The Temple of Sacrifice Read online

  She straightened, a wide smile on her face. “I am honored.” She lowered her head and winked at Kaida. That went far better than she’d hoped. He hadn’t tried to turn her into a gargoyle, for a start.

  As they exited the shop, Taryn spied the Artagh placing his hand over the spot she’d touched, a traitorous, wistful smile on his gruff features.

  Timor scanned the buildings outside of Sulein’s shop and scowled. “We should return to the palace, Your Highness.”

  “Not yet. I’d like to explore the docks a little.” Her guards wore twin looks of apprehension and she laughed. “Seriously, the two of you need to lighten up. It looks like a storm is moving in and I’d like to enjoy my freedom for as long as possible.” She angled toward the harbor, where dark clouds hovered several miles out to sea. A storm meant seclusion in the palace and that was the last thing Taryn needed.

  All told, she’d been in Talaith for several months and had yet to tour her hometown properly. The parade on her crowning day had given her a glimpse of the capital city, but Taryn longed to know every detail about the place. Timor and Carina followed her as she wove her way between stacks of crates down a narrow passageway. The cries of men shouting from the ships anchored in Talaith’s huge harbor mingled with the sound of seagulls calling out to the flock. Taryn paused, letting the sounds and smells envelop her.

  “Is something wrong?” Carina’s hand went to the hilt of her sword.

  “It’s wonderful, isn’t it? The city. Sweet spices and the brininess of the ocean. It reminds me of a place I visited many times before coming here.” The memory of a trip she’d taken to Egypt with Brandt slammed against her thoughts and she reeled from the heartache of missing him.

  An idea formed and she embraced the memory, sending a silent kiss to Dal Tara before she spun to face her guards, both of whom looked less pleased with the city than she did. “Didn’t Tabul, the spice merchant in Paderau, say he had a brother in Talaith? Let’s find him. We’ll surprise Sabina with a gift from her homeland.”

  A movement to their left, followed by loud cursing and the sound of several boxes being knocked over, had Taryn and her guard unsheathing their swords. A man, tall, with dark skin and eyes that marked him from the Summerlands, stepped out from behind the mess with his hands held before him. “I’m unarmed. Don’t hurt me.”

  His speech and features were familiar enough Taryn lowered her sword. “Why are you following me?”

  “I am the spice merchant you seek. My brother Tabul asked that I watch over you should you ever leave the palace. When I received word you were in the city, I followed you here.” He bowed his head and placed his right palm over his heart. “I am Adesh. Please. No swords.”

  Taryn signaled for Timor and Carina to sheathe their weapons. She held hers with a loose grip, wary. “Why would Tabul want me watched?”

  Adesh glanced to his left, then right and shook his head. “Not here. Please. Follow me.”

  His long legs made short work of the distance from the docks to his tent in the main marketplace. When they entered, a young boy scurried from the space, only to return moments later with tea for Taryn and the others. Curiosity danced in his large brown eyes.

  Taryn thanked him in his language, using the opportunity to practice what Sabina had taught her. It wasn’t much, but enough to offer gratitude to a young boy. A slight blush brightened his cheeks. Adesh dismissed him and sat with his legs crossed. A protective barrier of ShantiMari rose around them, ensconcing the group in a dome of privacy.

  “Tabul was there the day you were attacked in Paderau. Since then, he has asked all of his brothers, some from blood, others by marriage, to learn what we can about the assassin. And you.”

  “But why?”

  Adesh poured four cups of tea. “It is a special blend. You will enjoy, please.” He waited for Taryn to take a sip before drinking from his own cup. “Tabul said you were kind to him in Paderau. You introduced him to our princess, who is most keen to help us with our taxation problem.”

  He lost Taryn on the last part. She’d have to ask Sabina about it later. “What have you found about the assassin?”

  “Not much, I’m afraid. After the attack, he fled the city. There has been no sighting of him since.” Adesh snorted. “But then, there won’t be, will there? Not with his abilities.” As if remembering himself, he bent forward, touching his head to the mat. “Forgive me, Your Highness.”

