“Sore, a little tired still,” she admitted frankly. “But I’m also ready to be home, I think. How is Markl?”
“I’m not…actually sure,” Wolf said with an odd smile on his face.
She turned his words over, but if there was a deeper meaning behind them, she didn’t get it. “And why wouldn’t you be?” she asked slowly, studying his expression.
“Well, Conli said that aside from being tired, and that fractured wrist, Markl was in good condition. And yet I haven’t seen the man peek a toe out from underneath his covers yet.” There was a light of devilry sparkling in Wolf’s eyes. “Sylvie’s been perched on the edge of his bed all this while.”
“Sylvie’s playing nursemaid,” Siobhan said in enlightenment. “Ahhh. Well, if I were Markl, I wouldn’t be moving either.”
“He’s a smart man,” Wolf agreed mock-somberly. “If I were him, I’d do the same.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle softly, a hand lifted over her mouth to try to stifle the sound less it be heard in Markl’s room next door. “Wolf, tell me,” she leaned forward to ask him in a confidential tone, “how serious is it between those two? Do you know?”
He splayed his hands out in an uncertain shrug. “I don’t think even they know, yet. Sylvie’s attracted to him simply because he’s a kind man, and she’s met few of those in her life. Markl’s attracted because he’s not blind nor an idiot. You’d have to be both to not want Sylvie.”
“You never were,” she pointed out archly. “Nor Tran. Or Fei.”
“That’s because she’s our guild-sister, and we’ve always seen her that way. I think we all recognized from our first meeting that what Sylvie needed was a pack of protective brothers, not more lecherous men. Markl is seeing her as a woman, one who’s been protected for many years, and that’s a different thing entirely from the Sylvie of seven years ago.”
Truly. Sylvie had been very nervous, wary even, of being too close to men when she’d first joined the guild. A woman of her beauty had to be, in order to avoid dangerous situations. She had relaxed considerably after being so fiercely protected in Deepwoods.
Wolf watched her for a long moment before stating, “You’re hoping that Markl’s attachment to Sylvie will make him stay in Deepwoods.”
“I am,” she admitted frankly. “The longer I’m around Markl, the more I hope for that. Where would I have been, if not for him?”
He shook his head grimly. “I don’t even want to imagine that.”
“But it’s not even his actions last night that make me think so. Think how many times Markl’s knowledge, his empathy with people, his quiet charm, has opened doors for us where there were no doors to open? He’s become an amazing asset to the guild, one that I didn’t realize was missing. More, I think he’s becoming at home with us. No offense to his father, or the family that raised him, but I don’t think he ever felt he really belonged with them. If he had, he’d have accepted his position as heir instead of running away from it.”
“I can’t argue that.” Wolf leaned back in the chair, making the wood creak dangerously under his weight. “Well, I have no doubt you’ll sweet talk him into staying eventually. If you can do it with a former dark guild mercenary, then anything is possible.”
Siobhan snorted. “You weren’t a hard sale at all. You were so deprived of kindness and acceptance that all I had to do was feed you and give you a smile and you were ready to stay.”
He opened his mouth, paused, then snorted. “Was I really that pitiful?” he muttered to himself, eyes on the ceiling as if pondering this.
“Yes,” she answered wryly. “You were. Fortunately, you grew out of that. But onto other matters: so, Iron Dragain’s men are here. Guards are set up. Markl and I are healthy enough to travel. Any sign of my swords?”
Wolf shook his head. “Lost to the bottom of the sea, most likely.”
Rain and drought, she’d been afraid of that. She’d have to commission a new pair once she got back to Goldschmidt. In the meantime, she’d have to rely on her long daggers and make do. Great wind and stars, but she hated walking around half-armed!
Heaving a gusty sigh, she set the worry aside, to when she would actually need to do something about it. “I feel terrible about leaving at the moment, like I’m leaving a job half done.”
“Well, it is half done, but there’s nothing we can do about that.” He gave an easy shrug. “We don’t have the skills, time, or money to finish this task. We’re through with what we were asked to do.”
“Yes,” she nodded, but still felt unsatisfied even though he was right. “It’s just…something tells me that this situation is far from resolved. We don’t even know who’s really behind all these attacks. We suspect Fallen Ward, but really, do they have the resources to reach this far and do as much damage as what’s been done?”
“I wouldn’t have thought so.” Wolf rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. “But there’s much about all of this that’s in want of an explanation.”
