Song of the Forever Rains by E.J. Mellow

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Larkyra sent the glow of her rock to stream forward, illuminating row upon row of smooth, massive columns stretching up on either side of her, guiding her path straight. The space must have been extremely tall, for none of her light reached the hall’s ceiling. Broken stone and marble littered the floor, along with dead leaves and branches, their decomposing smell filling the hall. Larkyra’s eyes followed rats that skittered about as she walked, beetles and bugs quickly following, while she tried desperately to ignore the giant spiderwebs that hung between the columns, their masters no doubt fitting their size.

Large unlit torches sat at the ready, tempting Larkyra to fill them with flames to truly take in the masterpiece she knew was here.

While Castle Island had pockets of splendor, this place was marked with ancient history, the expert craftsmanship of a people who’d prospered, perhaps even before the lost gods had left. Larkyra gazed up at the ornate flying buttresses extending out of the columns. Threadbare banners still hung on the walls, swaying lightly in an unseen breeze, the ocean-wave insignia of the Mekenna House barely a stitched shadow in the center. Moonlight shone through the space at odd angles, and Larkyra followed the illuminated path. With a gloved hand, she wiped at a wall’s surface and stepped back as a caking of mud fell away to reveal stained glass, more light falling in.

Windows.

This side of the hall must be decorated with large windows facing out of the mountain.

“How beautiful this place must have been,” she whispered to Kaipo on her shoulder.

Backing away, Larkyra walked on.

“What took the family away, do you think?” she mused. “Why leave this place to fall into such ruin?”

An echo of something deeper inside had Larkyra quickly dousing her light and pressing back against a column.

The sound rang out again. Footsteps?

“And who would that be?” she asked Kaipo. “Fly quiet, my love, and see.”

The hawk took off, soundlessly flapping his wings before he was swallowed by darkness.

Larkyra listened to her own heartbeat, waiting.

Though it was barely audible, she could detect a faint shuffling.

More rats?

She took hesitant steps forward, only chancing the tiniest glow from her rock as she came to the end of the massive hall. It split two ways, but whatever lurked down either corridor, she needed a stronger light to see.

Just then a warm orange glow flickered at the end of the passage to her right. A torch.

Larkyra’s pulse quickened; she closed her hand over her stone.

The flame came closer, and she could just discern the outline of the figure holding it—tall, with a hood obscuring its face—and in the next instant, it dipped out of sight, seeming to have walked through a door.

Sticks.

Larkyra searched the blackness for any signs of Kaipo; just when she was about to give up on the creature and take her chances alone, a soft wind fluttered against her face.

She extended her arm, and the hawk landed on her leather tunic sleeve, his purple gaze snapping to find hers.

“Well?”

Kaipo angled his head, nodding in the direction the torch had gone.

“Oh, you don’t say?” whispered Larkyra with an eye roll. “I wouldn’t have thought to follow whomever that was.”

The hawk ruffled his wings, unimpressed by her sarcasm.

As the two set off, Larkyra once again activated her illumination stone. She kept the glow minimal and held it low to her side as she grazed the wall with fingertips, guiding them forward.

She came to an arched doorway, watching as the faded orange light of the stranger’s torch crept down a set of spiraling stairs. Larkyra quickly followed.

The air was mustier here, the space warming the farther she descended, as if the center of the mountain had its own supply of heat. Reaching the bottom, she caught sight of the figure turning into a hall. Larkyra’s heartbeat raced as she pocketed her stone, she and Kaipo silently following the retreating glow. They passed through a long corridor, then another. The flame they chased remained steady, its bearer unaware of their existence, as Larkyra kept a safe distance.

Whoever it was, they seemed to know their way, especially when they turned a bend and stopped before a semicircular wall—a dead end. The stranger raised their torch to illuminate a large, round copper-covered door in the center; a design of a lake-filled landscape was intricately carved into the surface. Etchings of mountains and hills glowed against the flickering flame, while at the top was a sparkling sun and cloudless sky. A portrait of Lachlan’s past.

Larkyra drank it in from where she stood, at the far end of the corridor, hidden in a dark corner.

It was hard to believe Lachlan could have once looked as such, could have shone with such life.

The figure walked the curved wall’s length, lighting the awaiting torches. A massive circular alcove awoke around them, revealing two more round copper doors, but in these were carved scenes of lapping waves with dozens of ships, their sails filled with strong winds.

Larkyra shrank back into the retreating shadows, tucking Kaipo more securely to her side. With the brighter light, she was able to regard the figure in full. By the wide shoulders and build, he was most definitely a man, but what had her brows creasing was that he looked familiar.

She had seen that brown leather mask before, that dark cape. Once, as he’d stormed out of the king’s chambers in the Thief Kingdom.

