Athian said, “Oh, poor Kaytla—and the kids. I hope they didn't get caught up in the violence.”
Visor said, “If they just cowered, they should have been fine. Talon wants his bounty. He won't kill those who aren't a threat. I'm sure Thorsius wouldn't just stay out of it, though.”
Sorana chewed a nut. “Thorsius was cut down.” There was an awkward silence. She looked at the others, all of whom were looking at her. “What?”
Visor said, “It's just that Thorsius was a friend. It’s shocking news.”
Athian asked, “How?”
Sorana said, “His leg may be severed. It was hard to tell from my vantage. He needed healing or he would have bled out.”
“There’s no point in going back for him, then.” Visor sighed. “It is done now, one way or the other. We have to move forward. Xandria’s got to be warned.”
Athian said, “We’re at least as close to Raykez. We could get the Symphonic Knights to protect Xandria.”
“We don’t know they would. Raykez politics can be complicated.”
“But the sirens are in danger.”
“It is our word that the sirens are in danger—our guess.”
“And what about Talon?”
“That’s why we can’t go. If we get involved with Talon, politically or otherwise, who knows what will happen. Even in the best case, where we’re in and out, the trip adds days. We need to make sure Xandria is warned. Look, you don’t have to come with us. Go get your sister.”
“No, you’re right. She’ll probably be fine. If I can help you, that’s what I need to do.”
“You’d be useful, I’m pretty sure. And then we’ll take care of Talon together.” Visor pointed at the small, winged creature Burke had pinned on the frosty ground. “The first question is what we do about him.”
The pixie said, “Let him go.”
Visor said, “He would be hard to watch, being able to fly away the instant we're not restraining him.”
“Easy enough”. Sorana pulled the pixie away from Burke's claws and pinned him on his belly. She gripped one of his wings roughly and positioned her shoulder for a hard pull.
Athian gasped.
Rapture said, “No! Sorana!”
“Hey!” Visor hopped up and grabbed Sorana’s arm. He forced a laugh. “She's just kidding!” He knelt close to the pixie’s head. “But not really.”
Athian said, “We do need to move. Talon might hunt us down.” He looked at the pixie, “I guess we decide now. Do we let him go back to Talon or let the cat eat him?”
Sorana said, “Cat.”
Visor said, “I have another idea.” Minutes later, Visor tightened a final strap. “How's that?”
Athian faked a wheeze. “Fine!”
Visor laughed. “I was talking to our little friend.”
The pixie said, “It's a bit constricting.” He wiggled but couldn't shift out of the straps that bound him to Athian's back pack. “Hey Godiva, are you sure this is allowed?”
“Well, you are a threat if we release you. We’d have to cut off your wings, and that would leave you helpless.” Rapture tilted her head. “So we can only keep you restrained or kill you.”
The pixie flailed his tiny hands. “No, arg!”
Rapture smiled and set her mount to a backward walk in the direction of Xandria. She neatly turned the horse to a side-step as the pedestrians passed, then a slow forward walk.
Visor asked, “Rap, are you communing with that horse or is he just that well trained?”
Rap shrugged. “Maybe I'm just that good.”
Visor said, “I know you’re an expert rider, but not that experienced with horses.”
“Hmmm.” Rap raised an eyebrow slyly. “Yes, I am able to commune with him a little. Not anything like with Burke. With Burke, it’s images. With this horse, it’s only a feeling, and only when we’re close.”
“So like a normal druid connection. Whatever you did to Burke was special.”
“The more time that passes, the more we interact, the more I can connect with him. And at a distance, too.”
Visor reached up and patted the horse. “Either way, this is will make things nicer—having a mount stocked with a little camping gear.” He nodded at the pixie. “And a light bulb is helpful as well.”
“Or he could be a bargaining chip.” Athian stopped. “We could trade him.”
Visor stopped as well. “What do you mean?”
“Maybe Talon would want his pixie in exchange for the siren.”
