Divided (79 page)

She knew only one thing in that moment—she had been wrong. 
A sun had not passed since their meeting that Calis Tsrali had not loved Taeru
Lassau.  Taeru had been entirely right in his trust, and Aela knew that there
was nothing she could do that would protect Taeru more than Calis’s embrace. 
She stood, throwing herself back into the crowd.  She needed to find Leif. 

Unfortunately, she never did get that chance, as the moment
that she’d broken away from the crowd, he leapt out of a small building and
seized her by the shoulders.  “Aela!” he cried.  Worry was whirling in his
eyes.  Did he know?  “What happened?” he begged.  “Aela!  T-Taeru…?”

She must have looked paler than she’d realized because the
panic in his voice was rising too quickly.  A frown twisted onto her face.  Or
perhaps she’d already been frowning and this one was less frightening.  “Taeru
is… alive,” she whispered.  The relief that came with that statement was
jarring.  Taeru was alive, and he had someone who was so in love with him that
they would murder their own father without thinking in order to protect him. 
Then, to tend to Taeru so gently…

“He is?” Leif gasped.  Relief was obvious on his face, too. 
“Where is he?  What happened?” he asked again.

“Lavus is dead,” she said flatly.  Leif’s panic was back.

He shook her, and his eyes widened in disbelief.  He surely
thought that she had done something to bring this about—but no, she couldn’t
take the credit for that miraculous deed.  “What did you do?” Leif hissed.

Then, with a blank expression, she spoke again.  “Nothing.”

“Then what happened?  How is he dead?”

“The prince—Calis Tsrali.  Calis Tsrali killed his own
father,” she said.

“The question of who was the hero was one very simply
answered.”

-A Hero’s Peace v.ii

Every fiber of anger evaporated from Calis’s body, as though
it had never been there—as though his lack of control had never existed.  A
part of him was restored that he hadn’t known was missing as he dropped next to
the newly stilled form of Taeru Lassau.  Calis was aware of his anger as he
looked at the injuries riddling the slight form, but he couldn’t feel it.  It
was something entirely separate from him. 

His hands shook as they hovered over the stilled body. 
“Taeru… Taeru…”  His words were pained, and he scarcely recognized his own
voice.  Very gently, Calis lifted Taeru and removed the rope about the boy’s
neck.  Then, Calis brought the injured form into his lap, assessing his
injuries with mounting anguish.  There were long, jagged lines up both of Taeru’s
arms, and both of his palms were carved with the same cruel design.  Around the
jagged lines were strange bruises, swirls of purple, red, and brown.  Taeru’s
arms were hardly recognizable, and his exposed chest looked the same.  There it
was—the anger, far away from Calis, and yet present.  How could anyone do this
to Taeru?  The Cathalari’s eyes were closed, and he would have looked peaceful
if not for the swelling under his eyes.  His lips were bloody, his face
streaked with blood, and bruises littered every part of him.  Whip marks
indicated the visualization of the marks Calis’s hands felt as they moved along
Taeru’s back.  “Oh… why?” Calis choked. 

Taeru’s face and neck were covered in blood, though Calis
couldn’t find the source.  There were abundant gashes on the boy’s face, but
they didn’t seem deep enough to produce such a vast amount of blood.  Lastly,
Calis saw the new wounds—a very light stab through the side, and the hand that
Lavus’s sword had pierced entirely. 

Very gently, he placed the back of his hand to Taeru’s
cheek.  The skin was still soft, despite the ravaged nature of it.  Taeru
flinched a little, twitching just barely, at the touch.  Calis’s lips quivered
as he stared blankly into the damaged face.  Then, the same tears from before
slid down his cheeks—unchecked.  “I’m so sorry,” Calis whispered.  He brought
the small body closer to him, cradling Taeru’s head protectively.  The rope had
left a red mark, and beneath that, there was a light cut all along Taeru’s
neck. 
Why?  Someone tell me.  Why?

