Aerenden: The Child Returns (Ærenden) (16 page)

“Sorry,”
Nick muttered.

“Past
the mountain, round the trees,” Cal recited, trying again. “Show the way if you
please. To the village, do as I say. Don’t let the breeze make you stray.” The
smoke thickened again. Cal closed his eyes. Silence filled a minute and then
another before he opened his eyes again and the smoke disappeared. “I’ll be
damned.”

“You
saw them?” Nick asked.

“Yes.”
He set the torch on the ground, and then waved his hand over it. It dimmed to
gold embers. “There are about ten of them. It’s a hunting party. They’re in the
field looking, but they won’t find it.”

“Find
what?”

Meaghan
leaned forward and answered. “The village. His words don’t match his emotions.
He’s afraid they’ll find it. He’s worried about her.”

“Stop
that,” Cal snapped. “You’re not helping.” He clutched his hands behind his back
and cursed. “You need to teach her to control her power, Nick, or at least to
control her tongue. I don’t like having someone announcing what I feel all the
time.”

“She didn’t mean—”

Cal
ignored Nick and turned on Meaghan. “Just because you have a rare power doesn’t
mean you can say what you please. I know plenty about you I shouldn’t, but I
don’t announce it. And just because you’re—”

“Enough!”
Nick stood to square off with Cal. “You have no right to talk to her like that.
The jicab root’s effecting her actions and you’re the one who gave it to her,
so deal with it.” He held his position long enough for Cal to gauge his anger,
then turned back to Meaghan, kneeling in front of her. Her face remained still,
but shame flushed her cheeks a light shade of pink and held her eyes to the
floor. He took her hands in his.

“I’m
sorry, Cal,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to say it.”

Cal
sighed and sat down next to her. Draping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled
her against him, and then tucked a knuckle under her chin, lifting it so she
would look at him. “Nick’s right. It’s the jicab root talking. And you’re right
too. I’m worried. I’m taking it out on you, that’s all. I should be the one to
apologize.”

“Or
we could forget about it,” she offered with a smile. “I’m sure I won’t remember
it in ten minutes anyway.”

Cal
laughed, squeezing her shoulder before letting her go. “It’s a deal. I suspect
we’ll be here a while. Why don’t you sleep while Nick and I figure out what to
do?”

“I
think that’s a good idea,” Nick said before she could object. He knew she would
want to help, but he doubted Cal would be able to tolerate her jicab-influenced
state much longer. The worry on the man’s face grew with every minute.

Meaghan
frowned, and folded her hands in front of her, but she nodded. Nick removed the
blanket from the backpack and spread it out in a corner of the cave. Laying the
backpack at one end of it, he picked her up and set her on the blanket. “We’ll
wake you when it’s time to go.”

She
offered him a crooked smile as she stretched across the blanket and settled the
backpack under her neck as a pillow. Reaching a hand up, she traced her fingers
along his cheek, then pressed her fingertips against his lips. “I liked what
you did with these, you know. It felt good.” She removed her hand, bringing it
to her own mouth to stifle a yawn, and then closed her eyes. A moment later,
her breathing deepened in sleep.

Nick
took a moment to erase the excitement her words and touch had brought him
before turning to face Cal. He could not tell if the man’s half-smile and
owlish expression stemmed from censure or curiosity, but he did not care. They
had more important things to discuss.

He
crossed the room to sit on another boulder and waited for Cal to join him. “Is
the village in danger?”

Cal
shrugged. “They have the standard protection. They should be fine.”

“Yet
you’re still worried.”

Cal
nodded. “The Village at Three Points was destroyed last week.”

Nick
hissed in a breath. “There’s no reason Garon would’ve wanted that village. It
had nothing to offer him.”

“Morgan’s
daughter was stationed there. Things have changed in the time you were gone,
Nick. Garon isn’t only targeting people with strong powers. He’s targeting
specific people to prove a point. No one is safe from him.”

“I
take it a traitor lived within the Village at Three Points.”

