by Sky Croft
Shale’s brow knitted in confusion. “When?”
“When you fell out of the cabin. I saw pain on your face.”
Shale shook her head, understanding. “That was Kale’s pain, not mine.”
It was Blake’s turn to show confusion. “I thought you just sensed when Kale needed you?”
“I do. But sometimes I physically feel her pain.”
“Shale can go one step further than me when it comes to our senses of one another,” Kale said.
“Wait. Shale, you get actual pain?”
“Yes. Not to the same degree as Kale’s injury of course, but pain nonetheless.”
Blake looked worried. “Are you in pain now?”
“No.” Shale rested a calming hand on Blake’s waist. “I only get the pain when the injury occurs, I don’t feel the after-effects. It doesn’t happen often, only when Kale’s pain is extreme. So for example, if she took a few punches, I wouldn’t feel that.”
“Whereas, I,” Kale said, “only seem to sense trouble, or if Shale needs me. I’ll get a feeling, but I don’t get the actual pain. Not even when it’s bad.”
“That’s what I get for being more sensitive,” Shale joked.
“How come I haven’t noticed this before?” Blake sounded rather annoyed at herself for missing such a thing.
“You wouldn’t have,” Shale said. “The last time Kale was seriously hurt, I was in a worse state than she, so I simply wouldn’t have felt her pain more than mine.” Shale was referring to the incident where she’d nearly lost her life at the hands of her own brother.
Blake’s gaze went distant, as if she were recalling the events. “You were also unconscious for a lot of it.”
“Exactly. This is the first time you could’ve noticed it,” Shale said.
Blake looked a bit happier at that, clearly able to see Shale’s point.
Appollonia finished cleaning Kale’s burn, then gently rubbed some salve over the whole area. As she started to bind the wound, she said, “I must confess I find the whole ‘twin thing’,” she smiled as she used the phrase, for it was how Shale and Kale described their connection, “to be quite fascinating. I’d love to study you both.”
Kale immediately shook her head. “Oh, no. Our last healer said the same, and we were never away from her probing fingers.” She smirked. “And not in a good way.” Kale winked at Amber, who slapped her shoulder in reproach.
Appollonia didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed. “I promise no probing fingers.” She paused briefly. “Of any kind.”
Kale raised her eyebrows, looking impressed by the healer’s unflappable manner. “What do you think, Shale?”
“I think that after the amount of times she’s patched us up,” Kale pointedly cleared her throat, “me in particular, it’s probably the least we can do.”
Appollonia smiled brightly. “Great. Next time you’re free, call in.”
“I didn’t say yes!” Kale said.
“No, but Shale did.” Appollonia caught Shale’s gaze. “I’m counting on you to convince her.”
At Kale’s sound of indignance, Shale chuckled. “I’ll do my best.”
Chapter Five
“KALE, SHOULD YOU be doing that?” Blake hurriedly walked to her and helped Kale to drag a large chunk of timber to the ever-expanding pile of debris.
Nephele’s cabin was in the process of being dismantled, and the wreckage from that, plus the fallen tree, was all being piled up to be burned. The mound of debris was already substantial, and Blake smiled internally, pleased by how her tribe had rallied together, all pitching in to do their fair share.
Kale straightened, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. “Why not?”
“You should be resting that arm.”
“My arm’s fine.”
Blake had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. “Warriors.” She shook her head. They always had to act so tough.
“I’m perfectly capable of helping, Blake. I’m not just going to sit around.”
“How about a compromise?” When Kale didn’t immediately object, Blake said, “I want a group to go and scout the surrounding area, see what damage the storm has done. If our water supply has been dammed, or a pathway blocked, we need to know about it.”
Kale nodded in understanding, seemingly mulling it over.
Blake spoke again, determined to convince her. “This way you’re carrying out an important task and you’re arm will still get the rest it needs.”
Kale rubbed her chin, looking thoughtful. “Only if I can be in charge.”
This time Blake did roll her eyes. “All right, you can lead the group.”
