Queen of Jastain (22 page)

The thought of returning to Petra filled the ache inside. She'd missed him so much. His calm practicality and the way he made her laugh was the healing she needed. She still hadn't spoken to Avant about what Naphen said. She hadn’t really spoken to Avant about anything. Every time she started to, a sharp icy pain would pierce her heart.

Warm light illuminated her father’s study. She read a parchment, and the rays glowed from the paper revealing the room. The familiar voice—the one she couldn’t place— said, “It is time to return. Seek the Light in the house of your father and there you will find your Way.”

Abby shot up from the sofa and went to the writings in her pack. She’d already read each page several times but hadn’t seen anything that might help her. She lit a candle and read through each one.

Abby slung her pack over her shoulder and gazed around the hewn hole in the rock.

Avant held the door open and allowed her to walk through. “We'll travel a different path on the return trip. It's higher up the mountain in the Inubibus Range but eliminates two days of switchbacks. The weather was harsh on the journey here, but now I believe it will hold for us.”

Their stay in the mountain home had helped him, but a faint rattle still sounded in his chest.

Silence continued to grow between them, and other than to communicate something of necessity, they never spoke. Avant gave her glances that invited her to open up in dialogue, but she wasn’t ready. He’d been respectful of her solitude and given her space to grieve, taking extended walks or gathering wood and water. He prepared all the meals and cleaned up afterward. His domesticity made her almost smile, but she couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eyes. It hurt too much.

On the second day of travel, they stopped at a cave off the peak of one of the mountains. It appeared more of a fissure in the rock caused by some cataclysm rather than a formation. The terrain had been easier to climb, but the wind blew fiercely across the trail. At times, Abby feared they might be blown off.

He went to gather wood while she unpacked. It was the routine they'd adopted. Each of them understanding their place and counting on the other to fulfill their task. She pulled her blanket and fur from her pack.

The ferocious roar of a mountain lion slashed through the silence. Avant cried out in pain. Abby's heart skipped a beat. The sound of a struggle ensued.

She dropped the bag and bolted to him. Fear banded around her chest. Panic struck her like lightning, and all the hair on her body stood at attention. The first thing that came to her mind was
What if…

She yelled and reached for his mind.
“Avant?”

No answer.

As she reached the scene, the animal pinned Avant, crushing him into the ground. Her mind buzzed.
Think, Abs.

She focused her energy.
“Stop, animal! In the name of the Light, Stop!”

The lion lifted its head from Avant’s shoulder, its mouth covered in his blood. A shriek tore from her lips. For a moment, it seemed as if the animal would attack her. It bounded up the rocks and disappeared.

She ran to Avant, who lay unconscious on the ground. The faint movement of his chest proved he lived, but blood seeped from a deep gash high on his right bicep and from a bite on his lower left abdomen. His clothes hung in tatters around his bloody body.
Calm yourself and think.

She bolted back to the cave and grabbed her first aid kit. Sprinting back to his side, she dumped the contents and found a roll of heavy gauze. A piece of ripped clothing served as a tourniquet. She wrapped his arm tightly. The wound on his stomach didn’t appear as serious once it had been cleaned and she realized most if it was just the scar from an old injury. Dressing the wound, she tapped his face to wake him, but he didn’t respond.

The sun sank. Soon it would be dark. She needed to get him in the cave, but she couldn’t lift him by herself. Pacing the ground, she tried to think of a way to maneuver him, but he was too heavy.
Too heavy?

She’d moved pieces of furniture three times his weight. Hope sprang in her heart. She
could
move him.

Concentrating her energy, light reflected from her, dancing around him. He levitated off the ground and into the cave. She lowered him gently to the floor. Pinching her eyes closed, she staved off a torrent of tears and heaved a sigh.

Inside, she set up camp. A feral stench and carcasses of dead animals littered the back of the deep fissure, obviously the home of the mountain lion, which explained why it had attacked so viciously. It was gone now, and she didn’t have time to worry if he was coming back.

