Chapter Thirty-Eight
Raimie
Bored, I sprawled on neatly trimmed grass while waiting for Alouin. Humming to myself, I ignored the keening that was ever present here, no matter how difficult that was proving to be, because I didn’t need a reminder of what was hanging at the sky’s apex.
At least one good thing would come of dying. I could finally learn why Alouin had taken such an interest in me. I was pretty sure it had something to do with the gray mist that I’d made twice before: once at Allanovian’s tear and once my first time here. I still didn’t know what it was besides powerful and draining to create, but that mystery should be resolved any minute now.
Any minute…
Sighing, I shifted in place. Satisfying as solving one of the puzzles that had plagued my life would be, I was miffed that I’d be leaving so many others behind. I’d never know why certain people and places had been inexplicably familiar to me or understand the whole ‘Balancer’ business. That one had been particularly annoying because Dim and Bright, who’d obviously known what it meant, wouldn’t share that meaning with me.
Gods, Bright…
With a wince, I rubbed my eyes.
How had Teron killed a splinter? Given what I knew about them, that should be impossible, right?
I chose to focus on that rather than the throbbing ache inside of me, caused by a being I’d both feared and despised just a few months ago.
“Another essence here? Ships, I really need to look at the sequences that guard this place.”
Shooting my head up, I scrambled to my feet when I saw Alouin brushing himself off. His clothes had changed since the last time we’d met, which only made sense, but this was more than a simple change in outfit. A shiny tunic and trouser combination clung to his body while strips at the clothing’s seams had colored lights bouncing in them. I gaped at this impossibility while Alouin straightened.
“It’s not enough that I’m constantly fixing disasters in my chosen iterations, is it?” he said. “I have to deal with you essences too…”
When his eyes landed on me, the god froze, becoming a statue.
“Um. Hello?” I said with a wave. “I’m back.”
As motion embedded itself in Alouin again, he lifted his hands as if to strangle the air with a frustrated cry.
“You were supposed to find a tear so we could talk,” he shouted. “Not get yourself killed again!”
Rolling my eyes, I rested my hands on my hips.
“I tried that. You took your sweet time with answering me,” I said. “And I can’t help it that my enemies are… were so much more powerful than me. It was inevitable that one would catch up with me. Could you just explain-?”
“More… powerful?” Alouin sputtered. “Kid, are you not with Rhylix yet? He should be teaching you about the primal forces by now.”
Frowning, I said, “He was. How do you know about Rhy? He’s-”
How had Rhylix attracted Alouin’s attention?
“Is it because he’s an Ele primeancer, like me?”
“A primeancer. Like you,” Alouin said. “Ha!”
Striding forward, he snatched my wrist, and while his eyes unfocused, his fingers danced in the air. Biting my lip, I resisted the urge to shudder.
With a gasp, Alouin released his hold, turning wide eyes on me, and if I hadn’t known better, I’d say he looked rattled.
“Ah,” Alouin said, swallowing hard. “He’s made a friend. That’s unusual.”
Wait a minute.
“Do… do you and Rhy know one another?” I squeaked.
Shaking himself, Alouin chuckled.
“You could say that,” he said before focusing on me. “Next time you see him, tell him to get his ass moving with your training. He’s taking too long.”
With difficulty, I closed my flapping mouth, licking my lips.
“How do you know Rhylix?” I shakily asked.
And why hadn’t my friend said anything about this? I understood the need to keep things to oneself, but this was big.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Alouin said with a teasing grin. “Now, what are we going to do with you?”
While he stroked his chin, I struggled to remember what I’d been planning on asking him. I wasn’t sure why this secret of Rhylix’s had shaken me so badly. No matter how much it might pain me, my enigmatic friend didn’t matter anymore. How could he when I was dead?
So.
“You could tell me what you couldn’t the last time I was here,” I said. “We have plenty of time, right? I’m not going anywhere.”
With his eyes twinkling, Alouin asked, “Why would you think that?”
“Because I’m dead,” I said. “Where else would I go? Unless… is there another place where essences go?”
Lifting his eyes to the heavens, Alouin shook his head.
“Kid, if all essences ended up here, do you think this place would be so empty?” he asked.
That was a good question. If essences went elsewhere, though, why had I ended up here?
“You say you’re dead, huh?” Alouin said while circling me. “Well. We’ll just have to fix that, won’t we?”
He smirked at the look on my face.
“What-?” I started before a finger was smashed into my lips.
“Hush, kid. I’m thinking,” Alouin said while his other fingers started twitching. “Damn. You haven’t given me much to work with this time. Teron’s blade could have slipped when he slit your throat, but that scenario doesn’t fit with your Teron’s skill set. It could cause dissonance down the line, but the cost is low, and I have so little left to give.”
