“You won't,” she promised, though her voice shook and Meaghan realized Talea did not fully believe the words she spoke. “You heard Cal. We'll be safer on the mountain than you'll be down here.”
“Cal said that to ease Talis's mind,” Artair told her. “Your brother's as worried about you as I am. I don't know why you took this mission. I thought we agreed you would turn it down. That's why Talis volunteered.”
“I know, but I'd rather be here than waiting at home for news. At least if I'm here with you and Talis, I can protect you both.”
Artair sighed, the sound bittersweet. “I love you,” he said.
Silence settled over the night. Artair pressed his lips to Talea's forehead, then her cheek before dropping his affection to her neck. He stayed there for a breath before lifting his head again.
“I can't stand the thought of not knowing what's happening,” he told her. “I feel like I could protect you better if I knew. You're the only family I have.”
“We aren't technically family yet,” she said with a smile. “Although I have no doubt we will be someday. And when this war is over, we'll make our family grow. Twins run in the family, you know. We may wind up with a lot of kids.”
Artair chuckled and lowered his forehead to hers. “That would be fine with me. Let's have at least a dozen sets of twins.”
“Maybe not that many,” Talea responded and then laughed. “I'd settle for four kids. I'm not sure I could handle more than that if any of them have my power.”
“Why not? More makes sense. Otherwise, we may wind up with none. Consider any children past four to be spares for when they get in fights.”
“Very funny,” Talea said and swatted his arm. “I don't want to think about our kids melting each other's brains.”
“Then how about you think about me,” he said and drew his hands to her face. “How about you think about our first beautiful baby, the one we'll have when we return home. I don't want to wait too long.”
“After we're wed,” she told him.
“After,” he said and pressed his lips to hers. When he drew back from her, he smiled again. “I guess the wedding isn't going to happen tonight.”
“Maybe not, but that doesn't mean you have to stop kissing me.”
Bringing her arm around his neck, Talea drew him back to her. Meaghan felt like an intruder. She averted her eyes and stepped further into the shadows, intending to head back to camp, but a flash of color caught her attention instead. She could not help but stare.
The way the color moved was different than she had seen before. Talea's was white. Artair's was purple. Their colors swirled around them, caressing and holding the Guardians as it mixed into light violet. It stayed that way for some time before separating and dissolving back into their bodies.
Their wedding had been subtle, a quiet process compared to both Meaghan's parents and her own. In both those cases, the color had exploded, combining and rushing back into its hosts with speed and near violence. Talea and Artair's wedding had been far more beautiful to watch.
Meaghan turned, and then froze when she saw Talis standing behind her.
“So now you know,” he whispered, removing his gaze from his sister to look at Meaghan. “We should go before they catch us.”
Meaghan nodded and followed him. When they arrived back at the fire, Malaki stood.
“I heard,” he said. “I'll let you two take the guard.”
“Try not to listen,” Talis told him, then rolled his eyes when Malaki simply grinned in response. Talis sat down on the log Malaki had vacated and waited for Meaghan to do the same.
“I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't mention this to anyone. Artair and Talea want to keep it a secret.”
“I won't,” she promised. “How long have they been seeing each other?”
“Since they met at the battle,” Talis said. “They fell in love soon after, when the Elders stationed Artair at Talea's village. It's been a fast wedding, but they're right for each other.”
“I sensed love in him. I didn't realize it was for Talea.” She stared into the fire and frowned. “Is that why he's been acting so strangely?”
“Yes. He was in love once before. His girlfriend was killed in an attack and he's terrified it's going to happen again. Now that they're wed, I'm sure his fear will only get worse.” Talis leaned forward and clutched his hands together between his knees. “Artair's a good guy. I like him, and I want to give him the chance to build a life with Talea, but I need your help to do that.”
“What do you propose?” Meaghan asked.
