Return To Sky Raven (Book 2) (8 page)

“Wow, it didn’t take you long to find those,” I quipped.

“I just didn’t want you to feel guilty about having good food to eat while everyone else outside is eating iron rations.” Maya smacked her lips, wiping some errant cream cheese from the corner of her mouth.

“Oh, and I suppose you have no such qualms?”

“Nope, I figure I earned it after the kind of day I had today.”

“Hmm, and might I inquire where your eminently entitled self plans on sleeping tonight?”

“Sleeping only, and right here,” she said, patting the bed with a yawn. “It’s gonna be another long day tomorrow, and I don’t need any bad dreams to spoil things. Besides, Nia might need me in the middle of the night.”

And with that, I resignedly crawled under the covers with her and took a deep appreciative whiff of her hair. Is it really possible to feel like the luckiest man alive and the most deprived at the same time?

Chapter 4

As the sun just started peeking up over the horizon, it found us back in armor and heading out the tent flap with Nia in tow. I noticed the cucumber sandwich was conspicuously absent from the plate I had left next to her bed the night before, but she said nothing about the sleeping arrangements, so neither did I. As soon as we stepped outside, two servants immediately started taking down the tent, undoubtedly not knowing what it really was. Rosa told us to mount up and take the lead so everyone knew where to start the lines. Much to my genuine surprise, it looked like just about everyone was packed up and ready to move. Alera and Hons started lining up wizards directly behind us in two rows. The boxes of supplies were spit up between the servants and the wizards, with the heavier boxes loaded on the donkey carts already laden with wounded, leaving Maya and I and all the guards free to move without encumbrance.

The twins quickly joined up with us, followed by Lin and Julia, who seemed to be over their first bout of awkwardness from the night before. About twenty minutes later, newly promoted Captain Higs gave the signal that everyone was ready and we could start our trek down the mountain.

The path down was made even easier when Hons and a few other earth wizards used spells to restore the old road and clear away any remaining rubble, leaving behind a rather nice road that was wide enough for any cart. The forest itself was a bit slower going; the closeness of the trees and the uncertain footing through the leaf litter made walking with the boxes a dangerous game and the healer corps had to fix a couple bad ankles along the route. Passing the spot where we would turn off to the pixie village, Nia flew up and paused for a bit, nodding as if to respectfully acknowledge their presence, and then regretfully streaked forward to land with a thud on my shoulder. She seemed better, but I knew the healing process would be a long and tearful one.

Finding the river was easy; you could hear the roaring water from a considerable distance. We took a break when we reached it so everyone could rest up and take a much needed drink from the calmer pools of the river. Before they knew it, it was time to move out again. The early afternoon passed quickly and soon darkness would be falling. But we had one last obstacle in our way, and that was to cross the river. Maya was enjoying herself ranging out far and wide ahead of us in her ghost form, the suit allowing her to run effortlessly for long stretches. This left her mare back with us with nothing to do but follow along so at one of the rest breaks, I picked up several of the youngest mages and put them up on the warhorse. They loved it and she was big enough to hold five of them at once. Doggedly, we followed the path along the river into the afternoon.

Eventually, the party came to a halt with me looking down at our selected crossing point, the river thirty feet below us. Here the river plowed recklessly through wagon-sized rocks, spraying huge gouts of tea-colored water high into the air, some of which landed as high up as our vantage point, but most of it turned to mist and spray long beforehand. Unfortunately, the rocks were sharp and the water too wild to even think about fording the passage here. We would have to come up with something else.

“And this was the safest place to cross?” I mumbled to no one in particular, but I looked back up the line to glare at Rosa. “Any ideas how to cross?” I questioned, turning to the forward elements who were travelling with me.

Dawn sauntered forward in her white Enchanters Hall robes, which I would swear were getting increasingly shorter and revealed more leg as time went by. Her twin sister Dusk didn’t seem to be having any problems with her robes. “It’s easy, just walk,” she said, stepping right off the edge of the embankment and strolling out over the water as if she were on solid ground…but she was at least thirty feet in the air! A few of the guard contingent clapped and wolf whistled loudly at the display as she did a flirty little shimmy and skipped back to the bank where we stood with a effortless smile.

