Shattering Dreams Read online

  They continued down into the courtyard with a barely noticeable pause to change. Alex traded glances with Kyle, laughing. He’d been right. The servants had brought their saddled mounts out to the courtyard ahead of them. Both swung up onto their mounts with a practised ease, then turned as, only moments after, Jess came running down the stairs. Taking them two at a time, no longer attired in her gown and expensive jewellery, she wore attire much like their own, more suited to leaving the palace. Without pause, Jess mounted with an ease that spoke of someone well used to riding.

  Seeing they were all ready, Alex laughed, spurring his horse into a gallop across the small courtyard. The guards on duty at the main gate to the palace complex struggled with the doors, only getting them open at the last minute. He shared glances with Kyle and Jessalan riding on either side of him and, in a manner that spoke of long association, the three of them guided their horses off the main road. They rode to one side, down a narrow path through the forest that was a shortcut into town, the guards left behind, cursing, still trying to mount in the courtyard.

  Familiar with the small winding trail (they had ridden this path too many times to count), Alex slowed down as they approached the small gate that would allow them to gain access from the Royal Forest into the town. Alex smiled as the guards on the gate jumped up from their position resting against a nearby tree to sprint to the gate, staring in their direction as they cleared the tree line. Alex looked to Kyle and gestured with his head toward the gate and guards.

  Kyle spurred his horse forward. Without comment, he threw back the hood to his cloak as he approached the guards and, when close enough, spoke calmly.

  “Open the gates.”

  Alex didn’t even bother to slow down the pace of his mount as he approached the gate. He saw the junior guardsman’s eyes widen as he recognised Kyle. He and his fellow guard hauled the chains to open the portal to the outskirts of the town. Alex chuckled. Kyle had a growing reputation, well known not only to the lords and ladies of the court but also the guards.

  As they passed through the gates, Alex, Kyle and Jess slowed their horses to a walk. The gates closed behind them with a soft thump. Alex grinned. The portal had been well kept since the first time they had used it—on that occasion, creaks and groans from the gate could be heard halfway across the residential section of town, announcing to all that a member of the court had passed from the palace grounds to the city proper.

  Alex noted that Kyle drew the hood of his cloak up to obscure his face again and, without thought, spurred his horse up to a ground-devouring trot. They made their way through the town, drawing little attention as people went about their business without pause. The group moved from the more wealthy sections of town and crossed through the areas belonging to the middle class. Here was the domain of the tradesmen, merchants and stall owners—all of them still at work, plying their trades. Alex smiled and relaxed, the bustle of people going about their daily lives obscuring their movement through the streets effectively.

  Slowing his horse to a walk, Alex led them down a side alley that opened out into a series of gated yards and stables. Alex slid from his horse as Kyle took the lead once more, passing coins to the stable keeper, who was eyeing off their mounts with an appreciative eye.

  “We’ll be back later to pick them up.” Kyle passed his horse’s reins to the man, commenting in a dry tone, “I expect them to be here still.”

  That provoked laughter from the portly stable keeper. “My Lord. I wouldn’t dream of selling off your horses. I have a funny feeling you’d take it personally, which would be detrimental to my health.” The man turned and bellowed toward the scruffy boy filling up a trough with water.

  “Eddie, get your lazy rear end over here and help bed down these horses.”

  Alex passed over his reins without comment, noting that Jess had done the same. He turned and led them from the stockyards, down winding alleys, toward the rougher parts of the old town. During the day, it was sleepy and almost deserted. At night, as the markets and businesses closed, the old town moved from sluggishness, waking up to heave with activity. Strains of music filtered to the streets, flowing from bars with lights burning brightly from their windows.

  The pleasure houses were open for business. Lower-end houses had their men and women out the front, calling out to the people passing, inviting them to come in and spend a night of pleasure with them. Unlike the lower-end houses, the better places were discreet. They didn’t need to put their people out the front; their patronage knew where to find them and knew they were open for business—the lights burning from the front parlour of their premises gave that away.

  It looked like a wild night already, with patrons stumbling from bars, or some being thrown out. One unlucky drunk came out of a bar and stumbled into Jess. She pushed him and, drawing her dagger, hit him on the side of the head. The man, who by the state of him had probably been drinking all day, slumped to the ground, unconscious, as Jess looked down at him disdainfully and stepped over his unmoving form.

  She smiled. “Looks like a fun night.”

  All three of them laughed as they approached one of their favourite haunts—a three-storey establishment, a wooden sign hung just above the double doors with a frothing tankard burned into it, the image and plain script above proclaiming it The Tankard. It was a bustling bar on the lower floor, with rooms for hire above. Not that any of them stayed here. At least, not if they could help it. Alex pushed the doors open and the three of them walked inside.

  2

  The Killiam Order’s Recruit

  Scholar Clements stood looking out the windows over the serene mountains. The sprawling old fort and village, protected by stone walls that surrounded Yalleska, had stood undefeated for hundreds of years. This fort and village were the stronghold of the Killiam Order, which had been granted autonomy from the Crown generations ago.

