Avalyne Series 02: The Easterling

by Linda Thackeray

  ‘Fear not, I shall protect you from harm,’ he said bravely and full of levity.

  ‘On the contrary, I shall protect you,’ Melia did not look up from her plate when she responded just as smoothly. ‘If they mean to harm us, I will simply have to seduce their Captain to secure our freedom.’

  Aeron threw her a sharp look and retorted tersely, ‘do not even joke about such things.’ He would die before allowing her to face such a humiliation.

  ‘Who was joking?’ She returned his gaze with a wink.

  ‘I would kill anything that attempted to take advantage of you in that way. After all, I have staked a claim upon you, if you seduce anyone it will be me.’ His blue eyes gleamed with suggestion.

  Melia actually laughed out loud, ‘only in your dreams.’

  ‘Not in yours too?’ He gasped in mock hurt. ‘I thought that you would dream nothing else.’

  ‘Perhaps in your dreams, not in mind,’ she laughed, enjoying their bantering as much as he did.

  Suddenly, the boyish smile melted from his face and his blue eyes became hard like flint. His gaze shot past her shoulder and he set down his plate so he could immediately stand, his expression one of grave concern. Melia did not know him well enough to read all his moods with any clarity but she knew like all elves, they had a good sense of danger and his face spoke volumes. She reached for her own weapon before rising up to take her place at his side.

  ‘What is it?’ She asked quietly.

  ‘Something draws near,’ he replied, arming the bow he had picked up off the ground when he stood up, arming it in readiness to fire.

  ‘Can you tell what?’ She whispered as her eyes swept the bushes framing the tree line past the shore.

  ‘I am not certain,’ he answered but she noticed that he had loaded two arrows into his bow instead of one.

  ‘I do not hear anything,’ she remarked and knew that she was talking too much.

  Aeron frowned and silenced her with a sharp look. His elven hearing could sense the approach of two, their heavy feet pressing into the soft ground as they neared. He was impressed by their ability to move so silently for the space between each footstep indicated that the enemies were large in stature and yet it required the heightened sense of the fair folk to detect their approach. He doubted that a human would have heard them until it was too late. He had a fair idea of what was coming after them because he had encountered these beasts at Astaroth.

  ‘Take this,’ he ordered as he handed to her the long dagger he wore on his back just as they began to hear branches being bent and leaves rustling nearer and nearer to them.

  ‘I have my own weapon,’ She insisted, wondering why he required her to use a dagger instead of her crossbow.

  ‘Your bolts will not penetrate their hides,’ he said hastily. The ground started to quake now. ‘This requires weapons crafted by dwarf skill,’ Aaron stated, prepared to use his sword if the arrows were not enough to put down their enemy.

  ‘What are they?’ She demanded, her heart starting to pound because they were terribly close now, enough to hear everything being said.

  He looked at her briefly and answered, ‘ogres.’

  Melia looked at him sharply but had little time to argue because the creatures chose that moment to launch themselves through the shrubbery towards the light of the campfire. She had never seen the ogres in the flesh before but knew of them and their fearsome reputations.

  Not quite as big as cave trolls, they were twice the size of normal men and craved human flesh for their meals. Their skins were scales of thick hide and they clutched their large hammers with clawed hands, Their bared large teeth capable of tearing the flesh from bone with ease. Since Balfure's falls, the few remaining creatures that had not died at Astaroth now wandered the hills aimlessly, scavenging for food where they could it.

  Aeron let both arrows fly when they showed themselves. The shafts flew true and straight through the darkness, each piercing the hide and then flesh of their targets. The ogres cried out in outrage and closed the distance between themselves and the archer. However, Aeron stood his ground despite this, continuing to fire arrow upon arrow that met their mark deadly accuracy.

  In an effort to stop the barrage, one of the ogres flung their large hammers at the Prince and only then did he move, avoiding it with effortless grace as they charged him. Melia had yet to earn their notice because she had not used her crossbows. Instead, she shrank back into the darkness, allowing them to run past her so that she could approach them from behind. Once they were past, she ran to the fire where she picked up a burning log and threw it against one, hoping to draw the beast away so that the Prince need only deal with the other.

