Avondale (29 page)

“Let her go, now!” he shouted.

The tree roots moved, slithering like slow-moving snakes to uncover the curled form of Lady Olyva. She didn’t seem to be hurt, but it was impossible to tell.

Rafe raced past Tiberius and into the grove of trees, which hissed and groaned, but no more limbs fell. Rafe scooped Olyva into his arms and turned to start back when Lexi ran past Tiberius and into the grove. He started to shout for her to stop, but she danced across the still writhing roots, snatched up Rafe’s pack and sprinted out the far side of the cluster of trees.

Tiberius felt relieved that Lexi was out of danger, but he kept a close eye on the menacing trees as Rafe was walking back toward his friend. Rafe was careful, moving slowly to avoid the slithering roots. He had just reached the edge of the grove when a root shot up and encircled his ankle. Rafe stumbled. Olyva came tumbling out of his arms and rolled past the tree’s roots.

“Rafe!” Tiberius shouted.

“Get her out of here!” Rafe called back.

Tiberius ran forward and grabbed Olyva’s wrists. He started pulling her backward, dragging her away from the trees much the same way he’d done with Rafe a few hours before. He looked up and saw more of the tree roots rising up and wrapping around Rafe, who was struggling to escape. Tiberius wanted to use his magic and set more of the trees on fire, but he had to get Olyva to a safe distance first.

Rafe managed to draw his dagger and hack through one of the roots. The tree limbs overhead were waving furiously. Branches dropped all around the grove. Then Rafe got his rapier free. The sword wasn’t ideal for hacking at roots, but he chopped furiously anyway.

Sticky sap flew around him and the roots continued to wrap around Rafe’s legs. Tiberius finally got Olyva out of what he deemed to be the danger zone. Lexi was just jogging back to their campsite with Rafe’s pack. The horses were neighing and bucking. They had hobbled the horses the night before, using the reins to secure their front two legs together so that the horses couldn’t run away, but in their fear of the fire, the horses were bound to hurt themselves.

“Get to the horses,” Tiberius shouted to Lexi.

He raced forward, shouting his spell as he dashed around the grove of trees.

“Ingesco Exsuscito!” he shouted. “Ingesco Exsuscito!”

Tree after tree, burst into flame. Tiberius couldn’t see Rafe as he sprinted around the grove of trees, but he hoped his friend could somehow break free in the confusion. Behind Tiberius trees were falling to the ground. Their roots were spread along the ground, not into the soil the way the towering pines and majestic fir trees did on top of the mountain. When the other trees pulled away from those that were on fire, the burning trees toppled outward. Tiberius didn’t stop, even though he realized that he was killing a sentient creature. Trees lived and grew in Avondale, but Tiberius had never known them to have conscious thought. But he acted to save his friends, the same way he’d fought the Graypees outside Avondale’s walls to save Rafe. He’d slain a Graypee then too. Tiberius didn’t know if the trees were separate beings or just many parts of one creature, but he knew he wanted them all to burn.

He continued his circuit of the grove of trees, finally reaching the far side and seeing to his relief that Rafe was free. He was picking up Olyva and moving her further away from the fire. Lexi had already seen to the horses, speaking calmly and reassuring them that everything was okay.

“Well,” Tiberius said, leaning forward and putting his hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. “I guess I told you so would be overkill.”

“Shut up and help me,” Rafe growled.

Tiberius walked over to where his friend was laying Lady Olyva back onto the ground. She was still unconscious, but breathing. Tiberius didn’t see any injuries, not even minor cuts or bruises.

“What’s wrong with her?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Rafe said. “I can’t wake her up.”

“Here, pour some water on her,” Tiberius said, snatching up the water skin.

He took a long drink, then, handed it to Rafe.

“There isn’t much left,” he said, as he dribbled the water over Olyva’s face. He wiped the water away carefully. She’d been lying on the ground, covered by tree roots, and there were streaks of dirt on her skin. Rafe spoke soothingly to her, trying to wake her up. She didn’t stir.

