48. Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter forty-eight
Rushing to my pack, I find the squares of the nutritional supplement I'd accidentally shoved in my satchel after Giving Day.
This will easily keep Dex going until the others get back.
Dissolving one of the squares in a large glass of water, I wrinkle my nose in disgust. It looks and smells like the pretend potions we would make as girls, when we'd collect grass clippings and bits of leaves and berries and stir them all together.
As unappealing as it is, I force myself to pour a mouthful into another glass and swallow it down. Not that I'd even know if it had gone bad; I just don’t want to make this man ill. Who knows if I can heal internal illnesses or just wounds?
The mixture tastes foul, but the gritty texture is worse.
I can't believe people are living off this to get through winter.
We really need to get them more fresh produce somehow and only have this as backup when it's absolutely necessary.
"I'm sorry to say it tastes as bad as it looks.
It will get rid of the hunger pains, though," I say, handing the glass to Dex after washing my mouth out three times.
He balks when he sees what I'm carrying. "We can't have that. You know Wielders are forbidden from touching the stuff. It's reserved for trade and to feed the people of the Triv." His voice goes quiet as he realizes where we are.
"Just take it, Dex. I've already mixed it up.
Don't let it go to waste. Plus, it will probably help your magic refill.
" He eyes me warily, taking the glass. I can't imagine how long it's been since he had enough fuel to properly utilize his Shield powers, beyond the tiny dagger he conjured after dinner last night, just to check.
I understand his irritation now. Even if having magic is still such a foreign sensation, the emptiness was uncomfortable and agitating for me too.
We spend the next few hours catching up, and I'm relieved to hear him say he's ready to come back to Raviaz with us when we leave, even if we don't find Bri.
His family have been without him for too long, and I don't miss the way his eyes mist when I tell him what I remember from the last time I saw his girls running around the stables, wanting a riding lesson.
It's still just the two of us by late afternoon, worry crawls beneath my skin.
What if something went wrong or the others got caught somehow?
Dex is near bouncing off the walls with bursts of frantic energy, likely from the healing and the supplement.
I've never seen someone take it before. Did I give him too much, and now the ginseng in it is acting like a stimulant?
I can't get him to sit still; he's sweating profusely, and his nonsensical ramblings are getting progressively louder.
This has to be more than whatever's in the supplement. I'm starting to think he might have taken something else and is having an adverse reaction. Maybe I should try healing him again, see if I can burn off whatever's affecting him so badly.
I duck into the kitchen to grab another glass of water when I realize the place has gone eerily quiet.
He's been chatting non-stop for the last few hours, so it's instantly noticeable.
Shoving my feet into boots, not bothering to lace them properly, I race to the front door in time to see him at the end of the street.
I have to get him inside before he hurts himself, or someone else.
In the next breath, I'm down the stairs and heading in the direction of the square, pushing myself around the tight corners, catching glimpses of him every now and then.
The first time I pause to suck in a few breaths, I reach out to Aven and explain what's going on.
"Can you get Witt to tell Zenn, please? He should be back soon, and I might need help.
I think we're heading for the markets we were at yesterday. "
I’m two blocks from the square when I hear muffled shouts, followed by a terrifying, loud crack.
Painfully out of breath, I hurtle down a long dark alley, not paying attention to where I'm going, just scanning the side streets and calling out to Dex repeatedly.
There's no response until a strangled male voice croaks, "Alyxia, run. "
The bustling sounds of the busy market are far away now. Instead, my ears fill with the ominous scratch of something dragging along cobblestone and someone whistling under their breath, someone who clearly knows I'm here and isn't the least bit bothered about alerting me to their presence.
Trusting my instincts screaming at me to get out of here, I break into a run again.
I’ll come back when I’ve found some help.
Every corner I turn makes the bursts of noisy chatter seem to come from a different direction, though.
It's impossible to tell if the route I've chosen leads toward or away from the square.
The whistling gets louder, accompanied by at least one set of heavy footsteps, possibly two.
