Chael's Luck (A Knights of Dorathan Novel) (13 page)

“Chaela, look.”

I looked into the cave and smiled as the four
tiny flames bowed in our direction.

“You’re very welcome.” I smiled and nodded to
them. “If we’re ever in these parts again, we’ll be sure to bring
you more.”

We turned the horses away.

I grinned, my heart still pounding. “By gods,
that was amazing!”

Ian shook his head. “You’re insane! What if
they’d decided to burn you?”

I shrugged. “I didn’t get a bad feeling from
them. I think they just wanted to light something on fire.” I
started to laugh at how idiotic I sounded. “You have to admit that
they blew your mind.”

He smiled. “No. Chaela, you blow my
mind.”

I was glad I was already flushed from the
heat so I couldn’t blush. I changed the subject. “Did you dream
last night?”

“Just the same one that I can’t remember
except for that one line. You?”

I nodded. “Same thing.” I caught him looking
at me.

“Are you sure?”

I frowned. “Yes, why?”

“You were talking in your sleep.”

“What did I say?”

“My name.

This time, I blushed past the flush of the
heat. Ian grinned.

“No worries, Chaela, I don’t think it was
that kind of dream. You screamed it, actually, like something bad
was happening.”

I tried to think back into my dreams,
searching for the scream Ian was talking about. I got a brief flash
of an image, something to fast and vague for me to make out, and
nothing else. “I can’t remember. Maybe I was just dreaming of the
storm last night.” I took a deep breath to try and get rid of the
small hollow of unease that had started to form in my chest.

I turned my attention to a mirage to my left.
Another day and we’d be at the coast. It seemed unbelievable that
we’d come so far. Granted, we’d been at it for over a month, but
we’d passed the farthest I’d ever gone a good week ago. We spent
most of the day in silence, simply conserving our energy for one
more night in the desert.

As night closed in and we settled under our
blankets, the roll of thunder could be heard drawing nearer. I let
out an exasperated breath and looked up at the stars that were
slowly being hidden from view by the advancing clouds.

“You’re not serious!”

“Hmmm?” Ian’s questioning grunt came from
behind me.

“Not you. Chael. We spend damn near a week in
the desert and the night before we come out of it, you decide to
rain on us? You have got to be the most ignorant, good for nothing,
ungrateful, idiotic…” My rant was squelched by the appearance of
Ian’s hand over my mouth.

“Shush. I don’t know about you, but I don’t
think calling the god of bad luck names is the smartest thing to
do.”

I grunted. “I’ve called him worse and he
knows he deserves it.” I clenched my jaw as a torrent of rain fell
from the sky, soaking all of our belongings as well as our horses
and ourselves. “Chael’s luck and blast it all,” I mumbled.

Ian moved back and turned me so I was facing
him. “Shall we keep moving?”

I blew out of my nose. “We may as well. I
know I’m not going to get any sleep.” A strand of soaked bangs
slipped over his eyes and I reached up to brush it out of the way
before I realized what I was doing. He blinked at the gesture and I
wondered at the conflicted look in his grey eyes. “I…” I stopped,
not sure what I should say. “It looked uncomfortable.”

He nodded and sat up.

“You know,” I said as we rode along in the
rain, “we should have travelled at night before. This is quite
pleasant, though I could do without the downpour.”

“Would you have been able to sleep in the
heat?”

I thought about it for a moment. “No.”

Ian grinned. “Me neither.”

When the rain finally stopped and the sky
cleared, we were too wet to even think of sleep. The horses plodded
along in the wet sand. The moon appeared in the sky, bright and
white, illuminating the vast plains of sand stretching out in all
directions. The entire desert seemed bathed in silver. True blew
out of her nose, obviously enjoying the lack of rain. Klora stopped
for a fraction of a second to shake some of the water out of his
coat then trotted the four steps to catch up to the others.

I looked around, truly awed as I gazed at
this new and mystical looking wasteland. Even Ian’s eyes seemed to
glow with the moonlight.

A gentle calm filled me and I didn’t realize
time slipped away as we walked along.

