From Across the Clouded Range

by H. Nathan Wilcox

Pine needles stabbed the bottom of Teth’s foot with every other step, but she just kept walking, walking away from the river and from Dasen. She could feel his eyes boring into her as if trying to blame her for what had happened. Shoes or no, she was not going to put up with that. The boy was lucky that she had lost her knife in the river, or she would have . . . .

  She realized that she did not know what she would have done, but she knew that it would have been unpleasant. She could not believe his audacity. If any of the village boys had tried that – and upon occasion they had – she would have broken their fingers – and upon occasion she had. So why could she still feel his arms holding her, his lips, his. . . . She stopped herself right there and expelled the thoughts from her mind. Certainly, it had been nice for a moment, but she knew enough about boys to know that they never had just kissing in mind. Kissing only opened their minds to other things, and Dasen’s mind was already far too open.

  Turning her attention to the task at hand, she realized that she had come to a stop for dread of the next step. Her right foot already ached from the few barefoot steps she had taken, and her eyes were searching without luck for somewhere soft to end the next. Everything around her seemed to have a sharp point, and they were all pointing up.

  "Aren’t you going the wrong direction?” Dasen yelled from behind her. “We’re on the wrong side of the river. We need to swim across to the logging camp. They may have food and shelter there.”

  Teth cut off her search to glower at him. “Since when do you have any idea where we are? We are right where we should be. Besides, the Exiles couldn’t get me back in that river. If you want to swim, and end up half-way down the river, be my guest, but good luck getting anywhere without me.”

  Dasen huffed, obviously considering his argument. Teth watched him with arms across her chest, expression flat. “So how do you plan on getting across the river?” he finally asked. “What are you planning to walk across the bridge into the arms of the bandits?”

  Teth snorted. “This is the forest, not your university. You’re not the smartest person in the room anymore. In fact, you’re an imbecile. You don’t know a damned thing, and the sooner you realize that, the better off you’ll be. This is my world. I am the professor here. If I say we are where we need to be, you believe it. You nod and follow. Or I leave you here to starve. Got it?”

  Dasen recoiled. His teeth clenched. He drew the breath to continue. Teth squared her shoulders, ready to fight. She held every card. He was as good as dead without her, but he was a boy, so he would still have to argue, would have to feel like he was in charge, like he was the one saving them. Well, she wasn’t going to stand for it. She was too tired to save them and stroke his pathetic ego at the same time.

  “Whatever you say, then.” Dasen’s eyes blazed. His mouth twisted with anger, but his voice remained low. “You’re right. We’re in your world, but just remember, it won’t always be this way. Someday, we’ll be back in my world, and you’re going to want my help.” His eyes never left hers as he walked past, brushing her rudely aside as he did. “Come on, then. If you know so much, lead!”

  Watching his square back bobbing through the trees before her, bum knee making the defiance of his stride into a stagger, Teth felt all the air leave her. She choked as surely as if she were back in the river. What have I done? By the Order, he hates me. She had turned him completely against her just as she had the villagers. It was starting all over again.

  “Are you coming?” Dasen yelled from in front of her. “Apparently, I am an imbecile, so where are you professor?”

  Teth sniffed then strengthened her resolve. The last thing she could do was show him that he had struck a nerve. He could not know her weakness. She took a deep breath, gathered herself, and strode after him. Her bare foot came down on a sharp rock that had been hidden by needles. She pitched forward, lost her balance, and landed in a puddle of mud. Unhurt, she pulled herself up and wiped the muck from her hands. The event was not traumatic, but it crushed her fragile façade and left her on the verge of tears.

  That was until she heard Dasen laughing. The sound of his forced cackle made her jaw clinch tight. She cast him an icy glare that just brought more peals of laughter. “Professor, may I ask how wallowing in the mud will get us to safety? I know I’m just a . . . .”

  “Shut up!” Teth yelled. She rose to her feet, wiped the mud from her hands, and ignored the rough ground as she closed the distance between them. Her voice turned low and venomous. “You know, I could have laughed when you fell. I could have left you lying there in the mud for those men, but I went back for you and risked my life to do it.”

  “Well, don’t forget that I saved you from the river.”

  “Which we wouldn’t have been in if it wasn’t for you!” Teth’s voice echoed through the forest. She did not notice the volume. She was enraged. “And now we have no chance of saving my aunt. I may never see her again. . . . And what about the coach? I got these by going back for you.” She motioned to her arms. “All I have done is save you. I owe you nothing. You owe me everything, so just shut up!” She was bellowing, her face inches from his, trembling with fury.

