by Eric Vall
Then I looked down to see Oryk’s body was gone.
I swiftly trained my ears toward the jungle, and I guessed the stumbling elf about fifty feet off was Oryk trying to make a break for it. Before I could sprint after him, Haragh gave a spluttering groan, and I whipped around to see the half-ogre collapsed in the mass of ferns.
“Shit,” I growled, and I jumped over the charred remains of the elves to come to his side.
I pulled four daggers out of his gut, but the one buried in his chest made my limbs go numb, and blood pooled beneath his massive body.
“Shoshanne!” I called, and the healer was at my side in a flash.
She gasped when she saw the state Haragh was in, and then she immediately dropped to her knees to assess the damage.
“It’s not in his heart,” she said as she eyed the placement of the final dagger, “but it must have punctured his lung.”
Haragh grunted in pain, and a wheezing gurgle came from his throat.
“What can you do?” I demanded as Haragh’s eyes rolled back into his head.
Then Aurora crashed through the ferns with the Halcyan staff in hand. “Here,” she said breathlessly. “Use it, do whatever it takes.”
“I don’t know how!” Shoshanne’s throat hitched anxiously, and she shook her head at the staff the half-elf thrust toward her.
“You can do this,” I assured her. “Just like Dragir said, connect with the gem and follow your instincts. You’re already an amazing healer. Let the staff connect with your abilities.”
Shoshanne nodded diligently, and as she shakily took the staff from Aurora, she closed her eyes and placed a palm on Haragh’s bloody chest. She lowered the gem so it hovered above him, and as I watched the deep purple glow, the pace of the pulsing stuttered.
I could hear the terrified pounding of Shoshanne’s heart in my ears, and I realized the gem was starting to match her beat for beat while she furrowed her brow in concentration.
“You’ve got it,” I told her. “Now, channel your intentions.”
Shoshanne nodded and breathed deeply, and then her expression abruptly changed.
“I can see it,” she said quietly. “The blade, and the wounds. I can see everything that’s damaged. It’s like a map of his insides.”
“Really?” Aurora panted.
Shoshanne nodded and furrowed her brow again. After a long moment of gurgling breaths from the half-ogre, the healer finally reached for the blade in his chest.
“I can heal him,” she decided.
My pulse kicked up a notch as the healer’s hand closed around the dagger, and the moment she wrenched it from Haragh’s chest, he gave a violent jolt and yelled out in pain.
Shoshanne flattened her palm against the wound and remained exactly as she was while Haragh’s blood coursed over her fingers, but the gem only burned more brightly in her grip, and the Halcyan in the staff began to gleam in striking blues and purples.
Haragh wheezed again, but the gurgling wasn’t there this time, and Shoshanne bit down hard on her lip in concentration. Within a minute, the flow of blood coming from the many dagger wounds seemed to slow, and Haragh winced as he shifted under the healer’s touch.
“I’m almost done,” she told him gently. “The fibers are still fusing, don’t move.”
I stared down in disbelief, and as I watched, the dagger wounds all over Haragh’s torso slowly began to close. By the time the last gaping splice fused itself shut, I had a huge grin on my face.
“Gods,” Aurora breathed and dropped from her knees to her ass. “You really are an angel.”
I chuckled at the look on the half-elf’s face, and Shoshanne blinked her warm brown eyes open at last.
The healer gaped at Haragh’s healed body like she couldn’t believe what she’d done, and then she just looked at me with the blankest expression I’d ever seen on her beautiful face.
Her plush lips were parted in shock, and I grinned as I reached over to tuck a wild copper curl behind her ear.
“You alright?” I asked.
Shoshanne only looked back down, though, and she continued to stare at the half-ogre for well over a minute.
“She’s pretty when she’s struck dumb,” Haragh chuckled, and he strained to sit up.
“Beautiful,” I corrected. Then I stroked Shoshanne’s arm to try and bring her back to reality, and I realized by how cold she was that the healer had gone into shock.
“You should probably start breathing,” I gently reminded her.
