by A J Park
Eventually, the rhythm of the horses’ hooves faded into a gentler motion of someone carrying her. That eased the pain enough that she slept for a few moments. She woke to feel Sinnar setting her down in a chair. Someone was holding her hand and calling her name.
“Shalyrie, Shalyrie!” The voice was urgent. A woman’s voice. Kellji. “Shalyrie, help Kalleck.” She slowly opened bleary eyes and saw a veiled face. She tried to wake up, but Kellji’s face swam in and out of focus. Someone held a cup to her lips and she tasted water, cool and delicious. It was wonderful. She drained the cup.
It seemed to wake her and give her more energy. She took a deep breath and looked around. They were back in the room where they had started. Several people were there, and Sinnar was taking the precious handful of fireweed out of his saddlebag.
“Hot water,” Shalyrie said. With a mix of signs and the few clumsy words she knew, they helped her boil the fireweed and strain it. The result was a clear mixture with a texture like jelly. She’d never done this part before, only seen it done. It had better be right. As soon as it was cool enough, they took it to where Kalleck lay.
He looked worse than before, almost as if he were dead already. She had to look hard to see the covers move up and down. He was barely breathing. The others uncovered the wound, and Shalyrie spread the medicine thickly over it. Everyone crowded around and watched anxiously. For a long time, it looked like nothing was happening.
A while later, Shalyrie applied another dose. Did the black lines look fainter?
Feeling weariness overtake her, she sat in a chair by the bed to wait and began to doze instead.
She shivered in her sleep. It still seemed so cold, even indoors. She wasn’t sure how much later it was when she felt someone unwrapping the bandage on her shoulder. “No,” she groaned. “Don’t touch it. It hurts.”
She heard Kellji’s voice soothing her. Whatever they had done to her shoulder, it actually eased the pain. They put another cup to her lips. Hoping it was water, she drank. It was bitter, and she coughed and tried to push it away.
“Drink,” Kellji urged her.
She drank slowly and, when she was done, they gave her water as well.
“Rest, Shalyrie,” Kellji said. It was the last thing she remembered for a very long time.
Kalleck, Son of Gallidack, First Guardian of the Yalkur
Kalleck opened his eyes and saw sunlight streaming in through the window. He stared at the dust specks in the light for a long time without any thoughts in his head at all. Slowly, his mind awakened. First Guardian. He was the leader of his people, and they looked to him to save them. They were in terrible danger. Battle. There had been a battle.
The girl, Shalyrie. She had tried to help him and his people. A man had stabbed her, but Kalleck had stopped him before he could fulfill his mission. They had come back to the city.
Kern. He remembered talking to Kern. And Hannal had been very worried about something…
Kalleck turned his head slightly and saw that someone was sitting in a chair beside his bed.
“Mother?” he asked, surprised. “What are you doing here?” He saw her often, but never in his rooms.
She smiled and ignored his question. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”
“I’m fine,” he said, irritated. “Why are you asking me that?”
“You’ve been very sick,” she said. “Don’t you remember?”
He didn’t. He didn’t remember much of the last several hours… maybe of the last day. He wasn’t sure how long it had been. “It can’t have been that bad,” he protested.
She looked exasperated. “Can you get up?” she asked pointedly.
What kind of question was that? Of course, he could get up… Of course… He raised his head, but his arms wouldn’t move. He tried again. His legs and body wouldn’t move either. He didn’t feel any pain, but he couldn’t move. That wasn’t right.
“All right,” he admitted. “I guess it was bad.”
She nodded slowly. Her face was serious. “I really thought I was going to lose you this time, and after what happened to your father…”
He meant to reach out and take her hand, but nothing happened. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about anything now. Just rest.”
“How long has it been?”
“Six days.”
“What?” he exclaimed. He’d been out for six days? What had happened?
“Hannal has taken charge in your absence,” she told him.
“Tell me what happened,” he said.
She smiled infuriatingly. “Later,” she said. “You need to rest. Are you hungry?”
He was about to object, but his stomach growled. “Yes, I’m hungry,” he admitted.
She propped a couple more pillows behind his back and held up a bowl. He stared at her in disbelief. Did she actually expect to feed him like a baby? “You can’t be serious,” he groaned.
She laughed. “Can you do it yourself?”
He concentrated. Arm, hand, fingers. One by one, he wiggled his fingers. One hand, then the other.
“Good,” she said. “Now, do you want to wait until you can do it yourself or are you hungry?”
He hadn’t eaten for days.
“All right,” he conceded. “But, please… Don’t tell anyone! Especially not Sinnar. He would laugh at me forever!”
So he allowed his mother to feed him, and he felt better after he’d eaten. She brought a flask to him. “You should drink as much of the sacred water as you can. It will speed your recovery.”
He drank it.
She sat back down and looked at him. “Sinnar wouldn’t laugh at you,” she said quietly. “No one was laughing. We didn’t think you would make it. Sinnar was just as worried as anyone else. He and the sea-folk girl brought back a cure for you. It saved you. Nothing else anyone tried had any effect, except that our water seemed to slow it. But it didn’t stop it.”
