Shield of Sparrows

Zavier and the rangers clustered around us, all eyes on Luella.

“When did you see her last?” Ransom asked.

“She went to Odessa’s suite after her morning lessons to play with Faze.”

“And I sent her downstairs over an hour ago.”

Luella shook her head, eyes wide and panicked. “She never came. When she was late, I checked your suite, but it was empty. I’ve been looking, thinking she was hiding again, but she always comes out when she knows I’m getting scared. She’s not in the house. And her satchel and bow are missing.”

“Fuck.” Zavier gulped, then took a step away from the group, cupping his good hand over his mouth. “Evangeline!”

“Find her,” Ransom ordered.

Every ranger burst into action, fanning out to search.

My gaze turned toward the gates, which were slowly being closed but still open.

“She wants to be a warrior. She wants to hunt monsters.” I locked eyes with Zavier. “Like you.”

Except if she’d come to the courtyard, she would have seen that he’d returned. And she wouldn’t have been able to get past the gates unless…

“The side gate?”

“The guard would never let her out.”

“The escape tunnel,” Luella whispered. “From the migration cellar. I didn’t think she’d know about it, but…”

But Evie knew about the dungeons. I doubted there was much they’d ever been able to hide from her.

Ransom spun for the main gates, holding up a hand to keep them from being shut. “Stop.”

Then he was gone, running so fast none of us stood a chance at keeping up as we all hurried beyond the fortress walls.

“Evangeline!” Ransom’s roar bounced off trees, filling the forest.

“Gods,” Luella sobbed. “Where is she?”

“Evie,” I shouted, eyes sweeping everywhere, looking for the girl. She’d been in a pink shirt today with flowers at the neck. Yellow and blue and purple flowers.

“Evie.” Zavier’s voice cracked as he yelled and yelled her name, his eyes wide with panic.

I cupped my hands over my mouth, about to shout again when Ransom held up a hand, silencing us all.

A whistle, distant yet clear, rang out from our left. A whistle from someone who’d spent long enough in Treow to know the sound for safety.

Zavier blew past us, not stopping as he ran along the wall, his limp slowing him down but not by much.

I was out of breath, my heart a frantic drumbeat in my chest. “Where?”

Luella moved to Ransom, gripping his arm. “Do you see her?”

“There.” He pointed toward the trees, but it took a few more agonizing moments for me to see what he could.

A swish of white hair. A woman wearing a simple tan dress with long sleeves. And a girl in pink with a quiver of arrows on her back and a bow in her hand.

Zavier reached them first, sweeping Evie into an embrace with only one arm.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, legs around his waist, clinging to him as we chased their way.noveldrama

“I found her on the road,” Cathlin said. “Not far from the tunnel hatch.”

“Evangeline,” Zavier clipped.

Tears swam in Evie’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Papa.”

“You cannot leave the fortress. Is that understood?”

She nodded.

He was livid, his anger fueled by fear, but he closed his eyes, let some of it go, and exhaled. Then he kissed Evie’s cheek, holding her close. “Let’s go home.”

She buried her face in his neck, and though he could only carry her with one arm, he set off along the wall, his limp more noticeable than it had been, and carried his daughter toward the gates.

Ransom put his hand on Cathlin’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

“That child was born to fly.” Cathlin stared at Evie with love brimming in her gaze. A mother’s love? “You will all need to be mindful not to clip her wings.”

“It’s more important to keep her safe,” Ransom said.

“You must find a way to accomplish both. Or you will lose her to the wind.”

Luella wiped her face dry and pulled Cathlin into an embrace. “Thank you.”

Cathlin hugged her back—the hug of women who’d been friends for decades. Maybe Luella had been Cathlin’s lady’s maid in Allesaria? Maybe the lover Cathlin had gone to visit was a woman she’d met at court?

Luella pulled away. “Come and find me later? So we can catch up?”

Why did that sound like something more serious than a friendly chat over tea?

Cathlin studied Luella for a moment before giving her a nod.

Then Luella rushed to catch up to Zavier and Evie.

Ransom’s hand came to the small of my back, urging me toward the gates. “I’m going to make sure the side gate is secure.”

