"The bird nest is a nice touch," Alaysha told her, grinning.
Aedus came forward, craning her neck sideways to peer down at the nest she had tied onto her shoulder with dry grass.
"I ate the eggs," she said then blinked at Alaysha, seeming to be thinking. A moment later, she rushed headlong across the clearing, her scrawny arms flung around Alaysha's waist as they met. It was the best thing Alaysha had felt in days.
Sweet as it was to see the girl, there were others to worry about. "Theron?" Alaysha had to ask.
Aedus mumbled into Alaysha's belly. "Tending to Bodicca a day's journey from here."
"And Bodicca?"
Aedus peered up. "Getting better." She swallowed as her eyes left Alaysha's face and traveled to the warriors she'd felled so quietly and efficiently. "And what of my brother?"
Alaysha shook her head. "Edulph's captors haven't returned yet."
The girl said nothing and Alaysha's heart ached for her. No matter what he'd done, the man was still her brother. And she loved him.
"I'm sure he's fine. After all, he's with the Enyalia. Unless he's angered them, he's safer with them than anywhere else."
Aedus let out a dry grumble. "If," she said. She peered off into the woods as though something waited there, and Alaysha followed her gaze, squinting into the dense brush.
"Is there something else, Aedus? Is someone with you?"
"No. No one," Aedus said, and if Alaysha didn't know the girl better, she'd swear the shuffling that took over the girl's feet were from guilt. But that couldn't be. No doubt the girl was anxious for her brother, for Yenic, for Gael.
Best to shift things, Alaysha thought. "Yenic is here. And Gael."
The girl squeezed and let go, stepping back quickly. "He's all right?"
Alaysha couldn't help but smile. "Yes. Both of them. Well. Gael will be." She didn't know how to explain why and for how long.
"But there's something else?"
Alaysha touched the girl's chin because everything else was too covered in filth for her to reach any skin. "You don't miss much."
"What else is there?"
Alaysha sighed. "I'm not sure I can get them out of here."
"I'll help."
"No. I just need time to think."
The nest quivered as Aedus stomped her foot. "I can help."
"I know you can."
The girl fleeted a look over her shoulder and turned back, the guilty look resting again on her face. "I know things, Alaysha. I can help. And my beetles—"
"Are untested on such large foes. Remember Gael?"
The girl hung her head. She'd darted Gael with enough to put two men down because he was so large, but he didn't stay out as long as she'd thought.
A soft groan came from behind them and before Alaysha could even warn Aedus to run, the girl had already disappeared into the foliage so completely Alaysha couldn't say which direction she'd gone. She turned toward the two still lying on the ground. She knelt next to Cai and swiped away the quills, then moved to Thera to do the same. Just as she was wiping her palm on the moss to get rid of the dye, she had the eerie sense she was being watched. Prickles went up her neck to her hairline and she sent a casual look around the glade, expecting Enud, poised for battle.
There was no one.
Still, the wariness remained. She checked her palm to be sure the purple was gone, and when she did she caught out of the side of her eye, a flutter of movement. Cai, sitting up, her gaze hard and suspicious on Alaysha's hands.
"What happened?" Alaysha asked her, thinking misdirection was the best tactic.
Cai 's eyelids shuttered down suspiciously. "You tell me."
Alaysha eased to her feet, offering the Enyalian her hand. "We were talking, and then you just fell. Both of you. "It was the truth, and Alaysha had no trouble keeping the warrior's suspicious gaze, even when Cai brushed the offered help away and stood, her circlets chattering.
"Thera?" she said.
Alaysha turned to the witch who is still on the ground. "Still out, I'm afraid, but breathing as you were." It was hard not to chew on the insides of her cheeks, especially when Cai began a grid like search of the surrounding foliage for the attacker. Alaysha watched her, feeling her heart racing like a bird's. She hoped Aedus had been smart enough to leave. When Cai finished, she strode back to the glade and stopped in front of Alaysha. The assessing stare reminded her of Yuri—and how he could deliver a threat without saying a word.
Alaysha tried to make her posture seem less fidgety. "What do you think it is?" she asked the woman.
