Tsai’dona raised one eyebrow and studied him. “You’re joking, right?”
He snorted. “If I still had both feet, I’d take you on.” And he’d lose, but he didn’t need to admit to it. Teaching Lorel when she could barely keep her balance had been hard enough. Now both girls had far more training than he’d ever dreamed of getting.
Tsai’dona grinned and shook her head, but continued laying out their gear to dry. “Let me finish here, then we can practice.”
Lorel shrugged and dropped the twigs. She turned and raced up the gorge, hopping over boulders like a curly-haired crow chasing a tasty cockroach. After walking ten miles in the dripping rain, and after carrying her gear and his, and most of their supplies, including two leather jugs of water and thirty pounds of gold and gemstones, she still had the energy to careen uphill as if the ground were flat.
It just wasn’t fair.
She waddled back carrying a sawn-off chunk of tree stump. “Here’s a chair for you, kid.” She set it just inside the door. “Now you can sit and still see everything.”
The sandcrab was back doing her nursemaid routine, but at least she wasn’t ordering him around. Now he had a beautiful view of the way they’d come. It only reminded him of how little progress they’d made.
The tree stump was great news, though. It meant the town wasn’t too far away. But how had it gotten down here in the canyon?
Something about that worried him. “Did you see any signs of people?”
“Nope.” The sandblasted lard lizard grabbed him around the ribs, picked him up, and set him on her improvised chair.
“Don’t do that.” He swatted at her with one crutch.
She laughed and jumped out of range. The instant he laid his crutches down, she leapt past him, wrestled Tsai’dona into a headlock, and dragged her out of the cabin.
“Hey, let go!” Tsai’dona pounded on the turybird’s arm. “I’m not finished yet.”
“Do it later, when the sun goes down.” Lorel released her friend and scooped up another handful of switches. “We ain’t got much sunlight left. We gotta practice.” She started braiding her switches into a ‘sword.’
Tsai’dona snatched up a crooked stick and whacked Lorel’s rear end.
While they wrestled and laughed, Viper inspected the inside of the cabin. No windows, so it would become very dark sooner than sunset, and he didn’t have the strength to make a will-light. A fire in the stone hearth in the center of the room would fix that problem, though, and holes near the ceiling would let the smoke out.
No bird nests. The place had been occupied in spring. Why had the owners moved out? Or was it a temporary shelter, and they’d cleaned it up recently? In that case, where had the mud come from?
The laughter and roughhousing moved to behind the cabin. He stuck his head outside the door. “Hey, bahtdor bait! Bring me some wood and I’ll make dinner.”
He hobbled over to the packs and pulled out the cook pots, his spices, the water jugs, and a bag of rice. The meal would be boring since he hadn’t managed to forage anything that day, but both girls had learned better than to complain. Too much, anyway. Not since three days ago, when he’d eaten his own share and most of Tsai’dona’s. Lorel had kept her head down and held onto her bowl like it was attached to her thread on her Shuttle.
A stack of surprisingly dry firewood appeared in the doorway while he was rummaging through Lorel’s knapsack. Mostly twigs and dried roots, but fuel enough to boil rice. He laid some of the wood on the hearth and started the fire with one of his precious matches.
Mentally he added matches to his shopping list for the day they reached Leiya. What he really needed to do was learn how to make a fire spell work, but so far that magic eluded him. A second-level sorcerer like him just wasn’t up to fourth-level spells.
He set a second pot of water over the fire for tea and cleaning, and put another outside to collect rain.
An hour later, the three of them scooped spicy brown rice into bowls. All he could say for it was it had more flavor than the unseasoned rice they’d had for breakfast, and the fried leftover rice they’d had for lunch.
“We gotta find something better to eat, kid.”
He sighed. The turybird was reading his mind again, but he couldn’t quarrel with her. “There’s only so much you can carry, pine tree. I’m certainly no help.”
Tsai’dona shook her head, though she shoveled in rice between thoughts. “You cook just fine. I never did learn. And I can carry more supplies.”
His cooking was painfully basic, but it was kind of her to say so.
