The Tears of Elios (11 page)

He struggled to make sense of it all. “Why would you be dreaming about the Azekborn?”

She shrugged. “I see things in my dreams. Sometimes they’re things that have happened. Sometimes they’re things that are happening or will happen. I never know. This was the second time I dreamed about the Azekborn, though. The first time was the night we left Dromore.”

“And what were they doing?”

“Fighting off a pack of wolves.” She looked up at him. “I know it sounds crazy, but that's what I saw. My visions usually make sense once I sort out what I'm seeing.”

“And these visions—are they a part of your gift?”

“Yes, but I wish they weren't. I hate the things I see sometimes.”

“They're just dreams. They can't hurt you.”

“I tell myself that, but it still doesn't stop me from waking up screaming.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and rocked back and forth as she sat. “Go back to sleep, Galen. I'm sorry I woke you.”

“What about you? You need to sleep, too.”

“No, I can't sleep anymore tonight.”

The unexpected urge to shelter her filled him. Normally, he would have been disgusted by her display of emotions, but he realized he was pushing her to do things she had never done before, asking her to face her fears.
Have I grown so old that I have forgotten what it felt like to be in her position?

He enveloped her in his arms, leading her down to the ground with him. “I'll protect you, Kira. Sleep now.”

She snuggled closer to him, burying her icy hands between them. He pulled his cloak closer around them and waited for her breathing to slow and her body to grow still. She sighed in her sleep, and he strangely found himself enjoying the warmth of her body pressed against his.

CHAPTER 9

A cold drop splashed on Kira’s nose, followed by a second one on her cheek. Unwilling to leave the comfort of sleep, she pulled her cloak over the side of her face exposed to the wetness. A ring of warmth encircled her and pulled her closer to the soft, pounding lullaby that sounded in her ear. She inhaled the smell of old leather and sighed. Although she didn’t know the causes of these sensations, she relished them while she could.

“Kira,” a voice hummed through the darkness. The gentle vibrations traveled through her body and resisted the jostling that followed it.

“Kira,” the voice repeated, this time less soothing than before. Her cloak peeled away, exposing her skin to the icy dampness. She clung tighter to the hard warmth underneath her as the shoving became more severe.

“Kira!” the voice shouted at her this time.

She reluctantly opened her eyes and studied the etched grains of the leather in front of her. A wall of force then collided with her left shoulder, knocking her backwards and leaving her body open to the assault of the falling rain.

“Kira, are you awake?” Galen leaned over her. The rain streamed down his golden hair, and his blue eyes flickered across her face. By the Goddess, she could stare at him all day, despite the weather. He frowned when he stood, and she wondered what she’d done to disappoint him now. “You do realize that you're lying in the mud?”

She bolted up and sent the rivers of ooze trickling down her neck and back. She brushed the mud from her short hair. Brown muck covered her hands—brown like her hair and eyes. She was a mud creature, rooted to the earth, whereas Galen was a creature of the heavens, embodying the sun and sky. She frowned and shook her hands. The rain fell harder, and she lifted her face to allow it to be washed clean.

Her attention turned to his leather jerkin. Memories from the night before flooded into her mind. He’d taken her into his arms to console her. He was the warmth she had been clinging to so desperately. And although she enjoyed lying in his arms, her cheeks burned when she realized that he had to pry her loose from him. She mumbled an apology as she passed him, taking one of the saddlebags with her.

He paused from buckling his sword to his belt and watched her. He was suspicious of her motives again, no doubt. She threw the bag over the horse’s back and turned to retrieve the other saddlebag, still aware of his scrutiny.

“Have you thought about getting new clothes?” he asked and resumed fastening his sword.

“Why do I need new clothes? These don't have any big holes in them. Besides, I'm better dressed than some of the people in the camp. At least I have shoes.”

He leaned on his horse’s back, not moving, and she feared she’d said something wrong. He then began securing the saddle. “I meant, have you thought about wearing a dress?”

His question caught her off guard. “I don't know how to wear a dress.”

