by Rinelle Grey
It was all so wrong.
He sat down on the chair he’d placed there to survey the camp and something dug into his thigh. Shifting, he felt underneath his leg and pulled out the book.
That damn human book that started all this.
Jasyn flicked through the pages, doubt and hopelessness washing over him. Did they stand any chance of winning this fight, or would the trolls’ legacy end tonight?
A tingle of awareness tugged at his magical senses. Something was wrong. There shouldn’t be any magic within the troll camp.
He scanned the area, but nothing moved. No human, troll, or animal.
Swiftly, he switched his perception to use magic to search for the intruder.
“We could take him out now, before he even realised we were here.” The female human voice sounded raspy, but her intent was clear.
She wasn't alone. A human male held her hand. “Maybe, but I need to see how powerful he is. We need to get just a little closer…”
A chill swept over Jasyn. They were bonded. The two of them together were more powerful than he was alone.
He jumped up. “Kriss!”
The mage couple froze, and Jasyn was glad Kriss came quickly. As soon as they saw her, their eyes widened.
“Is everything all right?” Kriss came up and put a hand on his shoulder.
That was all he needed.
The humans weren’t prepared to face the two of them at once. They tried to flee. The male pushed the female ahead of him, trying to protect her, then turned to Jasyn.
This was his chance.
Jasyn stretched out his magic, creating an extension of his arm spouting fierce claws. The human’s eyes widened and he tried to step back, but there was no evading Jasyn's magical reach.
Jasyn raked his magical claws across the human male’s chest. Adrenalin flooded through him as pain flashed across the human’s face. There was no way he could recover from that wound. The thrill of victory surged through Jasyn.
The thrill was short lived. The female human stopped and turned around. Jasyn prepared himself to deflect an attack. She seemed slightly more powerful than the male, but she was no match for his magic combined with Kriss’s.
Suddenly, immense power surged through her, more than double what she'd shown, even before the male was injured.
There was no time to move, or dodge, or deflect.
White hot, pure magic surged at him.
13
Waiting
“Jasyn!” Kriss screamed as he convulsed and fell sideways out of the chair. His eyes rolled back in his head, their expression blank.
Her heart skipped a beat and she stared at his body in shock. He’d been just sitting there. What had happened? Kriss searched the darkness surrounding them, but could find no sign of any threats. It had to be something she couldn’t see.
She squinted into the darkness, expecting to be struck down herself any second. After several moments passed and nothing happened, she realised that whatever had caused this, it was gone now. And she had to check Jasyn.
Panic filled her and she bent over his motionless body, searching desperately for a pulse, sagging in relief when she found one. He was still alive. Just.
But his breathing was shallow and ragged.
“Losi,” she screamed. “Someone get Losi.”
She cradled Jasyn's head as trolls raced towards her from all directions. Searching the crowd, she spotted Losi, pushing her way through the crowd. The medic knelt down next to Jasyn.
“What happened?” she asked Kriss.
“I don't know,” Kriss said helplessly. “I was inside, getting ready, when Jasyn shouted. He looked fine when I came out, but then he just collapsed.”
Losi frowned. She was silent while she checked Jasyn's pulse and pulled back his eyelids. “I can't see anything wrong, but something must have happened. He seems to be unconscious. Are you sure you didn’t see anything?”
Kriss shook her head again, then bit her lip. “Could this have been magic of some sort?”
Losi’s frown deepened. “I don’t know. If it’s magic, I don’t know if I can do anything. I can’t heal something I can’t see.”
“If it’s magic, you couldn’t heal it even if you could see it.” Uma’s voice was serious. He pushed his way through the crowd and crouched down next to Jasyn.
His presence brought a measure of relief to Kriss. He would know what was going on. “Can you do anything for him?” she asked.
Uma was silent, staring blankly at Jasyn for a few moments.
Then he turned to her, his face solemn. “I’m sorry, Kriss. There’s nothing I can do. His aura is damaged. I’ve never seen anything like it before, but there’s no doubt it’s magical damage of some sort.”
“But can’t you heal him? You need to do something!”
Uma shook his head. “I wish I could. I love Jasyn like a brother, but there is nothing I can do. Even magic can’t heal damage caused by magic.”
His words struck fear into her heart. “So what does that mean? He’s going to…” Her throat choked up and the words stuck. She didn’t have time to be emotional. Kriss took a deep breath and forced the words out. “Is he going to die?”
“I don’t know.”
There was no point in asking any of the other questions on her mind. Like how long would he survive, and would she die, too? Not to mention how could she possibly be champion without him?
Her mind shied away from the thought of having to continue on alone. If she let herself sink into distress, she would be stuck in it. She'd watched it happen to Bekinda. She couldn’t let that happen, especially not now. Jasyn’s condition just made her goal more important. And one thing was clear, Jasyn wasn’t in any position to help her now.
“Help me get him inside and onto the bed. Someone needs to stay with him in case he wakes. The rest of you, keep preparing.”
“You still want to attack the humans tonight?” Bekinda’s voice was incredulous.
“We can’t afford to wait,” Kriss snapped. “Every moment we delay there is a greater chance that the other gem will be used against us.” Hadn’t Bekinda been listening to Jasyn’s explanation earlier?
