Earth Bound

by Avril Sabine

  Brianne stepped back into the corridor and lifted the closest lantern down from a hook before she returned to the office and shut the door. A check showed that there was no lock on the door. She eyed the two ornate candleholders sitting on each side of the door on small, carved tables, but decided to leave their candles unlit. The lantern cast enough light.

  Placing the lantern on the middle of the desk, she opened drawers, rummaging through them. There were letters addressed to Elden, the Holy Father and the Supreme One. Dread filled her. A sound brought her to her feet and around to the other side of the desk as the door swung in towards her.

  A brown robed Elder stepped into the room. “What are you doing in here?”

  Playing a hunch, Brianne slowly moved towards him as she said, “Elden told me to bring something to him. That he’d meet me here in a few minutes.”

  “Elden is asleep. Has been for at least an hour.”

  Brianne shook her head, glad for the robes that completely hid her. “He isn’t now. Oh look, here he comes.” She pointed behind him, reaching for one of the candleholders as he turned to look. Taking a deep breath she swung the candleholder, bringing it down hard on his head. He crumpled at her feet and she dragged him into the office, closing the door behind them. Staring at the door, she listened for any sounds. It was quiet. She was still safe.

  Bending down, she tugged away the hood of the Elder’s robe and stared at him. Curly brown hair, freckled skin and when she lifted an eyelid, green eyes. This man wasn’t a Caelian or a Tersten. She stripped his robe from him and tearing it, used it to bind his hands and feet and gag him. He wore trousers and a linen shirt that was embroidered in an unfamiliar pattern. His belt pouch contained several coins and a linen handkerchief. Some of the coins were familiar, ones she’d grown up using. Bunching up her robe she put the coins in her belt pouch so she could show them to Talon. Caelian coins shouldn’t be in Terst. There wasn’t a single reason for them to be here. The only personal items that squads took into battle were their weapons. They didn’t take anything else and that included money.

  Hands on her hips, she stared down at the man. She had to do something with him. If someone else came through that door they’d see him instantly. Grabbing him under the arms, she dragged him behind the desk, where he’d be hidden if someone else opened the door. At least until they came around the desk. She turned her attention back to the room. She couldn’t leave Talon outside all night.

  She leafed through several books, some of which were in a foreign language, then turned towards the trunks. They contained robes, parchments, strangely made clothes and weapons. She ran her fingers over the blunt ends of some throwing darts, unable to resist taking them and adding their leather case to her belt.

  That left only the second door to search behind, but when she tried to turn the handle, she found it was locked. Grabbing a dagger from one of the trunks, she pried at the door. A broken lock would be no more obvious than a man tied and gagged in the corner. She levered the timber surrounds and the moment she thought the dagger might snap, the surrounds gave way, prying loose from the stone wall, the door swinging open.

  Dropping the damaged dagger, Brianne grabbed the lantern and held it up at the doorway. Her eyes were drawn up and down the rows of crammed bookcases. How was she meant to find anything in here? And how much time did she have? She needed to be out before daylight.

  Checking some of the nearest books, she returned them to the shelves. Randomly pulling books from shelves, she discarded them when they were either in a foreign language or about an uninteresting subject. The further she moved into the room, the older the books became. Staring at the gilded leather book in her hands, Brianne ran a finger over the cover before she looked to the far end. Still holding the book, she strode forward, hoping she’d find the oldest ones there.

  She hesitantly reached for a book, relieved to find she was right, flicking through the pages before she grabbed another one. Some of books contained faded pages, others pages that were torn or damaged. Picking up a couple of likely books, she started to walk away when she saw a thin, small book sitting on top of the books on the bottom shelf. Reaching for it, she noticed the pages were more worn then the rest, the handwriting full of loops and swirls and at the top of the first page was a date. The book was centuries old.

