Bastial Energy (58 page)

“You couldn’t have known,” Zoke told Vithos in Kreppen before translating for Reela. “Don’t be mad at yourself for this.” Then he gave Reela the short version of what he’d said, knowing she already could see the Elf’s sadness.

“At least I can help you know your age,” Reela told Vithos with reserved excitement. “You’re nine years older than me, the same age as your brother, Rek. I’m seventeen. You and Rek are twenty-six. Your brother still lives, Vithos.” She raised her arms as if to warn him. “But he’s being sent hundreds of miles away, across the ocean. He’s going to Goldram. It’s north of Meritar, where the Elves came from and sailed back to when they were attacked here in Ovira. Rek wants to stay here and fight, but he was forced to leave. He knows about you. He’s been trying to find a way to come and get you.”

She took Vithos’ hand as Zoke translated. She leaned in and spoke with a soft, yet stern tone. “I know you want revenge against Doe and Haemon. I can feel it. Rek does, too. And so do I.” With those last words, her eyes were hard with resolve.

When Zoke finished translating, Vithos didn’t move. His eyebrows made no motion of rising, and his mouth remained a gentle frown. However, there was a palpable change in the way he looked at Reela. He knew something about her now. Even Zoke could feel it. But Zoke didn’t know what it was until Vithos spoke.

“You’re his blood. That’s what it is, why I know you. You’re half him. You’re half sister to me.”

Reela nodded before Zoke even began translating. “Your father didn’t know Airy was pregnant with me when he left,” she said when Zoke was ready.

“Sister to me…” His eyes were wide in shock. “Can I see them?” he asked, reaching a hand toward the side of her head. “A sister and a brother,” he said incredulously.

Reela understood without Zoke’s help. She started to reach into her hair, but she stopped suddenly, holding a hand up. “Someone’s coming,” she whispered. “This has to remain a secret for now. I’ll explain later.”

Realizing no one coming would know Kreppen, Zoke translated her whispers to Vithos as he saw Steffen speed into the room with a smile, completely oblivious to the solemn mood of everyone else. He was holding Zoke’s bow and wore the quiver around his back.

“I wanted to return this,” he said, holding out the bow to Zoke. “And thank you for saving my life.”

A flood of saliva came to Zoke’s mouth. The insult of offering back the weapon, along with the weak gratitude of
thanking him,
was too much for him to swallow. He spat toward a corner of the room. “The bow was a gift, and there’s no need to thank me when you saved mine as well.”

“No spit,” the Fjallejon told him. “This clean room. Very bad luck.”

“I don’t believe in luck,” he replied, readying his feet to stand. Just then, the stool gave one last squeak before one of its legs snapped in half. It sent him into the ground face first. He lay sprawled on his stomach for two breaths as he gathered the strength to get up. When he lifted his head, the Fjallejon was there in front of him with her arms folded.

“Now you believe? You have bad luck. You must kiss someone you like for it to go away. This is known. Do Krepps kiss?”

“Not this Krepp.” Krepps did kiss, but even more rarely than they hugged. He’d read that Humans kiss for many reasons, even on each other’s mouth. It was a strange concept, as Krepps would only kiss another’s cheek or forehead when welcoming another family member or when saying goodbye to them. The last time he’d been kissed was by his mother the morning before she died.

“Then you keep bad luck,” the Fjallejon replied. “You bring danger to friends.”

He lifted himself to his knees. Steffen walked around in front of him, holding an expression of embarrassment. “You can kiss me if you want, not that it would mean anything, just to repay you for your gift.”

“Gifts are not meant to be repaid, and don’t mention kissing again without expecting spit on your feet.” Zoke spat again, though he made sure to avoid Steffen.

The Fjallejon shook her head and let out a quick ticking sound. “Bad luck. Very bad luck for big-mouth Krepp.”

