Still more disturbing, even as she silently railed against her fate a tiny part of her thrilled because Blayne was the man she was forced to rely on. That part liked that he took such good care of her. That part liked him very much indeed.
~~~
Blayne was already up and about—probably organizing breakfast, as was his habit. She lay abed for a while, gathering her thoughts. They’d been traveling for two weeks, their progress slower than he had hoped because of her sore ankle and her sightlessness. She’d become accustomed to him sleeping beside her. If she woke disoriented, or shaken by a nightmare, she only had to listen to his breathing and she would drift to sleep again, comforted by his presence.
Now they were around two days easy walk from his home, and Hope both craved and feared what she would find at the settlement. The allure of meeting someone who might be able to explain what had happened to her kept her plodding ever onward. But after so long without hearing another voice save Blayne’s, the thought of being forced to interact with strangers was frightening.
Blayne had become a friend, a mentor. He patiently cared for her needs without making her feel like too much of a burden. He’d even gone to great lengths to show her how to light a fire, and cook a basic meal. She was content—or at least, as content as she could be under these strange circumstances. She wanted everything to stay the same. Except that wasn’t going to be possible. Soon he would go back to his life. Soon, she would be forced to throw herself on the mercy of others until she could learn to fend for herself again.
And, as if summoned by her innermost fears, an unfamiliar male voice intruded. “Hola, Blayne! Surely you’re not still asleep, you lazy son of a she-wolf!”
Chapter Four
Hope’s stomach flip-flopped and her pulse leaped about like a mad rabbit. Don’t come in the tent. Don’t come in the tent. Don’t—
The stranger yanked open the tent flap.
She scrambled to sit, clutching the blanket to her chest.
“Oh ho! Now I know why Blayne’s been taking so long.” His deep voice boomed with laughter. “Where did he find you, little chick? And where is the sly wolf, anyway?”
He grabbed her arm and towed her from the tent without a by-your-leave. “Ah, there he is. I bet he’ll be surprised to see me. Let’s go welcome him.”
Outside, she stood rooted to the spot, too shaken to speak. Warmth from his breath stroked her face and she flinched, realizing he must be peering at her very closely indeed.
“Gods. I’m sorry, little chick. I didn’t realize….” Chagrin softened his voice. “My name is Cayl. Dayamar sent me to find Blayne—he was expected back a week ago.”
Before Hope could untie her tongue she heard Blayne hailing them. “Hola, Cayl!”
Blayne jogged up and clapped his friend on the back. “Shikari’s hairy paws, what are you doing here?” Noting the tension in the air he turned his gaze on Hope. She’d wrapped both arms about her middle. Her shoulders were hunched. Anxiety and tension etched her forehead. Wisa’s wings. She must have been terrified.
“I was off checking the snares I set last night. I’m sorry Cayl scared you, Hope. Big oaf has a habit of forgetting his manners.”
To Blayne’s relief, she managed a smile. “I have much pleasure in meeting you, Cayl,” she said.
“And I have pleasure in meeting you too, Hope. Much, much pleasure.” He looked her up and down, his raised eyebrows and the smile playing about his lips indicating he liked the view.
Blayne stiffened. The shirt Hope wore was suddenly more provocative than mere nakedness. He choked back a growl as Cayl’s far-too-appreciative gaze lingered on her legs. Unfamiliar jealousy rolled through him and he frowned at his friend.
But although Cayl acknowledged Blayne’s displeasure with a quirked eyebrow, it only made his smile wider.
Blayne elbowed him in the ribs. Hard. “What’s so funny?”
“Just imagining the look on a certain woman’s face when you arrive with this little chick on your arm.” His stomach chose that moment to rumble loud and long. “I’m starving. Where’s breakfast?”
Blayne’s ire ebbed. Cayl never dallied with other woman. He was head over heels in love with his life-partner Maya. Blayne had nothing to worry about. He waved a hand at the pot of porridge hanging over the fireplace. “What do you think this is, you fool? Hunger must be affecting your brain.”
“Hunger always affects my brain.”
