Rune Destiny (Runebound Book 2) Read online

  “This way,” Aventine said. “There’s a small door that the recruits used to come and go.”

  They had almost reached the far side of the room when an armored figure stepped out to block their path. Clad in full plate, and wearing the golden bear crest of House Ramath, the soldier challenged them with bared blade and raised shield.

  “Reginaldus,” Aventine said.

  “The same,” Reginaldus said, her voice muffled inside her helm.

  “Step aside. This isn't what you think.”

  “How do you know what I think? Sir Ignatius told me to watch you. His grand strategy is too important to be thwarted by your treachery. The Lady Saffrin can be a willing ally, or a prisoner of war. Either way, House Ramath gets what it wants.”

  While Reginaldus talked, Holmgrim tried to put some distance between himself and Aventine. If he could get far enough away, Reginaldus would not be able to track both of them through the slots in her helmet.

  “No!” Reginaldus barked, raising her sword to point at Holmgrim. “Stay where you are. Don’t spread out.”

  Holmgrim stopped. He looked at Aventine and shrugged.

  “I’m only going to warn you one more time,” Aventine said. “Let us pass. We’re not what you think we are.”

  “Draw your weapon or throw it down,” Reginaldus said. “Stop wasting your breath and my time.”

  Aventine grabbed the twin rune daggers from her waist. With a gentle nudge, she powered the runes—the weapons hummed with their deadly power. She felt a fierce satisfaction when Reginaldus took a step backward.

  “Who are you?” Reginaldus said.

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Aventine said. She let the chain between the daggers fall to the floor. The rune-infused metal sparked against the stone. Reginaldus was here without rune casters. She had no chance against Aventine, and she knew it, but she would not be deterred.

  “Come on then,” Reginaldus said, dropping into a combat stance. She hefted her shield, trying to protect as much of her body as she could from Aventine’s burning blades.

  Aventine had to admit a grudging respect for the other woman’s courage. She had no desire to harm or kill the girl.

  Before Aventine could attack, Varis appeared in the doorway behind Reginaldus. In three swift strides he was at her back. Reginaldus tried to turn, but Varis was too fast. His gauntleted fist slammed into the back of her helmet and she dropped like a stone. Not bothering to check his handiwork, Varis stepped over her body.

  “She’ll have one gods-cursed headache, but she’ll live,” Varis said. “I guessed this is the route you would use to leave the palace. I used to wait for you outside.”

  Aventine put away her daggers and tried to slow her pounding heart. “And I used to tell you that it was against the rules for me to speak to you during training.” She smiled. “You never listened.”

  Varis shrugged. “I just wanted to know you were okay, that joining the Rune Guard had been the right decision.”

  “It was the right decision,” Aventine said. “This is who I was meant to be, but that also means we’re enemies now, if you stay here.” Aventine choked back a sob. To contemplate standing against her father was more than she could bear. “Come with us, father. Please. You can explain to Emperor Pontius that this was a terrible misunderstanding. House Lome deceived Lord Mornthal—surely the emperor will see that.”

  “You know I cannot,” Varis said in anguish. “The same ties that bind you to the emperor bind me to Lord Mornthal. You would think less of me, in the end, if I were to abandon my lord.”

  Tears welled up in Aventine’s eyes. “I’ll not raise a weapon against you, if it comes to that. I could never do it.”

  “Nor I, girl,” Varis said, his eyes shining. “Be careful. The countryside between here and Amalt has seen the worst of the fighting. Sir Lorent kills first and then identifies the bodies. Now go. Perhaps you can convince the emperor to be lenient.”

  Aventine did not trust herself to embrace her father. The temptation was too great to cast aside her duty to Emperor Pontius and stay here with her family. So instead she only nodded as she tried to hold back her tears. Varis stepped aside. He watched her go without saying a word.

  Once outside, Holmgrim spoke. “That was a hard thing. Your commitment to your duty honors your father, even though it makes an enemy of him.”

  Aventine could no longer keep back the tears. She whimpered, coughed, and then cried silently as they moved away from the palace. Saffrin came near and wrapped one arm around Aventine.

