Ember (52 page)

Again.
My teeth clenched.
That’s
right . . . it wouldn’t be his first time.

I checked over to Trevor and Lucas. They were
looking down darkly, obviously understanding, if not identifying
themselves. I gulped, forcing a smile to Nathan.

“They won’t come, Nathan. There’s no
way
they could get past all of our super-strong
protectors.”

“You mean the Masters?” he asked, looking up
at me with a sniff.

“Yup.” I nodded, smile holding. “Remember all
the stories you told me of Ikovos and Jaden when I first came?”

He lightened at this, grinning just slightly.
“Yeah . . .” but then it fell “. . . I wish they were here
now.”

My heart lurched. “Me too. . . .” Then we
both fell silent.

“Hey, I have an idea.” I said it cheerfully
enough to regain his attention. “What if we all had a sleepover in
the library tonight?” I looked over to Trevor, and Lucas. “Just the
five of us.”

The other boys perked immediately.

Nathan lightened too. “Yeah!” I smiled. “That
would be awesome!”

“Okay,” I said, standing up. “I just have to
bring Tanis his food, then I’ll meet you guys down there.” I picked
up the bag, looking back at them. “Don’t take too long.”

They all nodded exuberantly and I walked
out.

Despite my joy at the boys’ exuberance, I
sighed grimly as I hit the hall. To top everything off, Tanis had
been sick since this had all started. Sometimes he wouldn’t eat and
rarely moved. I was pretty scared that he wasn’t going to make
it.

When I’d reached the study and gotten Tanis
to drink a good amount of water. I bundled up a blanket and pillow,
put my pajamas on, and headed back down to the library.

The five boys were already there. They’d made
a blanketed spot for all of us over by the fireplace where I
usually studied, leaving me the largest of the couches. They were
so very sweet.

I approached them with a beaming smile. “Hey
guys.”

They all looked over. “Hey.”

Trevor and Nathan were lying out in front of
the fire. Lucas was sitting on the smaller sofa with a book.

“Pretty fun idea, huh?”

They all nodded. Nathan snorted, pointing a
finger at me — it was easy to see even in the dim, shadowy, room.
“I remember when you slept here, Evelyn. That was funny.”

“Yeah,” I laughed, recalling my long night.
Ouch - change subject.
“So are you guys tired yet or do you
want to do something?”

Trevor considered this. “Well, what could we
do?”

I settled into my spot, leaning forward a
little. Lucas turned a page of his book. “I don’t know — sleepover
type things I guess. Do you guys know any good stories?”

Trevor and Nathan both beamed brightly. I
knew from the past that they were both avid storytellers.

Still Lucas spoke before either of them,
lifting up the tome in his hands. “I’d like to share a bit out of
my herbology book.” He said it so gently, ever unpresuming and
mild-mannered.

With a smirk I peeked over to Trevor and
Nathan. Both looked like they’d just been deflated, but after a
moment Trevor nudged Nathan and nodded to Lucas. “That sounds
interesting. Let’s hear it, Lucas.”

The caramel-haired boy seemed delighted. I
smiled at Trevor’s kindheartedness, then sunk into my blanket to
listen. The other boys did the same.

Twenty minutes after starting all of them
were asleep. Don’t ask me how Lucas had dozed off in the midst of
his own reading, but I’d literally watched him topple over after
his third paragraph on pinta-root collecting and usage.

I tried for a minute to join them, gazing up
at the dark ceiling. The fireplace barely enough to light the room.
But thoughts were too rampant tonight. Nathan thought
he
had
problems sleeping when he wasn’t tired enough — I was worse I’d
guarantee it.

With a sigh I pushed off the couch and
shuffled carefully past the boys. Somehow I found myself on the
second level of the library, sitting with my back against a
bookcase.

My eyes turned down to my hand. There was one
final side-effect to all that had happened. Since the night at the
inn, when Jaden had lit my hand for me, I hadn’t been able to do a
speck of magic. Not one spell, not even a spark.

I pressed my palms together and looked out at
the large room. “I hope that wherever you guys are, you’re
okay.”

