Healer's Touch (9 page)

A year ago . . . 
A year since what?

She let her own head lean against his and closed her eyes. She’d never been so intimate with anyone before. The men she knew, who knew she was a girl, only wanted to touch her in one way. Maybe two. Including Kynas.

“What’s going on?”

Jonas pushed away from her and turned to the creek.

Llew faced Alvaro. “We were just doing the dishes.”

“Ah-huh.”

“Just go back to camp,” said Jonas, his voice betraying only the slightest tremor. “We’ll be there soon.”

“What are you two doing?” Alvaro kept coming on.

“Go back, Al.” If Jonas had used that tone on her, Llew would have turned on the spot, run back to camp and not looked back.

Alvaro stopped.

“I just came to let you know we’re makin’ ready for bed. Aris wants Llew on first watch.”

“We’ll be there soon.”

Alvaro stood a moment longer, glancing from one to the other; then he nodded and turned back to camp.

Jonas studied the small bottle.

“Hot damn, what is this stuff?”

“Not whisky, then?”

“Thought it was. Picked it up in Cheer.”

“Well, we’re a backwards people, all isolated-like up this way.” Llew smiled. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

He looked at her.

“I’m just not ready,” she said. She didn’t know how they would take her having lied to them, but if she could prove herself first then maybe they would be more understanding, more forgiving. And she didn’t want them all looking at her the way men looked at girls. So far, Jonas seemed to have more on his mind than ogling her. But would Cassidy and Alvaro feel the same way?

Jonas stooped to collect the pot and cutlery and handed it to her, then gathered up the plates and started walking back to camp.

Llew shrugged and followed.

* * *

Llew’s fear that she might fall asleep while on watch soon disappeared. Scuffles from unknown forest wildlife and the deceptively distant, chilling call of lapwings kept her nerves on edge and her wits sharp. Just before she was due to wake Alvaro, a cramp began in her belly.
Oh, hell, no
. She peered up at what she could see of the moon and, sure enough, it was at about the same phase as last time. Typical that her body should decide to begin a regular cycle just when she needed it to continue with its usual haphazard ways. How was she going to deal with feminine issues while travelling as a boy, sharing close quarters with men? Her first requirement was to prevent her clothing getting stained.

As soon as she’d woken Alvaro and he’d disappeared amongst the trees, Llew fished around in a communal pack, her hand emerging with a small, tightly woven sack of apples. Well, it wasn’t perfect, but it would do. She began taking apples from the sack and shoving them into the pack, loose. It may not have been rational, but she always felt dirty when her body did this to her so, instead of climbing into the spare bedding provided for her, she made her way through the trees, to the creek, the now empty sack at her side.

A few strides in, the creek bed dipped sharply, allowing her to wade waist-deep. She crouched down and rubbed herself all over, feeling the grime of a long day lift away, then stood straight, the water streaming from her as she returned to shore.

“Llew!”

Llew shrieked and smacked her hands over her mouth, hardly believing she’d let such a noise escape her lips.

Alvaro stood at the edge of a copse of trees, his eyes wide and staring.

Llew dashed the last few paces, scooped up her clothes and pressed them in front of her. She didn’t know what to say: so she said nothing.

“Llew,” Alvaro said in a loud whisper. “You’re a . . . You’re a
girl
.”

“
You’re
a girl.” Such had been her standard come-back over the years and now she didn’t even think before she said it.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Just–” She tried to wave him away.

“You’re bleeding.”

Llew clamped her thighs together, and felt her cheeks flush.

The snap of a twig sounded over the flowing water, and Jonas emerged, looking from her to Alvaro. Her cheeks grew hotter. Just what she needed.

Jonas looked back at her, taking in her awkward pose.

“Al, go watch someplace else.”

“But– Um . . . Okay.”Alvaro sounded disappointed and relieved all at once, but he turned and disappeared among the trees.

