A Templar's Gifts (14 page)

“W
e have to stop,” Aine said finally. We'd come to the summit of yet another hill, following the path of a burn that snaked across the landscape, and darkness was approaching fast.

“We put distance between us today, but they'll make it back if they find our tracks,” I said. Though we'd crossed a good deal of country and taken the horse through several burns to remove our scent, we had moved too quickly to be truly careful.

The land before me tilted and my stomach wrenched. “It doesn't matter. I can go no farther.” I slid from the horse, gripping my stomach so it wouldn't heave.

“I don't know how ye've made it this far. I am ready to drop,” she said, groaning.

The trees around me swayed and I with them. I sat down heavily, my breath short.

“Here.” Aine passed the water skin into my hands, and gave me a bannock to settle my stomach. The water was warm, but it helped. She pressed an apple on me a few moments later, but as I focused on her outstretched hand, my sight seemed to fade in and out.

“Tormod …” she said hesitantly. I felt her hands on my head but suddenly couldn't see her face.

“Aine!” I was blind, and panic whipped through me. “I can't see. What's happening?!” I heard Aine's hum, but it seemed to do nothing to clear the darkness.

This vision was comprised only of sound.

“What do ye mean we've missed them?!”
The hiss of Gaylen's voice made me tremble.
“Where were they headed? In which direction did they travel?”

I felt Aine beside me and heard her swift intake of breath.

“I don't know, truly. I'd no' thought they would leave. They paid for food an' a room. I came to find ye straightaway. My mistress was preparing the meal with something that would delay them.”

The conversation cut off suddenly, and oddly there was hardly any of the residual backlash from the vision. The clearing came sharply back into focus, and I realized
Aine was crouched in front of me with a stunned expression on her face. “What?” I asked.

“I've never done that before,” she said as if to herself.

“Done what?” I asked. I was still struggling to understand what had happened.

“I joined yer vision,” she said. “I read it like a place I'd come upon. I saw Gaylen and heard him question the innkeeper. He's after us as well,” she said, sighing. Then with little warning she swayed and sat heavily on her backside. I reached to steady her in case she went farther toward the ground.

“Are ye all right?”

She nodded.

“But I don't understand. I only heard the vision. Ye saw and heard it as well?” I asked. No mistake, this was a strange new turn of events.

“Aye, an' I feel all wambly now. Not bad, but a bit weak an' shaky,” she said.

“An' I feel a million times better than when I usually have a vision,” I said, trying to puzzle it out.

“Well, that's our answer then. We've found a way to get ye through this. Ye can't stop the visions from coming, but if I can get to ye at their outset, I can take the burden from ye.” We stared at each other, amazed by the thought of it. “We can get ye home, Tormod. Well, if we can manage to avoid the many factions hunting us.”

Even without a severe response to the vision, my head was drooping. I could barely focus on the rest of her words. Aine, however, recovered in only moments. She was up and pacing and thinking aloud. “I knew that we were meant to work together. I just didn't know how.” She turned to me. “The question now is, how can we use this to our advantage?”

“You figure it out. I have to take a little rest.” I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of twigs snapping as she continued to wear a footpath in the clearing.

“G
aylen is working hard to pick up our trail, an' he's using the stops along these roads to gain intelligence. Give me yer dagger,” Aine said.

“What for?” I asked, distracted. The air before me seemed to waver and the forest dimmed. “We have to change our looks. I'm going to cut my hair.”

For some reason this thought bothered me. “D'ye really think it's necessary?”

She didn't pause, just began to saw at the hair hanging below her chin. “Aye. Ye've got to change yers as well.”

I ran my fingers through the riot. It had grown out while I was away with the Templar, but my mam had chopped it again when I returned. It was stiff and smelled of sweat. “Not like to get much shorter,” I said.

“No. The color. We've got to change the shade. Ye stick out like a new penny.”

“Here now! Ye've no need to offend.” I'd hated my bright carrot hair for most of my life, but suddenly at the thought of changing it I wasn't so sure.

“I like yer hair color,” Aine said plainly, looking up from her business.

A laugh burst from me. “How could ye? It's horrid.”

“No. It's quite lovely, especially when ye're in the sun.” I felt my cheeks heat and the freckles begin to flame. Aine didn't pay me any heed.

“How would I change it, anyway? Ye seem to have an idea,” I said, intrigued in spite of myself.

“We dye it, as they do the linens.”

“Aye?” I said, amazed at the thought.