“They brought back a cure?” he asked. He remembered now, the strange dart from the battle. The wound had turned black and his leg had felt numb.
“I don’t know where they went or what they did, but it must have been a difficult trip. The girl was half-dead. She couldn’t even walk. Even Sinnar looked exhausted. I’ve never seen him look so tired.”
“Are they all right?” he asked.
“Sinnar’s fine. Kern has been looking after the girl, and Kellji has been helping him. I’m sure she’ll recover in time.”
“I want to know more about what happened,” Kalleck said.
“Save your questions,” she said, smiling. She bent to kiss his forehead. “I’m so relieved that you’re improving. Rest now. Kern will be back to check on you soon.”
After his mother had left, it was quiet. Kalleck rested. She hadn’t given him much information. Apparently, he’d been lying here, completely helpless, while everyone fussed over him.
The girl. Shalyrie. She had gone with Sinnar to look for a cure? That was surprising. Sinnar hated her, and she had been terrified of him. But somehow, they had cooperated to help him.
He rested. Kern came and went. By nightfall, Kalleck could move his arms again. He still felt tired and weak, but he was getting better. He ate a good meal, feeding himself this time, and drank more of the spring water.
He heard a knock, and Kellji looked in.
“Come in,” he said, setting the dinner tray on the table beside the bed.
“You look better,” she observed.
“I’m lucky, I guess,” he said.
She rolled her eyes at him. “You don’t know how lucky… the whole Council was downstairs deciding who was going to replace you. Except your mother. She refused to leave you.”
“She wouldn’t tell me much about what happened,” Kalleck said.
“I don’t think you know how
close it was,” Kellji said. “If it hadn’t been for Shalyrie, you’d have died.”
Had it really been that close? “I guess that’s why I woke up to find my mother watching me sleep.”
Kellji smiled. “Probably.”
“Is Shalyrie all right?”
“I just checked on her. She’s still sleeping. She’s been feverish again, and we’re having a hard time getting rid of it. It… it was a hard trip.”
“What did they do?”
Kellji shifted her gaze to the floor, not daring to look Kalleck in the eye as she went on. “They rode to the coast and brought back a plant from the ocean. That was the medicine to cure the poison. Kalleck, when you were so ill, everyone was focused on you. Farak’s men took Shalyrie and locked her up. I don’t know how he got past the guards. I went to her room and she was just… gone. I looked everywhere, and then I asked Sinnar and his men to help me. Sinnar found her locked in one of the storage rooms. Farak was going to kill her.”
“What?!” Kalleck exclaimed, sitting straight up and drawing her gaze back to him. “He can’t do that! Doesn’t he realize that if he kills her, it would be disaster for all of us? Hand me my sword.”
Kellji pushed him back. “Don’t try to get up yet,” she said firmly. “She’s safe in her room and we’re guarding the door.”
“But he’ll try again,” Kalleck protested. “Tell my mother as High Priestess, she has to control him!”
“I’ll tell her,” Kellji promised.
By the next morning, Kalleck could stand and walk, though slowly. When Kern came to check on him, he was up and dressed and held his mask in one hand.
“What are you doing?” the old man asked. “You should be resting.”
“I am much better,” Kalleck told him. “Her cure is working quickly.”
Kern stared at him appraisingly for a few moments. “All right,” he said finally. “I was just going to check on her. We will go together.”
They put on their masks and went to the room where they had left the girl. Kern knocked and they went inside.
Shalyrie was asleep, and Kalleck felt uncomfortable invading her room while she was not aware. But Kern didn’t seem bothered, so Kalleck followed him.
She didn’t wake as they stood looking down at her. Her long pale hair was spread over the pillow, all in knots and tangles. There were ugly bruises on her cheek and jaw. Kalleck felt a surge of anger at Farak. Even if she wasn’t one of his people, no one should treat her like this.
She didn’t give any sign that she knew they were there.
“She sleeps deeply,” Kalleck whispered.
“Too deeply, I think,” Kern said, putting a hand on her forehead. “The fever is still high.”
“Why? She was doing well, gaining strength every day.”
“But the last several days have been filled with the most extreme stress when she should have been resting. This trip with Sinnar took her to the end of her strength. She reopened the wound, doing who knows what—”
“What will you do for her?”
“She has been taking medicine for the fever. She needs rest and time, more than anything. And peace. Make sure nothing else happens to her. Guard her.”
Taking out his supplies, Kern prepared a cup of his bitter medicine. “Wake her, if you can,” he directed.
Kalleck put a hand on Shalyrie’s shoulder and shook her gently, but she didn’t respond.
“Shalyrie,” he said, shaking her again.
She woke with a gasp and a start, seizing his hand. “Where am I? Who are you?” she cried terrified. Her sea-green eyes were full of fear.
“It’s Kalleck,” he said gently.
“You’re alive. You’re all right,” she exclaimed, falling back against the pillow in relief.
“I’m all right,” he said.
Her eyes were closed, and he saw tears under her lashes. “When we got back, I was afraid you were already dead.”