“There
seem to be more of them every day.” Cal tightened his hands into fists and
stared down at them. “Garon has become aggressive in his recruiting. Some sway
to promises of power. Others fear torturous deaths. He’s left enough bodies
behind to serve as examples of what he can do to those who refuse him.”

“It
only takes a single person inside the village to let the Mardróch in,” Nick
said.

Cal
nodded again and stood. He walked to the center of the room, and then glanced
up at the hole. “I wonder if I should look again. Maybe there’s a way to sneak
around them.”

“I
can’t take the chance with Meg.”

“You’re
right,” Cal said and rejoined Nick on the rock. “It was a stupid suggestion.”

He
clutched his hands together in front of him, and then leaned over his knees,
and Nick could not ignore the nervousness in the gesture.  Cal, the
unshakable mountain, trembled.

“Who
is she?” Nick asked.

“Her
name’s Neiszhe,” Cal answered and drew his hands under his chin. “She’s
beautiful. She’s smart, kind, and I don’t know why she puts up with a fool like
me.” He smiled. “Maybe it’s because we don’t see much of each other. She hasn’t
had the time to get sick of me yet.  The Mardróch are relentless about
finding me and I don’t want to put the village at risk.”

“You
love her,” Nick guessed. “Are you wed?”

“It
happened soon after we met. From the start, I had no doubt she was for me.” Cal
sat up straight. His hands tightened in his lap. “I can’t lose her, Nick. With
this war, with the Mardróch after me, I worry every day I will.”

Nick
lifted a hand to squeeze Cal’s shoulder. He wanted to offer words of comfort,
but he knew they would be false. In this world, fear belonged to everyone and
no person could guarantee who would live to see tomorrow. Death was the
unvarying consequence of war. It left no one free of its numbing grasp. Nick
had learned that firsthand at too young of an age.

“Listen
to me carrying on,” Cal said, standing up. “She’s safe now. I have to focus on
that. I’m going to check on the Mardróch.”  He picked up the torch again,
then extended his arm to hold it below the hole. His lips moved, uttering silent
words and the fire flamed again. A few minutes later, he set the torch down
again. “No change.”

“We’ll
set out as soon as they’re gone,” Nick promised, “even if it’s in the middle of
the night.”

Cal
sat back down. “It’s a good thing she sensed them or we would be dead now.”

“I
know,” Nick said. Meaghan stirred in the corner, and then settled again. He
watched her, waiting for her breathing to resume a deep rhythm before
continuing. “Her powers are getting stronger. She couldn’t sense them this far
away when we crossed over.”

“It’s
expected,” Cal told him. “Our powers stem from the world. She’s growing
accustomed to being here and opening up to more power as a result.”

Nick
tore his eyes away from Meaghan to focus on Cal. “Are you sure?”

 “Positive.
It’s not anything you did.”

 “I
don’t know what you mean.”

“You
do,” Cal said. “You forget I was watching you through the rain. I saw
everything.”

He
saw the kiss, Nick realized, and felt panic rise in his throat. He swallowed
hard to control it. “Are you going to report me?”

“It’s
not the Elders’ business, despite what they think,” Cal told him. “Was that the
only time?”

“No.”
Nick rose and walked to the center of the room, to the patch of sunlight and
stared down at the circle it traced on the floor. It had been no more than a
handful of days since it had happened, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Still,
the joy and agony of it remained.

“How
many times have you kissed?”

“Only
once before, on Earth shortly before Uncle James and Aunt Viv died.” Nick
turned to face Cal. “I know what you said about Viv’s vision, but I also know I
could have prevented it.”

“Somehow
I doubt that,” Cal responded. “You’ve always been the type to take on
responsibility that wasn’t yours. Sometimes that’s a good thing, but in situations
like this, it’s not.”

Nick
clasped his hands behind his back. “I got your brother killed, Cal. You
shouldn’t be trying to comfort me. You should be angry at me.”

Cal
raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Let’s hear your reasoning then. I’m assuming it
has to do with this forbidden kiss?”

