Theoverus laughed. “Destan would be a lucky horse indeed to get the attention of such a fine mare.” He patted the still drinking stallion. “I think the poor fellow is a bit shy.” They turned the horses from the water, and Theoverus grabbed Lily’s bridle to steady her. Blaze carefully lowered herself from the saddle, gently adding weight to her injured foot. She smiled back at him as he let Lily go. “Lil’ can be a bit intimidating. Cycles of being her own horse has gone to her head, right girl?” Blaze hobbled a small ways up the lake to fill her water skin with fresh water. Her foot was swollen enough to make her shoe feel like a child’s size. He lead the horses to a log of driftwood and tied them up.
“Supper?” Theoverus asked while pulling jerky and cheese from his saddle bag as she returned.
“How has poor Destan traveled with so much weight on him?”
“Well, he gets all the more excited the more we eat, so let us feast.” Blaze accepted the hand-sized piece of jerky and sat down upon the smooth shore gravel. Pointing her left heel to the lake, she enjoyed the stretch as it tightened the entire back of her leg. Her right foot simply throbbed. Theoverus sat next to her, cross-legged with his jerky and the lump of cheese. Reaching to his side, he drew Faith from its scabbard and halved the yellow treat. Blaze also accepted the cheese and leaned back onto her elbow.
“So, how big is Thundrum lake?” She asked, staring out to the glowing waters. So clear that the bottom could be seen twenty paces from shore, the blue water sparkled in the descending sun. Blaze looked in any direction on the lake and only saw the gently rippling surface. “When I was younger, Evan used to tell me stories of a monster that lives in this lake, as big as fifty horses combined. I couldn’t imagine a creature so big, let alone living in the confinement of a lake. However.” She spread her arms to display the body of water. “Now I can see how something so large, if it exists, could live here with more than enough room to grow.”
“All of the Thundrum bodies, the Falls, Lake, and River, are truly marvels to behold. And we are still near the edge of the kingdom,” Theoverus added. “Any amount of travel in Lesira will give you a lifetime of capturing landscapes for your mind to wander. The Zantar Cliffs, Trenape Plains, Redbro Forest, Chanum Desert, Canza Lake, the Thundrums, the Pere Mountains, and beyond them, Quatriaal and its forest, cliffs, and lakes.” He appeared to visit each place as he said their names.
“Have you seen it all?” She turned to see a mournful look on his face as he stared out into the water. “Theo?”
His eyes came back into focus and the timid smile lifted his face. “I have. My travels have taken me all around this great land to see its beauty...and people.” He sighed and stared back into the waters.
“So, do you just wander around until a crazy girl gets herself chased by a whole troop of Urlificans and a cohe?” She teased.
“Ha, I am not sure if ‘crazy’ is the right word. Maybe ‘stubborn’ or ‘challenging’ is a better description.” He winked at her.
“You could have gone in two directions with that one,” she scolded while smirking. “And, I’m afraid that your choice was the wrong one. This challenging, stubborn girl has nothing else to add.” She sharply took a bite of jerky to emphasis the point.
Theoverus chuckled. “Can you imagine the scene from my point of view? I’m camping in the woods when I hear the scream of a cohe. I jump on Destan, and as I approach the lake, there is a girl swinging back and forth from a flying cohe. She cuts the rope suspending her from the struggling beast and plummets into the depths just off of shore. It seems that she stays underwater for too long when she finally bursts to the surface. A normal person would be exhausted after that length of submergence, but this girl, she comes back to shore ready to take on all that dare attack her. With a hurt foot, none the less.”
Blaze tried not to smile. Hearing her situation from another’s point of view almost made it comical in a maddening way. Of course the fates would plague her with an unending onslaught, but she wouldn’t back down, either. She swallowed the jerky and admitted, “Alright, maybe stubborn and challenging are better terms.” Looking south to the invading blues and purples of night, she asked, “How much farther to Krute?”
“So, she thinks we are heading to Krute,” Theoverus remarked while getting up. Offering his hand, she accepted it as he continued. “We should continue on, but Krute is not our first destination. Although, I think the troop of Urlificans would appreciate us stopping by and saying ‘hello’.”
