by Anna Logan
Talea took a step backward, wincing. The question “Are you guys sure about this?” almost rolled off her tongue. Somehow, this wasn’t right.
Instead, she was saying her own goodbyes and thank you’s to the Krim family, finding it hard to turn away from Ayida’s pain and Emali and Quo’s innocent, sad frowns. When they’d all bade their farewells, the twins went down the line again for a second round of embraces. Then that was it. The party of seven walked away from the cozy house and its four remaining tenants, continuing on this unavoidable, obscure journey.
9
The River
K i!” Kae drew out the syllable with vexation, widening her eyes at him as if out of irritation. “How long do you plan to whistle the exact same tune?”
Ki, snickering, whistled the tune again even louder.
“You’re an eskik,” she rolled her eyes and sped up, passing him by to walk at the front, a few yards behind the mute Wylan and Ash.
Talea, watching, managed a lopsided smile to give Brenly when her friend glanced at her. “They do add an entertainment factor, don’t they?” she leaned into whisper.
With a light laugh, Brenly nodded. “At least they don’t seem too homesick or anything.”
Yet. Was her private thought. Sure, she’d found the “adventure” exciting the first few days, too. It hadn’t lasted much after that, though. “What about you?” she studied Brenly’s mild, smooth features. Angular jaw, high cheekbones, wide eyes. As usual: calm, withheld. “Homesick?”
Brenly only shook her head ever so slightly. “Not much left for me at Vissler.”
All too true. What was happening back home? Had anything more changed? For the sake of the villagers, she hoped not—no more announcements or drafts. She wondered how badly some of them were feeling the absence of husbands or fathers.
A snort from Ash brought her back to the present. The stallion was pinning his ears back and, if it were possible for a celith to frown, then he was doing it. Wylan, who really was frowning—as always—gave the animal’s shoulder a pat and kept going. No wonder the two of them get along. Moody, irritable, solitary frowners. The group had fallen into silence, even the twins’ banter dormant, so she took the opportunity to break it. “What’s up with Ash?” as she asked, a raindrop splattered against her nose.
“Rain. He doesn’t like water.”
Minutes later, Ash was not a happy creature, as the sporadic drops became a downpour. It turned out that this scene—grouchy animals and sullen people with their heads down and clothes wet—was to be their lot for the next two days. The rain came and went, usually leaving a fog or humidity in its place. In either case, the sullen mood stayed. All except for Ki. By the third day since they’d left the Krims’, Talea had decided that it would take an extraordinary catastrophe to dampen Ki’s spirits. As time passed, she learned that he was not immune to his own unique form of moodiness, but he did seem immune to melancholy. What made the rest of them gloomy either didn’t affect him, or just warped his characteristic good humor into a more sarcastic, wry version of itself.
When the rain became too heavy, they stopped and set up a soggy camp. The third evening was just such an instance. With stiff fingers, lots of shivering, and sluggish movements, they put up the two tents and unpacked the animals, before retiring to their shelters. As soon as it was just her, Seles, Brenly, and Kae in their tent, they shed their wet garments for semi-dry ones and all huddled under a blanket. They kept up an inconsistent conversation for the first hour or so, until gradually it was all anyone could do to stay awake. Though murky with clouds and rain, it was still light outside and would be for a few hours. Too bad. Blinking herself more awake, Talea gave her companions a tired smile. “Well, should we eat something and then just try to get some sleep?”
Rest, if not sleep, came easier than usual, to the steady sound of the rain, pattering the tarps gently. Drifting, drifting…drifting…
Talea woke later with groggy alarm. A noise. It was dark outside. How long had she been asleep? She couldn’t remember having fallen asleep. Brenly, Seles and Kae were slumbering peacefully around her. Silence. Silence? The rain had stopped. Silence…hadn’t she heard something?
