Tragedy (Forsaken Lands)

by Cooper, Sydney M.

  She looked not at his eyes, but his neck. Her cheeks were red. "Ah - good morning, Teveres, Les... Priest."

  Teveres's look sharpened just an inch. He casually indicated the seat next to him. "Idri made an excellent meal for us."

  "I'm sure she did." Aia's words were drained of emotion.

  Les cleared his throat, "We're leaving this afternoon-"

  "I'm sorry, Mareth, Idri," Aia politely acknowledged the housemistress who was blissfully ignorant, scrubbing her pans in the sink. "I... have some potions to make at the clinic. I mean no offense."

  Garren looked to Les, his eyes demanding answers. Les shook his head subtly.

  "Wait-" Teveres called after her as she hurried to the door, taking a few steps towards her. "There's no reason to rush. We have time."

  Les suspected that words were secretly exchanged between the cd b&qum judging by the way Aia's purple eyes became shards of lilac ice. Two seconds later, she spoke with tightly reined words; "I'll be back shortly."

  The way she turned heel and walked out the door was strangely reminiscent of Veni when she left them outside Torvid's Rest. Les let out a long breath when the door slammed shut behind her. Teveres shook his head forcefully, settling back at the table with muscles so tight that his shoulders were visibly closer to his ears. Les could only hope that Aia would work out her angst well before they set out for Nivenea. If not, he might just have to gouge out his own eyes.

  Les was impressed when Teveres managed a genuine-looking smile. "Well, Mareth, tell me more about what I've missed in the clergy since I left Ilvan. Sheyna, is she still in Feya?"

  A shadow cast over the priest's face. Idri paused what she was doing to look over at him, a grave look reflected in her features as well. "You've not heard."

  "Heard what?" Teveres asked.

  "There was a quake," Mareth said softly, looking to Les for his reaction. "It is... easier to count survivors than those lost."

  Les closed his eyes, bracing himself for the stiff punch of nausea in the center of his gut. He had several friends in the government in Feya.

  "There were close to thirty thousand people in Feya," he rasped. "Gods be cursed to the seas-"

  "I wouldn't." Mareth snapped. When Les opened his eyes even Garren was leaned over the table in concern. "It might be that the gods are the only ones holding on to the souls that remain."

  "Huh," Garren grumbled. "Gods who drown children in the oceans, you pray to those gods? I do not."

  "They're not your gods," Mareth replied with the quirk of an eyebrow.

  Teveres swallowed, his complexion ashen. He sipped his coffee hesitantly, a barely-steady grip on his frayed nerves. "Did Sheyna-"

  "Oh, no," Mareth said quickly, "She was called to the University a week earlier. She thrives in Nivenea."

  Les did not listen to the rest of the conversation. He was covered in goosebumps thinking of all those people - innocent, well-meaning people - and those that he might know among the dead. The priests said that Elseth's Lands were chosen once, a nation of plenty with good weather and hardy crops. He wished he had been born in any other time.

  * * *

  Aia took off down Vail's streets at a brisk pace. Her bag, heavy with the concoctions she had made and collected across their travels, clinked with every stride. The sound provided a calming background noise amidst the otherwise quiet surroundings.

  Teveres was stupid. He spent the night with some random person - somewhere - out by himself when they had work to do. It was pure selfishness. He should have been resting like everyone else, should have stayed back in the guest house out of trouble, or at least should have actually gone to find Elden (unless it was Elden that he found, gods be merciful). She wanted all of those rational, practical reasons to be the source of the fury in her heart.

  She knew damn well that practical interests were not the ones which set her cheeks ablaze and pricked her eyes with tears. It was a blow to her ego that her emotional self might secretly believe in the myth of love. Love was the lie told to children to convince them that they might never have to be alone. Aia knew better. Even if love were to exist, it would be quite impossible to find it in her situation. Teveres was a killer whose shortsighted decisions endangered the lives of thousands, a man she had known less than a full month. If something happened and they began some semblance of a relationship, it would only confound matters. They were fighting not just for their lives, but the lives of an entire world. They were about to take on an enormous and probably foolhardy task...

