The Road To Avea

by Lynn Lorenz

  On either side of the wide landing the second floor branched off to the east and west wings. Half a dozen suits of armor stood at attention along each of the walls, pikes presented and flying the castle's bear-embroidered pennants. In the lantern light that illuminated all the hallways of the castle, the armor's polished metal gleamed. The knights who once wore them were long gone, in a time before the spread of majik folk, when the knights' swordsmanship and their deep faith in the One God protected the castle and its lands.

  Faith in the One God had remained strong, but blood weapons--swords, knives, quarrels and bows--now merely decorated the castles' walls. Majik had risen in power to take their place. Although just as lethal as weapons, majik was less bloody. A subtle difference not lost on Sarah. Death without the mess. In her experience, death was always messy, for both giver and receiver.

  She'd left that harsher life behind when she'd crossed over to this world. Now she was one of the castle's knights and a defender of the One God. She reached out a tentative hand to touch one of the green silk banners.

  Gustav waited for her, his arms folded. "Are you coming, or just going to gawk at everything like a peasant at the district fair?"

  She pulled her shoulders back and took her time walking to him, letting the little man know he could not rush her and he could damn well wait. His deep brown eyes narrowed in understanding and one scraggly eyebrow arced upward. She hoped she'd wrung a little more respect from him.

  Addlers were very aware of their social standings amongst each other and those they served. In this world's social order, Gustav, the highest-ranking addler at the castle, still placed lower than a patroller did, no matter what. Tandy, Sarah's personal addler, would be furious at his attitude. Good thing Sarah had told Tandy to see to the unpacking.

  "Chief Inspector Thatcher said he'd see you before dinner, Patroller Tallow, after you've settled in." Now the tone of his voice was more acceptable.

  "Will the other officers be attending dinner?" Sarah worried about meeting the other men and women she'd work with and whether they'd accept her.

  "As many as wish to eat either before or after their duty shifts."

  He turned left and led her down the hall. Lamps engraved with majik runes to ensure they never needed to be refueled extended above the doors. They illuminated each of the six doors both day and night. The polished wood floor of the hall shone. Exquisite tapestries hung on the walls between the doors, telling of the Great Sundering or depicting forest scenes. If she searched, a bear often hid in the landscapes.

  "These are the inspectors' rooms." Gustav sniffed, tilting his nose upward.

  Honestly, the old addler had no need of speech, his range of sniffs and sneers seemed to express all he had to say. It was obvious he held the inspectors in much higher esteem than a mere patroller like herself.

  To be fair, they deserved respect. One only earned the rank of inspector after serving ten to fifteen years as a patroller, took advanced majik training, and passed the required tests. With their superior skills and more powerful wands, they alone in the patrol were trained to kill.

  As they passed each room, Gustav called out the inspector's names in a voice much larger than his small body, "Loch...Bane...O'Reilly...Creel...Tullis."

  Sarah noticed a small brass nameplate placed in the center of each exquisitely carved door, so perhaps locating her door wouldn't be so hard after all.

  Hearing slow, uneven steps, she turned. Time slowed, then stopped.

  A tall man, limping hard, made his way down the hall. Dirty, long black hair fell past his shoulders. The rumpled and mud-stained condition of his worn clothing and several days' growth of beard on his face added to his disheveled appearance.

  Sarah was sure blood stained the bandage on his thigh, and his square jaw was set with--what? Pain, perhaps? Or determination?

  As his intense gaze took her in, the tightness around his full lips softened. A rush of unexpected heat burned her cheeks.

  "You should've gone straight to the healer, sir." Gustav's voice held his concern.

  "Aye. I suppose I should've." His deep voice rumbled down the hall toward Sarah.

  He stopped at one of the carved doors, hand frozen in mid-air as he reached toward it. With an intensity she'd never experienced, his penetrating gaze went through her eyes straight to her very core. His lips parted as if to speak.

  She stopped breathing to wait for his words. They stood alone in the hall, the addler, the tour, her room, all forgotten. There was only this man and her.

