by Murray, Dean
I'rone watched silently as she weighed the options before them, and then smiled again when she finally nodded.
The water was icier than Betreec had expected. It stabbed into her flesh with needles of agony, and tugged at her legs with surprising force. Only her free hand, solidly on I'rone's massive shoulder, saved her from falling. I'rone led the way, cautiously probing the floor with his walking pole as they advanced one slow step at a time.
Surrounded by deepening water, that was quickly sucking all feeling out of her legs, Betreec felt her courage shatter. She wanted to yell at I'rone over the deepening rumble of the water, to order him to turn around, but as she opened her mouth to do so she lost her footing and crashed into him.
Water flooded into her mouth as it picked her up and slammed her into a series of rocks. Her fist reflexively locked tight around their glow sphere, and then she felt herself falling.
There was only a split second for Betreec to register that somehow she'd tumbled over a waterfall, and then something wrenched at her arm, nearly ripping it from its socket as her movement was arrested with a speed as impossible as it was welcome.
Betreec looked up to find I'rone using her left arm to drag her back up.
"How did you catch up with me? How could you possibly have saved me?"
I'rone pointed back upstream, "The tunnel broadens out just after where you lost your footing. The water actually slows down a little and gets shallower as a result. Other than that I'm not sure, it felt like I was moving in slow motion, I didn't think I was going to make it in time."
Betreec reached for I'rone's hand only to hiss as she saw how badly cut up it was.
"Did you do that saving me?"
I'rone's pulled his hand back, less she thought out of pain, than out of a desire not to have her touch him.
"It's not important, can you feel the girl still?"
Betreec reached out with senses that seemed raw and crinkly, like skin that had been badly burnt. At first she thought the even dimmer glow meant they'd somehow traveled further away from the girl, but then she found a second, stronger glow. She felt her knees start to go out from under again, but I'rone stopped her before she could join the slight trickle of water tumbling over the lip of the cliff.
"She's here, just down there I think, but she's not alone."
For the first time she could remember, confusion flashed across I'rone's eyes. Under other circumstances she might have enjoyed the sight, but not now.
"There's a snow leopard near her."
The words exited her mouth in a whisper. She wanted to explain that there was no way she could have known, that non-human minds are too dim to be seen easily, but it all seemed so futile. They'd made it so far, only to have to turn around and fail.
I'rone stared off in the direction she'd indicated and then sighed and opened their pack. He pulled out a strange lump of metal with a loop affixed to it and started hammering it into a crack in the wall before she realized he wasn't planning to turning around.
"We have to go back and get help. You can't kill a snow leopard. We'll both just die."
A thin rope was threaded through the loop, and the pack was securely around Betreec's abused shoulders before I'rone met her gaze again.
"We can't just leave her. Wait up here until the fight is resolved. If I don't manage to kill it, then you'll have to go back and just hope she somehow makes it long enough for help to arrive. If I do manage to kill it, the two of you will have enough provisions to last a day or so until help comes."
"What about you?" Her voice came out smaller than she meant it to.
I'rone shrugged, and then picked up the steel walking pole from the bottom of the stream. He double checked the long dagger at his waist and then pointed at the glow stone in her hand.
"Light will be important, but don't let yourself fall off."
The rope went slithering down the face of the cliff, stopping just short of the shallow pool at the bottom of the falls, and then I'rone was on his way to what every story Betreec had ever heard indicated was sure death.
As her companion steadily descended, into the near darkness, Betreec felt a tightness in her chest that had nothing to do with being slammed against rocks, or the fact she was shivering violently from the cold. I'rone didn't know this girl any more than she did, but he was going to sacrifice his life on the slim chance he'd be able to kill the snow leopard and allow Betreec to get her out safely.
Countless candidates and guard trainees had sought to impress Betreec and her friends through wild tales of how brave they would be once they finished their training. She'd never heard even the most mild boast out of I'rone, but he was about to do something worthy of any of the full Guadel she'd ever met.
Her mind racing, Betreec cast about for something she could do to stop I'rone from going to his death. She sunk to her knees as her mind came back blank. Maybe prayer really was the only option.
##
I'rone's injured right hand alternated between dull pain and burning agony each time he touched the rope, but he forced the pain back into a small corner of his mind and walled it off as best he could. Fear of what was to come next was harder to silence, but he focused on how scared the little girl must be, and tried to concentrate on moving as silently as possible. Things would be hopeless enough even if he managed to somehow make it all the way down to the ground without alerting the snow leopard to his presence. If it was waiting for him, he'd die before he ever even managed to set his feet on the ground.
The cold ate away at his strength and determination as he slowly traversed the last half of the rope down into the huge cavern. He hadn't gotten quite as wet as Betreec, but there was still only so much gurra wool could do to insulate when it was wet, and he felt his teeth threaten to begin chattering.
He silently dropped the last couple of feet, and then sunk into a motionless crouch as he attempted to bring Javin's training to the forefront of his mind. Once the fight began there would be little if any time for thought or analysis. Everything would become a whirlwind of motion and reflexes that had to be acquired beforehand by hard hours of work.
