Pariah (The New Covenant Series) (18 page)

Faric strummed out the beau
tiful rhythm and filled the air with his gravelly voice. The lyrics flowed like silk through the room. Then, I joined in. My smoky alto voice mixed beautifully with his sexy gravelly distinctly male one.

He’d held my gaze for the e
ntire song as we sang together, and my apprehension melted into his confidence. But an entirely different kind of nervousness erupted in my stomach. If I were a cat, I would have been purring. This was so perfect. But I didn’t understand why he looked at me as if I were the only person in the room. Had he forgotten about Lil? Had I forgotten about Wes? It was all so confusing. Until recently, we’d never even had contact with men, and now they were everywhere and it was overwhelming. I shook the thoughts from my mind.

After the song, Faric stayed
on stage at the request of the band and played a few more songs. Jonas helped me hop down from the stage, and we danced and laughed, but it was somehow different from before.
I
was different. Now I didn’t want to look away from Faric. I caught myself stealing glances at him with every turn. When my feet screamed in pain, I crashed into one of the chairs, and Jonas stood beside me and put his arm around the chair back. “You sounded amazing, Lara,” he said, grinning.

“Thank you,” I said, looking
at my hands. I glanced back at Faric who was watching us as he strummed along with the band. When the song ended, the band started packing up, and the bartender yelled that we had ten minutes to clear out. The pub was closing.

I had no idea what time it was, but it was very late at night,
or very early in the morning. I cringed at the thought of waking Maylon. She was tired earlier. Somewhere along the line, I’d fallen in love with that woman somehow in the short time I’d known her. I wanted to stay with her forever. She would keep me safe. Safe from what, I wasn’t sure. I silently cursed myself for not paying attention to prophesy lessons but then thought that I would surely recall something about the fate of the chosen if it had been taught. Then it dawned on me. It hadn’t been taught.

They never got that far. Just to the mark, and that the chosen was
basically some sort of key thing. The patrons stood, whooping, laughing, and finishing off their drinks. Jonas gulped his beer and smiled down at me, almost sending the foamy drink out his nose.
What was so funny?

“It was a pleasure to meet yo
u, Lara, and dance with you and hear you sing.” He bowed.

“Okay. Now I know you’re drunk,” I joked.

“Oh, I would never be too drunk to know that you are amazing and beautiful,” he said softly, having stooped down to look directly in my eyes. I shifted on my feet. His lips were only an inch from my own, and his half-lidded gaze indicated his intention or desire. Or both. I was not kissing someone I just met. Anyway, I needed to quit kissing people. I was married to Wes.

Stepping back to put some
distance between our mouths, I said, “It was great to meet you too. Maybe we can hang out again sometime. As friends.” I emphasized the last two words, quickly hugged him like a friend and turned to leave. I didn’t see Faric as I walked to the door.

The cool air outside was a relief. At some
point in the night, my hair had become an unholy mess, so I released the ribbon around it and felt my new layers cascade down my back. Strolling toward Maylon’s, I hoped that Faric would catch up with me.

A frantic light appeared in the field across from m
e and kept getting bigger and closer.
Deranged monster firefly?
It was a young boy, maybe twelve or thirteen years old, with dirty blonde hair.

“Are you Solara?” he yelled.

“Yes,” I answered back hesitantly. What did he want?

“Hurry. You have to come with
me. It’s Maylon!” he yelled, motioning me to hurry and follow him. I didn’t hesitate. It was Maylon. She was in trouble. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, and I ran faster than I’d ever run in my life. We crossed the field and started through a wood of sparse trees. I leaped fallen trunks and rocks with the grace of a deer trying to outrun a predator. Only I wasn’t running from anything. I was running
toward
Maylon.

We ran around to her front door. The boy flung the door open,
and Maylon was in the floor on her knees, bent over, holding her head. I rushed to her side and put my arm around her shoulders, trying to lift her head upright. “Solara!” she yelled, her eyes wide with fright.

“Maylon. I’m here. I’m here
. It’s okay. What happened?” My breath cut ragged out of my chest.

“Solara. Run. They’re almost here
. They’ll kill you, child. Run. Run and hide now. I’ll buy you as much time as I can. Go out the back door!” she yelled desperately.

“What? Maylon, who is almost here? Who? Maylon, ple
ase talk to me,” I begged frantically searching her face.

Then she turned toward th
e doorway. I heard a loud noise out front. The young man leaped out into the night to see what happened. I heard his strangled cry, and my body clenched in terror. “Maylon,” I whispered. “We have to get you out of here.” I tried to lift her but she fought me. “Maylon, please. Come on. We have to go.”