“Chaela, turn around.” Ian pulled Kard around
so they were facing to the east. I followed suit so that Klora
stood shoulder to shoulder with his sire. I looked up at Ian who
gestured to the horizon with his head.

The first rays of the sun broke over the sand
and reached toward us. I smiled softly.

“It’s beautiful.”

Ian nodded.

We stayed facing the sunrise until nearly
half of the sun was visible. Ian reached over and gave my leg a
squeeze.

“Should we keep going?”

I put a hand over his and nodded.

Whether it was because I’d thought he’d been
lost in the storm, or because of some other reason I couldn’t
pinpoint, I found myself glancing at Ian more often than I had
previously. His grey eyes squinted in the sun which was now high in
the sky and his skin had turned a dark color I’d never have
imagined on him.

I blushed as he caught me looking and I
cleared my throat.

“Are we almost there?”

He grinned and nodded. “Almost. We should see
it any minute now. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

“Oh?”

“Well, we won’t see the trees right away, but
the beach we’ll come to is magnificent. It’s unlike anything you’ve
ever seen before.” He smiled. “I’ve never seen sand so white or
water so clear. It’s truly one of my favorite places to visit.”

“How many times have you been here?”

He laughed. “Twice before this time. I love
it here.”

I looked toward the horizon and caught my
breath. I blinked my eyes and wiped a hand over them before
blinking again.

“Do you see that?” I squinted to make sure it
wasn’t a mirage due to lack of water.

“I do.” Ian grinned. “I told you we weren’t
far.”

Klora’s ears perked at the sight of the
rolling waves ahead of us. His steps picked up and soon we were
cantering toward the water. The tips of the waves foamed and spread
as they lapped onto the beach.

“It’s beautiful!” I pulled Klora to a stop
and bent to splash the water on my face.

“You can drink it.”

“What? I’d heard sea water made you
sick.”

“It does.” He took a long swallow from his
hands. I glanced at the horses who were drinking their fill. He
smiled. “It’s Elven magic.”

I cupped my hands and brought them to my
lips. My first sip was experimental. The second finished off what
was left in my palms before I dipped them again and had another
drink. Ian grinned at me, pulled his tunic over his head, took his
boots off, and dove into the water.

“Come on!”

“I don’t know.” I watched as he disappeared
into the water and reappeared closer to the shore. He stood and
shook his head like a dog, water droplets spraying everywhere.

“It’s nice and you won’t get another chance
like this ever again. Well, not in the near future, anyhow.”

“I just…”

“What?”

“I can’t swim.”

“What? You never learned how to swim?”

I frowned. “It’s not like I could just strip
naked with the lads and jump right in!”

“I suppose not. Either way, it’s not like you
have to go deep. We’ll stay where you can touch the ground.”

I took a moment to make up my mind.
“Alright.” I sat and took my boots off. Not willing to strip in
front of this particular lad either, I walked into the water fully
clothed. Ian met me where the water reached my waist and
smiled.

“What do you think?”

I knelt and sighed as the cool water
enveloped me. “It’s nice.”

Ian took my hand and tugged me a little
farther out. I noticed that the farther we went, the cooler the
water got. Klora snorted and I looked back toward the beach. My
heart jumped in my chest.

“Ian!” I inhaled a mouthful of water as I
tried to stand but sank under the water. I felt Ian’s strong hands
grab a hold of me and pull me up.

“Are you alright? Chaela, relax.” He pulled
me to his chest. “I’m serious, Chaela. If you relax, you’ll float.
You were doing just fine till you panicked.”

I sputtered and coughed up the lungful of
water I’d managed to breathe in.

“I told you I couldn’t swim, you ass!” I
punched his shoulder and pushed away from him, realizing my mistake
at the last second. I sank again though this time I let myself drop
until I was standing on the sandy floor. I looked up to see Ian
dive down after me. I pushed off of the sea floor and let myself
relax. My head broke the surface and I took a deep breath as I let
my legs move in front of me so that I was lying on my back. I
squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to move. I heard Ian emerge
from the water somewhere to my right.

“Chaela, really, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to
take you out this far.”

“Like hell you didn’t.”

“Bloody hell! Why would I do it on
purpose?