“How will we even find the gem without Jasyn’s help? Can you find it?”
Trust Bekinda to bring logic into it. Kriss turned to Uma. “You can take Jasyn’s place and find the gem, can’t you?”
Uma’s eyes widened. “Um, I should be able to.”
That would have to do. She turned to Bekinda. “Any other objections?”
Why was she even asking? She valued Bekinda’s advice, but with Jasyn unconscious, the decision was hers and hers alone.
So she was doubly surprised when Bekinda crossed her arms and frowned at her. “Yes. Your husband is lying here unconscious and you don’t know if he is going to be all right or not. You’re not fit to lead a raid. Especially not one this important. We need to wait.”
Kriss opened her mouth to speak, but Uma beat her to it.
“She’s right.” His voice was quiet, but definite. “We’re only going to get one chance at this. We need to make sure it succeeds.”
Kriss didn’t want to hear their arguments. Not because they didn’t have a point, but because she would rather go and kill some humans than hang around here worrying about Jasyn all night.
She looked from Bekinda to Uma, both their faces worried, but both stubborn. She could argue, she could insist, but they weren’t going to let this drop.
And when it came down to it, they were right.
Kriss heaved a sigh. “Fine. We wait until morning, but that’s it.”
With Uma, Bekinda, and Losi helping, they managed to get Jasyn settled on the bed. But his absent stare was disturbing and the last thing Kriss wanted was to be here on her own.
Uma had slipped out as soon as Jasyn had been moved.
Losi stayed long enough to check Jasyn’s vitals again. She put a hand on Kriss’s shoulder. “His pulse is stable, Kriss. Jasyn is stro
ng, he’ll pull through this.”
Then she too left.
Kriss looked at Bekinda and said, “Can you stay for a while?”
Her friend hesitated, but she must have seen something in Kriss’s face, because she nodded and pulled up a chair next to the bed.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“Of course I’m all right. I just thought we could go over the plans for tomorrow. If Jasyn doesn’t wake, we will need a plan that compensates for that.”
“You’re allowed to be upset that your husband is injured and no one knows what is wrong,” Bekinda said gently. “You don’t have to make up excuses to ask me to keep you company.”
She was expecting Kriss to be upset. Distraught even.
Didn’t they know she wasn’t like that? She was strong and capable. Giving in to her emotions would be weak. Even if she were in love with Jasyn. Which she wasn’t. She'd protected herself from having feelings for him for just this reason. So it made no sense at all that she felt like crying.
“I don’t have time to be upset,” Kriss said gruffly. “There’s an army out there waiting to attack us.”
A look of pity crossed Bekinda’s face and she pulled Kriss in for a firm hug. “I hope you get a chance to have a break someday soon, Kriss. It must be so hard staying strong for everyone.”
“I’m fine,” Kriss insisted. She pulled back awkwardly from Bekinda’s hug. If she didn't, she really would start crying.
Her friend patted her on the back one last time and stood up. “What you need right now is rest. There’s nothing you can do, so you might as well get some sleep.”
That idea sounded better than sitting here alone with her thoughts. But there was something else she needed to take care of first.
She grabbled Bekinda’s hand to stop her leaving. “Bekinda?”
“Yeah?”
“If anything happens to me, you’ll take care of everything, won’t you?”
Bekinda pulled her hand away. “Don’t talk nonsense. Nothing’s going to happen to you. You’re the best warrior we have.”
Usually, Bekinda’s confidence encouraged Kriss to keep going, but right now it was getting in the way. “But if it does, you’ll step in and lead the trolls, won’t you?”
Her friend looked uncomfortable. “I can’t promise that. If you die in battle, I’ll lead the trolls as your second in command, but after that, everyone has an equal chance at becoming champion.”
She didn’t spell it out, but Kriss knew how it happened. If a champion died in battle, the remaining trolls fought each other for the right to become the next champion, until one emerged victorious.
And many others were dead.
“I don’t want it to happen that way. There’s no reason trolls should die fighting each other. We need to stop this, to change how it’s done.”
“Maybe so, but I have no right to become champion just because I’m your friend.”
“Then we need to find a better way of determining how the next champion gets chosen. I don’t know, how about asking everyone?”
Bekinda stared at Kriss like she’d grown two heads. “Asking them?”
Kriss bit back a laugh. “Is that such a strange idea? Let everyone have a say. They could each nominate one troll, and the one with the most nominations gets to be the next champion. Surely that would be better than fighting.”
Bekinda was still staring at her, but now her shock was replaced with admiration. “That’s actually a really good idea. So you’d better hang around to implement it.”
Hopefully she’d manage that. Although the odds didn’t look good right now.
Hopefully Jasyn would too. Kriss glanced towards the bed, but his face hadn’t changed. His breathing was a little more even now, but that was only a small relief.
“I’ll leave the two of you,” Bekinda said quietly. “But I’ll make sure someone is right outside the tent. If you need anything, all you have to do is shout out.”
Kriss nodded, not turning away from Jasyn. If she looked at Bekinda again she was afraid she’d cry. “Thanks,” she managed.
