“How do you know there’s a rise?” She asked.
“I used to live here, remember?”
Shadow nodded before she remembered he couldn’t see her movements. Since he didn’t seem to need an answer from her she just kept walking. She finally looked around her; something she should have done the instant she stepped off the boat. That kind of mistake could get you killed. The harbor held slips for maybe a hundred boats of varying sizes. There were only a couple still floating amid the sunken remains being tossed around in the storm. She didn’t see any indication of the fishing huts Talon mentioned because the rain was just too heavy. The captain assured her the storm would pass before morning and she hoped he was right. It was hard to tell much more through the driving rain. She would have to come back in a day or two.
“Come on, Blue, there’s a warm, dry bed waiting for us and if you’re extra nice to me, I’ll even sleep in a separate room.”
Yep. No doubt about it. She had to kill him. Too tired to think of something pithy to say, she settled for a snort.
Twenty minutes later they entered what was left of the village. The few houses they passed were mostly ruins. Time and the elements weren’t kind to vacant structures. The farther they got from the dock, the number of buildings increased. After circling around two sides of a central square, she spotted a house still intact. “There’s one with a roof.”
“I need a little more direction, Shadow.”
“Sorry. Ahead about fifty feet, turn right. It’s the second gate.” She thought she heard Talon gasp but couldn’t be sure because of the storm raging around them.
“Are the shutters blue?”
He tightened his hold on her arm. “You’re hurting me, Talon. Ease up, okay? I can’t tell for certain about the shutters. It’s getting dark.”
Talon knew the shutters would be blue like he knew the door was spring green. He knew there were five paces from the gate to the porch and three paces from the top of the steps to the door. Inside the left side door of the hall closet were initials—his—carved the day his father presented him with his first knife. His mother took the knife away when she saw what he’d done. No way in hell could he go inside that house.
“Not that one.” He pulled Shadow back onto the main road.
“What’s wrong with this one? I’m wet, cold, tired, and hungry. You better have a damn good reason for turning this one down.”
“It’s personal,” he muttered, wiping the rain from his face. He hoped like hell it was just rain. “My reason is so strong that I won’t demand that kiss for your slip.” He kept walking. “How about the yellow house next door?”
“How did…never mind, I don’t care as long as we can get out of this never-ending rain. Yes, the yellow one is mostly intact. Now, can we please go inside?”
Chapter Eight
It was harder than he imagined. He expected a flood of bad memories. Instead, he was bombarded with fragments and flashes since setting foot on the dock last night. Faces without substance. Bits of conversation out of context. He foolishly thought he was prepared for them. What a load of crap! The reality of coming back gave a whole new definition to ‘nightmare’.
Shadow stomped around the room next to his, at the end of the hall. She wanted answers and, come sunrise, she’d be beating on his door. They were both too tired from the trip. The effort it took to start a fire and heat water for tea was almost more than either of them could manage. He figured he had maybe another thirty minutes before she came looking for him. A stiff shot of liquor would burn the cobwebs from his brain; but that wasn’t happening, so he better come up with enough history to put an end to her questions. There was no way in hell he was going to spill his guts about everything.
The house was in better condition than they had any reason to expect. The front room was still weather-tight and the glass windows intact. Two of the four bedrooms had beds with ratty mattresses. It was better than some of the hovels he’d slept in over the years—even before his blindness. The roof leaked in the back of the house if the smell of mold and mildew were any indication. His memories of the family that once lived and loved in this house were vague and disjointed. Twelve-year old boys don’t pay a lot of attention to anything that doesn’t directly impact their lives. If they had children, they were either much older or much younger than him. If he were honest, he didn’t remember much about his youth. Self-preservation was stronger than childhood memories. For all intents and purposes, his life ended twenty years ago when Draagon and his Phantom Riders sailed into the harbor.
“Haul your butt out here while the food’s still hot.”
