“Didn’t you say something about‘wading through ladies’?”Terana pressed.
“No. Zeeve say nothing.”
“Hmm.”She studied him before shaking her head. It was evident that he was not going to tell her. Fine. She probably didn’t want to know anyway. She crouched next to her forgotten doeskin knapsack. She flipped closed her sketchbook and snatched the charcoal stick before a fluffy something remembered it and shoved it into the bag. After a second thought she took out an apple preserve pastry. She bit into it, savoring its sweet essence. A tiny rumbling and a whine made her look down and she almost lost it again. Zeeve was looking at the pastry with the biggest puppy eyes she had ever seen and Russy was hard put to win the cute contest. It was a nose to nose tie.“Let me guess, you’re hungry.”
“Zeeve not hungry. Zeeve starving and about to die of tummy gurgles.”He said matter-of-factly.
Russy wagged his tail hopefully. Even if he had won, she would not risk giving him human food.
Terana chuckled and Zeeve backed away a little.“Don’t worry; I’m hopefully not going to lose myself again. Here.”She handed him a piece of pastry with sticky filling. Russy looked as if he could not believe Zeeve’s luck. He looked sadly at Terana.“Sorry, I’m not feeding you. I won’t feed you table scraps.”Russy’s head and tail dropped. Zeeve stuck out his tongue over the pastry. Russy glared at him. The piece was about the size of bulgy grain sack compared to Zeeve. Zeeve looked at the piece for a second then began munching loudly. Terana stopped chewing in mid chomp as the piece disappeared into thin air. Zeeve wiped his face on his sleeve and looked at her again. She swallowed,“Satisfied?”
Zeeve nodded.“For the moment. Where does Miss Giant live?”
“In the town down there.”She pointed down the slope toward Plarn.“By the way, my name is not ‘Miss Giant’. It is Terana Carpenter:”
“Terana.”Zeeve repeated.“Zeeve remember.”
Russy snorted.
Zeeve rounded on him.“You don’t think Zeeve remember name?”Russy barked.“Well, Zeeve will.”The wolf shook his head with a look that expressed disbelief.“See here fluffy mutt; Zeeve has better memory then you!”Zeeve declared. Russy growled at the implied insults.
“Enough.”Terana said before things got to blows, which she was sure the Zeeve creature would not survive. She finished her pastry.“Where do you live, Zeeve?”
“Zeeve tell you, in Zeevria.”
Terana heard the slight tremor in Zeeve’s voice. It was like he was…trying to hide something. Something sensitive like the fact that he didn’t have a home, but didn’t want her to know. Her heart went out to him. If he had nowhere to stay then she could offer it.“Come now. Where do you live?”She pressed.
Zeeve looked down and dug his toe in the ground.“Zeeve sleep where ever Zeeve can.”He looked positively pathetic.
Russy snorted.
“Oh, poor Zeeve. Would Zeeve like to live with me?”
Zeeve brightened up like sunshine.“Zeeve would love that! Love it, love it!”
“Cool. Here get in this.”Terana opened her knapsack and Zeeve jumped into it. As she slung it over her shoulder she muttered.“Hope I’m not late for dinner. Or else mother will have a fit.”
“Zeeve hope too!”
“You don’t want my mother mad at me either?”
“No. Zeeve just want food.”
“What are you? Some kind of bottomless pit?”
She watched Zeeve’s head disappear then reappear, saying.“No. Zeeve got butt, see?”
“No, but what happened to the pastry? Did you store it in your feet?”
“No. it’s just gone and Zeeve is starting to get hungry again.”
“You are a pit”Terana muttered.
“Zeeve give up, Miss Terana Giant can’t keep her pits and Zeeves straight.”
Chapter Twenty–A Voice in the Night
Pershara
“Hunting, oh wise and venerable one?”Tommy asked Bendon once the communication spell terminated.
“Yes. And no, I’m not telling you for what until later.”Bendon said as he left the young thief.
Tommy crossed his arms.“I bet I’ll find out what it is before Perela does.”
Bendon glanced at him over his shoulder with a bushy brow raised.“Oh really? Sure you want to take that bet?”