Shoshanne took an abrupt and mechanical breath before she slowly set the staff down on the ground.
“I closed the wounds,” she muttered. “I saw the fibers of the tissue in his muscles. I saw all of them, and then I pulled them back together.”
“No shit,” Aurora said when she finally collected herself a bit. “I saw it. You just … healed him. With your mind.”
Shoshanne shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“Me neither,” I admitted, “but Dragir did say the staves were incredibly powerful.”
“Do you think her Aer Magic helped?” Aurora asked in confusion. “It couldn’t have, right? Wounds like that can’t be healed with air.”
“I think it’s just her abilities,” I guessed. “She’s incredibly gifted, and if the channeling gem can connect fully with her intentions, why shouldn’t she be able to heal injuries like this?”
“I did connect with the gem,” Shoshanne agreed. “I could feel it.”
“Your heartbeat fell in sync with the channeling gem,” I told her with a nod. “You were completely connected with it. That must be what Dragir was talking about.”
“I need to go for a walk,” the healer muttered hazily, and I quickly helped her to stand. “I’m going to just …”
Shoshanne trailed off as she wandered across the clearing, and I exchanged a brief glance with Aurora before the half-elf swiftly followed after her.
Then I pulled Haragh up from the ground, and as he patted himself all over to be sure no injuries remained, he began to chuckle again.
“Ye’ve got a habit of fallin’ in love with incredible women,” he informed me.
I grinned. “Apparently.”
“Think she’ll be alright?” he asked in a low voice, and he gestured to Shoshanne.
Aurora trailed behind the healer as she slowly wandered in a large circle around the clearing, and Shoshanne’s huge brown eyes stared ahead of her without seeming to notice anything.
“She’ll be alright,” I chuckled. “It’s a lot to realize the rules no longer apply to you.”
“Speakin’ of rules not applying,’” Haragh grunted, “I’ve never seen ye’ fight like that.”
I furrowed my brow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean yer a fucking killin’ machine,” he informed me bluntly. “Ye’ didn’t even pause to blink. You feelin’ alright?”
I shrugged.
“I think so,” I told him as I scruffed my beard. “I was so distracted, honestly. This rune Dragir gave me for healing was really messing with me for a second. It’s kind of like when our magic sparks, but ten times stronger, and it feels like lead in my veins. I couldn’t focus with all the voices, and I couldn’t get my bearings for shit. Finally, I just leaned into it, and I don’t know what happened. I saw every threat at once and did what I needed to do.”
“You could say that,” Haragh snorted. “I’ve never seen a Terra Mage use their powers accurately with their back turned while they were slittin’ throats. Plus, you were still pullin’ daggers out of my damn back at the time.”
I grinned wider as I remembered the unbelievable ease of juggling it all.
“Yeah,” I mused, “that was kind of awesome.”
Haragh laughed and clapped a sturdy hand on my shoulder, and I picked up Shoshanne’s healing staff to return it to the Mustang for her. Cayla had joined Aurora in trailing after the wandering healer, and they’d already gotten pretty far off through the trees.
I c
ould still hear their footfalls, though, and I kept half my focus on this while I turned to where Deya was hiding up on the embankment.
A few seconds after I motioned for her to come down, the beautiful elf flickered into view with a bright smile on her face. She climbed lithely down the rocks with ease, and when she landed without a sound on the jungle floor, a bloody Ruela trotted to her side.
Deya gave the beast an affectionate scruff, and then two came over to join me and Haragh at the car.
“I was so terrified when that elf came at you,” she told me as she curled against my chest. “Ruela acted just in time.”
I wrapped my arms around Deya, but as I eyed the bloody snout of the wolfish beast, my gut clenched again.
“She saved my ass,” I agreed, “but I almost wish she hadn’t.”
“How can you say that?” Deya demanded, and she looked up at me in shock.
“Oryk recognized her,” I told the beautiful elf.
“Why’s it matter if the elf knows a dog?” Haragh asked.
