"It doesn't really matter if you do or you don't. You're opinion carries as much weight as a snowflake in summer."
"Bitch!" Deffry spat.
Elthrinn smiled coolly. "No, I'm probably the only woman in the country who technically isn't. You, however..."
"How dare you speak to me like that," Deffry hissed.
"She dares because she is perfectly entitled to." Gorren's voice was quiet, but full of menace.
"You'll be back in my bed before Dythegg." Elthrinn could see that Deffry's confidence was brittle, but her words still stung a pride that she hadn't known was vulnerable to such arrows. "Such a scrawny thing can't hold much appeal for long."
"You forget who you're speaking to." Jorm's voice was quiet and steady, and that in itself was frightening.
"And you greatly overestimate your own appeal." Ornef's tone was equally hostile.
Elthrinn wasn't sure if she was appeased by the inference that Deffry's attentions hadn't solely been claimed by Gorren, or if his lack of discernment about who he kept company with made her think less of him. She settled on the opinion that she had no business judging a life that she'd been no part of.
It appeared that Deffry at last realised that she had no friendly defenders sitting before her, but that didn't stop her shooting a look of hate at Elthrinn before sticking her nose in the air, and going to find more receptive company. Elthrinn watched as the woman draped herself over the knee of a nearby patron, who was too drunk to question such a bounty when it plopped itself down in his lap. If Deffry's mission was to engender jealousy, it was failing miserably. From their unfriendly, downright angry, expressions, it didn't look like Deffry would be enjoying the attentions of any of Gorren's friends again.
"I'm sorry about her," Gorren murmured at Elthrinn's ear.
Elthrinn smiled, but the remaining twinge of jealousy stopped her from being able to act in as relaxed a manner as she wished to. "There's no need for apologies. You had a life before I arrived in Dorvek, as did I."
"But still, her disrespect was untenable."
"I'll be on the receiving end of more of that, I'm sure." Elthrinn sighed inwardly, as the endless truth of that statement sank into her soul.
"Not if we have anything to do with it," Jorm stated. The others nodded in agreement.
Elthrinn was grateful for their support, but she had a feeling that their confidence was badly misplaced. They could neither rub out all the evidence of Gorren's past, or change the fact that she could not shift into another form.
Chapter Twelve
Gorren felt that his time with Elthrinn had been progressing well. It had been harder to find the opportunity to continue their enforced courtship once his furlough from the army had ended, but they had been able to share the end of every day.
Each evening began with a meal with his family. Although that time was uncomfortable, with all conversation proving stilted in the face of his father's brusque demeanour, and his brother's self-satisfied airs.
Gorren had shown Elthrinn around Cranak Hall He'd toured the corridors with her until he was sure that she could find her own way around. He'd been at a loss for some way to occupy their time that wouldn't engender more awkwardness, and had been blessed with her delight when he'd shown her the library. His mother told him that during the day when he was at the barracks, Elthrinn curled up on one of the padded sofas, and devoured book after book.
After their evening meal, Gorren and Elthrinn usually retired to the library. At first he had been concerned that she would be bored from spending the majority of each day in the same room, but that did not seem to be the case. He wondered if her affinity to the room was related to the fact that it held no appeal for any other of the male members of his family, but regardless, he liked that they had a place that they could call their own.
They would sit and talk, or read together. Elthrinn would often ask him questions if she had been reading the histories of Dorvek and its people. She was intelligent and inquisitive, which only increased Gorren's appreciation of her. He often had to fight the urge to touch her in small ways. They had found a rapport, and he didn't want to do anything to jeopardise that, at least not before the wedding. He wanted Elthrinn to be as peaceful in her mind as possible while they endured that spectacle. As his admiration of his fiancée had grown, he had had to conquer other urges, but those battles were saved for the darkest hours when he was alone in his bed.
For a period of eight nights, the army had been despatched on a training exercise to the southern borders of the country, where Dorvek joined its considerably friendlier neighbour, Dassrin. The Generals had stated that the army needed to acclimate to warmer temperatures, but they had not disclosed the reasons yet. Gorren was not happy about the lack of information. Heethl was in the north, and generally colder than Dorvek. It was easy to surmise that the army was not preparing to fight the trolls.
Before leaving, Gorren had elicited needless promises from his mother to watch over Elthrinn. His mother had born his repeated requests with patient good humour, and then told him that he must think her a fool. Never the less, he was relieved and pleased to see that Elthrinn had been safe and happy in his absence. He had not been able to rest easy during their separation, and it had raised concerns about their future, when more, and longer, periods spent apart would be necessary. He had noticed that Elthrinn carried a small knife, no matter how she planned to spend her day. Gorren determined that he was going to find out if she knew how to use it effectively. If she didn't, by the scruff of the Grey Wolf he would teach her, and possibly provide her with a bigger blade.
