"Yes, tonight. We won't have much time tomorrow if all goes well."
"I never picked you for a sane one," Les said with one eyebrow cocked, "But surely you want to sleep in a real bed as much as any of us."
"I'll be fine. Really, trust me." He gave an exaggerated wave to the confused faces staring him down. "I'll be back before morning, I promise. Just a couple things."
Garren stared at him with the piercing blue eyes of a man who did not trust. He considered it a moment, and then shrugged. "Don't linger."
Teveres gave Les a small smile, nodded at Aia, and bolted from the house before anyone else could object.
Chapter 12
"Are you going to browse or are you going to drink?" the bartender asked.
Teveres tossed back a shot of halas, grimacing as the clear liquid scorched his throat on the way down. It was the most inferior vintage of halas he'd ever tasted. When he lived in Ilvan, he could afford the expensive stuff. Vail's bar with its chattering locals and burly bartender had nothing resembling alcohol from home.
"That's vile," said Teveres.
"It's what we got, precious," Dom said in the most patronizing v ^r srmpanoice. "You're the second out-of-towner tonight, you know that?"
"No, can't say I did."
Teveres leaned over the bar, observing the other people in the room. It was well past midnight, but Vail's watering hole was still hopping with activity. Most of the people were young - his age or slightly older - loudly carrying on about their lives. Vail had little economy outside of some contraband sales and farm animals. The young people came to the bar to escape, even though their indulgence drove them deeper into the backwater town they were stuck in.
Why would a Deldri, with whatever power he had, stay in a place like Vail? Teveres could think of a few reasons, none of them positive. It was quite possible that Teveres and the fourth Deldri shared warrants in common, among other things.
"Hum," Dom rested his elbows on the bar's surface, bringing him down to Teveres's height. "You act like you're looking for something."
Jarred out of his thoughts, Teveres nodded. "I'm looking for a guy who lives around here. His name's Elden."
"E?" Dom tilted his head to the side curiously, "What does a guy like you want with E?"
"A 'guy like me?'"
"Well..." Dom shrugged, "I only keep the bottle of halas around for four people, and all of them are clergy. Nobody else will touch the stuff."
Teveres laughed out loud. It had not occurred to him to order anything but his customary drink. He had been raised in the temples, where everyone drank halas. He shook his head. "I'm no priest, I promise. Just quirky tastes I suppose. Elden is a friend of my family." Teveres began artfully threading his resonance through Domini's, coaxing his mind into submission. "I heard he was living out this way. I wanted to say hello."
"Well, he left a couple hours ago."
"Do you know where he went?" Dom's mind, while not that of a simpleton, melded to his wishes with minimal difficulty.
"I don't know him that well," Dom glanced up, pointing with his eyes. "But she does."
Teveres followed Domini's lead to a thin blonde girl in the corner surrounded by other women her age. She looked up long enough to catch his gaze, stormy eyes peeking up over the rim of her glass.
"What's her name?" Teveres purposely snapped his vision back on Domini, hoping to lure her closer with a flirtatious trap.
"Willow. She's an old... friend." Domini shook his head. Teveres eased off the manipulation, his victim suddenly cognizant of the potential danger of sharing information with a stranger. "But hey, don't tell him I told you. If you're here to collect a debt, don't even bother. Elden's been known to take guys out twice his size."
"Yea c+0"an>
Dom drifted away from the suspicious out-of-towner, and Teveres let him. Dom had little to offer. Willow did, however, and she had already snuck up behind Teveres.
"Hello there," he said without turning around.
She snorted inelegantly. "You some kinda mind reader?"
Teveres slowly peered over his shoulder. She was not unattractive, with small, delicate features and painted red lips. He noted the puffiness around her eyes, evidence that she had been crying, and the poor quality of the brown blouse and skirt she was wearing. Her fingers were not callused, her muscles not toned; she did not work at anything strenuous. Though only mildly intoxicated, her mind was completely at his command the moment he walked into the bar.
