“And I’ll apologize for that once I’ve confirmed this isn’t another of Doldimar’s tricks,” the woman replied. “In the meantime, time’s wasting…”
She swept her hand out for Raimie to take the lead, and he brought them back to where the fight had begun. He pointed in the direction he’d seen Kheled run, and the woman took over, confidently following some unseen set of tracks and signs.
In the light of day, Raimie could have easily assisted her with the search, but in the dark, he stumbled along behind, lucky to stay on his feet.
“You are very loud,” the woman commented.
“Forgive me for my lack of clear sight in the dark,” Raimie mumbled back, intently concentrating on each step’s footing.
“Why don’t you produce that light as you did before?” she asked.
Bright? Raimie asked, summoning the splinter.
But there was no answer to the call.
“I can’t,” he gruffly replied. “Something’s wrong with Bright.”
“Who’s Bright?”
Raimie tripped over a root, but he caught a branch before his face met the ground.
“He’s a splinter of… Order, I believe is what Kheled said,” he muttered distractedly. “He’s my source to- Why am I telling you this?”
“How should I know?” the woman asked, crouching to inspect the dirt. “Maybe you don’t consider me a threat.”
“Oh, you’re plenty threatening,” Raimie said under his breath before raising his voice. “Do you have a name?”
“Do you?” the woman asked.
“Raimie,” he replied irritably. “And you?”
“Ren,” the woman answered.
Why did that name sound familiar? It tickled the back of his mind, right on the verge of recognition.
“The tracks are muddled here,” she said, breaking his contemplation. “It’s unclear exactly which way he went unless-”
There was a pop as of a bubble bursting, and Kheled stood between them awash in white light. He forced Ren against a tree trunk, his dagger hovering in front of her eye.
“Give me one good reason not to slit your throat!” he barked at her.
The woman inhaled shakily.
“Khel?” she asked with wonder. “Khelly?”
Without warning, she rained fists onto the healer’s shoulders.
“I thought you were dead, you bastard!” she sobbed.
Recognition clicked. When Kheled looked at him in befuddlement, it took everything he had not to burst out laughing. He pointed at the woman sobbing into Kheled’s chest, fists slowly settling onto the healer’s biceps.
“Her name’s Ren,” he explained, lifting his eyebrows significantly.
Kheled’s entire body locked. He backed away stiffly, pointing the dagger at the woman.
“Show me your face,” he ordered shortly.
The woman unwrapped the cloth from around her head, revealing first jet black hair followed by gray eyes, a button nose, and full lips. The effect would have been quite breathtaking if it wasn’t for the tears dribbling down her cheeks and mucus dripping from her nose.
The dagger slipped from Kheled’s fingers. His mouth worked to form words, but nothing emerged. Ren took a step toward him, and he backed away.
“No,” he finally managed, “no, you’re dead. That’s the way it works. My family never survives, and it’s always my fault.”
A tree stopped his backward march. Ren caught up to him and encircled his waist in her arms. He stiffened, a panicked expression crossing his face, but he relented and returned his sister’s embrace, his breath hitching. He buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply.
Raimie retreated to the other side of the trees nearby, giving the siblings their privacy. He leaned against a trunk and closed his eyes, doing his best to keep the impatience at bay. He trusted Kheled not to let the added time Ele had given run out, but at the same time, he’d feel better if the Eselan was in the care of a healer before he needed one.
While he waited, Raimie summoned his splinters, and once more, only Dim responded.
Explain, he firmly commanded.
“Your piece of Order doesn’t exist anymore,” Dim’s subdued voice told him. “Teron destroyed Bright with Lighteater.”
I need a bit more than that.
“There’s a sword,” Dim sighed, “called Lighteater, forged eons ago with purified tendrils of my whole’s life force folded into the blade. Unlike other forms of the whole such as that which our primeancers use to temporarily incapacitate and de-summon enemy pieces, Lighteater can utterly obliterate them. It’s the only way we have found to effectively fight our enemy.”