  Without willing it, her feet brought her to his side. "You're injured." She looked up into his hazel eyes.

  "Aye." He pushed open the door and stepped into his room.

  Sarah followed him. "Sit on the bed."

  * * * *

  Stefan pulled off his jacket and limped over to his narrow cot. Sitting down, he stretched out his injured leg. He'd never invited any of the male inspectors inside, much less had a woman in his room. His eyebrows rose as Sarah knelt on the floor next to him.

  Her slender fingers worked loose the knot in the cord and pulled away the blood-soaked rag. Through the narrow slit in his breeches, he could see the wound still seeped.

  "You've been stabbed." She looked up at him.

  He bit his tongue before he asked her how she could have eyes the same color as a clear spring sky. Instead, he swallowed and said, "How did you know?"

  "I've seen a few such gashes." With a strong jerk, she ripped the fabric open to expose his wound and then rose. "I'll get this cleaned up. Gustav!"

  The old addler, who'd been leaning in the doorway, sprung to attention.

  "Aye, miss?"

  "Bring the healer to..." She looked back at Stefan.

  "Stefan. Stefan Bane. Inspector Stefan Bane. First class." With a quick glance at the smirk on Gustav's face, Stefan cleared his throat.

  She smiled and his dark, dreary room lit. He'd never seen such a beautiful woman and here she was tending to him, in his room. Perhaps this was a dream and he lay unconscious at the bottom of the gully.

  "Bring the healer to Inspector Bane's room right away."

  "Aye, miss." Gustav gave Stefan a final twitch of his lips and teleported out.

  She looked around the room, spotted a door, and went into his bathroom. By the One God, she was bold. First to enter his room, then going into his bath. It simply wasn't done. But it thrilled him, nonetheless.

  He heard the water run and stop. She returned with a towel draped over her shoulder and a bowl of water. Kneeling next to him, she dipped the end of the towel in the cool water and washed the blood from his leg.

  The soft touch of her fingers on his skin sent a jolt of desire through him. Stefan moved his jacket and draped it across his lap to hide his body's response to her. If she noticed the growing tightness of his breeches, she didn't give a sign, but continued to wipe the blood away.

  He leaned forward as if to watch her work and his nostrils flared as he inhaled. Her long black hair trailed over her shoulders and down her back, scented like a summer meadow, all sun and flowers and tall grass. It was heady stuff, like nothing he'd ever encountered. He could drink it in all day. All night.

  Gustav reappeared in the door and cleared his throat. Stefan straightened, caught in the act. Damn. If he didn't speak with the old gossip, this story would be all over the castle by nightfall.

  A short man with a black satchel stood behind Gustav. "Inspector, Gustav tells me you're injured." He waited for Stefan's nod to enter the room and came to look over the woman's shoulder at her handiwork.

  "Very good job of cleaning, miss. I'll take over now." He placed his bag on the cot next to Stefan, unsnapped the clasps, and rummaged through it.

  After dropping the bloody towel next to the bowl on the floor, she rose. Stefan caught her hand as it rested on his knee. His thumb brushed the back of her hand, treasuring the softness of her skin.

  "He's all yours, healer." She slid her hand from under his and walked
to the door.

  He should say something witty before she left, but his mind denied him any words except, "Don't go," and "Stay." Those weren't clever at all.

  "Gustav, see me when you've finished." Stefan leaned back against the wall as the healer brought out his wand.

  "Aye, sir." Gustav reached up to tug on her sleeve. "This way, patroller."

  She left the room without giving Stefan a second look.

  "Damn." Stefan blew out his breath and thumped his head against the wall several times. He'd forgotten to ask her name and to thank her for her tender ministrations.

  The healer looked up from his work. "Sorry, Inspector. Did that hurt?"

  "No. I just forgot something."

  She was young and beautiful and he was older and... Stefan rubbed his face with his hand, feeling the course grizzle of his beard. His gaze traveled down his long length.

