General Odom wasold—Rilen and Roran old.
If he remembered the world before the Spine, maybe he remembered the way the druids and vampires used to get along.
“General, you were intent on me last night at the table. Was my resemblance to your lost love the only reason?”
“No.”
Oh, he had things he wanted to tell me. “Please sit, General.”
“It… wouldn’t be prudent.”
I spun up my magic and created a bubble around the table that would keep his words from going more than a few hands outside of it. “Please, General. Sit.”
He gasped and then sat. “How much easier this would all be if we could create such bubbles of silence.”
“My friends…” I started.
He sliced into my words. “I have only a few days left here before Savion discovers my deception.” He pulled one of the sandwiches to his side and bit in. “Savior and gods, I’m so tired of pretending I like this place and obeying Savion. He’s mad, you know. Mad. Off his bloody rocker.” He paused. “Forgive the pun.”
“Forgiven.”
He took another bite and chewed it like it was going out of style. “Your friends are safe. My men and I made sure they had their weapons and a few samples of ours. We gave them a horse to carry your friend’s body back with them.”
This time, he stopped and put the sandwich down. “I am sorry about your friend. It was not our intention to kill anyone, but the guard in the throne room was not one of mine. He was one of Illian’s men. They are fiercely loyal—and twisted.”
I cocked my head. “What did you mean by you only have a few days?”
“We were told to behead your friends at the Crossing. Instead, we let them go with guns and horses. We brought bones from deer and elk back with us. It’s only time until he realizes that those bones are older than people we should have slaughtered.” He swallowed, staring at this sandwich. “And I am ready to be done.”
“He’ll kill you?” I was aghast.
“That I’ve lived this long is a miracle.” He snorted. “My plan is to not die, but it all depends on when he realizes what we’ve done. Several others and I plan to leave the night of the Blood Rite. They will be blood-drunk enough that they may not see us leaving.”
“Where will you go?”
“Beyond the Burnt Woods, there is a rebel stronghold.”
“Wouldn’t he sense that?”
“Not when the woods themselves shield us. Their magic is ancient. It was a beautiful forest when I was young and was made up of thousands upon thousands of hushwillow trees.”
I gasped. “Hushwillow…”
“Yes. And the trees still keep the silence though they are long since dead and burnt to the ground. Are you all right? You’ve gone pale.”
I felt like throwing up. Again. Those woods were Rilen’s wife’s last resting place. It was overwhelming to know they were still there, still being used. “A story a friend told me…”
“The whisper shells.”
“Yes.” I bobbed my head slowly. “My mother had one, and I thought the prophecy inside was hers…but Roran explained it could not be because it was older than she was.”
“Once the Spine rose, the whisper shells couldn’t be used to contain visions anymore because the wood was gone.” The general nodded. “But the woods hide us. And it will be good to be away from Savion and his madness.”
“Can you take me with you?”
The question was greeted with pensive silence.
“You can’t or you won’t?”