Her heart raced at what this meant, and she watched as he pulled a chain tucked beneath his clothes from around his neck. He loosened a ring dangling from it before fitting it into a notch in the center of the door. Lifting his other hand, he pressed three fingers into grooves within the carving.

There was a huff of air, dust spitting from the seams as the massive slab cracked open.

The man slipped inside.

Larkyra remained where she stood until Kaipo nipped at her ear.

“I’m going.” She pushed his beak away. “But you’re staying here.”

He nipped again.

“Someone needs to be the lookout.” She nudged him to hop to the ground.

As she peeked through the open circular door, Larkyra’s eyes went wide. The entire rectangular space was filled with leather trunks stacked floor to ceiling, almost entirely obscuring the white marble walls.

The man’s torch was resting on the stone floor, sending shadows dancing across the room as he bent over a case in the far corner. His cape spilled around his feet as he fiddled with the clasp’s lock. Larkyra took this moment to push inside, making like a gust of wind as she crouched behind the nearest trunks, peering through a crack.

The figure glanced behind him, shadowed eyes searching for the soft sound of her movement, but when he only found the same empty room, he resumed his task.

Larkyra’s skin buzzed. She was filled with the thrill of the hunt, of watching without being watched.

A low creak. Her eyes held on to the stranger as he opened a case, letting out a blinding reflection from a pile of silver.

By the Obasi Sea.

Larkyra’s mouth watered.

She’d found it. The Lachlan vault.

But who was this thief?

Meticulously counting out coins, the man filled a small bag and tied it shut before he threw it into a larger sack by his booted feet. He moved to open another case, and Larkyra frowned as he pulled out pickled vegetables and packages marked with Wheat, Rice, and Barley.

Food? Food was also kept in the family vault?

Having finished his raiding, he stood, stretching with a grunt.

Pushing back his hood, he removed his mask to wipe away sweat, and Larkyra’s breath was stolen from her.

Darius.

Lord Mekenna.

Darius.

Her mind screamed the names over and over. He was the masked man. He’d been in the Thief Kingdom, in an audience with her father . . . and was here now, pillaging his own family’s vault.

But . . . why?

Chaos erupted in Larkyra’s blood as she watched Darius frown at the bag at his feet, his red hair glowing burnt orange under the torchlight.

The trunks at her back shuddered a thud. She had backed away from where she was safely crouched.

Darius’s green eyes snapped to her hooded figure, and heart pounding, she jolted from her corner, out the door.

“Oy!” His angry voice trailed behind her.

But she didn’t stop, didn’t pause, as she sprinted past Kaipo. He screeched as he flew beside her, a question: Attack?

It was probably bad that Larkyra had to think on it. “No, no,” she huffed out. Taking out her illumination stone, Larkyra raised it, throwing a light onto her dark path.

“Stop!” Lord Mekenna roared behind her, closer than she would have liked, as she raced down hall after hall before skidding and grabbing hold of the doorframe that led to the spiral staircase. She took the steps up two at a time, the lord’s fading curses echoing behind her, until she reached the landing. She breathed heavily, allowing a drop of hope to fill her before continuing on.

The only way forward was to make like the lost gods and be gone.

She sprinted into the main hall, careful of the fallen debris as the doorway to the balcony outlined her salvation, all the way at the opposite end.

Something smacked hard against her, making her grunt as she hit up against a large column. The cavern shook with the impact.

She kicked the attacker in the shin, then went for his privates next, but he seemed to know her mind, for he blocked her aim, spinning her around and pressing her cheek into the cold marble.

“Who are you?” he spat. “Why have you followed me?”

The hood of her cape covered half her face, and her mind spun for an escape, how to reach her tucked-away blades before—

Darius ripped her hood down. There was a shocked pause as he stared at her, the very lady he currently housed as his family’s guest, before he shoved away from her, as if she had the power to burn him.

“Larkyra?” The question came out like a dying man’s last words. Whispered. Weak. Unaccepting of his fate.

At this moment, Kaipo made his presence known. He flew from the rafters to attack Darius.

“Kaipo, stop!” demanded Larkyra, watching the lord curse and smack at the monster pecking and clawing at his head.

The hawk screeched his release before landing on her forearm.

Darius attempted to straighten himself, his hair a ruffled mess, while his left cheek dripped a single red slash where Kaipo had snagged him with a talon. Larkyra winced.

The lord looked from her to the silver hawk on her arm.

“What . . .” He shook his head. “Why are you . . .”

“This is, uh, a lovely place.” Larkyra glanced around. “I bet we could fix it right up with a bit of dusting.”

Wrong thing to say.

Darius’s disoriented state quickly changed to one of rage as he strode toward her, a charging bull. She backed into the column again.

“What are you doing here?”