“Quit showing off, sister,” Dusk scolded primly. “You know humans can’t walk on mists and clouds.”

I chuckled; it’s funny how the human mind works sometimes. The guards all know the twins are actually 35-foot long scary behemoths with razor sharp teeth and claws like scythes. But travelling and working alongside two cute young women, one vivacious, one reserved, had broken down the fear barriers that separated them. There was even talk about the unit taking a stylized silver dragon as their banner mascot when we got somewhere with sewing facilities. The guards now saw them as individuals, not monsters, another reoccurring theme that I needed to think about. In the meantime, the girls seemed to relish the attention and it gave the guards a sense of belonging to the journey.

Julia perked up with an idea. “Lin and I could turn into large trees and lay across the water like a bridge.”

But Lin was already shaking her head in dismissal. “I’m not having 300 people, two warhorses, and especially six donkeys walk across my face. I’m far too beautiful for that,” she quipped loftily with a huge grin.

As it turned out, Hons and his people just found it easier to build a bridge, easier being a misnomer. There would be nothing easy about this structure and we had scant hours to get it done. The water wizards in the column diverted the heavy water flow to one side, as Reginaldo stacked stone pilings into the river bottom. The earth wizards then floated and assembled a curved rock archway over to the first stone piling, and Rosa rushed forward to strengthen the structure with her enchantments. We all pitched in, except for a small contingent of about twenty guards for security. Earth wizard after earth wizard collapsed in exhaustion only to be replaced by another, even the youngest were pressed into service moving blocks from farther upstream. Apparently, Captain Jarsin had actually worked on several bridge-building projects earlier in his career and his experience was crucial. The healers busied themselves attending to the battle wounded, healed any cuts or bruises that occurred, and took care of those wizards who overextended. Maya and I used our warhorses to snake trees out of the forest to the site for use as planks, and the guards and school staff did the de-limbing and sawing with Darroth’s guidance.

Eventually, a fully-constructed, three piling, 200-foot stone bridge stood before us. We all found it humorous that it was a structure that would probably outlive all of us, constructed solely for the purpose of a five-minute walk across by a single group. It was nearly dark and we raced across and hurriedly set up camp, but the look of satisfaction on the faces of the earth wizards and guards far outweighed the time loss. Maya agreed that if we all were going to make it to the fortress, we had to start working as a unit, and this type of project was well worth it. But, undoubtedly, as a unit we were whipped. Wizards stuffed a few mouthfuls of food into their mouths and just fell into their tents in piles. It was weirdly reminiscent of the day after the fall of Xarparion, just no bloodshed.

By the light of campfires, Maya was running around organizing the next day’s march and setting watches. I was happy to see that she no longer bothered to keep her helmet on in camp, and to the group’s credit, most of the shock and awe had worn off and she was just “Commander Maya” now. She still got her share of admiring glances, though. Finally satisfied, she came back to our room; tonight there was no question about anything but sleep, long blissful sleep.

I think I had just shut my eyes when I was rudely jostled. “Alex! Wake up!” Maya was pulling on my arm; I squinted at her standing alongside the bed in her nightgown and sat up.

“What is it, are we under attack?”

“No, but I have to talk to you, it’s important!”

I groaned; it was nowhere near morning judging by the lack of daylight flowing through the fake window in my room. “Ok, what’s this about?”

“Not here,” she said, glancing over at the sleeping pixie on the window sill. She put a finger over her lovely lips and then transferred the touch to my lips to quiet me. “Come on!”

Letting her take me by the hand, I slid out of bed and followed her downstairs to the main door of the hall which I knew would lead into a tent. “Wait, we’re not dressed and you want me to wander around camp?”

She winked at me and indicated her own sparse attire. “I’m willing to risk it if you are.”

