by Wade Adrian
The young woman watched him the entire time.
He sat down beside her again once everyone else was fixed up. They were removing pointless bandages, if they hadn't already left.
She held out the bottle. "It's not bad."
"Great."
"No, it's not great." She laughed.
He took a swig.
It... was not great. But it wasn't terrible. Kind of fruity.
His stomach grumbled. Ugh. How long had he been on the damned roof?
He held the bottle back out to her. "Yours if you like. Think I'll find something to eat."
"Hold on." Her face took on an annoyed look. Her arm was free of the sling, but the sleeve was bloody in addition to the wine. She plucked at the wine stain with her free hand. "You said you were going to look at my shirt."
Well... she'd had a good bit to drink, then, if she was trying to strip down in public. Max would never let him hear the end of it if he took advantage of that. "Rather crowded for that sort of thing. I'll find you a new one."
She shook her head as she moved to stand. He managed it a lot faster and offered a hand, which she grabbed. She wasn't as wobbly as he expected, though.
The girl picked up her bottle and his, handing his back to him. "I'm sure we can find a wash basin upstairs." She nodded a few times. "Lots of empty rooms. Some with locks."
She looped her free arm around his and held up her bottle.
He tapped his against it. "Well... to cleanliness."
"Yes, to cleanliness! It's important."
Well... maybe his luck was changing.
27
Max stared at the roof as he lay on an old bed. It was pretty nice, nothing fancy. On floor... four or so? Lots of people had found rooms to bed down in. There were plenty. Anything bad was going to happen on the ground floor, which was where the guard rotation was being handled.
They didn't need him. They'd said as much when he offered to take a shift after dinner.
Rude, really.
There was an argument to be made for rest, though. The day's activities had left him feeling about half dead. He'd swear he had flown to the castle flapping his own arms.
There was a knock on the door.
Because of course there was.
He groaned as he climbed to his feet. "Just a moment." He spoke through a yawn as he stomped over. The stone floor was cold without his boots on.
Eira was waiting on the other side.
"Hey." He waved. "Sup?"
She stepped into the room. "Ah, there you are." She made a tsk sound. "What did you do? Let me see that..." Her hand lashed out, grabbing his crow skull pendant. She pulled it off over his head. "Filthy. I'll see to it."
So she said... but she removed her own as well, mumbling to herself as she opened a drawer and dropped them in.
She let out a sigh. "I'm sorry."
He was rather confused... "About?"
She stuck her head out into the hall for a moment before leaning back in and shutting the door.
And locking it.
Eira frowned at him. "I saw everything today. She... she almost killed you." She shook her head. "Mother is known for her temper, but more in a bad growing season or the occasional storm sort of way. That was... malicious."
Max shrugged one shoulder. "She's never struck me as the most mentally stable person, no." He pointed at the drawer. "That's enough to keep her away?"
"For a time." She nodded. "She can only hear through a pendant touching someone. Though they'll find their way back to us before morning. Once you accept one, it's basically part of you. I'm sorry, but I don't know of a way for you to get rid of it permanently."
So much for Corvi bugging him tonight.
He found himself smiling. "Thanks for the respite, anyway. And for that knowledge. I'll just keep throwing it away if I have to. Well... once this is done."
Eira shook her head. "She won't let you go lightly. I've never seen, or even heard of her acting like this. One moment trying to kill you, the next offering herself? Whatever it is she sees in you, it's making her act strangely."
He couldn't begin to explain what was really going on. But, maybe it was enough to say, "It doesn't matter. I'll be leaving once this mission is over. I'll head back south. I'd never heard of Corvi before, so I can only assume she doesn't hold sway if I get far enough."
She nodded a few times. "Maybe... but, you're really going to leave?" She frowned. "Why?"
"Aside from the obvious reasons? Because I didn't really intend to come here in the fist place. It was kind of an accident. And then we managed to get tied up in all of this..." He shrugged. "Suffice it to say, we've got places to be that are not here."
She looked like someone had kicked her puppy. "Tovi won't want you to go."
"She knew that I wasn't going to stay. I don't want to upset her, but I really can't stay, either."
"But... what if I want you to stay?"
That was a bit surprising. Eira had been helpful since the start, and more friendly of late, but she was a staunch Corvi supporter. Was this some round about way of keeping him here?
Ugh, there was Tom living in his brain again.
"Sorry, still can't." He held up his hands in a helpless gesture. "That isn't to say I can't come back some day to say hello? But... I'll try and maybe get rid of Corvi before I do. You understand."
She was looking at the floor, but she nodded a bit. "Yes. Best for her, too." Her hand absently rubbed at the opposite arm. "I, umm... I heard what Tovi said, earlier. I admit... I hadn't really thought about it."
And here he had wanted a peaceful evening, but she had to make it weird. "Uh, yeah. Me neither. Mission tunnel vision, I guess."
Eira nodded. "I mean, last time was kind of... awkward. No offense."
"None taken."
"It was more that Tovi wanted that, and so I accepted because I want Tovi to be happy."
"Yeah." He nodded a bit, looking away. "We really don't have to talk about that night."