“You–” Jonas took a step toward Llew and then stopped. “Wait,” he said, holding up a hand and turning back into the trees.

Left alone, Llew breathed a sigh of relief. She doubted things could get any worse, but at least someone was on her side, as unlikely an ally as Jonas might seem. He was back in almost no time with a handful of soft bandages. Without a word, he left her to it and returned to camp.

Cleansed, dressed and altogether feeling pretty good given the circumstances, Llew headed for her bed. She stopped short when Alvaro called out to her in a hushed voice. He stepped out from behind a tree.

“You’re beautiful, Llew.” His doe-eyes shone, and his lips were curled in an awestruck smile. And then he floundered. “I mean, apart from–” He waved his hands down low. Well, no, blood trickling down a girl’s thigh wasn’t the most attractive look.

“Al, don’t.”

Alvaro froze. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. “You’re real pretty.” This time the smile was apologetic.

Llew gave him a tight-lipped smile in return and moved past him to her bed, wondering just how many naked women he’d seen in his life.

* * *

Breakfast was rolled oats boiled in water, spiced with cinnamon and allspice, all prepared by Anya and Emylia while the others tidied away their camp and prepared the horses for the day’s journey.

Every time Llew looked up from her breakfast or travel preparations, she caught Alvaro watching her. He never looked away when she saw him, just smiled. She stopped smiling in return, and shook her head at him to try to discourage him. If Aris knew she was a girl, he might not let her continue on with them. They were meant to be a protective escort for Anya, taking her to meet her future husband, Lord Tovias, the Earl of Rakun and its surrounding areas. Another girl in the group likely didn’t feature in Aris’ plans. He needed good, strong men who could fight and, Llew suspected, one letter opener to the side of a man’s head did not provide the kind of conclusive evidence Aris would expect.

Llew sat in the cart, mostly ignoring the rocking and swaying as it trundled along the road. She was looking forward to riding the horse they’d acquired from the highwaymen. She wondered if she should have moved to the front of the carriage to sit on the cushioned seat behind Aris, Emylia and Anya each time they tackled a slope and the wheels of the carriage found all the corrugations left by historic rain showers. But she was enjoying her perch at the back: leaning against the canvas wall, back-flap hooked up out of the way, and with her leg slung over the tailgate, ostensibly keeping an eye on the pack horses. She watched the road disappear behind them. Cheer was falling farther and farther behind with each bounce, and she could feel the boy-girl she had been slipping away with it.

No longer did she have to be the pick-pocket trying to survive as life would allow. She had the opportunity to earn her way legitimately, and go on to . . . well, to do anything. When this journey was over she would be in a new land, with new friends and a world of options open ahead of her. There were schools in Phyos, or so she had heard, and cities that could swallow Cheer whole and still have room for three more. Opportunity. Challenge. Rewards to be reaped.

Jonas looked back at her now and then, and she would smile at him. He rarely smiled back, or held her gaze, and most of the time he looked as though he might be sleeping under that hat. But the animosity from their initial interactions seemed to have dissipated some.

* * *

By the time the group entered Orn the sun was dipping low. Orn: Population 1,500, the sign at the outskirts said. It was small and dusty, much like Cheer, though the smell of the sea was less pungent this far inland. By this part of the day the streets were mostly empty, and Llew breathed in the aromas of meats, breads and herbs and spices, some familiar, some strange, from meals in preparation. Her mouth watered and her stomach grumbled.

She looked up at the busy arms of the town’s telegraph semaphore as the tower sent a message down the line. Cheer had its own towers, but Llew had rarely seen them at work, and briefly wondered what people might say to each other over such long distances. Likely nothing to concern her. Aris seemed interested, though.

He led them to an inn and Alvaro and Cassidy took charge of the horses, unburdening the pack animals and settling them all into the stable. The rest of the group followed Aris inside.