  Grinning, she added the book to her small pile and headed back to the first room. She grabbed one of the strangely embroidered linen shirts from the trunk and wrapped the books in it, embroidery facing the inside of her parcel. About to leave the room, she returned, grabbed one of the books written in the foreign language in case it was one Talon recognised and a handful of letters from the desk, adding them to the bundle before stepping into the corridor.

  It was still empty and she raced along the corridor, excitement rushing through her at a successful raid. A voice rang out behind her as she was about to enter the stairwell.

  “Stop!”

  A glance showed it was another brown robed Elder. She ignored the woman’s order and ran for the stairs. The sound of feet pounded behind her as she ran past the altar and through the House. Outside a unit marched by, turning to face her as she ran into the street.

  “Stop that penitent.”

  Brianne didn’t need to look behind her to know it was the Elder. Changing directions, she raced towards the shadows, cries ringing out behind her. She had no idea where she was going, but she wasn’t about to stop and ask for directions. Then a hand reached out and dragged her into a narrow street. She struggled, about to strike out with her free hand.

  “Brianne.”

  She momentarily sagged against Talon, relief rushing through her. “I’ve got books and letters. We have to get out of here.”

  “This way.”

  Pushing her hood back out of the way, she took hold of his hand, letting him lead the way, the sounds of pursuit close on their heels. Hopefully he knew a way out because she didn’t have a clue where they were.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Talon

  Talon ran, pain tearing through his back as his wings wanted to burst free. Gripping Brianne’s hand tightly, he undid the buttons of his shirt, tearing it free to hang from the arm that dragged Brianne.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Over the wall.”

  “Are you kidding?” Brianne demanded. “You can’t fly.”

  “I did earlier.”

  Brianne tugged on his arm. “Let me go. You take the books and I’ll lead them away.”

  Talon tightened his grip. “No. Now shut up and run. We’re nearly at the wall.”

  “We’ll never make it over the top. You’re not strong enough.”

  He opened his mouth to argue as they reached the walls. There was no time for arguments. They had to get out of here. “How do we do this?” When she didn’t answer, he demanded, “Do you want to be caught?”

  “You better not kill me,” Brianne muttered before she turned her back to him, leaning against him. “Put your arms under mine, cross them over my chest and hold onto my shoulders.”

  He did as she said, pulling her against him as the sounds of men calling out and searching grew closer. “Now what?”

  “Fly. Just don’t kill me.”

  He wanted to ask how, but didn’t think that would improve her confidence in his ability to fly. He did like he had before, moving his wings as fast as possible. They rose into the air, his shirt still dangling from one arm as they shot up beside the wall.

  “Slower. You won’t be able to keep up this pace,” Brianne said.

  The wall fell below them and he reduced his speed, still rising.

  “Tilt your wings. What are you trying to do? Touch the moon?”

  “I’m trying,” he growled. His wings wouldn’t cooperate and they were beginning to ache. He faltered and instead of rising they began to fall.

  “You’ll kill us if we fall. Tilt your wings, Talon.”

  He heard the fear in her voice, but could do not
hing about it. As hard as he tried, his wings wouldn’t tilt. They continued to drop through the air, the wall coming closer.

  “I told you that you wouldn’t be able to fly. No wonder you quit the army. You probably couldn’t last a full battle.”

  Anger stirred in him. If it wasn’t for these infernal wings he’d still be in the army, she knew nothing. He beat harder and finally managed to tilt them slightly. They were above the wall.

  “Drop slowly. Put us on the wall,” Brianne ordered.

  “I can get us over it,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “I didn’t mean it. Just put us on the wall.”

  “Mean what.” His wings ached, fatigue pulled at him and he was starting to drop again. Brianne squirmed in his arms and he swore as he struggled to hold her and keep flying. “Stay still.”

  “Put us down. Please, Talon. I know you could get us over the wall, but we need to be on it. Put us down.”

  He had no idea why they needed to be on the wall, but at least she was willing to admit he could get them over it. He slowed, trying to put them down gently. The descent was a jerky, drop and rise motion.