Kale became smug. “I accept. Now who am I going with?”
“I haven’t chosen anyone yet. I leave it to you.”
“I get to pick the group?”
Blake nodded. “Take anyone you wish. Though I’d suggest you take at least six, so you can conduct a thorough search.”
“And I get to be in charge, no matter who I pick?” Kale asked.
Blake didn’t like the mischievous twinkle that had appeared in Kale’s eyes. “Yes. Though may the gods help them. I see the little power I’ve given you has already gone to your head.”
Kale ignored her comment. “I pick Shale, Amber, Anikett, and Lathana.”
Blake frowned. “With yourself, that’s only five.”
“For the sixth member, I pick...” Kale paused in a dramatic fashion.
“You, my Queen.”
Blake narrowed her eyes as Kale erupted into laughter, looking far too pleased with herself. She scowled at Kale. “I walked right into that.”
“SHALE, I THINK we should delay our trip for a few weeks.” Blake glanced across to her as they ambled along the trail. The six Amazons that were checking the area for damage had been split into three groups of two, and she had paired off with Shale. “At least until the village is repaired and back to normal.”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing.”
“You have?” At Shale’s nod, Blake said, “You’re not too disappointed, are you?”
Shale shook her head. “I know that we’ll go, Blake, but I also know it needs to be at the right time.”
Blake ran an apologetic hand down Shale’s arm. “It must be hard to be married to the queen.”
Shale chuckled. “No harder than it is to be married to a twin.”
Blake smiled as she linked their hands together. “That’s not hard at all.”
“Precisely my point.” Shale raised their joint hands and kissed Blake’s fingers.
“You’re such a charmer.” Blake stopped as the path forked in two. One path carried on straight, going along the bottom of the mountain, the other went off to the left, and wound its way upward. “Which way did Kale and Amber go?”
Shale stilled for a moment, as if to concentrate on her senses. Then she pointed along the bottom trail. Since they wanted to cover as much ground as possible, they took the other path, up the mountain.
“There’s a plateau farther up,” Blake said. She knew this area like the back of her hand. She’d always found walking to be pleasurable, and had spent many a spare hour exploring the countryside. “We’ll get a good view from there, see if anything looks amiss.”
Shale nodded. “Good thinking, my Queen.”
“Don’t you start. I’ve already had that from Kale this morning.”
“Thanks for talking her out of the manual labor. Both Amber and I tried, but she wouldn’t listen.”
“Kale’s my family now, too.” Blake was suddenly struck by how far she and Kale had come. There’d been a time when they couldn’t be in one another’s presence without animosity. “It’s our job to look out for Kale, especially when she won’t look out for herself.” Blake smirked. “And whether she likes it or not.”
Shale’s smile was broad, clearly thrilled to hear Blake’s words. “Well said, my...” she broke off as Blake raised a warning finger. “Blake.”
“My Blake?” She
felt a teasing smile emerge. “I think I’ve finally found a title I like the sound of.”
Shale chuckled. “Well, that’s a pity, because I won’t be using it. I do have some warrior pride, you know.”
Blake clicked her fingers, feigning a discouraged expression.
Shale released a sigh. “Perhaps in private?”
With a triumphant smile, Blake leaned and kissed Shale’s cheek. “Come on.” She tugged on Shale’s hand, urging her to move faster. “I’ll race you to the plateau.”
Shale grinned at her. “You’re on.”
They both broke into a jog. Blake knew that Shale would win, for Shale was far swifter on her feet, but Blake hoped she could at least keep up with her, given that she knew this terrain so well. As they reached the halfway point, Blake was astounded when she not only caught up to Shale, but she actually passed her, leaving her behind for a few moments. Then Blake heard her footfalls closing back in, and she yelped as Shale smacked her backside.
The speed at which Shale took off made Blake suspect that the whole thing had been a setup, and Shale’s gleeful laugh only confirmed it.
When Blake reached the plateau, Shale was sat on a large boulder, waiting for her arrival. Panting a little, Blake joined her on the boulder.