She smiled as they headed to where Destan and Lily were grazing near the woods. “I don’t know, they may not want to mess with a challenging girl and a man who can knock out a cohe in two blows.”
“And you forgot stubborn,” he agreed as they mounted and continued along the lakeshore, the glowing horizon to their backs.
“So, where are we going?” she tried after he neglected to answer her question.
“Did you have a destination in mind?”
“Well...no. I was just going to survived until Krute and make it up from there. Evan enjoyed living in that town; maybe I could lay low for a while and live there for a bit. If I wasn’t found, maybe they would think some creature devoured me.”
He was silent for a while. Staring forward, he gazed with the same neutral look that Kent and Brudock were so good at keeping. Her stomach twisted with the distrust she was trying to fight. Finally, he spoke, but his question took her by surprise.
“What do you think of Traitors?”
“I...uh...” She had no idea of how to answer. “What are you looking for here?” She asked sideways.
“Well, Blaze, you have quite a unique position. You have grown up living with Traitors, even have one as your best friend,” and he smiled at the thought of Tawnya. “You have risked your life and freedom for them, trying to protect them in any way possible. And yet, you cringe vehemently at the notion of being called one of them. You, again, do everything within your power to convince the accuser that you are not a Traitor. What is your opinion of Traitors?”
She bore a hole in the ground with her eyes. “I...I don’t know.”
“Maybe this will help: are you a Traitor?”
“No,” she scoffed.
“Why?”
The silence drew on, and she still did not answer. As Theoverus waited patiently for her reply, she dared not look at him. She wouldn’t go into that horrific story with him. If he already knew about her past, why did he want to talk about it? What was he wanting?
Trusting him was impossible. His mystery and his probing questions were not what she needed at the moment. He kept refusing to answer any of her real questions, like who he was, where they were going, or simply how far away Krute was. Theoverus was asking her to trust him above all else.
Suddenly, Blaze went cold inside, and her heart cringed with disgust when she realized that he was making her dependent upon him. He was taming her, taking care of her, and getting to know her personal stories to create the grasping bond of intimacy. For all she knew, he was the one to betray the Traitors.
“You should know why,” she answered flatly. She could not trust him and would escape that night.
Chapter 9
1 Day After the Trial
“It’s gone,” Seth announced, and Tawnya slowly freed her face from her hands, wiping away tears.
“A cohe!” Contesa cried, “A cohe is after us. Oh, we are doomed. Doomed!” Addison clung to her mother and cried with the hysteria. “How are we to escape with that monster hunting us?!”
“Hush my dear,” Seth tried to calm her, but it was like a bucket of water upon a forest fire.
“Hush? Hush! That’s all you have to say? Do you think a ‘my dear’ is going to make all of this better. Do you think it will make my baby any safer?”
“For your daughter’s sake, Contesa, hold it together,” Kevin roared.
“Kevin!” Linda rebuked.
“How do you expect me to keep it together with a cohe after us?!” Contesa exclaim
ed.
The raw screeching of wood on wood silenced the cabin. All looked toward the door where Rick and Mark moved the heavy chair away from the entrance. Rick calmly looked at the hysterical bunch. “Before any more agents of Urlifec come by, we should head toward the cave. You can finish your argument there.” He slid the door to the side and exited. Fresh spring air rushed into the dank cabin. Mark extended his hand to Tawnya, and she took it, following him into the sunlight.
The Traitors set out across the field at a brisk pace and a strained silence, except for Addison’s whimpering. Seth managed to pry her hand from Contesa’s and lifted the terrified girl into his arms. He then lead them into the woods, humming a baritone tune. After traveling a long distance in the middle of the group, Tawnya became tired of the tension and slowed to let everyone pass. Mark looked at her with knitted brows, and she squeezed his hand while tilting her head toward the back of the group. They waited until there was a good gap before continuing at a normal pace.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” she comforted. “I just don’t like where our Family is going.”