Rolling my eyes and reflecting on the irregularities of loving a half crazy elf, I followed her as I always would. Once outside, I saw the camp as usual, rows of tents and smoldering campfires, the level of the coals showing it must be well past midnight. Maya giggled breathlessly as we picked our way through the “streets and alleys” that were staked and laid out in the clearing. Finally nearing the outside edge, it occurred to me that I hadn’t seen a single patrolling guard yet, and except for the occasional soft snoring sound emanating from a tent in passing, it was almost eerily quiet. I stopped short, still hanging on to her hand.

“Where are the guards?”

“Don’t worry, they’re on a break,” she whispered and started off again with me in tow. “Hurry up, Alex!”

Once outside of the remnants of the campfires and into the forest’s edge, it became inky black, and I had to switch to my mage sight in order to avoid the tree roots and stray downed branches that blocked our passage farther into the trees. Oddly, I still kept tripping over things. In twenty minutes or so, we were deep into the jungle-like foliage.

“So is this some dark elf thing that I don’t know about?” I said, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Yes, that’s right…it’s a dark elf thing,” she laughed and spun in a circle. Catching my hand again after one revolution, her thin nightgown billowing out lazily, she continued to pull me farther toward whatever unknown destination she had in mind. Finally, we climbed through into a small clearing, my mage sight showing our two warhorses, tethered patiently toward the back edge. Already loaded on them were sacks containing our good armor and other camping supplies like tents and food packs. I also spotted the handle of my war hammer sticking out of one of the satchels and my tower shield was lashed to its usual spot on one side of the stallion.

“What’s all this?” I asked, rubbing my arms a bit. It was rather chilly out and I was only in my underwear after all.

Maya wrapped her arms around me and engaged me in a long sensual kiss that raised my temperature considerably. Breaking off, she put her arms around my neck and began to explain. “Alex, darling, I’ve decided that I’m tired of being a puppet on a string. We need to get away from all this, just the two of us. We can head into the amber forests of Ayerhs and live out our lives as free people without having to follow any silly prophecies or chase all over the world being followed by undead. This is our chance to just be us!”

My mind was reeling. “Huh? But what about Rosa and Nia and all our friends? We just can’t abandon them! And don’t we still need permission from your father to court and marry?” The big stallion raised his head over the back of his sister and nickered, bobbing his head up and down.

Maya scowled at the horse and ordered, “Quiet you!” She reached up and, using one long finger, drew a scintillating line down the side of my face and ended it in the middle of my chest provocatively. She then drew me closer to her and her breath mingled with mine. “Our friends will be just fine once they reach Sky Raven; it’s only a day away. Rosa can restart the school there, Nia can help her and everyone will be fine for a very long time.” Then she reached up and pulled my face down to hers and her lips brushed mine. “And as far as my father’s opinion, ha! I need no antiquated social convention to tell me when and with whom to mate!” She lowered her eyes shyly, and I nearly melted as she whispered, “And I’m willing to prove it to you tonight if that’s what you desire.”

The back of my neck grew hot. I started gulping what smelled like sea air, and I’m pretty sure I was seeing spots by the time my concentration returned enough to object. “My parents…”

“Your parents left you on the day you were born, you owe them nothing,” she spat scornfully and then mellowed and pulled me down for a long passionate kiss, her hands roaming under my thin shirt. “I am going tonight, Magic Boy, don’t make me leave without you.”

Intoxicated as I was, I still couldn’t wrap my slow mind around what was happening. In desperation, I reached out to my best creation,
“Winya, what’s wrong with Maya, she’s not herself?”
Weird, no answer, Winya always answers. It’s not like she sleeps or has something better to do.

By this time, Maya had pulled me down closer to her and was nuzzling my neck and breathing nonsense words into my ear. Unable to handle that much longer without losing control, I grabbed her and brought her mouth in line with mine, the tips of our tongues exploring at will.

“That’s right, Alex, show me that you love me,” she whispered sensuously, relaxing in my embrace. Once again, I caught a whiff of sea air and a small part of my brain sent an urgent warning to the larger part of my brain that wasn’t listening because Maya was running her lips moistly across my neck.

Suddenly a spike of searing pain lanced through my head, almost like when Rosa is really mad at me for something. A wave of nausea passed through me along with the smell of the ocean that returned for a second, then dissipated. I stared down into the face of a very concerned dark elf.