Feel the Burn (21 page)

‘Friend?’

‘Morning, Sito,’
she thought with affection and taking the remains of her breakfast, she went to greet him.

Rashid watched Sian cuddle with the dragon and smiled at the odd couple. Daron, standing nearby bundling the bedrolls up, noticed his attention and laughed.

‘A contrast, aren’t they?’

‘Yes. I don’t think I ever imagined seeing someone make a fuss of such a beast.’

‘I wouldn’t have thought a stafandral could be so affectionate,’ Daron commented and he made a quick neat knot around the bedrolls with a thong, tossing the bundle into the saddle bag that sat nearby on the floor. Rashid nodded before turning to grab a mug. Across the room Catherine emerged from her tent and Leseach spoke to her before coming this way. Collecting two more mugs, Rashid filled them with water and set them near the oddly smooth looking fire. He stared at the flames while he waited then jerked around at the slight scuff and huff of surprise from Leseach. Tripping on a low rise she lurched forward and Rashid caught her by the shoulders then set her back on her feet. The hooded expression she usually reserved for him took a moment to return and she blinked in shock at his sudden proximity.

Stepping back, chin high, she begrudgingly inclined her head.

‘Thank you.’

Rashid kept his face bland and bent to pick the mugs up, offering them to her.

‘Here, for you and Catherine.’

Again her schooled expression wavered when she shot him a suspicious, incredulous look before the unconcerned mask slid back into place and she nodded, accepting the mugs.

Rashid hid his smile and turned back to the fire. He heard the crunch of gravel when Ignatius joined him.

‘Making progress?’

The mocking humor in Ignatius’ question left him disinclined to answer at first, then he glanced at the man with a pleasant smile.

‘Good morning, Ignatius. Sleep well?’

Rashid took pleasure in the ruddy flush that climbed the Lieutenant’s neck. Ignatius muttered something and stalked off.

It nearly felt like you never woke, Sian decided. Going to sleep in the cold dark, waking in the cold dark, and then the day spent walking and climbing in the cold dark. The only thing that improved today’s walk was the intoxicating scent and energy of fresh water flowing beneath their feet, and no one but she and Loi knew.

And Loi only knows because the plants told her, Sian thought smugly, enjoying feeling in touch with her element once more. Somewhere ahead of them that lovely fresh water pooled and their goal today of reaching that underground lake made Sian want to race there now. Maybe it’ll be warm, she thought hopefully.

‘You’re quiet, Pix?’

Daron paused by the entrance to a narrow tunnel while Nesha climbed through and he watched Sian with questioning eyes.

‘Thinking of the lake. And fresh air.’

‘That will be nice,’ Daron agreed before giving her a wink and turning to follow Nesha.

‘You want to get out the caves?’
Sito sounded surprised.

Sian twisted and found the dragon hunched over so to study her, the one massive eye she could see looked black in the turquoise glow from her hands and it regarded her solemnly.

‘Caves are nice. Nice and cozy.’

Cozy wasn’t the first word that sprung to mind, but then Sito would have been tucked up in a nest with his mum and brother, Sian thought, and she looked at the cave with fresh eyes. And with dragons having such thick skin they wouldn’t find it cold.

‘They might be for dragons, just not for humans.’

She reached out and rubbed briskly around his scaly ear, making the dragon lean his head toward her for a deeper scratch. A groan rumbled through his chest and she caught sight of the goblins and Nyjens behind them hesitating at the sound.

‘Come on, we better get moving.’

‘Hop on a foot if you like,’
Sito offered and she climbed on, hooking an arm behind the plate of armor that encased his ankle and calf. Dragon—the lazy but fun way to travel. Sian clung tight and giggled when Sito teasingly shook his leg now and then. He moved at a slower pace while navigating the stony surfaces with Sian aboard. The slight breeze created while his leg swung forward felt enticingly close to the real thing and Sian closed her eyes, imagining they walked above ground.

*~*~*

Chapter Fifteen

I walked in front of Loushka flanked by Rashid and Leseach, both of them assisting me more than I needed and neither spoke a word.

‘This silence is painful!’
I thought to Loushka.

‘Don’t you think it’s better than them talking?’