Siobhan couldn’t have agreed more. “I don’t think we’re done with this, Wolf. I think we’re going to be pulled back into this mess somehow.”
He grimaced. “I’m afraid you’re right. But let’s not focus on future trouble, eh? Not until we need to.”
“You’re right.” Pushing back the covers, she swung her feet out of the bed. “Spread the word to get ready. We’re going home.”
Island Pass, at last. Siobhan felt that the journey here had taken at least three times longer than it really needed to. And yet, she couldn’t help but wish it had taken even longer still, for just one reason.
Rune.
In the past hectic days and crazy nights of fending off saboteurs, she hadn’t had a chance to really talk to Rune about his future. Now that they had arrived on the island, the moment was upon them, and if she didn’t say something right now then she might lose all of her chances with him. And yet it didn’t feel right to start such a heavy, important conversation right here in the middle of the road, either.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at the sky. They had perhaps an hour left of daylight. So she could talk to him about it over dinner. Right, that was a good plan. No, wait, no it wasn’t! That was assuming he would stay with them for dinner, and stay at the same inn, and he might think that he should go his own way now that they were on the island. She really couldn’t wait.
Whether or not this was the appropriate place to speak to him, she had to say something now.
They were all riding on the cart, piled up on top of each other, with Rune on the opposite side of where Siobhan sat. She tucked her knees up against her chest and spun about in a tight turn so that she could hop off the side.
“Siobhan?” Wolf asked in bewilderment, lifting up to watch her land. “What are you doing…? Hey!”
She ignored him and quickly walked around and to the other side, grabbing Rune’s wrist and tugging at him insistently. “Rune, get down. I need to talk to you.”
Rune’s eyes narrowed, questioning, but he slowly complied and got down.
Beirly called back from the driver’s seat, “What, now?”
“Stop the cart, Beirly!” she ordered firmly.
He muttered something about ‘crazy woman’ and ‘no patience sometimes’ but he pulled the cart more off to the side of the bridge before stopping it completely. Most of the guild studied her in blatant confusion, except Markl and Grae, who knew good and well what she would say next.
“Grae, you too,” she ordered, although her eyes never left Rune. “I know that I said you could go wherever you wanted when we reached this point, but there’s two things I need to tell you first.”
Rune swallowed hard. “I’m listeni’n.”
“First thing.” She paused, searching for the right words and fumbling. “You remember when you helped Grae build the path to Quigg? You remember what he said?”
Rune’s eyes darted to Grae and back again. “He said I was good at it.”
“He said it took talent to do
what you did,” she corrected. “Rune. You are a Pathmaker.”
His jaw dropped so hard it was a wonder it didn’t crack the stones under their feet. “C-can’t be!” he protested, his denial instinctive and disbelieving.
“You are.” Grae came to stand at Siobhan’s side, voice not just persuasive but intense. “You are. I saw the potential in you when you started picking out the right stones for the stepping stone. But only a Pathmaker could have understood the pattern like you did and laid it out so perfectly. You have enormous talent, Rune. It surprised us as well to see it.”
His eyes went blind, staring off into the north as if he simply couldn’t believe what he was being told.
“Sorry for not telling you before,” Siobhan apologized in all sincerity. “I felt like I couldn’t, not until we got you out of Wynngaard. If Jarnsmor had learned what you are, you’d never have been allowed to leave Sateren. He would have kept a stranglehold on you and I think you deserve the right to decide where to go. If you want to go back, I’ll help you do so, but it should be your choice.”
“Your future is limitless once you’re trained. Markl said you’re a quick study, and I saw that when you built the path with me earlier, so I don’t think it’ll take you long to learn what you need to,” Grae assured him. “I’ll teach you myself. Or, if you want to go somewhere else, I’ll introduce you to another Pathmaker to be your master. I know all of them.”
Considering there was only about two dozen known Pathmakers in the world, that wasn’t much of a feat.
Rune searched Grae’s face for a long moment. “Ya…yer willi’n ta teach me.”
“Of course!” Grae seemed surprised that Rune even questioned this. “You’re a good student and an easy man to work with. I’d think it’d be quite fun to teach you.”
Siobhan had to bite back a smile. She knew good and well why Rune had that poleaxed expression on his face right then. She’d told him Grae’s reputation, so he knew that a master, a genius in his field, had just offered to be Rune’s master. Only a fool would pass up that invitation.
