by Anny Cook
“Don’t you understand? I don’t even remember packing this stuff!” He shook her gently. “What else have I done?”
“Whatever else you’ve done doesn’t matter, Trav. It’s finished. Our lives start from now on.”
Dancer laughed quietly when they were finished. “Well, I don’t know what you have packed in your packs but so far, we’re the proud owners of two whisk brooms, a snow scraper, an expired first aid kit, six boxes of Band-Aids—here, Ly—take these, maybe you can use them for the kids. Aha! A bat to go with the mitt and balls, a collapsible water bucket, a two-man pop-up tent and two blow-up pillows. That isn’t too bad, Trav. Most of it actually makes a wacky sort of sense.”
He looked up at Trav and Wrenna. “Trav, how’re you doing, man? You okay now?”
Trav looked down at his brother and nodded. “I don’t know what happened…” He shook his head. “I don’t remember doing any of that. I guess we’re lucky I didn’t bring along something really strange. Or maybe I did and it’s all in the packs. Do you mind going through them?”
“Nope. Let’s get this stuff cleared away and then we’ll go through the packs.” Eppie and Jade helped him decide what to do with the things they had. When everything was cleared away, they started on the packs. One pack was pretty straightforward, mostly clothes and toiletries. Trav was excited about the two new packages of socks because his feet were always cold, so they left them out of the pack, with his shampoo, conditioner and other toiletries. The other pack was quite different. It was filled with photo albums, personal papers, three more paperbacks, his sketch pads and pencils, two small stained-glass projects, a set of throwing knives, a blowgun with darts, a garrote and his gun with two boxes of ammunition. Finally, there was twenty thousand dollars in cash.
There was a small silence when the tools of his trade were laid out. “I think that we will put the weapons and money away until we decide if we might need them in the future,” Merlyn suggested quietly from the doorway. Everyone looked at him in puzzlement. “Never get rid of a weapon, just because you don’t see a current use for it,” he said. “With your permission, Trav, I will put these with the other things we have like them. While I hope we never need them, I can’t guarantee that we won’t.”
Trav and Dance exchanged sharp looks, before Trav replied, “As you say, Merlyn. Put them away. I wouldn’t want the children to find them and get hurt.”
Except for the two stained-glass ornaments, the other things were returned to that pack until Trav had time to sort through them. The ornaments he gave to Wrenna as a bonding present. One was a hummingbird with a red flower. The other was a bouquet of irises and daffodils. She was so enchanted that he longed to make her a big hanging panel to put in her window.
When all the things were repacked, Llyon and Hawke carried them back to Merlyn’s office. The others went on to other tasks, leaving Trav and Wrenna seated on the bed, still wrapped close. “Are you going to be okay if I go finish cleaning up?” she asked seriously.
He sighed. “Yeah. I don’t have any idea what happened, Wren. It was just like suddenly I couldn’t stop shaking.” He rubbed his cheek against hers. “And then you came and everything was all right. I love you, Wrenna. I don’t know when I fell in love with you but when you came running in here, I just knew I would be okay if you were here to hold me.”
“I’ll always be here, Trav. I’m going to go clean up and then I’ll be right back.” She kissed him once more then slid off his lap and crawled over to the edge of the bed. “Remember,” she said sternly, “I’ll be right back. Don’t get up to anything while I’m gone.”
“Who? Me? It’ll never happen, Wren.”
As he settled back and finally got comfortable against the pillows, two gentle plops heralded the arrival of two packits. One was a huge fluffy cream and orange animal who stared at him unblinkingly. It had a wriggling critter in its mouth and he wondered it he should try to wrest the live dinner from it, when it opened its mouth and released a tiny animal on the coverlet. He saw that it was a very indignant firka, squeaking angrily at the packit before scuttling up the bed and diving unceremoniously under the covers next to his pillow. It wiggled down until it found a comfortable place on his chest and curled up to sleep. He wasn’t sure but he thought it might be Ladypuff. The other packit, a sleek dark brown animal with a cream face, stalked over to him, licked his ear and curled up next to him on the pillow.
After stomping up and down the bed, the orange packit found a soft place under his arm. He turned around in a circle several times and then collapsed in a curled heap next to Trav’s ribs and proceeded to purr loudly.
After a moment, Trav laughed at his new babysitters and joined them in sleep.
When Wrenna returned to check on him, she stood next to the bed enjoying the tableaux. With peace in her heart, she decided that this was a sign that Trav would have no need for the scary packet of tools he had carried into the valley. She was certain that he would not hesitate to use them to protect her or her family or Dancer but he no longer needed them for his own identity. And she was glad.
When the firka wiggled around and resettled, she thought perhaps it would be safer on the outside of the covers and softly slid her hand beneath the coverlet to catch it. Just as her fingers brushed the soft fur, Trav’s hand clamped around hers and he growled, “Leave my firka alone!” She giggled with joy.
“I was trying to save your firka!” she whispered between giggles. “I didn’t want it to get squashed!”
“You just never mind my firka!” He tickled the palm of her hand. “Were you going to replace it with yourself?” he demanded.
