I could feel the smile in his voice as he pressed a quick kiss against my temple. “I owe you.”
“You really do,” I told him, grinning. It didn’t surprise me when he let go and bounced off, heading in Vee’s direction. Hopefully he had the sense to not ambush her now, to wait until he had a chance to set the mood. I stopped that thought in its tracks and shook my head ruefully. No, this was Chi, of course he was going to act immediately.
Well, after six years of being with him, Vee should know him well enough to take things in stride. Hopefully. If nothing else, his sincerity would come across. Right?
I watched him walk straight to her, take her by the hand, and draw her away from everyone else, shoulders almost brushing the barrier. Vee leaned in, putting their heads closer together, like she normally did when Chi had something serious to say. I could tell when he got his message across, as she rocked back in surprise, a smile lighting up her face.
Chi said something else, I couldn’t catch it from this distance, hand reaching up to gently cradle her face in one hand. Vee dropped to her knees, putting them on the same level, her head for once a little shorter than his. Then she reached for him, and they came together in one of the sweetest kisses I’d ever witnessed.
“Why can’t I have a little creation magic?” I bemoaned rhetorically even as a cheesy grin took over my face. “That’s an image I want to capture.”
“I know, right?” Bannen appeared next to me, eyes nearly disappearing under the force of his smile. “Let me guess. You told Chi to stop being an idiot.”
“I phrased it nicer than that.”
“Of course you did. But you told him to stop being an idiot, and without thinking, he went straight to Vee.”
I gestured toward the new couple with an ‘as you see’ turn of the hand.
Bannen looked around and sighed, shaking his head. “He couldn’t have waited for a better setting than this? I mean, seriously, the man’s a skilled sniper. Supposedly he has a well of patience to do his job right.”
“I think he uses it all up on the job,” I opined. “I’ve never seen him particularly patient while off-duty. And if you think about it, he’s waited six years already, that’s plenty patient.”
“He waited six years because he’s an idiot, I’m not giving him that.” The words sounded harsh but Bannen had a fond smile on his face as he watched our two friends openly canoodle. Well, not canoodle, but they certainly looked cozy over there. They didn’t even care about the whistles and hoots they were getting from their fellow agents. “Although I’m a little torn if I want this relationship to work or not. Giants supposedly have lots of kids as a rule.”
My mind hiccupped on the mental picture of Chi and Vee’s children. “Hyperactive giants.”
“Right? It’s a terrifying thought.”
I shook it away and prayed that if those two did have children, they would inherit Vee’s calm. Somehow I had a feeling this relationship would last. Those two knew each other too well, were already tied to each other in so many ways, I didn’t see how they could have a falling out. If they were going to hate each other, it would have happened long before this.
Shoving aside the worrisome details, I decided to bask in the moment and smile at them a moment longer. We’d had so many close calls, so much death and destruction today, that seeing them like this eased the constriction around my heart. I felt, for a moment, like I could breathe.
Someone called out that dinner was ready, we queued up in line for some hopefully appetizing (or at least edible) stew, and I felt a pair of strong arms grab me from behind and lift me into a hug that took my toes off the ground.
“Thank you,” Vee said against the top of my head, tone so heartfelt it melted.
I grinned, even though she couldn’t see it. “You’re welcome.”
She put me down again so I could breathe but didn’t release me, arms casually hanging over my shoulders in a loose clasp. “I think for this, Chi and I should pay for part of your wedding. Maybe your dress.”
“Bannen tells me that the brides in his country actually wear two outfits on the day of, so you can buy one of them? I warn you, though, they’re custom made and not cheap.” At least to hear him tell it, and he should know, with five sisters married.
“For this, we owe you,” Chi informed me, stepping out of line enough that he could see my face. “Seriously. We’ll pay for one of the dresses.”
Considering how expensive weddings were, and how these two really did owe me a favor, I didn’t feel any need to dissuade them. “Matchmaker fee accepted.”
