by Avril Sabine
“Does it matter? I survived it.”
“What about the books I’m carrying? Will they survive it?”
“No, they’ll get wet.” There was a moment’s silence. “Drop them down to me. I’ll catch them.”
Brianne stared at her bundle a moment before she made sure the shirt was tied around it securely. “Don’t you dare let them get wet. I’m dropping them now.”
“Hurry up.”
Brianne dropped the bundle and waited. Not hearing a splash she hoped that was a good sign.
“I’ve got them and I’m out of the way. Your turn. The depth is about twice your height.”
Brianne took a deep breath and jumped into the hole. Water rushed up to meet her and she kicked her legs, her arms dragging her back to the surface. Breaking through, she gasped for air, treading water as she tried to make out her surroundings. The pool of light from the hole did nothing to illuminate the area.
“Over this way.”
Brianne swam towards Talon’s voice. “I can’t see anything.”
“You don’t need to, just swim past me. Once you get in the water flow, let it carry you along. Tell me when you reach it and I’ll join you.”
Brianne felt the water tug at her. “I’m in it.” She let the stream carry her along, treading water so she could stay afloat. He didn’t answer her. “Talon?”
“Yes?”
“I was just checking you were still with me. How are those books?”
“Dry.”
“Where is this taking us?”
“To a lake.”
“Won’t your people know to look for us there?”
“Yes, but we’ll be faster than the horses.”
“Where will we go?”
“I don’t know.”
Brianne felt frustration arrow through her at the lack of answers. They were running for their lives. They needed to figure out a plan and he wasn’t being helpful.
“I thought you told me I couldn’t fly.”
Brianne frowned at the abrupt change in topic. “What?”
“Can I fly?”
She smiled. Was that still bothering him? “No.”
“Then why did you jump?”
Her smile disappeared. “Because I hoped you’d catch me. It was better than letting them capture me.”
“You expected me to catch you even though I can’t fly.”
Brianne couldn’t resist laughing. “Yes, but you are good at dropping like a stone.” She laughed again at his muttered reply. “Oh.” Her eyes were drawn upwards. “What is it?” The entire ceiling of the cave flickered with lights.
“Bugs.”
“Bugs.” Brianne couldn’t keep the disbelief from her voice. How could something so beautiful be created by a pest?
“Yes, bugs.”
When they were past the bugs Brianne wanted to turn back and watch them, but she was worried she’d lose her sense of direction. “How much longer till we reach the lake?”
“Not long now.”
“I’m freezing.” She heard a sound in the distance, like a soft constant roar. Before she had a chance to ask what it was, Talon spoke.
“The water is a perfect temperature.”
“If you’re poisoned and suffering from a fever.” She thought of her own poison she’d been taking, glad the berries had been left behind. It didn’t matter if her usual colouring returned, everyone knew she wasn’t a Tersten. What did matter was letting her people know about the Supreme One. “Talon?”
“Yes.”
“I have to return to my people.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“My people need to be warned,” Talon said.
“So do mine. Besides, who are you going to tell? Your father?”
“No. Our Political Leader.”
“Who’s that?”
“My mother.”
Brianne tried to see him in the darkness. “You’re joking, right?”
“No.”
They were in so much trouble it was ridiculous. “We can’t trust either of your parents.”
“My mother would never sell out our people.”
She bet he’d once thought that about his father. Before she had a chance to point that out, she was distracted by a light in the distance and the roaring sound getting louder. “What’s that ahead?”
“A waterfall.”
“What?”
Talon laughed. “It should be a breeze after falling from a wall.”
“What about the books? You get them wet and I’m likely to push you off a wall after making sure your wings stay retracted.”
“You do that and I’ll take you with me.” He paused. “Swim to the left. We don’t actually go over the waterfall. We need to climb down beside it.”
Brianne swam towards the bank she could now see from the light shinning into the cave mouth. She swam past Talon, who struggled with the bundle he carried. Reaching the bank, she pulled herself out. Jumping to her feet, she ran alongside the river, calling out to him. “Throw them to me.”
Talon stopped trying to swim long enough to toss the bundle to her. In those few moments he was swept out to the middle and Brianne raced along, watching as he tried to reach the bank. She placed the bundle well away from the edge and ran towards the waterfall. Lying on the bank, she reached out her arms as Talon was swept towards her, struggling to reach the edge.
“Talon!” She screamed his name, trying to be heard over the roar of the waterfall.
His eyes met her gaze as he tried to reach her. Then his fingers grasped hers and within minutes he was lying on the bank beside her, gasping for breath. “Thanks.”
“You probably could have released your wings and saved yourself.”
Talon rolled onto his side to face her. He was silent for several minutes before he shook his head. “I have no idea how to release them right now.”
Brianne reached out to him, her fingers touching his cheek and instantly drawing back from the heat. “Roll onto your stomach. Quickly.” When he rolled without question she began to grow worried. Her worry became fear when she pressed her hands against his back and felt the heat of his skin. “Why didn’t you say something? We should have gotten out of the water sooner.”
