The Warden

Chapter 55

His heart struggled to beat with the building tension pressing in. Every pulse hurt, hot and horrible.

Then again, he could not watch Calla be torn apart in front of him. Witnessing the life bleed out of his parents' bodies and then his sisters' had destroyed him. What Charlan now threatened upon Calla, a torturous, mangled death, made every bit of him shake. Here stood the last of his family. If he failed her, he truly would have failed every person he had ever cared for. His mother and father. Danya and Saret. Even Lady Kyla. Calla's death would signify his utter, abject failure.

He could not cover the distance before they killed her or at least half a dozen wights intercepted him. His only allies, at least within several hundred leagues, stood immobile, completely incapacitated. He had played right into the night queen's plans. Just like the fool Kyla often said he was.

Idiot! Masis mentally kicked himself. How could I be so stupid?!

"Why General Biligrim?" he asked, the question tumbling from his lips in a bid for time.

The she-wight's smile told Masis she recognized his stalling tactics, but she did not seem to mind.

She has all the time in the world, thought Masis, rubbing his sweaty palms together.

She cocked her hips saucily, hands akimbo. "I had hopes that he would become a wight, but you have to do so willingly, and I think he has shown fairly clearly where his loyalties lie. But I hate waste. And I do so want him to be a part of my endeavors. I think he'll do well in this capacity."

Masis eyed Master Elwith and his guards, wild ideas stampeding into his mind.

"I know what you're thinking, Masis," the night queen said, tapping her foot on the stone floor. "Just as assuredly as you were saying each and every thought out loud. 'Attack Master Elwith's guards. Purge the mesmer. Then free General Biligrim and Calla. Fight your way free or make a stand while the others escape.' Am I right?"

Masis swallowed, but said nothing. Kyla I've failed you.

Her training, brutal and unforgiving, had prepared him how to fight, how to strategize, how to kill efficiently, but none of that could overcome his chosen stupidity. Kyla had been cautious to the point of paranoia, but it had kept her alive for centuries. Now, with one brash choice, Masis had undone all her work, all her sacrifice.

He refused to let his head sink toward his chest. I have failed everyone.

"You and I both know, Warden," said the night queen, "even with your unique gifts, you'd never make it to any of your friends before I had Calla killed. Sunrise is still hours away and there is no escaping from three score wights. No help is coming. There is no way out." She nodded to the two he-wights who stretched Calla more tightly between them. Her toes left the floor and a mangled groan scraped from between her teeth. "Now, I suggest you give me what I want before her arms get any longer."

Masis collapsed to his knees, eyes never leaving Calla. Her eyes were shut. Her face grimaced. Masis could see a scream building in her throat.

How could he let this happen to her? But how could he unleash such an end on Haimlant? How could he choose between the two? If he was a true Warden, with all the position's abilities, he might not have to. Self-loathing scorched its way into his thoughts. If he could part that veil, if he had not failed yet another one of Kyla's tests, he would have been able to execute his plan between heartbeats of the gloating she-wight before him, if she indeed had a heart.

The curtains hung before him, there in the air, always present if he just focused. But still, they did not part to his mental commands or nudges. Again, they asked for words, words he knew but could not voice because he did not know who he was. Words of Admittance. Words of Identity. Those words stayed beyond his tongue, lingering on the brink of desire and action.