Betrayals (51 page)

But the time hadn’t been easy for anyone, and if tempers were occasionally short it was completely understandable. They’d been able to keep the pursuing guardsmen the same distance behind them, but only by spending all of one night riding. The guardsmen had kept going after sundown so they’d had to do the same, working to ruin the guardsmen’s plan to catch them asleep somewhere. At least that’s what they thought the plan was, and the guardsmen hadn’t tried it again. Happily.

“Lorand, you’re back,” one of their sentries, Wrixin, said as he stepped out from his place behind a bush in a small stand of trees. “Did you find what you went looking for? You weren’t gone very long.”

“That’s because there was nothing left of what I went looking for,” Lorand replied, finding it impossible to put life into his voice. “You’d better pass the word to the other sentries that we’ll be moving on again as soon as everyone has rested for a while—and the horses have been allowed to graze. There’s nothing for them to graze on up ahead for as far as I went, so we’ll just have to keep going until we find someplace decent.”

Wrixin nodded in that same sober way they were all starting to use, so Lorand continued on into the copse where everyone else was. As soon as he dismounted he unsaddled his horse, hobbled it, and turned it loose to graze with the others. They could probably spend another hour in that copse, but then they would have to move on.

“Are things any better up ahead?” Jovvi asked as soon as she saw him. Then she held up a hand as she shook her head. “No, don’t bother answering that. The tone of your thoughts is answer enough.”

“But you do still need an answer in words,” Lorand said as he stopped to kiss her grimy but very soft cheek. “It’s worse up ahead, and I don’t know how far the devastation goes. We’ll have to try to get through this area as quickly as possible, otherwise we’ll lose the horses. Pushing them hard and starving them on top of it will kill them faster than anything but deliberate slaughter.”

“I suppose it’s a good thing, then, that we have fewer supplies for the packhorges to carry,” Rion said from where he and Naran sat, not far from where Jovvi stood. “Lighter burdens may balance the lack of grazing, at least for a short while.”

“What we all need, people and horses alike, is a place to stop and rest for a while,” Naran said, sounding almost as weary as Lorand felt. “Not to mention someplace decent to take a bath. If we have to do without for much longer, we won’t need your Blending to handle any enemies we come across. All we’ll have to do is get upwind of them, and then we can stand there and watch them fall over.”

“Now there’s a potent weapon in our arsenal we haven’t been counting on,” Jovvi said with a grin while Lorand and Rion laughed. “Let’s mention it to Alsin, and see what tactics he can come up with to use it most effectively.”

“Where is Meerk?” Lorand asked, taking the cup of tea Jovvi had poured for him before joining her in sitting near Rion and Naran. “I’m used to seeing him somewhere around Tamrissa, but she’s over there scribbling in that ledger she found. I’m glad we all talked her into doing the writing. I may be mistaken, but since she started that project she’s been feeling more … balanced.”

“She is more balanced,” Jovvi confirmed with a smile for the way he’d used a word more suited to her province. “Writing down what’s happened to us seems to be bringing her a focus she lacked before, not to mention greater emotional control. She’s already better off than she was, and her inner strength seems to be growing daily.”

“And our friend Alsin is taking a nap,” Rion put in, answering the rest of Lorand’s question. “Since Valiant is now drilling the Water magic people and you won’t be starting with the Earth magic people until he’s done, Meerk took the opportunity to get some sleep. Once you start to use Earth magic, he’ll be wide-awake.”

“I have the feeling he’ll be waking up to face something more than just the use of magic in his own aspect,” Naran said, now looking faintly troubled. “Valiant has been watching Alsin show his interest in Tamrissa, but while she continued to spend a good deal of time smiling at and talking to him , he hasn’t said anything to Alsin. Now that she’s spending so much time with her writing, I think Valiant is about to have words with Alsin. I wish he would talk to her instead, but the chances of that are almost nil.”

“That’s because he’s still faintly frightened of her,” Jovvi said with a wry smile. “He knows she’s ruining his resolve to have nothing more to do with her for a while, so he’s afraid to get too close. He won’t even admit to himself that his resolve isn’t working, not as stubborn as he is. He’d rather growl at Alsin than whisper sweetly to Tamrissa— and that was a very astute observation you made, Naran. For someone without Spirit magic, you’re very sensitive.”