  Finally, she backed off and dropped her voice. “Give me your socks, and we’ll get out of here.”

  Dasen stared at her as if he wanted to continue the argument but wisely did not. He dropped his eyes to her bare foot, took a deep breath, and sat on a nearby log to pull off his boots. He held two damp silk tubes out to her a moment later, but his eyes did not rise to meet hers. She stood over him with her arms crossed and death in her eyes, but he did not cower.

  Teth smacked him in the arm when his boots were back on. “Move.”

  He looked up at her, but she just held out the socks. He rose but did not go far. She took his place on the log, wrung the water from the socks, and pulled them onto her bare foot then doubled them back over again to give herself as many layers of protection as possible.

  She looked at the sky streaked with red and orange then the forest around them. “I have a hunting shelter near here. I think we can make it there before dark.”

  She hoped that she was right. As far as she knew no one other than her and her aunt ever came to this side of the river, and the forest was dense and wild as a result. She knew it well but also knew that it could not be treated lightly. Even she could get lost out here. If they were across from the logging camp, they should be close to her shelter, but until she found a landmark she could not be sure. In the meantime, she might lead them nowhere. And once the sun was down. . . . Well, she’d deal with that when it happened.

  Socks in place, Teth gathered herself to go. She felt some of her anger fading, but it was replaced by crushing fatigue, a pounding headache, and disorientation. Apparently, she had not survived the river unscathed. Waves of light-headedness washed over her, and she put her head in her hands to steady herself. Her senses eventually returned, and when they did, she stood before the weakness could hit her again. Unfortunately, she rose too fast. Spots danced before her eyes, threatening to send her back to her seat.

  Dasen saved her with a hand on her elbow. “Are you alright? You don’t look good, maybe we shou . . .”

  “I am fine!” She jerked her arm away. “Have you never stood up too fast?”

  Dasen did not respond. He just watched her warily as she rubbed her head, hoping for some relief from the pounding. "Here, take this,” he offered. He held out a piece of the white bark she had given him earlier.

  She snapped it from his hand and put it in her mouth. Her face twisted at the taste. She waited for him to take a larger piece for himself, and when he did not, she watched his mouth to be certain that he was not already chewing. “Aren’t you going to have some?”

  “That was the last piece, but I’ll be fine. My headache has faded a lot.”

  Teth knew he was lying. She could se
e the pain reflected in his face, could keep time by the regular popping of his eyes and pursing of his mouth, and it made the bark taste even worse. She could barely chew for the rotten way it made her feel, but she did not give in. She had to remain strong. If she let the boy think that she had been wrong, he would never stop lording it over her. It would undermine every attempt she made to assert herself. She might as well volunteer to cook his meals or polish his shoes.

  Nothing more was said. They walked in silence from the clearing into the untouched forest. The trees here were almost entirely conifers – pines, firs, and cedar. They stood close together, their cascades of needles blocking out all but the barest streaks of sunlight. As a result, the ground around the trees was largely free of vegetation, consisting primarily of a solid bed of needles over a mass of protruding roots. Though they did not have to deal with brush, the ground was rough, uneven, and rocky. They were close to the mountains now, and hills were steeper, cliffs and ravines were common, great slabs of granite stood out, keeping watch between the trees. Teth led them confidently through that daunting landscape, moving easily around trees and rocks, selecting routes that wound around ravines. And it was not long before the Order favored them. A massive thumb of rock appeared before them, jutting out of the forest floor almost as tall as the surrounding trees. It was the landmark Teth needed. It meant that they were only a mile from her shelter.

  Teth slowed to be certain that she had her bearings. Seeing the landmark lightened her spirit, but the uneasiness she had experienced back at the clearing had not left. Her head was pounding despite the higg bark, waves of exhaustion and disorientation nearly overpowered her, and she felt chills despite the warm evening. Another of the spells set upon her, and she held the rock to keep herself from falling.

  Somewhere, it seemed distant, Dasen was asking if she was alright. There was real concern in his voice, but she rebuked him with some snide remark, and he fell silent. The feeling passed as quickly as it had come, and she dismissed it as exhaustion. In any case, she told herself, they would be at the shelter soon.

