Call of the Waters (Elemental Realms Book 2)
Page 16
Brode shrugged. “Maybe it’s poor luck. Your father does look like an Elemental, after all. The man might have mistaken him for a threat.”
“But why take him captive? Why not …” Trea bit down on her lip, unwilling to state it. She focused on the ground.
Brode laid his hand on her shoulder, and she flinched. “Trey, I’m sorry, but the sun will be down soon. There’s no way we can track them further tonight.”
Her eyes smarted against invading tears. What Brode was saying made a lot of sense. It was practical. However, she didn’t need practical. She needed a miracle. She needed her father and sister safe and everything as it should be again. Drawing a deep breath, she made one last, half-hearted argument. “We don’t need light to track them. They’ll probably keep to the road. We can follow that.”
“Probably, not definitely. If we miss a turnoff in the dark, what then? Also, we’re unarmed, my clothes are still damp, and I’m so hungry I’m about to start gnawing on the nearest tree.” He smiled, but it only made it worse.
She took deep breaths, determined not to break down now. Dad and Quill needed her to be strong.
“The good news is, if they did leave, I feel all right about risking a fire. Let’s find a clear spot and gather some fuel.”
Brode disappeared into the underbrush. Trea sniffled, wiped her face on her sleeve, then followed.
They didn’t speak during their preparation. Both had set up camp so many times that words were unnecessary. Soon they had a blazing fire and had laid out what little remained of their provisions.
She glanced at her pack. Only one blanket. Brode would want her to take it, but that wasn’t fair. Perhaps they could share. Her mind flitted back to resting against him that morning. Yes, the embrace had been for warmth, but she’d also found comfort in it, and as much as she hated to admit it, pleasure. He’d been so tender, like she’d always dreamed he would be if he were hers.
I suppose I shouldn’t read anything into it. It’s shameful thinking of that now, with people I love in real danger.
She took a few bites of their meager supplies.
“Are you all right?” Brode asked.
She started. “I’m … I’m fine.”
“It’s all right not to be. We’ve both been through a lot today, but I’m assuming you more so than me. I mean, I love your dad like he were my own, but he’s not my own, if that makes sense. I understand, though. I mean … I’ve been there, worried if my loved ones were going to be all right.”
“In your case they weren’t, were they?” She held her hands to the fire, avoiding his gaze.
He cleared his throat. “No, but the circumstances were different. I lost my dad in the war, and my stepmom was taken from me so suddenly I didn’t really have time to be worried. I think the uncertainty makes it worse. Still, if anyone can get out of it, it’s your dad. He’s smart and resilient. We have to have faith he’ll be able to hold on until we can get to him.”
“And Quill?” she whispered.
“We don’t have any reason to believe she’s actually in danger. She went with Eanan willingly, after all.” He moved closer, bumping his knee into hers.
A shiver cut up her spine.
“You’re cold?” He fetched the blanket and draped it around her. His arm rested across her back. The weight of it made her head spin.
She closed her eyes. I’m not doing this. I’m not thinking about that now, about him. Her shoulders scrunched towards her neck.
After a moment he withdrew. “Are you mad at me?”
“I’m just surprised you aren’t more worried about Quill. After all, she’s …” Perfect, blessed, everything I’m not.
“She’s what?”
She looked up, and her gaze caught his. The firelight danced in his hazel eyes.
“She’s special to you.” She pulled away from him.
His eyebrows melted together. “No more than anyone else in our family. I mean, she’s like a sister, I suppose, but Karvir, Willa, and Freda are just as important to me as Quill.”
Trea’s throat squeezed shut. “You don’t … you aren’t … I mean …”
His mouth opened slightly. “Oh Trea, you thought … no. I like Quill, but not like that. Not at all. And she doesn’t like me that way either. If she did, wouldn’t she have said something before running off with Eanan? Asked me to come along? When you love someone like that, you don’t just disappear.”
Relief rushed through her like a breath of fresh air. She slumped forward. “Oh.”
