The thing Rayah didn’t hear was what counted most. No hissing.
Before, the vines had hissed at her and Zerenity when they’d gotten close.
Have the vines died as well?
That question needed an answer. A lump rose in Rayah’s throat. She swallowed hard, but the lump persisted.
Be more like Alderan. Dive in with abandon.
Her hands didn’t move, but her pulse spiked. She loathed the thought of digging through the leaves and debris with her hands, but what other choice did she have?
There’s only one way to find out for certain.
Rayah opened her eyes, set her jaw, and dug into the pile before she changed her mind. A nidorous odor permeated the leaves and soil like a two-day-old cadaver but she found no evidence of one. In fact she found little evidence of anything in the blackened soil.
She sat back and stared at her hands. Soil stuck to them and caked under her fingernails. She’d never felt such a strange sensation. As a soil dryte, dirt and soil had never stuck to her before. Then again, it had never smelled so bad either.
She rang her hands, but the soil stuck well. She took a deep breath and regretted it as her stomach lurched with nausea. “Ugh. I don’t think the stink is going to wash off.”
She stood and wiped her hands on her blouse. The shallow pit glared up at her. Taunted her. What had she accomplished?
Nothing.
Rayah turned to leave but a thought niggled at her. “I’m not going to do it,” she huffed. She took several steps and then stopped. She hung her head for a moment and then looked skyward with defiance.
Is this really what you want me to do, Ƨäʈūr? Manipulate the dirt?
She didn’t need an answer. She turned and glared at the pit. “Fine, you win. Doesn’t mean I have to like it though.”
Rayah approached the pit and bent down next to it again. She raked her fingers through the black soil. The thought of that thick, disgusting, stinky dirt covering her twisted her stomach in knots, but she must find out if anything remained of the vines. Too many questions surround the vines, but the most important one was where did they come from?
With spring around the corner, and an unusually warm day, the ground had softened enough that she could manipulate it. She didn’t want to do it, but if it meant finding an answer to help save Zerenity and Qotan she had no choice. It did.
Rayah took a deep breath and sank into the soil. Other than its nauseating stench, breathing through the soil didn’t present an issue. However, because of its strange makeup and stickiness, she found it difficult to see through. She must rely on her sense of touch.
Many rocks and roots littered the soil, and she’d nearly given up on finding something beyond the ordinary when her fingers slid across an object she couldn’t identify. Larger than she’d first thought, she had to use both hands to grasp the mostly flat object. Once she secured it in her hands, she rose to the surface with it.
The daylight did little good in helping her understand what it was that she held. She tried to wipe it off with her sleeves and trousers, but the black soil clung to her and to it too well. She’d have to take it back to Zerenity’s and wash it off before she could determine what it was.
She spread her wings, but the soil clung to them as well and weighed them down to the point that she’d never get off the ground no matter how hard she flapped them. “A bath is so in order.”
Satisfied with her find, she didn’t mind walking back to Zerenity’s house. She only hoped she could find the way. Before nightfall.
An hour later, Rayah pushed through the last of the trees and stumbled into Zerenity’s yard. A well sat at the opposite end of the yard, and she headed straight for it. She set the object down on the dead grass and used the well bucket to draw some water from the well.
It took quite a bit of scrubbing to remove the soil from the object, and when she’d finished, she still didn’t understand what she’d dug up. She took the object inside and set it on the kitchen table. Its black color and smooth texture reminded her of obsidian, but its iridescence and slightly flexible composition ruled it out. It had a slight curve to it, kind of like a seashell, but it wasn’t that either. Initially, she thought it might be shale, but it proved far more durable, easily resisting a good beating from a hammer she’d found in one of Zerenity’s kitchen drawers.
Rayah had hoped to contact Savric with an answer as to what had created the vile vines. Instead, she had more questions than she’d started with. Frustrated, she grabbed the stupid object and stormed into the living area.
