Avondale (25 page)

“Please, I need you.”

“If you get me, you get all of me. I’m not an easy person, Ti. I’m like other women. It’s me and only me, I won’t share you.”

“I don’t want anyone else,” he said.

“You’re absolutely sure this what you want? There’s no going back.”

“I’m sure,” he said.

He pulled her close and kissed her. There was a hungry passion in her and Tiberius felt his desire stirring. He pulled back, not wanting their first intimate moments to be on display.

“I have to tell you something,” he said.

“What?” she asked.

“The Princess kissed me.”

“The Princess?” Lexi said doubtfully.

“He’s full of fanciful stories today,” Rafe called. “Come meet Olyva.”

Tiberius led Lexi over to where Rafe was sitting beside Lady Olvya. Her face was puffy, and her eyes were red, but she wasn’t crying anymore.

“Lexi, this is Lady Olvya, from Hamill Keep,” Tiberius said.

The girls nodded to one another.

“So, what’s our next move?” Tiberius asked.

“We need to find shelter for the night. It will be getting dark soon,” Rafe replied.

“I’ll go down into the mist with Lexi and see what we find.”

“Okay,” Rafe said. “But don’t be gone long.”

They left the horses and walked down toward the mist on foot. Tiberius told Lexi about his encounter with Princess Ariel. She wasn’t happy about the kiss.

“That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about, Ti,” she said. “You can’t go around kissing other girls.”

“I didn’t,” he said, “she kissed me. She also broke my leg.”

“It’s kind of hard to believe. Are you sure you didn’t just imagine it?”

“I wish,” he said. “I’ve never been in so much pain.”

“So you can really heal people,” she asked.

“I can heal some things. I’m still learning.”

They stopped a few feet from the mist. It was thick, like a dense fog and they could only see a few feet ahead of them.

“This is crazy,” Lexi said.

“I keep thinking, what if everything we’ve been told about the cataclysm and the blighted lands is all wrong? What if magic didn’t ruin the world?”

“That’s a nice thought, but we know there are monsters down there.”

“That doesn’t mean that everything down there is bad.”

“But we need to be alert, ready for anything.”

“You’re right,” Tiberius said.

He pulled the little loop that held his whip in place and held it ready in his right hand. With his left, he reached over and took Lexi’s hand.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she replied.

“Here we go,” Tiberius said.

He took a deep breath, then stepped into the fog. At first everything was bright white. They couldn’t see much beyond a few paces ahead of them. They walked for almost twenty minutes. Most of the way they were tense, expecting danger at any moment, but nothing happened. The rocky ground became slick with moisture. Their clothes grew damp. They found a gray-colored lichen growing on some of the larger stones. And then, the mist began to clear and they came into the blighted lands. What they saw was unlike anything they’d ever imagined.

Rafe settled in beside her and pulled out some of the clothes from his pack. Olyva felt raw, as if her life were an open wound. Everything she feared had come to pass and while she didn’t say anything to Rafe, she secretly wished she hadn’t fallen in love with him.

She had been scared when they were exposed during the feast, and then when they were forced to spend the night in the holding cell, but she felt a numbness too. It was like a bad dream and she kept trying to wake up. When they were in the city, she couldn’t help but feel hopeful, as if something would happen to stay the punishment she feared most.

In Avondale, attacks by the terrible creatures from the blighted lands were rare. Avondale was a wealthy city, with plenty of food and space, but in Hamill Keep where she had grown up, things were different. Hamill Keep was much smaller, little more than an ancient fortress really. The city around the Keep was carved into the rocky mountainside. Food was scarce and the city suffered from overpopulation.

Olyva, being the Earl’s oldest daughter, was insulated from the poverty and fear, yet it was like a constant shadow hanging over her head, threatening to blot out the warmth of the sunlight at any moment. Her marriage arrangement to Brutas had been about insuring political alliances for Avondale, but it had been about survival for Hamill Keep. Her father had essentially traded his eldest daughter to Earl Aegus for food.

Now, on top of her fear of being banished from the city, she had to deal with the fact that her father wouldn’t receive the promised food. People in Hamill Keep would starve because of her. Their family would be shamed, her actions gossiped about for generations. It was almost too much to take. She had her small knife and she considered slashing her wrists just to end the nightmare. Rafe had been so chivalrous, always encouraging and trying to comfort her, but he couldn’t deny the fact that they were doomed.

She wasn’t sure what to think of Tiberius. He reminded her in many ways of a fanciful child. It was as if the Earl’s third born didn’t fathom the depth of their fate. He actually believed they would survive. Olyva would have preferred a quick death to being eaten by the terrible monsters that dwelt in the blighted lands. Olyva was sure that nothing but a grisly demise waited for them on the other side of the mist.

“Look,” Rafe said, holding up a pair of wool breeches, “I know these aren’t up to your standards, but that gown won’t last long out here and it certainly won’t keep you warm. You can put these on underneath your skirts. My boots are too large for you, but once we start traveling, you may want to wear them anyway.”

“What’s the point?” Olyva said. “You don’t seriously think we can survive in the blighted lands beneath the mist.”

“I have to believe it,” Rafe said. “We can’t stay here. There’s no food, no shelter. We’ll die from exposure up here.”

“You may prefer that once you see what’s waiting for you in the mist.”

“Come on now,” Rafe said. “It won’t do us any good to dwell on thoughts like that.”

“No, Rafe,” she said with a trembling voice. “It won’t do us any good to deny the truth. We’re going to die out here.”

“Not if I can help it.”

