With that he withdrew. Rekala watched me through the waves, sending her love and admiration. I chased her through the tunnels she had made and came back to myself with a jolt.
After I had relayed the conversation to Sarlice, Kestric contacted Lyth. Rekala and I stood guard over our companions. I tried hard not to be drawn into Kestric’s conversation, but the pull of the waves was strong. He conversed with a small white cat named Batamyne, relaying the answers he was getting to Sarlice. It was a much slower communication process than it had been for me, but the meaning came through clearly enough. Lyth now considered the Telbion kingdom its enemy.
Chapter Fifteen—Sting
‘The legendary Tanza!’ the cartographer cried, smirking at me.
I gave her a strange look when she said no more.
‘What’s this then? You truly want to go there?’
Sarlice leant over the green counter. ‘Yes. Can you help us find our way?’
The woman sat back. ‘Not just anybody goes into Tanza. You can walk right up to the border, but take one step forward and you encounter a barrier like lightning—even if you got through, you’d plummet to your death miles below. It’s like that all the way around. They call it a land-bite, like a giant sea serpent put its jaws up over the land, chomped down, and dragged it out to sea.’ She laughed harshly. ‘Even with rope and climbing stakes people either don’t get through or they never return… they probably die. The borders of Tanza are cursed.’
Sarlice raised an eyebrow. ‘Cursed?’ She knew about the barrier shield, of course—all Jarians and Lythians did—but it amused her to find out what other people thought of it.
The cartographer nodded and her voice became husky. ‘Most say it’s enchanted. Others say it’s the splittin’ skyearls flying up to eat you!’
‘What about the sea?’ I asked.
The lady shrugged. ‘The ocean there is stormy, treacherous and reef-ridden. Many have died trying to breach the enchantment there too.’
‘There has to be a way in,’ Sarlice said. ‘Sleffion used to live here in Telby City. Isn’t there something else you can tell us?’
The cartographer turned a shrewd eye upon my guide. She clucked her tongue and finally said, ‘Well now, that might cost you a bit extra.’
I offered her five bronze coins, which she looked at for three long breaths. She turned away to shuffle through some maps.
‘I have heard talk there is a secret road that brings you down to the lowlands, but you’ll still have the curse to deal with,’ she said darkly. She played with her hair and turned her head on one side. ‘I could tell you the way, but I don’t know that I should. You’re a fine young couple.’
Sarlice and I exchanged an amused look.
The lady went on, waxing dramatic. ‘I’d hate to see you end up as a skyearl’s iboli.’
Sarlice added a coin to the pile.
The lady sighed and examined the coins through her monocle one by one before giving in. ‘Well, they’re your lives. About four days ride southeast of Ubu there’s a chasm that leads into Tanza. It isn’t marked like that on most maps, but local legend has it there’s an entry at the end of it. You can follow the river to it. That solves your problem with the terrain, but as for the barrier, that’s a matter for you and your gods. Now, are you gonna buy these maps or not?’
The Three Storeys tavern was full of people when we got back. Sarlice threw down her packs at the entrance to our room and pushed open the door. Lira looked up with a jump. A plate of food had fallen to the floor spilling red carrots, corn and shredded chicken in a heap. The smell of olive oil, Jesathian spices and garlic was strong. A little further away was a moist piece of bread now covered in floor dust. Lira’s eyes burned at Sarlice.
‘That was expensive,’ she said.
Sarlice set her jaw. ‘It looks it. I’m glad you’re sure enough of your resources to spend it on that. Don’t have enough to buy a replacement horse I suppose… no?’
Lira glared at Sarlice and demanded, ‘What is that supposed to mean?’
Sarlice glanced at me. ‘Nothing. I’m going for a run.’
After she had gone Lira’s eyes filled with tears. I tentatively put my arms around her and helped her get to her feet. She nuzzled into me leading me to embrace her. I couldn’t help feeling protective of her—she was so delicate and vulnerable. I smelled sweet oil in her hair and concluded that her uncle Enreve had sent her some supplies.
‘When are we leaving?’ she whined.
