Gella felt a tiny prick on her arm. “What do you–” she started to say, but the nurse ignored her and stared at her, a soft smile on her lips.
“Ten…” the woman said, pausing briefly. “Nine…”
Gella found the situation disorienting, especially since her gaze travelled through the woman’s head and onto the ceiling. “Eight…” a voice said somewhere far away, and the room started to spin around her. Blackness swallowed her before the next number had been uttered.
When she came to, she was lying on the same gurney. Memories crawled back after a moment and she cringed. How long was I sleeping? It could have been days, even weeks for all she knew. She gaped at her chest with wonder: not a sign of the wound remained. Amazed, she raised her fingers to her face and touched it; the swelling had gone.
“Hello?” she said and jumped to her feet. A wave of nausea hit her, and she had to lean back until the room stopped spinning around her. “Are you still here?” she whispered, but no reply came. Both the woman and Parad had disappeared, leaving her with an empty feeling inside, a ravenous need to be whole again. Is this what David went through when he lost the Voice?
She studied the empty room, flirting with the idea of going through the various closets and cabinets for anything useful among the unfamiliar items, but the lack of an exit worried her, making her want to get out of that creepy place as soon as possible. Spotting a white coat hanging on the wall, she climbed off the gurney and took it. The soft fabric looked flimsy, unlike the thick wool she preferred. Still, it was better than walking around the forest almost naked, so she put it on, thinking it too big for her. She pressed the rough edges together, trying to find something to tie around her waist in order to keep it closed, then the coat startled her by coming alive for a second, expanding and contracting until it fit her body like a warm embrace. A surprised cry shot though her lips. For a moment she considered tearing it off her, but reminded herself she had nothing else to wear.
“Now, which way out?” she muttered to herself, taking one uncertain step towards the solid wall through which she had entered. A faint whoosh sounded when she approached it, an unexpected opening appearing on its spotless surface. A sudden sense of panic engulfed her and she raced outside, forgetting any thoughts of searching the room. The door behind her closed softly, and the branches covered the entrance once more. The fragrant smell of pines and wet leaves filled her lungs while she hesitated, finding her bearings, then she rushed into the forest, not daring to look back.
The easiest thing to do would be to backtrack in search of the river once again. Although her mind told her to do so, her feet refused to take her back to where her blood seeped through the soil. Nausea hit her at the memory, and she pushed ahead until she happened across a narrow trail that wound through the forest. She followed it to where it widened into a well-trodden path. Once there, she debated whether to walk it openly or not, deciding in the end to follow it from the sides. It would slow her down, but would help her avoid any unwanted attention.
The sun was low on the horizon when she heard a cart approach. She pricked her face as she lunged into a bush, her heart thudding with alarm.
From afar, a woman laughed. As the trot of hooves and the creaking of wooden wheels came closer, she dared to steal a peek at the road. A weathered cart approached her, a middle-aged couple guiding it. The man wore a naughty expression on his wrinkled face as he whispered something to the woman, who burst into laughter.
Gella shot worried looks in both directions to make sure no one was following them, then jumped in front of the cart.
“Oww,” the man commanded the horse and pulled the reins. The horse trotted to a gentle stop and lowered its head, welcoming the respite. “What have we here?” he continued, eyeing Gella with curiosity.
“I got lost in the woods. Could you help?”
The kind-faced woman motioned her to jump up and patted her down. “Let me have a look at you,” she mumbled as she fussed over her. “Such a pretty young thing, what business do you have in these awful woods? Don’t you know there are wolves and heavens knows what else?” Satisfied that Gella was in good condition, she waved the man to continue. “And what on earth are you wearing, deary?” she asked, rubbing Gella’s sleeve to feel the strange material under her fingers. She gasped as her fingers traced the Pearseus emblem embossed on the neck. “Is this…?”
Her husband stole a look where his wife’s fingers lay, and his jaw slackened. “Is it real?”
“It looks that way,” she said, wonder filling her voice.
