"Awake now, boy?"
Demaren smiled at the coarse voice, chuckling even slightly. He opened his eyes.
"Jeron?"
"Right on the mark, boy."
Demaren craned his neck to look around him. It was the deck of Jeron's boat, Noon Day. He smiled, almost bitterly, breathing in the comforting smell of ocean and wood.
"I missed this boat..."
"Well, damn, I would hope so, boy."
Demaren looked around more directly, aiming to locate Jeron.
"Where are you?"
"Look up."
Demaren smirked and saw Jeron in the crow's nest.
"As usual."
Jeron smiled back, a wily sort of grin.
A clatter and jumble caught his attention, and Demaren sat up quickly to see what had sounded distinctly destructive.
"Oh, Lia! Ero ima erta joi!"
Was that Jain?
The hurried stomp of feet echoed below, and up from the lower deck dashed Lia and Larii. Larii was grinning wildly, chasing Lia, who was shrieking with joy and mirth. They raced in a small circle before Larii caught her and they wrestled playfully. Demaren laughed outright, catching Lia's attention.
"Oh! Dema! Dema! DEMA aro itero!" She scrambled from Larii's grip and threw herself into Demaren's lap, hugging him fiercely.
Demaren hugged her back, and even planted a kiss on her head.
"Demaren." Jain appeared in the stairwell, smiling fondly.
"What the--How are you all here? Jeron? What's going on?"
Jain spoke instead, "Jeron told us we needed to sail to Velt. The whole family. So we did. We left the day after you did, actually. After we arrived, Jeron left the boat and didn't come back for a few hours. But when he did... He had you and Larii."
Demaren looked at Jeron, surprised and expectant. Jeron merely looked away and snubbed him a bit. After a few minutes of this, Jeron rolled his eyes and turned to Demaren.
"All right, y'damn annoying boy. O' course you know I can read shadows."
Demaren nodded in response.
"And that I don't have a shadow so I can't know my own fate... Right--oy, don't nodd so much! Anyway. After you left we were preparing to go to market to buy some dinner makings, when Jain pointed out my shadow. Mostly, she screamed a dropped a plate. But there it was--my shadow. Of course, that meant I had to do something important so I went outside to look at it in sunshadow. And all I could see was me and my family arriving in Velt, and then me hiding in an alleyway and waiting. And you don't really ignored your shadow when it's telling you what to do, so we left."
"And?"
Jeron rolled his eyes again, "And I waited in the alleyway until I heard a girl screaming and Erynese guards shooting. I thought I heard your name but... I didn't want to be sure, really. But then your green friend dragged you into the alleyway a moment later. And she's so little and you're so damn big and it looked like you were going to crush her or bleed to death, so... I helped her carry you back to the boat. And here we are."
"Here we are!" Jain smiled.
"Here we are..." Demaren said sadly. After a moment of pensive silence, he glanced up to see everyone looking at him with concern. "Oh, I'm gald you're all here, but I'm just wondering what happened? Where's Ashling?"
Even mentioning her himself brought a pang of loss to him. A look at Larii's stricken face told him she was gone. He felt a wave of ice rush through him, and clutched the tiny Lia closer. She snuggled him, tracing the tattoo on his chest.
Larii got up and tugged a full sack into full view of everyone. She set it down and pointed to it, nodding. Then she draped her arms out and swaggered around the sack, looking angry and mean.
"You supposed to be one of those guards?" Demaren ventured.
She nodded vigorously. Then she pointed to the sack, expectantly.
"Ashling?"
She nodded again. Then she swaggered over and knocked the top of the sack roughly, causing it to topple over. Then she picked it up and carried it out of sight. She came back shortly, bounding into view, pleased with her description.
"So, they took her?"
Larii nodded again, looking apologetic. Demaren nodded grimly and opened his hand to Lia so she could play with his fingers. Suddenly, Larii stood stark still. Her eyes gazed off distantly, her eyes glittering intently. Then she started clapping her hands, smiling. She rushed out of view and brought the sack back into sight. Then she set it down and pointed smiling at it.