“Where would you have us go? The cave seems like the best place for now.”
“No, it’s not the cave.” She paused. Was it right to say what she was thinking? Mark waited patiently while she gathered her thoughts. “We are falling apart.”
Putting his arm around her shoulder, Mark pulled her closer. “We’ve been through much, and we are still together. Plus, my dad will never let that happen.”
“How is he keeping so calm? Because I must admit, I feel as uncertain as Contesa.”
Mark squeezed and then lifted her hand. “Tawnya, your hand is steady, and you are walking forward. And this after Urlifec has unleashed all of his men and beasts upon us. Something my dad is fond of saying is, ‘The destination may be uncertain, but the faith is constant.’ And you, brave maiden, have the faith of a Diakono.”
Tawnya smiled. Thank you, True King, for Mark. And, thank you for blinding the Urlifican and cohe.
Suddenly, she stopped with a gasp. The Urlifican and cohe didn’t look for them; they were going after Blaze.
“What?” Mark jumped while looking around. The adults also paused and looked back.
“Blaze. The Urlifican and cohe were going after Blaze!” Her eyes widened with fear. “She is in terrible danger!”
“Tawyna, no. Don’t start this again.” Kevin demanded. “There is nothing we can do now; she’s surely long gone and had a good head start.”
“Not with a cohe on her trail! We must help her.”
“Tawnya, we can’t,” said Mark.
“No, we can.” She stepped away from him. “We are moving forward, let’s light a fire. Maybe the smoke will get them off of her trail for a little longer.”
“And lead them straight to us!” Contesa shrilled.
“She’s right,” Rick entered. “That Urlifican knew how to track. The wisest thing to do now is not lead him to our trail.”
Her spirit quickened with purpose. “No, it’s the safest thing to do, to let her carry our pursuers further away. Blaze saved us, and now you are willing to let her be decoy for our enemies. Well, I can’t forsake her like that.” Before anyone could stop her, Tawnya bolted into the woods. She would start a fire, even if it was far away from her Family.
“Tawnya!” Linda called after her, and she could hear two sets of feet running behind her. Despite not being overly athletic, she was determined to help Blaze with this small rebellion.
“Tawnya, wait!” Mark called after her. She looked back to see Mark and her father just a little ways behind her. Pushing as fast as she could, she sought all of her strength to keep them at a distance. She looked back again, finding that she was a little further ahead, and ran into a man.
With a scream, both she and the man fell into a deep creek. The sudden immersion caught her off guard, and she swallowed a terrifying amount of water. Panic and the pack on her back made it impossible to find the surface. Strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her upwards.
She sputtered and spat, but it never seemed to be enough for her to breath. “Come on, Tawnya, breath,” a voice urged. Someone beat her back, and cough after cough expelled water from her lungs until she was finally able to breathe air again. Tawnya opened her eyes, expecting to see Mark and her father scorning her rash action, but instead found Jonathan’s clear, caring eyes searching her for illness. “Are you alright?” he asked. All she could do was burst into tears and attack the healer with a hug.
“Jonathan!” her father exclaimed. “You’re alive!”
“So, it seems,” the healer responded in a strained voice, Tawnya squeezing him tightly. She released him, wanting to tell him everything, but only sobs came out. Mark rescued Jonathan from her outflow of emotion by gathering her into his arms. “Why should I not be alive?” Jonathan asked while Kevin helped him up. Worry entered his voice, “What happened?”
“Maybe you should tell us why you disappeared first.” Kevin retorted.
“Did you get her?” Rick’s voice called out. He rushed out of the woods and then froze. “Jonathan? You’re alive?” Linda, Contesa, Seth, and Addison followed, all shocked still at the sight of their missing leader.
“Yes, I’m alive. Now, what is going on? Why are you all out here?” His pleasant demeanor gave away to concerned frustration.
“The Urlificans found us,” Tawnya answered.
“What?”
Tawnya nodded, “We waited for you in the cabin, thinking you had gone into the woods for some ingredient.”
“But you never came,” her father growled. “You just disappeared.”
