Aerenden: The Zeiihbu Master (Ærenden)

by Kristen Taber

  “His tribe preferred not to be called that,” Meaghan answered. “At least that's what he told my mother. They came from Zeiihbu at some point in their history.”

  “That explains your skin tone. But your eyes are the exact same color as your mother's. I've never seen anyone with copper eyes like hers before. And your hair is the same.” Talea moved a few strands of Meaghan's hair where it had landed on one shoulder. “It's dark brown, isn't it? It looked black in your mother's photos and I thought yours was, too, but in certain lights, it appears brown.”

  “It is,” Meaghan confirmed. “So was my mother's, I think.”

  Talea nodded, and the conversation died with the motion. Meaghan waited a little longer, hoping Talea would speak again, but when the silence turned stale, Meaghan stood and added more logs to the fire.

  The night stretched long in front of them. Talea stifled several yawns with the back of her hand, but made no other noise. Meaghan watched the breeze dance with the flames, teasing them up and to the right, and then letting them rest before waltzing past again. A few drops of rain pattered the ground. Cal's snoring sputtered, halted, then started again, and Eudor joined in with his own off-key symphony. Crickets added accompaniment from the distance, and still, Talea remained silent.

  Meaghan remembered the teasing Talea had shared with Nick again, evidence of the camaraderie they had developed over the years, and she hated that she could not seem to develop the same bond with her. Meaghan's success had been equally bad with Nick's best friend, Max, and she could not stand the thought of repeating her trend. Not when she and Talea had many weeks of close travel still in front of them. She refocused her attention on Talea and decided to address the issue directly. Meaghan doubted she could make the situation worse.

  “What did I do?” she asked.

  Talea startled, and then faced Meaghan, her eyes widened by the confusion Meaghan sensed within her. “What do you mean?”

  “You were friendly to me the first time when we met. You weren't shy or uneasy at all, but now you are. What did I do?”

  Talea hesitated. “You didn't do anything,” she finally answered. “It's just that you're the Queen.”

  “You knew my title when we met,” Meaghan pointed out. “So obviously that isn't the truth. Is it because I won't tell you about our plans? I know Artair and Talis are angry.”

  “They are,” Talea confirmed and turned her gaze toward the tent where the two men slept. “Talis thinks I am too. It was the simplest way to explain why you make me nervous, but it isn't true. It's your right, you know.” She shifted sideways on the rock, turning her full attention back to Meaghan. “It's your right to tell us or not. I don't feel the need to question your reasons.”

  Meaghan matched Talea's pose, then folded her hands in her lap. “Then what is it? Why do I make you nervous?”

  Talea sighed. “How much has Nick told you about our friendship?”

  “Not much,” Meaghan answered, and then bit her lip. “Actually, he never mentioned it,” she admitted. “When we were on Earth, he couldn't tell me anything about Ærenden, and when we arrived here, we were focused more on our survival than on our past. He hasn't told me much about any of his friends.”

  “That's understandable,” Talea said. “And I hope that he doesn't feel like I'm divulging any of his secrets, but in the effort of establishing honesty between us, I need to tell you about the history I share with him. We've known each other a long time. My family and I moved to Nick's village when I was nine. Since Nick's two years older, he was in different classes than Talis and I were, but we lived only a few houses down from each other. We grew close, and when it became time for us to explore the possibility of finding love, well,” she brought a hand to the back of her neck and scrubbed at it, “he and I dated. It was a long time ago, but we still did.”

  Meaghan stared at Talea, trying to understand why she felt a sudden surge of anger and jealousy. If they had dated, it was in the past, and it was Nick's right.

  “I was twelve,” Talea continued, shrugging. “Our parents let us go on picnics with friends or go to the village dances together, but nothing more than that. It was all innocent for the most part, except that we shared our first kiss.”

  Talea paused. Meaghan did not think she could find any words, but then her cheeks heated and a question sprang to her lips before she had the chance to think about it.

