Return to Caer Lon (5 page)

After a short exchange, the man agreed to let them use the barn for the night.
Sacha refused Derek’s help
to unsaddle her horse
and did her best not to grimace under the load.
By the time they had
tended to
their horses
she
was yawning so hard she could not mask it.
Derek
announced he was going to
speak
with their host
to get
some fresh food, and
Sacha
vaguely nodded, already eyeing the hayloft. She nestled against a big ba
i
l of straw and sleep took her quickly after she arranged her cloak around her.

oOo

The light was dim around him, but he was getting use to the semi-darkness by now. It was not as if his cell offered the nicest view anyway.

The headache was still there, pounding in his head and making it heavy.
Elwyn
fidgeted to activate blood circulation and the movement nearly sent him overboard. Only his
instinctive
grip on the frame saved him from falling. He was not chained anymore and the hard floor had transformed into a bed, as comfortable as his own. Maybe he was back in
Haven
. Or maybe he had developed a strong fever and he was still in his cell, and delirious.

The vertigo from his sharp jolt dissipated and he risked opening one eye again. He was not in his
personal
chambers. But this didn’t look like the dungeon he had awakened in the last time. The room was small, yet agreeably furnished. In addition to the bed he was currently lying in, he spotted a chest and a large chair
by a fireplace
.

Elwyn
blinked. The chair was occupied by a young woman with straight blond hair, and she was looking at him with interest. When their eyes
locked
, she grinned happily
. S
he was pretty. He scolded. This had to be the fever. No one woke up with a cute girl as a nurse after being beaten up into a pulp then chained with rats; not even
Derek
. Well, maybe
Derek
…

“You are awake! I am
Fillin
. How are you feeling?”

She had
a
nice voice. If this was a hallucination, why not make the best of it?

“I am not sure. Where am I?”

His voice was coarse from being unused and he coughed. The blonde helped him with a drink, unfortunately not wine. For a dream, it needed improvement. The beverage was vaguely acid, and sweetened, like lemonade; refreshing. Maybe it was better than wine.

“You are in Caer Lon of course.”

Her small laugh cascaded joyfully in the a
ir.
Elwyn
closed his eyes
. The name rang a bell, but he could not place it. He had probably read it somewhere on
Sebastian
’s charts and his overworked imagination plotted a fictitious world around it.

“Why am I here? What about my cousin?”

His companion sighed. The sad little sound forced him to open his eyes again.

“I could not do anything for him.
He was sent back.
But I saved you…”

And just like that, the young woman bent over him and kissed his lips. All in all, it was a pleasant fantasy…

Chapter 5

Sacha
straightened up
,
startled. She moved a little and realized her face and her hands were cold, whereas she felt hot with the nurse of a headache. Her eyes adjusted to the feeble light, and she finally noticed
Derek
. He was seated by the opening in the gable that served as a
n
upper door, looking outside. He stayed immobile with his sleeves rolled up despite the cold air coming in, apparently deep in thought.

She moved to get up and join him but his voice stopped her.
“There is some stew and bread if you are hungry. The stew is probably
just
warm by now.”

The bowl was some feet away from her, close enough
for her
to smell the food. Her stomach growled in approval. The bread was a little crunchy from poor grinding but she devoured it to the last crumbs
.
The food helped
to
clear her head and she felt better, though still a little dazed from her nap.

Derek
had put a clay
jug beside the now empty bowl. It contained some home-made ale and she sampled it carefully, nearly choking when the bitter taste grazed her tongue. The ale was strong and
savoury
, so she drank more. The alcoholic beverage
succeeded in
warming her.

Sacha
did not remember covering herself with her blanket
,
but it was spread over her legs. She curled under the thick cloth, propped up on one elbow, and
squinted
at
Derek
.

“How long did I sleep?”

He did not turn his head to answer her question, still watching the darkening fields.

“You took in only a few hours. The farmer confirmed he saw our troops passing by a few days ago,
then
no one else save an isolated rider or two.
Sebastian
was not taken back this way. We will head
n
ortheast tomorrow
.
I want to arrive from the back at…”

“
Elwyn
is in Caer Lon.”

Derek
stared at her in befuddlement and she calmly held his doubtful gaze.

“We have to go there.”

Irritation perked through his answer.

“That is impossible. How would you know where
Elwyn
is anyway? We will ride
n
ortheast at dawn.”

He did not believe her. How could she explain? He would simply laugh and dismiss her vision.
Sacha
took another swig of ale and immediately regretted it. The beverage was far stronger than
what she was used to. S
he inhaled deeply to chase away the dizzying sensation.
Derek
chuckled and walked to her shelter to take the jug from her hands.

“You want to be careful with that.”

She glared but her
displeased
glance was lost to him as he sat away from her, his attention entirely devoted to the recipient he
started
playing with, making it turn between his knees on the dusty floor.

Sacha
took his pensive attitude for an opening and tried again.

“
Derek
, I know I am right.
Elwyn
is
in Caer Lon. We need to go there…”

He continued his little game in silence, though she was sure he had heard her. Why could not he rely on her? Frustrating, stubborn
,
idiotic
specimen of a
…

“
Sacha
, Caer Lon is a myth. It was where the High Kings of
Camelot
held their court. The place was lost three hundred years ago
.
Elwyn
cannot
be there or it means he is dea-
”

“He is not dead!”

She nearly screamed in anguish. He was her twin, her other
half. If he had died, a part of her would have died too. He was alive. He was. She knew he was.

Surprisingly, her outburst brought
Derek
closer and he put one hand on her arm to comfort her
,
though he took it off almost immediately. When he spoke, she recognized
Ylianor
’s reassuring
intonations
in his voice,
soothing
and warm.