  Damnation. He'd been trampled in the mud and smelled of sweat and blood.

  Stefan groaned.

  "Inspector?"

  "Just get on with it." As Stefan leaned back against the wall, he closed his eyes and wished he really were laying face down in that damned gully.

  Chapter 2

  Gustav turned the corner and waited. Sarah looked back down the hall, still wondering what had taken hold of her, what spell she'd stumbled into. Giving her head a gentle shake, she turned toward the steward. He squinted at her, lips pursed, yet a new expression of disapproval on his face. She'd have to make note of it for future reference.

  "This is the patrollers' hall where you'll be staying."

  Sarah peered down the long, narrow hall. It was lined with at least thirty doors, fifteen on each side. The lamps glowed above each of them. Placed closer together, the doors' carvings were less elaborate than the inspectors' doors.

  Sarah counted at least ten with blank nameplates. Obviously, the station was far from full force. Was it the same at other stations? A flicker of self-doubt licked at her confidence. Perhaps the only reason Chief Inspector Thatcher had accepted her was low enrollment and not because he needed a new trainer. Bodies, even poorly trained ones like her, were better than none. Then, reason flooded back to wash her doubt away. No, Damon Thatcher was not that kind of man. He would never have accepted her if he didn't believe she was up to it.

  Gustav stopped at a door near the end of the hall. "Your room."

  The door's nameplate had the rank "Patroller" and below that, "Sarah Tallow" engraved in brass, brighter than the others did. She traced her name with her fingertip.

  She was thirty-three and starting a new life for the second time, if you didn't count her birth. Three lives so far. Perhaps, she was part cat. She winced at the notion she had six more lives to live.

  Guilt pricked at her. She'd taken a position that should have been filled by someone a decade younger. Still, she'd experienced more for her age, both here on-world and off-world, than most people did in a single lifetime.

  Gustav cleared his throat. "The castle has a complete staff of addlers on duty around the clock to serve the needs of everyone from assisting the patrollers with teleporting, to working the kitchens, to housekeeping. There was no need to bring your personal addler." He'd wasted no time in letting her know he wasn't pleased with her decision.

  "I'm sure the addlers here are fine, Gustav. But Tandy will be serving me." Thatcher had given her permission to bring Tandy, and she did not intend to argue about it. Gustav may run the castle, staff addlers included, but he had no control over her or her servant.

  He gave her a curt nod. "First evening mess is at six-thirty in the great hall. If you miss it, the next duty shift is served at midnight." With that, he started to leave.

  "Gustav, is there a key?"

  The combination of the upwardly tilted nose, a loud sniff, and matching sneer told her, in his estimation, she was unfit to hold even the low rank of patroller. She wished she could conjure a hole to fall into.

  He held up his hand, palm facing the door.

  "Once you touch the lock plate it will open only for you. We use majik here, remember?" He didn't bother to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

  What little ground she had gained with him just crumbled beneath her. With that, he teleported, no doubt to harass some other poor recruit, and left her alone with her embarrassment.

  With a silent curse, she placed her palm on the lock plate and heard it click. The metal was icy cold and even though her face felt as if it were on fire, she felt the chill in the hall. Eager to get inside, she pushed the door open.

  Have to be more careful.

  Tandy sat on top of a large travel trunk, kicking her ankle-length skirt as she swung her shapely legs back and forth. She'd been bound to Sarah as her servant only a few weeks after Sarah had returned to on-world.

  Of course, Tandy had agreed to the binding, and it would only last as long as Tandy felt it benefited her, as did all addler-human bindings. Sarah had hoped over the months their relationship would grow into more than master and servant, but Tandy had remained formal.

  She jumped off the trunk and dropped a quick curtsy. "Miss Sarah! I have unpacked all your clothes and hung up your new uniforms." She rushed to a small bedside table, where a teapot and cup sat.