"Uh..." Demaren did not get it this time at all. He shrugged slightly, "I don't know?"
Lia stared at Larii and then babbled off, "Iktera Larii oj henar jema Ashling."
Larii nodded, sighing in relief.
Demaren stared at the little girl, before turning to Jain. Jeron had just returned to the deck, so Jain was not entirely focused.
"Jain, what did Lia just say?"
"Hm?" Jain turned back to him, then glanced at Lia. "Fela or Lia?"
"Iktera Larii oj henar jema Ashling."
Jain cocked her head in confusion, then spoke slowly. "She said, Larii says Ashling is okay."
Demaren perked up, "She is?"
Larii nodded furiously. Then she looked distant again. Lia, who had been squirming playfully sat still as well. Both girls were staring into the same sort of distance. Lia then giggled, and even Larii smiled.
"I feel left out of something."
Jain scooped the entirely distracted Lia up and looked at her. "Lia? Ero ita?"
No response. Then Lia looked a little serious, then she turned into her mother and clung to her. Larii turned back to Demaren. She pointed at him, then at the deck of the boat. She nodded briskly.
"What, you want me to stay here?"
Lia placed her hands on his chest, and raised her eyebrows as if to ask, me? Then she shook her head and held her hands out. Her hand then pointed to the sack.
"Ah... Ashling wants me to stay here."
Larii nodded, smirking.
Demaren frowned. Then he smirked at her. "Right."
Lia burst into tears at that and ran below deck. Demaren could hear her crying and felt a pang of guilt. But Ashling needed him and he could never leave her to a mysterious fate.
He made to rise, aiming to get right on rescuing Ashling. But his left wing, instead of fluffing up and taking care of itself as it usually did, seemed to collapse behind him. He fell unceremoniously after it.
"That was unexpected.." He mumbled.
Jeron laughed heartily, almost doubling over in hysteria.
Jain was kinder, stifling her giggles and helping him to stand. He exerted effort to keep his wing from weighing him down. He pulled his right wing taut trying to keep balance.
"What the hell happened to my wings?!"
Larii made a strange motion with her arms he didn't quite understand. But Jeron seemed to.
"Oh. You were shot, boy."
"I was what?"
"Shot. With a gun."
"... With a what?"
"You're damn annoying today. You were shot with a gun--you shoot them by holding them like that." He made the motion with Larii.
"Oh... kay." Demaren turned back to his wings to examine them. The right wing was fine, though a little ruffled. He smoothed the feathers. But the left wing was carefully bandaged and he could feel a slight burn beneath the wrapped fabric. He sure was accumulating a fair number of severe injuries recently, wasn't he? He sulked.
"I guess flying is out of the question. Again."
Larii sat on a barrel, smiling piteously at him. He wanted to give her a shove off that barrel so he could laugh in her face. He frowned, though, as memories of what happened trickled into accessible portions of his thoughts.
"How long has she been gone?"
Larii held up three fingers. Three days. Demaren fumbled some of the unbandaged feathers and furrowed his brow when he realized he couldn't actually feel it on the left side. Panic flooded him, and he found himself tugging feathers out in desperation for some sensation.
"Hey! HEY! Boy, stop that!" Jeron ran over and gave Demaren a swift kick in the arm. But he missed and hit Demaren's chest, sending him backwards into the mast. He leaned against it for a minute, blinking. Then he jumped up.
"Ow, Jeron, OW!" Rubbing his chest.
Jeron shrugged and gathered up the handful of feathers crudely removed. He let them fall in front of Demaren's face, so Demaren caught them bitterly. He turned quickly to Larii.
"Did you give me something for my wing or did I lose my feeling in it permanently!"
She jolted at the sudden burst towards her, and toppled off the barrel. It was not as funny as Demaren had thought it would be. When she righted herself, she clutched a papery envelope and shook it's powdery contents noisily at him. He relaxed.
"Good..." Then he looked around, embarrassed by the outburst. "So... Where's Friend?"
