Exsanguinated

by D. K. Holmberg

  “Helen won’t be here. She wouldn’t do anything that would put her at risk,” Marin said.

  “If she intends to attack the Thelns, she would have to come this way, wouldn’t she?”

  Marin nodded. “There isn’t another way to reach the Theln lands.”

  They continued forward, Marin now pushing with a vigorous pace that told Sam she used augmentations to do so. Marin didn’t seem to have any limitations with how long she could hold an augmentation, which could mean she either had more strength than Sam did to begin with, or she had enough practice with using augmentations that she had developed better control with them.

  Could Sam someday get to that point? Seeing Marin with augmentations had been a revelation. She was incredibly powerful, and with them, she had been able to not only overpower nearly half of the soldiers in the palace, but there had been something incredibly supernatural about the way that she moved and fought.

  The night passed quickly and transitioned into day. Marin allowed Sam to pole the barge, and she resisted the urge to draw on augmentations, as she had resisted ever since her healing. There was a part of her that worried about how she would feel when she finally did attempt an augmentation on herself. Would she be able to do it? Could she ever be as strong as Marin, and not fatigue so easily when attempting multiple augmentations. It was that fatigue when being pursued by the Kavers that got her caught. She would eventually need to try to place an augmentation again. She had to know whether she could, so she would know what she could and couldn’t rely on if attacked.

  It was late in the day when the edge of the swamp came into view. Beyond the swamp, the forest rose up. It seemed as if the swamp trees—the svethwuud—blended into the trees of the forest and essentially joined them.

  “Is that it?” Sam asked, pointing to the forest.

  Marin had joined her at the bow of the barge. Jalen was manning the pole, giving both Sam and Marin a break.

  “That is the forest. Once we cross through there, we will reach the plains, and from there, it’s only a short stretch to the Theln lands.”

  “I thought the swamp would be harder to cross.”

  “Normally, it would take a lot longer, but I was drawing on significant augmentations to speed us through here,” Marin said.

  “I thought you were.”

  “I didn’t want to linger too long in the swamp. If Helen decided to send attackers after us, Kavers would have little difficulty reaching us if we moved too slowly.”

  “What about in the forest?”

  “We’re going to have to tie up the barge, and then we will have to see how quickly we can move across the forest. We won’t be quite as fast as if you and I were alone; we are going to be limited by them,” she said, nodding to Alec and Jalen. “Both of them are capable, but the forest is tricky.”

  Sam stared out at the forest. “You don’t think they can make it?”

  “I think they can make it, but not without our help. We need to be prepared to be more involved than you are accustomed to being to ensure they make it through safely.”

  “Are you saying we’re going to have to carry them across?”

  Sam glanced back at Alec. It wasn’t that he was tremendously large, but considering what she had just been through and how weak and rundown she felt, she didn’t know whether she would have the strength necessary to carry Alec for an extended period of time.

  “It’s doubtful, but…” Marin stared into the forest, and worry creased her brow. Sam had seen that worry on her face before, and it made her uncomfortable.

  “What aren’t you telling me, Marin?”

  “I’ve told you everything you need to know about this,” she said.

  Sam laughed at her. “First you tell me the forest is dangerous, and then you tell me it’s not. Now you’re telling me it is. Which is it? Do I need to be concerned about what we’re going to encounter or not?”

  “It has been over ten years since I’ve crossed that forest,” Marin said. “In that time, I’ve come to the swamp, and I have navigated around here, but I haven’t made it as far as the forest. There hasn’t been a need. Why would there be when going beyond the forest would put me in contact with the Thelns, and I know better than to risk myself like that.”

  “What makes the forest so dangerous?” Sam asked.

  “I wasn’t deceiving you when I said there is a certain level of danger to the forest. I wasn’t deceiving you when I told you that there are creatures you need to be careful of. Those are realities in the forest, but it’s not a given we will encounter them. If we navigate directly through, we should come out on the other side in less than a day, and hopefully encounter-free.”

  A day. Another day when Helen could have started her attack on the city. Another day for them to be in danger.

  As they neared the forest, Sam could see how dark it was inside. Daylight had begun to creep into the sky, sending streaks of color through the clouds, and though the swamp was never a bright and cheery place, there had been the promise of sunlight.

  Though she had typically operated at night, welcoming the darkness and not afraid of it, going into a place like that, a place where the trees would conceal everything, shrouding it in darkness, left her more than a little uncomfortable.

  “What happens if we lose the barge?” Sam asked.

  Marin glanced over at Alec and Jalen. “We had better not.”

  Sam followed the direction of her gaze. Assuming they made it where they were heading and then were able to return, they would need the barge to return to the city. Without it, Sam and Marin could cross the swamp using their canal staffs, but Alec and Jalen needed help. Sam had carried someone before, but right now, she didn’t have much faith in her strength to carry Alec with her. Marin could likely carry Jalen without a problem.

  Alec and Jalen noticed them looking over their way. Alec stood and joined Sam at the bow of the barge, looking out into the forest. “There aren’t any stories about the forest here.”