“I’m with you. She isn’t. It stands to reason that I have a better chance of learning before she does…That is, of course, unless she uses that mental communication that you mages use so much.“
Bendon grinned and shooed the thief away. Tommy rolled his eyes with a grin in return and went back to the rest of the group. Bendon went back to the small study room where he had left Robert. Robert was sitting in a chair with his head back.
“Do you have the image?”Bendon asked his friend. Robert nodded. Bendon picked up the missing sword’s sheath and stood across from Robert’s chair. Pressure brushed against the back of Robert’s neck as Bendon poured power into the object.“Good, focus it on it on the sheath.”The wizard murmured. The sheath began to glow a gentle blue light. Between the two men an image began to appear. There was an outcrop of rock amidst evergreen trees. A horse was tethered to a tree branch. A girl with dark brown hair was working to remove the beast’s saddle, but the horse would have none of it. Eventually the girl raised her hands in defeat and backed away. The horse calmed when the girl sat some distance away from it.
The girl pulled a bundle of cloth toward her. Once it was in her lap, she unwrapped what was within.
“There it is.”Robert murmured as the sword was revealed.
“She did have it.”Bendon whispered.
Robert met Bendon’s gaze.“Who is the girl?”
Bendon shrugged.“I have not a clue. She got it away from Altana somehow.”
“Regardless of who she is, I need to get that sword back. I don’t trust it in another’s hands. I only left it because I had no choice.”
Bendon nodded in understanding. He understood his friend’s fear. It was valid considering the shared history between Robert and the sword.“Then I suggest we attach that tracking spell.”Bendon said. Robert nodded. They both focused on the sword for a moment.“There.”The wizard said once the spell hooked.
The girl looked uncertainly about before covering the sword again. She began building a fire in a well shielded place.
“Did she sense what we did? Is that even possible?”Robert asked.
Bendon shrugged in amazement. Then asked“Can you sense were the sword is?”
“To the south of us.”
“Oh good, so we will likely cross paths on our way to Perela.”
“Maybe.”Robert said thoughtfully.“We are meeting your daughter?”
“I figured being with the army would be a good thing. I’m sure Altana will be on Raymond’s side. Perela is good, but it would be better for her if Kindra, yourself, and I were there as well.”
***
Kairevasigh stared into the flames of her small fire. She had this strange…feeling that someone was watching her. She hugged the bundled sword closer to her chest. The horse whickered, making her start. Kairevasigh shot a glare at the beast. She loved its speed, but it was obvious that the animal had never met a Sheyestivan before. Horses in Sheyestiva had to be acclimated to the presence of a Sheyestivan. Sheyestivan’s tended to be just like the Night Eagle of legend; the ultimate predator. Animals tended to pick this vibe up and reacted accordingly. Mostly that meant trying desperately to flee and hide.
The horse was shifting uncomfortably. Kairevasigh gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. She had tried to remove the tack earlier, but the horse fought her at every turn. She had backed off because she was terrified that it would hurt itself. Kairevasigh sighed and said as calmly as she could“I tried to take that off so you could be comfortable.”The horse stilled at the sound of her voice.“I can try again. You just have to let me be near you.”The horse eyed her warily, its ears flattening against its skull.
<
br /> On the farm, leaving a horse tacked would have gotten her thrashed. Kairevasigh put the bundled sword back on the ground and slowly turned toward the horse. Keeping her eyes on the ground she got up. The horse immediately began pulling on its tether. Kairevasigh slowly sat down again. The horse lowered its head, its snort stirred up a cloud of dust from the ground. It pranced about, obviously uneasy and wanting desperately to get away.
Kairevasigh studied her hands; glancing at the horse through her lashes. The animal was watching her too. Its dark bay hide was hidden under road grim. Its tail was tangled with burrs. The horse chewed on its bit. Since the horse hadn’t allowed her to remove the tack, she had tied it so it couldn’t reach the grass. Chewing on grass would be very bad for a horse with a metal object in its mouth. Kairevasigh had an idea for how to shed the horse of its tack. She just hoped that Kaizir was the only one who could sense her use of magic, otherwise she was about to broadcast her location.
