Shooting the Gap

Present Day

Tucked behind a collection of massive boulders, Nienna Comstock twisted the dials of her spyglass, bringing a mounted patrol into focus. Her Skyspark would be faster to see what was happening, but the little ball of light was too conspicuous for this time of day.

About half a mile from where she crouched, stood the black wall that divided Tellidus from Ballitus like a scar. The current patrol guarding the gaping twenty-foot hole in the wall was moving out later than any she had seen yet. 

Nienna bit her lip as she gazed up at the sky. The growing darkness could work in her favor, but it also left her blind to any dangers lurking nearby. After studying the wall for the past day, Nienna knew the next patrol would be by soon. Or worse, Ross would reappear.

The leader of the patrol, a thin man with a large red phoenix emblazoned on his tunic, called out orders to the stragglers still cinching up their saddles. There were at least twenty-five men in this group, all heavily armed, with customary dark hair and eyes most Ballitins wore. Each moving with the confident grace of seasoned soldiers.

Nothing about this situation was going to be easy.

Nienna rose from her hiding spot and patted her pouch of sleeping darts. During her time as an outlaw in the Tellidine kingdom, she had perfected these darts. Because of them, she had helped liberate thousands of members of the northern tribes during Saul Comstock’s reign as king. Now, they would help her take down a dragon—that is, if all went according to plan.

With a heavy sigh, Nienna turned to fetch her horse. She had to cross the wall now. Except, her horse was not where she had left him. In his place was her ever-persistent shadow, Ross Galbraith, with anger crackling off of him like a thunderstorm.

Too late.

“I thought I left you back in that forest near Desmond,” Nienna said, rolling her eyes.

Ross’s fists clenched. “And I thought we agreed you would return to Solomon with me. Instead, I find myself tied to a tree, my boots missing, my horse marching home, and that once again you left me.”

Behind him, Fingol munched on the sweet summer grass next to Ross’s bay gelding, Jep.

“I never said you had to keep following me. Besides, when I first told you where I was going, you seemed more than happy to come along.” Nienna ground her teeth. 

She needed to get rid of Ross if she was going to get through the hole in the wall before the next patrol showed up. Her observations showed soldiers rode through this area constantly, leaving the hole unprotected for only a couple of hours at most. She had to move while the current one was getting ready to leave.

“I initially joined this venture because I thought I could change your mind before we got this far.” Ross threw his arms in the air. “The Guardian had just broken your engagement, and I knew you were hurting. I wanted to help you, but riding to Meheritia will be the fastest way to die.”

I know. Nienna’s insides clenched.

Tellen’s parting words still cut through the middle of her heart like a compass needle. Barely visible, but so sharp that she’d gasp from pain every time they struck.

I never want to see you.

The feel of Tellen’s lips on the back of her hand as he pulled off her ring was like he’d cut off a part of her. The magic of her Earthspark had dwindled in response, leaving her feeling cold, and alone. 

Tears pricked her eyes, but she refused to cry in front of Ross—again. He’d seen her break too many times already. 

“And I’ve told you I won’t change my mind. You are the one who refuses to stop following me.” 

Ross strode closer until he stood in front of Nienna. He placed his hands gently on her shoulders. The fire that had blazed in his expression a few moments ago burned out, leaving a warm smolder in its wake. 

“Maybe it’s because I care about what happens to you,” he said.

She bit down on a harsh laugh. “You’re likely only here because Owen sent you after me.”

Nienna wheeled away from him. Ross moved in front of her again, this time taking her hands, so she couldn’t run.

Too close. He was always too close. 

Yet, she wasn’t strong enough to push him away a second time. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the tears hiding in the corners of her eyes to fall. 

“Look at me,” Ross said, his voice low.

“No,” she whispered. 

She didn’t want to see Ross’s concern, nor the feelings he refused to hide. Even more, if she met his eyes, she was afraid of what he might read there. Like what would really happen if she killed the dragon known to most as Cadaras. Nienna knew that dragon as Master, Pain, and a Prophecy she refused to fulfill. All summed up into the terrifying form of Darius Vermu.

Ross lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his steady brown eyes. 

“Please, come home with me,” he said. 

“I can’t. I have to finish what I started.”

Ross brought his face closer to hers. “The moment you cross that wall, there will be no coming back. They will capture you, and they will use you to ensure they win this war.”

“How do you know that?” Nienna asked with a sniff.

“Because I know what’s on the other side of that wall. I know the dangers you’ll find in the Black Waste, and I know the sort of monsters that lurk in the shadows of Meheritia.”

Nienna narrowed her eyes. “You sound as if you have firsthand knowledge of what lies ahead.”

