Wind-Scarred (The Will of the Elements, Book 1) (20 page)

Ezra scanned the area in disbelief. He had
seen him, right there, only a second ago. Now there was nothing but
the dreary, rain-soaked town. “I saw... it was a boy. A child.
Maybe eight years old. He was looking right at you and smiling, he
was...”

“
Standing on a weather vane, Hawkins?” Sarah's voice came
through, skeptical. “In this weather, no less? Look, I know I'm
being a little hard on you, but if you can't handle
it...”

“
Yeah, you feeling all right man?” Mat sounded concerned.
“Maybe you
are
coming down with something. Immune system might not be used to
all these foreign substances.” A wry note entered Mat's tone. “You
know, like soup and bread. Was it really as warm as it looked?” He
sounded wistful.

“
I
just...” Ezra rubbed his eyes and glanced across the rooftops
again. No sign of the strange little boy. “I must just be
tired.”

“
Get some sleep,” Mat advised. “I can cover from here. It's
still early, nothing's happening for hours yet.”

Ezra lay back against the hay, still
searching around for any sign of what he had seen. Or thought he
had seen. Maybe he really was just tired after all...

==

The ship began to shudder, alarms blaring.
Ezra spun around, eyes taking in the panicked people moving as if
in slow motion. He slowly blinked his eyes. He was in space,
floating. The angel spread her wings below him. His eyes closed and
opened again. Her mouth was pressed to his, breathing life into
him, fiery wings enveloping him, keeping him warm, safe. Blink. She
was falling away, peacefully drifting to Earth, beautiful,
haunting. The landing dock doors closed with a...

Crash
! Ezra bolted up, sweating. He heard the rumble of distant
thunder out in the storm.
The storm,
that's right. I fell asleep during the storm in a hayloft. Not on
the ship.
He struggled to get his breathing
back under control as he checked in with Mat and Sarah. “Guys?
Everything all right? I must have dozed off for a minute
there...”

“
Nearly six hours, actually. I didn't know you needed your
beauty sleep that badly, Hawkins,” Sarah teased him.

“
Don't worry Ezra, everything's been fine. We'd have woken you
if we needed help.” Mat's lazy drawl was a reassurance. “You two
may as well head down to the inn for an early dinner. It doesn't
look like this storm is letting up at all. Think you can get your
new little girlfriend to run something out to me, Ezra?”

They're not going to let
that go
, Ezra thought glumly. He had just
reached the door when Mat's voice came through again. “Whoa, head's
up everyone. Looks like something's happening in the dining
room.”

“
I
just heard someone swagger by outside and take the stairs loudly.”
Sarah sounded calm and professional. “What do you see
Mat?”

“
Hold on, nothing through the windows yet. Wait, I can
see...yeah, that's our guy. Bandages all around his face and neck.
Just his hands are showing, and they're clearly scarred up.
Everyone's giving him a pretty wide berth in there.”

“
Hawkins, you go on in and get us a table. I have a theory to
test on this, and I'd like a place to sit if it works.” Sarah's
voice had a measure of determination to it. “Mat, be ready to take
your shot if things go south; I'll keep your line of fire
clear.”

“
Wait, what are you going to-” Ezra began.

“
I
need you in there to spot for me, Hawkins,” Sarah interrupted.
“Keep yourself in a position to cover me. You might get a chance to
use that sword if things go really wrong.”

Ezra gulped down the lump in his throat and
opened the door, letting himself into the dining area. The room was
crowded and simmering in a sullen sense of unrest. Jenna Haldis
scuffled by, reddish blonde hair tied up in a tight bun. She and
two other girls who looked remarkably like her made their way
through the little tavern serving drinks, soup and bread. All three
of them kept casting nervous glances toward the tall, gaunt man at
the bar. The rest of the room seemed to be pointedly looking
anywhere but there. Ezra watched the wind-scarred out of the corner
of his eye as he found an empty table in the corner, next to a
window.