  A scream of pain rang through the citadel. At the anguished pleading, a cold smile spread across the Scholar’s lips. It was always a pleasure when they had a victory over the monsters. The knowledge they gained, the endemic perversion of the healer ranks, caused great concern amongst the Order. Learning that the filth hiding in the healer ranks could be controlled with the medication gave them renewed hope.

  If they survived under the medication’s influence, they used their healer’s gifts to gain a mental hold of their own kind. It had been a long laborious process of trial and error. In the early days, when they first discovered the medication, they thought they would win. Most of the monsters they dosed died, yet a few survived. Those that did, with mental manipulation from the healers, were being used to build a fighting force to use against the darkness. For the first time since the Order came into inception, they might just be on the brink of winning this war. How better to fight against the monsters than to pit their own kind against them?

  He didn’t have long to wait—once the pleading started they never lasted long. He grinned as the door opened behind him.

  “So, how is our latest recruit going?”

  “You heard, I take it?”

  There wasn’t a hint of emotion in Kevin’s voice or expression; he’d been one of their first success stories.

  Clements nodded, his satisfaction evident. “She’s finally taking the medication willingly?”

  “Yes. She is young and not resistant to the drug at all. As I predicted, she is an ideal candidate to enter the program.” Kevin smiled. “Even though she is a little older than we prefer to start treatment, she doesn’t possess the will to resist.”

  Clements turned his head to look at Kevin as he stood next to him, looking out the large windows. Kevin had come to him, to the Order, almost fifteen years earlier, a broken man. A healer, he’d returned to his home after his rounds in the village, only to discover his young family dead. They were lying on the ground in the backyard to his small property. Broken, discarded, slaughtered by a monster. Kevin knew about the Killiam Order, revealing, after he turned to them, that
the healers had been keeping track of their presence. It was Kevin who had admitted that the healing order had been protecting and hiding the monsters in society, that many healers used the Taint. He’d been their first success story, helping them to distil and perfect the medication.

  Clements had felt no need at all to mention that the monster that had killed Kevin’s family had been one of the Order’s failed experiments.

  “Will she be ready for her task?”

  He saw a smile spread on the face of the man who, against all odds, had become his friend. “She will be; she is skilled and her target will be drawn to her. With my guidance, she will be powerful enough to control his mind.”

  Scholar Clements laughed, clapping Kevin on the back. “Well done. I wish we had the time to instruct and train her properly. But we cannot wait, with these targets. We need to take them soon. Our friends will hopefully have achieved the first stage of the task before we get there.”

  The two men lapsed into silence, watching the sun set across the mountains. The sky was lit with orange and a baleful deep red, with shadows casting darkness as the sun sank. The screams and cries of agony from the medication cells beyond were oddly soothing.

  3

  A Night at The Tankard

  Alex laughed as the serving maid slipped from his grasp, winding her way through the crowded tavern back toward the bar.

  Kyle’s eyes flicked up to the door and tracked someone as they entered, causing Alex to smile. Without looking, he recognised from that brief look and the fact that his friend had relaxed that the guards had caught up with them. He shook his head. Their keepers should realise if the three of them meant to lose them, they certainly would not have come to The Tankard for their night of entertainment. Since this was one of their favourite haunts, their guards always checked here first.

  Alex raised his goblet in silent salute and caught his friends’ eyes. Tainted we might be, but let’s live this life while we have it.

  Hearing the musicians strike up his favourite song, Alex grinned. A mischievous expression on his face, he looked at Kyle and Jess and threw back the rest of his drink. He saw more than heard them groan. They knew what that meant before they followed suit. Alex stood and, catching sight of a familiar figure to one side of the bar, groaned himself.

  What the hell is he doing here? Jess, watch out, your paramour has tracked us down.

  Alex snorted as Jess looked up and spotted Rathan Cartwright standing awkwardly at the bar. If looks could kill, Lord Minor would be dead.

  The idiot didn’t even change out of his court clothes. As much as I like this place, we should find a new establishment for our night’s entertainment if that fool can track us here.

  Jess looked up as a serving maid refilled her goblet. She held up her hand to ask the maid to wait and threw back the contents before holding it out once more. Another benefit of being Tainted—they could wash away the sometimes-negative effects of alcohol if they chose to, negating the hangover regular people often suffered from. Still, tonight it seemed they were all determined to feel the after effects. At least, for now. The morning might be a different story entirely.

  I’ll speak to the guard. If they must follow us everywhere, they can be useful and dissuade unwanted attention. Alex’s lips quirked in a half smile. I’m sure his Royal Highness, Prince William, would be most displeased if he found out you have a stalker who goes to these lengths.

  Alex grinned at Jess, then turned and made his way through the packed bar toward the small island of space before the musicians. A blonde attached herself to him and before too much longer was joined by a redhead and a brunette. Alex threw back his head and laughed, moving rhythmically with the women in time to the music. The blonde ran her palm up his chest, biting her lip she looked down, feigning shyness before grinning and raising a bottle to his mouth.