Nick
nodded and his eyes drifted to Meaghan. She lay before him, so beautiful it
made his heart jump, and so unreachable it made him ache. “I didn’t think it
would matter on Earth,” he said. “It was irrational to think that way. I
realize that, but I wanted to know what it felt like to touch her. Although the
kiss lasted less than a minute, it was long enough. It seemed to have had a
lasting effect. When the Mardróch attacked, I couldn’t sense them in time.” He
passed a hand over his eyes, and faced Cal again. “It’s been difficult to sense
them since.”

Cal
stroked his beard. “So you think your powers have grown weak because you kissed
her?”

“Yes.”

“They
haven’t.” Cal stood and met Nick in the patch of sunlight. Raising a hand, he
clasped the side of Nick’s neck. “Feel what you feel, Nick. It’ll work out. I
promise.”

“You
know the dangers as well as I do.”

“I
do. Maybe more than you do. That’s the curse of age, but the benefit is wisdom.
I realize you think you lost some of your power to her, but you didn’t. When
that happens to you, whichever girl it happens with, you’ll understand. It’s
all or nothing. There’s no such thing as part-way.”

Nick
searched the sincerity in Cal’s face and the fear that had resided as a steady
fist around Nick’s heart since his last day on Earth dissolved on an exhale.
“Then what’s wrong with my sensing power?”

“It’s
not only yours. Garon found an ancient spell that mutes a Guardian’s ability to
sense danger from a distance. It took a large amount of power to cast, but he
has enough Mardróch now to do it. Most likely, the spell is one of the few that
works on Earth.” He picked up the torch again and it flared in his hand. “I
couldn’t tell you why we can’t sense them now, though. A few of them are close
enough. I hope they haven’t found a spell that blocks our ability to sense them
entirely.”

“I
don’t think they have,” Nick assured him. “Our sensing powers work on the same
frequency, no matter what we’re sensing. My guess is that the crystals don’t
just block the Mardróch’s ability to sense teleport trails, they block all
sensing. Since Meaghan’s power works differently, it isn’t blocked.”

“That
never occurred to me,” Cal confessed. “But you were always the logical one. At
least now I know to check before I leave the cave. Speaking of, if you don’t
mind keeping quiet for a minute, I need to take another look.”

He
picked up the torch and closed his eyes.

§

T
HE MARDRÓCH
search party remained until late afternoon. Nick made them wait a half hour
longer before deciding it would be safe to travel, then Cal pushed the rock
aside, opening the tunnel once more. Nick crawled in first, pushing the
backpack in front of him, and Meaghan followed. Cal went last, closing off the
tunnel entrance behind him.

Although
the jicab root still kept Meaghan’s pain manageable, it helped little in the
tunnel. Every shuffle felt like sandpaper dragging across her leg. Each pebble
became a searing knife, stabbing her as she crawled over it. Even her own
weight became intolerable, forcing agony through her body whenever her injured
leg had to bear it. Although it took only minutes to travel the tunnel’s short
distance, it felt like hours. By the time sunlight touched her face, it met
tears. She sat on the ground and worked hard to control the urge to scream.

Nick
checked her bandage to ensure it remained tight, and then turned to Cal. “She
can’t walk,” he said as he drew the backpack over his shoulders, securing it in
place. “We’ll take turns carrying her. How far do we have to go?”

Cal
pointed to the south. “About two miles through the field. Unfortunately, it’s
all open, so we need to move fast. Should I give her more jicab root?”

“Not
a chance,” Meaghan responded. She managed a smile and wiped the tears from her
cheek with the back of her hand. “Not if you’re carrying me. You’ll want to
throw me if I take that stuff.”

Cal
chuckled and picked her up, cradling her in his arms as they set out across the
field. He and Nick traded carrying her every quarter mile and they made good
progress, covering the distance before the sun had finished hiding behind the
horizon. Dusk turned trees into silhouettes of black against a deep red sky,
and a mild breeze tickled daisies as it passed. The breeze brought a chill and
Meaghan shivered, wishing she still had her sweater. The short-sleeved t-shirt
she wore did little to keep her warm.