by Cathi Shaw
Brijit stood to the side with her bandaging supplies ready.
Quickly Saldur pressed the blade to Mina's fair skin. A small line of red appeared on her arm as blood rose quickly to the surface. Bellasiel put the silver dish under her arm and caught the blood.
Teague made a small noise and Thia turned to look at him and was alarmed at how pale he’d become.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
He nodded unconvincingly. He was so white he looked like he was going to collapse.
"Brijit?" Thia said softly.
Her mother looked up and saw Teague's white face. "Bellasiel," she said, and then spoke rapidly in the language they had used when they first met.
Bellasiel looked at Teague, her expression annoyed. She carefully covered the silver dish with Mina's blood in it and then motioned for Thia and Teague to follow her.
"This won't take more than a moment," she said as she led them to the room next door.
Bellasiel told Teague to lie down on the bed. She produced a blade and a silver container identical to the one she'd used to collect Mina's blood. She gave Thia the container.
"Hold it to catch the blood," she instructed coolly. "Do not touch his skin."
Thia positioned the container beneath Teague's arm and watched as Bellasiel put on a pair of leather gloves before steadily grasping his forearm and making the small incision on it. He turned an alarming shade of grey.
Thia caught the trickle of red liquid in the dish but her eyes were on Teague who looked exceedingly ill. Bellasiel took the container from her and then left Thia to bandage the arm.
"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked quietly after the Elder had left.
Teague opened his eyes and smiled weakly. "Yes," he said after a moment. "I'm fine." He tried for a smile. "I guess you discovered my weakness for blood."
Thia shook her head and smiled at him, forgetting for a moment how conflicted she was feeling about the Draíodóir business. He grinned back and she felt a pang in her heart. She looked down and readied the bandage, preparing to start wrapping his wound, which was still oozing blood.
"Don't touch my skin," he said as she reached for him, panic raw in his voice.
"I know," she said softly, remembering what had happened last time she had inadvertently grasped his forearm. She swallowed and gave him a reassuring smile.
You didn't hurt me, you know.
He looked at her, his silver eyes intense. Thia was suddenly aware of his blood dripping onto the floor.
"If you hold the one end of the bandage, I should be able to wrap it without making contact," she said quietly.
"Thia," Teague said softly as he held the end of the bandage in place. She knew he was watching her face but she kept her eyes on the task at hand and refused to meet his gaze.
"I'm sorry," he whispered miserably. "I should have told you."
Thia pressed her lips together and continued quickly bandaging the arm. She didn't want to have this conversation right now. When she was done she fastened the end of the bandage with a pin and only then met his gaze.
"A Draíodóir, Teague?" She couldn't keep the hurt out of her voice. "You never thought to tell me that?" She couldn't help it; the feeling of betrayal was keen.
He looked miserable but she refused to let it soften her resolve. She was devastated that he had kept such a thing from her.
"I didn't know how to tell you. Remember I wasn't sure you were a real person. And then when we did meet." He paused and then sat up slowly, his color faded fast but Thia pushed away her natural instinct to care for him. "How does one broach that topic? Oh by the way I'm a Draíodóir, I thought you should know."
"Yes!" Thia responded. "That's exactly how you could have told me. Why did you keep it a secret? Especially after what happened in the stable yard." She turned away blinking back tears. "You knew my secrets. It wasn't fair, Teague."
"I admit I played it wrong -"
She cut him off, anger bubbling over. "Played it? This isn't a game, Teague. I thought you were my friend. I thought we were close and that I knew you," she shook her head, suddenly furious with herself for the wetness she felt on her cheeks. "I've realized that I just don't know you at all," she whispered and then backed out of the room before he could say anything more. Before she lost control and said something she would truly regret.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The next morning the Inn was a hive of activity. The Elders were leaving two of their kinsmen to run the Inn while Brijit and the girls were gone. They wanted to keep an eye on things in the Village in case any more Hunters passed through this part of the Five Corners.
