Protector Of The Grove (Book 2) (6 page)

“Not even to reset?” Jhonate asks. “He usually resets and starts over after each hit.”

“I don’t even know if he noticed them, he was so mad,” Hilt said. “He kept pounding at me over and over. Finally I stopped blocking and just tied him up, hilts against hilts. I pulled him close and asked him to calm down.

“That’s when it happened. His armor changed on me. A blade formed from the plate covering his chest and shot up past my guard. It hit me right here.” He unbuttoned the front of his shirt exposing the full length of the scar.

Jhonate put a hand to her mouth. “No.”

Justan grimaced. The thick pink tissue started about just below Hilt’s right pectoral muscle and traveled upwards across his chest, cutting a straight line up his neck and ending at his ear. “That looks . . . deep.”

“It was,” Hilt said, chuckling wryly as he buttoned it back up. “Needless to say, he won that match.”

“He nearly killed you,” Jhonate said and Justan felt guilt emanating from her now.

“Nearly is the operative word here,” Hilt said with a reassuring smile. “Yes, your father was angry, but if he’d really wanted to kill me, his blade would have shot straight out and through my heart instead of up at an angle.”

“What happened next?” Justan asked

“It was like he woke up from his rage. Xedrion felt terrible. He cried out for help and rushed to my side, holding my wound shut and begging my forgiveness. He bandaged me up as good as he could and brought in one of their sorcerers to bless me with strength until the elves could get there.”

“The elves healed you?” Justan asked.

“Yes. Yntri handled it himself,” Hilt said. “Remember, they don’t believe in using elemental magic down there so they don’t have wizards. Even with their Jharro sap poultices, I was down for a week.”

“I . . . It is my fault.” Jhonate’s voice quavered and she pulled free from Justan’s arms to fall to her knees in front of Hilt. “I owe you a debt, Sir Hilt. I manipulated you into agreeing to our betrothal. I-I could have waited.”

“No you couldn’t,” Hilt replied. He grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. “And you two shouldn’t have had to. Look, I respect your people and your traditions, but there are a few that I find quite ridiculous. Frankly, the way your father handles this betrothal thing is one of them. You two are adults. You shouldn’t need his permission to marry.”

Jhonate blinked at him, unsure how to react to that statement. Justan could feel a mix of relief and irritation coming through the ring. “Nevertheless, I do believe in our traditions. I should not have put you in that position.”

“Look, you’re forgiven, okay? I healed up just fine. Your father came to his senses and Beth poured on the guilt until he agreed to call back the army he had sent-.”

“He sent an army?” Justan interrupted, wide eyed. He had thought Jhonate was exaggerating about her father’s eccentricities. Now he was realizing that his future father-in-law may very well have gone insane.

“Well, yeah. He did, but it was only maybe a thousand men and he called them back before they had even arrived at the border,” Hilt said quickly. “The point I was trying to make before I opened my mouth too far is that however mad Xedrion was at first, he’s better now. Beth and I spent several weeks talking you and the academy up until he finally came up with this alternate plan and sent me back up here with Jhonate’s brothers.”

Justan nodded slowly. “And you’re sure he didn’t think better of it and hire those basilisks after you left?”

Jhonate turned on him, feeling a flash of outrage, but she bit back a retort. After all, hadn’t she asked Hilt the same question? She looked back to Hilt with concern in her eyes.

“No, Edge, and-. Come on, Jhonate. Don’t give me that look. I have already answered you. There’s no way! After all the times he’s had basilisks sent after him, do you really think Xedrion would use those things himself?”

“I do not know,” Jhonate said, her thoughts full of turmoil. “My heart tells me that you are right. I was there for some of those attacks and I remember how much he hated those things. But my mind tells me that he is the most likely culprit. After hearing your story, I can clearly see that father is not acting like the man I remember.”

“I understand your concern,” Hilt said. “But Beth agrees with me that your father’s actions were just out of worry for you, most likely combined with stress over the rumors of Roo-Dan attacks.”

“Beth agrees?” Jhonate said skeptically. “Did she listen to father?”

Hilt’s wife was not only a powerful witch, but also a listener. This meant that she had the ability to listen to a person’s soul and take measure of them. No one could hide their intentions from a listener. Not if they let the listener get close enough.

“Well . . . no. You know how your father is. In all the time we’ve known him, he only let her listen to him once.”

Justan
! Gwyrtha sent. The bond told him that she was somewhere several miles to the south.

Jhonate frowned at Hilt’s response. “Then how . . .”

Justan tuned out their conversation so that he could focus on what the rogue horse had to say.
Did you find something
?

Yes! Those things came through the plains
, Gwyrtha said and Justan could sense that she was standing in a vast field of snow covered grass. Yntri Yni was perched on her saddle, talking animatedly.
Yntri says he is sure they were alone.

You can understand him
? Justan asked.

He is talking to me in my head. Kind of like how you do it but not the same. He clicks a lot more than you do
.
This old elf is really funny.
She paused as Yntri Yni smacked the top of her head with his bow.
Why are you mad
? she asked.
You are old
.

“Uh, Sir Hilt?” Justan said, interrupting Jhonate mid-sentence. The two of them looked at him with identical frowns and he realized that their argument had gotten quite heated. “Gwyrtha and Yntri have followed the basilisks’ trail all the way back to the plains. Yntri is confident that the two of them came alone.”

Hilt let out a sigh of relief and nodded. “Good. Please tell her that they can come back now. We have a lot of preparations to see to if we are to leave in the morning.”

“Okay,” Justan said and relayed the message. Without passing the message on to Yntri, Gwyrtha turned on her heels and galloped back towards the academy as the elf cursed and clung to her saddle.

