Mira's View (11 page)

Rau sat on his throne, feeling the anger in
him well up in raging waves as the torlic below him explained the
disastrous outcome of their recent battle with a couple of elves.
Elves that had been weakened by thousands of years of enslavements.
Elves that should have been easily crushed with just a few of his
mercenaries. Yet, here stooped this stupid creature, the lone
torlic left after the battle, explaining that a handful of these
worthless creatures had destroyed a small army of his.

He continued to listen to the blubbering of
this despicable creature, before finally reaching his tolerance of
excuses. No one failed him. No one. Stretching out a hand toward
the bowing creature, he extended his shadow further out. The shadow
hand crawled through the air, clawing its way across the room,
straining to reach something solid to grasp. It reached the torlic
before the idiotic creature realized what was happening. The shadow
wrapped around his neck and as Rau gripped his own fist, the shadow
contracted, cutting off the torlic’s air. The torlic’s hands
reached up, trying to grasp the invisible force crushing the life
out of him, but to no avail. The shadow squeezed tighter until the
torlic stopped fighting and hung limply in its embrace. Rau
unclenched his hand and the shadow released the torlic where he
dropped, dead, to the cold stone floor.

In the back of Rau’s mind, he could feel the
nagging sensation of magic—a prickly feeling he felt all the time
now. The elf he had wanted destroyed was still alive, of that he
was sure. Panic colored his thoughts at he recalled the recent
visit from his creator, Haulua. He didn’t fear the god, but he
did
fear the god’s warnings. Mira had a plan that she had
set in motion. What these plans were, Haulua had not been certain,
but he felt that it would certainly bode ill for them. Rau had to
put a stop to this elf.

“General Zaku,” Rau hissed darkly to his lead
general.

The general stepped forward, bowing low in
the same motion. “My lord?” Zaku grunted.

“You will find this elf that has caused so
much alarm, and bring her here.”

“My lord, is it a female we search for?” Zaku
asked, confusion plain upon his face.

“Yes,” Rau hissed. The thought of being
defeated by a female annoyed him even more.

“How can you be sure?” Zaku asked, stumbling
through the words in his haste to ask before he lost his nerve.

“I have seen her face through my marks on
her.”

Nodding, Zaku touched his forehead with the
tip of his middle finger and then swept his hand out in a salute.
He stood and started toward the door briskly.

“Be warned, if you fail me again,” Rau said
quietly while flexing his fists menacingly, “his death will seem
tame compared to what I have in store for you.”

Sparing a look over his shoulder, Zaku nodded
briefly before continuing through the doors. They slammed behind
him, creating a loud boom that reverberated through the empty
throne room.

Rau flexed his hands again, watching the way
the shadows around him responded as he did so. “You won’t be so
lucky next time, Galena. I assure you.”

Chapter
Nine

Galena watched the tree she was shaping grow
taller and thicker. She concentrated on creating a room within,
keeping in mind that she could tweak the details in it, just by
imagining them. Thinking of the bed she had seen, she created three
that lined the room. She began to feel the painful burning in her
foot intensify, causing her to break out in a sweat, but she didn’t
stop. She focused on the wall, thinking of the patterns that she
had seen within the tree house in Gora. She closed her eyes so her
complete attention was on the room. She began thinking of the
washroom that had joined her room and instantly, another room began
to shape within the tree. She thought of all the details from that
room, placing them in this new room.

Her foot was beyond painful now. The burning
sensation that had begun there had traveled up her leg and through
her body, causing her to feel like she had stepped into a fire. She
wasn’t ready to quit yet though. Continuing, she shaped the
washbasin just as she had remembered, taking care with the bottom
so that she could place stones there.

She was just finishing the last detail, when
she felt a blackness creeping within her mind’s eye. Alarmed, her
eyes shot open, but the blackness was there too. The pain that she
had been ignoring until this moment was unbelievable. Panic welled
up in her throat; she had gone too far. The blackness that was
taking her sight, consumed her and she knew no more.

