Page 95 of To Kill a King
“But it would kill whoever deploys the Whisperer, too,” Aliya said.
“Not if you use earplugs.” The woman sneered. “Don’t worry, Your Majesty. We brought a pair for you. Can’t have you dying before we’re paid.”
Brooks swore as the flares from his flint and steel fizzled into nothing.
“Don’t you know how to light a basic campfire?” Stephen asked, ripping the rock and chunk of metal from the other man’s grip. He banged the two together, casting sparks across the area.
Annabelle cursed as a few flew toward her hair.
“Maybe the forest doesn’t want you to build a fire,” Aliya mumbled. It would serve her captors right but would make for a chilly evening.
They couldn’t be that far from Filathas yet. And by now Elessan would be tracking them. A bonfire would send up a decent signal, assuming he didn’t already know their location.
Aliya inhaled and braced herself. “I can start it.”
Brooks glared at her, eyebrows pulled together. “What?” He grabbed his flint and steel back from Stephen.
“I’ll light the fire for you.” She raised her hands, clinking the manacles. “If you take these off.”
Stephen guffawed. “You think I’m gunna take those off you, mage, you’ve got another think coming.”
The inquisitor growled under his breath and slammed the flint and steel over the wood again.
Aliya scooted back to lean against a tree and rubbed her wrists around the handcuffs. “If you want to make fools of yourselves, that’s your prerogative.” Though this would be easier if they would drop their guard a little. She held up the manacles. “What is antimonite, anyway?”
Stephen smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“State secret,” Brooks growled.
A cool breeze blew through the clearing, tugging at Aliya’s hair and raising goosebumps on her arms. She curled into a ball to conserve her body heat.
Annabelle threw a quick glance at the surrounding forest. “Elves are uncanny in the woods. Who knows if any of them are following us? We’ll all sleep with one eye open if we don’t rid ourselves of them, first. We should let one of the Whisperers loose.”
Aliya froze. No. They wouldn’t…
Who was she kidding? They killed Lady Cressida, tried to murder Lindir and kidnapped her. Clearly, money motivated them more than common decency.
Brooks shrugged, reaching into his pocket for bits of wax that he shoved into his ears. “Fine, go ahead. We deserve a decent night’s rest.”
“What? No!” Aliya jumped to her feet, screaming at the top of her lungs. “El! Run!”
With a sharp tug on her manacles, she found herself face-down in the dirt with Stephen’s scowling face inches above hers and someone’s boot heel rammed painfully into her lower back.
“Shut up, Yer Majesty.” He jammed a foul-smelling wad of cloth in her mouth and tied it behind her head, catching several strands of her hair in the knot.
She screamed through the gag and kicked at him.
Brooks swore, dropping the flint and steel and moved over to pin her legs. The two men wrestled her into place until she laid on her side, the restraints bound to the rope wound between her ankles. Her toes tingled from reduced blood flow. She flexed her leg muscles and roared at her captors.
Annabelle came over and jammed two bits of soft wax into her ears.
Ow! Aliya shook her head, trying to dislodge the offending plugs.
One fell to the ground. Annabelle picked it back up and glanced at Stephen. “Take care of her, will you?”
He rammed the earplug back in her ear. Brooks leered at her as he twisted the Whisperer and dropped it on the trail.
Aliya screamed.