The Fallen

by R. L. Drummond

  Tellan held his hand out for Reya to use as leverage, but she ignored the gesture and stood by herself, her arms clutched about her shoulders as though she could shield herself further from his assistance. She walked a little behind him as he headed back towards the fire, where Jenko still sat and chewed industriously on the leg of whatever animal he had caught for the meal. He eyed her curiously as she sat down beside him and indifferently continued to eat while she reached for a morsel of meat that lay cooling upon a leaf away from the fire.

  An awkward silence descended from Tellan’s perspective, thoroughly unnoticed by Jenko, and Reya chewed her meal delicately in spite of how ravenous she was. The fire crackled and danced within her eyes and Tellan was struck at how quiet and introverted she had become; such a contrast to the bubbly, curious person he had always known her to be.

  Eventually the silence was broken and Tellan all but gasped aloud at the ghost of curiosity within Reya’s voice. “I…saw that telescope you had earlier.” She asked tentatively in spite of herself, “How can you see anything with it, it’s so small?”

  “It’s how you use it that counts.” Jenko retorted through a mouthful of rabbit meat. He smiled at the flicker of shock his innuendo laden words elicited from her and added wickedly, “Or haven’t you learned that particular lesson yet?”

  “For the love of God, Jenko.” Tellan moaned through a disgusted sneer.

  “Excuse me, miss.” Jenko retorted at him ironically. He then turned his indifferent glance back towards Reya and explained, “It has enhanced lenses inside, better than most telescopes you’ll find outside the black market.”

  “B-black market? Isn’t that illegal?” She answered through the sensation of stupidity at how she had so willingly broken her silence.

  “You catch on quick.” Jenko supplied wryly as he continued to eat, his eyes focused intentionally on his meal, “It’s saved my hide many a time in my line of work.”

  “So…” Reya began astutely, “what were you looking for?”

  Jenko glanced meaningfully up at Tellan then, all the while still chewing his food, for he was quite happy to pass the torch of this conversation to his new commander.

  “Our location.” Tellan explained succinctly, “We’re not entirely sure where you’ve brought us.”

  “I see.” Reya began and she chewed her lip with a thoughtful frown, “So what do we do now? Where are we going?”

  “Well…” Tellan began carefully, unsure of whether or not divulging any information to Reya after her recent trauma was the wisest thing to do, “We travel down the trade road nearby and hopefully get our bearings.”

  Jenko rolled his eyes at the amount of pussyfooting Tellan was going to, unaccustomed to tact as he was, and so he blurted out factually, “We need to find a courier to deliver a message to an agent of mine in Dahlia. With the right amount of smoke and mirrors, we’ll finally be able to get you out of harm’s way.”

  Reya huffed in wounded defeat as she placed her leaf back onto the ground, her appetite suddenly curbed, and her mouth ticked in disapproval at the implication of Jenko’s words. “You mean another smuggler.” She grumbled.

  Tellan stiffened at her complaint, knowing that she felt he was abandoning her in her hour of need, but all he could say was, “Yes.”

  Jenko, however, pursed his lips disapprovingly at Reya’s tone and interjected curtly, “Like it or not, sweetheart, Tellan and I are just two people, even if we are Asgardian. We need help if we’ve any hope of keeping you safe. And with the toy soldiers Belial’s got, we can’t afford to be choosy in where we get that help from, believe me.”

  Reya’s eyes narrowed at his candour and she replied coldly, “Even criminals?”

  “What else would they be? A law abiding smugger is hardly a successful one.” He retorted with an indifferent shrug.

  Reya gaped at his disagreeable tone and huffed indignantly at how he spoke about her as though she were some kind of inanimate object he could just pick up at any whim. “So that’s how much I really mean to you!” She blustered and her cheeks flared with outraged heat, “You’d abandon me to some scrub with no honour? You’re as callous as Belial!”

  A flash of anger roared dangerously within Jenko’s flared eyes then and as he focused the heat of his incredulous stare upon Reya, Tellan leapt forward to assuage his comrade’s rage.

  But Jenko’s anger burst forth like the cracking of a dam, vexed beyond belief by Reya’s ill–advised outburst, “You would dare compare me to that Abyssal son of a bitch? That demon bastard I would give anything to shove my blades through his black heart?!”