“We’ll manage, kid.” Lorel obviously had something on her mind, but she wasn’t spilling it yet. She’d tell him sooner or later.
He’d dried out while he was cooking (and napping), but both girls were thoroughly soaked. They went back out into the rain to clean the pots and bowls. He packed everything away except the blankets. They’d be ready to travel at dawn.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, much too far away to worry about. He hoped it didn’t rain tomorrow. Both of his boots were still soaked through, even though he’d set them as close to the fire as he dared.
He had a suspicion Lorel would decide to hike onward without breakfast when he told her how close to Leiya they were. Or how close he thought they were. That little detail wouldn’t matter to her.
Finally he rolled up in his blessedly dry blankets and tried to empty his mind. His pin-wheeling thoughts didn’t cooperate.
He wished he could undress, but it got too cold at night, and he didn’t like running around half naked in front of the girls. They’d both gone to sleep in their soggy clothing. Was that some sort of mark of warrior honor? He thought it was just plain stupidity.
Lorel snuggled against her sheathed swords as though they were rag dolls. Tsai’dona clutched her knapsack in one hand, even in her sleep. Losing everything to the slavers must still haunt her.
Where was the Kyridon? It normally showed up before dusk. The room was still dark, but it must be nearing dawn by now.
What was that rumbling noise? Thunder? He’d heard distant thunder all night, but this sounded louder. Closer.
Oh, blast. It sounded like a–
The Kyridon crashed against the door and hurtled into the room. “The hatchling must evacuate. Improbable quantities of rainwater accelerate toward this location.”
“Flashflood!” Viper fought clear of his blankets, crawled around the cold hearth, and shook Lorel’s shoulder until her teeth rattled. “Get up! We need to get to higher ground.”
The only light came through the open doorway, and that was merely dim dawn light smuggled through rain clouds. It wasn’t enough to wake his exhausted companions.
Lorel sat up, clutched her sword belt against her chest, and stared at him blearily. “What?”
“Flood? Where?” Tsai’dona pushed damp hair out of her face.
Viper grabbed his damp boots and yanked them on. Icy agony branded his ankle stump, but he ignored it. No time!
“The hatchling must evacuate.” The Kyridon whipped a coil around his chest and slithered toward the door.
“Wait, stop!” He pounded his fists on the serpent’s hide and shoved his good foot against the doorframe. He peered over his shoulder at the girls. “Hurry, grab our gear and get moving.”
“Evacuate?” Tsai’dona shook her head, but crawled toward the corner where he’d stacked his and Lorel’s knapsacks.
The rumbling roar grew louder. The ground shuddered. They were out of time. “Forget the gear. Run! Run uphill!”
“Why, kid?”
A ten-foot-tall wall of water crashed against the cabin and rushed down the canyon.
Somebody screamed. Viper hoped it wasn’t him.
Water rushed through cracks in the walls, sloshed across the floor.
The Kyridon slung a dozen coils around him, half crushing him.
The floor tilted, leveled, spun in dizzy circles. Somehow the serpent held the two of them in
place near the doorway. Lorel and Tsai’dona thudded against one wall. Tsai’dona clung to her knapsack as if it were a lifeline.
Lorel grabbed the rest of their gear as it bounced past her. “Kyri-thing, can you get the kid to dry land?”
“This one shall endeavor to accommodate the swordling’s mandate. However, this one observes natation is ineffective when burdened.”
“What did it say?”
Neck-deep water surged past the door. The shoreline moved by so fast he couldn’t focus on any single landmark. “Swimming’s a terrible idea.” Not to mention he barely knew how to donkey-paddle. “We’ll be crushed if we get caught in the flood. It’s a miracle the cabin hasn’t broken up.”
“Bite your tongue.” Tsai’dona crept closer to the door and peeked out. “Bog swallow it, I don’t like our chances.”
Lorel slung their tangled gear around her neck and strapped it tight to her back by tying a blanket over it, around her waist and shoulders. “Our chances are getting worse fast. Back where we started yesterday there’s a big boulder blocking the way. Cabin’ll break up there for sure. We gotta jump as soon as we get closer to shore.” She crawled forward and hammered her fist against the Kyridon’s hide.