  ...and yet something about him made her want to know more. She wanted to explore the side of himself he kept hidden - the kindness which drove him insane with guilt. She wanted to know the man whose whispered thoughts in her mind kept her clinging to life in her darkest hours.

  The very existence of such desires enraged her.

  She lost track of the houses that passed her by. She did have some potions she wanted to make before they left, but she forgot if she had taken the right turn at the blue farmhouse - had she already passed the bar in the center of town? She didn't care. Walking felt good.

  As she turned down another vacant street, she felt a ripple in the energy behind her. Mindfulness had been cast to the wind when she left Mareth's house, leaving her vulnerable. She picked up on the thoughts of three separate people - one female, two male - following her at a healthy distance. She slowed her pace just slightly, taking a right down one of the dirt alleyways between the shack-like houses comprising the inner section of Vail.

  Tailing the telepath was a bad idea. We should have waited for the light bearer...

  She's so pretty, I hope we don't have to kill her...

  She better not struggle...

  Piecing together their scattered phrases, she came up with their identities. She was being trailed by Followers of Shelm.

  Though there were no people on the streets, she felt a familiar presence from one of the houses ahead. The sleeping consciousness sounded like Elden. From her brief encounter with him she strongly suspected that he was no stranger to killing - she only hoped that he would do so on her behalf.

  She quickened her pace heading towards the back door of the small house. She noted the steep drop-off between the dirt alleyway and the base of the houses, the banks laden with stickergrass. She pulled a dagger from her hip, clutching it tightly at her side. Teveres had been drilling h cen ve to ker on knife technique since they left Torvid's Rest. She had not been in a real scuffle yet, but she was hopeful that her newly acquired skills and the poison she laced on the edge of her blade would keep her alive. Maybe.

  The rough sounds of footsteps striking on dirt and gravel came closer. She glanced over her shoulder to size up her opponents. They were spaced arms' width apart, all of them wearing dark clothing. The man to her left was young with Teveres's lean build, scraggly black hair in long dreadlocks with pale skin and a knife in hand. The woman was of average height and build, perhaps Garren's age, brassy brown hair cut short and a sword at her side. The man to the right was in his 40's with dark skin and a physique which challenged Garren for size. He didn't carry any kind of weapon, but he didn't need one.

  When they saw her looking at them, the three sprinted towards her. She hurriedly tossed her bag presumably at Elden's back door, at least one of her potions shattering at the impact. She was six feet short of being able to pound on the door with no time to make it there.

  Not good.

  "Hey, hey," the woman said, holding up one hand peaceably. "We just want to talk."

  "That's what the sword is for, right?" Aia wanted to turn to run, but she already knew that they were faster than her. Turning her back only made her a target. She stood her ground.

  "Just a precaution."

  They were almost within her reach. She lunged, catching the large dark man on the shoulder. If her poison was only going to work for one stroke, it may as well take out her biggest threat.

  Her offense ignited the fight. The large man cried out and turne
d a hand to grab her wrist; instead Aia ducked between him and the woman, intending to sprint in the opposite direction. The woman's sword licked along her ribs, a scathing blow. Aia shouted and spun away, hitting her back against one of the houses, hissing between clenched teeth.

  Three on one - not her kind of odds. Much as she wanted to tear his throat out, she wished Teveres would make an appearance. There was much to be said for traveling with an unstoppable killing force.

  The large man was enraged, though she was satisfied to see that his pupils were dilated to twice their size as he lumbered towards her drunkenly. The poison had taken. Jittery with adrenaline, she shoved off from the wall, dodged the woman's sword and was nearly run through with Dreadlock's dagger. She met the blade with her own, bouncing his force off of her own in a spiral the same way Teveres taught her. This apparently caught Dreadlock off-guard - his eyes widened and he hesitated long enough for her to make a deep cut along his forearm. He swore, immediately grabbing at the wound as the blood gushed onto the earth.