  “I…I–” Reya sputtered, incredulous that he would speak to her in such a manner after the hardships of what she had been through.

  “She’s exhausted, Jenko,” Tellan interjected with hastily raised hands, “she doesn’t know what she’s saying.”

  Reya’s mouth tugged downward at the childish instinct that she had done wrong, for indignant anger pulsed from Jenko palpably and her throat couldn’t help but swell with fright at the ferocity in his eyes.

  “Then let’s educate her, shall we?” Jenko shot back harshly and he leaned forward into Reya’s face so abruptly, that she gasped fearfully and shrank back. But he continued on, uncaring of how he pressed his fearsome intimidation upon her tender emotions, “In case you failed to notice, my entire livelihood was in the Fighting Angel! Years of hard work and graft that I’ll not see again for quite some time!”

  Jenko then jerked a thumb and raged on angrily, “That safe house you were in? That was my base of operations; now nothing more than a fucking coal bucket! I sacrificed all of that to keep you alive, or are you so damned selfish that you just don’t care?”

  “Jenko–” Tellan warned.

  But Jenko ignored the warning, for his anger was well and truly aflame now. “Well?!” He barked at Reya’s frightened face, “Come on, child, speak up!”

  “I…I’m sorry–” Reya whispered, trembling now at the force of Jenko’s tone.

  “You think I care that your feelings have been hurt? Do you?” He ensued with a snarl of derision, “Do you think you’re the only one that feels Baldur’s loss? You have no fucking idea, you selfish brat!”

  “All right, Jenko, that’s enough–” Tellan interrupted firmly.

  “Have you thought about what’ll happen if Belial gets his talons in you? Have you?!” Jenko fumed and Reya cringed at the horrible venom within his words. Her eyes widened in fright when Jenko leaned closer and growled, “Well, let me lay it out for you: he’s going to make you open a portal to the Abyss. You think those not–quite human soldiers were bad? Wait till you’re faced with demons, sweetheart. And I’m not talking about the diluted versions you’ve read about in your stories, I mean the ones that leave you screaming in madness, the ancient fiends that know nothing else but torture, depravity and murder. The ones that will eat your very soul from its shell!”

  “Please…please stop…” Reya whispered, appalled at the horrific truth of Jenko’s words.

  Even as Reya protested Tellan shoved Jenko suddenly, and fire raged in their eyes as the two men shot to their feet with equal aggression. “Back…off.” Tellan growled at Jenko ominously.

  Reya’s eyes fluttered at Tellan’s fierce protection of her against his brother–in–arms, at how the aggression between the two men could have ignited the very air as they glared threateningly at one another. Both Tellan’s and Jenko’s powerful shoulders were pulled back, their fists balled angrily and Reya’s throat choked in the horrified thought that a real fight would break out.

  But still Jenko pressed on as he passed his scorching glare back down at her huddled form. “Wake up, little girl!!” He roared and Reya flinched at the volume of his harsh voice, “This whole thing is far bigger than you, even me, and I’ll be fucked if I allow the planes to become overrun because some stupid bitch can’t get a grip!!”

  Without warning, Tellan’s fist slammed blindingly fast into Jenko�
�s jaw and Reya’s hands flew to her mouth with a gasp of shock. Jenko staggered against the strength of the blow and as he wiped the back of his hand across his lips, he huffed a humourless laugh. His tongue flicked across the stinging heat that welled at the corner of his mouth and as he spat blood onto the ground, he focused his burning glare upon Tellan.

  “Look at you, Tellan…” Jenko snarled impetuously, “You were once one of the Legion’s best; Baldur’s second! But here you are pandering to her wailing like a fucking nursemaid!”

  Tellan abruptly grasped the hilt of his dagger at his back as indignant rage burst a conflagration within him and Reya gasped at how aggressively the situation had escalated. She leapt to her feet then and pressed her fingertips against her mouth as tears streaked down her cheeks again. Not out of her own pain, but of fear that the bond between these two strong men would become undone irreparably…all because of her.

  “Uncle, don’t!” She gasped behind Tellan, but he simply turned his shoulder in such a way that Jenko became blocked from her sight.

