A Single Spark

by Tayvia Pierce

  “They didn’t hurt you, Rhi.” Iolyn piped up, speaking with a confidence that I didn’t share. “It wasn’t about you, it was about the money. We stood out as wealthy nobles and they took advantage.” It was the most plausible explanation and I decided that it must be the truth. My relief that they had not indulged their cruel urges on Rhian or harmed her were even greater now in knowing who had taken her, and finally the grip of panic abated and I took a long breath.

  Rhian nodded slowly, stirring her oatmeal absently. “Like I said, they hardly paid any attention to me, so I was lucky that way.” She looked up to me and murmured. “I was terrified at the time, but if I hadn’t been so scared...I would have thought it was kind of...well, boring.”

  Brynmor broke in, sounding incredulous. “Boring? Are you serious?” He barked out a laugh, scoffing. “You were in serious danger, Rhi. you were abducted by evil men who could just as easily have raped and tortured you, and you thought it was boring?” He dragged his hand down over his face with a groan. Rhian suddenly looking defensive and embarrassed, hiding her face behind a mug of tea, mumbling about how that wasn’t what she meant.

  Father just shook his head, glaring at Brynmor before adding his thoughts. “What matters is that you are home safely. Rest today, daughter, and tomorrow, we can decide our next course of action.” He rose and made his way towards his room, stopping next to Rhian to gently grip her shoulders and plant a kiss on the top of her head. “You had a long and frightening few days, Rhian. It’s alright to feel out of sorts.” His hand lifted to run over her smooth, raven locks, smiling fondly at her as she looked up to him. “Make sure she rests today, Carys.” He instructed me, though his eyes didn’t leave Rhian.

  I nodded dutifully as I responded. “I will.” I watched as Father disappeared up the stairs before looking at my sister. “Rhian, if you feel up for it, we can go for a walk.” I offered, thinking some fresh air might be nice, and a good way to try to pry further details from her without an audience of men.

  She shook her head and said simply. “No, thank you.” She finished her oatmeal and rose, smoothing out her skirts again before approaching Brynmor who now stood with his back to us, jaw clenched with annoyance. It was an annoyance I found myself sharing with Rhian’s comment about her abduction being boring. It was baffling, particularly since the rest of us had feared so much for her well-being.

  They were Azkaelomin, the little voice in my head reminded me, and I decided we hadn’t been stressed enough. What are they doing in the Badlands? I was pulled from my thoughts as Rhian and Brynmor left for a walk of their own, my eyes following them out the door and watching through the window as they strolled down the street.

  I looked down to my notebook, filled with my failing attempts to remember the words of a language I didn’t know, but wanting to find someone who could tell me what the abductors had said. Perhaps therein lay a clue...a reason for all of this. I had some knowledge of other languages, but not this one. I needed answers, and soon.

  CHAPTER 11

  I could be very persuasive when I wished to be, and my negotiating skills were in fine form over the following two weeks, bartering for supplies as best I could by trading our possessions and convincing father that pressing onward was in our best interests.

  Soruk Outpost made me nervous, and after witnessing a few brawls ending in bloodshed, we all wanted to go someplace safer. Father, while reluctant at first, agreed to our swift departure the following day after witnessing a particularly brutal disagreement between two men.

  Our wagons creaked and groaned as we passed through the front gates of the outpost, steering the horses to follow the road that would carry us west towards Lundham. The pleasant morning sun quickly turned hot as the day carried on, very little water in sight, and even less shade.

  We found relief from the blazing sun only once we passed into the borders of Lundham three days later, descending into a long, narrow gorge to come out at the base of the hills beneath tall trees that offered a leafy shield against the hot sun. The lush green grass and flowering shrubbery was a welcome change from the parched brown we had just left, and the sight of farmhouses and cottages with smoke wafting up from the chimneys was the best thing we had seen in weeks. Civilization at last. I breathed a long sigh of relief.

  The smells of rich soil and aromatic flowers mingled with the melodious sounds of birds, filling the very air with an essence so ripe you could nearly taste it. Our moods improved quickly, the change of scenery providing a change of attitude. While the trip remained monotonous, this land was greatly preferable to the one we just left.

  There was little conversation anymore, most of us too tired and bone weary to engage in idle chatter, and while the bumpy road couldn’t be helped, a part of me was beginning to grow suspicious, wondering if our driver was hitting every pothole on purpose. I looked over Father’s maps as we traveled, thinking of what lay beyond Lundham, and trying to calculate how much coin we would need to get there.

  Rhian’s patience reached its limit for this particular day and she finally let out an exasperated sigh, drawing surprised frowns from the driver and her family. “When are we going to find some place we can stay?” She whined irritably as I looked up to her from the open maps in my lap, annoyed with her whining, but not surprised by it either. I studied my adolescent sister critically for a long moment, having no answer for her question.

  This journey had felt so much longer since I realized how spoiled and childish my younger sister was. More often than I liked, I found myself biting my tongue rather hard to prevent a rude retort from passing my lips. The wind took hold of her wrap, causing Rhian to pull it more tightly around her before shooting a despondent look over her shoulder to me. I understood that look, knowing she, like the rest of us, was tired of the endless journey.