Yet, in all of his marred state, Taeru was still the most
beautiful thing on which Calis had ever laid eyes.  Calis’s heart pounded
harder at the sight of him, and the feel of him—having Taeru in his arms again
was the most liberating and terrifying experience of Calis’s life.  They had
left no part of Taeru untouched, and Calis wanted to hate all of them.  But he
couldn’t.  Not here—not staring into Taeru’s face.  He couldn’t bring himself
to feel anything but an overwhelming love for the creature in his arms.  Love
and desire to protect.  Desire to do what he had failed to do. 

“I love you so much, Taeru,” Calis whispered.  He bent his
head so that it touched Taeru’s gently.  Then, he moved the boy’s head down so
that his lips were resting on Taeru’s forehead.  “I’m going to keep you safe. 
I’m going to get you out of here, and everything is going to be alright.  I
promise.  Stay with me, Taeru.  I love you.”  Calis brought Taeru’s head down
to his own chest, cradling gently.  Calis needed to get Taeru away from here—to
somewhere that Calis could assess his injuries and could apologize and care for
him like he ought.

Strangely enough, Taeru whimpered quietly in Calis’s hands. 
Though, it ought not be strange, as he was probably crying about the movement
of his injured side.  In response, Calis lifted Taeru’s bloody hand, kissing it
gingerly.  “It’s going to be alright—I promise,” Calis whispered. 

At that moment, he saw Lee’s brown horse.  It appeared
through the chaos that Calis had barely noticed in his worry.  No, this chaos
was the very thing away from which Calis had to get Taeru.  Not to mention, he
would surely be the target soon—as he had just murdered the king.  Oh, but that
had felt
good
.  Lavus had more than earned it.  Lee was standing over
them momentarily, and Calis glanced up to him.  Then, he looked down to Taeru. 
He wanted to check him more thoroughly—to know precisely what had happened and
how to avoid causing him pain, but that would have to wait until they were
safe.  “Lee!” Calis shouted.  “Remember the cottage my mother had built for
me?  The one outside the city—that father never knew about?”

Lee nodded without hesitation.  Remembering everything with
perfect clarity, as always.  Calis was grateful for that.  “Take him there,”
Calis instructed.  “Get out of the city before they close the gate—I’ll meet
you there shortly.”  His words held no sort of uncertainty.  He would not
abandon Taeru now. 

Warily, Calis lifted Taeru from the ground.  This time,
rather than whimpering, Taeru whispered a single sound.  “Calis.”  A plea. 
Calis felt his eyes widen, and his body stiffened at his name.  Tears welled in
his eyes again, and he shook his head.

“I’ll be there soon, Taeru,” he promised.  He held Taeru
like a small child, still cradling the boy’s head against his chest.  Again, he
kissed the Cathalari’s forehead softly.  “You’ve been so brave,” Calis
murmured.  “I’m not going to leave you now.”

Without comment, Lee reached down to take Taeru.  As the
exchange began, Calis jerked back, glaring up at his cruelly efficient friend. 
His teeth gritted as he glared up at Lee, though the crowd was collecting
themselves—they were running out of time.  “Be gentle!” Calis cried.  “He’s
hurt.”  The defensiveness—Calis reminded himself of a child protecting a
precious toy.

“I know,” Lee answered quietly.  “I will do my best.  Just
make sure you’re there when he wakes up.”  Finally, they managed to exchange,
and Calis found himself satisfied with the tender way that Lee placed Taeru
over the back of the horse. 

Calis nodded, eye blazing with intent.  “I intend to be,
just take care of him until I get there.”  Lee unsheathed his sword and tossed
it to Calis. 

“You’ll need that more than I will.  And yours appears to be
busy.”  Lee tossed a grim look towards Lavus’s corpse, and Calis smirked. 
“Don’t be long, Calis.”  Lee didn’t wait for a response before he dug his heels
into the prancing horse—prancing off towards the city gates.  Calis had to
admit—even he looked like he was galloping at that pace.  The moment Taeru was
gone from him—Calis felt his anger returning, and the longing for his injured
lover was like a chilling, howling wind blowing through his body. 

Swinging Lee’s sword, Calis moved towards Talon at once.

“He knew, it was not over yet.”