“That I go in Talea's place tomorrow,” Talis answered. “I know my power isn't as aggressive as my sister's, but it's useful. If you talk to Cal, convince him I'm the right person for the job, I'm sure he'll listen.”
Meaghan nodded. “I'll talk to him tomorrow. It's best if I wait until we're closer to splitting up. He'll be more distracted.”
“Thank you,” Talis said. He stared at the ground for a few minutes and Meaghan let the silence slip by, unsure if she felt relieved by it or uneasy.
“I didn't expect you to agree so easily,” Talis finally said, looking back up at her. “I thought I'd have to fight to get you to change your plans. You surprise me sometimes.”
She stood. “Maybe none of us knows each other as well as we think. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed. Malaki can stand guard with you.”
“Of course,” Talis responded. “I'll get him.”
“Somehow, I don't think that's necessary.”
No sooner had she spoken the words then Malaki's tent flipped open. He winked at her before rejoining Talis on the log.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“WE DON'T have much time left,” Talis whispered. He glanced toward Cal, who led the moerith at the front of the group. “He hasn't given you the chance to talk to him yet, has he?”
“Not really,” Meaghan said. “He's too worried about our sensing powers. He awoke this morning and realized he couldn't sense me at all anymore.”
Talis frowned. “His ability to sense your presence was our last working sensing power. I don't have a good feeling about this.”
“Neither do I,” she admitted. “But it's not like we can turn back.”
“True. At least we still have our other powers. How much longer until we reach the mountain?”
“Another thirty minutes maybe,” she guessed. “We plan to start climbing at the entrance to the gorge. We're supposed to split up then, so I'll be sure to talk to him before that happens.”
“Thanks,” Talis said. “It'll be a relief to know Talea will be staying here. With the razor beasts hunting us, the terrain on the mountain won't be safe.”
Meaghan pressed her lips together instead of responding and he grimaced. “I didn't mean that the way it sounded,” he said. “It's just that she's my sister and—”
Meaghan held up her hand to stop him. “Don't worry about it, I understand. We're going to be razor beast dinner while she's down here partying with the villagers. She's earned the celebration.”
Talis chuckled. “Glad you're okay with it.”
Meaghan grinned, and then stopped when her horse pulled on his reins. She turned to look at the animal. “Are you okay, Illius?”
The horse whinnied in response. She ran a hand down his mane and felt him shudder. “I think there's something wrong,” she said to Talis. “Can you get Faillen for me?”
“Of course,” Talis responded, but before he had the chance to take a step, she put her hand on his arm to stop him. “Wait,” she said, focusing on one of the horse's back legs. The animal tried to lift it several times, but each time, he only managed to raise it a few inches above the tall grass. She bent down to look at his ankle, and as she had suspected, saw the green tendril of a creeper vine latched around it.
“Take these, please,” she said, handing the reins to Talis. Grabbing a knife from her belt, she moved behind the horse, and then freed him with two swift strokes. The vine retreated
from her, spewing red goo as it recoiled into the woods to nurse its amputation. She reached around the horse's leg to unwrap the dead tendril, and then jumped back when Illius tried to kick her for the effort.
“Damn it. I'm trying to help you.”
The horse whinnied again in protest, and Talis frowned. “He's shaking,” he said, then focused his attention on the rest of the group as they continued to move forward. “Faillen,” he called out. “I think we need your help.”
Faillen stopped and turned. Meaghan saw the alarm on his face a fraction of a second before she saw its source. A blur of dark brown fur and sharp white teeth flew toward her. She spun on her heels and launched the knife in her hand. It found its mark, dead center between the razor beast's red eyes. The animal collapsed, lifeless, its claws extended inches from her feet. Her heart hammered in her chest, but she had no time to calm it. She heard a yell at her side, and then the sounds of thrashing. She collected her spent knife and swung around. Her hand sought another knife, but as soon as she saw the source of the commotion, she knew it would not be enough.