  She had recovered from her abduction well enough, the bruises healing quickly though for the remainder of our stay in Soruk, she had been remarkably quiet and agreeable. That lasted only as long as it took for the horses to break a sweat as we departed Soruk, becoming sullen and unpleasant once again. As bratty as she was being, I took pity on her and attempted to give her some reassurance. “I know the journey is long, but be patient. We will find a new home, I promise.”

  She looked doubtful and shrugged. “Or we become a traveling band of gypsies.” She retorted sarcastically before going quiet, looking away with a forlorn sigh. I rolled my eyes at her dramatics, looking back down to my book to resume my reading. I tried for an hour to lose myself in the romantic tale; it didn’t take long before I snapped it shut and dropped the novel back into my pack, bored with the mundanely dry and predictable story.

  I glanced up at Rhian who had taken one of my more amorous novels into her lap, though she was staring off into space instead of reading. There was a little flush to her cheeks and I couldn’t help but laugh softly. That brought her back to the present and her cheeks bloomed crimson as though I had just caught her fantasizing (which I had).

  Her brow creased deeply as her nose wrinkled tightly, snapping vehemently at me. “Don’t lie, Carys, I know all you think about is boys, too. Bryn told me all about how he caught you smooching them so often your lips almost fell off!” I blinked and my jaw dropped in complete shock at her outburst and the driver burst out laughing, startling the horses who lurched sideways.

  Crack!

  The front corner of our wagon dropped hard, the sudden jolt nearly sending us tumbling out of the carriage. Rhian pitched forward with a shriek while I, thankfully, had quicker reflexes. I managed to grip the side of the wagon with one hand as my hip slammed against it, reaching out to catch Rhian with my other hand only to feel the sharp pull of muscle, my quick action somehow keeping us from falling onto the road, though I knew I would feel the ramifications of this in the morning.

  I let out a groan as the pain bloomed in my hip, the weight of Rhian’s slender frame enough to strain the muscle in my arm as I held on to her. It only eased once she grabbed th
e side of the wagon to steady herself, her eyes wide from the scare as she turned to look at me.

  The world around us stilled as everyone halted and stared, our minds lingering in that surreal moment necessary for us to comprehend what just happened. All eyes turned to the road to see the remnants of the front wheel which had been pulled into a large hole as the horses sidestepped in their startlement. The overworked wood of the spokes had given way on impact, shattering into several pieces that now littered the stone road, leaving us unable to continue on.

  Father circled around from where he had been riding ahead, nudging his large steed into a trot to come check on us and the sorry state of our wagon. His deeply furrowed brow softened in seeing we were alright, but creased into a deep frown again in seeing the broken wheel littering the road. A string of curses left his lips and he scowled, asking the flustered driver who was trying very hard to recompose himself after his own tumble. “How quickly will it take to repair this?”

  Our driver, Stanveld, flushed as he carefully climbed down from his seat, circling around the horses to inspect the damage for himself. He let out a few choice expletives of his own and shook his head. “To repair this amount of damage? It will take some time, I fear. We had best make ourselves comfortable for several days, if not a full week….or longer.” He murmured that last part, already visibly cringing. “It might take some time to find the needed supplies, you see. I have some spare parts but couldn’t get the spare wood in Soruk. ” He tried to explain, breaking out into a nervous sweat. He knew that as a driver on a journey such as this, having the pieces to rebuild a wheel was vital and he had failed in his duty, though I sighed. The extra wood for wouldn’t have been high on the priority list of supplies needed.

  “Weeks?” Rhian squawked next to me, her dismay finally reaching it’s breaking point as she reacted to this news. All eyes turned to her and she blushed furiously, regretting her outburst. She leaned against me as though trying to vanish from sight as she desperately tried to justify her anger. “It's just that we have already been traveling for months and I am tired of being on the road. Isn’t there a town we can stay in somewhere?” She whined, looking at Father as though he should know these things.

  My own thoughts echoed hers, thought I didn’t admit it aloud. I was tired of life on the road, and I missed walls, a roof, and real beds. I let out a faint sigh, running my hand absently though my hair as I stared off into the distance. I could hear the others talking, though I paid little attention to what they were saying. My thoughts turned to finding a solution, but I could think of nothing that would help to hasten this repair, and according to Father’s maps, the nearest town was still almost a day away.

  I don’t know how long I stared at the strange and providential sight before it actually registered, but I broke into the conversation without a thought to the fact I was interrupting. “Father…” I gestured between the trees and into the distance. “I see chimney smoke. Lots of chimneys, in fact.” There were several threads of smoke drifting up into the air, as with the sheer number of them, there was only one thing it could be. “It’s a town.”

  Everyone turned at the same moment, the effect of it eerie with their utter silence, though their quiet swiftly turned to excited whispers at thoughts of civilization. Father barked out a laugh as he pulled out his map, looking at it quickly only to mutter in amusement. “We must have been closer to Lund than I thought.” He chuckled again at our good fortune, shaking his head as he folded up the map, squinting to the road ahead thoughtfully.