Tiberius touched her forehead, but there was no sign of fever. She didn’t feel cold either.

“Perhaps the trees released some kind of gas that made her sleepy,” he said. “That would explain why we can’t wake her up.”

“Let’s move away from those things,” Rafe said, pointing at the burning trees. Thick black smoke was billowing up into the amber sky. “That smoke may be toxic.”

Tiberius agreed and starting packing up their meager belongings. Lexi came over to help him just as Tiberius was drinking the last of the water in their skin.

“Tell me that’s Rafe’s water skin,” she said.

“No, ours. Why?”

“I can’t find Rafe’s in his pack,” she said.

“It wasn’t in my pack. I got it out, along with my blankets last night.”

“Well, then we have to find water,” Lexi said. “We’re completely out.”

Tiberius felt terrible. “Oh, no, I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t realize I was drinking the last of it.”

“It’s okay, we can ride the horses to that river we saw in the distance,” Lexi said. “It can’t be more than a day’s ride, and the horses need water too.”

“We can’t,” Rafe said. “Olyva can’t ride.”

“She’ll have to ride with you,” Lexi said. “We can’t afford to wait.”

“She’s right,” Tiberius said. “We’ll tie her behind you, and use her horse to carry the supplies.”

“Fine,” Rafe said, obviously not happy about the arrangement, but unable to argue against the need to find water.

Lexi found she enjoyed working with horses. The ones she had stolen were gentle creatures that responded to her encouragement almost as if they understood what she was saying. She had never owned a pet, and Shadow was quickly becoming Lexi’s favorite. She and Tiberius saddled the horses, then loaded the three packs of supplies onto the smallest of the mounts.

“What are their names?” Tiberius asked.

“They don’t have names yet,” Lexi said. “Except this one. This is Shadow.”

“I think I’ll call mine Star,” Tiberius said, rubbing the bright patch on his horse’s forehead.

“Well mine is Mars,” said Rafe. “After the great warrior from before the cataclysm.”

“What about Olyva’s horse?” Lexi asked.

“We’ll let her name him when she wakes up,” Rafe said.

“That’s a mare,” Tiberius corrected his friend with a smirk.

“Then we’ll let Olyva name
her
, when she wakes up.”

“You two fight like old women,” Lexi said as she pulled herself up into Shadow’s saddle.

She was still a little unsteady. Her ride around Avondale had given her confidence, but that was two days ago. She had forgotten how out of control she felt on the back of a horse. She could guide the animal, but ultimately it would go where it wanted and she could hang on or fall off. It didn’t help to see how natural Rafe seemed in the saddle. He swung himself up easily and then helped Tiberius arrange Olyva behind him. She was set on the horse blanket, behind the saddle, sitting upright and leaning onto Rafe’s back.

Tiberius tied Olyva into place using some rope from his pack. Her hands were tied together around Rafe’s waist, and her legs were fastened with a leather strap that ran under the horse’s belly.

“You think that’s good enough?” Tiberius asked.

“We’ll just have to try it and see.”

They could still feel the heat from the burning trees. The smoke sometimes blew toward them on the wind, making it hard to breathe without choking. Riding away from the horrific scene of their fight with the malevolent trees was a relief to Lexi. She hadn’t known what to think when Tiberius had such a strong reaction to the grove of trees, but she had wanted to trust him. She had been a little nervous just being in the blighted lands to begin with, and when Tiberius said the trees were predatory, she knew she didn’t want to be anywhere near them. Even if Tiberius had turned out to be crazy, she didn’t like the idea of killer trees.

They rode across the plain, with the billowing black smoke at their back and golden sunlight all around them. It was warm on the prairie, much hotter than it ever got in Avondale. They were all sweating freely in the warm humid air. Lexi’s mouth was completely dry, but she didn’t want to complain about it. She knew it would only make Tiberius feel guilty and he hadn’t meant to drink the last of their water.

