“Brynneth won’t drink it, and he is working to heal himself even now,” Jess said, reasonably, pressing the vial closer. “You are still slurring when you speak and your balance is off, if this was only a concussion that should be improved by now. I will not chance you dying. Drink it.”
Tashlin opened his mouth, as if to argue, then seemed to think better of it and tried to take the vial, grabbing low and closing his hand under Jess’s on empty air. Jess stepped closer, “You are seeing double?”
Tashlin nodded slightly, “I had hoped it would improve.”
“You should have said something,” Jess moved the vial up to the other elf’s lips tilting it slowly, glad now that he had trusted his instincts. It might still be nothing more than a bad concussion, but the symptoms were concerning and he did not want the other elf to grow worse while Brynneth was unable to help them, or even conscious to advise them. When Tashlin was done drinking he helped him to the back of the space setting the other elf’s bedroll up as he had Brynneth’s. “Lay down and get some rest. The healing potion works well but it will make you sleep; don’t fight against it.”
When he was sure Tashlin was settled he limped heavily over to Bleidd, who had gone out and come back in while Jess was distracted, and had already gotten a small fire going. The elven mage looked up and Jess was struck by how exhausted he seemed, “How is he?”
“Worse than we first thought,” Jess said. “I used one of the emergency healing potions I carry on him. I think when he was thrown back and struck his head it tore something inside. The slurred speech was worse, and he was losing his balance and seeing double.”
“Shit” Bleidd swore, reaching up to tentatively press one of the cuts on his forehead. “A bleed on the brain will kill a person for certain.”
“The healing potion will repair any damage, but he’ll sleep while it works.”
“I know,” Bleidd said. “I have seen them used, although only rarely. He’ll be out at least a half day or more. And Brynneth, who knows? Perhaps a full day?”
“Perhaps,” Jess said shifting his weight off of his bad leg. “I have never been assigned with him when he was injured badly enough to need to resort to this.”
The movement drew Bleidd attention, “And you? How bad is that leg?”
“It is still attached,” Jess said with the ghost of a smile hoping a joke would ease Bleidd’s mind. It didn’t.
“Commander, please be honest with me,” Bleidd said, leaning forward and resting a hand on Jess’s shoulder. “We are all fortunate to be alive right now, if Brynneth is right about what that creature was, but the truth is none of us escaped without injury and we are miles into the Wildlands. Tashlin and Brynneth will need to be protected until they are healed, and there is only you and I to do it.”
He stepped closer, his eyes locking with Jess’s, leaning forward until their faces were only inches apart, “And all of those worries aside, all of my worry for Allie aside, I want to know if you are alright Jess. How badly were you hurt, really?”
“Ah, my love,” Jess whispered, wishing that Allie was with them as well but grateful that he was not alone. “I have been hurt worse. In truth though I lost a good amount of blood, and will be weak until tomorrow, I should think. The knee is badly sprained and there is some other muscle damage. Nothing that won’t sort itself out with time.”
Bleidd nodded, “You should rest as much as possible to let it heal.”
“I cannot leave you alone to handle everything.”
Bleidd smiled, “I certainly didn’t expect to be in this position when I agree to join, or demanded I be assigned to your squad. Are all your missions this interesting?”
Jess smiled slightly, “Most of our assignments are terribly boring, as I’m sure you know. But wherever Allie is involved there seem to be a different set of rules in play.” His smile faltered. “And you? How are you? I don’t suppose you have been concealing any injury you’d like to admit to now?”
Bleidd shook his head, their noses almost touching, “As I said, only a few lacerations and flesh wounds. Since we are being completely honest however I will admit that I cannot remember the last time I was this exhausted. Perhaps when I woke in the clinic after being shot? I have used magic today as if I had energy to spare, and I am paying for it now.”
“The spell you cast against the Pesht?” Jess guessed.
