Tyler's Story (Tales of Quelondain)

by Chester, Mireille

  “Climb!”

  The tone of his voice left no room for argument. Heidi scrambled as high as she could and glanced down. She fought the urge to scream as the dark haired man lunged at Tyler. Her self-appointed guardian knocked the man’s dagger to the side. Tyler’s elbow connected with the man’s nose, quickly followed by his knee as Tyler brought his opponent’s face down to meet it. The Maj dropped to the ground and Tyler turned his attention to the blond man who had been leading the pack. Heidi looked around for John and found him backing away from two well-built men who had obviously seen more meals in the past little while than he had. She caught her breath as he pulled his dagger and threw it with such speed she wasn’t sure he had until one of the men advancing screamed in pain. He fell to his knee, his hands grabbing at the hilt of the dagger that had impaled itself in his foot and pinned him to the ground. John pulled a knife from the side up his boot and aimed it at the second man’s chest. The latter paused, looked up at the tree, and shook his head in disgust as he held up his hands in surrender.

  Heidi let out the breath she’d been holding. Obviously, one lone human girl wasn’t worth dying over. She turned her attention back to Tyler.

  “Tyler! Behind you!”

  The last man in the pack had been sneaking around while Tyler had been focused on blocking punches and kicks from the blond man. Tyler turned so he could keep an eye on both of them.

  “Come on, now. She can’t be worth this,” mumbled the blond man.

  “If that’s your take on it, you’re more than welcome to walk away.” Both of them had a black eye. Tyler’s cheek was starting to turn blue and the blonde’s lip was bleeding. Tyler glanced to the second man, a shorter, stockier red head who was staring at him with confusion. “What are you looking at, then?”

  The red head shook his head. “I’m sure I know you.”

  Tyler frowned. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “By the moons, Jim, could we cut the small talk?”

  Jim put his dagger back in its scabbard at his side. “Luke.”

  Tyler blinked. “That’s my father’s name.”

  Jim smiled. “You look just like him. You’re one of the twins, yeah?”

  Tyler nodded but refused to drop his guard. “Tyler.”

  Jim turned to his pack mate. “You’re on your own, Chris. I owe his father my life.”

  “Chris?”

  Everyone’s attention turned to the man John was keeping in the sights of his knife. He shrugged, obviously flustered. Chris’ eyes widened at the sight of John’s second opponent sitting a still as possible, his foot still skewered to the ground. His groans of pain were loud in the sudden quiet of the campsite. All eyes were on Chris. He ran a hand through his hair and swore under his breath.

  “Why don’t we just put the blades away and get that dagger out of your man’s foot?” Tyler relaxed, though Heidi was sure his guard was still up.

  “You won’t try anything?” Chris looked at Tyler.

  “The last I checked, you had us outnumbered.”

  Chris raised an eyebrow at him and looked around. Tyler grinned, though the smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes. The first man he’d managed to knock out moaned and clutched his head.

  “Did we get her?”

  Chris growled. “No, we didn’t get her.” He put his dagger away. “Get up, Brad.”

  Brad sat up and squinted open one eye to look around. His gaze fell on the man with the dagger in his foot. “Bloody hell, did more of them show up?”

  “No.” Jim smiled. “Brad, do you recall Luke of Howel?”

  Brad frowned. “Was that the one with the pretty mate named Mel? She nursed you back to health, yeah?”

  Jim nodded and Brad turned his attention back to Tyler. “I should have recognized you. You look the mirror image of your father at your age. You move like him, too.” He grunted. “It explains a lot, then.”

  “What did I miss?” Chris was obviously getting impatient.

  “If you’d seen his father fight, you’d have thought twice about trying to take the girl.” Brad stuck dagger in his belt. “I’m out, Chris. I was there the day Luke risked his life to save Jim’s and if it hadn’t been for Mel, he wouldn’t be standing here now.”