  In hindsight, perhaps it was not the wisest plan.

  When the creature turned its yellow eyes upon her and his mouth pulled back to reveal jagged teeth, Melia wondered what in the name of Spit was she thinking, provoking a creature that she had never before in her life fought. Reminding herself quickly that this was no different and certainly less perilous than shooting bolts at a Primordial, she promptly recalled that she had almost died fighting Syphia at Sanhael.

  Unfortunately, there was little time to debate the matter because the beast was coming straight for her. He moved surprisingly fast for a creature of such bulk and when he swung his hammer, she could hear the rush of air as she ducked beneath it. The wideness of the swing unbalanced him and he stumbled a little, letting the hammer drag him when it thudded against the ground.

  Taking advantage of his lapse, Melia dropped to her knees and slashed the dagger Aeron had given her against the ogre’s shin. Even though he was wearing guards, the dwarf sword cut through the armour and met flesh. Screaming in fury, it lashed out at her suddenly, his meaty fist connecting with her chin and swatting her away like a fly.

  ‘MELIA!’ She heard Aeron’s worried cry echo distantly through her ears.

  All sound seemed to be muffled around her when she hit the dirt. However, self-preservation did not leave her disorientated for very long because she saw the approach of the hammer once again, held firmly in the grip of its master. Eyes widening, she rolled as it slammed into the dirt where she had been lying, getting to her knees and remembering that the sword was still in her hand.

  The ogre already bleeding form the wounds on his legs and from the numerous arrows in his body, bellowed once more as another struck him in back, causing him to spasm. The beast arched, his hands clawing behind him in an effort to dislodge the painful object impaled in his back.

  Aeron’s gaze touched hers and she saw the relief in his eyes that she was alive until she noticed something even more pressing.

  ‘Prince! Behind you!’ She warning in horror as the second ogre he had been fighting and was forced to abandon to save her, swung its shield against the Prince. The sound of metal made a terrible crack against bone and there and then, she knew that his ribs were broken. She saw him crumble to the ground as the ogre closed in to finish him off.

  Blind rage filled her and without thinking about she was doing until it was done, Melia flung the dagger Aeron gave her through the air, praying her aim was as good as she believed. With typical elven agility, Aeron darted from under the path of the ogre’s weapon and got to his feet. Even though she could see him favouring the right side of his body, he managed to unsheathe his sword and ready himself for a fight.

  Melia's dagger struck the ogre in the chest and distracted the foul creature long enough to allow Aeron the chance he needed to finish off the ogre. Wielding the broadsword with far more skill and ability by anyone as injured as he should have, Aeron raised the sword high and swung wide. Far sharper than any ever crafted by men or elf, the dwarf blade tore through flesh and bone, finding little resistance in the thick hide that contained them. Melia flinched as she saw the spray of dark blood.

  The ogre uttered a guttural sound of agony before he tumbled forward, landing on the ground with heavy thud as Aeron stepped out of his path. Upon collapsing, the cre
ature sent a cloud of dust up in the air while his blood created a pool of slick, darkness beneath him. Face down, against the dirt, he moved no more but the Prince was far from done.

  Melia watched as Aeron strode purposefully towards the second ogre who was still occupied with removing the arrow in his back. The Prince’s eyes were no longer blue but almost black, like the blood dripping form his sword. Melia followed him, picking up his long bow because her own crossbow would do little against the ogre’s hide. She ripped an arrow from the creature’s dead comrade and shadowed Aeron, in case he needed the help.

  She did not think he would need it.

  After their playful flirtations, it was difficult to believe that this handsome Prince was a thousand years old and had fought more battles than she could possibly imagine. In Eden Halas, he had hunted spiders and during the Shadow War, led the elves to Astaroth. As she saw the glare in his eyes as he stalked his enemy, she could well imagine him as the battle hardened warrior. Especially after he delivered the killing blow.

