Death Comes To All (Book 1) (45 page)

“
Now
that you know the basics behind fishing, you're ready to start trying
it on your own. You only caught one minnow before, so first you'll
have to catch more bait. Decide what you think that the fish will go
for. If you think they'll be going for minnows like the one you just
caught that fish on, you'll have to catch more. You can also catch
insects or other things that you might think a fish might eat, and
try that. I've seen big fish go for little bait too, so all sorts of
things could work. Decide what you want to try and go for it. I'm
going back to my own fishing, but I'll watch from time to time.”

They
once again switched rigs, Raine wanting the rig that was already set
for big fish. Drom wondered what she had in mind to use for bait, but
didn't have to wait long to find out. The feral woman walked right
off the dock to the edge of the reeds growing along the shore.
Staring intently into them, she saw what she had been looking for.

Quick
as a striking snake, her hand darted in, clutching a fairly large
frog in her hands when she pulled them back out. Satisfied with the
croaker, she returned to the dock, skillfully running the hook
through the animal's mouth and tossing the bait and line back out
into the water.

Drom
thought about it for a moment before deciding to go back to using a
minnow like he had done the first time. His line was already set up
for catching them after all. As Raine had said before, there wasn't
any point in changing out his hook for a bigger one if he was just
going to change it back again.

“
If
you're going after minnows, you might want to catch a couple of them
before changing your gear,” she suggested, mirroring his
thoughts. She reached into her pack to pull out a small bucket,
filling it with fresh water before putting it on top of the box
containing the hooks and other gear she had taken out before. “Just
put them in here as you catch them. You'll have to either make
another lure or catch a some small insects to use as minnow bait
first.”

“
What
happened to the imitation fly you had made?” he asked. It had
still been there when he had taken the minnow off of the hook before,
he remembered.

“
I
took it off,” she admitted. “The best way for you to
learn how fish on your own is to make you do it by yourself. That's
how my father first taught me. It's how everyone in my village
learns. So that's how I'm going to teach you. I showed you one way to
catch them, and told you about another. There are plenty of others
that you can learn as you go. As long as you're not so bored of
fishing that you still want to do it that is.”

“
No,
I think I'll keep going. It seems like a lot of fun, and a good way
to relax. Just don't expect me to want to eat one of them.”

“
That's
fine,” she replied with a grin. “It leaves more for me!”

Raine
seems happier than normal when she's out here fishing,
Drom
noticed, if how she seemed at that moment was any indication.

He
had expected her to be depressed now that Raiste was gone, but she
seemed fine with it. She must be very confident in his abilities,
Drom thought. She didn't seem worried about their friend at all.

Instead
of trying to make an imitation insect like Raine had, Drom decided to
simply catch one for himself. After only a few minutes in the grass
nearby he came up with a small cricket, certainly worth trying. He
hooked the small insect to his line, and threw it back in front of
the weeds as he had before. In only a few minutes, his float went
under. He put the caught minnow in the bucket and repeated the
process several times, until he had enough bait to last him for at
least a little while.

The
two friends fished for most of the day, until the sun had dipped
almost to the edge of the horizon. Once they were finished Drom
helped Raine clean the fish they had caught, more than a dozen
between them. He didn't enjoy that part of it, but it no longer
disturbed him any longer either. Now it felt to him like just a
natural part of the process. With the cleaning done, they went back
out to the living room to relax for the rest of the night, eating a
quick dinner cooked over the living room fireplace.

The
next several weeks continued much the same way. Drom would wake up,
start off his day with his sword practice, and then the two would go
fishing for the greater portion of the day. Raine would watch each
day as he practiced, occasionally bringing out her own weapon and
practicing the techniques she fought with, though the two refrained
from sparing. While neither of them said it, they both understood the
reason why.

Drom
wasn't just practicing his techniques, which were formidable enough
using Ocean's Hand, he was also using his magic when he practiced.
Sparring would just be too dangerous. When he used his magic he was
faster and stronger than the feral woman, and his new technique
defended by striking an opponents attacking blade. Such a fighting
style didn't work well against someone you didn't want to actually
harm.

His
ability grew exponentially during that time. He knew that there were
still aspects of his power he hadn't unlocked yet, like his ability
to draw in magical attacks, as he had during the fight with Sloan and
his soldiers, but he had no way of testing or experimenting with that
part of it. He would need to have someone try to use magic against
him for that, and Raine didn't have any magic at all.

He
did learn other things about it during that time that he hadn't
known. He no longer needed to recite his catalyst to use his magic,
for instance. Now he simply brought the feeling his magic gave him to
mind, and it would call it forth instantly.

He
also learned more control. Now when he called his magic it didn't
create the strong wind that it had originally, at least not if he
didn't want it to. Raine watched him through it all, only commenting
rarely, when she thought it was necessary.

Drom
began to worry about what might have been happening with their
friend. Raiste had said he would be gone for at least a month,
possibly even longer, but knowing that he wasn't even due back yet
didn't do anything to alleviate Drom's fears. He had grown quite fond
of the assassin during the time they had known each other, and
wouldn't want anything to happen to him.

The
weather had stayed unusually warm during that time, though Drom was
certain that winter must be well underway by then. Raine assured him
that the weather was nothing unusual. Drom had spent all of his
previous winters at his parents farm, much farther to the north, she
reminded him. It wouldn't get nearly as cold here as he was used to.

