by Jaleta Clegg
Chapter 14
By that evening, Blake still bounded like a spring, as bright as he had been that morning. Dysun and I dragged, worn out trying to keep Blake's insane pace.
We set up a camp in a small meadow ringed by white birch, one of the few trees I knew. The Academy on Eruus had a grove of them behind the cafeteria. I plopped tiredly on a rock. Blake paced the clearing, babbling about the fountain. He spread his map over a rock. Dysun pulled out a warmer and packets of food.
I stirred off my rock, stopping beside Dysun. "Do you want help?"
Dysun leveled the warmer. "You could go feed his obsession. Listen to his ramblings and pretend you care. I'm tired of it." He kept his voice low. "Or you could get lost, disappear into the bushes." His accent was odd, not one I'd heard before. He rolled his vowels, his consonants slurred.
"You aren't getting rid of me that easily, Dysun, not when you have a way off this planet."
"Are you certain you want to take it?" He returned to his cooking.
"Young lady, miss," Blake snapped his fingers. "Daina, was it? I find myself embarrassed to admit your name has quite slipped my mind. What should I call you?"
"Try captain." Dysun smirked.
Blake blinked rapidly. "Captain?"
"Just Dace is fine."
"Dace." Blake rolled my name over his tongue as if tasting it. "So informal. Are you quite certain? We have, after all, just made our acquaintance, although in a rather odd manner."
"Dace is fine," I repeated. "I'm not big on formality."
"We do seem to be in rather an informal setting." Blake smiled, a very charming, sweet smile. "Now, my dear, if you wouldn't mind, take a look at this map."
I bent over the scribbles. I could barely see in the fading light of evening.
Blake waved a handlight back and forth as he talked, sending random beams over the paper. "We passed the Crystal Spring this morning. I believe this is the trail we've been following." He ran his finger across squiggles.
I made affirmative noises, wondering when the food would be ready.
"We've made very good time." Blake blathered on.
I nodded, pretending interest. The food smelled better by the minute.
"Yes, I believe that by noon tomorrow, we should arrive at the monastery." Blake sat on his heels. "And there we should find the secret to the Elixir of Eternal Youth, the secret Ponce Delyon sought so fruitlessly for so long." He rubbed his hands together. "So close, yes, thanks to your invaluable help reading the map."
Dysun rolled his eyes behind Blake's back.
Blake carefully stowed his map, still babbling about his quest, Ponce, and the Elixir.
Dysun shook his head as he dished food. "Blake, we didn't plan on three. It's going to cut into our rations considerably if we have to feed her."
"Then be a gentleman, Dysun, and eat less. She's proven quite adept at reading old maps." Blake picked daintily at his food.
"We don't have gear for three. I'm not giving her my bedroll. I'm not that much of a gentleman." Dysun slapped food onto a plastic plate, shoving it my direction.
Blake stopped eating. "Yes, that is rather a problem. It would be unseemly for me to share mine. My health is such that I can't risk taking a chill. No, my dear Dysun, the best solution is for you to share."
"What?" Dysun's glare should have melted me on the spot.
"It's rather obvious, isn't it? Your reputation will not be damaged if it is known you shared your bed with an unattached young lady. I think it would rather be enhanced."
Dysun choked on his food. "What of her reputation?"
Blake looked up, eyes wide. "I hadn't considered that. Hmm." He pursed his lips. "We shall just have to keep very quiet about this irregularity. No one will know from me."
Dysun slammed his plate onto a rock. He yanked the pack open. He pulled out a small packet, tossing it at me. It was an emergency blanket, thin and crackly and not much comfort. "She can use that."
"Dysun, be a gentleman."
"You be the gentleman. As you so bluntly pointed out, I have no reputation of gentility to protect. You give her your bedroll if you're that worried."
"But my condition."
Dysun told Blake exactly what he could do with his condition.
Blake's eyes widened. "Language of that sort in front of a lady? Shame on you, Dysun."
"If I guess correctly, she's heard worse and probably used worse." Dysun flicked a hard look my direction.