  The ogre’s head came away from its body, spinning in mid air before landing in the fire, trailing embers as it rolled over the charred wood and across the ground. Melia turned away from the grisly scene because no matter how much she thought she was inured to things, carnage still had the power to make her flinch. Aeron exhaled deeply after the body of the ogre fell, displacing leaves and dirt when it landed. The strength that had carried him this far faltered and he sank to his knees again, the sword falling from his hand.

  No sooner than he had sunk to his knees was Melia on the move. She hobbled towards him, not realizing until now that her hard landing had twisted her ankle badly and it ached as she tried to walk. She knew that she was probably sporting a large bruise on the side of her face but it seemed incidental to the fact that his face had contorted into a grimace of pain. Melia remembered the sound of bone breaking under the shield and knew that it was possible that he was seriously injured. His manner certainly indicated it.

  ‘You're hurt,’ she lowered herself next to him, clutching his arm to keep him from landing on his face.

  ‘Not badly,’ he lied.

  ‘Fool!’ she snapped at him. ‘You are in agony! I see can see it in that face of yours. Now move your arm and let me look.’

  Aeron reluctantly allowed her to pull open his tunic and hissed in discomfort when the cold night made contact with his sensitive skin. He knew he was not severely injured but he was in pain. The ogre’s shield was made to break bones and bearing the brunt of it had certainly earned him a few breaks. He knew he was careless in letting the creature come up behind him but at the time, all he could think about was Melia.

  All rational thought had fled his mind in the desperate attempt to save her with Aeron understanding most intimately why Arianne had crossed the Frozen Mountains to face Syphia herself. The idea of her own safety had become secondary in comparison her love for Dare and the same compulsion drove Aeron when he charged to Melia’s rescue. How could he think about his life when hers might be lost? He had lived a thousand years, long enough to experience life with its infinite possibilities. In comparison, hers had hardly begun and he could not endure the thought of it ending before it had really began.

  Or more correctly, before they had even begun.

  ‘You have broken bones,’ Melia announced unhappily as she examined his side and saw the discoloration of his pale skin. She had never seen an elf so exposed before and had to marvel at the softness of their skin to the touch. Her fingertips grazed the swelling along his side and knew he needed at least a day of rest before they could even think of resuming their journey to Tor Iolan. Even the speed elven recovery could not overcome the injury he sustained this night.

  While she should have been annoyed by this delay, Melia found that she was simply grateful that he still lived. When she had seen him battered by the ogre, the despair she felt at his possible loss stabbed at her more than she could possibly imagine. Furthermore, she knew exactly why he had allowed himself to be harmed this way. He was trying to protect her and while she did not know what to do with that yet, she did know she felt just as strongly about his life.

  ‘I will manage,’ he replied bravely.

  ‘You will manage nothing if you do not rest,’ she snapped in annoyance at his stubbornness when she lowered the tunic down once more. ‘We will now move camp a little further downstream where its safer. All this blood is going to bring wolves or something worse upon us.’

  ‘Perhaps I should have let you seduce them after all,’ he grimaced when he tried to move.

  Melia laughed softly and smiled at him warmly, taking his arm in hers to help him to his feet. ‘Perhaps you should have. You would have been better for it.’

  ‘Well never let it be said that the Prince of Eden Halas does not suffer for a lady's virtue,’ Aeron grunted as Melia helped him to his feet.

  ‘I am not a lady,’ Melia reminded as she led him toward the boat whose spine was pressed into the shale embankment. ‘I am just a watch guard.’

  ‘You are a watch guard for certain,’ Aeron agreed, wondering why she found it so necessary to hide behind the title, ‘But you are also a lady.’

  ‘Well this lady will have you remain here,’ she said firmly as she made him sit down next to the boat so that she could pack up their campsite. ‘Remain still please, while I gather our things?’