As he glanced up at the sky, his fingers stopped moving.
“The next time you see me, I may seem different. If the past is any indication, I’ll be more erratic, less patient, and most definitely irritable. You’ll probably think I’m insane. I assure you. I won’t be.”
With his face set into grim lines, he placed a finger on my forehead.
“Please, be patient with me. Remind me there’s hope.”
Realizing what was about to happen, I reached for Alouin.
“Wait! What about my explanat-?”
Alouin nudged me into the space between realities.
----------------------------------------
“Come on, Raimie. Tell me I didn’t sink a ship and swim all this way for you to die on me.”
Was- was that… Rhylix? He’d sounded…
Ugh. Why was it so hard to think?
Something jostled my shoulder, and groaning, I cracked open my gummed-together eyelids, only to raise a hand so I could shield them. Had the sun always been this bright?
“Ohthankthegods.”
With my eyes adjusted, I dropped my hand into… sand. And the sky wasn’t swaying above me.
Holy shit. Was I on dry land?
“Are you ok?”
Hovering above me, Rhylix’s face looked so pinched, and seeing the worry on him, I remembered what had happened.
“Hello to you too,” I croaked.
But then, I sluggishly sat up before brushing my fingers along my neck. Other than some stickiness, there was no evidence that my throat had been slit…
How long had it been since Teron attacked the fleet? And where was everyone else?
“We need to get out of here,” Rhylix said.
Ignoring him, I glanced around, trying to figure out where I was. Not far from us, the sea lapped at the shore, and opposite that, the ground rose in a gradual incline until it met with the cliffs cradling it. These craggy heights, covered in vines, sat close enough to one another that the beach was cast in shadows, and along the top of them, a brilliantly green forest ran to the point where the cliffs and beach met.
Listening to the waves crashing against rock, I could do nothing more than blink at this place. It was… beautiful.
Clambering to his feet, Rhylix brushed sand off of himself, before offering me a hand, which I dumbly stared at. Even knowing what was afflicting me, I couldn’t shake the fog swimming through my mind.
“What happened?” I managed. “How did we end up here? I- I died…”
Scanning the forest around us, Rhylix hauled me to my feet.
“We’ll have time for explanations once we’re somewhere safe,” he said.
He started walking, but I refused to follow, still caught in the morning’s chaos.
“No! This is important!” I said. “I… I met with Alouin again, and- and he knew who you are, Rhy! He said you needed to hurry with training me. That you’re taking too long. How do you know a god?”
With a brittle smile, Rhylix said, “I thought you didn’t believe in gods.”
“Rhylix!”
Shifting his eyes to me, Rhylix sighed.
“In case you’ve missed it, we’re in Auden now, and this place is more dangerous than you can imagine, full of people who are as strong, if not stronger, than Teron,” he said. “Before we have this conversation, I’d like your army around us or at the very least, to be armed. Can you wait that long?”
He… was right, damnit.
“Ok,” I said, “but we will have it, yes?”
Shaking his head, Rhylix started his climb up the beach again.
“If you haven’t reconsidered by then,” he said. “Follow me. Quiet as you can, please.”
Reaching the forest was a punishing endeavor. For the first bit, sand made our footing unstable, and then, the beach’s incline became difficult to traverse. By the time we reached the forest’s eaves, I was sweating and out of breath. Rhylix, on the other hand, looked like he’d barely expended any effort to get here, which was frustrating.
As he led us along the cliff’s edge, I examined the forest beside us. It was different from the one I’d grown up in, more vibrantly colored and with far different plant life in it. Perhaps it was a jungle, like what clogged most of the Southern Kingdoms.
Whatever it was, if anything besides a forest, it was interesting. Something about it… I couldn’t say why, but something about it was off-putting. Hopefully, we wouldn’t venture into it. Actually…
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I’m looking for a good vantage point. We won’t know which direction to take until we know where the fleet has weighed anchor. Hopefully, if we get high enough, we can spot it,” Rhylix said. “Try to keep quiet. We don’t want to attract anything.”
Attract what?
Even curious as I was, I kept my mouth shut until we reached the cliff’s edge. Below us, the sea sent sprays of water flying into the air, and as in Sev, a need to flee surged through me when I saw water for as far as the eye could see. Rhylix quelled this fear, pulling me down with him until we were flat on our bellies.
Cupping a hand over his eyes, he chewed on his lip while scanning the horizon. This took so long that eventually, I couldn’t keep my questions buried, even with Rhylix’s warning to stay silent.
“How long was I out?” I asked.
“Not long,” Rhylix said before clicking his tongue. “I don’t… damn. The current must have carried us further than I thought.”
“And… how did I get from a ship’s hold into the sea?”
Lowering his hand, Rhylix glared at me.