The main entrance opened into a common area with a few free-standing wooden tables and benches, and several booths along the walls. To the right of the door was the bar. To the left, stairs climbed to a balcony off which were the guest rooms. The overall appearance, though dull in the limited light, was tidy and clean. Llew hadn’t known exactly what she was expecting, but her recollection of helping her father out of the bar in Cheer painted quite a different picture of the inside of such an establishment. She reminded herself that it was still early.

The few patrons sitting at one of the tables gave the newcomers a cursory glance and resumed their conversations and drinking. The innkeeper kept busy drying a tankard as Aris approached. Aris booked three rooms and ordered a warm bath to be ready in each.

“Dalea!” the innkeeper called, and a voluptuous woman appeared from a door at the other end of the bar. “Can you and the girls arrange three bathtubs for our guests?” The woman nodded, and withdrew.

They brought in what belongings they needed, while the rest was secured in a room attached to the stable.

Two girls, who Llew guessed were the innkeeper’s daughters, had placed a large tub in the centre of the room Llew was to share with the boys, and were filling it with steaming water from buckets they carried into the room. Cassidy scooted across to start a conversation with one of the girls, deftly easing the weight of her bucket from her grasp. Llew shared an amused look with Alvaro and Jonas as the girl started to giggle at whatever Cassidy had said to her quietly – too quietly for them to hear. Under a disapproving gaze from the girl’s mother and a not entirely damning look from the other sister, Cassidy poured the steaming contents of the bucket into the tub and handed the bucket back to the girl to refill. While she was out of the room, he stood beside his friends, rocking back and forth on his toes with a distinctly smug air.

Bath filled, the girl lingered at the doorway before her sister dragged her away. Cassidy sauntered back to the others, but before he could gloat over his impending conquest, Jonas and Alvaro announced that they were going down to the bar, and left the room.

“Don’t take too long. I don’t want a cold bath,” Cassidy said with a smirk, patting Llew on the shoulder before following the other two. “But I’m sure looking forward to nursing a glass of ale.”

Llew grinned as he “whooped” his way down the stairs, taking several at a time. And then she was alone. She locked the door and turned to the steaming tub. She wished she could enjoy the hot bath before her but, thanks to her body’s rhythms, it was not a luxury she could afford. She doubted those who came after her would appreciate it if she did. Still, she wasn’t going to let the chance to wash pass her by. She knelt by the tub, shimmied out of her shirt, and began to sponge herself down with the cloth the girls had provided. Even without submerging herself in it, Llew luxuriated at the touch of the hot water. She hadn’t had a hot bath in some six years.

Perhaps on Phyos she would find, or create, a job that would provide enough income to buy her own home – a real house – with a well and a fireplace to heat the water. Perhaps. She had to get there first.

Clean, dry and clothed, she descended to the bar where the boys sat, each cradling a tankard of ale.

“You spruce up nice,” Alvaro blurted out. “Better watch out or someone might mistake you for a girl.”

“Watch yourself.” Llew glared at him.

“I think you better have next bath, Al,” said Jonas. “Maybe you can sweat out some o’ that ale.”

“He’s not wrong, you know.” Cassidy looked at Llew with slightly bleary eyes as his cousin headed up to their room. “When I was your age, I was shavin’.”

“Ease off him, Cass. He’s still growin’.”

Llew gave Jonas a grateful smile then turned away. How keen would he be to stand by her if he found out what else she was?

“I was just sayin’,” Cassidy raised a hand in supplication, “you’ve got mighty smooth skin, is all.”

Aris joined them, and Anya and Emylia came down soon after. Cassidy loped up the stairs as soon as Alvaro reappeared.

After each of them had washed up, they enjoyed a meal of boiled beef, potatoes and fresh salad greens before making their way to their beds. Llew felt as though she was living a life of luxury when she climbed into a soft bed with warm blankets. Cassidy was beginning the night in another bed, but Jonas and Alvaro’s slow breathing soon lulled her to sleep, and she only woke briefly when Cassidy came into the room during the night.