Tree of Ages Box Set

by Sara C. Roethle

  His boots echoed down the narrow wooden hall, then he took the stairs two by two, leading down into the common room. His traveling companions all waited below around a large round table, eating their morning meal. Few other patrons graced the establishment, and the innkeep hunched behind the bar, looking glum.

  Kai paused at the foot of the stairs as Finn lifted her gaze to him across the table. Her eyes widened in surprise, then she quickly looked down at the table, her face blushing furiously.

  Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, he approached the group, gaining everyone’s attention. No one spoke.

  Agitated, he raked his fingers through his hair. “Can someone please assure me that I wasn’t in that bed for an entire month?”

  Anna craned her neck to smile up at him, though it didn’t quite reach her tired, dark eyes. “Just a night,” she assured, gesturing to an empty chair beside her. As he sat, she asked, “How do you feel?”

  He looked down at the boiled eggs and pottage already waiting on the table for him. “I feel good, if painfully hungry.” He reached for one of the peeled eggs and plopped it into his mouth.

  His chewing slowed as he realized everyone was still staring at him, especially Iseult, who was practically boring a hole through him with his gray-green eyes.

  Kai swallowed, then met the angry gaze with one of his own. “Have I done something to offend you?”

  Iseult stared for a moment more, shook his head, then returned his attention to his meal. Everyone else followed his example, but continued to glance at Kai warily.

  He lifted the spoon from his pottage in an attempt to ignore them, then put it back down with a huff. “Could someone please explain to me what in the Horned One’s name is going on? Judging by your speculative glances, you all have some notion of why I woke up fully healed from a near fatal injury.”

  Finn’s blush burned even brighter at his words. Why was she blushing? Had they done something horrible to him in his sleep? Was there some massive price to pay for the seemingly magic healing? And what about the scar on his hand?

  Finn placed her hands flat on the table, then pushed herself to standing. “Perhaps we should speak in private,” she advised sheepishly.

  He sighed, grabbed another egg, then stood. Finn slunk around the table, then led the way back across the common room, her back rigid. Casting a final questioning glance at Anna, he followed. His eyes remained on the stained shoulders of Finn’s shirt, and her recently combed, waist-length hair as she led the way up the interior stairs. Soon they were back in the room where he had awoken, and the silence once again ensued.

  Gently shutting the door behind him, he placed his hands on Finn’s shoulders, then gently directed her to sit on the bed.

  She obeyed, then studiously stared at her lap.

  “Spit it out,” he ordered, staring down at her.

  She raised her eyes, her brow furrowed in sudden confusion. “Spit what out?”

  “Whatever everyone is avoiding telling me,” he explained, “which I’m assuming has something to do with me waking up with my wound healed, and a fresh scar on my palm.”

  “There is much to explain,” Finn began, her gaze returning to her lap, “but to put it quite simply, I mixed my immortal blood with your mortal blood, thus giving you a fraction of my life force.” She met his eyes briefly, then quickly added, “I had little choice, you were about to die.”

  Stunned, he sat down on the bed beside her, holding his palm open to stare at the new scar. Finn held out her own hand, revealing a matching mark.

  He stared at their hands side by side. “I’m afraid I cannot quite comprehend what you’re telling me.”

  “Does it matter?” she asked, her expression pleading. “You are alive and well now.”

  He closed his hand and rested it in his lap, then turned to fully meet her worried gaze. “I’m not sure what I should say, or what I should ask, but I suppose I should start with thanking you.”

  Her shoulders slumped in relief. He had a feeling there was much she wasn’t telling him, but he’d get it out of her once she was ready. For the time being, he could only think of two important questions.

  “Will this change anything for me?” he asked, “Having a bit of your . . . immortal blood?” It was odd to even think of Finn as an immortal being. Rationally he knew she was hundreds of years old, but just being with her, he simply couldn’t fathom it.

  “I do not know,” she breathed, gazing distantly at the cold fireplace. “I apologize.”

