Return (Lady of Toryn trilogy)

by Charity Santiago

  You have no idea.

  "Okay," Ashlyn said, "is everybody clear? Captains, meet me at the main gate. Spartans- and Aaron- follow me. Let's move out."

  She turned on her heel and walked out the door before realizing that she probably should have checked to see if the Spartans actually were following. Turning again, she reached for the door handle but missed it as the door opened and Ellis walked straight into her.

  "Ow," Ashlyn said, even though it hadn't hurt, and then Vargo bumped into her on his way past and she nearly fell over.

  Ellis steadied her with a hand on her shoulder. "Don't fall. It'll make you look weak," he said, deadpan.

  "Oh, very funny." She straightened and shrugged his hands off. "Follow-"

  The door opened again, knocking into Ellis and sending him careening into her. Ashlyn stumbled backwards into Vargo, grasping frantically for anything to stop her descent as she fell half-on top of him, and failing miserably.

  "Nice catch," she muttered, squiggling off of him and shuddering. "Gods, could you be any more klutzy?"

  "You're one to talk," he retorted, and stood up. "Falling all over the place every time Lockhart walks into a room. Fix your shirt."

  She pulled the hem of her too-small tank top down over her midriff, which really didn't help because the movement only exposed more of her cleavage, and the bindings couldn't hide everything that had developed over the last decade. "You know what, Vargo, this is not going to work if you can't respect me."

  "I respect you just fine," he snapped, and shrugged out of his suit jacket, slinging it across the stone waste can beside them before he began unbuttoning his dress shirt. "There's a million and five reasons why I'd want to look at you in that top, Ash, but I can think of one good reason right now why I can't afford to." He took off the shirt, wearing just the t-shirt now, and held it out to her. "Put this on."

  "You're a grown man," Ashlyn groused as she took the shirt from him and put it on, tying it up in a knot at the hem of her shorts. She began to roll up the sleeves, which were much too long for her. "You should be able to at least control your hormones by now."

  "Believe me, it's not usually a problem," he seethed, yanking the jacket back on with jerky motions. "Only around you."

  Ellis cleared his throat loudly, and they both jumped, Ashlyn looking guiltily over at him like she'd done something wrong.

  "Am I interrupting something?" he said, and his voice was unusually impassive, even for him.

  "Nope," Ashlyn said. She glared at Vargo, unable to believe that the awful things she'd said earlier had hardly affected him. "Follow me."

  She turned and headed for the front gate, where she knew Kou would be waiting for her. The Spartans and Aaron followed behind- well, Vargo actually followed beside her, which prompted Ashlyn to drop back and skirt around Aaron, putting the pilot between them. Aaron, for his part, didn't seem to notice.

  Kou met them at the base of the stairs leading up to the crow's nest. "My Lady," he said, bowing low.

  "Kou, I want you to take my friends to my father's house and help them relocate the people underground," Ashlyn said, shrugging off the courtly bow as best she could. "Vargo, Trace, Ellis- this is Kou. He'll assign a troop of soldiers to each location and place them under your direction. Guard them with your life."

  Kou glanced at Ashlyn, confusion written on his features, but he didn't question her actions. "Is there anything else you wish of me, Lady Li?"

  "Not right now, thanks." She felt a sudden pang in her ankle, and grimaced.

  Kou bowed again and was gone, the Spartans trailing after him like lost children. Vargo stared pointedly over his shoulder at Ashlyn as he walked away, somehow managing not to trip over his own feet, and she scowled and stared at her hands. Jerk.

  “What’s that look for?” Aaron asked from beside her. “Ya okay?”

  "It’s my ankle," Ashlyn muttered, frowning as she flexed the bandage. It was beginning to stick to the open wound. "I've gotta get this looked at before my whole darn foot falls off. I swear I can feel the gangrene forming already. Think you can give me a hand?”

  "Got some heal on me," Aaron said, rolling up his sleeve to show her his armband. Several stanes glittered at her from the steel band. "You wanna head to your house?" He pulled his sleeve back down. "Unless ya'd rather stay here."

  His proposal was sound; she didn't want to leave the main gate when Skye and the others were supposed to meet her there, and her house was much closer than her father's.

  "Okay," Ashlyn said. "Let's go."