  He raised one hand, pushing the wine away, and turned to the redhead, who was demanding his attention most directly. He kissed her, causing the blonde to pout, drawing her busy hands away from his pants and up to his chest. He almost groaned as the brunette started in, then Kyle was there, peeling the brunette from him. At some stage, amidst the jostling, the bottle of wine the blonde had been trying to get him to drink smashed on the floor. The woman looked down, appearing way more upset than she should be over a smashed bottle of wine.

  “Come on Alex, you can’t show the proper attention to all three lovely ladies!” Kyle looked down at the smashed bottle on the ground and winced. “Sorry, here, it’s okay have this one, I appropriated it from a table on the way.”

  Kyle clamped his mouth on the brunette’s, sliding his tongue through her parted lips. He pulled her away, thrusting a bottle of wine he’d swiped off a table into Alex’s empty hand.

  Alex glimpsed several unhappy looking men at the edge of the dance floor with their knuckles going white from gripping their belt knives. He dismissed the men, turning to the ladies as he saw familiar guards moving across the bar toward them. They would sort the men out.

  Alex tossed his head back, laughing, and took a long swallow from the bottle of wine before returning his attention to the serving maid, pulling her into his body, not noticing as yet another of his female companions was dragged off him by Kyle.

  Alex didn’t care. His world had narrowed, and revolved entirely around him and the blonde serving maid.

  Jess laughed, watching Kyle and Alex on the dance floor, and contemplated joining them. She glanced around the bar; there were several likely candidates that she felt she could persuade to get up and dance with her. That, or she could throw a pretend tantrum and haul the women off Alex and Kyle. The thought amused her for a moment, then she discarded it. They were determined to forget the world existed—she didn’t want to spoil their fun. Scanning the room once more, she noticed that Lord Rathan Cartwright had stood up from his seat at the bar. He stood, tugging at his tunic, before walking in her direction, his intent clear.

  “Oh, hell no.” Jess muttered under her breath.

  Jess stood, determined to head toward the dance floor. Creating a scene was more desirable than being stuck with Rathan. When she turned, she found herself face to face with the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen.

  “I’d be honoured if you’d have a drink with me.” He held a drink out to her.

  Jess couldn’t help but smile back and, nodding her thanks, accepted the goblet. “Why, thank you. Care to take a seat? I don’t imagine my friends will need one for some time.” Jess nodded toward the dance floor, where both Alex and Kyle remained otherwise entertained.

  “I noticed they look distracted at the moment, so I thought it couldn’t hurt, seeing if I could tempt you. I’m Damien.” Damien grinned at her and held out his hand.

  Jess hesitated for a moment then held out her hand. Damien grasped it and kissed her on the fingers, a simple act which caused Jess to blush. She sat back down at the table, breathing a sigh of relief as she saw Rathan. He stood, frozen, halfway between the bar and her, his confusion obvious. Briefly catching her eye, he retreated to his corner in the bar.

  “Nice to meet you, Damien. Thanks for the drink. I’m Jess.” She added, “It’s not common for someone to behave like a gentleman here.” Jess probed for information, suspecting that Damien was not a commoner, although she didn’t recognise him at all.

  Damien laughed and nodded his head, conceding that she made a point.

  “The Royal Court begins the progress to the Summer Palace soon. Everyone who is anyone is here, so accommodation options are limited. I’m not sure I am anyone important, but I can hunt well. That many court-bound aristocrats riding together in one group, they need fresh food along the way—or, at the very least, we need to make sure the Royal Family don’t get stinted. The rest can look after themselves.” Damien grinned at her as she laughed.

  “Ah, so you work for a living, unlike the self-entitled idiots who clutter the court with egos bigger than they are.”

  Jess took a sip of her wine
and raised her eyebrow at her companion. She glanced at the goblet, swirling the deep red liquid in the glass as she closed her eyes and breathed in the aroma of the wine. She took another sip and decided the wine was as good as the company. He’d obviously splurged on one of the better quality wines The Tankard offered, rather than just the house wine. Still, the family that ran the establishment owned several bars in Vallantia and Callenhain, the location of the Summer Palace, a few of them catering to the more well-to-do clientele, as well as others, like this one, for the working class.

  “Their egos find people like me useful during this time of the year and for the hunts that follow, that is about it.” Damien shrugged, grinning to show he wasn’t concerned at all. “Tell me, what do you think of the wine, Jess?”

  “The wine is excellent, I don’t believe I’ve drunk it before. Which one is it?”

  Jess took another sip, savouring the flavour; it was more than good. Jess was certain her companion didn’t realise it was strange she hadn’t encountered it before, given that she lived in the palace and mixed with the Royal Family.

  “A small shipment came from the Heights. There is a delegation visiting at the moment—they brought trade samples with them. This was one of them. The owners have an agreement with them. I’m surprised they are stocking it here though.” Damien nodded toward the bar absently, savouring the last of the wine.