I blushed. I had forgotten the wolves, they
must have found them. “Were they hurt?”
“
No. And our thanks to you
for that as well.”
I wasn’t exactly sure how that was due to me
but I smiled, glad they had somehow found them and everyone was
safe. They turned to leave and Grey entered with two spits of meat
and wine. It almost seemed like a celebration. Almost. Their high
spirits hadn’t quite returned from before. I wondered how long I
had been out.
The wine flowed. Steed took some food to
Anvil, Grey and Ruby made their way to the front window, and I
found myself sitting alone with Chevelle.
“
How do you feel?” he
asked.
“
Better. And worse.” Better
because the dust was clearing. Worse because I was fuzzy again,
bound.
He nodded. I hadn’t noticed him moving but he
was closer now, sitting opposite me. He reached out and took my
hand in his, turning it over, palm up. He placed a small pebble
there. “Can you do anything with this?”
“
No.” Frustration was clear
in my voice, I had already tried.
“
And no fire?”
“
No.”
“
So,
nothing
works?” The implication was
there but I didn’t know what it meant right away. And then it
occurred to me,
the
horse
. I had thought it had shown up
because I impressed upon it to follow us before I blacked out, but
I had already been bound again at that point.
Should I tell him?
I didn’t know why I
felt so protective of this secret.
He drew a section of moss to us from one of
the stones on the wall and it replaced the pebble. “Try this. They
shouldn’t have bothered binding you from growing.”
I concentrated on it. Nothing. But I was
never good at that anyway. I shook my head.
He nodded, giving up, but our hands still lay
together, connecting us. “Where are they now?” I asked.
He'd been looking at our hands, but his eyes
returned to my face at the question. “Council,” I explained.
“
They have retreated. They
were able to briefly incapacitate the dogs, giving Rhys and Rider
less warning of their approach before you were attacked.” He
hesitated. “When we heard the alert, I turned… your eyes were
closed.” I didn’t comment so he continued, “I was able to catch you
just before your horse dropped. I’ve no idea why they attacked him.
It makes no sense; they should have all been focused on
you.”
I wasn’t sure they
had
attacked the horse.
Maybe it was because I was there, in his mind, controlling him.
“What happened to Rhys and Rider?”
“
They broke to keep from
fighting such a sizeable force alone. They circled back to meet us.
In the disorder, they lost track of the wolves.”
“
But the wolves weren’t
hurt?”
“
They had been strung up by
vine among the trees, but alive.”
I gasped. “Why?”
A wry smile crossed his lips and I couldn’t
help but focus on them for a moment. “Because the wolves would have
fought to the death and Grand Council does not kill animals with
magic.”
I remembered my mother. “Only elves?”
His mocking smile widened.
They thought killing an animal with magic was
evil, dark, but they were hunting us down. To burn. I considered
the alternative, pierced through with arrows, blessed with a
prayer, and I laughed.
His eyes were intense as he reached up and
cupped his hand gently around my neck, his fingers at my spine, his
thumb lightly brushing the base of my ear. My breath caught as I
felt him urge me forward.
“
They’re coming in.” I
started as Ruby spoke, beside us from out of nowhere.
Chevelle leaned back, his fingers brushing my
collarbone when he pulled his hand away. I bit my lip as a tingle
ran through me. I thought I saw the corner of his mouth turn up in
a smile as he stood to walk from the room.
I stared at the stone entry struggling to
keep my thoughts from spinning out of control. Eventually, Grey
walked out as well, which broke my trance and I noticed Ruby by the
front window, wearing an odd smile. I flushed and turned from her,
rolling into a ball on my blankets. I decided to go back to the
book, keep my mind distracted.
I wasn’t able to find much regarding humans
in the study’s library. But I was definitely right, illustrations
and descriptions matched what I had seen. I know I took a risk
extending Rune’s spell further, but I did not want to get caught,
definitely not followed. I wondered if my sister was still at the
original camp. Surely she wasn’t bright enough to figure it out.
And apparently she wasn’t willing to tell anyone.
I was returning to the spot I had found the
humans the previous day when I ran across one of them alone. I hid
myself behind a patch of brush to watch him. He had a lovely
complexion with a hint of bronze and cropped dark brown hair with a
few tiny streaks of blond just around his face. He looked less like
the others I had been watching. He was built like the elves, strong
and muscled but still lean. He wore plain pants and tall boots. His
light cloth shirt moved around him as he walked, unlaced at the
chest. He carried a small blade in his hand but I couldn’t imagine
what he was doing here, unaccompanied. There was a rustle from the
brush several yards in the opposite direction I was hiding. He
rushed toward it and I followed, unsure why he was running. The
noise was made by a small boar and the human was chasing it! He ran
after it, gasping for air and I followed close behind, thrilling at
the spectacle. The boar approached a ridge of rock and turned,
giving the human the advantage. He leaped after it, blade held
wide, and landed, slicing into its side and twisting the blade back
out. He was leaning over its small motionless body, heaving for
breath, covered in blood. I laughed, shocked at myself and
completely found out but still filled with excitement and
amusement. He stood, whirling to face me, bloody blade held out and
I had to stifle another laugh. I managed to keep my reaction calm,
only a smile.
He seemed disoriented for a moment and then
his breathing slowed and his arms relaxed. He stared at me as if I
were a delusion, a dream looking back at him. He was speechless and
it occurred to me that perhaps elves were not a part of this
human’s knowledge. I wondered if he would recover soon. I
considered abandoning him and returning to watch the others but his
face was so interesting, the emotions so plain and readable there.
But he wasn’t afraid. It was awe.
I decided to have a little fun with him. They
couldn’t possibly be dangerous. Just a little harmless fun.