“Perhaps it is best that we wait,” Jhonate said. “We should make sure that there is no further danger before we travel to Malaroo.”

“You think so?” Hilt said, eying her with suspicion. “Yntri just said the basilisks were alone.”

“Nevertheless, it would be a wise course to take,” Jhonate replied. “In fact, it would be better if we waited until the spring to leave. We should not chance being caught in a storm.”

Hilt smiled. “I was waiting to hear something like that from you.”

“It is foolish to travel such distances in the winter,” she explained. “Especially with my brothers in tow. They know nothing about how to handle cold temperatures.”

Justan raised an eyebrow. Jhonate had never shown any qualms about winter weather before. Besides, her argument didn’t hold water. Her brothers had made the trip up to the academy safely after all.

Sir Hilt wasn’t fooled either. “Your father foresaw that you would want to delay. That’s why it is written in the contract with the academy that our group would leave within two days of the agreement.”

Jhonate scowled.

You never did tell me why you have been so intent upon delaying our departure
, Justan said to her through the ring.

“What route are we taking?” Jhonate said to Hilt, ignoring Justan’s question.

“We’ll be traveling east over the mountains,” Hilt said.

Jhonate gave him a snort of derision. “Over the mountains? This time of year?”

Hilt rolled his eyes. “Again with the weather.”

She folded her arms. “Did father’s contract specify the route we should take?”

“No, but I’m familiar with those mountain passes. We can-.”

Jhonate cut him off. “Since father did not specify, I demand we take the southern route. We can travel to Sampo and then journey down the Grandriver Road from there. The temperatures will be milder that way.”

“But it will also add at least two weeks to our travel time,” Hilt complained. “I already did that on the way here since your brothers were so ill prepared for the cold. Now they are properly fitted.”

“Justan and I are in no hurry,” Jhonate said.

“Look, you may not be eager to get there, but I have a wife and child to get back to,” Hilt said, anger entering his voice. “I have no desire to take the longer road just because of some whim of yours.”

Jhonate’s expression grew pained and Justan felt a twang of guilt coming from her once more. “I am sorry, Sir Hilt. I must insist.”

“Oh, you insist, do you?” Hilt said through gritted teeth.

“I don’t understand,” Justan said, looking Jhonate in the eyes. “Don’t you think you’re being a bit unfair? I understand that you are dreading seeing your father, but why should Hilt have to wait to see his family? What is your problem?”

“We discussed this yesterday,” Jhonate said, cocking her head at him slowly. “Must you continue to question me on this?”

“Yes! I must!” Justan said. “I love you and you know I trust you, but you need to get used to me questioning you from time to time. I am to be your husband. Not your servant. I will follow you anywhere, but I refuse to be left in the dark!”

“But . . .” Jhonate blinked for a moment, taken aback. “Justan, I need you to be patient with me.”

“I have been patient.” A long pent up frustration began to boil up from within him. “Jhonate, I share everything with you and yet you tell me so little about yourself. I have known you for three years and we have been betrothed for almost a year of it. Why is it then that, until yesterday, I didn’t even know your brothers’ names?”

“I . . .” She took a few steps backwards. “I have reasons.”

“That’s what you always say when I bring up your family.”

“She really hasn’t told you about her family?” Hilt asked.

“Very little,” Justan said. “And a lot of what I know I heard from other people.”

“There are many reasons,” she said.
Please do not push me on this
.

“Fine!” Justan threw his hands up and walked back to his cot. He started strapping his swords back on.

“Where are you going?” Jhonate asked.

“I think I’ll start with a run.” He tossed his quiver over his shoulders and grabbed his bow. “And then maybe I’d do some archery practice. I wouldn’t want to get rusty since evidently, as I learned yesterday, I should have my Jharro bow with me at all times.”

He walked back past them and towards the open doors.

Jhonate felt his anger and watched him leave with concern.
I love you
, she sent.

Yeah, and I love you too
, he replied as he jogged away.

“He has . . . never reacted to me this way,” she said.

“Really? So this was your first argument?” Hilt said with a low chuckle.

“We have disagreed in the past,” she said. “But this feels different.”

“I don’t blame him for being angry,” Hilt said, then shook his head. “What am I saying? I’m angry with you, too.”

“With me?” she asked.

“Yes, with you! Can’t you see that I’ve been quite literally sticking my neck out for you? I’ve been doing everything I can to prepare Xedrion to meet Edge and now I find out that you haven’t been doing your part?” He threw his hands up in disgust.

“I have been waiting for him to be ready,” Jhonate explained. “He has taken longer than I expected.”

“Ready how? You don’t think he can handle your culture? What are you afraid of?”

“You misunderstand me,” Jhonate said. “There are some things he must learn on his own. Yntri Yni told me this himself the first time he met Justan. The more I tell him about the grove, the more chance there is that I could disrupt his bond with our tree.”

Hilt folded his arms. “Are you saying there’s something wrong with his bond to the bow? I thought those bonds were permanent.”

“They are, but they must be done in a certain manner,” she said. “Justan did things out of order. He bonded with his bow, but he never communed with his tree.”

“And why does that matter?” Hilt said

“It matters because his bond with our tree is incomplete. I can feel it whenever he talks to me through the rings we wear. There is a discordance.” She had been speaking to her tree each night, begging her to reach out to him, but the tree had not responded. Perhaps the distance was too far.

“Alright.” Hilt rubbed his forehead. “So Edge needs to ‘commune’ with the tree his bow came from, but Yntri says you can’t tell him about it.”

“Yes.”

“So you take this to mean that you can’t discuss your family or culture with him?” Hilt asked incredulously. “I don’t see how those two things are related.”