Chapter Two
Dalia woke slowly the next morning to the sounds of voices intruding
on their little camp. Keeping her eyes shut, she pushed through the sleepy haze
and strained to make out the words. “Commander Wulfson, there only appears to
be two.”
“There was a third one, but no matter,” a second voice
thundered as the hard edge of a boot struck Dalia on her side. Startled she
rolled up into a defensive squat. “Time to wake up, Crop.”
Looking down the long blade of a broadsword, Dalia stilled
her breath. Across the camp Sands was still on his back, a sword tip at his
throat. She let out a little cough and rolled her eyes up at Commander Wulfson.
A long jagged scar traced the man’s jaw line. “Good morning,” she said as
calmly as she could. She ignored the insult in favor of giving off a scared, innocent
appearance.
The commander took only a second to look over her. His muddy
brown eyes staring at her and his nose curled like she was trash stuck on his
boot. “Where’s the shard?” he demanded.
Happy his eyes had stopped roaming over her body and down
the gap in her tunic, Dalia leaning back in her crouch and asked, “The what?”
The crescent gem was tucked away under her vest, safe from view. If only her
half-length ears had done the same under her hair.
“Where’s the other woman?” Wulfson asked, waving his hand
between Dalia and Sands.
“Who?” Dalia was curious about that herself. She wondered
why Aline hadn’t chosen that morning to wake her with cuddles. The djinn always
loved a good fight and snuggling was almost a daily ritual for her.
Letting out a slow even breath, Dalia pushed the thought
away. There was no way to tell if the scared commander meant the djinn or not.
They could be looking for another group altogether. Another group who also just
happened to have something called “the shard.”
“Kill them and search their bodies.” Dalia hadn’t expected
that. Normally people asked a lot more questions before trying to kill her. She
didn’t expect the harsh chill that rang out in his voice as he threw the order
out there.
Eyes wide, Dalia rolled in the half second between the
drawback of the blade and its plunge into the ground. The commander let out a
snarl as he slashed the broad sword up, throwing dirt into the air. Dodging,
she was further separated from her own blades. A boot dagger was no match for the
massive sword the man wielded. Her only chance was to roll away and bounce up
to her feet.
On the other side of the campsite, Sands was a blur of
motion, but he hadn’t shifted himself to safety. Spinning out of reach, Dalia
caught his eye and the pointed glare he gave towards the river. Beyond that
water was nothing but thick forest for miles.
Abandoning her weapons along with everything she owned,
Dalia made a run for it as soon as she saw an opening. Commander Wulfson only
had a few men with him and all of them were weighted down by heavy armor.
They’d never make it across the river without their horses, wherever those
might be. Dodging the swords, she rushed to the water and jumped in only second
after Sands had made his own escape.
Sloshing through the first few feet, Dalia pushed her legs
as fast as she could. Halfway across the river finally plunged down, dropping
her below the surface. Water filled her mouth before she could push herself
back up, but she was already swimming and letting the current carry her
downstream.
A lungful full of water and a harsh bit of kicking got Dalia
to the other bank. Already the soldiers were on their horses rushing to cross
the river and she didn’t have time to wait for Sands to scramble up on land
nearby. A flash of wet black clothing made it clear he was quickly following
behind her.
The sound of their feet thudding against the loose earth
echoed in Dalia’s ears. Her heart raced in time with their escape. Behind them
she could hear the horses struggling to break through the brush and overgrowth.
Whoever Commander Wulfson was he was ill equipped to deal with fugitives ready
to race into the thickness of the forest.
Finally, Dalia found herself by Sands as they raced together
into thicker and thicker growth. “The arrogant clod didn’t even consider we’d
run through the wilds,” Sands said with half a laugh.
Letting out her own laugh, Dalia chanced a quick glance
behind them. The commander and his men were losing ground and finally it seemed
like there was time to slow down. “No, but that doesn’t mean he’s not still
back there trying. How far can you teleport?”
Reaching out and grabbing her hand, Sands performed a
graceful spin around her and pulled her close. “Let’s find out,” he said,
tucking her close before their feet could tangle and drop them to the ground. “Juntulanbe.”
The shifting pop and they were somewhere far away from
Commander Wulfson and his soldiers. At least, Dalia hoped they were, because
their feet got knotted together and they hit the ground. Pushing herself up off
the man, she looking around. The thick growth of the forest was gone and they
were in another campsite, this one tucked under a rocky ledge. “Where are we
now?” she asked, moving to Sanderwise’s side.
“A campsite a week from anywhere,” Sands explained,
carefully sitting up next to her. It was a good thing he’d grabbed her the way
he had. There wasn’t enough room to stand straight under the ledge.