“If Oryk knows Ruela, then he knows she’s tied to Deya’s hip,” I explained. “There’s no reason this dog would be out here with us if Deya wasn’t here as well. I don’t know how much Oryk can piece together, but if I were him, I’d say it’s pretty obvious we’re heading for the border.”
Deya paled slightly as she realized what this meant, and I could tell her resolve was wavering.
“Should I go back?” she finally asked uneasily. “I don’t want to bring danger to you and the girls. What if--”
I shook my head to silence her. “I’m not gonna tell you what to do,” I replied, “but I’d rather go up against all of their armies than let them have their way where you’re concerned. The law won’t change whether you stay or go. It’s up to you.”
Deya nodded. “If you’re sure about this.”
“Positive,” I said with a broad grin.
“Then we better get the hell out of here,” Haragh sighed.
I promptly called for the others, and as Aurora shuttled Shoshanne toward the Mustang, I summoned all of the daggers, arrows, and axes from the jungle to file them into the trunk.
“What about Oryk?” Cayla asked as she tucked her bazooka near the side panel and gave the steel an affectionate pat.
“Well, he’s the last heir of House Natyr,” I replied as I scruffed my beard thoughtfully. “If Luir was serious about the Elite outnumbering the Houses in the south, Dragir and Rhys might need to gain an allegiance with Oryk down the line.”
Cayla nodded. “Good point. Although, I hate the idea of letting that slimy elf live.”
“Me too,” I admitted and sealed the trunk, “but Nalnora’s got a lot more to worry about than a guy like Oryk. There’s only three Houses left in the south, now. It’s probably best this way. ”
Haragh kept a nervous eye on Ruela’s bloody snout while she leapt into the front seat with him and Deya, and Bobbie roared to life as I dropped into the driver’s seat.
“Hey,” Aurora suddenly said, and she tipped her chin over my shoulder. “How many elves?”
“Forty-eight,” I told her.
When I glanced over my shoulder, the half-elf’s pout showed quite clearly that’d I’d kicked her ass, and she sat back in her seat with a huff.
“Fine,” she muttered, “I’ll get over it.”
Cayla chuckled, and I sent Aurora a wink in the rearview mirror.
“The runes will be our secret,” I promised her, “don’t worry.”
Aurora grinned and rolled her eyes, and I was just about to take us forward when my hearing picked up the faint beat of a wing.
I whipped my eyes toward the canopy, and Deya vanished from sight immediately as I carefully scanned the treetops.
Then a massive owl settled itself on a low branch, and its piercing gaze turned directly toward me. It had clearly just arrived on the scene, but to be sure nothing could get back to Luir, I pulled my revolver from my hip and took my aim.
The bullet pierced the transmuter right through the head, and by the time the massive owl hit the ground, we were already heading for the border at top speed.
Aurora and Cayla spoke with Shoshanne for the whole drive about what she’d experienced while she was using the staff to heal Haragh, but a tense silence held out in the front seat for the next few hours. Deya fidgeted anxiously with the scruff around Ruela’s neck, and Haragh held on to the grab bar for dear life while we barreled through the jungle.
Birds and beasts scattered in our wake as darkness fell, and the headlights Dragir and I had rigged did a solid job of helping me navigate without losing too much speed. My vision was incredibly acute despite the darkness, and as long as I kept working to train my focus in a specific direction, I was able to keep from being too confused by the scattering bugs and plants in the headlights.
My headache returned after about an hour of trying not to get sensory overload, and three times, I could have sworn I heard the familiar beat of an owl’s wing above, but I didn’t stop or look back for anything.
At this point, it didn’t matter if there were more owls following our trail. Luir had already sent at least one to scout us, which meant he either knew Deya was running away with me, or he suspected it.
Regardless, Oryk had seen Ruela, and the grin he’d sent gave me no doubt he knew what the wolfish beast was doing there.
Deya kept her determined gaze ahead of us while Bobbie continued to speed on for the western border, and somewhere near midnight, the jungle suddenly opened up around us. The ferns became sparse just before the trees abruptly ended, and as I turned down a gravely pass to take us winding between deep, rocky ridges, I knew we had finally made it out of Nalnora.
