Bones of the Empire (4 page)

“Are you ready if they find us?” Raeln asked in a near whisper, as the tunnel turned sharply again. “When, I should say. It may not be in here, but they will find us sooner or later. I don’t want any of us to let our guard down.”

“Like you said, run and try to meet back up.”

“We both know if it comes to that, we’ll keep running until they hunt us down. If the two of you get away, keep going. Don’t come back. I already told Feanne the same thing. Do not wait for us.”

Estin stared at Raeln in surprise and nearly tripped over some fallen bits of stone that scraped his toes. “The prophecy…”

“You will keep running. Get Dalania out with you if you can. Yoska and I will find our own way out with Turess.”

“Expecting things to go that badly?”

Raeln scowled at Estin and did not reply. From what Estin had gathered during their travels, Raeln did little more than expect the worst.

“I’ll do what I can,” Estin offered. The tunnel leveled off and straightened, giving them an easy path ahead. “No promises out here. I won’t run while you die, Raeln.”

“I wouldn’t expect anyone to promise anything. Just start running and I’ll be fine. I won’t let myself die unless everyone stays behind.”

They walked on in silence for hours, until Estin had to open his mouth to pant as the magic of the light continued to sap his strength even more than the hiking. Sometime after that, as he gasped for breath, the glowing ball flickered and faded to less than candlelight as his head pounded from the effort. Before Turess could say anything about it, Feanne brought her own hand up and created a soft green light that floated over her palm-pad. Estin was thankful for her help, even if he dearly wished he were not still so weak. He let his own hand drop, extinguishing his magical light and easing the strain on his body.

Pushing on, they made good time through the twisting tunnel, with Yoska and Turess stopping every so often so Turess could relay information about one family or another that had mined that area and for what. Estin tuned most of that out, not really caring much about the mine or the metals Turessians had claimed from the depths.

Estin felt as though he would never stop panting until they stopped to rest, which had become his only real focus as they went on. It was all a blur of endless stone and wooden supports. Turess droned on and on about things Estin could not have cared less about, even if he could understand the man without Yoska’s aid.

Eventually, Raeln brought the group to a halt when they came to a larger chamber that appeared to have been set up for a stopping point of mine carts or possibly a resting area for the workers. Whatever its original purpose, Raeln demanded they stop and threw down his bedroll, leaving little room for debate. Turess looked ready to object, but after glancing at the faces of his companions—stopping a little longer on Estin—he relaxed and nodded, sitting down at the edge of the chamber.

Estin practically collapsed, putting both hands to his head. The headache and dizziness from using magic for so long was nearly enough to make him sick. He dreaded looking at the others and seeing the pity on their faces. They were all either skilled spellcasters or warriors, and Estin alone was helpless in the group. It made him want to scream some days. Once he had been as strong as any of them, but he had made his choices and these were the consequences.

“Drink some water,” whispered Feanne, kneeling beside Estin and offering a small canteen they had filled with melted snow earlier in the day.

“I’m fine!” he snapped more sharply than he had intended.

Estin did not need to look up to know Feanne’s temper nearly took over. He could feel her body tense beside him, ready to pin him down and force him to drink if needed. Arguing with her was pointless, and he was not mad at her to begin with. Sighing, he took the canteen from her and drank deeply.

Lowering the canteen, Estin saw Yoska was helping Dalania clear a space on the uneven floor for her to rest, where she could be behind Raeln and Turess. She appeared uncomfortable letting Yoska help her, but he insisted and would not back down. Estin had already overheard Dalania asking Raeln to make Yoska stop being “overly nice” to her, but Raeln was not intervening. He likely would not until Yoska overstepped some line that Estin did not fully understand. When that happened, Raeln would probably beat Yoska half to death.

Shaking his head at the odd group he was a part of, Estin passed the canteen back to Feanne, who had not taken her eyes off him. He tried to avoid meeting her gaze, but the intense stare was impossible not to notice.

“We will rest until you are able to travel again,” she told him, spreading some of their blankets on the floor. “I will keep first watch while you—”

“Feanne, stop treating me like I’m crippled,” Estin told her, regretting it instantly as her expression hardened again. “I’m not as weak as you think I am. Please don’t coddle me.”

With a quick snarl that was his only warning, Feanne slammed Estin down on his back and rolled onto his chest to pin him there. She held him firmly, and when he tried to push free, she dug her claws into his thick shirt, right over the tender skin that had only recently healed over his heart, where a Turessian had tried to tear open his chest. As her knee came down on his ribs, he felt the pads of her toes press against his stomach even through his thick clothing.

“Do not tell me how to treat anyone from my pack,” she warned, her voice low and eyes narrowed. “The pack may be reduced to the two of us, but you swore to trust your life to me. If I say you are weak and need rest, you will rest. I will not have you dropping dead because of pride, Estin. You will rest and I will tell you when we walk again. I will stop coddling you when I do not think you need to be coddled and not a minute sooner. Am I understood?”

Trying to cling to what little self-esteem he had left, Estin hissed back, “Feanne, stop. The two of us fighting won’t change anything. Get off of me.”

Feanne’s paw shifted, and Estin felt her toe-claws press into his belly, poking through cloth and fur. He knew full well that she could disembowel him if she wanted to from that position. Deep down, he wanted to think she would never consider doing it, but when she brought up the pack…

Looking away and forcing himself to relax, Estin surrendered, and after a second, Feanne eased her weight off of him, sliding into a squat beside him.

