Jayden was familiar with the place, even though he had never been there. Twice a year for as long as he could remember, their home had received cases of wine from Vine Run. His father would be quite excited when they arrived and always threw a big party. His mother, who appeared equally excited, and father would dance all night, laughing and drinking until the sky turned orange from the coming of dawn. The wine was always very good. Despite this, he had often wondered why a simple case of wine, however tasty, would warrant celebration.
“Do you think the humans would go into the Spirit Hills?” he asked.
“Not likely. Their fear of what dwells there is enough to keep them out. Once there, we should be safe. At least from the soldiers.”
“How about you? Do you fear the Spirit Hills?”
She frowned at him. “I spoke only because you needed to know what lies ahead. Now that you do, kindly keep your mouth closed and your questions to yourself.”
Her sharp response hit a nerve. “I accept that you don’t want to speak to me,” Jayden retorted. “That’s your choice. But that doesn’t mean you get to tell me when I can speak. Is that clear?”
He could feel his pulse quicken. He’d had enough from her. “There’s a lot you don’t know,” he continued. “If I told you my real reason for being at the battle and who I really am, you could neither understand nor handle the truth. So think of me whatever you want. I really don’t give a damn.”
As each word slipped out, he could hear a voice in the back of his mind telling him to remain quiet. It went unheeded. Youthful impulsiveness was overpowering his reason.
“At least you admit that you’ve been lying,” she said, her eyes boring into him. “But I already knew that much anyway. So tell me, what is it that you fear I cannot handle? I suspect that you may be a half-man. Perhaps I am right. Even though I have never heard of a god mating with my kind, I suppose it is possible.”
That she had come so close to the mark left him speechless and ashen-faced. Your mouth and your temper are your greatest enemies. That’s what his mother would say. And she was right.
It took several seconds for him to regain his composure. In an effort to conceal his anxiety, he curled his lip and gave a mocking snort. “A half-man? Is that the best you can think of? If that were the case, why wouldn’t I have left when I had the chance? Try again.”
“Half-man or no, until you are willing to tell me the truth, I do not wish to hear your voice.”
“Like I said, you wouldn’t believe me.”
She gave a scornful laugh. “I don’t believe you now.”
Jayden thought on this. Perhaps he should tell her the truth. Why not? What could she do? Even if she thought him insane, it was still better than her taking him for a deserter and a coward.
Just as he opened his mouth to begin, the whistle of an arrow smothered his words. The missile thudded into the ground midway between himself and Gia. They leapt to their feet, blades flying to their hands. Off to their right they could hear the rustle of boots on leaves.
Another arrow penetrated the shrubs, this striking Gia in the left thigh. She let out a stifled cry and dropped to one knee, clutching at the shaft. Blood instantly began soaking her leg.
“It sounds like I got one,” called a voice. “Come on, lads.”
Jayden stepped forward to emerge from their hiding place. He saw four men in light leather armor charging toward them, each wielding a long blade. On spotting him, they let out a chorus of hoots and roars. He squared his stance, the flow now entering him easily. From behind he heard a sharp snap – Gia breaking off the arrow.
“Stay there,” he barked.
“I can still fight,” she insisted.
The men were only about twenty yards away when she limped into view. All four immediately veered toward her, clearly intent on engaging with the wounded foe first. Jayden could feel the flow running through Gia as well. She was undoubtedly strong, but compared to someone like Sayia or his sisters, she was a mere novice. Of course, in everything but raw power, so was he.
In an effort to protect Gia, with a savage cry of intent, he rushed headlong at the enemy. This unexpected aggression took the quartet completely by surprise. For a moment their advance came almost to a standstill. Gia was in no condition to follow him, but that was the point. In her present state and with only a pair of short knives with which to defend herself, four experienced swordsmen would be more than enough to overwhelm her.
On reaching the nearest soldier, Jayden ducked low under the man’s thrust and brought his own blade sharply up. Though the strike missed by a hair’s breadth, in forcing his opponent to jerk sharply away, it had the effect of sending him stumbling heavily into the side of his nearest comrade. The other two, unaffected by this, pressed on toward Gia, lashing out at her in a furious barrage.
Jayden thrust his sword at the first man’s mid-section, but he twisted just enough for his armor to take most of the damage. A rapid glance back told him that Gia had been able to parry the first onslaught, suffering only a minor cut to her right arm in the process. He knew that this glance had left him exposed, but the flow gave him the speed he needed to recover as dual blades bore down on him.
With three rapid pivots, Jayden avoided their combined attacks and then loosed a devastating strike that severed the closest foe’s arm at the elbow. Shrieks of agony pierced the air as blood spurted from the stump in time with the man’s racing heartbeat. The sight of this, rather than deterring his companion, seemed to enrage him. For a short time, Jayden found himself being forced back several paces while blocking strike after strike.
Had things been on an equal footing, it was clear that the human was the superior warrior. But things were not equal. The flow was now raging through Jayden’s spirit like the wildest of storms. With an effort that had every ounce of his strength behind it, he brought his weapon sweeping down in a long arc. The enemy steel offered up in defense simply shattered asunder beneath the might of the blow. A savage grin formed as his blade continued on with its downward path, slicing his foe cleanly apart from shoulder to stomach.