‘Tomorrow?’ I suggested, stroking her back. ‘There are too many Zeikas here for my peace of mind.’ And too many pent-up female emotions, I thought.
Rekala refrained from sharing the thought with Kestric. She growled softly at the way Lira draped herself over me, but I didn’t mind.
We left Telby City the following afternoon, much to Lira’s relief. She was on my gelding, riding with a confidence I had not seen in the four weeks we’d been together. The horse seemed to share her mood and was jig-jogging restlessly. Rekala and Kestric scouted ahead and I was in wolf form, following Sarlice and Duria and occasionally doubling back to check further behind Lira.
One time when I was passing, my gelding suddenly flew into a gallop and whisked by Sarlice so closely that their stirrups touched. Startled, Duria charged forward after him. I ran behind for as long as I could, the air rushing through my hair and whiskers. I was back at a lope by the time Sarlice brought Duria to a dusty halt. If the horses went on like that for too long they’d be worn out before the day had even begun, but Lira didn’t seem to care. She aimed the gelding for a long, tall bank nearby that jutted up from the plains like a broken bone.
‘Trees! Not up there!’ Sarlice shouted.
I resumed my human form and bent over, still puffing. Lira galloped the horse all the way up the hill and nearly flew off over his neck when he stopped at the top. He quivered with energy and threw his head up.
‘She’s going to ruin that splittin’ horse!’ Sarlice fumed.
‘Lira,’ I called. ‘Walk him back!’
The gelding reared and pivoted. He bolted back down the bank. Lira was a blaze of white against the black of the horse’s body. She reminded me of a falling star, like the ones I used to watch in the night sky when I was young. Her freedom and beauty took my breath away despite the circumstances.
‘No!’ Sarlice shouted.
The horse ran flat tack towards us. The saddle shuddered on his sides, his mane sprayed out in all directions and he gave the final stretch all he had. It seemed like he would crash straight into us, but Lira yanked on the reins. Her legs were squeezed tight around the horse, heels down. She glanced at me as she boldy pulled up inches from Duria.
The mare reared and Sarlice held her seat. ‘Easy girl.’
Duria danced around for a few minutes before Sarlice managed to calm her. The gelding, meanwhile, was trotting on the spot and looked like he was about to take off again at any moment.
‘Get off him!’ Sarlice commanded Lira. ‘Cool him down.’
His sides were foamed and shivery. He shied at every movement and his eyes and nostrils were flared.
‘You shouldn’t have let him do that,’ Sarlice snarled.
‘Oh, why not? It’s what he was born for,’ she retorted angrily. ‘These horses have been cooped up in Telby for two days just like me.’
Lira climbed down from the horse and gave me the reins. It was done so naturally—like I was a servant—that I was reminded of my lowly station compared to hers. It was a wonder she even deigned to ride with the likes of us. We had to cut her a little bit of slack considering her lofty upbringing.
My horse tossed his head when I tried to pat him.
‘He sure was fast,’ I said to Lira. ‘I don’t think I’ve run him like that before.’ I tried to ignore Sarlice’s hiss of anger. By not rebuking the younger woman was I taking sides?
‘You should name him for it,’ Lira suggested. ‘Call him Windrunner or something. I’ve heard that
Rada name all their animals, not just their kindred. Is it true?’
‘Aye, most often. I didn’t think I had my bearings on this one yet.’
She gave me a strange look. For a moment I thought I saw disdain, but then I decided it was merely the expression of someone learning to see something from a different point of view.
‘I’ll name him Fleetfoot.’
I caught a glimpse of a heartfelt smile before I led the horse on a brisk walk.
Sarlice seemed aware of the conspiratorial nature of our exchange so she rode off without us. I didn’t want her to go, but being put in the position of being alone with Lira was somehow thrilling. Nothing from my life in Jaria had prepared me for this.
Not long ago I’d been just another hunter-gatherer spending most of my days out in the mountains. Now I had a new Rada-kin, an Anzaii-kin and a new horse. There was a beautiful young woman at my side and an adventure before me—it was possible to forget the pain of my past and the Zeikas for a time.