  “Adesh, please call me Taryn and always speak freely.” She touched his arm and he glanced at her with a look of deference. His ShantiMari belied the look, swarming beneath her fingers with tempered savagery. She removed her hand, disturbed by what she’d experienced. “What do you mean, ‘abilities’?”

  “Through his connection with his master, the assassin is able to see, hear, and smell, but his sole reason for existence is finding you. Without his master, he is nothing. Without his need to hunt you, he has no purpose. He feeds on fear. From you, people on the street, anyone near enough he can sense their anxiety. A great city like Talaith is a banquet for one like him. But you, Princess…to you, he is drawn like a mowbat to nectar. Your fear sustains him.”

  A protest rose to her lips, but she did fear him. More than she ever wanted to admit.

  Adesh continued, taking her silence for acceptance. “When your betrothed fought him in Paderau, he bled. This should never happen. Yet it has. Your assassin draws life from you as easily as you draw breath. If you don’t end him, he will destroy you.”

  Taryn jerked at the words, spilling her tea. She hadn’t expected this from the spice merchant. The room darkened, the air becoming as thick and stagnant as the void. Her breathing deepened and her lungs labored with each inhale. Scenes flashed through her mind, of a desolate world devoid of life, charred stumps of trees dotting the landscape. Plumes of smoke rising toward a charcoal sky.

  You did this, the voice rasped in her mind. You are the destroyer.

  Taryn rose from the mat on shaking legs. “I must go. Thank you, Adesh, for the tea.” She rushed from the tent, not caring if the others followed, needing only to shut out the taunts. Outside, the boy stepped in her path, a hand outstretched, a pouch resting atop his palm.

  “For our princess.” He spoke Elennish. Then, in his native tongue, “Protection.”

  Taryn took the pouch and thanked him, but he darted off before she finished the words. Carina and Timor joined her, scowls on their faces. Kaida silently padded down the street, sniffing the air. Adesh’s words had rattled not just Taryn, it appeared. She tucked the pouch into her pocket, not quite knowing if the boy meant it was for her or Sabina. Their footfalls echoed on the cobblestones as they followed the grierbas toward the palace. Protection against what? Or whom?

  A familiar tingling from her pendant preceded a chill running up her neck. A heartbeat before she saw the hooded figure in the shadows, Kaida lunged.

  Chapter Two

  A brief glimpse of terror crossed the assassin’s pale face before he disappeared. Kaida darted after him and clambered up a crate, snarling with every vicious snap of her jaw. Carina and Timor raced to where the assassin had been, with Taryn a step behind. She clearly saw the dark outline of his body as he pulled himself over the ledge of the roof.

  Timor reached the rooftop first and paced along the shingled edge, sputtering curses. Carina joined him while Taryn helped Kaida up the empty stretch between the crate and building. The city sprawled out before them, a kaleidoscope of colorful tents mixed with drab shingled structures and dun-colored thatched roofs. One thing caught Taryn’s attention—the rooftop’s emptiness. Not even the silhouetted form was in sight.

  She scanned the sky, looking for a bird that might be the assassin, knowing full well even if she spotted him, there was nothing she could do to follow.

  “Fuck!” she screamed at the dark clouds that hovered just above their heads, perfect camouflage for someone wishing to escape unseen. “I don’t fear you. Do you hear me? You or your master.” The last she
said more to herself, willing the words to be true.

  “Princess.” Carina eyed the threatening sky. “We should return to the safety of the palace.”

  If anything happened to the Eirielle, it was Carina’s life on the line, Taryn knew. But there was an urgency beneath her warning that went beyond the weather. For once, Taryn didn’t argue. Adesh’s words tumbled through her thoughts, chilling her. The assassin fed off her fear. She was his banquet. Yet how did she stop herself from fearing a demon?

  Where did he come from? she asked Kaida.

  He has been tracking us since the docks.

  Taryn glared at the animal. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Kaida returned the look, an intensity to her golden eyes that disturbed Taryn. I wished to know what he wanted. He was observing, nothing more. I will not let him harm you.