“Ah, that. Well, I may perhaps have overreacted slightly when I saw you about to become monster food. I didn’t marry you a few weeks ago to watch you get eaten now, after all.”
Jess leaned forward closing the space between them until they rested in each other’s arms. “We make quite a pair do we not?”
“Indeed,” Bleidd agreed, sighing. “And somehow we must find Allie and restore our little trio.”
“I’m afraid at this point she will have to find us.”
“Don’t underestimate her,” Bleidd said. “If there is one thing I am sure of after knowing her for this long it is that Allie is full of surprises.”
Jess glanced around the cave, at the fire, the shimmering ward that covered the entrance, the two prone forms of the other elves. “Let us get our own bed set up and let me contact Zarethyn and apprise him of the situation. Then we should rest as well, while we can.”
Bleidd nodded and the two separated to finish up these last tasks. As Jess pulled out the scrying mirror to call his brother, he found himself hoping that Allie had listened to them and diverted west. Somehow he doubted it.
Chapter 8 – Sunday Afternoon
Allie pushed forward, half her mind on where her feet were going and the other half worrying over Jess and Bleidd. Despite their advice she was still going straight towards them, even though she knew they were probably right that she should turn aside. Heading towards a creature that had taken out four Elven Guard without a problem was crazy, but no matter how she turned it over in her mind she couldn’t see any more sense in changing direction and heading into the unknown either. Going towards danger was foolish, but getting lost in the Wilds without even a tenuous sense of direction to follow, when she knew there were many other equally dangerous creatures living there seemed even more foolish. At least this way she knew what she was going towards.
She hadn’t said anything to Sal, who continued to silently follow her lead. He was very unnerved by the presence of the native Fey and she was afraid if she didn’t tell him about the water fey just the right way he’d panic, and possibly leave her to make his own way in a different direction. She knew she had to tell him, but they were at best hours away, if not a day’s hike, and she thought she had time. Better to break it to him at the right moment.
As she hiked she kept her eye out for any sign of trouble but so far things had been quiet. The Makiawisug continued to shadow them, but she still didn’t feel any danger from them. Using her empathy this way, to constantly monitor the emotional states of the beings closest to her, had become almost reflexive now and she barely had to focus to do it.
Otherwise there was no indication of anything amiss as they slogged onwards. Once she had seen large paw prints in the snow, something dog-like, but they were obviously old and headed away from where she and Sal were going. Another time there had been an odd sound, like a high pitched whistling; they had paused and waited but after several minutes with nothing happening had continued on.
As the sun reached its zenith she called a halt. “Okay, let’s stop and get something to eat.”
Sal looked relieved. “Do you see anywhere we could sit?”
“Not really,” she said looking around. Finally she spotted a slight clearing under a large cedar and pointed to it. “I think that’ll work.”
As they walked under the tree she took a moment and used a tiny bit of magic to clear the snow under the tree. There wasn’t much since it had been protected by the tree’s branches but this way they could sit more comfortably on the ground. It was probably a waste of energy and effort, but at that point she was too tired to care a
nd didn’t feel like sitting on cold wet ground. At least being in Fairy it was much easier to work simple spells without draining herself.
Sal sighed, easing down onto the cold - but dry - ground and digging through the jury-rigged bag. He pulled out a hunk of hard bread and then some meat and cheese before handing the bag to her; she served herself the same. Allie eased down onto the ground near where Sal was sitting, her ankle and back complaining loudly. She wished for a moment that she could do something to heal herself, but she knew even if they stumbled upon Jess and Bleidd in the next five minutes neither one of them was likely to be in any condition to help her. No matter how willing she was sure they’d be to try. So she did her best to ignore the aches and focus on eating and resting while she could.
They sat in silence, Allie fighting off waves of exhaustion as the lack of sleep started to catch up with her.
“Do you mind if we speak English?” Sal asked her suddenly, not eating but staring pensively at the trees. She hadn’t heard him speak anything but Elvish before and the change caught her off guard.