But Bright’s not gone, Raimie informed Dim, thoroughly confused. He helped get Ren off of me. Didn’t you see?
“You sent me away when you tried to flee. Must have been an unconscious dismissal if you don’t remember it,” Dim said, confusion also lacing his voice. “Are you sure it was Bright? Not your friend’s splinter?”
It sounded just like him.
Dim was silent a suspiciously long time. Raimie opened his eyes to make sure he was still there.
The splinter had retreated as far from Raimie as he could while still remaining within range if the human needed his source. Dim was cowering, and yet, when he spoke again, it was with awe.
“That shouldn’t be possible.”
“Brother, why does your friend have one of them hanging around?” Ren asked as she rounded the corner with a hand on her sword’s hilt.
“Who, Dim?” Kheled asked from behind the tree. “Ignore it. It’s harmless.”
“Dim? I’ve never heard of that part of Daevetch,” Ren said suspiciously.
“You can see him?” Raimie interrupted curiously. “Are you a primeancer too?”
“Ha! No,” Ren laughed.
“My sister can see splinters, Raimie. Probably has something to do with growing up around one since birth,” Kheled called. “In any case, Dim is what my friend calls his splinter, Ren. The name’s quite a clever commentary on its affinity and intelligence level.”
“I take offense to that,” Dim shouted.
“I don’t care,” Kheled sang.
Dim grumbled something insulting about Ele and its prissy primeancers.
“Raimie, you might want to send it away for now. I think you’re fairly safe between the two of us,” Kheled said.
Dim looked to his human for guidance, and Raimie nodded. Clearly annoyed with Kheled essentially ordering him away, the splinter huffed and popped out of sight.
“If Dim’s Raimie’s name for it, what is it?” Ren asked.
She’d relaxed somewhat when the splinter disappeared, but her fingers continued to play with the hilt of her sword.
“It’s a splinter of Chaos,” Raimie answered for his friend.
“It’s what?” Ren squeaked, halfway drawing her weapon. “Isn’t Chaos one of the more powerful-?”
“Yes! Yes, it is!” Kheled exclaimed with frustration. “Would you two please help with the fire? And Ren isn’t there something you want to tell Raimie now that you’ve determined he’s not Doldimar’s minion?”
Ren slammed the sword back into its scabbard and made to curtsy with great exaggeration. She somehow made the act look graceful even without a skirt.
“I apologize for trying to kill you although I contend that you were asking for it, coming through what’s normally Kiraak infested lands without checking in at the nearest outpost first.”
“Does Kheled get a pathetic apology too, or does being his sister excuse you from ‘shooting him through the heart’?” Raimie asked sarcastically.
Ren’s eyes shot daggers at him, and she turned on her heels to join her brother. Raimie shook his head at the woman’s behavior, but he also joined his friend who was setting up a fire pit.
“I thought we needed to get you to a healer,” he said, crossing his arms.
“Ren took a look at it and said it wasn’t as serious as I’d originally thou
ght,” Kheled said, striking a flint toward a tiny pile of kindling. “I’ll be fine.”
“I did what?” Ren asked, confused.
She closed her mouth tight when she saw her brother’s tiny head shake. Raimie eyed the healer dubiously.
“That is the weakest lie I’ve ever heard in my life, but I’m going to let it go just this once because I know you’ll tell me the truth soon enough.”
“Maybe it’ll be sooner if you help me with the fire,” Kheled snidely replied.
Raimie rolled his eyes and extended a hand for the flint. Within seconds, a spark was lit, and he fed the baby fire a healthy diet of twigs, careful not to smother it with too much fuel too quickly.
“Is a fire such a good idea?” he asked quietly. “You were telling me only a few hours ago to stay silent, and now we’ve a merrily crackling flame to announce our presence. Seems a bit contradictory.”
