Shrouded Sky (The Veils of Lore Book 1)

by A. Akers, Tracy

  Tygg nodded toward the saddle. “Get yourself on, Or’n. We will make better time if you are not bumbling around.”

  “I was not bumbling!”

  “So you say,” Tygg said.

  “I don’t take orders from you.”

  Tygg lifted a brow. “So you do not wish to ride? Very well then, I will—with the Imela.” He grinned. “I think I would like having her in my lap.”

  Orryn stammered a protest, but then he grabbed the reins and mounted the horse. He gave Tygg a murderous look, then turned his eyes ahead.

  “Why are we traveling with only one horse?” Chandra asked Tygg. “Wouldn’t three have spared us all the drama?”

  “My kind have little use for the beasts, though we once had them,” Tygg said. “We are more skilled on foot.”

  A breeze whispered through the trees, sending a chill down Chandra’s spine.

  Tygg shifted her weight, pulling her closer, and as he did, Chandra noticed how nice he smelled. He smelled like the earth, she thought, spicy and masculine and real, not like the boys at school who reeked of too little deodorant or too much aftershave.

  “Are you cold?” Tygg asked. “You are shivering.”

  “No,” she said. “I’m fine.”

  Tygg chuckled. “Ah, you shiver for Tygg then.”

  “You really are full of yourself, aren’t you,” Chandra said.

  “Full of myself?”

  “Full of your own ego. You’re not exactly God’s gift, you know.”

  “I see,” he said, his voice growing serious. “Well, if it is not Tygg you shiver for, then you are cold.” He tilted his shoulder and swung his own cape around her. “Better?”

  Yes. “No. I mean . . . thank you.”

  Tygg smiled. “My warmth is yours.”

  “Enough,” Orryn growled. “Leave her be.”

  Chandra peeked over Tygg’s shoulder at Orryn who was now riding behind them, his daggered stare aimed squarely at Tygg’s back. She studied his face, noting the hostility in his features but unable to ignore the masculine beauty of them. In the misty forest light, his golden hair seemed to float like an aura around his head. It made him look like an angel, she thought. She knew something of angels, mostly from reading fantasy novels, though movies and the occasional Bible reference also came into play. As she stared at Orryn her perception of him began to blur, and for a moment she wondered if he was even real. Perhaps he was only a figment of her imagination and she wasn’t here at all. Perhaps she was somewhere else, strapped to a hospital bed and pumped with narcotics.

  “Put me down,” she said suddenly. She shoved against Tygg’s chest, wiggling to pry herself from his arms.

  Tygg stopped and set her on her feet. “Do you need some privacy in the bushes?” he asked.

  “What? No,” Chandra hopped on her good leg, then grabbed hold of Tygg’s arm to steady herself. “I need to know what drugs I’m on.”

  “Drugs?” Tygg asked.

  “Did you give me some sort of hallucinogen?”

  Orryn dismounted and stepped around to face Tygg, his eyes demanding a response. “What does she mean? What did you give her?”

  “I gave her nothing,” Tygg said defensively.

  “Why do ask this, Chandria?” Orryn asked, turning his attention to her. “What are you feeling?”

  “You really don’t want to know,” she muttered.

  “Perhaps she is realizing her feelings for you,” Tygg said with a laugh.

  Orryn leaned toward Tygg threateningly. “What are you plotting, Tygg?”

  “I am plotting to get her to the springs so I can heal her leg—and you into the water so I can drown your sorry ass.”

  Orryn’s eyes bulged with rage. “If you wish to kill me, cat, why wait? Now is as good a time as any. Then you can keep her for yourself. That’s what you really want, isn’t it? Draw your knife then! I dare you.”

  Tygg’s hand moved to the blade secured at his belt. “I have had your quivering chin beneath my blade before,” he said. “If I wished to kill you, I would have done it then.”

  “Quivering chin? Your blade may have been at my throat, once, but there was no quivering involved, I assure you!”

  “Keep it up Or’n; maybe this time there will be!”

  A growl resonated in Orryn’s throat, and in that instant he seemed more cat than the Taubastet standing before him. Tygg was poised as if to attack, but Chandra stepped between them, arms extended. “Enough,” she snapped. “You’re both ridiculous.”

