45

Lyra had no idea where Kel was leading them. She didn’t even know if he knew. The blood flowing the wound on her forehead seemed to be slowing, but she couldn’t wipe her eyes again; she had to use both hands just to cling to Aeliana’s mane and the front of the saddle. She had dropped her reins at some point, so holding on was all she could do even though the impact of the horse’s hooves striking the ground sent a bolt of pain through her skull. It didn’t matter that she didn’t have the reins, because Aeliana was following Kel’s stolen horse of her own accord, driven by panic and the instinct to stick with others of her kind.

They weren't heading for town. She spotted the glow of its lights off to her left until Kel steered them away from it, taking them further north. They left the path, but the only way she could tell in the dark was because both horses slowed down to pick their way through the rocky terrain, though they were still moving faster than was probably safe.

Finally, after long enough that the blood on her forehead was beginning to turn cold and sticky, Kel slowed his stolen horse to a walk and reached out to grab Aeliana's loose reins. The horse was breathing heavily, a harsh snorting sound that was loud in the darkness. Almost without thinking, Lyra released her fingers, which were aching from gripping the front of the saddle so tightly, and patted the mare's neck.

"There’s a valley near here," he said, his voice pitched low. "Almost a canyon, with how sudden the drop-off is. We must go slowly. Once we reach the bottom, we can stop for the night. If those men aren't locals, then they aren't likely to know of this place."

"Okay," she croaked, even the act of moving her jaw to speak sending a throb of pain through her head. Luke was still clinging awkwardly behind her, somehow having managed not to fall off in their mad flight. He didn't say anything as Kel dismounted and began to lead both horses. It was a relief to be moving at a walk again, but their slow speed made her worry about being caught. Eric and Milo still had one horse left, and Milo hadn't been seriously injured. Would he come after them? She tried looking around Luke to peer into the darkness behind them, but it was too dark to see anything. Even the lights of the town had vanished in the distance. Instead of relying on her eyes, she strained her ears, listening for anything other than the steady clop of the horses' hooves across the dry, rocky terrain, and the occasional rustle of dry plants as they brushed past them.

After a few minutes of this slow-paced movement, she heard something new; the quiet, burbling sound of a creek or a stream. "Water," she muttered, too out of it to realize Kel had probably already heard it. She wanted to wash the blood off of her face, though she was worried that might start the wound bleeding again.

"We're close," he said. He paused and looked back up at them, his expression unreadable in the dim light from the half moon. "Lyra, stay in the saddle. You, get off and walk while the horses descend. The less weight on the mare's back, the better., or else she might slip on the stones."

Luke swung off the saddle. She heard him stumble, but Kel got the horses moving again without waiting for him. Lyra was past caring; it was all she could do to hold on and lean back in her seat as they started going down a narrow, rocky path. The light from the dull moon was just barely enough to see shapes and outlines by in the open landscape they had been traveling through, but as they continued deeper into the valley, the light faded. Everything was dark, except for straight above her, where the stars sprawled across the sky. The sight made her feel lonely and small in an uncaring universe very far from home, so she looked down at the pale mane of her horse instead.

The valley felt claustrophobic even though she couldn't see anything — or maybe because of that. When the ground finally evened out and the sound of tiny avalanches of pebbles knocked loose by the horse’s hooves faded, she heard the trickling sound of water again, this time much closer. Kel led them for another few minutes before stopping and handing both horses' reins up to her to hold.

"Stay there," he said. "Let me set the light up."

She heard the thud of his bag dropping to the ground and the sound of him fiddling with something, then a few moments later, one of the oversized matches flared to life and the smell of sulfur filled the air as he lit his lantern. The light wasn’t much, but after spending so long in the dark, it felt like the world opened up to her again. She could see a small creek flowing a few feet away from him. It looked like it ran along the center of the valley, originating from somewhere further up. There were a few scraggly trees too, growing out of the rocky ground and reaching for the open sky above, and a lot of dry grass and prickly bushes. Lyra watched silently as he unzipped one of Aeliana's saddlebags and pulled out one of the ropes they had been using to suspend their hammocks during their journey to Ersgath. She continued to watch as he approached Luke, who was standing a few feet away from them and looked almost as hollowed out as she felt.