"Yes," he replied, "And you are my willing subject."
She laughed, her shoulders pulled back to accentuate her chest in a way that she might have thought was subtly provocative. "You're a pretty one," she licked her lips, "Where are you from?"
"Pelle."
"And where are you going?"
"I'm looking for somebody. Elden."
"He's a prick," she said quickly. "Unless... I hope you're not just looking for him. He's not that much fun."
"No, I'm not looking for that," he dismissed her words without emotion, edging towards the periphery of the room. As he expected, she followed him. "I just want to know where he stays." Gently, slowly, he tugged at her inner harmony.
"I know where he stays," she glanced around the room. "I could show you if you take me home."
"Take you home?"
"Yeah," she smiled to show her teeth, remarkably hygienic for her locale. "See my boyfriend left me and I hate to walk home alone. There are bears out there you know."
Her hands were on his arm already. Teveres sighed, giving her no outward sign that he was interested, while in his head he had to remind himself that she was a source, not a destination. She was all siren with her petty mind and enticing body - she was not the kind of woman he ever desired to be with. And yet... the attention felt good. He couldn't deny it. He missed being wanted by a woman.
"I'm sure you can find your own way," he said firmly.
"You have a girl or something?"
"I... no, I don't."
"Then do you have someplace else to be?"
"It's nothing personal-"
"Honey, if you've got no one to have you and no place to be, why would you spend your night alone in this shithole?" Undeterred, she pressed her head against his shoulder. "Besides. You wouldn't send a girl out in the dark by herself, would you?"
He wanted to push her away, but she was the easiest person in the room to get information from, and she was playing him as much as he was playing her. He could force the location out of her, but that would mean he would have to leave her and her feminine attention in the bar. More than that, he actually did care whether she walked home alone or not, even if he knew where walking her home led. A small but vocal part of him didn't care.
"Bears, huh?" He tugged her along towards the bar exit. "Fine."
"What's your name?" she asked, shivering as they stepped out into the street.
"Tevin."
"I'm Willow."
"I heard." Teveres slipped off his cloak, placing it on Willow's shoulders. Even a viperous woman didn't deserve to be cold.
They strolled down Vail's dirt streets. The town square with the bar, temple, city hall, and market, was built tall in the middle of the settlement. As they departed from Vail's area of 'commerce' (that which there was), Teveres was struck by how much smaller the houses were compared to Mareth's home. The outer homes were large, likely owned by actual farmers, but the homes closer to the square represented The Decline. They were in poor repair, with struggling plants and thin livestock. Even the commoners in Torvid's Rest lived in better conditions than the citizens of Vail.
Willow began to slow her steps. They faced north, the shadow of the Northsea Mountains looming directly ahead across the plains. Willow nodded off towards the end of the block.
"He lives in that shack over there, sleeps most the day away."
Teveres took a quick note of the location of the one-room house Willow indicated. "Thank you."
"And this is my place." She
nodded towards a similar shack, with a dark unfinished wood exterior and a small oil lamp lit on the porch. She busied herself unlocking the door, ducking into the room quickly once it opened.
"Hey, wait," Teveres protested, moving towards her. She was mostly lost in the room's darkness. He held out a hand. "I need my cloak back."
Willow pushed him against her door. His trained muscles instinctively sprung to life, but before they could push her away her long, thin fingers slipped under his shirt and began to slide up his spine. She brushed her lips over his, taunting. All the blood rushed downward from his brain to less useful places, leaving him blissfully dizzy. He could feel her lips smile against his, her eyes glinting with satisfaction as she watched him react. She smelled faintly of cherries and alcohol. A moan escaped his lips when her hips pressed into him.
"I shouldn't," he said between shallow breaths, "I r chs,>Deldri to find, supplies to gather, and he was in dire need of a good nights' sleep. One part of his body was oblivious to those needs.
She leaned in closer to whisper in his ear, the warmth of her breath sending shivers all though him. "I won't tell."
"You're making it very hard for me to say no."