She grabbed my arms and looked in my eyes. “I
said
to run. This is your last chance. Everything depends on your survival. Go. Please, Solara. Out the back.” She pointed a wrinkled finger toward the rear door. “There’s a cave about a mile away. Just keep running. Don’t stop until you get there. Then hide, child. Don’t let them get you. Go!” she yelled. I stood and staggered toward the back door, watching her sink back down, holding her head. Another of the boy’s screams pierced the night as I ran out back into the thick darkness.

I ran as fast as I could into the woods and kept running. I had
no idea how I would find this cave in the dark. Caves were dark, too. I had no source of light— nothing but the clothes on my back and my will to survive. And I would survive, for Maylon. Who was after me? What did they want? Was Maylon okay? Bile rose from my stomach as I ran, branches whipping my face, leaving stinging trails in their wake. I tripped over a rock and fell hard on my knees, one of them landing on another sharp rock.

My kneecap burned, and I f
elt warm wetness oozing down my leg as I sprinted through the forest. The darkness reminded me of my ring. Obsidian. It was black and polished to a stunning shine.

I prayed Faric was safe too. I
kept running until I came to a small stream. I splashed across the cool water and looked ahead, seeing a huge rock cliff in front of me. It seemed somewhat out of place but scanning its length, I saw an opening in the rock.

The cave. I crept up to the open
ing and peered inside. My flesh formed a blanket of goose bumps, and I grabbed my elbows to steady my shaking extremities. I looked for a nest or evidence of a den inside, but it seemed empty. I ventured cautiously into its darkness, which somehow was even worse than the night outside. When I could barely see outside, I stopped, feeling safer that I had view of the entrance. I wanted to know who was after me. Or what was after me.

Then the remnants of my
nightmare drifted back into my thoughts. I had been in a dark cave. The cat eyes emerging from the darkness, the dark angel with wings like a raven’s. The evil look on his angelic face sent shivers down my spine. After my introduction to the hellfire whip, I knew such monsters existed. I sunk down against the cave wall and shook for a long time. Finally succumbing to the numbing effects of the coconut devil, I leaned my head against the rock behind me and drifted to sleep.

The sounds of footsteps in the cave woke me.
Crap!
Someone was in here with me. They approached from the entrance, and the silhouette of a person contrasted with light of the entrance.

Daylight. I needed to get outsi
de. I sunk into the rock behind me and quieted my breathing. The footsteps continued toward me. I squeezed my eyes closed, but when the person grabbed my shoulders, I screamed a guttural primal scream that echoed through every crawling crevice of the cave before fleeing into the morning outside.

“Solara!” he yelled, shaking me
gently. I recognized the voice and sunk into his chest, sobs overtaking my body. Faric. He had found me. He held me and shushed me until I calmed down.

I composed myself enough to croak out, “Maylon. Is she all
right? What about the boy?” He didn’t answer me, just pulled me back to his chest, its warmth creeping over my ice-cold skin. His silence said it all. She was gone. They both were. The sobs started again, and my body shook uncontrollably as I mourned yet another friend taken from me along with the innocent boy. Alone. I realized that Faric placed himself in danger just be being in my presence. But right now, I just wanted to hide in his arms forever. I tightened my grip on his shoulders and cried.

F
aric’s horse carried us across
the forest at an amazing clip. I didn’t even know how he’d gotten another horse, but he had, and I was thankful for the beautiful creature. She was cloaked in black from mane to tail. Silky and dark. Beautiful.

Faric was very quiet
for much of the trip even when we stopped for water and to eat some of the food he was able to grab for us before coming after me. I was thankful for the break. My stomach was rolling after consuming too much of the evil coconut drink that just last night I’d thought was sent straight from heaven. My skin felt clammy, and I headed over to nearby creek and sat on a large boulder on its edge.

Cupping cool water in my hands, I submerged i
n its refreshment. Then I took my shoes off and gingerly cleaned the gash in my knee and the dried blood that streaked down my pale leg. Faric stayed with the horse, but our gazes kept meeting each other. He’d been acting strange. I assumed he was still angry about Jonas, but I thought he would be more concerned with the fact that Maylon had been killed as was the young man. He seemed aloof and standoffish. Was he angry with me? Did he think that I had caused their deaths? My heart sunk, and I grabbed my chest.

I
was
to blame. They were after
me
, not them. They were just caught in between the bastards and their prize—me. If I hadn’t run, Maylon might still be alive. Perhaps if I had run outside after the boy screamed, I could have stopped his death as well.

