by T.M. Nielsen
Chapter 5
“Kyrin, where are you?” Azimeth asked as she walked through the orchard.
Kyrin heard her coming closer and quickly finished her apple. She couldn’t stop eating, and the only way not to be suspicious was to eat the apples in the orchard.
She’d been back in Valhara for three weeks and things between her and Alric were calmer. Her irritation was that she’d already started to show, even though Creteloc told her it would be another couple of months. Her tailor was more than receptive to outfit changes, and Kyrin had changed from dresses over to loose fitting tunics.
“Lady Kyrin?” Azimeth called again.
Kyrin grabbed another apple and took a bite before dropping out of the tree in front of Azimeth.
“Oh, there you are,” Azimeth said, bowing slightly. “I didn’t realize you liked to climb trees.”
“Sometimes,” Kyrin said, taking another bite.
Azimeth couldn’t help but look at what Kyrin was wearing. The ill-fitting clothes were a strange sight. “Dison brought you some dresses.”
“I like this.”
Azimeth smiled. “Okay, well, what would you like to do today?”
“Let’s go for a ride.”
“That sounds like fun. Shall we take knights?”
“There’s no use. Qualsax hasn’t bothered me in a while.”
Azimeth nodded and started back for the horses. Kyrin grabbed another apple and then followed her. Their horses were saddled and ready, and soon they were off into the trees.
They rode in silence for a while, admiring the summer flowers and enjoying the cool shade of the trees.
“Are you okay, Lady Kyrin?” Azimeth asked finally.
“Sure, why?”
“You just seem kind of distant lately.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“I realize you don’t really want a Lady in Waiting, so I’m not offended, but it seems to me like you keep thinking I’m going to do something to you.”
“You’re imagining things.”
Azimeth smiled. “I kind of thought so. I want to be your friend.”
Kyrin fought the urge to kill her. She still couldn’t get the thought of Azimeth and Alric out of her mind, and she didn’t know how much longer she could keep the pregnancy from Alric. As soon as he found out, he would run into Azimeth’s waiting arms.
“May I ask you something about your shifting?” Azimeth asked.
“Sure,” Kyrin said, though she was fully planning on lying if the questions were too much.
“How do you find a door?”
“I just see them.”
“But I cannot?”
“No, you can’t see them unless it’s in your blood.”
“How do doors appear?”
“There are two kinds of portals. Some are constantly there, like the portal into this dimension. I know where it is, and it’s always there, even if there’s no key to open it. Then there are portals that appear randomly. Those are unpredictable but usually easier to find if you are looking.”
“What do you mean unpredictable?”
“Well, the doorway I know of into this dimension always brings me here and never moves. It also invariably takes me to the same spot. Random portals drop you off in different dimensions, in different spots, and can’t be trusted to be there even minutes later.”
“The one you took when you ran from the caravan?”
“Was completely random and dropped me off into a dust storm.”
“What makes them appear?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hello, Ladies,” a deep voice said off to their right.
Kyrin and Azimeth stopped their horses and looked over when a Qualsax warrior came out, followed by ten others.
Kyrin immediately grabbed for her flail, but it wasn’t hanging at her waist. She had discovered that the belt showed her growing tummy, so she opted not to wear it.
“Leave us alone,” Azimeth said, trying to sound stern.
Kyrin surveyed the area and found that they were surrounded.
“I see the king finally gave his bride a Lady in Waiting,” the Qualsax said. “We wondered why you didn’t have one. Of course, an elf is not very safe.”
“Why’s that?” Kyrin asked, getting ready to cast.
“Elves can’t protect even themselves, let alone the Queen of Valhara.”
“Ozehshiesh,” Kyrin said, and slapped her hands together. Her eyes grew wide when the Qualsax slowed but broke free and looked at her.
“What was that?” the lead Qualsax asked, snarling. He shook his head slightly, confused at what he’d just experienced.
Kyrin started to panic and tried again. The Qualsax slowed and looked like they were moving in mud but then returned to normal. Some spells were unstable, but Ozehshiesh had never failed her before.
The Qualsax moved forward and pulled both Kyrin and Azimeth off of their horses.
One held Azimeth firmly with his hand over her mouth, while another restrained Kyrin.
“King Qualsax will be pleased that we’ve finally taken the infamous Kyrin,” the leader said, looking down at Kyrin.
Kyrin dropped and caught the Qualsax off guard. She spun and kneed him in the groin, dropping him to the ground. Just as she stood, the lead Qualsax backhanded her to the forest floor.
“Stop fighting us!” he yelled, and kicked her hard in the ribs.
Out of nowhere, Alric and Finn ran into the clearing with swords drawn. Finn first drove his sword through the Qualsax holding Azimeth, while Alric swung at the leader and sent his head rolling across the ground toward Kyrin. She felt too weak to move and just watched the fight.
When Alric killed the last Qualsax, he looked around the clearing at the carnage and fought to catch his breath. Finn joined him, also panting, and holding his arm as blood seeped out of his fingers.
“Did any get away?” Alric asked, looking into the trees.
“No, we got them all,” Finn said angrily.
Azimeth ran to Kyrin and knelt down. “Are you okay?”