“Where did you hear of that name? No one talks about the High places anymore.”

His voice lacked the
characteristic
sarcasm that annoyed her so much. Maybe he would listen if she tried…

“
Fillin
told him. She is taking care of him; she had him removed from his cell and tended… She… She kissed him.”

Disclosing the last part was a mistake, as she realized too late.

“Kiss?”

The prince roared in laugher.
Sacha
instantly jerked away from him to retreat into her lair of straw; bringing her cover up to her jaw, she turned her back on him.
Derek
was obtuse and closed
minded. She should not even have bothered
to
try
and
tell him about her vision. She was going to Caer Lon, wherever it was. He could ride
n
orth or
e
ast or back to
Haven
for all she cared!

oOo

Something was wrong. There w
ere
the itch of straw on his cheek and the hard wood biting into his back, but something else
felt absolutely out of place
.
Derek
pushed up to sit and looked around. Turning his head, he
waned
.
Sacha
was missing.

He jumped on his feet instantly awake, looking for the traces of a fight. There was nothing. She was simply gone. He
cursed
loudly. The little she-devil had finally decided to leave him behind! Another bunch of colourful epithets escaped him.

Derek
buckled his scabbard and slid rather than climbed down the ladder. How did she manage to
go
without waking him? He rushed outside and the rising sun blinded him.

The young man shadowed his eyes with one hand, the other automatically setting on the
h
ilt of his sword. The crude light failed to show settling dust or some clue of her direction. She was long gone… He swore again. Why could not she be reasonable? How could he protect her if she took off like this? Was she so foolish she would follow some random dream, vision, or whatever
it
was? The idea left a mark in his mind.

Her brother being tended by some maiden in the mythic Caer Lon was as real as unicorns and fairies. Once he found her, he was going to seize her up and galloped back to
Haven
with her. He would knock her out if he had to. He would convince her father to jail her. He would put her in the stocks dressed only with a potato sack. He would…

“
Derek
!”

He whirled
on his heels
so fast he nearly lost his footing. Her brilliant smile
half
eclipsed the rising sun
, infuriating him even more.
Blind with a
ferocious
need to kill her,
Derek
charged toward
the young woman
. He
grabbed her arms in an iron clasp. Her grin disappeared while shock bolted in her luminous eyes.

“You
’re
hurting me…”

His grip tightened for a second before he
mastered his fury
and let go. She immediately took one step back.
Derek
barked:

“Where the hell were you?!”

Sacha
massaged her painful upper arm
s
and walked away swiftly
,
without answering. Four steps and the prince blocked her way, towering over her with his
entire
frame. Her forehead barely reached his chin. Unimpressed,
Sacha
stood her ground. He nearly lost his temper and seized her again. Sensing his storm
ing
mood, she scowled defiantly, doing her best to compensate
for
the difference of height with a haughty glacial gaze.

His
wrath
evaporated slowly. She looked like a pouting child. She was safe...

Derek
held one hand up to brush her offended limb and she tensed. His arm fell back to his side.

“I did not mean to hurt you. I woke up and you were nowhere to be seen…”

This was the closest to an apology he was willing to give.
Sacha
shove
d
the plate of bread and cheese she was
still
holding into his
stomach
.

“
I
suggest that next time you check the horses before you fret.”

The tip of his ears grew embarrassingly hot. He had not thought of the horses.
Derek
turned toward the opened door. Sure enough, their mounts were peacefully chewing hay, and he could spot their saddles in the corner where he had stored them the previous evening.

She had vanished and he had imagined the worst because… Because she was
Sacha
and her sole purpose in this life was to annoy him to no end; driving him crazy was
just
a side benefit.
Derek
groaned.

“Well
I
suggest that next time, you wake me up instead of disappearing like that. Where were you anyway?”

The young woman snorted
and started toward the barn
.
Derek
followed, putting the plate aside.

“I wanted to thank the farmer and his wife for their hospitality and I asked where we can find a proper library.”

“A library?”

She was demented. Too little sleep and too much ale had finally pushed her over the edge. He was taking her back to her father. Now. Period.

Sacha
was looking at him as if he w
ere
slow, her impatience barely contained.

“Yes,
Derek
, a library: you must have heard about it. It is a place stocked with books and charts. Scholars use them for knowledge.”

She ignored his growl and went on:

“
You
may not know where Caer Lon is, but I will find out.”

The way she hammered the first word, she could have poked at him in the chest with her finger. It felt like it.

“
Sacha
…”

He barely recognized his voice in the low defeated tone. She picked up her saddle but waddled under the load. It was too heavy for her to even think about reaching the back of her horse but she clenched her teeth and tried anyway.
She never gave up and that he admired, even if her stubbornness
irritated
him
senseless
.
Derek
took
the saddle
off her hands to put it into place effortlessly before he tended to his own stallion.
Sacha
continued her explanation with only a short nod to acknowledge his gallantry.

“We have to go to Lann Stefan. The farmer told me the monks at Saint
Stephen monastery are known for their
sc
h
olars
.”

She kept including him in her nonsense.
Where we can find… We have to go…
She was assuming they were together in this, but she refused to listen to him if his words were not to her liking; as always…

Derek
took a deep breath and reviewed his options quickly. One
:
he could go with her and try to convince her it was a wild goose chase. Two
:
he could go the right direction and worry about her safety all the way. Three
:
he could go back to
Haven
and explain to her father he had let her on her own. Four
:
he could grab her
,
tie her up across his saddle, and take her home.