Brode stroked her hair, and every muscle in her body tightened. “I mean, Quill’s sweet, but … I don’t need or want sweet. I want someone who isn’t afraid to tell me what they think, who strives to make me better, you know, even when it hurts a little.”
Trea’s heart fluttered.
Brode’s gaze dropped from hers, though his hand still rested near her ear. “You’re … you’re everything I want, Trea. Freda said I should tell you, but I was worried we weren’t ready for … you know …”
“No, I don’t know.” She allowed her brow to furrow even though she was sure the expression wasn’t attractive.
“Well, to … I mean …” He rubbed the back of his neck.
Her face grew hot. “Telling me you like me doesn’t mean we have to jump into bed together, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Of course not! That’s not what I …” He exhaled. “After three years, I still make an idiot of myself whenever we talk.”
She laughed. “It’s getting better.” After a moment’s hesitation, she reached out and laid her hand on top of his. “I really thought you liked Quill. How long have you liked me?”
“Since I kissed you that one time, a few days after we met.”
Her lips tingled at the memory. She nodded, afraid what she might say if she spoke.
“I messed up when you asked why I did it, but we were both so young. It seemed wrong somehow.” He turned his hand over and entwined his fingers with hers. “I still think about it, though.”
“I guess I convinced myself it didn’t mean anything. You seem so much friendlier with Quill, though. You’re sometimes jumpy around me.”
His lips curled into a smile. “Maybe because I’m trying not to stare at your mouth.” He leaned closer.
Trea froze. This is going to happen. It’s finally going to happen!
He stopped, his lips inches from hers. His expression softened, and hesitation clouded his eyes. She lunged forward. Their mouths melded together. He inhaled sharply, then rested his hands on her arms. His fingers squeezed into her. His mouth was warm and soft, like she’d always hoped it would be. She fingered his hair before withdrawing.
He laughed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You don’t do things halfway, do you?”
She shrugged. “Is that bad?”
“No, not at all. I could use some of that … abandon. I tend to act so slowly a snail would grow impatient with me.”
He pulled her closer, and after a moment’s hesitation, she rested her head on his shoulder. The fire’s heat licked at her face, and her fingers ached as they came back to life. She hadn’t realized how numb she was.
Brode chuckled.
“What?” she asked.
He kissed her forehead. “It’s just that I planned to suggest we share the blanket tonight, for warmth, and all, and now … well, you’re going to think I have other motives.”
“Do you?” She raised her eyebrows.
One corner of his mouth quirked up, and he laughed again. “No, I promise.”
“Good. We’ll sleep back to back. It’ll be fine. I’m not freezing to death for the sake of propriety.”
“Don’t tell your dad.” Brode snorted. “He’d roast me.”
Trea’s stomach tightened as her father’s predicament forced its way past the warm fuzzies caused by Brode’s affection.
“Hey.” Brode ran his thumb down her jawline. “He’s going to be all right. We’re going to fin
d him.”
“I hope so.” Slipping her arms around Brode, she buried her head against his chest.
Chapter Eighteen
Arana gritted her teeth as she paced in front of the ruins of the Water Speaker Sanctuary. The Earthen Lords were not willing messengers. There was no way to summon them. They conversed with whom they chose. To add to the difficulty, they could only listen to one individual at a time though they could trumpet their commands into the dreams of many.
When the Earthen Lord had told her to halt her trek and wait for Daman, worry overcame her. Daman’s mission was to guard the Span. Had he failed? Though she knew better than to question her Lord, she longed to know what awaited her and Markyl.
Markyl climbed the broken, white stone wall around the Sanctuary and shaded his eyes with his hand. Arana snorted. He wouldn’t be able to see far. The trees were too thick here. Even the old Highway was overgrown with branches and trailing ivy.
The Sanctuary resembled the skull and bones of a long dead man, white and jagged in the sunshine, half buried in generations of plant life and debris. Parts of the main building, especially the great, domed roof of the inner sanctum, were surprisingly well-preserved.