Once we reached the courtyard, once the gates were closed and locked, he stormed off in the direction of the side gate.

“That girl will be the death of Luella. But she loves Evie with her whole heart.” Cathlin’s attention was fixed on Luella’s retreating figure. “Luella has been my best friend since we were children. Did I tell you that?”

“No.” But if I were Cathlin and had a secret daughter, I’d choose my oldest friend to watch over my child.

“She wanted to become an alchemist and a healer and a traveler. She did not want to limit herself to only one thing, but to try them all. To be around her was to feel inspired. Energized. She believed anything was possible. I wasn’t sure how I’d been lucky enough to fall into her orbit. I was simply glad to be there.”

The Luella I knew was stoic and stalwart. She rarely smiled or laughed. I couldn’t imagine her as an inspiration. A free spirit. Only something horrific could have caused such a change. “What happened?”

“The crux.” Cathlin wrapped her arms around her waist, like even speaking their name was difficult. “Her family was killed. So was mine.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“The migration changes us all. You’ll see.”

A shiver of dread chased down my spine.

“I didn’t realize that Ellder had migration tunnels, too.”

“It’s not like those in Ashmore that lead to shelters. There’s only one, and not many know where it is. It serves as more of an emergency escape.”

“Or as an Evie escape,” I muttered. Had Ransom really gone to check on the side gate? Or was he barricading the entrance to these tunnels?

“That as well.” Cathlin straightened, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. And without another word, she walked away. Maybe to a hiding place? A secret apartment in Ellder where she’d be close to her daughter yet always kept apart.

I was walking through the courtyard, wanting to check on Evie, when the people in front of me parted like a curtain being drawn. They moved out of the way for the Guardian.

Ransom’s expression was murderous, his eyes silver.

“Will you show me the tunnel?” I asked when he stopped in front of me.

“You’ve already found it. The farthest cell in the dungeon. There’s a false wall. It will take you into the forest. But don’t—”

“Use it? Fear not, I have no reason to leave Ellder. But thank you for telling me.” It wasn’t a declaration of trust, but it was something. “Is Cathlin your mother?”

His eyebrows lifted. “No.”

“Oh.” That one-word answer was all he was going to give me. Well, then I guess I’d find out his mother’s identity through a process of elimination.

“What happened with the Voster?” he asked.

I grimaced, having forgotten about the ordeal earlier. Probably because the sting of their magic was gone. Spinning around, I searched the area for the brothers. “Where are they?”

How was it that the one and only time I actually wanted to have a conversation with the High Priest, he had vanished with Brother Dime?

“I don’t know.” Ransom’s tone was razor-sharp. “We’ll find them in a moment. First, tell me what happened.”

I shrugged. “I’ve never touched a priest before. I didn’t realize it would hurt so much.”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“I beg to differ.” I rubbed my arm where I’d been touched. “It was like feeling their magic but a thousand times worse. Like it went straight into my bones.”

His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, feeling their magic?”

“You know, the stinging, prickling sensation like spiders are crawling on your skin.” The blankness of his expression made my stomach sink. “You can’t feel their magic? But I saw you that day in Treow’s infirmary. The High Priest touched you, and it looked like you were in pain.”

“It is painful when he siphons Lyssa. But not to touch him. And I’ve never felt his magic otherwise.”

My pulse began to race, my insides knotting. The Voster had been rare in Quentis. When Brother Dime came to visit, he spent time with Father, conducted whatever business necessary, then left. I’d always avoided him.

Since I’d come to Turah, encounters with the Voster seemed inescapable.

Why could I feel their magic? Why didn’t others? Children didn’t rush toward beings that made their skin crawl. “Can anyone feel it? Or is it just me?”

Ransom stared over my shoulder, his jaw clenched. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard anyone say they could feel it before.”

Then what was wrong with me? And why had the High Priest asked about my mother?

It would have been nice to ask. To get answers from the brotherhood.

Except after an hour of searching, of asking where they’d gone, we learned from a guard that they’d left through the gates while we were searching for Evie.

The Voster were gone.