Dozens of cats attacked from the woods. Faillen picked off as many of them as he could with his arrows. Artair launched electrical orbs at others, singeing their fur and sending them dead to the ground. Talea brought her hands forward in an attempt to use her power on the animals, but it seemed to have no effect. She grabbed a sword and hacked away at the beasts instead. Malaki and Eudor joined her with similar efforts while Cal and Talis ignored their weapons in lieu of their powers, creating small tornadoes and directing them toward the beasts.
More cats spilled in from the surrounding forest. One bounded toward Talis, but before Meaghan could call out a warning, it had pounced, knocking him into the grass. They tumbled together, a blur of skin and fur flashing within the green. The beast landed on top and a fraction of a second later, five razor-sharp claws slashed through the air. Talis's scream chilled Meaghan's blood. She plowed into the beast with her shoulder, knocking them both to the ground, then sprang to her knees and plunged her knife into its heart.
Talis groaned behind her and she scrambled to his side. What little she could see of his injury through heavy blood turned her stomach. Hamburger meat looked more cohesive than the muscle forming his leg.
“Talis—”
“I'm fine,” he snapped, though she knew his pain had to be extreme. He cut off his pant leg, then tied it around his thigh and used a stick to twist the material tight. Although his tourniquet would slow the flow of blood for now, he would have to get to a Healer soon if he hoped to survive. “Help me up,” he said.
She braced his side, but realized her mistake as soon as she did. She needed both of her arms to support him, leaving her no way to fight. A cat charged toward them. She stiffened, prepared to drop Talis, but an orb found the cat first. One of Faillen's arrows took down another beast that had spotted them.
“We'll never get out of here,” Talis said. “There are too many of them. You'll need to leave me behind so you can run.”
“I'm not giving up that easily,” Meaghan responded. “We may not be able to fight them, but we can plan a better escape than running blindly into the forest.” She scanned the woods ahead of them. Rocky outcroppings dotted the land, marking the start of the closest mountain and among them, she found the hope she needed.
“How well can you control wind?” she asked Talis. “Can you create a funnel big enough to block out the cats around us?”
“I can create one that large, but I can't control it. I'm not that strong.”
“What about a wall of wind?” she asked. “Can you use one to push them back?”
“Maybe,” he said. “I can try anyway.”
“Do it then.” She pointed toward the mountain. “We need to head in that direction.”
He nodded and focused on the ground at their feet. Wind whipped past, and then formed into a small funnel. It grew stronger, rushing faster until it looked semi-opaque and brown from dirt and leaves. Talis pushed his hands together, and then parted them, forcing the tornado to flatten and stretch into a wall. He directed it past the front of the group, and then flicked his fingers in an attempt to pull it around. A corner formed, but soon the wind died down. He tried again with the same success. Sweat dripped from Talis's hair. He tensed from the effort, and Meaghan worried he would not have the energy to complete the job with his injury.
“I can't,” he finally said. He dropped his hands, letting go of the wind, but the wall did not break apart. It flared up instead, growing twice as thick as it had before. The beasts trapped on the other side of it howled in anger.
“Which way are we going?” Cal yelled. He held his hands up and Meaghan realized he now controlled the wind.
“That way,” she said, pointing to his right. “There's a cave.”
“Right,” he said. “Talis, keep the wind going. I'll do the rest.”
Talis nodded and focused on the task Cal gave him. The wall spread out behind and to the front of them, then closed out the last of the woods to their right. It whipped Meaghan's hair as it formed a box around them, but held no stronger force than that for the people within its boundaries. The cats outside launched toward the swirling force as they tried without success to push their way through it.
Only a few cats remained inside. Faillen finished them with several swift arrows before taking the lead. Cal brought up the rear. When they reached the cave, he dissipated the wind in front of them so they could enter.
