24. Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kya
“ K ya.”
“Hmm,” I mumbled.
Nikan’s voice stirred me awake, and with it came that burning sensation once again. But at least it wasn’t as intense. I gripped my shirt tightly in my fist over my chest, unable to ignore it.
“Kya, wake your ass up and get out here.” Nikan sounded like he wasn’t in a particularly good mood that morning.
This should be fun.
I crawled off the warm furs I slept on and left the shelter, shielding my eyes from the sunlight cresting over the hill as I emerged.
Nikan was standing with his legs braced firmly on the ground.
His eyes were nearly bulging out of their sockets, and he was breathing heavily out of his nose.
I could feel the tension of the rock beneath us as he had a hold on it with his terbis, ready to use it to strike.
My hands immediately grabbed for my daggers, my bow and quiver still on the ground inside the stone tent, before I saw what had Nikan so worked up.
Odarum was standing in front of him. His pitch-black mane and tail swaying gently in the breeze. His wings were spread wide and they were captivating, each black feather glistening in the morning’s rays.
I released my breath, my shoulders slumping in relief, and I put my daggers away.
“Congratulations. You’ve gotten my brother on edge. Not much can do that to him,” I said to Odarum.
“This mindless oaf threatens me with harm, holding the terra such as he is. Does he not know what I am? Tell him to release his terbis,” Odarum said.
He glared at Nikan with his ears flattened back against his neck.
His hoof stomped against the grass and he snorted heavily through his muzzle in warning.
“Nik, stand down. This is my Spirit guardian.” I gestured to the pegasus in front of me before walking between them. “Nik, Odarum. Odarum, my brother and fellow Roav, Nikan,” I introduced and looked at Nikan pointedly. “Odarum is no threat.”
I felt as Nikan released his hold on the ground. Odarum’s ears shifted forward and became relaxed. He ruffled his feathers and pulled them to rest against his sides. I lifted to my toes and smacked the back of Nikan’s head with my palm.
“Ow. What was that for?” he said, rubbing the back of his head.
“What were you planning to do? Throw some dirt at a Spirit?” I whispered loudly.
“He startled me. I came out and he was just…there, all menacing-like,” he said defensively as he threw his hand up toward Odarum.
“Menacing? I was simply standing here,” Odarum said. I ignored him.
“And you should have expected it. I told you my Spirit horse would return at some point. What, did you expect him to announce himself or something? ”
“Yeah, I expected a horse . You failed to mention just how fucking big he is and that he has wings .” Nikan was shouting now.
“You described me improperly?” Odarum asked.
I turned to Odarum and said out loud, “Stop talking.” Then I turned back to Nikan. His face was scrunched in confusion, his eyes darting between me and Odarum.
I sighed, “Odarum, who’s a pegasus by the way, and I can speak to each other through our minds. It’s part of the—”
Odarum growled through our minds.
“Calm down. I’m not going to say anything about the bond,” I said to him, and it was then that I noticed that communicating with him had become easier.
“It’s part of the Spirit guardian and Worthy deal.”
“See?” I said in a mocking tone.
“Very well,” the Spirit grumbled.
Nikan pursed his lips and I could tell that he was holding back a smile. “You’re hearing voices in your head?” I gave him a deadpan look when he placed his hand on my shoulder with a teasing smile. “Don’t worry. I know a great healer who can help.”
I pushed his hand off me and punched him in the shoulder. “Shut up.”
“But seriously, Kya. I wouldn’t go around talking about that. People will think you’re insane.”
“Trust me, it is insane,” I chuckled.
“Alright. I guess I better get used to having a Spirit around then. But we need to head out and get to Narh,” Nikan said before turning and walking to the horses. Which got me thinking.
“Why aren’t the horses afraid of you and your wings? And they came when you stomped yesterday,” I asked Odarum. It had just occurred to me that they didn’t seem startled at all.
“They recognize what I am and know that they do not have to fear me. I would not harm an innocent life,” Odarum said softly.
“I gathered that from yesterday’s encounter. Speaking of, what was that? How did you do that with the roots?”
“I have the power to manipulate life.”
I paused and stared at him for a moment. “Like control it? Could you take it away if you wanted to?”
“No. Manipulate. Not destroy,” he stated firmly.
