Song of Blood and Reign

Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Even under their current situation, Lyv shouldn't have been as happy as she was in the following week. Sure, they were trying to get as far away from the mountains of Ceron and to the capital city of Escarral as soon as they could, but she was surrounded by family and friends, some of which she thought she'd never see again.

Over those days, all of those who had been injured, including Gyver and Avice, were gaining their strength back. Gyver was riding with Ada behind him, leading their people onward. Lyv and Jai rode beside him with the others trailing behind, including Avice and Elia, who were both on one horse. Lyv couldn't help the pride that filled her at how well Avice rode now, remembering years before when Gyver had finally given in and bought her a pony.

Dain, however, wasn't riding with his parents or his sisters. The little three-year-old had charmed his way up into Allel's saddle, though he would switch back and forth to ride with Kalla whenever they stopped to rest. He was chattering with the both of them, no matter which saddle he was in.

At one point, Kalla looked over at Ada and grinned. "I think I'm going to have to steal your son away and take him to Blackloch with me. I'll make a respectable pirate out of him in no time."

Both of his parents snorted, but it was Ada who answered. "You'll be giving him back after a while."

The night before their last leg of travel brought them close to a spot special to Lyv, Jai, and Gideon. They shared a look whenever they recognized the narrow road through the trees just off the main one toward the city. A road that looked as if a storm had come through, knocking down several trees across the path.

Silently, the three of them knew they were going to go check out the area around the cottage with Lyv telling everyone to continue forward toward the city and they would catch up.

"We'll wait," Ada said, shaking her head at her. "We've been going all day. You take some time to check everything out."

Lyv, Jai, and Gideon rode in silence down the pathway to the cottage, guiding their horses around the fallen trees. At one point, their horses refused to go any further, rearing back on their hind legs and trying to turn away.

"Something's happening," Jai murmured.

"Obviously," Gideon stated, nodding toward the fallen trees. "You ever seen anything take down trees like that? Looks like they've been uprooted by something beneath the ground, not above it." He looked at Lyv then. "You think it's Corliss and Guinevere? You can feel Corliss whenever she's close, can't you? Because of the magic?"

Lyv nodded, uncomfortable with that fact. But this was something different. Created by Corliss, yes, but it was something that had spread, not something she was doing close by. "I don't think they're here, though."

Lyv jumped off with Jai and Gideon doing the same. As soon as her boots met the earth, dust and ash flew up around her. She held her gloved hand over her mouth and nose, not wanting to breathe in the rot that infected the woods around them.

Jai was next to her then, holding out a cloth before helping her tie it around her nose and mouth just as he and Gideon had. Her eyes were on what looked like the half-decayed carcass of a deer, peeking out from beneath the ash.

"I've never seen anything like this," she said to him then, looking around. "What...what's happening?"

"It's like some sort of disease that's spreading," Gideon answered from her other side. He reached up to touch a leaf hanging on a dead branch and it immediately turned to dust between his gloved fingertips. "Mother above..."