Gella wished she still had her dagger with her. She pried the cloth back from the woman, silently cursing herself for walking around with what had to be worth a small fortune wrapped around her body. “I’ll be happy to exchange it for a meal and a roof,” she mumbled. Her hand rubbed her waist, where the sheath should be. She felt naked without a weapon. Still, her gut told her the couple were no thieves.
“I haven’t seen anything like it in years,” the man said, his voice thick with wonder. “Only once, in the Capital. It’s fit for the prince, not us hickeys!”
The woman had noticed Gella’s discomfort and motioned him to stop. “Didn’t mean to pry, deary,” she said apologetically.
The man either hadn’t noticed his wife’s gesture, or had decided to ignore it. “Where did you get it?” he continued, gawking at her.
“A First sold it to me, for my dagger” Gella lied. “I had no idea it was so pricey.”
“Those savages wouldn’t know a treasure if it bit ‘em in the arse,” he scoffed. “He didn’t say where he got it, though, did he?” Hope – and a hint of greed – filled his voice.
“Sorry, no,” she said and pursed her lips.
He shook his head. “Ah, it was too much to hope for, anyway. Stupid Apes. Legend has it the woods are crawling with debris from Pearseus, but I never find anything, that’s for sure.”
“That’s enough,” the wife scolded him. “You’re scaring the poor girl.”
He seemed genuinely surprised by this. “I am? Why?”
“She probably thinks we’re thieves.”
His eyes popped, then he burst into a hearty laugh. “Thieves? Us?” He smacked his hand on his chest. “We’re innkeepers, at Georgetown. The Pickled Herring, you ever heard of that?”
Gella’s shoulders rose to show her ignorance. Georgetown? She tried to remember the area. Georgetown was one of the many human hamlets that dotted the Marshes.
The man pursed his lips to one side in disappointment, then a grin showed on his face. “Well, this is your chance to enjoy it. You’ll see, no other place like it in the Marshes.”
“I have no money –” Gella started.
“If you’re willing to part with what you’re wearing, you’d have enough for a house,” the woman said and pinched Gella’s cheek. “Anyway, keep your money. You look like you’ve been through a lot. We’ll be happy to have you stay with us, won’t we dear?”
“Of course!” The man winked at Gella. “I’m sorry, where are my manners? This is Daphne and I’m Alex.”
Gella smiled weakly. “Well met. I’m…” she paused for a second. “Carla.” They beamed warm smiles at her. “Where are you going?”
“Back to Georgetown,” the woman replied. “We went to visit our daughter and are heading back home. She’s so lucky; she wed this fine boy – a neighbour’s son – not three years ago, and now they already have two kids of…”
Gella nodded politely, Daphne’s sweet chatter fading away. Malekshei was a couple of weeks away from Georgetown; if she could find a horse and provisions, she could head there to meet David. If Daphne was right about her dress, then she’d just found a way to buy everything she might need. Exhausted, she leaned her back against the hard wood and shut her eyes. Just for a minute.
“The poor thing’s knackered,” Daphne murmured as she covered her with a woollen blanket. “How did she end up in the woods, anyway?”
Gella had already drifted
into a dreamless sleep before Daphne had even finished her sentence.
April 307 AL
Ephia
Satori
“Eat,” the gruff guard ordered her as he plonked a tray on the short table next to her bed.
She faced the wall in silent protest, and he shrugged indifferently. “Or don’t,” he muttered as he spun around. When he bolted the door, she stole a look at the dish. In truth, she was hungry, but the devastation she saw whenever she stared at the remains of the once vibrant city turned her stomach. She cursed Teo Altman and his hellish contraption for the hundredth time, vowing once again to skin him alive someday, then leaned back on the bed to let out a deep sigh. Her chance might be a long way coming. For now, she was his prisoner.