Chapter 5
The women in the back of the Mustang had all fallen asleep tangled around each other not long after we crossed the border of Illaria, and Deya finally slumped over onto my shoulder shortly after. Haragh and I were the only ones who managed to stay awake, and the half-ogre filled me in on the workings at the mine as we wound through the eastern passes toward the hills surrounding Serin.
“I was only there for a day before I headed to Nalnora,” Haragh explained, “but they’ve done more than enough mining if you ask me. Stacks of metal all over the damn place, and Magehill is built up beyond what it was. A few dozen more mages moved in since ye’ left, and they’ve added a couple pubs as well.”
I smirked. “Local pubs at Magehill,” I mused. “It’ll be good to be back home.”
“You’ll want to see King Temin first thing, though,” Haragh mentioned. “He told me to get ye’ the hell out of the jungle and straight to him as quick as possible.”
“We can stop by the king’s guards and send a message to let him know we’ve arrived,” I told him. “I’d like to see Serin again, and Aurora will be glad of the chance to be in her home city. She had a rough time in Nalnora.”
The half-ogre checked over his shoulder to be sure the women were sound asleep before he lowered his voice.
“She told me those bastards been callin’ her a mutt and a dog and all else under the sun,” he growled. “That true?”
I nodded. “They tried to kill her more times than I can count,” I muttered, and I ground my jaw at the thought. “Half-elfs are considered an abomination amongst the elves. They practically used her as target practice for awhile there.”
“Fuck ‘em,” Haragh snorted. “Serin will be more than glad to welcome her home. This one though … ” The half-ogre gestured to the sleeping elf on my shoulder. “She might have a time of it.”
“I’ll make sure she doesn’t,” I assured him. “Nalnora tried my patience to the limit with Aurora, but Serin’s not the jungle. If anyone has a problem with Deya, they’ll be answering to me. Like you said, Nalnora’s changed my views a bit.”
The half-ogre raised his brows. “You’ll talk to ‘em before you slit their throats, yeah?” he clarified uneasily.
“Sure,” I said with a vague shrug, and I sen
t Haragh a broad grin.
When we finally made it through the eastern passes, the gravel met with a dirt road that took us up the first of many rolling hills. At the top, a blanket of stars stretched far off across the blackened land of Illaria, and the moonless night was completely silent for miles around. I’d gotten used to the constant chirping and prowling of beasts in Nalnora at night, but when I brought Bobbie to a stop at the top of a hill and cut the engine, the silence was like a tonic.
My senses were completely shot after my first day living with my runes, and I dropped my head back to rest my eyes with a sigh of relief.
Serin would only be a couple hours away, but with the entire capital asleep, there was little reason to jet there now. So, I finally let myself drift off, and Haragh’s heavy snoring filled the Mustang within minutes.
In my sleep, the runes still spoke to me, but they weren’t as irritating for some reason as they had gotten in the last few hours. It was like each element was introducing itself to me, and the longer I slept, the more at ease I felt with the constant stream of hushed Elvish circling around my mind.
When I woke, I felt the light brush of a pair of velvety lips against my ear first, and Aurora giggled lightly.
“Wake up,” she murmured, and a sleepy grin hitched at the corner of my mouth.
I grumbled in response without moving a muscle, but when Aurora nibbled gently at my ear lobe, a shiver shook my spine and caused my blood to wake up all at once.
The half-elf slid her arms around my chest and tilted her chin over my shoulder to kiss my neck, and when I leaned into her touch, she giggled once more.
“You’re gonna miss the view,” Aurora insisted.
I furrowed my brow and managed to pry my eyelids open just a sliver, and warm amber light pierced my vision painfully.
I wasn’t used to waking up with heightened senses yet, and I cringed as I fought to steady my eyes again. When I finally blinked my vision back to normal, the emerald hills of Illaria were gleaming beneath a soft orange sunrise.