Bekinda stood there for a few moments, then retreated out of the tent. Kriss heard her giving orders to someone to stay nearby and her heart warmed. Bekinda was the best of friends.
She wasn’t her best friend anymore though. Jasyn had taken on that role. He’d always been there, quietly supporting her and offering up opinions and suggestions that had changed the way she saw everything.
If he died, would she go back to the way she had been?
Would she even survive?
How had she become so weak that she was sitting around wondering what would happen? She wasn’t the kind to let fate make decisions for her, she made her own choices. She would survive and so would Jasyn. Losi couldn’t find anything wrong with him or do anything to help him. He just needed…
What? What could she do to help him? She didn’t know enough about magic to do anything, and those who did said it wasn’t possible. How could she make any difference?
He looked so small and alone, lying there in their big bed.
Maybe that was what he needed. A friend, someone to be there for him. Perhaps the magical bond they shared could help somehow.
It was all she had. She took off her armour, keeping it nearby just in case, and climbed into the bed next to him. Wrapping her body around him, she held him close.
“You have to make it, Jasyn. I don’t think I can do this without you.”
*****
A heartbeat hammered loud in his ears. Was it his own?
He could see nothing but white, endless white, everywhere he looked.
He'd given it his best shot. He'd tried his hardest to make peace with the humans, and to stay away from them when that had failed. But it had all been in vain. Despite all that, the humans had been the ones to end it.
He had to be dead. There was no way he could have survived the amount of magic the human woman had thrown at him.
And this white expanse of nothingness couldn't be normal.
The heartbeat slowed then sped up, it's comforting rhythm disrupted.
Distorted voices echoed behind it. Their words were unrecognisable, but their tone added to his discomfort. They were off key, anxious, and too high-pitched. And they vibrated strangely.
He wanted to block his ears, but his arms wouldn't move.
He wasn't even sure he had arms anymore.
Shouldn’t being dead be more peaceful than this? Surely a troll should be able to find rest and comfort when their time in this world was over?
He gave a disembodied sigh.
There was no escape from the fact that trolls and humans were enemies. This was obviously his punishment for dreaming that there was.
The heartbeat changed subtly. It seemed to have an echo. A comforting warmth settled around him.
A shiver ran through Jasyn. He hadn't realised he had been cold until that moment. He shivered uncontrollably until the warmth that settled around him had penetrated his body. The bright white faded a little, becoming more grey, or a pale brown.
Suddenly, this void didn't seem so strange anymore. The warmth settled him, and Jasyn realised how tired he was. So tired. His eyes slipped closed, but sleep wouldn't come. A strange burbling kept disturbing his rest.
Jasyn frowned. The sound vibrated, almost humming. He strained his eyes, but even though the light was less blinding, he still could see nothing.
The burbling intensified, vibrating through his skull, becoming more insistent. There was a pattern to it. A cadence.
Were those… words?
The sound became a whisper, growing louder and louder.
“You have to make it, Jasyn. I don’t think I can do this without you.”
Kriss. It was Kriss’s voice.
She needed him.
He struggled to wake, but it was like swimming through a thick stew. His arms and legs wouldn't move and the only sound he could make was a hiss. He didn't even know if Kr
iss could hear him.
She kept repeating the same words, over and over. “You have to make it.”
He wanted to tell her that he would do his best to be there for her. But all he could do was lie there, feel her warmth, soak it up, and build up his strength.
*****
A movement beside her caused Kriss to stir. For a moment, she felt nothing but warm contentment. The feelings of happiness and safety weren’t new, she’d woken to them every morning for months now. But today, it didn’t feel right.
The events of yesterday came crashing down on her like an avalanche. The human army, the plans to attack, and Jasyn being injured. Nothing was warm and safe.
And yet, she was warm. And so was Jasyn, who she was still wrapped around. At least he hadn’t died during the night, when her traitorous body had decided to sleep instead of keeping watch over him like she had planned.
“Kriss?”
Her head jerked up. His eyes were open. He was smiling at her.
Relief and happiness washed over her, and she threw her arms around his neck. “You’re alive.”
Jasyn’s arms went around her body and he hugged her gently. “Thanks to you. I swear you brought me back. I felt that you needed me and there was no way I was going to leave you.”
Kriss felt her face burning. “Nonsense. I didn’t do anything except keep you warm. I doubt that made any difference.”
Jasyn’s hand reached up to cup her face and his eyes didn’t leave hers. “I made it, Kriss. And now you don’t have to do this alone.”
Kriss couldn't tear her eyes away from his. For the first time, she felt the magical connection between them as surely as if it were a physical tie. And yet, the feeling was as familiar to her as the sword she'd carried her whole adult life.
He’d mentioned the exact fears she’d voiced last night, when he was unconscious. She’d never expected him to actually hear them.
Kriss fumbled for words to say in reply. Words that conveyed how grateful she was that he was alive, while still showing that she would have managed on her own anyway. Last night’s insecurity had been due to tiredness, and darkness did weird things to a troll’s confidence, that’s all.
The turmoil in her mind was interrupted by footsteps outside. Kriss pulled away from Jasyn and sat up.