“Are you trying to draw a band of Kiraak to us?” he hissed.
Kiraak? What was that supposed to be?
“No…?” I drawled.
Huffing, Rhylix turned back to the sea, but after a few more heartbeats, he made a disgruntled noise.
“I don’t see it, even with eagle eyes,” he said. “We should keep moving. Hopefully, we’ll spy the fleet further along.”
Once we were on our feet, we moved away from the cliff’s edge and toward the safety of the forest.
“In answer to your question, I used some fancy magic to break a hole in the ship’s hull. Seemed the fastest way to get rid of Teron,” Rhylix said. “Once the sea sucked us into its embrace, I surfaced further from the fleet than I expected, so I swam us to the closest beach instead of making my way back to it.”
Glancing over his shoulder, he smirked, and I covered a snort with a raised hand. Of course he’d be proud of destroying a ship.
As we continued along, I sighed. This was nice. Alone with my friend, away from my responsibilities, and at our destination, I let myself relax. Sure, we should find the others, for safety if nothing else, but I’d enjoy this moment of peace while I could. Who knew when I’d get another of them?
Ahead of me, Rhylix grunted while throwing his arm behind him, and I gaped at the arrow shaft that had sprouted from his shoulder. Where the hell had that come from?
Growling, Rhylix jerked me to the side, yanking me out of my shock—
“Run!”
—before shoving me toward the tree line. Dim was waiting there, just standing, which was weird. I’d have thought they’d be animatedly waving me forward, shouting insults as encouragement, but they weren’t. I barely had time to consider this, though, before what was happening smacked me in the face, sending my thoughts into overdrive.
At any minute, I expected an arrow to drive into me, puncturing my heart or brain or, gods forbid, my neck again, and this made me fast. How many times could I expect Alouin to rescue me from death?
When I was hidden by the trees, I spun to check on my friend, meaning to bolt once I had. Instead, I careened to a halt.
Rhylix was headed for me, but it was in a limping run. Behind him, several broken arrows littered the ground, presumably snapped by the dagger he was holding, which… holy hell, that was impressive, but even still, he’d taken two in the side and one in his leg. And that…
No, No, no, no.
Without thinking, I sprinted for my friend, distantly hearing Rhylix’s shouted protest. Shrugging his arm over my shoulders, I reached for Ele to speed us to safety and found nothing waiting for me.
No source. How had I forgotten that Bright was gone?
Then, Rhylix pulled me to his chest while spinning. Something thunked into him, swaying us, and then, his weight was on me. I couldn’t support him, long and lean as he was!
Staggering, I sank to the ground, barely rolling out from under Rhylix before he hit the grass, face first.
When I went to help him up, though, my world became the arrow embedded in my friend’s back and the blood that was bubbling around the shaft. With part of me shrieking in my head, I pressed my hands around the wound, applying pressure, but blood just seeped between my fingers, staining them red.
No. This couldn’t be happening! This-!
Shooting a hand up, Rhylix shoved my head down right before something whistled through the air where it had been. Leveraging himself off of the ground, he coughed into the grass, sending flecks of red flying everywhere.
“Still an enemy out there,” he gasped.
Oh, gods. He wasn’t dead. Yet.
“What do I-?”
“Don’t worry about me,” Rhylix snapped. “Get into the forest, and run. Find help once you lose them.”
Stubborn bastard. I wouldn’t leave him here. I wouldn’t!
But I didn’t know how to move Rhylix when I couldn’t even support his weight.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
Dim stepped into view, snapping in my face.
“Use me,” they said.
Oh. Right.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Setting my jaw, I drew from Daevetch and shoved my arms under my friend.
“What are you-?” Rhylix started. “Raimie, no!”
“Shut UP!” I growled.
With Daevetch’s help, getting Rhylix into a stable position across my shoulders was easy, and as soon as that was done, I was sprinting into the forest, erratically moving while Dim kept pace at my side.
“How in the hell have I helped you save him?” they said with their nose wrinkled.
I just grinned at them, relieved to see them somewhat returned to normal.
Once I’d lost myself in the trees, I lowered Rhylix to the forest floor before collapsing beside him.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Rhylix said.
And hell, if he hadn’t sounded cold.
Shivering, I said, “Done what?”
“Come back for me,” Rhylix said with each word bitten off. “I can handle myself.”
“What was I supposed to do? Leave you behind?” I said.
“Yes!” Rhylix snapped, collecting his strength before he could continue. “While in the Withriingalm, I told you that I couldn’t see you on death’s door for a second time, and it’s already happened again. I can’t do it a third time.”
Pausing in massaging my leg muscles, I straightened, eyeing my friend’s trembling body. How much of that was caused by anger, and how much was the arrows jutting out of him?