Whoever is following closes in before I can ask Aven if he knows where Zenn is.
Throwing a glance over my shoulder is stupid and only slows me down as I fight the urge to find out what I'm fleeing from.
Flinging myself around the corner so fast, I almost collide with the opposite wall, I come to an abrupt stop.
The narrow alleyway ends in a tall stone partition—there's nowhere else to go.
Pressing my back against it, I slip my too-small ritual dagger from my belt.
It will be as useless as I will in any kind of fight, and I know the costs of using it, but it's the only option I have.
"Well, what do we have here? A breathless little Trivi mouse alone somewhere she shouldn't be.
" The approaching woman is tall and muscular, her long hair so pale, it's almost white, gleams against the dark brown of her leathers marking her as an Orz Shield.
And she thinks I'm a Triv, I realize, remembering my hair is hidden underneath the triangle of fabric I used to keep it out of my face while cleaning earlier.
"What do you want?" I demand, wishing there was space to back away. Her sneer widens when a hulking man saunters around the corner, and bile rises in my throat when I see a semiconscious Dex slumped under the man's thick, meaty arm. Bright red blood matching the streak in the woman’s hair trickles from Dex’s temple to pool under his chin when the man drops him in a crumpled heap against the wall.
"Looks like you were right, Mishtarr. There was a mouse scurrying around with the rat. Maybe she's the reason he looks so much better today—or, at least, he did." Their laughter is cruel and biting.
"What did you do to him? And what do you want?" I repeat, concealing the dagger in the loose-fitting fabric of my sleeve. Better to appear completely defensive for now. Not that it's far from the truth.
"Just a bit of fun." The woman I’m guessing is Mishtarr smirks. "There's really nothing to do until the festivities get started tomorrow. No point dying of boredom when there's plenty to entertain us down here."
It's all I can do not to roll my eyes. "So what, you wander the streets harassing innocent people for no reason instead?"
She snarls, “Watch it, you disrespectful little bitch.”
The man turns and slams his boot into Dex's ribs, so hard, we hear the loud crack of one of them splintering. “Maybe that’ll teach her to keep her mouth shut.” I force myself to keep quiet while I assess my options, which only seems to infuriate the man, despite what he just said.
With a grunt, he kicks the slumped man another two times, ignoring my plea for him to stop while she blocks my path, watching her companion crouch and rifle through Dex's pockets, disregarding his pained groans.
The back of my neck prickles at their casual use of each other's names.
Either they're relying on nobody believing us if we tell someone what happened, or they're not planning to let us walk away from this.
Finding nothing of value on him, they turn and survey me, arms folded across their leather-clad chests.
Now, Dex. It has to be now, I will him silently.
Get up while they're not paying attention and conjure a weapon. It would be in self-defense, so surely it will hold. I don't entirely know how the sentience of the magic decides if and when it will keep its form. If I thought there was any chance he’d listen, I'd yell for him to run. He’d never leave me here alone, though, not even to get help, and I’m not so sure he's capable of running right now.
"Do you want coin? I have a little on me and can get you more. "
"Listen here, little mouse. I don't know how you got involved with the likes of him.
Maybe you're his wife, maybe you're his whore.
" He smirks, as if proud of his powers of deduction.
"We know your man here all too well. He's been caught stealing, what is it, three times now?
" He looks to Mishtarr, who dips her chin in confirmation.
"And he's clearly high as a kite. So you'll forgive us if we don't believe you have coin to cover his debts.
Plus, what use are riches to us anyway? We're more interested in retribution.
" He takes a step toward me, and I press back into the rough wall.
Sensing movement on the ground behind the Orz Shields, I force myself not to look, not to draw focus back to Dex.
The woman reaches out to stroke the end of my messy braid, laughing when I flinch, drawling, "You know, she's not entirely awful to look at."
Reg leers, looking me up and down before adding, "Yeah, true. Just a pity she's Triv scum. Even when they look clean, you know they never really are."