by Rosie Scott
But it was a chance I felt I needed to take regardless.
I walked slowly toward him, stopping a few meters away. Skeletons standing around the mage watched me curiously from empty eye sockets, their chests rising and falling with low creaks as if the bodies still had need of air.
Most interesting, though, was the man. Even at this short distance, I could not see his face, just his chin and the top of his neck. He was pale. As a necromancer, I wouldn't have assumed anything else. His black cloak hung over light leather armor that was colored black. His armored leggings had all manner of sheaths and belts, straps and silver buckles. Blood dripped heavily from the sharp edge of his scythe. His black boots were thick and worn. Silver rings adorned each of his fingers, some of them etched with arcanic symbols. One was shaped like a skull, which I found fitting.
“Leave me at peace, and no harm will come to you.” His voice was low, with the natural rough edge to it few men had. The sound of it traveled pleasurably down my spine on a shiver.
“I promise you, I mean you no harm. I witnessed the—”
“Serans mean me nothing but harm. Just admit you are here for the bounty your father put upon my head, and be done with it.”
My heart stopped, before it tripped over itself to beat doubly as hard to make up for lost time. I wore nothing that would let strangers know I was Seran, let alone an heir of royalty. Slowly, over the span of a few seconds that crawled through molasses, my brain caught up to my gut.
Black hair. Pale skin. Wields life. Knows who I am. Lives just a fortnight away from his home.
“Cerin,” I said. It was a statement of bewilderment and relief, all rolled up into one word of confusion.
“You could be an actress, Kai. You sound surprised.” He tilted his head, slightly. I caught a glimpse of a full lower lip before it was hidden again in shadow.
“I am surprised. I'm shocked, actually.” I hesitated, before my eyes widened. “By the gods, it all makes sense now.” Cerin said nothing, and he didn't move. Finally, I added, “You must have practiced necromancy at the college. They caught you, didn't they?”
There was a huff of amusement that came out from the hood. “I have no time for your act. Get it out of your head that you're going to capture me, or prepare to die. I have no plans to return to Sera.”
“Neither do I,” I replied. I heard the others approach me from the forest. Perhaps they figured this would all go downhill, quickly, at Cerin's threatening words. I couldn't pretend I wasn't hurt by them.
“Like hell,” Cerin retorted. “They welcome you there.”
“They used to welcome me there, before I refused my duty and escaped. Don't begin to pretend you understand who I am today, Cerin, when you haven't seen me in years.” It was risky to get an attitude with such a dangerous man, but I was more than able to handle myself if things were to come to blows. I hoped it wouldn't ever come to that. I wasn't sure how I expected things to go if I were to ever see my childhood friend again, but it certainly hadn't been anything like this.
“You're right. I don't know who you are, and you don't know who I am.” There was a hesitation. Cerin's skeletons watched me with just as much curiosity as they had moments ago. “Humor me, then. Why are you here, if not for my bounty?”
“I am not even here for you. I am headed for Whispermere. I have reason to believe I have biological family there.”
Cerin was silent a moment. He had been one of the few to know I wasn't Sirius's daughter by blood, because I had told him that in school years ago. I also realized that admitting this to him meant that Theron was now clued in to our true purpose. “I have been to Whispermere,” he finally said. “If you have family there, you may not like what you find.”
A thick ache seized my gut. “You were there? Why?”
“I move around,” he replied, vaguely. “I was there. They wouldn't let me in, but they didn't banish me like most. They allowed me to trade with them outside the gate, and sent me on my way.” A pause. “It's neither here or there. The fact remains that you are on this personal mission, and yet you stopped to speak to me. Why?”
“Because I just witnessed one man single-handedly demolish an army of orcs and come out of it no worse for wear,” I replied, as if it were obvious. “I like to surround myself with capable people. I wanted to ask you to join us.”
“Kai, you must be jesting,” Silas interjected, stepping forward to grab my arm. “Former friend or not, he is a necromancer. You would doom us all.”
“You forget that I am a necromancer as well,” I retorted.
“In name only,” the elf replied. “You do not practice.”
“As I'm sure Cerin wouldn't if he would ever be discovered,” I reasoned. “And besides, I am already on the run from my father. It is not like I'm still on the good side of the law.”
“You are on the run from him because you disobeyed his orders and fled recruitment to his army. A much lesser charge than harboring a necromancer!” Silas was exasperated.
“I told you weeks ago, Silas, that you were no longer under my father's rule. If you disagree with my decisions, feel free to cut your ties with me and go.” I stared at my former lover, defiant. His green eyes softened, before he looked away, hurt and defeated.
“Do what you must,” he murmured, his voice conflicted. I felt the pain on his tone, and instantly regretted my sharp tone and words. Now was not the time to talk with him over that, however.
I turned back to Cerin, who had listened to our whole argument with interest and in silence. He turned his head to face me directly. Finally, the angle allowed the sunlight to reach his face, albeit barely. Piercing silver eyes met my gaze for the first time in years. There was a curiosity in them, despite their distance. I swallowed hard at seeing him fully again, after all this time. It was Cerin, all right. Six years older and carrying plenty of tragedy.
