“I’m assuming you have other plans for him,” Kayn interrupts with an amused chuckle.
“Oh, that pussycat is coming with us whether he likes it or not,” Sari proudly declares, a mischievous twinkle in her emerald eyes. “I can use my charm magic if need be. I doubt I can seduce him because he’s probably under the control of the krypters. They’re made from Nyx’s aura and that’s a level of magic that has to be handled with equal or greater opposing magic. I hope I’m strong enough for that.”
Kayn sighs and stops Sari from spinning by placing a hand on her head. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. We still have a problem with the krypters.”
“Not if we take Conrad with us,” Sari points out, removing his hand from her head and holding it tightly to her chest. “The krypters are working with him, so they won’t attack if they think we’re his prisoners. Before you complain about getting tied up, I promise you won’t be bound in any way. Conrad walking ahead of us with no sign of physical bonds should relay to the krypters that he is traveling willingly. At the very least, it will buy us enough time to prepare for an attack.”
“I don’t like fighting on the defensive, but I’ll have to deal with it,” Kayn says with a shrug. He slips his hand free and steps away, his expression cold and stern. “There’s a clearing due north of the mercenary camp. It was recently made by krypters disguised as dread boars. Don’t worry because Luke and Lord Highrider destroyed them. We can take Conrad for an interrogation since the krypter corpses are still there, so it’s an eerie place. If we’re lucky, Conrad won’t know who killed the krypters and we can take credit. He might know about your skills, but he doesn’t know what I’m capable of. We’ll need every edge we can get if we want to save your friends.”
Sari tackles Kayn with a hug and they land on the mattress, pushing a mass of stuffing out of Kayn’s carving. She kisses him on the lips and runs her hands through his brown tresses. He keeps his eyes open to admire the shine that ripples through Sari’s blue hair. It is a magical sheen that he remembers happening every time Sari is blissfully happy. He is tempted to run his hands along her body, but repeatedly reminds himself that she is no longer his partner. He begrudgingly settles for enjoying what could be their last kiss and puts his arms under his back. Before Kayn finishes reveling in the beautiful display, Sari pushes herself off him, mistaking his resistance for unease.
“I’m sorry,” she says as she fixes her skirts. “So, I’ll wait here while you disband your guild and then we’ll head out.”
“Actually, we need to reach your friends before sundown,” Kayn calmly states. He walks over to a bell and rings it, the sound echoing throughout the cavern. “It’ll take ten minutes for the thieves to gather at the hideout. I don’t know how long it will take to convince them to disband.”
“Then, what should we do?” Sari nervously asks.
“I’ll handle the thieves and then we’ll reunite in the clearing,” Kayn answers, opening a hidden door in the wall. “I’m sure you can capture Conrad and get him out of the camp without my help. You can get backup from the mercenaries that you recognize and trust. If things go wrong in there then it’s easier for a solitary person to get out. You won’t have to worry about me getting caught and I’ll be free to rescue you if need be. I’ll expect you at the clearing within four hours, which should be more than enough time for me to disband the guild.”
“I-” Sari begins, her voice cut off by Kayn pinching her lips closed.
“You wouldn’t be with your friends if you weren’t their equal,” Kayn whispers into her ear. “This is child’s play to you.”
“Thank you,” she whispers back.
Kayn takes her hand and guides her to the stairs, which she takes to the surface. He waits until her flowing skirts are out of sight and he feels a rush of fresh air from the opening of the distant door. Turning toward the passage to the guild’s hideout, his face becomes an emotionless mask. He draws a pair of daggers and spins them in his hands as he enters the dark tunnel, the stone door snapping shut behind him.
12
A chorus of frogs greets the rising sun as its light lazily stretches across the swamp. A mossy swamp owl shields its eyes under mottled wings before backing into the hollow of a blue-leafed tree. A large, smooth-skinned predator splashes into the water, diving under the lily pads and floating patches of land in search of breakfast. Drifting hawks glide high above the swamp, occasionally swooping down to snag a fish or a juicy bog hare. The frogs stop singing when a high-pitched yelping starts and continues for several minutes. The yelping ends when a loud roar terrifies whatever was making the obnoxious sound. Slowly, the frogs return to their lilting tune and are joined by the melody of birdsong. Even with all of the beautiful noise, there is an undercurrent of tension and fear that puts Luke’s nerves on edge.