Visor said, “Perhaps. But how would we approach Talon in a position to bargain? We don't have a fast escape or a reliable way to communicate from a range. We'd likely just end up getting captured.”
Sorana said, “I'd rather have a pixie.”
Athian asked, “Why do you like the pixie?”
“I don't like him.” Sorana flicked the pixie in the head. “He can camouflage us—provide light for you.”
Athian said, “Well, you might have a different perspective than some since you heal on your own. A pixie rainbow won't heal a twisted ankle or snake bite.”
Visor said, “It would be nice to have another healer. We don’t even know if the pixie would help us.”
Rapture said, “We don’t know for sure that she will.”
Athian said, “Actually though, the risk could be all mine.”
Visor asked, “How is that?”
“You promised to return Sorana to Mercy. That just leaves me to take the risk in dealing with Talon. I’ll go, stash Pixie somewhere, deal with Talon, and make sure the siren is safe before I tell him where Pixie is.”
Sorana said, “That won’t work.”
Visor said, “Actually the horse could carry Sorana with Rap. The two of them could get to Xandria faster, and the protection I add in addition to Sorana is negligible. I could wait for you, and if this does work, help you get her to Xandria.”
Sorana said, “We already have a siren.”
“That's true. But see, they are human, and they do this for sirens—any siren.” Rapture looked at Visor. “Especially if it's a Marigold—the ‘beautiful ones’.”
Visor said, “That’s not what I said. I just said they have the classic facial structure that some artists consider beautiful.”
“Is she a Marigold?”
“I guess she is. Look, Rap, it's just that you are relatively safe and we have a chance to free one of your sisters. We're just discussing it, anyway.”
Rapture pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek. “You know, you just go do what you need to do. And if you survive, and make it to Xandria, and I happen to still be there, maybe we can chat sometime.” She trotted off.
Burke jogged after her.
Visor looked around. “What was that?”
Athian said, “Hey Visor, you know you're supposed to run after her, right?”
“There's no way I could catch her.”
Athian slapped Visor’s shoulder. “Just go.”
Visor did.
After a bit, Rapture slowed the horse to a walk, and then to a meandering half-walk. He caught up with her. “Rap! We won't go.” He caught his breath. “What's wrong?” He put a hand on her leg.
She let the horse walk her away from his touch.
Visor called after her. “Rap?”
She turned around and looked at him. “I'm sorry. I know I haven't been myself lately.” She rode back to him and proffered her leg. “Oh Don, it feels like things are changing.”
“Changing?” Visor stroked her calf and thigh. “Do you mean Xandria, the Fist of Mercy ... us?”
Her expression became sad. “I don't know—me, I think. Don, do you know what happened when we were apart? When it was just me and Sorana?” She clenched her jaw and fought off tears. “We talked about what to do—well, I did. I told her we should go to Xandria, like you said. And that she could stay t
here with me, or if she wanted, I would go with her to the Tower of Mercy. Do you know what she said?”
“Apparently, she did not agree.”
“She didn't argue. She just kept saying 'go ahead'. She never batted an eye—never gave it a second thought. No matter what, she was coming for you.”
“Well, that's how Mercy trained her—to follow the mission. Her understanding of the mission was for the three of us to return to the Tower. And she’s right.”
Rapture still looked upset.
Visor said, “Even if she did it to rescue me because she thinks she feels something for me, it doesn't matter. We are bound.”
Rapture shook her head. “It's not that.” Rapture put a hand on her forehead. “Sorana doesn't matter. She's a friend. The point is, for the first day Sorana and I were traveling, I argued to leave you behind. What sense does that make, Don? I—my body needs you more than anything else in the world, and I wanted to leave you behind. Someone you just met wouldn’t.”
“She's a trained soldier. She's a tactical master and an assassin. She knew she wouldn't die.”