  “The stories that we get are from Marin,” Sam said. “And she claims that it’s both dangerous and that it’s not,” she said, glaring at Marin.

  “I think… I think we should be prepared for the possibility that we will need to place an augmentation.”

  Sam reached out her hand. Alec pricked the palm and collected her blood in a small metal vial that he stuffed into his pocket. He did the same for himself. When he was done, he nodded.

  “That’s it?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  She cocked her head to the side. “Only you? I would like to have a supply of blood in case things take a turn.”

  “Sam—”

  Sam shook her head. “I don’t want to be so dependent on you that I can’t place an augmentation if it comes to it, Alec.”

  “I only have these two vials.”

  “Then I’ll take yours, you keep mine, and you can give me a scrap of easar paper.” She didn’t need anything more than a scrap. If it came down to her needing anything more than that, they probably were in more trouble than they’d get out of.

  Alec let out a frustrated sigh and pulled one of the metal vials out and handed it to her. “I don’t like this.” He pulled a piece of easar paper from his pocket and tore it in half, handing it over to her.

  Sam took the paper and stuffed it into her pocket, folding it up tightly so that it would stay anchored into the bottom of her pocket rather than falling out every time she stuck her hand in. She looked at the vial of blood, holding it up and shaking it. “How do I know this is yours and not mine?”

  “Sam?”

  She grinned and stuffed it into her pocket. “Fine. I’ll trust you.”

  She turned to see Marin and Jalen watching them. Jalen had a certain tension around the corners of his eyes.

  “I’m guessing you don’t have extra vials like that?”

  Jalen shook his head.

  “According to Alec, we probably won’t need them anyway.”

&nbs
p; “We shouldn’t be separated from them,” Marin said. “If we end up separated…”

  Sam nodded. If they ended up separated, then it might not matter.

  The barge reached the edge of the forest. It was a gradual change, the wet swamp transitioning to soggy ground. The trees at the border were more like clumps of the svethwuud, only occurring more frequently. The trees themselves were somewhat more significant than those out in the swamp, and as they began to grow closer and closer together, they grew taller with more massive trunks.

  Marin pushed the barge into the forest as far as she could before motioning for them to climb out. The ground was soggy, and it was unpleasant beneath Sam’s feet. She tried to ignore the fact that it squished the way that it did. She was used to having solid footing beneath her. It would take some time to adjust to this.

  “We need to find some way to conceal the barge,” Marin said.

  Alec and Jalen both helped drag the barge into the forest. They found a clump of strange shrubs that they covered it with. Sam propped the barge pole up along the trunk of one of the trees, using a length of vine to secure it to it.

  “Now that that’s done…”

  Marin turned away and headed into the forest. Shadows swallowed her as she disappeared.

  19

  Reaching the Forest

  Alec looked over at Sam. She was quieter than she usually was, though nearly dying likely did that to her. Her color seemed to have returned to normal, and she appeared to be maintaining what little strength she had, though not gaining any. It might only be his imagination, but she seemed more hesitant than was usual for her.

  Perhaps this journey was a mistake. Heading out into the swamp, by barge or by canal staff, was dangerous, even if she had been completely well. And she was not at all well. And now the forest lay ahead with its own dangers lurking.

  The forest intrigued him. The trees here all appeared to be svethwuud, though they were different from those found in the swamp. Would they make easar paper, or did it require the presence of the eels growing around the roots? The ground remained spongy, almost as if water from the swamp seeped up through the bottom layer of the forest, threatening to soak through. He didn’t relish the idea of needing to stay in the forest overnight, but if Marin was right—that it would only take a day—they could avoid an overnight stay. If all went well, they would be through the forest by the end of the day.

  None of that made him feel any better.

  He followed Jalen, admiring the way that he moved so comfortably. Part of that likely came from his training as a Kaver, his way of concealing that he was a Scribe. But part of it was simply him, Alec thought. Jalen was an impressive man.

  “How long have you and Marin known each other?” he asked after they had been walking for a while. Sam and Marin walked a few paces ahead of them, far enough that it gave him and Jalen some space so they could talk.

  Jalen glanced over. “Marin was the head of the Kavers. She still hadn’t found a Scribe, and when I was beginning to understand what I was…”

  Alec frowned. “But why would you have gone to Marin?”

  “We knew each other as children,” Jalen said. “We have known each other for a long time. I trusted her.”

  “Did you trust your sister?”

  “I thought that I could,” Jalen said.

  “Did you know anything about her son?”

  Jalen shook his head. “She has kept that from everyone, including my parents.”

  “Has Marin told you what Lyasanna intended?”

  Jalen’s jaw clenched, and his eyes tightened. “I have heard what Lyasanna intended for her child. I don’t blame Marin for what she did, and I see there are times that Samara does, just as I see the way she looks at Marin, almost as if she can’t decide whether she likes her or not.”

  “I think Sam looks at everyone that way.”

  “It’s different with Marin.”

