I fell asleep, still undecided.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 15
Rizenn
“. . . KNOCK, knock, knock.” The end of a long line of pounds came into consciousness.
I squeezed my pillow, settling back to sleep.
The rhythmic knocking came again. I rolled my head over. It was still dim in the room. I yawned again, stretching up. “Coming.” My eyes narrowed when I saw Tanis leaping around on the shelves of the bookcase, but I shook it off.
When I opened the door Ikovos was standing in front of it. He didn't look morningy at all, well . . . only in an appealingly disheveled sort of way. Not like me who I knew was a laughable mess, but not like Jaden who I absolutely never caught looking sleepy.
“Morning.” He smirked. I knew he was used to my early appearance by now.
I smiled back, unreasonably wide. “Hi.”
He let out a short amused breath, then straightened. “Ah . . . did Thoran tell you we were going to Rizenn today?”
I nodded, recalling with a hand to my temple. “Um, yeah . . . he said you and Jaden were going and that he wanted me to go with you . . .” I rocked my head in realization. “Which is why you're here.”
One side of his mouth tipped up. “You got it.”
I ran a hand through my hair. I had showered the night before, but had been too tired to brush it, I'm sure it was a disaster.
“Right . . . well, it'll just take me a minute to get ready.” I yawned. “Uh, sorry—” then gestured in “—Do you . . . want to come inside, or . . . ?”
He shrugged. “Surely.”
I moved back, leaving the door open for him. “I'll try and hurry.”
“No rush,” he assured as I walked into the bathroom with a change of clothes.
I caught my face in the mirror. Eh, it isn’t so bad . . . I just need to embrace the wild look . . . though I'm not sure that the pink goes. My lips were still oddly saturated from Adzamaruha's spell. I shrugged, then rinsed my face hurrying on to getting dressed.
“How did it go with Master Thoran?” asked Ikovos from the other room.
I assumed he meant last night . . . it was a little awkward to answer like this. “Um, good. It went good.”
I tried to keep from falling over as I pulled up my dark, straight-legged, pants. They had ties on the side that left a bit of skin showing up to my hip. I wondered exactly what Sophie was thinking, but I couldn't really go out and grab a different pair.
“What did you go over?” he asked.
I threw my shirt over my head. “Ah . . . a lot of stuff actually. He wants me to keep training,” I added. My shirt was white and flowy, almost like a tank-top, only it had off the shoulder sleeves.
I ran some fingers through my hair quickly and picked up my clothes.
“Did he mention anything especially interesting?” asked Ikovos.
I opened the door amidst his question. He was tracing a finger along the edge of a book on the shelf. His eyes turned immediately to meet me, expression pensive.
“Yes,” I answered truthfully.
He seemed dissatisfied, and I think I knew what about. Still, I went over to put my clothes away without further explanation, then put together a couple things for the trip. When I turned around he was closer.
“And?” he questioned.
I almost ran into him, but regained my footing shuffling past. “And, what?” I grabbed my blanket then walked back over to my pack.
“And, what did you discuss that was especially interesting?”
This is really driving him crazy, I tied the top of my bag tightly, but if he isn’t ever going to be forthcoming with me on the subject, I’m not going to tell him what I know either. . . .
“Is there something you want to ask, Ikovos?” I flipped around as I said it. Then gave him a brave look before walking towards the door.
He grabbed my wrist, stopping me. He looked down, blue eyes striking.
I sunk. This is what happens when I try to be on top.
His gaze was intense. He looked like he would say something . . . but then he just released me, sighing and shaking his head.
“Sorry . . .”
I straightened. “No. It's fine. . . .”
He ran a hand back through his hair until he was scratching the back of his head in his usually manner, then grinned. “I'm just tired, forget that. This is going to be a fun day.”
I nodded. “Yeah . . .”
Then he walked towards the door.
I sighed. Maybe I should have just told him the truth . . . that Thoran was about as talkative about his past as he was.
I headed after Ikovos towards the door, but Tanis stopped me, leaping onto my arm. I looked down and he chirped once.
“What, do you want to come with?”
He chirped again.
I looked up to Ikovos for permission. The amused face he was giving made me realize that not everyone considers it normal to talk to animals.
“I don't care,” was all I got.
I shrugged down at Tanis. He twirled around excitedly, then leapt into my knapsack.
As we made our way to the cafeteria, we passed the high room full of sleeping boys. I hadn't been up early enough to see them like this in a while. It was still dark. When we entered the kitchen it had that chilled morning feel to it. Ikovos headed straight the pantry to pack supplies. Every sound he made echoed across the room.
I leaned uselessly back against the counter.
My arms crossed.
Then I sighed.
Coffee would be nice . . .
The percolator sat on the counter, along with the beckoning grounds. My eyes slid to the stove then back.
Nah. Evelyn, you can't do that much.
I'd only seen the coffee made fresh once. Only seen the stove lit once . . . a certain boy did it using magic and, while I’m sure there were matches around somewhere, I didn’t know another way.
Ikovos was even deeper into the closet now. With a checking glance around the room I leaned down and opened the stove door.
