Zinnia
A creak of the floorboards brought Zin out of her dozing. She
was sitting on the floor, back leaning against Rowan’s bed, chin on her
chest. Eldin crouched down by her side.
“That doesn’t look comfortable,” he said.
Zin stretched. She ached all over. “Not particularly.”
Eldin’s eyes swept over her, then stood and held out his hand.
She took it and allowed herself to be pulled up. Instead of letting go,
Eldin kept hold of her hand, turning it palm up. She watched curiously
as he dropped something into it.
“In my hands it’s only a trinket, but you may find use for it.”
A smile tugged on her lips. A bead sat in the center of her palm.
It was smooth, black, and shiny. Taking out the first one, she grabbed
three strands of hair, braided them, and attached the new bead to the
end. It was heavy and might even hurt.
“Here,” she grabbed Eldin’s hand and set the wooden bead in
it, closing his fingers even as he protested. “I want you to have it. My
mother and father aren’t the only ones I care for anymore.”
Eldin’s eyes roamed her face as she willed him to understand.
She was hyper-aware of her hands closed around his and how close they
were standing for the second time that night. Maybe now he would
realize she accepted him, no matter who, or what, he was.
This time, Eldin didn’t turn away. Zin licked her lips, heart
quickening. Eldin’s eyes were darker than she had ever seen them. He
pocketed the bead and tugged his mask around his neck. The room was
much warmer than it had been just moments ago.
Eldin brushed his fingers along her jawline and Zin tipped her
head toward his, lips parted. He closed the gap between them, taking
her face in both hands. There was only the slightest of hesitations before
pressing his mouth to hers.
Zin forgot everything, feeling only Eldin’s body pressed
against hers, his hands lost in her hair, his tongue slipping between her
lips. She ran her hands down his chest and slid them around his waist,
pulling him closer.
Her hands weren’t the only curious ones. Eldin’s fingers
caressed her neck, running over her collarbone, leaving a trail of tingles
wherever they touched.
“Oh, for dragon's sake. Go find your own room already. ”
A pillow flattened against Zin’s back. She gasped and whirled
around, hands on her hips. Rowan had sat up, his face still pale, and
nose wrinkled in mock disgust.
***
They stayed in Laketown for the next week. Rowan’s fever
came back once, but broke quickly and stayed away. He used the
medicine religiously, and the color in his face came back quickly.
He didn’t say much as they prowled the market. To be fair,
Eldin had told them to pay attention to their surroundings, but he hadn’t
been very good at it before. Now he was taking what Eldin said more
seriously, stopping at stalls to look at wares while actually noting down
prices and the reactions to them.
A family of piscines moved from stall to stall, the children
pointing and gasping at all the colorful products for sale. Zin was
poking a fluffy hat when she caught Rowan slipping the children a gold
regal. He had a smile she hadn’t seen since before he got sick, but when
he turned back toward her, the smile was gone.
“Zin,” Eldin whispered in her ear.
She gasped in surprise and hissed, “Don’t do that!”
“There’s a Ghost here. He’s stalking Rowan. Whatever
happens, don’t get involved.”
Zin nodded, a lump in her throat. Eldin melted back into the
crowd as she scanned it. The Ghost was nowhere in sight, but someone
she recognized was flitting between the market goers wearing a half
sized black cloak.
“Ghost girl!”
It was the dark-haired apprentice from Nōmahsah.
“Damn it, pretend you don’t know me!” Zin said, pretending to
look at another hat. He stood behind the stall and they spoke through
the thin, makeshift cloth wall.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I could ask you the same question.”
“We’re looking for the prince. Did you hear he was kidnapped
by another Ghost?” The boy paused. “Did your master kidnap him?”
“We didn’t kidnap anyone,” Zin said, glancing over her
shoulder. Rowan was across the town square. A shadow was closing in
on him. The hair on the back of Zin’s neck stood up.
“He’s found him.” The dark-haired boy was watching his
master closely.
Zin couldn’t help it. She turned just in time to see a blackcloaked figure rush Rowan. Her eyes widened, but the Ghost shadowed
right through him and Rowan dissipated into shadow.
“What?! Aghk!” The apprentice made a strangled sound and
Zin jumped around the wall. Eldin stood behind him, a dagger at his
throat.
“Who are you?”
Zin had forgotten how deadly his voice was when turned on an
enemy. It chilled her.
“C-Callahan.” The apprentice swallowed hard.
“Call your master and I’ll slit your throat right here,” Eldin
growled.
Zin glanced at Callahan’s hand. He had been curling his fingers
to touch the Rite. Now a blade sprouted from between them. Scarlet
blood ran in rivulets and dripped from his fingertips.
“Where’s the prince?” Callahan asked, his voice an octave
higher than normal.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Eldin withdrew the blades,
kicked the boy in the back of the knee, and disappeared in a flourish of
shadows, reappearing to grab Zin. The crushing darkness sucked her in,
and they materialized on a rooftop behind a cage of chatty crows.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Rowan!” she cried in relief. He was crouching behind it,
standing as he saw them, but Eldin didn’t stop there. He hooked
Rowan’s arm, and they were gone again, leaping roofs until they arrived
at the stables.
