Anilyia

by Carroll, John H.

  Liselle’s jaw dropped near to the floor. It was obviously not what she expected to hear. Tathan hadn’t meant to tell her . . . ever. Liselle was good like . . . well, flowers were good. Nobody hated flowers unless the person was . . . an evil, flower-hating person. Telling Liselle he had been in love with an assassin seemed dangerous. She might stop liking him.

  “Wow . . . I don’t know what to say to that, cousin. When was this?” Liselle turned fully toward him and moved into a cross-legged position. She rearranged what was left of her food around her, there wasn’t much, and prepared to listen to the story.

  Tathan sighed. “It was a couple of years after I left home. I had joined a thief’s guild that tried to gain power but failed. The existing guild put prices on our heads and hired assassins to collect. Eloise was the assassin hunting me.”

  “An assassin named Eloise?” Liselle asked with raised eyebrow. “Doesn’t sound very intimidating to me.”

  “That was her real name. She was known as ‘The Dark Mouse’.”

  Liselle’s lips twitched as she tried to restrain a grin. “That . . . isn’t much better.”

  Tathan sighed. “Eloise was small and could squeeze through just about any opening. She was also quiet. By the time anyone realized she was there, they were already leaving their body to explore the afterlife.”

  “Oh,” Liselle said. “She sounds dangerous.”

  “She is. To make it worse, she loved killing.” Tathan sighed again.

  “And this is your girlfriend?” Liselle asked disapprovingly.

  “Was,” he protested with a hand up. “She left me a year after we fell in love. When she left, she told me not to follow. It . . . hurt.”

  “I’m sorry,” Liselle said sympathetically. “I’d be upset if Vevin left me.” After about two seconds, she was done being sympathetic. “Alright, how did you two fall in love when she was hired to kill you?”

  Tathan rolled his eyes, realizing that he wasn’t going to get out of the telling. He sighed again before continuing. “She found me hiding in the wilderness. I had finally fallen asleep from exhaustion. When I woke up she was sitting on a rock, staring at me.”

  “She didn’t kill you?”

  “No. It surprised me too,” Tathan admitted with a grin. “I figured she must have poisoned me or something. I was even more surprised when I was able to sit up without weakness. I asked her why I was still alive.”

  Liselle waited. When he didn’t continue, she asked, “And? Why did she let you live?”

  Tathan remained silent for another moment, “She told me I was handsome and asked if I would be willing to lie with her for a night or two.”

  Liselle’s eyes widened and she burst into laughter. “Are you serious?!” A couple of other patients looked over with frowns.

  Tathan narrowed his eyes at her. “Shh, you’re disturbing the other guests.”

  That sent her into more laughter. It was nice when his cousin laughed. The world became a little happier. It helped them both to relax. Laughter was just as energizing as the food and rest.

  “So did you ‘lie with her for a night or two’ like she wanted?” Liselle asked coyly.

  Tathan didn’t reply right away. “She was cute . . . and dangerous,” he finally admitted.

  Liselle shook her head in amazement. “You are so odd, Cousin.” She looked at him for a moment before tilting her head. “Why did she leave?”

  He shrugged. “I still don’t know. I thought we were in love, but one day she just got up, told me she was leaving and not to follow her.” He shook his head. “Then she was gone.”

  “You didn’t follow her?” she asked.

  “Of course I tried to follow her,” Tathan said with a wry grin. “She was better at tracking than me and knew how to cover her tracks. Much of what I’ve learned about finding people was from her.”

  “Much of what you’ve learned about killing people too I’d imagine,” Liselle said with a grin. The guilty look on Tathan’s face showed her there was more truth than humor in the statement. All the laughter fled her heart in that moment. “Well . . . Perhaps we should find Sir Danth and Vevin now.”

  “Good idea,” Tathan said with a nod. He was glad the subject was over. A lot of memories had been pulled up and he didn’t like memories.

  The healer was coming over to them, making his way through the patients. Liselle and Tathan straightened their beds and set the used plates as neat as possible.

  “Are we allowed to leave?” Liselle asked when he arrived.

