Tyler's Story (Tales of Quelondain)

by Chester, Mireille

  “And you get killed protecting her?”

  “No.”

  John growled. “By the moons, Tyler, just spit it out.”

  “Keep your voice down; you’ll wake her. The old lady didn’t say if I died or not. All she said was that the rogues brand her as a traitor.”

  “Brand her? Literally?”

  Tyler’s growl came from low in his chest. “I don’t know. What I do know is that I’m not doing anything that’s going to put her in the middle of a pack of rogues.”

  The two were quiet for a moment and someone moved slightly.

  “Do we know when and where the Zerpanay comes?”

  “No.”

  “Do we know anything other than the fact that you’re going to die?”

  Tyler was quiet and John grunted his disapproval.

  “What if we displaced to somewhere other than Sageden?”

  “We can’t take the chance that we’ll get the same end result.”

  “Tyler, you can’t possibly be alright with the fact that she told you you were going to die.”

  Heidi frowned at Tyler’s quiet laugh.

  “John, I’m not going to die.”

  “But you just said…”

  “I told you what she told me she saw. If there’s one thing I know about dream seer predictions it’s that whatever it is they see can always be changed. It’s not set in stone, John. I just have to figure out a way to change the outcome.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  Tyler exhaled loudly. “I don’t know.”

  Heidi heard someone stand.

  “Wake me if you hear anything. Don’t be a hero.”

  John snorted. “I’m not the hero type.”

  Tyler chuckled and made his way into the hut. He gazed at Heidi’s form under his blankets and stretched out on top of John’s.

  “Don’t you worry,” he whispered. “One way or another, I’ll get you home.”

  Heidi felt the lump form in her throat and she swallowed hard to get rid of it. Could it really be possible that just hours prior she’d been scared of this man? The man who’d just told another he’d rather die than to let her get hurt? She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing appropriate came to mind. Simply saying thank you seemed inadequate. His breathing slowed into the regular deep breaths of sleep. She reached over and put a hand on his chest.

  Tyler turned in his sleep. “Are you cold?” His voice was quiet and Heidi wasn’t sure if he was awake.

  “A bit.”

  “Come here.” He pulled on her blankets so they covered him and held them up so she could get back under them. She scooted to the side and lay with her back to his chest. She tensed as his arm went around her and pulled her close.

  “Get some sleep. We’ve a few hours before daylight yet.”

  When it became obvious he had no intentions of doing anything other than sleep, Heidi relaxed into his warmth and let sleep take her again.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Tyler adjusted his pack on his shoulder and ran another scenario through his head. Could he outrun a Zerpanay? He really didn’t think so. He growled to himself in frustration. Had the old woman been able to give him a few more details he might have been able to prepare a bit more to prevent his impending death. He took a deep breath. What would Trent have done? Would he have decided to use the stone and to try and stop that outcome? No. It was just one more thing the twins had been identical in. Others came first. The thought of his brother’s grin as he glanced at him, both of them with their daggers out, ready to fight off a stray jaink that had thought to make little Chad its next meal flashed through his mind. The image caught him off guard and he stumbled over a fallen branch. He caught Heidi looking at him out of the corner of his eye and he forced himself to relax.

  “Are you ok?” She put a hand on his arm.

  “I’m fine.” He smiled and this time it wasn’t forced. He hated to see her frown. Her features relaxed at the sight of his smile.

  “What were you thinking about?”

  Tyler shook his head. “Nothing.”

  “You’ve barely said two words in the past three days.”

  He stopped, faced her, and seemed about to say something. He paused, frowning. “John, do you hear that?” He cocked his head to the side.

  John smiled. “I do.”

  “What?” Heidi looked around, trying to hear what they could hear.

  Tyler adjusted his pack. “There’s a river up ahead. Stay here; I’ll go check it out.”

  “But…” Heidi cut off her objection at the touch of John’s hand on her shoulder. She looked up into his hazel eyes, noticing for the first time how pretty they were. He brushed some dirty blond bangs out of them.