  She tried not to hobble as they wove through the crowds towards her home, and Aaron was considerate enough to slow his pace so she could keep up. Ashlyn slid open the front door and stepped inside, hopping to one side so that Aaron could enter behind her.

  "Oh man," she said, collapsing on the floor. No way was she going to let Aaron anywhere near the bathroom. That would open up a whole new can of worms. "I feel like death warmed over."

  "Ya don't look it," Aaron said, kneeling and beginning to unwrap the makeshift bandage.

  "Why, thank you, Mister Sullivan. I do believe that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Ashlyn paused to consider why she didn't feel the need to act responsible and reserved in front of Aaron, then dismissed it just as quickly. She'd always felt comfortable around him- maybe it was his gruff, strangely endearing demeanor- and there was no need to impress the old pilot, even now.

  "Vargo givin' ya trouble again?" the man in question asked suddenly, and Ashlyn lifted her head to regard him. His eyes were downcast and his goggles prominent on his forehead, obscuring his features from view, so she couldn't see his expression.

  "What, outside Heaven?" she asked, propping herself up on her elbows. "Not really, I guess. He was just being his usual annoying self." She frowned, thinking about how irritating Vargo could be.

  "Yer wearin' his shirt."

  "So I am," she agreed, fingering the knotted shirttails. "Nothing I own fits me anymore. I think I gained some weight in the past eight years, lost my girlish figure." She sighed. "All right, maybe I look like a fat cow now, but at least I'm not a stick. I used to get teased all the time for my serious lack of- um, curves." She smiled when he cleared his throat uncomfortably. The female anatomy probably wasn't a common topic of conversation in the Sullivan household. Sara, beneath her giant glasses and bulky lab coats, gave off the general aura of a sexless overstuffed teddy bear, although Aaron probably wouldn't agree with Ashlyn on that point.

  Aaron slowly peeled the last of the bandage away from her ankle, and Ashlyn hissed through her teeth as he peeled a good deal of dried blood with it. "Careful," she said belatedly.

  She bit her lower lip as she watched his fingers brush over the skin around the self-inflicted wound. He didn't ask how she got it, and for that she was grateful, but she knew he must be curious. Slowly Ashlyn eased herself back down onto the floor, bracing herself for the inevitable pain that would come with the healing. She took a deep breath, centered herself, and waited.

  Some people spoke when they worked magic, muttered spells or incantations to help things along. Aaron was a mutterer, just as he'd been when he'd healed her before. After the initial contact he didn't touch her, though, instead choosing to brace his hands on the floor as he channeled the magic into her ankle- which, ironically enough, was the same leg that she'd injured in that scuffle with Lysato just a few days ago.

  "Drake and I have the same blood type," she said absently as her skin began to itch.

  "Yeah, ya told me before." Amusement curled around his tone, lingering in the air like a pleasant sort of smoke.

  "Yup. Just making sure you don't forget." She winced as a jolt of pain sliced through her consciousness, and fought to keep still. "Hurry, please."

  "Gotcha." Aaron rocked back on his heels, and Ashlyn struggled up on her elbows again, suspicious.

  "That was it?"

  He looked slightly perturbed. "Ya ain't got no faith, Li, that's yer problem."
>
  She looked down at her ankle to see a fresh layer of scar tissue over the wound. Some of it was still gouged, still scabbed over, but for the most part, it was mended, and far better and faster than any professional healer could have done.

  "Gods, Aaron. I forgot how good you were with magic." She sat up and reached down to run her fingers across the new scar, noting that there was still some tenderness. "I guess that's why Drake is here when he should still be in bed with a massive stab wound?"

  There was a pause.

  "He'd be worse than that if ya hadn't deflected the sword," Aaron said at length.

  She looked up, and blinked, recognizing the smile in his eyes for the first time. "He told you about that, huh?" she asked excitedly, momentarily forgetting her vow to ignore her attraction to men.

  "Sure did," Aaron said. He pulled a cigar from his pocket and jammed it between his teeth, looking nonchalant. Ooh. Drake must have gone on about her quite a bit.

  "Tell me everything he said," Ashlyn pleaded, grabbing Aaron's shoulder and shaking him with as much force as she could muster.

