Broken Prince (The Broken Ones) (9 page)

Chapter 9:

Stormy Weather

Walking around the general area calmed her down. She
took her frustrations and confusion out by stomping and muttering to herself.
It wasn’t at all a mature reaction, which made her even more frustrated. Being
stuck between a child and an adult made her want to scream. She didn’t, if only
because she didn’t want to attract any attention to them.

They traveled in woods ruled by Fey and Were. Humans were
forbidden on pain of death. Despite Garen and Kei’s comments, she was still
human, and so was Bo. Meeting the inhabitants of the forest was the last thing
they wanted to do. Garen had been clear on that, and so had Prince. They’d kept
as close to the forest border as they could.

She found a few edible plants and collected them to
add to their supplies. Keeping close to the forest’s edge helped with their
supplies at least. Kei or Garen often made runs to the edge to see what crops
they were passing. If it hadn’t been harvested already, they grabbed as much as
they could.

Bo called her back, later than she’d have thought if
they were going to set out, but there was still a lot of light left in the day
for foraging if they were going to stay and make camp.

"What’s the word?"

"We’re heading out again." The way Bo
wouldn’t meet her eyes worried her.

"What’s wrong?"

"Storm coming," Kei said quietly, jerking
his head in the direction of the sea. Before she could open her mouth again he
added, "Bad one."

She nodded once and put what she’d collected into the
packs. "Is there shelter nearby then?"

Garen sat next to her.
It has been a very long time
since I was this far south and I am not very familiar with the land. I do
remember it gets rockier very quickly. There will be outcrops, cliffs, ravines.
Perhaps we can find a cave.

She supposed that would have to do. It wasn’t like
they’d come across a small house. "But what if we can’t find something?
Wouldn’t it be better to use the time to make a shelter now?"

"The storm comes quickly," Prince answered,
pulling himself up onto the horse. "We are moving further into the forest."

"What!" She turned sharply to look at Bo. "You
know that’s not safe for us, right? We’re lucky Garen is the only Were we’ve
met."

Bo grimaced and scratched at the long scar on his
cheek. "I know, pup. But Garen and Prince say the further we head toward
the mountains, the more likely we’ll find decent shelter."

"Come, Aro. We need to get moving."

She glared over at Prince. "Just for the record,
I don’t like this one bit."

"Understood," he said sharply, clearly
beginning to lose patience with her. "You can ride with me or run, but we
need to go now."

Pressing her lips tightly together to keep from saying
something she shouldn’t, she turned on her heel and took off toward the west.

This way.
Garen
quickly bounded ahead of her, and a moment later Kei ran by her side.

What’s wrong?

She didn’t glance over at Kei, they were running quite
quickly through the trees and she didn’t want to trip. The trees were large
here, and though much of the area was in shadow and free of thick undergrowth,
some places weren’t and fallen branches were always something to be careful of.

It took her a while to decide what exactly she wanted
to say. Kei didn’t push. At least he had some patience.
I’m worried about
going deeper. What if the Were find us?

They won’t hurt you. I won’t let them.

His thought made her smile for a moment.
But there
might be fighting. Someone could get hurt.

Don’t worry. They will be taking shelter from the
storm. The rain will wash our scent away. As soon as the storm passes we’ll
head out.

Leaping over a branch, she held in a grimace.
But–

You should be worrying about the storm.

Getting wet won’t kill us. We’ve been through storms
before.

Not like this one.

That put a stop to her rambling thoughts. Apparently
they weren’t about to get a summer shower. Kei was right, she should be
thinking about the storm; what could go wrong and how to avoid stupid mistakes.

Weather could kill just as easily as a man could.

* * *

After running west for a time, Garen led them
south-west. She was happy with the change. They were sort of still on course.

Prince and Bo pushed the horses as quickly as they
could. Once the ground began to turn rocky, their pace noticeably slowed.
Quickly enough the terrain turned even rockier.

Spread out,
Garen said.
Search for caves, overhangs… anything that can provide shelter.

The speed the storm moved in rather shocked her. They
hadn’t been searching long when the first buffets of wind began. Grey and black
clouds soon rolled in the distance, moving quickly enough she ran more
haphazardly from one outcrop to another.

Stopping a moment to catch her breath, she jumped as
thunder cracked in the distance. Someone cursed in her mind.

Will the horses bolt? Should we each get our packs?

Good idea,
Bo answered.
We’ll put ours on now. If you or Kei see us, come and collect
yours.

Her mind murmured with everyone’s agreement. She shook
her head slightly. When everyone spoke at once it still got confusing.

Thick clouds turned midday dark as evening as they
continued to search for shelter. Rain started to spit down, not hard, but the
now driving wind made navigating between rocks and trees more difficult.

Half a dozen times she stopped herself from asking if
anyone had found anything yet. They’d let her know when they did. This pack
mind speech turned out to be rather helpful.

I found a cave!
Kei’s excitement made her trip. She barely managed to steady herself against a
tree.

A grin split her face, and then she winced as everyone
tried to get a location from him. She moved south, raising a hand to shield her
eyes from the rain as she searched for anyone else. Visibility continued to
worsen.