  Kaida would do everything in her power to stop the assassin, but what could a grierbas do that the others could not? It was far too easy for the assassin to find her and far too difficult for her to follow him.

  As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn’t rely on the others for her safety. Someday she must overcome her fear and do what was necessary to control her Dark ShantiMari. That line of thinking led her down a rabbit hole of scenarios that all ended with her being the pawn of Kaldaar, or worse, Rykoto. She shuddered against the images that slithered through her mind, each more disgusting than the first. Rykoto, Kaldaar, Valterys, Zakael—what would they do with her? How would they break her? Taryn wrapped her arms tightly across her chest. As long as her heart beat and breath came from her lips, she’d not allow any of them to control her. That list included Marissa and Lliandra, as well.

  They walked quickly, without drawing attention, through the marketplace and up the hill to the palace gates. Once through, Taryn took a deep breath and released some of the tension she’d been holding. Instead of going inside, she directed them toward the gardens, pacing along the seawall, orienting her thoughts.

  She’d been surprised by Adesh’s admission that Tabul had people following her movements and shocked to learn he knew about the assassin. He knew, in fact, more about him than Taryn did. There was more to the spice merchant, much more, and she was going to find out everything she could.

  Carina interrupted her pacing with a gentle, yet firm placement of her body in Taryn’s path. “Your Highness, I know you are trying to be brave, but please, you must tell Prince Rhoane and Sir Baehlon. As your guard, we are honor bound to you, but your safety is our concern.”

  “If I tell them, they’ll just double the watch on me, and I’m sure it’s no fun following me around all day.”

  The guard’s frown served as an answer. They were of equal height and similar build, which made them excellent sparring partners in the training ring. From Taryn’s earliest days at Paderau, before she or anyone else knew her true identity, she’d trained with Carina and earned the woman’s respect. When Duke Anje handpicked Carina to accompany Taryn to Talaith as her personal guard, it was with a sense of relief on Taryn’s part that her friend would accompany her.

  As she stood in front of Timor and Carina, she was thankful they answered to her and not her mother, which meant as long as she stayed alive, whatever happened would stay between the three of them. Except Taryn knew she’d stretched their loyalty by chasing the assassin.

  From the other side of the garden, Rhoane approached and by the look of thunder on his face, he knew where she’d been and what transpired.

  Taryn pierced her guards with an accusatory glare. “How does he know?”

  “Not by me, I swear it to you,” Timor said, placing his hand over his heart.

  “Nor me.” Carina echoed the gesture. The two stepped behind Taryn but stayed close in case they were needed.

  Feigning ignorance, Taryn greeted Rhoane in a cheery voice. “Good day, my beloved.”

  “What the hell are you about? Sneaking off to the docks?” He scowled at Carina and Timor. “With so few of your guard? Where is Baehlon? Does he know you left the palace grounds?”

  Kaida sat at Rhoane’s side, her tail thumping expectantly. “I hear it was you who saved the princess today,” Rhoane said, kneeling to scratch Kaida behind her ears. He put his head against hers, holding her for a moment before standing to confront Taryn. “If my sources are correct, Kaida chased off the assassin before any harm could come to you.”

  The cold grip of anger crept up her spine. “If you have so many spies watching my every move, I don’t really need a guard, now do I?”

  “He was not watching you.”

  “Oh.”

  Rhoane addressed her guard, his voice low, full of authority. “If I hear of you allowing the princess to leave without my knowledge again, I will personally see to your punishment.”

  Carina swallowed hard and said, “With all due respect, Your Highness, we take our orders from Princess Taryn.”

  Taryn stifled a laugh. “Carina, you are so getting a raise.” To Rhoane, she said, “I appreciate the thought, but you don’t have to threaten my guards. I won’t need to leave the palace again for a while and when I do, I’ll be sure to let my babysitter know.”

  He moved closer to her, saying in Eleri, “You are far too careless of your safety.”

  Anxiety clouded his eyes and she responded in his language. “I had hoped the danger was gone. I am sorry.” Since the attack at the Stones, Rhoane had taken to speaking to her almost exclusively in Eleri. She understood far more than she could speak, which generally worked in her favor, but not so much when Rhoane was angry and his words came in a clipped rush, as they did then.