  “Yes, you both look to be well. I would ask a donation for the infirmary. It will allow us to treat others in need,” the healer suggested. He smiled and held up a hand. “However, if you are not able to afford it, the care is free.”

  Tathan had been to cities where poor were cared for by volunteers. It was nice to see it here. He couldn’t help but like the Rojuun. They seemed good.

  Liselle handed him five gold uun. He bowed to her. “Thank you very much, human. Your generosity will care for many.” Tathan added two of his own. He wouldn’t have given that much if not for Liselle. Money was necessary for their travels. One never knew when it would be needed, so Tathan kept it close to him.

  The infirmary was on the opposite corner of the administration building from the guard section. With a moment’s discussion, they agreed to go back to the area where the guards had originally taken them. Perhaps they would be able to get information as to where their friends were.

  Captain Henrrr was talking to a guard about the importance of caring for equipment when they walked up. He turned upon seeing them. “Well, the two of you look much better. Rest did you good.”

  “Yes, captain. We feel much better,” Tathan replied. “I want to apologize for collapsing like that.”

  “Not at all. You went through an ordeal. It is to be expected.” The captain looked over their shoulders. “Your friends are back. They went with my guards to aid in finding the woman and squirrel.”

  They turned around to see Vevin and Sir Danth arriving with Sergeant Niirrii. Vevin dashed ahead to meet Liselle, who ran to him in turn. The two collided in the middle, embracing and kissing. The guards looked on disapprovingly.

  Sergeant Niirrii passed the lovers and walked to the captain. “We found the house, but they were gone,” he reported.

  “Were there any clues as to where they may have gone?” the captain asked.

  “No sir. All we found was evidence of them living there. The squirrel gathered debris for a nest, but nothing of value that would give us any clues.”

  “I see. That is disappointing,” the captain responded with a frown. “I am not happy they escaped. They killed two guards. That is not acceptable, sergeant.” It was easy to see that he was angry. Captain Henrrr’s fists were clenched, as was his jaw.

  Sergeant Niirrii took a step back. “Yes sir. We will continue our search until we find them,” he said quickly.

  The captain nodded and waved them off. The sergeant and his guards left eagerly. Captain Niirrii turned his attention to the companions. He frowned at Liselle and Vevin who were still kissing. Tathan cleared his throat in a futile attempt to get their attention.

  Captain Henrrr chose to ignore them and concentrated instead on Tathan. “The council has no further questions for you, Tathan Human. They thank you for your assistance and testimony. You are free to go about your business,” the captain told him. It was a lot easier than Tathan had expected. Most guards would have made him stay in town or even thrown him in jail to keep him around.

  “Thank you, captain,” Tathan replied. “I wish you good fortune in your search. I’ll be more careful as to which doors I enter next time.” Tathan was blatantly lying, but the captain didn’t need to know that.

  “See that you do,” Captain Henrrr warned. He went back to his business as Tathan and Sir Danth dragged the kissing lovebirds outside.

  By the time they were on the street, it had become a game. Vevin and Liselle were struggling with
all their might to get to each other. Sir Danth had finally dragged Vevin over his shoulder while Tathan had Liselle over his. All four of them were laughing hysterically. A few of the Rojuun walking by looked at them oddly, wondering if the guard should be called.

  Tathan hadn’t realized that he and Liselle had slept through the night. It was morning and the sun was rising, looking to bring another hot day. He put Liselle back on her feet. Sir Danth did the same for Vevin. “So did you discover information yesterday that might help us?” Tathan asked.

  The lovers settled down, content to hold hands as they walked next to each other. Liselle answered the question after glancing to be certain that no one was listening. “We were able to get information about the Cavern Road, but not about the princess specifically.”

  “What did you find out about the road?” Tathan prompted.

  “We have to visit the Rainbow Caverns!” Vevin exclaimed excitedly, breaking into a dance. “And Alluu, it sounds fascinating. There are a lot of pretty colors in Rainbow Caverns.”

  “Pretty colors, right,” Tathan said with a raised eyebrow.