“We couldn’t have gotten out of the river any sooner. There’s no bank until nearly the end.” His words ended in a sharp indrawn breath.
“Sorry.” She continued to work the muscles around the cramped ridges on his back. “You really need to rest. You’ve overdone things. What did you expect after never using your wings and then all of a sudden thinking you could fly?”
Talon swore, his hands becoming fists.
“You can scream if you want. No one would hear you over the waterfall.” His wings sprung from his back and he turned enough to meet her eyes, his face drawn with pain.
“Yes, someone would.”
There was no argument she could make. She too had been trained not to show weakness.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Talon
Talon staggered as they clambered out of the valley that the waterfall and lake nestled in, his clothes still damp after their trip along the river. His vision swam and he gritted his teeth as he tried to stay focused. A glance to the side showed Brianne kept pace with him, the books tied to her back.
“Do you want to stop and take a break?”
Talon shook his head, unable to speak.
Brianne sighed heavily. “Can we at least have a few minutes break? I can’t keep up this pace.”
He stared at her with narrowed eyes, trying to bring her expression into focus. It didn’t help. The world and everything in it continued to swim around him. “A couple of minutes.” He sat down, the words exhausting him a little more. He wasn’t going to make it. Reaching for the belt pouch Marshall had given him, he untied it from the sleeves of his shirt that was still wrapped around his waist.
“Where did that come from?” Brianne asked.
Talon didn’t bother an
swering. Staying conscious took enough of his concentration. He closed his eyes and felt around in the damp pouch. A small sheathed knife, a tin that he guessed contained flint and steel, a wet bandage and a small bottle that was probably antiseptic, and an oilskin wrapped parcel that felt like rations. All the usual contents of a soldier’s belt pouch. He found only one difference. His fingers ran across an engraved ring and the piece of roughly cut bandage tied through it. Undoing the knot, he counted four knots until it was separated from the ring. Opening his eyes, he stared at the ring and bandage, trying to keep them from swimming in and out of focus.
“What does that mean?” Brianne asked.
“We need to change directions.”
Brianne growled in frustration. “Can you tell me what’s going on? We’re meant to be in this together.”
Talon stared at her, bringing her face into focus for a split second. Worry clouded her eyes and fatigue filled her face. He recalled those moments in the river when he’d thought he wasn’t going to make it and she’d called out, her hands stretched towards him. Her grip when he reached for her and her determination not to let him go. As often as he tried to tell himself she was the enemy, he realised he no longer believed it. He didn’t have a clue who the enemy was, but they needed to find out in a hurry.
“A message from Marshall. He’s telling me where to meet him. He wants to help.”
“How do we know it’s not a trap?”
“We don’t, but it’s the only option we’ve got.” As little as he wanted to admit it, he knew he couldn’t keep pushing himself. They needed horses, food, supplies and somewhere to rest. Marshall had always stood by him, hopefully this time was no different. “We have to keep going.” He struggled to his feet, squinting into the sky. It took him longer than it should have to get his bearings. “When we get to the top of the ridge, we head that way. We can’t leave the trees, but we shouldn’t have to. We’ll eventually reach the foot of the mountains and there’s a cave not far from there.”
He forced himself to continue upwards, stumbling again. Then a shoulder was under his arm supporting him. He tried to pull away. She felt too fragile to take his weight.
“Don’t be an idiot. We’ll get there much faster if you cooperate.”
He had little choice. The ground buckled beneath his feet and time became meaningless. Eventually, he realised they stood still, only the world moved around him, and Brianne peered up at him, repeating his name over and over.
“Talon.”
“What?”
“Which way?”
“Huh?” He tried to focus on what she wanted.
“Which way.” She spoke the words slowly.
They finally sank in and he looked around, trying to find something familiar. Half the day was gone and he had no idea how that had happened. Then he recognised where they were and stumbled forward. Again her shoulder was beneath his arm and they staggered onwards.
When they reached the cave, he didn’t even have the strength to check for wild animals before he collapsed on the dirt, falling onto his face since his wings were still out. He felt gentle hands on his back and some of the pain eased. He fell into a deep sleep to be reluctantly jarred awake by a voice.
“You killed him!”
Talon struggled to sit up and reassure Marshall.
“He’s fine. Or he was before you woke him with your shouting.”
Talon would have grinned at the tone she used on Marshall if he’d had the energy. He felt her hands on him again, soothing and cool against his skin. He struggled to wake properly.
“Go back to sleep.” Her tone was as gentle as her hands.
“Marshall,” he croaked as he tried to focus on his friend.
“You should have trusted me.”
“I’ve always trusted you, I just didn’t want to get you killed because of me.” Talon was finally able to take in his surroundings. A small fire, that was mostly glowing coals, was surrounded by rocks to block its flickering light from showing outside. Over it hung a skinned rabbit, the scent making his stomach rumble. He should have helped Brianne set up camp, not collapsed at her feet.
“Are you hungry?” Brianne asked.
Talon nodded.
“Sit over there and leave your wings out.” She pointed to a large rock.
