by Jaleta Clegg
Chapter 5
Tayvis kept up the tooth-rattling pace the rest of the morning. I couldn't talk without biting my tongue off. I had a lot of questions, but by the time Tayvis finally slowed the horse, I didn't care. I just wanted him to stop and let me off.
He slowed the horse to a walk as we approached a rambling village.
"Don't say anything," he warned. "Keep your mouth shut and do what you're told."
"Yes, sir," I muttered.
"Watch the attitude." He patted my leg as he slid off the horse in front of a large building.
I felt stupid when I realized he waited for me to dismount. I felt even worse when I realized I couldn't, not without help. Every muscle ached. I sat on the horse and waited. He raised one eyebrow, watching me sit. We stayed that way for a long moment in the hot sun before he moved. He grabbed me around the waist, lifting me off the horse as if I weighed nothing, then dropped me on a bench next to the door to a large building.
"Don't leave."
"I don't think I could if I wanted to. Not that I'd want to," I added hastily. He frightened me, but he hadn't actually hurt me. I almost felt safe with him.
He shook his head as he walked into the building.
I gingerly massaged my legs. Riding horses was not romantic, not the way Dariana Grace vids portrayed it, not at all.
Heat rose in waves from the dusty road. Men lounged in the shade of a large tree. I licked dry lips as I watched them drink.
One of the men ambled over to my bench. He squinted, eyeing my bruised legs and bare feet. "So, you'll be setting up shop here tonight?" His foul breath washed over me.
I pointedly ignored him.
"It's been a long time since we had a good woman," he said. "You're a bit thin for my taste, but when there's nothing else available, I'll take whatever I can get." He reached one dirty hand toward my leg.
My fist caught him under the chin, knocking him into the dust. He came to his feet, growling as he lunged for me. He stopped short as Tayvis stepped out of the building.
Tayvis shot a glance at me before turning to the man. "Touch what is mine again, and I'll remove your hand." He pulled me into the building by my wrist.
An older woman planted herself in front of me, arms folded over her bulging chest. "Who'd she run away from?" She rolled her eyes at Tayvis.
He dropped my wrist, leaving her question unanswered.
She shrugged. "What happened to her hair?"
"Lice," he answered.
I wondered what lice were. I was smart enough to keep my curiosity to myself, for now.
"I can't promise much." The woman grabbed my shoulder and shoved me towards a back doorway. "I'd say you were cheated. This one isn't worth a single coin."
Tayvis shrugged.
I twisted out of the woman's reach and shot a questioning look at Tayvis.
He nodded towards the room.
"Well, come on," the woman said impatiently.
He settled onto a bench in front of a plate of food.
The woman herded me into the room. She slammed the door behind us. She opened a cupboard to pull out a coarse cloth.
"You won't get clean looking at it," she said, jerking her head towards a tub resting in the center of the room. "Your man paid enough for a bath. I think he's wasting his money, if you want my opinion." She set the cloth on the bench then waddled from the room.
I pulled off my dress, shivering despite the heat. The light came from a row of unpaned windows high along one wall. A polished strip of metal, a mirror of sorts, hung on the wall. I leaned forward, inspecting my distorted and fuzzy reflection.
Huge bruises covered my left leg, continuing up my hip and back. Scratches covered my arms and legs. The rash still itched around my knees. I leaned closer to study my face.
It was too thin, my chin coming to a point, my eyes too big and a muddy shade of brown. I saw no noticeable bruises. I felt along the side of my head, wincing as I touched a tender spot just above my left ear. Overall, I was in remarkably good shape, considering what I'd been through.
I stepped into the tub. The warm water soothed stiff muscles. Floating leaves added a pungent scent. I relaxed, closing my eyes.
The door slammed open. I jumped, splashing water over the floor. The fat woman waddled in. She slapped a plate on the bench. The scent of stew filled the air, mixing pleasantly with the biting scent of the leaves.
She looked me over and sniffed. "Too thin. You'll get sick and die come winter." She shook out the cloth. "You've been in long enough."
I stood, dripping water and leaves. My aches barely registered, my muscles refreshed by the brief soaking.
"Orris leaves work every time." She wrapped the cloth around me. "Not much for talking, are you?"
I shrugged, suddenly dizzy, a delayed reaction from the hypnoteacher. I couldn't trust myself to speak the right language. I pulled on my clothes. Dried mud splotched the skirt. I hated wearing dirty clothes, but it beat going naked.
"Too thin, much too thin. Men like a bit of meat on their women, take it from me. You'd do well to plump up a bit." She bustled out the door.
I stirred the thin stew, speckled with unappetizing greasy lumps. It was food. I ate it before leaving the room.
Tayvis waited by the far door, sunlight glinting red gold on his dark hair. He flipped a coin to the woman, who simpered at him as she tucked it into the ample front of her dress. He turned without a word.
I crossed the room, the skirt swinging around my legs. Skirts reminded me too much of my life in the orphanage, of the expectations Tivor placed on women. I hadn't worn skirts since I'd left Tivor.
