The Raging One

by Lexy Wolfe

  "You need to sleep, Illaini Magus, and you know your Journeyman will not permit that if she knows where to find you. You can sleep in my bed." Mureln looked over his shoulder for a long moment before guiding the mage inside.

  Ash sat on the edge of the bed, oblivious to the bard taking his boots off and undoing his belt. But when Mureln started to remove the Desanti knife, Ash snatched it back, glaring at the bard. "You will not take this."

  "I won't take it," Mureln reassured him emphatically, holding his hands up. Ash lay down, hand tightly around the sheathed desert blade, lying on his side. A moment later, he had fallen into a fitful sleep. The bard draped the blanket over him and just watched him a moment before going back into the common area. He looked over towards the figure in the shadowed corner, his voice flat and disapproving. "I hope you are satisfied. I did not think anyone could drive him to incapacitate himself, but it seems you managed it."

  "He is drunk?" Storm asked from where she stood guard over the group's rooms, her tone and expression unreadable. The bard simply nodded. "I do not understand. Why?" She frowned accusingly at Mureln. "Had you not talked to him as I asked?"

  "I did. Repeatedly." Mureln shrugged. "He chose not to hear me. It was your words in Water's Resonance that cut deep."

  "It was necessary!" Storm replied harshly.

  The bard said quietly, "He loves you."

  Storm paled, taking a step back. In the space of three words, she changed from a legendary, self assured warrior to a girl barely a woman. "Impossible! He is Forentan. I am Desanti. Our people have been mortal enemies since before the war. It is how it has always been. It cannot be changed!"

  Mureln crossed his arms and repeated firmly, enunciating each word, "He loves you, Storm il'Thandar." Studying her a moment, he moved nearer, his voice soft. "And you love him."

  "No. No!" Storm raised a hand as if to slap Mureln, but the bard caught it easily. "You lie! He cannot love me. He must not! I could not ask him to risk turning his back on his duty to his people. It hurts too much watching someone you cannot save die." Mureln held her wrist, keeping her from turning away. "I know..." She looked away, voice catching. "He can't suffer that. Not for me."

  "Is it you do not want him to suffer it? Or are you afraid you will again, should he be the one who falls first?"

  Storm glared at Mureln. "Bastard," she hissed. "Let me go!"

  Turning her hand to kiss the back lightly, Mureln smiled sadly at her. "Our time on this world is often so short. You know this better than anyone." Releasing her, he said gently, "You are allowed some moments of pleasure, too." He turned away, heading to his room. "Good night, Githalin Swordanzen."

  Chapter 62

  THE sun barely penetrated the heavy curtains drawn over the windows, keeping the room blessedly dark. But nothing diminished the shrill, half-panicked voice of Amelana that shattered the morning peace. "Master Ash?! Master Ash, where are you? Master Ash?!!"

  Both Mureln and Ash startled awake, the mage groaning as he lay back, holding his head. Mureln shifted stiffly where he had been sleeping in the chair, squinting sourly at the door. "What do you mean he is sleeping? He isn't in his room, you idiot Desanti!" There was a brief pause. "How dare you call me a— Are you threatening me?!"

  "For the love of gods." Mureln growled, pushing himself to his feet. "Can't leave either of those two alone for a minute."

  "Wait." Ash gritted his teeth as he sat up. "I'll deal with Amelana. She is my responsibility"

  "You're in no shape to be dealing with anyone, Ash." Ash pushed himself up, hand to his head. The bard sighed. "Stubborn mage," Mureln muttered, lending Ash support. They opened the door to see Storm and Amelana nose to nose with each other, the others drawn out of their rooms in various states of alarmed wakefulness.

  "Journeyman Amelana." Ash winced at the volume of his own voice. Both women turned to look at him. Amelana's excessive expression of relief irritated the mage in the obvious hypocrisy of the Forentan woman. The Swordanzen's face seemed a mask, except for the look in her eyes, which he could not bring himself to meet. He grimaced as Amelana grabbed his arm.

  The Forentan woman positively gushed. "Oh, Master Ash, I was so worried about you! When I could not find you, I thought the worst—"

  "Journeyman. Keep your voice down." The edge in his voice arrested Amelana's loudly vocal fawning. "I had been up later than I realized speaking with Master Bard Mureln." He did not glance at the Vodani though he could feel his eyes on him. "Is there something you require that necessitated waking everyone, including the dead?"

