Azurite (Daughter of the Mountain Book 1) (21 page)

Chapter 13

Zora inhaled sharply and stumbled backward out of shock.  Familiar blue-green eyes stared back at her framed by deep wrinkles in an old face.  His stark white hair stood out like a pearl against the blackness of night. 

“Milo!” she gasped.  “I don’t understand!  What is all of this?”  She pointed to his sheathed scimitar and scowled.  Milo took a reassuring step towards her.

“If you just calm down I’ll explain everything,” he said slowly, but Zora
wasn’t hearing it.  She continued to yell irrationally and back away from him. 

“You’re nothing but a feeble old man!  How did you do all of that?  And why did you attack me?  I’ve never done anything to you!”

              “Zora, I’ll explain everything,” he repeated. “I promise.  But first, I need you to stop, calm down, and look at me.”

              “How dare you?” Zora cursed.  “You don’t have the right to say anything to me!”  She bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt then flung it at Milo angrily. 

“Who are you really?” Zora demanded.  “And who are you working for?  Did my mother put you up to this?  Or Spencer?”  Zora was seething now.  “You’re nothing but a liar!” she yelled in his face. 

Milo went to reach for her arm consolingly, but she brushed him away with a hard slap. 

              “Get away from me,” she growled as feelings of hurt and betrayal began surfacing the longer she was near him.

              “Zora, if you can just give me a chance…” Milo said reaching for her again.  “I’ll explain everything.”

              “Back off or I’ll drive this knife right through your heart!” she cried, then slashed the dirk across Milo’s outstretched fore arm, slicing right through his skin.  He cowered back for a moment out of surprise then became angered.  He grabbed Zora brutally by the wrist, causing her to drop the dagger, and swung her around to look at him.

              “Let me go!” she squealed. 

              “Zora, listen!” Milo pleaded.  “I need you to
look at me
!  Stop acting moronic and do as I say!”

With his other hand he forced the young woman’s chin up so that she was staring directly into his calm blue eyes.  Trapped in his grasp with no way to escape, Zora was forced to watch as the wrinkles around Milo’s eyes suddenly smoothed away revealing youthful skin.  The age spots along his temples disappeared as if they had never existed, and his white hair was suddenly flooded with the color of maple syrup.  She watched as his posture became a bit straighter, and she felt the muscles of his arms firm and tighten while he held her.  Zora stopped fighting him as shock took over.

              “Who are you?” she asked in a faint whisper, weary of asking the same question over and over and getting no answer.  She felt like collapsing to the ground, but the man embraced her securely, and this time he answered her question without hesitation.

              “My name is Liam Pershing Rose,” he answered calmly.  “I am a Warden of the Cerendova Imperial Sentry, tenth regiment, one hundred and fifth cadre.”  He paused.  “But you know me better as Milo, the scholar from Rienne.” 

              “I don’t know what that is.  I still don’t understand,” Zora repeated.  She was feeling overwhelmed, and her knees were starting to feel weak underneath her.  Liam’s tense facial features relaxed for a moment.

              “I wasn’t expecting you too,” he replied softly. Despite the fact that he looked like a younger version of Zora’s old friend and had the same blue-green eyes rimmed by long eyelashes, this definitely was
not
Milo. 

             
“What do you want with me?  How do I know I can trust you?” Zora asked suspiciously. 

She wanted to trust him, despite his altered appearance.  Something similar had happened to her three years ago, when the man of her nightmares transformed sexes right before her eyes, and she refused to be deceived again.  Zora remembered the touch of death that burned along her skin when the phantom had handled her, but just seconds earlier she’d been in Liam’s embrace and nothing detrimental had happened. 

              “Zora, it’s me.  I’m the same person,” Liam addressed her deliberate silence.

              Technically, the man standing before her
was
still her friend and her teacher, even if he had been keeping things from her. 