She pulled away from him to drop his cloak and unbutton her blouse, letting it fall in a pool at her feet. She cupped her breasts in her own hands, pale torso cast blue in the light through her window. She looked up at him with wide brown eyes of betrayed innocence. He was an easy mark for her play; after months of loneliness, he was powerless to look away from her.
She wasn't Veni, and she wasn't Aia. She wasn't anyone - and that was what made her perfect. He didn't feel like he had to be a better person to deserve her. There were no senselessly complicated scenarios stopping him from being with her. She was attractive, and forceful, and so very willing.
"Do you really want to say no?" Her every word was exaggerated to show off her full lips.
Teveres's restraint fell away with his shirt as he tossed it on the floor and pushed her front door closed. He scooped her up as if she were weightless and pinned her against the wall, laying into a voracious kiss that could suck the life out of her. The feel of pliant, young flesh under his hands only made him hungrier. He felt her all over; the fullness of her chest, the curve of her waist, the roundness of her hipbones, made for his hands to grip. There was no light in the room to remind him of who she was, and who she was not. There was only skin on skin, hands on his shoulders and a tongue tangled in his mouth. In the moment, it was all he needed.
I'll burn alive for this yet.
* * *
Les was the first to rise in the morning, just as the sun breached the horizon. The guest room was simple, with two bunk beds and one large dresser on the periphery. It was obviously designed to accommodate as many people as possible. The Northsea Mountains loomed in the distance through the large window, allowing Les a full view of the plains lands between.
Quietly, Les showered and dressed in the bathing room down the hall. Idri had taken most of their clothes to wash properly, a rare gift since they left Torvid's Rest. He lingered a moment staring in the mirror over the bathing room basin, finally able to shave the stubble from his face. The man who stared back bore only frail resemblance to the one who left Pelle. He could clearly make out his cheek and collarbones, his bright brown eyes somehow larger in their sockets. The long mountain man look did not suit him.
Downstairs Idri was already cooking over the stove. Mareth sat at the head of the sturdy oak table, a mug of coffee in his hands that Les could smell across the room - good coffee, his own personal unicorn since his journey began. It mingled with the heavenly scent of sweet baked good cet >
Mareth motioned to the chair beside him graciously. "Baron, you're up early."
Les took a seat eagerly, joined immediately by his own mug courtesy of Idri. She spared him a smile and nod before she returned to her work. He savored the scent of it, the feel of the warm ceramic in his hands. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine Cadde sitting across from him.
"I seem incapable of sleeping in anymore," he finally responded, taking his first sip. It met all his expectations. "Garren's a slave runner."
"Yes, he always seemed to be a man of conviction." Mareth folded his hands on the table, "Man of honor, no less."
"Mm, not many of those around."
"Maybe not so rare as it may seem," said Mareth. "The goodness of mankind never ceases to impress me. Most people only need the chance and the reason to do positive things in the world."
"That's some light and cheerful early morning conversation if I ever heard it," Les said with a half-smile, "I'm hardly awake, Priest. Sermons always put me right out."
Mareth chuckled good-naturedly. "I was never one for long sermons myself. It's why I joined the council - sermons are rarely required of me anymore." A fleeting look of regret came and left his face at the memory of his work.
Tactfully, Les continued on as if he had not noticed. "So do you have the horses lined up?""I spoke with my associate earlier this morning. They will be able to find you something by afternoon."
"I never thought I would want a horse," Les smirked. "So much damned work."
"I'm not an animal keeper myself," Mareth admitted. "You know... I could have someone send a message for you."
"A message?"
"You have a wife, do you not?"
"I... yes, I do." Les swallowed deeply. He wanted to say so many things to Cadde, and yet the thought of sending a single letter was somehow terrifying. His words were shrouded in humor. "I'm sure she's furious with me by now. All that paperwork piling on my desk must look a mess."
Mareth did not break with his serious countenance. "I'm sure she'd be thrilled with anything you send. Just give it to me before you set out this afternoon and I will be sure she sees it before the next moon."