She rubbed a fist against her eyes and shook her head to clear it, then crawled to the loose flap that served as a door for the shelter. There she put her boots on and ducked out into the open. The sky was perfectly clear, every star twinkling, not a cloud in sight. There was no light in the sky, so the sun must have set some time ago. Definitely been a few hours. She looked to the guys’ tent. Did she imagine the noise that supposedly woke her up? Maybe one of them just rustled a tarp or something. Or, she looked to Ash, maybe the nervous stallion had been moving about. That became a likely option, since he was pacing around the tree he was tied to, ears pricked and head up. Even lazy Rosy had lifted her head and was sniffing the air with vague interest.
Talea approached Ash and tentatively set her palm on his side. For once, he didn’t snort or sidestep, he simply ignored her, ears and eyes still trained on the same spot. That’s a little, um, worrisome. She squinted against the haze of darkness but couldn’t see anything. A rumbling, deep in Ash’s chest, as he backed away as far as he could, made sure she didn’t manage to quench her own nerves. Well, okay. Maybe it’s just a, a jas, or a barbsit, or something, that got him spooked. Or it’s…or it’s Yhkon and Grrake. She balled her fists and sucked in a deep breath. Options: One, assume it is them, run like a madwoman to get Naylen and Wylan. Two, assume it is them, take offensive measures and yell for everyone else to wake up. Three, assume it’s not them and go back to sleep, as if that’ll work. Four, uh, find out if it is them? She inwardly growled at herself, wishing her hands would stop shaking. Four. Option four. Do it. It was becoming easier and easier to imagine she was seeing the glint of eyes, locked on her. Another deep breath. Step away from the tree and Ash. Put her hand behind her back. Bring the glowing heat to her fingertips. Final deep breath…Talea drew her glowing hand forward, forming a sphere of energy in the same motion as she threw it in the direction Ash was looking.
There was an exclamation of surprise, rustling, grass sizzling. In the split second before the sphere hit the ground and burned out, she saw movement.
“You idiot! I said not to mo—”
“She threw a freaking lightning ball at me!” The sound of more movement, lots of it.
“I don’t care, you—”
Heart hammering against her ribs, she bolted back toward the shelters, yelling Naylen and Wylan’s names as she did. Wylan came tearing out, Naylen close behind. Wylan had already located the target: the four shadowy figures running across the campsite behind her. A lightning bolt struck only a couple feet from one of them while Wylan gave chase. One of the others veered off, now charging toward them.
Talea stumbled backwards with surprise, instinct bringing hot energy to her hand and sending it in the stranger’s direction. He must have dodged it because next thing she knew he had tackled Wylan, while another of them brought Naylen to the ground. “Let them go!” she screamed without meaning to, scrambling towards them, the warmth still in her hands. Naylen was merely being kept pinned to the ground, but Wylan and his assailant were struggling, the man that gripped him restraining his glowing hands with one arm and trying to hook his other arm around Wylan’s neck. She brought the energy into a hovering mass at her fingers and lunged to touch it to the man’s back.
Something hit her abdomen instead. Or rather, she hit it. The air left her lungs and she doubled over against the obstruction, which turned out to be a pair of arms, that were now lifting her upright and holding her fast. “You’re kind of hostile, you know,” came a familiar voice in her ear.
“Let me—” she didn’t have the chance to finish, as the man—presumably Yhkon—sent her spinning like a top. By the time she recovered from the push, he was disappearing into the night along with two others. The man that attacked Wylan released his limp body and sprinted after them. “Wylan!” she
scrambled to where he’d fallen. Dimly she was aware of Naylen fruitlessly firing a couple arrows after the invaders, of Seles and Brenly rushing toward her, of Ki and Kae nearby. She rolled Wylan onto his back—his eyes were closed, face slack. Was he…was he dead?
Ki came sliding to his knees beside her, putting his fingers to Wylan’s throat. “Ah, ee’s okey. See?” he gave Wylan’s shoulder a pat as he groaned a little, brow furrowing. “Alredy comin’ to. Jes’ knocked ‘im out, dey did.”
“Knocked him out?” she echoed, staring at him.
“Wull sure.” Ki shrugged, as if it was perfectly acceptable. “Ya wrap an arm aroun’ da neck, ya squeeze, dey can’t breathe, dey pass out.”
“Well they almost killed him!” she growled, watching Wylan’s face anxiously, breathing a sigh of relief when his eyes opened, though they remained scrunched up. “Thank Narone. You okay?”