Stolen story; please report.

It wasn't until Kel grabbed Luke roughly by the shoulder, spun him around, and yanked his wrists together to begin wrapping the rope around them that she spoke, though without any true feeling of objection. "What are you doing?"

"I don't trust him, and I'm not taking any more chances."

She couldn't find it in herself to disagree with him, and Luke seemed resigned to the treatment. He didn't struggle as Kel finished binding his wrists, then shoved him down so he was seated on a low, flat rock.

"Stay," he commanded.

Yes, Luke had saved her life, but Kel’s judgment had proven sound more than once. She shouldn't have trusted the others just because they were from her world, and they shouldn't trust Luke just because he had saved her life once. He had been traveling with Erik and Milo for months, and had helped them kill who knew how many people.

Kel helped her off the horse next, guiding her over to another large rock. Once she was seated, he raised the lantern. "Let me see your eyes," he said. "Look at the flame." She did as he requested, wondering what their options were if she had a major concussion or bleeding in her brain. She would probably die, but she felt too numb to be properly horrified at the thought. "You'll be alright," he grunted after a moment, his face disconcertingly close to hers. "I'll get the bloodbane and a cloth to clean your wound."

He tied the horses to two of the scraggly trees in silence and took Aeliana’s tack off, bringing her saddlebags over. He worked in complete silence, and she wondered if he was mad at her. She knew that all of this was her fault. She shouldn't have been so trusting, but meeting the others, for all that they were from a different country than she was, had been like seeing a piece of home again. Like when she and her parents first moved to Boston and she had stumbled across someone who grew up in the same town she did. Similar experiences created an illusion of familiarity, and in this case, it had almost gotten her killed.

Kel gave her a clean rag that he had wetted with water from one of their water flasks. She used it to dab at the blood encrusted on her face while he removed the bloodbane and numbing salve from the saddlebag, and found a clean shirt that he began cutting into strips. She held still when he took the rag from her and dabbed at her wound, then returned to digging through the saddlebags with a mutter. When he brought out a simple sewing kit she'd seen him use to mend holes in their clothing, she flinched away from him. Getting stitches in her side after the god in the cave attacked her had been one thing, but the thought of that needle digging into her forehead so close to her face made her queasy.

"You need stitches," he told her. "It will still scar, but it will look better this way. and it will heal more quickly. I'll numb the wound first, so you won't feel anything. Just hold still."

She sat stiffly as he finished cleaning the wound and began applying the bloodbane to it. The salve burned, but she knew it would stop the bleeding, which had already started up again. He had to wait a few moments after applying it to let it work before he could use the numbing salve, and simply waited there, crouched and silent in the dark.

"How did you find me?" she asked when the silence began to bother her.

"I waited at the stable for you," he said. "I assumed you would bring your horse when you left to meet them. I wished to apologize, and to offer to follow you at a distance."

She swallowed. It hadn't even occurred to her to bring Aeliana. It would have made sense, of course it would have, she just wasn't used to thinking of horses as transportation, despite having ridden one for the last week. "How did you know where I was going?"

"When it began getting dark and you hadn't arrived, I asked after you at the temple. They said you had already left, and one of the priestesses was willing to tell me what your destination was if I answered her questions about my sword."

"How did she know?"

"She read the note they sent before she gave it to you."

Annali was the one who delivered it to her, so she must have been the one who spoke to Kel too. She wrinkled her nose, but it was hard to be mad when Annali’s snooping very likely saved her life.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone to meet them alone."

"They shouldn't have attacked you," he replied, his voice even, though she could tell from the way he spoke through a tense jaw that he was upset. "Hold still again, I can numb your wound now. Then I'll begin the stitches."