Vee laughed, hugged me again to her, and finally let go so I could accept a bowl of stew.
The stew turned out to be mostly edible (bland, very bland, I know Z’gher believes in spice, so what happened here?), the company around the camp more appetizing than the food. The mood stayed somber except a few brave souls that teased Chi or Vee. More than one sat next to the wounded, helping them to eat, trying to distract them from the pain of injuries. I finished dinner quickly, then gave each patient a last check, more for their sakes than mine, so they wouldn’t dream of being warped in their sleep.
No one saw the need to stay up late, and with the watches set, we all went to bed early. I kept an eye on Chi and Vee and felt happy when they laid out their bedrolls next to each other. I had a feeling they’d be holding hands at the least throughout the night and that thought made me smile.
This wasn’t the first time I’d slept on the ground, and in a way, it was better than previous times as it was flat and there weren’t pebbles or twigs trying to dig into my back and hips. But that was all I could say for it. With no distractions, I found it hard to ignore what tomorrow would be like. Especially after the events of today, wouldn’t it be worse tomorrow? We’d already spent a full day exposed to Toh’sellor’s energies, and…
I cut that thought off sharply. That was not going to help me relax and sleep. Determined, I shut my eyes, trying to catch that elusive sensation of deep slumber. To no avail, of course. Things that I had been able to shunt aside during the day made themselves more obvious now, like the strange decayed scent of the ground, and the listless way the air moved, so that the place felt stagnant. I felt like I had made my bed in a graveyard, and who would be comfortable doing that?
I tossed onto my right side, frowned when that didn’t feel the slightest bit comfortable, flopped onto my back, but that put my neck at a strange angle, then tried the left side. Nope, don’t like that position either, I couldn’t see Bannen that way. Even if he lay right next to me, I didn’t like not seeing him. Twelve inches seemed like a lot of space, alright? It was unacceptable.
Bannen had his eyes closed, face peaceful, and of course he already slept because being in enemy territory like this didn’t faze him.
I hated him just a little for that.
“Rena,” he said without opening his eyes, “settle. You’re worse than a hungry mosquito.”
My glare intensified. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t need to.
Still without opening his eyes, he lifted a corner of his blanket, rearranging his arm so that it was stretched out in a clear invitation.
Well, if he offered cuddles, that was different. I carefully rolled in next to him, keeping my body from touching the weird ground, and slipped an arm around his waist, head settling into the crook of his neck. Ahhh, much better. The heat of him pressed against me steadied my nerves like a soothing balm. “Why did I bother laying out a bedroll for me?”
“I have no idea. I figured some female logic was behind it and didn’t want to ask.”
Pondering that for a moment, I offered, “I think it’s because everyone else was doing it, so I just went along? Which is silly, you’re a much better pillow.”
“Thank you, beloved. I think.”
A voice that sounded suspiciously like Nora’s called out, “If the two love birds could settle down? The rest of us would like to sleep.”
“Which ones?” Chi cal
led back, unbearably smug. Vee openly giggled.
Bannen and I both snickered.
We broke down camp in an efficient, orderly way after breakfast. Rena looked more nervous today than she had in every day previous, so getting her to eat breakfast posed a bit of a challenge, but I managed it by making sure to offer hot chocolate with the biscuits. Vee got in on this too, and the company helped Rena to eat. She’d always had a bit of a nervous stomach, one to skip food entirely when upset, but today of all days she was going to need every ounce of energy.
Cleaned, packed, we set off again, and no one needed to consult a map to know where Toh’sellor sat. In the daylight, standing in this open valley, it stuck out like a sore thumb. We stood on the valley floor, looking up, up, up at it and for the first time I truly questioned my sanity. Or maybe my survival instincts had failed me. How by the sarding deities was Rena supposed to defeat that?