He opened his mouth, seemed unable to say anything, and rubbed his throat with another raspy groan.
Ki nodded understandingly and gestured to him. “Ah, yes, see? De breathin’ pipes be a bit unhappy. Yull be right as rain in no time though.”
“When did you become an expert on…on…” she wrinkled her nose, trying not to glare at him. “On strangulation?”
Ki’s blonde eyebrows climbed upward. “Expert? Why, sure, ya could call me an expert.” He smiled. “I spose I know a thing er two, so—”
Wylan sat up, not making her same effort to not glare at the other teenager. His lips parted again, only to close again in a grimace, which brought a look of frustration to his expression.
“Stop tryin’ ta talk. Give de pipes some time ta recover.”
“Yeah, we got it, the pipes aren’t happy,” she said dismissively, getting up. Biting her lip, she partially extended her hand toward Wylan. “Here, uh, do you—”
He got up on his own, either not seeing her hand or not wanting it. His glare shifted toward the direction the four men had vanished, face hardening.
“Um, so what happened?” Kae edged forward, looking from her brother to Wylan and back.
“Dunno, I got out too late fer de excitement, ‘parently.”
Talea looked at him sideways, then her. “It was Yhkon and Grrake, and two others. I woke up to a sound, Ash was upset, so I threw a sphere to see what it was, and…” she tossed her hand in that direction. “Well I think they were running away, but then they attacked when you guys came out,” she nodded to her brother and Wylan.
“Oh.” Kae was intertwining her fingers, wearing a distant expression. “Well, you guys okay?”
Talea nodded. Any aching in her stomach had faded. Naylen affirmed as well. Wylan cleared his throat and answered hoarsely, “Fine.” He faced Naylen. “One of us stays on watch.” His voice was strained to a higher tone than usual.
“I doubt thall come back agin,” Ki remarked.
Wylan sent another glare his way, without replying.
“Yeah,” Naylen had one arm crossed over his chest, his hand holding onto his opposite shoulder. “I’ll take this watch. You get some rest. Hopefully you’ll be able to talk by morning,” he finished with a trace of cheer, which Wylan didn’t reciprocate. If anything it seemed to irritate him. He just nodded, eyed them all briefly, and went back to his tent.
Talea’s feet were carrying her after him before she could remind herself that most of her solo interactions with Wylan were somewhat unpleasant. “Hey. Why do you think they were here? Didn’t seem to me like they were actually going to attack, or something. I mean, they let us go.”
He stopped, turning his dark eyes on her. “They’re toying with us.” Though hoarse, his voice held plenty of anger. “They’ve been toying with me for years.” He kept walking.
“I’m…I’m sorry. I mean, um, do you need anything? Water?”
“Got some.”
“Oh, right.” She snapped her mouth shut. Fine. Be that way. Die of your “pipes” being swollen, or something. Retreating the way she’d come, she stopped Ki as he was passing. “You sure he’s going to be okay? Are there lasting effects?”
Ki waved dismissively. “Stop worryin’. Ee’l be fine. If da fella had wanted ta hurt ‘im, he woulda.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you mean by that?”
“Wull, nothin.” He shrugged, taking another couple steps on his way. “I mean, y’all been sayin’ ya thought they wanted y’all alive.”
“Y’all probably includes you and Kae, you know.”
He blinked. “Wull, sure. ‘Course. Night, then!”
“Goodnight,” she said quietly, frowning as he walked away. Noticing for the first time how chilly it was kept her from staying to mull it any longer. Naylen gave her a salute and smile from where he’d set up on a log, bundled up in a blanket. Right. Sleep. Get some. Wylan’s hoarse voice saying “Got some” repeated in her mind, making her roll her eyes and hug her arms closer to her sides, hurrying into the shelter. Just go to sleep.
~♦~
Yhkon sighed. The whole thing was Tarol’s fault—sort of, anyway—but he couldn’t exactly say that to the council. “It was an unavoidable mishap. If they didn’t have Ash it wouldn’t have happened at all.”
