Miras Last (9 page)

“Yeah, that’s because I come bringing gifts,”
he joked for he knew food was the center of her thoughts.

“True, then there is sleep, and of course my
thoughts turn to you,” she said grinning as she grabbed a loaf of
bread and wedge of cheese from the tray.

“Always last,” Elenio said in mock
disgust.

“That, my love, you’ll never be,” Galena
said, grinning broadly and causing Elenio to laugh at her when she
did. She’d shoved several bites of bread and cheese into her mouth,
giving her the look of a squirrel with its cheeks full of nuts.
Swallowing with as much dignity as she could muster and not
succeeding even in the slightest, caused Elenio to double over with
laughter, tears in his eyes. Galena realized this was the second
time today she caused someone so much mirth, they couldn’t stop
laughing at her. Galena ignored this for the most part and
continued eating.

Finishing the tray in record time, she
secretly hoped part of it had been Elenio’s.
Would serve him
right for laughing at me,
she thought irritably. It seemed
every time she thought he had calmed down, he would turn to look at
her and start all over. “Have we heard anything about Rau’s army?”
Galena asked, as she rolled her eyes at another fit of laughter on
Elenio’s part. That sobered him up.

“They pulled out early this morning and are
making their way toward Blackwell. Tark wants to stay here another
day and then pursue them.” Elenio brushed some of the crumbs off
the tray as he said this.

“Why are we waiting another day?”

“Some of the underground elves really overdid
it. Plus, he wants to make sure you’ve had plenty of time to
rest.”

“Doesn’t he realize I don’t burn out like
other elves?”

“Yes, but you still pushed yourself too hard
and with all the healing you did today. You’re going to need some
quiet time of your own to be at your best.”

“I’m fi...” Galena started, but stopped when
Elenio raised a hand.

“I don’t want to hear it. You passed out
twice in a little under two days. We all know you’re not going to
take it easy on any dark creature you come across so yes, you’re
going to rest before we head out. You’ve taken care of everyone
here today, the whole camp will attest to that, now it’s time to
take care of you.”

Galena glared stonily at him, intent on
continuing the argument.

“Galena, I know what you’re thinking and you
should know I’m not letting up on this. Tark agrees with me. He’s
the one leading this camp, so pipe down and let’s get back to our
own tent. The sooner you rest up, the sooner we can get going.”

“You know, I’m getting tired of everyone
telling me what I can and can’t do.” Galena sat back in the chair
and crossed her arms angrily.

“Yes, because we have been able to do that so
well and better yet, you always listen to us,” Elenio said, rolling
his eyes as he stood. He held out a hand to help Galena up, which
she considered briefly ignoring. “Galena, I’m not above going to
get Morgo and having him put you to sleep and dragging you back to
our tent that way. We’ve been going full steam for the last four
days you need a break. Now, let’s go.”

Growling in frustration, Galena knew when she
was beaten, and she knew he was right. The tiredness she felt from
working on so many injured elves was starting to catch up with
her.

“I knew you would see things my way,” Elenio
said smiling when he saw her thoughts.

“Well, I guess you’re bound to be right once
in a while,” Galena said, heaving herself to her feet and grinning
mischievously at him.

“That’s my girl.” Taking her hand, Elenio led
them back to their tent for which Galena was grateful for because
she really wasn’t sure which one was theirs after storming away
from it early that morning.

“How’s Morgo?”

“Much better as I’m sure you knew he would be
after working on him. Morak is also well. Tark sent him and some of
his archers out after the army to keep track of them until we catch
up. Not that we’ll need them to locate those brutes. It would be a
little difficult to lose an army that size.” Elenio shook his head,
amused at his own sarcasm. “I understand you saw Tark this
morning.” He couldn’t keep the laughter out of his voice with this
last statement.

“Yeah, this wasn’t my most graceful day,”
Galena said, hoping to ward off the fits of laughter that she was
sure would come. “How far is our tent? I don’t remember walking
this far.”