She laid out the blankets and furs, gathered wood and unpacked the supplies. How was she going to start a fire? Avant always did that, and she'd never paid much attention. She removed his torn clothes, cleaned his wounds, and moved him to the pallet, before she set her attention on the fire.

For kindling, she placed small, dry leaves and brush around and on top of the larger limbs in the fire pit. Taking the flint from his pocket, she struck it with a pair of scissors from the first aid kit. Sparks flew and a small amount of the kindling caught fire. She nursed the little flame for a long while before it began to burn the wood. Then she piled on more wood until its heat filled the space.

Avant shivered from fever and shock. She sat next to him and tried to give him some water. Most of it ran out. Freshly clotted blood caked the deep scratches down his torso, and bruises colored the length of his body.

The vulnerability of his condition and the innocence of his face as he slept caused Abby’s heart to expel the painful thorn left by Seppitent. The depth of her love for him swept over her, love she hadn’t allowed herself to feel in months. In her pain, she’d been callous and hurtful, withholding kindness. What if he didn’t wake up?

She whispered his name.
Avant
. “Avant, I need you. I can’t do this without you, and I don’t want to.”

Brushing the hair from his face, she caught the glint of something at his ear. She pushed the brown waves away to reveal the diamond. He’d pierced his ear? She twisted the stud. He'd worn it for a while. Drawing in a ragged breath, she stroked his hair. What would she do without him? 

A prayer spilled from her lips. “Lord, you brought me here to help Avant regain his kingdom. I'm smart enough to know I can't do this by myself. But you can. Hands of grace cover me to do what you've spoken.”

She slid next to him and wrapped her arms around him to keep him from shaking. He relaxed at her touch, and his tremors subsided into shivers.

About midnight, he finally stirred. Weakened and in pain, he couldn’t speak or even keep his eyes open. Awake just long enough for Abby to get three pills and a cup of water down his throat, he passed out again. Once the Tylenol took hold, he stopped shivering and slept until just before dawn.

“What happened?” His voice was barely audible.

“You were attacked by a mountain lion. You’re pretty roughed up, tough guy. You've been unconscious for most of the night.”

Avant looked at her through a haze and winced when he tried to move. She gave him two more Tylenol and after a few minutes, he slept until midmorning.

He appeared coherent but in more pain. His arm still bled so she redressed it. She'd held vigil at his side except to tend to the fire.

He swallowed the water she fed him. “How did I get in the cave?”

“I Implanted you here.”

He closed his eyes and smiled weakly.

“Seems like your fever is broken, but you’re weak. Get some rest. We’re not going anywhere today.” She brushed the hair from his face and stroked his cheek.

“You spoke to the lion…you stopped its attack.” He tried to move so he could see her but couldn’t manage.

He fell asleep, and Abby went to gather more wood for the fire.

They needed water. She'd used a good portion to clean Avant’s wounds, and there was little left for them to drink. She hadn’t stopped in the last few hours to think about much except taking care of him. For the first time since the attack, she realized how much she'd changed.

She took a cooking pot outside and filled it with fresh snow. Placing the pot next to the fire, she went to gather wood.

Walking a distance from the cave, she gathered small limbs.

A clearing emerged ahead. Light hit the space in a strange way that seemed unnatural, as if rising from the ground. The wind blew hair in her eyes, but the brightness drew her. She stepped from among the trees into the light. A gasp escaped her. The unhindered view caught her breath and her eyes widened, taking in the sight. She stood on a precipice that hung out from the mountain. A panoramic vista of the rich and fertile world of Jastain lay before her.

The biggest peaks rose like giant knees beside her to the northeast and spread to the lap of the valley all the way to the sea. The trail that would take her home wound through the rock like a giant thread. Down below, to the east, sat the kingdom of Aesdil. A dark haze hovered over the city. Fresh green draped the rest of the land but neglected the castle. Her heart grieved to see the beauty of her world covered by Darkness. She hissed out a breath and desire revealed itself—to stop the Darkness from overtaking her simple, unspoiled world. She swept her gazed over the Valley of Umbra, where she'd first come to Jastain. A smile touched her face as the memory of that day replayed.