That morning before they left, Weylon called the four of them to a meeting. He had a detailed map for them that laid out their route including all the lodgings where they would stop between the Inn and the mountains.
"Once you enter the mountains you'll have to find your own places to make camp. Until then there are plenty of inns in the villages that will provide hot food and shelter."
Caedmon and Kiara studied the map side by side. Thia watched her sister leaning over the table beside Caedmon and was struck by how well they looked together. Almost as though they were made for one another. She suppressed a smile as she imagined Kiara's outrage if she knew Thia's thoughts. She would want her sister to pay more attention to the plans but, really, what was the point?
Thia didn't bother looking too closely at the map herself. She figured they'd have long days ahead of them and intended to follow Kiara's lead. She knew they would be expecting her to be the one holding back the group and tiring fastest. She actually expected that herself.
"There's one small problem we need to address before you leave," Weylon said after folding the map and giving it to Caedmon for safekeeping. He looked at them closely, his eyes very serious. "Under no conditions must you draw attention to yourselves."
Caedmon nodded.
Kiara looked impatient. Thia knew how her sister hated being told the obvious.
"A group travelling to the mountains at this time of year is bound to draw some attention anyway. A group such as yourselves is bound to draw even more." Weylon paused.
"What do you mean such as ourselves?" Kiara asked irritably.
"Two young women in the company of two men. It isn't what one would expect in travelling companions at this time of year and in this part of the country." Weylon looked at them all. "The Elders and I have come up with a believable story."
Thia sensed that none of them was going to like this plan, based on Weylon's lengthy introduction of it.
"You," he pointed to Thia, "Will be travelling to see your grandmother in the foothills of the mountains. She’s been ill and is a stubborn old woman who won't consent to leaving her home. To ensure her safety, you've decided that you will spend the winter with her."
That made good sense. Thia nodded, but had a feeling there was more to this story than just a sick grandmother.
"You are travelling with your sister and your husbands."
At the word husbands the entire group started protesting.
Weylon let them rant for a few minutes before he raised his hand for silence.
"Listen, there is no other plausible reason that you would be travelling with two foreigners." He looked at the men pointedly. "You are both easily recognized as Outlanders by your accents and don't even attempt to adopt a local accent, Teague, you failed miserably the last time you tried to do so."
Teague looked at the rest of them guiltily. "I still think that with enough practice I could manage it."
Weylon’s face was stony.
Despite their alternate suggestions and protests, Weylon would not budge. Thia suspected that the plan had been confirmed with the Elders. When Weylon held out rings for each of them to wear, she realized that not only had it been confirmed but that it must have been planned even before the arrival of the group at the Inn. How else could the rings have been forged? There was no one with skill to make rings such as these
in the Village.
It was an Outland tradition that married couples adopt the wearing of rings. The wives wore gold rings and the husbands wore silver.
"They have been made to the correct size," Weylon noted. When the four of them just continued to stare at the rings he added, "I would suggest you wear them to make the illusion more real."
Reluctantly they each took a ring and slipped it on the third finger of the right hand.
The meeting broke up soon after that. Weylon seemed satisfied with the results but as Thia returned to her chamber to finish her preparations for the trip, she couldn't help wondering how long this plan of action had been in place. And she wondered if Mina's attack had anything to do with it. But the Elders had not known of Mina’s illness before they left Séreméla. Why had this ruse been preplanned unless the Elders had always intended to separate them from Mina? She couldn’t help wondering if there wasn’t there a deeper purpose to this trip.
****
Shortly before noon, all the parties were assembled. The Elders had a special covered cart which Mina, Bellasiel and Brijit were settled into. Weylon was riding with Meldiron and two other Elders.
Each of the decoy parties had four Elders riding with them. The blood from Teague and Mina was carefully stowed in their saddlebags. Thia hoped it worked as Bellasiel had suggested.