  Tyler looked up and gestured to Heidi to come down. Jim and Brad went to tend to their friend. His scream of pain as they pulled the dagger from his foot startled her and she slipped from the last branch on the tree. Tyler steadied her as she landed.

  “You’re bleeding!”

  Tyler glanced down at Heidi’s hand, which was red with blood. He lifted the hem of his tunic to reveal the cut along his side.

  “It’s fine. It’s barely bleeding.” He smiled reassuringly at her. John looked over to them from where he was apologizing to the man he’d stabbed in the foot. Tyler went to his packs and found the herbs he knew would dull the pain and quicken the healing for the man’s foot. He walked over and handed them to Jim.

  “This should help.”

  Jim nodded and went to work bandaging the foot. “You’ve even got the same character as your father,” he said without looking up.

  “How’s that?”

  “The day he saved my life, my pack had come upon three cats in the Blue Woods. I managed to end up under a lion. Luke had been in the area and heard the fighting. He got the lion off of me, but kept the others from killing it afterwards. Its pack had run off and when it shifted back, we all noticed the man had a cut along his side. You dad tossed him a sack of herbs and told him to leave. That’s when your mother came out of the woods and they proceeded to take care of me.”

  Tyler smiled. “Your pack just let the man leave?”

  Brad grinned. “We were all too shocked by your father’s gesture to do much of anything.”

  Tyler excused himself as he looked around for Heidi and found her leaning back against the tree she’d been in, her arms wrapped around herself.

  “Are you alright?”

  Heidi shook her head and let him pull her in a hug. He rested his chin on her head and rubbed her back.

  “It’s all fine, now. They won’t try to take you. You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

  She shook her head again.

  “This is just a lot to take in?”

  She nodded. Tyler took her hand and led her back to the fire. He wrinkled his nose at the sight of the burnt eggs.

  “I guess we’ll be eating bread after all,” he mumbled and she couldn’t help but smile.

  Tyler wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and sat beside her. He looked up as John joined them.

  “It looks like your bloodlines are paying off. They’ve decided to leave Heidi with us.”

  Tyler grunted. “She would have stayed with us regardless.” He grinned at his friend. “Great throw, by the way.”

  John shrugged and took a piece of bread.

  “Tyler, can we have a word?” Chris motioned for him to come see him.

  Tyler stopped at the feel of Heidi’s hand on his leg. He smiled down at her. “No worries.”

  Chris waited until they were standing side by side, looking back toward the fire and Heidi.

  “I’m leaving her in your charge.”

  Tyler nodded.

  “If she goes rogue, it won’t matter who your parents are and how well liked they might be; I’ll hold you responsible and make sure you’re held accountable.”

  Tyler looked the elder Maj in the eyes. Whatever Chris saw, he frowned.

  “Alright, Chris, he’s all set.” Jim and Brad shook Tyler’s hand. “If you remember, try to tell your father we say hello.”

  Tyler nodded. He stood and watched until the small pack had made its way out of sight before letting himself relax and heading back to the fire. He caught the piece of cheese John lobbed in his direction.

  “We need to get out of this area.” He frowned and looked at Heidi. “We also need to find you some clothes. There’s no denying what you are when you’re dressed like that.”

&nbs
p; John nodded. “I know a couple of sisters that live not too far from here. Mina is about the same size as you.” He glanced at Tyler. “They’re cats, mind you.”

  Tyler raised an eyebrow. “They live here?”

  John nodded. “They were travelling after the war and decided they liked it down here.”

  “And why did you think you should bring up the fact that they were Namael?”

  John shrugged. “I’m not sure what your take is on them. It’s never come up.”

  “Do you want to know why my father let that lion go all those years ago?”

  His friend nodded.

  “It’s because he was raised by tigers.” He grinned as John’s eyes widened into hazel saucers. “My aunt and uncle are tigers. I have no issues whatsoever with cats in general. Now, would these sisters live anywhere near Growlen?”

  John nodded. “About five days out.”