They'd all heard it, but most of his fellow candidates didn't really understand yet. They watched the incredible speed of their sponsors and envied the older men without realizing that true speed was only possible if you stopped thinking and reacted out of instinct.
Of course it hadn't been easy for I'rone to make that transition himself. Once Javin had been satisfied with his technique, he'd attacked I'rone again and again in practice until his protégée had finally understood what his laconic sponsor had really been trying to teach him. Javin had 'sold' the attacks and I'rone had been sure on more than one occasion that he might be seriously injured in the process, but he hadn't stopped. It would have been much easier to just go back to the regular weapons classes where he was the top of his class, but something inside him had refused to give up. The people the Guadel were sworn to protect didn't have the option of walking away unscathed when things became too much for them, and therefore neither did I'rone.
I'rone caught what sounded like sobs coming ever so faintly from ahead him, and then his mind spun into frenzied analysis. Thought wouldn't save you once the fight began, but it often determined the outcome beforehand more surely than any sword or dagger.
He was no match for a snow leopard, but even more so out in the open where it could spring at him. The part inside him that wanted to live was screaming now, demanding that he climb back up the rope, but he opened his mouth, letting loose with the most powerful yell he was capable of, and then the traitor part of him didn't matter anymore.
It was too late to run now, and he felt his breathing calm as an answering feline hiss slid out of the darkness. The snow leopard came around the corner slowly, and if it looked gaunt from starvation, there was still a smooth arrogance to its movements that assured I'rone it would be more than strong enough to finish him off.
The slender steel walking rod in his right hand
did less to reassure him even than the dagger in his other hand, but he gripped both weapons as he waited for the snow leopard to finish sizing him up and attack.
Actual combat was different than he'd expected. He didn't feel necessarily brave like all the stories had indicated, but then those parts hadn't ever seemed all that believable. He hadn't expected however to feel the strange sense of pressure building inside his head. At first he thought it was nothing more than his imagination, but as the leopard crossed the last third of the distance separating them, the pressure blossomed into outright pain.
I'rone wanted to collapse to his knees, but duty kept him on his feet as he prepared for the attack to come. He momentarily felt as though his mind was being turned inside out, and then suddenly the snow leopard's haunches bunched with muscle and it was too late to do anything but try to intercept the hurtling mass of feline with the walking pole.
He wasn't fast enough. All of his training, all of the reflexes he'd sweated and hurt for weren't a match for the deadly speed of a born predator. As a set of massive claws tore into his right arm, I'rone felt himself surrender to fate and the strange, but somehow welcome, agony inside his head.
Death felt like a welcome release from duty, but suddenly the snow leopard wasn't moving so fast. I'rone was still trying to grasp what had changed as involuntary reflexes took over and he threw himself to the side.
The snow leopard spun around in an effort to track him, but it wasn't up to the task of adjusting to I'rone's sudden burst of speed, and he dispatched it in return for an additional pair of gashes to his left side.
I'rone felt a stab of worry when he looked up and saw Betreec motionless on the cliff above him. It wasn't until the water trickling off of the rocks sped back up that he realized what she'd done. Between one heartbeat and the next his arms grew too heavy to lift, but that fact somehow paled in significance in comparison to the feeling of Betreec leaving his mind as the last of the augmentation melted away.
##
Betreec watched I'rone lay down inside the small way tent and wondered if Jasmin would ever allow anyone to pry her away from him. With only one traumatic exception, she'd refused to be separated from I'rone from the moment he'd convinced her to come out of the small rock tube she'd taken refuge in to escape the snow leopard.
Other than getting her name from her, Betreec hadn't managed to get Jasmin to speak. Even when she'd probed the poor child's twisted ankle, Jasmin hadn't done anything more than hiss in pain and grip I'rone even more tightly.
Of course I'rone had been even more silent than normal. He'd silently rebuffed each of her attempts to begin a conversation, and she could only assume he was angry with her for having broken a host of rules by linking with him. It made no sense. Even with her augmenting his speed and strength he'd still taken severe wounds. If she hadn't acted, the snow leopard would have surely killed him.
She would have thought he'd been seeking death if not for his efforts to keep the three of them alive over the next few cycles. As soon as she'd finished speeding the healing process on Jasmin's leg and done the same on his wounds, I'rone had set up their way tent and motioned her inside. The tent had been wet and the bundle of soggy clothes she'd used to keep her body off of the cold rock hadn't been much better than sleeping on the floor would have been, but there had been two heat stones inside the pack On'li had sent with them, and the tiny spheres had been exceptionally powerful.
Under normal circumstances even that magically generated heat wouldn't have been enough to allow Betreec to lapse into sleep, but between searching for Jasmin, linking with I'rone and healing them both, she'd been too tired to do more than stretch out on her makeshift bed before falling asleep.