“Hello.” I spoke to him slowly, but it appeared he didn’t
comprehend. He merely stood there, gawking at me. I tried again,
“Do you wish to speak with me?”
“
Yes,” he finally
stuttered.
Ah, he understood! I started again,
“Hello.”
Bewilderment. And then, “Uh… hello.”
“
I am…” I hesitated, unsure
if I should tell him my name; I was on the run after all. I decided
on a replacement. “Lizzy.”
He seemed to like that. I waited. He finally
caught on. “I’m Noble.”
Now I was confused. “You are noble?”
He shook his head. “Noble is my name. Noble
Grand.”
“
That is a large name. You
are a ruler among your people?”
He laughed, shaking his head again, “No, no.
Noble is my given name, passed down for generations. Grand is the
family name.”
Generations? I was surprised again. I stepped
closer, enthralled. “What are you doing here?”
“
We are searching for a good
place to start over,” he explained. I was scrutinizing his blade.
“Oh, well, I’m hunting.”
He wasn’t as slow as I had thought, quite
capable of conversation. I couldn’t help but wonder, “You were a
bit… stunned before?”
He flushed a dark shade of red. “Yes.”
“
Why?”
“
Well, it’s just that you
are quite beautiful. Surely the most lovely thing I have ever
seen.” I smiled at the compliment in spite of myself and he
continued the flattery. “And then when you spoke, your voice… it’s
like a melody.”
“
And you are seeking a new
camp?”
“
A more permanent
settlement, actually.”
“
You have found it
here?”
“
We are undecided. Days ago
we were attacked.” Pain washed over his face. “A horrid creature
took several of our men.”
I nodded. “An imp.”
“
I’d never believed it to be
true if I hadn’t seen it myself.” He was lost in thought as he
continued, “We may move again, the risk seems too
great.”
Suddenly, I didn’t want them to relocate. I
wanted them to stay right there, where I could watch them. I tried
to make him feel safe. “You know, I could protect you.”
He was incredulous. I decided to show
him.
I stepped forward, noting his unease at my
movement, and faced the boar that lie on the ground behind him. He
turned to see what I was focusing on. I was afraid to scare him too
much so I decided on a small gesture, yet significant enough to
convince him. I held my hand out in front of me, emphasizing the
action as I twisted my wrist in the air, the boar’s head spinning,
the sound of its neck cracking in tandem with my movement.
He gasped and stepped a single step back from
me. I was afraid for a moment I’d shown him too much. He looked at
my face, searching, and finally let out a breathless, “Magic.”
His face was filled with wonder. I had seen
many impressed with my talents but never with such an effortless
show. I laughed to myself at the thought of his reaction to those
shows. It was refreshing to have someone so genuinely awed. He
didn’t ask to see what else I could do; he wasn’t sizing me up for
battle. I smiled at him and he seemed to think that alone a
reward.
He was still speechless.
“
Well, shall you stay,
then?”
“
Forever,” he gushed. It was
an curious response but I had begun to think he wasn’t that
different, aside from the obvious lack of magic, skill, and grace.
Moreover, where many of the others lacked beauty, he did not.
Unconventional, yes, but nonetheless... interesting.
I led him to a set of stones to sit, wanting
to get answers to all the questions that had been burning in my
mind since I had spotted them. He had forgotten his prey, so I
offered to help him with it. This befuddled him so I simply skinned
and spitted the animal while he sat, staring in amazement. It was
like he’d never seen fire before. It made the magic fun again. Like
when we were kids, before Father’s ridiculous schedule. I shook off
the memory of practice and focused on the human.
“
So, how old are
you?”
“
Twenty-two,” he said,
almost shamefully.
At first, I was shocked at the number; I
thought maybe I’d misunderstood. But I remembered reading something
about the human lifespan, which was very brief. I’d have guessed
ten times that number if he were an elf.
“
Why the hint of
embarrassment at the number?”
“
They tell me I should have
a family by now.”
“
You have none?”
“
A mother and father but
none of my own. No wife, no children.”
“
You are expected to have a
wife and child after just two decades of life?”
He laughed for some reason I could not see.
“Then you have no family of your own?”
“
I am not expected to pair
for quite some time, if ever. And children? Ha!” He was visibly
perplexed so I kept talking, “I have a family as well, though my
mother died recently.”
Sadness washed his features. “I’m sorry. Was
it an imp?”
“
No.” I laughed at the
strange idea. And for no apparent reason, I told him the truth.
“She died of sorrow.”
His brow furrowed.
We shared the boar and talked further,
casually as if we had been old friends. He resituated himself on
the rock, coming closer to me, and his shirt moved to expose a
different color skin where it opened at the chest. I reached out to
pull it aside and his eyes grew wild at the touch.
“
Your skin is a different
shade here.”
He smiled, as if I were being coy. “Yes.”
“
Why?”
“
Sometimes I work with my
shirt on, to avoid the burn of the sun.”
“
The sun?”
He laughed but then realized I wasn’t joking.
“It is a tan… from the sun.” He pulled the laces and lifted his
shirt over his head, throwing it aside to show me his bare chest.
The bronzed color of his face extended there, but was a lighter
shade. I examined him closer, taking his hand and turning his arm.
The inside of his wrist was lighter still, close to the shade of my
own skin.
I was still studying him when he spoke,
softly. “May I kiss you?”
His breath hit my face; I hadn’t realized how
close I had gotten. It surprised me, as did his request. I had a
perverted desire to let him, I smiled thinking of it. He took that
as an invitation, leaning closer, his hand raised to touch my face.
His thumb caressed my ear as he reached around into my hair,
pulling me to him. He started gently, teasing, and then crushed our
lips together, his strong hand holding me there, his breathing
deep.
At some point, I became aware of what I was
doing and drew back. “I have to go now.” He looked devastated.
“Goodbye, young Noble.”