by Dave Skinner
Brayson reached out and grabbed a handful of Nails’ shirt. He tried to pull him away, but Nails failed to move even though there was fear and something else...loathing perhaps, written across his face. Brayson realized what was happening. Adel was having a fit. Suddenly, she threw her head back, her eyes rolled in her head, her body stiffened and she began to glow. Brayson tried to pull Nails away again, but his friend still refused to move.
“Nails, come away,” he pleaded. “We do not want to be here.”
“She’s changing,” Nails said. Brayson’s eyes were drawn back to Adel and Leown. The glow was building around Adel. Leown had her arms locked around her mother. Both of them were moaning. The glow began to take on a shape. He could see flashes of a monster, the likes of which he had never imagined before. A long, white snout full of huge teeth seemed poised above her. Adel surged up out of her chair. Leown tried to cling to her, but the princess’ hold was broken. She remained on her knees, looking up at her mother. Brayson felt her pain. Tears of anguish rolled down her cheeks. The glow around Adel became a mist as the monstrous shape started to solidify. Suddenly Nails stood, stepped forward and wrapped his own arms around Adel. The glow spread around Nails and then slowly disappeared as if he was absorbing it. Adel stopped moaning, her body relaxed, and Nails placed her back in the chair. As he stepped back, her eyes opened. She looked disoriented for a moment.
“I am sorry. I was overcome with memories. People I have not thought about for years. It was very nice to meet you both, but I believe I need rest. Will you walk me in, Leown?”
Brayson and Nails watched as Leown scrambled to her feet and helped Adel to stand. They walked arm-in-arm towards a large house at the edge of the plaza. Flowers bloomed in Adel’s footprints.
“What did you do?” Brayson asked Nails.
“I...nothing. I just needed to hold her.”
“You needed to hold her? Can you explain that?”
“I was drawn to her and repulsed by what was happening at the same time.”
“Do you feel okay? That glow seemed to be drawn into you.”
“I feel fine, although I could use something to eat.”
Chapter 14
Nails and Brayson wandered around Crosstown until they found their way back to the Lone Branch Inn. Nails had made light of what happened with Adel, but inside he was worried. Was something like Adel’s fit going to happen to him? He couldn’t stop thinking about it until they arrived back at the inn where the smell of food took away all his worries.
The inn’s common room was full of customers enjoying a midday meal. As they wove through the tables to find a place of their own, Nails noticed that everyone was eating food that was rolled up in leaves and covered in a red sauce. Nails had never seen anything like it. They had only been seated for a few moments when a server dropped a platter of the rolls onto their table, along with two small plates.
“What are these things?” Nails asked.
“Grape leaf rolls,” the server said. “All we are serving right now. You will have to go somewhere else if you want something different.”
“We will stay,” Brayson said. “Can we get two ales?”
“Coming right up,” the server said. He hurried away.
“What if I don’t like grape leaf rolls?” Nails said.
“I have never known you to turn away food. Try one.” Nails used his knife to slide a roll from the platter and onto one of the small plates. He cut off the end and lifted it to his face, sniffed at it, and then popped it into his mouth. The explosion of flavours made him smile.
“When he brings the ale, see if we can get another platter,” Nails said with his mouth stuffed full.
“Are we going to leave now?” Nails asked between chews.
“I would like to stay for a few days,” Brayson said.
“I noticed you glancing around a lot while we were walking. You seemed to be looking at faces. Are you searching for old friends from when you were here before?”
“I would welcome seeing people from before, but I was looking for someone else.”
“Who?”
“I have no idea who she is.”
Nails looked at him while he chewed another mouthful of roll.
“How can you be looking for someone you don’t know?”
“I have been dreaming about a face for a long time now. She is a Cross; I am sure about that because I see her ears. Other than that, I know nothing about her. I would like to spend some time looking for her.”
“And you think she is here?”
“She is a Cross, where else would she be?”
Nails had no answer for that.
He was finishing off the grape leaf rolls from their third platter when Brayson groaned.
“Too many rolls?” Nails asked.
“Unfriendly company is coming our way,” Brayson said. Nails followed his gaze and saw a man standing by the common room door. There were two other men standing slightly behind the first. They were bigger than Brayson and carried clubs in their belts. The first man did not carry anything aside from a small eating knife, but his bearing and the crest on his chest gave him authority. Nails thought he was the prettiest man he had ever seen. The innkeeper finally noticed the men at the door and hurried over. Nails couldn’t hear what was said, but the innkeeper ended up pointing towards their table.
“Who is the pretty man?” Nails asked.
“Fairchild,” Brayson said, “Crown Prince of Crosstown and related territory. Adel’s mate.”
“Do you think he wants to thank us?”
“Doubtful,” Brayson said. “He is the one who made me leave last time,” he added, just before the men arrived at the table.
“Are you the two who were with my wife and daughter earlier?” the Prince asked.
“We are, Your Highness,” Brayson answered.
“I want you gone from Crosstown before nightfall,” Fairchild said.