She retrieved the brass-handled mirror from her pack and held it up to her face. The girl who stared back sickened her. Not the girl herself, but the disgusting black soil that covered her. Black soil matted Rayah’s hair and streaked her face.
Rayah imagined she could pass for one of those backwater people from Mortuus Vir Isle—the mud people. Or at least if she’d been topless and held a spear or some other hand-carved weapon, according to legend anyway. She’d never actually seen a mud person, but the stories she’d heard filled her mind with vivid images akin to her current state. She thanked Ƨäʈūr that she wasn’t gazing at a full-length mirror. She didn’t think she could handle seeing her entire body covered in such filth. As it was, her arms, legs, and face itched something fierce, and her mind ran wild with disgusting possibilities.
Please don’t let there be anything that’s crawled somewhere it shouldn’t have. She squirmed a little at the thought.
Beyond her physical state, she had other problems as well. In the morning rush earlier, she’d forgotten to ask Eshtak how the mirror actually worked. She’d never witnessed him contact someone, so she did what seemed natural. She stared intently at the mirror and said, “Master Savric?”
Rayah’s reflection twisted and swirled and stretched, distorting her face until it became an unrecognizable mess. She waited several minutes, mesmerized by the mirror’s undulating rhythm. Finally, the swirling ceased, and Savric’s face appeared in the mirror.
Savric peered into the mirror, and his grim expression changed to one of surprise in an instant. “Dear heavens, girl! Dare I ask what you have been up to?”
Rayah scratched her nose. “Since I couldn’t find Alderan, I decided to go back into the forest and search for the source of those vile vines.”
The lines across Savric’s brow deepened. “The vines were in the middle the forest and not the swamp, were they not?”
“Yes, and I think I found something buried deep in the soil beneath the vines.” Rayah grabbed the black object and held it in front of the mirror. “This is what I found, but I don’t know what it is. I thought it might be shale or a seashell or something, but it doesn’t seem to be either.”
Savric cocked his head and pulled on his beard. “Can you turn it over and let me see the other side?” Rayah did so. After several more turns of the object, Savric shook his head. “I daresay, you and that rock of yours have me quite confounded. Perhaps I could identify it were I there, but I am uncertain as to the date of my return.” Savric looked up for several moments before returning his gaze to Rayah. “Perhaps I can arrange for a friend to come have a look at it. Bear with me while I contact her.” Rayah nodded and Savric’s face disappeared from view.
She returned to the kitchen and set the object on the kitchen table. When she tried to sit down on one of the chairs, she found the task more difficult than usual. The layer of soil caked on her arms and legs stiffened them to the point where they nearly refused to bend.
I need to get all this washed off before I wind up cocooned in here.
Savric’s face returned in the mirror. “We are indeed in luck, but you will need to do a bit of traveling in the morning. Morcinda is currently in Tamdaporth and can meet you east of the Veridis Forest, on the shores of the Gelu Ocean, tomorrow morning.”
“I’ve never heard you mention Morcinda before. How will I recognize her?”
Sav
ric’s eyes twinkled in the faint light. “I daresay she will be unmistakable with her blue hair, pale skin, and pointed ears.” He chuckled. “She will be sailing a ship with a mermaid on its front.”
“There’s a lot of coastline on the eastern side of the Veridis Forest. Not only that, but most of it is sheer cliffs.”
“Am I mistaken? Are those not wings at your back?”
Rayah’s cheeks burned. Thankfully, the soil covered her embarrassment. “Yes sir. I will take the object and meet this Morcinda in the morning. Hopefully she’ll be able to shed some light on what it is.”
Savric nodded. “Very good. Now, I must move on before the horde gets too far ahead of me.”
“Master Savric, there’s one other thing I wanted to tell you. Rakzar was cursed with a spell called sickle. Have you ever heard of it?”
“Sickle?” Savric stroked his beard. His eyes blinked several times. “I do not recall hearing of such a spell.”