“Join us,” I said. It was a plea, but my tone did not betray this.
“What do you offer?” He asked.
“A cut of the money we make, all loot we acquire. Work. Adventure. Friendship.” The last word had slipped its way out. It sounded so pathetic once it was out, but I couldn't take it back. And I did mean it.
One side of Cerin's mouth raised in an amused smile. “You must think I am so quick to trust.”
“No, I can see you're not. That hurts me, given our past.” I watched as an emotion flashed through his eyes, before he blinked at me, getting rid of it. I went on, “I do accept it, though. I will earn your trust. In the meantime, if you ever suspect anything in the slightest, you are free to leave.”
Cerin watched me for a moment. His eyes also flickered over to my ragtag group of companions, before he lifted a hand at his side, waving it quickly through the air. Just like that, all of the skeletons and corpses nearby collapsed, dispelled.
“Very well,” he agreed.
Eleven
Camping for the first time with Cerin was going to be awkward. The man clearly didn't like to speak more than what was necessary, and he also was suspicious of our true intentions. I hoped that the fact we were traveling in the exact opposite direction of Sera would put his mind at ease.
As a child, Cerin had been shy, but he had been sweet and humble. Time and circumstances had changed him. After offering to stop by his home to grab any necessities before he joined us, I'd been told he carried anything he couldn't live without on him, and had no true home. It didn't surprise me, given he was probably hunted by everything and everyone who knew of his skills. Cerin didn't know yet that we'd visited Thornwell, so he couldn't have known that telling me that would sadden me like it did.
Nyx pulled me aside that night as we set up the tents. There was a fire to her eyes I hadn't seen in quite some time.
“You have impeccable taste,” she mused, with a smile.
“I don't need you to tell me that,” I replied, to which she chuckled joyously.
“I'm so happy we found him, Kai. First him, then meeting your birth mot
her in Whispermere...have anything else you wish to cross off your bucket list?”
“Yes...for both those things to actually go well,” I admitted, before glancing over to where Cerin sat, poking at the campfire with a stick. He had offered to fish for us, but we were camped so far out from the nearest stream that the other two men had offered to simply go out and hunt instead. My stomach began to ache when I thought of Silas. Out of all of us, he probably was having the worst time accepting the new member of our group.
“The first thing did. The second, we'll just have to wait and see.”
“Seeing Cerin didn't go well at all,” I argued.
“Are you kidding? He's here, isn't he?” She paused. “And I know a look of attraction when I see it, friend. That man there never thought he'd see you again, I can tell you that.” When I said nothing, she added, “Considering what he's been through, it's amazing he agreed to come at all.”
I agreed with that, at least internally. There had been a few desperate moments earlier on the battlefield where I had thought I'd found someone I had once lost, only to realize he wasn't the same. I told myself that even if we never did become friends again, I at least had him as an ally for the time being.
Theron and Silas returned with a small doe, and quickly set to preparing it for dinner. Silas took bone and hide and began to prepare it for use, like he always did. Tonight, though, he was withdrawn, and didn't seem to want to participate in conversation with the rest of us.
“Forgive me for overhearing,” Theron began, while roasting slabs of the meat over our campfire, “you have family in Whispermere?”
I noticed Cerin glance up to me. We hadn't yet fully introduced our new member to the others he'd never met. It may have been a surprise to learn that not everyone knew the reasons for which I was traveling.
“Allegedly,” I replied, my eyes watching the waves of flame dance in the air. “I received a letter from a woman claiming to be my mother. She knew things about me that I didn't think anyone outside of Sera knew. She requested me to come to see her in Whispermere.”
“It's a curiosity that she didn't come herself,” Theron commented.
“Yes...” I trailed off. There were so many things about the letter and its circumstances that didn't make total sense to me.
“The messenger claimed the city was built for her mother,” Nyx spoke up, beside me.
“Whispermere is very old,” Theron pointed out. “And Kai is human. Something about that stinks to me.”
“Maybe you are a half-breed, like Cerin,” Nyx commented.
I gritted my teeth. Nyx and her big mouth again had offered up information that Cerin didn't know. To tell him we'd stopped in Thornwell was to give him a reason to suspect us, since I had claimed I wasn't after him.
The necromancer's silver eyes were giving me an even stare when I finally dared to look. “You know more about me than I remember telling you,” he commented, low.
Nyx cursed under her breath when she realized her mistake. My mind rushed to think of the right words. “We took a short detour to Thornwell on our journey,” I admitted.
“What does Thornwell have to offer you on your way to Whispermere?” came his response, calculated and cold.
“I thought maybe I would find you living there,” I replied. “You were my only friend from the university, and I never knew what happened to you. This was my first time away from Sera, and we were passing it.”
“Did you find the answers you sought?” His voice formed it as more of a statement than a question. He seemed annoyed that I'd found any information at all. I couldn't blame him; everything I had learned of him there was very personal.
“No, not all of them,” I said, honestly. “I do know...about your parentage.”