The man was tall, around six-foot-five. His
entire head was swathed in dirty bandages, as was his neck and
upper torso. He wore a long, dark coat over the wrappings. One
hand, nearly white with thick, ugly scars, was raised. “Another
round, barkeep,” he barked in a nasally, unpleasant voice. Mr.
Wellward refilled the mug in front of the man from one of jugs Ezra
had brought earlier that day, steam curling up from the freshly
poured cider, his face set as if in stone. A similar mug appeared
in front of Ezra as the barmaids made their way through the room.
The man drank deeply of his, then slammed it down to the counter,
sloshing some of the drink out of the cup. “Ah, that's some good
stuff. Where'd you get real Arborlen cider way down here this time
of year? No matter, just keep it topped off.” He belched loudly,
and most of the room cringed.

Sarah chose right then to come stumbling
down the stairs, yawning ostentatiously. “Ah, that was just what I
needed,” she exclaimed to the room, drawing everyone's eye. She
took a few steps toward the bar and wobbled directly into the
wind-scarred, knocking his steaming drink into his lap. Everything
went deathly quiet. No-one moved, no-one spoke. “Hey, where's that
cider at! I'm parched here!” she called back into the kitchen. The
rain pounding against the windows seemed almost deafening. Every
horrified eye in the room shifted from Sarah to the bandaged man as
he knocked away his stool and began cursing loudly. “Oh, you should
be careful there,” Sarah observed, as if just now noticing him.
“That stuff looks hot.”

“
You thundering... I'm gonna... and this...”the man fumed at
her incoherently for a handful of seconds while she gave him her
most deadpan look. “Do you know who I am? Do you have any blighted
clue what the I'm gonna
strucking do to
you
?” he spat furiously.

“
A
drunk,” Sarah answered directly, no inflection in her voice. She
hooked the thumb of one hand into her belt, near the wicked looking
knives she wore there. Her voice got quiet, dangerous. “And I think
you may bleed on me, but I'm not in love with this shirt.” She
stared him down as Mat verified that he was ready to
shoot.

The big man drew himself up, towering over
her as the innkeeper timidly left a mug on the counter. Ezra
thought he saw the wind-scarred twitch, as if taking a quick look
around the room. A sudden of gust outside made the windows rattle,
the doors creak, and most of the room flinch. “Ah ha ha ha!” The
elementalist burst out laughing. “I like you! Feisty! Barkeep,
another drink!” He surreptitiously moved one stool away from where
Sarah stood, dismissing her from existence. Eyes never leaving the
bandage-wrapped man, she nodded to the innkeeper, took her cider,
and walked over to Ezra's table. Half the room followed her with
their eyes, wonder in their collective gaze. The other half stared
speculatively at the wind-scarred now drinking in silence. Except
for Jenna Haldis. She just looked pleased. And eager.

Ezra glanced between Sarah and the now
hunched form of the elementalist at the bar, shocked and confused
and relieved all at once. “What just happened?” he asked as he
brought his mug up to his lips.

“
Sarah called his bluff.” Mat sounded like he was grinning.
“But did you really have to be so dramatic about it? Scared me half
to death up here.”

“
Had to be sure, Mat. He's probably a knife fighter or
something, he settled his weight right for it before he backed
off.” Sarah sounded relieved, hands shaking a little as she took a
deep pull from her mug, emptying it. People began to move
restlessly. Sarah reached over and grabbed Ezra's drink, cradling
it between her hands in front of her. “He's no wind-scarred though.
I think we're just about done here. Anything to report before we
find an exit?”

Mat chuckled. “Why don't you just sit tight
for a minute or two while I catch my... wait, hold on. Someone must
have walked into town while I was setting up the shot. They're
headed toward the inn, incoming in ten seconds. Can't really make
out the details too well... looks like they're wearing a cloak and
a hood and... ugh, I swear the water's getting in the way on
purpose-”

The door of the inn slammed open. A woman of
medium height walked in, blue and gray patterned robe soaking wet,
her features hidden beneath a deep cowl. Her head turned slowly
back and forth across the room, coming to rest on the innkeeper
behind the bar. She lifted lightly tanned, smooth hands to draw
back her hood. Sarah quietly cursed under her breath. The woman's
hair was a deep, rich black, coiled artfully around her head. Her
skin was a light copper, completely free of blemishes or wrinkles.
But it was her eyes that drew the room's attention. They were the
solid blue of endlessly deep water. The eyes of a water-seer.