They saw more of the bovine animals moving around the river. They had to stop several times and adjust Lady Olyva, who Lexi was seeing more and more as dead weight. Lexi didn’t think that Olyva would make it very long in the blighted lands; she was too fragile, too incapable of doing anything for herself. She felt bad having such a negative attitude about Olyva, but there was no getting around it. Perhaps the shock of being banished from Avondale, in front of King Aethel no less, was too much for her. Perhaps the strain had broken her will to live. Whatever it was, Lexi felt that she was putting everyone else in danger.

They didn’t stop for lunch, but pressed on. They still had food, but those rations were waning too, and eating the salted pork or dried beef would only make them even thirstier. Lexi didn’t think she could work up enough saliva to even make the meat edible. It was early afternoon when they finally reached the river. It was a swiftly flowing stream and Lexi had feared that the water might be contaminated. If there was no drinkable water, it would explain why no one had ever returned from the blighted lands. If the killer trees didn’t get them, or the giant monsters, then they probably all died of thirst.

“It looks good,” Rafe said.

He had to wait on his horse while the others dismounted. Lexi held Shadow and Star while Tiberius walked over and helped Rafe untie Olyva. The fact that she hadn’t woken up was not a good sign.

“We could let the horses drink, just to make sure it’s safe,” Tiberius said.

“If it isn’t safe, we won’t last long anyway,” Lexi said. “We’re dead without water.”

“Let’s get a closer look,” Rafe suggested.

They carefully laid Olyva on a blanket, then led the horses down to the stream. The water had looked blue from high up the mountain, but up close it was crystal clear. They could even see a few fish gliding past.

“It looks safe enough,” Tiberius said. “I’ll test it and see.”

The horses were straining on their leads, trying to get to the water and slake their thirst. Tiberius knelt down and scooped up a handful of water. He slurped the water nosily, making Lexi even thirstier than she already was. She thought that if the water was bad she would surely go insane with thirst.

“It’s fine,” Ti said. “Tastes great.”

Lexi hurried forward. She let the horses drink a little way down stream. Then she knelt beside Tiberius and used both of her hands to form a bowl. She scooped up water and drank it down. It was the best thing she’d ever tasted. It was clear and refreshing. She couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Rafe asked.

“I just can’t believe this,” she said. “The blighted lands aren’t blighted at all. It’s wonderful.”

“Even the killer trees?” Rafe said sarcastically.

“Not counting the killer trees,” she said. “I just thought it would be so much harder.”

“Well, we shouldn’t let our guard down, just because the water’s not poisoned,” he grumbled.

“Fill the water skin and take it to Olyva. We’ll settle in for the night,” Tiberius said. “There’s nothing wrong with celebrating a little good luck.”

Lexi smiled. She liked the way he thought about things. He was calm under pressure, courageous, yet a peacemaker. She thought he was everything a good Earl should be, yet he wasn’t even considered for the position because he wasn’t the firstborn. She thought the entire line of succession and the value of lineage was completely ridiculous.

They unsaddled the horses and Lexi found clumps of grass that grew longer close to the river. She pulled some up and used them to rub down the horses. Tiberius put their packs and saddles near a dip between the river and the more open plain that stretched back toward the mountains. There was no wood close to the river, not even brush of any kind, but Tiberius found big round chunks of dried dung.

“What is that?” Lexi asked.

“It’s dung,” he said.

“Oooo, what are you going to do with it?”

“It burns,” Rafe said.

“Gross,” Lexi replied. “Be sure and wash your hands when you’re finished.”

Rafe prepared a simple place for Olyva. He spread a blanket on the soft grass and arranged her saddle underneath at one end. Then he carried the still unconscious girl down and laid her out with her head elevated. He dribbled water into her mouth and covered her legs with another blanket.

“I guess we’re sleeping on the ground tonight,” Lexi said to Tiberius under her breath.

“We’ll manage,” he said with a grin and a wink.