Kiara, Caedmon, Teague and Thia were travelling to the North on four mounts. Thia approached the horses nervously, her stomach churning at the thought of riding. Even though Weylon had chosen a small gentle mare as her mount, she couldn't help feeling sick at the thought of riding for days on end. She rarely rode and when she did the horses were always nervous of her.
When she was a young girl, she'd tried to learn to ride as her sisters had done. But each time she approached a mount it would become frightened of her, shying and rearing. On one of the few times she'd managed to climb into the saddle, she'd been thrown so hard she ended up in bed for a week. After that Brijit had eliminated the riding lessons from Thia's daily activities.
The one bit of brighter news was from Caedmon. He had informed her that they would not be able to use the horses once they reached the mountain passes. But that meant the first part of the journey, which Kiara had estimated would take almost a month, would be spent in the saddle.
As they started out along the road, Thia caught herself looking at the gold ring that glinted on her hand. It had script in Outland language but she couldn't read it. She wondered what it said.
It reads together in this life and beyond.
Thia ignored the urge to turn her head to where Teague was riding behind her. Even though she knew it wasn’t really fair, Thia couldn’t shake the sharp feeling of disappointment in Teague. She was still upset by the fact that he'd hidden so much from her.
They rode for eight hours the first day. They only stopped once for a late afternoon meal of bread and cheese with some cold tea Brijit had packed into a jar. Because they had had such a late start, they planned to travel only as far as the inn at Brindle for their first night.
When they stopped for their small meal, Kiara outlined a potential problem. Both Thia and Kiara had been to the inn several times and they were well known in these parts. Tomorrow they would leave the areas of the Lowlands where they were known but with one sister a healer and both of them the daughters of a fellow innkeeper, people tended to recognize them close to home.
And this particular innkeeper, Mr. Grindel, was a sociable, kind man. He had two teenaged daughters and was always trading stories of raising troublesome girls with Brijit when they stopped at his inn. Brijit would always smile and listen sympathetically but she never shared stories of her own girls. If Mr. Grindel found that odd, he never said so. Thia believed that he was too distracted by the troubles his own daughters were constantly causing to really pay much heed to anyone else's. His wife was a quiet mousy woman who stayed in the kitchen. Thia had only seen her once and that was from a distance.
"Listen," Kiara said as she slowly chewed her bread. "We are well known in Brindle and I don't think anyone there is going to believe that both Thia and I suddenly married a pair of Outlanders." She paused and looked at the boys. "No offense or anything."
Caedmon grinned. "None taken." He looked rather amused by Kiara's unintentional jibe. "But what do you suggest as an explanation for being in our company?"
Kiara smiled. She'd obviously been giving this some thought. "I think we can tell the innkeeper that your father is an old friend of Brijit's. That much is true and Mr. Grindel is old enough to remember that Brijit is not originally from these parts. He'll not be suspicious to hear she had friends from the Outlands," Kiara reasoned.
Thia nodded in agreement. She liked Mr. Grindel and she suspected he would be more interested in hearing what was new in the Village than wondering why the girls were travelling with Caedmon and Teague.
"I'll tell him that we offered to take you on a tour of the Lowlands so we could prove how superior it is to the Outlands." Kiara laughed. "Mr. Grindel will like that, won't he, Thia?"
Thia smiled. Mr. Grindel was often complaining about the Midland travelers taking on airs when they passed through Brindle.
"What's more he'll think it's completely in character with what he knows of Kiara!" Thia couldn't help adding drily.
Caedmon considered. "Alright. But tomorrow we'll have to go back to the story concocted for us."
Kiara nodded. "That's fine but the other advantage to using this story now is that there won't be a clear trail of the married couples going to visit poor old granny."
Caedmon nodded. "By the time we get to Silver Vale tomorrow, we could have come from any of three directions?" he asked, his eyes indicating that he was following Kiara's line of reasoning.