“I feel horrible about having to be dishonest with you for so long,” Liam continued, “but you must understand it was out of necessity, not out of a desire to hurt you.  If you give me a chance I’ll explain everything you need to know.”

The wound where she had knifed Liam was bleeding gruesomely, and Zora didn’t have the heart to force him to stay behind while he was injured, so she sighed wearily and gave in.  She was scared, exhausted, and physically unable to exert any more energy on fighting with the Warden.

              “Well c’mon then,” she said.  “It’s almost nightfall and soon we will have a whole faction of mercenaries on our tail.  You can come back to my tent and get cleaned up.  And expect to tell me
everything
.  No more lies.”  Liam gave her an encouraging smile, one that she had seen a thousand times before, but somehow it looked different on his younger face

              When Liam turned around and began walking, Zora picked her dirk up off of ground and wiped the blade clean on the grass before placing it in her pocket.  Just to be safe.  She trotted to catch up with him.

              “When we get close to camp, try and stay hidden,” Zora warned.  “If Dakota finds out that you tried to harm me, you’re a dead man.  He’s one of Spencer’s Misou mercenaries, and my personal bodyguard.”  Liam gave her an austere sidelong glance.

              “I really wouldn’t stand a chance then, would I?  But I’m good at staying hidden. In fact, I’ve been traveling with this caravan since we left Samaria.”  Zora stopped dead in her tracks.

              “What!” she exclaimed.  “But I looked for you everywhere!  You promised you would accompany me, and when you didn’t show, I was devastated!  For the past weeks I’ve been stuck completely alone except for a somber mercenary as company.  As for Spencer… his presence is about as pleasant as a swarm of bees.  This entire experience has been absolutely miserable from the beginning.  I really could have used a friend.” 

It wasn’t Zora’s intention to make Liam feel guilty about his decisions, but when she explained all of this, a look of shame came over his boyish features.  He opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by a muffled voice in the distance calling out Zora’s name.

              “Dakota,” Zora hissed under her breath.  She turned to caution Liam, but he had already vanished from sight.  Within seconds, the mercenary was on her, a lantern in one hand and a sword in the other.  His eyes looked frantic.

              “Lady Winnser,” he breathed a sigh of relief.  “I’ve been looking for you for almost an hour.  What did I tell you about returning before nightfall?  You could’ve been attacked or worse.  Prince DeVore would never have forgiven me if you got harmed on my watch!” 

              “I’m really sorry, Dakota,” Zora gushed.  “I lost my way in the dark, that’s all.  But I’m fine, honestly.”

Dakota sheathed his sword and held up the lantern so he could examine her in the light to make sure she wasn’t injured.  Zora had placed her burned and blistered hand into her pocket and hoped that Liam’s blood on her sleeves looked like mud in the darkness. 

              “It’s my fault for letting you roam around the swampland unattended,” Dakota said gruffly.  “But you must promise not to wander like so!”  Zora nodded quickly.

              “Thank you,” she said, “But it’s late now, and I’d like to retire.  Would you escort me back to my tent, please.”

              “Aye,” he agreed slowly, seeming suddenly distracted.  She walked past him, but Dakota didn’t follow.  He stood unmoving for a moment, staring keenly into the wilderness behind her, surveying the shadows moving within the swampland.  His pulse had begun running so rapidly that Zora could see it throbbing in his neck.  He closed his eyes and sniffed the air a couple of times before snarling to himself.  He turned towards her with an angry glare that caused Zora to cringe.

“You’re sure you’re alright?  You didn’t have contact with anyone else?”  Zora twirled her long blonde hair around her finger and shook her head.  Dakota looked at her sharply.  “Let’s get out of here then.  A foul stench lingers in the air.” 

Zora gave him a weak smile and began to follow the mercenary back to camp.  She peered around for Liam so she could instruct him to follow behind her, but he still remained invisible. Zora didn’t know why, but she squinted hard and examined her surrounding once more.  She saw the low shrubbery with white blooms, the large oak trees with gnarled branches, and the litter of leaves covering the soggy pathway.  Amidst the shadow, however, Zora could make out a faint glow of energy throbbing steadily from a single source.  It was outlined like a person and subtle enough so that one could easily overlook it.