“No, she didn't. She was telling me things to pass on to her mother. How she felt—that she'd felt some measure of fulfillment with the Fist of Mercy. I knew she was making plans in her head to free you and escape, but really she was expecting—in a strange way maybe hoping—to die.”
“How did Liefer end up with you?”
Rapture sighed in annoyance. “He tracked us down a couple of days later. He'd escaped when the rest of the orchestra was captured. But he wanted to get you, too.”
“He and Sorana outvoted you?”
“Not really. They just talked about how to rescue you.”
Visor asked, “So the decision was already made before he got there. Maybe he just assumed it was your choice as well. Don’t you think he would have done what you wanted, or what he thought was safest for you?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“The point is: it’s not like it was everyone in a large sample of people felt one way and you were the only one that wanted to leave me behind.”
“But Liefer died saving you, and Sorana was willing to. And you would die to save me, or any siren. I was going to leave you. What does that make me?”
“It makes you you. You are a healer, a duchess, and a singer.” He kissed her hip. “You are not a warrior. No one wants or expects you to be.”
“Don.” Rapture took a deep breath. “What happens to us when our time has passed—when our binding is done? What happens to me?”
“Don’t you just go back to Xandria?” Sorana and Athian were passing by, skirting around to stay out of conversation range. “Maybe we should join back up.”
Rapture nodded. “Yes, I'm sorry.”
Visor said, “Don't be. You are right. When we get to Xandria, or to the Tower of Mercy, it is something we should talk about.”
Chapter 20
Survival
Sorana gently pressed the rabbit’s abdomen to express the urine on the frosty ground. She slit its fur on the belly near its lower legs. She pulled the skin up, making further cuts as needed to expose the muscle of its belly. She sliced its belly and let the entrails spill out, catching a select organ. After inspecting it, she popped it in her mouth. She chopped off the tail, feet and lower legs. She wiped fur off the blade then turned the rabbit on belly and made a cut in the fur on its back. Gripping each section of fur, she pulled up and down. She worked the lower section of fur over the back leg stumps and pulled it off. She worked the top section over the front legs to the head. She cut off the head and added it to the pile of organs. She broke the pelvis bone in a V-shape, allowing her to remove the remaining entrails. She put the remaining carcass in a pan of water and wiped the remaining blood and innards off the meat. She then impaled the carcass on a stick and gave it to Athian.
She removed some birch bark and moss from her pouches and placed it under the dry kindling that was already stacked in place. She must have picked up the moss while out hunting with Burke. That was certainly shrewd on her part. That way, they didn’t have to cut anyone’s hair.
So the vocalist, assassin and master of languages was also an expert huntress and survivalist. That was an impressive skill set for a female some five years younger than Visor. Of course, she did have Mercy’s tutelage and few distractions. She didn’t spend time developing political skills.
Sorana blocked the wind with her body and hands. “Cespenar.”
The pixie was still tied to Athian’s backpack, near the fire but turned the wrong way. Visor turned his backpack so that Cespenar faced the fire and untied him except for a knot around his feet.
“We don’t just shoot light beams around. This isn’t as easy as you think.” Cespenar looked around.
Visor broke off a piece of chocolate and held it just out of Cespenar’s reach.
“Fine. I have to be closer, though.”
Visor moved Cespenar next to the moss.
Cespenar took off his cloak and vest so that his chest was exposed. It illuminated—various colors at first, then all violet. His arms and eyes glowed as well. He spread his wings, exposing a moist, scaly membrane under them. The membrane also emanated violet light. He focused a beam of light on the moss until it lit up. He quickly redressed.
Visor put Cespenar in the backpack for additional wind protection.
Athian rotated the rabbit carcass over the flame so that it cooked evenly. “Thanks for dinner.”
“Burke caught the rabbit.” Sorana began preparing a porcupine carcass.
“Then thanks for the porcupine.”
Visor said, “I like this pixie.”
Athian nodded. “Can we keep him?
Visor said, “He's certainly useful. Let's get to Xandria and decide what to do with him. What is it, two more days?”