Dalia slowly stood, hunched and made her way out from under
the rock. “A week. That should give us some space.”
“What’s up with that anyway?” Sands asked, stepping out
beside her.
Patting her hand over the hidden pocket in her vest, Dalia
took a deep breath when she felt the little crescent gem. “He wanted the shard.
If he hadn’t had a sword pointed at my chest I might have just given it to
him.”
“You really don’t know anything about it?” Sands asked and
the only thing Dalia could do was shake her head and shrug. He knew as much as
she did at this point.
Peeling off her top layers, Dalia was thankful for her wool
and cotton clothing. So many people swore by animal hide, but leather just
didn’t dry as easily or as well at softer fabrics. She began ringing out her
vest when the chain and pendant twisted between her fingers. She stopped.
Holding it up, Dalia let the blue black gem spin in front of
her eyes. There was something hidden in the crescent shape or was it peeking at
her from the deep center of the thing. Her eyes started getting heavy as she
felt all the adrenalin from the rude awakening start to drain away.
“Flootush.” The
magic word floated on the gust of wind that blew over her. Five pounds of water
blew away in an instant and Dalia realized she was dry. Narrowing her eyes, she
palmed the shard and turned a questioning glance at Sands.
Sanderwise was dry too and confidently straightening out the
sleeves of his white shirt. He flashed her a grin and tipped his head.
Apparently no thanks was necessary. Dalia scoffed and looped the necklace
around her wrist. Reaching up she started trying to put her dark hair into some
semblance of order. She knew her short, pointed ears were showing between the
dark red of her locks, but couldn’t find the cloth headband she used to pin
them back.
The memory of the commander and the slur he’d used waking
her up flashed through Dalia’s mind and she paused. Half-elves weren’t overly
rare. They were scattered across Karden, but there were many humans that hated
them. She’d heard her own share of slurs when her ears came into view.
Otherwise, thankfully, she could easily pass as human.
Turning her attention to Sands, an uncomfortable worry
started to worm its way into Dalia’s mind. The man had yet to mention anything
about her ears. She’d meet many people and all of them had something to say
about a half-breed. Most of the time it wasn’t good, but sometimes there were
compliments or awkward nods of understanding. No one ignored it the way he was.
“You not going to ask questions or say anything?” Dalia
asked, pulling her dark vest back over her shirt.
Sands cocked his head and narrowed his eyes as she
refastened her outer layer. “About those men back there? I assume you know what
I know at this point,” he answered after a second.
Shaking her head, Dalia gestured to her ears. She wasn’t
used to people not getting the question. “No. About my ears.”
“Should I say something about them?” Sanderwise asked,
glancing around. He didn’t look concerned in the least. Wizards especially
always had something to say about her ears.
Shrugging, she waited half a second before saying, “Everyone
does.”
Sands tilted his head, staring at the sharp edge of her ear
and then ran his eyes down to her face and over her neck and shoulder. Finally,
he smiled and answered, “They’re very cute ears, but I feel any ear attached to
your pretty face would be cute.”
“What?” Dalia asked. She stared at him for a dumbstruck
moment and took in the sparkle in his eyes and the quirk ticking up on corner
of his mouth. Rolling her eyes, she turned and tried to orient herself. “You’re
an idiot.”
The wizard thief let out a chuckle. “Seriously though, those
freckles are adorable.”
Biting back the warmth of embarrassment, Dalia shook her
head and said, “Shut up. Aline, I need you!”
In her magic swirl of light Aline appeared already running
for Dalia. The djinn dropped two bags as she raced forward. Dalia barely had
time to catch her when she jumped. Legs wrapped around Dalia’s waist, arms
around her neck and Aline hugged her tight. “I was so worried. I’m so sorry I
couldn’t get to you.”
Patting the djinn on the back, Dalia gave her friend a
moment before asking, “Aline, where were you? You love a good fight.”
Aline pulled back, arms and legs still wrapped tight around
Dalia, and explained, “I was asking questions. Dal, you have to listen to me.
That shard isn’t something you should carry around. It’s dangerous.”
Dalia gently started to coach Aline out of the death grip
and nodded. “I assumed it was when those soldiers decided to kill us for it.”
“You need to get to the ancient forest. There’s a temple
there. The priests there might be able to help,” Aline said desperately. Her
eyes had gone wide even as she lowered her feet to the ground. Her arms hung
onto Dalia, almost begging her to understand something.
A tremble of worry fluttered through Dalia’s belly and she
glanced over at Sands. He was busy rummaging through his own travel pack.