  "Said you weren't no traitor," the blond-haired pilot replied, pushing her hand away. "Shoulda believed him, I guess."

  Swoon time. Ashlyn sat back, imagining Drake telling everyone that no, there was no way Ashlyn could possibly betray FLD. "She has always been loyal to us," he would have said, standing tall and gorgeous in the conference room of the airship. She could see every detail of his face and clothing in her mind's eye, looking so delectable that Ashlyn felt like she could eat him with a spoon. An errant lock of hair was hanging in front of imaginary Drake's eyes, and she reflexively reached out to tuck it behind his ear, her heart breaking all over again.

  Aaron jerked back as her hand groped blindly for his face. "Uh, Ash-"

  There was a sharp rap at the door. "Ash?"

  Ungh. Skye.

  Holy crap. Her father…Kou…Toryn under attack! Ashlyn leaped to her feet, horrified that she'd forgotten so easily and nearly knocking Aaron over in her haste. "Come in!" she exclaimed, hopping on one foot to put her sock back on.

  The door slid open. "We're ready," Skye said, stepping inside. He looked at Ashlyn, hopping with one shoe half on, and at Aaron, who was still kneeling on the floor. His expression didn't change, but Ashlyn immediately felt guilty, like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

  The shoe slipped from her fingers and hit the floor, and Ashlyn straightened up, trying to pretend that she was perfectly poised. In control. Yup.

  Something barreled into her from behind, sending Ashlyn flying forward onto her hands and knees. She skidded across the floor, yelping as splinters embedding themselves in her palms. Almost immediately she felt a crushing weight on top of her. With it came a hot breath on her neck, and the strong stench of wet fur.

  Only one thought crossed her mind, and it wasn't for her own safety. If the monsters were already inside the city, inside her house, and Ashlyn hadn't yet set up the perimeter guards, then Toryn would fall before they even had a chance to defend themselves.

  Something wet and warm fell onto her neck. What-?

  Oh, gods.

  "DROOL!" Ashlyn shrieked. "Total grossness!" She threw her head back with all the force she could muster, catching the monster square in its snout. Ashlyn saw stars for the briefest instant before suddenly the weight was gone from her back, and she heard the sounds of a scuffle behind her. Rolling over on her back, she sat up just in time to watch Skye and a brown, furry figure almost twice his size crash through the back wall of her house.

  She sprang to her feet, ignoring the absence of one shoe, and ran after them. Skye was grappling with the beast, rolling over and over again in an attempt to somehow subdue the crazed monster. Without a thought as to what the consequences would be, Ashlyn threw herself into the fray, grabbing onto a fistful of fur and yanking for all she was worth.

  She didn't really expect the bear to completely turn from Skye and start attacking her, but somehow wasn't surprised when it happened. It turned and lunged at her, knocking the wind out of her as she hit the ground. Ashlyn found herself dodging teeth, claws and slimy strings of drool. She scrambled sideways as the bear snapped its jaws shut inches from her face, and brought her bare foot around to connect with the side of its head.

  The blow didn't seem to faze the beast at all.

  Ashlyn flipped up in a scissor-kick, again landing a solid hit, but she might as well have been beating her legs against a brick wall. Nothing happened. A little shaky from the sudden exertion, she stood and dodged another advance from the bear, wondering how the hell she was going to fight her way out of this one.

  "Ashlyn," Drake said calmly from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder at him and squeaked out an exclamation when she saw that he had his revolver aimed right at her.

  "Wait a second!" she yelped, dropping into a crouch, covering her head with her arms and waiting for the sound of the gunshot. But it didn't come.

  She looked up just in time to leap out of the way of yet another swipe from the bear. "Uh, Drake?" Ashlyn exclaimed, executing a perfect jab to the monster's throat- or at least, where she assumed his throat was underneath all that fur. It must have worked, because the bear staggered backwards on its hind legs, hacking up spittle.

  Just then a giant bolt of lightning split the sky, zig-zagging down to tear through the grass in front of Ashlyn and hit the bear. The smell of burning fur whipped along the wind of the storm, and the creature shrieked, pawing uselessly at its blistering skin as it fell forward. Ashlyn scrambled out of the way of the flailing monster, swallowing hard and trying her best not to wonder if the bear was anyone she knew.

