Chapter 6

“When can we stop to eat?” Sam asked Ayasse. She knew she'd been growing more demanding the longer they travelled, but she didn’t care. She was ready to sleep on the stone path if she had to. They had been walking since sun-up without rest and she wanted to fall over and now, the orange sun was getting low in the sky, bathing the road in colour. Once they left the black Deadland forest, Ayasse insisted on continuing through the green forest. She’d refused.

One moment, the trees were black, oppressive and closing in on her. Sam felt like they were going to dig into her soul. Then it was like stepping into another world. The trees were green, refreshing and it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Even if they were small and stunted it was a sudden but welcome break from the bleakness of the Deadland Forest.

That black land had been difficult to navigate, with rough terrain and full of dangerous animals. The horned rabbit, the least of them. At least they didn’t meet the Siguma. A cat-like creature with fangs that reached to its knees, the first time Sam saw that, she shimmied up a tree and didn’t move for three hours. The fur was a beautiful and highly prized midnight colour, similar to the pictures of the Sabretooth in books from back home, only twice the size.

Now, on the King’s path, they could get where they were going faster and see anything coming. It was wide and free of most trees. The few were there to hang signs on, but everything on both sides of the path had been cut down for several hundred feet. Probably to allow troops to move.

Ayasse had grumbled, but he finally agreed to do what she wanted as long as he could scout ahead. She had to let him keep the little things.

He would disappear through her shadow and reappear a few minutes later as if nothing happened. The first time he did that Sam twitched and she felt goosebumps travel up her arms. She’d always been unnerved and fascinated by his ability to move within the shadows. When they were part of Akira’s group, Ayasse always went elsewhere to do that. Now there was nothing to stop him from appearing anywhere, including her private time.

“How do you do that? Move through the shadows?” If she knew more maybe she could stop him from using hers.

Ayasse stared straight ahead but tilted his head. Sam had been with him long enough to know that meant he was thinking about how to explain something. He never revealed what was on his mind without doing that first. In the beginning, it annoyed her, but now it was his quirk. It was refreshing, to have someone think about what they would say.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged his shoulders. “It’s always been a part of me. It’s like trying to explain your strength. How is it a blessing from the gods? Why did they give you that instead of something else?”

“I see your point,” Sam replied. “Why don’t you use mine and not yours?”

“It’s easy to enter the shadow world through my shadow, but coming out is more difficult. I don’t always know where I’m exiting when I do that and have found myself in dangerous situations. When I use another person’s shadow, I can track them for a few days and find them easily.” He put away his knives. “If we get separated It will let me find you.”

“I see,” Sam said, mulling over his reason. There was nothing wrong with it, but she still found the idea he could follow her unnerving. “Was there anything up ahead?”

“A small village about an hour away. We should go around it and spend the night in the forest. I didn’t see anything dangerous there, but, it’s a risk.” They had been walking for a week to get back to the kingdom of Relancia. Sam was getting tired of catching their food and sleeping outside. According to Ayasse, they had another week to go without horses.

“I want to eat something better than a horned rabbit,” Sam stomped her foot. “Besides, maybe we can barter for some horses. It’s taking forever to get back to this master of yours..”

“We should avoid people as much as possible,” he warned. “This is a dangerous time and Akira has had over a week to work against us. Who knows what’s waiting for us there?”

“Still, I said I was in charge and I say we can risk it. It’s been too long since I’ve had a good meal. Besides, what could go wrong?” Sam thrust her chin forward and refused to budge.

When they travelled as a party of five, Akira was about putting himself first. She knew she could be just as controlling, more so since she got her memories back, but usually, she focused more on the group. Before, she would listen to the others, but now no one was going to take away her freedom.

“Very well, but let me scout ahead again.” With that, Ayasse vanished into her shadow.

“Don’t do that!” Sam shuddered. “Can’t you find some other way to scout?” She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

“I’m happy to see you have made a new friend. You shouldn’t boss him around so much, though. He might decide to leave you, like everyone else.” Sam spun around at the feminine voice and then relaxed when she saw it was just Nadia.

“You’re back. I missed talking to you.” Sam smiled at her best friend. If Ayasse was right, she was just an illusion, but Sam didn’t care. “I know you’re not real, but it’s good to see you.”