While Cayl helped himself to breakfast, Blayne served Hope. He caught Cayl watching him, doubtless observing the easy familiarity he and Hope shared. What it would be like to feel so strongly about a woman, he’d move mountains to Join with her, like Cayl had with Maya? He glanced at Hope, wondering if she might be that woman.
Cayl had stuffed himself full of food before he bothered to broach the topic of Blayne’s prolonged absence. “Was it Hope who delayed you? I’m sure the old man will forgive you that. He’s always been able to appreciate a beautiful woman.”
Blayne wanted to keep the conversation general, vague—at least until he could explain about Hope out of her earshot. “I’m sure Dayamar will be interested to meet Hope,” he said.
“I just bet he will,” Cayl said.
“Who is this Dayamar person?” Hope demanded.
Cayl’s brows rose to his hairline.
Blayne cursed beneath his breath. So much for keeping his concerns from her. “Dayamar is our spiritual leader. He’s very wise. He knows many things.”
Cayl sucked in a deep breath, but before he could launch his question Blayne placed a finger on his lips and jerked his chin toward Hope. Cayl closed his mouth and nodded, but Blayne noticed his gaze kept flicking to her.
“This Dayamar worries about Blayne,” Hope said. “Why?”
Cayl darted Blayne a quick glance. “Because Blayne’s our Panakeya.”
Hope’s brows drew together in a perplexed frown. “Blayne mentioned this word when he first introduced himself. I do not understand it.”
Cayl’s jaw sagged, and Blayne gave up trying to play down Hope’s obvious ignorance. “Panakeya is the title given to the leader of the healers—the First amongst healers,” he explained.
“Oh.” She nodded. “That does explain much.”
He waved a hand to catch Cayl’s attention. Later! he mouthed. And thankfully, despite Cayl’s obvious curiosity, he nodded, accepting the explanations would have to wait.
As they broke camp a sense of urgency settled over Blayne. His snares had come up empty. They’d have to pool whatever food Cayl had brought with their own dwindling supplies. He hoped Cayl wouldn’t complain about eating dried meat instead of fresh. He glimpsed pity in Cayl’s expression when he took Hope’s arm to assist her over the unfamiliar terrain. He hid a wry smile. Cayl would soon learn Hope didn’t appreciate pity.
“Gods save me!” his friend mourned after a particularly pithy exchange. “Beauty and brains. The young bucks will swarm about you like bees to nectar.”
Hope blushed and the smile hovering about her lips suggested she was pleased by the compliment. Blayne scowled. And seriously considered sprinkling Cayl’s next meal with some foul-tasting herb.
They pushed on until they found a suitable place to spend the night. With an audible sigh Hope slumped on the ground, laying her head on her bent knees. She looked so lost it wrenched Blayne’s heart. He hunkered down beside her. The instant she identified him her face lit up.
He intercepted Cayl’s quizzical gaze. Please gods, Cayl would keep his conclusions to himself. But Cayl only cleared his throat. “What delicious repast are we to partake of tonight, o most magnificent of cooks? Or perhaps Hope is going to cook?”
“Not me,” she said. “I do not know how to cook a proper meal over an open fire.”
Cayl rolled beseeching eyes at Blayne. “It’s up to you, my friend. We both know what my cooking skills are like.” He chose to ignore Blayne’s mock-despairing shake of the head.
Blayne threw together a stew
of dried meat, some tubers and a few wild herbs, which Cayl seemed to appreciate. Then again, Cayl appreciated any meal he didn’t have to cook himself. Hope had curled up by the fire. The second yawn she tried to smother only emphasized her exhaustion. She was fighting to keep her eyes open.
“Poor little chick. Traveling really takes it out of you, doesn’t it?” Cayl waggled his eyebrows at Blayne in a “hurry up and do something about the poor girl” way.
Blayne didn’t need to be told twice. He scooped her up and carried her to the tent.
His reappearance a few moments later had Cayl grinning and slapping his thigh. “Sonuva she-wolf. How long has that been going on?”
