I scanned the streets, looking for something familiar. Many of these smaller towns were similar, all serving as a trading post for the outer villages, ways to keep the villagers out of the larger cities like Eban and Cort. Nothing really struck my eye.
Most of the buildings were of weathered gray stone, rolling along dirt streets that slowly climbed upward. A few rose higher than a single story, but even those had a stone base. That, at least, reminded me somewhat of Elaeavn, though it had been years since I had seen the city of my birth. In the distance rose a larger building, at least three stories high, that must have been at the center of the town. This building seemed to sit on the highest rise in the town, everything else sloping down around it.
In my time learning from Isander, I had traveled much, seen many places that I had been protected from while living in Elaeavn. The way the building overlooked the town struck a memory of a visit long ago, when Isander had come through on a job, but I could not recall its name, only that we were barely a week’s ride from Elaeavn. We could rest here, get whatever healing was available, and continue onward so that Cael could return home. I had not completely decided what I would do once she was safe.
“I’ve been here,” I told Cael. “Long ago, but if I remember correctly, there’s a small river that runs through the center of town.” That it eventually joined with the Yiln left me wondering about the connection. Hadn’t Nord mentioned that Orly had poisoned the river leading to his town?
Cael said nothing, but I knew that she had the same thought that I had. I turned the horse toward where the river should run, and we rode silently.
When we were nearly where I thought it should be, I heard the sound of hoofbeats on the hard ground. Cael looked up first and I knew that she had sensed it differently. As one of the Elvraeth, she had multiple abilities, even though some were weaker than others.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Not sure,” she answered. “Someone is riding in fast. Probably a pair. Do you think it’s him?”
Her breath was hot on my neck. I had the urge to turn and hold her, but with only one good arm, the gesture would do little to reassure either of us. Somehow, I needed to get her to safety.
As much as I hated to admit it, she would be safer without me.
I could draw attention away from her, pull Orly’s attack toward me. That would give her the time she needed to reach Elaeavn. At least there, she could be safe.
“No,” she said.
“Cael,” I whispered. My throat was so dry that I could not manage to say much more. I felt her shake her head, was all too aware of her soft hair swishing as she moved, of the way her body shifted, pressing in to me. I swallowed.
“Let’s find a healer,” she said.
“It’s not Lorst,” I told her. If I could do nothing else, I would relieve her of that worry. “When he comes, we won’t have such a warning.” That might not reassure her as much as I would like, but was true nonetheless.
Surprisingly, Cael laughed. “At least there is that,” she said.
I couldn’t help but laugh with her.
Kicking the horses faster, I veered down a sloped street. Small shops with weathered and faded signs lined either side of the street. I looked for any that might signify a healer, someone who I could take Nord to and leave him so that Cael and I could get on our way, but there was nothing.
As Cael tensed behind me, I knew the riders were closer.
Then the small river came into view. Cael jumped from the horse and practically ran to the water, cupping her hands to her face and taking a long drink. She stared out at the water, looking across the small stream at the buildings on the other side, a continuation of the small town that gradually faded into the outer farms. Smoke drifted from distant chimneys. Along the water, I smelled the scent of the fisheries and mills that lined the banks farther along the shore. None of that was what Cael looked at.
I recognized the fixed expression on her face, the way her eyes blazed a deeper green as she paused, one hand still dipped into the water. Sitting as she was, I could almost feel her using her abilities.
A pair of horses topped the small hill we had just come down. The dark gray coat and black pants marked them as Orly’s men as surely as any banner would have. That they had found us already worried me. Was it Cael or me that Orly tracked so well?
Thayer I could explain. Having traveled with Nord for as long as he had, his was a quicker return, simply needing to find the necessary men to come out after us. For Orly to have already learned that they failed and sent another pair of riders made me wonder how far his reach truly stretched. I had thought that we would be safe from him once we left Eban, only needing to fear Lorst.
The irony of that was not lost on me. Both men were dangerous. Now I wasn’t certain which of them was more so.
“Cael,” I hissed.
She stood and casually turned to the other horse, where Nord was strapped in. There she reached along his side and pulled out his water skin, taking it to the river and washing it out as if nothing were amiss. When she was content that it was cleaned, she filled it and carried it to me.
“Drink,” she said.
“Cael?”
“Galen, drink,” she said again.
Out of habit, I smelled the water and didn’t find anything unusual. All traces of the erasn were washed away, leaving only the softly earthen scent of the river water. I took a long swallow.
The riders glanced past us, as if not seeing us simply sitting atop two horses, one with Nord strapped upright, though he was slumped over in the saddle. It was then that I realized what she had done. I still struggled to believe that it was possible.
“You placed a glamour over all of us?” I asked. I couldn’t see what it was she changed, but felt the effect. I wondered if that was because I was a part of the glamour.
Cael glanced up at me. “I don’t know how long I can maintain it,” she said.