She thought Cai would never answer then was spared the silent examination when Thera gave a short groan of exertion. She was on her feet as quickly as the warrior had been.
"What happened?" she asked; Cai squared her shoulders and held a hand toward Alaysha. "Ask our witch."
"I'm not your witch," Alaysha said, using the chance to continue leading them away from the real question.
Neither fell for it. Cai sucked on her front teeth thoughtfully then said, "Apparently we simply passed out simultaneously."
Thera's arched brow quirked. "Indeed?" she said, but she didn't question any further. Instead, a look passed between them that sent a shiver down Alaysha's back.
She could swear the two massive Enyalian looked afraid.
Chapter 12
They wasted no further time in the glade. Whatever the women wanted of Alaysha, they'd obviously got it. Both were careful to keep the conversation light, and although Alaysha knew it was deliberate, she didn't care. All she could think about was getting back to Yenic, Gael, and finding a way to get out of this cursed village.
And to think at one time, Alaysha believed the worst she had to concern herself with was Edulph finding the wind witch and manipulating her much the same as Yuri had his water witch—his own daughter. Now she knew the complexities of the elemental magic meant even more was at stake.
According to Theron, it all had to do with sibling gods from another time. Alaysha grinned at that one. If that was true, it meant Alaysha was one of them, the sister god, and Aislin the twin brother who wanted her finally, ultimately dead—so dead her very soul would cease to exist.
But that was only if Theron was right and in his right mind at all. She didn't doubt the power of the elemental legend to move men to desperate acts, but she doubted the source. In truth, she didn't really care; she had enough to concern herself with worrying about Aedus and Saxa and all the others she'd come to love. She needed to see them safe, and if it meant running a fool's errand for a mad shaman, so be it.
In the end, she only knew that if one single person could control all the elements, then the result be more catastrophic than some fairytale Etlantium gods using witches to threaten others into subservience.
No. To control earth, wind, water, and fire could mean the destruction of everything, and who had ever thought to wield that power ever failed to use it unwisely?
So she needed to find the two unknown witches: earth and air. Undoubtedly Thera was the earth temptress as Theron called her, despite her sloppy tattaus. She snuck a look at Thera as they strode back to the village proper, wondering why she would reveal herself in the mud village by opening the earth to swallow the multitude of rain Alaysha had unleashed, and why that same witch failed to recognize her now. It could be that she didn't know her own power, but released it the same as Alaysha did, without control when afraid or under threat.
Not for the first time, Alaysha cursed her ignorance. Growing up alone without love or support, put to training by Corrin, being separated from her own heritage by her father's decree that she live outside his city walls—all compounded her ignorance. Discovering pieces of the mosaic and putting them together without knowing the pattern, was exhausting. It made her head hurt.
By now, they had entered the village proper, where young boys kept busy, where girls fought beside huts and tents, where stock women and Enyalia alike did everyday ordinary things like eating or talking. I
t could look like a regular village except for the striking absence of grown men.
"Has the remainder of your party returned?" she asked Cai.
The warrior pursed her lips, tapping her fingers on her bicep, but said nothing. She nodded briefly to Thera who headed back toward her lodge.
"Cai? Have they brought Edulph yet?"
The woman didn't answer.
"What is this Edulph?"
"A name. You know that by now."
Cai looked innocently surprised. "You mean the third man?" she said again.
"Yes. The third man. Have they returned yet?"
"They are here if they are here."
Alaysha crossed her arms, frustrated that she wouldn't get a straight answer. "Then I want to see Gael."
Cai's face brightened. "Thera says he heals almost as if by magic."
"She has no magic." Alaysha thought to test her.
"Oh, but you're wrong, little maga." Cai grinned. "She was made by magic, so the chalk witch before her was and the chalk witch before her."
Alaysha's heart skipped. So it was true; now Cai's easy acceptance of Alaysha's own power made sense. "You mean Uta?" Alaysha scanned the village quickly. She saw young, very young, and mature women. She did not see old.