At least he’d had the sense to lower his voice so Hope wouldn’t overhear the innuendo. “Nothing’s ‘going on’,” Blayne said. Was it too much to ask that his best friend wouldn’t automatically assume he’d taken advantage of a vulnerable girl?
“Pull the other one. This is me you’re talking to. For some unfathomable reason women find you irresistible. And you and I both know you can’t resist a pretty face.”
“We’ve shared a tent. That’s all.”
“Are you ill?” Cayl leaned over to feel Blayne’s forehead with the back of his hand.
He ducked away. “Don’t be an idiot. Hope is….” He groped for the right words.
“Gods. You’ve fallen for her.” Cayl guffawed loudly. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
“Rub my nose in it, why don’t you?”
“Had to happen sometime. How did you meet her, anyway?” Cayl’s eyes gleamed with curiosity. “Confess or I’ll make you sorry you were born.”
“You can try.” He threw up a fist to fend off his friend’s mock lunge. “All right, all right. I stayed a couple of days in that cave I told you about—there’s a rare plant that grows in the area.”
Cayl nodded. “Figured as much. That’s where I was headed before I spotted your camp.”
“Instead of the plant I found a large wolf. And I’m talking really large. The biggest I’ve ever seen. It had golden eyes.”
The massive wolf had padded from the shadows to stand in the clearing. In the filtered sunlight, with its silvery pelt and eerily glowing eyes, it appeared almost spectral. The beast had stared directly at him, its feral gaze burning into his for one long, heart-stopping moment. He shifted uneasily, recalling all too well how the hairs on the back of his neck had stood on end and his skin had prickled. And then the beast had loped off through the trees and the compulsion to follow had been too great to resist. Whenever he’d fallen behind the wolf had paused, as though waiting for him to catch up.
“You’re thinking the wolf was Shikari in beast-form,” Cayl said.
“Yes. Gods, I don’t know. Maybe. I tracked it and—”
“You tracked it,” Cayl drawled. “And of course it didn’t occur to you to be concerned for your safety. It didn’t cross your mind that if the beast wasn’t Shikari, it could turn on you.”
Blayne ignored the sarcasm. “And it led me straight to Hope.”
“She wasn’t scared at all? Of the big bad wolf? I’d have been screaming my lungs out.”
“She was unconscious. I thought she was carrion at first, something the beast had dragged there to feed on. I was shocked to discover a human being. I—”
“Let me guess. You shooed big bad wolfie away and checked out its potential meal. Good one.”
“After Lyam’s death I could hardly not investigate.” Blayne shrugged, trying to hide how shaken he still was by the encounter. “And I didn’t have to shoo it off. It vanished. One moment it was right there in front of me, the next, gone. Thought I was going mad.”
“Well, since you said it first….”
Cayl’s grin struck Blayne as forced. He, too, was unsettled by the tale. “Have I told you lately what a supportive friend you are?” Blayne said, trying inject some levity.
“Not nearly often enough.” Cayl’s grin this time was genuine. “You’re obviously not mad, by the way. Carry on.”
“Thanks.” He blew out a sharp breath, wondering how Cayl would react when he told him the rest. He’d probably revise his opinion of Blayne’s sanity. “There were wolf-prints leading up to and completely encircling her body,” he said, “but none leading away. Not a single one.”
“So unless this wolf managed to tippie-toe past you, stepping in its own tracks, it was a spirit-wolf.”
“Yes. I couldn’t find any trace of Hope’s tracks either. She seemed to have appeared from nowhere.”
“You’re too experienced a tracker to miss them. That wolf was Shikari. He put Hope in your path. He wanted you to find her.”
Blayne rolled the tension from his shoulders. Cayl’s easy acceptance was a huge relief. “I could hardly leave her there, so I scooped her up and started walking.”
Cayl waited. Expectantly. “Gods above, Blayne, it’s like trying to squeeze blood from a stone getting a story out of you.” He made a rolling motion with his hand. “And what happened then?”
“When she came to she took off—scared of me, I guess.”
“You can be very scary,” Cayl agreed.
Blayne didn’t bite. They had been friends since boyhood. He was used to Cayl’s humor. “But she didn’t get far She collapsed like she’d been whacked over the head by some invisible force. It was near dark, so I carried her back to the cave.”
