Lauki's Arc

Chapter 2 of 18

The black doors closed behind Lauki. A hall stretched ahead, lit by torches in iron rings. Torra lived somewhere past it. So did the fire that could tell his secret. He kept his fire wrapped tight now, hidden. But the skull knight's warning still burned in his ears. Tell her, and her family comes for them both. A guard stood at the far arch, blocking the way deeper in. This one wore living flesh, not bone. A soldier of Torra's family. His eyes swept the hall, and Lauki's horns caught the torchlight. The guard's hand dropped to his sword. "You. Show your face." Lauki froze. If the man saw the horns clearly, he would shout. Then blades would fill the hall. Lauki would die before he ever reached Torra. He could burn the guard, but the fire would bring the whole fortress down on him. Steel rang from a side passage. A horse stepped into the light. Its coat shone silver, and pale marks curled along its flank. Silver light moved around its legs like smoke. The guard turned toward it, mouth open. A voice came from the shadow behind the horse. "Leave him." Torra walked out, one hand on the horse's neck. Her copper braids swung against her red robe. She looked at the guard, not at Lauki. "He rides with me. To the Ashen Archive." The guard bowed his head. "Yes, my lady." He stepped back through the arch and was gone. Torra faced Lauki. Her yellow eyes moved over his horns, his red eye, his gold one. She did not flinch. "You should be dead," she said. "Demons burn on that bridge." "I crossed it," Lauki said. "A knight let me through." He watched her face. "The one with the skull helmet. The black rose." Something tightened around her mouth. "That knight serves my blood." She said it flat, like a fact she had carried a long time. "Not my family. My blood." Lauki's chest went cold. She knew more than the knight thought. "Then you know," he said. "What you carry." "I know." She turned to the horse and gripped its mane. "My family does not. And they will not." She swung up onto its back. The silver light climbed her arms. "You saw the guard reach for his sword. That is every wall in this place. If they learn the truth, they burn me too." She held out a hand to pull him up. "So we ride out. Tonight. Before someone else sees your face." Lauki took her hand. The guard was gone, but the whole fortress remained a trap. He had reached Torra. Now he had to leave with her, past every soldier who wanted his head. He climbed onto the moon-horse behind her, and the doors ahead swung open onto the dark.