She shivered a moment at the thought of curling up and taking the firka’s place. “Soon, Trav. Pretty soon, there won’t ever be any room for anyone but me. Not even a tiny firka.”
After kissing her palm, he tucked her hand under the covers on his chest next to the firka. “It can’t be soon enough for me, love. Not soon enough.”
“I see you’ve met the packits and Squeaky. How did he get in here anyway? He’s Gazelle’s,” she said with a slight smile.
“Squeaky’s the firka, I take it?” She nodded. “And what are the packit’s names?”
She laughed quietly. “The orange and white one is called Macaroon and the brown one is Snickers. Mama named them when they were tiny kits. We thought that they were silly names but Papa said that they were named for two of Mama’s favorite things from outside.” She wrinkled her brow. “I think he said they were some kind of sweet treats.”
“Yeah, they are. I bet there are a lot of little things your folks miss.”
“What do you miss?” she asked softly.
“Pizza.”
“Pizza?” She looked at him quizzically. “Is there really such a thing?”
“Yeah. It’s dough with vegetables and meats and cheese on it. Baked so the crust is crispy. Mmm. Almost as delicious as you are.”
“Trav,” she whispered. “I love you so much.” Crawling up on the bed, she displaced Snickers as she lay down next to Trav. “Get well soon, please.”
When Llyon came in to check Trav at the end of the evening, he found them there, Trav sleeping soundly under the covers with Wrenna snuggled next to him on top of the blanket. While he was still debating whether to find her a blanket and leave her there, she woke up.
“What time is it?” she asked quietly.
“Time to go to bed,” he answered with a smile. “The question is which bed?”
“My own for tonight. We need the sleep,” she said reluctantly as she crawled down. “We don’t do much sleeping together.”
He nodded. “He will be ready for your bonding pretty soon, Wrenna. Just be patient.”
Sighing quietly, she said, “I’m trying, Llyon.”
* * * * *
The light breeze spread the scent of rain and quoltania bushes through the open window. Dancer enjoyed the light cinnamony scent and breathed in appreciatively before shifting to cuddle closer with
Eppie. He spread his hand across her belly and rubbed their baby gently, careful not to wake Eppie. He froze when a tiny out-of-place sound wafted through the open window. A few seconds later, he caught the slight brush of fabric and silently he slipped from the bed, moving across the room to the window.
Peeking from behind the soft curtains, he saw a man stalking down the path to the back gate. Grabbing his sharda, he shinnied over the windowsill and soundlessly followed him as far as the river. Within a few feet, he knew he was trailing Merlyn but he was intensely curious about what could possibly bring his bond-father out in the rain in the middle of the night.
When Merlyn crossed the bridge and headed out into the open field past the training halls, Dancer waited until the buildings were between them and followed. He sank down in the deepest shadow in a dark corner and waited for a few moments, in case Merlyn returned. Just as he was satisfied that Merlyn wasn’t coming back his way, he heard a soft footstep on the bridge and barely made out the figure of Llyon coming his way.
Breathing shallowly, he squatted motionless in the dark while Llyon softly passed him in the rain. Slipping around the end of the building so that it was between him and the bridge, he crept to the corner until he could see the field clearly. The fine hairs along his spine tightened as he watched the small group of men in astonishment. There on the field he saw why the hair ornaments were called chinkas.
While all of the men stood in a semicircle watching intently, Llyon spun rapidly toward a practice dummy, his braids whipping out around him from the centrifugal force. When he came within reach of the dummy, the chinkas struck it with deadly force, making a very distinctive sound. Chinka, chinka, chinka. Dancer shuddered as he watched Llyon’s lethal dance shred the dummy.
When Llyon came to a standstill, the men formed a line and one after the other each performed the same savage maneuver. After several more passes, the men divided into pairs and started practicing basic hand-to-hand fighting moves. Dancer assessed their skills and decided that they were fairly basic. Depending on what Merlyn and Llyon had to say after the practice, he might be able to assist them. He watched the entire practice, patiently waiting until all of the men were gone except Merlyn and Llyon.
Having seen exactly what Llyon could do, both with the chinkas and with his mind, Dancer took him down quickly and efficiently before disabling Merlyn. While he waited for them to come around, he tied Merlyn’s hands together behind his back with a couple of his braids and admired his work. Hair was notoriously difficult to unknot and if Merlyn moved very much, he would rip his own hair out. Then he sat down in the middle of Llyon’s back and waited.
He knew the moment Llyon was conscious and cheerfully cautioned, “I wouldn’t do anything too hasty,” and felt him relax when he recognized his voice. Merlyn groaned and then cursed fluently and creatively for quite a while. Dancer listened raptly to his repertoire, admiring the fact that he didn’t once repeat himself. When he was silent, Dance inquired calmly, “Have you called out the reinforcements?”
“Who the hell would we call?” Llyon asked in exasperation. “Mama? Everyone else has gone with Dai!”