Larkyra raised a staying hand. “Now, now,” she placated. “I could ask you the same thing. In fact, I shall. What are you doing here?”

“This isn’t a game!” His voice echoed through the enormous hall. “Why are you here?” He eyed her clothes, the silver hawk on her arm. She pushed the bird into the air, and Darius watched him fly away, disappearing into the dark.

“Who are you?”

“Larkyra Bassette. Daughter of Dolion Bassette, Count of Ra—”

“I know your name,”he said through gritted teeth. “But who is Larkyra Bassette?”

“What do you mean?”

Darius raked a hand through his hair. “Stop playing games,” he growled. “Why are you here? How did you get in?”

She’d never suspected Darius to be capable of such rage. And she might very well have been insane, for witnessing it sent a spark of heat through her, happiness perhaps, that he was capable of such energy when she had only experienced him hidden in his own mind and home.

Of course, she now knew why he made himself scarce.

“I came in as I suspect you did. Through a door.”

“If you are trying to make me into a madman, you are succeeding.”

“It is not exactly what I was hoping to make you, but I’ll take it.”

A growl as his gaze slid over her once more. “Why are you dressed like that? You look like a lifter . . .” His eyes sparked as they caught hers again. “Were you—were you looking to steal from me?”

“Don’t be absurd.”

This is bad. This is really bad.

“Why, then? Why did I find you hiding in our vaults? And answer me plainly! At least uphold your word of that, or you will regret coming here.”

“I already regret it.”

Darius grabbed her shoulders, and she gasped as he pressed her harder into the stone. “Tell me.”

“You’re hurting me.” She winced, her magic swimming hot in her belly.

Darius stayed strong.

Her mind went to the knives tucked along her back—another quick way out, but whether she used her powers or her blades, it would only ruin her further.

“I was curious what was up here,” Larkyra breathed out, staring into Darius’s cold eyes. “I couldn’t sleep and was curious. Is it against the law to be curious?”

“It is not merely curiosity that brings one so far from their warm bed in the middle of the night.”

“On the contrary, curiosity can make one do many—”

“Enough! Why did you follow me here?”

“I didn’t.” She pushed against him, uselessly—the man was practically made of granite. “I came here on my own. I did not know you would be here, or anyone for that matter. I was told it was abandoned. I had no idea what I would find. And that is the truth! I swear on the soul of my mother in the Fade.”

Darius searched her gaze. The heat of his body warmed her own, and Larkyra shuddered, relieved, as he loosened his hold and stepped back.

“This is not good.” He rubbed his forehead. “You should never have come here.”

I couldn’t agree more.Larkyra glanced at the exit. The small doorway was maddeningly out of her reach.

“What will I do with you now?” mumbled Darius to himself.

“Does something need to be done with me? It seems we both have secrets. What with you walking about as a masked man, looting your own inheritance.”

Darius laughed a cold, hard laugh. “You know nothing of my inheritance and what you think you’ve witnessed this night.”

“Then enlighten me.”

“Like you have enlightened me? As I said before, this isn’t a game. You should go back to Jabari while you still can. Return to your decadence and pretty things.”

Larkyra flinched, his words stinging. “Is that truly all you think I hold dear?”

“Is it not?”

“Well,”she uttered, pain shooting low in her chest. Steady, she thought, steady. “What good is my word otherwise when you’re already set on your opinion?”

“One’s actions speak better truths.”

“Like yours have tonight? I’d be careful how you accuse others, my lord. You think because I smile and laugh, wrap myself in silk, that I do not know what it is like to have lost, to have experienced pain and suffering? You would judge me on my appearance alone? If so, it sounds like you’ve learned nothing from our time together or from living in Aadilor. Unlike the one dangling from your neck, not all masks are so obvious.”

He opened his mouth to respond before closing it. Clearly debating whatever words he held within his mind.

Speak them,she wanted to scream.

Instead she tilted her chin up. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I will probably shock you further with my next actions, but they cannot be helped.” Scooping up a layer of dust that coated the column behind her, Larkyra threw it in Darius’s eyes. He roared a curse, but she didn’t look back as she sprinted to the balcony.

Kaipo flew out in front of her, his silver form sparking and growing large as she raced out the doorway. Larkyra almost wept in relief, feeling the cool night across her face.

“Larkyra!” Darius’s muffled voice reached her from within the keep, along with the echo of his thumping steps as he raced to catch up.

But he wouldn’t.

Not tonight at least, for without stopping, Larkyra skipped onto the balcony’s banister and, with arms spread, threw herself off.

She fell for barely a grain’s movement before a set of talons closed around her biceps. Kaipo caught her with a swish and, with strong flaps of his wings, soared up and away toward the moon that sat bright and safe over the Lachlan lakes below.