Ian checked the entrance to the cave, for what, he didn’t say, and came to lie beside me. I felt his arms wrap themselves around me and tried to hide a shiver as his lips pressed against the back of my neck.
“Good night, Chaela.”
“Sweet dreams, Ian.”
*****
The following morning, we packed our things and I smiled at the way Ian kept glancing at me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why do you keep looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re worried I’m going to do something crazy.”
“Because I am.” He tightened his cinch and started to lead Klard and True out of the cave. He glanced back to make sure I was following. I rolled my eyes, gave my cinch one last pull, and walked out into the already smothering heat.
“I hate it here. Just for the record, I am never coming back here.”
Ian laughed and pulled himself into his saddle. I handed him my reins.
“What are you doing?”
I ignored him, pulled a couple of hay cubes from my saddle bags, and walked back into the cave.
“Chaela! I said they didn’t follow me the last time. That doesn’t mean they won’t this time!”
“I’m going to leave them a present.”
“What?” His voice rose an octave and Klora stepped away from him.
“Will you calm down? You’ll spook Klora.” I pulled some scraps of material I had cut this morning and set them in little piles around the cave then grabbed my flints.
“Why the hay cubes?” Ian was still obviously against the idea, but his curiosity was getting the best of him.
“They won’t burn out right away. I should think the flame spirits would enjoy them.” I struck my flints until one of the pile of rags caught on fire then ran to the horses. I took my reins back from Ian and got into my saddle. Both of us stared into the cave.
When nothing happened, Ian caught the look I sent in his direction.
“I swear, I wasn’t lying.”
Whisk growled and the two of us quickly looked at the light that was starting to illuminate the back of the cavern. My heart started to pound and I glanced at Ian, suddenly unsure of my actions. Ian’s eyes widened and I caught my breath at the sight of four flames running toward the entrance of the cave. Three of them passed the cloth piles, intent on us. The fourth stopped short and touched one of the hay cubes. If it made a noise, we couldn’t hear it, but the others stopped and turned to look at it. I was sure my heart was going to beat itself right out of my chest. The tiny beings looked exactly like flames. The main flame split into thinner ones to arms and legs. Their bodies flickered just like the fire I had started with the cloth.
The first three bypassed the cubes and quickly did away with the rest of the cloth piles while the fourth touched the hay cube. It warmed, smoldered, and finally lit. All of the little fire beings looked from one another then turned back to admiring the crackling cube.
“They like it,” I whispered to Ian whose mouth hung open in wonder. I dismounted, took six more cubes from my saddlebags and cautiously made my way toward the mouth of the cave.
I heard Ian’s mouth snap shut. “Chaela!” His whisper was more of a hiss. “Get back here!”
The bigger of the flame spirits, the one who’d found the first cube, turned toward me. I held my hands out to show what I was holding.
“I thought you might like these,” I said, unsure if they could understand. They seemed to feel my hesitation and stepped away. “I don’t imagine you have much to burn around here. I wonder why you live here, of all places.” I bent and put the cubes down a few inches apart then stepped back out of the cave. I mounted Klora.
“Chaela, look.”
I looked into the cave and smiled as the four tiny flames bowed in our direction.
“You’re very welcome.” I smiled and nodded to them. “If we’re ever in these parts again, we’ll be sure to bring you more.”
We turned the horses away.
I grinned, my heart still pounding. “By gods, that was amazing!”
Ian shook his head. “You’re insane! What if they’d decided to burn you?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t get a bad feeling from them. I think they just wanted to light something on fire.” I started to laugh at how idiotic I sounded. “You have to admit that they blew your mind.”
He smiled. “No. Chaela, you blow my mind.”
I was glad I was already flushed from the heat so I couldn’t blush. I changed the subject. “Did you dream last night?”
“Just the same one that I can’t remember except for that one line. You?”
I nodded. “Same thing.” I caught him looking at me.
“Are you sure?”
I frowned. “Yes, why?”
“You were talking in your sleep.”
“What did I say?”
“My name.
This time, I blushed past the flush of the heat. Ian grinned.
“No worries, Chaela, I don’t think it was that kind of dream. You screamed it, actually, like something bad was happening.”
I tried to think back into my dreams, searching for the scream Ian was talking about. I got a brief flash of an image, something to fast and vague for me to make out, and nothing else. “I can’t remember. Maybe I was just dreaming of the storm last night.” I took a deep breath to try and get rid of the small hollow of unease that had started to form in my chest.
I turned my attention to a mirage to my left. Another day and we’d be at the coast. It seemed unbelievable that we’d come so far. Granted, we’d been at it for over a month, but we’d passed the farthest I’d ever gone a good week ago. We spent most of the day in silence, simply conserving our energy for one more night in the desert.
As night closed in and we settled under our blankets, the roll of thunder could be heard drawing nearer. I let out an exasperated breath and looked up at the stars that were slowly being hidden from view by the advancing clouds.
“You’re not serious!”
“Hmmm?” Ian’s questioning grunt came from behind me.