Galena felt warm and relaxed, the softness
under her pulled gently around her, enticing her to stay and sleep.
She rolled over to see Tark and Elenio sleeping in beds, in the
tree she had been forming. She sat up quickly, causing the blanket
on her to slide off and onto the floor. How had she gotten here?
She swung her legs off the bed, her feet hitting the floor, and
sending a jarring pain up her leg. Her left foot still burned
horribly and slamming it on the floor only made this worse.
Gritting her teeth, Galena fought to stay conscious. Sweat covered
her forehead and the back of her neck. She fell back onto the bed,
and banged her head on the wall that the bed was connected to,
causing her to swear aloud as a throbbing pain in her head joined
the jolting pain in her foot.

She rolled over and leaning over the edge of
the bed, threw up. She continued to heave long after the contents
of her stomach were gone. Sometime during this spell, Elenio had
walked over to her, held her hair back, and wiped her face with a
cool cloth after each heave. Finally, Galena leaned back,
exhausted, and closed her eyes again. The pain in her foot had
diminished somewhat, but now she felt an overwhelming sense of
tiredness. Elenio continued to wipe her forehead, but even that
feeling was growing faint as she felt herself drift back into a
world of unconsciousness.

Galena stirred slightly beneath her blankets.
She cringed inwardly, recalling the last time that she had been
awake. She stretched her left foot hesitantly, bracing herself for
the worst, but, though her foot felt sore, it seemed otherwise
bearable. She sat up tentatively, still afraid that she might
trigger an unwanted reaction in her leg, but nothing happened. Her
stomach gave a loud rumble, making her wonder just how long she had
been out.

She could remember when they had set out from
Pangoro’s home and the days of travel afterward. They had avoided
the other villages, reasoning that it would be better for everyone
if they had no knowledge of the trio as they continued on their
quest. They had decided to make camp by a river, past the village
of Corian for the night, when Galena had decided that she would
like to stay in a bed with perhaps, a warm bath like the one she
had had in the village of Gora. She could remember growing the tree
and the growing blackness, but that’s where she came up blank.

It was a considerable amount darker than when
she had first awoke. She looked around and saw Elenio sleeping, but
Tark was nowhere to be found. She stood carefully, gingerly placing
a small amount of weight on her left foot. It was definitely sore,
but she would be able to manage. She limped quietly to the door,
stopping to feel the intricate designs she had thought into it
before opening it, and stepping into the night. She stepped onto
the grass before looking around her, spotting Tark crouched beside
a small fire, warming his hands. He looked up at her and stood
quickly, his long strides allowed him to close the distance between
them in three steps. He grabbed her by the nape of her neck and
pulled her close to him, embracing her fiercely, and let out a
ragged breath.

“If you ever do that to me again, I will kill
you myself,” he mumbled into her hair. Breaking away, he held her
by the shoulders at arm’s length, examining her to assure himself
that she was okay.

She shifted nervously, waiting for him to
finish his inspection, but only succeeded in grimacing as she
accidently placed too much weight on her tender foot.

Taking in her reaction, Tark jerked his head
in a nod as if to say, “
As I thought
.” He patted her
shoulder, before letting her go, and returning to the fireside.

Galena gingerly walked over to him before
crouching to join him in warming her own hands.

“How long was I out this time?” she asked
hesitantly.

“Ten days,” Tark said, his voice quivering
slightly.

Galena felt her eyes widen in response. Ten
days! No wonder she felt shaking and hollow inside.

Tark looked at her and smiled at her
expression. “We really thought you were a goner there for a while.
All you would do was groan and roll around. I thought for sure the
marks of Rau had you. But, after the first couple of hours you
stopped and began to quiet down. Elenio said you woke up a couple
of days ago, but didn’t do very well.”

Galena grimaced again at this particularly
painful memory.

“Why did you do it? Didn’t you feel the pain
in your foot building?” Tark nearly shouted at her, the panic he
clearly must have felt before was now breaking through his calm
demeanor.

“I knew it was there, but I was so focused
that I lost track of just how much it was bothering me.” Galena
shrugged, as if this was no big deal.