When we stopped to eat that night, I felt the tension building between Sarlice and Lira. My guide’s lips were taut with anger and her blue eyes seemed even darker than I remembered. Lira held her chin up, with the glow of moonlight upon her face. Sarlice brushed down Duria, set out her gear and went about her ablutions as if we weren’t there.
Lira glanced at Sarlice often, shaking her head and scowling at the older woman’s rudeness.
Looking from one to the other with apprehension I asked, ‘Who’s thirsty? Shall I collect some running water?’
Sarlice shrugged. Lira and I exchanged a tired glance and headed for the river with two water sacks. The foliage wasn’t very thick along this stretch of the river and we found a nice little bank to sit on as we washed our faces and filled up the sacks. The moons cast a ruddy light over the trickling water. Lira sipped from a wooden cup. She offered me a drink but I didn’t feel like it.
‘I’m sorry, Talon,’ she said quietly. ‘I really shouldn’t have given in to Fleetfoot like that.’
I smiled at her. ‘All is well. I’ve done the same thing a few times on other horses.’
Flooded with relief she rested her head on my shoulder.
‘You rode well enough,’ I said.
She looked up at me with hazy eyes. ‘I’m so glad I met you.’
I lowered my face to hers, looked her in the eye and bent to kiss her. Never having done this before my heart was pounding with uncertainty. She giggled and pulled away.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked, wounded.
She got to her feet, pulling me up. The water sloshed and spilled on us.
‘Come with me,’ she demanded.
Caught up in the moment I followed her across a narrow part of the stream and onto a small island. We ran through the ferns and knee-high grass for some time before finding a little glade of soft new grass. Lira pulled me to her, smiling and breathing hard. She held her palm against my chest, her touch igniting my senses. In the back of my mind I cautioned myself not to let things get out of hand, but surely one kiss wouldn’t do any harm.
‘If you want me, Talon, I must ask you to close out your little friends. It just doesn’t seem right otherwise.’
‘Trust me, I already did that,’ I responded. ‘It’s just me in here, right now.’
To prove my point, I unclasped Tiaro from my ear and slid her into my pocket. I moved closer to Lira and kissed her softly on the lips. She moaned, pressing closer. Feeling like every part of her was ready and willing, passion rose within me. Everything I’d been taught about purity in Jaria seemed secondary to my body’s immediate needs. I took hold of Lira’s groping hands, buying a few moments to think.
‘What’s wrong?’ She echoed my words from earlier.
There was a long silence. Lira looked at me.
‘Talon,’ she tried to entice me back, but I got to my feet.
Another puzzled look.
‘Why?’ she asked. ‘Is it your religion?’
I nodded, having no other way to explain it.
‘It binds you so?’
I grimaced. ‘It’s not quite like that.’
‘Then what is it like Talon? I don’t understand. Loving is good—a natural need of all people. What wrong can there be?’
I crouched down and stroked the grass, giving me a moment to think.
‘When I marry,’ I began, ‘I want to be able to give my wife something that I’ve never given anyone else.’
Her expression softened. ‘Nobody’s ever mentioned marriage to me before.’
‘I find that difficult to fathom,’ I said, staring deep into her eyes. ‘A woman of your birth and beauty. Didn’t your parents have some plans for your future?’
She turned away, staring into the trees as if they could reach out and engulf her. I felt a pang of guilt for rejecting her and reminding her of her recent loss. It seemed like I was about to miss an opportunity. I wanted to say something more, to mitigate the impact of my words, but I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t sure I knew Lira well enough yet to begin a relationship. I was interested in finding out, but not if she wasn’t willing to go at a more reasonable pace.
I stood beside her, placed my arms around her shoulders and rested my head against hers. She sighed. We stayed like that for a while, listening to the rustling insects and the noisy chatter of the stream.
‘Wait here,’ Lira said and she left me momentarily.
I continued to stare into the woods enjoying the sounds of the wilds. She returned with the wooden cup she had offered me earlier, and held it out.
‘A tribute,’ she began, ‘to future possibilities.’