  Amelana swallowed nervously as Ash's hard gaze bored into hers. "I... It is such a lovely day, Master Ash. I was planning to go into Ganessi and thought you might like to accompany me. I wished to visit an old family friend of my mother."

  "No, I do not," Ash replied tersely, pushing the woman off his arm.

  "But Ganessi is so dangerous! You saw what happened when we first got here!" Amelana argued. Several of the others rolled their eyes, returning to their rooms. Except for the Desanti. While they did not appear to be giving any attention to the Forenten, Storm had resumed her post of guard, leaning against the wall with arms crossed. Skyfire was speaking quietly with her in Swordanzen, making small gestures towards Ash and Amelana.

  Being the focus of the Desanti pair's discussion bothered Ash more than Amelana's wheedling, making his irritation grow. "You are a journeyman mage, Amelana. You should be quite capable of protecting yourself if the need arises. If you wish to go into the city, by all means, go." He turned back into the bard's room. "Right now, I have a headache."

  "I can stay if you need me..." Amelana started to follow the Illaini Magus when Mureln blocked her from entering. "Excuse me, Master Mureln," she said icily.

  Mureln replied in equally icy tones. "This is my room. You are unwelcome, Journeyman. I suggest you depart."

  "I suggest you listen to him," Taylin added in a low voice at Amelana's shoulder. When the Forentan woman looked at the Sevmanan woman, her eyes went wide in fright when the healer simply held up one hand as if to touch her. Amelana hastily excused herself and fled down the stairs. Satisfied Amelana was gone, Taylin smiled gently at the bard. "You look tired."

  "It has been a long night." Mureln moved aside, inviting Taylin into his darkened room with a grand gesture. "Have any cures for hangovers?" He nodded towards Ash in answer to Taylin's questioning look.

  "Not really." The healer moved to sit on the bed next to the mage as he held his head in his hands, as if trying to keep it from exploding. "Alcohol is much like black water or any other toxins. I can do nothing about them directly; I can only heal the damage they do until the body purges them." She rested her hand on Ash's shoulder waiting until he finally looked at her. "You would still be very sensitive to noise and light, but I can banish the pain so you can sleep."

  Ash nodded slightly, closing his eyes as her cool fingers touched his forehead with a light caress. He nearly collapsed with the sudden relief. "Thank you." He started to reach to gather his things to leave when Mureln put a hand on his shoulder.

  "Stay. Your journeyman knows better than to come in here. Sleep yourself out." The bard forestalled Ash's argument. "Sleep, Andar." Ash finally relented with a nod. Satisfied, Mureln took Taylin's hand and left the room.

  Taylin looked over where Storm had been and blinked in surprise to see Terrence. The young man smiled sheepishly and shrugged one shoulder. "Lady Storm asked me to keep watch so Master Ash can rest. She and Skyfire went outside to train." He paused a moment. "Do the Desanti never sleep?" He could not suppress the mild exasperation with the desert folk in his voice.

  Mureln chuckled a bit. "I wonder that myself sometimes. A lot of times. Is Almek awake?"

  Terrence nodded. "Yes, sir. He is with the Swordanzen. He said something about assessing or determining something. It was very confusing and he wasn't really speaking directly to me. I did not wish to appear rude."

  "Terrence, you are far from rude. In fact, yo
u are painfully polite." Mureln shook a finger. "There are times that can be a detriment. Remember." Mureln tapped his temple. "Sometimes matters require us to cross lines of propriety for the good of those we most care about. Like accidentally spilling wine on someone to avert bloodshed."

  Blushing at first, the young man frowned as he considered the bard's words. Smiling after a moment, he bowed deeply. "I will remember your words, Master Mureln. Have a good day in the Ganessi market, Master Taylin, Master Mureln." He added with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes, "Make sure Master Emil behaves himself."

  "Always, lad," Mureln said with such emphasis Taylin and Terrence both chuckled. "Always."