-A Hero’s Peace v.i & v.ii

The body beneath Lee’s hand felt hauntingly fragile.  The
vision of the rope about Taeru’s neck shimmered periodically through Lee’s
mind.  If they had been only a moment slower, then Taeru would be dead—if Calis
hadn’t—if he hadn’t thought so quickly...  If he hadn’t been in that strange
daze, the one that allowed him to cut through half of Lavus’s guardsmen without
thought—then Taeru would be dead.

There had always been something about Calis.  The way he
moved, with such a restrained quality, had always slowed him down during their
training.  Calis had improved, and after a while, he was still better than any
of the knights that Lee had seen wielding a blade.  Yet, Calis had always
seemed too focused on where his blade was going—but before, when he painted the
grand hall with blood—there was no thought.  Or perhaps there was.  Somewhere
deep within him, Calis could think only of Taeru, and realizing that others
wanted to hurt Taeru—had caused Calis to let go.

And let go he had!  The entire grand hall was splattered
with blood, as were Lee and Calis.  Though, splattered was quite the
understatement for what had occurred in that room.  A bloodbath, Lee thought,
that was what it had been.  Lee was not surprised at his inability to be
frightened by the situation.  He had never been one for worrying over the
deaths of those that he did not know—especially if the deaths were merited.

However, deaths that had been plaguing him were those of
Taeru’s foster family.  They had been hanged, without reason, and Taeru would
surely fall to pieces when he realized.  Lee’s jaw clenched.  Would Calis be
the one to tell him that?  The pandemonium had worsened, and yet no one seemed
to be aware of Lee.  They were all shouting Calis’s name—trying to figure out
how to react.

Once he’d gotten to Dark District, which was easy as the
chaos had left the gates unattended, his path became less clear.  There was
madness in the city, and Lee didn’t intend to stick around and see how it
unfolded.  Would there be a revolution before Cathalar even arrived?  Or would
the people somehow manage to find it within themselves not to cause a
slaughter?  Lee couldn’t say—as he had seen evidence in both directions.  For
now, all that mattered was reaching the gate of the city before someone thought
to close it.

Very few people were on horses as he hurried through Dark
District.  Guards seemed to have deserted the place entirely, focusing on the
Shining District and the impaled king, certainly.  Lee had only let his eyes
venture to Lavus once, and the shock that accompanied that was still settling. 
Calis had murdered his father in cold blood, and for a Cathalari prince.  Love
truly was as dangerous as Lee had always considered it.

Not that Lavus hadn’t earned that death, but Calis wouldn’t
hesitate to kill anyone in such a way, even if they were not wholly terrible,
if they harmed Taeru.  But in Calis’s mind, Lee supposed, hurting Taeru like
this would make someone a wholly bad person.  Perhaps he was right, but it
didn’t matter—Calis believed that, and he would murder to keep Taeru
protected.  For some reason, the thought brought a smile across Lee’s lips.

Glancing down at Taeru, Lee felt a pang of worry.  His
stomach was over the horse, and he couldn’t have been without pain.  His
exposed back was covered in so many crisscrossed lines of blood that it looked
less like a back and more like a mangled slab of flesh.  Lavus had taken no
quarter in the final beating.  So, it was only fair that Calis had taken no
quarter in Lavus’s death.  Lee’s horse maneuvered through obstacles, and though
a few men shouted for him to stop, he kept going.

As he neared the gate, he had finally garnered enough
attention to know that he had to hurry.  One of his hands remained securely
fastened on top of Taeru while his other held the reins.  “Hurry,” he growled
at his horse.  Men were following him, and as the gate came into view, Lee
could hear those men shouting to the gate guards.

Though, rather than thinking to shut the gate—Light forbid
they do anything competent without a direct order—the men hopped down to try
and apprehend Lee manually.  Without horses, though, they weren’t much threat. 
That was, until one of them managed to stand directly in Lee’s path.  His sword
was prepared to remove the legs of Lee’s horse, and Lee could not handle that
right now.

He pulled the dagger from his belt, releasing Taeru for only
a moment, and then flung the object so that it caught the man’s throat
perfectly.  The man’s sword dropped first, but he didn’t fall, and Lee’s horse
slammed into him.  The body went flying, and though Lee’s horse whinnied for a
moment, it kept moving.  He was outside of the gates, and he twisted along the
path—remembering precisely the location of the cottage Calis had mentioned. 
Lee only hoped that the prince could recall it so exactly.

