The Poison Within

by Rachel Marie Pearcy

  “Thank you.” She spoke so softly she wasn’t sure Cam could hear her. She could feel herself crying, but for the first time she didn’t want to brush away the tears. She wouldn’t hide the feeling she had right now, sitting in the snow, next to the girl she was falling for, bearing her heart for her to see. “I—needed to get that out. I’m sorry you had to hear it.”

  “I’m not,” Cam replied. She placed her hands back in Rya’s and smiled. “I don’t ever want you to hide who you are, or where you came from. I want to always see you—the real you—no matter what.”

  Cam leaned in, resting her lips on Rya’s cheek, kissing away a tear that had rested on her skin. The touch was soft and light, the same as the kiss of the snow that began to fall over them.

  Twenty-Four

  Three days had passed since they’d started the trip around the mountains, and Cam was beginning to doubt their decision. They could have climbed over the pass within a day, she was sure of it. The snow had grown thick on the rocky terrain, and while they were still able to ride, the horses were forced to walk across the icy ground. Her attitude was made worse by the fact that they seemed to be lost.

  “I know it was on this end of the range,” Norell argued. “I swear it.”

  The plan had been to find the tribe that owned the land near the Craken Peaks, and hopefully secure a night’s shelter with them. As they reached the other side of the mountains, they couldn’t see anything but the harsh landscape.

  “There’s no one out here but us,” Cam replied. She was trying to keep calm but the cold nights of restless sleep had taken their toll.

  “It should be here,” Norell snapped back.

  “I’m not arguing that,” Cam said. “I’ve studied the maps more than anyone, and yes there’s supposed to be a tribe here, but there’s not.”

  “Which one was it again?” Thane asked. “The Uhan?”

  “No, the Ebez,” Norell answered.

  Cam was just about to call it quits, to order them all to start east. She thought their only hope would be stumbling across a village before the Cape, when she spotted a thin white ribbon rising into the air.

  “Look,” she shouted, pointing towards the smoke. “It’s got to be from a fire, right?”

  “But where’s it coming from?” Thane asked, squinting through the light flakes of snow. “I only see the mountain side.”

  “Wait,” Norell said, grabbing Thane’s arm. “Do you hear that?”

  They all stopped. Five pairs of eyes searched the horizon as the deep growling grew louder and multiplied. Suddenly they were coming from all sides- long sleds being powered by a crew of dogs. The riders were bundled up in thick pelts, and cloth kept their faces nearly hidden. As they trapped the gang between them, one of the riders jumped off and walked forward, pulling down her face wrapping. She had the same brown skin as Norell, and the same stubborn look on her face.

  “Who are you?” The woman shouted. Her words were in the common tongue, but her accent reflected her true heritage. “Why are you here in our land?”

  “We are simply passing through,” Norell answered before anyone else. “We ask for your help in sheltering us for a night, allowing us to escape the cold. After that, we will be on our way.”

  The other riders mumbled through their masks, each speaking a language Cam couldn’t translate. The woman nodded at their words and turned back to Norell.

  “We have no safety to offer you,” the woman scoffed. The thick hood of her coat couldn’t mask the disapproval she had for them. “Be on your way and leave us in peace.”

  “We need your help,” Thane added. “If you could only—”

  “I have already given you our answer,” she snapped. “I suggest you keep moving.”

  Norell jumped off the horse and ignoring Thane’s protests charged up to the woman. The dogs jumped and yelped with excitement, and the other riders all shouted, ready to move on Norell. The woman held up her hand to them, and waited with her mouth pinched tight. In the mix of the wind and the sound of the dogs, Cam could only see her cousin mouth two words. A heartbeat later, the woman nodded her head, shouted to the other riders, then mounted her sled and took off.

  “Follow her,” Norell ordered, pulling herself back up onto Rainy. In a flash they were off, trailing behind the group of sleds as they followed them closer to the mountain side.

  Cam pushed Zara faster, riding alongside Thane’s and Norell. “What did you say to her?” She yelled over the distance.

  “A phrase my mother taught me before she left. The one she said would mean the most. The Ebez words that mean always family.”

  It was clear why they couldn’t see the tribe’s camp the second they rode up to it. The side of the mountain towered over them, but once they looked closer they could see it was different than its backside. Round holes had been carved from the rock itself, creating deep rooms for the people to house in. Ledges and pathways connected the different levels, and thick animal hide blankets hung in the openings. Some of the chambers had small holes above the doorway, allowing smoke from an indoor fire to escape the space. The Ebez had used the natural elements around them to create a secure and serene village of their own, and the result was amazing. Cam couldn’t help but stare in awe at the ingenuity and dedication of their work.

  The flattest part of the camp was in made into a sort of village center, with most of the action taking place in the big open area. A group of men and women worked on skinning a few deer that had been recently killed, throwing the meat into several large pots that hung over the fires. All around them the dogs sat with tails wagging, eager for the scraps that didn’t make it into the meal. Children ran in circles, pretending to shoot each other with dull tip arrows, while a younger group sat staring wide-eyed at an elderly woman. She was telling them a story, and Cam didn’t need to know the language to suspect it was full of suspense and intrigue.