“We can use the leaves o' the sumac. They're plentiful here.”

She continued to hack at her hair, and I watched the auburn curls drop to the ground beside her. Absently I reached for a piece she had cut.

The Holy Vessel's shape hung and glowed in my mind's eye, and my need to hold it, feel it safe in my hands,
came on strongly. Aine was fast at my side, her hands cupping my ears and temples as her song flowed. I felt her peace steal into my mind, her whisper that she had me, that everything was well.

My mind drifted. There was a bright light and hands reaching, holding the carving.

Everything in me lurched. “No!” Aine's hum took over the whole of me.
Reach, Tormod. Bring me there.
It was a whisper, a breath of invitation, and without really knowing how I drew her into the vision.

Instantly my scope grew wider, sharper. Sound was clear.

“This piece is nothing to me alone. I need the bowl and the boy. According to the prophecy the power can only be wielded by its Chosen and that one will have all the gifts that Heaven can bestow.”

I gasped as the images faded. “That's why they hunt me,” I whispered. “I am the Chosen, but no matter what I do, the King will take hold of the carving.”

“Ye must be calm, Tormod. Ye will be no good to anyone if ye don't take time to rest. He will no' get it if we don't allow him to,” she said.

Ye are calm. We can't rush off tonight,
she said, and a soothing wash of power flowed over me. “We need to rest.”

My mind was suddenly not as clear as it had been a moment before. I needed to rest. It would wait. What
would wait? What had I been thinking or saying? I stared at Aine and felt oddly blank and at peace.

Aine's breathing was harsh and the color was washed from her face. She closed her eyes, waves of exhaustion flowing from her.

“Finish my hair? I can't reach the back,” she said. She handed me the dagger. As I took it I saw the tremor that shook her hand.

My own hands felt as if they were not mine to command. I did my best not to yank the soft, fine strands.

“Make it short, like yers,” she said. “I feel like I could sleep right here, even with ye tugging.”

“Sorry.” I lightened up on the pressure of the knife. “Don't ye think this short is a bit much?”

“They're looking for a lad an' lass. I'm going to change into breeks. They'll no' be searching for two lads.” She smiled and her face curved softly.

“It will never work,” I said. Her eyes and nose were too fine to be a lad. “Ye don't look a bit manly. An' yer voice will surely give ye away.”

“We've got to try,” she said. “We are easy targets as we are.”

My dagger was sharp, but not made for cutting hair. To her credit she made no fuss, though it must have hurt. In the end she looked very different to me. The shape of her face was longer and her eyes, bigger than I remembered.

She went to my pack then and fished out the spare breeks I'd brought and slipped them on. She stepped out of the skirts, adjusted her belt, and pulled the top of the breeks over it. They were too big for her, but they would work.

“Now ye,” she said, though I could see her reeling with weariness. “There's sumac just back along the burn. Have more water while I get it. Ye look fit to drop.”

I picked up the skin and took a deep gulp. The ground was hard and sharp twigs poked my legs, but the feel was small compared to the tight knot in my stomach that wouldn't go away. I closed my eyes with a sigh, and then all too soon Aine was back, prodding me awake. I struggled to open my eyes. “Leaves?” I asked.

“Aye. We need to soak them to extract the dye.” She began to pile sticks and make a fire.

Conversation seemed almost too much. Why was I so tired? Why couldn't I think?

Aine heated some water in the tin from the pack.

“What are ye doin'?”

“Hot water will loosen the color,” she said.

I drifted while she worked and came to as she mounded a heap of leaves into the water. A short time later I surfaced as she was mashing them down with a stick, making a fine dark paste. “Ye need to soak yer head.”

I looked around blearily. The burn was not far away, but it took a great deal of energy to rise and move toward
it. I stripped off my tunic and lay down at its edge. The sound of the running water was melodic. I wanted nothing more than to lie there and sleep for a thousand years.

“Tormod.” Aine's soft call roused me and I crawled forward. The water was like ice. It made my head ache, and when I flipped back my hair, it ran down my face and over my back.

A glint of light burst at the corner of my sight, and the face of the Templar lit the space before me. I gasped, my heart pounding wildly. The image had been as clear as if he stood in front of me. I scrambled up the bank to Aine and blurted, “I saw him.”

She looked around, leaping to her feet. “Who? Where?”

“The Templar Alexander,” I said. “Aine, it was so real I could scarce believe my eyes.”