"I... want to." She looked up at him, her hands falling to her side and balling into fists. "I want to talk about it. I do." She took a deep breath. "It was for Tovi before, and I admit you were nowhere near the top of my list back then. But I've... come to respect you more since we started all this. And even today, with Tovi. You keep trying to be a gentleman when no one expects it, or even respects it. But I do.
"Ugh, I sound like an idiot." She shook her head softly. "I mean, if you're not opposed to the idea..."
"Uh, no. I... I'm not." She really was quite beautiful, under the layers of armor and dirt. But he could respect that, too. Tovi had signed off, more or less. Possibly because she considered them on some similar level when it came to her. He wouldn't dare say he understood what was going on in her head. Or Corvi's. Or Eira's, for that matter.
Eira moved closer, picking up his hands with hers. "I'm... not opposed, either. And I figure, kind of running out of time with you and... maybe it could be about us. Not Tovi, not Corvi. I love them, I do, but I want this. For me." She blinked a few times. "Oh that sounded so weird."
He smiled. "It sounds like a fine idea to me."
"Really?"
"If that's what you want."
"Yes." She nodded.
"Hey."
Tom groaned softly, pulling his blanket up over his head. The first damned chance he'd had to sleep in a decent bed, and someone had to show up to ruin it. "I don't care. Figure it out yourself. If it doesn't burn down, I'll deal with whatever it is in the morning."
"Morning... it's kind of morning. No sun yet, but midnight has passed."
What kind of nonsensical...
Tom pulled the blanket off his face and sat up slightly.
The place was a bit dusty but it had clearly been furnished for whoever was in charge back in the day. Mounted animal heads, mirrors, intricate wood and metal work on the furniture.
Yar stood in the middle of the room, turning this way and that. "This place is far nicer than the last
I found you in."
She wasn't wrong, and she really stood out. She'd gotten taller again. Older. Her hair was still a mess, but she seemed every bit the young woman now. She didn't have shoes, and her feet were clearly dirty. Her old dress hung more like a long shirt, barely keeping her modest.
She seemed quite enthralled by the mounted head of a rabbit with little antlers. A common joke amongst hunters, but it seemed new to her. She pointed at it. "Did I make those? I can't recall. It looks like something I would do..."
Tom grumbled as he tossed off his blanket and turned to set his feet on the floor... right after he found some pants.
The first pair he came to didn't fit. He stared at them, confused for a moment.
Yar looked past him, tilting her head. "Who is that?"
Tom glanced back over his shoulder.
The scout lady he'd had supper with was curled up in his blankets, still asleep. Her mouth was hanging open a bit, a few soft snores escaping.
Tom found his own pants, and pulled a shirt over his head as he walked to an adjoining door. It lead to a sitting room, though they hadn't done much sitting in there. He tried to usher Yar along, and was rather surprised when he actually caught hold of her arm.
She seemed to actually be here.
It wasn't like he thought this was any kind of long term thing, but if the scout woke up to find a half naked woman in the room Tom might be patching himself up before long. The lady was handy with a knife, and he had bits he wanted to keep and wasn't sure he could fix with magic.
He kept his voice quiet. "We can talk in here."
She nodded, giving the scout girl a wave before letting Tom lead her to the next room. "She seems nice."
Tom shut the door behind him as quietly as he could manage. His head was throbbing.
The wine hadn't been worth this.
"What's her name?"
"I have no idea." He narrowed his eyes at the god. "Where have you been?"
"Searching." She stared at him.
As if that was an acceptable answer... or any sort of answer at all.
"Okay. Then what did you find?"
"What I was searching for." She nodded.
He rubbed at his temples. He didn't need this right now. "I've... had a long day. Feel free to expand on that so I can actually understand."
"The doorway, silly. I found the doorway."
"Great." He hooked his thumb over his shoulder at the door behind him. "Me too."
She leaned closer, seeming to inspect the terribly common wooden door. "No... that one is incorrect. It doesn't go where I need."
"My mistake." Tom scoffed. "So, I'm still a tad busy here. We have one more fort to take before these people let us leave. After that, we'll start south in search of our people again. You can show me your door on the way."
"The doorway can help you." She nodded, her eyes widened and took on that all too common crazy quality. "Within is a conduit of power beyond this world, and many doors to many places."
More magical shit.
Great.
"Okay, cool. So, like I said, stuck here for another few days. Why don't you go and check on that, so as soon as we get moving we can do that thing."
"No." She shook her shaggy head. "I can't open it. I tried for some time. Hours, I think. The sun moved a lot. I need you to come, minion. Only one of you can open it."
Tom's eyebrow crept up. "You mean acolyte."
"Isn't that what I said?"
"No, it wasn't. And I can't right now. If I try to leave I'll get shot and stabbed. We're almost done here, might as well get to walk away with all my gear on good terms. Not to mention the money."
Yar's shoulders slumped. "I am not known for my patience, acolyte."
"It won't be long. If you get bored in the meantime go bug Corvi. She's being a pain in the butt."