"I will hear no more of this." Blake collected his plate. He settled several feet away, his back firmly to us.
I fingered the emergency blanket. "Thank you."
Dysun shrugged. "You owe me a favor, Dace. Don't forget it."
"I won't."
I slept poorly. The emergency blanket provided warmth but no protection from the hard ground. Blake snored like a drunken dock worker. Dysun slept with ear plugs. I tried covering my ears. It didn't help.
Morning came too soon. Blake bounced from his bedroll well before the sun rose. Blake's hair lay perfectly combed and neat, his clothes unwrinkled. He looked as if he'd just stepped out of a travel brochure.
"Rise and shine." Blake clapped his hands. "We have miles to cover. This is the day. I feel it in my bones."
I stumbled to my feet, the emergency blanket wrapped around me.
Dysun grumbled as he packed everything away. "Do you always sleep with your boots on, Captain?" Dysun hitched the pack onto his shoulders.
"Just lately." I didn't want to admit the answer was usually yes. It was the only way to be sure no one would steal them.
"A lovely morning." Blake breathed deeply before striding into the hills.
Dysun trudged after Blake without comment.
I stumbled behind him, yawning.
Blake strode up a long slope, stopping at the crest. He turned, looking carefully in every direction. He frowned as we joined him. I saw nothing except waves of hills and trees.
Blake pulled out his map, spreading it on the ground. "This should be a valley. And there should be a river there." He pointed past my ankles. "No, this can't be right." He turned it a different direction.
I scratched my head, still mostly asleep. I slid the emergency blanket off my shoulders. The rising sun warmed me nicely. Dysun snatched the blanket away. I didn't have pockets or I would have fought him for it.
Dysun glowered as he handed me a fruit bar. I chewed it, savoring each bite. Blake ate his without noticing. Dysun could have handed him a stick and he probably would have eaten it.
"I am afraid we are completely lost." Blake lifted his map. "This must be a fake, a hoax perpetrated on a very gullible man, me."
"You assured me it was genuine," Dysun said. "Maybe it's just old. Some of the landmarks may have changed."
"I do believe you are correct." Blake twisted the map with more purpose. He finally shook his head. "It's no use. I am completely lost. And you, Dysun, are not much for reading maps."
"Let me try." I was more lost than they were, but Blake didn't know that.
Blake beamed. Dysun narrowed his eyes suspiciously. I pretended to study the squiggles.
"That way." I pointed at the easiest path down the hill.
Blake leaned over my shoulder, studying the route. "I'll be smuckered! Pardon my language, I believe you are correct. How did I miss it? Obvious now that you've pointed it out." He took the map, rolling it as he strode down the hill.
I picked my way after him, hoping I'd pointed out the right direction, although the definition of right was extremely negotiable. I wanted a way out. Blake might provide it for me if I gave good enough reason.
The steep hill provided uneven footing. I stumbled on a rock that Blake bounced over without effort. Dysun caught my arm and steadied me. I glanced over my shoulder. He snatched his hand away, glowering. He wasn't as tough as he wanted me to believe.
Blake had more energy than people one fourth his age. He went up one hill and down another all morning. He paused only long
enough to consult his useless map.
We stopped for lunch near a tiny stream. Heat shimmered over the hills. Insects buzzed in the plants. I pulled off my boots. They fit just loose enough to rub my feet wrong. I dipped my feet in the stream, enjoying the cold water.
"Three days, Blake." Dysun handed out instant meals. "If she stays with us, we have to turn back in three days whether you've found the Elixir or not. We can't risk staying longer."
Blake pretended he hadn't heard. He smiled, turning on all of his considerable charm. His hair shone white as a halo in the noon light. "Which way now, my dear? I confess the hills rather confuse me. I'm afraid I may have led us astray again. Nothing matches my map." He spread the worn paper across the ground.
I smiled smugly at Dysun. I'd wriggled my way into Blake's reality. I pretended to study the surrounding hills while I ate my lunch.
"That way." I pointed randomly.