She whuffed out a breath. “He's not here, Tormod,” she said.” 'Twas just a dream. Ye scared me near to death.” She continued to mash the leaves. “Come here. We have to get this on before it dries.”

I sat before her, troubled. She began smoothing the thick, cold paste over my head. “He's dead,” I said as much to myself as to Aine.

“Aye. I've seen my da in dreams that were so close I never wanted to let them go,” she said, rubbing my hair with her fingertips.

“It didn't feel like a dream, or a vision, even. It seemed like he was here, an' real.” I felt sheepish about saying more.

“Ye're exhausted. Ye were dreaming.” She didn't pause in her work but a flicker of uncertainty washed over her and then me. It was followed by a wave of power. My mind was muddled.

“There. I hope this works,” she said.

I stared at her hard, trying to keep my eyes open and remember what we had been talking about. “Ye must let it set while ye sleep. We'll wash it out come morning.”

“Ye're joking. All night I'm to sleep in this?” I reached up to feel the odd mess, and she slapped my fingers aside. “Don't touch, an' don't whine. Ye're so tired ye won't even feel it.” She was right, my eyes were drooping and I badly needed to lie down.

“D'ye need anything more to eat?” she asked. Cornelius's supplies were saving our lives.

“I'm still hungry, but I'm more tired.” My eyes were grainy and I struggled to keep them open. “Are ye going to sleep now?”

“I will in a bit. Ye go on.” She was frightened about something. I could feel the tension wafting off her. I pushed myself upright though it was with a cost.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

She paused, her eyes flickering to mine and then away. “It didn't seem real before, but now, I know. There
are people coming after us.” Between travel and the use of the power, she was exhausted. I felt her tears ready to spring.

“If it's not too sore a burden, I could use yer calming,” I said, patting the ground beside me. I sniffed my armpits and wrinkled my nose. “I stink a bit, though, so I won't blame ye if ye don't want to.” She laughed weakly. “Honestly though, the powers are rising an' falling so quickly I feel awful.”

A flare of nervousness slid through her. “Oh, aye. Whatever ye need,” she said.

Her relief was strong in my mind and I fought not to smile. She lay down on her side before me and I wrapped around her. “I can't tell ye that all will be well, Aine, for what I see of the future is a struggle. But ye do have a future. I've seen it. Sleep tonight if that gives ye any peace.”

In the end it must have, for she slept soundly until morning. I did not. Unease tormented me.

S
un slanted through the boughs of the elm above. It lit the back of my eyes with circles of gold and black. I
stirred and ran my hands over my head, grimacing when I encountered the stuck and matted stiffness of my hair. My arm was numb where Aine had pillowed her head, and when I moved it, I nearly shoved her off as it tingled back to life.

“What?” she mumbled, snuggling closer while I shifted uncomfortably away.

“My arm's gone dead.” I clenched my teeth as hot jolts played beneath my skin. “It's morning. We should be off. I have to wash this out o' my hair an' I'm hungry.”

“Aye,” she said amicably enough and rolled away. “Lord, I slept like the dead last night,” she said, yawning widely. She stood and stretched. It was odd to see her with shorn hair and in breeks instead of a dress. No one in their right mind would see her as a lad, I thought. The breeks looked near indecent, and I felt the color rising to my cheeks. The memory of our kisses and the feel of her curled against me was suddenly much closer than before.

“I'd best see if this comes out,” I mumbled.

She didn't bother responding but set to the pack, looking to break our fast as I made my way to the water's edge. “I found some willow bark when I was looking for the sumac. A bit o' tea sounds like heaven just now.” She took the water skin, crumbled the bark, and fed it inside, then set to poking the fire back to life.

It was not nearly as easy to wash my head as to just
wet it, I found. The paste stuck and seemed impervious to the water. I scooped up a handful of silt from between the rocks and rubbed it in. By the time I'd gotten it clean, the rest of me was soaked in some way or another so I stripped off my sark and did a quick cold wash. I sloshed back to Aine with water seeping from one of my boots.

“Och!” Aine's eyes traveled over me from head to foot. Red sprouted and crept over her face and feelings of confusion flit through her and then me.

“Did it work?” I could not see my own hair, as it was short, but the pieces that dripped over my eyes looked darker than before.

“Aye. It did. Ye look different,” she said shyly. “I like your red better, but this looks fine as well. It's brown.”

I tilted my gaze this way and that but could get no real feel for what I looked like. It mattered not, so I gave off trying and pulled my sark back on.

