The mare’s hoofbeats went on and Kiri’s head drooped forward onto Garon’s back. She’d had to dissipate the energy she had built up in her hand, and usually that woke her up, but maybe since she’d used so much fire it wasn’t enough energy to counter what she’d lost. Her shoulder didn’t really hurt; it just felt numb. It had been a while since she’d heard the harpies screech.
Garon jerked his arms back, and Kiri sat up straight, blinking herself awake. The mare stopped moving in the same instant that Garon swung off and onto the ground.
“Are you sure it’s safe to stop?” Kiri asked. “Maybe we should keep going.”
“If we don’t stop now, you’re going to pass out.” Garon said. “We need to do something about your shoulder.”
Kiri looked down and was surprised to see that her sleeve was soaked in blood. It still didn’t feel that bad. Feeling a bit dazed, she let Garon help her down off the horse. When he moved to pull her tunic off she stopped him and handed him her dagger, hilt first. “Just cut off the sleeve.” She wasn’t usually worried about modesty, but she was sure she did not want to take her shirt off right now.
There were more bandages in Garon’s pack, of course. Even though she would have thought she’d gotten used to his extensive preparations by now, Kiri was still impressed that he had any left after taking care of Terin’s wounds back at the waystation. Just what had he been expecting?
The numb arm suddenly awoke with a sharp stab of pain as Garon laid a pad on it and pressed down hard. Aching waves spread down Kiri’s arm and up into her neck.
“Good thing you brought so many bandages,” Kiri said. “Did you know we’d be running into harpies?”
Garon smiled tightly at her. “Not really. Hold this.” He moved Kiri’s hand over the pad and she dutifully held it down tight. It hurt.
“I mean--after all this time--with me,” Kiri continued through gritted teeth. “I couldn’t blame you for expecting to be attacked--by a different kind of mythical creature--each week.”
Garon started unrolling a bandage onto Kiri’s wound. “I would say they couldn’t have been harpies, because harpies aren’t real.” he said. “But I know better.”
“At least we’ve heard of harpies,” Kiri said. “I have no idea what those dog things the Enforcer had really were.”
“Yeah.” Garon finished securing the bandage and stood up to put the rest of his supplies away. “Knowing what they’re called doesn’t help.”
“It might,” Kiri said. “Maybe we can figure out what else to expect. From the stories.”
“I did not expect them to be that ugly.” Garon said.
“Oh, I know! They were nasty!” Kiri said. “Yeesh.”
Garon pulled a few hard rolls left over from their earlier meals out of his pack and came to sit by Kiri on the stone road. “Hideous.”
Kiri’s stomach turned a little, and she knew that was because of her injury. She would’ve turned the food down, but using all that lightning had left her starving. She snagged the rolls Garon offered and bit down.
“Water?” Garon asked, but he was now empty handed.
“Huh?” And then Kiri realized she still had his water bottle hanging on her belt. She had refilled it for him right before they ran into the harpies. She unhooked it and handed it over.
“We’ll need to find more for the horse,” Garon said between swallows. “We ran her hard.”
“And with two of us,” Kiri looked at the mare. She was chewing lazily at the bits of grass growing between the stones in the road. “Do you think the harpies ate my horse?”
“Do they do that?”
“I don’t remember,” Kiri said. “Didn’t they eat people in some of the stories?”
“Maybe she got away,” Garon said. “They all followed us.”
“She was tied up.” Kiri said.
Garon took a big bite of roll and looked uncomfortable. Kiri looked down at her feet. The bloodied sleeve Garon had cut off lay on the stones. She nudged it with her toe. It reminded her she might look ridiculous covered in bandages and a mangled shirt.There wasn’t much she could do about it since she didn’t even have a cloak anymore to cover up with. That harpy had taken off with it.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Have we gone a long way?” she asked quietly. She nudged the sleeve again. They probably shouldn’t just leave it here. Maybe someone--or thing--could track them with it. “If we haven’t gone too far, we could go back and get her. It seems wrong to just leave her.” Garon was silent, and Kiri knew he didn’t want to state the obvious. “All right, I know, we have to keep going. I just feel awful-”
“Kiri.” Garon’s soft hard tone pulled Kiri’s eyes to him, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was staring steadily, stiffly, along the road. Kiri followed his gaze, and felt her jaw fall open. Not ten feet further down the road, so close Kiri couldn’t imagine how they could have come so close without her noticing, two...people...stood. They were people, they just weren’t human. They had the same basic form, but everything was stretched--elongated. But gracefully, much more graceful than humans, like gazelles as compared to donkeys. Their eyes were much wider than humans, upturned and almond shaped, and were fixed intently on Garon and Kiri. They wore gray cloaks with the hoods thrown back. Their long, thin, too-pale arms folded in front of them. They were Eldan, Kiri was sure of it.
