Whisper and Rise (23 page)

Colin placed a hand on my shoulder, as if to silence me. “We need to see him, Owen. Will you take us to his home?”

Owen’s surprise and nervousness couldn’t have been more obvious. As he led us through the wooded acreage surrounding his home, he stopped three times to change direction. He stammered with his answers, while Colin was relentless with questions. By the time we could see the small flickering fire in front of the home I remembered, it seemed as if Owen were more nervous than I was. Men weren’t chasing him. I was the one whose life we were risking.
Was he hiding something?

A bald little man in a hooded coat crouched between the fire and the old home. With the hood pulled back, reflections of the flames danced atop his head. He looked up at us and, before Colin finished a loud greeting, the man scrambled into the hut, closing the crooked door with a bang. As I watched him leave, his hobbling reminded me that I had seen him before.

“I don’t think we’re expected,” said Colin. “Owen, do you know that man?”

Owen didn’t answer and walked to the fire. He stabbed a slab of meat from a stone at its edge and held it into the air. The meat was crisp and black.

“These men eat worse than I do,” said Owen, tossing the meat into the flames and scowling. He yelled at the hut. “I am Owen Dorsey, owner of this land. We’ve come to speak with Cael Bauer.”

I wondered if he always spoke this way to the men who worked for him. I had never seen Nia’s father while working. His demeanor had changed from a lonely old man to a powerful tyrant. I was scared from his voice and stepped closer to Colin for comfort.

A dog barked from the forest. The little man didn’t respond.

Colin pulled a short stump near the fire and stretched his legs in front of him. “Have a seat, Rhiannon. I don’t think Cael is here. We may be waiting a while.”

I chose to sit on log the little man had left. The log was uneven and rolled awkwardly back and forth. I balanced for a moment before giving up and choosing a stump next to Colin. I tried watching the flames, but combined with then banging of my heart, all it did was invoke questions and anticipation.
Where was Cael? Who was the little man?
After losing a few breaths to my nerves, I searched the clearing around us for something else to ponder.

The place was filthy. Old bones and rotting meat, covered with buzzing flies, littered the small clearing. Broken boards lay in a pile near the hut with a bloody cloak flopped carelessly on top. I shuddered wondering whose blood it could be. Close to the trees, several long spears poked out of the ground at odd angles. Some had metal barbs while others were carved stakes with pointed ends.

Owen pulled a long pipe from his jacket and pressed it between his lips. Using a small stick from the fire, its end donning a tiny flame, he lit his indulgence and quickly puffed a few quick circles that quickly faded. “You may join us if you wish,” he yelled toward the hut. “We bring no ill with us.”

Certainly, the little man didn’t work for Owen. I couldn’t imagine a man hiding from his employer.

The man peered from inside one glassless window. When his eyes met mine, he disappeared. He was the man from Morgan. Jory. The drunken man who had guarded us. His presence confirmed my fears; Cael Bauer had been involved in my kidnapping. I gripped my fingers and missed a breath.

Colin stood, collected a few broken branches from near the trees, broke them on the ground, and then tossed them into the dying flames in front of us. Silence overtook the clearing. Except for the snapping of the new wood as it burned, there was nothing to hear—even the night seemed afraid of the moment.

Footsteps between the trees raised my heartbeat to a pounding drum. I straightened and turned to see who approached, but Colin waved a signal to relax.

“Cael,” said Colin, “I’ve brought visitors.”

My heart stopped.

A shadow moved behind the trees and Cael’s hooded face appeared in the firelight. He walked toward us and stopped. When he saw me, he pulled a short sword from the sheath around his waist. The metal blazed from firelight.

“There’s no need for that,” said Colin.
How could he be so calm?
“Rhiannon is here at my request. Have a seat.”

“What’s she told you?” Cael growled his words and glared as he stepped forward. He leaned low, attempting to balance on the rolled log. “You have no business here.”