She nodded but watched Alric. She was wrong about his fighting and was impressed that he could wield a sword. She couldn’t help but look at him differently now that she’d seen him actually fight.
Alric sheathed his long sword and knelt down beside Kyrin. “Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head but found it hard to breathe.
“Check her side,” Azimeth said. “He kicked her.”
Alric touched her cheek lightly, and his hand glowed. When he moved it, the bruise on her cheek was gone and the swelling in her eye disappeared. He then gently touched her side, and she suddenly found she could breathe again.
“Anywhere else?” he asked her, obviously still mad.
She shook her head.
“Captain Finn’s hurt,” Azimeth said, looking up.
Once Alric healed Finn’s arm, he looked around again. “The Qualsax just never learn.”
“So you’ll freeze us but won’t freeze a group of Qualsax?” Finn asked Kyrin, slightly irritated.
She shook her head and fought back tears. “I tried. It… it didn’t work.”
“Does that happen a lot?”
“Never,” she whispered.
Alric turned to her. “It’s never failed before?”
“Not that spell, no.”
Alric smiled when he saw that she was shaking, and then he reached down and gently picked her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.
“It’s okay. They’re gone,” he whispered, and held her tighter.
“I couldn’t freeze them. I didn’t have a flail.”
“I know. I saw your flail beside the bed and came to find you.”
“Are you injured?” Finn asked Azimeth.
“No, Captain. I’m fine.”
“Let’s get back to the castle then before Qualsax decides to reinforce.”
“Can you w
alk?” Alric asked Kyrin.
She nodded, and he put her down but wrapped an arm around her. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the ground as they walked.
Alric finally figured out why she walked as if defeated. “You’ve never been caught off guard before, have you?”
Kyrin shook her head.
“Never?” Finn asked. “Surely once in your life you were attacked when you weren’t prepared.”
Again, she just shook her head.
Finn chuckled. “So have you ever had to be saved before?”
“No,” she whispered, outwardly angry at herself.
Alric motioned for Azimeth and Finn to go on ahead of them. Kyrin looked up and saw they were alone.
“No one’s going to think less of you because you were caught without a weapon,” Alric said, stopping to look at her.
“Paragoy is making me soft. If I leave here, I’ll be killed in a week.”
He smiled. “It’s not making you soft. Everyone’s surprised at some point.”
“Not me. If I did that, I wouldn’t be alive.”
“Well, I’m glad it happened. It’s about time I get to prove to you that I can fight.”
She nodded. “You’re good too.”
“So you’re okay?”
“No, I’m not okay!” she yelled, and pulled away as his eyes widened. “I know better than to go off without my weapon! I want to know why I couldn’t cast. I want to know why I didn’t hear them tromping through the trees. Daemionis would punish me for being that stupid!”
“Calm down.”
“I won’t! You don’t get it. I only have a few weeks left here, and when I go back into the dimensions, I have to be prepared! I can’t let…”
“What do you mean you only have a few weeks left?”
She stopped talking and looked at him. “What?”
“You just said you only have a few weeks left here. Why?”
“I… I just thought… well Daemionis will send me on a mission again.”
“That’s not what it sounded like to me. Are you planning on leaving?”
“No”
He took her shoulders firmly in his hands. “Tell me! You’re planning on taking off again aren’t you?”
“No,” she said again.
“Tell me.”
“Alric,” Sithias said from behind them.
Alric turned and bowed. “Sithias?”
“Let me talk to her.”
“Sir?”
“Alone, Alric,” Sithias said, watching Kyrin.
Alric sighed and then started off for the castle.
Once they were alone, Sithias looked down at Kyrin. “When are you going to tell him?”
Kyrin remembered that Creteloc told her not to talk to Sithias, or she risked being punished by Daemionis again.
He smiled. “I’m not mad. I’ve been watching you, and I know about the baby. When are you going to tell Alric?”
She glanced to the side, wondering if she could run.
“You need to trust him. I’ve been looking into your world, and their views on children aren’t the same as they are here,” Sithias explained. “He’s not going to kick you out or beat you for this. He’ll be happy and will help you. Here in Paragoy, you don’t have to do this alone.”
Kyrin moved to the side to make a break through the trees, but the trees leaned in and blocked her path. She had to get to Alric before Sithias told him about the pregnancy. She wasn’t sure how she would soften the blow or even make him believe that Sithias was wrong, but she had to try.
“You need to tell Alric. Then you need to let Azimeth help you. She’s a smart elf and wants nothing more than to be your friend,” Sithias continued.
She watched him, and her hands twitched.
“I saw you try to freeze the Qualsax. I suspect the pregnancy is draining your body and taking the energy you pull from to cast. I don’t think your magic is gone, but I do think it’s not going to be effective until after the birth.”
Kyrin no longer cared what Daemionis thought and looked around for a portal.
“I’ve closed the portals with Daemionis’ approval. We both feel you need to stay here. We both also feel you need to tell Alric.”
“I can’t,” she whispered, and sunk down to her knees.
“Why not?”
“I can’t lose him.”