Ross dropped his hand from her face. “That’s because I do.”

Her heart pulsed in alarm. Nienna pushed away from him, fear and anger flooded into her. 

“I should have known. You’re another Ballitine spy. Just like Horacio.”

Ross staggered back, his arms going slack.

How could I have been so blind? Ballitus had been better at infiltrating Tellidus with spies than anyone had ever guessed. 

“No! Nienna, I swear—” And this time she heard his accent for what it truly was.

She didn’t give him a chance to finish the lie. Nienna sent a sudden gust of wind at Ross, knocking him sideways, then bolted for her horse and leaped into the saddle.

With a click of her tongue, Fingol dove through the boulders, down the knoll, and toward the now unguarded hole in the wall.

“Nienna! Come back!”

Ross staggered onto his horse, urging it to a full gallop behind her. 

“Earth and Sky, he is persistent,” she muttered.

Nienna was desperate to call on her Skyspark and scare his horse away with lightning, but that would only call the patrol back. And if that happened, then she wouldn’t stand a chance of reaching Darius.

She wasn’t sure why Ballitus wanted to keep her in Solomon, but they would have to catch her first.

Nearby, Keykoch Loch stretched into the distance in either direction. The lake was so large it spanned into both Tellidus and Ballitus. Her history books had stated that ships once sailed up and down the shores to trade goods between the two countries.

These days the notion of goodwill existing between Tellidus and Ballitus was laughable. 

Mist rose off of the massive lake, giving Nienna an idea. Calling on the mist to roll inland, she could hide herself from both patrol and Ross. If the spy couldn’t see her, he couldn’t track her. 

The heavy, low clouds rose from the ground like specters from graves as she broke from the cover of the boulder-strewn hillside. Between it and the deepening shadows, Nienna was positive she’d make it through. She only hoped it would be enough to lose Ross.

With a wave of her hand, Nienna kept the mist out of her path, leading her to the border wall. The black facade loomed above her like the mouth of a monster waiting to swallow her up. 

A tingle raced down Nienna’s spine. Danger was close. 

The mist must not have slowed Ross down as much as I’d hoped. 

However, she was crossing into enemy territory. Anything could be dangerous.

The magical feathers in her hair made the sensation worse. As a token of friendship, the tribes had given her the feathers, allowing Nienna to roam anywhere among them she pleased. However, now they acted like homing devices, screaming in her mind that she was riding the wrong way. In a roundabout way, she understood why the defectors from the tribes always cut out their feathers.

But the raiders never had the demons tailing them like they did to her. 

Following the black structure for a few yards, she came upon the gap. With senses on high alert, Nienna guided her horse through the hole. As Fingol picked his way among the rubble of the ten-foot thick stone, the ice slipping down her spine increased. 

Then, a host of unfamiliar scents accosted her nose. 

Sweaty bodies, wood smoke, and animal muck permeated this side of the wall. Surprised soldiers huddled around a table outside of a shack built into the wall, stared at her as if she were a ghost. 

I have the worst luck. 

Their shock didn’t last long. 

“Stop her!” a man called, jumping to his feet.

Nienna spurred Fingol forward. She had only to outdistance them, and then she could disappear into the mist again. At least that was her plan until a wall of Fire sprang up in front of her. An alarm bell clanged from the top of the wall. 

They were calling back the patrol!

Fingol screamed as he pawed at the blaze before wheeling back around the way they had come. Gritting her teeth, Nienna forced the gelding back toward the flames. They would jump through them. Detention by these soldiers or returning home was not an option.

Then, out of nowhere, Ross raced toward her.

“Go!” he shouted.

“Leave me alone!” she snapped.

Nienna raised her hand to call on her Skyspark. Ross would never follow her again.

Then, an arrow whizzed toward her. The world stopped for a moment, frozen in terrible slowness. Trapped between Ross and the flames, she could try to hit the arrow with lightning, but if she missed, she could hit her horse. 

While her mind still raced with ways to get out of the situation, Ross slammed into her, sending them both over the side of her saddle and onto the unforgiving ground.

Ross clung to her for a moment, his face twisted with pain. An arrow protruded from his right shoulder. The one meant for her.

A sinking feeling lurched through her. What if Ross had told her the truth? That he’d followed her down here because he truly was her friend? And now she had gotten him killed.

“Don’t let them catch you,” Ross wheezed.

Soldiers ran toward them, shouting. More Fire sprang up around them, closing them in. She’d made a mistake crossing the wall.

And it might have cost Ross his life.

You can also listen to the first chapter of Prisoners of Hadrian here.