Linda grabbed her husband’s arm in warning. “At dusk, Obrae arrived, and upon finding you missing, urged us to get out and hide at his cabin. That’s when they barged in, the Grand General and Junior Officer.”
“And what does Obrae do?” Contesa’s shrill voice joined in. “He talks to the Grand General as if they knew each other! Jonathan, did you know he used to be an Urlifican?”
“Where is Obrae?” Jonathan asked, but grief began to swell in his eyes. All were quiet, not wanting to answer him. Jonathan turned from them to hide his pain, silent sobs shaking his slender shoulders.
“Obrae tried to convince the Urlificans to leave us alone,” Tawnya continued with a wavy voice. But, she wished to honor Obrae by telling of his bravery. “The Grand General said that his kind of treason was worse than all the Traitors’ offenses combined. That our associating with him made us double Traitors. Obrae pulled a sword and tried to hold the Urlificans to the side, urging us to run out. We did, but the rest of the troop was waiting for us. The Grand General and Junior Officer came out alone.” All waited in silence for Jonathan’s moment of mourning; the grief of losing Obrae shadowing them all.
Jonathan finally spoke, “That’s how he would have wanted it to be, defending his Family.” The healer looked up and spoke the plead for the dead. “True King, his soul was tainted but true. Let a key pass to him.” Wiping tears from his eyes, Jonathan faced his Family. “It appears that I have failed you, my Family. To not bear this trial with you is a shame I hope you can someday forgive me of. But please, tell me, how are you free, and where is Blaze?”
“We are here because of Blaze,” Tawnya answered while standing up, and everyone seemed content with her completing the tale. “The Urlificans captured us and locked us in the jail while they built the gallows the next day. When sundown came, we stood in the town center, about to face the price of our faith, and Blaze appeared with drinks in hand. She convinced the Urlificans to have one last drink to our humiliation.
“But she had tainted the ale with something. All of the Urlificans except for the Grand General and Junior Officer fell down dead. The Grand General threw up moments after he drank the ale, and the Junior Officer attacked Blaze. But Jonathan, she drew a sword and fought with a skill I never knew she had.” Tears filled her eyes and Jonathan’s as she relived
Blaze’s fight for their lives. “The Junior Officer fell victim to the ale after a while, but Blaze killed the Grand General when he came after me, to kill me.” She paused, trying not to start crying again, trying to be strong.
“The villagers were starting to get restless and called for our blood,” Mark jumped in. “Blaze urged us to flee while she kept them at bay. And so we did, to Obrae’s cabin, where we saw her and Lily flee into the woods. But,” and he looked at Tawnya. “We saw the Junior Officer and a cohe following her trail this morning.”
“A cohe!” Jonathan repeated, startled. “Oh, my Blaze.” He folded his arms around himself.
Rick passed Jonathan his pack. “Afraid that’s why Tawnya ran. She’s been trying to set a fire to distract the cohe from Blaze’s trail. I fear it is a brave but foolish plan.”
Before Tawnya could speak in defense of her actions, Jonathan silenced her. “Tawnya, your caring for Blaze is an example for all of us, but I’m afraid that I agree with Rick; it is too late to do anything for her now. Just as she has been training vigorously at the sword, she has also trained to take care of herself. I think she feared above all else that something like this would happen, even when we turned a naive eye to the possibility. If there is anyone who can survive an ordeal like this, it is Blaze. Do you doubt that?” He smiled at her.
She smiled weakly back. “No, but does she have to be alone?”
“Blaze would prefer to do things on her own,” Jonathan replied. “But it doesn’t mean she’ll be alone. The True King’s aid will always be at her call, whether she wants it or not.”
Tawnya remained quiet.
“So, Jonathan, why were you gone, and what are we going to do?” Contesa asked.
“Well,” he picked up his pack. “If you will still have me as part of your Family, let’s head to the fireleaf cave where Tawnya and I can change into dry clothes and breakfast can be had. I will tell you of my shameful absence along the way, if you will find it in your hearts to believe me.”
Traitors (The Traitor King Saga Book 1) Page 14