  The threads of smoke couldn’t be more than a couple of miles off, thank the gods, and the thoughts of warm beds, hot meals, and rest suddenly spurred everyone into action. Trunks and goods from our wagon were quickly divided among the other wagons, overtaxing them but we all crossed our fingers for the remaining wagons to last long enough to get us to town.

  Brynmor gently pulled Rhian onto his horse while Madox helped me onto his, and I was grateful for my trousers and boots, as the thought of trying to ride in a dress had me cringing. I could hear Derryth scolding Pedr about how she was too old to ride a horse, the young man responding by gently reminding her she was also too old to walk the distance.

  I couldn’t help but laugh softly at the scene, Madox’s head turning a little as he asked what was funny. I grinned as I told him quietly, “Derryth. Too old to ride, too old to walk, but never to old to remind you that she is too old.” He snorted softly in response before his brow furrowed thoughtfully and he asked, “How old is she, exactly? She looks….uh, well..old.” He nudged his horse forward as the wagons lurched forward, our conversation continuing as we rode.

  My thoughts turned to the past and what I knew of our elderly servant. “She was hired when Iolyn was born, was our governess while we were little, and when Rhian was old enough, Derryth became one of the House cooks. She loved to cook, and Father didn’t have the heart to end her employment with us. She had no family of her own, so we are the closest thing she would ever have.” My lips twisted into a fond smile. “She still likes to remind us she is not too old to blister our backsides, should we misbehave.”

  Madox’s laugh echoed, drawing the attentions of Brynmor and Rhian, who came to ride closer to us with expectant looks on their faces, clearly wanting in on the joke. “There’s a thought…” He murmured wearing a tiny smile. “The old Nanny putting a grown woman over her knee for a spanking.”

  Brynmor and Rhian were close enough to hear his comment and Rhian frowned at Madox. “Derryth? I have no doubt she would like to, but she wouldn’t really….would she?” Rhian’s blue eyes suddenly filled with worry and I gave my sister a grimace.

  “In my youth, I may have earned myself a rather excruciating swat to the backside with a wooden spoon when I lost my temper with her, so that being said, I wouldn’t put it past her, even at this age. She is stronger than she looks.” Rhian’s nose wrinkled in distaste at that and Brynmor and Madox both laughed.

  CHAPTER 12

  We broke through the wood’s edge to see a land of rolling hills, green grass and groves of trees, not so thick as the woods we had just been through, but the clusters provided ample shade from the warm sun. It was not the landscape that captured our attention though, it was the city of Lund, nestled peacefully into the cliff side of a hill. Even with its walls of protection, which were nothing by Taurovan standards, we could see several two and three story buildings, built from stone, timber, and plaster and topped in thatched and tiled roofs. Colorful fabric curtains filled many of the windows, and dotted through the city were large broken walls of an ancient architecture. This entire city is built on top of Velynesian ruins? The odd mingling of ancient and modern rustic gave this city a unique flair, I decided, but there was something homey and quaint about this city.

  There was a steady stream of citizens passing in and out of the city through the large wooden gate, carts laden with goods bound for the market or other neighboring towns. My curiosity got the better of me and I couldn’t resist looking over what they carried. Such simple lives these people lead,I thought, judging by the goods I could see from over Madox’s shoulder.

  Towering piles of hay, crates of fruits and vegetables, and large bolts of linens and wool filled most of the carts nearby. No silks and no ornate chests carrying exotic spices and goods from far off lands, only humble goods meant for humble folk. From what I could tell, they were all common folk, and it was bewildering to realize this place had little to no societal divisions and no affluence, at least, none that were readily apparent.

  Our caravan made its way through Lund, townsfolk and travelers alike all stopping to gawk at our entourage. Admittedly, our large group, with heavily laden wagons and our elegant attire looked much like glittering diamonds amongst dirty pebbles, and we drew far more attention than I liked. I could see them pointing, and heads moving together to discuss the wealthy new visitors, the expressions on some faces spoke of their excitement, others rolled their eyes and frowned. Whatever the personal
thoughts of the townsfolk, one thing was certain. We will be the talk of the town for months.

  I decided to ignore the pointing and gossiping of the townsfolk and looked around at the buildings and structures, trying to determine a few things about this place. Lund seemed to be an industrious city, at least, though the term ‘city’ was applied loosely. It was nothing like what we had left behind, lacking in all forms of grandeur though it seemed civilized enough. While Perinthas boasted statues of our greatest heroes along every street, chiseled by our finest masons, this town had only a fountain bearing the image of a large moose placed at its center.

  Rhian wrinkled her nose at the sight of the ugly bronze beast and muttered “That statue is stupid. These people are simpletons if their greatest hero is dumb moose.” I looked over and shushed her. “Keep such thoughts to yourself, Rhi. Maybe it’s symbolic.” I scolded her gently, earning myself a glare from her. Insulting these people was not the right way to start off our time here with them, especially if we may be stuck here for a couple of weeks. I had to agree it was dreadful, but thought...or hoped...there was at least an interesting story behind it.