Allie paused, her mouth full of cheese and dried meat, then swallowed noisily. She answered in kind, the words feeling strange on her tongue even though she usually spoke English every day. “No, I don’t mind.”
He was silent again, and she resumed eating, watching him now and letting herself monitor his feelings. He was sad, for some reason, and pensive. She wondered if he was thinking of his father.
“Do you miss them? Your husbands?” he asked, not looking at her.
“Very much actually,” Allie said, breaking off another hunk of bread. “That probably seems strange to you, I know elves don’t usually get emotionally invested in romantic partners. But it’s different for me. They’re my family.”
Sal chewed, his expression thoughtful. “I think I do understand perhaps a little. I’ve been thinking as we walk about what I will do now. My father is dead and I have no desire to go back and be anyone else’s whipping boy.”
Allie tensed when he paused, praying he wasn’t about to ask her for a place to stay. She was going to have a hard enough time convincing Jess not to arrest or kill him as it was, but there was no way she’d be able to offer him a bed, even for a short time. After a minute he spoke again. “While I was in Ashwood I was staying with someone, a woman. A human woman. And her children. I took care of them while she worked and she gave me a place to stay, food, little gifts sometimes. She said I was her boyfriend. I don’t entirely understand what that means, but it pleased her to say it. I do not know what happened to her when my father’s men found out where I was living. It’s been much on my mind.”
“She thought you were her boyfriend,” Allie said slowly. “I didn’t think elves did monogamy.”
He gave her a puzzled look and she sighed. “If she said that then it means she thought you and she were together. Lovers.”
“We were lovers,” he said. Tilting his head to the side, curious.
“Yes, but did she have any other lovers?”
“No,” he said simply.
“Right,” Allie said slowly. “That’s monogamy. She only had you. But did you only have her?”
Sal shook his head immediately and Allie repressed another sigh. “I was willing enough whenever she wanted me. But why would a person be with only one lover? Marriage contracts excluded, and even then once a child is conceived its understood the couple need not adhere to each other’s beds exclusively until another child might be conceived.”
“She was only with you,” Allie pointed out, deciding not to get into a more philosophical discussion about the human approaches to relationships.
He inclined his head in a shrug. “She’s an odd person. Anti-social. She doesn’t like going out or being around many people. That was something she liked about me actually that I was also so reclusive, although I could hardly tell her that it was because I was hiding from the Elven Guard and my father.”
“But you had other lovers you said.”
“I’d go out at night, when she was working or sleeping and the children were asleep,” he said. “I taught myself to drive a car at night. And I would meet people sometimes, late at night, humans, lesser Fey, occasionally elves.”
“Did she know about this?”
“That I went out?” Sal said. To Allie’s surprise he nodded. “Yes. I told her once about the cars and she said if I got arrested she wouldn’t bail me out. I gather that meant she would not help me get free of any trouble. I hadn’t the heart to tell her if I was caught there would be nothing she could do to help me even if she wanted to.”
“Did she know about the other lovers though?” Allie pressed, aware it was none of her business, but curious. Elves didn’t usually have long term relationships with anyone, unless it was a friend who also happened to be a lover. Sal talking about his odd situation reminded her of her own unusual one, and she found herself thinking about Jess’s almost obsessive focus on her which she suspected would be the case with or without their psychic bond. She also thought about Bleidd and while she knew that Jess didn’t even look at other people she also knew that Bleidd did, frequently. And she strongly suspected that if it wasn’t for the psychic connection that she had bound him with he would act on his interests, no matter how much he loved her. What Sal was saying reminded her of that, and that such an avaricious sexual appetite was the norm not the exception with elves.
Sal inclined his head in another shrug, “She knew, yes. She asked me once and I told her the truth, that I missed having a male lover so I had sought one out that night.”
“And that didn’t upset her?” Allie said, still pushing and wondering if she really cared about Sal’s answers or if she wanted to hear another elf answering these questions.
