Kethril (34 page)

The memory of the kiss looped through
Liselle’s mind over and over again. She was afraid Vevin would be
angry and leave her if she told him. Liselle still didn’t know how
she felt about the kiss other than she was mad at Emmaoen for
putting her in that position.

When they reached Uldram that night, fewer
words had been said than on any other day of their journey.
“Alright, what’s going on?” Tathan asked as they dismounted at the
stables of the local inn. Emmaoen took her things inside and up to
her room without saying a word.

Liselle looked around. She didn’t feel
comfortable talking about it in front of the stablehands. Vevin
squeezed her shoulders reassuringly. “No one can hear us at the
moment. I’ve been hiding our words when we talk about things around
other people lately.”

“Well done,” Sir Danth said with a nod.

Vevin smiled appreciatively and then
explained the situation. “Liselle went to the duchess’s room to see
why she was treating you so bad.” He indicated Tathan. “The duchess
kissed Liselle and told her it was unnatural to be with me.”

They instantly became angry at the
statement. Liselle looked at Vevin with a frown. “How did you know
all that? I didn’t tell you anything.”

A look of guilt covered his face. “Oh . . .
I . . . uh . . . have really good hearing.”

“You listened to my conversation?” Liselle
shrugged his arm off her shoulder and put her hands on hips. “Do
you always listen to my conversations?”

“Oh . . . um . . . yes?” He looked nervous
at that point.

Liselle stared him in the eyes for a moment.
“I don’t know how I feel about that yet. I’ll let you know when I
decide. Until then, don’t do it without permission.”

“Yes dear,” Vevin agreed contritely.

Then the fear came back. “I’m sorry! I’m so
sorry I kissed her. Please don’t leave me, Vevin,” she pleaded,
wrapping her arms around him in the hopes of holding onto him. Her
shoulders shook while she cried into his chest.

“I won’t leave you! I’m not mad,” Vevin
said. He took her by the arms and put his face directly in front of
hers. “I love you and I’m not at all mad.” They held on tightly to
each other.

“I’ve known quite a few men and women who
prefer relationships with the same sex.” Tathan shrugged. “It’s not
a big deal as far as I’m concerned, but she has no right calling
you ‘unnatural’ in any way.” Anilyia nodded in agreement.

“People like. . . women with women and men
with men?” Liselle asked, trying to wrap her head around it.

“Yeah.” Tathan shrugged. “It’s mostly in the
big cities and among aristocrats, but it happens.”

“Not in my kingdom!” Anilyia said. “I mean
not among the nobles. Daddy has anyone killed who does that stuff.
It happens among the peasants all the time though.”

“I just don’t understand,” Liselle said with
a frown. “How do they have children?”

It didn’t make her feel good when everyone
but Vevin laughed. She wanted to run away.

“I don’t understand either,” Vevin admitted
in confusion.

“They don’t have children,” Sir Danth
explained. “Unless they adopt orphans, which happens a lot. It was
very popular among the courts of Morhain and many of the knights
tried it.” When the others looked at him questioningly, he grinned.
“Not me. I’m a ladies man.” Sir Danth waggled his eyebrows.

“Like I said, I don’t have a problem with
it. I have a problem with the fact that she insulted you, Cousin.”
Tathan frowned in anger. “You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever
met, and that’s saying something considering the people we travel
with.” He gestured to the companions.

“I agree,” Anilyia said, coming over to give
her a hug. The others joined them for a group hug.

When they broke, Liselle smiled gratefully.
“Thank you for that. I’ve been confused all day. I’m still a little
confused, but I’m not going to worry about it. Let’s get some food
and sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be busy.”

They agreed. Emmaoen didn’t show for dinner
so they ate without her and headed to bed shortly after. A report
from the captain responsible for protecting the city let them know
there had been no other attacks. Sir Danth went for a walk as
usual, promising to get any information about passes or ruins in
the mountains if he could.

“Liselle, I hear a ship creaking and sails
snapping,” Vevin whispered, gently shaking her awake. Liselle got
up and began dressing into her traveling clothes. He continued in a
normal volume. “It’s coming from the southern mountains like Tathan
said it would. It’s still a little ways away, but it’ll be here
soon.