“Horses, now.”
They obeyed. They had saddled the horses before heading to
the market, proving Eldin’s ability to think ahead once again. Zin
swung open the stall door and leapt into Azra’s saddle, patting the
horse’s neck, and backed her out.
“Ahead of me. Head toward the far gate and just keep going,
no matter what happens.”
Zin took the lead, with Rowan right behind. Shoppers and
children clogged the streets, and they could only go so fast. They had
made it to the main road and could see the gates when the hair on Zin’s
neck stood up for a second time. She flicked Azra’s reins, no longer
caring how many people were in the way.
Callahan stood at the mouth of an alleyway, staring at them. A
whoosh of air rustled Zin’s hair, and she ducked instinctively. A clang
turned her. Two black figures stood with blades locked in the middle of
the road, separating her and Rowan. He maneuvered Trigg around them
at a canter, forcing two shoppers to dive into an open doorway. The
second Ghost twisted away from Eldin and threw a knife.
“Rowan!” Zin screamed.
He pulled on the reins, but wasn’t fast enough. The knife buried
into his shoulder and he lurched forward, gasping and barely hanging
on. Zin pulled level with him, and as she did so, a black shadow streaked
toward them.
“This will hurt,” she said, reaching over and yanking the blade
from Rowan’s shoulder. Blood sluiced from the wound. He screamed.
The Ghost materialized as Zin swung and buried it up to the hilt in his
neck.
His eyes widened as he crashed into Zin and Azra. All three of
them slammed into the ground. Azra whinnied and rolled upright,
trotting over to Trigg as Rowan lay slumped across his neck.
Zin hit shoulder first, and an explosion of pain raced down her
arm. She curled around it, breath coming in ragged gasps. Blinking back
tears, she found Eldin standing between her and the other Ghost.
He pulled the knife from his throat, massaging the gaping hole
until a shadow stitched it up.
“You win this time, Eldin. But I’m coming for you. You, your
prince, and your little girly.”
With a sign and a cracked word, he was gone.
Eldin shadowed to Rowan’s side, catching him as he slipped
off Trigg. Zin sat up, wincing as another bolt of pain hit her shoulder.
She couldn’t feel her fingers.
He was back, gently grasping her other arm and pulling her to
her feet. Worry pooled in his eyes, and she gave him a pained smile.
Rowan hung onto his other side, awake but swaying, his face contorted
into a snarl.
“Dislocated,” Eldin said, glancing at her shoulder. “Can you
handle it?”
Zin nodded, and he let her go, turning to Rowan and lowering
him to the ground.
“Kūma.” The horse trotted over. “This won’t feel good.”
Rowan shut his eyes and grit his teeth. Zin knelt next to him
and took his hand. He didn’t look at her, but he didn’t pull away either.
Eldin used his dagger to slice Rowan’s bloodied shirt from his
torso and pulled a small box from his saddlebag. Zin glanced up as he
took a curved needle and thread from it. She sucked in air through her
teeth and Rowan looked at her, eyes wide.
“You’ll be fine,” she said, averting her head. A crowd had
gathered at the edges of the road to watch them. A little boy was
pointing as his mother held him close to her skirts.
She knew it had begun when Rowan’s grip turned iron hard.
The bones in her fingers ground together, and it was all she could do to
keep from pulling away. At least it distracted her from her shoulder.
“Done.” Eldin poured water over the wound and stepped back.
“Zin, you next. Then Rowan needs some of that poultice I gave you.”
She took a deep breath and faced him. “Do it.”
Eldin grabbed her wrist, pulled her arm outwards, and pushed
the shoulder back into place. Zin yelped and her knees buckled, but he
caught her. The crowd that gathered cheered. He glared at them.
Collectively, they took a step back and dispersed two at a time.
“Poultice and we have to go.” He stood her back on her feet.
She reached into her bag and shuffled things around, finding the phial
at the bottom. Walking over to Rowan, she smeared it across the
stitches.
“Try not to break them when you get on Trigg,” Eldin said,
taking the reins of the horses and leading them back to their owners. He
made sure they were both mounted before climbing on Kūma and
leading them out of town.
Eldin was silent long enough that Zin started plucking at a loose
string on her dress. Rowan hadn’t spoken either and was drinking from
a waterskin.
“You met him at Nōmahsah.”
Zin flinched. She knew it was coming, but the flatness in his
voice was almost as scary as his Ghost voice.
“Yeah.”
“How many?”
“Three, all apprentices.”
“Impressive.”
Zin glanced sideways at him. “What is?”
“That they kept their mouths shut this long.”
Rowan’s eyes flickered between them.
“What happens now?” Zin asked.
“We go south. Lay low. Kill time. Then we head to the Abyss.”
Zin stared at him, wondering why they would go back, and then
she remembered. “The Trials.”
Eldin gave a slow nod.
“What are you talking about?” Rowan asked, scowling.
“My only option to keep you two safe is to join the Ghost Trials
and become Sahmȳl. Leader of the Ghosts.”