She swivelled her bare feet onto the wooden floor and pattered to the window. The rain had smothered the fires that had gutted Ephia, leaving but a handful of buildings intact. One was this former villa, in the far end of the city. Its owners missing or killed, Teo had imprisoned her here with strict orders that she be taken good care of. A kind, elderly woman had nursed her back to health, taking care of two cracked ribs, a broken clavicle and her concussion.
During the first weeks she had been in constant pain, numbed up to a point by the stinking brews prepared by her nurse. Still, she had to admire the healer’s skills with setting her broken bones, much as her culinary ones sucked. She could now move freely again, her broken bones setting nicely. Even the headaches and never-ending nausea had passed, leaving her rested and healed. And imprisoned, she reminded herself as she stared wistfully outside.
In the two months since Ephia’s fall, the citizens had buried their dead and started clearing the debris as best as they could. Some had argued in favour of leaving the city, as indeed many had. The remaining survivors were struggling to rebuild their lives in the ruins. It will take them years to stand back on their feet. It’s my fault; I promised to help, but I failed them.
A scuffle outside her thick door interrupted her dark thoughts, then someone flung the door open and a dishevelled older soldier grinned at her. Her eyes popped open at the familiar sight. “Marshal!” she cried out and flew into his welcoming arms.
“My girl, we were so worried,” he beamed. “Are you hurt?”
He looked like a worrying hen, she thought and chuckled as he patted her down. “I’m fine,” she assured him. “How did you find me?”
The marshal patted his nose, giving her a knowing grin. “I have my ways.”
She let out a melodic laugh. “And the guards?”
“Taken care of. But more will come. How about we leave?”
Her breath caught at the thought of freedom. “Where to?”
“To see your father, of course. He’s been worried sick.”
A wave of exhilaration hit her and she hugged him briefly, then dashed out of the room, pausing only to grab a pair of scuffed boots.
Georgetown
Gella
When the satchel hit the table, the loud thump and the clinging of coins could be heard throughout the inn. Good thing we’re alone, Gella thought, stealing nervous glances around them.
“It’s done,” Alex said, his face beaming with joy. “The bastard tried to rip me off at first, but I told him, ‘I know how much this is worth, you miserable sack of bones.’ He almost wet his pants, he did.” He burst into the easy laughter that Gella had come to appreciate.
She opened the satchel to look inside. Gleaming gold greeted her eye. Alex had been right; there was enough coin here to buy a house or two. She took out a handful of coins and placed it into his big hand, looking him in the eye. “Thank you,” she said, her voice filled with gratitude.
He seemed embarrassed, but did not try to deny the money. “Ah, it was nothing. I still don’t know why you didn’t do it yourself, though.”
I was worried Teo’s already alerted the garrison to my description. Not wanting to attract attention to herself, she had asked Daphne to tell everyone in the village that a First had sold her and Alex the Pearseus uniform for a pittance, on their way back to Georgetown. It was not the first time such a transaction had occurred, and Daphne had basked in the envy of the villagers for her good fortune. Gella had placed an enormous amount of trust on the elderly couple, but her instincts had proven correct. Still, how could she explain to them that she was a general and a fugitive? “Everyone knows you here,” was all she said. “You were bound to get a better deal.”
He gave her a funny look, but did not question her. “True enough,” he said, rubbing the coins with excited fingers for a moment, before pocketing them. “So, what’s next for you?”
“Buy a horse and provisions, then leave,” Gella said and slurped another spoonful of the hot soup.
Alex gave her a satisfied look from across the table. “I can get you a good deal on a horse, too.” He patted his nose. “A good nose for business I’ve got, my dear. A good nose.”
“A big one, too,” Daphne cut in. “Just leave the poor girl in peace, won’t you? Can’t you see we have visitors?”
Gella slipped back into the shadows. Every day that passed increased the danger of someone recognising her. Teo probably had spies even here, in the fringes of the realm, and she had no doubt that a rich reward awaited anyone turning her in.