Toh’sellor thrummed in the distance, a vortex of energy and elements, as forceful and destructive as a hurricane. It even had the size of one, although not the same shape. It didn’t have a cone shape to it, instead being wider at the base and swirling up, arcs of energy mixed in with dust and every possible element. Even at this distance I could hear it, a dull roar in my ears, and I knew without asking that if we got too close to that thing, we’d be torn apart by the sheer speed of the wind alone. I couldn’t begin to estimate the distance but I knew from the planning we still had a good five or six hours of walking/fighting before we could reach it.
For Rena to get close enough to deal with that thing, she’d have to destroy the wind around it first.
The mood was somber in camp as we loaded the injured onto the Mules. I knew more than one Healer wanted to take a Mule back, to take the wounded into a proper hospital and get them seen to, but it was suicidal to even try. We couldn’t give them enough agents to make the return trip with. We just had to keep plowing forward and trust that Rena could defeat it quickly.
Everyone fell back into formation, although the teams had been rearranged first because of the wounded. We now had a medic-party with the five injured, three medics, and two mages to shield them. That left two of the teams lopsided, reduced by two, so that we had two fighting teams of five and one made of seven. One of the teams had strict orders to fall back and guard the medic team if things got bad.
With the shuffling done, people gathered in their teams, and the main barrier came down. The individual team shields snapped up at the same time, and we moved forward. Minions had gathered in the night, and while Rena quickly cleared a path for us, I knew that would be the last magic she used today unless the situation direly called for it. We wanted her as magically charged as possible, as she frankly had bigger fish to fry.
Today seemed a repeat of yesterday although thankfully without another Big Bad to deal with. We didn’t move at nearly the same speed as the close range fighters had strict orders: weapons only outside of the shield. No more dancing in and out, even if we did have personal shields on. Yesterday had proven to us that Toh’sellor’s energy could penetrate those shields and no one argued. Familiars stayed inside the shield at all times. That left the long-range combatants and the mages to do most of the work. They didn’t complain, but it effectively cut our fighting force in half. I did see two huge minions off in the distance, seemingly about the same size, but they didn’t venture any closer and we didn’t go looking for them. I, for one, would be glad to steer well clear. They’d disappear on their own when Toh’sellor was gone anyway, no sense looking for additional trouble.
Toh’sellor grew gradually larger as we moved. It became more and more of a wall of wind and debris, this enormous and destructive force directly in our path. My ears popped several times as the pressure changed, the fine hairs along my skin going straight up. The pressure of him, even at this distance, robbed the air, so it grew gradually harder to breathe.
Doggedly, we kept going, fighting through the minions, the teams rotating around so that we took turns being the trail blazer, giving each team a chance to rest a little. Toh’sellor’s presence consumed the horizon, so much so I kept my eyes averted from it, to preserve what vestiges of sanity I had left. I didn’t need to look up to know when we had gotten truly close, as the resistance became fierce. I went from having one opponent at a time to three or four, the minions so stacked up against each other that they got in each other’s way more often than not, limbs almost tangling with each other’s. If we were still employing the tactics of yesterday, we would have run the same risks of being dragged outside of the shield, they were that grabby.
“What,” Nora demanded with a disgusted tone, “is that smell? Does anyone else smell that?”
“Like rotting piss?” Chi asked, gagging. “Yes, Nora, we all smell that. Wow, and I thought this place smelled bad already.”
“I’m going to have to burn my clothes after this,” Vee said to no one in particular. “There will be no way to get the stench out.”
She was likely right.
I lashed out, killing two minions with one stroke, but it didn’t seem to matter, as three more took their place. Sweat dripped down my temples, along my back, and I could feel it creating tracks through the dust and grime on my skin. Not a comfortable sensation. “Is its guard usually this tight or do you think he noticed our intrusion and called some of the troops back in?”
“That takes a certain amount of cerebral ability we’re not sure Toh’sellor has,” Maksohm denied over the clangs of weapons and the zing of spells going off. He had to almost yell to be heard. “This might be instinctual more than anything.”