The army had returned to Cranak two days before. Since his arrival home, Gorren had been required to be absent from the hall, and from Elthrinn, by his military duties. On this day, he had been called to a meeting with one of the Generals in the morning, but the rest of the day would be his to do as he wished with. He wished to spend it with Elthrinn.
Gorren had risen before the rays of dawn had begun to brighten the sky, since he now had to make the journey from the hall to the barracks. General Lorch had requested that the meeting take place at first light. Gorren had expected to be told that the meeting was taking place in the mess hall, where there would be room to accommodate all the other ranks that he had assumed would be present, but on asking for the General, he was informed that he should go directly to Lorch's private quarters. Gorren hoped that the meeting was more enlightening than the circumstances surrounding its arrangement.
Gorren knocked on the General's door, and was granted entry by the man himself.
"Ahh, Captain, right on time. Come in, come in."
General Lorch was tall, even by Dorvern standards. Gorren rarely encountered another being that made him feel dwarfed, but the General always did. In part, it was also his personality. Lorch was a born leader who constantly exuded an air of quiet authority.
Gorren allowed himself to be directed to a seat by the hearth. The General took a chair opposite him. Gorren couldn't say that he was intrigued by the informality of the meeting; he was confused, and had a terrible sense of foreboding. The General was a mentor to Gorren, but even that familiar relationship gave Gorren no comfort at this moment.
"You'll be wondering why I called you here alone, then?" Lorch began.
"Indeed, Sir."
"What I'm about to tell you is roughly the same information that will be imparted to the rest of the troops today. But it will have particular meaning for you, hence my desire to discuss the subject in private."
Gorren waited for the General to continue.
"We are allying with the Felthissian army. It is planned that we will march to meet them at the Forest of Thorak at the moon of Degved. Once we are joined, we will march for Vuthron."
Gorren tried hard not to let his jaw drop, but his stomach sank into his boots. "We'll invade Vuthron? Why?"
"Because it is what Felthiss wishes to do, and we are their allies now."
Gorren had a sickening feeling that he knew
now why Lorch had asked to speak to him alone. "This is linked to Elthrinn?"
"Yes, this alliance, and the demands that have been issued since it was agreed, are the product of your marriage to the pretty stray."
"Was my father aware of this plan when he agreed to the marriage?"
"That, I don't know. You'll have to ask him. We're not close enough for me to be privy to such information."
Gorren didn't know whether to hope that his father had made the bargain in ignorance. If he had, it showed a dangerous lack of leadership, foresight, and judgement. If he hadn't, then it showed a callous disregard for the lives of his soldiers.
Degved was the tenth moon of the year; it was almost Uthved, the eighth moon, the moon that was to shine over Gorren's marriage to Elthrinn. A long and perilous separation was closer on the horizon than he had feared.
"I'm sorry, Gorren. I know it's a poor reason to shorten your honeymoon. Life for the lass must be difficult enough. She'll not be favoured any the better if people see her as the reason we march to someone else's war." Lorch's sympathy was evident, but even the General had to do as the king commanded.
Gorren propped his elbows onto his knees, and dropped his head into his hands. He needed to think, but his skull felt too small to contain all his thoughts.
"Do we stand a chance against armies of the risen dead?"
"We stand a better chance than the Felthissian men. They'll be much slower than we are, easier to kill. They can be disarmed of their weapons, our claws and teeth can't be taken from us so easily. It's much harder to overwhelm an eight-foot half-wolf than a six-foot man, but numbers are numbers. If King Kavrazel is as strong as the reports say, then we'll have a fight on our hands."
Lorch sounded no happier about the situation than Gorren felt, but his words triggered an errant thought. Gorren raised his head.
"Do you know General Jorrell?"
Lorch was perplexed, but he answered. "Yes, we've met a time or two."
"Do you happen to know if his father is... was... a consul of the country?" Gorren couldn't recall Elthrinn ever mentioning her father's name, but there could not be that many occurrences of a General by that name also claiming a consul as his father.
"Yes, his father was a consul. It's not something he speaks of often, but he mentioned it once. It was a while ago. I was in Nari at the time, there may have been wine involved in the event of the disclosure."
"I believe that he's Elthrinn's brother."
Lorch sat back in his chair. The puzzled expression on his face hadn't eased. "This makes no sense. "
Gorren rubbed his fingers through his hair, and through his beard as he thought. "Erkas sent Elthrinn here as the price for the alliance..."
"There's nothing so unusual about that in politics," Lorch interrupted.
"But Erkas has no direct power over Elthrinn. She's old enough to be independent of him. He made threats, serious threats, against the lives of people she cares about to ensure her cooperation."
"I heard they were related?"
"Not by blood, or marriage, more by association."