“You can’t sleep?” Nyx asks as she steps out of the small grove of willows they had chosen to bed down in.
“I got enough sleep or meditation or whatever I’m going to call it,” Luke answers from his perch on top of a large, white rock. “I’m getting used to sleeping less, so I can take more night watches once we’re back on the road.”
“That’s good because I never liked taking watch,” Nyx admits with a half-hearted smile. With a gentle push of air, she lifts herself to the top of the rock and sits next to Luke. “I need somebody to talk to.”
Luke wraps an arm around her shoulders and gives her a friendly kiss on the top of her head. “I’m happy for you, Nyx. She might not be the mother you always dreamed of, but she’s alive. Take happiness from that fact and don’t dwell on what she did. Like all loving parents, she has her reasons for staying away. You might not agree with them, but you can’t change the past. Hopefully, you and Tzefira will grow closer as time goes on and you can have your birth family back. The biggest challenge will be getting your parents to talk to each other.”
“I see you’ve been waiting to say all that to me for the last day,” Nyx wryly whispers, leaning her head on his shoulder. “I was ready to complain to you and then you knocked the wind out of my sails. You’re so mean.”
“Sorry,” Luke apologizes. He turns his attention to a spikey turtle emerging from the water, ignoring it once he senses a heartbeat. “Take it from me that complaining to other people about your parents is a waste of time. It may be cathartic, but you won’t get anywhere unless you talk to them. You already lost so much time with her that I don’t want you missing the now because you’re fighting. Both of you live dangerous lives, so every minute counts.”
“You really are my little brother,” she says with a laugh. “I was thinking of talking to her in private after all of this. The anger and shock are gone, so now I have no idea what to do. Do I open my heart to her or is it smarter to be cautious in case she tries to disappear again?”
“I doubt she will disappear,” Timoran replies as he joins them. He leans against the rock, his head rising an inch higher than the large mass of stone. “She stayed away to protect you and there is no longer a reason for that. I sense she will try to maintain contact with you as best she can. It will not be easy considering she is a mercenary and you are an adventurer. Both of you will not be in the same place for long, so contact will be sporadic.”
“Then, we’re going remain strangers for a long time,” Nyx claims, sighing and looking down at Timoran. “If a family doesn’t talk to each other, how is it supposed to grow close?”
Luke leans around Nyx, so his face is above Timoran’s hair. “She really doesn’t understand family, does she?”
“Apparently not,” the barbarian responds, chuckling and crossing his arms. “She certainly has a pristine view of family that is oddly refreshing. It is rather adorable that she thinks this way.”
“I’m sitting right here,” Nyx declares, her voice edged with childish annoyance. “I’ll light both of you on fire if you don’t stop talking about me like I’m a ghost.”
“She really does not like that,” Timoran states
as he turns around. He holds up his hands in apology when Nyx points a fiery finger at him. “There is no need for that.”
“Calm down, Nyx,” Luke says, pinching her on the fleshy part of her shoulder. “You have to understand that families don’t always work the same way. It depends on the personalities of the members and the devotion they have to staying in contact. I’m sorry, Nyx, but the fate of your family isn’t easy to predict. If Tzefira and your father want to be a family then that will make it easier. If they want nothing to do with each other then it will be entirely up to you to forge some kind of family. My only suggestion is to do what you always do. Fight for what you want with enough determination and stubbornness to put an angry dread boar to shame.”