Faint lines of tension pulled her eyes, the work she exerted to hold the glamour in place. With as much effort as she used, she would not be Reading me, either. I took another long drink from the water skin and then pushed it into one of the saddlebags. Then I flipped open my pouch with my good hand and ran my fingers across my darts. Only four darts and three vials remained. By touch, I knew that I had two of terad and one of whistle dust. I loaded the darts with terad.
“Just wait,” Cael said.
“Why? They’ll return to Orly otherwise. Or continue to hunt us. Either way, we’re better off with them dead.”
I could tell from her face that she was not as comfortable with the need for them to die as I was.
“Please,” she said.
I nodded. We could wait, but I doubted that it would change anything.
The men rode closer. One was older and had a thick gray mustache, his hair shorn so close that he was nearly bald. In spite of his obvious age, he had a hardened look to him and was still well muscled. I recognized him. Heln Northstam. A seasoned soldier turned assassin for hire. A step below me in skill, but for one without abilities, the step was not as great as I would have liked. The other was younger, face and head smooth, and shared many of the same features as Heln. His son, likely.
“Cael,” I whispered. “I recognize this man. If we wait too long, we will not survive this.”
She turned and looked up at me, her eyes so piercingly green that I could not look away. I suddenly understood what I felt, the way my skin tingled as the glamour shifted with attention. “Are you certain?”
“Another assassin,” I said. I didn’t need to tell her Orly sent him. That he was here was evidence enough.
She sighed and blinked. “Do what you must.”
I wasted little time. With only one good arm, I would have to be both good and lucky. I knew I was good. I wasn’t certain I had the necessary luck. My experience with Thayer seemed to prove I did not.
I flicked a dart toward Heln.
I knew little about the other man but p
lenty about Heln. The most dangerous man would need to be the first to go down.
In that instant, the younger man turned his horse. It was just enough that he put himself between the dart flying toward Heln and me. He was unfortunate enough to have the dart sink into his leg. The younger man fell immediately from his saddle. Suddenly free, the black mare started away, reins dragging across the dirt behind her.
Heln reacted instantly, leaping from his saddle, a pair of long-bladed knives in one hand, a long crossbow in the other. The narrow crossbow would be more accurate than what Thayer had carried, and even that had been deadly enough.
I flicked another dart—terad again—toward Heln. The dart hit the flank of his horse and the horse staggered before falling atop the younger man.
Without waiting, I grabbed the next dart. I wasn’t certain which one I grabbed. Terad was the most toxic; whistle dust would only incapacitate Heln.
Heln crouched, readied. His eyes caught the dart, calculated the distance and the likely trajectory, and stared at where we stood. His mouth tightened into a long, thin line. His finger squeezed the release on the crossbow.
The bolt flew straight toward Cael.
I flicked my dart and leapt toward Cael at the same time.
The crossbow bolt whistled toward me. I knocked Cael down as it sank into my back. Screaming in pain, I blacked out.
16
I came around slowly. My body ached, a diffuse, gnawing sense where every bone and joint seemed swollen. Pain throbbed in my shoulder where the crossbow bolt had pierced me, but at least there was sensation. I tried to open my hand, but it didn’t respond as it should.
Instead, I opened my eyes slowly. My mind was as swollen and foggy as my body seemed to be and I struggled to remember what had happened. I lay on a small cot, stretched out before a fire burning in a cozy hearth. Everything about the place seemed familiar.
And then I remembered why. Della.
I was not certain that I was ready to face her again. Long ago, Della had taken me in, taught me much of what she knew about plants and medicines. As young as I was, I recognized that there were things that she managed to do, healings she was capable of performing, that I could not explain with the medicines she used. In spite of that, Della claimed that I had the talent to become a healer. I would never reach her skill as Healer, but I could become a healer.
That all changed with one mistake.
When I had been banished, she sent me to Isander, telling me that he would continue my education. And he had. Isander had a different take on the use of his knowledge, preferring to teach me the art of poisons and toxins in addition to healing plants and medicines. I never knew if Isander had guided me in that direction because I had a knack for the art or for another reason. I still wondered.
“You’re awake.”
I turned my head to see her standing next to the cot, a small notebook folded out in front of her, a quill resting in her wrinkled hand. She stuffed it away and folded the book closed, peering at me with a familiar expression. Though a handful of years had passed since I last saw her, she looked much the same. Gray hair was pulled back behind her head in a bun. Deep lines surrounded green eyes that twinkled. A woven shawl hung on her shoulders, braided in various blue and orange hues.
“Where’s Cael?” I asked. It hurt to speak, my voice croaking out in a hoarse grunt.
Della sniffed softly. “Finally care about someone other than yourself, Galen?” she asked.
I took a deep breath. The comment was fair; honestly, I deserved worse. Especially from Della. I considered arguing, telling her again that the reason I was forced from Elaeavn was because I cared too much, but it would make little difference. The mistake had already been made. Long ago I had learned to live with the consequences of my mistake. Della still had not given up on her disappointment.
“Is she safe?” I asked.
“Your friend is unharmed. Unlike you. A crossbow?”