“Where’s she from?”
Blayne pinched the bridge of his nose. “No idea. She insists she comes from some place called See-View, and she speaks a bizarre language I’ve never heard before. She can’t remember how she got here, or how she knows our language. It’s a mystery.”
“I reckon.” Cayl shook his head and snorted. “Still, it was bound to happen sooner or later.”
Blayne frowned, not following the abrupt change of subject. “What was bound to happen?”
“The gods snatching a woman from another world and plunking her down here to tempt you. I mean, what else are they to do when you refuse to Join with a Dayamari woman?”
“Right. As if the gods care whether I find a life-partner. They have more important things to concern themselves with.” He paused to chew over Cayl’s reactions to his tale. “It doesn’t concern you at all she might be from another world, does it?”
Cayl shrugged, holding both hands out, palms up. “Nope. The gods move in mysterious ways. Always have. Always will.”
Blayne tended to agree, though he’d be happier if they left him out of it. “That’s not all,” he felt compelled to admit. “Her eyes have changed.”
Cayl scratched his chin and leaned forward. “What do you mean ‘changed’? They’re blue—surely that’s unusual enough. If you’re about to tell me they used to be another color, that I will find hard to believe.”
“They’ve temporarily turned gold. Twice.”
Cayl paled beneath his tan. “You’re joking.”
“Wish I was.” Blayne scrubbed his fingertips over his face, and pressed deeply into his temples to banish the tension ache. “Scared me witless.”
“A Sehan? A blind Sehan?” Cayl exhaled in a loud puff. “A Sehan who Shikari might have showed a personal interest in? Man, Dayamar will surely have plans for her.”
“Yes.”
Cayl clapped him on the shoulder. “Better get on with it then. No time to waste.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Sex. Heck, the way you’re mooning over her, call it ‘making love’. Do I have to spell it out to you? You have tonight and tomorrow before she’s taken away from you. Once Dayamar gets his hands on her that’s it. He won’t leave her to choose her own path and risk losing another apprentice—even a blind one.”
Blayne scowled. Cayl had a valid point. And if he did nothing, he’d always wonder what could have been. But Hope had been through enough already. He didn’t want to add to her stress by putting pressure on her to take their relationship—if it could be called that—to the next level.
Cayl climbed to feet and arched his back, stretching out the kinks. “Better get some rest. We’ve a full day of hard travel ahead if we’re to make it home before nightfall.” He headed for his tent, glancing back over his shoulder when Blayne followed him. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Hope needs a tent to herself. I’ll share yours.”
“Idiot. I should make you sleep outside in the cold.” But he moved his sleeping roll over to make room and made a show of tossing Blayne a blanket.
Cayl was soon snoring peacefully but Blayne lay awake for many hours, his mind whirling.
Her cries jerked him to wakefulness. He shouldered Cayl aside as they both tried to push through the tent flap at the same time.
Cayl yelped. “Watch it. That was my nose.”
Blayne blinked until his vision adjusted to the darkness. He glanced around but detected no threats. He strode to his tent and peered inside.
Empty. His gut fisted. “She’s not here,” he told Cayl.
Cayl nudged him and pointed to a huddled shape by a scraggly bush.
In the gloom Blayne could make out Hope sitting hugging her knees, her head bowed as she rocked back and forth. He hurried over and knelt beside her. “Hope, what’s wrong? Did you have another nightmare?”
She raised a tear-streaked desolate face that wrung his heart dry. “You were not there,” she whispered. “I thought you had left me.”
“Ssshh. It’s okay. I figured you’d prefer a tent to yourself so I shared Cayl’s.”
Cayl tossed him a disgusted look that plainly said, Told you so, you big idiot. “I need some sleep,” he said. “Good night.” He made a production of pulling the tent flap closed behind him.
Blayne gathered Hope close. “Ssshh. I’m here now. I won’t leave you alone again. I promise.” When the tears ceased, he helped her back to the tent. “Will you be okay to sleep now?”
“You will stay with me?” She wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands.
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