Viper felt the strength of the blows even through coiled muscle. His turybird was leaving bruises. On a snake that was as big around as her thigh. With fangs as long as his fingers.
The serpent quivered, raised its head high, bared its fangs, and hissed at her.
“Cut the kid loose and get ready to swim.”
“Do you even know how to swim, turybird? And how can you possibly swim with all that stuff tied to your back?”
“Water can’t be all that deep, kid.”
The cabin hit a submerged boulder. The entire structure bounced up into the air and splashed back into the water.
All four of them thudded against the ceiling, jolted down, and sprawled on the floor. River water sloshed over them.
Lorel pushed curly wet hair out of her face. “See what I mean, kid?” The girl was crazier than a turybird.
The Kyridon’s coils loosened. Its head floated slackly on the swirling water. Had it been knocked unconscious? But suddenly he could crawl free. He scrambled back to the doorway and knelt on the tree-stump chair.
Another boulder loomed in front of them. A huge boulder.
If the cabin hit that rock, it would break up into splinters. He had to do something. Now. He hoped he’d gotten enough rest to make his magic work right. If he hadn’t, he’d probably kill them all.
“Lorel, Tsai’dona, grab the Kyridon and get as close to me as you can.”
“Oh, yuck, kid. Tell me you’re joking.”
“Do it!”
He concentrated on making a dome shield, an enormous shield that would protect the entire cabin. He formed the protection inside his mind, deep in his core, and pushed it outward. And pushed. And pushed.
The cabin slammed against the boulder and bounded into the air.
“Temple protect us!” Tsai’dona shrieked.
“Blood in the Weave!” Lorel jerked forward and wrapped one arm around his waist.
The building splashed back into the river. Two of the forward walls crumbled into the water.
Blast. His shield wasn’t big enough. But it seemed to be holding the roof and the floor together. “How can we steer this lightning-blasted raft to the shore?”
“Don’t wish lightning down on us, toad brain.” Tsai’dona grabbed a loose wall plank, kicked a hole into the back wall, and shoved one end into the water.
Like magic, the cabin’s carcass turned a few degrees and headed toward the river bank.
Is that all it took to make a rudder? His books all made it sound so much harder.
Tsai’dona moaned and leaned into the plank. “Get ready to jump,” she panted. “I can’t hold on much longer.”
Oops, of course it was harder. Tsai’dona was using her own body as a fulcrum. Could he help her?
He thrust his shield farther back.
The front of the raft broke off. The roof collapsed. On top of them.
“Bitter blood!” Lorel grabbed him around the waist with both hands, tossed him over her shoulder, and leapt through the doorway. She landed on a boulder just shy of the shore. “Tsai, jump!”
River water splashed into his face. His gut bounced against her shoulder, and air oomphed out of his lungs. His head thudded on something under the blanket. The biggest cooking pot, from the feel of it.
She jumped again and landed on the stony bank. “Tsai, jump, you frayed thread!”
The cabin’s corpse was already fifty feet downstream. Tsai’dona hesitated in the ruined doorframe.
“Wait! Where’s the Kyridon?” They couldn’t abandon the poor creature! He forced his shield to follow the disintegrating raft, but he could feel the magic stretching, thinning.
Tsai’dona ducked back inside.
Lorel plunked him down on a boulder. She wriggled out of the blanket covering their gear, dropped it at her feet, and yanked the tangle of straps over her head. She shoved everything into his arms, scooped up the blanket, and sprinted after the cabin.
Viper dumped everything on the river bank, grabbed the single crutch left to him, and hobbled after her. He wrapped his shield tighter around the cabin and mentally tied it to a boulder on the bank.
The boulder plowed a huge furrow in the riverbed. Rocks and mud hurtled into the air. The cabin slowed, but didn’t halt.
His heart nearly stopped, though. He’d overloaded his magic until he could barely breathe. But he couldn’t let the Kyridon and Tsai’dona be swept away. He pulled harder on his link to the shield.