“You saved my life,” he said, taking her hand. “And I know it caused you pain. Thank you.”
Kern handed Kalleck the cup of medicine. “Tell her to drink it all. And now that you’re here, I can finally get some questions answered.”
Kalleck offered her the cup. She made a face. “I know it tastes bad,” he said. “But it does help.”
“I know,” she said. He offered his hand, and she took it and allowed him to pull her upright. She took a sip and shook her head. Lowering the cup for a moment, she took a deep breath and gulped it down.
Kern gave Kalleck a cup of water, which Shalyrie gratefully exchanged for the empty cup.
“Now,” Kern said. “I want to know what she did to her shoulder! Didn’t I tell her to be careful with it, to keep it still, and let it heal?”
Kalleck shook his head. “I can’t ask her that,” he said in Yalkur. “She did it to save my life.”
“Couldn’t Sinnar or Ren or one of the others have done it?”
Shalyrie was looking at him, trying to understand what they were saying. Kalleck translated. “He asks if Sinnar or one of his men could have done whatever you did to hurt your shoulder again.”
“I… wished that they could have,” she said quietly. “I wanted someone to help me, but it wasn’t something they could do. They did all they could. How bad is it? It will get better?”
“She said Sinnar did all he could,” Kalleck said, turning to Kern. “She wants to know if it will get better.”
“Of course, it will get better,” Kern grumbled, “if she leaves it alone. Don’t let her go anywhere with Sinnar again. Ask her if she is hurt anywhere else.”
Kalleck turned back to Shalyrie. “Are you hurt anywhere else? Kern will do all he can to make you comfortable.”
Shalyrie looked like she was considering. Finally, she said, “My legs.” She pulled the covers aside, exposing the pale skin of her thigh, bruised on the inside. That would be from riding too long. She turned her leg, and he saw a huge dark bruise on the outside as well.
Kalleck felt a sudden surge of anger. “Did Farak do that?” he said through clenched teeth.
Her eyes looked haunted. “They came in the night and took me from my room. I don’t know who they were, except that one of them wore feathers. He was about to kill me. Sinnar stopped him. I thought he would kill me too, but he didn’t.”
“It’s my fault,” Kalleck said. “I thought you were safe, but I let this happen. I don’t expect you to forgive me.”
“It wasn’t your fault. There’s nothing to forgive—you were sick.”
Kern impatiently pushed Kalleck aside to get a closer look at the injuries. “Well, get out of the way,” he said. “I will do what I can.”
Kalleck stepped back. He watched as Kern mixed ingredients together into a salve, covered the bruise with it, and then wrapped it. Kalleck tried not to let his eyes linger on the smooth pale skin of Shalyrie’s leg. When Kern was finished, he turned back to Kalleck.
“I will come and check it again tomorrow. She needs rest, peace. She shouldn’t be worrying. Kellji will help you, but make sure she rests! And you need rest yourself. Let Hannal handle things for a while. He can do it. You almost made him First Guardian anyway. No more excitement!”
“I will see that her rest is guarded. Thank you, Kern,” Kalleck said.
“And she is not to ride again for two or three weeks, at least. And don’t let her go anywhere with Sinnar.” Kern delivered these last instructions as he stomped out the door, slamming it behind him.
Kalleck stood up to leave.
“Do you have to go?” Shalyrie asked quietly.
He looked back at her, trying to decipher her expression. “Do you wish me to stay?”
Slowly, she nodded. “But I know that you must have much to do…”
He smiled behind his mask. “I have just been ordered not t
o do any of it. So, if you wish, we will dine together.” He bowed to her.
Shalyrie smiled. “I’d like that. Will you tell me more about your people?”
“Yes,” he said. He went to the door and asked the guards to have food sent to them. Then he settled comfortably in the chair beside her bed and put his wounded leg up on a footstool.
“Does it still hurt very much?” she asked, watching him.
She was worried about him, after all she had done? He looked back at her. “Not as much as you are still hurting,” he said.
“I’m all right,” she answered firmly. “At least… I will be.”
“Good, then. Will you tell me more about your home?”
She wistfully described the island and the beaches and the oceans, and told him it was always warm there. In return, he told her about his life raising horses in the Aranak Valley.
“Why is it called that?” she asked.
“Aranak is my father’s father. He’s lived in the valley for many years now, even after my father came to the city. We have many stories in our family of when he was young. He used to travel and have wild adventures. Finally, he settled down there and built a community.”
“Your father was the leader of your people?”
“He was First Guardian, yes,” Kalleck said.
“That’s what it means, doesn’t it, the gold on your armor?”
“Yes.”
“I saw it once before. A set of black armor just like yours. It had gold on the shoulder,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Kalleck.”
She looked agonized. As if any of this had been her fault or her choice. No. She had chosen to help him.
He took her hand in his. “It wasn’t your fault, Shalyrie. None of it.”
“But they must have killed him,” she said in a choked whisper. “I saw his armor. I didn’t know then… Galenor gave me that blue stone. I didn’t know it was stolen. It was his too, wasn’t it?”