  “Heidi, if you’re going to run with this pack, there’s one thing you’ll need to remember. Tyler knows what he’s doing and whether he wants it to be or not, this is his pack.”

  “And?”

  “And you need to stop questioning everything he does. He’s trying to get you home, Heidi, and until he gets you there, he’s going to do his damnedest to keep you safe.” His eyes bore into hers and she caught the slight tightening of his stubbled jaw.

  “You don’t approve of what he’s trying to do?”

  “It’s not that I don’t want you to get home, it’s that I don’t think it’s realistic to think we can get you there. For him to be risking…” He stopped short, knowing Tyler wouldn’t want her to know what he was risking.

  She glanced up at the sky then back to John. “I know what he’s risking, John. I heard the two of you talking the other night.”

  Disbelief clouded the hazel eyes as they widened. “And you’re going along with this plan, knowing he’ll die trying to get you home?”

  Her chest tightened and a lump formed in her throat. “He said he can change it.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

  “No. He said he thinks he can change it, but he’s got no clue to go on. He doesn’t know when or where or how. All he knows is that he dies at the hands of a Zerpanay. By the moons, Heidi, you’re alive! Isn’t that enough? Tell him you’ll stay. Tell him you don’t want to go back. He could have left you there, Heidi. A lot of shifters would have; some of them would have killed you, but he didn’t. If it weren’t for him, you’d be dead. Return the favour, Heidi. Tell him you’ll stay. If the plan changes, the future changes, and Tyler doesn’t die.”

  “Alright! It’s all clear!”

  The two of them jumped as Tyler reappeared. He stopped short and looked them over. John’s jaw was clenched, Heidi’s shoulder’s slumped.

  “What’s going on?”

  Heidi straightened and shook her head. John grunted, shifted and loped away.

  “What was that all about?” Tyler went to stand by her. Heidi swallowed hard and looked up into his deep brown eyes. Her throat tightened at the worry she saw in them. She shook her head, knowing that if she tried to talk she would start to cry. He frowned.

  “Come along. You can clean up at the river.” He glanced in the direction John had gone then led the way to the water’s edge. “I’ll be just over there.” He pointed to a bush and went to sit behind it.

  Heidi looked to where he’d disappeared then pulled the dark green bandana out of her pocket.

  “Oh, god, what am I supposed to do?” she whispered to herself. Could she seriously continue trying to get home if Tyler would die because of it? She glanced back at the bush and a tear slipped over her cheek. John was right. He’d saved her life. In the time since he’d found her he’d done more for her than anyone ever had. And why? Other than being friendly, he hadn’t shown any indication he might be interested in her. This was just him. It was the reason he’d saved John, gave the humans directions after letting them out, and let the sisters tag along. Tyler was a good man. He had his issues, she was sure of it; the dark looks, the moodiness, it all made her think he was hurting, but despite everything he was obviously going through, being there for others was someth
ing he couldn’t help doing.

  Another tear dropped, and another. Could she make that decision? Could she say, ‘It’s ok, Tyler. I’ll just stay here’? She’d never see Blake again, her parents, her friends. Blake would forget about her and find another woman. Her parents would think something horrible had happened to her. She looked down and scrambled to her feet as a brown frog landed near her foot, the bandana falling from her hand in her haste to stand. The frog’s blue tongue darted out and snatched it from the ground. With a farewell croak, it hopped toward the river with surprising speed.

  “No! Get back here!” Heidi scrambled to catch up to the little creature as it made its way down the bank toward the river. “Give that back!” New tears welled in her eyes and the sight of the dark green bandana disappearing into the water blurred.

  “Heidi! What’s wrong?” Tyler ran to her side, his dark brown eyes looking her up and down, trying to see if she was alright.

  She shook her head and tried to stop the sobs from making their way up her chest.

  “Heidi.” Tyler wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “I’ll get you home. I promise.”

  She shook her head again. “That’s not it. That stupid little thing that looked like a frog… it took my bandana.” She took a deep breath. “Blake gave it to me. It’s stupid. Don’t worry about it. It’s just that it’s the only thing I have here from him.”

  Tyler’s hold on her loosened and she looked up at him. He was squinting against the sun, looking into the river.