If
they had gone north instead of south they could have seen snow for
the rest of the winter, which was rare at his parent’s home.
Even further to the north, the snow never melted at all, he recalled
from his mother's teachings.

“
You
should be happy with the temperate weather we’re enjoying,”
she told him often.

He
didn't bother to tell her that he wasn't really complaining. He had
just been making an observation. So far he had been thoroughly
enjoying his time there.

He
had become much closer friends with Raine during that time as well.
The two of them spent the majority of their time together. They
practiced together, a necessity when Drom used his magic during
practices, they fished together, and at the end of the night they
relaxed together in the living room. They even cooked their meals
together, though they ate entirely different things.

He
had finished the fiction novel he had been reading in the evenings
during their second week there. Instead of choosing another, he had
started reading things that gave him information. He found quickly
that Raiste had not been joking when he said that those books in his
library contained information on nearly everything he might ever need
to know. He learned things about anatomy, combat tactics, and of
course magic theory and practice, something which Raiste had dozens
of texts on. Often Drom and Raine would sit and talk about those
things he read late into the night, considering ways to use that
information to hone Drom's growing skills into something even
greater.

There
were also books on ancient technology, about the machines they used,
how to build and maintain them, and how they worked. Drom barely
understood them at all. He wondered, often, how Raiste had obtained
them, and whether or not he had even tried to use that information.

I’ll
never have any use for them,
he thought.
Machines like these
had nearly destroyed the world. Sometimes things that were lost
really should stay that way.

After
the first week or two of each others constant, sole companionship,
Drom began to notice a subtle change in the way that Raine acted
toward him. She had never been cruel or rude to him, in fact she had
always been quite friendly, but she had always kept herself slightly
distant. She had seemed to regard him him as an acquaintance, even
after he already thought of her as a friend. It was the difference
between how she treated Raiste and how she treated him.

Now
she treated him in much the same way she had treated Raiste,
bantering with him and teasing him in ways she hadn't done before. It
was only a small change, one that anyone else looking on might not
even notice, but Drom certainly noticed it. He looked at it as a sign
that she was finally starting to consider him a real friend, instead
of just a pleasant traveling companion.

It
was why he noticed right away when her mood changed one morning. He
had woke no differently than any other morning. The weather seemed
fine, not too hot or too cold, without a hint of rain. It appeared as
if it was starting off to be a rather good day. He came down the
stairs into the kitchen, to find Raine inside in a terribly
foul-tempered mood.

She
was clearly looking for something, though Drom really had no idea
what it might have been. Pots and pans were thrown about the room.
The kitchen counter that sat in the middle of the floor had been
pushed aside, and she was currently going through the cupboards,
cursing grumpily as she went. She shot him a sour look when he
entered the room, then pointedly turned away and went back to what
she was doing.

“
Good
morning,” he ventured.

“
I
don't see what's all that good about it,” she returned harshly.
He decided to ignore the comment.

“
What
is it you're looking for?” he asked instead. He had seen her in
bad moods before, so wasn't overly concerned. Usually it was only
when she was hungry, or when Raiste did something to annoy her, but
everyone is entitled to having a bad day now and again. If he could
do something to help her disposition, he would.

“
I
can't find the ground lemon peel I bought when we were in Port Tam. I
was going to use it tonight to spice my dinner.”

Drom
looked around the room and noticed that, though she had gone through
nearly half of the cupboards in the room like a tornado, the cupboard
that held their spices was not open.

Strange,
he thought.
That’s the first place I would have looked.

He
opened the door and looked inside.

The
jars had been moved around as if someone had rummaged through them,
but otherwise it seemed fine. She must have looked there first, as he
would expect, and had only gotten upset after she failed to find it.
He carefully pushed jars aside, searching it a second time, just in
case. Finally he found it, stuffed in the far back corner, easy
enough to miss if the searcher wasn't careful.

“
Here
it is,” he said, handing her the small jar. “It was in
the back corner. You must have missed it.”

“
Don't
blame me,” she growled. “I wasn't the one who put it
there.”

Drom
refrained from mentioning that she was the only one that ever used
the spice. It was usually used to spice her fish, and he never ate
meat. It must have just been shuffled to the back by accident. Such
things happen all the time. He might have done it when putting the
spices back that he used in his meals, but it was just as likely that
she had. He didn't recall her using it for quite a while.

“
Maybe
we can skip practice for today, or at least postpone it until later,
and just go fishing for right now,” he suggested. His friend
always seemed to be in a better mood when fishing, and he wanted more
than anything to bring her out of whatever funk she was in. It could
be a long day for the both of them if her mood didn't improve.

We
can clean the kitchen later,
he decided.
She hasn't made a
mess of anything that can't wait for a few hours.

“
Whatever,”
she answered crossly.

The
two of them left the destruction of the kitchen behind, heading
straight out to the dock. She handed him the tackle she had lent him,
pulling out her own a moment later. In minutes they had their lines
baited and in the water.

Drom
had gotten good enough at it that it didn't take him any time at all
to catch bait anymore. Raine had always been that good at it. She had
fished this way since childhood, and it came as second nature to her
now.