  “He’s proud of you,” Saffrin said quietly. “I saw it in his eyes. He might stand on the opposite side of this conflict, but his heart is with you.”

  Aventine nodded, wiping away tears from her face. “Sorry,” she said. “I just never thought my path would lead me away from my father.”

  “There’s no need to apologize,” Holmgrim said. “The gods never let us choose our path, but sometimes they give us the courage to walk it.”

  They moved into the plains, leaving the imperial capital behind. Heading west, they were soon out of the valley that cradled the palace and its sprawling grounds. Here the land was not just looted and abandoned, it was destroyed. Buildings had been reduced to nothing but blackened rubble. A rich and fertile countryside that had supported the thriving central empire was now a war-torn wasteland.

  “Amalt is a four-day journey,” Aventine said. “If we travel hard.”

  “On these rolling plains?” Holmgrim said. “I could do it in two.”

  “I’ve no doubt, but it’s not you I’m worried about.”

  “I can make it,” Saffrin said. “I’m recovered from our mountain adventures. Don’t worry about me, I’ll keep up.”

  For the first day they traveled the desolate countryside without seeing another living soul. On the second day, they started to encounter the dead and wounded. The bodies of slain soldiers were left where they fell. Churned earth and corpses were the forlorn evidence of every brutal skirmish. Mangled men and women limped past them, heading in the opposite direction. These pitiful souls made no attempt to avoid Aventine and her companions, but they did not speak. They did not need to. Their dead eyes spoke more of the horrors of war than words ever could.

  The closer they came to Amalt, the more numerous the signs of recent battle became. Casual conversation ceased, and Aventine started to watch every hilltop for signs of the enemy. Finally, Holmgrim gave voice to the fear that Aventine knew must be growing inside each of them.

  “It’s dangerous to be out in the open in broad daylight,” he said. “We should find a safe place to rest until nightfall. We can make the final push to Amalt under the cover of darkness.”

  “We could camp in those trees,” Aventine said, pointing toward a small copse of trees that had somehow avoided being cleared away to make room for more farmland.

  “It’s the obvious place for someone like us to hide,” Holmgrim said. “But we don’t have any choice. Alright, let’s make for that grove.”

  Within the hour the three of them were safely hidden from the open plains. The thicket was just big enough that if they camped in the middle of it, it felt like they were lost in a much bigger forest.

  Saffrin eased herself to the fern-covered ground. “I know I said I was up for the journey, but I’m glad for the rest. To my shame, I must admit that I’m unaccustomed to such hard travel.”

  Holmgrim busied himself with clearing a basic campsite. “There’s no shame in that,” he said. “Not all of us are called to a life of sweat and toil. I’m sure you had your duties as the Lady of Umgragon.”

  “You’re sweet,” Saffrin said with a smile. “I’ll not lie, I practically ran Umgragon. My degenerate husband spent all of his time chasing the local whores. He believed that the treasury district required no real governance, that it would run itself because the empire could not function without it. But he was able to believe that because I governed in his stead. I hope he’s discovering just how hard it i
s in my absence.”

  Holmgrim stopped what he was doing and sat back on his haunches. He stared into the brush with a faraway look in his eyes. “We’ve been moving so fast, running from one fight to the next. I’ve not thought about Delgrath in weeks. I had a home there, a legacy—people I cared about. I raised my apprentices from rowdy children into strapping young men. Now my smithy is in ruin and my boys are lost.”

  “Surely you will see them again someday,” Saffrin said.

  Holmgrim shook his head. “I don’t know. I hold out hope, but deep down inside I don’t think they were ready to survive without me. Axid might have a chance, if he can demonstrate his worth as a rune carver, but Remus was too much of a rebel. That boy needs a patient hand to bring out the potential inside him. On his own, he’ll probably bite off more than he can chew and find himself at the wrong end of an angry sword. The last I saw of him, he was storming out of my smithy intent on conquering the world. Then I heard he joined the Legion. I tracked him to the border, but lost his trail at Fort Delgrath. Aventine said he was not among the slain inside the ransacked garrison. Only the gods know what happened to him.”