“Just over there,” he said grinning, pointing
in the direction of a tent on the outer edges of the camp. He knew
what she was trying to do. She slapped his shoulder for good
measure before walking in that direction.

“Home sweet home,” Galena said, opening the
flap of the tent and stepping into the dark little room.
How
dreary
, she thought, letting the flap close behind her.
Thinking of the floating orbs of light from Gora and the
underground world, she focused on air shaped like a small ball and
trapped some of the light she saw in the lightning within the
confines of it. The result caused the inside of the tent to be
bathed in the soft light.
That’s a little better,
she
thought dully.

“No sense prettying the place up if we’re
heading out the day after tomorrow,” Elenio said as he stepped
through the doorway of the tent. “Especially considering I can’t
see you wanting to stay in here more than to sleep.”

“I really don’t even want to sleep in here,
to be honest. It reminds me too much of the underground world.”

“It’s not that bad,” Elenio said, as he sat
down on the hammock and stretched out.

“Do you think I should put a protective
barrier around the camp?” Galena asked. She couldn’t help feeling
vulnerable without it, now that they were so close to Rau’s
army.

“No. Tark has patrols making rounds around
the camp. Your job is to rest. You’re the most important person in
the upcoming battles. Get some sleep while you can and let others
take care of you for a little while.”

Galena shrugged and then moving slowly so as
not to repeat the fiasco of earlier that morning, she sat next to
Elenio. Lying back, she rolled over so that she could lay her head
on his shoulder and wrap an arm around his middle. Instead of
risking the movement, she caused a gentle breeze to pick up their
blanket and pull it up to their shoulders. The nights had warmed
up; however, it was still chilly enough that the blanket helped
Galena feel nice and warm. The activities of the day ran through
Galena’s mind, making her feel incredibly tired and before she knew
it, she was fast asleep.

* * * *

Tark awoke to the sun attempting to shine
through the thick tent material. He looked over at Taura, still
sleeping curled up next to him. He pulled the blanket up over her
shoulders and kissed her lightly on the forehead before he quietly
slipped from the hammock. He wanted to check with the night patrol
and Morgo before the camp really began to wake up and stir.
Slipping past the tent flap and stepping into the bright light of
the morning, Tark had to blink several times, allowing his eyes to
adjust to the light before he was able to continue. He talked with
each of the patrols to find that the night was quiet when they
started their shifts and the guards before reported the same.
Galena must have really scared Rau’s army,
Tark thought
grimly. Thanking the elves for their reports and work, he headed
off in the direction of Morgo’s tent.

When he got to it, he was surprised to see
the tent flap propped wide open because the air was still chilly.
Assuming since the door was open, anyone was welcome, Tark stepped
into the tent. Sitting on the hammock with his back to the opening
was Morgo. His head was bent and he appeared to be looking at
something in his lap. Tark cleared his throat, hoping to get his
attention, but Morgo remained in the same position. Tark began to
worry something was wrong so he crossed over to where the elf sat
and peered over his shoulder to see him holding a bowl full of
water. In the water was the image of Venia. It appeared she was
sitting down and staring vacantly at nothing at all, as she had so
often done when Tark was around her.

“She’s still beautiful, isn’t she?” Tark
asked. The result of him speaking when Morgo was so entranced
caused both of them to be covered in water and Morgo to end up on
the ground, looking up at Tark and breathing heavily. “Sorry, I
tried to get your attention before, but you were a little
preoccupied.”

“You’re right. I had no idea that you were
behind me as evidenced by my reaction,” Morgo said, chuckling
slightly while he got up. He stood and shook his hands to get some
of the excess water from them. He looked sheepishly at Tark, much
like a child who had been caught doing something naughty. “I
suppose you would like an explanation.”

“I have an idea, but I’m willing to listen
regardless,” Tark said, grinning at the look on his friend’s face.
For in truth, Tark realized Morgo had developed some type of
feelings for Venia, otherwise he wouldn’t have paid as much
attention to her as he had.