“Well, what you did was really magnificent. Is that the gift I gained from you?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“I won’t know which one you have received until it has manifested.”
I wondered what his other abilities were.
After gathering our things, Nikan put the rock of the tent back into the ground and I re-fastened my hair into a braid before we mounted our respective horses. Odarum still wouldn’t let me ride him.
Ass.
It took only a few hours to travel to the city of Narh in the Torx Nation. During our ride, my thoughts were consumed with our mission of tracking down the anonymous seller in Narh. Questions plagued my mind.
How did it come into his possession? Why didn’t he sell it on the black market? How long did he have it? Why didn’t someone take it from him rather than from Morah?
Odarum had followed quietly behind the entire way, seeming content to stay on the ground.
I had yet to see him fly, and I wanted to.
I also wanted to ride him while he did, just to experience it for myself.
When we approached the city, Odarum stopped in the grassy field.
I halted my gelding and turned to face him.
“Are you not coming?” I asked .
He remained quiet for a moment, his eyes seemed distant, before answering, “Another Spirit wishes to speak with me.” My eyebrows furrowed in question. “I will come back and wait here when I return.”
Odarum was gone in the blink of an eye. I glared at where he had just stood and released a frustrated huff.
Again with the disappearing. He’s supposed to be with me, helping me.
I rolled my eyes and turned back around to catch up to Nikan.
At least the burning feeling inside of me had stopped, the soothing swirls having taken its place.
I thought that perhaps it was correlated to Odarum’s proximity, but then that didn’t explain when it stopped the first time in Morah or why it stopped again before he left just then.
Maybe it had to do with my unmanifested magic.
Nikan and I pulled up our masks as we rode our horses into the city.
People parted for us in the street, giving us a wide berth out of fear for the Roav, identifiable by the broach attached to each of our cloaks.
An unprovoked reputation from those that were innocent.
We had never harmed anyone who didn’t deserve it.
Even the soldiers that we passed remained wary of us. Cowards.
We wove our way through the busy streets to the northern side of the city, where Nikan dismounted and entered one of the buildings. I remained outside on my horse and held the reins of Nikan’s as I kept watch.
The hair on the back of my neck rose with the feeling of being watched. I searched the faces and stone buildings for any threat but found nothing of real merit, and most averted their eyes.
After a few minutes, Nikan came out of the building and nodded to me, then led us to another location.
We tied our horses to a post outside a run-down building with several small residences within.
The stone building was cracked in multiple places, with broken windows and painted vulgarity on the outside.
The smell was horrible. The residents’ excrement puddled in the alley next to the building, likely because the building didn’t have a water system and they dumped their waste out the windows.
I still had the feeling of being watched, and that meant they were also following. Training my eyes all around me and feeling for anyone coming closer, I searched for who it was. Nikan silently waited, sensing my apprehension, and looked around on alert.
After a couple of minutes, I turned to Nikan and shrugged, unable to detect anything substantial. We made our way to the revolting building.
My nose crinkled in disgust. I pitied anyone who had to live next to this putrid aroma.
We entered the building and I followed Nikan up the dim, narrow staircase.
A man lay unconscious on the stairs inside, and we had to step over him.
We made our way up to the fourth floor before Nikan kicked in one of the wooden doors in the hallway.
A rancid scent flooded my nose and stung my eyes.
I had to cover my masked face to keep from vomiting.
A mattress on the other end of the room sat on the bare floor, stained and reeking due to the dead male atop it.
I closed the splintered door behind me and walked over to the corpse.
He was small in stature and completely naked, giving a full view of the Onyx-colored veins webbing over his pale skin.
“It’s the Onyx Kiss.” I bent down to inspect the body closer.
There was a small puncture wound in his shoulder.
That’s all it would take to poison the blood and with a small amount, it would have taken longer to fully kill him rather than the amount I use on the tips of my arrows.
“From the smell and discoloration, I’d say he’s been dead for at least a week. ”
“Discoloration?” Nikan bent down next to me.
“Yeah. The black color in the veins begins to fade over time. Usually around a week. See here?” I pointed to the male’s fingertips, the veins taking on a charcoal gray tint.
His eyes narrowed at me. “How do you know that?”