“Wake up everyone else.” Liselle struggled
to get her boots on.

“Even the duchess?” he asked before stepping
out the door. Liselle glared at him. “Alright, even the
duchess.”

Within a few minutes, everyone but Sir Danth
was at the stables. A few clouds still dotted the sky and both
moons were more than half-full, making things bright. Tathan
grabbed Vevin’s shoulder. “Can you go dragon quietly, find Sir
Danth and let him know, then track the ship?”

“Oh yes! . . . Although it’s more fun to
roar when I go dragon.” Tathan wasn’t impressed and the expression
on his face showed it. “Alright, alright. I’ll do it quietly.”
Vevin kissed Liselle, ran a few steps and took a supernatural leap
into the air, traveling higher than the two stories of the inn
before transforming. With a great heave of his wings, he shot into
the sky.

The rest of them mounted the horses, which
the stablehands had quickly prepared. Tathan turned to the duchess
and asked, “Your plan is still to block it with magical nets?” She
nodded without expression. “You don’t have to come with if you
don’t want to,” he told her. Emmaoen said nothing, waiting for them
to lead the way. Turning to Anilyia, Tathan asked, “You’re going to
take our horses if we need to dismount, but other than that, you’re
going to stay out of the way, yes?”

“Yes.” She smiled mischievously. “Last night
was wonderful. I look forward to trying that again.” That got a
reaction from the duchess who grunted in disgust, kicked her horse
and rode away, leaving them to follow her. Anilyia laughed aloud
and then moved next to Tathan to give him a kiss. “I do believe
you’re blushing, Tathan dear,” she said. Liselle laughed as they
rode out after the duchess.

***

A few minutes later, they were in the tall
hills outside the village. They heard the creak of wood before they
saw the ship come around a hill, headed toward Uldram.

Tathan led them at an angle to intercept it.
Liselle guided her horse with her legs, a thing she was getting
good at, and cast spells to enhance everyone’s speed. She also cast
spells to protect them against magic, particularly magical
fire.

White sails on the tall masts glowed
lavender in the light of the moons. The ship was more like a work
of art with oiled wood stem to stern. The aft deck was higher than
the sleek main deck and a low rail bordered both. The high bow had
an ornate wooden figurehead in the form of a screaming hawk with
intricate folded wings stretched back along the sides.

Emmaoen was also able to cast spells while
riding. The ship turned away from the galloping riders, but the
duchess was able to cast her magical net in front of it and to the
sides. The enormous net glowed orange and rose to the height of the
mainmast.

The net stretched, but did not break when
the ship ran into it. Hope filled Liselle’s heart that they would
be able to board it right away. That hope left when the ship began
rising into the air. A dark shape appeared at the top of a nearby
hill, then again in the air between hill and ship and then just
above the ship. Sir Danth fell the last few feet to the ship’s
deck, absorbing the impact with his legs.

Tathan hurled his grappling hook upward. The
ladies looked on in amazement as it twirled around the railing in
an expert toss. The height took up all the slack, leaving him only
the bottom of the rope to hold onto. Tathan was pulled out of his
saddle abruptly, but he was ready for it and kicked his feet out of
the stirrups. He climbed a couple of feet and wrapped the rope
around his left arm for security.

Anilyia galloped forward to catch the reins
of his horse before staring in fear at Tathan pulled high into the
air. Liselle saw that Sir Danth was at the railing, pulling on the
rope as fast as possible while Tathan climbed hand over hand with
an efficiency born from years of acrobatics.

The ship headed back to the mountains,
forgoing any plan of attacking the village. A circular spell zapped
through the air above Liselle to hit it and spun for a moment
before shattering into a thousand sparks, leaving the ship
unharmed. Emmaoen cursed and they galloped after.

They ran for about a mile before slowing
down. It wasn’t light enough to move fast through rugged hilly
terrain and Liselle’s spell had worn off. The ship had disappeared
into the starlit night.

“I tried putting a tracer rune on it. I have
a ring that can follow it for hundreds of miles, but the ship must
have some sort of protection from it,” Emmaoen explained. “If so,
it’s a powerful enchantment.”