"Yes. You saw her; she's old, for sure, but she still lives." Cai noticed her scrutiny and interpreted it correctly. "Our witches live as long as they like."
Strange statement, but useful in its way, Alaysha thought. "I want to see Gael."
Cai shook her head and tucked her auburn plait into one of her halters. "His warrior's mark is very distinct, pretty maga. You saw how it upset Uta, but you can't know what it means to us, and so Thera and Uta will be very busy deciphering this puzzle."
The warrior sniffed the air and a slow, a languid sort of smile spread across her face. "Come with me."
They stopped at the fire pit, where a spit had been stretched over the coals. Several hares, skinned and brown, were impaled along the pole. The smell of honey and unknown spices made Alaysha's stomach rumble.
"I thought you said you would take me to Gael." Alaysha watched a young boy ladling broth into a copper bowl and passed it to a stock woman, then pulled a strip of meat from a roasting hare.
"I said so?" Cai shrugged. "I don't remember it." The warrior made a motion to the boy who hurried over with a roasted leg and a savoury type of mush mixed with flatbread and chestnuts.
He fell to his knees, head bowed, arms held out to proffer the fare. Alaysha had this disquieting sense she was back on campaign with her father, Bodicca roasting honeyed rabbit and chattel making tables of themselves so Yuri could eat and sit. Her head swam and she lost focus for a moment.
"You're hungry," Cai said.
The water in Alaysha's mouth kept her from denying the truth of the statement. The Enyalian scooped a finger full of the mush and pressed it against Alaysha's mouth. She opened without hesitation and rolled the stuffing around her tongue, savouring the flavour.
"Good, isn't it?"
Alaysha nodded and discovered a strip of meat pressed into her lips as well. "Eat," the woman said.
Alaysha's belly gurgled and she obliged Cai happily, thinking how strangely intimate it was for this woman to be feeding her this way, like a pet.
Or a lover.
She caught the woman's green eyes at the same moment the thought struck. Her fingers went to her mouth, pressing in the last of the meat, chewing quickly, swallowing, then she stepped abruptly backwards.
"Gael," she said to Cai, doing her best to tear her gaze away from the magnets that were the Enyalian's eyes. She stammered a repeat of her order, hoping to cover over her fluster. "You said –"
"I did not say, young maga."
"Well, perhaps if I see him, I can help you solve this puzzle."
Cai looked over her shoulder where boys were piling tinder and straw into an oddly familiar shape. "The moon will come soon."
"You wanted to know about Gael's mark."
The green magnets turned on Alaysha again. "You said you know nothing, and so I believe you."
"I don't know, but perhaps if I met with your witch, with Thera–"
"She will have nothing more to say to you."
"How do you know?"
"She would have said it."
Alaysha watched the boys retreating into the woods, presumably for more wood, and she felt the frustration so keenly she couldn't stop herself from chewing her cheeks. "What are they collecting for?" It was far too much tinder to be used for roasting fires.
"I told you, the quarter solstice is coming."
"Do you celebrate it with fire?"
Cai looked surprised for an instant, but then gathered herself and clapped a large hand on Alaysha's shoulder. "You're clever, little maga."
"Will Thera harm him?" She recalled Cai's coldness to him in the burnt lands and worried suddenly for his safety.
"Oh no. He's meant for the solstice, remember?"
Yes. She did remember. As were Yenic and Edulph if he ever returned. The sole three grown men in the village. Even with the few warriors she saw here, Alaysha couldn't see how they'd all escape before the solstice. Watching the boys gather wood, thinking of the coming foreign ceremony, Alaysha's stomach gurgled for entirely different reasons than hunger.
"You said Gael would not be cast for," she said.
"Indeed, I did."
"But that Yenic would be."
"Yes."
"And Edulph."
Cai's finger tapped against her bicep. "When my sword sisters come, yes."
Alaysha watched the warrior's expression, wondering if Cai could somehow follow the direction of her thoughts, but the Enyalian face remained unchanged. So much like Yuri, Alaysha thought. No betrayal of his thoughts or emotions through his body or face. None here either. Alaysha had to believe the woman was so caught in the foregone conclusion that Yenic and Edulph would enter and exit the ceremony as men always did that she expected nothing amiss. Still, she was a soldier and soldiers left little to chance.