Blake frowned at the hill I'd pointed to. "Are you quite positive? It doesn't seem right somehow."
I turned the map the other way. "That way." I put as much confidence into my voice as I could. I pointed at the hill.
Blake squinted at the map. "Perhaps," he said doubtfully.
He stowed the map while Dysun cleared away our lunch. I pulled my boots on.
Blake headed up the hill, posing with his hands on his hips at the top. He pointed down the slope. He broke into a bounding run that carried him quickly out of sight.
Dysun shot a glare at me as he followed Blake over the hill. "I don't know how you did that. That map is gibberish, a total and complete fake!"
"Does it matter as long as you get paid and I get off this planet?"
Dysun grinned with a rakish charm all his own. "Not really. Lead on, Captain Dace. And hurry before we lose our meal ticket."
We scrambled over the hill after Blake.
The older gentleman climbed over a pile of rocks, exclaiming about everything he saw. He paused on top of the tallest boulder. "This is it! The ancient dancing circle. That means the monastery should be close. And at the monastery, the Elixir of Eternal Youth!" He slid down the side of the rock.
Dysun hurried to catch him. He shouldn't have bothered, Blake landed on his feet, then sprinted down a narrow track beaten into the dirt between the rocks.
Blake finally slowed down several hours later. Ricard Blake was the last person in the universe who needed an Elixir of Eternal Youth. He stopped to consult his map. Dysun dropped his pack on the ground, collapsing next to it. I limped into the shade, my feet blistered from the boots.
Blake clucked at the two of us. "You rest. We should be almost there. I'll just check behind that row of fir trees." His words faded as he disappeared into the forest.
Dysun got to his feet, leaving the pack behind.
I was ready to drop, but I followed Dysun through the trees.
We arrived just in time to see Blake stride into the center of a village nestled at the bottom of the hill.
Dysun swore as he started down the slope. "The idiot can't speak a word of their language."
"Can you?"
He shook his head. "We weren't supposed to make contact with anyone but the monks. Blake never thought it would be a problem. Can you speak it?"
"If I get him out of trouble, will you promise to take me off this planet?"
Dysun studied me. "I could always use another pilot, although you'd have to promise not to blow my ship."
I resisted the urge to smack him. "If I didn't think I needed your help—"
"You'd do what? Leave? Be my guest, Captain."
"Just follow me and keep your mouth shut." I marched into the village.
Two dogs lay in the middle of the beaten dirt track that served as a main road. They growled halfheartedly. I stopped near the center of the village. Blake had left no trace.
Three old men sat on a bench in front of the biggest building in the village. One spat into the dust, then grinned toothlessly. "You looking for something?"
I hesitated. What lie would they accept? "My father isn't right in the head. He came this way. Have you seen him?"
"You come sit in my lap and sing for me and I'll tell you where your da went." The old man leered.
Dysun shifted closer to my shoulder. "What are they saying?" he whispered.
I edged away, debating how far to push the issue. The old men on the bench looked harmless. I changed my mind when I got a whiff of them. Their stench was lethal. I tried not to gag as I leaned over the one who spoke.
"Tell me where he went."
The old man swung his arm behind me, knocking me into his lap. I shoved myself away as fast as I could. I sprawled in the dirt while they cackled and wheezed.
"Your da's up there," the one on the end said, pointing to a squat castle looming on a hill not far away.
I brushed dust off my skirt as I got to my feet. "He's there," I told Dysun, jerking my head at the castle.
Horses pounded into the village. The old men on the bench vanished, leaving nothing but their smell.
Dysun bolted for the edge of the village with me at his heels. He leapt across a stream, stumbling in midair. He landed bonelessly in the water. Metal flashed in one of the horsemen's hands. A split second later I sprawled on the bank, completely numb.
The men leisurely swung down from their horses. They slung us over the backs of two horses.
"Take them both to the base," one of the men said. "I suspect Commander Nuto has more than a few questions to ask."
The men spoke Basic. I'd found the Patrol base. I didn't know whether I should be happy or not. I hung limply as the horse trotted along the road to the squat castle.