“I’ve been scouring these woods all day. You two are the only other living beings I’ve seen. We should be all right until morning,” Ren answered as she searched her pockets. “Besides it gets surprisingly cold by the ocean. The fire should keep us from freezing. Here.”
She handed them both strips of dried meat. Raimie gratefully accepted his and gleefully devoured it. His stomach still ached when it was gone, but the snack had eased the hunger pangs.
The other two silently finished their food, and Raimie stood without thinking. The two of them looked so comfortable together, their mannerisms so similar that it was uncanny. It reminded him of how much of an outsider he was.
“I’ll keep watch,” he awkwardly said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.
He spun without waiting for an answer. He didn’t walk far-he needed to stay close to the others after all-but he did find a nice tree hollow to rest in. Settling in, he examined the shadowed forest, listening to the stillness and breathing in the thick humidity that did nothing to stop the chill pervading the air.
So this was the land he was supposed to save, was it? What a shitty place. He missed home.
Chapter Thirty
I’ve placed myself in harm’s way more times than I can count, even inflicting mortal damage to myself as desperation increased. I’ve found no release, only a continuation of life.
Ren watched Raimie stomp away, and Kheled watched her in turn with amazement. She was alive! If he believed in miracles, he’d be inclined to say he’d finally witnessed one.
He was light as a feather. Years of guilt and grief dropped away like stones, and the world grew brighter despite the reality of night.
“How are you alive?” he muttered with a mixture of equal parts wonder and curiosity.
“I made new friends,” Ren smiled. “What about you?”
“I did as I was told and ran far away,” he answered.
“Since when have you done exactly as you’re told?”
“Since when have you been good at making friends?”
Ren raised a finger to object, blowing hair out of her face, and they both broke down into quiet snickering.
“You’ve become quite competent at dodging questions,” he complimented his sister.
“Thank you,” she said as she blushed. “I learned from the best.”
Kheled fell back into the grass, content to listen to the stillness around them. He and Raimie had experienced nothing but trouble since he’d dragged them both sodden from the ocean, but even still, it was good to be home.
“Your friend fell asleep!” Ren scoffed scornfully. “He said he would keep watch and fell asleep instead!”
Kheled smiled fondly, closing his own eyes to rest them for a moment.
“I know. I heard the transition to a sleep rhythm in his breathing a while ago.”
“Why aren’t you over there scolding him for failing his watch?” Ren asked accusingly.
“I suspect that what Raimie meant when he said he’d keep watch was that he was uncomfortable and wanted to give us space,” Kheled murmured. “He’s lived a sheltered life. He doesn’t understand yet how important the watch is.”
Ren was quiet while she digested this information, allowing him more time to simply enjoy the peace and quiet.
“Who is he then?” she asked, breaking the spell. “Is he the friend? The one you awaited in all of those stories you told me when we were children.”
“I shouldn’t have told you my story. It never ends well for those who hear it,” Kheled muttered darkly.
“That hasn’t been true for me,” Ren replied obstinately. “We thought each other dead for sixteen years, and yet here we are, together. Maybe there are some exceptions to your expectations of doom and gloom. So spill it. Who is he?”
Kheled sat up and crossed his legs.
“He is the ally, the one who’ll get me close enough to do my job,” he acknowledged, “but he’s also my friend. Really, truly my friend.”
“You don’t have friends,” Ren stated skeptically.
Kheled shrugged.
“Where did you find your friend?” Ren asked when it became clear she’d get nothing else without prompting further. “Was he in the same place where you’ve been living this whole time?”
“Not the same place, but our homes were nearby.”
“And where exactly was that?” Ren asked with exasperation. “Was it far away from here?”
“Yes, it was very far away,” Kheled answered simply.
Ren growled at him.
“Brother, don’t forget that we grew up together. I know how to make you talk,” she said gravely. “We may both be larger now, but I’m sure I can find those spots that make you scream with laughter once more. Don’t force me to come over and experiment until I do.”
