Draggah (29 page)

“
The Rogu will protect us,
”
Tiberius said, but Lexi could tell he wasn
’
t convinced of that. 
“
Rafe is with them.
”

“
I want to know what
’
s wrong with you,
”
Lexi pressed. 
“
You don
’
t look good.
”

“
I pushed myself, but I
’
ll be fine.  Could I get something to eat?
”

The wives behind Lexi hurried into action.  She could tell they felt better with something to do.  Activity often made people feel better during stressful situations, but Lexi preferred to hide and wait the trouble out.

“
You look ready to fall over,
”
she said, helping him down onto a mat close to the fire.

“
I guess you saw the light?
”

“
Of course, everyone in the whole camp saw it.
”

“
It was my first time to try that spell.  It came off okay, but it was more difficult than I expected.
”

“
You have to be careful,
”
Lexi said.

“
I know.
”

“
Do you?  I saw the fireball earlier today too.
”

“
I have to practice my skills, Lexi.  It
’
s the only way I
’
m going to get stronger.
”

“
I understand that, but you can
’
t push yourself too hard,
”
she argued. 
“
Look at you now.  You can hardly sit up.
”

“
I just waited too long to eat, that
’
s all.  I
’
ll be fine in a few minutes, you
’
ll see.
”

“
I wish I could believe that was all this is.  How do you know that the magic isn
’
t somehow slowly sucking the life out of you?
”

“
Don
’
t be ridiculous,
”
Tiberius said.

“
What?  Are you really trying to tell me that the magic stealing your strength is too much of a stretch to believe?  After all you
’
ve done?  After all we
’
ve been through?
”

“
I
’
m following the directions of a very respectable book on magic.
”

“
And how the hell do you expect me to believe that?
”
Lexi said.  She knelt down beside Tiberius. 
“
How many other magical books have you compared it to?
”

“
Lexi,
”
Tiberius said.

“
No really.  Isn
’
t the book you
’
re referring to in tatters?  Isn
’
t the middle ripped out of it?
”

“
Yes,
”
he said, too tired to argue.

“
And doesn
’
t it warn you about skipping ahead?  About practicing magic that is too difficult before you
’
re ready?
”

“
Yes,
”
he conceded. 
“
But what am I supposed to do?  It
’
s the only thing I
’
ve got to work with.
”

“
Maybe,
”
Lexi said,
“
but have you even tried anything else?
”

“
No,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
I wouldn
’
t even know where to begin.
”

“
In my experience, you don
’
t rush into something without checking it out first.  I would never break into a home until I was certain I could get in and out without getting caught.
”

“
This is magic, not burglary.
”

“
What difference does it make?
”

Filsa brought Tiberius a platter of food which he promptly began stuffing into his mouth.

“
He wants water, not Kymis,
”
Lexi said. 
“
He needs his wits about him tonight.
”

“
Of course,
”
the older lady said.

“
They
’
re all terrified, you know,
”
Lexi told Tiberius.

“
They should be.  The group of hunters coming into the camp will probably want to carry most of them away.
”

“
So we should be worried,
”
Lexi said, her desire to move out of the camp and into a more secret location stronger than ever.

“
I don
’
t know,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
I didn
’
t get a good look at the group; they were too far away.  I wasn
’
t trying to see them.
”

“
What did you need the light for then?
”

“
I was trying to see what got on Rafe
’
s hand when he pulled the stems out of Olyva
’
s arm.
”

“
I couldn
’
t believe he did that,
”
Lexi said. 
“
I
’
ve never seen him lash out like that before.
”

“
He
’
s under a lot of stress,
”
Tiberius said.  He wanted to defend his friend, but he wasn
’
t very enthusiastic about it, Lexi thought. 
“
She
’
s changing and he
’
s scared he
’
s going to lose her.
”

Lexi understood Rafe
’
s urge to push Olyva away.  It was better to break things off, no matter how painful it was, than to get hurt by the other person.  She couldn
’
t blame him for that.

“
She said her arm would be okay,
”
Lexi said. 
“
She actually ate a little tonight.  Some berries and a little of the Kymis.
”

“
Really?
”
Tiberius said in surprise. 
“
I didn
’
t expect that.
”

“
Me either, but she seems to be coming around, at least a little.
”

“
Rafe will be thrilled to hear it, but I
’
m concerned about her arm.  Can you help me?
”

They went over to where Olyva was sleeping.  She was curled up, the wound on her arm covered by her other hand.  It was hard to see in the darkness, but Tiberius knew he couldn
’
t risk casting the light spell again.  He bent low and sniffed the wound.

“
It smells like sap,
”
he said.

“
Sap?
”

“
You know, like tree sap.  Haven
’
t you ever cut a limb off a tree and seen the sap that flows out of it?
”

“
I
’
d never been out of the city until I left with you,
”
Lexi said.

“
You
’
d never even been to the forest in Avondale?
”

“
No,
”
Lexi said. 
“
Why would I?  There
’
s nothing there for me.  We aren
’
t allowed to hunt, only the Earl and those he appoints as woodsmen have that privilege.  I was doing my best to stay alive, not gallivanting through the forest on holiday.
”

“
Fine, I get it,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
You
’
ve had a hard life, but look at you now, a Swanee
’
s wife.
”

“
Don
’
t joke about that,
”
Lexi said quietly. 
“
We aren
’
t married.
”

“
I never would have thought you would care about something like marriage.
”

“
I
’
m not saying I do, but you don
’
t have to joke about it.
”

“
I won
’
t mention it again until I
’
m ready to propose,
”
he said seriously.

Then he bent over Olyva again, this time probing around her wound with his finger.

“
It
’
s sap,
”
he said,
“
not blood; that is really strange.
”

“
What do you mean?
”
Lexi asked.

“
I guess what I mean is that she really is changing,
”
he explained. 
“
Not so much on the outside, but maybe on the inside.
”

“
How is that possible?
”

“
I don
’
t know, but something is going on.  We need to get her to Sparlan Citadel.
”

“
I can
’
t see how that will help anyone,
”
Lexi said. 
“
It
’
s not like there are wizards there who can help her.  Even if they have a secret archive of magical books, no one is reading them to know how to help her.
”

“
I can read them,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
I might be able to find a way to reverse things.
”

“
How do you know she even wants to reverse the changes she
’
s going through?  She doesn
’
t seem unhappy when she
’
s awake.
”

“
She could be turning into a tree, Lexi.  We can
’
t sit back and let that happen.
”

“
I just don
’
t like the idea of you getting in over your head with magic.  It makes me nervous.
”

“
I
’
m not going to do anything I can
’
t handle,
”
he said.

Lexi just laughed.  Sometimes she thought Tiberius was so arrogant.  Of course he didn
’
t think he would do anything bad with magic, or that he might possibly get hurt.  He was the Earl
’
s son, and she doubted if he
’
d ever been scolded for doing something wrong in his whole life.  She wanted to say something that would hurt him, something that would make him realize he was just as fallible as anyone else, but she didn
’
t.  She knew that his magic had been helpful on their journey, and that her real reason for not wanting to go to Sparlan Citadel had very little to do with magic.

“
I trust you, Ti,
”
she said quietly, resisting the urge to keep him at arm’s length. 
“
I just don
’
t want you to have anything to do with Princess Ariel again.
”