“It’s terrible. Anyone who comes into contact with him becomes sick and weak and eventually dies. Urza’s sick now.” Tears formed in her eyes and she blinked them back. Never in her life did she think she would’ve become so emotional over a beast like Urza, but with each passing moment she found it more difficult to control her emotions. “I want to help figure out how to save her, but I don’t know what to do.” A tear rolled down her cheek.
“It disheartens me that I cannot instruct you in this matter, my dear girl. You must ask Ƨäʈūr for guidance.” Savric looked away from the mirror for a moment. When his gaze returned, his eyebrows were angled toward the bridge of his nose and a fire burned in his eyes. “I must go. We will converse again soon.”
Rayah opened her mouth to say goodbye, but the mirror’s image froze, and then Savric’s face vanished in a swirl of darkness. An instant later, Rayah’s reflection returned. Tears clung to her eyelashes. She raised her arm to wipe her face with her sleeve but thought better of it when she noticed how disgusting and soiled it had become.
She set the mirror on the kitchen table and exhaled. “It’s time for that bath.”
She looked down at her clothes. Not a clean spot remained on them, and they clung to her skin like giant leeches. Her nose wrinkled when she caught a whiff of them. “No amount of scrubbing is going to get rid of that stench. They will definitely be going into the fire.”
Forty minutes later, Rayah settled into a copper tub filled with steaming water. She’d cleaned herself up with a rag before getting into the tub, but it had only worked so well. The black soil still clung to her hair. The hot springs up north would’ve been a better choice given her state, but she didn’t have time for that. She scrubbed her hair as best she could, and the water blackened.
A dull crash sounded from across the house, and Rayah froze.
† † †
Alderan stepped through the mirror and into Zerenity’s dark closet and proceeded to kick and stumble over an assortment of metal objects piled on the floor. One of them clanged against the wall and rang in his ears as he fell to his hands and knees with a grunt. The torchlight faded as the mirror’s portal closed, blanketing Alderan in the closet’s perfect darkness.
Alderan groaned, “Graceful as always, you big oaf.”
He rose on his knees and pushed his hair back behind his ears. Swinging around the other direction, he probed the darkness for the objects he’d tripped over. The first object he located felt like some sort of metal glove. There were two of them, along with several articles of clothing he couldn’t quite identify, each made of a mix of leather, metal ringlets, and fabric. After locating a large metal plate and a long pole with a razor-sharp end, recognition came to him.
The guards at Galondu Castle wear armor like this.
But how a set of armor found its way onto the floor of Zerenity’s closet escaped him. “Who would’ve left these here?” He scratched his head. “And why?”
The closet door squeaked open, sending a chill through Alderan. He held his breath and slowly turned to face the direction of the door. A dim, flickering light filtered through the rows of hanging clothes. It reminded him of the morning sun penetrating the canopy of a dense forest.
“Is anybody in there?” a voice whispered.
Alderan rose to his feet. “Rayah?”
“Alderan!” Rayah squealed.
Pushing his way through the rows of clothes, Alderan moved toward the front of the closet. When he parted the last row, a gasp parted his lips. “For the love of Ƨäʈūr, Rayah! What were you planning on doing with that hammer?”
His cheeks warmed and then caught fire as his gaze fully took her in. Deep shadows obscured everything below her waist, yet he’d never seen so much of her. Desire swelled within him. He shook his head and forced his gaze to meet hers again. “And why are you nearly naked?”
Rayah glanced down at herself. “I was taking a bath when I heard a crash. The shawl and hammer were the only two things I had time to grab.”
Alderan wove his fingers through his hair and pulled it back on his scalp. “And what if it had been someone else that came through the mirror? Did you think about that?”
Rayah shook the hammer at him and scowled. “That’s what this is for.”
“You should’ve hidden somewhere until you knew it was safe.” He stepped closer to her and wrinkled his nose. “Ugh. What is that horrendous smell?”