She rose halfway from the ground, and Kheled thrust a hand out for her to stop.
“That… won’t be necessary,” he reluctantly replied.
“Good. Now talk!” Ren commanded triumphantly.
“I’ve been a lot of places since… that day, but I ended up in Allanovian,” Kheled started.
“I’ve never heard of it,” Ren interrupted.
“That’s because it’s not in Auden.
Ren’s eyes widened.
“Does that mean...?”
“I crossed the sea,” Kheled confirmed, “and trust me when I tell you that the land on the other side is not the paradise we’d hoped for.
“Anyway, Raimie and his family occasionally visited from Daira, the human capital when I first arrived in Allanovian, but around nine years ago, something prompted them to move to a small farm nearby that they tended to very poorly in the subsequent years.”
“Fascinating,” Ren said dryly. “What made these humans realize that farming wasn’t for them? How did they decide their true calling was casting down tyrants and dark lords?”
“Raimie found Shadowsteal.”
Ren’s nervous giggling filled the empty space between.
“You’re joking, yes?” she stated flatly. “Trying to pull one over on me.”
“It’s not a joke,” Kheled solemnly replied.
The giggling cut off.
“You’re serious,” Ren said in consternation. “But that means he’s one of them! You’re friends with him?!”
She jumped to her feet, her hand going to her hilt and one foot taking a single step toward where Raimie slept.
“I thought you’d be the last person to judge someone for their heritage. You complained enough about your own mother and father’s choice,” Kheled calmly said.
“There’s a difference! Mom and dad’s decision led to the birth of another half in the world,” she pointed to herself and then jabbed that same finger accusingly in Raimie’s direction. “His family’s actions led to the suffering and death of countless people!”
“And Raimie is specifically to blame for that?” Kheled asked mildly. “As far as I’m aware he’s never harmed a hair on a single person’s head who didn’t deserve it. I heard him crying in his cabin the night after he first killed, the deaths di
sturbed him so.
“Getting to know him as I have over the last few months, I know that if Raimie had been king when Doldimar rose some two and a half centuries ago, the evil bastard would never have conquered Auden. My friend wouldn’t have left allies to fall, and he most certainly wouldn’t have allowed such evil into his domain. He can’t help it that the relative who did hold the throne at the time was a coward.”
Ren plopped beside the dying fire in a huff. She blew her hair out of her eyes again in a poor attempt to hide embarrassment.
“I suppose I can judge him for myself before striking him down,” she conceded.
“That would be wise of you,” Kheled said. “I’d hate to incapacitate and restrain my own sister.”
“It’s been sixteen years, brother, and I’ve been here while you’ve relaxed on the other side of the ocean,” Ren said indulgently. “I know you always won our skirmishes when we were children, but do you really think you can take me now?”
“Do you have a blade I can borrow?” Kheled asked her, scanning the trees around them.
“What, you want to fight now?” Ren chuckled. “Do you have something to prove?”
Kheled kicked dirt over the fire, mercifully killing the dying flame.
“I heard badly muffled footsteps,” he said. “Do you have any spares, or must I use a single dagger?”
Ren’s demeanor immediately flicked from carefree and happy to tense and prepared. She silently slid a short sword from the sheath strapped to the back of her waist and tossed it to her brother.
While she drew her own weapons, Kheled swung the blade to test its weight. It was slightly longer than his dagger and shorter than his saber, completely different from what he was used to, but he’d adapt. He was a child of Auden after all. Adapting is what they did.
“Does your friend know how to fight?” Ren asked in a whisper.
“He’s getting there,” Kheled murmured back, “but I don’t think we should wake him. I’m only counting four.”
They waited back to back, breathing as silently as they could and tensely listening for any aberrant noises.
“Maybe they didn’t hear us,” Ren whispered.
Kheled quietly chuckled.
The Undying Champions (The Eternal War Book 1) Page 56