There was no time to dwell on his victory, however. Though Gia had managed to wound one of her opponents, she was losing ground and had suffered several more deep cuts, all of which were bleeding freely. Jayden moved to position himself behind the uninjured soldier, but he spotted him coming and turned his attention, thrusting his weapon out to keep him at bay.
Realizing that the odds were now even, the man facing Gia suddenly lost heart. After a short burst of half-hearted strikes, he spun on his heels and began to run. The wounded soldier, on seeing his companion flee, quickly decided it was in his best interests to do the same thing. But Gia was not about to allow them to escape. Quickly ducking back into their hiding place amongst the shrubs, she emerged with her bow. The men had barely made it fifty yards when the thwack of a bowstring heralded the end to one of their lives. A second arrow pierced the remaining soldier’s right leg, sending him crashing to the ground.
Jayden grinned. “Nice shot.”
The man with the severed arm was still lying on the forest turf, futilely trying to wrap his injury and stem the flow of blood. Jayden ended his suffering with a blade through the heart. Further away, the soldier with an arrow protruding from his leg was scrambling around in a desperate attempt to regain his proper footing. A final shot from Gia’s bow ended all thoughts of this.
As if to punctuate the end of the battle, she then fell to her knees, the bow slipping from her grasp. Jayden rushed to her side. Her wounds were numerous, though the worst by far was from the arrow to her thigh. The broken shaft still jutted from her ruined flesh, and blood was flowing freely.
“Help me up,” she said. “There might be more of them about.”
“You can’t walk,” he protested. “I need to heal you.”
She shook her head. “You will do no such thing. Just get the arrow out of me. That is all I require from you.”
“You can’t be
serious. How far do you think you can go like this?”
“I have medicine,” she said, wincing. “I will not have you open me up.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I don’t trust you, and I will not leave myself vulnerable. So either pull out the arrow or leave me behind.”
Jayden had heard that healing with the flow could enable two people to read one another’s thoughts. He had not experienced this with Theopolou. Nevertheless, the determined look in Gia’s eyes told him that she would not be swayed.
“Have it your way,” he said. “But at least let me treat your wounds.”
“There’s a salve in my pack. Bring it to me.”
He hurried over to where their belongings lay, returning a moment later. Gia rummaged around for a moment and retrieved a small round metal box and several bandages. As she opened the lid of the box, the air was filled with a sweet aroma Jayden recognized. It was made from the viridin root. His mother always kept some handy.
Gia tore the rip in her pants wide enough to reveal the arrowhead. “Hurry. Pull it out.”
“It needs to be cleaned first.”
“There’s no time. Just do as I say.”
This was madness. Even with the salve, if she did not receive proper treatment, her wounds would likely become infected. Jayden didn’t need to be an elf healer to know that.
With a grunt of displeasure, he wrapped his fingers around the shaft. “Are you ready?”
The instant she nodded, he pulled it free in one quick tug.
Gia let out an agonized cry as a fresh stream of blood spewed forth. Still moaning but determined not to let the pain defeat her, she scooped out a liberal amount of the salve and slathered it over the open wound. Seeing her hands trembling, Jayden reached for a bandage and quickly wrapped it tight for her. With this done, Gia dropped the box and pounded her fists into the ground, teeth clenched tightly while battling to contain her cries.
Without waiting for permission, Jayden picked up the salve and began applying it to the worst of her other injuries. He knew that, if not stitched, several of the deeper cuts would leave massive scars. Not that Gia would care about such a thing; he felt sure of that.
To his relief, as her pain subsided, she allowed him to continue cleaning and binding her wounds.
“You’ll need to change and clean them as soon as possible,” he told her once he was finished. “And I don’t care what you say, you need a proper healer, or you won’t make it.”
“I will make it,” she contended. “But not if more humans come. We’re only two days from the Spirit Hills, and we need to move now.”
Given her condition, Jayden guessed it would take them much longer than that. Gia would be unable to travel with any semblance of speed. Even now she was struggling to stand. Barely suppressing a groan of frustration, he helped her to her feet.
“So Theopolou was right. You are determined to die.”
“Mind what you say,” she shot back. “That we fought together does not give you license to mock me.”
Ignoring this remark, Jayden gathered up Gia’s belongings. What was already a uncomfortable journey had now been made much worse. If she died, he would have to explain it to Theopolou. The mere thought of this filled him with apprehension. He needed to convince Gia to allow him to heal her, which meant telling her the truth about himself was now out of the question. He had to think of a believable story, something to at least gain a portion of her trust.
Though if she were as stubborn as she seemed, she very well might choose death.
Chapter Nineteen
As expected, the journey took longer than Gia had stated. But to her credit, she endured her pain without complaint. And once confident they were not being pursued, she took the time to clean and redress her injuries.