Her scowl deepened and her nostrils flared. “It’s me.” She shook the hammer at him again. “You make any comments about it, and you’ll find this hammer soaring at your head.”
Alderan raised his hands submissively. “Whoa, there’s no need to threaten me with violence. I won’t say anything about how wretched you smell. Or how bile climbs higher in my throat with each breath. The wall paint that curls in your wake. The wood rotting at the touch of your feet. Your—”
The corners of Rayah’s mouth twitched as a smile fought to overtake her frowning lips. She giggled. “You’re impossible.”
Her face glowed in the candlelight, highlighting her exceptional beauty. Butterflies stirred in Alderan’s stomach as he closed the distance and lifted Rayah’s chin. He pushed the stench from his nostrils and his mind and kissed her voluminous lips. Her lips parted and their tongues met for the briefest of moments.
He wanted more. Needed more. But pulled away. Rayah moaned softly.
Alderan wiped his mouth on his shoulder. “How about we head into the living area and sit down. You can explain what happened to you and why there’s a guard’s uniform on the floor in here.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Me explain?” She handed him the hammer and then pulled the shawl wrapped around her midsection tighter. “We’ve got plenty of things to talk about, including where you’ve been for the last day or so. You’ve worried me sick.”
While Rayah finished her bath and got dressed, Alderan piled several pieces of wood on the fireplace hearth, stuffed the spaces between the pieces with kindling, and brought it to life with a few sparks from a flint rock. Satisfied that the fire wouldn’t fizzle out, he joined Rayah on the couch.
Alderan wrinkled his nose, the pungent odor still prevalent. Several feet separated him from Rayah, but several more would’ve been better. He started to say something about it again, but the look on her face stilled his tongue.
“Explain yourself.” A hardness he’d never known filled her voice. “Where’ve you been, and why did you leave without telling me or saying goodbye?”
Alderan sat back and recounted the events that led to his capture, the reunion with his sister, Aria, and meeting her husband, Pravus.
“She’s married?” Rayah said, her face full of exasperation. “All this time you’ve insisted we wait until your sister could be present for us to marry, but she had no qualms in marrying without your blessing or presence.”
Alderan scooched over on the couch and took Rayah’s hand. “Look, Rayah, it’s not like that.”
“Oh no?” She pulled her h
and away and crossed her arms over her chest. “Then tell me, what is it like?”
Alderan raked his fingers through his hair. “She thought I was dead, Rayah. She’d given up hope, and I don’t blame her. So many times I nearly gave up on her as well. You know that. In fact, you’re the one that told me that I should stop looking for her because she was dead. So don’t sit there and pretend that you’re shocked and offended that she moved on when that’s all you wanted me to do.”
Rayah’s features softened. She reached out and reclaimed Alderan’s hand. “You’re right. My love for you is so deep that it blinds me at times. All I want is to be with you and protect you.”
Alderan stared at Rayah’s hand in his. Her dainty, porcelain fingers barely reached his first knuckles. How such small hands could wield so much power flabbergasted him, yet he knew their strength surpassed his. Everything about Rayah surpassed him. Her will, determination, loyalty, love, and resolve. More to the point, she completed him. Every aspect he lacked or fell short on she excelled at. Together, they were an unstoppable force. Nothing and no one in the entire world could diminish or take away the love he felt for her.
Not even you, Aria.
The thought struck him like a blow to the gut. Not so long ago, he never would’ve entertained such a thought. Rayah hadn’t replaced Aria in his heart, but she consumed more of it. His heart was big enough for the both of them.
He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “I know, and I feel the same way about you. Given the choice, I would’ve come back to you sooner.”
Rayah crawled on top of his lap and kissed his exposed neck. “I believe you.”
Alderan coughed and pushed Rayah away. “Okay, I’ve done my best to ignore the stench, but I need some room to breathe.” He stood and paced. “Now it’s your turn to answer some questions. The first question I have is what in Ƨäʈūr’s name did you get all over yourself?”
Rended Souls Page 14