Chapter 57: Blanketed

EFFIE

When Effie’s eyes peeled open, she didn’t know where she was or how long she’d been unconscious. There was a soft roar. It sounded like a waterfall was somewhere in the distance. Her vision was blurred as if she was wearing someone else’s glasses. She tried to raise her hands to rub her eyes but couldn’t find the strength. It looked like people were still fighting, but the image of them was slowly turning away from her. Every time she blinked, they jumped back to standing upright, yet the slow spin wouldn’t stop.

The battle is still happening. Get up and fight.
Again she tried to rub her eyes so she could see her enemies, but her arm never moved.

Someone started calling her name from beneath her. The voice was asking if Effie could hear it.

I can hear you,
she wanted to say but couldn’t speak. Her voice was too heavy. She couldn’t get it out of her throat.
Are you in the mountain?
she wanted to ask.

The roar of the waterfall sharpened, transforming into men shouting at each other.
Battle cries
, she realized her earlier mistake.
Get up and help.

Her name was being called in front of her now. “Effie, Effie.” It was the same voice but crisp, no longer muffled by the mountain.

How did you get here so quickly?
Was she asking aloud? Effie couldn’t tell if her words came out. Then she heard a voice she recognized.

“Let me try.” It was Reela. Effie could make out her light hair turning away from her like everything else. “Effie, we’ve won. You passed out.”

No, they’re fighting behind you, watch out.
Effie still couldn’t tell if her words were coming out.

“That’s cheering you hear,” Reela said. “Drink this.”

She heard the waterfall again, but this time it was pouring into her mouth. She let it run down her throat, surprised she couldn’t feel it crash against the base of her stomach.

“I’m going to use psyche to help you rest,” Reela said. “Alex will carry you inside the mountain.”

Someone put his hands under her knees and around her back, then lifted her.

Effie sat up suddenly, her chest heaving with heavy breaths. Her hand was caught on something. She looked down to find it cupped between both of Reela’s and felt some relief. But then her heart started up again with a frightful thought.
Did we lose? Was Reela killed?
She put two fingers under Reela’s nose and held her breath. She felt Reela’s warm air against her knuckles and let out an exhausted sigh.

Effie noticed then that she wasn’t on the mountaintop anymore. Somehow, she was in a room made of stone. As she shifted her weight to look around, she noticed a crunch coming from beneath her. She felt the rough sheet that shaped her bed and realized that straw was beneath it, supporting her.

Looking past Reela, she found Steffen sleeping on his back with one arm clutching a bow to his bare chest. He was sleeping next to the gray wall of the cave that was covered with bumps. She turned to her other side and saw Alex asleep on his stomach. The sight of him made her remember the last moments on the mountaintop, Reela’s words coming back to her.
“I’m going to use psyche to help you rest. Alex will carry you inside the mountain.”

We’re in the Fjallejons’ home within the mountain,
Effie realized.
And we’ve won.
Though she did not smile with her lips, it felt as if her heart was grinning, sending a warm tingle down to her stomach.

There was a hearth carved into the wall in front of her. The fire within it was nearly dead. Effie turned to check behind her and found a small tunnel lit by one sconce on the wall. She started to remove her hand from Reela’s grasp in order to get up and investigate, but Reela’s eyes popped open.

“You’re safe,” Reela whispered. “We all are, but you need to rest. We have many miles to walk tomorrow and the days after.” Reela sat up, yawned, and then turned toward the fire. She let go of Effie, pushed herself to her feet, grabbed three cuts of wood, and placed them on top of the dying fire. “Could you light this first?”

Effie found her wand beside her bed as Reela came back to sit next to her and watch. Reela had on a black nightgown that would have reached her ankles if she’d been standing, but it fell and bunched around her waist when Reela pulled her knees to her chest. Her skin looked even smoother than usual as the low light danced along her long shins. Reela pulled a blanket up over her bare legs for warmth. A faint glow from the tunnel wrapped around her back, bringing light to the side of her breast. The top of it was bursting out from her nightgown by the light press of her knees.