I hadn’t looked at Cael in a long time. Even from earlier, he seemed older, more than just one season would allow. As he removed his hood, I saw one reason. His neck and ear carried a horrible white scar, visible even through his beard. The scar pulled the skin around his chin and cheek, twisting it. I winced from the memory of its cause. It happened the day Sean had been taken. I had even helped heal the wound. But the man in front of me wasn’t the Cael I remembered; the friend I had embraced in this courtyard; the one who was supposed to be helping me.

Colin stood and reached toward Cael. “Put away the blade.” He waited for Cael to honor his order before continuing—Cael never accepted his hand, though. “Thank you.” He offered a polite bow before sitting again. “You are correct. I have no business here—if your words are true.”

“And what’s your business here, Owen?” Cael spat into the fire. “There’s no trading after dark, unless you’ve come to sell me the girl.”

“You twisted little demon!” I kicked dirt across the fire and lunged forward.

Colin caught me with his arm and held me. “Sit down,” he whispered. “This is not how men talk.”

I glared at him, but obeyed, despite Cael’s mocking laugh. The shrill volume pierced me. I heaved a heavy breath behind Colin’s arm and watched the fire.

“Gentlemen, I appreciate the visit, but I’m not interested in a rejected faerie. She’s nothing but a runaway and a liar. I won’t dishonor my name and accept your offer.”

Colin knew me well. He grabbed my arm before I could lung again, and held me to my seat. He was stronger than he looked. I shot daggers with my eyes at Cael, but he seemed unfazed and mocked me with his smile.
Stop smiling, you evil demon.
I wanted to scream, but focused on fighting back tears and memories. Cael knew nothing of honor. He was nothing like his family.

“Cael, where’s Cameron Barry? What trouble have you caused today?” asked Colin.

“I’m not that man’s keeper,” answered Cael with a laugh. “I don’t know what he does away from work.”

Owen stood and spoke with a tone of a hundred men. “I’m your employer, Bauer. You’ll answer our questions now or never see payment again.”

Cael stopped smiling. “I don’t know where Cameron is?”

“Where’s David Dunn?” asked Colin.

“At home? I don’t know. If there’s village business, shouldn’t you hold a council or something?”

Colin ignored Cael’s insolence. “Tell us what happened on Taylor’s Ridge, today. Why did you attack Rhiannon?”

“Attack?” Cael jumped. “No one attacked the girl. We tried to protect her from the bandit.”

“No you didn’t.” I wrestled free from Colin’s grip. “You and your men tried to pull me from Maeia. You threw spears at me.”

“No. No, that’s not right.” Cael shook his head and stepped backward over the log. “There’s no need to protect the villain.” He turned to Owen. “We chased him. The man had Rhiannon. I’m sorry, sir, but the bandit escaped again.”

“You never saw Darian.” I was yelling now. I pulled my dress, showing the tear from the spear that hit me. “This was from you.” I pulled the fabric wide, exposing the cut underneath. “You and your men meant to hurt me. I’m lucky I escaped.”

“Lucky you are, child.” Cael nodded. “It’s a good thing you escaped. I’m sorry you were injured.” He turned to Colin and then to Owen. “When the bandit wouldn’t yield, we attacked. I’m sorry the child was hurt. I didn’t know. She wouldn’t come to our protection.”

“I’m not a child! Stop calling me that. And stop lying.” My breath was barely keeping up with my words. “That’s not what happened and you know it. Darian wasn’t even there. I was riding down the mountain to warn my family. Some of your men stole my horse last night. I heard them. They said they were going to hurt my sister.”

“Rhiannon, please calm down.” Colin grabbed my arm.

I shook it away. “No, I won’t calm down. Listen to me. He’s lying.” I pointed at Cael. “His friends bound me and took me across the lake to Morgan. They kept Ethan and me in a smokehouse as their captives. The bandit was there. I heard the men. I heard his friend Tristan. They said they were going to kill me.”

Cael raised his voice in return. “Listen, child, those words are dangerous. Accusations like that could lead our village to war. It’s your mouthy little voice that got my brother killed.”

I lunged again, this time both Owen and Colin held me from Cael.