Quietly, she asked, “What is this thing?”
Golden eyes shot down to Dalia’s vest and Aline stared at
the gem hidden behind the fabric. “It’s the Shard of Death and you are now its
bearer.”
“What does that mean?”
Aline’s eyes lifted and Dalia could see the storm brewing.
Finally dropping her arms, the djinn lowered her head almost shamefully. “I
don’t know, but you need to get to that temple before those men find you
again.”
Heart broken by the look of Aline, Dalia nearly reached out
to lift her chin, but Sands was suddenly right beside them and asked, “Where is
the temple?”
Aline took several steps back and looked up into the sky,
eyes narrowing as the wind blew around her. Her long golden hair wrapped around
her and her fingers twitched. Finally, she looked away from them and answered,
“A week to the southeast.”
With a nod, Sands shifted his gaze in the direction Aline
pointed. “And it’s in the ancient forest? Will the elves even let us pass?” he
asked, and Dalia wondered how much of their whispered conversation the man had
heard.
“It’s on the edge of the forest. Just enough trees to hide
it from view,” Aline answered, confidence sparking in her eyes.
Flashing Aline an appreciative smile, Dalia let her gaze
shift towards their new direction. “Sands, can you teleport me straight to the
temple?”
“If you can point it out on a map I might get us closer,”
Sands answered at her side.
Turning, Dalia shook her head and moved to retrieve her
pack. “I don’t have a map.”
There was a note of shame in Sanderwise’s voice when he
said, “Then I can’t. I’ve never seen the place and if we tried to move closer
we could just end up further away from it.”
Then there was no other way. Dalia would just have to go the
long way. They could stay far enough from the road to keep from being seen as
much as possible. Nodding, Dalia shouldered her pack and took a deep breath of
fresh air. Resolve in place, she nodded to Aline and said, “Then to the temple
I go. Aline, thank you for getting my stuff. I owe you one.”
***
The djinn had long since vanished back to her realm, leaving
Dalia and Sanderwise marching through the forest on their own. The silence was
near deafening, but she carried on. She didn’t know why the wizard thief was
still following her and she didn’t really care. It was clear she couldn’t trust
the man, even if he had helped her with the fight that morning and the day
before. Sands had still tried to steal from her.
With the man following along behind her, Dalia made sure to
listen closely to his every step and for any words he may mutter out. He never
tried to snatch anything from her. That alone made her feel more comfortable
with him. In her world having a traveling companion was better than traveling
alone. Conversation on its own helped the time pass by, but the wizard was
doing very little talking.
When they reached a wide creek Dalia had taken all she
could. Glaring back at Sands, she said, “You don’t have to follow me.”
Sanderwise looked insulted, like Dalia had stabbed straight
at his ego. “Those soldiers aren’t just looking for you,” he said, moving down
the low bank towards a fallen tree. “Besides, I’ve never been into the ancient
forest or even heard of any of this. My curiosity is up.”
Finding a set of rocks that had been laid out, Dalia hopped
to the first. “Curiosity killed the cat.”
“Good thing I’m not a cat,” Sands answered, stepping up onto
the tree trunk. He held his arms out for balance as he made his own way across
the creek. Dalia swore he had the most cat like grin she had ever seen as he
jumped down on the other side and stared back at her.
And that conversation seemed to set the tone for the next
four days of travel. Dalia learned that Sanderwise’s spoken magic was off. It
was like he was speaking a different language he’d never really heard before.
There had been a few mishaps, but there were a handful of words he knew very
well. The word he used to steal also worked to pull fish straight out of the
water into his hands. With a whisper he could spark the camp fire to life. Thankfully
he hadn’t had to repeat the magic word for drying their clothing.
It was only the third day that Dalia found out why the man
was such a bad wizard. He’d proudly explained that he was a poor student and
learning the ancient language of magic was hard. Even now he had trouble
getting most of the syllables right. The words he’d learned the fastest were
the words he needed the most. After a few years he had simply left to let his
teacher focus on more promising students.
Dalia had returned the information by talking about the
group of performers she had traveled with and learned from for so long. She
kept the reason for her split from them to herself. The man still shouldn’t be
trusted, even if he did find most of the wild game and kept the fire going. Quietly,
she hoped he believed it was the closeness of the djinn that had separated her
from her old group.
As for Aline, she kept to herself in her realm. Dalia was
starting to miss the djinn, but assumed the shard tied around her arm had
something to do with it. After so many days hiding the thing under her vest,
she was ready to be rid of it. Its unseen weight drug her down and even Sands
had started to notice her reluctance to drag herself off the ground every
morning.
