Chapter 36
Flamefall
Hiding among the Asavori Rangers was as problematic as One had known it would be.
He should leave, yet he lingered, waiting for Savita to wake when he should have been far away by now.
He had taken a huge chance by interfering in the battle.
His cover could’ve been blown. But when he saw the Dark attacking Savita, he acted without thought.
It had been a mistake to go to her. She wouldn’t trust him until he gave up some answers, and he had no intention of doing that. Which meant they would forever be at an impasse. It was time for him to find an alternative.
He was about to turn away when movement out of the corner of his eye stopped him.
He swiveled his head toward the tent and saw Savita rushing out.
She hastily scanned the area as she clutched the bag of runes in one hand.
Was she looking for him? Did she know he was the one who found the runes for her? Or was it Dain she sought?
One watched the Rangers hastily surround Savita.
Within moments, they rushed toward the edge of the mesa, leaving Savita behind—no doubt looking for proof of the battle.
They wouldn’t find any. He had removed any trace—for his sake.
He hadn’t spent years setting things up, only for it to crumble now.
His gaze returned to Savita to find her facing his way.
No matter how hard she scanned the brush, she wouldn’t find him.
He wondered if she knew he had wiped the paint from her face yet.
Her injuries had been severe. He didn’t know if she had been aware of how many wounds she’d sustained.
It was almost as if the Dark had been aiming for her eyes.
There had been a lot of blood to clean up after he’d healed her, but he hadn’t needed to remove all the paint.
He still wasn’t sure why he had done it.
That simple action had confirmed that he needed to choose someone else to partner with.
Others were fighting against the Masters, though none had done as much damage as the Reader and her friends.
They were the best choices. He could approach Arya again.
He had helped her before. Dain might be more willing to listen now, too—if the Dark Elf survived the attack.
He hadn’t looked in good shape the last time One saw him.
Savita was the optimal choice since she could use the runes to convince the others, but that wouldn’t work now.
He had intervened. He never should’ve gone to the meeting place to begin with.
It had been by happenstance that he had overheard that there would be a surprise attack against Dain and Savita.
He’d told himself to keep to his search for Gita, but somehow, he’d found himself in that grassy field.
He had hoped Savita wouldn’t come, but he caught sight of her white robes coming down the mesa’s steps.
He’d even contemplated stopping her so she couldn’t reach the meeting point, but he hadn’t.
And just as he had suspected, the runes must have told her what was coming since she tried to warn Dain.
It didn’t do much good. Too many Dark had been waiting for them.
Dain was a warrior used to battle, but the Reader wasn’t.
Still, One had been surprised that she’d managed to hold her own for as long as she had.
Perhaps she had gained some skills from her time with the Rangers.
She might have actually held them off if her magic hadn’t run out.
He rubbed his chest, thinking about how his heart had dropped to his feet the first time a blast of magic had cut her cheek. Before he knew it, he was at her side. It had been foolish and reckless. And something he had never done before.
He hadn’t spent years calculating and planning to get to this point, only to let it all slip away now.
There could be no mistakes, no miscalculations.
No missteps. Not when he was so close to getting everything he wanted.
As perfect as the Reader might have originally been, she was becoming a nuisance now.
And just like everything else that got in his way, he cut it out of his life.
With one final look at Savita, One slipped away.
The Crossing
Reva was at the pub before dawn, waiting for Sidiq. He hadn’t returned the night before, which meant she had spent the night wondering if Dain had survived. Every time she closed her eyes to sleep, she saw images of Dain lying lifelessly, covered in blood. It had made getting rest impossible.
She opened the tavern and set about getting things ready for the day, hoping that having something to occupy her time would keep her from worrying.
It didn’t. Every sound had her head snapping up, searching for Sidiq or Dain, and each time, she was disappointed.
She half-expected Arya or Jai to drop by, but with every hour that passed, she came to realize they must already know that Dain had been injured.
Or they were also wounded and unable to do anything.
Reva had no way of contacting anyone to get news. How was she supposed to get through the day? The not-knowing led her to imagine all sorts of things, and that only twisted her stomach into tighter knots.
She tried to force a smile when the first customers entered, but she gave up on that quickly.
She was short-tempered and sullen enough that she eventually set up behind the bar and let the other staff tend to the tables.
That helped, but it didn’t keep her away from all the patrons.
Fortunately, Sidiq wasn’t much of a talker, so their regular customers didn’t expect her to be chatty.
It wasn’t until she had to go into the storeroom that she realized Sidiq had returned to the pub sometime during the night, since everything was cleaned up.
There wasn’t a scrap of spilled liquor, a splinter of wood, or a drop of blood anywhere.