I shouldn’t have listened to he
r. I should have walked out the door and surrendered. Tears tugged at my eyelids, overflowed onto my cheek, and slid slowly to my jaw, plunging off the edge. Tears rained upon the dress Maylon fashioned for me. She was so kind. She barely knew me but took me in, helped me when I was injured, fed me, clothed me, and genuinely cared for me, and she ultimately died for me. I had never felt anguish before today. Darkness slowly seeped into my soul.

“Hey,” yelled Faric sharply. “Let
’s go, princess. We need to put some distance between us and the settlement.”
Jerk Faric is back. Wonderful.

I kept my back to him as I wi
ped my tears and splashed water on my face once more. I refused to let him see me cry. I bumped his shoulder as I passed by him. “Stupid witch,” he muttered after the contact.

“What did you call me? You can’t give me time to think? You
are such a jerk! I thought you were different. You seemed to care about me. But you’re just a liar. Don’t say another word to me!” I screamed and stalked off toward the horse.
What a jerk!
He’d never said or done anything so mean since

I’d met him. Calling me a w
itch? What an ass! What was his problem? I fumed as the black mare galloped over the forest floor across flat meadows and swampy places hidden within its borders. Finally, night fell. My anger, though still very much alive, was overtaken by my sleepiness. Faric found a rocky embankment whose ledge would curve over our heads, providing a sort of natural shelter.

He left the site wit
h the hilt of the largest knife I’d ever seen in hand. I wanted to be busy and useful, so I started looking for dead limbs and dry brush to use for kindling. He started a fire with the material I had gathered, sparking his knife off of a piece of flint then started gutting a hare on a nearby rock. Neither of us spoke a word, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep with my side against the rock, head sunk against the cool grainy surface.

I was startled awake long after
darkness had fallen. Faric was frantically kicking dirt over the fire to extinguish it quickly. He stomped his boots into it, and the fire and smoke succumbed to suffocation. He ran over and slid down beside me, put one arm around my waist, and clamped the other over my mouth. My eyes shot wide open, and my heart beat out of my chest. Then I heard what he’d been so frightened of. Footsteps resounded down the hillside across us and a light emerged in the darkness. I looked at Faric, who was only visible by the bluish light of the moon, and he loosened his grip on my mouth and brought his finger across his own shushing me. He released my waist and crouched in front of me.

The black horse whinnied, and I froze.
Shut up, horse!
As the footfalls fell nearer, the horse became more uneasy. Her whinnying and thrashing became frantic. Faric took large steps away from me, trying to be as quiet as possible. He disappeared into the abyss, and I strained to see who or what was coming.

Then a familiar form came into my vision.
Whew
. It was just Faric. Maybe the threat was gone now. He came closer to the horse and then squinted through the darkness and held up a lantern. Where had he gotten the lantern from? His eyes met mine, and I tilted my head to the side trying to figure out where he’d been and what had happened.

“Lara! Lara. There you are. Are you okay?” He panted.

“Yeah. What happened? Who had the lantern?” I asked. Despite the hammering of my heart against my chest, my mind was still foggy from sleep.

He knelt down, holding the
lantern close, looked me up and down, and brushed his thumb over my cheek. I flinched and drew away from him, scooting farther in to the rock behind me.

He seemed startled by my reacti
on and retracted his hand. “Are you all right? I found Maylon when I got home from the pub. She’s dead,” he said, raking his hand down his dirty face. “There was a boy in her yard too. He was dead too. I don’t know what happened. I just knew I had to find you. I took off in the direction of the horse tracks. My horse is hitched just over that hillside. I saw smoke and thought I’d sneak over here and see if it was you or if someone had you.” He collapsed onto his backside in front of me. “What?” he said, looking at my face. I began to shake. What was he doing? Was he crazy? Had he forgotten that he took me out here? I am with a complete freaking psycho!

Footsteps approached behind
Faric, and I saw him. A scream left my mouth and flew through the night, startling birds from their nests and scattering them over the cloudy sky. I backed away from both of them.

“Riven. How kind of you to join us. Long time no see, brother.”
Faric loomed dark and tall over his twin.
Twin! My Faric was a twin. My Faric was Riven? Riven, the trader.

The man sitting in front of
me, the one I’d believed to be Faric, dropped his head and closed his eyes. He looked at me and muttered, “Faric. I should have known.”

“Solara,” the standing version
of perfection said, “You should know that
I
am Faric. My twin brother has been impersonating me for some time now while I wasted away chained in a nearby cave. He apparently has done a piss poor job pretending to be me as well. I am nothing like my brother. Please, meet Riven.” Riven’s sea-water eyes locked onto mine.