Striding on the blue tiled floor with the light filtering through the thin, alabaster panels in the ceiling, she could imagine the voices of the Speakers and the burbling of the dry fountains.
The Earthen Sanctuary was more practical, hidden in the deep caverns of the sacred mountain. She missed its safe, dark halls.
Birds flew from the trees, and she focused on the road. Daman emerged from the brush with a grin on his face and his hand on a bindmetal cord.
Arana’s breath escaped in a hiss as she traced the cord back to the blackened features and glowing eyes of his captive.
“A Charred? But how?” she stammered. “We’re facing Water, not Fire Speakers.”
Daman jerked the Charred in front of him then kicked him to his knees. Flakes of ash fell from the Charred’s body.
Daman shrugged. “He claims he isn’t allied with the Fire Folk, that he was converted against his will.”
Arana tapped her finger against her lips. “It is possible. The Fire Demons are fully capable of such atrocities … but that would mean he has somehow survived in this Realm since the invasion, which seems unlikely.”
The beast’s eyes flickered, but his expression shifted like a storm cloud, unreadable.
“Why did you bring him here? You have him at your mercy. Has association with my frail son made you incapable of taking a life?”
“He knows something. A day before I found him, three travelers attempted to cross the Span. One of them, a young female, was a Water Speaker, and a powerful one. It was all I could do to drive them back. Then this demon appears, and when I press him, he says he searches for his daughter. Perhaps he is lying, or perhaps he knows something of the girl I faced.”
Markyl hopped from the wall and came to join them. “How could a Charred have a human daughter?”
Arana exhaled her frustration with her son’s ignorance. “All Charred were once human, even the mindless chattel we faced during the war. The Fire Demons create them from human corpses, but a living man would suffice. You say this one speaks?”
Daman nodded.
“He’s quiet now.” Markyl stroked his chin. “What should we do with him?”
“I would like to question him further, but breaking him could take time, and our quest at the gateway is most urgent.” Arana tilted her head towards the Charred. “Well, beast, is your daughter the Water Slave we seek?”
“My daughter is just a girl.” His voice was deep, but with a raspy quality that made her skin crawl. “I swear, this gateway you speak of carries no interest for me. I’m just a father trying to find his child.”
“You’re an abomination. A self-respecting man would end himself rather than become what you are.” Markyl spat on the Charred, his saliva sizzling on the creature’s crust.
“You aren’t the first to tell me that, but until the Creator confides in me that I have served my purpose, I will continue to breathe in obedience to him. My fate was not my choice, but my form has saved my loved ones more than once. As I said, we aren’t enemies. Let me seek out my daughter, and I will stay far from you and your mission.”
Markyl shifted from one foot to the other. “He must be lying.”
“I doubt he speaks the whole truth, but there is a grain of honesty in his tale.” She motioned towards the Sanctuary. “Bind him inside. He may yet be of use to us.”
Daman led his captive away. Arana knelt and sifted dirt between her fingers. The sensation of the warm earth soothed her like a mother’s touch. A pity Daman couldn’t handle a single Water Speaker. If the Water Demons have a hold on the girl, she will be compelled to the gateway … which likely means she will pass by here.
“We will be ready, my lord.” Arana raised a palm filled with soil to her lips and kissed it. “The water worshiper will be crushed beneath the weight of your might.”
***
Quill craned her neck to look over Gabrin’s shoulder as he brought out his chart. “It looks like we’re almost to the edge of your map.”
“Didn't your mom ever tell you reading over other people's shoulders is rude?” He grunted. Sitting cross-legged, he laid the map out on the ground and weighted down the corners with stones. “Unfortunately, you’re right. There weren’t many records of the lands this far west. Everything I filled in past the canyon was based on guesswork. Our best bet, though, is to find the Highway again and follow it.”
Quill brushed off her skirt, trying not to look too obviously at his chart. “What if the Highway is guarded?”