“It didn’t please her, but I reminded her that she was the one I lived with and the one I always returned to, which was true. I didn’t even know many of their names, they were just moments, experiences. And that did please her and she never asked me again or spoke of it more.”
“Hmmmm,” Allie said thoughtfully, taking another mouthful of bread and cheese. She decided to change the subject. “So what will you do now?”
It was Sal’s turn to chew thoughtfully. “I am not sure. I have no desire to live on mortal earth and I can’t see what place I’d have in the Holding here. I don’t want to go to another Holding. There’s nothing I want to apprentice in but I have no interest in my father’s business either.”
“That pretty much leaves Ashwood then,” Allie said, not sure how she felt about that but relieved that he didn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“Yes,” Sal said, his mood turning pensive again. Whatever he was thinking about the town he didn’t seem to want to share it and Allie felt like she’d pushed him enough for personal information so she let the subject drop, finishing her meal and taking a few minutes to sit and rest, leaning back against the tree.
Her eyes had drifted closed, despite the uncomfortable ground and cold, but she didn’t realize she was falling asleep until Sal was waking her up, the Elvish words jarring after the English conversation. “Allie? If you want to take a short nap, why don’t you? I can keep watch and we’ll make better time if you get some rest.”
She wanted to argue, started to, but then stopped. What he was saying made sense. She’d been awake since the day before. It was the warmest part of the day, and it might be better to sleep now and try to hike through the night, to stay warm when it was coldest, than for the two of them with their limited skills to attempt to camp. Do I trust Sal to have my back out here while I sleep though? she thought looking sideways at the young elf. Don’t be paranoid Allie, if he wanted to hurt you he doesn’t need to wait until you’re sleeping. He has knives and you don’t and you’ve been letting him walk behind you half the day already. Little late now to worry about how far you can trust him. She sighed loudly. “Yeah that’s a good idea. Let me sleep for just a little bit, maybe a half hour or 45 minutes, then you
can get some rest too before we push on.”
He nodded and she settled back down, closing her eyes and letting exhaustion take her.
*****************
The world around her faded into darkness and then resolved itself into her familiar kitchen. She looked around, disoriented at first and wondering if this was the dream or if the events of the past few days had been. And then Syndra walked in.
Her friend was wearing jeans and a plain sweatshirt, her blond hair up in its usual thick ponytail. Allie had grown accustomed to these visits in the last year, since her friend’s death, but she still always felt a fresh wave of grief when she first saw her. It seemed terribly unfair that not only was Syndra dead but that she was also trapped by the circumstances of her death.
Allie walked over slowly and sat down at the kitchen table, watching silently as Syndra went to the fridge and grabbed her customary beer. To her surprise Syn had two drinks in her hand when she walked over to the table, not only a beer but also a coffee. She sat down across from Allie then held the coffee out towards her, “Here you go Al, I know you must be jonesing for your morning cup by now.”
“Thanks,” Allie said taking the cup automatically. “But it’s not morning. And this isn’t real.”
“You are such a buzz kill sometimes you know that?” Syndra sighed, taking a long drink of her beer. “I’m real aren’t I? I can feel this cold can in my hand, I can taste the crappy cheap beer in it when I drink. Go on give it a try. What’s the worst that will happen?”
Feeling like she’d just crossed some Alice in Wonderland sanity line Allie lifted the mug and took a drink. She could faintly taste milk and French vanilla coffee, stronger than a memory but less clear than a waking experience. Syndra smirked at her. “Can you taste it?”
“I can, sort of,” Allie said staring hard at the drink. Not for the first time she wondered if this was really a dream or if she was meeting Syndra somewhere else, maybe traveling out in spirit while she slept. At least, she was almost sure she couldn’t usually taste things in dreams. Normal dreams anyway.
Dark of Winter: A Between the Worlds novel Page 18