“Rhy,” I said, firm and with no room for question, “you need to understand something about me. I appreciate the need for self-preservation. Trust me, I get it, but to me, some things are more important than my safety, including my friendships. You cannot ask me to leave you when you’re hurt because I won’t do it. It will never happen.”
I stopped for a moment, making sure I’d been heard, before waving a hand over Rhylix’s body.
“Now, what are we doing about those things?”
Sighing, Rhylix said, “Pulling them out.”
Drawing back, I frowned at my friend.
“Isn’t that the opposite of what you’re supposed to do?” I asked. “Shouldn’t we leave them in place until a healer can remove them?”
Giving me an odd look, Rhylix said, “In most instances, yes, but it wouldn’t be wise now. How do you know about that?”
“You may not have noticed this yet, but I read a lot,” I said, “and I remember most of what I read.”
“…Interesting.”
Shaking his head, Rhylix grabbed the arrow shaft in his thigh, walking his fingers into his leg until he had hold of something deep in the muscle. Then, he ripped it free, hunching on himself with a hiss.
“You understand what I did there?” he said after a moment. “You’ll have to take care of the one in my back and quickly. We can’t know if or when our attacker might come looking for us.”
With a sigh, I said, “Fine.”
Shuffling across the forest floor, I got behind my friend as he started extracting the arrows in his shoulder and side.
While examining my current challenge, I said, “Why would you jump in front of me like that? At least I’m wearing armor, even if it’s just hardened leather. You only have your cloak.”
“And if the archer was using a long bow, who was wearing what wouldn’t have mattered,” Rhylix faintly said. “The arrow would have punched through your armor like it was cloth.”
Grunting, he yanked another arrow out of his body, dropping it on the first while clutching at his side.
After a moment, he continued, “It was a lucky shot anyway. From the arrows’ trajectory and how I was angled, I hoped that it would bounce off of Silverblade.”
He jerked his thumb to where a pommel was peeking above his thrown-back hood. Momentarily distracted by the sight, I gaped at it.
“You have my sword?”
“I paid well for it,” Rhylix said. “I certainly wouldn’t let it sink with the ship.”
“I thought you said we were unarmed,” I said, narrowing my eyes.
With an exasperated sigh, Rhylix pulled another arrow free before repeatedly slapping at the ground.
“A single dagger and a sword do not make one armed in Auden, merely… prepared,” he groaned. “Please, Raimie. Stop stalling. Get the arrow out of my back.”
Right. That. Rhylix had been acting so normally that even with him extracting arrows right in front of me, I’d forgotten he was injured. If our places had been reversed, I’d be incoherent with pain or flat-out dead to the world right now.
Given that, how was Rhylix so lucid?
Shaking my head, I got my hand around the arrow shaft before following Rhylix’s example to the letter, wincing all the while. When I touched metal, I tugged, grimly satisfied when the arrow popped free of my friend’s back.
Until blood started pulsing from the wound that was left behind.
As it splashed over my arms and legs, I bore down on my friend’s back, searching for something to stem the flow of his blood. My abruptly gained detached state, one I was well-practiced in, fell apart when Rhylix collapsed into the grass without a sound.
His bleeding had slowed to a trickle, but in the short time that it had gushed from him, it had soaked my arms to the elbow. Gods, it was so. much. blood. and Rhylix was lying so still in the grass and leaves.
Before I could panic, white light flashed in the encroaching dusk, and Rhylix gasped, shooting upright.
Awkwardly rubbing at his back, where a patch of Ele now covered the wound, he said under his breath, “Damnit, I get it, Alouin.”
And at my back, Dim growled, “That cheating bastard.”
I barely heard them, too caught in the abrupt switch of my friend’s state.
“Are you… ok?” I said.
With the barest tensing of his shoulders, Rhylix glanced back at me, grinning.
“For now,” he said. “I’ll need another healer soon, but Ele can sustain me until then. Thanks, Raimie. You did a good job.”
“Really?” I snapped. “Because from where I’m sitting, it looked like I killed you.”
“Well, obviously, you didn’t,” Rhylix said, rolling his eyes. “I told you about this Ele application, remember?”
Almost, I accepted this explanation, but when Dim started hissing at my back, I just crossed my arms, watching Rhylix. Curious if I’d get the truth.
Frowning, he said, “I also told you about how it only works for a short time period, so we should locate our friends as quickly as possible. Pretty sure that’s the only place we’ll find a healer.”
So… that was a no, then.
With many a wince, Rhylix got to his feet before looking down at me, and gritting my teeth, I decided to drop it for now. I could always bring it up again once we were safe.
“So far, I don’t like your homeland, Rhy,” I said.
Chuckling, Rhylix said, “It’s not so bad. I promise. The land itself is quite beautiful. It’s the people who aren’t so nice.”