“Perhaps you should think about it now that you are out of Elgeus.” He mounted his horse and looked down at her. “Or at least consider growing your hair out.”

She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to smooth out the spiky ends. “I'll think about it, although I'm sure my hair would become a tangled mess if I grew it out.” Not to mention, she wouldn’t know what to do with long hair. “How did you know that I was a girl?”

His pauses were starting to irritate her. It was as though he was taking his time forming a response so as not to insult her. Every inch of her was subject to his censure, it seemed. “Perhaps it is because I see things most humans don't.”

Her cloak grew heavy from the rain, and she stared at her horse. She hoped he wouldn’t expect her to ride as fast they did yesterday. “I, um, might need some help mounting my horse.”

He held out his hand to her. “No, you'll be riding with me again today. We don't have the time to allow you to ride at a pace that doesn't terrify you.”

Shame seared her skin so that she no longer felt the icy rain. She took his hand, and he lifted her up into the saddle behind him as if she weighed next to nothing, even though she felt like her shoes were made of lead. Not only was she wet and muddy and dressed like a boy, but she was also causing him more problems than he intended. “I don't mean to be a burden,” she mumbled.

He urged his horse forward. “You're not a burden—yet.”

The swiftness of the horse surprised her. The rolling hills of the Cove became a blur. The rain drops disappeared into a haze, indiscernible due to the speed at which they moved. She leaned against him, comforted by the feeling of his back in front of her, and tried to hold onto something while they rode. Her hand settled on the corded muscles of his thigh, feeling them tighten and relax with the horse’s stride, and lingered there until he cleared his throat. She snapped her hand back to wrap around his waist instead.

His hand tightened around hers. “I have you,” she heard him say. It served as a balm for her anxiety, and her shoulders loosened. Leaning further against him, her body began to move in harmony with him and the horse.

“Were we riding this fast yesterday?”

“Yes, elvan horses are faster than your human ones. Didn't you notice?”

She shook her head. “I kept my eyes closed most of the time.”

The distant rumble of laughter sounded from his chest. “I thought you had fallen asleep.”

“You must think I’m nothing more than a stupid human.” She heard some of her disappointment carry over into her voice, and she tried to make herself seem smaller than she already was.

“Not exactly.” She waited for him to elaborate on his cryptic response, but after several minutes had passed, she realized he was keeping his thoughts to himself. She closed her eyes and willed the ride to end soon.

Within an hour, the horse outran the rain, and by early afternoon, they had crossed the Great Cove and were beginning to climb the coppery hills that flanked the southwestern border. The horse slowed, careful to pick its way through the brambles and loose stones. Sparse trees dotted the landscape here, and the wind reminded her of the blast of hot air she felt every time she opened an oven. Winter had forgotten this place.

They stopped in front of a cave. Galen surveyed the land, making sure this was the exact place he wanted to stop before he dismounted. Satisfied, he turned back to Kira. “Aren't you going to come down?”

She tried to slide from the saddle to the ground, but her foot got caught in the stirrup, and she landed on her back.

He came and freed her foot before helping her stand. “Are you always this clumsy?”

She stopped brushing the dust off her tunic long enough to answer, “Not usually.”
Only around you, it seems
. She kept her eyes down, not wanting to see what he thought of her, and walked closer to the opening of the cave.

It was similar to the other caves she saw around her. They all looked like holes punched into the dry clay of the hills, as though some giant had stuck his fingers into them before they hardened. She stood at its edge and peered into the darkness that stretched before her.

He came up behind her. “You're not terrified of caves, are you?”

For the first time that day, she found a reason to smile. “Master Tyrrus and I spent the last few years in the tunnels under Dromore. This cave isn’t terrifying at all.” She took a step forward, but he stopped her by placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Here,” he said, extending his leather jerkin to her. “Put this on first.”

“Why?”

“Because it will offer you some protection in case you decide to fall and hurt yourself.”

Kira took it with some hesitation and slipped it on. Even after she tightened the laces as far as they would go, the jerkin hung like a bulky robe from her shoulders. She modeled it for him. “It's a little big.”