“If you die doing something stupid like that,
this whole trip will have been wasted. Not to mention Rau will have
us all killed for the trouble we have caused.”

Galena felt shame and guilt wash over her. It
had been a stupid mistake, one that could have cost her so much
more than her own life. Galena bowed her head. “I won’t let it
happen again,” she muttered more to herself than Tark.

He jerked his head in another quick nod
before searching their surroundings again. “You should probably go
wake Elenio and let him know that you didn’t kill yourself. We
leave in the morning. We’ve wasted entirely too much time
here.”

Feeling hot pricks of shame again, Galena
stood and limped back to the tree. Opening the door, she stepped
lightly in, letting her eyes adjust to the dark before walking over
to Elenio. She stood and watched him sleep for a moment. Savoring
the thought that his heart belonged to her and her alone, she bent
and lightly kissed his forehead. He jerked at the contact, backing
up against the wall, clearly startled. He looked up and seeing
Galena smiling down at him, jumped from the bed, and embraced her.
He held her so tightly that she was afraid that if he didn’t let go
soon, she would die not by her own hand, but from him.

“I realize that you must be as angry as Tark,
but smothering me to death would be as bad as me trying to kill
myself. In fact, then Tark would probably have to avenge my death,
and then where would we be?” Galena said in a breathy voice.

Elenio let out a ragged breath that sounded
somewhere between a growl and an attempt at a chuckle. Instead of
releasing her, he kissed the top of her head and breathed deeply.
He continued to hold her for some time more, although without so
much intensity so that she could easily draw a breath.

“I thought I had lost you.” Placing a hand on
either side of her face, he turned her so that he could see her
eyes. He bent and kissed her softly and quickly. Lying back on the
bed, he pulled Galena down with him. Wrapping his arms around her
while she laid her head on his chest, he sighed deeply. He stroked
her hair lovingly, stopping long enough to kiss the top of her head
before resuming. “My world revolves around you, if you cease to
exist, so do I. Remember that the next time that you decide to
treat your life so casually.”

Galena hid her face, embarrassment taking
over her again.

He continued to stroke her head until she
drifted off to sleep again.

The next morning, Galena took a mental survey
of her foot and body in general. She felt stiff, hungry, and maybe
a little tired, but the pain in her foot seemed to be completely
gone.

Just as well
, she thought;
they
still had a long way to go before they reached Mira’s View.
Rolling over so that she could see Elenio, she watched him for a
moment. He looked younger as he slept. She gently brushed a stray
strand of hair away from his face. Stirring slightly, he opened his
eyes, looked at her, and smiled. She tweaked his nose and returned
the smile before sitting up and stretching her arms over her head.
Elenio decided to take that moment to test her recovery, tickling
her sides until she fell off the side of the bed into an
undignified heap. Galena looked up at him grumpily as he fell back
on the bed, roaring with laughter. She thought about pulling him
off and onto floor with her when she heard the door open. Turning,
she saw Tark standing there, a look of relief briefly crossing his
face before a stonier look masked it.

“If you two are finished, we really need to
get a move on. I was just at the village getting supplies. There
was talk of a torlic attack on a young woman there. From the
description of her, she looks a lot like you.”

Galena felt her heart drop; a sick feeling
seemed to be settling in her stomach.

“Was she hurt?” Elenio asked as Galena
thought the same thing.

“Not badly from what I can gather. She’ll
recover in time at least. The point is, Rau knows more than we
originally thought. He at least knows what you look like, if not
more. Pack your things. We’ll eat on the road. We need to get as
much distance between us and the torlics as possible. And Galena,
no more magic. Not for a while at least.” Before Galena could
argue, Tark turned and stormed out the door.

“And how am I supposed to get any better?”
Galena nearly shouted to no one in particular. She sat up and
looked for her bag. Most of her belonging were still in it, due to
her sudden state of unconsciousness. Looking at her bag, she was
suddenly reminded of something. “Where’s Twoit?” She looked around
the room, hoping to see her furry tail sticking out somewhere, but
found nothing.