  “Do you still have feelings for him?” she asked. “Is that why I make you nervous?”

  Talea laughed. “Not at all. I never did, in fact. At least not in that way. The kiss felt weird and I realized my love for him was no different than my love for Talis. Nick's protected me in the same way. He's threatened my boyfriends in the same way. And I missed him when he left for Earth in the same way I missed Talis when he was assigned to a different village.” She placed a hand on Meaghan's forearm. “In every way that matters, Nick's my brother. I wasn't nervous when I met you the first time because I didn't know who you were. I thought you were just the Queen.”

  “I don't understand.”

  “I'm good at being a Guardian. My power is strong. I come from a long line of castle guards. I'm secure in my position and I knew you couldn't find fault in me. Not as the Queen, anyway. But I didn't know who you really were until we took Artair's villagers to the caves. The Elders hadn't told us about your wedding yet.” She removed her hand from Meaghan's arm and dropped it into her lap. “It didn't matter to me that you were Queen, but it matters that you're Nick's wife.”

  “You're afraid I won't like you,” Meaghan realized.

  “Maybe a little,” Talea admitted. “And I can't help but feel that Artair gave you a bad impression of me this morning.”

  This time, Meaghan laughed. “That makes two of us,” she said. “But how about if we ignore him and start over?”

  “I'd like that,” Talea agreed. A smile brightened her face, and with it, her whole body seemed to relax. “I'd like that a lot. But you don't need to worry about whether or not I like you. You won me over with the battle. The people from Artair's village still talk about how well you fought, and I figure that makes you worth respecting.”

  Meaghan's cheeks flushed. “I wouldn't listen to everything that's being said. Artair worked hard at keeping me alive that day, as did a lot of other people. They deserve the credit.”

  “There's enough credit to go around,” Talea responded. She turned her gaze toward the tents again and sighed. “I hope you aren't too mad at Artair. There's a lot you don't know. He means well and—”

  “Aren't you two supposed to be asleep by now?”

  Talea jumped, but Meaghan only sighed. “You enjoy sneaking up on people too much, you know,” she said, standing to face Cal. “You've done it three times already today.”

  “Considering everyone's supposed to be on guard for an attack, I shouldn't be able to do it at all,” he said. “And I definitely shouldn't be able to sneak up on you.”

  “You didn't sneak up on me. I can feel your excitement from a mile away. And do you think I haven't figured out how you do it yet?”

  “What do you mean? I'm not doing anything extraordinary. I'm just a good hunter.”

  “That may be,” she said, and planted her hands on her hips. “But given your size, you shouldn't be able to sneak through a forest without making noise any better than a lumbering rhinoceros. You use your power over the earth to muffle your footsteps.”

  His pride told her she had guessed correctly, but he did not confirm it aloud. He offered her a lopsided grin instead. “I have no clue what a rhinoceros is, but I can only assume it's a handsome creature with a large, muscular physique.”

  “Something like that,” she responded and rolled her eyes.

  He chuckled and drew an arm around her shoulders. “You'd better get some sleep. I'll wake Talis.”

  “That's not necessary. I doubt I'll be able to sleep tonight. I can take his shift.”

  “Nonsense,” Cal said and led her across the
camp. “You'll sleep or you'll at least try. Off with you.” Giving her a playful shove toward her tent, he turned and walked away. She exhaled a long breath, admitting defeat, and dropped to her knees before crawling into the tent. By his firm tone and the steel in his eyes, she knew she had no chance of talking him out of his decree.

  Lying down on her side, she curled her knees into her stomach, and pulled the blanket over her head. As the rain pelted the side of her tent, sleep claimed her, though it did not bring her rest. She dreamed of monsters and of torture, of Caide and of the hideous face she envisioned for Garon. And she dreamed of Nick.

  In the morning, she woke to a sense of dread she could not seem to shake.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “YOU'RE A mangy beast, you know that?”