  Leaning on a stool, arms crossed and drumming his fingers impatiently, Emil looked at Mureln as he and Taylin appeared. "About time ye both got down here." Emaris ignored his friend, finishing a rather large breakfast under the pleased observation of the innkeeper's wife. "Emaris here be happily eatin' everythin' served t' him, completely ignoring th' fact that we has t' pay fer it."

  "Are you mad he is spending your future gambling winnings?" Mureln showed no sympathy as he tucked Taylin's arm in his.

  "Money ain't growin' on trees, ye know!"

  "And if it did, the forest would be nothing but denuded trees in your wake," Mureln replied drolly, eliciting a giggle from Taylin. Emaris grinned hugely, elbowing Emil.

  The wiry man waved his hands around irritably. "Th' Guardian be lucky he has us along t' get supplies fer 'im."

  Taylin arched an eyebrow. "Oh? Why is that?"

  Mureln said dryly, "When it comes to dickering with merchants, Emil is a master at robbing them blind. Legally." After a pause, the bard added with a teasing tone, "Most of the time."

  "I ain't a thief!" Emil looked affronted as Emaris downed the last of his enormous breakfast, rose, and offered the matronly woman a deep bow in thanks, giving her several gold coins.

  "Now there is a man with a healthy appetite," the woman said approvingly to one of the serving girls as she cleared the dishes. "Good to see not everyone is some anemic waif what could be blown away in a stiff breeze."

  "Anemic?!" Emil exclaimed, looking at the woman. "I ain't knowing what anemic is, but it sounds like an insult- Hey!" He looked at Mureln and Emaris who each took an arm and took him outside backwards. Taylin laughed merrily, shaking her head.

  The Ganessi market was considerably larger and more crowded but just as chaotic as the Desanti one. By late morning, simply hearing one another speak had become quite a challenge. They stopped at one of the gypsy merchants, his wagon displaying a wide range of items. "Etaio!"

  The gypsy, bearing the strong aspects of both Sevmanen and Vodani, recognized Emil, holding his arms open wide in greeting. "Emil, ye old thief! I'd begun t' think ye got yerself locked up finally with yer antics. Ye still keepin' with yer brother and that bard?" He looked around behind Emil, grinning hugely in welcome to the other men. When he spotted Taylin, he brightened. "Oh, ho! Who be this lovely thing?" The man bowed with deep flourish, taking Taylin's hand with embellished reverence. "Ye are far too fine a lady t' be keeping company wi' this lot."

  Keeping a possessive arm around Taylin, Mureln said archly, "This is Master Healer Taylin and Guardian Adept. She is one of Dusvet Guardian Almek's students."

  Etaio looked surprised and impressed. "Truly? Then I be both surprised and honored t' meet ye, m'lady." He looked at Emil. "Hard t' imagine ye be doin' anything that actually be respectful. Guess Mureln finally rubbed off on ye." He winked at the larger mercenary. "Or Emaris finally beat enough sense into ye."

  Emil affected shock, his hands over his heart. "Etaio! Ye wound me!"

  The gypsy snorted. "Try that wi' someone who don't know ye, ye thick-headed lemur." He looked at Taylin speculatively. "So, th' Dusvet's student, eh? How can ol' Etaio serve Fortress t'day?"

  "Well, we be needin' some new travel supplies..." Both Emil and Etaio relaxed into what was obviously a long time verbal dance as they fell into a lively discussion. Looking confused when half of the things they were talking about made no sense, Taylin opened her mouth to interrupt, falling silent when Mureln hushed her quietly, winking at her.

  Emaris stood patiently, easily carrying everything they had already purchased. He glanced over towards a meat pie merchant across the way, frowning slightly.

  Mureln looked up as Emaris nudged him, glancing over to where the huge man indicated. A cluster of men, looking to be caravan guards who had been out of work for a while, had their heads together by one of merchant's standing tables. The bard excused himself a moment, making his way to the stall nearby to listen to the men.

  Adjusting his hat to better conceal himself from the men, he used examining the various metal craft items as an excuse to hover nearby within earshot. The gypsy merchant at this wagon was about to address him when Mureln looked up, making a hushing motion, tossing him a silver coin. The merchant caught the coin and nodded, turning his attention to another customer.

  "I'm telling ya, we can't be lettin' them desert demons be wanderin' free. Ye saw what th' woman did t' Ulsen! Ye want t' wait and see what th' man will do?"