“Something like that,” said Athian. “It’s been a while, and this isn’t the way I usually go.”
Visor went to Rapture, a good twenty paces from the camp.
She was a living legend of beauty, kneeling in the frosty ground, concentrating with her eyes closed. Particles of snow, blown from the mountain drift above, highlighted the curls in her hair. Her breath hung as white clouds in the cool evening air. “I can see what he’s seeing, sort of.”
Had she not spoken, he might have stared until he froze to death, so captivating was her visage. Visor looked around. Burke wasn’t in sight. “That’s amazing. The telepathy is getting stronger.”
“It’s wonderful. I feel like I can move so free … so fast. I can jump and chase rabbits and squirrels. I can climb trees.”
“That’s so great.” He stroked her hair. “We have some food ready.”
The Fist of Mercy ate and settled in for the night. They piled together to keep warm, forgoing a larger fire that might be detected by vardal-ogre patrols. They positioned the horse to partially block the chilling breeze. It was a thick-coated horse and would be fine exposed to the elements.
Rapture said, “It's like camping out as children.”
Cespenar asked, “You were bound to a lyre as a child?”
Rapture said, “But no ghost stories tonight, please. I'm tired. Wake me up when it's my watch.”
Visor observed Sorana's face for much of his watch. She almost looked peaceful, in the midst of a struggle to survive and evade capture. He passed watch to Rapture and fell asleep.
“Did anyone else hear that?” Athian’s voice woke Visor up.
Visor stretched. “Hear what?”
Athian stepped up onto a rock and stared into the distance. “A scream … a crash of stone.”
“No, but my hearing isn’t as good as most people’s.” There was a ring of metal. “I heard that.”
The girls woke up.
Visor said, “It's about time to get packed up anyway. Pixie, light!”
Cespenar generated a soft
glow. “You're going to have to feed me better.”
Visor said, “We will. I wasn't sure what pixies ate.”
“Insects and small beetles?” Athian laughed.
Rapture smiled. “Worms?”
Visor checked the saddle straps. “I think they only like earth worms though. They’re picky eaters, which is why they’re so small.”
After half a day’s travel, Sorana returned from point to report she’d heard signs of another melee.
Athian said, “I don’t hear anything.”
Visor strained to listen. “Me neither. How far?”
Sorana pointed southwest. “Three—perhaps five miles. A hit and run skirmish.”
Athian asked, “Do we check it out or stay on course for Xandria?”
Visor said, “Xandria. We have to get there and warn them. We don't want to get ourselves killed in a meaningless skirmish.”
Athian said, “Cespenar could camouflage us while we check it out.”
Cespenar said, “No, Cespenar can't. It doesn’t work on other people.”
Athian said, “But your invisible villages—were those all just songs and stories?”
“No, we can hide buildings because they don’t move. And it’s a different thing then when we camouflage ourselves.”
Athian asked, “What if we just stand still? We could get ahead of them and let them pass us by. I guess that could be hard to do safely, though.”
“It doesn’t work. You have to be real still, like a rock.”
“’Really’, or ‘very’?” Visor said, “But pixies can make illusions, right? Why not make an illusion of a rock over us?”
“Not in thin air. I can in a fog, or in certain kinds of dusts. It’s probably not as realistic as you think, though.”
Athian said, “Sorana could check it out by herself easier without us, and probably get away if needed.”
Visor said, “No, on foot and alone, you never know. They could have her too outnumbered. And then Rap’s unprotected, too.”
Rapture said, “What about Burke?”
Athian said, “He is faster.”
Visor said, “Yeah, Burke would be good. He could at least go check it out. Then if your range telepathy is working, we could make plans from a safe distance.”
Rapture said, “I think it’s working well enough for that.”
Visor said, “Since he can’t talk to them, we’d still have to find a way to safely contact them. But at least we’d know what’s coming”
Cespenar said, “I could go check it out.”