She didn't care what happened to Edulph. But she knew Aedus would.
Getting Gael out in his injured state would be a tough feat. She'd need Yenic for that. And she'd need to distract the two witches unless Alaysha could get to Thera and somehow make the kind of connection she needed to, to gain her trust...
"Where are you, little maga?" Cai said. There was a note of playfulness in her voice, but her eyes revealed nothing.
"Thinking," Alaysha told her.
"A dangerous activity," Cai said. "Best left to the witches."
Alaysha tilted her head provocatively and Cai finally smiled. "Yes. As you are. Of course. So what does a witch think about?"
"How to stay alive," Alaysha said honestly.
"Oh, little maga," Cai gave a soft chuckle. "Have you no fear. I will keep you from danger." She put her arm out, gathering Alaysha in despite her hesitation. "Women have nothing to fear from any Enyalian warrior."
Alaysha could smell the honeyed meat and smoke on the warrior's skin; she made an effort to wrest herself from beneath the warrior's arm and with a soft chuckle the woman let her go. They strode side-by-side toward the Thera's lodge; Alaysha dared hope Cai would use her influence to get her inside to check on Gael. They were a few paces away, almost close enough to make out the noises coming from inside. She had begun to unwind them from the clamour of actual language and further into words when Enud came sprinting across the village from the trees. She made no shout nor any noise of startlement as she sped, but the way she looked and the great, rushed strides she took told Alaysha something was wrong.
Cai was off before Alaysha could think to follow, and she watched as the two met mid-compound and went immediately into focused conversation.
It was obvious this didn't happen often. The boys, the stock woman, even the young girls halted whatever activity they were involved in to watch. All of the few remaining Enyalia—a couple of handfuls of them—took note of the exchang
e and hastened to where the two warriors stood. Whatever it was that had set Enud into the village like a blaze was at her back was not a common occurrence. Cai looked back toward Alaysha once, perhaps to check that she was still there, Alaysha wasn't sure, but she was certain she was close enough to Gael to take a chance while everyone was occupied. She gave a brief thought to Yenic and where he might have gone when Uta ordered him away, then she inhaled a bracing breath, knowing at least one of the Enyalia witches was in with Gael. Without further deliberation, she pushed open the leather flap.
She could have stepped into a past, not so far long gone. She imagined three leathered crones hunched over a dead fire, with their eyes dried seeds on the ground in front of them. The fragrance of this room was the same as then. The spices, the brimstone. The tendrils of smoke like fingers reached almost consciously to the ceiling. Alaysha could have been back in the mud hut where she'd killed three powerful witches at her father's command.
The breath she took seemed trapped in her lungs. She didn't want to remember that battle, and besides the woman in this lodge was very much alive.
And she was gaping at her in fury.
Chapter 13
When Thera spoke, there was no hint of the anger on her face. Instead, she stepped sideways, seeming to block something from Alaysha's view "He's there," she nodded toward a sleeping figure, nude, on top of a bed made of rushes, and if Alaysha was right, softened by cattail seeds and goose down. The fluff of them must have taken thousands of plants to harvest to make such a bedding. Lucky Gael. Alaysha started toward him and stopped a few paces from the bed. Gael was most definitely sleeping. The bruises on his ribs were clearing and already turning yellow.
"He must be cold," she said to no one in particular.
"In this heat?" Thera said, taking the opportunity to work her way past the smouldering fire she'd been knelt over when Alaysha had entered. "Don't be foolish."
Alaysha had the nearly irresistible desire to cover Gael's hips. She had nothing but her own tunic to do so. "At least cover him, give him some dignity."
"A man needs no such consideration," Uta said, holding the flap of the door high enough to enter. The breeze danced through the space, picking up scents of balsam and wild onion. Thera stepped backwards again, moving so as to distract or attract attention, close enough now that Alaysha could smell the myrrh on her. What had she been doing, Alaysha wondered. And why didn't she want Uta to know.
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