  “Ridiculous? I’m only trying to protect you from him,” Orryn said, pointing a shaky finger at Tygg.

  “Is that so,” Chandra said. She turned her eyes to Tygg. “Why does he need to protect me from you?”

  “He is making things up in his head. It is an excuse to fight me, nothing more.”

  Chandra turned her attention back to Orryn. “Why do you want to fight him?”

  “I don’t want to fight him,” he said, then glared at Tygg. “But I will if he tries to keep me from my duty!”

  “Which is?”

  “To take you with me to Syddia.”

  Chandra’s leg began to throb. She shifted her weight to both ease the discomfort and keep her balance. “Listen, you two,” she managed, “I don’t want to burst your Team-Orryn, Team-Tygg bubble, but my leg is killing me, and I’d really appreciate getting to the springs or the healing waters or wherever the hell it is you’re taking me.”

  Tygg drew a calming breath. “You are right,” he said, reaching out for her, but before he could touch her, Orryn swept her up.

  “I’ll carry her,” Orryn said, adjusting her weight in his arms. “Your hands have been on her enough.”

  Tygg set his jaw. “As you wish,” he said.

  Orryn shoved past him, and with Chandra cradled in his arms he marched up the path.

  They had barely gone any distance before Orryn was breathing heavily. Tygg had never shown any sign of exertion when he carried her. He had, much to Chandra’s delight, acted as if she weighed nothing at all. But now, with Orryn huffing and puffing as he was, Chandra could not help but feel a little embarrassed.

  “If I’m too heavy . . .” she said. She felt Orryn’s shoulders stiffen. “I don’t mean you’re not strong,” she added hastily. “It’s just that he told me you haven’t been feeling well.”

  Orryn set her feet on the path and stormed ahead without another word.

  CHAPTER 12

  They traveled all day, until toward evening they finally reached the springs. Moss-covered statues lined the path leading to the waters, while a low, thick fog covered the area surrounding it. The forest was no longer filled with the crisp, cool scent of pine; now the air was moist and warm and reeked of sulfur. Orryn stepped toward what appeared to be a large, stone-lined pool. The mist shifted around his feet as he neared the edge.

  Chandra looked down from her place on the horse and at the bubbling water. “How hot is it?” she asked nervously. She tightened her arms around Tygg’s neck as he lifted her down.

  “Hot, but not too hot for bathing,” Tygg assured her. He set her on her feet. “The water has healing properties. It will do you good. But you must first remove your clothes.”

  “Remove my clothes?” She scoffed. “In your dreams.”

  Tygg laughed. “You will ruin Sachmei’s leathers if you do not remove them, but do not fear; I have brought your under things.”

  “My under things?”

  “Those you were wearing the day you arrived.”

  “Great,” Chandra said. “Is there someplace I can change?”

  “Yes, but there is no real need for privacy,” Tygg said. “You have nothing I have not seen.”

  Orryn stepped toward her. “There’s a dressing area nearby, Chandria. I’ll take you there.” He lifted her up. “Her things?” he said to Tygg.

  Tygg pulled a pouch from the back of the horse and handed it to Chandra. She opened the drawstring and peeked inside, expecting to see de
nim shorts and a pink tank top. Unfortunately all it contained were white panties and a bra. “This is it?” she asked, appalled at the idea of parading around in nothing but a thin layer of cotton and lace.

  “No need to be modest on our account. We have found women of your kind wearing far less,” Tygg said. “Have we not, Or’n?”

  “Indeed,” Orryn said. He shook his head with disapproval.

  “You’ve found women on the beach in their underwear? Chandra said. She tilted her head. “Are you sure they weren’t wearing bathing suits?”

  “Bathing suits? They did refer to them as such, yes,” Orryn said. His voice grew serious. “Tell me, Chandria. Why do the women of Sister World wear undergarments to bathe?”

  “Bathing suits aren’t undergarments,” Chandra said. “Bathing suits are for swimming.”

  “I don’t see a difference.”

  “Nor do I,” Tygg agreed. “Why bother to wear anything if you are going to wear so little?”