  Shit. Wild energy to her right, the woman was making a wide-arched strike towards her neck. Instinctively Aia threw herself to the ground in an over-the-shoulder roll. The sword clanged as it hit the ground with a force that would have taken her head off. At that moment the large man dropped, overtaken by the poison.

  One down. Aia panted to catch her breath. She could no longer hear her heart beating in her ears; a numb ringing replaced all sounds. Her odds were improving, but she didn't know how long she could use the confuse-then-dodge technique.

  Feeling cornered, she reached out to Elden's mind, effectively shouting, Elden - back door - NOW.

  Too soon, Dreadlocks kicked her in the chest, knocking the breath from her lungs. She sprawled spread-eagle, Dreadlocks man on top of her with his dagger on her neck. Her throat clenched in fear. Up close his eyes were almost black, intense with a shot of crazy. She could have stabbed him with her dagger hand, but she was relatively certain that any sudden movements would move his hand an extra inch, tearing open her carotid artery which would leave her unconscious in seconds, dead in under 2 minutes. She wished she knew less about the fragile nature of the human body. Her thoughts did not comfort her.

  A door opened.

  "Reyd's flaming tits," Elden's voice came from beyond Aia's view. Dreadlocks turned to look.

  A burst of energy slapped Aia across the face, a string of vibration so deep and so strong that it took physical form. The brunt of the force caused her to skid several inches across the ground, rubbing a painful friction burn across her shoulders. Dreadlocks and the woman attacker went flying to the other side of the alley, smashing into the houses down the street with the audible crack of bones. She felt the jolt of their lives meeting their end. Aia stared at her attackers, dumbfounded and aching.

  Elden called her attention with a frustrated noise. He wore only a pair of baggy olive-colored pants, his thin chest bare and his hair a mess. He squinted the way one squints just after waking up.

  "Thank you," said Aia, slowly pushing herself into a sitting position.

  He approached her with an outstretched hand. "Who are you, Miss Delia?"

  His remarkable blue-green eyes scrutinized her closely. In his mind, she heard ...and she isn't even surprised.

  She gripped her wounded side as she rose, forcing a smile of a thanks. "A friend, apparently." For emphasis, she projected the rest of her message; You don't have to be afraid. I won't reveal your abilities to anyone.

  He abruptly let go over her hand and crossed his arms. Where she expected to find abject confusion, he showed only mild curiosity.

  "Huh." His eyes indicated the woman and Dreadlocks. "And them?"

  "That's... complicated. I think. I'm not completely sure who they are, but I have some ideas."

  Teveres jogged around the corner linking the alleyway to the street. His entire body sagged with relief when he saw Aia standing amongst defeated opponents. He hesitated, staring at her. Elden raised his hand, and a c haa smisurge of energy followed.

  "No, wait!" She grabbed Elden's arm, "He's with me, not them."

  "Does he have a name?" Elden deadpanned.

  "Teveres." She motioned Teveres closer.

  Teveres took a quick inventory of the fallen assailants, stepping around them delicately. He gave Elden an approving tilt of the head.

  "You must be Elden." He extended a hand, "This is your work?"

  Elden sniggered, loosely gripping Teveres's hand out of obligation. "Work? I don't even know who the hell you are, prince."

  "I'm late, it seems," he looked at Aia sharply. "You're hurt."

  "Flesh wound. And it's not all his work. The big one was mine," she snapped back. "Why are you here, anyway? How did you know?"

  He merely raised an eyebrow.

  "Well, good night everyone," Elden interrupted their exchange, turning to walk back to his home.

  Teveres took two swift strides and tapped Elden forcefully on the shoulder. "We're not done."

  "Oh, we aren't?" Elden whirled around, one hand outstretched. He knocked Teveres onto his back without a touch. Teveres yelped, his divinity flaring and simmering under tight control known only to Aia. Elden, unaware of how close he just came to death, continued speaking. "Because I was. Mind-talker here is fine, and you're here now. I don't even want to know what this is. If anyone asks, I wasn't here. I'm going back to sleep."

  There was arrogance, somehow, in the smile that Teveres wore. He methodically rose, standing toe-to-toe with Elden. His forest-and-sunlight eyes surveyed Elden competitively.