“Get some sleep,” she told him, all anger already gone from her voice. That had always been her way, letting go of anger as swiftly as it arose. “Raeln and I will take the first watch. Yoska and Turess the second. You and Dalania are in the worst condition and will rest until we travel again.”

Biting back the growl he wanted to let loose, Estin reluctantly nodded and settled down on his blankets. He looked over at Feanne, realizing she would not be joining him for hours, and then noticed Dalania’s beaming smile at Feanne. In that moment, he realized she had not been attacking him. She had been reexerting her role as the pack-leader that Dalania knew. It was a show of strength and control…though Estin knew there was truth backing it. Feanne might still gut him if he refused to rest.

Soon Feanne and Raeln took up positions at the two entrances to the room, each sitting at the edge of the hall, Feanne with a glowing ball of magic beside her for light and Raeln likely depending on that same light source, though he kept his eyes closed as he rested. The group would be in good shape with those two watching and listening.

Lying back, Estin tried to sleep, but the dark made it hard for him to keep his eyes closed. His people, whatever they were, were nocturnal, and the mines made him want to stay awake no matter how tired he was. Even forcing his eyes shut, he simply could not make sleep come. His mind raced with every faint clatter of stones falling in the distance and the slight creak of the leather in Feanne’s clothing, jarring him each time he began to relax.

A faint scuff along the floor made Estin’s ears perk. Smiling, he thought Feanne had come to apologize or at least take her watch near him, but when he opened his eyes, he found Yoska was sitting alongside him, brushing dust and dirt off his heavy winter trousers. He had always looked uncomfortable in anything that was not made of silk, unless he was trying to impress a female, at which point he could make anything look comfortable, even if he were bleeding to death.

“What do you want?” Estin asked, glaring. “She’ll do the same thing to you if you won’t rest.”

Smirking and lowering his voice, Yoska replied, “She wouldn’t do same to me, because she doesn’t love me. Me, she would simply rip the face off if I were to argue so. Big dumb wolf might even clap for her. You, she warns. Very much the thing of love stories, no?”

Estin glanced over his shoulder and saw Feanne had not looked up, but her ears were twitching. She heard every word. He would need to be careful, or whatever was bothering her might get him in far worse trouble than usual.

“Is not why I came over, though,” Yoska continued before Estin could answer. “Crazy dead man asked me to bring you questions.”

“What kind of questions?” Estin looked past Yoska and saw Turess watching from the shadows of his hood, twisting a chain through his fingers. Estin had not even realized Turess had taken the simple iron chain from On’esquin before he had been buried, but like the bracelet he wore, the chain was something Turess had left centuries earlier for them to find.

“He asks if you are refusing to use magic because you are ashamed or because it hurts you.”

Estin watched Turess as he answered. “Because it hurts me. I have never been ashamed of learning magic from Feanne’s mother.”

Yoska nodded at that. “He thought that would be case. He then wanted me to ask if you are a coward.”

“What?” Estin sat up and glared at Turess, who smirked slightly in reply.

“I tell him is rude, but he insisted. You keep saying not to make up things he says, so I am being honest this time. Is shocking, I know, but I only do as you ask.”

“Tell him that I am no coward,” Estin growled in reply. The simple accusation made him want to run across the small room and punch Turess, but he knew that would not help anyone. “I’ve fought beside Feanne enough times—”

“This I already tell him,” interjected Yoska quickly. “He asked me then why you can endure so many scars, yet you cannot fight through this. He sees the marks from chains on you. He knows you are no weakling and are not a coward in other matters. You are not one who runs from pain. He believes this scares you more than the chains did. He also tells me that until you face your fear, he cannot help. You must want your magic back for it to return, even if there were a way to give it to you. It will be painful and take much time. You will need to work much harder for it this time than the last.”

“What does he want from me, Yoska? I’ve fought it, and it makes me sick ever since I brought Feanne back from the dead. I’ve already done things no healer has done in centuries. Losing my magic is a small price.”

Yoska nodded and looked back at Turess, who said something softly in his native language. The two spoke for a few seconds before Yoska translated. “Crazy dead man says the wound is deep but not fatal. Once we see the day again, he will help you reclaim your strength. It will take many weeks to bring back what you had, and may require help from others. You do not bear the marks of a learned man, but you are worthy of great praise and can be again, he adds. He even say you are greater than he was. Far greater.”

Estin looked to Turess in surprise, and Turess bowed while still sitting, touching his palm to his chest. It was possibly the most respectful Estin had ever seen a city-dweller regard him in his whole life.

“Tell him…” Estin began, trying to think about how he wanted to answer. “Tell him thank you. I may take him up on that.”

Yoska turned to relay the message, but Turess put a hand up to stop him. Bowing again, Turess closed his eyes and went to sleep, leaning against the wall.

“Crazy dead man is learning our words faster than I like,” Yoska muttered before patting Estin’s knee. “Get sleep, so Feanne does not punish me for keeping you awake. Much as rough women can entertain, I do not think I would live through your Feanne’s scolding.”

Lying back down as Yoska headed toward his own blankets, Estin rolled onto his side in hopes of avoiding looking at anyone until it was time to march again. Doing so left him staring at Feanne’s back as she sat cross-legged, watching the dark passage, her tail slowly wagging along the floor. She was still angry, that much he could see from the way her tail moved and the arch of her back, but she was no longer as tense. That was a good sign.