“This is true,” Dance agreed, struck by the undeniable facts. Bish, Dai and Tyger were all far away. Arturo was with Dai also. Arano was with Silence. Wolfe was at the other end of the valley. If these were the defenders of the valley, they were woefully undermanned.
“What do you want?” Merlyn demanded with resignation.
“I watched your little practice session and I want to know why,” Dance replied quietly. “What has you in such a panic that you’ve set up a militia? Because that’s what it is, isn’t it? This isn’t the same as the standard warrior training.” He waited patiently while Merlyn and Ly had an intense silent discussion. When they seemed to come to an impasse, he pointed out, “I have the right to know. I have a bond mate and a child on the way. Your grandchild, lest you forget.”
Merlyn sighed. “It’s you and Trav,” he admitted reluctantly. “You’re the reason we got the men together.”
More puzzled than ever, Dancer stood up, freeing Llyon. Cautiously, he unknotted Merlyn’s hair and released his bonds. “Why? What have we done to you?”
“You found the valley, not accidentally but with purpose.”
“Are you both completely whacked? I know I didn’t hit you that hard! I literally stumbled into that cave.”
Merlyn shook his head. “No. But I think we should go back and wake Trav. I would rather only explain one time.”
When they reached the house and quietly slipped into Trav’s room, his dark velvety voice casually warned them, “I sure hope you’re not friendly. I do hate to kill friends.”
Laughing very quietly, Dancer said, “Hold. Give us a light, Trav.”
Trav reached out and twisted the light stone. In the dim light, he saw his damp guests and deduced that something was afoot. “Ly, find some bath sheets. You might as well not drip all over my floor,” he suggested placidly. “If you’re all going to hang around a while, you’ll need to bring some more chairs.”
Llyon brought bath sheets and they stripped off the wet shardas, briskly dried and then wrapped up in the bath sheets. While Dancer related his tale of the evening’s events, Merlyn went to the kitchen, brewed some tea and came back with mugs of the hot, sweet drink and Llyon brought in a couple of chairs. When they were settled, Trav said, “I think it’s time you tell us the rest of the story.”
Merlyn gulped his tea and burned his mouth. Wincing he replied, “Until you came, we didn’t know about your mother. Has Dai explained about her?” Trav nodded slowly. “Did she tell you anything about where she came from?” Merlyn asked softly.
“She didn’t know. When she was about three, she was left in a church in Philadelphia with a note pinned to her coat,” Dancer reminded him impassively. “The note gave her name and age and said that her mother was dying and couldn’t care for her anymore. They never found her parents.”
Merlyn nodded sadly. “And when you came here you found out she was Dai’s daughter. You are Dai’s grandsons, returned to the valley.”
Dancer had already grasped the implications and ramifications. “It means the valley is in more danger than we thought. We thought that Free killed our family but couldn’t think of a reason,” he said grimly. “Remember that Mom was questioned and we couldn’t figure out why or what she would know. That bastard had her tortured! If I had known I would have killed him myself!”
“You don’t know the whole of it, Dancer. Your aunt Morgana and Uncle Nate came to the valley even before Jade and me. Think about that.”
“Our family is screwed,” Traveller said baldly. “We should have killed Free before we came.”
Llyon touched his hand gently and said, “You would have to stand in line, Trav. He is responsible for many deaths.”
“Now you know why we prepare.” Merlyn stared at them soberly. “He knows something. I don’t know what, or how close he is to finding the valley but he knows. He’s been searching for this valley for a long time. And as long as he knows something he’ll keep trying.”
“That’s why you sent Bish with Dai? You aren’t sure where his loyalties lie? How long has Dai known?” Trav asked quietly.
“Since the morning you agreed to bond with Wrenna,” Merlyn answered with a smile. “He found a tiny electronic bug in your bedding. I suspect it might have fallen out of your hair.”
Dancer looked at Merlyn. “You know, I feel better in one way. It’s been really bothering me that I bonded with Eppie so quickly.”
Trav nodded. “I also have been having trouble with that. You would never have made such a quick decision on the outside. I’m more comfortable with everything that’s happened, even if we’re in more danger now.” He looked at Dancer. “What do you have in mind?”
“I think that Llyon and I will do some exploring close to the village. I didn’t really have much of a chance to see what kind of terrain we have to work with. I will work with Ly
and Merlyn a little to fine-tune their skills. Hopefully, we’ll have time to get you back on your feet before we need you.”
Llyon and Merlyn nodded slowly. “Tomorrow is another day. I suggest that we get some rest now. I’ll go bring Jade up to date,” Merlyn announced with a smile. “I’m sure she’ll have all sorts of things to say to me about staying out all night!”
“And I will try to sneak back in without waking Eppie!”
Llyon chuckled softly. “Good luck!”
Chapter Fifteen
Bored to extinction. That’s what I’ll be if I have to spend one more hour in this bed, thought Traveller. He ran his fingers over his naked body, noting the odd bump or bulge that hadn’t been there before the cave explosion. Would he ever be the same? No, he reluctantly admitted. But neither would he get any better until he was up on his feet and moving around.
