CHAPTER 24
Erynn followed Adena down the hill and then west across the valley until they reached the road. It was still dark, and would be for a few more hours, and since the road was quiet and much easier to travel, they decided to follow it south for a while, running as often as they could and then heading inland again just after sunrise when the first wagon approached.
They stopped mid-morning for a rest, but were too worried about Marik to even think about sleep and were soon moving again. Dark clouds gathered as the day wore on, the air growing cooler than normal, and by late afternoon, as they climbed yet another hill and gazed out over open fields that met up with a large wood in the distance, the clouds were heavy and threatening.
When the rain came, light at first, they were still a couple of miles from the trees. They pulled up their hoods, shifted to holding their packs in front of them, under their cloaks, to help keep their extra clothes dry, and started to run. Lightning flashed in the sky, thunder shook the ground, and soon the rain fell heavier. By the time they reached the trees, it was getting dark and Erynn was soaked almost through to the skin, her hair plastered to her face and her teeth chattering. But still they kept moving, trying to take advantage of what light they still had left to push their way deeper into the woods.
"I – I'm freezing," Erynn said after they'd been walking for a while. She had wrapped her arms around her pack in front of her, snug across her chest, but was still wet and hadn't been able to shake the cold. The trees provided some shelter from the wind and the rain, but large drops still splashed down all around them.
Adena paused on the trail ahead and waited for her to catch up. "Maybe we should stop. See if we can build a fire."
Erynn wanted nothing more than to sit in front of a warm fire, but they had already been caught twice since leaving the castle and she wasn't about to let it happen again. She couldn't. "Marik might see the smoke. And besides, the wood's probably all wet."
"We might get sick if we don't. And it's getting dark anyway. I'm sure it'll be fine."
Erynn still didn't like the idea. "I think we should keep going as long as we have light. We need to keep ahead of them." She continued on, moving past Adena to take the lead. Her friend looked like she might protest, but said nothing more and soon fell in behind her.
Erynn tried not to think about warm fires as she walked. Or about how cold and wet and miserable she felt. She even tried not to think about whether her current predicament was some sort of punishment for the fact she wasn't headed west towards Blackwood right now. She tried to think instead about Soren — who he was, where he was, and whether or not he'd actually thrown Marik off their trail. Marik was bound to be furious that they'd escaped and she did not want to cross paths with him again. She'd go on all night if she had to. She just wished it wasn't so cold.
A large raindrop splashed down through the leaves and landed on her nose. As she reached up to wipe it away, her foot slipped off the edge of a loose rock and she fell.
Hard.
"You alright?" Adena asked.
"Fine," Erynn muttered, pushing herself up from the dirt and twigs and bits of rock on the path. Her hands stung, but she ignored them and pulled her legs under her to stand, hoping the fall hadn't shattered the small pot of ink in her pack. The second she put weight on her left foot, a throbbing pain radiated up her leg. Not intense, but enough to catch her breath. She reached out and leaned her weight against a tree, and a few seconds later tried again. She could put weight on her foot, but it wasn't comfortable at all. She cursed to herself. The last thing she needed right now was an injury.
"I think we should rest here," Adena said, sounding concerned.
Erynn shook her head. "Marik might not be far behind us, Adena."
"Maybe Soren led him off."
"And maybe he didn't." Erynn brushed a few more twigs and leaves from her cloak, then took a deep breath, readjusted her grip on her pack, and limped forward. "I've probably just twisted it a bit. Let's keep going."
Adena was quiet a moment. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Erynn kept her eyes on the ground, watching where she stepped and cursing herself again for being so careless, but every time she put weight on her left foot, she felt the same throbbing pain. She tried to ignore it, and to keep walking, but after only a few minutes, she stopped and leaned up against another tree. "I can't. Maybe it is time to rest."
Adena dropped her pack. "You're shaking, Erynn. We need to start a fire."
Erynn wiped another splash of rain from her brow. "We can't, Adena. They'll see."
"We have to, Erynn. You rest here and I'll go find some wood."
Erynn was about to repeat that they couldn't risk it, but before she could say a word, Adena turned and disappeared through the trees. She heard her friend muttering something to herself as she walked, heard the snap of twigs under her feet, but soon her voice faded and all she could hear was the patter of rain.
Erynn glanced around. The forest was quiet, save for the splash of rain. Almost too quiet. And getting darker by the minute. She dropped her pack, leaned the rest of her weight against the tree, and sank slowly to the ground — pulling her knees up tight to her chest and wrapping her arms around them to try and keep warm.
She couldn't believe she'd gone and injured her foot. First she'd been careless enough to walk right into a bunch of soldiers, and now this. Slipping off a stupid rock! She lowered her head on her knees and hoped that if she concentrated hard enough maybe she could stop shivering. But it didn't work. Then seconds later she smelled something — the slightest whiff of smoke — and had just turned her attention to that when something moved in the bushes a few yards away.
Erynn raised her head. "Adena?"
She listened hard, but heard no response — and soon realized with some alarm that the noise had come from the direction opposite the one Adena had gone. Was it a bear? Or some other animal skulking through the woods? One looking for a meal? She sat up and was about to call for her friend when a man stepped out from behind one of the trees in front of her.
Except it wasn't a man at all.
Erynn flinched. She had never seen an elf before.
He stood about her height, quite slender, with pale white skin, green eyes, and slightly pointed ears. His white-blonde hair was tied back from his face, hanging down almost to his waist, and he was dressed in light animal skins with a darker-colored pouch strapped across his chest and a quiver full of arrows on his back. He carried a bow in his left hand.
Erynn didn't move. Another drop of rain landed on her forehead and trickled down the side of her face, but she didn't wipe it away.