Now, though, he was weaponless, and a few of the guards had
managed to mount horses from the stables and were chasing him.  He moved
towards the hills, well aware that he couldn’t go to the cottage until he’d
lost these men.  He pulled his horse down between some of the hills, moving to
the side and towards the nearby oasis.  The cottage was within a grove of trees
to the east, and though it was not the forest Calis frequented to the
south—there were enough trees in which to lose incompetent guards.

An arrow whooshed through the air and cut a line across
Lee’s cheek. 
Impressive
, he thought,
I didn’t think they knew how to
aim that well—even standing still.

“We’ll follow you until you drop dead!” one of the men
behind him shouted.  Lee highly doubted that, and he pushed his horse to move a
little faster. 

After a few more arrows, and these were placed in the
poorly-aimed manner that Lee had come to expect, trees began to appear around
him.  They were sparse, and he longed to be in the forest to make this easier. 
Taeru shouldn’t be riding so quickly on a horse, even while unconscious—perhaps
especially while unconscious.  He needed medical attention, immediately, and
unfortunately, Lee wasn’t sure how to tend to him.  Lee would have to hope that
there were still a few supplies in the cabin.

The trees and hilly area made the men fall behind quickly. 
Lee moved in and out of denser areas, slowing his horse when he thought the men
had lost him.  When another man called out upon seeing him, he hurried into
another thicket of trees.  At last, once he slowed down for a fourth time, it
appeared they had lost him.  He could hear them calling to one another in the
distance, trying to locate him, but they were far away from him now. 

Moving back through the forest, he came out the other end of
it—making sure that he didn’t make too much noise.  He headed towards another group
of hills, leaving the forest, and the guards still most likely lost inside of
it, behind.  The next group of trees would have been impossible to lose people
in, but it was large enough to conceal a small, elaborately made cottage in the
woods.

The stone was worn, moss growing along the sides of it.  It
was small, just a bit bigger than the average Dark District home, with a tiny
window towards the back.  The door was made of wood, and seeing the place
brought on a bout of nostalgia.  This cottage had been an early birth sun
present to Calis—by Claudia.  Calis was always in trouble for running off, out
of the city, but while Lavus was genuinely angry, Claudia’s concern had been
Calis’s safety.

She’d had the cottage built, and she had somehow convinced Lavus
that allowing Calis to live on his own for a few cycles would be good for him. 
Calis ended up in the cottage for two phases, with Lee staying with him, and
Claudia having servants deliver food every sun.  Not any sort of hard life, but
it had made Calis happy to get away.  The prince had always assumed Claudia had
built the house in order to let Tareth get the upper hand with their father—in
some attempt to murder Lavus—and while Claudia had come up with plenty of those
types of plans, her intentions with the house had been completely good.

She had wanted to give Calis something that would make him
happy, as he never seemed to be, and she had succeeded, though Calis had never
properly thanked his mother for the gift.  Nevertheless, the cottage had been
home for many phases during Lee’s childhood, and memories flooded his mind as he
neared the door.  He tied his horse to a post just outside and pulled Taeru off
of it gently. 

Rather than charging into the stone chalet blindly, and
being murdered by some creature living inside, Lee placed Taeru against the
wall outside before easing his way in.  He checked both of the rooms in the
cottage, finding that despite a little extra dust, the place had been
maintained fairly well. 

The cottage was, again, just a bit bigger than the average
Dark District home.  The amenities, though, were far greater than what was
typically found in Dark District shacks.  The floor was made of a soft wood,
with rugs splayed out in areas.  In the front room, there was a stone pot used
for heating and a long counter where food could be prepared.  There were
cabinets lining the back wall, and even a small sitting chair for reclining. 
In the center was a small, square table that could fit four, with chairs all
around it. 

There was a desk in the back room, along with the single
window.  A small closet stood near the straw bed resting in the corner.  Two
dressers sat to the side, one had been used by Calis and the other by Lee. 
Discovering that there were no creatures, save for a small rat that Lee
directed off through some hole in the wall, Lee lifted Taeru and brought him to
the straw bed in the corner.

