The Broken Song

Chapter Twenty-Two

— Isca Kiverryn, Kiverryn —

It didn't make sense. There was nothing there. Lulu squinted, hands on her hips as she regarded the empty space before her. No one else seemed to notice it. They passed by without so much as a curious glance. Did no one else find this incredibly bizarre? With a frown, she tried again. Two steps forward and she hit a barrier as physical as the stone walls of the castle itself, except there was nothing there for her to hit.

Isca Kiverryn was the castle at the heart of the capital city. All roads led to it, opening up to a wide, beautifully maintained courtyard that was available for the public to use. A fountain at the center used to be a thriving place of prominence. Nobles had gathered around it to discuss business in between throngs of people from the Lower Town who came to see the splendor of the castle. Yet now, the courtyard was utterly empty, only a few guards within watching her with vacant expressions. The fountain wasn't running. The flowers were withering. Even the trees seemed to be dying, the leaves dead and falling to the stones below.

Lulu was familiar with magical barriers. Idelle had conjured enough of them for her to know how it felt to be surrounded by one or, as was most often in her case, to run headfirst into one. This was something else. It felt like a physical wall, and no matter how much she pushed against it, it would not budge.

Well, that certainly fucked with her plan.

With an unhappy grumble, Lulu turned away. She would need to regroup with the others to tell them about the new development. She had tested the barrier everywhere there was a path toward the servants' entrance to the castle, but each try was met with the same failure. With the barrier, there was no chance of their plan even beginning, let alone succeeding.

As she turned, a familiar face caught her eye. Thandy. He stood at his post several yards away, at the corner of a building, his gaze locked with hers as he twirled something in his right hand. It looked like some sort of medallion.

In the blink of an eye, she was at his side, snatching the object out of his hand before he had a chance to pull away. A strangled exclamation from his mouth made her grin as she pulled it to her chest, keeping it out of his reach.

"So, by your oh-so-subtle-performance, I take it I need this to get near the castle. Thanks, Thandy." With a backwards wave, she was perfectly content to leave him behind, but he was quicker than he looked, nearly retrieving it with his surprise attack. Lulu whirled around, the shiny silver medallion placed behind her back.

"You can't take that."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Because it's standard issue for the city guard. It allows us free passage through the city, past any barrier or hex the Sorceress has placed."

"Hexes? Why the fuck is she hexing the city?"

"If any guard loses their medallion, they're executed on the spot."

Groaning, she rolled her eyes and tossed it back at him. He caught it deftly, returning the engraved medallion around his neck. "Fine. I guess you can have it back, then. But that just means you bought a place on our team, Thandy. You better be here at dusk."

"Wait, what? Oh, no. I'm not getting involved in whatever you and your friends are here for. I want no part of it."

"Then, you shouldn't've been swinging that baby around like it was your dick, and you were about to get laid. Too late to take it back, Thandy. You're our ticket into the castle."