From Darkness Won - Jill Williamson [83]
The man grunted and rolled over, pulling a hairy arm over his head.
Achan threw his pillow at the man. “Wake up, Shung! Sparrow is lost, and I need you!”
Shung opened his eyes and pushed up onto one elbow. “The little fox would not like your manners.”
“We’ll never know if we don’t find her.”
Shung sat up and yawned. “Aye, Shung is ready.”
But when Achan appeared in the room in Sitna manor, Sparrow’s body was gone.
Sparrow? Where are you? He reached out and found her shields stronger than ever. He tried to focus on them, to no avail. He floated out of the chamber in Sitna and back to the dungeons, checking each cell. Sparrow, please. I must know if you’re safe. We’re all very worried. You’ve been stormed. Please answer me.
No sign of Sparrow in the dungeons.
Achan pulled back from the Veil and sat up. Sir Caleb!
Sir Caleb burst through the drape on Achan’s tent and stumbled over the edge of Shung’s bedroll. “What? What’s happened?”
“Sparrow’s body is gone.”
“Oh.” Sir Caleb relaxed. “Can you sense her?”
“Aye, but her mind is still shielded, and she won’t answer. I should have stayed in her room all night. Sir Eagan and I could have taken turns guarding her.”
“Perhaps she came back into her body and escaped.”
Achan contemplated this. “Then why won’t she answer?
Could she still be angry enough to ignore my questioning her well-being?” Why wouldn’t she believe him about the mistress thing? That it had only been a stray thought.
“Hard to guess what makes a woman angry. But they never forget the things you say.”
Wonderful. “What about the things I think?”
Sir Caleb put his hands on his hips. “What do you mean? I thought she has not been answering. You’ve not been carrying on conversations with Vrell in your mind, have you? That would be most inappropriate now that you are betrothed to Lady Averella.”
Achan gritted his teeth. “Sir Caleb, I am merely trying to help Sparrow back from the Veil. If her body is gone and she is not answering, how can I know for sure she is safe?”
“I know not. Sir Eagan would be of better assistance.”
“Fine. Fetch him for me. Please?”
Sir Caleb bowed and exited the tent.
Achan glanced at Shung. “She would answer if she could, don’t you think?”
“Without a doubt. The little fox does not joke of serious matters. Should Shung message her?”
“No. Duchess Amal said too many voices might frighten her if she had lost her memory. And I think she has, for she didn’t seem to know me.” He lay back down. “I’m going to look around Sitna Manor again. See if I can learn anything.”
So Achan searched all of Sitna Manor. Things were different. Lord Levy’s family had moved into the rooms in the keep where Lord Nathak and Esek had once dwelled. Poril was no longer the cook. A portly woman had taken over the kitchens. Stranger still, Noam was not in the stables.
What in all Er’Rets was happening?
When Achan returned to his body, his tent and most of the camp had been packed around him. The morning air chilled his arms. Sir Eagan and Sir Caleb were standing at his bedside, Cole just behind them with Matthias. Soldiers bustled about, mounting their horses and filling carts with rolled-up tents. Many heads turned toward the half-dressed Prince, who was still in bed.
Achan met Sir Eagan’s cool gaze. “I can’t find her.”
Sir Caleb and Sir Eagan helped Achan to his feet. Two soldiers immediately began collapsing his bed.
Matthias approached, holding a set of clothes. “Time to dress, sir.”
“We can talk more in the wagon,” Sir Eagan said.
Achan’s thoughts scattered. “But the rescue party is still going out, right? We can’t just leave her.”
“We can’t send a rescue party to Sitna without knowing where her body is,” Sir Caleb said. “It would be futile, a waste of manpower.”
Achan glared at Sir Caleb. “Would you leave Esper?”
Sir Caleb’s eyes lit like a fire, but his expression remained neutral.
Achan tried another tactic by appealing to Sir Eagan. “I sense her shields. She’s not dead.”
Sir Caleb took the pile of clothing