Chapter Thirty-One
Fallyn
We didn’t speak for hours after I came back from the forest, content to leave each other to our own minds.
I had taken great care to wash my face in the stream, removing all evidence of dirt, tears, and anything else.
Or perhaps content wasn’t the correct word.
Resigned fit the strange, unsettled silence that stretched between us, broken only by the sudden din of voices ahead of us on the road.
The Evergrey Rise backdropped the road, signaling our assent north.
Soon, we’d see the city of Greylark’s Rest, and further on by about another day or two, Moonfall.
Another worrying glance at my hand to see the ink touch still remained at my wrist, mocking me as much as ever.
“What happens when the curse triggers?” I dropped the loaded question between Ash and I like a bomb about to go off.
There were so many types of curses, those that killed, those that controlled and possessed, those that inflicted horrible pain.
I glared down at my ink touched hand. One thing was certain and that was I didn’t want to find out firsthand what this did.
“I wish I knew,” Ash's gruff response came after a few tense heartbeats. “And I don’t understand why you were cursed alongside me. But I’ve seen firsthand how dangerous curses can be and I know I don’t want either of us to suffer the consequences of not breaking it.”
“You knew someone who was cursed?” Curses weren’t exactly common, so to know someone and be cursed yourself either meant you’re in a bad way, or you were the bad way. It made me realize just how little I knew about Ash.
“I did. A long time ago.” Before I could ask more about the person I was travelling with, voices rose down the road, snapping both of us to attention. “There’s a small town up head, just over this hill. We can rest for a short while and head back out.”
“My canister is empty, so I’ll refill that too,” I said, shaking my canister at my hip. My throat ached in response, thinking how I’d run out of water hours ago and all this walking, all this travelling had me parched, not to mention my aching legs and feet from the brisk pace Ash had set.
Ash whipped around, incredulous. “How is it empty already?”
I gave him a sheepish grin paired with a shrug.
“I’m not used to all this activity, and I didn’t notice how much I’d drank until it was gone.
” Not to mention the fact that I’d cried so much under the weight of my grief, but I wasn’t going to give voice to that.
Ash eyed me a moment before returning his attention to the small village that now revealed itself from our position on the top of the rise.
Smoke rose on wood fires from brick chimneys, the sound of children's laughter sounded in time with a deep, tolling of a bell.
I struggled not to reveal how out of breath I was as I reached the apex of the hill.
I wanted to gulp down air, but focused instead on keeping my breath deep and steady.
I was fooling absolutely nobody. I still sounded embarrassingly winded from our brief assent upwards.
The well was a welcome sight, and I sagged against it in effort to alleviate the throbbing in my legs as I filled our canteens whilst Ash paid the Tollman his dues.
I took a long drink, not caring about the trickle of water that dripped from the corners of my mouth, gulping it down until I had my fill, and refilling the canister again.
“Who are you?” A tiny voice startled me into nearly dropping the cannister. I turned to see a tinier girl awash in pink standing next to me. She couldn’t be more than eight or so. My hand covered my heart as a startled laugh escaped me.
“You must be an assassin, you’re so stealthy,” I teased. “I didn’t even know you were there. My name is Fallyn. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m Estrelle.” Her mousy voice squeezed my heart. “What are you doing?”
“My companion and I are just resting for a moment before we continue our journey,” I told her.
“We don’t get many new people,” Estrelle said, before glancing at Ash. “Is he your betrothed?”
I couldn’t stop my cheeks from flaming even if I’d wanted to.
My only reprieve was that Ash wasn’t here.
He was still a small distance away, speaking with the Tollman and his wife, who obviously appreciated his high cheekbones and muscular stature, if her wandering eyes were anything to go by.
Ash’s lips picked up in a wide grin as if in response to Estrelle’s question, but he didn’t look our way.
“He’s most certainly not!” My tone was far harder than it needed to be, but Estrelle just laughed.
“Then why are your cheeks so red?” And why was Ash grinning even wider? Certainly, his conversation must have been enthralling if he were that amused.
“Would you like to see something else that’s red?
Something much prettier?” I offered by way of changing the subject.
The little girl beamed at me by way of reply, her eyes lighting up.
I summoned the well of magic within, feeling that cold place turn warm, like the thaw of ice as it yielded to the touch of spring.
From my hands bloomed a single, ruby red rose, its petals whisper soft.
“It’s so beautiful!” she exclaimed, fingers stroking the petals with a giggle. I smiled as I tucked the rose behind her ear.
“As are you, Estrelle.” I made my magic come once more, this time lining her wrists with interlocking daisies weaving up both arms and perfuming the air.
She squealed in delight, making my heart constrict and squeeze for the second time in as many minutes, not with sadness, but with a small joy.
A small bit of joy I clung to with a smile and a gentle giggle of my own.
A shadow spread over Estrelle and me. She beamed up at the one who cast it, holding her arms out for inspection. “Look what my new friend Fallyn did, Mama!” She grinned so wide, I thought her face would crack in two.
“Very nice,” a strained voice answered. “Could you go show your father?”
“Bye Fallyn, thank you! I can’t wait to show Father!” As quickly as she’d come, Estrelle ran off around the corner and disappeared, taking the warmth of the moment with her like the sun retreating behind a cloudy day.
“You need to leave,” the woman told me in a cold voice. “Right now.”
“I don’t understand.” I brushed my hair behind my ear, a nervous gesture. “What offense have I caused?”
Did this town despise magic? Of course I should have known that could be the case. “Just leave in peace.” Estrelle’s mother glared at me unwaveringly.
“Is something wrong, Fallyn?” Ash loomed over me from behind. Never had I found his presence comforting, but I found myself backing into him in the wake of this woman’s anger. “You’d do well not to threaten her.” His tone was unyielding, leaving no room for arguing. “She might not bite, but I do.”
The woman in question waved at someone with a terse nod before shoving a crumpled piece of paper into my hands.
“You have one minute before I summon the guards, god-cursed.
" God cursed? I blanched. That's what those who follow the Morningstar say about those with magic from the old gods. God cursed. "Leave and don’t return.”
Steadfast may you be.
I smoothed out the paper, exchanging an anxious look with Ash as I did.
Fear cleaved my chest into pieces and drenched them in panic, and the world ceased to exist, falling way entirely.
For several long seconds I didn’t move, didn’t breathe, didn’t speak.
On the crumpled and ripped page was the word Bounty with a massive reward listed for the crime of summoning demons from the chasm.
And my face directly under it.