His eyes glowed with restrained laughter. “You don't say.”

Sighing, she dropped her arms and tapped on the jerkin three times. With a flash of blue, it shrank in size until it hugged her modest curves. His mouth opened to protest the alteration to his clothing, but she cut him off before he had a chance to speak. “Don't worry. It will go back to its normal size once I take it off.”

He didn’t seem to believe her, so she ventured into the cave before he could question her further. The opening was tall enough for her to walk upright without hitting her head, but Galen had to stoop to enter it. A blue spark appeared in the palm of her hand. It became larger, soon filling the whole cavern with light. The once ominous shadows cast by the stalactites and the stalagmites faded in the growing brightness.

Galen came closer to her, for once not disappointed at her actions. “Impressive.”

She felt as though her smile was as radiant as the light in her hand. At last, she’d done something to please him. She blew at the flame, causing it to form a ball the size of her fist and fly off to the opening of three different tunnels ahead. It stopped long enough to illuminate the first few feet into each of them. “Where to next?”

Her floating blue light mesmerized him so much that she had to repeat her question. “The left tunnel, if I remember correctly.” The blue light sped to the opening of the indicated tunnel and waited for them to follow. As they entered the tunnel, it bobbed along a few feet ahead of them, lighting their way. “Where did you learn such a spell?”

Kira’s cheeks ached from smiling so broadly. “It's just a simple illumination spell. All I did was animate the light so it acted like a lantern. It came in handy when I had my hands full in the tunnels.”

“Very creative.”

“How did you know which way to go? Have you been here before?”

“Your silence would be more appreciated than your questions.”

The smile slipped off her face. Kira fell into step behind Galen, trying to imitate his silent movements through the tunnel. She had to take care not to collide with him as he paused every few steps to listen for some phantom sound. His expression became more and more uneasy as they descended further into the darkness.

The air grew stale. It wasn’t long before she began to hear the shuffle of footsteps behind them. She directed the light to see what was making the noise.

In the faint light, a grotesque form began to take shape. It was shorter than her, but wider. A long hooked nose stood out from its profile, accented by floppy dog-like ears. She increased the amount of light emitted from the ball, and a guttural cry came from the creature is it turned away from the brightness. She could now see its yellow, fissured skin and gnarled fingers. More worrisome, however, were the shadows that multiplied behind it.

“Run!” Galen grabbed her arm and pulled her further into the tunnel. The light whizzed past them to illuminate the twists and turns ahead. A chorus of raspy voices echoed off the rock walls behind them, followed by the high pitched whistle of arrows.

She struggled to match Galen's long strides, but the light raced to keep up with him, leaving her to stumble over rocks in the dimness. The creatures gained on her as he moved further ahead. Their bowstrings twanged, and fingers jabbed into the back of the thick jerkin.

Galen disappeared behind a curve in the tunnel, and she turned around to see how close their pursuers were. She never saw the rock that sent her sprawling into the gravel. As she slid, the tiny stones grated into her palms and cheeks.

A flash of blue streaked overhead. At first she thought the light had returned to her. Instead, the magic exploded behind her, causing an avalanche to cascade on the yellow skinned creatures. The rocks piled on top of each other until a wall blocked the tunnel completely.

The glow of the floating blue light was murky from the thick dust, but she could see Galen standing a few feet in front of her. He grabbed her by the jerkin and pulled her to her knees. “Get up! It won't take those goblins very long to dig their way through.”

He turned and took a few steps before ground crumbled beneath his feet. His body tilted forward and disappeared into the sinkhole the explosion created.

A surge of energy raced through her body and shot out of her fingers, forming a golden beam of light that snaked over the edge and plunged down into the darkness below. She grabbed the beam before it escaped her grasp. It solidified into a rope in her hands. A sharp tug threatened to dislodge it, but she held on as it dragged her along the ground. Her leg caught the edge of a rock, and she wedged her foot against it, jerking to stop mere inches from the precipice.