Cerin kept his solid stare, but seemed unwilling to broach particular subjects as he said, “It is rare for a half-breed to have human shaped ears like I do. It is a recessive trait. Improbable. Not impossible.”
“You learn something new everyday,” Theron commented, his statement distracting me from the necromancer's glare. “So perhaps your mother is an elf.”
“Wouldn't that be a wonderful development?” Nyx mused, beside me. I knew she spoke of my lifespan. If I were part elf, it was possible my life wouldn't be nearly as short as I once imagined. I didn't want to allow myself to think this yet, however, lest I be disappointed.
Nyx, Theron, and I continued to speculate about my mother, while both Silas and Cerin remained silent. Theron was particularly talkative about the subject. Perhaps it simply interested him, or perhaps his problem-solving abilities as a ranger and tracker were happy to have something to feast upon. He didn't seem to care that this information had been withheld from him for a long while. He was probably used to it, given the mercenary's line of work, though I hoped that having this information open between us meant we could slowly become friends. We'd been on the move together for the better part of two seasons, and I had found the man to be hard to get to know.
The five of us ate dinner and prepared to go to bed. It was my turn to stay up for the first shift watch, though I caught Silas as he was readying himself to go into his tent.
“Wait,” I pleaded, my hand on his arm. He stopped, and glanced back. All of the hurt from the day was still at the forefront in his stare.
“What is it?”
“I wanted to apologize for being so blunt with you today,” I replied. “I didn't say what I needed to in the nicest of ways. It's true that you are no longer under my father's rule, and I do not place you under mine. You can leave, if you wish, but I'd much prefer that you stay.” I watched him as the words registered in his mind, before he exhaled through flared nostrils, and broke eye contact.
“There was once a time when you took my opinion under consideration,” he said, simply.
“I still do, Silas. Taking it under consideration does not mean we will agree.”
“Your decision today affects us all,” he protested, looking conflicted. “You have gone from a law-abiding citizen of Sera to willfully breaking the law. As soon as we are found out—and we will be—you become an enemy of Chairel. I become an enemy of Chairel. And I have my family to think about.” He met my gaze again, his jaw set so stiffly I saw the tension crease his cheeks.
I understood his position. People of royalty, like the both of us, had to consider the consequences our actions had on our family's reputation. The difference between Silas and I was that I simply didn't care. It would be my father's decision to come after me, and any conflicts from there that reflected upon his name would be his own doing.
“You have not left yet. What would you have done if my father sent his army? When they would inevitably attack us, would you have fled?”
The elf sighed after a moment. “No, I don't think I would have. I am conflicted, Kai. I have followed you for five years. I care for you. But I do not care for our circumstances.”
My heart ached with sadness. I hated that my decisions had affected him in such a way. For the first time in awhile, Silas wasn't happy here with me, and I didn't know what the future held for him.
I left Silas to his tent, and turned toward the campfire. To my surprise, Cerin still sat beside it, though he'd turned toward the night sky, watching it in silence. I knew that by now, Theron and Nyx were probably asleep.
I walked over slowly to the seat beside his, and sat down. If he noticed, he didn't say anything. I wanted to talk to him, but it was hard to break the silence with a man who was partial to it. Thus, the two of us sat in silence until I was pretty sure even Silas was asleep. Then, I finally got the nerve to speak.
“It is my watch tonight,” I said. When Cerin didn't reply, I added, “You are free to sleep.”
“I am fine where I sit,” he responded, barely after the words left my lips.
“I understand you do not trust me, but you will not make it long or far without sleep.”
“I don't know how much of the battle you saw, but I absorbed the better
portion of an entire ogre's lifeblood. I will not need sleep for a day or two.” He said this without looking over at me, and with no extra emotion to his voice. He must have been used to this.
“Forgive me. I should have figured, given the way necromancy works, but...I have yet to experience an abundance of energy reserves. I can only replenish.”
“As it should be,” he replied, simply. I allowed myself to look over at him, then. Cerin had pulled off his cloak once everyone had settled for the night, so his face and hair were free. The pale white moonlight gave his skin a slight glow, indicative of his mother's Icilic blood. His pitch black hair laid softly on his shoulders, which seemed slightly smaller now that his cloak was off.
I had thought often over the years since Cerin had vanished how my memories of him could have made him more beautiful than was reality. Now that I was with him again, I found that they hadn't been. He truly was the most unique and attractive man I had ever seen. It didn't hurt that he was also immensely talented and had an air of mystery to him, or that his voice seemed to scratch just the right itch every time he spoke.
“You can wield all six elements, can you not?” He asked me then, breaking my leer.
“Yes.” I was just happy he'd said something without first being spoken to. It was a step forward.
“How do you know, if Sera would not teach you death?”
“They did. Just one spell, and I was supposed to forget it. It was the plague.”
“And you were successful with it, just like any others.”
“Yes,” I said.
“You really are an anomaly,” he mused.
I swallowed. It meant a lot, coming from him. “As are you, wielding both life and death.”
“Yes, but there are few like me. There are none like you.”
“Would you teach me your spells?” I pleaded, since we were on the subject.