No wood. Darn, that would have made it easier. The spell to conjure fire away from the hand was only slightly different than the first, but supposedly significantly more difficult.
I took in a heavy breath and focused on the empty space.
Nothing.
Ikovos was still busy so I tried again.
Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate—
“Do you just want me to do it?” asked Jaden.
The shock from the voice knocked me backwards onto the floor, but that wasn't the reaction of note. As soon as I heard it, a large, violet, flame burst up in the stove. It went on for less than a second before disappearing in a sudden puff.
My eyes blinked, bewildered.
Jaden walked past me, then bent down on his feet, looking into the stove. “Well that was unexpected. . . .” He looked back, eyebrows lifted, but still seeming somehow unfazed.
I couldn't think of anything to say. I was sort of at a two-fold loss. He was wearing a tank-top . . . and I'm pretty sure he'd never worn a tank-top before. Other than that everything was the same, perfectly pieced hair, tanned skin, dark eyes . . . I knew in my head that he couldn't possible look that different than the day before, but every time I saw him it was like . . . ugh.
He lit the fire without fuss, then stood up and offered me two hands.
I grabbed them, ignoring the shiver running through my own, and balanced up straight. It took a second.
“You okay there?” he asked.
I let go. “It's early.”
He smirked at my quick release.
I shook it out, then looked around uncomfortably. It didn't work very well considering there was nothing to look at.
I turned back to him, pointing to the stove. “Was that?—”
“No,” he answered. I was going to ask if what I'd just done was normal.
“I meant when—”
“I know what you meant.”
&n
bsp; I raised a finger. “How could yo—”
“I just do.”
. . .
My jaw tightened. “What color's the—”
“Blue.”
I narrowed fiercely, he looked almost apathetically smug, then I waved a hand at him dismissively. It's five in the morning.
“You're just ridiculous,” I declared, then turned around to fix the pot on the stove. When I'd done it, taking as long as justifiably possible to fill a pan with water and pour some grounds, I turned back around, crossing my arms.
He was leaning against the counter, looking at me. I turned my eyes away quickly, then back a few times to see if he had stopped. He was still just staring.
Finally he spoke. “Did you get up just to fix Ikovos coffee?”
The other boy let out a cry from the pantry as some pans went crashing inside. “I'm okay,” he yelled.
I turned back to Jaden perplexed. “No, I'm . . .”
He lifted his eyebrows in question. It dawned on me that they hadn't told him I was coming.
“I . . . I'm going with you guys . . .”
His brow dropped. “To Rizenn?”
I nodded. “Uh-huh.”
He looked down. I tried to read the expression but couldn't, plus the whistle went off behind me, I had to turn to fix it.
“All done,” said Ikovos, walking out of the pantry with a filled pack in his hand.
I turned around smiling, relieved maybe. “Perfect timing, coffee just finished.”
He brightened, dropping the bag by the wall. “Sweet.” Then headed beside me after nodding to Jaden. “Morning.”
The dark-haired boy lifted his hand in response, then he too walked over.
“So Evelyn's coming, aye?” he asked.
I moved away from them discreetly with my cup. They were both quite unconcerned about saying things in front of people that most wouldn't. Sometimes when they started on together . . . it could get a little scary.
Ikovos nodded. “Yeah, it was Thoran's idea.” He smirked. “Should make things in town more interesting though, right.”
I finished stirring my coffee, taking a sip in time to see both turn around and look at me, eyes moving from head to toe. Their smiles dropped. Both suddenly looked less cheery, almost concerned.
“Right, interesting . . . ,” muttered Jaden.
My face went red under their gaze, this is exactly the type of brazen thing that most people wouldn’t do. I cleared my throat, setting the cup down as they each lifted theirs.
“Will we be taking the horses?” I asked awkwardly.
Ikovos moved his eyes up to my face, as if nothing was strange about the way they were talking. “We don't usually, unless we have a lot of things to pick up.” He shrugged. Jaden continued drinking. “We don't have much this trip, so we probably won't take them . . . unless you want to?” he added.
I shook my head. “Oh, no, that's fine. However you guys would normally do it.”
Above all on this trip, I didn't want to be a nuisance. This was usually probably somewhat of a break for them, a chance to have some fun . . . I'm sure I’m already putting a dent in that.
As we finished up our coffees and made our way out of the lodge, I tried to think of things I could do to make the trip better for them, or at least be less of a burden myself. To be honest, I was so grateful to be able to go that I didn't care what I was doing. Unfortunately any attempts I made at assisting backfired. First I said that I would help with the map-navigating and they both already knew the way. Then I offered to carry the extra bag and Ikovos took mine. When we stopped about an hour after dawn for breakfast, I finally got a chance, succeeding in getting them to let me make breakfast.
I unpacked the rolls and dried meat happily from the pack as the two boys sat down on some rocks. We had stopped in a small hill of flat stone that gave a view of the forest around. The boys said they always stopped here for breakfast when they went to Rizenn.
The trip had started out with that magically promising feeling in the air, and it still hadn't diminished. I let out a breath studying the pale scenery around us. The air was cool enough to see my breath.
“So what type of stuff do you guys normally do when you go to the towns?” I asked, passing the food around, then sitting down cross-legged.