“Not real? I feel pretty real. What are you talking about?” Nadia asked, walking ahead. With her long slender legs, the raven-haired beauty soon out-paced her. Sam had to jog to keep up. Ayasse’s antidote had been able to remove most of the symptoms of the poison. However, for the past few days, Sam saw flashes of something out of the corner of her eyes. They were small, but they’d been growing. This was the first, full manifestation since that awful day. Part of her wanted to tell Ayasse what was happening and trust him, but there was a small knot in her stomach that said she should keep this to herself.

“Nothing. Just some random thoughts. How’s your father?” Sam asked, not caring about the answer. It felt good to hear her voice.

“Daddy? He’s good. His latest business venture has kept him quite busy. He’s been a little put out since you sicked the labour men on him,” Nadia shook her finger at Sam. “He said he’d make you pay for that.”

Sam remembered the incident and chuckled. It was a few years ago. Lord Robert had set up a new factory, using children. When Sam found out she’d sent a message to the government, and they raided it. He was furious and threatened to send her to an orphanage. That blow-up had been epic. Lord Robert had shouted at Sam, his face turning a deep purple. Sam gave him the same in return, probably turning a similar colour. People in the next house had heard them. It had taken all her willpower from jumping on him and beating him with her fists. Nadia’s mother was still alive then and had been able to calm his anger and Sam’s as well. However, Lord Robert never forgave Sam for the betrayal. That had been the beginning of their many fights.

“I don’t care about that. It serves him right.”

Nadia continued. “He’s been looking for a partner for us, but I’m not in any rush. It’s best to let things go at their own pace. Besides, why do I need to follow exactly what he wants? As long as I keep him happy, he’s not going to force me to do anything I don’t accept. I can do what I wish as long as I’m respectful.” She tilted her head and smiled at Sam. “Something you should learn.”

“I wish I could have that attitude,” Sam snorted. Most of her memories of Lord Robert were of them fighting. She and her guardian could never see eye to eye and she, like him, refused to compromise.

“You just need to unbend, silly. Relax your control. Let others lead,” Nadia skipped ahead.

“Maybe.” Sam started chewing on her fingernail. “They usually mess things up.”

“Who are you talking to?” Ayasse said as he popped out of Sam’s shadow. Goosebumps ran up her arms.

“Don’t do that, jackass!” Sam shouted. “I could’ve killed you.”

“Sorry. You aren’t seeing people again, are you? I asked you to tell me if that happened.” He sounded worried.

“Nobody. I’m fine. It’s none of your business!” Sam crossed her arms and stalked forward.

Sam heard Ayasse’s grunt of disapproval from behind his mask. For a thief, he was quite noisy at times.

If she told him that Nadia was back, he’d worry more. She could deal with it. According to him, they needed to get to his master’s within the next week or Sam would continue to get worse and go crazy. He was probably exaggerating. If anything, she felt fine. Sam chewed on her fingernail again. She wanted to talk to Nadia, even if it wasn’t real. She was the best reminder of home.

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“You said you were summoned here; did you have this strength in your world?” Ayasse asked her, knocking her out of her self-absorption.

“I don’t think so. At least, I don’t remember having it,” Sam replied. She wanted to let some of her concerns out, but she wasn’t quite sure she should trust him yet. “Some of my memories from over there are still blurry. We had a Queen back home in England. That was the name of my country. Victoria is a proud, noble woman who cares for her subjects. There wasn’t any armour, like here. That was old-fashioned. The fighting technology was steam-based and much more advanced than here. We had cars, fast-moving carts with no horses. There was no magic. However, I don’t quite know everything. There are still so many blank spots.”

“Can you get back home?” The tone picked up in Ayasse’s voice. Usually, it was soft, like listening to the wind, but sometimes Sam could pick out the curiosity. “There are several prophecies of the ‘Realmwalker’, usually of the violent kind, but nothing is clear, and nothing about them going home,” he continued.

“I think so. I remember arriving in the palace with a portal and seeing that greasy king,” Sam stopped walking and stuck her hand under her chin. “It didn’t disappear, but there was a problem. Something to do with his court mage, I don’t remember. After that, I woke up in a bed and was told I had been attacked by a spell at the initiation ceremony all the adults go through. I think that’s when a memory spell was cast, making me believe Akira and I were childhood friends.”

Thinking of how he treated her brought a scowl to Sam’s face. She imagined his head was in front of her and punched a tree in rage. It took five minutes for Ayasse to help her get her hand out. She shook her fist and started pulling splinters out. It was scratched, but it wasn’t bleeding and there were no broken bones. The tree leaked a green sap, the same as the ones in the Deadland forest.