"So he forces the sister of one of his best Generals to be a pawn in his game, to secure an alliance for a war he cannot win, in which said General will surely be killed," Lorch surmised.
"Elthrinn once said that Erkas was evil. He must not favour General Jorrell at all. It seems he's out to cause him deliberate pain."
"I'd keep your fears to yourself, Gorren," Lorch advised, his voice was serious and low. "If folk round here learn that we march so far, for a reason so petty, they'll come to hate the poor girl."
"At least I can tell her that her brother is alive."
"Aye, but for how much longer? You might want to spare her the burden of that knowledge."
Gorren had thought that the one bright spark of the dire news that he would have to give Elthrinn, was that he would be able to tell her that her brother was definitely alive; but Lorch gave excellent advice. Gorren didn't think he could bear to give Elthrinn a shred of hope, only to return to her with the news that her brother was dead. That he might not return to her himself was a concept that he refused to contemplate. He had promised her he would remain true; he would simply have to make sure that his promise did not become a lie.
~o0o~
Gorren returned to Cranak Hall, but only after he'd stopped to share his news with Jorm, Delban, and Ornef. They'd talked at some length about the implications of the mission, but they had no power to reverse it, no standing with which to voice their opposition. In the way of all soldiers, they would simply have to try to survive it.
Needing to be in motion, and away from his father until he could order his thoughts and emotions better, Gorren suggested to Elthrinn that they ride out to The Glass Lake. The serenity of the still waters always calmed him, and he had noted Elthrinn's preference for the location was second only that of the waterfall in the forest. Gorren didn't want to sit and watch the rushing water; he wanted to be able to move, to walk, to feel the earth under his feet, and to see the wide, unfettered sky over his head.
The day that Elthrinn had declared herself fit to ride her own horse again had been a bitter day for Gorren, but he hadn't wanted to deny her that freedom by demanding that she always share a saddle with him. They rode side-by-side in silence until they reached the lake. Elthrinn followed Gorren's lead when he dismounted, and allowed his horse to graze at will.
The lake was large, and the terrain of its shoreline varied widely. In places the pine forest began at the water's edge, at other points, the banks were rocky cliffs and outcrops. In other places, including the one where they now stood, the shore of the lake was a beach of shale and chips of slate rock. It was possible to walk all the way around the lake, although the parts where the trees were dense were trickier to navigate. Over the vista, the majestic peaks of the Orys mountains stood guard.
Gorren took a moment to appreciate the freshness of the air. The water had a scent, which was slightly metallic. The pine forest overwhelmed nearly everything else, although he caught hints of the musk of bear, wolf, and deer. But even the pungent smell of the trees could not disguise Elthrinn's scent; it was spicy with the fragrance of the lotions that she bathed with, but it was entirely unique to him. It was positively mouth-watering. Rather than stand and salivate, Gorren began to walk. Elthrinn followed him.
He still felt overwhelmed by the situation before him, but he was not so distracted that he did not see that Elthrinn shivered a little, once she was away from the heat of her mount. She was dressed in the usual fashion, and she was wearing a thick cloak, but she was still unused to the climate. The day was bitterly sharp with the promise of the coming snows, but it was still one of the warmer periods of the year.
"Here, we can't have you catching cold." Gorren shed his own cloak, a combination of wool and wolf pelts - the kind of wolves that never walked on two legs - and draped it around her shoulders.
"What about you?" The long garment, which swept the floor when Gorren wore it, fair drowned his companion; but she gathered it more tightly around her, appearing to snuggle into it, lifting the hem from in front of her feet as she walked.
"I don't feel the cold as you do." He had his leather coat on; that would be enough. He wouldn't want to spend a night under the stars without his cloak, but he would be comfortable enough for a walk around the lake.
Until that moment, Gorren had still been undecided about how much of his news he should impart to Elthrinn, but on looking into those wide, beautiful eyes, that still did not fully trust him, he knew he couldn't keep the knowledge from her.
"I spoke with one of my superiors today. He knows General Jorrell. He knows that Jorrell had a consul for a father. I believe that the General is your brother."
Elthrinn stopped walking, and looked blankly up at him.
"Your brother is alive, Elthrinn," he reiterated.
She blinked twice before she spoke. "Thank you. I mean. I'm sorry that I don't seem more... I don't know..
. moved, but I've believed him dead for so long. You tell me he's alive, but he's not here. It's a very... abstract concept."
It wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting, but he could understand her explanation. He had to tell her the full story of his morning, though. He started walking again, and Elthrinn fell into step beside him. Gorren kept his strides short in deference to her height; otherwise she would soon have been outpaced.
"I've also received word of the next orders for the army."
"Really? That sounds ominous." Elthrinn seemed to giving more attention than was strictly necessary to the path in front of her.
"We're to march against Vuthron in two moons."
Searching the Darkness (Erythleh Chronicles Book 2) Page 13