Beloved (10 page)

Kira woke before sunrise, but Nigel didn’t move until first light. He didn’t hesitate exiting the tree, not even to scan the area to make sure it was safe. Even though the mutts were gone, Kira still paused on the bottom branch, uncertain.

“Won’t they come back?”

No.

“How can you be sure?” She hopped down, taking her quiver of arrows and bow from the bundle of supplies that lay on the ground—something she could have used the night before to take out a couple of the mutts. She turned to face Nigel for his answer.

Fear. Sun.

“So they only come out at night?”

Yes.

That was the sum of their conversation that morning. The rest of the day was spent traveling by foot, only stopping to teach Kira which bushes held berries she could eat and which were poisonous. One bush, though obviously dangerous with all its gnarly thorns and neon green berries, could kill with only a scratch. She made a mental note to watch out for those and made sure Mahli knew as well.

Mahli.
She leaned down and rubbed the cub behind her ears. So far she’d stuck by Kira’s side and not wandered, not even for food or to chase a rodent. “You’re doing awesome, girl. I’m proud of you.” Mahli leaned into her.

Nigel motioned for them to continue, so she fell in step behind him.

“Will we be to Lairdor before sunset?”

He turned to look over his shoulder and nodded, not missing a step.

“Good, not sure I want to sleep in a tree again tonight. Mahli nearly pushed me out of my bed while stretching.”

This time he gave no response. Nor did he slow down for what seemed like hours, in spite of his leg wound and obvious limp. Several times she had to run to catch up to him and Mahli seemed to be constantly lagging behind.

“Nigel. Can we rest for a—”

He stopped suddenly, pulling her in behind him to protect her. He turned to face her and put a finger to his lips.
Quiet.

They stood motionless for several seconds, listening to the strange sounds of the forest. To the average person, it may have appeared still and silent, but with Kira’s keen senses it was a medley of tall, black pines creaking in the warm breeze, dark shadows morphing into imagined creatures and whispers of things unseen.

Nigel cupped his hands and blew into them, making a high-pitched trill that filled the air. A few seconds passed and a similar sound echoed back to them.

“What’s happening?” Kira whispered.

Wait.

Frustrated, tired, and a little impatient, Kira crouched next to Mahli and buried her fingers in the cub’s fur. “Stay close girl. Someone’s coming.” She sensed more than heard him—the way the branches creaked and swayed in the distance. The snap of his whip as it released one branch and looped around another. The unmistakable odor of wood smoke and hot metal.

And then she saw him—all attitude and confidence as he swung through the air and landed true on a flimsy branch that barely held his slim form. He couldn’t have been much older than Kira—late teens at most—but his cocky behavior made him seem much younger. His long legs had been poured into a pair of black leather pants; his lean, muscular torso—bare and tanned—glistened with sweat. Wet tendrils of black hair flopped over his yellow eyes. He brushed his hair aside and grinned, all full of himself.

“Need a ride?” He winked at Kira who suddenly felt an attitude of her own coming on.

She stood. “No, actually. I prefer to walk.”

He jumped to a lower branch and hooked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing in the direction he’d come from. “You might not want to go through there. We have traps set to discourage intruders. I built them myself so I know they could snap your foot clean off. So unless you like crawling I suggest you take me up on my offer.”

Nigel shook his head in disgust and motioned for the boy to come down out of the tree—which he did—but not before making a grand acrobatic display by using the branches like uneven parallel bars. He landed beside Nigel, then gave him a good strong nudge to the shoulder.

“How is it going, cousin?”

Nigel responded with a slap on the boy’s back that made him stumble forward and almost lose his footing. Kira had to jump out of the way to avoid being run over.

The boy rolled his shoulders and twisted his back before standing straight. “Haven’t lost your strength, I see.”

Nigel shook his head. He didn’t seem the least bit impressed with the boy’s arrogance. He made a few hand signals, pointed through the trees and then at Kira.

Kira planted her fists on her hips. “Umm, I’m not flying through those trees. Isn’t there another way we can get there?”

Nigel made another gesture, then pointed at Kira again.

The boy seemed to understand. His shoulders sagged barely enough for her to notice. “Brenna will be disappointed that you have lost your communication skills. As will everyone else.” He turned to face Kira and bowed slightly. “I am Blayde, Nigel’s cousin. And you are?”

“Kira. My name is Kira.” She rubbed her hands on her pants before offering one of them for him to shake, but instead he brought it to his face and kissed it.

“My pleasure, my lady.” He studied her eyes for a long moment before giving her hand back.

Kira hadn’t noticed until Nigel slumped against a nearby tree, that the front of his pant leg was soaked with blood and so was the makeshift bandage. She moved closer, then stopped when she remember his warning about Darkord blood.

“We have to get him help. He’s lost a lot of blood.”

It was obvious that Blayde hadn’t noticed—at Kira’s words his flirtatious behavior suddenly gave way to serious concern. He went to Nigel’s side and carefully examined his wound. “How bad is it?”

Nigel’s tough guy act faltered for only a second, but it was long enough for Kira to grasp the gravity of the situation.

Blayde glanced over his shoulder at Kira. “Will you be all right for a moment? I want to take him to my sister, Brenna. She will know what to do.”

Nigel clamped a hand over Blayde’s shoulder and shook his head.

Kira stepped closer. “Yes. Go.”

Blayde grabbed Nigel’s upper arm and they both disappeared, leaving their mist swirling in front of her. She expected several minutes to pass before Blayde returned, but the mist hadn’t yet settled when he reappeared too quickly for her senses to warn of his arrival.