“You can’t help it,” she said, tears stinging her eyes again.

She couldn’t keep from crying, even though she tried. She was so afraid that she wanted to curl up and hide beneath a thick quilt. She hated feeling this way. She was so helpless, so completely out of her depth and there was nothing she could do to make it better.

“Look,” Rafe said, “I won’t pretend things aren’t dire. We’re in a bad situation here, but it isn’t certain that we’ll die. And if we do, I don’t plan to take it lying down.”

“I’m not like you, Rafe. I’m not a warrior. I’m not a man. This shouldn’t be happening to me.”

“I know,” he said calmly. “It’s not fair. I’m so sorry things worked out this way. I thought I had found a way for us to be together, but at least we don’t have to hide our feelings anymore.”

“Is that supposed to be comforting?” she asked, her voice getting louder with a note of hysteria. “We can die in each others arms, how romantic.”

“Don’t be sarcastic,” he said.

“Don’t be a fool,” she snarled. “We’re dead, you just don’t know it yet.”

“Put on the pants,” he told her as he stood up. “I’m going to gather some wood for a fire.”

She turned away from him. She was so angry. He had gotten them into this horrible mess and he acted like it was okay. She didn’t want to forgive him. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to spend every last moment of her short life in total unrelenting fear, but that was the reality of her situation. She wished she had never let her foolish, romantic ideals sweep her away. She had thought she was in love with Rafe, the handsome warrior. He was so different than anyone she had ever met before. He was confident, fearless, and always so kind. He was the exact opposite of Brutas, who when he bothered to acknowledge her at all, was always arrogant, rude, and demanding. Still, if she had only known the fate that awaited her, she would have gladly married Brutas and never complained no matter how terrible he was to her.

She could hear Rafe talking to the horses. She hated horses. In Hamill Keep, the stone masons used mules to haul rubble from the deep tunnels or carry supplies over the rough terrain of the mountain. Horses were a luxury not even her father could afford, nor was there a need for them in the Keep. She had never learned to ride a horse and she was frightened of them. She’d heard stories of horses bucking their riders off; she couldn’t imagine being thrown and not being seriously hurt.

She wanted to run away, perhaps even back to the city and beg to be forgiven. She didn’t think Rafe had fought hard enough to spare them from being banished. He had told her he had found a way to be with her forever, but he was wrong. Now he was telling her they would be okay, but she knew he was wrong again.

She pulled her knees up under the flowing skirts of her gown and hugged them to her chest. She felt like she was going to be sick, and closing her eyes didn’t help. The horses stank, and she couldn’t get comfortable. The ground was so rocky and the tree bark was rough, snagging her hair and her gown. She bent her head forward, resting it on her knees. She wasn’t sure how long she stayed that way, time seemed to stretch out like a horrible dream. Then she felt something. At first it was just a little tickle on her backside, but then she felt a sharp sting. She jumped up shouting.

“What is it?” Rafe asked as he hurried over.

“Get it off, get it off!” she screamed.

Rafe looked bewildered as Olyva hopped around in a circle and swatted at her own backside. She tugged on the skirts of her dress and wailed in pain. The stings were coming faster and faster, the pain growing worse. She felt like the backs of her legs were on fire as something, or somethings, were crawling over her legs and bottom.

Rafe kicked at the tree where she’d been sitting and cursed.

“It’s fire ants,” he said as he dropped to his knees in front of her.

With one swift motion he grabbed a handful of her skirts and tugged. Olyva stumbled, almost falling down, but the fabric tore along the seam. The silky material ripped away and Rafe grabbed more, pulling and pulling until the billowing end of her gown was around her ankles. His hands brushed away the tiny insects, but the effects continued to torment her. She was angry, embarrassed, and in pain. Her backside was hot, and when she reached down to touch the back of her now bare legs, she could feel tiny blisters welling up on her skin.

“They’re painful, but not lethal,” he said.

She wanted to hit him, but chose to shout instead.

“Turn away,” she cried.

He turned quickly, averting his eyes from her bare legs. Her bottom was still covered by her undergarments, but she felt exposed. She pulled on the woolen pants he’d given her. They were too long and too big, but the waist cinched up and she rolled the cuffs of the pants so they stopped around her ankles. She knew she looked foolish, but she didn’t have a choice. Her backside was starting to itch.

“This is torture,” she said.

“The pain will pass soon,” he assured her.

“And the itching?” she said angrily.

“A few days,” he said in a quiet voice. “Listen, I know this is a lot to take in. Let’s just get through the day; things will look better in the morning. Ti and Lexi should be back soon and we’ll find a place to rest for the night.”

“I wish I was dead,” she sobbed.

“Don’t say that. I promise things will get better.”

“How? Things will never be better. We’re going to die out here all alone.”

“No,” he assured her. “I won’t let that happen.”

“You can’t stop it.”

“I’ll get you to Hamill Keep. You can return to your family.”

“They won’t want me, can’t you see that? I’ve brought shame on our entire city. They won’t get the food and money they need. People will die because of what we’ve done.”

“Then I’ll get you to Sparlan Citadel,” he vowed. “I’ll get you there and get that pardon from the King. I swear it.”

“You swear, but you and I both know you’ll fail,” she said. “If you love me at all, you’ll kill me now and end my misery.”

“Never,” he said. “I love you.”

“You’ve ruined my life.”

“I’m so sorry.”

He sounded desperate, but Olyva didn’t care.

“I hate you,” she said, then the world seemed to tip wildly out of balance and she fell to the ground as everything went mercifully black.