Chapter 16
I heard my companions speaking, but I lacked the ability to move my body, and I could scarcely open my eyes.
“We have to keep moving. Those things work as a colony. If we’ve encountered that many, there are twice as many nearby.” Alandris was pacing the campsite, rubbing his forehead.
“She is injured!” Kallistra shouted. “She’s hardly conscious and you want to move her?” She gripped him by his shirt, forcing him to stop moving. “I will not leave her.”
He placed his hand over hers. “I would never suggest such a thing.” He pried her fingers from the fabric and took a step back. “However, we need to get away from here. We will treat her wounds as soon as we put some distance between us and those creatures. Trust me, I understand it looks bad, but the cuts aren’t deep. ”
“Obviously it’s bad! She’s unconscious!” Kallistra sucked her teeth. “I have never seen her use magic like that before! Is that what you’ve been teaching her?”
“No, I haven’t. Her body can’t handle the amount of her magic that she tapped into. It drained her, naturally, but she will recover fine with time to rest.”
“This is your fault,” Kallistra hissed. “She ran after you because you were incapable of handling a few Visumena!”
“Perhaps if you’d actually had someone teach her to use her magic before now, this wouldn’t have happened. She would have been practiced enough to know her own limitations. She would have been much further along, not learning the basics with me!”
“Are you seriously implying—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Zorinna yelled. “Shut up! Both of you.” She turned to Kaz. “Can you carry her? I’ll take your pack.”
Kaz laughed loudly. “No need. I’ve carried kegs much heavier than our girl. I’ll take both.”
Kallistra shot Kaz a pointed glare, but held her tongue, understanding no one could carry me with as much ease as he could. “Go on.” She looked back at Alandris. “I’m sorry, okay? She’s just important to me. I can’t have anything happen to her.”
“I understand completely.”
Alandris assisted Kaz in lifting me onto his back. As they moved me, I floated in and out of consciousness, mumbling to myself. There was very little I could do to hold on, though, in my haze, I attempted to wrap my arms around his neck. Kaz did the brunt of the work, slipping his hands under my legs, and leaning forward enough that I wouldn’t slide back. Alandris insisted on carrying his pack, even though it was obvious that Kaz was fully capable of handling it, as he had stated. Even after the battle they’d just endured, he hadn’t broken a sweat.
I was unsure when I eventually regained consciousness, but it was no longer dark outside, and I was unfamiliar with the surrounding area. I stirred in Kaz’s grip, prompting him to gently set me on my feet, keeping one firm hand on my arm to ensure I wouldn’t topple over. His assistance was a blessing, as I found my head swimming the moment my feet touched the ground. My memories of our encounter with the Visumena were fragmented, but I knew one thing: we were all safe. And that was enough. Whatever injuries I’d incurred had been worth it.
All eyes were on me, but Kallistra was the first to attend to me. “Are you okay, Nairu?” She rushed to my side, glancing me up and down.
“Yes, I’m fine.” I smiled faintly. “Thank you for carrying me, Kaz.”
He rested his giant hand on the top of my head. “Glad to see that smile. Next time, let me save the pretty little Elf’s ass.”
I giggled, bringing a hand to my mouth. My muscles were so sore, even that slight movement had me aching. “ Okay, I will.”
Alandris had found his way to my side, but it seemed as though he was unable to bear looking at me. “I’m sorry you were hurt... I should have woken someone to check the area with me before I went off on my own.” He met my eyes for only a second. “I should say thank you, though, for helping me.”
“You need not thank me. We’re a team, remember?” I made my voice sound as bright and cheerful as possible, if only to make the guilt wash away from his face.
“For the most part, we are in the middle of nowhere,” Zorinna spoke up. “However, there appears to be a decent sized fishing village nearby, according to the map. It should just be a few more miles south of us. We can hopefully find a place to stay for the night to take care of our wounds. After that, it’s more empty forest until we reach our destination.”
“Not so empty forest,” Kallistra murmured.
“You’re right. Hopefully empty,” Zorinna replied. “Let’s not worry, for now. We may need to rethink how we travel, but we can discuss that once we reach the village.”
I had never been so far south before. Even though the snow had been horrendous, the temperature here was already growing too hot for what I was used to. My clothes were clinging to my skin with sweat as we walked. With each step, my boots were sticking into the mushy swampland, making horrid sloshing noises. We had to be on the outskirts of the Azog Bog.
As we walked, I looked down at my hands for the first time. They were completely black, as though covered in a thick layer of soot, the usual tendrils slowly fading from where they’d crept up my biceps. Though I couldn’t see the rest of me, I was certain they were elsewhere. I felt them like a raw, fresh burn across my body. I poked at the afflicted skin and winced. Touch only worsened the throbbing pain.
Hiding the effects my magic had on my body from Kallistra would no longer be an option with these obvious marks. No doubt, the moment things calmed down, I would get the lecture of a lifetime. In fact, there would likely be a line of those who wished to lecture me. Alandris’ guilt would have subsided, so he’d be ready to scold me for forgetting my training and acting reckless. Zorinna might let it slip how she never wanted to partner up with Kallistra and me to begin with. Kaz—Kaz might spare me, at least.