             
I wonder why I never noticed that before,
Zora thought both amazed and amused.  As she advanced forward, the luminescence moved when she moved, close behind yet still hidden.

***

              When Zora returned to her tent, Dakota parked himself outside for the night like he did every evening.  Zora kept glancing back to make sure Liam hadn’t run off.  She could still see his faint glowing outline as he stood patiently in the shadow, waiting for her to invite him in at the right time. 

              “I’m going to prepare some tea before bed, Dakota.  Would you care for some?” Zora asked her bodyguard as he settled himself onto the ground.

              “Aye,” Dakota said shortly.  Zora could tell he was still irritated about something, but she quickly got to work on drafting a tea that would put Dakota in a heavy, sedated sleep till morning.  She pulled some valerian root from her stash, ground up some poppy straw till it was nothing more than a fine powder, and mixed the two together in hot water.  Then she added some lemon and honey to mask the pungency of the other ingredients.  Within half an hour, Dakota was snoring softly, his chin tucked into his chest.

Inside the small pavilion, Zora had a portable bedroll, two small lanterns, a set of cooking utensils she used to brew, a chest of herbs, teas, and spices, and a sack of clothing.  She looked around nervously hoping her temporary residence didn’t look too shabby.  She’d never had to entertain anyone there before.  While Zora quickly rummaged around for the marigold flowers she’d picked up while traveling, Liam appeared in the doorway to her tent looking sheepish.

“You can come in,” she said.  “I’ll need you to discard your cloak and take off your gear, please.”  She didn’t look at him as she said this. 

“I want to look at where the tree hit you, also.  Just to make sure there are no fractured bones.” 

Liam didn’t respond, but removed his heavy cloak and let it drop to the floor.  Next he stripped his sword from his baldric, then his boots, bladed gloves, and gauntlets before placing them carefully to the side.  Finally removed the jerkin made of reptile scales, leaving him clothed in breeches and a light linen shirt.

“The shirt,” Zora commanded as she finished grabbing the rest of the supplies needed to bandage him.  Liam faltered for a moment, then lifted the shirt over his head and threw it into the pile with his other garments.

Zora sat back on her ankles, and when she glanced at the Warden, her breath got caught in her throat.  His body was lean and well conditioned from years of training in the Sentry.  Dirt and grime covered his tight core, and his muscular arms played nervously with his belt loops.  Zora felt heat rush to her cheeks, and she forced herself to look away, grateful for the dim light from the lanterns that concealed her flushing. 

“Come sit down,” she squeaked.  “I have water and food if you’re hungry.” 

“That would be great.  Is over here ok?” he asked, pointing right next to her.  Zora gulped then nodded. 

He took a seat cross-legged next to her and the small space of the tent forced his shoulders to rub against hers.  She turned towards him and gently grabbed his injured arm to examine the wound.  Zora concentrated on cleaning it with boiled water and a cloth, removing all the filth and mud.  Afterwards, she applied healing oils, gently massaging them into the wound until they were completely absorbed before placing the marigold petals on his arm and bandaging it. 

As she turned his forearm over to finish the wrap, she stopped and looked at the tattoo that was inked into his skin.  Mesmerized, Zora began running her fingertips over the design of swirling stems that ran from his wrist to his elbow.  She stopped when she felt Liam staring intently at her, like he was studying her every movement.

“How come I never noticed this before?” she asked.  “It’s beautiful.”  Liam closed his fist, tightening his forearm muscle, which caused the tattoo to begin swimming on his skin

“You weren’t looking hard enough,” he replied simply. 

“Does it mean anything special?  The rose?” she asked, ignoring the tingling on her flesh that suddenly came over her.

“No, I’m not that creative.  It’s a play off of my family crest design from the House of Rose.”