  He nodded, not as worried about that answer as he was about the next one.

  He took a deep breath. “Will this change anything for you?”

  Her shoulders gave a slight jump, as if he’d surprised her. She turned wide eyes to him, her jaw slightly agape. He had the urge to lift his hand to gently close it, but resisted.

  She blinked several times, considering her answer. “I feel the same as I always have, but I’m not sure, really. I believe,” she hesitated, “I believe there will be consequences, but only time will tell what those consequences might be.”

  He nodded again, then decided not to resist his next urge. He took her scarred hand in his and gently traced the mark she’d incurred for him. She had resumed looking at her lap, and he finally had to use his free hand to turn her face to him. She still seemed to think he was going to react badly.

  He smiled to reassure her. “My thanks, dear lady.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t thank me. You may still curse me yet.”

  He laughed. “I have cursed you several times already. It doesn’t seem to have worked.”

  Finally she smiled. “And I you. Perhaps I’m to blame for your poor luck.”

  “Whatever do you mean?” he joked. “It’s not every day a man gets to fight assassins and live.”

  She laughed as he stood, then pulled her up off the bed with their joined hands. “We should probably pack up and move on before said assassins come and stab me all over again. I don’t want to push my luck with requiring your blood a second time.”

  She grinned mischievously. “A wise choice, as I’d be loath to give it to you again.”

  He playfully glared at her, and she tugged her hand free to shove his shoulder.

  Together they left the room and went back downstairs to join the others. He was still horribly confused, but there was one thing he now knew for sure. Finn cared whether he lived or died, and that was worth all of the consequences in the world.

  While Kai and Finn discussed things privately, Iseult left the common room to tend the horses. He’d watched over them most of the night, only briefly relieved by Sativola, who seemed to not have suffered any of the negative reactions to his wounds as Kai.

  It had been nearly morning by the time Sativola relieved him, and he’d gone upstairs to find Finn asleep in a chair in Kai’s room. He’d carried her to her own room, at which time she’d woken and detailed all she had experienced.

  He trusted none of it. Finn believed the woman she’d encountered was her mother, but without her memories, there was no way to know for sure. The woman had previously admitted she traveled with the Cavari, and the Cavari were after Finn.

  He stroked his horse’s soft muzzle as it shifted its hooves, clearly ready to get back on the road. So was he. He’d never remained in one place for long. As long as he kept moving, he felt like the ghosts of the past would never find him. A chill crept up his spine.

  Now they had more reasons to keep moving than ghosts. Though Finn had easily bested the assassins, he suspected they might still follow and try again. Slàine did not seem the type to give up, and neither did Maarav.

  He frowned, realizing he half-wished Maarav would follow. Here he had been ready to be rid of his brother, and now he found he almost missed him. Almost.

  It made sense, he supposed. The idea of family had always appealed to him, but it was something he’d hardly known. He didn’t know what to do with the emotions it elicited.

  He was saved from his ow
n thoughts by Bedelia, the companion he questioned even more than Maarav. Her muddy brown hair, styled unusually short for a woman, framed the grim line of her mouth and her determined eyes.

  He turned to face her, noting that her bow was nowhere in sight, and her hands were relaxed at her sides, not poised near the pommel of her blade.

  “I have something I must tell you,” she said upon reaching him, brushing her pin-straight hair behind her ear. She wore her lightweight armor, and had her belongings slung across her shoulder, as if preparing to leave . . . though that did not make sense without her bow. Perhaps she wanted to project an air of harmlessness. He knew better.

  Leaning back against the wooden poles of the stable, he gestured for her to continue.

  She sighed. “This would be easier if you wouldn’t eye me so coolly.”

  He crossed his arms. “It is the only way I know how to . . . eye.”

  Her shoulders slumped as she looked down at her feet, then seemed to force herself to meet his gaze. She eyed him defiantly. “I wanted to say this to Finn, but I fear I am not brave enough. I know you and she are close, so I hoped you could be the judge. Tell me whether I should tell her, or tell me to leave.”