‘No. Well…No, it’s not.’

The quiet felt tangible, ominous, like a precariously balanced glass on the edge of a high table. Perhaps this is the normal way Northerners court, I thought hopefully. But the looks Leseach cast at Rashid each time she turned to help me appeared to suggest bodily harm over affection. We reached a sharp high step up and Leseach took a couple of paces back, about to jump, when Rashid moved forward, close behind her.

‘Uhoh,’
Loushka thought and both of us stepped discreetly back as Leseach pivoted in an instant, nose to nose with Rashid.

‘Lieutenant.’

Rashid didn’t falter at the snarl, instead keeping a calm smile on his face. Leseach’s eyes narrowed.

‘Is there a problem, Lieutenant?’

Though technically a question, her tone didn’t invite a response.

‘Just spotting, in case you stumble.’

‘Oooooo.’

I pressed further back against Loushka as Leseach’s eyes shrunk to black slits, her cheekbones jutting out and upper lip curling.

‘I DON’T stumble,’ she growled.

Just one wrong word or gesture and we’d be picking up the pieces of Rashid. The space felt far too small for such tension, I half expected Loushka’s fur to crackle.

Rashid kept the calm, easy expression and moved back half an inch.

‘Of course not.’

The long pause made the small space we pressed into feel even smaller and I flattened myself against Loushka, wishing she wasn’t wearing armor so I could hide in her mane.

‘Okay, now I’m not sure what’s worse.’

Leseach breathed loudly through her nose, hands curling and Rashid kept radiating that irritatingly calm persona.

‘Hello? What’s the hold up?’

Ignatius appeared at the top of the step, looking down with a questioning frown.

Ignatius caught a glimpse of Rashid and Leseach eyeballing each other before two hands appeared at the edge of the step. Crouching, Ignatius looked down to Catherine who wore a perplexing expression, eyes creased in a nervous grimace and a smile tugging at her lips.

‘Up!’ she commanded, her hands made a grabbing motion that caused a memory of his eldest daughter as an infant to spring to mind, when she too demanded ‘up’. The vividness of the sudden recollection caused an unexpected pang and he closed his eyes for an instant. When he opening them he saw Rashid and Leseach staring at Catherine in surprise, evidently only realizing now where she stood. Giving a snort of laughter at their slackness, he seized Catherine’s wrists and with a grunt of effort hauled her up. Loushka pushed past the two below them and climbed the step. Catherine moved back against him as they stood aside to let the griffon up.

‘Are you walking with us now?’ he queried.

The look she gave him made him laugh, more so when she rolled her eyes and gestured behind with a nod.

‘Hell yes! God knows what those two are up to, but man is it awkward.’

The informal and familiar way she spoke helped to dispel the tension he’d felt since not sharing her tent and Ignatius laughed again before addressing her and Loushka.

‘You’re both welcome. Laura says the water is close.’

Catherine stumbled in her haste to get moving and he caught her by an elbow, steadying her while she got her footing.

‘Careful.’

‘How does Rashid know so much about the North?’ Catherine didn’t make to pull her arm from his hold and the casual attitude relaxed him further. Flashing a smile at her Ignatius kept a light hold on her arm while they moved over an area littered with rubble.

‘Rashid had a couple of missions there, some years ago,’ Ignatius explained.

Loushka moved silently behind them, the armor on her wing tips occasionally clinking off the stone walls.

Catherine looked up at him with a frown and an eyebrow arched.

‘How old is Rashid?’

That took a certain amount of mental arithmetic.

‘Oh, uhhh… seventy five?’

Catherine stopped dead and stared at him, her jaw slack with astonishment.

‘Seventy five!?’

Ignatius looked puzzled at my shock.

‘Yes.’

‘But, but, th-th-at’s not possible!’ I stuttered, my mind refusing to believe the lithe, strong and while not youthful, not old, Lieutenant could be even close to that age.

‘Why not?’ Ignatius asked.

For yet another moment it became blindingly clear of how little I knew of this planet. It had never occurred to me that the regular ‘normal’ people could have long lives, even with knowing Elena.

She’s a sorceress, my rational voice pointed out in a desperate attempt to make sense of it all. She’s meant to be old.