Eudor and Malaki drove the pack animals to the back of the cave. Meaghan and Talis followed. Meaghan propped Talis against the back wall, then helped him slide down to the floor. Though she tried not to look at the gashes in his leg, her eyes seemed drawn to his mangled flesh. Now that the flow of blood had lessened, she could see bone exposed through remnants of muscle. She forced her gaze up to Talis's face. His skin had turned white. Sweat streaked down it, and she reached up to brush dirt from his brow.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Weak. I can't hold the wind much longer. Cal should be able to keep it going.”
But he would not be able to hold it forever. Even if he could, they would be trapped inside. Moving the wind into the cave if they needed to retreat further would confine it too much, putting them all at risk. Already, Meaghan could see it tossing large rocks against the cave walls as easily as a car kicked up gravel.
She glanced toward Cal, who still held up the last wall of wind like a shield. Everyone had made it inside. Talea and Artair dripped blood from superficial wounds on their arms. Malaki's cloak and shirt exposed claw marks in his chest. Although red stained the remaining tatters of his garments, his wound did not look critical. Cal, Eudor, and Faillen appeared to have avoided injury.
“Cal,” Meaghan said, but when he looked at her and nodded, she did not have to finish her thought. He knew.
“I'm going to drop the wall,” he announced. “We need to keep them back with every weapon we have.”
Faillen drew an arrow from his quiver and readied his bow. Artair formed a large electrical orb between his palms. Talea knelt beside Meaghan.
“I'll watch him,” she said. “My power is useless right now, but your aim is perfect. We need your knives.”
Meaghan stood. Turning to face the front of the cave, she yanked two blades from her belt and focused on the razor beasts that launched at the wind. One hit the force straight on, and then another. Both bounced back, but the third broke through as Talis's power weakened. A fourth found no resistance as the wall dissolved, allowing the rest of the pack to gain access.
The cave entrance stretched no wider than two of their pack animals, but that fact did not seem to deter the razor beasts. They pushed forward, their yowls menacing as they attacked. Over the bodies of the beasts brought down by Faillen's arrows, Meaghan saw dozens more waiting.
She cast her first knife at a cat stalking Cal. The animal staggered, and then continued to advance. A second knife brought the beast d
own, and she grabbed the last two knives from her belt. One ended the life of a cat that broke free of the pack and raced toward Talis. The last pierced the skull of a cat that bounded in her direction. Another beast charged toward her and she cast about for a weapon. She found only a pile of rocks on the ground beside her.
Desperate, she grabbed one and lobbed it at the beast. The air shattered into shards of brown and white. Meaghan flew backwards, and then someone caught her and set her back on her feet.
“Meaghan!”
The voice calling for her sounded distant. Her ears rang.
“Meaghan!” the voice came again. “Are you all right?”
She looked up, trying to focus her spinning world. Artair stared down at her, and then stared at her again. There were two of him. She shook her head to clear it and the two Artairs blended into one.
“Meaghan. Talk to me.”
Digging her fingers into his arms, she drew herself up, forcing her wobbly legs to hold her weight. Her head throbbed, but she pulled it around to see what had happened. The razor beast she had hit lay in pieces on the other side of the cave. Only a leg, a tail, and a few teeth remained. Talea covered Talis with her body, shielding him from the shards of stone that penetrated her cloak, drawing blood. The rest of the group stared at her. They looked shaken, and she wondered why they did not fight. The razor beasts would fill the cave within minutes without resistance.
Then she realized the beasts had retreated. They cowered just beyond the entrance, hissing in fright.
Meaghan felt sick. She pitched forward, losing her grip on Artair, but he tightened his hold. She saw a mountain approaching, dark and solid, and somehow in the back of her mind, she knew it was Cal.
“Is she hurt?” he asked.
“I don't know,” Artair responded. “She's not answering me.”
“I'll take her. Go collect her knives.”
Suddenly, she was falling again. She closed her eyes. Something hard hit her sides, squeezing, and she felt the rough wool of a cloak against her cheek.
Aerenden: The Zeiihbu Master (Ærenden) Page 17