I'rone had wakened her a cycle later as the light sphere had shifted towards a darker blue. It was obvious he hadn't slept, but Jasmin had been peacefully curled up on his lap enjoying the first sense of security in nearly a day.
The climb back up to the main part of the river had been more frightening than she'd expected, but they'd had no choice but to attempt it before hunger left them too weak to have any chance of success. Even I'rone's undeniably impressive strength had seemed all but spent by the time he finally reached the top, but he'd waited only a few moments before bracing himself against a large rock and then hauling her and Jasmin up.
It had been all they could do to convince Jasmin to let I'rone make the climb without her, and she'd keened the entire time she'd been separated from him. Once all three of them were safely to the top of the cliff he'd taken Jasmin from Betreec and made soothing noises until she'd calmed down enough for them to attempt the trip upstream.
Again it was only I'rone's determination and strength that allowed them to make the journey against the current. Every time Betreec's grip had slipped he'd steadied her, seemingly unmovable despite having to help her while still carrying Jasmin in the modified sling they'd rigged up out of the larger of the cloaks.
They'd fought their way upstream step by nerve-wracking step until they'd finally rounded a corner and rediscovered the point from which they'd ventured out into the water.
Betreec would have like nothing more than to have remained in that cavern for however many cycles it took for help to come find them, but while I'rone had set the way tent up at her request, and even brought Jasmin inside where she could finish drying out, it was obvious he was uncomfortable.
When Betreec awoke a little more than a cycle later she found him still awake, dagger out and ready for whatever threat might appear out of the darkness. It seemed ludicrous that anything could threaten them all the way down here, and Betreec nearly lost her patience and scolded him into resting, but then thought better of it.
By any rational explanation they should be completely safe and in no need of a guard, but then again he'd just killed a snow leopard where there shouldn't have been anything but cold rock and icy water. Maybe he was right to refuse to let his guard down until they'd returned to the inhabited portions of the Capital.
Faced with the knowledge that I'rone wasn't going to be getting any sleep, Betreec hadn't been able to sleep herself. They'd taken the light tent down a short time later and headed back through the warren of tunnels and caverns.
Exhausted from a long day of activities even before the search had been called, fighting the cold for endless cycles and performing more magic than she usually did in an entire week, Betreec had been too numb to do anything more than put one foot in front of the other.
When they walked around a corner and found themselves face to face with Javin and On'li, Betreec had been so astonished she hadn't said a single word as On'li had hugged I'rone and then handed the three of them food. As soon as I'rone had finished his portion, On'li had ordered him and Jasmin into the blessedly-dry way tent Javin had erected while they ate.
It was the first time Betreec could remember being alone with I'rone's sponsors. She tried to suppress the sense of discomfort as she finished her meal, but it was obvious she failed. Javin took in her uneasiness, loosened his sword slightly in its sheath and then walked a little ways down the tunnel, giving them the illusion of privacy.
On'li took in Betreec's appearance for the third time since I'rone had crawled into the tent and then shook her head. "Maybe you should tell me what happened."
Betreec took a deep breath and then recounted the bare bones of what had happened, carefully skipping over the snow leopard, the fact that they'd linked, and her feelings for him. On'li stopped her several times for clarification, especially around their trip down the river, but otherwise listened attentively.
Once Betreec had finished up her story, On'li sighed. "She must have fallen into a river and been carried all that distance before being washed over the ledge and landing in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. It's an amazing story, and had the pool been the slightest bit more or less shallow she probably wouldn't have survived the fall. I should have known the two of you would end up neck deep in the avalanche."
Betree
c felt a flicker of annoyance flash through her, "It was hardly our fault."
"I didn't say it was child. Mind you there are those as who would tell you what the two of you did was extremely irresponsible. By all rights the pair of you could have drowned in that tunnel without even having been headed in the right direction. It was a huge risk to run."
Betreec tried to meet On'li's gaze defiantly. She could have done it as recently as that morning, but having lived through the last several cycles she knew the older woman was right. She felt her gaze drop as she imagined just how many ways things could have gone wrong.
On'li reached out and placed a hand on Betreec's chin, pulling her face up. "That being said, I thank you for keeping I'rone alive. Not many would have had the power to augment him sufficiently to defeat a snow leopard all by himself, and none but you or I have earned enough space inside his heart for him to have allowed it to happen."
Betreec felt her face turn wooden. "I never said anything about a snow leopard."
"Of course you didn't. You'd have been woefully stupid if you had, but I recognize the tears made by snow leopard claws, and he's got them on his clothes and flesh both."
Any further denials that Betreec might have offered up died stillborn upon meeting On'li's knowing gaze. "You're wrong. Not about the linking, but about him caring about me. I told him I'd wait for him to finish his training, that I'd turn down all of the proposals I might get between now and then if he'd just confirm he felt about me the way that I feel about him. He turned me down."
Of the two admissions, the one that was going to get her in all kinds of trouble wasn't the one that made it feel as though someone was reaching inside her and tugging on things never intended to move. She half expected to break into tears, but somehow they wouldn't come, something inside her was stopping them up.