recall any such books in her libraries of anything pertaining to doorways or maps, and Samiel sent guards off to search.
“I see the bond between you two is unbroken,” Samiel said, nodding to Crow and Tancho. “You move as one.”
“It is not only unbroken but stronger,” Soko offered.
Karasu added, “Don’t get between them, don’t touch either of them, and don’t threaten either of them. Unless you’re done with this life and would like to move on to the next.”
Samiel smiled, raising an eyebrow. “Interesting,” she said, still looking at Crow and Tancho. “I thought you might kill each other.”
“They tried a few times,” Kohaku said. “Until it changed.”
“Until what changed?” Tancho asked. “And we are sitting right here. We can answer for ourselves.”
“Until something changed,” Karasu said, smiling.
“And you stopped trying to kill each other,” Soko added.
Kohaku grinned. “And you started trying to—”
Tancho had his dagger out from his wrist guard and pointed it at Kohaku. “Finish that sentence and it will be your last.” Kohaku raised both his hands.
Samiel just laughed and waved them off. “There will be no blood spilled at my table.”
Elmwood chuckled. “We see what you mean.” But then he was serious and he looked at Tancho, then Crow. “It has gotten worse as the eclipse draws near?”
“Stronger,” Crow clarified. Worse implied it was horrible or unwanted, and Crow was now certain it was neither of those things. “The bond grows stronger, yes.”
“We cannot physically be apart without pain,” Tancho explained, his cheeks tinged with pink. He lifted his chin and regained some composure. “So when we return to Aequi Kentron, Crow and I must not be separated. Whatever plan we devise, we must factor that into account.” Tancho looked at Crow, and Crow gave him a nod.
“Understood,” Samiel said.
“So what is the plan?” Elmwood asked. “Apart from going back to Aequi Kentron. What do we do once we get there?”
“We find out exactly what is going on,” Crow replied. “Who is behind it, who or what those creatures are, and where they come from.”
“And who invited them,” Tancho added. “They knew about the doorways when we did not. Someone on the Elders’ Consul must have sent word to them.”
“And the eclipse?” Samiel asked. “Why do they come now?”
Crow nodded. “Is it because they assumed our kingdoms would be absent their kings, at their Golden Festival? Or does the eclipse itself open other doorways?”
“Or perhaps they simply assumed we four would be all in one place?” Elmwood surmised. “Would make for an easy target.”
Tancho nodded. “I fear you might be correct.”
“We should pay them a visit,” Samiel said, her jaw clenched and her eyes sharp. “And see which of us is the bigger easy target. Them or us.”
“I say we wait for nightfall and have surprise on our side,” Crow said, but then he shrugged. “Or we can go right now and start the arse-kicking in broad daylight. I don’t mind.”
Elmwood chuckled. “I like the way you think.”
“The cover of darkness would help us if we are aiming for stealth,” Tancho added. “But if we open the doorway in the middle of the grand hall, I don’t think it matters which time we choose. Alarms will be sounded before the doorway is big enough for us to walk through, and we could be slaughtered on entry.”
Crow growled at his own carelessness. “I didn’t think of that. I should have thought of that.”
“So how do we get inside undetected?” Elmwood asked.
Samiel smiled. “I may know a way. Undetected, no. Unbothered, yes.”
Samiel’s idea of being unbothered was throwing a hand bomb through the barely opened doorway, knocking everyone unconscious. The hand bomb was a small clay canister filled with yanam, a highly potent weed found in the desert, and when dried,