Tayvis tightened a strap on his saddle, then tossed me on. This time I made it without landing on my stomach. He swung up behind me. The horse snorted and trotted down the road.
I tensed, expecting aching muscles, but whatever was in the water had worked a minor miracle. Tayvis slid his arm around my waist, holding me on. The villagers ignored us as we left their rambling town behind.
I relaxed, enjoying myself as we rode up a hill and into the woods beyond. The warm air played across my face, the bright sun lighting the open forests and wild lands, so different from anything I'd ever experienced. This was more like a Dariana Grace vid.
"You throw a mean left hook," Tayvis said.
I glanced over my shoulder, enough to see his chiseled profile.
"No comment?"
I didn't know what to say. His breath brushed across my shoulder. I was acutely aware of just how close he was, of the warm weight of his arm around my middle.
"Why stop at the village?" I asked after a while. I couldn't make sense of his actions. Why didn't he just arrest me? Why say he wanted my help?
"Orris leaves work wonders on sore muscles."
"You were trying to keep me out of the way. Why not just leave me there?"
His lip twitched. "I was trying to be nice."
"You didn't want me to know what you were doing."
"You might be a dangerous spy."
"Then why keep me with you?"
"If you went to the Academy, you should understand."
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. He wanted me where he could watch me.
"I don't know how to convince you I'm not lying."
"It was easier to negotiate without you. I needed supplies. Nothing more sinister than that." He clucked to the horse, ending the conversation and leaving me unsatisfied with his answer.
The horse trotted along the trail, under the shade of the trees as we climbed higher into the hills. My head spun, my eyes refused to focus. The forest blurred. I blinked repeatedly, trying to clear my vision.
"We should be in Gragensberg tomorrow," Tayvis said, startling me. "If you're going to be any help at all, you need to know what's going on."
Delayed reaction to the hypnodrugs kicked in, all at once. I fell down a long, gray tunnel. His voice faded. I thought I heard him call my name as the grayness swallowed me.
&nb
sp; I opened my eyes onto twilight and firelight. I felt as if someone had twisted me into a knot and then untied me, every muscle lay limp. Any movement took enormous effort. I rolled my head to the side, looking at the fire.
I lay on the ground, wrapped in a blanket. Water trickled nearby. The fire crackled and popped. The horse grazed in the shadows across the fire.
Tayvis sat on a rock, poking the fire with a stick. He watched me with a stone face. "Feel better?"
"No," I whispered. I had no energy. Even blinking took a major act of will.
He jabbed the fire, sending sparks spiraling into the darkening sky.
"Reaction to hypnodrugs." I tried to explain. The words came out slurred.
The lump of knowledge and the drugs had knocked me senseless. But once I woke completely, all of the information from the hypnoteacher would be accessible. Judging from past experience, I would sleep for at least another twelve hours.
Tayvis watched, his eyes hooded and dark. Firelight sparked across his face, dancing yellow and orange in the fading twilight, turning him into a stranger.
I stirred, muscles barely responding. Tayvis sighed and shoved his stick into the fire. He scooped his cup through the pot next to the fire, then brought it over to me. He lifted my head and helped me drink.
"More?" He held the cup up.
I nodded, my head barely moving. He cradled me against his chest. I wondered about him as I sipped broth. Why was he being so patient? Why hadn't he dumped me? I'd been left behind, left on my own, my whole life. I wasn't sure how to interpret his intentions. I slowed him down. He didn't trust me. Why help me?
My ear pressed against his chest. His heart beat slow and steady. Being this close turned me all quivery inside. I tried to sit, to move away, unsure how to interpret the way he made me feel. I couldn't move. I silently cursed my weakness.
He took the empty cup from my hands, setting it aside, but he kept his arm around me, holding me against him. His breath stirred my hair. He sighed.
"I wanted to get out of these woods before dark."
"Then why didn't you leave me behind?" My voice slurred.
"You're Patrol now. We don't leave each other behind."
"You don't trust me."
"Not any farther than I could throw you."
"So you trust me quite a bit."
He went still. I'd spoken before I'd thought. I wondered if I'd pushed him too far.
"Until you give me a reason not to," he said.
He laid me down on the blanket. I shivered in the evening chill. He pulled the blanket over my shoulder before crossing to his tiny fire. It burned low into a nest of tiny red coals. I didn't know how to read him, whether he told truth or lies.
"How are your feet?" he asked. "Any better?" He sat next to me, pulling my feet from the blankets. He wiped my feet clean then rubbed on ointment with a gentle touch.
"Go to sleep," he said as he put the ointment away in his pack. "You look beat."
I blinked, trying to stay awake, to watch him. I wanted to ask him why he trusted me. I wanted to know if I could trust him.
He stood next to the horse, brushing it and talking softly.
I frowned. Disconnected thoughts roamed through my head. I slipped into the tangled fog of drug reaction.