I turned to Ignatius. ‘How old are you?’

He looked rather taken aback at my demand and pursed his lips while studying me speculatively.

‘How old do you think I am?’

Feeling more than a little flustered I aimed high and hedged, ‘Forty?’

His eyes creased at the sides and a broad smile spread.

‘Forty?’

‘Forty five?’ I amended tentatively, wondering if I’d over shot it.

‘The Lieutenant is sixty, Cat,’
Loushka thought, amusement clear in her mind.

Sixty!? The memory of the hard chest under my hands that night seemed anything but sixty. If he’d said thirty five I would’ve believed it.

Ignatius still grinned when I blurted out, ‘Sixty? Really?’

‘Sixty two, actually,’ he corrected while giving Loushka a wink.

‘Still a leech,’
she grumbled in my mind.

‘Belsesus is ninety,’ Ignatius helpfully added.

‘So the Griffon Guard are all babies?’ I said it before thinking and Ignatius roared with laughter.

‘Thanks, Cat,’
Loushka thought.

‘Sorry! But really?’

‘The life span for an average human is around one hundred and fifty, Cat. Other species live longer, like centaurs. They often live to two hundred and there’s even rumored to be one who is over three hundred years in Pholkali.’

‘Where the hell is that?’

‘Further east than Delanta. Why are you so bothered about this?’

‘Humans are lucky to reach one hundred on Earth.’

‘Good thing you’re not human then.’

Catherine frowned at Loushka while they communed and Ignatius waited, feeling quite flattered that she thought he looked so young.

‘What do you mean I’m not human?!’ Catherine suddenly shrieked, startling both him and one of the centaurs who’d come to see why they weren’t moving. Loushka cocked her head, the quizzical expression making her look ridiculous.

‘You’re an Elemental, Catherine,’ Ignatius pointed out.

At the same time she mumbled, ‘Oh,’ with a sheepish glance at the griffon.

‘Can we keep moving while we talk?’ Ignatius asked and offered his arm. Catherine took it, her eyes distant and face pensive while he led her through the final part of the tunnel.

‘How long will I live for?’

The tremulous tone surprised him and Ignatius looked down to see her chin wobble. She stared at him with a desperate expression.

‘I don’t know. Gifted creatures can have three or four times the normal lifespan but as far as I know no Elemental lived long with the DeNaga’s around. Hence the need to be rid of them,’ he said with a flourish hoping to make her smile.

Oh god, if I do somehow survive this I could live for six hundred years? I stumbled over loose rocks and Ignatius caught me under an arm.

‘How long can griffons live for, Loushka?’

‘A few centuries.’

The urge to cry made my throat swell and I pushed the tears down but Ignatius appeared to read my expression and stopped, touching my cheek with a concerned look.

‘What’s wrong?’

I shrugged, not able to speak yet and swallowed, wincing at the hard lump.

‘Cat?’

‘I just can’t imagine it,’
I thought miserably to Loushka.
‘Having to live so long without him.’

Loushka regarded me with sympathy but didn’t say anything. I heard the others coming up behind. Ignatius made a shushing sound when I tried to speak and moved me to a shallow dip in the wall. Loushka obscured everyone’s view to us.

‘Catherine,’ Ignatius said quietly. ‘What’s wrong? I didn’t mean to upset you?’

‘I can’t imagine it,’ I whispered and he leaned close to hear. ‘Living without him for so long.’

Ignatius closed his eyes while working at finding the appropriate words as the conflicting sensations of sympathy and annoyance ran through him. With a sigh he looked down at her, those green eyes shone with unshed tears and her lips trembled. The right words sprung to mind and knowing he needed to play this right, Ignatius leaned down so his eyes met hers straight on.

‘Love can find you at the most unexpected time, Catherine, and you have a big heart. Alek wouldn’t want you to pine forever.’

A low angry growl from behind made him tense then slowly turn. Loushka’s beak hung inches from his forehead and the sudden huff she gave caused an involuntary flinch when the chainmail hood warmed.

‘What?’ he snapped, drawing to full height while eyeballing the insolent creature.

‘Enough,’ I said and pushed between the two. ‘Let’s get to the lake.’