  Tyler smiled. “Well, then, I think the plan is to find these sisters and head to Growlen so we can top up our supplies. While we’re there, we’ll try to find someone who might be able to point us in the direction of a cross stone.” He dug into his pack and found a clean dark green tunic.

  Heidi took it as he handed it to her.

  “Put it on and tuck it in. It might help you blend in a bit until we can get you some clothes that fit.” He watched as she pulled it over her head. “The closer we get to Growlen, the more packs we have a chance of running into. Try to stay calm and act as though you belong here.” He smiled.

  John kicked dirt over the fire to put it out before they headed off in search of the Namael sisters.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Heidi stretched and yawned. “Oh my god, it’s freezing!” She huddled back under her blankets and tried to warm up.

  Tyler grinned. “It is not. You just need to get up and move around.”

  Heidi peeked at him through the slit she was breathing through. His hair was disheveled and stuck out in all directions. He stretched, ran a hand through it, and managed to pull off the sexy shaggy look. His deep brown eyes met hers and she was glad he couldn’t see her blush through the blankets.

  Good lord, why had she thought that? She tried to bring Blake to her mind, but couldn’t. Her hand moved to the dark green bandana she had tied to her wrist. His mischievous eyes laughed at her and she sighed with relief. It had been just over a week since she’d crossed over and yet it was starting to feel like much longer. She missed home and the constant ache she felt weighed heavily in her chest. More than anything, she wanted to wake up and find herself in Blake’s arms, and yet, every morning, it was getting harder and harder to picture him. Tyler had caught the panic on her face the day before and had nodded when she’d explained what was happening. According to him, it was the magic of this world that seemed to wipe out the specifics of a human’s previous life in the other world. For most, it would only take a week or two to simply remember a haze of what their life had been, though he had heard of some who always remembered their previous lives.

  “Is he still there?” inquired Tyler softly.

  She nodded.

  “Describe him to me. Maybe if we keep describing him, it will take longer for you to forget.”

  Heidi closed her eyes and touched to bandana. “He’s got black hair. It’s curly, but he doesn’t like it so he keeps it cut really short. He’s got great eyes. They’re the darkest blue you’ve ever seen. Tanned; if he’s not at work, he’s outside. He’s just over six feet, so a bit taller than you, but thicker than you are.” She stopped short, suddenly aware that even though she was describing Blake, it was Tyler she was picturing in her head. “Jeans; he’s always in jeans and hiking boots and T-shirts. If it gets cool out, he’ll put a bunny hug on. He’s got one, his green one, that he’s had since he was about seventeen. The cuffs on the sleeves are all ratty but he refuses to get rid of it.” She pictured it over his broad shoulders and she continued her description as his image formed in her mind. “He’s funny and he’s always joking around. One of our favorite things to do together is hiking.” She thought back to the day she’d crossed over. They’d made plans to go out on the trails for the afternoon. Blake had phoned and cancelled due to issues at work. She didn’t mind. She knew she’d see him later that day when he’d come home just before she’d leave for work. She’d decided to head out on her own just as she’d done thousands of times before.

  She swallowed hard and a tear slipped down the side of her face. She heard Tyler sit beside her and his hand ran over her arm.

  “Come on. You can clean up at the creek and we should have you dressed in something that fits before the day is out. Here’s hoping that in another week, I can have you home.”

  Heidi sat up and wiped her arm across her face. “Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes on the ground.

  Tyler smiled softly. “You’re welcome.” He helped her up and led her to the creek. “Take your time. We have a good hour before John wakes up.”

  She nodded with a laugh.

  “I’m going to go start the fire.” Tyler saw the flicker of panic in her eyes. “I won’t be far and I’ll be just a few minutes.

  The panic subsided and he headed back to the camp. John was still snoring. Tyler knelt by the fire pit, his flints raised. He frowned. The forest was quiet. Too quiet.

  “John!” He heard his friend scramble to his feet as he ran toward the river, John’s footsteps close behind. “Heidi!”