“Not you. Chael. We spend damn near a week in the desert and the night before we come out of it, you decide to rain on us? You have got to be the most ignorant, good for nothing, ungrateful, idiotic…” My rant was squelched by the appearance of Ian’s hand over my mouth.
“Shush. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think calling the god of bad luck names is the smartest thing to do.”
I grunted. “I’ve called him worse and he knows he deserves it.” I clenched my jaw as a torrent of rain fell from the sky, soaking all of our belongings as well as our horses and ourselves. “Chael’s luck and blast it all,” I mumbled.
Ian moved back and turned me so I was facing him. “Shall we keep moving?”
I blew out of my nose. “We may as well. I know I’m not going to get any sleep.” A strand of soaked bangs slipped over his eyes and I reached up to brush it out of the way before I realized what I was doing. He blinked at the gesture and I wondered at the conflicted look in his grey eyes. “I…” I stopped, not sure what I should say. “It looked uncomfortable.”
He nodded and sat up.
“You know,” I said as we rode along in the rain, “we should have travelled at night before. This is quite pleasant, though I could do without the downpour.”
“Would you have been able to sleep in the heat?”
I thought about it for a moment. “No.”
Ian grinned. “Me neither.”
When the rain finally stopped and the sky cleared, we were too wet to even think of sleep. The horses plodded along in the wet sand. The moon appeared in the sky, bright and white, illuminating the vast plains of sand stretching out in all directions. The entire desert seemed bathed in silver. True blew out of her nose, obviously enjoying the lack of rain. Klora stopped for a fraction of a second to shake some of the water out of his coat then trott
ed the four steps to catch up to the others.
I looked around, truly awed as I gazed at this new and mystical looking wasteland. Even Ian’s eyes seemed to glow with the moonlight.
A gentle calm filled me and I didn’t realize time slipped away as we walked along.
“Chaela, turn around.” Ian pulled Kard around so they were facing to the east. I followed suit so that Klora stood shoulder to shoulder with his sire. I looked up at Ian who gestured to the horizon with his head.
The first rays of the sun broke over the sand and reached toward us. I smiled softly.
“It’s beautiful.”
Ian nodded.
We stayed facing the sunrise until nearly half of the sun was visible. Ian reached over and gave my leg a squeeze.
“Should we keep going?”
I put a hand over his and nodded.
Whether it was because I’d thought he’d been lost in the storm, or because of some other reason I couldn’t pinpoint, I found myself glancing at Ian more often than I had previously. His grey eyes squinted in the sun which was now high in the sky and his skin had turned a dark color I’d never have imagined on him.
I blushed as he caught me looking and I cleared my throat.
“Are we almost there?”
He grinned and nodded. “Almost. We should see it any minute now. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
“Oh?”
“Well, we won’t see the trees right away, but the beach we’ll come to is magnificent. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.” He smiled. “I’ve never seen sand so white or water so clear. It’s truly one of my favorite places to visit.”
“How many times have you been here?”
He laughed. “Twice before this time. I love it here.”
I looked toward the horizon and caught my breath. I blinked my eyes and wiped a hand over them before blinking again.
“Do you see that?” I squinted to make sure it wasn’t a mirage due to lack of water.
“I do.” Ian grinned. “I told you we weren’t far.”
Klora’s ears perked at the sight of the rolling waves ahead of us. His steps picked up and soon we were cantering toward the water. The tips of the waves foamed and spread as they lapped onto the beach.
“It’s beautiful!” I pulled Klora to a stop and bent to splash the water on my face.
“You can drink it.”
“What? I’d heard sea water made you sick.”
“It does.” He took a long swallow from his hands. I glanced at the horses who were drinking their fill. He smiled. “It’s Elven magic.”
I cupped my hands and brought them to my lips. My first sip was experimental. The second finished off what was left in my palms before I dipped them again and had another drink. Ian grinned at me, pulled his tunic over his head, took his boots off, and dove into the water.
“Come on!”
“I don’t know.” I watched as he disappeared into the water and reappeared closer to the shore. He stood and shook his head like a dog, water droplets spraying everywhere.
“It’s nice and you won’t get another chance like this ever again. Well, not in the near future, anyhow.”
“I just…”
“What?”
“I can’t swim.”
“What? You never learned how to swim?”
I frowned. “It’s not like I could just strip naked with the lads and jump right in!”
“I suppose not. Either way, it’s not like you have to go deep. We’ll stay where you can touch the ground.”
I took a moment to make up my mind. “Alright.” I sat and took my boots off. Not willing to strip in front of this particular lad either, I walked into the water fully clothed. Ian met me where the water reached my waist and smiled.
“What do you think?”
I knelt and sighed as the cool water enveloped me. “It’s nice.”
Ian took my hand and tugged me a little farther out. I noticed that the farther we went, the cooler the water got. Klora snorted and I looked back toward the beach. My heart jumped in my chest.