Yep, she sounded pissed. Wonder what she would do if I ignore her? Not worth the hostility that could last for hours. He was too tired last night to register how many steps from the door to the bed. Hoping he didn’t break his nose running into a wall, he felt his way around the room.
“Good morning, Blue. Did you sleep well?” He managed to find the door without any mishap and the sight of her distinctive blue outline made him smile. What the hell! Since when do you care who’s around? Must be that syndrome thing…shit, what the hell is the name of that thing that makes you think you’re in love with your captor? Oh, hell no!
“Your breakfast is on the table six feet in front of you. We need to get started with your training today. As soon as we finish…,”
Talon no longer heard her voice. The pain exploding through his head was the only reality in his world. Grabbing his head, he collapsed on the floor, fighting the scream clawing at his throat.
“Talon! Dammit, quit pushing me away! Let me help you!”
“Nothing you can do.” His clenched jaw made speech difficult. Hell, breathing was difficult. He couldn’t ever remember the pain being this bad—and they were coming more often. What the hell did he do to turn an occasional nagging pain behind his eye to this? If he could focus longer than two seconds he’d claw this own eyes out.
“Kierin was afraid this was happening and sent something to relieve the pain.”
“It’s her damn fault.” He growled and prayed to every deity in the known universe to die. Could eyeballs explode?
“Open your mouth and drink this.”
“Smells bad,” he whispered right before Shadow poured the thick sludge down his throat. “Tastes worse.” Talon gagged and fought to keep the concoction down. Within minutes he felt the pain ease.
“You have to make it back to the bed before that sh…stuff takes full effect.”
“Can’ feel m’ legs.” He barely recognized his own voice. He didn’t know what Kierin mixed together but it was more effective than a full night of heavy drinking. He vaguely realized he was leaning heavily on Shadow until he fell against the bed and everything stopped.
“Damn you, Talon,” she mumbled while struggling to get him straightened on the bed. “This was supposed to be a simple job. Find you. Train you. Leave you to whatever future you wanted to live.”
Sitting beside him on the bed, Shadow stroked his cheek. The rasp of his morning stubble was both soothing and confusing.
“What have you done to me?” She whispered. “You’re supposed to be nothing more than a stupid drunk.” She leaned over and softly kissed the corner of his mouth. “Why did you have to be…more?”
Kierin gave her special instructions if his headaches were as severe as she feared. The crystal witch didn’t give her specific guidelines for his pain levels but if she expected anything worse than this, Shadow didn’t want to be around to see it. Pulling the small wooden box from her pocket, she shuddered once at the knowledge of what she was about to do. Closing her mind to everything but the next few minutes, she drew a deep lungful of air and lifted the crystal slivers from the bed of moss in the bottom of the box.
Each no thicker than a fine sewing needle but only a third as long, they hummed with potent power. The pulses, one blue—one green, matched the beats of her heart. She assumed they would mimic Talon’s heartbeat once inserted.
“How in hell does that witch expect me to do this? I’m not trained in the healing arts. She’s out of her freakin’ mind.” Another deep breath and she picked up the first delicate sliver and concentrated on remembering Kierin’s instructions. “This better work or I’m gonna kick some witchy ass.”
Carefully touch the outside corner of his eye until you feel the edge of the original crystal implant. Slowly insert the sharp end of the new crystal so that it slides against the original. It must rest fully against the original crystal.
“Shit. Shit. SHIT! I don’t want to do this!” She leaned close to Talon’s ear. “I don’t know if you can hear me or not, but don’t even think about making me pay for cussin’ right now.”
Forcing her fears to that deep, dark place in her head, she touched his face. “Please don’t move, Talon. If this doesn’t work, I can’t un-fix it; and if I screw this up, you’ll lose what little sight you have now.”
With another deep breath, Shadow found the slight point beneath the skin and gently pushed the sharp shard into Talon’s skin, careful to keep it touching the original implant. When the new crystal disappeared, Shadow released the breath she didn’t know she was holding.