He stood still for several moments, watching her, and then he stepped further into the small clearing between the trees and pointed at her foot. "You have injured yourself, Daughter of Maegan."
At first, Erynn was so captivated by his voice, so soft and clear amongst the patter of rain, that she didn't even realize what he'd said. Then she frowned, her surprise at his words cutting through her fear. "You know who I am?"
"You carry the blood of the dragon. We can sense it."
Erynn's mouth dropped open. The blood of the dragon?
He kneeled down and motioned for her to extend her sore foot. "Let me help you."
But Erynn couldn't move — too shaken by what he had just said. Was it true? Her mind flashed back to something the king had said in the pantry. Something about not understanding the relationship between Daughters and dragons, but knowing there was one. And then she remembered the two women she had read about in the history book on Krystalix — the one who supposedly lived in the mountains and the one seen with him by the river. And she somehow knew in her heart that it was. The blood of the dragons did flow in her veins. That was why the Daughters were able to communicate with the dragons and why she had had so many dreams about them over the years. They were somehow part of a mixed race!
Slowly, she extended her foot.
"You did not know?" he as
ked as he gently removed her shoe.
Erynn shook her head.
He opened the pouch at his waist and pulled out several large leaves, each folded twice. He set them down next to him and reached back into the pouch and carefully scooped out what appeared to be a handful of a thick, dark mud, mixed with tiny bits of ground up leaves. He started to apply the mud in a thick layer around her ankle and foot and immediately she felt a cool tingling sensation and the slight throbbing she had felt ever since she fell started to lessen.
"What is that?" she asked.
"It will reduce the swelling and help your foot heal faster. It is not broken."
Erynn breathed a small sigh of relief at that and realized she was probably very lucky that he had chosen to help her. She had heard stories about the elves and their gifts of healing — gifts they were not generally known to share with men. At least not now. "I – I slipped on a rock."
"You were not paying attention to the path."
Another raindrop landed on Erynn's forehead, and this time she wiped it away. "My name's Erynn."
"And I am Cathus." He finished with the mud and now reached for the leaves, wrapping them one-by-one over top of the mud all around her foot and ankle, until every inch was layered several times over, except for her toes.
Erynn glanced around as he worked, wondering if there were any more elves nearby. Elves that were watching him apply the strange mud and leaves to her foot. "How many of you are there?"
At first Cathus didn't respond. "Elves are taught not to talk of such things with the race of men. Too often such information has been used to destroy us."
"Oh, I didn't mean …" Erynn started, not wanting to offend or anger him even though she didn't get the sense that she had. "I mean, I understand. Right now someone wants to destroy me."
"It is a dangerous time in Valentia. Especially for Daughters of Maegan."
Erynn was a little surprised, wondering how an elf could know such things — especially when she'd never heard much about them venturing outside their forest homes. "I wish I had known that before. I only found out I am one a few days ago and don't seem to be having much luck."
Cathus pulled a long strand of woven grass from another pocket and wound it around the leaves, tying them securely in place. "The blood of the dragon is stronger than that of man." He glanced up and met her eyes. "Are you listening to what it tells you?"
Erynn stared at him, at first not sure what he meant. Then she looked away, back down at her foot. "I – I don't know. I mean, I —"
Twigs snapped nearby and Adena appeared through the trees, her arms loaded with branches. "I found some wood, but most of it's —"
She saw the elf and jumped in surprise, dropping the branches at her feet.
Cathus rose. "You will need no fire." He raised his arm and pointed off between two nearby trees. "Head south one hundred yards and you will find warmth and shelter from the rain." He glanced at Erynn. "And perhaps a better view of the path." Then he turned to leave.
"What – What about my foot?" Erynn asked, frowning at her new green boot.
Cathus paused. "Leave it on until morning. Then you must rest your foot three more days."
"Three days?" Erynn said. "Are you saying I can't walk for three days?" She had hoped whatever it was in the strange mud would heal it long before that.
"If you try, you will only awaken the injury and it will take much longer to heal." He smiled. "I wish you luck, Daughter of Maegan." Then he was gone.
Erynn just sat there, staring at the gap in the trees.
"He knows who you are?" Adena asked, still looking rather dazed.
All Erynn could do was nod.
Adena laughed. "I can't believe I just saw an elf."
Erynn sighed and rubbed her forehead. She was still shocked herself — and at the news about who and what she really was — but what was even more disturbing to her now was what he had just told her. Three days. What were they going to do for three days? A shiver rippled through her, reminding her of the cold, and she clenched her teeth and slowly pulled herself up on her good leg with the help of the tree. "I guess we should do what he says. Head south. Can you help me?"
Adena was still gazing off in the direction Cathus had disappeared, but finally she slung both of their packs over her shoulder and stepped closer. Erynn wrapped an arm around her other shoulder and slowly they set off south, through the gap in the trees and in the direction Cathus had pointed.
Erynn glanced around as they walked, and up into the darkness of the high branches above, wondering if he was watching. She had a strong feeling he was — and that he wasn't the only one. Other elves were watching her, too.
He had said one hundred yards, and it was a journey that to Erynn and her sore foot seemed to take forever. All along the way she continued to smell smoke, the smell growing stronger with every step, and finally, when they reached the edge of the forest, she discovered the source: in front of them lay an open field, with a barn and small cottage on the far side. A wisp of smoke was rising from the cottage chimney, and a warm, yellow glow visible through a crack in the curtains.
Erynn was tempted to walk right up to the door and beg whoever lived there to let them inside for a while, just long enough to warm themselves by the fire. But she knew it was too dangerous. By now most of Alyria likely knew about the warrant for their arrest and would be watching for them. They would have to settle for the barn.
As they started across the field, stepping out into the full force of the rain once more, Adena chuckled. "Maybe those elves aren't so bad after all."