“Looks like we’re not the first ones here.” Shale pointed toward the edge of the plateau, where Lathana and Anikett were studying the view. She glanced expectantly to Blake. “Since they took a completely different trail, I’m assuming it must link up with this one?”
“It does.” Now that she’d caught her breath, Blake stood. “Let’s see if they came across any damage.”
She’d barely taken a step when a low rumbling was heard. Shale was immediately at her side, placing a halting hand on her shoulder. As the noise grew, the ground beneath their feet began to shake.
“It’s not another tree, is it?” Blake yelled above the din. Her gaze swept the plateau, looking for exactly that, but she found no falling trees. The shaking grew in intensity, and an icy chill crept up Blake’s spine as she suddenly realized what was happening. Her head whipped toward Lathana and Anikett in alarm.
“Get away from the edge,” Blake shouted. “It’s a landslide!”
Neither Lathana or Anikett had time to react, as the edge of the plateau suddenly dropped away, taking both women with it.
A QUARTER OF the plateau was gone. The recent torrential downpour had weakened its base, and the weight of the sodden soil was too much for it to bear.
“We have to help them.” Blake started forward, pausing when she realized Shale wasn’t beside her. “Shale?”
Shale didn’t respond, her gaze had turned inward. Then she blinked and anxious blue eyes lifted to Blake’s face. “Kale needs me. Could she have been caught in the landslide?”
Blake thought quickly, tracing the route of the path Kale was on in her mind. A mortified look appeared. “The path rises up, goes underneath the plateau.”
Shale made a dash for the edge. Anticipating her reaction, Blake blocked Shale’s path and seized her shoulders. “Shale, stop. Going to the edge may set off another landslide, which won’t help anyone below. And if we’re caught in it ourselves, we can’t help those who need it.”
“I’m not running back down the mountain, Blake, it’ll take too long. If Kale’s buried under that, the air will run out before I reach her.”
“I know a faster route, but we’ll have to climb down.”
Shale didn’t question her. “Let’s go.”
Blake led the way, sprinting across the plateau and onto the trail on the far side—the trail that Anikett and Lathana had recently used. Blake wondered how badly they were injured, or even if they were still alive, and she shook her head to try and clear the negative thoughts. She forced herself to focus on the path ahead, eyes searching for the marker that would locate the climb. Blake found what she was looking for”•a large moss-covered rock, leaning against a tree.
“Down here.” She began to scale down a rock face, searching for foot and hand holds by feel, descending as fast as she was able. They were now far enough away from the plateau that they weren’t at risk if another landslide should occur.
Shale hurriedly climbed down after her, using many of the same holds that Blake had.
Many moments passed as both women hastily scrambled down the rock. Never stopping her descent, Blake glanced below, checking the remaining distance to the ground. They’d made good progress—the ground was a lot nearer.
As if noticing this herself, Shale pushed away from the rock wall and leapt off into thin air. She landed deftly, bending her knees to absorb the impact. “Blake, jump. I’ll catch you.”
Blake didn’t hesitate, trusting Shale completely. She jumped, sailing through midair. The landing wasn’t as jarring as she’d feared, as Shale caught her and steadied her on her feet.
Breaking into a run once more, they headed along the lower trail, back toward the landslide.
When they neared, the destruction caused by the landslide became apparent. Rocks, shrubs, even whole trees had been caught up in it, the mass of shifting earth brushing everything in its way aside, or simply swallowing it whole.
Amazingly, on the far side of the landslide, and sat partway up it, was Lathana, perched on top of a fallen tree trunk. Even more astounding, was that Anikett was beside her, though she appeared to be injured. Blake spotted Kale easily, on the near fringe of the landslide. Kale was frantically clawing at the dirt, digging deep into the mud. Though Kale had apparently been able to outrun the slide, it seemed that Amber hadn’t been as fortunate.
Shale surged into the sludge, her long legs carrying her through despite its cloying pull. Blake found it more difficult, the mire sucking her legs down to such an extent that she could barely wade through it.