“I didn’t need your help but thanks,” Sam chewed on her fingernail again. “What are these prophecies of the ‘Realmwalker’ about anyway?” She asked, changing the subject.

“I’m not sure,” Ayasse replied. “According to the rumours, when the land is in its hour of need there will come a hero to save the people, but they will also bathe it in blood and strife. Not much more than that. Some bits and pieces make very little sense.”

“I see,” Sam put the story out of her mind. She wanted to go home anyway, so this should matter to her. Most of those things were fake anyway, usually tied to some kind of divine being. They believed in God’s role in everything back home until science proved them wrong. “Where’s this village?”

“It should be ahead,” said Ayasse. “You’ll see it soon.”

Coming up on the village they saw a mud-coated street down the center of a small collection of buildings. The street was pitted with wagon ruts and horse hoof churnings making it a chore to find a place to step.

The line of single-family dwellings looked rundown and weather-beaten. Set at the edge of the tree line, they leaned off to one side and continued for several meters. Filthy from what seemed like years of dust storms and neglect, the windows were caked in dirt, covered in weeds and in need of some serious repair. The area wasn’t rich, especially this close to the Demon kingdoms. There was a tavern. It was the only building in the village with a full set of shingles and clean windows.

“I almost think this place is abandoned,” she scoffed. “It certainly looks like it.”

Sam wrinkled her nose at the smell coming out of the tavern and sighed. She’d had enough of unwashed men and horse droppings in Relancia to last a lifetime, but it was either this or the forest again. She stepped through the door of the noisy building and sat down at the nearest empty table. There were a few coins in her pouch, enough for something besides roasted meat. The room was dark and smelled like a toilet was mixed in, but it should have food.

“What can I get you?” the innkeeper asked as he put down two tankards of ale. He was an ugly man with a big nose. Based on the size of his arms, he could probably also double as the security, getting rid of the drunkards.

“What do you have?” Sam looked at the drinks. The glasses were stained, as if they were washed semi-regularly, without any skill whatsoever.

“We have lamb and cheese with some bread. There are some carrots too.” He scratched his armpit, looked at his fingers, then wiped them on his pants.

“I’ll take the lamb and cheese with the bread. No carrots please,” She never could get used to green carrots. They seemed so wrong.

“I’ll have the carrots, lamb and cheese,” Ayasse said.

“Fine. One silver for each of you.” He took the money and stared at Sam’s face for a second then his gaze went to her chest.

“What are you staring at?” Sam’s voice rose.

“Haven’t I seen you before?” the innkeeper asked her. His eyebrows were scrunched together as if trying to place her.

“I’ve never been here before in my life,” Sam slapped the table and glared at the man. She’d show him how much she cared for people staring at her. He just shrugged and left to get the food before she could move.

“You can’t always go around causing such trouble,” Ayasse commented, removing his hood. He left his mask on. He had never eaten with the group before. Maybe now she’d finally see his face.

“What? He started it,” She shifted, adjusting her tunic.

Ayasse shook his head and sighed. He lowered his mask, took a sip of the beer and winced. “Ugh, If I needed to hide something, professionally speaking, this taste would be perfect.” He put it down and saw Samantha staring at him. “What?”

“So that’s what you look like. I never knew you were so cute. I imagined you’d have a row of snaggle teeth and were embarrassed by them. But no, you look like a doll. I can even see dimples. And now you’re blushing. Could you get any cuter?” Sam gushed.

Ayasse pulled up his mask and turned away from Sam. “You don’t like it when people stare at you, what makes you think it’s okay to do that to others?”

“Come on, don’t be like that. I don’t mean anything by it.” Sam took a test sip and then drained the tankard. “That hit the spot. Where’s the food? I’m starving.” Sam looked around and saw the innkeeper pointing at them while talking to a man with a sword. She saw a few more men with swords standing around the edge of the room staring at her as well. “Something’s going on here.”

“Give me a moment.” Ayasse walked away this time.

“No shadow?” Sam thought, while she waited and watched the men in the bar. Her vision started to get a little blurry. She must be more exhausted than she thought. Maybe they could rent a room and spend the night here, bed mites be damned. It’d be better than sleeping outside. At least the weather had cooperated. There were no storms and while the nights were chilly, Ayasse had pulled out some blankets from his shadow pouch. They had saved the day several times.