“I’m worried about Tathan,” Anilyia said,
her expression of misery showing that it was an understatement.

“He’ll be fine,” the duchess said. “Tathan
of the Shadows is an exceptional person who lives for things like
that.” She exhaled heavily when they stared at her. “I’m sorry I’ve
been so nasty. My behavior has been atrocious.”

“Thank you,” Anilyia replied.

“Yes. Thank you,” Liselle agreed. “I’d like
to remain friends if you’re willing.” Emmaoen nodded, briefly
looking her in the eye. Liselle decided to let it go at that. “So
where are we going?”

“Hopefully to find a path,” the duchess
answered. “We have to get to that ship, so going back isn’t an
option.”

“Agreed!” Anilyia responded emphatically.
“Tathan’s in serious danger and we have to save him.”

Liselle laughed. “The princesses are off to
rescue the daring adventurer and noble knight.” It struck them all
as funny, but only for a moment. The realization that the ship was
out of sight sank in.

The ladies rode their horses in an easterly
direction around hills, avoiding rocky and wooded areas. Concern
grew heavier when they didn’t find any sign of a path after twenty
minutes had gone by. Liselle sent thoughts out to the plants in the
area. She sensed nightflowers nearby and rode to them, motioning
the others to follow. “This way.”

They were beautiful in the moonlight, their
large teal petals open wide to catch the lunar radiance. She asked
them about the ship and if there was a path up the mountains.
Liselle watched the petals and leaves move, fluttering in gentle
waves. Each motion communicated messages to her.

What they told her wasn’t what she expected
to hear. Instead of anything about a ship or a path, they told her
about a dragon up in the mountains that stepped on flowers. No
dragon had ever stepped on flowers the way this one did. They were
outraged and pleaded with her to do something about it.

Liselle acknowledged them and promised she
would look into it, but could they tell her about a path or the
ship. After she reassured them about ten more times that she would
look into the problem with the dragon, they finally told her about
a place nearby where people walked up and down into the hills
occasionally. They didn’t know anything about a ship though.

“The flowers told me about a possible path
back the way we came,” Liselle said as she turned her mount around.
“I’ll see if there are anymore flowers once we reach the area. They
didn’t know anything about the ship though.”

Emmaoen frowned. “The flowers told you all
that?”

“Yes. They also told me about a dragon
that’s been stomping on flowers. We’ll need to be careful in case
it’s nearby,” Liselle warned them. “I promised I’d look into it
after we take care of the ship.”

Emmaoen stared at her for a minute as they
rode back around the last hill. “What spell do you use to talk to
them, or is it some other sort of magic?”

“It’s . . . I don’t know if it’s magic,
though I suppose it is. It’s something I’ve always been able to do.
I understood flowers before I understood my parents.”

“Do you know which god or goddess you’re the
child of?” the duchess asked, a little too casually.

Liselle studied Emmaoen before answering. “I
don’t know anything about gods or goddesses. Let’s concentrate on
finding the boys and their boat.” She turned back to their search,
leaving no doubt to the fact that she was done with the
conversation. Fortunately, she saw the path just as the duchess was
about to persist with the questioning. “Found it.” It was enough to
shut her up.

It wasn’t visible from their position, but
the stone told her it was there. She rode around some rocks that
disguised the tight path snaking up between two close outcroppings.
“Did the flowers show it to you?” Emmaoen asked in a snotty
tone.

“No, the rocks did. I don’t intend to tell
you how I understand them either,” Liselle answered caustically.
She didn’t like the way the duchess was speaking to her and was
beginning to regret promising to remain friends. A nearby
nightflower told her that the duchess was glaring at her behind her
back. Liselle decided to ignore it.

Underbrush covered much of the path for the
first thousand feet as it began to twist upward. After that, it
wound its way around the hills, heading up into the mountains. The
steepness of the incline and the roughness of the path required
them to travel carefully, picking their way around rocks and
hazards.

After they had journeyed about another half
hour, a steep mountain rose above them. Cold wind whipped their
hair and made the journey a little more adventurous. The trail went
around the side of it with sheer rock face on their right and steep
cliff leading to the ground below on the left. “We should dismount
and lead the horses. They could use a break anyway,” Emmaoen
suggested.