Avalyne Series 02: The Easterling (7 page)

‘
Not
that
vulnerable!’ she slapped him on the arm, her jaw dropping open in outrage. ‘Do you think me capable of bedding a Berserker? Even to escape! Are you completely without wits? What do you take me for?'

‘
I was mistaken!’ Aeron started to recant. ‘You said vulnerable position! What was I supposed to think?’

‘
I meant vulnerable as in
alone
with me, distracted by the thought of pleasure with a human female, not the actual 'pleasure'! You know, this is why I did not wish to answer this question or wish it known how I escaped! Small minds like yours instantly think the worst!’ She ranted on furiously.

‘
I am sorry!’ He apologized quickly though unable to keep the smirk from crossing his face. Despite himself, he could not help feeling some measure of pity for the poor deluded Berserker who had actually believed a woman like Melia would couple with him for any reason. ‘I must confess it is a very different way of securing your release. Certainly Dare and I never considered using that tactic.’

‘
Well you are very pretty,’ Melia returned with a wicked smile. ‘It might have worked.’

Aeron bristled at the suggestion,
‘that is
not
funny.’

‘
I think it is,’ Melia chuckled seeing the distaste on his face. ‘In any case, I was never so terrified in my entire life. If I had failed in freeing myself, the consequences…’ she shuddered visibly at what she could not say and he was able to guess well enough to spare her the indignity.

‘
Well you were fortunate indeed that it went as well as it did,’ Aeron agreed with her on the consequences before adding, ‘However, in the event that we do encounter a similar sort of peril I would request you do not resort to that same plan to secure our freedom.’

Melia almost cast him into the rive
r.

They
travelled for the entire day, until the sun began to set in the western horizon, turning the blue sky into a vibrant shade of amber. It would not be long before a blanket of stars was drawn over them and with night descending upon then. Deciding that it was best to pull into shore for the night, they steered the canoe to the banks of the river.

Their limbs
ached from their cramped confinement in the narrow boat and Melia, in particular, needed to feel the land beneath her feet. Of course she would not admit such vulnerability to Aeron and wondered what it was about him that made her so determined not to show weakness?

They made camp along the Eastern Shore which was supposedly
free of Berserkers activity now that Balfure was no more. While there still many of the creatures in the Northern Province, they were far enough away to be able to let down their guard for the evening. Nevertheless, Aeron insisted on keeping their boats within easy reach should trouble arise. Melia was in agreement with this because she was just aware of the dangers as well as he. Even if she did not know this region as well as the Prince, the end of Abraxes had left many of its denizen scattered and wandering the wilderness looking for a new home.

When he returned to their encampment after scouting the area to ensure
nothing stirred other than them, he was glad to see the fire that was burning. Although elves were able to endure the harshness of weather far better than men, he was still chilled by the cold night air. Furthermore, the aroma of roasting fish rattled a growl of hunger in his stomach when he took a deep breath of it. They had not discussed the cooking duties though he guessed accurately that expecting her to do it would only anger her. If the restrictions placed on the women of Nadira were as bad as she claimed, he would appear like a boor if he assumed it was her place to do it.

That
did
not
mean he could not amuse himself however.

‘
Now there is a sight to put order to my world,’ Aeron stated playfully when he returned to camp and saw her preparing their meal.

‘
What?’ Melia mused, more focused on the sprinkling of a little spice over the meal to give it flavour than giving Aeron her full attention.

‘
Seeing you waiting for me with a meal cooked,’ Aeron smiled at her teasingly.

She shot him a glare of annoyance and grumbled,
‘Do not get too accustomed to it. Tomorrow it will be your turn and I hope your culinary skills extend to more than just carrying cured meat in your pouch.’

‘
Lady,’ he said with proud dignity as he sat down next to her. ‘The Prince of Eden Halas does
not
cook.’

‘
Then the Prince of Eden Halas is going to go hungry,’ She returned swiftly.

‘
You are a hard woman,’ he pointed out as she removed the fish from its skewer over the fire.

‘
You have no idea,’ she arched one brow playfully as she handed him his meal on a plate. He was teasing her, Melia realised. ‘Be careful it is hot,’ she instructed dutifully.