“Turn back,” one said. The words were strongly accented. He sounded almost exactly like he was trying to talk with a mouthful of water.
Garon put a hand on Kiri’s shoulder and stood up. “We were chased and attacked by harpies,” he said. “We don’t know if we could be safe if we were to turn back.”
“You are not the first to come here lately,” the other Eldan said. Its voice was higher, and Kiri thought it was likely female. In the cloak neither one had enough of a defined figure to tell their gender, and their strange faces gave nothing away. “Another came. You are on our road. I think you are trying to steal the Sceptre, like she was.”
“We don’t want to steal the Sceptre,” Garon said.
“So you are here by chance, so soon after that would-be thief?” The Eldan woman took a step towards them. “It seems an unlikely coincidence.”
“Um,” Garon looked down at Kiri and sucked in a breath. “Well…”
“It’s not chance,” Kiri said. “We came here because of the thief. She works for someone else, and he still intends to steal the Sceptre. We are here to stop him.”
“We will stop him.” The Eldan man said. “We are the Sceptre’s guardians. You humans should return to your own road.”
“The harpies wouldn’t come on this road,” Kiri said. “You can’t send us back into danger.”
Garon jumped in. “I won’t take my friend there. She is injured. And, about coincidences, are you and the harpies showing up at the same time a coincidence, or do you have something to do with that?”
“The Sceptre is under threat,” the Eldan woman said. “We have unleashed the Brightwood. The harpies aren’t the only danger we have kept tame for many years.”
“Not the only one?” Garon said. “And you want us to go back out there? Why should we?”
“This is not your land, human,” the Eldan woman threw back her cloak and her hand went to the sword belted around her silvery, glinting, tunic. “That’s why.”
“Look, look,” Kiri said. “I don’t think any of this is a coincidence! Look at this!” She held out her hand, with its Eldan magic fire smoldering at its center, urging it into glowing brightly. “I’m here for a reason. I’m connected to you, to the Eldan. I think I’m meant to guard the Sceptre, too.”
The two Eldan moved forward slowly. The woman did not take her hand off her sword, and Kiri could see Garon tensing up and reaching for his weapon, too, as they neared. The Eldan peered at Kiri’s hand for an uncomfortably long while. Kiri chewed on her lip and stared over their bent heads, trying not to be bothered at them standing so close. Finally, the two looked at each other and the man nodded. They backed away enough that everyone could relax. A little.
“It is ours,” the woman said. “How did you come by this power?”
“The man that wants the Sceptre has been collecting Eldan powers,” Kiri said. “He was trying to get this power, too, I think, and I happened to be in the way. I thought it was just bad luck at the time.”
“Luck.” she scoffed. “We Eldan do not believe in luck. You were fated to have this power. You may be right that you were fated also to help us guard the Sceptre.”
“It is secure,” the man said. “The Brightwood will slow anyone down who tries to reach it, as it did you. And we will be aware of anyone coming near.”
“It may be secure for now,” Kiri said. “But I would still like to help guard it.”
“Who is this man who desires the Sceptre?” the Eldan man said.
“The Thief Lord,” Kiri said. “I don’t know who he really is, but that’s what we call him.”
“And he’s determined,” Garon said. “The harpies didn’t stop us. We should count on him getting at least as far as we did.”
“Come with us,” the Eldan man said.
“Are we going to the Sceptre?” Kiri asked.
“No!” the man sounded shocked. “It is far too dangerous. We only approach the Sceptre in the most dire of circumstances. It is evil, and all who near it are poisoned by its evil. Worse, if it is ever wielded. It is deadly.” He shook his head and added, softly. “Always, deadly.”
“How can we make sure it’s not stolen?” Kiri asked. “I mean, how do we keep an eye on it if we can’t go near it?”
“You ask too many questions,” the woman said. “Come, and you will see.”
Garon made Kiri ride, and she was embarrassed to find he was right to do it. She had a hard enough time staying in the saddle; she wouldn’t have been able to walk for long. Everything was dark and her vision swam with spots by the time they stopped. She didn’t take any notice of her surroundings as someone pulled her off the horse and led her, stumbling, to a soft bed. She fell asleep at once.