  “You’ve already crossed a line, Jenko,” Tellan growled, “I’m warning you to go no further.”

  Jenko’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I’ve crossed a line?” He asked and hitched his head at Tellan’s stance, “I’m not the one with his hand on his weapon. The Legion never turn on one another, remember? My Lord?”

  Tellan’s eyes flickered at the truth in his brother’s words, but still he kept his stance firm in the face of Jenko’s threat; Reya would always be his to protect and he would do so from anyone.

  “I may be Baldur’s second, but I am Reya’s guardian above all else.” Tellan said to Jenko and he watched his comrade’s stance carefully, “Have you forgotten your own duty so easily, brother?”

  Jenko’s face twisted into an expression of sheer frustration. “I’ve never forgotten my duty!” He spat ferociously, “But I won’t lay my life down for some weak, lost cause, spoiled brat!”

  In that moment Tellan drew his dagger swiftly and as Reya sprang forward, she desperately clutched her uncle’s arm with a thrill of fear. “Stop this, please!” She shrieked as she hung onto him like a doll, for it felt to her that Tellan’s arm was made of the strongest steel beneath her grip.

  The men glared at one another with barely suppressed anger and Reya stared in wide eyed panic that neither one of them would back down. She blinked pleadingly at Tellan’s chiselled glare, still focused solely on Jenko and Reya finally realised then that he really would sacrifice everything for her. He and Jenko were battle brothers of the strongest bond, she had seen it with her own eyes; and the thought that the pair would go head to head over her protection sent her wounded pride cartwheeling. The air between the two men was thick with adrenalin laced challenge and Reya could almost imagine that if she were to move just one inch from where she stood, she would become ignited by the flame of their rage.

  But within the boiling inferno that bubbled dangerously around them, Jenko was the one who relented and he stepped back slightly with a knowing nod. “She has one hour, Tellan.” He challenged threateningly, “If by that time she’s still crying about it; I’ll be dragging her to Dahlia, got it?”

  “No you won’t.” Came the strong, yet quiet reply, but the words were not uttered from Tellan’s lips. Jenko blinked in surprise as he focused on Reya and he sneered at the rebellious way in which she glared at him from beneath her brows. Tellan moved forward instinctually, but when Reya placed a silent hand upon him and moved beyond the security of his protective shoulder, Tellan was stayed by the quiet calm that radiated from her.

  “What?” Jenko growled.

  “You said it yourself.” Reya began tentatively, incredulous that such defiance came from her own lips. But she swallowed her fear of Jenko’s intimidation, for she felt truly bolstered at the knowledge of how far Tellan was willing to go for her safety, “If you touch me, I’ll send you somewhere you can’t come back from.”

  Jenko stared her up and down, sizing her up as he sneered at the perceptible tremble within her slender frame. “You’re all talk, little girl.” He hissed, “You don’t frighten me.”

  Tellan’s eyes fluttered almost imperceptibly at Jenko’s words; so uncharacteristic in their delivery and meaning that a flag of comprehension finally waved within his mind. Jenko was hot headed and fast mouthed at the best of times, even more since the Fall; but during the centuries of fighting side by side in the Line of Baldur, he had never once swayed from his duty. He wasn’t threatening Reya, not really, Tellan finally realised – he was trying to wake her up to the truth of their love that she so stubbornly refused to accept.

  But this recognition was lost on Reya, who bristled hotly at the dismissive glint within Jenko’s chiding stare and pushed her shoulders back defiantly. “I am Baldur’s daughter. If you truly knew him then you’ll know he didn’t raise me to be weak!” She cried with a proud jut of her jaw and as she squared herself as best she could, she added impetuously, “Don’t think I won’t do it.”

  “Prove it.” Jenko snarled with a feral wrinkling of his nose and Tellan’s eyes became magnetised upon Reya’s form then, watchful of what her reaction to such a naked challenge would be.

  Reya felt a familiar rise inside of her that she recognised as her father’s warrior wrath and as she bit her lip and glared at Jenko, a strange tug upon her instincts seized her attention. She stopped suddenly when confusion illuminated her mind with how curiously Jenko watched her now, and when she finally gasped with the realisation that she had been played, Jenko winked at her.