Nyx smiles at Luke for a few seconds before playfully punching him in the shoulder. She peers at the willows where she can see the tossing and turning form of Tzefira. The previous day had been a difficult journey in the swamp with krypters and local predators attacking several times. Tzefira had pushed herself to exhaustion, revealing she had not fully recovered from her injuries. Within two hours of entering the swamp, Nyx was forced to keep her mother going with invigoration spells. This made things worse when the krypters focused on Tzefira as often as they went after Nyx. Everyone was on their last reserve of strength by the time they reached the grove of willows. Against Tzefira’s arguments, they decided to get some sleep and continue in the morning. Luke set some simple alarms and traps around the area, but the real protection came from Timoran unleashing a powerful roar. Every predator in earshot erupted into the air or water to escape the barbarian’s claimed territory.
As Nyx stares at the silhouette of her mother, she remembers the strangest part of the night. Timoran and Luke took all of the watch shifts since they needed less sleep, which left Nyx and Tzefira curled up next to each other in the grove. At one point, Nyx felt her sleeping mother wrap a protective arm around her and mumble a lullaby. The words were impossible to understand, but Nyx remembered the rhythm and sensed comforting warmth from the elven mercenary. It dawned on Nyx that she began the day an orphan and ended it in her mother’s arms. A wave of guilt had washed over her as she realized how many orphans never get this chance that she had blindly stumbled into. It was a gift that she was too stubborn and angry to take advantage of when it first revealed itself. Instead of hugging Tzefira and being happy, she stayed away and tried to verbally slash the woman who gave her life. Now, listening to the old lullaby, she grew scared that she would do something to drive her parents away from her.
“Tzefira sings a lullaby when she’s asleep,” Nyx says, her attention returning to her friends.
“I heard it,” the barbarian admits, scratching a scar on his chest. “It tells of a mother who sacrifices all for her daughter until she needs her daughter to care for her. The daughter takes the role of the mother and cares for her in her final days. It is a somber and sad story, but I hear that most elven lullabies are like that.”
“I’m not sure I’m following the significance,” Luke says, watching a fat hawk circle above them.
“I believe Nyx is pointing out that she is aware of Tzefira’s guilt at having never approached her before today,” Timoran replies. He looks up at Nyx to see if she nods her approval. Instead, the caster hangs her head, which is a habit he assumes she adopted when her hair was long enough to hide her face.
“Does that really matter?” Luke asks, catching Nyx’s incoming hand by the wrist. “We all know she feels guilty and she’s probably as terrified as Nyx. Don’t even try to tell me you aren’t scared, Nyx. That hanging your head to hide your face behind your hair stopped fooling me over a month ago. You’re in unfamiliar territory and you don’t want to screw everything up by pushing Tzefira away.”
Nyx gets to her feet and walks to the edge of the rock before taking a deep breath. “I’m just not sure what to do about this.”
“The answers are usually simpler than one thinks,” Timoran mentions. He walks around the rock, so he is standing below Nyx again. “The only thing you can do is talk to her and tell her the truth. In return, she will be honest with you and bonds will gradually form. Then, you visit your father and talk with him. It sounds like that will be the easier part because he is unaware of your existence. I am certain he still grieves for his loss.”
“I can confirm that,” Luke says as he is about to get up. He is stopped when Nyx puts a gentle, booted foot on his knee.
“Tell me about my father,” Nyx demands with more force than she intended. She lifts her foot and kneels next to Luke, nearly slipping off the rock until Luke catches her hand. “Sorry for being blunt, but I want to know about him.”
“I’m not sure what I should tell you,” Luke says as he meets her pleading eyes. “There are some things you need to hear from his mouth. Also, I don’t want you going in with an idea of who he is and get disappointed. Would you be happy if I told you his name and left it at that?”
Nyx fiddles with her necklace as she considers Luke’s offer. “I always dreamed my father was a great warrior with huge muscles and hair as black as mine. Nothing could defeat him in combat, but he was always kind and gentle when he was off the battlefield. I know he’s probably old and weathered and maybe a little bitter by now. So, I’ve already come to terms with the fact that my make-believe father is too high an ideal.”
“Actually, your make-believe father is going to pale in comparison to the real thing,” Luke interrupts with a laugh that startles a nearby egret. “His name is Kevin Masterson and you are definitely your father’s daughter.”
