31. Caliel

31

Caliel

I returned with one clear objective in mind—to find Mykal.

Considering that Karst had relegated me to Drosfi, I first needed a way to convince him that I should stay.

The stronghold was still in complete chaos. As I strode into the building, I rounded a corner and almost crashed right into Karst.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" he demanded.

I straightened. "I'm not fucking to go to Drosfi." I managed not to wince—this profanity thing was still more challenging than anticipated.

He hesitated, then narrowed his eyes. "And why not?"

"This is where things are happening," I stated. "I want to be here, fucking it."

He glanced around, and then gestured to me. "With me," he said, and led the way up the stairs to his quarters. Once inside, he shut the door, and asked, "Has the birdman returned?"

"Not yet," I said. "He might not, if he fucks a Priest." Think I got it right that time.

Karst's mouth twisted. "You might fuckin' regret staying. I don't know why Victor has it in for you, but he does. He's only backed off because I'm here, and his little trap didn't work."

"It's not my fault," I growled. "The birdman and I saw something he would rather we did not."

He arched a brow. "How'd you manage to be that stupid? I trained you better than that."

"I was unconscious. Woke up in the middle of it."

"Someone got the better of you?"

"One of the damned Drakes had a go at the woman. I tried to stop fucking him."

His breath hissed through his teeth. "Those damn Drakes. The Trinity just walked the two in the cage down to the dungeon—I don't think they'll ever be human again. The control they had over those monsters is spooky. And Victor—" he broke off, before continuing. "Underlord Xumi was a real fuckin' piece of work, but I understood her. Brock was a ruthless, twisted bastard. Victor—Victor is erratic as hell. I sometimes see Brock in him, but lately, I think that Drake is taking over."

Could that be true? Would an insane Victor ruled by the Fire Drake be easier to deal with? I did not know.

Karst snarled in frustration, and went on, "We've had fuckin' Dragons flying everywhere and haven't found the damned bitch. The Trinity came back when their crystals failed to track the collar. They said something has shut the bloody thing down. Victor was so angry he roasted the Dragons they had been riding." He waved a hand that had sprouted claws. "If you want to stay, fine. I could use the fuckin' help, and that's the truth. You need to avoid Victor until he calms down, though, so get away from here for a few hours. And if the birdman comes back, keep him away, too."

Tez would not be coming back, but only I knew that. "What are they doing with the damned kid?"

His eyes sharpened. "How did you know about him?"

I shrugged. "The entire place is talking about fucking him."

Karst's eyebrows lowered, and I realized my profanity placement wasn't what it could be. But then he snarled, "Never mind about the fucking kid."

I desperately wished to check on Mykal, but pushing on the issue would only raise suspicions. Managing to gain permission to stay would have to be enough, for now.

So I simply nodded and left both his suite and the stronghold. An hour later, I found myself pacing through the local market. It was not nearly the size of Richin's, but still offered a large number of wares for sale. I selected and purchased myself a new cloak, and threw the other one in the nearest garbage bin.

Minutes later, I found myself standing at a booth selling, as near as I could discern, nothing but consumables loaded with sugar.

Borrowing a body was more challenging than one might assume. As I ate a pastry while striding through the booths, my new reality slowly sank in.

I might look and eat like Slade, but I was a far cry from behaving like him. My healer abilities were not of much use to me here. I had no idea how I was going to stage Mykal's rescue on my own.

And I was alone now. I could not feel Bree at all.

It twisted at my heart, but I had known it was coming. I thought she had detected my message that the pictures had been delivered, but shortly after that, the link went dark.

I was alone, deep in enemy territory, and in possession of a body I could barely control.

That was a situation I had better try to rectify, or at least improve. With my resources stretched to maximum, I was stumbling about every third step. So I went in search of the one thing that could help me.

There were a few booths that sold them. Charged crystals were not used just for healing, as they were the only power source that could safely be carried through gateways.

The booth I walked through, therefore, had crystals carved into sizes suitable for many uses. I selected three raw ones and tried not to wince at the price demanded by the vendor. I talked her down considerably before making my purchase.

Then I searched for a safe place, somewhere I could enter a healing trance without getting knifed. I eventually purchased a room at one of the better hotels.

I was going through Slade's stash of currency at a rather alarming rate. At least it had bought me a room where the locks on the door and window were solid. I stretched out on the bed and wrapped trembling fingers around the crystals.

Their power surged through me as I slowed my breathing and pushed my talent through my new body. I had managed to keep it alive, but I had really not had time to connect my life essence to anything other than the very basics. I was operating it like a puppet master, rather than truly living within it.

How did one even begin to connect to the trillions of nerves within a body? Yet somehow, I had to. If I did not, this body would slowly die. Even now, although the heart beat and the blood circulated, I found areas where the normal death of cells had accelerated, and had to clear them away before fostering new growth.

It was a battle I might eventually lose. By the time I drained the crystals, I had improved the issue, but hardly put a dent in resolving it.

My exhaustion was another issue I could only solve in one way—I closed my eyes and permitted myself to sleep.

I didn't emerge from the hotel until late in the evening, and I made my way through streets growing more dangerous by the minute. Lowering my hood to expose my face kept those lurking in the shadows at bay.

The stronghold was still in a state of chaos. I grabbed myself a bite to eat at the mess hall. The corner table I aimed for was occupied until the two sitting at it saw me coming and vacated. It was not until I had sat down that I realized my food choices were hardly what I would have ordinarily selected.

With a sigh, I worked my way through it, while the mercenaries seated nearest me, most in various states of decrepitude, told stories about the morning's attack.

I listened to, and dismissed, the majority of the conversations. But then one, a couple of tables over, caught my attention.

"The Priests may have stolen our ice girlie, but I hear we've got a new prisoner in the cage."

"Is she as luscious as the old one?" his companion asked.

"She's a he. Just a damned kid, from what I heard. But someone important, if they've bothered to collar him. And I have no idea what they were doing, but they had him screaming for over an hour."

I felt like I was going to be sick. While I was wandering around the town, they had been torturing Mykal.

"Well, if he's down there with the Trinity, I don't think much of his chances."

My gut twisted. Because Mykal's likelihood of survival relied entirely on one thing.

Me.

And I had no answer for the power of the Trinity.