  Chandra sighed. “Just take me to the changing area, okay? The sooner we get this over with the better.”

  The dressing area was a small stone-walled pavilion furnished with only a single log bench. It did not appear to have been used in quite some time; the bench was rotted to the point of collapse, while the timber roof was pocked with holes large enough to reveal the sky. Chandra removed the tunic and pants she was wearing, then slowly unwound the cloth bandage from her leg. The wound, she noted, was far from healed. Though the stitches holding it together were still intact, the skin around them was puffy and discolored. Hopefully Tygg was right about the healing powers of the spring. She pulled on her under things and emerged from the room clothed in very little. She covered what she could of herself with her hands, but it wasn’t enough. She was mortified. And cold.

  Tygg and Orryn stood silently, their eyes surveying her up and down.

  “Put them back in your head,” she said with annoyance. “Better yet, turn around.”

  Both complied as Chandra attempted to hobble, unaided, toward the water, but the pain in her leg got the better of her. She lost her balance and would have plummeted to the ground had Orryn not rushed to her rescue.

  “I’ll assist you,” he said and lifted her up.

  Chandra wrapped her arms around his neck, and for a brief moment she felt like a princess in a fairy tale. Orryn turned his eyes to her, and it was then that she realized the look of pain on his face. “I can make it from here,” she said, humiliation rising to her cheeks.

  “No,” Orryn said, and stepped into the pool, clothes and all.

  Chandra gasped. “What are you doing?”

  But Orryn did not respond. He stepped deeper into the water, its warmth wrapping them like a blanket.

  Orryn turned in a slow, sweeping circle with Chandra in his arms. The misty waters swirled around them.

  “Put me down,” Chandra said, staring into the bubbling water.

  Orryn stopped and pulled her closer. “Do you hate me so much?” he whispered. He brushed his lips across her cheek then trailed them down her neck.

  Chandra pressed her palms against his chest. “Orryn. What are you doing? It’s me, remember?”

  Orryn looked at her and smiled, but then his smile wavered. He glanced toward the edge of the pool where Tygg was watching him with obvious amusement.

  “Tygg!” Orryn said with confusion. “What—”

  Tygg lifted his hands. “You are the one who walked in with your leathers.”

  “You did this,” Orryn said, shooting Tygg a glare that could have dropped him where he stood.

  “I did nothing,” Tygg protested.

  Orryn released his hold on Chandra and made his way to the edge of the pool.

  Chandra hopped on her good leg, the water keeping her buoyant, while she swept her arms to maintain her balance. “Thanks so much,” she muttered.

  Orryn clambered out, shaking water from his limbs. “I should have known better than to trust you,” he seethed.

  “It is yourself you cannot trust,” Tygg said with a laugh. “Very well. I will see to it.” He peeled off his clothes and dove into the pool.

  Tygg bobbed up next to Chandra, his hair slicked back with water, black kohl smearing his eyes.

  Chandra turned away.

  “You do not wish Tygg to help?” he asked.

  “No, I do not wish Tygg to help,” she said.

  “Then I will stay close, in case you change your mind.”

  “I won’t change my mind,” she said, and attempted to move away.

  Orryn followed along the edge of the pool as Chandra, Tygg at her back, made her way through the water. “You don’t have to follow me,” she said over her shoulder. “I’m not going to drown.”

  “Your leg is weak,” Tygg said. “And there are rocks on the bottom that are unstable.”

  “I’ll dog paddle, then,” Chandra said, attempting to lift her feet from the bottom, but quickly realized her leg was too stiff to bend. She planted her toes back on the pebbly bottom and pushed herself in the opposite direction of Tygg.

  It did not take long for her to tire of playing mouse to Tygg’s cat. “I’m getting out,” she announced, and headed to the side of the pool nearest to the dressing area.

  Tygg was only too eager to assist. “I will help you,” he said.

  “You. Stay,” Orryn ordered Tygg. He was still across the pool, but rounding it fast.

  “I am perfectly capable of assisting her,” Tygg called to him, but as instructed he did not exit the water.

  Orryn arrived in a huff. “I’ll get her to her clothes. She’s seen enough of you for one day,” he said. He reached a hand to her.