  ‘I did not know that you cared so much,’ Aeron teased, needing to regain his wounded dignity by placing them on familiar ground again. Better to flirt with her than tolerate this wholly unacceptable situation where she needed to attend to him like a little boy.

  ‘I do not care at all,’ she pretended to turn up her nose at him but a sly glance and little smile told him that she was indulging in the play as much as him. ‘I just need you to guide me to Tor Iolan so I should at least ensure that you are well enough to make the journey.’

  ‘And here I thought I was starting melting your heart,’ he winked at her though it was difficult to remain quite so charming when the pain in his side ached so much. ‘Have I not suffered enough to prove myself?’

  ‘Just stay where you are,’ she ordered with more than a hint of exasperation creeping into her voice as she walked back to the campfire. ‘I shall be back soon.’

  Aeron watched her go and found that in his pain, he tended to be wicked and called out of after her. ‘No farewell kiss?’

  Chapter Six:

  Nightmares

  Melia did not sleep well.

  This much Aeron had learned about the watch guard by the second night of their journey.

  After their encounter with the ogres, Melia rowed them further down river and upon finding a safe place to camp, moored their vessel so she could tend to his wounds. She was no healer the way Arianne was but she knew enough to relieve some of the pain he was experiencing following his battle with the foul creatures. Once she had ensured that he was comfortable for the night and he had done crowing over how much he enjoyed her fussing over him, she took some rest herself.

  He woke to the scraping friction of fabric against the ground. By there nature, elves did not require as much sleep as men. They were able to endure long periods of wakefulness but this was a practice used only when necessary and certainly not when injured. Melia insisted he sleep when they settled at their new campsite and despite offering protest, eventually Aeron succumbed to exhaustion and pain to catch of hours of complete slumber.

  The sound that brought him out of his sleep had an urgency to it that forced his unconscious immediately awake. It did not take him long to discern the cause was Melia. She was tossing restlessly under her blanket. She rolled onto her side towards him where a gleam of moonlight illuminated her face and revealed genuine fear in her expression. Whatever she was witnessing in her dreams was clearly disturbing and he debated whether or not he ought to intrude upon her slumber by rousing her from its unpleasantness.

  Fortunately, he had only a brief moment to debate this when sud
denly she sat upright with a small gasp. For a few seconds, she sat in place, panting hard as her mind came to grips with the realisation that she was free of the nightmare. It took her even longer than that to realise she was not alone and Aeron had witnessed the whole event.

  If this thing between them wasn’t so new, Aeron would have gone to her and offered his shoulder in comfort. However, they were far from that point in their relationship to make so intimate a gesture. It alarmed him to see the fear in her eyes because he could not imagine what she saw in her dreams to inspire such vivid nightmares. She was not a woman who scared easily and yet as he watched her, wide eyed and almost on the verge of tears, he wished she would confide in him so that he could help.

  ‘Melia, Are you alright?’

  Melia jumped at the sound of his voice and she stared at him as if she had forgotten he was there at all before she wiped the tears from her damp cheeks. It broke Aeron’s heart to see her tears but his inability to comfort her was not as worrying as seeing one of the strongest women he knew reduced to this state. For an instant, he saw the vulnerable woman beneath the watch guard. The one who felt things more profoundly than she would most believe.

  ‘Yes,’ she answered slowly, wishing he had not seen her so exposed and felt a flush of embarrassment at being caught in such a vulnerable state. ‘I am fine.’

  ‘You do not sound it,’ he stated genuinely concerned. ‘That must have been a terrible nightmare.’ He remarked tentatively, hoping it would lead her to tell him what was plagued her.

  ‘It is nothing that I have not dealt with before,’ she replied, her voice almost a whisper.

  ‘Do you often have such fearful dreams?’ He prodded gently though he suspected she would be reluctant to speak of them.

  ‘Of course not,’ she shrugged. ‘Everyone has nightmares. Do elves not have such dreams?’

  Aeron knew she was lying but let it pass because she had a right to her privacy. Besides despite their obvious attraction, they did not know each other long enough for her to trust him with something so personal.