  "Why did you help me if you didn't want to get involved?" Aia asked to distract them from their private contest.

  Elden softened just slightly at the sound of her voice. "It was very loud." He shrugged. "Now it's quiet."

  "I doubt it's going to stay that way. We could go inside and sit down, explain what's going on."

  As they were talking, Teveres made his way to the corpses, picking through their pockets for items of use. He very deliberately did not turn his back to Elden, keeping the third Deldri squarely in his line of sight.

  "Explain it to me now," Elden countered.

  "It's a very long story." His blank expression prodded her to continue. "We're like you."

  "Like me?"

  nt dth="2em" align="justify">"You can do things that other people can't. So can we."

  "If you can do what I can do, then why did you need my help?"

  "Well... we're all different. I've never seen anyone else do what you do."

  Elden considered her quietly, shifting his weight to one side. "That doesn't tell me why there are three dead people behind my house."

  "It..." she sighed, frustrated, "There are a lot of things going on in the world. People who are after us."

  "And that would be why I keep to my goddamn self."

  Aia watched from the corner of her eye as Teveres drew a long, blue bar of kelspar with a silver casing from one of her attacker's bags. The bar he held was communicating kelspar, used to speak across large distances. Only clergy were allowed access to that particular flavor of the crystal, and only they could use it. There was no price high enough for something so rare. No doubt they had stolen it from one of the high priests killed in recent months.

  "Can you use that?" she blurted.

  Teveres replied with glare and a snort of disdain, swiftly pocketing the crystal. He addressed Elden.

  "For what it's worth, you might reconsider staying here. If they know that we're here, they might be looking for you, too." Teveres continued on to the last corpse, the woman in the group.

  "Still don't know who 'they' are, still not interested," said Elden.

  "They're the Followers of Shelm," Aia said, her voice lowered. "They could kill you if they come looking again. They're dangerous."

  With a quick check of the surroundings for onlookers, Elden lifted a hand, and with it Aia's dagger. It floated in the air between them, blood shining on the sharpened edges. As
he moved his fingers the weapon turned over weightlessly. When he stretched his palm open it shot into his hand in a blur. He held it out to her calmly.

  "If I was easy to kill I'd be dead already, sweetheart."

  Aia frowned, snatching the dagger away from him. "I've had about enough of men today."

  "You're welcome for saving your life, by the way," Elden replied hotly, "Forgive me if I'm not interested in doing this more often."

  A change in Teveres's energy tugged at Aia's senses. He was knelt down to the ground, something small planted in his hand which she could not make out.

  What is it? She thought to him.

  The object disappeared into his backpack, his expression cool. He did c coim.

  "Do you recommend leaving these here?" Teveres asked Elden.

  Elden waved off the comment. "Just get out of here. Nobody asks questions on this street anyway."

  "Great. We should go get the others. We need to depart Vail immediately."

  Teveres turned to leave, and Elden headed towards his home. Aia stood between them.

  "This is all wrong," she said. "Why would the fates bring us together if we're not supposed to go together?"

  Both men paused before speaking over each other. "There's no such thing as fate."

  Elden and Teveres shared mutual glares.

  "My real name is Aiasjia," Aia told Elden quickly. "We're going to Nivenea, in case you change your mind."

  "I won't." Under his words, Aia heard his thoughts; Maybe I really am a cowardly prick. Father was right after all.

  When Elden entered the house, she heard the slide of lock. His decision was final.

  Chapter 13

  My dearest Cadde,

  I write to let you know that I still survive. I pray to the gods every night that you are well, and cared for, and see many pleasant days. I wish that circumstances might be different and that I could return home to you now, but sadly that is not possible. You may have heard of the changes in Nivenea, and so things have changed for me as well. There is much work to be done where I am. I do not know my purpose in the great plan, but I trust that the gods will keep you safe while I am here. They have kept me from harm so far. Even while I enjoy the company of companions, it is lonely in the world without you. Perhaps when I return you shall meet my new friends - there is one in particular you might find quite agreeable.