Enemy Known

by Butler, J. M.

Naatos snaked his other arm about her waist and pulled her to himself, leaning down to kiss her. His lips covered hers. And, to Amelia's own surprise, she returned the kiss.

  The emotions intensified, burning through her and searing into her elmis. It was not as overwhelming as she had feared. What she had said was true as well. This connection wasn't changing her. She wasn't weak! The kiss continued, growing in intensity as he explored her.

  All at once, a violent pain sliced through her, strangling and piercing her. Amelia doubled over and jerked back, clutching at her chest. "Ahhh!" Her heart bulged above her hands. Tears welled in her eyes. She struggled to breathe. What was happening?

  Naatos caught hold of her. His arms encircled her as he guided her to the ground.

  Amelia fought for her breath. Though she sucked the air in, it made no difference. Her heart wasn't beating right. It was as if something pushed it out from the inside, spreading it and hardening it all at once.

  Naatos pushed the cloak back and tore down the upper panel of her bodice. Deep blue veins bulged from her skin just above her breast over her heart. It looked just as it felt. Something was pushing up from inside her chest. Panicked, Amelia struggled to push it down. The pain sharpened.

  Naatos grabbed her hand. "No. No. Focus on breathing."

  Amelia tried to gasp out that she couldn't, but there wasn't even enough air to say that. The edges of her vision swam in black.

  "It will pass, viskaro. Keep trying to breathe. Relax." Naatos pressed his hand over her chest. Warm gold light radiated from his palm, but it did nothing.

  For the next several agonizing moments, the pain continued. Her heart felt like a stone. Then, little by little, it eased. The pain dulled, and the bulge softened, retreating into her chest.

  Gasping, Amelia collapsed in Naatos's arms. Her head rested on his shoulder. It was all she could do to breathe. Was this punishment? Was she not supposed to kiss him? Leonas had said that neither course was wrong though. "What was that?"

  "Shhh." Naatos smoothed her hair back. "Just rest."

  For once, Amelia did not argue. She kept her hand over her heart, only somewhat reassured by the now regular beat beneath her fingertips. She tried to process what had happened as she lay there in silence. Was this because of the corset?

  No…she wouldn't have felt as she had before if that was the case. It made the most sense if it was a warning not to be intimate with Naatos. But that wasn't what Leonas had said. If it wasn't wrong for her to be with Naatos, then why would this happen?

  "It isn't what you think," Naatos said.

  "What? You don't know what I'm thinking. You're not a mindreader."

  "One doesn't have to be a mindreader to guess that you think this is happening because you're kissing me. But it isn't." Naatos continued to stroke her hair and shoulder.

  "Actually I thought it was the corset," Amelia muttered. She adjusted the fabric and the cloak to cover herself.

  "You hardly have it cinched tight enough to cause organs to bulge. Besides, corsets don't cause sudden attacks any more than they suddenly attack people."

  "And how would you know that? I've seen a watermelon explode from having too many rubber bands put around it. Pumpkins too." Amelia pushed away and stood slowly. She caught her balance on the boulder. "Besides, it's not like you've ever worn a corset."

  "You don't know that."

  Amelia turned, startled. She couldn't tell from his expression if he was playing, but it seemed most likely. "I think only one member in your family is good at jokes."

  "Hm, yes, I taught WroOth everything he knows." Naatos gave a small smile, though he still sounded entirely serious. He stood as well. "But we should go. Come. All other matters can be discussed at the temple." He leaned in to kiss her, but Amelia pulled away.

  "Let's pass on that until we know what caused it?" Amelia hugged herself, shivering slightly at the memory of the pain and the chill of the night. She managed a weak smile. "Just to be safe."

  "It isn't going to happen again. Not for another day or so." Naatos put his arm around her, drawing her closer. He kissed her lips again before she could dance back. "See?"

  Amelia shrugged slightly, but her mind turned over what had happened. He had kissed her before without her feeling such agony. But what had been the same in these two instances were her feelings. She had enjoyed it a little.