“But that mean’s I’d…” he trailed off uncertainly, looking at Siobhan.
Why was he hesitating? Oh. Oh, right, in order for him to be Grae’s student, he’d have to stay in Deepwoods and she hadn’t made it clear yet that he was welcome to stay.
Deep breath in. Right, here goes. “I know that our original deal was that you could do whatever you wanted once we reached Island Pass. And you’ve done a marvelous job holding up your end of the deal. I mean, you helped me even when I didn’t know the right questions to ask! And you took us to Sateren and made sure we were safe there the entire time—Tran told me about your night patrols, thank you for that, I never said that before—but you helped us even when we weren’t in Sateren, which wasn’t part of the deal at all—”
“Siobhan,” Wolf said patiently, laying a restraining hand on her shoulder.
“Wait, I’m not finished, I have to say this right,” she responded in irritation, shaking off his hand. “I didn’t get a chance to say anything to him before, so don’t interrupt me! Rune, what I’m trying to say is that I’ve come to really like you and respect your skills. The way that you’ve watched out for my well-being has meant the world to me. And I don’t think it’s wrong for me to say that the rest of the guild feels the same way—”
“Siobhan,” Conli interrupted.
“Will you both be quiet?” she demanded, exasperated. “I’ve completely lost my thought now! Where was I?”
“That’s a good thing,” Denney assured her dryly. “Because you’re babbling. You have a bad habit of doing that when you’re nervous.” Squeezing around, she put a hand on Rune’s shoulder, who was watching the whole group with wide, bewildered eyes. “Rune, what’s she trying to say, and is too nervous to, is that she wants you to stay in the guild.”
Siobhan blinked at her. “Right. Didn’t I already say that?”
“No,” several voices chorused, all of them amused.
“Oh. Rain and drought, I meant to say that first thing.” She reviewed the speech she had mentally prepared but couldn’t remember the right order to say anything, so gave up on it with a shrug. “Rune, I want you to stay. I don’t want you to feel pressured into staying, mind. If you feel like going off and exploring the world for a while and thinking about joining us, you’re welcome to do so. After all, I don’t think you’ve seen anything outside of Sateren, much less outside of Wynngaard.”
Rune’s expression turned into one of lopsided bemusement as he regarded her. “When we made our deal, ya said I could go wherever I wish when we came ta this point.”
Had she really worded it that way? “Well, yes, that’s right.”
His smile became mischievous. “Then I’ll go with all of ya.”
A worry that had been eating at her dropped away and she openly beamed at him. Unable to resist, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight before bouncing back. “Good! That’s settled then. Will you take Grae as your master, too? Should I find you someone else?”
Rune shook his head with a shy smile. “I’ll take him as my master.”
Grae openly beamed.
She blew out a long breath. “Good. I’m glad that’s all sorted. Let’s go to the inn. We’ll have a grand feast to welcome you officially to the guild!”
Rune blinked at her and pointed to their spectators. “Wait! Don’t they get a say in this? A chance ta agree or not?”
“Any objections are overruled,” she informed him cheerfully. “It’s one of the perks of being guildmaster. They can’t nay-say me about who joins.”
“Otherwise Tran would never have made it in,” Wolf muttered under his breath.
“Otherwise you would never have made it in,” Grae drawled with a pointed look. “I didn’t like you at first either.”
Wolf opened his mouth to protest that, thought about it, then looked at Siobhan in a considering way. “Maybe it’s better she has the final say.”
Siobhan patted him on the arm, gave him a winsome smile, and started off for the inn with a bounce in her stride. “This way, everyone!”
Over thirty years ago, in the hills of Tennessee, a nice, unsuspecting young couple had their first child. Their home has since then been slowly turned into a library as their daughter consistently brought books home over the years.
No one was surprised when she grew up, went to college, and got her Bachelor's in English. Despite the fact that she has a degree, and looks like a mature young woman, she's never grown out of her love for dragons, fairies and other fantastical creatures. With school done, she's ready to start her career, hopefully by blending two of her loves: books and fantasy.
Her website can be found here: http://www.honorraconteur.com or if you wish to speak directly with the author, visit her forum at: http://z13.invisionfree.com/adventmage/
Table of Contents
Map
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
/>
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Epilogue
About the Author
Table of Contents
Map
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Epilogue
About the Author
Deepwoods (Book 1) Page 34