“You had better keep an eye out for the really bad things.”She warned the horse. Kairevasigh took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand. The saddle flaps rose, exposing the belts that the girth was attached to. One by one, Kairevasigh unfastened all three of the connecting belts. The freed end of the girth slipped to the ground. The horse breathed deeply. Kairevasigh’s brow furrowed, sweat started to bead on her head as she fought to keep things slow and undetectable. The finesse of the movements was easier after all of her practice with Kaizir.
The horse shifted when it felt the weight of the saddle leave its back. She had to keep her mind focused on the saddle so it wouldn’t fall back on the horse. After putting it down, Kairevasigh turned her attention to the bridle.
“Please stay still.”She whispered.“Please.”She bent her will on the tight clasps. Once the horse felt the belts loosening, it started to yawn and tongue the bit; trying to force it out.“Be still, be still. It’s coming out, just let me…”The horse shook its head. Muttering a curse, Kairevasigh mentally grabbed hold of the top part of the bridle and pulled it up and over the ears. The bit fell from the horse’s mouth.
Freed, the horse nickered and attacked the nearest patch of grass. Kairevasigh, for her part let her head fall back as her hands messaged her aching temples. She laid down near the fire, the sword she tucked up against her body.
I should move. Kairevasigh thought. She was terrified that the evil woman would have felt her use of telecy.
Should keep moving farther north. Safer places there. A quiet thought whispered.
Kairevasigh stiffened. Where had that thought come from? It hadn’t been her own. After all, how would she know if there was safety further north or not?
I’ll go east. She thought to see if the other would answer.
The ocean lies that way.
Fine, I’ll go west.
The lake, or did your forget? And if you say south next, we both know that way is the most dangerous.
Who are you?
The damn horse. The other thought answered. Kairevasigh sat up to see the horse. It currently had its butt facing her way, head down enjoying the grass it was eating. No way. Kairevasigh thought.
And why not?
There are several reasons. Kairevasigh replied.
Oh?
The horse isn’t looking at me.
Well of course I’m not. It would be weird, wouldn’t you think, to stumble upon a girl and a horse staring at each other? Better a girl staring into the flames and a horse patently ignoring her.
The second reason, Kairevasigh continued, is that you would have let me take the tack off without putting up a fuss.
Ah, but I didn’t understand your intentions.
I talked to you!
Human sounds…didn’t make any sense. You make sense now…well the words anyway.
I still don’t believe it.
Your choice. We should keep traveling north. It is the safest direction.
Says the horse. Kairevasigh mocked.
Says the horse. The voice replied. Though we might as well rest here for the night. You are very good at masking the power and no one is around, not that I hear any way. And besides, you just got the tack off and I’m hungry. The voice that claimed it was the horse continued.
I want to believe you, but I don’t feel overly safe here.
You have good instincts lass, why I let you drag me out here, but it is dark, and here there is some shelter. Rest. I’ll let you know if something happens.
Kairevasigh glanced at the horse that was still outwardly ignoring her. She then looked into the fire. Her run from the evil woman had tired her more than she liked to admit. She soon found herself slipping into sleep…
Chapter Twenty One- Late for Dinner
Arathin
The wind wove through naked tree branches; making them clack together like stages in rut. Stray drops of thawed snow fell onto those below. Namely the girl and her wolf companion. The wet irritants sent the russet wolf to shake. Moments later the girl shook out her own copper hair. The wolf watched her.
“What?”Terana asked.“Because I’m not a wolf I can’t shake?”
The wolf barked.
“Too bad, I’m shaking. See?”Terana shook her head again.
Russy groaned. He crouched playfully, tail flying. She took a step toward him. He surged toward her, but before she could catch him, he bounded out of her reach. He tore a circle around her. Then he raced in front of her. She raced after him. Russy looked back at her and changed his course to run circles around her.
“Are you trying to say something?”She asked while still running.
Russy barked and nipped once at her heels. Then he surged back into the lead.
“Twit.”she muttered under her breath.