  Kaida’s ears perked forward, a low growl deep in her throat. A moment later, she raced toward the orchard.

  “Stay here,” Rhoane commanded before sprinting after her.

  Taryn ignored him, following close behind, her guards on her heels. As they neared the orchard, Taryn heard Rhoane whispering to Ebus. She motioned for Carina and Timor to wait. “There’s no danger, but keep watch all the same.”

  Kaida sat patiently by Rhoane’s leg, with her eyes trained on the thief. “I told you to stay with the others,” the Eleri prince snapped.

  “You cannot keep trying to protect me by leaving me out of things,” she retorted, hands on hips, her jaw set.

  Ebus interrupted them with a dramatic clearing of his throat. “If you’re going to argue, and not even in a language I understand, I have better things to be doing.”

  “Yes, like resting until you’re well enough to continue your duties.” Taryn knew better than to expect Ebus to sit around all day, but he’d come too close to death and even Faelara wasn’t sure what ailed him.

  The phantom had knocked him unconscious, but more than that, Taryn suspected Celia and Herbret had bled the little man. When they found him at the Stones, he had several deep slashes on his arms. Ebus had no memory of the events that day, remembering only the previous morning when he’d spoken to her at breakfast. Even when she prompted him, there remained a blank space in his timeline.

  He cut her a glare, but there was little malice in his eyes. “I was bored. Do you wish to continue discussing my restoration, or perhaps you might like to know the assassin has left the city?”

  “Are you certain? Where has he gone?” Rhoane asked.

  “I followed him to a boarding house near the docks. There, he spoke with his master for a few minutes. After that, he shifted into a bird and flew off to the north.”

  Irritated Ebus could follow him when she could not, but not willing to let Rhoane know how far she’d gone to pursue the assassin, she directed the conversation toward identifying the one controlling the assassin. “Were you able to hear the conversation?”

  “Only part, Great Lady. I did garner that he has a wound slow in healing and is terrified of your grierbas.”

  “Did you happen to see how it was the assassin spoke to his master?” Taryn asked. “Why wouldn’t they just use a more private method?” She tapped her temple. “In her
e.”

  “Your assassin might be deadly, but he isn’t too gifted, if you know what I mean. I doubt he’s all there in the head.”

  “Could you recognize the sound of his master’s voice?” This was the break they needed to uncover the master’s identity.

  “Nay, it was tempered, as if someone were speaking through a door. I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you for your help, Ebus.” Defeat leaked into her voice. She rested her hand on his shoulder and his Dark Shanti swirled under her fingertips. Mutated and twisted—not Aelan or Eleri, it sparked a similar sense of unease as Adesh’s had, yet it wasn’t suppressed, just…wrong. Like Sabina’s had been before the attack.

  Out of habit, she sent a healing thread of her own power through Ebus. He was nearly mended, with only a slight bruising on his skull where they’d knocked him unconscious. A stain, blurred but perceptible, pressed against her ShantiMari.

  “I don’t do this out of charity. It’s your gold I value.” He jerked away from her touch and trotted off a few feet before disappearing.

  Taryn searched the area, her gaze roving over the trees. A black silhouette of his form moved nimbly from one branch to another until he was out of sight. “I think I know how the assassin can appear and disappear on command.”

  Rhoane glanced at her, concern tight in his features. “Were you able to follow Ebus just now?”

  “Sort of.” What she saw, or rather, didn’t see, worried her. Before the ordeal at the Stones, she hadn’t been able to see the assassin when he vanished. But that morning on the docks, she was certain the silhouetted form was the assassin “disappearing.” Same with Ebus just then.

  How they made their body become a dark shimmering outline that blended into the surrounding area, she had to find out. If it was a trick of the Dark, perhaps she could use the power to follow the assassin. And if it wasn’t? The thought burned through her sternum. If it wasn’t the Dark, then she shouldn’t be able to see it at all. A shudder of revulsion coursed through her veins, chilling her.