  They continued from there at an uneasy pace. The forest was rough, and neither of them was in any condition to move quickly. As they went, Teth thought back on the events by the river, on how she had ruined everything. She had wanted that kiss as much as him, had wanted to replace her fear and heartbreak with something warm and inviting. So why had she pushed him away, said those terrible things?

  With the thought, she looked back at Dasen. He was stumbling loudly behind her with his head down. He had found a stick to help his injured knee, but he still limped badly. His breath came in pants, and he grunted with nearly every step, but he kept going. His once pristine shirt and jacket were black with mud, his pants were tattered and bloody, and his hair clung to his face or stood on end making him look very much like a drowned rat.

  She did not look much better. Her dress was a mud-stained rag with enough rips and tears to be scandalous. She could feel her fine hair frizzed around her like a dandelion gone to seed. And her arms, face, and legs were covered with scratches and bruises like a six-year-old having a bad day.

  The ridiculousness of it all made her want to laugh despite herself. Has there ever been such a day in the history of the Order? She snorted to herself, but it was enough to draw Dasen’s attention. Precarious balance disrupted, his foot slipped, his bum knee collapsed, and he pitched forward. He did not fall hard, but he cried out then struggled to rise.

  And Teth laughed. She did not think it was funny, but she was so exhausted, so overwhelmed that she could not stop herself. It was all too much, like a bad joke that wouldn’t end. And she couldn’t wait any longer for the punch line. She laughed because it was easier than crying, but Dasen didn’t hear it that way.

  He pulled himself up, leaning heavily on a nearby tree, and glowered. “So we’re even now. Ha, Ha. But let me tell you something. I don’t have to take this from you. The people around here may have let you get away with this charade, but you are now my wife by law, and it will end! What in the name of the Holy Order is wrong with you? I mean, if I’d known I was marrying a boy, I never would have come to this Order-forsaken place to start with!” His voice rose throughout his tirade until he was yelling. His accusing eyes pounded her.

  That was not the first time Teth had heard those types of insults. She got them almost every day from the boys in Randor’s Pass, but for some reason, they were different coming from Dasen. They were crushing. Her laughter stopped, and she turned before he could see the damage he’d inflicted, fought the emotions that threatened to drag her down. Speaking, she knew, would break that dam, so she just walked away. But she could not stop the tears that ran like cinders down her charred cheek.

  Dasen sighed behind her deep and shaking. She thought he would speak again, but he swallowed his words and followed.

  As they walked, Teth felt the dark emotions taking hold of her, building and mutating. She released her ire on the trees, pushing branches violently to the side or breaking them off and tossing them into the forest. Then she stopped breaking the branches. Instead, she held them just long enough so that they would snap back and hit Dasen. She chose routes that she knew would be difficult for him and quickened her pace as much as she could through her overbearing exhaustion in an attempt to lose him. Much to her chagrin, he kept the pace despite his limp and simply huffed and scowled at every branch she snapped into his face.

  Another branch hit him with a thump. He grunted, but Teth only felt sorrow. She knew that she was only making it worse, knew that he would repay her tenfold when they reached the city. But at that moment, she could not make herself care. She hated him. She dreamed of him lost in the forest and crying out for help. Other dark thought commingled with those dreadful imaginings, thoughts about their life in the city. As a woman, she would have no rights over a rich and powerful husband who hated her. He would make her miserable, he had as much as said it himself. And she was only making it worse with every branch she sent flying into his face.

  She took another step. A wave of sickness hit her. They had been coming and going since the river, but they were more frequent now and more severe. She stopped and leaned against a tree to keep herself from falling. Spinning, lightheadedness, and now nausea hit her. She shivered. They were almost to the shelter. She just had to hold out until then.

  Dasen came up behind her and said something she could not decipher. She refused to let him see her falter, so she pulled herself from the tree before the spell had passed. The resulting dizziness was worse than she had expected. The ground spun, its speed ever-increasing. Somewhere, Dasen asked if he could help. She tried to assure him that she would be fine, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the ground fell from beneath her.

  Dasen caught her but nearly fell himself as the weight shifted to his bad knee. He helped her to the ground and knelt over her. She could hear him speaking. He sounded like he was miles away. The world spun. Dark spots dominated her vision, but she had to give him directions to the shelter.

  "In that direction," she mumbled and managed to point west, "there’s a wall of rock. Against the rock is a shelter. It’s not far. You. . . ." She could not remember what else she was going to say. She watched the tops of the trees spin together until they finally met and faded to black.