‘
Thank you,’ he said graciously and they both relaxed away from the flames so that they could dine in comfort.

‘
You saw nothing out there?’ Melia asked as they ate.

This part of
Avalyne was unfamiliar to her. During her searches for her mother, she had mostly explored the lands nearest the Baffin. She did not wish to reveal to him that she was a little anxious by this unfamiliarity because as a watch guard, she relied on knowing the land intimately and being able to anticipate all its dangers. This part of the Western Sphere was still a mystery to her.

‘
Nothing,’ he shook his head in answer. ‘This area is not known to be plagued by Berserkers but I cannot say for certain if nothing will wander into our space. It is difficult to predict the behaviour of Balfure’s minions now that the Iron Citadel has fallen. Before Balfure was destroyed, we knew his minions would be found at his places of power. However, since he is no more, they are scattered and hiding. Thus I do not know if we are any more protected than if we had camped on the Western Shore.’

‘
You fear they are moving into lands that are no common for them,’ Melia said in understanding, having encountered something of the same problem in the Baffin.

The pattern of these foul creatures were no longer a constant
now that they were leaderless and without direction. Their power in Avalyne was done but like the wounded animal about to die, they were perhaps at their most dangerous in these final hours then they had ever been when Balfure guided their every move.

‘
Fortunately, if danger nears, I should be able to sense it before it arrives,’ Aeron offered.

‘
That is good to know,’ Melia replied. ‘I do not wish to awaken with one of their poisoned blades to my throat.’

‘
Fear not, I shall protect you from harm,’ he said bravely and full of levity.

‘
On the contrary, I shall protect you,’ Melia did not look up from her plate when she responded just as smoothly. ‘If they mean to harm us, I will simply have to seduce their Captain to secure our freedom.’

Aeron
threw her a sharp look and retorted tersely, ‘do not even joke about such things.’ He would die before allowing her to face such a humiliation.

‘
Who was joking?’ She returned his gaze with a wink.

‘
I would kill anything that attempted to take advantage of you in that way. After all, I have staked a claim upon you, if you seduce anyone it will be me.’ His blue eyes gleamed with suggestion.

Melia actually laughed out loud,
‘only in your dreams.’

‘
Not in yours too?’ He gasped in mock hurt. ‘I thought that you would dream nothing else.’

‘
Perhaps in your dreams, not in mind,’ she laughed, enjoying their bantering as much as he did.

Suddenly, the boyish smile melted from his face and his blue eyes became hard like flint. His gaze
shot past her shoulder and he set down his plate so he could immediately stand, his expression one of grave concern. Melia did not know him well enough to read all his moods with any clarity but she knew like all elves, they had a good sense of danger and his face spoke volumes. She reached for her own weapon before rising up to take her place at his side.

‘
What is it?’ She asked quietly.

‘
Something draws near,’ he replied, arming the bow he had picked up off the ground when he stood up, arming it in readiness to fire.

‘
Can you tell what?’ She whispered as her eyes swept the bushes framing the tree line past the shore.

‘
I am not certain,’ he answered but she noticed that he had loaded two arrows into his bow instead of one.

‘
I do not hear anything,’ she remarked and knew that she was talking too much.

Aeron
frowned and silenced her with a sharp look. His elven hearing could sense the approach of two, their heavy feet pressing into the soft ground as they neared. He was impressed by their ability to move so silently for the space between each footstep indicated that the enemies were large in stature and yet it required the heightened sense of the fair folk to detect their approach. He doubted that a human would have heard them until it was too late. He had a fair idea of what was coming after them because he had encountered these beasts at Astaroth.

‘
Take this,’ he ordered as he handed to her the long dagger he wore on his back just as they began to hear branches being bent and leaves rustling nearer and nearer to them.

‘
I have my own weapon,’ She insisted, wondering why he required her to use a dagger instead of her crossbow.

‘
Your bolts will not penetrate their hides,’ he said hastily. The ground started to quake now. ‘This requires weapons crafted by dwarf skill,’ Aaron stated, prepared to use his sword if the arrows were not enough to put down their enemy.

‘
What are they?’ She demanded, her heart starting to pound because they were terribly close now, enough to hear everything being said.