Aine stooped by the fire and put the skin of willow bark tea into the heat. Then she sat back, slowly eating a bannock. My body was thinner, weaker from my trouble with the power. Aine's was as well. In the dappled light of morning, I saw the edges of her. The bones of her arms and legs stuck out from the borrowed clothing that hung on her. The bright orb of the sun glinted through the trees and caught the orange glow of the fire.
I looked up to the sky and without warning everything went black.

“Where is it?”
The man's voice was unforgiving.

The groan in response made every hair on my head stand.

“D'ye think we toy with ye, boy?”

The sound of flesh meeting flesh and the cry of pain that followed curled my insides. My body recoiled from the blow as if I were there, taking it instead.

“No,” I murmured. “Please.”

I could feel Aine beside me. Her panic was overwhelming, but it was nothing compared to the blossom of agony rippling through me. Again the heavy blow landed, and it felt as if my head would burst. Stars danced before my eyes. I reached for the link, the bridge between Aine and me, but felt only the void.

I clawed my way through the thick veil and she slowly came into focus. “Where am I?” My voice did not feel as if it were my own.

“Tor!” Her cry was hoarse and the spike of joy that whipped through her rocked my sensitive mind. I rolled over and heaved into the leaves. “Here.” The water skin was shoved into my hands with force. I took it, but barely had the strength to move.

“I swear ye stopped breathing. I canno' take much more o' this.” She was all but babbling and her
high-strung emotions battered me, threatening my sanity yet again.

“Shh. Hold my hands an' help me,” I said. I didn't remember falling, but I was lying on the hard earth. Aine lifted the skin to my lips and as it washed down my throat I fought to swallow. I was aware of the rocks that dug into my legs and backside, and of the stickiness and sour smell of vomit nearby. Something was horribly wrong. I knew it in the depths of my gut, but no clarity of what ailed me would come to me.

My head was pounding with a ferocious beat that made breathing nearly impossible. The ground was cool beneath me, and yet my body burned as if I were roasting alive. The peace of the forest did nothing but taunt me with the knowledge that I was missing something vital.

“Torquil,” I murmured, and then realized that Aine was holding me and humming. I felt her there. My mouth was dry and my lips cracked. I licked and tasted the salty wetness of tears.

“Tormod, are ye truly awake?”

“Torquil is in trouble,” I whispered.

“I know. I was there as well.” The horror of what we had witnessed pulsed between us.

“How long was I out?” My body felt as if a cairn of rocks was piled atop me. Breathing was difficult, moving worse.

“Moments.”

To me it felt like a full day's time. Aine wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tight. Her song was strong in my mind.
Ye will calm. Yer brother is not in danger.
The feel of her body mixed with the suggestion she was feeding me began to numb the worry, but then, something itched the back of my mind. Wrong.

“No!” I murmured, and pulled away as if she were someone I didn't know. “Ye are whispering me? Aine! What are ye doin'?” I couldn't believe it. I had taught and she had learned well. I felt her reach for me again and I shoved her away, furious. She had no right to use the power on me that way. I needed to know what was going on, to use my full faculties to piece together the visions.

“Ye canno' keep overloading yerself. I'm only trying to help, to give you the peace to make it home. Yer body canno' take it,” she cried.

I glared at her and she edged away from me. “Ye needed help,” she said softly. She shakily crawled to her feet. She was overextended. How long had she been doing this? Tricking me. Taking things from me.

“What else have you stripped from my mind?” I demanded. Aine cowered away from my unchecked anger. “Tell me! Now!” I moved toward her and she backed away. Utter terror lashed out at me, red hot in my
tortured mind. It whipped through me, and in response my temper grew. And when it did, Aine's panic expanded yet again.

In a daze of flooded emotion, I watched her turn and run from me. As the forest wind whipped and shrieked, I bolted after her, overtaken by rage. The only thing I could focus on was catching her and making her pay for what she had done.

My breath came in bursts as I pushed my legs to cover the distance between us. She was exhausted, but fear had given her wings. Agile in the breeks, she popped over downed logs and beneath low bushes like a hare in retreat, terrified and determined to get away from me. I read the memories of her uncle as she ran. I saw the broken bones, the swollen lip.

I would never do that,
I thought, though I was starting to doubt myself.
Could I be like him? Was I a monster?
Caught up in the turmoil, it was a complete surprise when the edge of land dropped off and Aine disappeared with it.