  The mysterious woman stopped them near the edge of the camp and tied off the horses. Without speaking, she waved at them to follow her up one of the ledges. Cam’s hand ran across the wall while she walked, tracing the intricate designs they had carved into stone. Some were swirls and patterns. Along another ledge was etchings of animals and stars. The Ebez had not just dug out holes to live in, they had decorated the nature around them with their culture.

  “This place is beautiful,” Cam breathed.

  They climbed one more ledge, stopping at the highest point that Cam could see. The woman reached out and moved back the bear skin flap of one of the homes.

  “Inside,” she grumbled, gesturing to them. “You’ll need to ask permission to stay.”

  Cam hesitated, but Norell nodded and walked past her, disappearing behind the curtain. Cam tried to size up the woman, unsure if they were wise to trust her. She was one to follow her gut, but the strangers stone face and blank expression left Cam’s intuition wanting. If there was one thing that made Cam uneasy, it was not being able to follow her feelings.

  “We have no choice,” Rya whispered, passing her by. Sora and Thane were already inside as well, leaving Cam alone on the ledge with the grumpy woman. She sighed. If she couldn’t trust herself about the Ebez, she could at least trust Norell.

  The interior wasn’t what she’d expected. The cold hole in the side of the mountain had disappeared behind thick blankets that hung on the walls and covered the ground, draping every inch of the space in warmth. Cam thought it wasn’t a pit but a cocoon that she could snuggle up in and forget about the snow falling outside.

  A middle-aged man stood at the end of the room, his honey colored eyes glowing golden in the flicker of the candles that lit the space. He wore a bronze medal emblazoned with the face bear pinned to base of his jet-black ponytail. The eyes of the beast stared down at them over his head, and his aura held the essence of the animal as if they were one.

  “I’m told you are looking for some help?” He said in the same accent as the woman. “Which land did you come from?”

 
Cam looked to Norell. The girl was standing tall, her shoulders back and her head held high. Some piece inside her had awoken as she faced the leader of her mother’s people. Her eyes were lit and vibrant. The air around her seemed to shudder as she spoke. Cam could only believe that they were meant to arrive here. A force had guided Norell to her other home.

  “We are from the Ashen Forest to the south of these mountains,” Norell answered. “We are asking for shelter for one night, maybe two if you’re so kind. We are traveling to the Ivory Cape and need to rest before we continue.”

  The man looked past her at the rest of them, who were all trying their best to hide behind her narrow frame. His eyes took in each of their faces, one at a time, studying their features with great interest. When he’d finished, he looked back to Norell with a suspicious frown.

  “You’re all from the Ashen Forest?” He asked.

  Norell thought for a moment before answering. “We were born all over Kelda, but that is where we come from now. My mother was from the Ebez, and so my roots are split between here and the Ashen. Sora,” she said pointing to the boy, “also has family from the north, but he was never lucky enough to know them. We come to you with nothing but respect and hope you will find it in your hearts to help us.”

  He looked at them all once more, his eyes lingering a little longer on Rya’s face, and Cam grew nervous. The Black Queen was a name known all over Kelda, and Cam assumed that included the northern tribes. If they felt the same way about Rya as the other kingdoms did, she wasn’t sure they could convince them to give them shelter.

  “You may stay one night,” he answered. “Winter’s already begun, and we can’t spare more than that for outsiders.”

  “Thank you,” Norell said with a bow. “Your kindness will be repaid.”

  She turned around and ordered them with her eyes to go, but before they could escape the cave, he stopped them once more.

  “You said your mother was from the Ebez, what was her name?”

  Norell paused, her cheeks turning pink under her bronze skin. “Yukie,” she answered. “She left here many years ago.”

  The man’s eyes lit up. “Yukie is your mother?”

  “Was my mother. I’m sad to say she passed away some time ago.”

  His face shifted to sudden sadness. The light that had just burned in his eyes was snuffed out. Cam dropped her eyes to her feet, uncomfortable being in the middle of this moment.

  “You must know,” the man continued, “my name is Aero, and Yukie—your mother—was my sister.”

  “Oh,” Norell gasped. It was clear she had no expectations of meeting family, and she was upset to have broken the news of Yukie’s death in such a way. Norell’s mouth kept moving, but no sound came out, leaving them all standing in an awkward silence.

  The man called out without warning, and the sudden noise startled Cam. She hadn’t realized he’d yelled a name until their guide from before appeared again in the doorway. She peeked her head inside, still hard faced and pouting.

  “Take these ones to the spare tent.” He held out a hand towards Norell. “This one I need to spend more time with. I’m afraid we have much to discuss.”

  Cam watched as Norell took his hand. They sat on the fluff of the blankets, legs crossed, facing each other. She wanted to demand to stay, to keep her cousin safe in the company of this outsider, but she knew she couldn’t. He was no stranger to Norell, not really. With a heavy heart she followed the woman back onto the pathway and down to the hole on the farthest end. The blanket covering the opening wasn’t as thick as the other, and inside only the ground was lined with hides. Still, it was a thousand times better than sleeping exposed to the chill of the night.