He looked at her briefly and answered,
‘ogres.’

Melia looked at him sharply but had little time to argue because the creatures chose that moment to launch themselves through the shrubbery
towards the light of the campfire. She had never seen the ogres in the flesh before but knew of them and their fearsome reputations.

Not quite as big as cave trolls, they were twice the size of normal men and craved human flesh for their meals. Their skins were scales of thick
hide and they clutched their large hammers with clawed hands, Their bared large teeth capable of tearing the flesh from bone with ease. Since Balfure's falls, the few remaining creatures that had not died at Astaroth now wandered the hills aimlessly, scavenging for food where they could it.

Aeron
let both arrows fly when they showed themselves. The shafts flew true and straight through the darkness, each piercing the hide and then flesh of their targets. The ogres cried out in outrage and closed the distance between themselves and the archer. However, Aeron stood his ground despite this, continuing to fire arrow upon arrow that met their mark deadly accuracy.

In an effort to stop the barrage, one of the ogres
flung their large hammers at the Prince and only then did he move, avoiding it with effortless grace as they charged him. Melia had yet to earn their notice because she had not used her crossbows. Instead, she shrank back into the darkness, allowing them to run past her so that she could approach them from behind. Once they were past, she ran to the fire where she picked up a burning log and threw it against one, hoping to draw the beast away so that the Prince need only deal with the other.

In hindsight, perhaps it was not the wisest plan.

When the creature turned its yellow eyes upon her and his mouth pulled back to reveal jagged teeth, Melia wondered what in the name of Spit was she thinking, provoking a creature that she had never before in her life fought. Reminding herself quickly that this was no different and certainly less perilous than shooting bolts at a Primordial, she promptly recalled that she had almost died fighting Syphia at Sanhael.

Unfortunately, there was little time to debate the
matter because the beast was coming straight for her. He moved surprisingly fast for a creature of such bulk and when he swung his hammer, she could hear the rush of air as she ducked beneath it. The wideness of the swing unbalanced him and he stumbled a little, letting the hammer drag him when it thudded against the ground.

T
aking advantage of his lapse, Melia dropped to her knees and slashed the dagger Aeron had given her against the ogre’s shin. Even though he was wearing guards, the dwarf sword cut through the armour and met flesh.  Screaming in fury, it lashed out at her suddenly, his meaty fist connecting with her chin and swatting her away like a fly.

‘
MELIA!’ She heard Aeron’s worried cry echo distantly through her ears. 

All sound seemed to be muffled around her when she hit the dirt. However, self-preservation did not leave her disorientated for very long becaus
e she saw the approach of the hammer once again, held firmly in the grip of its master. Eyes widening, she rolled as it slammed into the dirt where she had been lying, getting to her knees and remembering that the sword was still in her hand.

The ogre already bleeding form the wounds on his legs and from the numerous arrows in his body, bellowed once more
as another struck him in back, causing him to spasm. The beast arched, his hands clawing behind him in an effort to dislodge the painful object impaled in his back.

Aeron’s gaze touched hers and she saw the relief in his eyes that she was alive
until she noticed something even more pressing.

‘
Prince! Behind you!’ She warning in horror as the second ogre he had been fighting and was forced to abandon to save her, swung its shield against the Prince. The sound of metal made a terrible crack against bone and there and then, she knew that his ribs were broken. She saw him crumble to the ground as the ogre closed in to finish him off.

Blind
rage filled her and without thinking about she was doing until it was done, Melia flung the dagger Aeron gave her through the air, praying her aim was as good as she believed. With typical elven agility, Aeron darted from under the path of the ogre’s weapon and got to his feet. Even though she could see him favouring the right side of his body, he managed to unsheathe his sword and ready himself for a fight.

Melia's
dagger struck the ogre in the chest and distracted the foul creature long enough to allow Aeron the chance he needed to finish off the ogre. Wielding the broadsword with far more skill and ability by anyone as injured as he should have, Aeron raised the sword high and swung wide. Far sharper than any ever crafted by men or elf, the dwarf blade tore through flesh and bone, finding little resistance in the thick hide that contained them. Melia flinched as she saw the spray of dark blood.