  They were nearly on the wall when Brianne said, “Let me go. Now.”

  She twisted in his arms and he had no choice but to let her fall the last few feet. She rolled, coming up on her feet, her bundle still clutched to her chest. His landing wasn’t as graceful and he crashed into the hard stone on the top of the wall, cursing as he struggled to his feet, his wings in the way.

  He retracted his wings to make it easier to rise to his feet. Facing Brianne, he tried to read her expression in the shadows, a hint of grey in the sky warning that day was on the way. “Why do we need to be up here?”

  Brianne grinned. “Because you might be able to get us over the wall, but you wouldn’t be able to get us back in again.”

  He glared at her, his earlier concern for her replaced with annoyance. “Very funny.” Removing his shirt from his arm, he tied it around his waist. “What did you find? And what took you so long? It’ll be daylight soon and we’re stuck on top of the wall where we’ll be caught by a patrol.”

  “I had to knock out one of the Elders and tie him up.”

  “You did what? You better enjoy your life while you can because when you die you’re going to end up in the Infernal World.”

  Brianne shook her head, hiking up the skirt of her robe to reach into her belt pouch. “He wasn’t one of us.” She held out a handful of coins to him, letting her robe fall back into place. “These ones are Caelian. They were in his belt pouch.” She pointed to some of the coins.

  “How do you know he wasn’t one of us?” Talon took the coins, leaving behind the ones she said were Caelian. He tilted his hand, trying to catch enough light to see what they were. Five of the coins he’d never seen before. “Are you sure these aren’t Caelian?”

  “Absolutely. And he wasn’t like us. He had freckled skin, brown curly hair and green eyes.”

  Talon stared at her. “Are you sure? Maybe his eyes were murky brown, some of us have murky brown eyes and dark brown hair.”

  “His hair was light brown and his eyes were as green as summer grass. Do any of your people have freckled skin? Some of my people do, but not like him. Not a thousand of them scattered across his face and hands.”

  “Maybe he came from both of our people. Did you check for wings?” Talon put the coins in his belt pouch.

  “No. But-” she broke off, swearing as she stepped past him, pulling her dagger from her boot.

  Talon spun, drawing his sword from his scabbard as he did, his eyes running along the top of the wall with its raised edges blocking most of the view of what was below. Seeing nothing he looked skywards to spot a Caelian flying towards them, white wings stark against the grey light of the early morning. He stopped not far from them, remaining in the air above the wall.

  “What are you doing here?” Brianne snarled.

  “Who is he?” Talon demanded.

  “Macklyn,” Brianne said at the same time as the Caelian said, “None of your business, dirt walker.”

  “This is the one you said I could kill?” Talon asked.

  “I didn’t exactly say that. Just that I wouldn’t protect him,” Brianne said.

  “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted you.” Macklyn drew his bow, aiming an arrow at them.

  Brianne stepped in front of Talon, her dagger held by the tip of the curved blade. “I’ve always been quicker than you, Macklyn.”

  Talon stepped to the side of her. “I don’t need you to be my shield.”

  “It’s not the type of dagger you’re used to,” Macklyn said.

  “I’ve practised with it. Want to see how good I’ve gotten?”

  Talon heard a shout from below. “We’ve been spotted thanks to bird-boy.”

  “Wait until First Officer Ewyn hears of this.” Macklyn started to rise higher into the air.

  Brianne kept her dagger up. “Tell them the Supreme One is passing along information to General Barrett Morin, the Tersten leader.”

  “War Leader,” Talon corrected.

  “Lies. The Supreme One told me to guard against your words when he found out we were forced to spend time together.” Macklyn continued to keep the arrow trained on them.

  “What have you told him, Macklyn? If this mission fails it’ll be your fault.”

  “We have to get off the wall.” Talon forced his wings to snap out as he heard more shouts from below.