  “You…you!” Reya cried and the two men exhaled thankful breath as she tugged her hair in frustration.

  “Are you still sad?” Jenko asked blandly, his tone so candid that she stared up at him in confusion.

  “No I…” She started and as she glanced up at Tellan, a burning blushed flared across her cheeks, “I’m pissed off.”

  “What are you?” Jenko encouraged with a grin.

  “Pissed off!” She shouted and in spite of her initial confusion of why Jenko had gone as far as he did, she grinned with the simple pleasure of swearing loudly, blushing again at Tellan’s indulgent chuckle.

  “There it is.” Jenko said triumphantly as he pointed at her, “That’s the fire we need. Don’t lose that, Reya; keep it and mould it, make it your own. You can’t do a thing with sadness except be burdened by it…but anger can keep you driven, keep you sharp.”

  Reya drank in this new knowledge with a bolstering inhalation of breath and as she nodded her acceptance to the man who had all but died for her back in Ilema, she recognised him for the protector he truly was. That as much as his words had held truth, he hadn’t intended to hurt her; he had wanted to make her see through the emotion that had nearly consumed her. It was a valuable lesson that left her stunned with its intensity, for she had never been spoken to with such brutal honesty before, but it was one that she felt a tremendous respect for.

  “I understand.” She said with grave recognition.

  “Okay.” Jenko replied with an awkward pat upon her shoulder, and she felt happier against the residual sting of his words.

  He then glanced at Tellan and had the good grace to at least look sheepish as he said, “I know I have a mouth on me, but that doesn’t mean my loyalty is false, Tellan. I will follow you wherever you lead, my Lord and as long as there is breath in my body, I will protect Reya with all I have. It’s important that you know that.”

  “Of course I know that, you fool.” Tellan wearily replied with a grin and held his hand out for Jenko to take.

  Jenko’s own grin twisted in mild bemusement as he accepted Tellan’s gesture of camaraderie, “Why did you punch me then?”

  “You had it coming.” Tellan replied pointedly with a hitch of an eyebrow.

  “Ha, yes. Very good.” Jenko replied dryly, but his eyes twinkled in mirth. It was exactly what he would have done himself.

  He then glanced at Reya briefly with a significance that Te
llan interpreted well and as Jenko moved away to give the two some privacy, Tellan turned tentatively towards Reya.

  “I know I’ve…kept things from you, sweetheart.” He said carefully as he reached out for her, “But you must believe me, all I have ever done is keep your best interests at heart. I never meant to hurt you…and I’m sorry.”

  Reya gulped and lowered her gaze uncertainly to his waiting hands as she whispered, “I…”

  “Reya…” Jenko interjected so softly that Reya’s eyes fluttered at the soulful sincerity within his voice. She reticently lifted her eyes to his turned back and waited for him to continue.

  “There is no one on this world that loves you more than Tellan. That’s why Baldur entrusted your safety to him. And Baldur…” He swallowed hard and finished soulfully, “Baldur was a brother to us. Believe me when I say that Tellan would lay his life down for you without hesitation…as would I.”

  Reya stared at the words Jenko spoke and even though the man stood so far away from them, he kept his eyes averted from hers with such gravity that Reya felt the truth in what he said. “You are so special, Reya…” He murmured, “You’ve never known it, but I…I love you myself. I know it doesn’t seem that way sometimes, but I do. I always have.”

  “Jenko.” She whispered, touched by the tremble within the voice that she had come to expect as sour or sarcastic.

  But when he lifted his gaze so reluctantly, she saw the shine of his blue eyes that told her not only were his words true, but they wounded him with a sweet agony as much as Tellan’s did. When she moved her gaze back to Tellan, she saw the same expression within his eyes and she grieved for all the times he had spun her happily in his arms.

  Her mind became flooded with memories then: the two of them as they walked down the road together eating toffee apples from the market and singing songs, sitting under her favourite oak tree in the garden with a book, playing hide and seek in the stretching fields…she wished with every fibre of her being that she could go back to those moments, become his niece again and ignore the awful truth that she had been told. It was true that a threshold had been crossed and it was one that she could never return from, but…I can still have a little piece of him, can’t I? The hopeful thought surfaced within her heart and Reya gulped against the plaintive cry of it.