The turmoil of my mind kept me distracted enough that I wasn’t acutely aware of my pain as we came upon the town Zorinna had mentioned. Farmland, surrounded by wood and stone houses, dominated most of the land. At the far end of the town, we could see a large dock where people swarmed, unloading fish from their boats and dragging them over to nearby market stalls. At the center of it all stood a large stone building, decorated with navy blue flags.
It was a good thing my marks faded on their own, because I didn’t anticipate being able to get medical attention here. There didn’t appear to be an inn for us to take a night’s rest in. Seemingly, they didn’t get many outsiders.
Eyes of farmers, mostly human, out on the field were already upon us as we drew closer to the village. Alandris had the good sense to rush ahead to speak with them before our heavily armed and slightly battered group had them sounding an alarm. We paused to wait for him to return before we crossed the boundaries of their land.
He sprinted back moments later. “We can meet with the village headman at the centermost building. They weren’t keen to share any more information than that.”
It was difficult not to be perturbed by the fearful stares of all the villagers as we walked down their dirt roads. I found myself pulling the hood of my cloak over my head for the first time in quite a while. With the purple-black blood and putrid stench of the Visumena splattered across our clothes, there was little we could do to appear less frightening.
The headman met us at his property line. A human male with short-cropped copper hair sprinkled with strands of silver. He rubbed at his wiry beard as we approached, a healthy dose of mistrust hanging in his hazel eyes. The strength of his posture, his unwavering stare at the sight of us, and the way his hand curved lazily around the hilt of the sword at his side, was admirable. He was proud of his lands. He would protect them.
“Welcome to Esvilde,” he greeted in a rich baritone voice. “I am the headman of this village. You may call me Theomund.” He pointed to me, noting the grip I had on my arms. “I presume you seek refuge while you nurse your wounds?”
“We would call upon your hospitality.” Alandris stepped forward. “For payment, of course. ”
The males held each other’s gaze for a moment of silence, a dance occurring just between the two of them.
Theomund was the first to break, turning to the rest of us. “I only have two empty rooms at the manor, and we don’t have any medicinal herbs to spare. You will have to make do. Those of you who are uninjured will work our fields. That will be payment enough.”
“You have our thanks.” Alandris bowed his head.
“No more than four nights. The people here are not used to outside visitors, and I don’t intend to have them disturbed.” A hint of warning lined his statement.
“That is plenty.”
Theomund guided us into the manor and promptly introduced us to his servant, an elderly man whom he informed us to refer to as Marius. There was a warmth and respect between the two beyond servitude, and I had a feeling Marius had been with the household for some time. If Theomund had any family, which I presumed he did based on the feminine touch of the carefully decorated interior, we were not introduced to them.
Marius led us to the two side-by-side rooms on the lower west level of the manor. They were no larger than an inn room and possessed little more than a small bed, a sitting chair, and an end table. Only one could fit in the bed comfortably, which left a minuscule amount of floor space for one or two more to sleep, depending on how we split up the rooms. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but it was a step up from the ground. We at least had a roof over our heads .
“There is a bath just down the hall, though you will need to heat it yourself,” Marius explained. “I’m sure it’s not what you are used to, but I do hope you can be comfortable here.” He gave a small nod before leaving us to ourselves.
Kaz wasted no time assisting me to the bed of the first room. “Down you go.”
I knew they would not subject me to the floor. Even if I wasn’t injured, I was surrounded by doting mother hens who felt the incessant need to baby me. I had half a mind to remind them all that I was a grown woman, but I was in such pain I didn’t have the energy to fight their coddling.
“You, too. Into the other room’s bed,” Kaz said, poking a finger into Alandris’ shoulder, who was leaning against the doorway watching me settle. “Think I missed that, did ya?”
I watched as Alandris failed to hide a wince. “It’s nothing. Let Zorinna or Kallistra take the other bed. I will be fine on the floor.”
“Oh, Alandris.” Zorinna shook her head. “What have you done?”
“Nothing. I said it’s nothing.”
She ignored him and tugged the neck of his shirt to the side just enough to expose the deep, red gash just below his left collarbone. “Are they venomous? These Visumena?” The annoyance in her tone quickly faded to worry.
I sat up straight in the bed to get a better look at the wound. Although agitated, the wound was not actively bleeding. It appeared as though one of the pincer-like arms of the Visumena had sliced the skin. Alandris had apparently staunched the bleeding during our walk here, but not discreetly enough to go unnoticed by Kaz.
“No, I don’t believe so,” he mumbled, stepping back out of her grasp and shifting his shirt back in place. He looked as irritated as I was to be fussed over.
“Take the bed,” Kallistra spoke up, much to my surprise. “I’d prefer to share the room with Nairu. Zorinna can stay with us as well, and you and Kaz can share the other room.”
Alandris grumbled something incoherent before conceding and making his way to the other room.
“Don’t think we are letting you help with the work tomorrow, either!” Zorinna shouted, too loud for what was necessary, given the mere steps between our doorways.
I could practically hear him roll his eyes in response.
Kallistra placed a hand on my shoulder. “I am going to take a look around. Rest up, Nairu. I’ll wake you for dinner.” She moved her hand down to touch my arm, but pulled back before making contact. She lowered her voice and said, “We will need to talk about these marks later. I am worried about you. I’ve never seen these before.”
Yes, I had known that would be coming. I had myself to blame for hiding them from her when they’d first appeared during my training with Alandris. I was going to get an earful once she could get me alone. I was suddenly grateful for the tight quarters we would be sharing.