I crashed a while later, back down on the
couch near the three boys. I thought today had been bad . . . I
didn’t have a clue what tomorrow would bring.

“We need more fruit for some of the tables,
Evelyn,” yelled Jacob.

“Evelyn — the coffee’s out too,” shouted
Trevor behind me.

My eyes widened, feet looping around. “Ah,
okay - I’ll be right there.”

It was breakfast time, the busiest meal of
the day for some reason. I was in the kitchen running around like
chicken with its head cut off as usual. I wondered how on earth
Sophie always seemed so calm and serene doing all of this. Then
again none of the boys appeared as anxious as I did . . . maybe I
was just over-reacting to everything.

As I came back out of the pantry with a bag
of apples, the sound of the cafeteria hit me again — a combination
of conversations and clashing dishes, with people moving around
every which way.

I handed the bag to Lucas who took it,
wide-eyed. He — at least — seemed as flustered as me. Then I looked
out, hand to my brow, nodding in remembrance. “Coffee.”

I spun around and went to refill the pot
which Trevor had emptied for me. Then I clipped it in and hit the
oven switch. My chest lifted. I took a breath and put my hands on
the counter.

“Here I thought I had it bad.”

My features lightened immediately and I spun
around. “Ikovos!”

He was sitting in a stool at the counter,
most likely he’d been watching me fumble around with the percolator
thingy. He grinned wide and I rushed up to the counter, leaning
forward across from him.

“You were gone forever this time.” That
translated to two days in reality.

“Yeah — they had us stay over twice at the
gatepost.”

I listened eagerly as the boys moved about,
staking dishes behind me.

“How is everything? Anything new since the
outpost was lost?”

His head shook. I could see how exhausted he
was. “No. There are a lot of groups set to go deeper today though.
I can’t imagine something won’t come of it.”

I nodded understanding, then my eyes fell
just slightly, quite involuntarily.

“Yes, he’s with them,” said Ikovos, drawing
my gaze up.

Jaden.

“He should have been back yesterday. Didn’t
you talk to him?”

My stomach lurched, feeling uncomfortably
vulnerable at his mention. Then my head shook, smile forced. “Ah .
. . no. I thought I saw him once at lunch, but . . .” My brow
lifted fakely. “We didn’t talk.”

Ikovos’s expression creased slightly. I
comforted it with a peppy jump up. “Want some coffee?” Then I
turned around to get him a cup. Only a second later he stopped me
with a hand to my arm. He’d walked around the counter.

“No. I actually have to go out again. Just
came back to report in.”

My body was turned away from him. I couldn’t
keep the grief from my expression. You would think I’d have gotten
used to this by now. . . .

“Well, at least take it to go then,” I said,
sniffling once and turning around with a happy face. I passed him
the cup.

He reached for it slowly, then looked up to
meet my eyes, expression grave.

Dang it, Ikovos, I’m trying to be strong
right now.

One of my brows fell just a bit, then his
mouth tipped and he lifted his hand up to tuck a hair behind my
ear.

Without another word he was off. My eyes
dropped, lungs refusing to take in air at the moment. When Nathan
approached me with a question, I was forced to break my frozen
state.

After breakfast, we pretty much just cleaned
up and then started preparing for lunch. Today was laundry day too,
so that kept us busy until sometime after five.

Trevor, Nathan, Lucas, and Jacob were being
extra helpful today. I think they were setting things up to
schmooze me into another sleepover. We were just about to head up
to the kitchen to start making dinner when a group of boys rushed
in from outside. Their faces were anxious, led by Tirk. He walked
up to me.

“What’s happening?” I had to keep my heart
from giving out at the fact that I knew he was in Jaden’s
group.

He grimaced, gesturing back quickly. “A group
was just attacked near the southern border. There weren’t any
casualties, but we were forced to retreat.”

I glanced past him, there were boys being
carried in on stretchers.

“Was it yours?” I asked.

His head shook. “We found them on our route.
There are a lot of injuries and we only have one defense artisan
with us. I thought we could set up here to care for them.”

I looked around the room. It was practically
empty besides the washing bins and a row of tables.