From up on the heights, everything below seemed small and quiet. Nothing down there could stop her from accomplishing her task and fulfilling her destiny. No power that roamed the land could hinder the Light from returning. For a brief moment, a bright ray broke through the haze, and the castle walls glistened in its path.

The power and grace of the mountains filled her lungs, and she gazed to the heavens, marveling at the nearness of His majesty. The revelation of a prepared plan lay before her.

Destiny provided the truest thing in her life. The thing that made her who she was—the One, the Chosen, the Seed of Light, and she
would
restore Light to the kingdom she loved. She drank in the vista as if the sight filled her with necessary fuel to accomplish her task and complete her journey.

It was after midday when she finally returned to check on Avant.

He sat ashen and concerned on the edge of his pallet. “Where have you been? You've been gone for hours.”

She dumped the wood and rushed to check him. “I’m sorry. I went to gather wood and get water. I didn’t mean to scare you.” She studied his face and inspected his dressings. “Lay down, I’ll warm some water, and we can both bathe. Then we’ll eat.”

His shook his head, and his eyes filled with wonder. He repeated her words, “’I plan parties and go shopping. I don’t restore kingdoms of Light.’
Indeed?
I suspect now, My Lady, you can do whatever you will.”

For the first time in a long time, she gazed without pain into those blue eyes. “Well, if that’s true, it’s because of you.” Then she smiled seductively. “Now, take off all your clothes.”

His jaw fell and his face paled.

She giggled impishly. “So I can wash them.”

He chuckled and winced.

Abby washed first then helped Avant. She rinsed out his hair, matted with sweat, and gently cleansed his bruised body covered with dried blood.

She bit her lip and sighed. Under other circumstances, sponge-bathing Avant might have been a pleasurable experience. However, his broken body and stubborn pride made it worse than trying to help Lyndsea bathe her cat that time in high school. Abby giggled under her breath, remembering how they’d both ended up in the tub as Skittles hid behind the toilet. Maybe that had been worse. Avant growled when she hit a tender spot on his chest. Maybe not.

When she finished, she kissed his forehead. “Well, at least the beast didn’t scratch your face, pretty boy.”

He rolled his eyes, not amused.

After redressing his wounds, she secured clean bandages. The pain and stiffness limited his movements, so she dressed him in clean clothes and fed him. He made known his displeasure with her coddling by continuously telling her how she could do things better.

“Guess what, Commander? Next time somebody gets shred to ribbons you can do it your way, okay?”

She washed their clothes in hot water and laid them by the fire to dry.

It took six more days before Avant was able to travel a little way, but each day he grew stronger. After his brush with the mountain lion and her mountaintop experience, her heart had healed and hope sprang up. She still loved Avant; she would never stop loving him. But her purpose was clear. Whatever he decided would have no bearing on what happened now. She didn’t think any more about the future. She had enough to do in the present.

A week after Avant’s attack, they packed up and traveled the path. He could move without too much pain in his side, but his arm remained immobile in a sling.

“We have at least five days before reaching home.”

He seemed different, too, but Abby couldn’t put her finger on what exactly made her think that. He certainly hadn't lost any of his pride. Though he knew full well she could set up camp, he insisted on gathering wood and starting the fire himself…with one good arm. She rolled her eyes as she watched him struggle with a pile of kindling.

The mountain lion had broadsided him and knocked him cold before he could even use his Implanting on the beast. She knew he viewed the attack as a failure on his part, but she was finally glad to see he wasn’t actually Superman.

The travel wore heavily on him, and she made sure he ate everything she gave him. He slept deeply during the night and strengthened daily. Several times she caught him staring, but he looked away when discovered. What he was thinking?

Since the attack, they'd slept side by side, sharing their blankets and furs. It allowed for more comfort and warmth, because they could pad the rock surface with his blankets and cover with hers. The close proximity didn’t bother her, and her lack of concern seemed to ease any apprehension Avant might have had.