  "Let it go. We will discuss it when we reach the temple. But the cycle has only just completed. It will not begin again for at least another twenty-four hours. Hopefully longer."

  "Cycle?" Amelia repeated, troubled at the sound of that.

  Naatos gestured down the mountain to the south of the grassland. "We will continue this discussion at the temple, but before that, my brothers will meet us in the valley just beyond."

  They might not be mindreaders, but the way that they arranged matters and modified plans to account for changes made Amelia envious. "How do they even know where to go?"

  "We were to meet there at dawn once you were found or caught," Naatos said. "Barring the need to…sedate you. And it will be dawn soon enough. AaQar will have finished his search thanks to WroOth, and they will have seen to the troops. Now. Are you walking or am I carrying you?"

  Naatos's return to his more abrupt style brought Amelia some minor comfort. She could do this. It was her choice after all, and she would make this work to her advantage. "Walking. I don't like being carried." She started toward the valley, the grass crunching beneath her slippers.

  28

  Family

  AaQar glided against the current in silence. He did not appear to be exerting himself despite swimming against the current. Even the rippling of his tail was masked by the water's natural flow. He had said nothing once they began.

  Shon had little to say himself even when the main riverbank that they had left exploded in flames. He watched the night-covered land slip along on either side. Cold water seeped into Shon's trousers and boots as the occasional wave flowed over AaQar's back. Sometimes Matthu protested and tried to brush the water away, but it was a futile gesture. Shon had had enough of futile endeavors. He worked his hand along the grip of his razor bow and envisioned all the different ways he would kill Naatos. Or would if he could. Apparently he had enough room for one more futile dream.

  Reality continued to insert itself into his mind. Even with the promise of this new weapon or drug or whatever it turned out to be, Shon wasn't sure whether he trusted it fully. The Machat were not infallible. This substance or substances that they had created might not provide all that had been promised. The one thing that the Machat knew well was how to connect hearts.

  Shon closed his eyes and steadied himself. His father, Linufe, always told him that love was worth having, no matter the pain of the loss sure to come. But Shon's mother had been faithful to Linufe and steadfast in her love from the day they met to the day the fever claimed her. There had never been a rival to his father. Shon wondered what his father would have said about this.

  Matthu offered an apple, but Shon refused. He had no appetite. Not even the apple's tart scent tempted him. It wouldn't have tasted as good anyway.

  He remembered the kiss he and Amelia had shared in the forest on the way to Polfradon. She had been almost ready to refuse him, and then…she'd listened.

  It had been little more than an impulse to share with her then. He'd used the Ayamin tradition as an excuse. It wasn't necessary, and it was never an enforced tradition. If he hadn't told her how he felt, well…

  Shon ran his hand through his hair, letting his head hang. That really was the only time he could have told her. If he had waited, he probably wouldn't have said a thing.

  "So…" Matthu said at last, leaning forward as if to catch AaQar's eye. "Did Vawtrians shuttle folks around when all the worlds were together?"

  AaQar lifted his head, his amber eyes glowing. Water streamed from his jaws. He arched his neck back, focused intently on Matthu. "Let us make sure that one thing is clear, Awdawm. Vawt
rians do not shuttle. The only reason you are riding is because time is of the essence, and I do not wish my sister's heart to be broken by your executions. Now speak no more!" He whipped his head about and submerged his lower jaw once more.

  Matthu mouthed "wow" and began sharpening his javelin.

  Shon hid a smile. It was a delightful twist that their enemies were now helping them reach their destination. Everything might work out after all, though some part of him feared to hope.

  They continued on as the moon sank lower. AaQar navigated the river with precise grace, only slowing down at the occasional joining of the rivers or mass of boulders. The night had just turned colder as it always did before the dawn, and droplets of dew already formed on the grass and reeds along the riverbanks. AaQar finally stopped at a low mud-covered bank with a relatively large clearing beyond it.

  The three bruins were tethered securely to a young pine and some berry bushes but still within reach of the water. The ground around the tree had been torn up, and two of the bruins munched contentedly on sweet tubers while the other napped. Shon and Matthu disembarked, jumping onto the muddy shore.