With Octavion, she’d always been held tight within his arms when he traveled, but not with Blayde. He didn’t even give her the option. One hand grabbed her wrist and the other buried itself in the scruff of Mahli’s neck. Mere seconds passed and they were standing in the middle of a large clearing surrounded by strangers. Dizzy, she swayed to one side and the next thing she knew she was staring up at a young girl with soft amber eyes, the tops of the black pines and slivers of blue sky behind her.

Kira rubbed the back of her neck and took in a deep, cleansing breath. “That was embarrassing,” she mumbled.
Great first impression, Kira.

The girl laughed and Kira found it impossible not to laugh with her. It was as if someone was tickling her sides and she couldn’t help herself.

“Oh, sorry,” the girl said. “I have not learned to control my gift yet.”

“What do you mean?” Kira asked, while pulling herself up to sit. The tree trunks around her seemed to bulge and sway, but she knew it was just an illusion left from leaping. She closed her eyes and tried to regain her equilibrium, then opened them to curious eyes. “What is your gift?”

“I control emotions.” She smiled, then added, “Brenna says I
spread
emotion, that I have no control, but that is because I am coming into my cravings.”

Kira knew what that meant. The girl would be hunting soon if she hadn’t already. And she’d have very little resistance to a commoner’s blood, especially Kira’s. “What’s your name?”

She twirled a lock of her long black hair around her finger. “I am Jaya.”

“I’m Kira.”

“I know. Blayde told me and said to watch after you until you woke.”

“Woke? How long was I out?” She glanced around the clearing to see at least a dozen or so people wandering about doing various tasks. There were no fires, no tents, no structures at all, which surprised her. Maybe their homes were deeper into the trees.

“Not long. Everyone wanted to meet you when you arrived, but then Brenna thought it best if you did not wake with the whole village hovering over you. You will meet them all before nightfall.”

“Why is that?” Kira asked. “And how many are here?”

“There are twenty seven in Lairdor—twenty nine now that you and Nigel have arrived. We meet before the sun goes down to make sure we are all accounted for.” Jaya offered her hand and helped Kira from the ground. “Would you like to meet my sister? She is tending to Nigel’s wound.”

“I’d love to.” Kira brushed the dirt off her backside and ran her fingers through her hair to brush out any twigs or pine needles. She scanned the area one more time, realizing something was missing. “Have you seen Mahli, my cub?”

“Blayde took her hunting.”

“Hunting? She’s pretty good at fending for herself.”

Jaya’s focus shifted to the ground and Kira could feel her emotion change to sadness. “We have little food and cannot spare it for an animal. The Royals can hunt for fresh meat in a distant kingdom if they are careful, but they cannot bring it back with them. The blood would attract Jraks and we have no means to cook it for the commoners.”

“What about a fire?” She should have been irritated with Mahli for leaving without her permission—especially with Blayde—but if there was no food here for her to hunt, she needed to be grateful instead. She knew living here would be hard for her, but she hadn’t thought about how difficult it would be for Mahli.

Jaya continued. “We are exiles—misfits. No kingdom will allow us to dwell in their midst and the only Darkord camp does not allow commoners or Royals who have not turned. So, we hide here, and cannot take the chance of someone seeing smoke from a fire during the day, and at night we must take to the trees.” She pointed to the sky.

Kira looked up, but only saw the lower branches of the pines twisted and tangled together. “Where?”

Jaya smiled and Kira felt a spark of laughter build inside her. “You will see later. Now we need to see Brenna.”

Jaya led Kira to the other side of the clearing. As she passed the handful of people, they nodded and smiled, but no one introduced themselves or engaged her in conversation. It was strange not knowing if they were Royals, commoners or Darkords. It was even stranger to think they lived in peace with each other, which made her wonder what it was like during the new moon phase. She wouldn’t have rock walls and solid wooden doors protecting her out here.

Tucked deep in the trees was an outcropping of black rocks. Jaya pointed to a small cave and motioned for her to go in. Kira ducked and squeezed through the opening. Once inside, she saw several candles lit around a cave that was half the size of Ussay’s cottage and barely tall enough for her to stand upright without hitting her head.

At the far end were two trunks and a few small crates. She counted three swords, two bows and one quiver of arrows on top of the stack along with what looked like swatches of leather and fabric.

Jaya came through the opening behind Kira and brushed past her to kneel next to Nigel. He sat on a pile of animal pelts with his back slumped against one of the trunks.

Brenna motioned for Kira to come closer, but Kira didn’t move. She couldn’t stop staring at Brenna. For one thing, Kira expected her to be a little older, but she couldn’t have been more than twenty-five. She had long white hair pulled to one side that cascaded down the front of her blue dress and puddled in her lap like a waterfall pouring into a pond. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of lavender. When she blinked, her long lashes grazed her high cheekbones and when they opened, a tiny spark flashed, making her face smile even before the corners of her lips curved.

“Kira?” Jaya giggled, making Kira snort.

Kira covered her mouth to keep from doing it again. She was pretty sure being around Jaya was going to put her in even more embarrassing moments. Hopefully, she’d learn to control her emotions soon.

“Sorry, I’m still a little dizzy from the leap. How is Nigel’s leg?”

“He will be fine if he listens to me and gets some rest.”

“I’m Kira, by the way.” She kneeled next to Jaya and put her hand out for Brenna to shake.

Brenna took her hand and pulled her so they both leaned over Nigel’s legs while they embraced in a heartwarming hug that lasted several seconds. Nigel’s strong hand gripped her arm and separated them.

Nigel motioned for Jaya to leave the cave.

“But I want to stay with Kira.”

Nigel rubbed the top of her head, messing up her hair, then repeated the motion for Jaya to leave. She threw her arms around his neck in a quick hug, then jumped to her feet and disappeared through the opening. Nigel adjusted his position so he sat straighter, then made another sign with his hands.
Speak
.

“What do you want me to say?” Kira asked.