  He stopped short as he broke through the cover of the trees, his eyes darting up and down the creek, searching for any sign of her. John crashed out of the woods.

  “Bloody hell! What’s going on? I was having a dream…” He stopped talking at the panicked look on Tyler’s face.

  Tyler ignored him and squatted to look at something on the ground. “They have her,” he growled.

  “What? Who?”

  “Majs.” He pointed to the tracks in the wet earth; boot and paw prints reaffirmed his conclusion. “Let’s go.” He stopped short as John grabbed his arm.

  “I know where they’re going.”

  Tyler frowned. “Aren’t they taking her to Howel?”

  John shook his head. “There’s a camp near Growlen.”

  Tyler’s eyes flashed. “What kind of camp?”

  “It’s where they keep the rogues. It’s not much of a camp, really; more like a really big cage.”

  Tyler’s growl rumbled through him.

  “The sisters can help. They have a friend that works the gate.”

  Tyler took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “Alright. Let’s go.” They quickly put out the fire, shifted, and left. After hours of running, John shifted and bent with his hands on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath.

  “Which way?” questioned Tyler.

  John pointed and the two of them walked another five minutes until they came across a small cabin in a clearing. The front door opened and two women with long blond hair and dark blue eyes ran out.

  “John!” They took turns hugging him.

  The older of the two grinned. “You look fantastic!”

  He blushed and shrugged. “It’s amazing what a little food will do for a being.” He noticed the younger of the pair staring at Tyler. “Girls, this is Tyler. Tyler, Mina and Maddy.”

  Tyler nodded politely and John went on to explain their predicament.

  Mina frowned and looked to her older sister before gazing at Tyler. “I’m not sure what the problem is, then.”

  Tyler clenched his jaw. “She hasn’t done anything wrong. She doesn’t belong in there.”

  “Alright, well, it’s an odd request and I’m not sure how you think you can get her out, but we’ll take you there. Vic is working the gate tomorrow.”

  Tyler took a deep breath and tried to smile. “Thank you.”

  “Until then, you can stay here.” Maddy led them back to the cabin and showed them where to set their things. Mina appeared from the kitchen with four mugs of sloan. Tyler thanked her and took a sip of
his ale.

  Mina smiled up at him. “And where are you from, Tyler?”

  “Howel, originally. Here and there, lately.” He noticed Maddy watching her sister.

  “And your mate…” Mina let the comment hang in the air.

  “I don’t have one.”

  Mina’s lips curled slightly and she lowered her eyelashes to look at him as she took a sip of her sloan. Tyler groaned inwardly. Not again. He set his mug down and nodded politely to the sisters.

  “I’ll be back.” He turned and went outside to sit with his back to the cabin.

  “What’s with him?” inquired Maddy.

  Tyler could hear the grin in John’s voice. “He’s not very social to start with and he’s worried about Heidi.”

  Mina grunted. “I was just being friendly.”

  Tyler took a deep breath and shook a mental finger at himself. She hadn’t done anything, really.

  “Why does he care so much about this human?” questioned Maddy.

  “He found her, therefore, I think he feels she’s his responsibility. Tyler’s great that way. I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side. The man’s deadly.”

  Tyler rolled his eyes and leaned his head back. Heidi was his responsibility. He’d promised her he’d get her home, and by the moons, he was going to do it if it was the last thing he did. Promises weren’t something he took lightly. He waited until the conversation turned to more pleasant things before he returned to join them. They talked of nothing in particular for the next couple of hours. He avoided looking at Mina, though he could feel her eyes on him. He excused himself and settled in for the night with a sigh of relief.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  It was a full day’s travel at a trot to get to the ‘camp’ and the closer they got to their destination, the tenser Tyler got. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

  “Another ten minutes and we’ll be there,” announced Maddy.

  John glanced at his friend. Tyler blew out of his nose and ran a hand through his hair.

  “What’s the plan?”

  Tyler frowned. “We’ll ask them nicely to give her back.”