It was the fifth morning that broke her. Cracking her eyes
open to the smell of flat cakes on the fire, Dalia was startled to find
Sanderwise kneeling at her side, one arm propping her up and the other on her
cheek. Confused, she tried to swat him away, but he just tightened his arm and
pulled her into a hug. “I thought you were dead,” he whispered against her ear.
Dalia stopped struggling in his arms and froze. “Dead?”
Pulling back, Sands looked down at her. As he searched her
face, he explained, “You were just lying there not breathing and your color had
gone so pale. I couldn’t get you to wake up.”
Letting out a slow breath, Dalia started to feel the
heaviness of sleep seep away. “How long?”
“I had time to start breakfast before I noticed it.” Sands moved
his arms and let her set up on her own.
Normally Dalia was up and moving before a morning fire was
even started. The late morning sun glared down at her as she looked around.
Their little campsite had no fog or dim traces of the night before. She’d slept
nearly the entire morning away. “It was just a hard sleep, Sands.”
“No, Dal, this was the sleep of the dead.” His voice was low
and worried, but he turned towards the fire and shifted the flat cakes around
before adding, “Now that you’re awake, I think we should eat as we go today.
The road into town isn’t far away and I’d rather get as far from it as we can
before anyone sees us.”
More forest travel. Beating their own path was getting
harder and harder, but Dalia wasn’t prepared to step out of Aline’s directions.
The sooner she got to the temple the sooner she could get back on the road. Nodding
her agreement, she hurried to help settle the camp before they headed off.
Dalia didn’t like the thought of being in such a deep sleep.
Anyone could attack her and with Aline being gone so much, she felt less
confidante. The djinn had no concept of boundaries but it was nice knowing
someone she trusted was close by. Letting out a shaky sigh as she shouldered
her pack, she admitted that she was starting to trust Sanderwise. He could have
easily tried something that morning or at any other time during their travels,
but he hadn’t.
Instead Sands was polite and good company.
It was the Shard of Death that she blamed. Dalia didn’t like
what the shard seemed to be doing. She felt drained constantly. Not the
physical strain of so much travel through unmapped forest. That had happened
throughout her life and going from town to town, city to city, was after all
her lively hood. No, this drug her down into near failure. She wanted to just
lay down, but every time her eyes began to close she would shake herself and
keep moving. The shard had to go.
Late in the afternoon Dalia saw her opening. Sands was a
good bit ahead of her on the game trail they followed. Once he turned a bend,
she pulled the shard out. As she stared at its deep blackness, she knew she had
to get rid of it. Fisting her hand, she pulled back her arm. She was ready to
sling it as far into the trees as she could.
They were more than a day and a half from anywhere. There’d
be no real way for anyone to find the shard once Dalia chunked it, but her arm
paused and she let out a startled breath. She couldn’t throw it away. Her
entire body froze, refusing her commands.
Forced to drop her hand back to her side, Dalia grit her
teeth. The only choice now was the temple.
Dalia let out a huff and started back down the trail.
Shoving the Shard of Death back into her vest, she ranted at herself and the
impossible things that had been going on in the last handful of days. It
distracted her from the dragging feeling and from the heaviness that this
entire journey had caused to settle over top of her.
It also distracted Dalia from the bend in the trail and the
soldiers just out of sight. The pop sound behind her was missed too as suddenly
a thick mist filled the air and she was fighting against unknown hands. She let
out a started yell and pushed off the first assailant. “Dal, I’m behind you,”
Sands said loudly, but Dalia had already gotten turned around.
Smoke blinded her and the sounds of clashing metal deadened
her. Sanderwise was lost in the mayhem and Dalia struggled to find her way.
There were soldiers everywhere but none touched her again or yelled out to
attack her. She needed to find Sands and get out of this. He could shift them
away and they could rush to finish their trip to the temple. Aline had said
they should be safe at the temple.
“Extrelo.” It was
a magic word that set fire to Dalia’s blood. Crippled by the pain she dropped
to the ground. Her knees drew up to her chest and her arms cradled her head.
She screamed out in agony as the unseen flame engulfed her. Every other thought
she’d had was lost to the fierce burning under her skin.
A hand reached out, grabbed her arm and for a second she
thought she was saved. “Juntulanbe.”
Dalia couldn’t notice the pop through the pain, but she knew
she’d been shifted away from the battle and the fog. Forcing her eyes open she
expected to see Sands standing over her, stumbling through words and trying to
stop the fire. Instead it was an old man staring down at her. With a sneer he
threw her arm down and stormed out of the small room.
A door slammed and Dalia was left alone to fight off the
scolding heat.
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