  As the beast finally stilled, singed fur still smoking, Skye walked up beside her. "A scout," he said grimly. "This is actually good news. We bought some time by killing him. They'll wait before sending another one. They have no idea where it's possible to penetrate the city's defenses, and this guy's not about to tell them."

  "Right." Ashlyn stared down at the dying bear. "Aaron," she said before she could change her mind, "take him to the pagoda. Restrain him, but see if he can be saved. He may be useful to us later. Skye, we need to set up that perimeter defense." She turned to head back to the main gate.

  "Ashlyn," Aaron said as she walked away.

  "What?" She glanced over her shoulder and stopped.

  The bear was shape-shifting, its fur slowly receding into seared skin, its features changing into something entirely more human- and familiar.

  Heart in her throat, Ashlyn jogged back to the naked man and knelt beside him.

  "Oh gods," she murmured.

  "Someone you know?" Skye called.

  Ashlyn looked up, met Aaron's eyes. "It's my cousin," she said. "Help me move him to the pagoda."

  Chapter 14

  Shaky Ground

  “Wait." Drake knelt beside her, so close she could feel the heat of his shoulder against hers, a shock from the chilly western air.

  "There's no time to wait." Ashlyn shifted her weight, balancing herself. "Aaron, help me-"

  "Ashlyn," Drake interrupted gently, touching her arm. "The army awaits your orders."

  She paused, looking at him incredulously. Being Drake, she kind of expected him to be out of the loop sometimes, but how, exactly, could he think of the Toryn army at a time like this?

  "The city is under attack," he said, unnerving in his infinite patience. "They need a leader."

  "And this kid needs a healer," Aaron said. He chewed agitatedly on his ever-present cigarette. "I'll do my best, just get the troops rallied fer me."

  Slowly it began to occur to Ashlyn what was happening. They were telling her, in the most respectful way possible, that she couldn't help her cousin now. They were telling her she needed to put aside her personal ties and be a leader.

  "Oh," she said in a small voice, the incredible vastness of her undertaking suddenly seeming overwhelming. Sort of like the time her dad had dumped her in the cherry blosso
m orchard in the middle of fall and told her to clean up all the dead foliage. She'd stared at him, mouth agape- hello, I'm eleven years old? You have GOT to be kidding.

  This was sort of like that.

  Skye seemed to notice her distress, and moved into action, as he always did. "Aaron, move him to the pagoda. When you're finished, come back out and Ash will assign you to your post. Ash," and he put a hand on her elbow, pulling her up to her feet effortlessly, "we need to give the troops a purpose. Are you all right?"

  "Sure," she said reflexively, without bothering to stop and consider, then shook her head. "I mean…"

  Skye gave her arm a squeeze, and she glanced up at him. His eyes were darkened, glowing in their customary way, but now with a devastating purpose. He'd spent the entirety of their undertaking with Lord Angelo leading FLD, fighting to overcome his private demons every step of the way. Ashlyn had never realized until now how intense the pressure must have been. He was a natural leader, but his time was past. Now he was supporting her in the only way he could- silently.

  "I'm fine," she said softly, and turned, his hand slipping from her elbow as she did. The cold air that hit her skin at the absence of his fingers sent a shiver up her bicep, and Ashlyn wrapped her arms around herself, noting to herself that the rain had started again. Defending the city would be considerably more difficult- and she meant 'difficult' as in really, really sucky- when she could hardly see ten feet in front of her own face.

  A blonde woman appeared in front of her then, herding a small group of children in front of her. About twenty Toryn soldiers marched behind, solemn but obviously scared.

  "Trace," Ashlyn said, grabbing the Spartan's arm. “The kids- you're taking them to my house?"

  The older girl looked at Ashlyn warily. "Wasn't that what you told me to do?"

  "Yes. I mean- yes, that's exactly what I want you to do." Ashlyn stared at one tearful little girl, clutching a ragged stuffed bear in one arm, her thumb jammed in her mouth. "These kids are everything. There's…wait…wait here," she said to the soldiers, motioning for them to keep an eye on the children as she pulled Trace aside. "My basement is like a fortress, believe me. Nobody is getting in there if you don't want them to. If it was bigger I'd just cram everyone in there.