  “It’ll be alright,” Thane whispered as they rested on the ground. “Norell’s in good hands. Her mother always spoke highly of the Ebez.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Cam sighed.

  She laid back, resting her head on a bunched-up portion of bear skin. The ceiling of the cave glittered with specks of minerals. If she unfocused her eyes they looked like the stars, and soon they were guiding her to sleep.

  Twenty-Five

  Rya was knocked out almost the second she hit the ground. The long sleepless nights, and cozy feel of the cave was comforting, and she drifted off without a second thought. She had no way to telling how long she’d been dreaming, since the only natural light was hidden behind the cave’s covering. All she knew as she opened her eyes was that she wasn’t the only one awake.

  “What did you tell him?” Cam whispered. Rya could see her outline in the darkness. Her form a shade darker than the air around her, and at her side was another.

  “I told him I’d have to think about it,” Norell answered. She was twirling some object in her fingers. “I didn’t know what to say.”

  Rya closed her eyes again but kept her ears open.

  “How long does he want you to stay?” Cam asked, her voice sad.

  “I don’t know that either. He wants me to know the family I have here. He wants to teach me about the Ebez. He thought maybe my mother was ashamed of them and where she’d come from. She sent a few birds with news over the years, but when they stopped he thought it was because she was too busy living her new life in Kelda and wanted to forget her past. I told him how proud she was of her tribe, and about how she would tell me the Ebez stories as I fell asleep. I know there was more she would have shared with me had she not died, and now I have that chance. I just—how do I say no to him? All I’ve ever wanted was my family, and here they are welcoming me with open arms, how do I turn that down?”

  Cam sighed. “Remember the stories you used to tell me, the ones where you said you owned me?”

  “Yes,” Norell laughed. “I told my parents since I could talk that I wanted a baby brother or sister. They never gave me one, but then your mother announced that she was expecting and we moved into the castle to help take care of her. When you finally came, I truly believed you were mine. You were the baby sister the queen gave to me, since my own parents would not, and I refused to leave your side.”

  “You bit the mender,” Cam added.

  “I didn’t like what he was doing, poking at you like that. He needed to learn that no one would harm you while I was around.”

  “You’ve done a great job in making sure that’s true.” Cam’s voice softened. “I know you’re always trying to protect me, but I never want that to be at the expense of your own destiny. If this is where you want to be, I’ll support your choice. You will always have a place in the Ashen Forest, no matter how long you’re away.”

  No more words were spoken, the only sounds were hushed sniffles of their tears. Rya opened her eyes once more and looked to the figure sleeping across from her. Thane’s body trembled as he forced himself to remain still; he too had heard them.

  The morning had come and with it the inevitable goodbye. The cold air stung Rya’s lungs, and she pulled the thick cloak tighter around her shoulders. They had all received one as a final gift from Aero before they departed. She bounced on Eclipse, eager to get moving, but she understood the delay. If she’d found a secret family that was desperate to love her, she might have the same feelings about leaving. She watched as Norell hugged her new uncle one last time before climbing up behind Thane.

  “Are you sure about this?” Cam asked once they were outside Aero’s earshot. “You don’t have to leave them.”

  “I made my decision the moment I talked to you,” Norell answered. “I’m happy to have come here, but Aero and the Ebez will be here after our journey is done. They share part of my blood, but you have always been my family. I won’t turn my back on that for anything.”

  Cam nodded, exchanging a look with Norell that Rya could only describe as pure joy. After the moment had passed, Norell stared at the back of Thane’s head, her cheeks glowing red.

  “I couldn’t leave him either,” she said in a softer voice than Rya had ever heard from her. “Before we left the castle, he promis
ed to marry me when we return, and if I let you run off and get yourselves killed, that can’t happen.”

  “Is that true?” Cam gasped. “Thane, did you actually propose?”

  He nodded, his cheeks burning as much as Norell’s. “I may have done something like that.”

  Norell nudged his shoulder, and they both laughed. Rya couldn’t help but stare at them, watching the casual way they toyed with each other, the way their touches seemed gentle and full of promise. They were already one being, and yet remained themselves at the same time. It was exactly what love should be and watching it made her ache.

  She found her eyes wandering to Cam, watching the breeze tinge her cheeks pink. Her hands were dry from the cold, and her hair had lost its shine. She laughed at some joke that Rya had missed, and she noticed the princess’ smile was crooked, rising a little higher on the left side than the right. Everything about her in that moment was plain and ordinary. She’d was stripped of any royal imagery and had left behind all privileges. She was just a girl on a horse, and to Rya, she was the most beautiful person she’d ever seen.

  “You alright?” Cam had caught her staring.

  “Yes,” Rya choked. “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “It’s making you nervous, isn’t it?”

  “What is?” Rya’s face lost all color.

  “We’re getting closer,” Cam replied. “We’ll be at the Ivory Cape in days, and then it’s on to confront Kasen. I’m sure the resolution of all this is exciting, but it’s got to be nerve-wracking also.”

  “Yes, of course.” Rya was relieved that she hadn’t been found out, especially with the others so near. “It’s all going to be over soon.”

  Sora leaned forward, whispering into her ear as they watched Cam pull ahead.