  Chandra allowed him to lift her up. She stood near the rim, shivering.

  Orryn glanced down at her leg. “The waters did you well, I see,” he said, still holding her hand.

  Chandra tilted her head and surveyed her wound, delighted to realize the stitches were still intact and the skin around them was pink rather than green. “They did,” she said, her teeth chattering.

  Orryn swooped her into his equally cold arms and carried her toward the dressing area.

  “Why do you two hate each other so much,” Chandra asked when they reached it.

  Orryn blinked, surprised by the question. He set her down. “We don’t hate each other. We merely—”

  “Can’t stand the sight of each other?”

  Orryn turned his back to her and folded his arms across his chest. “I’ll wait here while you dress,” he said, looking from side to side. “If you need my assistance—”

  “Don’t worry, I need your assistance about as much as I needed Tygg’s.”

  Chandra hobbled over to the bench where she had left Sachmei’s clothes. “Are you and Tygg jealous of each other or something?” she asked. She turned from the doorway where Orryn stood, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he wasn’t looking.

  “I don’t feel jealousy,” Orryn replied.

  Chandra yanked off her wet bra and panties, then hurriedly rewrapped her leg and pulled on the leathers. “I mean, do you have a rivalry of some kind? You both seem to really get under each other’s skin.”

  “Tygg is my sworn enemy.”

  “What? Why?” Chandra drew the cape around her shoulders. “Okay, you can turn around.”

  “He’s Taubastet.” Orryn turned to face her. “I’m Syddian.”

  “But there’s something else between you, isn’t there?” Chandra struggled with the clasp beneath her chin. Orryn stepped forward and took over the task.

  “I owe him a debt,” Orryn said. He secured the clasp and took a step back.

  “Oh, I see. You don’t like owing him.”

  “I don’t like owing that which I don’t know. He’ll soon come for payment. And when he does, I may not be able to give it.”

  “Maybe he just wants your friendship.”

  “As I said, it may be payment I’m unable to give.”

  They emerged from the dre
ssing area. Tygg, Chandra was pleased to note, was now clothed and kneeling before a pile of wood, fanning the flames that were beginning to grow within it.

  Orryn carried Chandra to the fire. He lowered her onto a log next to it, then after making sure she was comfortable, straightened his back and turned to Tygg.

  Tygg, who had risen from the campfire, headed toward the horse. “Get yourself undressed, Or’n,” he called over his shoulder. He removed the saddle from the horse’s back and set it aside. “Your clothes are soaked,” he said, noting Orryn’s hesitation. “Do you wish to catch your death? Besides, you reek of the water.” He pulled the saddle blanket off the horse’s back and tossed it to him.

  Orryn frowned at the blanket. “So you prefer I reek of horse?”

  “It matters not to me. But Chandra might have a different opinion.”

  “I don’t care what he smells like,” Chandra said, warming her hands over the flames, “as long as he keeps his distance.”

  Tygg laughed. “I will see that he is downwind.” He nodded toward the dressing area. “The sooner you get them off, Or’n, the sooner we can set them to dry.”

  “And leave you here alone with the Imela?” Orryn scoffed.

  “Undress here then,” Tygg said with annoyance. “I am sure Chandra will respect your privacy.”

  “I’ve never found your humor to my liking, Tygg,” Orryn said.

  “Then go. Dress. Take Chandra with you if you wish. Perhaps she can assist you.”

  “No,” Chandra said. “I’ve seen enough, thank you.”

  “Fine,” Orryn said, then he leaned toward Tygg threateningly. “Behave yourself, cat, or the Sovereign Lady will have another hide for her wall.” He spun and marched away.

  “What did he mean by that?” Chandra asked.

  Tygg shrugged. “An idle threat.”

  She glanced toward the dressing area. “What do you know of this lady he mentioned?” she asked.

  “A most unpleasant creature,” Tygg said, taking a seat on the log.

  “Define unpleasant.”

  “Let us just say Or’n was not jesting about the hides on her wall.” Tygg stabbed the fire with a stick.

  “You mean she actually decorates her walls with cats?”