Glancing around the darkening forest, I shivered. How could a place like this be so freakishly still?
“Wait to make your final judgment about it until you’ve seen it in the light of day,” Rhylix said, leaning forward to help me to my feet.
As he ducked, something flew over his head, and a throwing knife embedded itself in a tree behind him. For a moment, I lost track of time, but when I gained it again, I was plastered against a tree trunk with Rhylix copying me behind the tree at my side.
“Gods, I knew we were taking too long,” he gasped, banging his head on the trunk. “Of all the poor luck, running into a patrol now.”
He looked like he was about to try something stupid, so I preempted him.
“Uh-uh. You’re injured,” I said. “Give me Silverblade, and start running.”
“Raimie-” Rhylix started.
“I won’t do anything stupid! Just distract them for a bit before running myself,” I hissed. “I’ll be fine. Trust me, Rhy.”
He didn’t want to, I could tell, but something convinced him to do as he was told. Awkwardly, he unsheathed the sword hanging from his back before tossing it my way. I obviously didn’t catch it—I’d like to keep all of my limbs, thank you—but once it thumped to the ground, I scooped it up.
“You want the scabbard? You’ll have to come get it,” Rhylix said. “Good luck.”
But then, he was off into the trees. Taking a calming breath, I found Dim and raised an eyebrow.
“Your enemy is to your left,” they said. “Twenty yards and closing.”
Back to subdued, huh? That was interesting. Given how antagonistic they’d been toward one another, I hadn’t thought Bright’s loss would affect Dim so much.
Gods, I could really use an Ele splinter right now. The forest had tipped over into night, but with no moon to provide illumination yet, I couldn’t see shit. If Bright had been here, this wouldn’t be a problem.
Yes, focus on that and not on how much it hurt that they were gone.
“Enemy in range,” Dim said. “Preparing to round the tree now.”
Raising Silverblade, I caught the first blow on it. My attacker, small and lithe, sprang away before diving in with a series of strikes, ones I desperately dodged or blocked.
Even still, glancing blows got through my defense. While Dim’s help was essential to staying alive, their whispered directions were nothing compared to seeing each jab as it came. Add to that the forest’s tricky flooring, and I was soon flat on my back, rolling away from a chop at my neck.
I couldn’t keep this up.
On my feet, I took off into the trees with my eyes closed. They weren’t doing me much good right now.
Gods, I could use Bright.
Something snagged my foot, and I went tumbling, but before I could get up, footsteps caught up with me. Weight slammed into my lower back, making me eat dirt as I coughed.
Fuck.
Something instinctual, built into the base of me, swelled at the risk to my survival, and this primal urge lifted a cry in my mind.
BRIGHT, I NEED YOU!
As a glow bathed the forest, someone coughed.
“I… exist?” Bright gasped.
No time to wonder at their appearance. As soon as I felt my Ele source, I pulled a sip of it to my hands.
Before I could fling my enemy off of me, though, they grabbed my wrists, pinning my hands between their legs and my hips, and cold steel was pressed against my skin. With nothing else, I stopped fighting, becoming a rag doll beneath this person who… wasn’t killing me.
Huh.
“Who are you? How are you doing that?”
A woman?
…Why did that surprise me?
“Doing what?” I asked.
That had sounded muffled, even to my ears, and in response, the point, jabbing into my neck, dug deeper, drawing blood.
“Don’t play games with me, Kiraak. I’m not in the mood,” the woman snapped. “If you answer my questions without trouble, I’ll cleanly separate your head from your shoulders. If not, who knows? I can see little pieces of you scattered in the bushes and trees.”
What? Was she godsdamn serious?
Ok. Ok, ok. No panicking. I could do this.
“I’m not a Kiraak, whatever that is,” I said. “My friend and I have been separated from our companions. We were trying to find them when you… or I assume it was you, attacked us.”
“Right…” the woman drawled. “Because humans often wander through the Cerrin Forest alone.”
Uh…
“I don’t know what to tell you,” I said. “I’ve spoken the truth. Why would I lie, given my position?”
While the woman considered that, I reached out for my Ele source only to find it missing again, which was concerning. I had heard Bright just now, right?
Also, where was Dim, and why hadn’t I accessed Daevetch in that moment of panic? It would have worked just as well. I wasn’t sure about using it now, not when I might be getting somewhere with this woman. From what I could tell, Daevetch didn’t discriminate when it came to keeping people alive, and I wanted no more deaths on my hands.
“Say I was inclined to believe you, which I’m not,” the woman said. “How do you explain your friend’s living, breathing state? I shot him through the heart, yet he lives. Only Kiraak can do that.”
They could? That was interesting. And a little intimidating.
Could I tell this woman why Rhylix was alive? It could get him in serious trouble.