  Nick's horse only whinnied in response. Whinnied in such a way he could swear the evil creature laughed at him. He tightened his fists on the reins. The animal came to a complete stop, then pawed the earth and waited.

  “Damn you,” he muttered. “I didn't tell you to stop. I just….Damn!” he cursed again and relaxed his grip. He had pulled back, and the horse had responded in kind. He pressed his knees into her sides to start her moving again.

  A hard wind whipped along the walls of the canyon, chilling Nick's skin through a heavy cloak. At least the rain had halted. For days, clouds had emptied their contents over the land, soaking both the clothes on his back and the ones in his travel bag. Even his muscles felt as if they had grown soggy, and his joints felt frozen. He rolled his shoulders, wincing when they cracked in protest. A fire and a soft bed filled his mind with longing, and he hoped that if he had navigated correctly, he would have both tonight.

  Loosening his grip on the reins, he tapped his heels and increased his horse's speed. Her name was Equus, though he had yet to call her that. He did not want to form an attachment to this beast any more than he wanted to grow accustomed to his mission. He had a list of villages to visit, a longer list of people to train, and a seemingly unending number of weeks to do it in. He hated that part the most. He wanted it to be over. He wanted to return to the caves and find Meaghan waiting for him. Instead, he followed Faillen's training plan and loathed the realization that it would take months to complete. Months of training meant the rescue party did not expect to make it back anytime soon. Or worse, Faillen expected they would not make it back at all and had left his entire plan with Nick to ensure the villagers were prepared for battle without his lead.

  Weary, Nick closed his eyes, and then realized his stupidity and forced his eyes back open. A moonless night sky and thick fog already made him near-blind. He did not need to eliminate what little sight he had left, or worse, fall asleep while riding. An owl hooted to his right, startling him. He tightened his hands on the reins again and then sighed when the horse slowed down.

  Why had Cal insisted on getting him a horse? He hated them. He hated their unpredictability and stubbornness. He preferred to use his own feet so he could have complete control over each step, and always knew which direction and pace he would be traveling. Granted, he might have had better luck controlling this four-legged fiend if he had paid more attention to his equestrian course in Guardian school, or if he had gone with Meaghan to her riding lessons on Earth. Aunt Vivian had warned him that he might regret the decision. She had been right, as she always seemed to be, but he had taken her sage advice as motherly doting. Now he realized it might have been her way of conveying one of her visions.

  Sometimes being the nephew of a Seer had its disadvantages. He raised his hand to his chest, pressing his palm over his heart as a familiar ache grabbed him. He wished he had her by his side now. He would gladly endure one of her lectures just to know what she saw in his future. He would give anything to know if the prophecy's prediction of Meaghan's death would come true.

  The horse stopped again and Nick gritted his teeth to prevent his frustration from boiling over. This time he had not pulled on her reins. He was certain of that. Yet she remained rooted to the ground as if the mud under her hooves had turned to glue. He knocked his knees into her sides to ease her forward. She took one step, then another, and froze again.

  “Come on,” he begged. “We're almost there. I'd like to be under a roof tonight. I don't think this storm is done with us.”

  To punctuate his point, a bolt of lightning streaked through the sky overhead, chased closely by the steady drumming of thunder. The horse reared, almost throwing Nick, but he managed to hold his grip, calming her before she bolted. He tried to urge her forward again, but with each insistent prod, she stepped backward. Finally, while he debated cooking horse burgers for dinner, he saw a light making its way through the darkness. At first only a pinpoint, it grew closer, revealing a lantern, and then broke the fog so that he could see its bearer. When he recognized Miles, he understood why the horse had refused to move further.

  They had already arrived at their destination. Nick had been too tired to notice the yearning his body felt to escape the area, but the horse had noticed his apprehension and reacted to it. He stifled a yawn and dismounted from his saddle. It had been far too long since he last slept well. He would have to take a sleeping potion tonight to silence his nightmares or he would make easy Mardróch prey tomorrow.