“Why?” Nails asked.
“I do not have to explain my wishes,” the Crown Prince responded. Nails could see that the man was upset, but he didn’t think it gave him the right to be rude.
“But you might as well, explain,” Nails said. “We are here, together, and I just stopped your wife from having a fit. Why not take a moment to explain?” The Prince stared at Nails for five heartbeats.
“Because your presence caused the fit. She has not suffered one for a long time. I do not want her to have another.”
“We weren’t going back to see her,” Nails told him. “Is she planning on searching us out?”
“It does not matter. You are to leave. These men will escort you from the city.” Brayson put a hand on Nails’ arm.
“Let us gather our things, Nails,” Brayson said. “I believe we have overstayed our welcome.”
They made their way up to their room, packed and went back to the common area. They settled with the innkeeper and then headed out. Their two escorts remained close behind them. Nails thought the two men would leave them at the city boundary, but he was wrong. They continued to follow them through the plaza, down the walkway to its end, and then all the way to the ridge from where Nails had first seen the whole city.
“I think this is far enough,” Nails heard one man say. He glanced back. He could only see the top two floors of the city from where they stood. As the men pulled the clubs from their belts, Nails turned to face them.
“You don’t need those,” Nails said. Brayson spun around.
“Do not return to the city,” one man said.
“We won’t,” Brayson told him.
“The Prince does not want you to ever return. We are to make that clear to you.” The two started towards them, and Nails felt his scales activate. The men stopped when that happened and looked at each other. One shrugged. They came forward. Brayson stepped back and put his hand on his sword, while Nails stepped forward and to the right. He had noticed that both men were holding their clubs i
n their right hands. The man closest to him swung his club at Nails’ head. The man on the left was momentarily blocked by his partner. Nails’ left hand shot out and caught the club as it descended. He wrenched the man forward and smashed his elbow onto his shoulder, close to his neck. He heard something break. The man crumbled to the ground leaving the club in Nails’ hand. As one man fell, the other charged towards Nails with his club raised. Nails used the club he held to block it, and his right fist smashed into the man’s face. The man fell backwards and ended up sitting on the ground, holding his face. Nails knelt beside him.
“Tell your prince, his hospitality is terrible.”
***
Brayson and Nails reached the edge of the farmland before the afternoon shadows had grown long. Brayson decided they should stay at the edge of the woods and move around the valley instead of travelling straight through it. He was worried that there would be payback for the beating Nails had given the two men. As the sun dropped behind the mountain peaks, he led them into the trees and found a place to camp. They made a meal using food bought at the Lone Branch. It was not a big meal and Brayson expected to hear Nails complain about the meager portions, but his friend remained as quiet as he had been all afternoon.
“Is something bothering you?” Brayson finally asked.
“No. Why?”
“You have been silent since we left Crosstown.” When Nails said nothing else, Brayson continued. “Is the fight with those two men bothering you?”
“The fight! No. It was nothing. I didn’t even think about it when it happened. Fighting is like that for me. I just know what to do.”
“Like you knew what to do when Adel had her fit?”
“Sort of like that but fighting feels different.”
“Different how?”
Nails thought for some time. “Fighting is inside me. My body knows what to do and does it. Does that make sense?”
“I believe it does. Warriors practice for a long time to train their bodies to respond without having to think about what to do. That is what I was told when I started to train with a sword. You practice different strokes over and over and over. When we started to train on the island, I realized that you could not name one stroke, but you could do them all. It was like you had trained before, and then forgot everything, but your body remembered. At first, I thought it was simply a natural ability, but it is much more than that. Is that why you grabbed Adel? You said you needed to hold her.”
“It was similar but different.”
“How was it different?”
“With fighting, it is the muscles that know what to do. The urge to hold Adel was a longing that came from inside. I didn’t know what to do. I just wanted to hold her.”
“Were you drawn to her even before her fit?”
“No. It started when her magic flared. That’s what scares me. I don’t want to end up like her. She said she had trouble controlling her magic when she started, just like I do.”
“Hopefully, Garnock’s elemental friend will be able to help. If not, we can visit Andoo Toran. In fact, that might be the wisest thing to do.”
“I would rather visit the elemental,” Nails said quickly.
“Why do you think Andoo Toran wants you dead?” he asked.
Nails hesitated for so long that Brayson thought he would not answer, but finally he spoke. “Because he told Magga, the woman who took care of me, to leave me on one of the Chimney Islands. Maybe he’s mad because my mother, Micka, died when I was born. He was there, you know. I saw him in the visions Adel caused. He was very sad she died.”
“You must be wrong, my friend. Like I said before, if a wizard wants you dead, he does not tell your caregiver to do it.”
Nails thought about that. “If I decide to see him, will you come with me?”
“Yes, of course I will,” Brayson told him. And if he turns you into a frog, I will find a nice pond for you to live in.