  He smiled. “Hang on.” He pulled off his boots and tugged his dark green tunic over his head. “I’ll be right back.”

  She watched as he jogged to the edge of the riverbank and dove into the water. He swam to where he’d seen the bandana floating down the river, grabbed it, and made his way back to the river’s edge where Heidi was watching with wide grey green eyes.

  Tyler shook himself, water spraying from his hair.

  Heidi grinned.

  “What?”

  “You reminded me of my dog when he used to go swimming in the pond behind the house.” Her eyes saddened and she shook her head before smiling again. “It’s just funny how so many things you do remind me of a dog.”

  He chuckled. “Heidi, I am a dog.” He wrung out the bandana he’d rescued from the river. “Here. Why don’t we do this with it so it doesn’t try to escape again, yeah?” He took her wrist and pulled her right arm straight then wrapped the dark green bandana around her forearm. He noticed her slight frown as she looked at his chest.

  “Did it hurt?” She traced the eight inch long scar that ran from his collarbone, across his chest toward his hip.

  “I imagine it did. I was in too much shock to feel much after it happened. I don’t think I realized how bad it was until the fight was over.” He remembered Jenna begging him to stay with her, to stay alive. He looked into Heidi’s eyes to bring himself back to the present. “It was a long time ago.”

  She looked away from the deep brown eyes and down to Tyler’s hip where his hand now covered hers. Neither one of them moved.

  If she asked him to get her home, he’d do it. “How did you get it?”

  “I was trying to get Jenna home after Trent died. We were ambushed by a pack of humans.” His jaw clenched.

  Heidi put her other hand on his other hip. She took a deep breath. If she asked him to get her home, he’d get more than a horrible scar associated with painful memories.

  “Tyler…”

  “Tyler, run!” John’s cry caused Heidi to jump. The echoing screech raining down on them from the sky made her freeze with fear.

  Tyler grabbed her hand and started to run along the river, looking for anywhere to hide. Heidi cried out in pain as she tripped and fell, her shoulder slamming into a large rock. Tyler stopped, ready to come back for her.

  “Keep going! I’ve got her!” John hauled Heidi to her feet. The Zerpanay shrieked and Tyler fell forward as an energy blast pushed him off of the ground. He landed face first in the dirt and leaves with a grunt, turned so he could look back for John and Heidi. His heart jumped in his chest. Both of his friends had been knocked down by the blast thrown by the creature that now stood over them. The thirty foot long serpentine body moved in a wave using the ten pairs of legs it stood on. It lowered its head, the dark brown feathers glinting in the sunlight. Heidi screamed as its long red tongue flicked over her. John kicked up with all of his might and managed to roll himself onto Heidi. He tensed, readying himself for whatever came next.

  The Zerpanay screamed and bared its two rows of sharp, pointed teeth.

  Tyler scrambled to his feet and pulled his dagger, a growl rising in his chest. He threw the blade as hard as he could. The creature threw its head back as it embedded itself to the hilt in its blood red eye. It shook itself, dislodging the knife. Its fiery gaze honed in on Tyler.

  He swore under his breath, but stood still until he was sure it would come after him and leave his friends alone. The Zerpanay stretched its wings and took to the air. Tyler shifted and ran as fast as his four legs could carry him over fallen trees and large rocks. The creature screeched and Tyler was knocked flat by the energy blast it pushed at him. His leg screamed in pain as the sharp teeth dug into it, the beast plucking him from the earth as it flew over him. He watched the ground sink away below him.

  “Tyler!” Heidi’s scream made him twist so he could make sure she was alright. Not being able to see, he shifted back and he cried out as the teeth cut deeper into his thigh. The Zerpanay swooped back in the direction it had come. Tyler caught the flash of the sun reflecting off of something metallic hidden in the woods to their left. The wind caused his eyes to tear and he wiped at them, trying to see what was below him. He felt a magic nudge slam into him and the Zerpanay grunted with the force of it. It rocked sideways, its jaws opening with its screech. Tyler’s first thought was to thank the moons he was free of the Zerpanay; his second, was to wonder what it was going to feel like to die when he finished falling and he hit the ground.