  “I knew him only briefly,” Aventine said. “He helped remove my damaged armor when the Legion smith would not. He impressed my mentor, Brax. He seemed capable of handling himself. Take heart: maybe he was more prepared than you think.”

  “He liked to say he was ready for bigger things,” Holmgrim said. “Perhaps he was right. I hope he’s still alive.”

  Sobered by the conversation, neither Aventine nor Saffrin replied. They helped Holmgrim finish preparing the campsite. When they were done, a space big enough for them to lie amidst the ferns and brush had been cleared away.

  “When we lie down, we’ll be invisible unless someone steps on us,” Aventine said in approval.

  “That’s the idea,” Holmgrim said. “We can’t risk a fire, so we’ll have to eat cold food.”

  Holmgrim produced meat, cheese, and bread from his pack. He handed portions to Aventine and Saffrin. “Courtesy of House Ramath’s stores,” he said.

  The three of them tucked into the meal, hardly caring that it was cold. When they finished, it was late afternoon. The sun still beat down on the plains, but under the trees the air was cool.

  “I’ll take first watch,” Aventine said.

  “I’ll take second,” Holmgrim said. “We’ll rest until the last light of the sun has disappeared from the sky. Then we walk all night. If fate is with us, we’ll reach Amalt before dawn.”

  As Holmgrim and Saffrin tried to find a comfortable spot to lie on the hard earth, Aventine walked to the edge of the grove where she could watch the surrounding plains. Concealed in shadow, she knew she was safe from watching eyes. She stared out at the lonely farmland.

  What would you have done, mother? If you were forced to choose between father and the empire, would you have chosen duty over love?

  Aventine’s heart was as broken as the fractured empire. Her duty now felt like a sentence, not a privilege. While she paced under the trees, waiting for Holmgrim to wake and relieve her, a singular idea dominated her thoughts.

  The emperor better be worth all of this sacrifice and pain.

  ——

  Aventine stood watch for two hours, slept for another two when Holmgrim took her place, and finally rose with Saffrin in the darkness when it was time to move on. She had to hold her hands out in front of her to avoid walking into a tree. The overcast night was as black as a traitor’s heart.

  “No moon tonight,” Holmgrim said quietly. “Fate watches over us.”

  The three of them crept from the grove, continuing their westward journey. They walked single file across the deserted farmland. No one spoke. The dark sky hung over them like a shroud. Holmgrim set a hard pace, the hardest Aventine could remember. She brought up the rear and watched with concern as Saffrin struggled to keep up.

  After what Aventine guessed had been an hour, Saffrin was showing serious signs of fatigue. She kept tripping, and nearly fell flat on her face. Aventine was about to call a halt when Holmgrim stopped in his tracks. The big Volgoth went absolutely still. Aventine moved up to stand beside him—Holmgrim motioned for her to stay silent. He was staring into the darkness with his head cocked like he was listening intently.

  Without warning, Holmgrim dropped to the ground. “Get down!” he hissed.

  Aventine and Saffrin dove to the earth.

  Several hundred feet in front of them, a hilltop exploded with light. A squad of soldiers came hurtling over it, fleeing from rune fire that nipped at their heels. They sprinted down the hill, running straight at where the three companions were hidden. Behind the soldiers, a much larger force stopped on the hilltop to rain rune fire and glowing arrows on the backs of the retreating squad.

  “I don’t know which is friend or which is foe,” Aventine said, raising her voice to be heard over the sounds of battle.

  “Then we run,” said Holmgrim.

  “You’ll have to carry Saffrin,” Aventine said. “She’s on her last leg.”

  “Sorry,” Saffrin said. Despite her exhaustion, she looked angry and frustrated. Aventine suspected the woman was not used to being so helpless.

  Holmgrim jumped to his feet and scooped Saffrin up like she weighed nothing. The next instant, he and Aventine were running as hard as they could to avoid the oncoming soldiers. As far as she could tell, they had avoided notice, but neither she nor Holmgrim were inclined to slow down until they were well beyond the far rise.

  When it seemed they were in the clear, Holmgrim stumbled to a stop. His chest heaved from the exertion. “I’m a blacksmith,” he said between gulps for air, “not some damned athlete.”