Taeru whimpered softly as Lee placed him onto the bed. 
Compared to the beds back at the castle, this one looked uncomfortable.  Though
Taeru would be used to this sort of thing—with the injuries, he ought to have
better accommodations.  There was nothing to be done about it, though, Lee
realized.  Towards the back of the room, there was a tiny, third room that
contained a washing tub.  Taeru really needed better than this right now.  But
rather than dwelling on it, he moved to a small closet to find a few supplies. 
There was a little bit of white cloth that could be used for bandaging some of
the cuts and two feathered pillows. 

Lee made sure that these were not inhabited by any foul
creatures, either before he brought them to place beneath Taeru’s head. 
Taeru’s brow furrowed, as though something had bothered him, but beyond that—he
didn’t stir.  Lee really didn’t want to be responsible for explaining the
situation to Taeru if he awoke.  After all, Lee was the one that had caused
some of these injuries.  At last, Lee managed to find a few blankets and
bedrolls.  Aware that he couldn’t just throw the blanket over Taeru’s ragged
form, Lee pulled a stool up to the straw bed.  The floor was covered in dust, but
inside the small stone abode felt nice.

Lee looked at the cloth and then at Taeru’s bloody face.  He
ought to wash Taeru, Lee thought dismally.  How very awkward that would be.  Still,
Taeru was coated in blood and bruises.  Faintly recalling a well outside, Lee
grabbed some of the cloth and headed to get a bucket.  Using the rope to lift a
bucket of water, he dipped the cloth in and re-entered the house.  For some
reason, Lee was relieved to find that Taeru had not sprung up and disappeared
into the wilderness when he returned.

No, Taeru was still lying on the bed, breathing slowly and
erratically.  Very awkwardly, Lee moved the wet cloth across Taeru’s face.  He
began by getting the blood off as best as he could, and then he focused on
trying to relieve a little of the pain.  “I wish I was better at this, Taeru. 
Calis isn’t very good, either, but somehow—I think he’ll be an expert when it
comes to you.”  Oddly enough, the sentence procured a whimper from Taeru’s
damaged lips.

Lee sighed, moving the rag over Taeru’s chest gently.  “I
wish I had a soothing herb for the Prisoner’s Bane—I know that must still be
killing you.”  Though, Lee actually flinched away from the word ‘killing.’  Using
the bucket that he’d brought in from the well, he wet the rag again and started
over.  As the rag moved over Taeru’s collar, Lee noticed the bite mark in the
skin of Taeru’s neck.  His fingers instinctively went to it.  “Tareth—you
monster…” 

Doing his best to cover what he could, Lee worked with the
cloth for some time.  He cut pieces of it, wrapping it around Taeru’s
manageable injuries.  Occasionally, Taeru would whimper incoherently.  Time
passed, and Lee found himself desperately wishing Calis would show up.  If
anything had happened to Calis when this vigilante woke up—Lee really didn’t
want to think about that.  Taeru really was a mess.  His entire face was
marred, almost beyond recognition, and his body was no better. 

Lastly, Lee tried to tend to Taeru’s broken fingers.  Only
when he did so did he see the stab wound through one of Taeru’s hands.  He
winced.  Taeru let out the loudest cry that he’d managed, and Lee bowed his head
weakly.  Taeru’s brow furrowed further, and his lips pressed together while he
held in his whimpers.  “I’m sorry!” Lee choked.  Though, Taeru’s eyes were
still closed, and Lee doubted his apology was heard.  “Why am I apologizing? 
You can’t hear me… I guess you do have an interesting effect on people.  Well,
more than an interesting effect on Calis.  He really loves you.”  The thought
seemed profound said aloud.  “So much.”

Through the continued whimpers, Taeru finally forced the
word from his mouth again.  Lee could just make it out, but when he did, his
body trembled in veneration.  “Calis…” Taeru whimpered.  Perhaps he’d heard Lee
talking about the Telandan prince.

After the word was said, though, Taeru’s body relaxed, and
he seemed to fall back into darkness.  Lee continued his poor bandaging job,
and he worked to be more careful with the wounds in Taeru’s hands—broken
fingers and a stabbed palm—that merited very special attention.