“You’re a love for saying that, Jovvi, but the situation is so clear that even Rion had no trouble noticing,” Naran replied with a faint blush and a pleased chuckle. “And do stop looking at me in that wounded way, my love. You know you don’t notice a lot of these things until they come up and tap you on the nose.”

“That is unfortunately all too true,” Rion admitted, apparently giving up on trying to make Naran feel guilty for what she’d said. “I wish it were otherwise, so I’ve been making the effort to change—myself as well as the subject. Lorand, when do you think we’ll reach the place that man called the front?”

“We should get to the area sometime tomorrow night,” Lorand said after thinking for a moment. “It isn’t really all that far away, but the traveling won’t be very easy. When I reached the outskirts of that town I couldn’t bear to go any nearer, so I stretched out my perceptions to check beyond it. I may be mistaken, but I think there are some deep, wide holes in the road beyond the place where the town was.”

“Then I’m very glad we no longer have the wagon or the carriage with us,” Jovvi said. “Getting vehicles past large holes might have delayed us long enough for those guardsmen to catch up. Oh, look, here comes Valiant. It seems to be your turn now with practicing, so you got back just in time.”

“I’m taking my tea with me,” Lorand stated as he began to get to his feet. “I think that’s one of the things I miss most: being able to sit down with a cup of tea at regular intervals.”

And he also had to gather his people, he said to himself. They’d been teaching their companions the patterns they’d learned and had used to such good—and varied—purpose, and most were doing excellently well with them. Soon, possibly even tomorrow night and before they made contact with the army, they ought to try putting together more Blendings. He’d have to talk to the others about it, once they got back on the road….

Valiant nodded to Lorand as they passed each other, smiled to the others where they sat, then went to pour himself a cup of tea. When he’d first made up his mind about talking to Meerk he’d felt as though he could use something stronger than tea, but that feeling had passed. Right now he was downright eager to get things straightened out about Tamrissa, which he ought to be able to do in just a few minutes. As soon as Lorand got his group started on practicing, Meerk would be up and about again.

And the time came just as quickly as Valiant had been expecting. He still had half the tea in his cup when Meerk appeared, stretching and rubbing sleep from his eyes. The man paused to look around, saw Tamrissa sitting and writing away in her ledger book, and obviously made up his mind to interrupt her. A foolish smile spread across his face as he started in her direction, but since Valiant stood a small distance to Meerk’s right and Tamrissa sat the same small distance to Valiant’s right, Valiant was able to step out and intercept Meerk.

“You and I need to talk,” he said softly to a startled Meerk. “I’ve been wantin’ to get a few things straight between us, and now’s as good a time as any.”

“As you like,” Meerk agreed in a suddenly neutral way. “I’ve been wondering if you would start a conversation like this, because I have a few things of my own to say. But since this is your idea, you have the right to start things off.”

“That’s not the only right I have,” Valiant retorted, speaking calmly and quietly. “I also have the right to tell you to stop pesterin’ Tamrissa. She isn’t interested in you, Meerk, so why don’t you find a woman who is?”

“I’d say that comes under the heading of my business,” the man responded, obviously working to match Valiant’s calm. “But don’t you think it’s up to Tamrissa to say whether or not she’s interested? She’s well enough aware of the fact that I’m courting her, and since I still haven’t been turned to ash it’s fairly safe to say that she doesn’t mind.”

“You’re missin’ the point, Meerk,” Valiant said, now finding it harder to hold his temper. “I’m the one who minds, which means I’m not tryin’ to make Tamrissa’s decisions for her. She and I are a part of each other in a way you can’t understand, so I’m entitled to mind. Find a different woman and leave her alone, or there will be more than just words between us.”

“Are you saying you mean to pursue her yourself?” Meerk had the nerve to ask. “I’ve noticed that you never go near her on your own, unless it has something to do with the Blending. All the rest of the time you avoid her, making her come after you . It must tickle your vanity to have a woman chasing after you, a woman you push away if she gets too close. But Tamrissa is too wonderful a person to be put through something like that, so I won’t allow it. I intend to continue courting her, and if I’m very lucky she’ll agree to marry me. If you decide you don’t like that idea, go ahead and do whatever you feel you have to.”