I grinned and accepted it, draining the whole cup. Lira wiped a drop of moisture from my mouth and licked her lips. My groin ached. It was a real effort to hold back from her. I gazed at her face, so pale and perfect. Her black hair fell delicately around it, framing her large blue eyes and pink, full lips. I leaned in to kiss her, but before I could, a wave of dizziness overcame me and I fell to my knees. Something was stinging me. My vision blurred and went black.
When I came to I was still on the ground. Lira held her palm to my head and asked me again and again if I was well. Gradually, her face came into focus. I was breathing hard and my skin was warm and sweaty.
‘What happened?’ I asked.
‘You were stung,’ she replied. ‘You became hot and you thrashed around.’
Blood pounded through my muscles and I felt fatigued.
She held me against her lap, which was damp with spilled water. ‘Everything is fine now. Everything is good.’
I allowed her voice to soothe me. I felt satisfied somehow.
‘What was it?’ I asked.
‘It looked like a recknid,’ she replied. ‘It’s a little, round wasp with a sting that causes an enemy to black out long enough for it to escape.’
I sat up slowly, trying to clear my head. I felt a powerful need for sleep. If I’d been fighting against my desire for Lira before, the feeling was now gone, quashed by the recknid sting. Lira looked a little shaken up herself.
I ran my fingers through my hair. ‘Did I hurt you?’
‘I am well,’ she said. I caught a hint of amusement in her eyes. ‘You closed your waves a little earlier. Do you think your little friends will be looking for you?’
I contacted Rekala, Kestric and Tiaro. Their relief and anger barrelled into my mind along with several questions at once. I explained what had happened. All three of them probed my memories, except for those I kept locked away.
Kestric did not realise what was blossoming between Lira and I, but it was harder to keep that from my own kin. I was grateful that neither of them questioned me about it; they sensed my uncertainty. I was pleased with myself for resisting the temptation to lie with Lira. It was like I had passed some kind of test.
Tiaro was lying in the grass some distance away, having fallen from my pocket. She glowed slightly when I picked her up and slid her back into my earlobe.
�
�You’d better head back,’ Rekala suggested. ‘Sarlice is getting angry.’
Sarlice had grown weary of waiting for us and had already eaten. She lay in her bedsack under the bivouac watching the flames. When she saw the half-filled watersacks, she raised an eyebrow.
‘Talon had an encounter with a recknid,’ Lira explained.
Sarlice’s lips pressed together.
I sat to have a look for the spot where I’d been bitten. I still felt a little weak.
Rekala snuffed all over me, saying, ‘You smell different.’
‘Poison?’
‘Nay, you smell like her.’
Lira approached a pot of stew that was hanging over the fire. ‘Did you prepare food for us? Thank you, Sarlice. That’s just what we need.’ She filled a bowl for each of us.
Saying nothing, Sarlice turned over and went to sleep.
After we’d eaten, Lira encouraged me to lie down while she cleaned the dishes. Feeling exhausted I pulled off my rumpled shirt, crawled onto my bedsack and stretched out. It was too hot to get inside it. Rekala lay at my feet, watching Lira and thinking deeply.
A sinking feeling crept into my belly and I put it down to the poison of the recknid. Soon after closing my eyes I fell asleep.
Chapter Sixteen—Animal Instinct
In the early hours of the morning, a sense of warning splashed through the waves and a terrible howl woke the night.
‘Rada, there is danger!’ Rekala cried as she raced away from a pack of slavering wolf-like creatures at least three times the size of ordinary dogs.
They pursued her with demonic speed.
Sarlice leapt to her feet, warbow in hand. Before she could draw, an arrow struck her upper body, the force of the blow knocking her to her knees. Her shout of alarm roused Lira, and the girl awoke in a panic, staring around half-asleep, not sure what to do. Sarlice screamed in pain and Kestric’s response on the waves was deafening, like a tidal wave of snarling.
‘Help her,’ I yelled at Lira. ‘Help Sarlice.’
I fumbled the bedsack off and stumbled to my feet. Tiaro was praying through the waves, trying without success to banish the demons inside the beasts that pursued Rekala in the distance. Without physical contact her efforts barely slowed the demons.
Talon (The Astor Chronicles Book 1) Page 24