It was as if Dain crashing into the room had never happened.
If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t think it’d actually happened.
She looked at the spot where she’d found Dain, staring for a long time.
He and the others toyed with danger on a daily basis.
Sidiq knew that. He was the one who had urged her not to get involved.
Sidiq was nothing if not careful. Of course, he would’ve returned to clean up any evidence that Dain had been there.
But the fact that Sidiq was still absent said that he was taking care of Dain.
“He’d better be,” she murmured.
She would never forgive Sidiq if he didn’t make sure Dain got to a Healer.
If only she had been able to go with them.
However, she was a mere human that magic had no effect on.
It wasn’t as if she could do anything to save Dain.
But he had been there for her in her hour of need.
He’d come out of nowhere and swept her up in his shadows, taking her to safety.
No one had ever done that for her before.
No one had ever cared if she was safe or cared for. But he had.
He’d walked her home and had even gotten new locks for her door. He’d given her purpose by letting her collect intel for him.
Then, he’d taken it all away.
She didn’t know what she had done wrong. She had asked, but he’d never told her. Reva had thought when she spoke to Arya last that she might be able to help Dain by passing information on to her, but Arya hadn’t returned to the pub. And Sidiq had refused to get word to either Arya or Dain.
It was as if everyone was trying to stop her from doing her part. She had been kidnapped like so many others. Why shouldn’t she do whatever she could to help? It might not be much, but something was better than just sitting by.
Was it because she was human? Or because magic had no effect on her?
What was it that made her such an awful individual?
She swiped at a tear that’d dropped onto her cheek.
There was no forgetting about the Masters or their nefarious deeds.
Reva had seen some of them for herself, and she wasn’t going to simply stand by and let others put their lives on the line.
She might be what some would call weak because she was human, but she could still contribute.
Reva took a deep breath and wiped her face to erase any evidence of tears, then whirled around. She had a pub to run until Sidiq got back.
Somewhere in the Below
Sidiq tossed away another blood-soaked bandage, adding to the growing pile, and stared down at Dain, who had yet to regain consciousness.
He needed to get word to Arya, but he was afraid that if he left Dain, he wouldn’t be alive when he returned.
The short period he had returned to The Crossing during the night to clean up had almost cost Dain his life.
But nothing Sidiq had done was helping. If Dain didn’t get help soon, he would die—no matter if Sidiq remained next to him or not.
He had been out of the intelligence game for too long to know who to trust anymore. Not to mention, there were the Masters. Sidiq didn’t want to accidentally take Dain to an enemy. Nor did he know where Arya might be.
Sidiq ran a hand down his face. Dain was a skilled warrior. It would’ve taken a large number of individuals to land so many blows. Sidiq got to his feet and looked around the small cavern he used to hide in after many dangerous missions for the CCD.
“Why did you come to the pub?” he asked Dain. “You could’ve gone anywhere. Why my place? Was it because of her? Did you want her to tend to you?”
He knew the question was irrational, but it kept replaying in his head.
“I should leave you here to die. That’s the only way Reva will be safe. Your very existence puts her at risk.” Sidiq blew out an irritated breath. “I see her looking for you. At least you’ve kept to your promise and stayed away. That’s the only reason I’m going to help you.”
There were only two places Sidiq dared to take him. One was too far away. The other was potentially the end for both him and Dain. He had to do something, though, because he’d never be able to face Reva again if he didn’t attempt to help Dain.
Sidiq bent and sat Dain up before slinging him over his shoulder again.
Then he gathered his shadows and took a chance based on a passing comment Dain had made months ago.
Even after Sidiq arrived at his destination, he contemplated leaving, but the feel of Dain’s blood dripping onto his hand propelled him into action.
He slowly parted the shadows until he caught sight of the large desk and the female Wood Elf sitting there, her gaze locked in his direction.
“Who are you, and what are you doing in my office?” she demanded.
Sidiq let the shadows drop so he could look Durga in the eye. Her mouth dropped open, and she jerked to her feet at the sight of Dain.
She hurried around the desk to them. “Set him down,” she urged.
Sidiq dropped to a knee and laid Dain on the floor. Durga stared at him for a long minute, taking in his injuries.
“Don’t move,” she ordered Sidiq. “I’ll be right back.”
Before he could reply, she was out of the office. Within moments, she returned, carrying towels, then dropped to the floor on the other side of Dain.
“Help is coming,” she told Dain as she pressed the towels into his wounds. She looked up at Sidiq. “What happened?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I found him like this in my storeroom.”
“Don’t you dare die on me, Dain,” Durga stated in a firm voice. “We’ve too much to do yet.”