He recalled her comment about using stools to keep his wings out of the way and with a nod stumbled to the rock. “Sorry.” He met Brianne’s eyes as he sat down.
“For what? Preventing me from being smeared across the dirt at the foot of the wall? For getting us away from there? Or for leading us to this cave.”
A wry smile escaped. “For passing out on you after I did all those things.”
Brianne grinned. “Thanks for leaving me something to do. I wouldn’t want to feel like I was some useless civilian.”
Marshall interrupted them. “What’s going on?”
“The Supreme One is an impostor,” Brianne said.
“We don’t know that,” Talon argued.
Brianne took the rabbit from the fire and laid it on a flat rock. “Read the letters. He’s an impostor. We’re being manipulated by a country beyond the Feronian Mountains.” She tore a leg from the rabbit and handed it to Talon.
He took the leg, shuffling it between his hands as he waited for it to cool. “Are you certain?”
“Where did you get the letters?” Marshall asked.
Brianne held out a couple of letters to Talon, waiting for him to wipe his hand against his trousers before he took them, then turned to Marshall. “The House of the Lord and Lady.”
Marshall gaped at her. “You broke into a sacred building?”
“I wasn’t the first. We were invaded centuries ago.” She picked up a small slim book. “The diary of a true Elder talking about the real war. We all came from beyond the Feronian Mountains. We were two separate races working together and occasionally intermarrying. Our ancestors wanted to see what was on the other side of the mountains so they sent several battalions over to check, and if possible, set up an outpost. They were in the middle of building the fortress when two Elders came over the mountains. One went to the First Officer and said they must flee, the Terstens had killed all their people beyond the mountains and someone had been sent to tell them to kill off the rest. He brought the head of their leader to them, wrapped in a sack as proof. The other Elder told the General that the Caelians had tried to kill their people on the other side of the mountains and had failed, but they were to wipe out every last Caelian before they returned.”
“Which Elder told the truth?” Talon asked.
“Neither. They weren’t true Elders. They were Prilonians. The Elder who wrote this diary was imprisoned in the House, which had been newly built. The Prilonians tried to learn all the secrets of how the gods are worshipped so our ancestors didn’t realise the Elders were actually the enemy.”
“All the Holy Ones are Prilonians?” Marshall asked.
Talon swore when Brianne nodded. “What happens to our people who dedicate themselves to the gods?” He couldn’t look at Marshall.
Brianne held his gaze for a moment before she reached for one of the letters. “This asks Elden to increase his efforts to encourage people to dedicate themselves to the gods as they need more slaves.”
Marshall made a wounded sound and Talon had no idea what to say.
“What’s wrong?” Brianne asked.
“My sister-” Marshall broke off.
“Last year,” Talon said, and Brianne turned her gaze back to him. “She dedicated herself to the Lord and Lady last year.” He watched as her expression hardened.
“We’ll get her back, Marshall.” Determination laced her voice, a promise of retribution added in.
“You can’t promise me that,” Marshall said.
“No, but I can promise to kill the man who made her a slave.”
Marshall shook his head. “No, promise me instead that you’ll help me be the one to kill him.”
Brianne
nodded. A single sharp nod. “Done.” She turned to Talon. “We have to return to my people. They would never knowingly help their enemy.”
Talon longed to argue her words. How could his father have done this to them? “We should see my mother first.” The look in her eyes promised him an argument. Feeling better than he had earlier, he looked forward to it.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Brianne
Brianne glared at Talon as they continued the argument they’d left unfinished when they went to sleep the previous night. Couldn’t he see his family wasn’t to be trusted?
Marshall interrupted their stand off. “I know where Warner is patrolling.”
“Where?” Talon asked.
Brianne turned her glare on Marshall wishing she could tell him to stay out of their fight, but he still looked stunned from learning his sister was a slave. “What has Warner got to do with seeing your mother? Or not seeing her, which is the more sensible option.”
Marshall kept his attention on Talon. “His unit’s on the south patrol. If we left now we’d be able to catch them before they return to the city. He could take a message to your mother.”
“I don’t have anything I can use to write a message.”
“You’re going to get us killed.” Brianne looked from one to the other, her glare still firmly in place. “If we’re caught there’ll be no one to warn my people. And why would he take a message to your mother and not your father?”
“Because Bellamy worships the ground my father walks on. Bellamy caused Warner to miss out on a unit captaincy so he could gain a rank instead.”
“Warner is Bellamy’s cousin which makes it worse,” Marshall said.
Brianne met Talon’s stare, recognising the determination in it. “Marshall delivers the message. You meet with your mother. We don’t risk all three of us getting caught.” She could see his hesitation and then he nodded. “There’s a blank page in the back of that foreign book. You can use charcoal from the fire.”
While Talon wrote his message, she hid the books and letters, keeping only the letter that talked of slaves in her belt pouch. Then, with the help of Marshall, she cleared away all evidence of their stay. The day had barely begun by the time they’d ridden the horses, Marshall had brought with him, to a place where they could watch Marshall give Warner the message.