  “If this mission fails it’ll be no one’s fault but yours.” Macklyn turned his gaze away from Brianne and pointed his finger at Talon. “And having wings doesn’t make you less of a dirt walker.” He turned and started to fly away.

  Brianne screamed after him, “Tell them, Macklyn. Make sure you tell them.”

  Talon swore, turning to see men running towards him, the sky light enough to recognise the soldiers. He was dead. They were both dead.

  Brianne slid her knife back into her boot, dragging the robe from herself, still holding the bundle. “You have to fly us out of here.”

  He watched as the distance between them and the soldiers shrank, his heart sinking as he saw one of them was Marshall. There was no way he could fight his own people. He sheathed his sword and waited for them to reach him, his wings stretched out, claiming the truth he’d tried to hide for so long.

  Brianne grabbed his arm, shaking him. “Don’t you dare give up.”

  He met angry brown eyes, seeing patches of murky blue-green in them. “I’m sorry. I can’t fight my people.”

  “I won’t let them catch me. I’d rather die than be tortured.” She spun away from him and, before he could stop her, jumped over the edge of the several storeys high wall.

  He didn’t hesitate. He leapt after her, plummeting to the ground. He heard Marshall call his name as he grabbed hold of Brianne, his wings pumping the air as he tried to slow their descent. Both his wings and shoulders ached and he gritted his teeth as he tried to beat his wings harder. His grip on her hand slipped and she looked up at him, a plea in her eyes.

  “Don’t let go.” The plea in his voice matched the one still in her eyes. He beat his wings as hard as possible, but it didn’t seem enough. The ground came closer.

  Brianne dropped her bundle. “Let go.” She pulled away from him, the plea in her eyes becoming one of victory.

  The moment she dropped, his descent slowed. “No.” His heart leapt as she curled into a ball just before she hit the ground, rolling with the impact, coming up on her feet with a grin. The ground met him with a sharp jolt and he barely managed to remain on his feet.

  Brianne grabbed her bundle and looking above them said, “Let’s get out of here.”

  Talon looked upwards, seeing only one face watching him. Then something plummeted towards him and he jumped back. It was a belt pouch. He looked up again, but Marshall was gone.

  “Come on, Talon. Do you want to be caught?”

  Talon scooped up Marshall’s belt po
uch and ran after her.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Brianne

  Brianne raced towards the mountains, her heart still pounding from her jump. It had been the biggest gamble of her entire life, but she hadn’t had the time to argue with Talon. And he hadn’t let her down, just like she wouldn’t have let him die. She still couldn’t believe instinct had made her step between him and Macklyn up on the wall. She glanced beside her as Talon reached her side.

  “Where are we going?”

  Brianne grinned at him. “How would I know? This is your land, not mine.”

  “Don’t you ever do anything like that again or I’ll let you fall.”

  “I was dead if I stayed.”

  Talon glanced away. “Come on. This way.” He headed left towards the forest that grew in the distance.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Probably on a one way trip to the Infernal World, but we might stop off at a lake on the way.”

  “We won’t reach that forest if they decide to chase us down on horses.” She had no idea what to do if that happened. There was no handy wall she could fling herself off. Not that she ever wanted to do that again. Those moments before Talon had caught her had been the longest seconds of her life.

  “We’re not going that far. Can you run any faster?”

  “Not if we have to go too far a distance.”

  “We don’t.”

  Brianne picked up her speed, unable to keep up with Talon. She glared at his back as her legs protested and her lungs burned. She was a fighter, not a runner. What was he thinking wearing them out like this? They needed to pace themselves so they could last longer. Then he disappeared, his wings retracting a moment before he vanished, followed by a sound that could have been a splash of water. Brianne slowed, wondering what had happened to him.

  “Drop.” Talon’s voice came up from below the ground.

  Brianne stopped at a large hole, unable to see what was in the darkness. “What’s down there?”