  “I wonder,” a voice said. “Do you spill blood with the weapons you create?”

  Aventine and Holmgrim whirled, looking in every direction. They could see no one.

  “Who’s out there?” Aventine challenged.

  Twenty feet in front of them the darkness shifted, sliding aside to reveal at least thirty soldiers. The soldiers in the front rank carried giant shields of blackest night. Taller than a man, the shields were a perfect camouflage in the darkness. Aventine saw rune casters behind the soldiers, and as the light faded from their runestones, the shields changed back into sheets of metal. Rune power shifted to arrows and weapons. Aventine found herself staring down the blazing points of fifteen rune-infused arrowheads.

  “Identify yourselves or be destroyed,” the mysterious voice spoke again. Aventine’s eyes found the speaker. The voice belonged to a severe-looking woman in the front rank. Fully armored, but lacking a helmet, the woman had short red hair. Sudden recognition surged through Aventine.

  Commander Narin!

  Aventine stepped forward. “Commander Narin! It’s me, Aventine. Aventine of the Rune Guard. You sent me out on my first mission months ago and now I’ve returned.”

  Commander Narin faltered, a look of disbelief on her face. “You return with so few?”

  “Am I the only one to have made it back? I thought others would have survived.”

  “Commander,” a soldier behind Commander Narin spoke up. “We cannot stay here. If we are abandoning the ambush, we have to move.”

  Commander Narin recovered from her surprise and focused on the task at hand. “Send a runner to the other squad. We’re falling back. The information Aventine has is a far greater prize than killing a few traitors in the night. We have to get her safely back to Amalt.”

  “And my companions,” Aventine said, leaving no room for argument in her voice.

  “And her companions,” Commander Narin repeated.

  Aventine glanced back at Holmgrim and Saffrin. They were wide-eyed and alarmed, looking back and forth between Aventine and Commander Narin.

  “We can trust them,” Aventine said. “She’s with the Rune Guard.”

  Holmgrim nodded. “We’ll follow your lead.”

  Commander Narin ordered her squad to break combat formation and
prepare to move out. The soldiers formed an escort around Aventine and her companions.

  “We have to run hard,” Commander Narin said. “This area is crawling with Lorent’s soldiers.”

  “I think I’d rather crack heads than run any further,” Holmgrim said.

  “You’ll have plenty of opportunity to do both,” Commander Narin replied.

  Surrounded by rune-powered soldiers, Aventine and Holmgrim, still carrying Saffrin, ran into the night, finally closing in on Amalt and the emperor.

  Chapter 16

  REMUS HAD BEEN FIGHTING for hours. The retreat was in shambles. Only the cramped streets of Delgrath kept the runebound horde from sweeping over the villagers as they fled for their lives. Volgoth warriors and Ethari soldiers had been pushed back into the city. Makeshift barricades were thrown up—anything that could slow down the thralls was piled in the roads between the buildings.

  Remus sprinted up and down the front line of battle, trying to identify where the fighting was thickest. Still in his undergarments, he had grabbed a sword to at least have a weapon. He learned quickly that he could turn the tide with his gauntlet, but he could not be everywhere at once. He moved constantly. His squad could not keep up with him. Pricker kept pace, and the defenders soon realized that when Remus and Pricker appeared, the enemy was about to suffer.

  But the fight for Delgrath was not the only battle being waged. Savaroth hunted Remus in his mind. The Drathani leader raged against Remus’s defenses. Remus and Pricker struggled to hold back the thralls while at the same time fighting against Savaroth’s furious assaults on their connection through the gauntlet. Savaroth used the connection to track them, and wherever Remus went, Brax followed. The enslaved Rune Guard champion never challenged Remus directly. Instead, he harried the defenders in Remus’s wake, killing and maiming any who stood in his way.

  Dashing through the city, Remus sprinted for the next barricaded road. As he passed a side-street, he heard an animal yowl of pain and terror. He skidded to a stop and turned to look. In the middle of a wide alleyway, a group of thralls had a large cat backed against the wall. Blood covered the street—the cat had shredded a thrall with its claws. Without making a conscious decision, Remus charged into the alley. Only after he was almost on top of the runebound did he question himself.