Well, maybe. Either way, we had a lot of enemies to deal with.
“Team Four has three critically injured and are falling back,” Yez reported grimly. “They request to join the Medigroup.”
“Granted,” Maksohm agreed instantly.
We were down to our group of seven and one group of five still capable of fighting. Ours odds were rapidly dwindling. “Rena, how goes it?”
“I need to be a little closer,” she admitted. “I’m not seeing enough detail at this range. Maksohm, let’s assume that I’m not going to attack Toh’sellor today. Let me clear out as many of these minions as possible. I don’t think we’ll be able to get in close enough otherwise.”
Maksohm took a good look around, a grim set to his mouth, then nodded. “Go.”
I guarded her right side fiercely, shifting to adjust our formation so the members of Team Two could protect my front and rear and I protected their flank, keeping an ear on Rena. She spoke the one she normally used on minions, quick and familiar, and half the opposition around us disappeared in the next instant. Without pause, she started the spell again, and I realized that this wouldn’t be her usual tactic of taking out what minions she had to, but instead she intended to get rid of however much she could.
She’d better not push herself. I’d kill her myself if she went into a mind down out here.
We pressed closer. The air turned static and vibrant in a strange way, like a tornado brewing all around us. The wind fell and rose in eddies, sending hair flying and loose clothing flapping. The atmosphere looked neon green at certain angles, brown in others, and the fine hairs along my skin stood rigid. I felt as prickly as a spooked cat.
Toh’sellor no longer loomed in the distance; instead it seemed to take up the entirety of our sightlines, and didn’t that just fill my heart with joy. My familiar bond started screaming at me to grab Rena and run and for once, I whole-heartedly agreed with it. Only neither of us were going to get our way today. I slammed a hand against it, beating it physically back down, even if that did leave a bruise on my own sternum.
My reaction did not go unnoticed by my teammates but they kindly didn’t say anything to me, which I appreciated. It was already a bad enough day, it didn’t need help.
“Maksohm,” Rena pointed to an area dead ahead, “see that rise dead ahead? The one with the stones.”
“Yes, what about it?”
/>
“I think we should stop there and put up a semi-permanent barrier, something like what we did for camp last night. From there, I can tackle the wind. I have to destroy the wind barrier around it first before I can see what I’m doing.”
I felt a profound relief at those words. Sitting still under an iron barrier would be taxing for the mages carrying the barrier but safer for everyone else, as we wouldn’t risk any more exposure to that sarding energy. Also, the area that Rena wanted had a slight hill to it, so even if minions tried to get at us, we still had enough vantage that Rena could see over their heads.
“Yez, pass the word,” Maksohm requested. “We’ll stop there.”
“Roger.” Yez’s voice fell to a more subdued tone as he spoke directly into his mouth piece to the other teams.
It took a small eternity to move the hundred feet toward that spot, but we finally made it. The mages in charge of our barrier lost no time in putting it up and we all more or less collapsed on the ground where we stood. Of course doing so sent dust puffing up in every direction, but I kept my mouth firmly closed, a hand over my nose to filter out the worst of it until it settled again. I did shift over to put my back to Rena’s, glad she chose to sit on a flat rock instead of keeping her feet, as I could almost feel her fatigue. I might be used to fighting multiple days in a row, but she wasn’t, and this insane trek took its toll on her. It could also have been the pressure of Toh’sellor, both psychologically and the way the wind battered us, even through the shield. I felt like we stood in some wind tunnel against a mother storm.
I pressed up against her, letting Rena lean some of her weight back on me, felt her steady breathing as she took her first proper look at Toh’sellor.
She sat still and silent for long moments. I was used to her taking the time to study something before she made any moves, so this didn’t alarm me. I sat still, tuned into every breath she made, her back flexing against mine. Then she spoke, firm, uncompromising, unhurried.
The Void Mage (The Familiar and Mage Book 2) Page 32