Then again, perhaps primeancy wasn’t as reviled here as it was back home, and who knew? Considering the Kiraak thing, maybe they had a different type of magic here.
The sharp edge on my neck pressed down again, and I stiffened.
“Ok, ok! Gods!” I shouted. “My friend and I have magic, all right? It can keep someone alive for a time, no matter the injury, but the effect is temporary. If I don’t find him a healer soon, his hold on his magic will slip, and Rhylix will die.”
On top of me, the woman turned to stone, loosening her hold, while her weapon fell away from my skin. I wasn’t sure why she was reacting like that, but I took advantage of it anyway, ripping an arm free so I could blast her with the Ele I was still holding. As soon as her weight was lifted off of me, I jumped to my feet, scrambling for Silverblade.
Whatever came next, I’d be ready for it. I hoped.
Without Bright to help, I had to rely on the moonlight to see, but it did somewhat reveal my surroundings and my foe. She was already on her feet with her head cocked at me, and when I didn’t attack her, she lifted her hands into view before hanging her strange-looking weapons from her belt.
I didn’t return the courtesy.
“Good reflexes and instincts,” she said. “Ok, possible Kiraak. Where’d your friend run off to?”
With a snort, I controlled my snickering until I realized she was serious.
“I’m sorry. Why on earth would I tell you that?” I snapped. “You attacked us, and I have no idea who you are. For all I know, you’re one of these Kiraak that keep getting mentioned.”
Softly laughing, the woman said, “Come on. If I were Kiraak, you’d already be dead. You know that. Although…”
She tilted her head the other way.
“If you are Kiraak, that begs the question of why you haven’t come howling for my head yet. The lack of visible Corruption could mean that you control the bloodlust, though,” she said before shaking her head. “In any case, if you need a reason to lead the way, would it help if I knew a healer who might look at your friend?”
It would certainly help me with listening to her. Sure, a civilian who’d accompanied us, Chela, was a decent enough healer, but I wasn’t sure if Rhylix and I could reach her in time, especially in the dark. When weighing his probable death against possible danger, which won out?
“How do I know you won’t attack us when we’re together?” I asked.
Shrugging, the woman said, “You don’t.”
Great…
Well, now that I had some sense of my opponent, I thought Rhylix and I could take her, even if he was injured, and since I’d have time to prepare, maybe I’d remember to use Daevetch this time.
Where the hell was Dim?
“I don’t know where Rhy was going. We didn’t get a chance to discuss it,” I said, “but I know which direction he took from the last place I saw him.”
“Better than nothing. I can take it from there,” the woman said. “tracking you here was easy enough. You left quite the trail.”
At that, I tensed. I’d figured it was the case when she’d said she’d shot Rhylix but…
“You did attack us on the cliff,” I said.
“Mmhmm,” she said, “and I’ll apologize for it once I’m sure this isn’t another Enforcer trick. In the meantime…”
Stepping to the side, she beckoned for me to take the lead, which I did with my skin prickling. Having a potential enemy at my back was not a pleasant sensation.
Fortunately, after I found where the confrontation had started, our positions switched, but then, I ran into another problem. In the light of day, I’d have had no trouble with hiking through this forest, could even have helped the woman with tracking, but in the dark, I was struggling to stay on my feet.
“You’re very loud,” she said after a while.
“Forgive me for my lack of night vision,” I said.
I couldn’t give her more than that, concentrating on foot placement as I was.
“You made light appear before,” the woman said. “Why not do it now?”
“I can’t,” I said. “Something’s wrong with Bright.”
The woman gave me a momentary break from splitting my focus, but it didn’t last long.
“What’s Bright?” she asked.
Tripping over a root, I barely caught myself before making a face. Getting another mouthful of dirt around this quasi-hostile woman would be embarrassing.
“Who, not what,” I said. “Bright’s a splinter of… Order is what Rhy said. They’re my source to-”
Cutting off, I stopped short.
“Why am I telling you this?”
“How should I know?” the woman said. “Maybe you don’t find me threatening.”
She crouched to inspect the forest floor.
“Oh, you’re plenty threatening,” I mumbled before raising my voice again. “Do you have a name?”
Well, that had been a dumb question. Of course she had a name. Everyone had that.
Rising from the ground, the woman dusted off her hands before glancing at me.
“Do you?” she said.
She walked off, leaving me tripping over myself to keep up. Should I answer that question?
Why wouldn’t I, though? Nothing bad could come of it. Right?
“I’m Raimie,” I said.
Glancing over her shoulder, the woman shook her head.
But she said, “Ren.”
Why did that name sound familiar? I could have sworn I’d heard it before. Recently.
I chewed on this for a while, blindly following the woman. Giving her my trust was probably a bad idea, but what else was I supposed to do? I didn’t know this forest, which meant I couldn’t easily walk through it at night, and sitting around until daybreak didn’t seem wise.