  One second he was seeing the dirt and leaves rushing up at him and the next, he was lost in a black fog with specs of flashing light. He felt small hands on his face and lips on his forehead which caused him to wonder why he could feel Heidi’s hands and nothing else. After a fall like that, he should have been in pain, yet he felt peaceful.

  “Tyler, please!” Heidi’s tear filled voice floated through the fog and his throat tightened. The specks of light became fewer and the dark fog thicker. Heidi’s sobs began to fade and as the darkness finally won out, his last thought was of his brother.

  Chapter Five

  Blake wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips against hers.

  “We were worried! My god, Heidi! What happened to you?” He hugged her tightly and she couldn’t help but think that Tyler’s hugs had felt stronger, safer. She looked up into Blake’s green eyes and was shocked to find herself missing the deep brown she’d been gazing into the past couple of weeks.

  “Heidi, what’s wrong?”

  She shook her head and a tear slipped down her cheek.

  “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head again. A sob shook her.

  “He fell,” she whispered between sobs. She remembered how Tyler had closed his eyes as the ground had rushed up at him, the awful noise his body had made when it had hit the earth not too far from her.

  “Heidi…”

  She shook her head, disengaged herself from his embrace and went to lie on their bed. She buried her face in her arms, her sobs shaking her whole frame. A breeze blew through the window and the smell of the sea caused her to frown.

  A noise to her left made her reach down to her side. The cold hilt of the dagger Tyler had bought her pressed into her palm. The noise reoccurred, this time closer. She took a deep breath and flipped onto her back, her dagger stabbing in an arc through the air.

  “Ow! Damn it, Heidi, it’s me!” John put a hand over the shallo
w cut on his forearm and sat beside her. “You’ve been gone for two hours; I came to make sure you were alright.”

  She blushed and wiped her dagger on a patch of grass before putting it back in its scabbard. “Sorry. I fell asleep.” The breeze dried her tears.

  “Are you alright?”

  She shrugged. “Every time I fall asleep, I dream of him falling.” She took a deep breath. “This was my fault, John. You were right.” She swallowed hard to get rid of the lump in her throat. Heidi sat on the edge of the rocky cliff, the smell of salt water making her nose tingle. She took another deep breath and watched the waves smash onto the rocks below her. The afternoon was cloudy, the air thick with the promise of rain.

  “It could have been worse, Heidi.” John put a hand on her arm.

  She shook her head. “No. This is the worst thing that could have happened.”

  The two of them stared at the ocean below.

  “He wanted me to take you to Sageden.”

  She glanced at him. “Not yet.”

  “Heidi, it’s been almost two months.”

  “I said no.” She stood and made her way down the narrow trail that led back to the small town below them. The room she was staying in seemed empty, lonely. She wasn’t sure why she’d decided to come here. She never could stay longer than a few minutes. She exited, moved toward the room down the hall, and quietly entered. Her chest felt heavy as she looked at Tyler lying under a blanket. She glanced at his hand. Had it moved? Hadn’t it been higher up on his chest when she’d left a few hours ago?

  She sat on the chair by his bed and took the hand she’d just been looking at. She took her free hand and brushed the dark brown bangs away from his face. She smoothed his beard with her thumb.

  “Wake up, Tyler.” She leaned down, kissed him softly on the lips, and laid her head on his chest. “Please, wake up.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Two months. It had been exactly two months since the Zerpanay’s attack; two and a half months since she’d first crossed over to Quelondain. Heidi watched as John and Trista walked toward her, hand in hand. Trista’s smile disappeared under the waves of red hair that were picked up by the wind. Her grey eyes looked up and met John’s hazel ones as he gazed down at her adoringly. Heidi couldn’t help but feel jealous. Had Blake ever looked at her that way? Did he really love her? Was he so worried about her at this very minute he could barely function? She took a deep breath. Of course, he was worried and of course he loved her. She’d been here for so long she was starting to doubt life back home. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to leave. She was the main reason Tyler lay in that bed and she refused to abandon him in this state.