  "Thanks for the ride." Matthu tipped his hand to his head.

  AaQar pressed his shoulders back, popping the joints. He then returned to his natural form. In the silver moonlight, he looked otherworldly with his long white hair and starlight pale skin. "Speak of this to no one. We are not in the habit of showing such mercy, but it is not for your sake that I have done this. Take your bruins and go." His eyes narrowed. "And take this warning too. Do not return to Telhetum or to the Temple of Selgooko. Otherwise, you will die." He fixed his gaze on Matthu. "You are his brother. Guard his life if you value it, or his blood will be on your head."

  Shon adjusted his grip on his bow. "You mentioned two days. Why two days?"

  "Because in two or three days Amelia will no longer be in Reltux. She will be with Naatos in Ecekom, and she will be with child. At that point you will cease to be a concern." AaQar started to leave but turned, his eyes softening. "I am not entirely unfamiliar with what your soul will endure. My wife abandoned me and took my son. The pain of this loss may not ease with time. The blade of a knife is more tender than the agony of abandonment. Sometimes it will dull, but then in the middle of the night or at the start of a festival, it will strike you again. And you will know she is in another man's arms, happier than you ever made her. And yes, ultimately, Naatos will make Amelia happy."

  Shon clenched his jaw. "If that was true, then—"

  "Save your protests." AaQar gave him a dismissive wave of his hand. "If you want to live, Awdawm, then you will forget that she even existed. Flee to the southern mountains. Find a sweet Awdawm and make her your wife. You could choose almost anyone else and make yourself quite happy. You are not a Vawtrian. You are not bound to only one. And if you truly love Amelia as much as you pretend, then you will let her go. She is where she belongs."

  "Just like your wife," Matthu muttered.

  Shon steadied Matthu, startled at his brother's words. That had been a mistake.

  AaQar stared, unblinking. The seconds turned into minutes. His eyes bored into them. Shon's discomfort grew with each breath. "If I ever see either of you again, I will kill you both on sight," AaQar said at last. He shifted into a silver serpent and dove into the river. Water splashed both Shon and Matthu. Within seconds, even the shadow of his form vanished.

  Shon wiped the water and sweat from his face away. "Just like your wife?" he repeated. "Were you hoping he'd kill us?"

  Matthu shrugged. "It was more subtle in my head." He strode over to the bruins and unfastened the reins.

  A faint chuckle escaped Shon's lips, followed by another laugh. It wasn't even that funny, and yet he needed the release. Matthu grinned. "Bet they won't see this one coming," he said. He readjusted the reins and smoothed down the bruin's fur.

  "Probably not." Shon began checking the supply packs. All three of the bruins appeared in good condition, though some of the packs and saddles had indentations as if they had been gripped and rifled through. Some of the bread inside one of the bags had been crushed as well, but nothing was missing. The bruins themselves appeared none the worse for wear. He removed the map Kepsalon had given them from the inside of his tunic. It only took a few minutes to trace the river's path and find their approximate route. Hope reasserted itself within him. Even if he didn't want to put all his faith in it, Shon had to believe that they were far from done.

  "All right," he said. "Let's get going."

  * * *

  Amelia did not know how to feel about walking with Naatos through the grassland. Songbirds twittered their dawn melodies. Droplets of dew clung to the grass and leaves, dampening her arms and skirt as she walked. The air smelled clean now; most of the smoke had blown away and replaced with scents of mountain heather and fresh running water.

  The silence bothered Amelia. Not that she expected Naatos to have much to say. The fact that he had shared as much as he had surprised her, but the awkwardness of their conversation had not passed. If anyone were to look at them, Amelia doubted they would guess that she and he were married. Though he walked close beside her, he did not attempt to hold her hand or her arm. She also kept herself wrapped completely in the cloak. If she wanted the silence to end, she might as well be the one to say something. Not that she could think of much to say. The stillness made it easy for her to obsess on what had happened and question whether she had made the right choice or how she should even be feeling.