  Liselle came to Vevin’s rescue. “Do you have something against pretty colors, Cousin? We could leave you here while the rest of us go visit Rainbow Caverns,” she suggested archly.

  “No, no. I love pretty colors. Let’s definitely visit Rainbow Caverns,” Tathan said with a roll of his eyes. “I don’t suppose it’s on the way to save the princess?”

  “If the princess is in Alluu, yes,” Liselle replied. “If she isn’t then I really have no idea whether it is or not. What we have learned is that Alluu is definitely where we would be able to find information, if it’s available.” She looked around again to see if anyone was listening. “A jeweler I spoke to told me there is a fortress in Alluu where only Rojuun go. It’s possible the princess could be kept there.”

  When Liselle mentioned the jeweler, she touched the new necklace she wore. “That’s a very nice necklace, and did I see earrings earlier when we were in the infirmary?” Tathan pushed hair away from her ear.

  She smiled and showed the earrings off, then the necklace. “Vevin bought them for me. He paid all the gems Mother Tree gave us,” she told him.

  Tathan stopped in his tracks, choking on that information. Vevin began laughing wildly, not even trying to keep a straight face. Liselle hit him in the arm. Sir Danth threw his head back in laughter as well.

  Tathan put hands on hips and glared at them while tapping his foot. He did not look amused. When they settled down, he asked, “How much?”

  Vevin abruptly stopped laughing. He stared Tathan down. “I paid as much as I wished to pay for them, Tathan. That will have to be good enough for you.” It wasn’t an answer Tathan expected and he didn’t know how to respond, standing there nonplussed. “I will decide how much I wish to spend on my mate. You’ll just have to accept that,” Vevin declared with swirling eyes.

  Tathan stepped forward until they were face to face. “At the moment I accept that Liselle is in love with you and you with her.” He brought a finger up to Vevin’s chin. “But if you ever hurt her, I’ll kill you, dragon or not.” It was a stupid statement that could get him shredded, but Tathan truly meant it.

  “Good!” Vevin said with a happy smile.

  “Good?” Tathan asked in disbelief, taking a step back. “What do you mean good?”

  “Not many people would threaten to kill a dragon to protect someone. It makes me really happy you would do that to protect Liselle,” he said, doing a happy dance. “Don’t worry. I won’t ever hurt her. I’ll sacrifice my own life to protect her.”

  Tathan knew instantly that Vevin spoke the truth. Suddenly, he threw himself forward and gave Vevin a hug. Vevin hugged him back and they smacked each other on the back enthusiastically. It didn’t last long, just enough for them to understand that they supported each other.

  They both grinned like fools. Sir Danth just stood there staring at them as though they had lost their minds. Liselle had her arms crossed. Her nose was wrinkled in disbelief.

  “You two are so weird!” Liselle threw her arms up in the air and stomped off toward the inn.

  Chapter 16

  They spent the rest of that day and night at the inn. Tathan and Liselle both needed extra rest. The only thing Tathan went out for was a new pair of shoes. They weren’t as good as his previous pair, which had been specially made for silent movement, but they would do.

  Before the sun rose the next morning, the party was on their way to the Cavern Road. The reddish-brown face of the mountain was sloped at a steep angle with a huge opening that had been widened and reinforced by Rojuun after the city was built.

  Inside the mountain was a massive cavern, the ceiling a good twenty levels above them. A small river flowed through on its way to Trohiin Lake. Sounds of people and a merchant train, which had entered the cave in front of them, echoed from the high ceiling.

  A number of buildings lined the walls while the rest of the cavern was park areas with walkways and bridges crossing the river. There were plants and animals in roped off areas, a mixture of upper cavern wildlife mixed with surface wildlife for people to view. It created a strong smell that was only partially relieved by ventilation shafts in the ceiling.

  The companions moved toward a large tunnel on the other side of the cavern. Human guards directed by a Rojuun supervisor were examining a wagon train coming out of the caverns. The wagons were long and thin. Sir Danth had learned that wagons were checked for plants and animals from the caverns, which were not allowed above ground as it could kill them. The Rojuun didn’t want to upset the natural balance of things by having flora and fauna smuggled in either direction.