She practically flowed across the room, all
grace and poise, as people edged out of her way, trying to avoid
notice. Stopping in front of Mr. Wellward, she murmured, “An empty
cup, please.” The innkeeper quickly obliged her, setting down a
large cup on the bar's surface. She lifted a hand to it and, while
the whole room watched, water began to flow out of her robe,
twining delicately around her fingers as it snaked into the cup.
Ezra couldn't have looked away even if he had wanted to. He had
seen what Arn could do - violent, rapid displays of power - but
this was something else entirely. Every swirl of the perfectly
clear water was pure art, immaculately controlled, a mesmerizing
mixture of form and function.

“
Thundering showoff,” the would-be wind-scarred muttered into
his mug. The water-seer made no notice of him as the stream came to
an end. She stood there, back to Ezra and Sarah, fingers lightly
trailed across the surface of the now filled cup. A quiet, almost
desperate tension filled the air. Even the torrential rain outside
seemed to grow quiet in anticipation.

“
Much better,” she said again in the same low voice. She spoke
so softly, yet Ezra had no trouble hearing every word. This was a
woman of power, he realized, and when she spoke, people listened.
Her voice continued to float across the crowded tavern. “I shall
need a room for the night to-”

A door on the far side of the room burst
open. Mrs. Wellward came rushing out. “Oh m'lady seer.” She
interrupted the water-seer, who turned her unnerving gaze toward
the flustered woman. “Thank the Mother! Please, please you must
help.” She threw herself to her knees, grasping at the hem of the
water elementalist's robe and kissing it frantically. Her husband
grunted and looked beseechingly around to his patrons, but no-one
would meet his eyes.

“
Peace, my child,” the cloaked woman intoned, almost kindly.
“What troubles you?”

“
Peace my child
,” the bandaged man
mocked in a half-whispered falsetto, “blighted witch...” his voice
trailed off as he emptied his cup. “Another round, barkeep. For the
road,” he mumbled toward the innkeeper, holding up his mug. Jenna
Haldis snatched it from his hand, a brittle smile on her face. She
spit in it, then slammed it back down in front of him. He flinched
away from her and took a few furtive glances around the
room.

Neither woman made any sign of having
noticed him or Jenna's display. “Oh m'lady, my Daniel, my son... he
has been stricken. The town healer, he tried, but he couldn't help
my boy. He told me... told me to pray, and I prayed m'lady, prayed
to all the Elements, b-but I had nearly lost hope, lost hope that
I...that he...” she broke down into miserable sobs, clutching at
the standing woman for support.

“
Come.” The water-seer laid a hand lightly on the bawling
woman's head. “Show me to him.”

“
Oh thank you lady seer, thank you! Mother bless you!” Mrs.
Wellward managed, her face turning red and blotchy as tears
streamed down it. She clung to the water-seer's hand with the
desperation of a person drowning.

“
Yeah, you better run,” the tall man muttered to
himself.

Without warning, the water-seer's fingers
flicked out of the cup, faster than Ezra could track. The
wind-scarred pretender staggered off of his stool, clutching his
cheek. Blood seeped out between his fingers. Two inches of what
looked like an icicle was protruding from the man's jaw. Several of
the bandages began to fall away, cut by the ice, revealing grimy,
pockmarked, skin beneath. There was a noticeable lack of any scars.
“Worthless,” the seer murmured, not turning back to look, following
the innkeeper's wife into the back room. Mr. Wellward took a
worried look around the room then hurried after them, shutting the
door behind him.

“
Holy...” Mat sounded awed. “You...you two need to get out of
there, right now.”

“
I'm inclined to agree,” Sarah said emphatically.

Ezra just stared at the man trying
desperately to pull the frozen shard from his face. More bandages
came loose, uncovering shifty, nervous eyes and greasy hair. Chairs
began to creak and shift as men started getting to their feet.