“Don’t talk about Sean like that. You have no right. You told me you needed the scrolls to save him. I gave them to you. You were there with that man.” I pointed at the hut. “You lost them. You told me that Morgan held Sean captive. Guess what? When your men took me over the lake, I saw Sean’s carving in the wood where they kept me. I saw the symbols he drew. You’re the liar. You have a part in this.”

Colin released his grip on me and stepped toward Cael. “You knew Rhiannon took the Fae Scrolls?”

“The girl’s sick,” said Cael. “Don’t listen to her.”

“What do you know?” Owen’s words were more of an order than a question.

“Nothing,” Cael answered. “The liar’s nothing more than a rejected faerie. Her lips are poison.”

“Is that why you kissed them?” I retorted, aiming my words with hate. “The day after Sean was taken. You told me you were weak. You told me you knew who his captors were, and they demanded the Fae scrolls as ransom.
You
were the poison.” I kicked the dirt, sending rocks and soil across the fire at Cael. “Add monster to the title of dishonor you gave yourself.”

Cael stumbled back. “I lost my brother. I tried to save him.”

“Why didn’t you tell us what you knew?” asked Colin. “Even after Sean’s death, you should have said something.”

“I swore an oath.” Cael stammered. He tripped and struggled to remain standing.

“To who?” demanded Owen. “Tell us the name of the man you honored more than the suffering of this poor child.”

I was angry that he called me child, but glad someone was standing up for me.

“I was threatened.” Cael’s voice turned soft.

“Who!” Owen yelled.

Cael pointed at the hut.

“You’re lying,” I screamed. “I remember now. I saw you two, the night I took the scrolls. You were both there. You laughed and joked as if you’d been friends forever.”

“That’s not true.” Cael yelled back. “He’s an enemy of Aisling. I’m as much a victim as you are. Don’t forget, I lost a brother. You lost a—”

“I’ll kill you!” Jory cursed as he dashed from the hut toward Cael, flashing a short sword in the night. He swiped once at Cael, lunging with a thrust that could have struck him through, but Cael scrambled to the side and slashed with his own blade, barely missing him.

I jumped back, terrified. Owen and Colin rushed behind the fire, next to me.

The blades flashed red and orange, catching the light from flames as the men slashed and twisted at the night.

“You’ll die for your lies,” Jory told Cael. He caught his shirt with a back slash. “I shouldn’t have trusted you.”

“Drop your blade and I promise not to hurt you,” answered Cael. “The Elders of my village will treat you fair in their punishment.”

“Our punishment.” Jory cursed again. “You’re a part of this as much as I am.”

“Shut up,” said Cael.

“Steal,” said Jory, “and there will be war.” He jabbed again. “Those were your words.”

Cael rolled in the dirt and sliced Jory’s leg enough to make him scream. “And those are yours, I hear.”

I remembered the spears, buried in the dirt by the trees, and rushed to grab one. The danger was real, the blood flashing against the dark, as were the fighting words of the two men shouting revelations in the night. The spear I chose was buried deep, but I managed to pull it free. I held it, my arms shaking, as I returned to the side of the Elders.

“Burn is the word I’ll use.” Jory tossed dirt into Cael’s eyes and lunged.

Cael snapped back his wrist.

Jory pushed him toward the fire, sending us all sprawling out of the way. “Burn and there will be war. That’s how you put it.”

“We’re close to war after what you’ve done.” Cael cradled his arm and stumbled toward Jory. “Aisling won’t wait forever. Your attacks on us will spark revenge. I’ll see to it myself.”

Cael jumped sideways, faster than I’d seen a man move, and shoved Jory from his back into the dirt. He buried the short sword in his side, yelling as he twisted the blade free. Cael wiped the blood on Jory’s leg, who screamed so loud I wanted to cover my ears. Then Cael turned toward us, red flames in the black of his eyes. He glanced at me before lunging at Colin.

I didn’t know what to do. Colin stepped backwards, but Cael kept coming. He was almost upon him, anger raging from his yells. I thrust the spear and stabbed Cael in the back of his leg. He fell right away, screaming like the man on the other side of the fire.
What have I done?
I released the long spear and gasped.