“Ian!” I inhaled a mouthful of water as I tried to stand but sank under the water. I felt Ian’s strong hands grab a hold of me and pull me up.
“Are you alright? Chaela, relax.” He pulled me to his chest. “I’m serious, Chaela. If you relax, you’ll float. You were doing just fine till you panicked.”
I sputtered and coughed up the lungful of water I’d managed to breathe in.
“I told you I couldn’t swim, you ass!” I punched his shoulder and pushed away from him, realizing my mistake at the last second. I sank again though this time I let myself drop until I was standing on the sandy floor. I looked up to see Ian dive down after me. I pushed off of the sea floor and let myself relax. My head broke the surface and I took a deep breath as I let my legs move in front of me so that I was lying on my back. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to move. I heard Ian emerge from the water somewhere to my right.
“Chaela, really, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take you out this far.”
“Like hell you didn’t.”
“Bloody hell! Why would I do it on purpose?
“To test me. Just to see if I could.” I frowned when he didn’t answer. “Well?” I felt him grab my hand and gritted my teeth as he jerked me toward the shore. Once I could touch bottom once again, he let go of me and stalked toward where the horses had decided to snack on a patch of grass.
“Why are you angry with me?” I demanded. “I nearly drowned!”
He stopped short and his shoulders rose and fell as he took deep breaths to calm himself. He turned slowly.
“By gods, Chaela, do you honestly think I would have let it come to that? And you want to know why I’m angry? I’ll tell you why. I’m tired of being thrown in with those immature idiots you trained with. I’m tired of having to pay for everything they’ve ever done to you. I’m not trying to test you! All I want is for you to be yourself; to be happy with yourself!” His voice was getting louder and I felt my anger slipping. “I don’t care that you’re a woman!” He ran his hands over his face and inhaled deeply. “By gods, if anything, I’m quite fond of the fact that you are one!”
I stood, shocked and unsure of what to say. “Ian…”
He shook his head, grabbed his shirt and boots, and walked away, leading Klard and True along with him. I watched as he disappeared behind a sand dune. The wind picked up and I shivered as it blew through my wet clothes. I trudged to where Klora stood, took his reins and led him over the same hill. Ian was starting a fire. He’d already changed into a dry tunic and pants, though his hair was still dark with moisture. I noticed it made his grey eyes that much more piercing. I tethered my horse next to the other two and pulled my pack to where I could search through it. I found a clean pair of pants and tunic then went to stand behind the horses to change.
I went through our food packs, pulled out some bread, cheese, and jerky, and went to sit by the fire. Ian was staring into the flames, the expression on his face hard to decipher. I broke the bread in half and passed him a piece. He nodded his thanks.
“Ian.”
He shook his head.
“I need to apologize.”
Again, he shook his head.
“By gods, Ian! I’m trying to say I’m sorry! I went under and I got scared. I don’t like to get scared. Fear is a weakness that people can use against you. My first reaction to being scared is to get angry.” I passed him a piece of cheese. When he wouldn’t look at me, I tried a different approach.
“Ian.”
He continued with his silent treatment.
“I’m glad.”
He frowned.
“I’m glad that you’re glad I’m a woman.”
His lips twitched and he looked at me from the corner of his eye. I smiled.
“Are still angry with me?”
He shrugged.
I blew a frustrated breath out of my nose. “You’re a stubborn man, Ian
Murphy,” I grumbled as I pulled out my blankets and settled under them. I heard him walk to his packs and pause. I smiled at the sound of his blankets being laid behind me. His legs pressed against the back of mine while his arms pulled me close. I didn’t bother to hide my shiver as his lips brushed the back of my neck.
“Goodnight, Chaela.”
I snuggled as close as I could. “Sweet dreams, Ian.”
Chapter Five
The morning was cool and I was glad for the extra heat Ian’s closeness provided. I heard Whisk’s tail thump on the ground and I stretched.
“Chaela?” Ian’s murmur had a warning tone to it.
“Hmmm?”
“When you open your eyes, don’t panic.”
I opened my eyes and my heart jumped in my chest. I scrambled onto my knees and reached for my slaggens.
The wood elf petting my dog grinned.
“Master Ian.” He stood and bowed in greeting. His waist long white hair tumbled around him and I had to admit I was shocked by the pale green coloring of his skin and the matching color of his eyes.
Ian stood and returned the honor. “Master Blarenagin.”
Blarenagin stood and grinned at me. “You’re not in the habit of trusting beings.”
I shook my head. “No, sir, I’m not.”
“I am Blarenagin.”
I opened my mouth to introduce myself.
“And you are Miss Chaela McKinney.”
I frowned. “How did you know that?”
“I know many things. I know you seek Garnin’s book of magic. I also know what happened the day it was stolen.”
“You saw who stole it?”
He shook his head. “I do not always see images. Sometimes, the revelations come as feelings, or an odd sense of knowing where something is.”
Ian smiled at my obvious shock. “I told you it was a good idea to come here.”
Chael's Luck (A Knights of Dorathan Novel) Page 10