“What do you mean by that?” Nyx asks, her eyes shining with curiosity.
“You’ll find out when you meet him,” he answers. He sees a confused look on Nyx’s face and guesses she has forgotten where they are heading after the krypters are destroyed. “You do realize that your father is at Selenia’s academy and we’re going there after we help Hero’s Gate.”
“By the gods, you’re right!” Nyx shouts, jumping to her feet and tumbling off the rock before Luke can grab her. Timoran catches the surprised caster by the waist and gently turns her right-side up to put her down. “I get to meet my father when all of this is over. We need to get going and kill those krypters! Wake up, Tzefira! We have to move now!”
Making eye contact with the barbarian, Luke whispers low enough, so only Timoran can hear him. “I don’t like where this is going.”
“Stealth and caution are no longer an option,” the barbarian whispers back.
“What in the name of Ram are you going on about, Nyx?” Tzefira sternly asks as she crawls out of the willows. “We’re lost in enemy territory and you’re yelling like you’re in a crowded tavern. Keep your mouth shut and save your energy for fighting. Do we have anything for breakfast?”
“I caught a bog hare an hour ago and was waiting for everyone to wake up,” Luke answers. He hops off the stone and pulls the dead hare out from under a nearby rock. The green-furred creature is plump and meaty, but its dead face makes Nyx grimace at the thought of eating it. “Don’t look so disgusted, city girl. Bog hares are full of high-energy meat, which will help us keep traveling. They’re also thin-boned, so most of their mass is meat.”
“If they’re thin-boned then how do the chubby things hop around?” Nyx asks, turning away when Luke begins skinning the dead animal. “The force of their jumps should shatter their bones on impact.”
“A bog hare bounces on its bloated stomach instead of its feet and use its long ears to change direction,” Timoran explains. Nyx shoots him a look of doubt and the barbarian responds with a calm stare. “Why is it that casters can accept a troll turning invisible and massive dragons flying on frail-looking wings, but the oddities of non-magical creatures are hard for them to accept?”
“It doesn’t matter if she understands or not,” Luke mentions, grunting as he pulls the bones out of the dead hare. “All I care about is if she can use her magic to cook this hare. It won’t taste like much without spices,
but it is better than the dull rations we have. We’re low on water, but I saw some water pears beyond that pool. I’ll be right back with those.”
Luke tosses the gutted hare to Nyx, who raises her hands to magically stop it in mid-air. A drop of blood hits her cheek and is burned off by a panic-induced surge of flame around her body. She ignores Timoran’s chuckling and Tzefira’s rolling eye. With a casual wave of her hand, Nyx sends an orb of fire into the meat, which briefly bursts into red flames. Timoran catches the hot food before it can hit the ground while Nyx walks back to the willows to pack her gear.
“She’s still upset with me,” Tzefira says. She takes a chunk of meat that Timoran offers and bites into the bland meal. “I skipped from enjoying a babbling baby to dealing with an angry young woman. I missed all of the good parts.”
“You did not miss the good parts,” Timoran claims, his mouth full of cooked meat. He swallows his food and wipes his mouth with his forearm before continuing. “Nyx is still alive and wishes to be your daughter. That is a step in the right direction and your relationship only needs time to improve. Though, she seems more excited about the prospect of meeting her father than having found you.”
“Not surprising,” Tzefira admits with a snort of derision. “I always knew she would be daddy’s little girl. Maybe that was part of the reason I never told my husband about her. I didn’t like the idea of him seeing her grow up while I kept myself as far away as possible.”
“I wouldn’t mention that to either of them,” Luke says, silently walking up behind her. He tosses Timoran a sweating yellow pear and drops another in to Tzefira’s hand. “I’m sure Nyx will talk to you when everything calms down. I’ve learned that pushing an issue with her is the best way to get yourself hit. One time she kicked Sari out a first floor window, though I’m not sure why.”
Legends of Windemere: 03 - Family of the Tri-Rune Page 32