  When they reached the edge of the grassland before it dipped into the deep valley below, dawn's light had turned the sky pale silver and lavender. A broad river cut through the valley. Three dragon horses grazed among the short bramble bushes while AaQar and WroOth talked among themselves at the river's edge.

  "Have you three always been this close?" Amelia asked. "I've never really seen anything like it." Not even Jacinda's close-knit family compared to this.

  "We were all we had." Naatos paused at the top of the ridge. A hardness entered his eyes as if a memory returned to him. "What we endured made us who we are. No matter what fails, they will always be there as I will always be there for them. And now for you."

  It feels like I'm joining a cult, Amelia thought. "What happened with you three?"

  "We survived." Naatos stepped down the ledge and then held out his arm to help her down. "Our parents were world tamers, I suppose, and we lived on a wild world with no inhabitants. It was a hard life. Our mother should never have been asked to live there for that long, let alone become pregnant so many times. She died shortly after our sister's birth."

  Amelia stepped around him and jumped down to the next ledge. She hadn't really thought about Naatos having parents. It was strange thinking of him as a full person. "I'm sorry," she said.

  "It wasn't uncommon, but it didn't have to be that way. If our father had taken even a modicum of interest in her well-being, she would have lived." Naatos continued into the valley. When he stepped down to the next ledge, he did not wait for her response. He just lifted her up and set her down. He kept his hands on her waist for a moment. "Our father abandoned us; he didn't even bury her body, and Nki, our sister, soon followed in death. What could three children have done to save her? Not that we didn't try. We did all we could. We were so young. WroOth was only eighteen, about four or six in terms of development by your understanding. There was nothing for us on that world but starvation, hardship, and misery unless we worked together and found an escape. Our biggest fear was that WroOth would soon follow Nki. He was only a little bigger than you before the Tue-Rah took you from Libysha, and he had less sense. If strangers had come to our home and offered him a winged horse, he would have been out the door in half a breath."

  "And you wouldn't have liked that?" Amelia pressed his hands back. She still felt his warmth against her once she moved away.

  "If someone had come for him before our father left, I would have packed a bag for him and sent him off to a
better life. It was not right for anyone to be raised in that. And if there was trouble to be found, we soon learned he could find it. I often lost my patience with him, but AaQar rarely did. He has always been steadfast. And after our father left, we were alone. We had only each other. When Nki died and this settled in on him, WroOth ran. He thought he might manage to find the man we called father. Parents can sometimes heal their children if the parent is strong enough. But all he found was terror. It seemed as if we would never find him. And when he did, he was trapped at the bottom of a pit, covered in mud and filth with this other child who was perhaps a year or two older. WroOth swore to never run off again, and AaQar and I promised to protect him. We also took in the other boy, and together we survived because we worked together."

  "And there was no one else on that world?" Amelia let him keep a grip on her arm. Sympathy rose within her.

  "Other than QueQoa? No. WroOth found him shortly after his own family had been killed by besreds. He didn't talk for months."

  "Then why isn't he here?" Amelia looked back down at AaQar and WroOth. They were still a fair distance away. A broad wave from WroOth indicated they'd been seen. The relationship between the brothers made a little more sense to her. These three always separated themselves from the others and stuck together because that was how they had spent so much of their lives.

  "He was on Ecekom when the Tue-Rah fell," Naatos said. "The Para bands allow my brothers and myself to pass to each of the Central Worlds, but we cannot take people with us. We can only prepare them. When the Tue-Rah is restored, he will come. You may trust him as you would trust one of us. Though he is not blood, he is family. But be cautious when he and WroOth are together."

  "They don't get along anymore?"

  "No. They get carried away. And if you do not like being touched, you will not like QueQoa. He is often overdemonstrative, and he sometimes forgets how fragile Neyeb are compared to Vawtrians." Naatos guided her around a fallen boulder. He spoke easily now as if they had been on friendly terms for quite some time. "But he is a good warrior and an excellent strategist."