I nodded. “Barbed tip. I didn’t think it was poisoned but the wound grew hot. Felt it coming on, too. Not much I could do out on the plains.” Slipping into this kind of conversation with Della was easy, familiar. I think it made her more comfortable as well.
“Not poisoned,” Della agreed. “I had to clean the wound, push out the infection working through you. Much longer and you would not have survived. But that was not the one that would have ended you.”
“No.”
“You took a shot for her.”
I swallowed, remembering the pain from the crossbow bolt as it sank into my back. In many ways, it was surprising that I lived. A shot like that should have killed me.
“I did what I had to do.”
I felt her trying to Read me and pushed my barriers in place. Practice around Cael had strengthened them. Della frowned as she studied me.
I shook my head, pushing her away. “What of Heln?” I asked. Della’s eyes narrowed. “The other man. Older. Thin. Gray hair and mustache.”
“Gone.”
I closed my eyes. Either I had missed with my dart or had hit him with whistle dust only. Likely the latter or I might be dead too, though I had already seen that I should not underestimate Cael.
“There was another wound I found as well,” Della went on. “An interesting injury. A deep cut along your side. Recent, as well. The edges of the injury bear the mark of srirach.”
We both knew that it was not the edges of the wound but her ability at Healing that told her what had poisoned me. I had not known she would be able to detect the poison this long out. Lorst’s attack had been at least a week ago and the injury had been healed with the tchinth powder I pulled from the wine Orly had given me in an attempt to poison me.
“Your point?” I asked.
“Only that such an injury is usually fatal. How is it that yours was not?”
“I’m not completely helpless,” I told Della.
“I am only too aware of your skills, Galen.”
The disappointment in her voice was clear.
“But srirach is quite difficult for even me to heal. I know of only a few cleansers that would be effective, and then only if used immediately.”
I had not known how difficult srirach was to reverse, though as far as I knew, I was the only person to have survived poisoning from it. “I had tchinth powder.”
Della tipped her head. Her eyes flashed a deep shade of green and narrowed. “Indeed? Tchinth is out of season. Impressive that you managed to acquire some.”
“It was the price of a meeting,” I said.
At that, Della laughed. “As clever as I hear that man is, he is a fool.”
I could not help but note the hint of respect to the comment. “You know of Orly?”
“I know many people, Galen. When you have lived as long as I have, such a thing is inevitable.”
“I will see him dead.” I didn’t want to leave any doubt with Della about my intention regarding Orly. Some day, I would be the one who ended him.
“Indeed?” Della said. “I believe you are the one with the price on your head. You and that girl you travel with.”
“I can manage.”
“You have done well so far,” she said.
“We’re out of the city at least,” I said.
“And that is your only goal?” I shook my head. “You know who she is?” When I still said nothing, Della smiled. “So you know. And help anyway. Interesting.” Della turned to the fire and heated a long ladle. She tipped hot liquid into a cup and handed it to me. “I had not expected to see you again, Galen. Certainly not traveling with one of the Elvraeth. There is a story there?”
I nodded once. The story was simple. Either Cael Compelled me or I loved her. Already I decided that it didn’t matter. I would help just the same.
“Hmm. You think to return?” Della asked.
I shook my head. No matter what happened, returning to Elaeavn for good was not an option. “I am Forgotten, Della,” I said. My voice was little more than a whisper.
&
nbsp; Della fixed me with a hard stare. “Not by all,” she said. Even with the hardness to her expression, I did not miss the warmth she once felt for me that bubbled to the surface.
Forgotten. A title given to those banished by the council of the Elvraeth from the city, never to return. Yet Cael thought to bring me with her, as if she could reverse my banishment.
“No?” I asked. “By enough, then.” Even after all this time, there was a little anger that slipped into my voice.
“And Isander?” she asked. “I have heard nothing of him for some time.”
“Dead.” I would not tell her how. Not yet.
She watched me for a moment, looking at me with the same expression Cael had on her face as she tried to Read me. I slammed my barriers into place to be certain she didn’t Read me. Caution cost nothing.
“From what I hear, you have learned much from him.” The words were not an accusation, but nearly so.
“I do what must be done, Della. If not me, then some other.”
“Did Isander know how you used what he taught you?” she asked.
I took a sip of the liquid she poured into the cup. It was hot, but not unpleasantly so, and burned the back of my throat. Warmth spread through my body and I wondered what Della laced the drink with. Something to soothe me, likely. Perhaps loosen my tongue.
“He knew.” Isander was not as innocent as Della thought him to be. A skilled healer once, Isander took to the darker trades in his later years. It was because of him that I became what I am.
“Then I will say no more,” Della said.
I took another slow drink, feeling the warmth steal through me. “And Nord?” I asked.
She chuckled softly. “He will live.”
“Was it erasn?”
“It was. Small amounts, given over years. Erasn does not wash out quickly, so even such a small amount can eventually become fatal. Clever, really.”
“Clever” certainly described Orly. I worried what it meant that he was gaining so much skill with herbs. First the tchinth powder and now erasn. Had I underestimated him? A dangerous thing, if so.
The Forgotten (The Sighted Assassin Book 2) Page 11