Worry began to knot her stomach as the rain fell
harder. Finding the others might be harder than she thought. They didn’t know
the area and landmarks were almost useless. The few they could use now they
couldn’t even see because of the storm. Maybe splitting up had been a very bad
idea.

Her clothes were soaked through already, her hair a
tangled dripping mess. Over and over she wiped water from her eyes. The rain
fell harder and she had to bow her head against it as she trudged along.

Boys, I’ve no idea where I am, or where you are.

I see Bo and Prince,
Kei said.
As soon as they’re here I’ll come for you.

I’ve the horses scent. For now.
Garen’s annoyed growl echoed in her head.
I don’t
think I’m far behind though.

She directed her thoughts to Kei only.
How will you
find me?

I can always find you. Look for me with your heart and
soul, Aro.

His words made her stop in her tracks. They could find
each other? Is that how he had tracked them last fall when the fury had taken
him? Perhaps. Of course they hadn’t tried to hide either.

She frowned. How did she look with her heart and soul?
Kei spoke of the Fey magic they had done. Twice. They were friends, they were
family. The Fey had a third binding, of mates, though she didn’t have any
inclination to do that one. What she and Kei had done wasn’t really magic, at
least not compared to what the Elves could apparently do. Fey bindings involved
promises of intent. They were heart and soul magic. Whatever that meant.

Standing against a tree, trying to stay out of the
driving wind and rain, she closed her eyes and thought of Kei. Other than the
pack mind link, there was nothing. She couldn’t get a direction from it either.

I can’t find you.

I’m coming. The others are here.

You should have told me about this before. We could
have practiced!

I thought you knew. I’m sorry.

The strangely sad undertones to his thought made her
sigh. Shivering, she sniffed and got water up her nose. "Rotting rain!"

The tree proved to be less and less of a break against
the storm. Grumbling in annoyance, she carefully struck out again, moving in
the direction of the next outcrop of rock she’d seen. If she moved to the other
side, at least it might block the raging wind.

Lightening lit the sky in the distance, but the worst
of the storm hadn’t even hit them yet. Finally she found some shelter behind a
rock and hunkered down to wait.

I hope you all are nice and dry
, she muttered at the others.

Wait until you see the cave,
Bo answered.
It’s huge, we even got the horses in.
Someone has used it before. There’s wood, and a fire pit. Even some–

Kei’s thought interrupted Bo.
I’m almost to you.

Despite feeling like a drowned rat, and quite
miserable, she smiled in relief. When he appeared out of the rain directly in
front of her she still jumped and swung.

He caught her hand with a laugh and pulled her into a
wet embrace. "Easy!"

Even with his mouth to her ear she could hardly hear
him over the wind and rain. Squeezing him tightly to her for a moment, she then
pulled back and slipped her hand into his.
Let’s go get dry!

He nodded and set off slowly, pulling her gently
behind him.

Is it far?

Not very. Terrain gets much worse though. Watch your
steps.

Proving his words, the ground quickly became rockier.
Her legs started to ache as they went up and down increasingly steep and
slippery slopes. Despite struggling up and around the rocks, she kept a hold of
Kei’s hand. For now, just having one free helped her enough.

We’re almost there.

Good! I’m freezing.
At least her mind voice wasn’t affected by her chattering teeth.

Just over–

Kei’s thoughts stopped abruptly. Before she could even
blink her hand jerked and the ground collapsed beneath her feet.

Their wet hands slipped apart as the slope
disintegrated beneath them into a muddy and rocky sliding mess. Screaming, she
scrambled for something to hold on to, anything.

Aro? What’s wrong?

She didn’t have the concentration to answer Prince. Rocks
and branches moved along with her as she continued to twist and slide. Just as
a full blown panic began to set in she slipped to the left and stopped.

"Kei!" He didn’t answer.
Kei!

Are you hurt?

I don’t think so. Are you?

I’m stuck.

I’m coming!

Spitting mud, she tried to wipe it from her face. Her
eyes stung and she tilted her head up, raising her hands as well to let the
downpour clean the mud away. Rubbing her eyes clean, she twisted and turned,
trying to free herself from the mud and debris.

"Wither me," she grumbled, finally getting
free and staggering to her feet. She collapsed again as pain shot up her leg. "Rot
it all!" She’d hurt her ankle again.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, she stood again,
keeping her weight on her good foot. She saw Kei not far from her and took a
step toward him. She sank into the mud up her knee and fell again.

Prince’s panicked voice startled her.
Aro! What’s
wrong?

Letting out a sigh of frustration, she gritted her
teeth for a moment.
A slope gave way and we got washed down. Kei’s stuck in
the mud.

Can you get him out?

I think so.

Giving up on walking, she crawled over to Kei. His
eye’s glowed orange, little beacons of light. She found him pinned between a
branch and a rock, one arm stuck behind him, the other trapped to the side by
the branch. With some grunts and curses she managed to free him quickly enough.

Thank you.

Anything broken?

No.

She smiled in relief.
Silly Fey. You shouldn’t play
in the mud.

Not funny.
His
lips twitched as he held back a smile.

With a jerk, she helped pull him upright and they both
started crawling toward the sloped they’d just fallen down. Once they reached
the bottom she looked up and laughed.

A very wet and bedraggled Prince stood at the top,
hands on his knees as he stared down at them.