Reaching Kale, Shale began to scoop out handfuls of mud.
“She’s been down too long.” Kale’s tortured gaze met Shale’s, though she kept on digging.
“We’ll find her,” Shale said. “We will. Are you sure Amber fell here?”
Kale nodded. “This is the last place I saw her.”
Blake, who was still making her way to them, let out a startled yelp. “Something grabbed my ankle.” Her eyes lit up in sudden understanding. “She’s here! Amber, hold on, we’re going to get you out.” Blake furiously burrowed into the soil, and the hole quickly got bigger as Shale and Kale added their hands to the task. “She’s by my left leg.”
“We’re coming, Amber,” Kale shouted. “Just hang on.”
Amber’s hand was unearthed first, and from that they were able to tell the position of her body. Rather than digging any farther, Kale and Shale grabbed Amber’s arm and hauled her up through the dirt. Though it was no doubt painful for Amber, Blake knew time was of the essence, and getting her to the surface was more important.
Spluttering and coughing, Amber emerged. She greedily sucked in air. “Gods, that was awful.”
“It’s all right, you’re out now,” Kale said, touching Amber’s back in comfort.
Amber’s lovely red hair was now brown. Like the rest of her, it was completely coated with mud. She was blinking profusely, as if tiny grains of it were in her eyes, and she spat to clear her mouth.
“I can’t see.” Amber tried to wipe the dirt away, but as her hands were filthy it had little effect.
Blake immediately went to help, but her own hands were covered in mud from digging. She cleaned her hands as best she could on her top, then attempted to brush the dirt off Amber’s face. It was no use. They needed a cloth of some kind.
“Keep your eyes closed, Amber.” Kale, not appearing the slightest bit bashful, abruptly stripped out of her top, revealing her round, full breasts. She turned the top inside out, where the material was still clean, and began to carefully rub off the dirt. She cleared Amber’s nose and mouth first, so she wasn’t breathing in any more mud, then Kale focused on her eyes, taking away the grime and dust that had settled there. “Ho
w’s that?”
Amber blinked a few times, clearly trying to dislodge the grains that were already in her eyes. She smiled. “Much better.” Her smile grew as she gestured to Kale’s half-naked form. “Did the landslide carry away your top?”
Kale chuckled. “I needed something to clean your face with.” She turned her top back the right way and slipped it on.
Amber seemed touched that she’d done such a thing. She rewarded Kale with a kiss, and wrapped her arms around her. Kale held her tightly, looking immensely relieved that Amber was safe.
“Are you harmed in any way?” Blake asked, unable to see for herself since mud covered Amber’s form.
“I don’t think so.” Amber laughed as Blake hugged her from behind, and a moment later Shale joined in, making it a four-way embrace.
“I’m so glad you’re all right,” Blake said in Amber’s ear, laying a kiss on her best friend’s neck.
“You know me,” Amber joked, “anything for attention.”
IT HAD TAKEN the four Amazons a while to skirt around the landslide, but they’d finally managed, and they were now searching for Lathana and Anikett. Since the two women had been sighted on the opposite shore of the mudslide, they had a rough idea of where to start looking. Fortunately, Lathana made it easy for them. As the group rounded some trees, she was spotted up ahead, standing as if waiting for them.
Lathana smiled as they neared, and spoke up when they drew to a standstill. “I’m glad to see you’re safe, my Queen.”
“And I you, Lathana.” Blake clasped her muscular shoulder. Lathana was Aris’s second in command, and was highly liked and respected. Most of the warriors considered Lathana to be a friend. “Though I see you are hurt.”
Lathana glanced down at herself. Like Amber, she was covered in mud, but red patches were visible in a variety of places. “Simple cuts, my Queen. None that are serious enough to require stitches. It is Anikett who is hurt.”
Blake stepped forward. “Take me to her.”
“With respect, my Queen,” Lathana pointed off into some foliage. “There’s something I think you should see.”