“Here is your food. miss.” The waitress put a tray in front of her and disappeared back into the crowd before Sam could even get a glimpse of her face.

“Great. I’m starving.” Sam picked up the fork and stabbed the meat. Ayasse returned and knocked it out of her hand before she could bring it to her mouth. “What the hell are you doing?” Sam slapped the table and raised her lip. “I’m hungry!” How dare he interfere with her food.

“They put something into the food. I wasn’t sure if I recognized it in the beer because it was weak. It makes you sleepy. Combined with the stuff in the gravy it would knock you out, and they’d rob you.”

“So, they’re thieves. I can deal with that,” Sam stood up and cracked her knuckles.

“No, there’s more. Look at this.” Ayasse placed a poster in front of Sam. When she saw her face or the closest someone could come to it. The nose was bigger, the eyes were eviler and the chest ginormous but it was her. She saw her name ‘Samantha Morningshire,’ and a number, ‘200 gold crowns.’

“Shit! That bastard, he sold me out. And this drawing! There’s no way that could be me. When I see Akira, I’m going to rip him a new hole.” Sam pounded the table and flipped the food all over the place.

“We have to go.” Ayasse pointed to the door. “The women are leaving and the men are preparing to attack.”

“How do you know?” Sam asked, cracking her knuckles.

“It’s what I would do. You’ve had the beer and it’ll slow you down. Besides, look around you. We’re not alone.” Sam followed his hands and saw several big ugly brutes facing her, weapons out.

“Just my type. Dumb and ugly. Shall we dance?” Sam stood up and started throwing punches. The first one tried to use his wooden mace to block the punch. Sam just shattered it and his nose. He staggered back as another reached for her legs. With her strength, he didn’t even slow her down. She reached down, picked him up and chucked him into two other men, taking them all out.

“Get her, she’s worth a year’s pay!” Sam heard someone shout.

“She’s too strong and didn’t take enough of the stuff. Get the soldiers!” Another voice yelled out.

“Come on. Bring it!” Sam jumped into the middle of the four men and took them down with a sweeping leg kick. Two landed on her and pushed her down, forcing her to flip them when she stood up. There were three more by the door. They were far enough back that they could avoid her punches, but not the table. It hit them and shattered, sending splinters everywhere.

She crouched, waiting for the next attack, but nothing came. “So soon? Where’s the challenge, boys? I thought you could handle a little woman like me?” She stood over the groaning men on the floor and grinned. “Thanks for the warm-up.”

Stumbling forward she held her hand to her head. “Dammit! What did you give me?” She was already exhausted before coming into this place. Now, it was like looking through a veil. Everything was becoming blurry.

“We have to leave. Now!” Ayasse popped out of her shadow again.

“I told you to stop doing that! It’s unnerving.” Sam shuddered. “What do you mean? Everybody is out cold.”

“No, there are more coming. These people were just here to stall us. Someone else went and got the army commander. I missed a garrison hidden in the outskirts.” Ayasse pushed Sam to get her out the door.

“What? I thought you checked this place out carefully. Do I have to teach you how to do everything?” Sam threw her hands up in the air.

“This is not the time! We have to leave.” Ayasse continued forcing Sam out the door. “There are some horses outside we can take. These men must have brought them.”

“Dammit! This is your fault,” Sam accused him as they rushed out the door. There were three horses tied to the stall. Sam chose the strongest-looking one and got on. “We’re going to talk about this later.”

“Fine. Let’s move.” Ayasse kicked his horse into motion just as the soldiers appeared on the south end of the town. “That’s the direction we have to go. They’re blocking us.”

“We can fight our way through.” Sam cracked her knuckles again and shoved them into her eyes, rubbing them to get rid of the sleep. The first fight had warmed her up and she was just getting started.

“No! It’ll take too long. I counted at least fifty men at the garrison and you’re not at your best. Someone will get lucky with those numbers. We have to go back the way we came. Maybe we can lose them in the forest.” Ayasse turned his horse around.

“Dammit!! I can’t believe this.” Samantha leaned forward on her horse and began following the thief. It was hard to see him in the dark so she used his horse. Even then, he was somehow able to hide it in his shadows.

“There they go after her!” Sam heard behind her. Crap! How many horses did they come with? Once they lost those men, she was going to have a long discussion with Ayasse about proper surveillance techniques. This was unacceptable.