Tsai’dona reappeared in the cabin’s doorway with the Kyridon’s head and neck draped over her shoulder. She’d never be able to jump free. There must be twenty feet of the serpent still inside.
The cabin swung closer to the shore. At least he’d done something right. He hoped, anyway.
Lorel caught up with the raft, gestured Tsai’dona aside, and leapt onboard. They both vanished into the dark cabin.
Dizziness swept over him. Viper shook his head to clear it, but it didn’t help. The dawn light grew dimmer.
He couldn’t pass out now. The cabin would race downstream if he lost control of the shield. He had to hold on a little longer.
Sweat poured down his face. His chest burned, felt ready to burst open. He hobbled farther downstream, trying to keep pace with the raft. Moving the shield’s tether from boulder to boulder eased the strain on his magic a little.
Lorel reappeared in the doorway with a lumpy, overfilled blanket tied around her waist and chest. Six feet of the Kyridon’s tail dangled out of the top and trailed almost to the ground behind her.
Tsai’dona squeezed past her and jumped partway to the shore. Bracing herself against knee-deep rushing water, she turned and flung a blanket out to Lorel, holding one end in both hands.
Lorel grabbed a corner of the blanket and jumped toward the bank. She splashed hard into the water, but stayed upright.
Praise the Thunderer! Viper switched the shield to follow the girls, and released the cabin completely.
Immediately the bursting sensation eased. He could breathe again.
The remains of the raft shattered into planks and swept downstream faster than an enraged bahtdor could run.
Tsai’dona looked startled, but continued to tug on Lorel’s lifeline. Together they slogged up onto the rocks.
The instant they were out of the water, Viper released the shield. His knees collapsed, and he sat down hard on gravel. Pale blue stars spiraled in front of his eyes.
Lorel trudged closer to him. “You did something, didn’t you, kid?” Her shaking fingers slowly untied the blanket from around her waist.
The serpent’s body slid free of the fabric like bronze chain spilling out of a velvet bag.
Tsai’dona tried to catch the Kyridon before it hit the gravel, but it outweighed her. Considerably. They both
fell to the ground. Its tail slithered out of the blanket and smacked her on top of her head.
“Kid? You all right?”
He blinked and the stars faded. “I’m fine. Thanks, both of you.”
Lorel shrugged. “Never leave behind the wounded.”
Tsai’dona threw her a strange look, but smiled at him and shrugged.
What had the turybird done to earn that look? Tried to tell her the Kyridon was dead? Tried to talk her into leaving it behind? He’d ask later.
Tsai’dona wiggled out from under the serpent’s limp coils. “This cross-eyed snake is heavy. I’d never have gotten it out alone.”
Lorel toed its hide gently. “Hope it didn’t break its noggin. We can’t carry it no farther.”
He crawled to the snake’s side and gently ran his fingers over its head. A huge lump swelled on the top of its skull. He listened to its breathing, which sounded normal enough. “I think it’ll live.” He looked directly at Lorel. “It’ll have a headache though. Try to be nice to it.” So it wouldn’t bite her, he wanted to add, but that would make her behave even worse.
She snorted. “Ain’t no point in being nice to a slithering toad.”
The Kyridon wriggled sluggishly. “Thissss one issssss not a toad.”
“Right. You’re a slithering wiggler.”
Viper sighed and leaned back.
The Kyridon raised its head to the level of Lorel’s chest. “Thissss one–” It paused, looked around the rocky canyon, and blinked. “Where is thissss one?”
A concussion, for sure. He patted the poor creature’s back. “The cabin broke up in the flood. Lorel and Tsai’dona rescued you. And me, too.”
The enormous head slowly sank downward until its chin rested in his lap. Its blue eyes closed. “This one is appreciative of the swordlings’ retrieval of its person.”
Lorel snorted again.
Tsai’dona strolled higher up the riverbank until she reached the top of the hill. “I see a road down there.”
Serpent's Child (The Mindbender's Rise Book 3) Page 4