“Look at you, so pretty. How is it you look like you were never in a battle?” Effie didn’t need a mirror to know she didn’t look the same. She could feel the dirt and oil packed into her hair and face. “How long have I been asleep?”

“A few hours.” Reela smiled back. “I had a bath. They have naturally warm water in some areas of the mountain, but the rest of the mountain is very cold without fire.” She pointed at the wood. “I know you haven’t been sleeping well. I’ll make sure you do after you light it.”

Effie brushed the hair from her face, making sure it all fell behind her back so as not to catch on fire. She pushed the coarse blanket off her lap to find Reela had removed her pants while she was sleeping, leaving just her short underwear. She would have made an effort to cover herself if others were awake, but there was nothing about her that Reela hadn’t seen already.

She lit a fire by sticking her wand under the wood and pushing Bastial Energy through it. She was almost skilled enough with Sartious Energy to create fire without the pellets of it that filled her wand, but spells that required both forms of energy, like all fire spells, would always be easier with the support of her wand, and safer as well. Producing fire from her bare hand was just as dangerous as it sounded.

When the fire spread to the first cut of wood, she returned to the straw bed.

She and Reela lay on their sides, facing each other. Reela reached out a hand, then Effie gave her one of her own to hold. The moment Reela’s touch came around her, Effie’s whole body was blanketed in a heavy comfort, and sleep took her a breath later.

Chapter 58: Safe as Skin

EFFIE

The quiet four days that followed were a welcome change from the recent chaos.

Terren pushed them to walk as far as they could each day, but Effie was used to being on her feet all day, so she didn’t mind. Steffen, on the other hand, was having far more trouble. He suffered in silence as best he could, saying nothing of it, but his body spoke volumes. The bow Zoke gave him was constantly slipping off his shoulder. By the time the sun had begun to set each day, Steffen was huffing loudly. For reasons Effie couldn’t understand, the bag on his back just looked heavier as the day went on. It had to do with the way he carried it, she figured. The first day, after the battle atop the mountain, he wore his bag around one shoulder with the bow over it and his quiver around the other shoulder. He couldn’t walk one mile without something coming loose. As they prepared a fire that first night, Zoke removed the quiver from its strap and fashioned it to Steffen’s belt instead.

Zoke and Vithos were both experienced travelers. That became clear quickly. Zoke reminded her of Cleve sometimes, specifically the way he distanced himself from them like Cleve did when they first met. However, Cleve seemed to do it as a choice, while it was more inherent to Zoke. It made Effie think that was just the nature of Krepps.

Another similarity between them was their power. Cleve exuded strength, so it hadn’t surprised Effie when Reela had told her of his inner strength as well. But even Cleve, with all his inner and outer strength, couldn’t survive two fireballs like Zoke had. When Steffen and Reela told her about it, Effie was thankful he’d lived but even more frightened of what it meant. The Krepps had size, numbers, and strength, yet Kyrro had magic. But if their fireballs couldn’t even kill the Krepps, what was the point?

They did have Vithos, though. That helped to relieve Effie whenever distressing thoughts tightened her chest. Alex told Effie that he, Terren, and Vithos had killed more than fifty men in a minute. No one stood a chance against them. Not one of them had come even close to being injured. Vithos subdued any enemies nearby with psyche. Then, it was just a matter of running a sword through them.

Reela had a similar effect with her psyche, stunning enemies long enough to give Effie a free shot. But from what Alex had told her of Vithos, Reela still had far to go to match his power. Having Vithos with them gave Effie the same hope as if ten thousand warriors had come from Goldram to help them fight had—a fantasy she often went to when thoughts of the war kept her awake. Ever since Reela had told her about Cleve being sent to Goldram, she liked to imagine him coming back with ships overcrowded by men and women ready to fight for Kyrro.

“Cleve will come back,” Reela had led with before explaining everything that she and Cleve had shared during her visit to the castle, including their kisses.