  “You made it,” Miles said as he removed the reins from Nick's hand. “And I see you haven't killed Equus yet.”

  “Every day is a close call for her,” Nick replied. “Especially since I despise silten,” he reached up to pat the animal on the neck, “and horses.”

  Miles chuckled. He lifted a hand to run it through his salt-and-pepper dusted hair. His face, once soft and round, now looked angular and weathered. His deep gray eyes had dulled with weariness. Nick wondered what had happened to age him so much in so little time. It had only been two weeks.

  “You look tired, Miles,” he remarked. “Are you well?”

  “As well as can be expected,” Miles responded. “Everything is in order here. They're ready for you, as I'm sure you are for them.” He took Nick's hand and held it between his own. “You are welcome here, Nick,” he said before letting go. The lights of a large village appeared in the distance. Miles led the way toward them. “This village should provide a nice break after the last two you visited. Did you have success with them?”

  “I did, although the people in the Village at Shadow Woods had trouble understanding why they needed to learn how to fight. When I got there, they seemed to be under the impression that Garon wouldn't bother with a village so small.”

  “And now?” Miles asked.

  “Word arrived that their neighboring village had been destroyed. It had half the population of theirs. Is it truly gone?”

  Miles nodded. “And Phylline with it, I'm afraid. There are many who are mourning her, not to mention the loss of a Firestarter is devastating for our cause.”

  “Her husband died in a battle last year, didn't he?” Nick asked.

  Miles nodded again. Nick focused his attention on the village, letting it serve as a beacon against the increasingly colder night. He had met Phylline several times and would be among those who mourned her death.

  “What about Bella and Ty?” he asked.

  “Safe,” Miles said. “Phylline sent them to stay with their grandmother a few weeks ago. She had suspicions that they had a traitor in their midst. She hoped to ferret him out, but she never got the chance.”

  “I'm glad her children are safe,” Nick said. “Although I wish things could have been different for her.”

  “It's the way of things,” Miles said, and though his words sounded callous, the pain in his voice and the sorrow cresting over his face told Nick otherwise. Phylline had been the daughter of a friend from Miles's childhood village, a friend counted among the dead during Garon's original betrayal. Nick wondered how much longer things could continue this way before those still standing buckled from the grief.

  He concentrated on the lights up ahead again and changed the subject. “Have y
ou heard anything from the rescue party?”

  “Not yet,” Miles answered. “But in this case, that's a good thing. They don't have any way to contact us, so I imagine if they reach out to us it will be to deliver bad news.”

  Nick stopped and stared at him. It was bad enough that Meaghan would be gone so long. He did not want to think about having no updates at all during that time. “What do you mean they have no way to contact us?” he mustered. “Aren't they using Scree to deliver messages?”

  “They didn't take the gildonae with them,” Miles told him. “They felt the bird would make their travels too conspicuous, so they left her in the care of Faillen's son. We can send her to find her master if there's an emergency, but we've been instructed not to let her fly away for any other reason.”

  “I see,” Nick said and kept walking. The fog grew thicker, turning his wet skin to ice. He tucked his hands into his pockets and chased away the anger and panic gripping him. He had come to this village for a reason and he needed to focus on that. “I'll meet with Darius in the morning and fill him in on his new duties. I've discovered it's best to get that out of the way first. Guardians are used to being trained, but they aren't used to doing the training. Once he's had time to process his new role, we'll collect the villagers for a meeting.”

  “That sounds good,” Miles agreed. “Only you won't have to worry about filling in the Head Guardian of this village. Zellíd will be in charge. I explained your mission to him when I sent for him. I expect him to arrive some time tonight.”

  “Zellíd?” Nick asked, confused. “What happened to Darius?”

  “I thought it was time for a change,” Miles responded. He smiled, but the gesture held little comfort. It appeared almost as hard as his eyes.

  “What happened?” Nick pressed. “He's been guarding this village for nearly twenty years. You wouldn't have made a sudden change without a reason.”