A strange whinny echoed from below deck. Demaren was worried that maybe Friend had been injured too, somehow, and rushed down. But Friend was sticking his head out a window and his legs were prancing and skipping joyfully. Demaren was reminded of a small child wanting to go out.
"Friend?"
Friend tugged his head back into the room, and Demaren saw it was soaking. The mane was matted and sopping, and droplets of water flicked everywhere. He even seemed to be smiling. Demaren smirked at him.
"Enjoying the water?"
Friend danced wildly for a moment and stuck his head outside again.
- - -
The first week, Demaren woke up every night to pain in his wing. The first night, he cried out and Larii gave him more numbing powder. The next day was spent numb winged, and when he woke up in pain the next night, he took it silently.
So by the second week, he had not slept much and was in a dark mood daily. Life on the boat with a curiously nurturing green girl, overexcited Hop, and rambling 4-year-old was tiring. He felt bad when he snapped at people, and every evening watched the sunset with a dozing Lia in his lap.
On one particularly bad night, Larii had suddenly burst into hysterical tears and nearly thrown herself off the boat. Almost two hours of consolation was required before Lia could even discern enough to give Jain something to translate.
"So, Larii can't hear Ashling anymore?" Demaren asked.
Larii gave a watery nod.
"Does that..." He swallowed painfully, "Is she dead then?"
She rubbed her eyes and looked up at Demaren before shrugging slightly. They spent the rest of that night silently contemplating the possibilities of Ashling's fate.
The third week ended with Demaren in almost no pain, and even the scabs were almost gone. But he still didn't sleep. Night was lonely. He had, at first, attributed it to the drugs. When he had given them, he blamed the wounds themselves. But now, he could only realize that he missed the warmth and curve of Ashling beside him. Now, almost a month without her, he still missed her breathing and gentle shifting. He hated it when the sunlight came in through his feathers--it made him miss her tiny groans of loathing towards sunlight.
Finally, in the middle of the fourth week, during their "family" lunch, Demaren brought up what he had been heavily thinking about.
"So I have an idea on how to get Ashling back..." he peered cautiously around at the group.
Larii was staring expectantly, Jain was wiping Lia's face, and Jeron was leaning against the railings of the ship nibbling lazily on a stick of sweet cracker.
"Larii? You can talk to the... the things in the forest, right?"
She nodded.
"And are they friendly? I mean, when they're not trying to eat me," he asked.
Larii nodded again slowly.
"And do they do well... outside the forest?"
She shrugged a little, thinking a bit, before suddenly clapping her hands and smiling ecstatically.
Demaren smiled, "Do you see what I'm thinking?"
She nodded enthusiastically, and leaped up to rush down to Friend. But Jeron rolled his eyes and said, smirking, "What about us, boy? Why don't you explain these forest monsters and your plan to us."
Jain glanced at the two men and picked Lia up, "I'm going to put her to bed." And they disappeared below deck.
Demaren laughed and explained their short adventure in the forest, from the run in with the monster to the meeting of Larii, and how it all eventually led to Ashling's disappearance. Jeron sat thoughtfully for a while. Jain had come back up and heard most of the story (Lia had been very tired and fallen asleep quickly).
"So..." Jeron started, "Larii can talk to these blood suckers in their heads like she can talk to your girl?"
Demaren cleared his throat calmly, "Yes."
"And they aren't really mean? They just eat what they can't talk to?"
"Yes."
"All right, so what's your plan?"
"I want to go back to the Veil and, with Larii's help, gather as many of the--" He paused trying to recall what they were actually called, "--as many of the Avery's as we can. Larii should be able to communicate the idea and since they are supposedly very intelligent and inclined to be helpful, they'll probably help us. Or at least, that's what Ashling led me to believe about them whenever we discussed them."
"And then what? You get an army of Avery's and what? Storm the City of the Eye in Eryn?"
Demaren nodded, "Essentially, yes. Larii will attempt to communicate they should only attack people to try to stop us, or whoever Larii tells them to attack. No innocents, or cowards."