“Is this true?” I said, my voice shaking and raspy.

He nodded. “I am Riven. It is true.”

Faric said, “Well, now that we a
re all truly acquainted, I will rebuild the fire so that Solara doesn’t freeze.” He grabbed the lantern and sauntered into the night, whistling a merry tune as he collected limbs from the ground.

I hugged my waist and drew m
y legs in, chilled from the web of lies spun by the man in front of me.

“Solara,” he said softly, reaching for my hand.

“Don’t! Don’t you
dare
touch me! You are a liar. You lied to everyone. To Lil! Don’t touch me. Don’t look at me. Just stay away from me.” Hot tears spilled quickly down my face.

I awoke in the morning with a c
ool breeze blowing my hair into my face. Angry clouds quickly raced across the sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

My eyes w
ere swollen, and my throat hurt from the sobs that took over my body last night. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. The Faric I knew was really his twin brother, Riven, who had assumed his identity.
Why?
The real Faric seemed to be an arrogant jerk. Maylon and the boy were dead because I chose to run. We were nowhere near any sort of well from what I could tell. I just wanted to go back to Wes and to my best friend, Lil. How would she react to Riven, Faric, whomever he was. They were married.
Oh my gosh.

Though
ts raced through my head faster than the clouds in the sky. Miss Annette had raised me and left her family to become my governess. My parents were dead. No siblings. Miss Annette told me to trust Faric.
Which freaking one?
Was she aware of Riven assuming Faric’s role in the kingdom?

Then there was a new problem:
just looking at the twins made my head spin. Other than their clothing, I literally could not tell them apart. I had never seen identical twins before until now, but I was amazed.
Stop staring, Lara!
Riven was dressed in brown pants and a cream shirt, and Faric had black pants and a stark white shirt. I had to cling to that information for now and prayed they didn’t swap clothes during our time together. Although I could discern the personalities of each, both were skilled in the art of deception.

There didn’t appear to be much
love lost between the brothers. They kept their morning conversation short and to the point, only speaking as much as was necessary to give or gather information. Lovely. My life keeps getting better and better
.
Maybe I should check my back. Maybe the tattoo mark thing was gone. Faric’s staring caught my attention, and I met his gaze. His eyes darted toward his hand, which held a beautiful red apple. I cupped my hands in reply.

The apple was amazing. It was j
uicy, sweet, and somewhat tart; in other words, it was delicious. Riven took the horse down to the stream and let her drink. Tension and awkwardness was thick between our trio. I had nothing kind to say to either of them, so I kept my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself until they suggested that we leave the area and head toward the coast.
The coast? What the heck?
I wanted to go back to Wes or at least meet him at the second well. What happened to the well?

That was the only place we’d d
iscussed meeting him. There was no back-up location. I know that Riven argued about its safety, or lack thereof, should someone from the kingdom followed him, but how would we know unless we got close and checked it out, right?

Leaving my own thoughts, I r
ealized that the two were still discussing the coast.

Faric’s smugness was smotheri
ng. “Only he has the references and knowledge that will likely help us decipher the message.”

“I know, but you know he won’t l
et her go if we take her there. It’s too risky.” Riven stood and began pacing back and forth near the fire. Faric was crouched down beside it, fiddling with a stick.

“Do I get a say in this?” I smarted. “It is my mark.”

Riven stopped and looked at me. His jaw was clenched. “Lara, you have to understand that we’re trying to protect you. We need to be able to read the mark and determine how to proceed.”

“Oh. Do
we
need to be able to read the mark? Do
we
need to decide how to proceed? No,
we
don’t. There is no
we
. This burden is mine. Not yours. I need to have the mark translated, and I need to determine how to proceed.” I glared at them both. Who were they kidding? Like I would trust either of them after their betrayal. Riven taking on Faric’s life. Both of them were liars. They were so jacked up. It made my head spin.

Faric shifted on the balls of h
is feet and threw the twig into the hungry flames. His teal eyes held me captive. “Solara, there is one in the kingdom of the Seafarers, who can decipher most anything. I have faith that he can figure out what that says.” He motioned to my back.

“Who is he?” I asked, tersely, standing and pressing back
against the rough bark of a tree. “Oh, and before you even attempt concoct some story, I’d like the truth please.”

The brothers exchanged a glance
. Were they trying to get their stories straight? I rolled my eyes at them, trying to quench my frustration. Riven cleared his throat. “He’s our father.”