“She is beautiful. I’ve never seen anything
as beautiful as Venia. The moment I laid eyes on her, I felt a pull
like I had never experienced with anyone in the world from which I
come from. I think the fact she is from the world above is what
holds part of the attraction, but only a small part.”

“Are you sure she isn’t just a puzzle for you
to figure out?” Tark asked smirking slightly. His friend Morgo was
always trying to figure out how things worked or the reason behind
anything he found intriguing. To Morgo, the world was one big
mystery, waiting for him to unravel. It was the reason he’d begun
collecting so many books.

“I’m not sure to be honest. That was the
reason I became so interested in the first place, but then she
started responding to things I was doing for her. Just little
things like smiling at me or looking toward me when she heard my
voice. It’s gotten to the point where I look forward to those
moments and find myself doing whatever it takes to cause her to
smile or acknowledge me at all.” Morgo sat heavily down on his
hammock, looking at his hands as if they had somehow betrayed him.
“I’m crazy, aren’t I?” He sounded thoroughly depressed and Tark
couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him.

“No, not crazy. Well, maybe not completely
crazy.” Tark grinned at him.

Morgo returned the smile. “You know I asked
Nigora to stay behind with her, so that she could continue to try
and bring her back. She refused to though. She said her talents
would be needed after battles. I knew she was right, but I still
couldn’t help feeling disappointed when she didn’t remain behind.
Although, we’re both at a loss for exactly what to do.”

“I think you were heading in the right
direction. Love her back to life.”

“Are you angry at me, because we were friends
first?” Morgo looked down at this, still looking sheepish.

“No, I’m not sure I completely understand,
but who am I to judge others?”

Morgo gave a half grin at this, relief
evident on his face. “Neither do I.” Morgo shook his head a little
sadly before looking up and regarding Tark. “Now, how can I help
you, since I assume your main purpose for coming to visit was not
to scare the wits out of me?”

“No, but it was definitely a perk,” Tark
said, laughing at the memory. The hammocks were not very
comfortable, but they had definitely provided an entertainment
factor that could not be beat. Between Galena and Morgo, he’d
laughed more in the last couple of days than he had in weeks. “Can
you show me Morak? He and a group of his archers left yesterday
morning sometime and I haven’t heard back from them, not that I
really expected to. I just want to make sure nothing has happened
to them.”

Nodding, Morgo retrieved his bowl from where
he flung it and sat in a chair next to Tark so they could both see.
Within seconds, the image of Morak appeared in the bowl. He seemed
to be crouching down with another elf. They were watching something
from their hiding place. Other than looking like they were being
cautious, which Tark appreciated, they appeared to be fine.

“I wish we could see where they are,” Tark
commented as he continued to watch Morak peeking through the
brush.

“That might be something for Galena to try.
This type of viewing takes a great deal of concentration and that’s
just with watching one subject. When we try to back up and take in
other aspects, normal elves will burn out too quickly to gather
that much information. But this may not apply to Galena seeing how
most of the rules I have had to live by haven’t applied to her,”
Morgo replied.

“This is true,” Tark said thoughtfully. “Are
you going to continue spending time with Venia should we survive
this?” Tark asked. He looked at the ground, giving Morgo a chance
to collect his thoughts.

“Would it be offensive if I did?” Morgo asked
slowly in response to this.

“What if she does come out of this sort of
trance she’s in and she doesn’t reciprocate your feelings?”

“I guess that’s a chance I have to be willing
to take.” Morgo looked slightly crestfallen at this, but snapped
out of it quickly. “I assume you’re going to go see Galena
now?”

Tark was surprised at the abrupt change of
subject, but after getting to know Morgo, took the shift in stride.
“I hadn’t actually thought about it, but if I want to find out if
she can see the whereabouts of Morak and Rau’s army, I probably
should take a stroll over to visit her. I’ll head there now, seeing
how she normally wakes early.”

“Would you mind if I tagged along? I am
curious to see if my theory was correct.”

“You’re always curious about something.”

“Indeed, it’s how we learn. Shall we go?”