A couple of the councilmen were giving him perplexed looks, clearly not remembering the history. He drew in his breath and continued, “He was my celith, before the death of Wylan’s family, and Wylan rode off on him. He gets agitated whenever I’m nearby.” Never did like me much, wretched beast.
Councilman Bactah chuckled dryly. “So they’ve got a watchdog. How convenient.”
Yhkon agreed with a grunt. Bactah was perhaps the only individual out of the seven before him who couldn’t be relied upon to frustrate him. “Yes. So, the incident was unfortunate, but not much harm was done, and we handled it as best we could.”
“Not much harm?” Councilman Enisham echoed with a raised eyebrow.
A smirk or a sneer or even just an irritated frown begged to take over his calm, collected countenance. “Yes, that’s what I said.” The slightest tone of sarcasm crept in, and it didn’t escape Enisham’s notice. It was rewarded with a scowl, which only made Yhkon want to smirk more. “Wylan and Talea will, of course, be even more suspicious of us and such, but at this point it doesn’t make much difference.”
“So,” Councilman Juplay leaned forward. His dark brown skin, silver hair and eyes, and silent nature set him apart from the other council members. “What now?”
“I’ve spoken with the other Wardens, and we think it’s time to collect them. We’d go back to Zentyre, catch up with them, wait for an opening, and make our move.”
Glances were exchanged, a few shrugs, nods. “Alright, we agree to this course of action.” Enisham said. “Will you be leaving immediately?”
He dipped his head in affirmation. “Grrake, Haeric, and Tarol are waiting for me just outside. We’ll go directly.”
“Then good luck, and Narone go with you,” Councilman Ilidyu said with wrinkly smile.
~♦~
Mountains poked into the blue sky, the higher among them capped with snow. Their bases were coated with trees, that grew sparse toward the middle, until there was nothing but the gray of rock. Even a few dozen miles away the peaks posed a daunting presence. “Are we going into those?” Talea tore her gaze from the mountains and turned it to Ki.
As if surprised by being addressed, he didn’t answer right away; when he did it was fumbling. “Uh, um no. Shouldn’ have ta, the pillar was jes straight ahea’ of us, like.”
She nodded distractedly. His apparent anxiety made her wonder if he’d caught on to the distrust directed at him. Kae had certainly picked up on it—she didn’t walk with Talea or Brenly as much anymore, was quieter, kept to herself; even though Talea and Brenly tried to continue acting normal and including her. It made Talea lean more towards sympathy than suspicion, but the plain fact was that there was plenty to be suspicious of. She had talked about it with Naylen and Wylan in private shortly after the night-a
ttack, and they’d all agreed that the twins’ reaction to the ordeal was unusual. Naylen went so far as to suggest that they were in league with Yhkon and Grrake. Wylan disagreed, saying he doubted they were dangerous, only that they were hiding something.
Either way, they’d eventually agreed that the best thing to do was to keep going, see if the twins really did lead them to this supposed other, and figure it out from there. If things with the twins went belly-up and they needed to make a quick escape, they’d be ready.
So, two weeks after the encounter with their mysterious stalkers, they had reached the mountains. Ki claimed they were getting close, but that it was impossible to know for sure how much farther it was, as he’d been unable to pinpoint the lightning pillar with much accuracy. There hadn’t been any sign of Yhkon and Grrake or their two companions in those weeks. Still, they kept up the night watches—Wylan and Naylen eventually relenting to letting Ki and Kae take turns too—and did their best to stay on guard. Otherwise, the only notable change was the invisible tension that was splitting the group of seven into five and two.
“Well, darn.” Naylen said abruptly, at the same moment as Ki gave a low whistle. They had both reached the top of a grassy knoll, being at the front.
She jogged to catch up to them, soon looking at the same thing that had their attention. “Darn indeed.”
It was a river. A big river; probably a couple stone’s throws in width, the current fast enough to make most of the water foamy and white instead of its original muddy gray.
Wylan caught up to them last, being in the back. He inspected the river only a few seconds before launching into a plan. “No use trying to find a better crossing, no telling how long we’d have to search. Ash can get us across in pairs.”