“Yeah,” I agreed. This room would work
perfectly. “If you could have some men bring some beds in . .
.”

He nodded, then spun around, wasting no time
in giving orders. I rolled up my sleeves, grazing the large group
coming in once, then turning around to my helpful assistants.

“Guys, go get as many of the older boys as
you can find to come and help. Lucas, you go to the kitchen and
bring down plenty of bowls.”

They all nodded. I turned resolutely back
ahead and started organizing the makeshift sickbay.

It took four hours before everything had
calmed down enough for me to stop and think. I’d gone through the
injured one by one, either myself or assigning an older boy if it
was a simpler job. As luck would have it, not many of them knew a
thing about treating injuries. I guess that’s what you get in a
lodge full of boys who fight good enough to never get hurt in the
first place. Plus, of course, there were usually defense artisans
for this . . . but those were few and far between. The one with the
attacked group was hurt and out cold. The one from Tirk’s had
helped, but he was nowhere near as good as Ikovos.

The younger boys were a godsend, running
about at my every order to help in any way they could. I was
grateful to have Tirk’s group too, made up of at least eight men .
. .

Jaden was here. I’d first seen him across the
room, helping one of the injured to a table. He didn’t look well,
worn and scratched up, hair hanging even more disheveled than
usually past his features. When I
did
catch a glimpse his
eyes they were dark and distant, not on mine. . . .

I didn’t say hello to him, in fact I tried to
ignore him as best as I could. Right now he was talking to Tirk and
another boy in the corner. Things about the room were quiet, most
boys resting comfortably in a bed.

Rinsing my hands and face with a basin of
water, I nodded over to Trevor and told him I was going outside to
get some air really quick. He acknowledged, then turned about
confidently to his supervisor-stand-in duties.

I didn’t realize how hot I’d been inside
until the cool wind hit me. The closest exit near the basement led
to the open wood space beside the training grounds, which could be
seen to the right.

Letting the chill refresh me, I hugged my
arms around my waste and walked forward until I hit a slight
opening in the trees. Here I looked up. No clouds or moon tonight.
The stars were shining clearer than I’d seen them in a while.

I exhaled.

“That was good work you did in there,
Evelyn.”

My head spun around, shocked by the sudden
voice behind me. It was so dark that I couldn’t tell who it was
till he walked close.

“Oh, Holdan . . . you startled me.”

He grinned wide, only stopping when he’d
reached my side. I’d seen him inside. He was also part of Tirk’s
group . . . I’m sure Jaden loved that. Still, he didn’t seem as
run-down as the others. I guess I should know from our training, he
was quite physically adept.

“How goes the good fight?” I questioned, eyed
turning back up to the sky. He did the same.

“Not much fighting going on yet,” he
shrugged, oddly caviler. “But I’d say it’s going well all in
all.”

I eyed him, trying to keep my expression from
turning too harsh, then looked back up. “If there was no fighting
I’m pretty sure all those boys wouldn’t be so beat up right
now.”

“You’re right,” he said, chuckling slightly.
Then he crossed his arms. “I meant for me.”

My teeth clenched, gaze locked above. I was
tired and upset. I would have much rather been left alone right
now.

“How about you?” he questioned. “Having fun
babysitting the little guys?”

I rolled my eyes.
Oh yes, it’s great fun
worrying about everyone night and day. I wish evil bad guys would
declare war on us more often.

“It’s hardly babysitting,” I noted. “In fact
sometimes I feel more like they’re watching me . . .” a smile
crossed my face “. . . I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

“Hmm.” He pursed his lips, obviously
surprised by my feelings. “I can see you being more useful with us
out on the front lines anyways—” I couldn’t help but laugh inwardly
at how different an outlook this was from Ikovos or Jaden. Even if
I had chosen to go with the patrols, I wasn‘t so sure they‘d have
let me. “—You have capable enough abilities.”

I smiled. “Cornelius has asked me to stay
here, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

He laughed at this, though I don’t know why .
. . I actually think he just did that at random throughout
conversations. Maybe to keep things seeming interesting, who knows
. . .

“There’s some rumors going around the ranks,
you know . . .” he started carefully.