“You aren’t going to lose him. If you can just trust me once, do it now. When you tell him, it’s going to bring you closer, and you’ll be amazed. He’s your husband. Give him a chance to prove that.”
“You’ll tell him if I don’t.”
“No, it’s not my place. However, I have removed your poison from…” Sithias quit talking when Kyrin stood and ran for the castle.
Kyrin ran past the knights as they watched her curiously. Alric saw her taking the stairs up, two at a time, and followed her. She ran into the Lady’s quarters and tipped the bed over.
“What are you doing?” he asked, jumping back to avoid being hit by the bed.
Kyrin tore open a stitched section of the mattress and plunged her hand into it. She felt around and pulled out three vials, looked at them, and then went back to find more.
“What are these?” Alric asked, picking up the three vials.
Kyrin didn’t answer him but kept digging around. She frantically moved her hand around, trying to feel for one more vial.
“Kyrin!”
She jumped when he yelled. “What?”
“What are these?”
“Poisons,” she said, and then kept digging.
“You’re looking for more of them?”
“Yes, but it’s not here.” Kyrin sat back and looked out the window.
“What do these poisons do?”
She finally looked over at him. “Those in your hand are death poisons. They are painless and fast though.”
“Why do you have these?”
“Why not?”
“Were they for you or were you going to use them on someone else?” Alric asked, getting angry. He was getting tired of having to defend his wife and his actions to allow a known evil into his kingdom, and this wasn’t helping.
“Neither. I don’t pre-plan using poison, but I have to be prepared.”
“What are the ones you’re missing?”
“Just a poison.”
“But what do they do?”
“Only one is missing.”
“Just tell me! What does that poison do?”
Kyrin knew that by not telling Alric, he was getting madder and madder, but she couldn’t tell him the truth, or he’d find out why she needed it. Sithias was surely going to tell him soon, so she debated just getting it over with but couldn’t do it.
“It’s another death poison,” she lied.
Alric shook his head. “Fine, don’t tell me.”
He stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Kyrin sunk her face into her hands. He knew she was lying, but he would leave her if she told him the truth. She was trapped between two rock walls and couldn’t find a way out.
Alric went down to the throne room where he was supposed to meet with the citizens of Valhara. Trox was already there and frowned when he walked in. It wasn’t often that he saw his king this angry, and he correctly assumed that Kyrin had done something.
“What’s wrong, my King?” Trox asked.
“Nothing, bring them in.”
“Sir, you can’t talk to the people of Valhara when you’re mad.”
“I can’t do this any longer.”
“Meet with the people?”
“No! Love someone who hides things from me and keeps secrets.”
Trox nodded. “So Kyrin has done something.”
“She’s keeping something from me.”
“Do you know what?”
“No, but it has something to do with death poisons.”
“That’s pretty vague.”
He s
ighed. “I love her. I want to help her, and all I get in return are lies and deceit.”
“She’s an evil.”
“Still…”
“May I speak candidly?”
Alric looked up at his advisor. “Sure.”
“Kyrin is just as confused as you are. Something’s going on in her head that we don’t understand and may never understand. I know it’s frustrating that she’s keeping things from you, but I promise you that it will get better as she learns to trust.”
“When though? Do I have to watch her beat herself up over everything?”
“Maybe. She’s very young but has led a life full of deceit and distrust. She knows nothing else. I truly believe she will trust you one day and things will turn around.”
“How can I stand by and watch the woman I love kill herself?”
“You think that’s what the poisons were?”
“I suspect. She’s been acting strangely for months, and I know something’s going on.”
“You mentioned that she thought Daemionis wanted her as a wife and ran from that?”
“Yes”
“Maybe she still suspects it and will take death.”
“Then she needs to enlist Sithias to help protect her. If she follows him and stays in this dimension, Daemionis can’t get to her.”
“Have you ever heard of wanderlust?”
“No”
Trox sat down on Kyrin’s throne. “Wanderlust is a trait of mythical creatures that were homeless. They had an innate drive to explore and roam.”
“Okay, and you suspect Kyrin has it?”
“More than suspect, I’m sure of it. She has never stayed in one spot for long, and that’s a hard thing to change.”
“When she leaves the dimension, I can’t follow her. My fear is that one day she won’t come back, and I’ll never know why.”
“I wish I could disagree, but it’s only a matter of time before that happens.”
“Alric?”
Alric and Trox looked up to see Kyrin standing in the doorway of the throne room. Her eyes were red, and it was obvious she’d been crying.
“Come in,” Alric said, and motioned her forward.
Kyrin walked up to him and held her hand out with the three tiny vials. “You can have them.”
Alric took them and handed them to Trox. “Thank you.”
“I wasn’t going to kill myself.”
“I know.”
“My time with you is precious and limited, and I wouldn’t shorten it with a poison.”
“Why is it limited?” Alric asked, taking her hands.
She inhaled softly and then looked into his eyes. “You’re going to end up kicking me out of Valhara, maybe even Paragoy.”
“Why? Is it something you’ve done?”
“No”
“Then why? Tell me.”
Trox stood up and helped Kyrin up onto the stand with the thrones. She sat down and smiled at Trox before turning to Alric. “I’ll tell you soon, okay? Let me just figure out how.”