“To test me. Just to see if I could.” I
frowned when he didn’t answer. “Well?” I felt him grab my hand and
gritted my teeth as he jerked me toward the shore. Once I could
touch bottom once again, he let go of me and stalked toward where
the horses had decided to snack on a patch of grass.

“Why are you angry with me?” I demanded. “I
nearly drowned!”

He stopped short and his shoulders rose and
fell as he took deep breaths to calm himself. He turned slowly.

“By gods, Chaela, do you honestly think I
would have let it come to that? And you want to know why I’m angry?
I’ll tell you why. I’m tired of being thrown in with those immature
idiots you trained with. I’m tired of having to pay for everything
they’ve ever done to you. I’m not trying to test you! All I want is
for you to be yourself; to be happy with yourself!” His voice was
getting louder and I felt my anger slipping. “I don’t care that
you’re a woman!” He ran his hands over his face and inhaled deeply.
“By gods, if anything, I’m quite fond of the fact that you are
one!”

I stood, shocked and unsure of what to say.
“Ian…”

He shook his head, grabbed his shirt and
boots, and walked away, leading Klard and True along with him. I
watched as he disappeared behind a sand dune. The wind picked up
and I shivered as it blew through my wet clothes. I trudged to
where Klora stood, took his reins and led him over the same hill.
Ian was starting a fire. He’d already changed into a dry tunic and
pants, though his hair was still dark with moisture. I noticed it
made his grey eyes that much more piercing. I tethered my horse
next to the other two and pulled my pack to where I could search
through it. I found a clean pair of pants and tunic then went to
stand behind the horses to change.

I went through our food packs, pulled out
some bread, cheese, and jerky, and went to sit by the fire. Ian was
staring into the flames, the expression on his face hard to
decipher. I broke the bread in half and passed him a piece. He
nodded his thanks.

“Ian.”

He shook his head.

“I need to apologize.”

Again, he shook his head.

“By gods, Ian! I’m trying to say I’m sorry! I
went under and I got scared. I don’t like to get scared. Fear is a
weakness that people can use against you. My first reaction to
being scared is to get angry.” I passed him a piece of cheese. When
he wouldn’t look at me, I tried a different approach.

“Ian.”

He continued with his silent treatment.

“I’m glad.”

He frowned.

“I’m glad that you’re glad I’m a woman.”

His lips twitched and he looked at me from
the corner of his eye. I smiled.

“Are still angry with me?”

He shrugged.

I blew a frustrated breath out of my nose.
“You’re a stubborn man, Ian Murphy,” I grumbled as I pulled out my
blankets and settled under them. I heard him walk to his packs and
pause. I smiled at the sound of his blankets being laid behind me.
His legs pressed against the back of mine while his arms pulled me
close. I didn’t bother to hide my shiver as his lips brushed the
back of my neck.

“Goodnight, Chaela.”

I snuggled as close as I could. “Sweet
dreams, Ian.”

Chapter Five

The morning was cool and I was glad for the
extra heat Ian’s closeness provided. I heard Whisk’s tail thump on
the ground and I stretched.

“Chaela?” Ian’s murmur had a warning tone to
it.

“Hmmm?”

“When you open your eyes, don’t panic.”

I opened my eyes and my heart jumped in my
chest. I scrambled onto my knees and reached for my slaggens.

The wood elf petting my dog grinned.

“Master Ian.” He stood and bowed in greeting.
His waist long white hair tumbled around him and I had to admit I
was shocked by the pale green coloring of his skin and the matching
color of his eyes.

Ian stood and returned the honor. “Master
Blarenagin.”

Blarenagin stood and grinned at me. “You’re
not in the habit of trusting beings.”

I shook my head. “No, sir, I’m not.”

“I am Blarenagin.”

I opened my mouth to introduce myself.

“And you are Miss Chaela McKinney.”

I frowned. “How did you know that?”

“I know many things. I know you seek Garnin’s
book of magic. I also know what happened the day it was
stolen.”

“You saw who stole it?”

He shook his head. “I do not always see
images. Sometimes, the revelations come as feelings, or an odd
sense of knowing where something is.”