Silver Vale acted as a kind of crossroads at the edge of the Lowlands where three main roads met. Provided no one saw them enter the town, they could have come from either the South, East or West roads.
Kiara nodded.
"Good thinking," Caedmon said with a satisfied smile.
By the time they arrived at Brindle it was well after dark and Thia was exhausted. She tried to keep her distress to herself but when she dismounted from her horse, she almost fell as she tried to walk into the entrance of the Inn. Teague caught her arm.
"Are you alright?" he asked, concern reflected in his silver eyes.
"Thanks," she said breathlessly, "I'm just a bit sore from riding. I'm not used to being on horseback for so long," she paused. “Can you keep a secret?”
“Of course.”
Thia glanced over at Kiara but she was occupied collecting their bags and joking with Caedmon.
“I hate riding,” she blurted out, surprised when she felt sudden tears pricking her eyes. “I’m sorry.” She wiped hastily at her eyes. “I’m just tired.”
Teague just nodded but he looked worried and kept his gloved hand on her arm as they walked the last few steps to the entrance of the inn. Thia didn't argue. To be honest she feared that without his support she would collapse on the inn's front steps.
Mr. Grindel greeted the girls as if they were long lost family. When they introduced the boys to him and Kiara gave her story, he responded with warmth and hearty laughter. His two daughters also greeted them with warmth although Thia noted it was directed at Teague and Caedmon more than Kiara and herself.
"You're a musician!" Annie Grindel squealed in delight when she saw Teague's mandolin.
"I like to play," Teague admitted modestly.
"Play for us tonight?!" Rachel begged, her glossy chestnut curls bouncing on her head, reflecting the light from the large fire. Annie clasped her hands in her excitement.
Thia resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"Girls, the lad's had a long day of travel. Leave him be, there's no need for him to play his music," Mr. Grindel roared at his daughters as he set heaping bowls of lamb stew in front of them with chunks of fresh crusty bread.
As much as Thia didn't care for h
is daughters, she genuinely liked Mr. Grindel and his quiet wife was an amazing cook. She tucked into her dinner with more enthusiasm than usual, her appetite stimulated by the long ride.
They didn't linger in the great room, but used the long journey as an excuse to retire early. Weylon had warned them before they left that keeping a low profile would be especially important. Staying and visiting with Mr. Grindel and his family would have secured in the Innkeeper's mind that he'd seen them. And Teague playing his mandolin was out of the question because that would be a red flag to those forces that sought them out.
"You're going to have to lose the mandolin," Caedmon noted as the four of them made their way to their rooms.
Thia saw the pain in Teague's eyes. "Is that really necessary?" she asked.
"You saw the attention it drew, Thia," Kiara pointed out.
Teague nodded sadly. "Caedmon is right. We want to be invisible travelers and a musician is always in high demand at this time of the year," he sighed, his hands running over the body of the small instrument. "I'll sell it tomorrow morning."
Thia was especially grateful for the warm bed and her sister as her bedmate. She was not sure how she felt about sharing a room with Teague the next night.
She said as much to Kiara.
Kiara straightened. "I think Caedmon and Teague will behave in a reasonable manner," she said confidently. "I don't think either of them would want us to be ill at ease."
Thia studied her sister for a few moments, noting a softening around Kiara's mouth when she spoke of Caedmon.
"What happened between you and Caedmon, Kee?" Thia asked. "You were at each other's throats two weeks ago but now you seem to be almost ... friends."
Kiara laughed. "Not quite friends," she admitted. "But we have certainly called a truce."
Thia looked at her questioningly.
"He helped me with training," Kiara explained.
"He did? When?"
"Just after the Elders arrived." Kiara smiled ruefully. "You remember how I was going crazy stuck in the Inn with Mina so ill. The Elders refused to let me hunt after what had happened in the woods. Then I ran into Caedmon in the stable yard and he felt the same way, so we started training."