After two days, Jayden was amazed that she was able to keep going. Perhaps she was using the flow to self-heal, he mused. He knew it was possible. Not that he could sense any difference. If anything, her use of the flow was weaker than before. Yet as they drew closer to the Spirit Hills, he was beginning to believe this must be what was happening. Though she was limping terribly, the bandages were not nearly as blood-stained as they had been.
They had run across more humans on one occasion, but without incident – simple townsfolk out gathering wild nuts and berries.
“The men we fought were the Bull’s elite trackers,” she told him on the day before they were due to arrive. “It’s rumored that some among their number are half-men, though those we encountered most certainly were not. Even so, they are still vicious fighters and hate our kind with particularly strong vigor.”
Jayden noticed that beads of sweat were forming on her brow, and also that her complexion was much paler than before. He decided not to say anything about this for the time being, instead remarking: “I’m surprised we haven’t been pursued. Their bodies have surely been found by now.”
“We will be, but not for a few days yet. Trackers aren’t a part of the regular army, so those men won’t be quickly missed. From what we know of them, they work independently of the garrison.”
After a meager meal that used up most of their remaining dried fruits and the water in their skins, they moved on. At this point the ground was still relatively flat, though the density of the trees forced them to make numerous twists and turns along the way.
Each hour they walked saw Gia’s condition worsen. Jayden realized that her wounds, as he had feared, must have become infected. Her use of the flow had clearly reduced any further bleeding, but it had not allowed her body to truly heal. Given that she would not permit him to do anything about it, he could only hope that Felsafell would be able to help her – assuming they could find him in time.
When they did eventually reach the road that ran alongside the edge of the Spirit Hills, it was only a few hours before dawn. They waited here for a short time until sure there was no one else about before crossing over.
Once setting foot on the other side, everything instantly changed. It was as if the air had suddenly thickened, and their breathing became labored. The trees appeared gnarled and ancient; the forest floor was uneven and fraught with leaf-covered holes and hidden roots that seemed to have been deliberately set there to trap or trip them. There were no obvious trails, not even a deer path. With each step they took, the way ahead became ever more dense, as if the forest were intentionally closing in on itself to deny them access. Only the gradient of the hills offered little resistance. At this point they were no more than gentle slopes, though Jayden was sure that these too would become far more demanding in due course.
After three hours of laborious progress, with the sky beginning to glow with the dim light of dawn, he doubted that they had covered even a mile into the interior. Gia’s condition had deteriorated further as well. By now she was struggling desperately just to place one foot in front of the other.
“You have to let me try to heal you,” he said finally.
She halted to lean heavily against a pine. “I will be fine once we arrive. Healing comes slowly without rest.”
“For you, it’s impossible,” he retorted. “You just aren’t strong enough. The flow in you is weak and getting weaker by the minute. It could be days yet before we find him. You won’t make it that long. If you’re worried about revealing anything, let me tell you that when I healed Theopolou, we saw nothing of each other’s mind. Not a thing. So please, stop being so damned stubborn.”
He stepped toward her, but she moved away, anger flashing in her eyes.
“If you touch me, I will gut you,” she warned, her hand gripping the handle of her dagger.
Jayden backed off. “Fine. Die for no reason, if that’s what you want. At least I can tell Theopolou I tried to save you.”
Gia gave no reply. With her unyielding expression still in place, she turned on wobbling legs and trudged on, hands reaching out to each tree she passed for much needed support.
Keeping a good distance
back, Jayden followed. If she collapsed, he could then try to heal her. But this raised other questions. Would that be too late? How close to death could someone be before they were beyond aid? There was no way for him to know. Although severely wounded and with little chance of survival without treatment, Theopolou had not actually been on the point of death when he healed him.
As expected, by the time the sun was fully up, the hills had steepened dramatically. With each one taller than the last, they tried to thread their way between them whenever possible, though thick brambles or large piles of jagged rocks often prevented this. Jayden began to get a strange feeling that they were being watched. He listened carefully, but could not hear a thing aside from the twitting of birds and the rustle of the wind in the treetops. The air carried the musty scent of rotting foliage and wet moss, even when they crested a rise. Why anyone would want to live in such an appalling place was beyond his understanding.
I suppose if you’re a hermit wanting solitude, this would definitely help to keep people out, he thought.
By now they would have normally halted for the day. But Gia pressed on – albeit at a snail’s pace. Her hair was limp from perspiration and her hands trembled badly. Jayden was on the verge of simply tackling her to the ground and holding her there while doing his best to heal her. This was insane. Why would anyone willingly choose death when help was available?
This question was still floating around in his mind when, just as they were about to ascend yet another tall slope, he heard a voice call out from behind.
“A strange sight indeed it is.”
They spun, hands on their weapons. The sudden movement caused Gia to stagger and drop to one knee.
Standing beside a pile of loose rocks was an old man dressed in stained and tattered animal skins. His ashen hair and long beard were tangled and matted, and the deep lines of countless years were carved into his face. In one hand he held a gnarled tree branch – apparently a walking stick. Yet despite his aged appearance, his eyes twinkled bright blue as they looked directly at Jayden. His expression was one of intense curiosity.
The Godling Chronicles Page 31