Jain joined the conversation then, "Are you going to ride them? Or are you going to fly?"
"I'll probably have to put some dark outfit together and fly. I couldn't ride one of those things. It's too strange."
Jain smiled and began to braid to her hair, "Oh, I'll help you with that. We'll stop in Velt--oh don't look at me like that Demaren--Jeron and I will go to the market in Velt and find you some suitable material."
"That's damn dandy, but how the hell are you going to find your girl?"
"I'll probably have to find that particular Avery that attacked us because he--or she--or whatever-- will know her scent. I think Ashling said they have an amazing sense of smell. He'll probably be able to find her."
So it was decided. They made port a few days later, and while Jeron and Jain were gone, Demaren and Larii took care of Lia and the still overexcited Friend. It was a mildly frustrating evening for Demaren being unable to communicate with neither female on board, while Larii could talk to both small child and prancing hop. The two parents were gone for the entire day, returning long after Lia had gone to bed. Demaren had wanted to ask about the venture and see the material, but Jain and told him to wait and she put Jeron to bed.
The next morning Jain measured Demaren, while Jeron sailed them away from the port into more open water. Larii and Lia watched, riveted by Demaren's discomfort, giggling at inappropriate moments. After the measurements were taken, Jain sent him to fly Lia around. The flight was pleasant, the first one in a long time, and Lia shrieked with glee the entire time. When they landed, Jain was cleaning up her sewing mess for the evening and Demaren didn't get to see how much progress she had made. The days passed the same after that, sans the measurement sessions.
Probably a week and half later, and after Demaren felt suitably tormented and teased with the vague idea of his new outfit, Jain presented him with a folded pile of black clothes. His excitement was barely containable and he rushed down to change below deck. Friend was eating from a bag tat hung on the wall, and watched Demaren change. The outift was a smooth black material, with the firmness and strength of leather, but the soft warmth of fabric. It was tight and felt waterproof. Jain had sewn in thick patches over his shoulders and chest and back, as well as his knees and thighs. He felt invincible in it. Strangely, though, he noticed small loops on the chest and legs, as well as two matching sturdy hooks on the lower part of his hips. He walked upstairs, tugging the mysterious loops.
"Jain? What are these for?"
Jain was smiling mischievously, and Jeron had his hands behind his back.
"Thought you could use some equipment, boy."
Jeron brought from behind him a cloth case, carefully tied and fastened shut. He walked to Demaren and laid it on a nearby barrel. Then he undid the fastens and drew the ties free, and revealed a shining trove of metallic weapons. Demaren breathed in sharply, suddenly very excited by the view before him.
There were a dozen small knives in tiny covers obviously meant to slip easily into the loops on his chest, and a set of short daggers with black hilts to slide into the loops on his shins. There was even a dozen thin sharp sticks, like unto needles, yet thicker and with carefully attached handles for stabbing quickly through thick armor. But the most beautiful, appealing weapons were the axes. Two of them, matching, engraved and undoubtably sharp, about two feet long. Hard leather covers carefully rested over the blades, and small holes near the blades made it clear these were to hang on the hooks by his thighs. When he went to attach them, he found small pockets on his pants to rest the handles in so they did not bounce around and hinder him. He quickly assembled the entire set of weapons, sliding each knife, dagger, and piercer into place.
Then he stood still for a moment, examining himself carefully. Each loop had been filled and everything fit perfectly. Jain was a master seamstress, having to only measure once to make everything fit so perfectly.
"Jain..." He turned to her and she was smiling with pride. "It's perfect. Better than anything I had ever expected from anyone."
She blushed, "Thank you, Demaren. It was my pleasure. Jeron thought of the weapons and while I don't condone violence, I know you should have something to protect yourself with. Especially on a venture of love."
"L-love--!" Demaren was blushing now, attempting to deny it. But Jeron cut him off by clapping him roughly on the back. So he didn't try to pretend it wasn't out of pure selfishness that he went into the Erynese city. It was.
He was going to fetch what was his and would destroy anything that tried to stop him.
No comments:
Post a Comment