“I doubt whoever they are, they have the resources to cover the whole road. We’ll just have to be careful.”
“Do you have any idea who they are?” She glanced from Gabrin to Eanan, who was trying to douse the remnants of their tiny campfire. Quill had been relieved he’d finally allowed them to have one the night before. She’d been so cold since the confrontation at the Span.
“Obviously, the man we faced was an Earth Speaker, even as you’re a Water one.” Eanan kicked dirt over the dying coals. “Why he attacked us or what he’s doing out here, I don’t know. If he were a Fire Speaker, I might understand, but we should have no quarrel with the Earthen Elementals. Not from my understanding of lore.”
“Which is as full of holes as a fisherman’s net.” Gabrin smiled. “Admit it, old man, your lore is as much guesswork as my map.”
Eanan’s nose wrinkled. “Sadly, that’s true. So much knowledge was lost … it is interesting that Earth Speakers exist at all. Something is changing, for better or worse. Who knows what the future will bring? Another Elemental War? Peace between all five Realms? We can only hope for peace.”
Quill stared forward, not focusing on anything in particular. She wanted so badly to believe her abilities could be controlled, that she wouldn’t have to hurt anyone, but the Earth Speaker had attacked her on sight. Did elemental speaking always lead to violence?
She’d managed to quiet the voices after using them to save Gabrin. Still, in that moment, wielding them for good, she’d felt so … whole. As if that were her purpose.
A tickle of amusement spread through her hand, which still rested on Gabrin’s shoulder. He smirked at her, and the amusement shifted into a warm sensation that crept up her arm, blurring her thought process until all she could focus on was the gray of his eyes. Pleasure, she recognized that emotion, but something else that she'd never felt before mingled with it, something pulling her towards him like a twig in a whirlpool.
“Hi,” he said, his voice lower than usual. She jerked away, blushing.
He chuckled then stood. “Assuming that the Highway continues westward rather than turning north or south after the canyon, we’re about a half-day’s walk from it.”
“The Water Speaker Sanctuary was said to lie behind the Hills of Sunset.” Eanan steepled his fingers. �
��Let’s try to find some high ground. I have an idea where we might be headed.”
They left the canyon’s edge and ascended a rocky slope. Angular slabs of rock jutted up, as straight as planed boards, and in places the cliffs looked like a giant had taken a chisel to them.
More accustomed to mountainous terrain, and not wanting to walk near Gabrin, Quill took the lead.
What was that? Flirting? Of course, Gabrin never stops flirting … for all his claiming that he doesn't “do” empathics. Still, whatever that was felt so sincere … how could he feel something like that and not mean it? I can't let him draw me in. I won't be a conquest … but what would it be like to be more?
Finding a goat path that allowed her to sprint to the crest of the bluff, she outdistanced the men. With one hand shading her eyes, she studied the landscape.
To her left, the canyon stretched on until it faded as a thin, silver thread on the horizon. Below her, acres of scrub pine and gray rock rolled into yellow and green patched meadows. Then, lying on the horizon like a sleeping beast, came rounded hills, streaked in orange and red. To her right, on the western horizon, mountains reached for the skies, their craggy peaks disappearing in a layer of cloud.
Eanan scrambled up next to her and heaved a great sigh. “I’m getting too old for this. Ah ha! See it? Those hills, the color, like a sunset? That’s where we’re headed.”
“Shouldn't we be able to see the road from here?” She traced the canyon’s course, hoping to see some sign of the Span or the Highway.
“I’m guessing it’s behind the hills.” He turned and shouted. “Gabrin, get up here!”
Gabrin joined them, and Quill resisted the urge to either edge away or get closer to reexamine his aspect.
“Well, isn’t that pretty,” he said. “Either of you see anything that looks like a magical gateway to another Realm?”
Eanan snorted. “It would be nice if it were that easy.”
A roc rose from the canyon. It swooped down into the meadows, scattering a herd of deer. The bird then spiraled upward, a limp animal clasped in its great talons.