  "Some tea, miss?" Tandy poured the tea into a delicate blue-and-white china teacup. Like all addlers, she was tiny, coming up only to Sarah's waist. Dainty pointed ears peeked out from light green curly hair that matched her eyes and denoted her as a forest elemental. She looked quite charming, but Sarah knew her attractive exterior hid a remarkable majik force.

  "Tea would be wonderful. Gustav gave me a tour of the castle." Sarah rolled her eyes as she took the teacup from Tandy. "He's not happy I brought you."

  "Gustav? Not to fear, miss. He's an old bear, but I'll soon have him tamed." Tandy gave a wicked grin and ran her hand over her hip.

  "Watch out, Tandy. Even old bears have teeth and claws."

  "But their fur makes such good rugs. If he's not careful, he'll be stretched out on the floor in front of my fireplace, where I shall lay naked on him." Tandy gave a sharp nod as her eyes twinkled.

  Sarah knew addlers lived by different rules than humans, including those about sex. She found the human ones complicated enough, without learning all the ones for addlers.

  Glancing around her new home, Sarah noted it wasn't as small as she'd feared, but was even cozy. The inspector's room was larger, yet dark, his bed merely a plain cot. Thanks to Tandy, the lamps cast a warm glow throughout the room. A large bed, dressed with two of Sarah's quilts, stood against the wall opposite the fireplace. A mirrored armoire, one side for her hanging clothes and a stack of drawers on the other, sat opposite a small dressing table. The trunk Tandy sat on spanned the foot of the bed and contained books and a few other cherished possessions not yet unpacked.

  "How was the coach ride, miss? I could have 'ported you over with your trunk." When Sarah had told Tandy she would ride in the travel coach from Avea, the little woman had pouted, but then resigned herself to it. Unlike humans, addlers could teleport great weights with ease. For humans, it was an advanced skill and they needed training to master it. Everyone born on-world had the ability to do majik, but hiring a master majician to teach the higher skills cost dearly. Most folk still walked, rode horses, or used horse and carriage instead of 'porting.

  "I enjoyed seeing the countryside. It's been a long time since I lived here. It didn't take too long, did it?" Sarah sat in the overstuffed wing chair in front of the crackling fireplace; its warmth was a cheery welcome to her new home.

  "No, it just gave me more time to unpack. I'm glad you've finally found a position. Seven rejections." She tsked, shaking her head.

  Sarah winced at the reminder.

  "But, this is a fine castle, miss." Tandy knelt to pull Sarah's boots off. "I just knew when I accepted you that you'd do well. Ever since we met, I felt you were more powerful than mere folk."

  Addlers chose whom they served, often serving the s
ame family for generations, but just as often moving on to serve others if there was a reversal of fortune. Above all, they liked their comforts, tasty food, warm beds, and good gossip.

  "Well, I don't know if that's true, but I'm glad you chose me." Sarah looked into the fire. "It's been a long, strange road I've traveled to reach this place."

  "True enough, miss. I've never heard of anyone else who has lived off-world willingly." Tandy stopped what she was doing, put one finger to her lips, and tilted her head. "I once knew an addler long ago who served a family separated in the Great Sundering. The husband was mortal and the wife majik. She grieved for him so bad her family had to pay a crosser to have him brought over the portal." She resumed placing books on a shelf. "It makes me shiver just to think about off-world." Her small shoulders gave a pretty shudder.

  "I suppose I'm a rarity, having lived in both worlds and survived them both. I'm betting it makes me a valuable rarity," Sarah said. Although ripped from mother, home, and world, Sarah wasn't a victim of the Great Sundering. Stepping through the portal to off-world and giving up her life here had been the desperate decision of a thirteen-year-old girl and her mother.

  "You're a rarity, miss, there's no doubt about that."

  "I want to regain my life here. I've spent too much time away." Sarah took a sip of the honeyed tea.

  With the death of Emily, the woman who took a frightened child into her home and her heart, there was no longer a reason to stay on the other side. Sarah had hoped to reunite with her mother someday, but discovered she'd died soon after they'd parted. Now, no matter which side of the portal she lived, she was alone.