  "How can ya kill a demon, though?" one of the others asked. "Demons be immortal, ain't they?"

  "Not sure, but I'll be figurin' somethin' out. My boss says they are stayin' at th' Blue Rose in the northern quarter. Not too many patrols out that way." He smirked a bit. "Helped m' boss with a couple of problems out that way before."

  "I guess," one said reluctantly.

  "It'll be easy. And th' pay be sweet. We can get th' whole lot of them at once and then bring th' heads of those monsters them desert demons ride back t' Lord Ganessi."

  "What about the Guardian? He be the Dusvet. People won't be happy if he got killed with th' rest of 'em. Guardians ain't got no patience when it be one of their own. I seen what an Unsvet Guardian did t' Joban when he were too drunk t' think straight." He shuddered. "It weren't pretty."

  The man snorted derisively. "If th' Dusvet were really worried about us, he'd not have been bringing demons out of th' gods forsaken pits, now would he? C'mon. Th' boss said he was gettin' more information. I don't care how sweet th' deal be, I ain't doin' nothin' without half up front, ye know?"

  As the men melted into the mass of people moving by, Mureln tossed a few more coins to the vendor to pay for the small metal flask that he had crushed while he had listened to the men speaking. Rejoining his companions, he muttered, "We need to get back to Almek. We've got problems."

  Chapter 63

  THE group gathered in the privacy of the common area outside their rooms. Once Mureln finished relaying everything he had heard at the market, all eyes turned to Almek. The Dusvet Guardian's visage was grim as he considered the options. "We should have enough supplies if we ration things well. I think we should leave tonight, regardless of the dangers on the roads after sunset."

  Both Swordanzen straightened up in surprise, Storm looking affronted. "You want to run away? Let them come!" She smacked the surface of the table with both palms as she stood. "I do not fear anyone who would be foolish enough to attack. We should not allow the likes of fools to dictate our behavior!"

  "While I have no doubt you and Skyfire could easily handle thuggery such as these men, you are both too important to risk losing. Nor do I wish our hosts to suffer for their willingness to house us."

  "It is an act of cowardice to flee!" Storm argued, green-gold eyes flashing with emotion and looking quite willing to go hunt the men down that instant.

  "Sit. Down." Everyone flinched at the tones Almek used. Reluctantly, the Swordanzen woman eventually obeyed, crossing her arms unhappily. "There is a greater challenge ahead of you, Storm il'Thandar. A task much greater than clinging stubbornly to your tradition of meeting every challenger keen on making a name for themselves." The young woman's cheek's colored at the rebuke, looking away.

  "The road to Forenta from Ganessi is a desolate one." Since being awoken by Terrence only a little while before, As
h's voice was low, eyes narrowed against the returned, roaring headache. "Once we are on our way, we should not need to worry about anything more than the occasional bandit or a few hungry animals at most."

  Suddenly, Storm jerked upright, eyes wide and staring at nothing. "Drizar!" Before anyone else could react, she bolted from the inn. In moments, they heard the voice of one of the stablehands from below. "Fire! Fire in the stables!"

  "Storm!" Almek was barely on his feet when the others headed down the stairs.

  Attempting to follow, Ash nearly tripped over Amelana when she got in his path. "Ash!" Amelana desperately held onto his arm. "Don't go! It is too dangerous!"

  The mage stared at her. "What is wrong with you, woman? One of Almek's students needs help!"

  Amelana desperately hung onto him. "Let her take care of herself. I don't want you in danger!"

  "The duty of a mage is to protect others from danger by stepping into it himself. I taught you this! Now let go of me!"

  "I won't let you go! Not when you are nearly mine!"

  Ash growled, roughly shoving her off his arm. She stumbled back into her chair, eyes wide. "After all we have gone through, after everything we have seen, have you not realized your entire petty world is at risk of being destroyed? Or are you so conceited you refuse to accept some things are more important than you?" Turning his back on her in disgust, he rushed to catch up to the others.

  Chapter 64

  FROM inside the flame-engulfed barn, they could hear the sounds of angry drizzen and panicked horses trapped inside. The sky, dark and heavy with an impending storm, rumbled ominously but offered no relief.