Slowing to a stop, Ren turned in a circle while scanning the ground, and I carefully watched her.
“The tracks are muddled here,” she said. “I can’t tell which way he went unless…”
With a pop, Rhylix appeared beside Ren in a wash of light. Seizing her tunic, he propelled her into a tree, hovering his dagger in front of her eye. Or where openings in cloth strips indicated her eye should be.
“You have one chance to explain yourself before I slit your throat,” he hissed.
When he fell quiet, though, the only thing that answered him was a shaky gasp.
At first.
Then, Ren was saying, “Rhy? Is it really you?”
Again, something knocked on the door to my mind, asking for permission to enter, but before I could allow it in, Ren started raining her fists on Rhylix’s shoulders.
“I thought you were dead, you asshole,” she sobbed.
Recognition clicked, and oh, how I wanted to burst into laughter or shout with joy. If this wasn’t providence, I didn’t know what was.
When Rhylix glanced at me with befuddlement painted across his face, I pointed at the woman, who was sobbing into his chest.
“Her name’s Ren,” I said.
At his sister’s name, Rhylix became a statue. After a slow blink, he backed away from the woman with his dagger raised, joining it with a hand full of Ele.
“Show me your face,” he stiffly said.
Obligingly, Ren unwrapped cloth from around her head, revealing jet back hair and gray eyes, followed by a button nose and full lips. The image would have been quite breathtaking if it weren’t for the tears, dribbling over her cheeks, and mucus, dripping from her nose.
Rhylix’s dagger hit the forest floor with a thud while his mouth worked, but nothing emerged from it. Meanwhile, Ren took a step toward him, which only had him retreating.
“No,” he managed to say. “No, you’re dead. That’s the way it works. My family never survives, and it’s always my fault.”
What was that supposed to mean?
But then, a tree stopped Rhylix’s backward march, and Ren caught up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He stiffened, but ever so slowly, panic receded, and he returned his sister’s embrace with his breath hitching. Burying his face in her hair, he took a deep breath before his shoulders started shaking.
As quietly as I could, I backed off, hoping to give the two space. Leaning against a tree trunk, I closed my eyes while tapping my finger on my thigh.
I understood why Rhylix needed a moment. Who wouldn’t after reuniting with a sibling you’d thought long dead, one who’s death you’d blamed yourself for? Even still, I’d like to get Rhylix to a healer, preferably before he needed one.
Sliding to the forest floor, I cast that thought aside. I’d put this time to good use, even if what I had in mind for filling it was something I’d rather not do.
Dim? I said. Wherever you’re hiding, you can come out now. We should talk.
On manifesting, the splinter sat cross-legged in front of me, playing with the cuff of their trousers’ leg.
Where were you? I said.
“You sent me away when you ran from her,” Dim grumbled. “And after that… I know what you want to talk about. I don’t want to do it.”
Sighing, I crossed my arms.
We’ll have to eventually, I said.
“I know,” Dim said.
After waiting a moment, I lifted an eyebrow.
So?
“So,” Dim said before rubbing their face. “So, your piece of Order doesn’t exist anymore, as I’m sure you’ve surmised. That asshole, Teron, destroyed Bright with Lighteater.”
Lighteater’s the sword that he had, yes? I asked and when Dim nodded. How can a sword destroy a splinter?
“That’s… complicated.”
Growling, Dim leaned back on their hands, looking up at the barely visible stars.
“Lighteater was forged eons ago,” they said. “When this happened, purified tendrils of my whole were folded into the blade. Now, other forms of the whole, like the energy that you can access, can de-summon enemy pieces, but what’s in Lighteater can utterly obliterate them. It and Shadowsteal are the only weapons in reality that can kill the enemy’s ‘splinters’, as you call us.”
Well, ok. Just when I thought I was getting the hang of the primeancy side of my life, something like this came along. There was one problem with what Dim had said, though.
Bright’s not completely gone, though, I said. They showed up when I was fighting Ren. Helped get her off of me, in fact.
Dim lowered their head so fast that if it had been real, their neck would have snapped.
“What?” they said, although they’d sounded creepily empty.
You didn’t see them? I said. No. I’d sent you away, like you said.
Shrugging, I spread my hands.
What can I say? They sounded just like Bright, felt like them when I accessed Ele. I don’t know what to think, though, because they won’t show themselves now. It’s like they’ve been wiped out again.
Between blinks, Dim went from sitting in front of me to standing as far from me as they could get.
“That shouldn’t be possible,” they said.
Making a face, I opened my mouth to comment on the many impossible things that had happened to me recently when someone stopped at my side, making me jump.
“Rhy, why does your friend have one of them hanging around?” Ren asked with a hand on her weapon’s hilt.