  He nodded for her to go on, hiding his surprise. He knew she was hiding something, but had never suspected she’d so easily divulge her secrets.

  She opened her mouth to speak, then turned her gaze as the inn door opened. Anna and Sativola hurried toward them.

  “An Fiach is near,” Anna huffed. “We must depart immediately.”

  “How do you know?” Bedelia gasped.

  Anna glared at her, then turned her gaze to Iseult. “I just know,” she hissed. Her eyes urged him to comprehend what was unsaid. She must have experienced one of her visions. “We must leave,” she pressed. “Please trust me.”

  Iseult found that against his better judgement, he did trust her. He knew she could see things others could not, and her goals were currently aligned with his. If Anna said they needed to depart, then it was wise to listen.

  “Ready the horses,” he ordered, his gaze on Anna and Sativola.

  “But-” Bedelia began to interrupt, but he cut her off with the raise of his hand.

  “You come with me,” he instructed. “We’ll help the others gather our supplies, then we will depart.”

  Bedelia’s shoulders hunched, but she nodded and followed him toward the inn, while Anna and Sativola branched off toward the horses. Iseult would get everyone moving, then he’d aid them with the saddling.

  Like an angry storm, he burst through the inn’s double doors to find Finn and Kai frantically speaking with the innkeep. Anna had obviously already alerted them. Good.

  He turned toward Bedelia. “Gather your weapons and check the rooms. Then return to aid Anna and Sativola with the horses.”

  She nodded and rushed off toward the interior stairs. While it was against his better judgement to let her out of his sight, time was short, and he’d just keep Finn in his sights instead.

  He approached the pair arguing with the innkeep, just as the stout, round-bellied man waved them off.

  Finn turned to him first, while Kai watched the man walk off with a scowl.

  “He won’t allow us to purchase any extra supplies,” Finn huffed.

  “We’ll make do,” Iseult replied. “Anna and Sativola are readying the horses. Gather your belongings.”

  Finally turning to join the conversation, Kai gestured at a few satchels and bundled cloaks piled against the lower portion of the bar. “Already done. Anna seemed to think we don’t have much time.”

  Iseult’s shoulders relaxed. It was . . . pleasant to travel with competent companions. “Let us depart then.”

  Thundering footsteps above them announced Bedelia a moment before she appeared on the stairs, her cloak flowing behind her shoulders. Her satchels were still slung across one shoulder, along with her bow and quiver. Her sword hilt poked up over her opposite shoulder, the silver knob on its pommel matching the dagger at her waist.

  She really was a dangerous creature, one Iseult could stand to be more wary of. Looking at her brimming with weapons, he desperately wanted to know whatever she had nearly divulged to him, but it would have to wait. Nodding in her direction, he turned and ushered Kai and Finn toward the door.

  To evade An Fiach, they would need to ride away from the main road, near the area where the Blood Forest had initially resided. He had no idea what they might find there, but hopefully it was something less deadly than a meeting with An Fiach.

  Kai’s horse danced beneath him. He kept a firm hold on his reins, else the creature was likely to bolt. Everything had happened so quickly. From Anna announcing An Fiach was on its way, to the thundering of approaching horses, to their narrow escape down a back street of the small burgh. They could only hope the remaining townsfolk would not give them away too quickly, and it would take An Fiach time to pick up their trail. If they kept moving, and perhaps found a few streams to cross, they might just escape.

  Finn glanced warily around at their expansive, rocky surroundings from her perch behind Iseult in the saddle. Kai knew if they continued on in the same direction, they would reach a more densely forested region, cut in half by a wide river. Following that river upstream would eventually lead to the old border of the Blood Forest. Fortunately, they would turn south well before they reached that point, as long as An Fiach didn’t follow them too far into the wilds.

  He sighed and scanned their surroundings, giving his horse’s reins another tug. The yellow grass swayed in the breeze, growing sparse around black, scraggly trees and large clusters of rocks. The rocky terrain would likely make tracking them almost as difficult as a large stream bed would, but he still could not help his nerves.