“Don’t know how healers do it.” She mumbled, shaking her hands to relieve the tension. “Give me a horde of Kildarian spider demons any day. Can’t deal with being responsible for someone else’s existence.” What she was attempting wasn’t life threatening to him; but she knew in her heart if she screwed it up, Talon’s life would be over.
“Okay. Time to shut down the pity party and finish this. Dak didn’t pay me enough for this shit.”
After repeating the process on the other eye, and covering both with spider silk bandages, she pulled the blanket over him and quietly left the room. She wouldn’t know if Kierin’s crystals worked until he slept off the effects of the painkiller. A good, stiff drink would do wonders for her nerves about now. Too bad she got rid of everything before they left Cypriana.
“Suck it up, bitch.” She muttered, shaking her head. “It either worked or it didn’t. Sitting here watching the man sleep is a waste of daylight.” Her head knew it was the truth. Her heart was a whole different story.
Their boat captain was right. The storm was over and sunshine peeked through the remaining clouds. She could use this time alone to explore what remained of the village. Talon’s training would start as soon as he woke up. Assuming she hadn’t screwed up. With a shake of her head and a loud growl, Shadow forced the negative thoughts away and stomped out the door.
Chapter Nine
Talon struggled, fighting his way back from deep, drugged sleep. Walking through quicksand in cloying fog would be easier. Kierin’s little painkiller should be outlawed. He knew a half dozen dealers back in Cypriana who would pay substantial numbers of coins for the distribution rights to that foul tasting brew.
He didn’t know how long he’d been out but it had to be all day and part of the night since there was no discernible light through the open window. The cool breeze carried no hint of rain. “Captain was right about the storm,” he muttered.
Sitting on the side of the bed, Talon scrubbed his hand across his jaw, testing the length of his whiskers. The smooth skin surprised him since he hadn’t shaved since before they boarded the first transport ship. Shaving was a little complicated for him since the blindness. He had to heat his face almost to the point of scalding to be able to see himself in the mirror. Depending on the weather and the room temperature around him, he would have to repeat the process multiple times before the job was complete. A normal man could accomplish this daily task in ten minutes or so. Blind—it took as much as an hour during the cold winter months. Given the probability that he could cut his own throat, it was just safer to let it grow or wait until one of the ladies he knew to offer to shave him before sex and avoid razor burn.
“That woman is determined to civilize me.”
Grateful the headache no longer threatened to explode his skull, Talon rubbed at the spot above his eye where the pain always started. The shock of feeling something more than his eyebrow caused his heart to stumble before kicking up. The last time his eyes were covered like this, Kierin had used her crystals on his burned eyes.
Fighting the panic triggered by his memories, he took a deep breath and reached for the contoured pads covering both eyes. That explained why everything was totally dark but why would Shadow bandage his eyes?
“Good. You’re awake. I need to remove the bandages.”
Talon turned toward Shadow’s voice. With his eyes covered he couldn’t see her and he only heard her movements if she wanted him to hear. She was as silent as the shadows that were her namesake. “Why am I bandaged? Did something happen during the headache?”
She slapped at the fingers picking at the edges of the bandage and dropped to her knees between his legs. “Yes…no…maybe. Crap!” She placed a warm, wet cloth across his eyes.
“Damn, woman! What the hell did I do?” His spine tightened from the anxiety clawing its way through his gut.
“Nothing. You didn’t do anything. Let me explain.” She replaced the cloth with a fresh one. “Kierin somehow knew the headaches would get severe if they weren’t already. If she was right, the pain would keep getting worse until it killed you. That’s why she sent the drugs…and stuff.”
He might be blind but he could hear the apprehension rolling off her in waves. She was hiding something. “Exactly what stuff did the meddling witch give you?” His gut clenched tighter. Shadow wouldn’t be so evasive if she was talking about bandages and antiseptic.