Ikovos took it, then shrugged. “Depends on the town . . . It's usually picking up supplies or getting things at the lodge repaired, sending mail. Plus it's how we get news about what's going on around us.” I considered this, taking a small nibble of my roll. “Rizenn is one of the bigger towns, as you probably know, so we'll be doing a bit of everything.”
I nodded. The sky above was starting to fill with passing birds, it reminded me of Tanis, so I slipped an extra piece of meat into my bag.
I had heard of Rizenn before . . . from some of the more traveled in Tiver.
Now, I took into account that what I'd heard was from mostly women, but three things were always repeated.
One, they had more material and jewelry shops that you could hope for . . . which I didn't really understand considering I thought the four in Tiver were too many. . . .
Two, it was a riverside town that had been around a lot longer than Tiver, so it was supposedly quite large and highly populated.
And lastly, if girls from the smaller towns reached a certain age without any prospects of marriage, they would be shipped off to Rizenn for a “vacation”, assured to come back with a boy . . . or else not come back at all. I'd doubted this last one at first, until I saw it in action with both of my sisters. Granted, they had been sent well before they needed to, but with my mother marriage was a dire business.
Still . . . I never knew why it worked . . .
“Ikovos?” I asked without thinking. “Are there a lot of men in Rizenn?'
Jaden stopped chewing.
Ikovos laughed shortly. “Not especially . . .” I pursed my lips disappointedly. “Are you in need of one or something?”
Jaden's scowl deepened. I looked up stupidly. “Wha?—”
Ikovos was grinning. My eyes widened and I waved my hands.
“Oh, no. No, no, no, nothing like that.” I cleared my throat, then considered explaining . . . only now that I thought about it, it was kind of an odd subject to discuss. I just dropped it.
We talked more on the way, though not very often and never about anything of great importance. Tanis had settled into full sleep-mode in the pack. No surprise, I was sure now that he was nocturnal. The weather was nice. Fairly regular, maybe a bit more cloudy than usual.
We traveled mostly through the forest, but eventually came to a road that had large clearings running along either side. At a little past midday the town came into view, another mile or so to go. My steps bounced excitedly. It stood alone in a wide plain with a river running up beside it. From here it really didn't look that big.
I smiled. “Is there anything I should know before we get there?”
Jaden kept his gaze ahead. Ikovos answered.
“Not really. You know, just the usually city . . .” his voice trailed as I listened eagerly “. . . Tiver isn't the only place you've been, right?” He asked it carefully.
I shook my head. “No.” Heh, practically. “I've been to Kirne and Valtice , oh, and Domah once.” I looked down, eyes widening. “That place was big.”
Jaden smiled immediately, who knows why.
When I looked back at Ikovos, he seemed a bit distressed.
“Domah? You mean you've never been anywhere bigger than Domah?”
I pursed my lips. “Well . . . no. . . . But Domah's big. There's so many people there and, ugh, I got separated from my group twice. The buildings are so high you see, so—” I raised my hand up to show, but when I looked to Ikovos he was practically wincing. “Is something wrong?” I checked carefully.
He scratched the back of his head, eyes wide.
Jaden shook his head. “I told you she should have worn a robe.”
Ikovos looked like
he might agree, then tossed a hand in dismissal. “That's your answer for everything, and you're gonna freak her out saying stuff like that. It'll be fine.”
My head went back and forth between them as they spoke.
“Ikovos, the biggest town she's been to is Domah . . . and she got lost.”
I raised a finger. “Hey, that was—”
“We'll be right there, Jaden. We're not gonna let her get lost.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, well, that's the least of our problems.”
Ikovos raised a pained eyebrow.
I threw both hands up, turning around. “Guys!”
They both looked at me. We all stopped in the road.
“Will you stop talking about me like I'm not standing right here.” I ignored their dubious expressions and took a breath. “Look. I know I'm more used to a small town, but it's just a city, full of people. You make it sound like it's the most dangerous place in the world, it's only Riz—” I turned to gesture towards the city behind me “—zenn . . .”
I'd been paying so much attention to the boys that I hadn't noticed how close we'd gotten. It had to have been the largest buildings I'd ever seen. I didn't even know buildings got that high. When I'd first seen the lodge, which was about four stories, it had been the tallest building I'd ever seen. But it stood alone, surrounded by similar-sized trees. These building were even taller, some nearing ten stories, and there was nothing around to belittle their size. I could already see people crowding the entry ways from here, wagons, horses . . . and so many.
I gulped. That looked much smaller from across the field.
Chewing on my lower lip in consideration, I swung back around to Ikovos and Jaden. “Okay, so it's a bit bigger than I expected.” They were eyeing me skeptically. “It's still just a city.”
Both boys walked by me without a response, Ikovos putting a hand to my back. “Just stay close, okay?”
I nodded as we moved forward. “Okay.”
He let go. Jaden eyed us.
I guess this was going to be interesting . . .
*
“Wow,” I said, pointing to a shop to the left. “They have a whole place just for fruit.”
Jaden gave it a dubious look. “Of all the things we've passed that's the first you point out?”
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