***
They stopped for a meal the next day when the sun was at its highest point. It was meager fare, a few berries Brayson had gathered as they walked and some of the dried meat from their dwindling supplies. Brayson said they would hunt when they were well away from Crosstown. Nails finished his share quickly and lay back on the ground to wait for Brayson. His friend was a slower eater, always savoring his food instead of getting right to the business of filling his stomach.
“We may have some company soon,” Brayson said.
“What makes you say that?” Nails asked without bothering to open his eyes.
“There is a squad of soldiers running through the valley. They wear the colours of Crosstown royalty, so they may intend on overtaking us. Nails sat up and looked.
“Do you think they are mad that I hit those two men?”
“Possibly. We will know soon enough. Our path will intersect theirs in less than three turns of a sand glass.”
“I don’t want to fight ten men,” Nails told him. “Is there any chance of slipping past them by staying in the trees?”
“Hardly. Crosses are almost as good in the woods as the faerie folk. If we hid somewhere and remained perfectly quiet, they might miss us. Moving, we do not have a chance, but they may not be after us. We did not kill anyone. Prince Fairchild would not send a squad of men to harm us simply because we defended ourselves. It would make him look weak. I also think I see a woman running with them.”
“Are you sure about that?” Nails said. “A beating is going to hurt you more than it hurts me.”
“If we were dealing with big-people, I would think differently, but these are my people. Crosses are not as mean and vindictive as big-people...usually...Fairchild may be the exception to that.”
Brayson finished his berries, and they travelled on at the edge of the trees. In the early afternoon, Nails smelt food cooking and smoke from a fire. The squad of soldiers was camped just off the trail Nails and Brayson were following. A woman and two soldiers were seated by the fire, another soldier stood on the trail. Brayson had led them into the trees as soon as they smelt the fire and food. Now, they stopped behind a large cedar tree, the last spot before they would become visible to those at the campsite.
“I only see three soldiers,” Nails whispered. “Where are the others?”
“Stay here while I see what is happening,” Brayson said quietly before he slipped off deeper into the woods. Nails was beginning to worry by the time Brayson got back.
“The rest are blocking our path,” he told Nails. “I think I was wrong. They are here for us.” Before Nails could say anything, a girl walked around the tree they were hidden behind.
“Hello, again,” she said.
“Princess Leown,” Brayson replied with a slight bow of his head. “What are you doing here?”
“I am here to talk with you and Nails. Will you please come to the fire? We have a stew cooking, and I have brought supplies for your travels.” She motioned to them to come before she turned and walked back towards the campsite. Nails and Brayson looked at each other. Nails shrugged, and they followed the Princess to the fire.
“Are you hungry?” she asked when they reached the camp.
“Always,” Nails said. They followed her lead and sat. One of the soldiers filled three wooden bowls and brought them over. Nails waited for the princess to taste the food, although it took all his discipline to do so. His stomach growled loudly. Finally, Princess Leown ate some stew. Nails dug into his bowl with the wooden spoon he carried. “Good stew,” he said.
“Yes, it is. Tamin has a gift for camp food,” Leown said. Nails saw one of the men by the fire nod his head and give a little bow of acknowledgement.
“Are your men not going to eat?” Brayson asked.
“They will eat later,” she said and placed her bowl on the ground. “My grandmother sent me to apologize for my father’s actions. She learned the whole story when my father’s two guards were found and brought back. You should not have been sent away a
s you were. I have brought supplies and an apology. I know it is not an excuse for his actions, but my father loves my mother very much. It pains him to see her afflicted as she is. She has been much better for many seasons. He had hoped that her...health problem had passed. When he heard what happened with Nails he refused to listen to my mother or me. He acted rashly. You may return to the city if you wish. No one will bother you.”
“Thank you, but we will be travelling on,” Brayson told her.
“Are you sure, Brayson? You are one of us, and as such are always welcome in Crosstown.”
“Thank you, Princess. That is good to hear, but I will stay with Nails. He is my friend, and I do not want to be in a place where armed men answer to your father.”
“My father would not cause you any trouble,” Leown said sternly. “I explained that he was upset. It was a momentary lapse of judgement on his part. He will not do it again.”
“Sorry, Princess. I can see that you believe that, but I do not.” Leown started to say something, but Brayson held his hand up to stop her. “As you say, your father loves your mother. If she suffered another fit because of something we said or even a memory our presence brought to mind, I believe he would forget any promises he has made. I will not put us into that situation.”
“My father is an honourable man. He will not harm you.”
“Your father has banished me twice from Crosstown. This time he sent men with clubs to make his point. Do you think those clubs were for show? We were to be beaten. Our bones were to be broken. What was going to happen then? Men who are beaten with clubs do not just walk away and continue their journeys. It was a death sentence, Princess.”
“No...he...my father is a good man. Everyone says so,” Leown protested.
“Love remakes us all, Princess. My mother met your father shortly after he met Adel. She said exactly what you are saying. He was a good, honourable, trustworthy, person, but that was before the Demon War and before your mother’s problem...affliction...whatever you call it. I hope you are right about your father, but I will not take the chance. Thank you for the meal and the supplies. Nails and I will be moving along. “