  A human administrator sat behind a desk to the right of the tunnel. Sir Danth led them to that desk and they gave him the passes. He looked them over and asked, “What is your purpose in the caverns?” The man was polite, but businesslike.

  Tathan answered for them, giving a response they had discussed in advance. “We’re looking to travel to the Kingdom of Iynath. The Rojuun are nice, but we want to get out of the caverns and back under the sun. Regrettably there isn’t any way to get there except through the Cavern Road.” Tathan slumped his shoulders as though it was a burden to make the journey.

  “Of course. You do understand that if a Rojuun insists you must work, you will be obligated.”

  “We know,” Tathan replied miserably. “We’re going to keep our heads low and pray we make it through as fast as possible.”

  The administrator looked the party over. Not knowing what to make of them, he just shrugged. “Very well. Do you have contraband or anything that is not legal to take into the caverns?”

  “No sir. Nothing at all,” Tathan assured him.

  He looked them over one more time, opened his mouth to say something then thought better of it and shrugged again. “Alright. Go ahead. Don’t break any laws, don’t . . . just don’t be idiots,” he finished with a sigh.

  “We will avoid idiocy and pray it avoids us,” Sir Danth stated in a deadpan voice. It was enough to get a grin from the administrator as he waved them on.

  The Cavern Road was a tunnel wide enough to fit three rows of wagons. Sir Danth explained that the people he had talked to about the road told him a few sections were only small enough to fit one, which was why the wagons were so thin and long.

  The floor of the tunnel was slightly rough, but had been smoothed out by workers and a few centuries of wagon travel. The companions walked comfortably with the exception of Tathan. His new shoes needed time to be broken in, but the rock floor was not the best place to initiate them. New skin and muscle in his healed foot began protesting after the first mile.

  Until that point, they had been making excellent time. Liselle saw him begin to favor the foot. After a while, she made him sit on one of the benches placed along the wall. The bottom of the foot was red and raw. When Liselle touched it, Tathan jerked backward with a hiss of pain. “This is really sore, C
ousin. We’re going to have to take it easy,” she told him with concern in her voice.

  “I don’t see why,” Sir Danth protested playfully. “His shoes are much more comfortable than mine and you don’t hear me complaining about sore feet, do you?”

  “You don’t have feet anymore, Sir Knight,” Liselle explained.

  “Well, that’s no excuse for him to complain,” he said with a gesture toward Tathan. “Besides, it’s not very nice to remind me of that you know. The loss is still fresh.”

  “You lost your body centuries ago,” Tathan pointed out helpfully. “I think it might have been over a millennium, but I’m not sure.”

  “So now you are saying that I’m old, Master Tathan. Is that it?” the knight challenged.

  “You’re extremely old!” Vevin agreed enthusiastically. “I met some dirt once that wasn’t as old as you.” There was a big toothy grin on his face.

  Sir Danth laughed out loud. He gave Vevin a clout on the back that sent the purple haired creature staggering. It caused Tathan to burst into laughter, thankful that he wasn’t the victim of the knight’s friendship for once. When Vevin straightened, his eyes were narrowed and his jaw set.

  Vevin forced a fake laugh out and returned the gesture. A great clang ran the length of the tunnel. Instead of Sir Danth staggering, Vevin shook his hand in pain. “Owww!” he yelled out.

  The armored knight laughed even harder. It sounded more human than it had in the past. Little by little, Sir Danth was becoming more alive. The metal was still there, but it wasn’t all there was to him anymore.

  Vevin didn’t like having his hand hurt and turned it into a dragon claw bigger than Sir Danth’s head. The knight stopped laughing and moved into a defensive crouch. “Vevin!” Liselle chastised. “Play nice.” She stood up, waggling her finger at him.

  The dragon claw disappeared, but Vevin grinned mischievously. Sir Danth came out of his crouch looking more worried than before. Liselle scolded both of them. “You boys are to get along. Is that clear?”