  Alec climbed over a fallen log. Even that was somewhat squishy. “For Sam, she has gone through a wide range of emotions lately. For the longest time, she only knew Marin as someone she worked for. She would take jobs, but…”

  Jalen glanced over. “But what?”

  “I think Marin was probably training her, even if Sam didn’t know it at the time. When she learned that Marin was something more than a talented thief and employer, she began to hope she could learn something about her mother. She never dreamed that her mother still lived.”

  “I don’t necessarily agree with how Marin used Samara. I understand that she thought it was necessary to provide protection for Tray, but…”

  Alec sighed. “I don’t even think that bothers Sam, not anymore. It did for a while. For a long time, she was angry with Marin, but the more she has come to understand the city and the Kavers and Scribes, the more she has come to terms with the fact that it might’ve been better for her to have been kept from everything.”

  Sam glanced back at him, almost as if she knew he was talking about her. He flashed a smile. It was difficult for him talking about Sam in this way. If Sam had grown up knowing who she was and what she was, it was possible Alec would never have learned about his potential as a Scribe.

  “Have you ever wondered how it was that the two of you met?”

  Alec glanced over at Jalen. “It was chance. She was attacked by Ralun, and nearly dead when she staggered into the apothecary.”

  “I just think it’s an interesting chance that she would happen to make it to the one person who might be able to help.”

  Alec frowned. “What are you saying?”

  Jalen nodded at Marin. “I wonder if she had a hand in that.” He glanced over at Alec and flashed a smile. “Or maybe it was only chance. If so, it was quite fortuitous that Samara managed to find you at a time of such need.”

  They continued onward in silence. Alec hadn’t given that much thought. Now that he put his mind to it, he realized that it was fortunate that Sam had stumbled into his apothecary shop. She had been injured, the crossbow bolt poisoned and likely fatal, and what would have happened had he not been there? What would have happened had she not had that paper?

  Could Marin have known about his father and suspected that Alec would have the ability to work with Sam?

  No. For that to be the case, it would have meant that Marin knew he would find the easar paper Sam had stolen. It would have meant that Marin knew he would discover the secret to writing on it. It would have meant that Marin would… have been far cleverer than what he thought was possible.

  It wasn’t Marin, but it did raise the question of some greater influence. Perhaps there was something to the gods, even though Alec had never prayed to them, not like so many did. He didn’t swear at them the way Sam did, either. In his mind, it was better to not anger the gods than to risk their attention.

  Jalen occasionally glanced over at him as they walked, saying nothing more about what he had suggested. Alec was thankful for that, and the day passed slowly. Marin gave them a few breaks, during which they would drink from water flasks, and Alec would take bites of eel meat to keep himself as energized as possible. It was a good thing they had stopped for those two eels, otherwise, he might not have enough to survive the travel through the forest.

  “How much farther do we have to walk?” Sam asked as they took a break late in the day.

  Marin looked up at the forest canopy. It was dense and created thick shadows around them. Little light came through, nothing more than the sense of daylight. “I don’t know. It’s difficult to ascertain this deep into the forest.”

  “We haven’t seen any sign of the creatures you claimed we would,” Sam said.

  “That is good.”

  Sam frowned at her but said nothing more. Alec could tell that she wanted to, and from the way she clenched her jaw, he suspected she was biting back some comment. It had to be difficult for Sam, but he was thankful she resisted. It served no purpose, not with what they were trying to accomplish.

  As the forest
grew darker, night likely falling around them, Alec thought he heard movement. He jerked his head around but saw nothing. With the growing shadows, even if something were there, he’d likely not see it.

  “What is it?” Jalen asked.

  Alec shook his head. “Probably nothing.”

  “But you noticed something?”

  Alec shrugged. “It’s probably only my imagination. With the way the shadows are…”

  There it was again. It was a sense of movement and with it almost a scraping sound.

  “Marin,” Jalen said in a harsh whisper.

  She glanced back, a question in her eyes.

  “Alec thinks he—”

  She raised her hand, silencing him. Marin assembled her canal staff. Alec wasn’t certain how effective that would be in the forest. With the trees growing as close together as they did, it would be difficult for the staff to be of any use. Were she to try to swing it, she would likely smack into trees rather than have the freedom to spin it as he had seen her do before.

  The sound came again, and this time, Alec was sure he heard it. It was over his head, he looked up, scanning the branches.

  Sam had made her way over to him and grabbed his arm, forcing his attention down to her. “What is it?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I hear something.”

  Sam froze and looked up into the trees, following the direction of his gaze. She frowned, and he wondered if she was attempting an augmentation. She no longer needed him quite the same way, and now that she could place them without his assistance, he didn’t feel quite as important to her. Then again, it didn’t require them to draw their blood to write on easar paper for her to place those augmentations, so there was an advantage to it.

  “I don’t see anything.”

  “With an augmentation?” he whispered.

  She shook her head. “I haven’t…”

  “Why not?”

  “Ever since the injury”—Alec noticed the way she said injury, rather than remarking on how she had nearly died—“I haven’t been sure whether I should try them. I really need to. I think practicing with them could make me stronger, much like I think that is the way Marin developed her skills, but…”