And with that Meerk turned and went back the way he’d come, leaving Valiant to stare after him. A minute earlier Valiant would have been furious to have the man simply walk away from him, but now it was something of a relief. The accusation Meerk had made was ridiculous, but Valiant didn’t quite know how to answer it. Of course he wasn’t forcing Tamrissa to chase after him, and vanity had nothing to do with his actions. He was just trying to avoid another shallow, temporary association with a woman he happened to love quite a lot. …

But that didn’t change the fact that Meerk had refused to agree to Valiant’s demands. He had openly admitted he was courting Tamrissa, and with marriage in mind! That part of it had also shaken Valiant, as he’d never expected Meerk to have honorable intentions. It changed things in a vague but definite way, if anything could be both vague and definite at the same time. It also meant that he would have to speak to Tamrissa, something he’d been hoping to avoid. Every time he got close to her and she smiled that beautiful, enticing smile …

It took a small effort for Valiant to get control of himself again, but as soon as he did he headed straight for Tamrissa. If he put off talking to her Meerk might come back and say the wrong thing, and that would be worse. Better to get there first and avoid confusion. When he stopped beside her she looked up, then she smiled that smile.

“Well, this is a surprise,” she said, actually putting aside the pen she’d been using. “Or is it time for us to Blend again?”

“No, it isn’t time to Blend,” Valiant answered quickly, feeling a flush in his cheeks as he crouched beside her. Wasn’t that part of what Meerk had said … ? “I just wanted to talk to you for a moment, to ask a favor. Will you mind doin’ me a favor?”

“Of course not,” she answered, looking as though she forcibly kept herself from reaching out to touch him. “What favor would you like me to do for you?”

“I want you to tell Meerk to stop… doin’ what he’s doin’,” Valiant said, having more trouble putting the thing into words than he’d expected to. “He isn’t part of our group, after all, and it just isn’t right.”

“What isn’t right about it?” she asked after a very brief pause, an odd expression flickering in her lovely eyes. “He isn’t doing anything but courting me, and in a most polite way. He isn’t by some chance interfering with someone else’s intention to court me—is he?”

“Ah… no, he isn’t,” Valiant said through teeth that seemed to want to clench. “It… isn’t time yet for… somethin’ like that. But that doesn’t make what he’s doin’ all right. He isn’t really one of us, and that makes a big difference.”

“It hasn’t made a difference for Rion and Naran,” she countered, the expression in her eyes having suddenly changed. “Are you saying you consider Naran an outsider because she doesn’t Blend with us?”

“No, of course not,” Valiant hastened to assure her, beginning to feel that the conversation was getting out of hand. “Naran is one of us without question, but that’s completely different. Meerk isn’t like Naran, not in any way at all.”

“And why would that be?” she demanded, all sweetness and smiles having disappeared. “Tell me, Dom Ro, why is it different? I want to hear a reason for what you’re saying.”

“It just is, that’s all,” Valiant muttered, determined not to be stampeded away from the decision he’d previously made. “And it doesn’t even matter. You agreed to do me the favor, so I expect you to hold to that.”

“I agreed before I understood what the favor was,” she stated, showing nothing of the fluster she once would have. “Now that I have all the details, I’m afraid I must decline. I happen to like being courted, since I don’t intend to spend the rest of my life alone. If you don’t like what you’re seeing, my suggestion would be to stop looking.”

And with that she gathered her things together and got up, walking away from him in the same way Meerk had done. Valiant rose to his full height and stared after her, fighting the urge to chase after and stop her. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, but he knew she wasn’t ready to hear them. He knew that, although he certainly wished he didn’t….

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

I barely noticed the rest of that day’s ride, and didn’t sleep very well the following night. Oh, I was certainly tired enough from all the unaccustomed exertions of the trip, and the destruction and desolation we rode through was enough to make anyone want to hide in sleep. But even though Lorand and the other Earth magic people managed to find a corner of land with trees and grass, that didn’t help my frame of mind. I spent the night trying to decide whether I felt more hurt or more angry, and even now, after we’d started to move again, I still hadn’t decided.