"Corvi?" Yar's head tilted to the side like a curious puppy. "I haven't seen her in... well, a long time. An age or two."
"She's taken a liking to Max. It's not very mutual. She doesn't like you, though."
"That old stick in the mud." Yar rolled her eyes and gave a dismissive wave. "She'll come around. Eventually. Another age, tops."
"I'm sure. And if you can wait for that, you can suffer a day or two while we finish this job."
Yar crossed her arms and huffed. "I suppose. But don't be long. We've already wasted two days."
"It's... been closer to a week. At least."
"Really? Hmph. And the silly door still didn't open. Rude, but understandable, I suppose."
Tom rubbed at the back of his neck. It didn't alleviate the urge to throw up as much as he had hoped. "So you don't sleep, huh? Probably why you don't let me get any."
"Such a ridiculous waste of time. A third of every day simply given over to being unconscious? Ludicrous. And they call me mad." She turned to Tom, her crazy look fading some. "I won't wait long, but I understand your mortal concerns of potential death, dismemberment, and all that. I can not remove those possibilities for you, at least not yet."
His eyebrow crept up. "I mean, as soon as you can, feel free. I won't mind."
"Even if it meant never sleeping again?"
"Well, like you said. Waste of time."
She smiled... a bit too wide for a normal person.
It was less than wholesome.
The rest of her appearance didn't help. She still had the one weird eye. "I knew I liked you, acolyte."
"What's not to like?" He shrugged. "Bit of free advice though. You need to find some better clothes. That dress has run its course."
She looked down at herself, her chin falling forward to hit her breastbone in an instant, like a puppet with a cut cord. "It is a tad dirty."
Her head tilted to the side slightly...
And she was wearing a sickly yellow dress that pooled on the ground around her. She had a bright blue suit coat on over it, and a checkerboard vest on under that.
Overall... garish.
She held out her hands and turned. "Is this better?"
"Yes." He nodded. "It's certainly an improvement."
"Thank you. I'm not great with colors."
Clearly.
She gave him another smile. "Such a helpful acolyte. Very well, I'll leave you to finish this silly task. But don't tarry long." She wagged a finger at him before vanishing when he blinked.
He wasn't ever going to get used to that.
The bottle he had been nursing was still in the sitting room. It sloshed a bit when he picked it up, but he set it down again.
He sat in the chair beside it, head in his hands.
It would be nice if it stopped throbbing for a minute.
"One more fort. Just one more."
Max awoke when the sun found its way into his room. He covered his eyes with his arm, but it didn't cut the light by much.
He sat up with a sigh.
Something was... weird.
His hand pressed against his chest. He'd gotten used to the weight of the pendant, but it wasn't there.
"She'll be happy you're worried about it."
He glanced up to find Eira standing on the far side of the room. She was buttoning up her coat.
His head was still fuzzy. "You said something about it coming back."
She nodded. "It did. I took it again." She pointed at the drawer. "We'll put them on soon enough." She set a pile of dark blue cloth on the bed. "Breakfast?"
He retrieved his clothes, then gave her a questioning look.
She grinned. "Really? Even with me? I've seen everything. Twice now, in fact." She turned around anyway. "But I suppose I can start with my armor."
He dressed as swiftly as he could.
Did no one in this country have any modesty?
"So we're just going to put the pendants back on and act like none of this happened?"
She shrugged one shoulder. "We won't speak of your desire to leave Corvi's service again. She won't know if you don't."
"Can't she read my mind?"
"How do you know that?"
"I'm basically the ranking member of her order here. So she has been confiding in me, and I was reporting on you. Why do you think I was following you around?" Eira frowned a bit, fiddling with a buckle on her leather chest armor. "Last night I chose to be in your confidence instead. I won't betray you to her, but I also won't betray her to you."
He scoffed. "Hell of a line to walk. Won't she be curious about not being able to reach either of us last night?"
"Corvi loves secrets. She lives for them. Last night we made one. As long as we don't say, she won't know what happened, either way. She may wonder. She may not. It may just please her."
He shook his head. "That's not the Corvi I know."
She helped him button his coat. "That's the thing. You don't know her. She tries to seem more than she is around you. Something about you makes her feel... smaller. She doesn't like it."
Huh. "So she puffs herself up, trying to be scary. I seem to recall that's the strategy if you run into a mountain lion."
She smiled a bit. "An apt analogy. You are an unknown, so she is cautious. Do you think we would all serve her if she was like that all the time?"
"Some people like that sort of thing."
"Well, not me. She isn't exactly kind, and there is the constant power struggle with Boran, but she is well regarded. Though in some ways Corvi is still not accepted. Her worship has grown the last few generations, but Boran is still officially worshiped by everyone here."
"Haven't met him."
"And you won't. He avoids petty matters. I'm not sure he's ever even spoken to Brynjar."
"Then how do you know he exists?"
"Me? Because Corvi says he does."
Max scoffed. "I guess that works."
She nodded, fiddling with the collar of his coat for a moment. She seemed quite concerned with it... before sliding her hands forward, wrapping her arms around him, her head on his shoulder. "It was a wonderful night."