“Who, Dim?” Rhylix called from behind the tree. “Don’t worry about it. It’s harmless.”
Broken from what had held them captive, Dim bristled, which rocked Ren back a step.
Keeping her eyes on the splinter, she said, “I’ve never heard of a ‘Dim’ part of Daevetch.”
Glancing between her and the splinter, I frowned at Ren.
“You can see them?” I asked. “Are you a primeancer too?”
Seemed safe to say that taboo word if she could see Dim.
“Ha! No,” Ren said.
But she relaxed minutely.
“My sister can see splinters, but that probably has something to do with growing up around one,” Rhylix said. “And Ren? Dim is what Raimie calls his splinter. I find it an apt description of its affinity and its intelligence.”
Seething now, Dim muttered, “If you weren’t Raimie’s friend, oo…”
They took a calming breath.
“I take offense to that,” they shouted.
“I don’t care,” Rhylix sang.
“Ok. That’s it,” Dim growled, stalking toward Rhylix. “I swear to me, I’m doing what I can to meet you halfway, you prissy little-”
They disappeared, leaving me gaping at where they’d been about to step. I’d been wishing that they’d go away, well aware that after getting so riled up, Dim would need time to cool off, but I hadn’t expected anything to come of it.
“Um.”
Glancing at me, Ren pointed at the spot I was fixated on.
“Did you just send it away?” she asked.
“Maybe? I’m not sure,” I said. “Hell, they’ll be pissed when they come back.”
“Then, don’t ask for it to come back,” Rhylix called.
Rolling my eyes, I walked my hands along the tree while getting to my feet.
“If you call it Dim, which aspect is it part of?” Ren asked.
“Raimie, no!”
“Dim’s a Chaos splinter,” I said.
As Rhylix groaned, slapping flesh against flesh, I scowled in his general direction. Why hadn’t he wanted me to share that fact?
I got my answer when Ren retreated from me with her weapons half-drawn.
“It’s what?” she squeaked. “Isn’t Chaos one of the more powerful-?”
“Yes! Yes, it is!” Rhylix growled. “Good gods, stop! Both of you, come help with the fire. Hell, Ren. He’s my friend, and besides, now that you know he’s not a Kiraak, don’t you have something to say?”
Gritting her teeth, Ren released her hold on her weapons before bowing with great exaggeration.
“I’m sorry for attacking you,” she said, “although with how you were acting, you were asking for it.”
“Did Rhy get a pathetic apology too, or does your relationship with him excuse you from ‘shooting him through the heart’?” I snapped.
Sneering at me, Ren turned on her heel to join her brother, and after trying to strangle the air, I joined them, finding Rhylix in the middle of building a fire.
Crossing my arms, I said, “I though you needed a healer.”
“Ren took a look at the wound. She said it’s not as serious as I thought,” Rhylix said while using flint to start a fire. “I’ll be fine.”
“I did what?” Ren said.
As Rhylix shot her a cautioning glare, a suspicion, buried beneath the drama of the last hour, raised its head again.
“Uh-huh,” I said. “Perhaps you remember a conversation where I said that I don’t care if you have secrets? All that bothers me if you try to hide them from me. Yeah, I’m getting the same feeling now that I did then.”
With a long sigh, Rhylix slumped.
“Please, just help me light the damn fire, Raimie,” he said.
Gods, he looked exhausted, but then, it had been a long day for him, one as hectic as mine. I could give my friend a break for tonight. In the morning, he had a lot of questions to answer but for tonight…
Crouching beside my friend, I extended a hand for the flint and within seconds, had sparked a fire. While I fed it a healthy diet of twigs, Ren settled opposite us.
“Is a fire such a good idea?” I asked. “Earlier, you were scolding me about keeping quiet, and now, we have a merrily crackling flame to announce our presence. Seems contradictory.”
Ren shifted her gaze to her brother before speaking.
“I find the risk minimal now,” she said. “With our numbers, we can fight off anyone who attacks us, and at night, camping beside the sea can get dangerously chilly.”
“Ok…”
Digging in her pockets, Ren said, “I’ll bet you two are hungry. I don’t have much but…”
She tossed us strips of dried meat, which like she’d said, wasn’t much, but I descended upon it like a starved animal anyway. Finished well before the others, I watched them eat for a while before shooting to my feet.
“I’ll keep watch,” I said, jerking a thumb over my shoulder.
I wasn’t sure why they were making me uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the easy, unspoken companionship I saw between them, even after their years apart. It spoke to the lack of anything similar in my life, and for some reason, that lack grated on me tonight, more so than normal.
Settling into a tree’s hollow, I stretched my senses into this shadowed forest, listening to its stillness.
So, this was the land I was meant to save, was it?
What an awful place. I missed home.