The russet wolf bounded on ahead. He padded through one of the last remaining snow drifts this far down the mountain. The chill that let it remain was the reason why she had to wear scratchy wool.
Russy had stopped ahead of her. They had come to a steep incline. Beyond it the forest continued on a much gentler slope. From the bottom of the slope to Plarn was a five minute walk. A five minute walk mostly through fields just beginning to sprout. After that, mother’s wonderful cooking. But first she had to climb down this; she thought with a sigh.
“Well, we won’t get anywhere just standing here.”She told Russy. The wolf started down the slope. He bounded down in a zigzag pattern. At the bottom he shook out his russet coat and glanced back at her.“Show off.”
“Are we there yet?”Zeeve piped up.
“No.”She replied.“Not yet. Just stay in there.”Terana sat down on the edge and began the journey down the twenty foot slope. She crawled down like a spider down a wall. A clump of wet leaves gave way and she slid. She dug her heels in to slow her rapid descent. She slowed, but there was really no stopping now. She shrugged and let herself slide down. At the bottom she stopped.
Russy had just sat there and watched.
“I’ll admit, it wasn’t classy, but it was classic. Except for a wet, muddy butt I got down just fine.”Russy’s eyes glinted.“Don’t say anything.”She said raising a finger.“Unless if you want to find yourself in trouble.”The wolf gave her a toothy grin. Terana brushed her butt off as well as she could before she approached the thicket she always used to change. It was as close to a room as one could hope for in a forest. One had to crawl through a small opening to enter. Even in winter its branches shielded one from peering eyes. It hadn’t always been like this. Before it was just something that was better than nothing, but over time it grew into the perfect hideout it now was. She and Jeremy, her brother, had spent a considerable amount of their childhood inside its shielding embrace. They would pretend that she was a princess and he was a prince come to save her from the clutches of a fire breathing dragon. She always loved watching him fight invisible enemies with a twig; The invincible twig. Besides playing the princess role; she would be the every man. She would give voice to the enemy forces and roar and grunt like a dragon.
But Jeremy grew up. She grew older. He attended his older son chores. She ran wild in the forests with Russy.
Terana slipped her knapsack off from around her shoulder and neck. She flipped it open and reached her hand in for her woman clothes. Terana pulled them out and shook them.
“Oof.”
Terana hissed in surprise. Zeeve had fallen out of the sky blue dress.
“Zeeve! What were you doing in my dress?”Terana asked with her hands on her hips. The wool dress was pinned between hand and hip.
Russy approached Zeeve, a deep growl climbing up his throat.
Zeeve moaned and rolled onto his back so he could glare at Russy properly.“Oh be quite fluffy dog.”Zeeve looked up at her.“Zeeve didn’t know it was dress. Zeeve just know it was soft. It protected Zeeve from being sorely bruised and being screwed by black sticks. Nice dress didn’t protect Zeeve from nasty book, though.”
Somewhat amused at Zeeve’s trials Terana said.“Sorry Zeeve. Now, you two.”She said addressing both Russy and Zeeve.“Stay out here. I’m going to change.”Terana rolled her dress into a ball and threw it into the thicket. She then got to her hands and knees. The hole doorway to the thicket room was a tight passage with no room to turn around or really move. As Terana struggled she noticed the passage walls widened a little. She probably imagined the widening bit, but the going was easier. Soon she found herself in the thicket room. Tiny shards of light filtered through the branches. Terana turned back toward the tunnel and shouted.“And don’t you two dare start fighting!”She heard a quick‘yes ma’m’and a yip.
A short time later Terana reemerged from the thicket dressed as a woman should dress. There was a reason why she disliked dresses. They did nothing, but get snagged on a twig. She brushed what she could of the dirt out of her skirts. There was only one redeeming factor of a dress and that was its ability to swirl about her legs.
Russy left them at the fringe between forest and field. Terana watched him disappear into the trees like red smoke. She then turned her own way. Zeeve was back in her bag to keep him from sight. He didn’t like being in the bag, but she had convinced him with her fears of what the towns people would do. She worried that they would see him as an animal, or worst, a monster and kill him. Or at the very least, drive him away.
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