Alex raised himself to his feet with a loud groan. “Coming, dear.” He shot a look at the silhouettes standing at the door. “First,” he whispered to Gella with some surprise, then winked at her. “Maybe they’ll have another uniform for us, right?”
“I don’t think lightning strikes twice in the same place,” she said, forcing a smile.
He chuckled as he headed towards the new arrivals. “Welcome, friends! What can I get you?”
Gella always sat at the corner table, in the safety of the long shadows, facing the door. She raised a frothy cup to her lips to celebrate her new fortune, then she almost choked as the two men who had stepped into the inn sat wearily at another corner table. A surprised cry escaped her lips, and she coughed to mask it as she made her way there, as casually as possible.
The bearded man was the first to recognise her, and she rushed to push him back down as he shot up. “Greetings, I’m Carla,” she said, taking his hand.
He blinked in surprise, then nodded. “David,” he said. “This is my friend, Ram.” Two bright eyes sparkled in amused recognition under the second man’s hood.
“May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow,” she gave the traditional First greeting. “May I join you?”
“May the soft winds freshen your spirit,” David replied mechanically, then pushed a chair with his leg. She turned it to face the door before sitting down. “Ale for the three of us,” he ordered, and Alex placed a full tankard and three clay cups on the table, stealing a curious look at Gella before plodding back behind the bar.
“What are you doing here?” Gella whispered. “I thought you were in Malekshei. I was coming to find you there!”
David’s face betrayed his tiredness. “Long story.”
“Where’s Annoush and Lem? Aren’t they coming?”
David exchanged an uneasy glance with Ram. “Annoush stayed at Malekshei. As for Lem…”
His voice trailed off, and her gaze flew in Ram’s direction. There was no mistaking the pain in the man’s dark face. “What happened?” she asked, placing her hand on David’s arm.
“Where do I start…”
“At the beginning,” she said, and stayed silent while he explained about Lehmor’s return and his experiences with the Iota. When he reached the part where he described the clones, she gasped. “So that’s what attacked me.”
He stared at her, not understanding, and she narrated her close call with the clone.
When she finished, he let out a soft whistle. “If Pratin sent one of his things to kill you, Teo must be in league with them. I wonder if Cyrus knows.”
She nodded in agreement. “Trouble follows Altman everywhere. Anyway, you were saying?”
<
br /> He explained of Lehmor’s trip to the Old Woman, his decision and its consequences. “So we’re headed to Anthea, to seek the Democracies’ help,” he concluded.
“That’s quite the story,” she said and leaned back on her chair. She studied the ceiling for a while, mulling over the new information. “And you just left him there?” she asked in the end.
David clenched his fists. “What was I supposed to do? He ignored the Lady’s will.”
“I don’t know much about the Lady,” Gella confessed, “but I doubt she’d condone a massacre. We shouldn’t have to kill one people to save another.”
David’s face drooped. “Not you too,” he sighed.
“Come on, you picked the wrong side; you just don’t want to admit it. Even as we speak, they could be under attack. Anyway, how do you know this Lady even exists?”
His mind raced back to his vision with the boy Whisper, and the divine presence that ended it. “I have seen her,” he whispered.
“That’s crazy,” Gella blurted out.
“Not crazier than Parad saving you,” David shot back.
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. “You’re right,” she said in the end. “Even so, how do you know her will? Does she speak to you?”
“She speaks through the Old Woman,” David said and pursed his lips.
She might have been annoyed at his stubbornness, but for some reason it reminded Gella of Parad. She examined David’s flustered face, uncomfortable at her sudden feelings. If he shaved off that stupid beard of his…
“Everyone knows this,” he continued, interrupting her thoughts.
She tore her eyes from his face, her brow furrowed. “That can’t be right. If the Orbs know the Lady’s will, how can they be divided? Surely the Lady won’t be of two minds?”
“She…” David’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times. “I don’t know,” he confessed in the end. “But I can’t fight an unjust war.”
Pearseus Bundle: The Complete Pearseus Sci-fi/Fantasy Series Page 53