  He patted his heels against his horse’s sides, urging it forward. Continuing in that direction, they’d reach a large valley. If they instead moved south, there was no saying what they might find. The area was densely forested.

  Anna, Sativola, and Bedelia followed his lead. He glanced back toward Iseult and Finn, just as Iseult hissed, “Halt!”

  Trusting Iseult’s judgement, Kai instantly obeyed. A moment later, he realized what had caused the alarm. They were approaching the entrance to a wide canyon, bordered by rolling hills on either side. In the distance was a rocky escarpment, dotted along its top edge with the silhouettes of riders. He hadn’t noticed them at first with the odd angle of the sun. It was only as the clouds shifted that the riders became visible. They’d chosen their position wisely. Any looking toward them would have been staring straight into the bright sun, while the riders had it at their back.

  It was clear by the riders’ stances they had not yet seen his party. They all peered outward across the ravine, as if expecting someone from the North, while their party approached from the West.

  Silently, Kai followed Anna’s example and turned his horse around, slowly retreating to where the hills of the valley would conceal them. Once being sighted was no longer a danger, they trotted their horses toward the distant tree line. Once there, they gathered in a small circle.

  “Not An Fiach,” Iseult muttered.

  “Nor assassins dressed in black,” Anna added.

  “Their armor seemed strange, didn’t it?” Finn cut in. “It was difficult to see, but their helmets appeared oddly shaped.”

  Kai nodded. “I can’t help but wonder . . . ” he trailed off, allowing his gaze to linger on Finn.

  “The alleged Faie Queen?” she gasped, suddenly catching on to his meaning.

  The Merrow girl in Ainfean had said someone claiming to be the Faie Queen was forcing the Faie to rally toward her cause. Could the riders they’d just seen have been something less than human? Indeed, they had seemed otherworldly, standing perfectly still in a straight line, elongated helmets glinting dully in the sun.

  Everyone turned their gazes to Anna.

  “I can’t see everything!” she snapped. “My thoughts feel . . . jumbled. Like the
re’s too much energy around for me to decipher.”

  Sativola nodded thoughtfully, though he knew very little of Anna’s visions..

  Anna turned her glare to him. “Don’t pretend to know what’s going on,” she growled.

  Sativola frowned. “Finn can melt men’s flesh and call the earth up to do her bidding, and either ye or she brought Kai back from the dead. I don’t need to know just what’s going on to accept that I’m out of my depth, and to accept that ye can somehow see the future, or something like it.”

  Anna’s glare was softened by shock, then the barest hint of a smile. “I knew there was a reason I hired you,” she mused.

  “We should move on,” Iseult interrupted. “It does not matter who the riders are, we already know of many who pursue us. We’ll keep to the trees and make for Garenoch.”

  They moved on, but the conversation continued.

  “What’s this about a Faie Queen?” Sativola whispered, leaning toward Kai as they rode. “Didn’t the death of the last queen happen centuries ago?”

  Kai nodded. “It may just be a rumor, and if it’s not, it’s just another concern on the long list of many. Perhaps this new queen is responsible for what happened in Migris. Anna believes someone powerful was controlling the Faie who attacked there.”

  “Well then I’d say this Faie Queen is everyone’s concern,” Sativola countered. “And a primary one at that.”

  Kai nodded, deep in thought. Iseult and Bedelia both rode silently ahead, ignoring them, though Finn was glancing over her shoulder from her perch behind Iseult, observing his and Sativola’s conversation.

  “I believe the Faie Queen is a concern of ours as well,” she said finally. “She may not know of us, or have her sights set on our demise, but she likely seeks what we seek.”

  Iseult lowered his arm and subtly squeezed near Finn’s elbow. Kai only caught the movement because he was looking right at her, but he would have done it himself had he been closer. Neither Bedelia nor Sativola knew exactly where they were going, and what they hoped to find there, and it was best to keep it that way.