“She was…concerned that your body would attempt to reject the original crystals.”
“And…,” Talon prompted when she didn’t continue.
“Fine. There’s no way to say it but straight up.” She huffed. “Keep your hands off the cloth or I’ll tie you to the bed!”
He slammed the door on the images her threat created. “Quit stalling, Blue!”
“Okay. Okay. Why are you always such a grouch in the morning? Lean back against the headboard so I don’t have to hold the cloth in place. It’s the fastest way to dissolve the adhesive.” She waited for him to stretch out on the bed before she replaced the cloth and leaned back on her heels.
“Kierin gave me two tiny slivers of rock and specific instructions on how to use them. Said to tell you her father would be happy and you would know what she meant.”
Talon’s lips twitched, fighting a grin. “She got her son after all.”
“What? No, their child is a girl. She’s pregnant so maybe that baby is a boy.
Does that make a difference?”
Talon chuckled at her obvious confusion. “Only to them. These slivers…?”
“You are one strange bas….”
He could hear her teeth grinding in frustration. Suddenly, he wanted her to lose control—turn the air blue with her obscenities. A flash of memory, no longer than the blink of an eye, rocked through him. He knew the hint of morning tea still lingered behind soft lips. His tongue remembered the feel of something round and smooth embedded in her upper canine. What the hell?
“…so that’s why the bandage is there.”
Shit! Get your head out of your ass!
“Say that again—slowly. I want to be sure I understand.” He’d rather pull his fingernails out with rusty pliers than admit he was lost in erotic thoughts—memories?—and missed what she said.
“That’s the best you could come up with?”
He growled, refusing to acknowledge her taunt.
“Pay attention, grump butt. Kierin. Told. Me. Step. By. Step. How. To. Insert. The. Slivers.”
Her deliberately slow speech earned another growl. The quickly smothered giggle told him she was intentionally trying to piss him off. It worked, but he had to fight the urge to smile. Part of him craved the lighthearted banter but a bigger part feared the pain when she left him. What the hell? I don’t give a double damn if she leaves. She’s brought no
thing but trouble from the first time I saw her.
“The slivers are supposed to redirect the energy somehow. Don’t ask me how. She didn’t explain all that. As soon as the spider silk softens enough to remove, I’m supposed to keep the eyes covered until I get you outside in the sunshine. If I did everything right, you’ll be able to see like before only with no headaches. If I f…screwed it up, you won’t even see the heat images.”
Despite the terror crawling up his spine, Talon heard the anxiety and fear in her voice and couldn’t ignore the urge to comfort her. “It is what it is, Shadow.” He whispered softly. “Whatever happens, don’t blame yourself. Draagon killed me a long time ago. I’m just too hard-headed to give that soulless wad of humanity the satisfaction of actually giving up.”
She swallowed the pithy comeback she would have thrown at him a week ago. He seriously believed what he said. This was about more than just his blindness. From what she observed in Cypriana, he managed to turn his disability into a means of supporting himself. Unorthodox? Definitely, but his ‘tricks’ never crossed the lines of legality. If her actions saved his life only to destroy his only means of support….
“Whenever you’re ready, we’ll head outside.”
Holding the damp cloth against his face with one hand, Talon extended his other hand toward Shadow’s voice. “You’ll have to guide me through the doors.”
Chapter Ten
Talon struggled with the fear chewing on his gut. His current acceptance of his limitations was a hard won battle; one he still fought on a daily basis. The possibility of losing even the meager vision he had now made him grateful he hadn’t eaten yet this morning. He had no doubt he’d be tossing his toenails. The warmth of Shadow’s smaller hand in his kept him moving—barely.
“Do you want to do this from the porch or out on the grass?”
“Here is fine.” Her question lightened his mood for some reason. “If this doesn’t work I can dive head first down the steps and, hopefully, break my neck.”
The Men of Anderas III: Talon, the Assassin Page 5