"It means... a lot to me."
"I know it does. I wish that I could send you back to her, but it would seem that the gods have chosen another path for you."
"Who do I pray to?" Les asked abruptly. "What do I ask for? I feel like I'm doing the right thing, but I don't know why I'm here. None of this makes any sense."
"You're Deldri, Baron Les, closer to the gods that I can ever be. Your actions will always be tied to the heart of the land. You are with your fellow Deldri, and right now the world needs all of you." Mareth reached into his pocket and drew out a small, slick blue stone which looked wet. When he set it on the table no liquid followed. "This is a stone from Lover's Reach in the Northsea Mountains. I think it is worth more to you than me."
Cautiously, Les reached out to touch the stone. It seemed to him that the stone was alive and should glow like kelspar, but it did not. He passed it between his hands, the smooth surface cool to the touch. "I'm not sure I understand."
"You will. Don't worry."
Les chewed on his inner cheek, mulling over his situation. Mareth was a well of knowledge waiting to be solicited. "Can you tell me something, Priest?"
"Whatever you like."
"How many of us are there?"
"Seven adults, including your lot." The answer was so smooth and so quick that Les was taken aback. "There were four known children before Dayle was taken from us."
"What do all of them do? Where are they?"
"The Deldri were Dayle's responsibility. I am mere historian amongst my colleagues. I do know what they do, but I could not tell you where all of them are," Mareth paused, "The older Deldri I know the best. Melina has a talent for sound. Xander is a master of plant life. Yletia, she controls water, but has been missing for some time. Elden moves objects with his mind. His location is here in Vail, that I do know."
"Here?" Les tapped a finger idly against the tabletop. "Have you contacted him?"
A carefully masked look graced Mareth's features. The Priest spoke in measured tones. "Elden is a man held together by fading force of will. Until he mends, he will not be useful to anyone, least of all himself."
Les was about to
ask about the younger Deldri when the front door opened, a clean and neat Teveres standing in its threshold. Like Les, he had abandoned his nascent beard for a smooth chin, his sandy hair washed and combed three times lighter than it was the day before. The only feature out of place was the bite-shaped bruise on the left side of his neck.
"Good morning gentlemen," Teveres said with his best velvety, refined voice.
"You look civil," Les commented.
"I do try," Teveres replied wryly.
"Sit with us, c;Siont" said Mareth. "Idri was just making some breakfast."
As Teveres sat down, Idri placed a tray of sweet buns on the table. The glistening sugar glaze looked like new snow; Les had not seen such a confection in weeks. He stole away a bun the size of his fist with haste, the combination of sugars and spices pure symphony on his tongue.
"So..." Les struggled for the right words in the presence of the priest. "Did you accomplish your goals?"
Teveres raised his eyebrows at Les, unspoken words, 'What do you think, dumbass?' in his face. "Yes." Teveres looked to Mareth, picking at his own breakfast with greater restraint than Les believed possible. "Will we be leaving today as planned?"
"The horses will be here by afternoon," said Mareth. "You and your companions are welcome to - ah, Mistress Aia. Please join us."
Aia hopped off the final step to the downstairs wearing her natural brown work clothes. Garren dropped down beside her straight away. Although it was clear that he had availed himself of the shower as well, his gruff exterior was untouched by such common magic as soap.
As Aia approached the dining table, Les took great interest in his sweet bun. Although Aia and Teveres had not done anything which could be considered strictly romantic, he knew very well that both of them were independently interested in the other. In a perfect world he would like to believe that the obvious bite mark on Teveres's neck would go unnoticed, or Aia would not be hurt by the knowledge that Teveres had found someone else to occupy his time. Even without the benefit of telepathy Les could sense the conflict coming.
Aia's footsteps stopped short of the table. Garren took a seat beside Les, digging into his meal with little regard for the tension in the room which had even taken Mareth's tongue. The lack of conversation waxed just beyond socially acceptable.
Tragedy (Forsaken Lands) Page 19