Heart of the Exiled (48 page)

He is here
.

What?

He came to meet us. I have told him about the alben and about what you learned from Othanin
.

Oh
.

She felt relieved and realized it was because she had feared for Turisan’s safety. Also that what they had learned of Fireshore would be lost if they both suffered misfortune. Now Jharan knew it as well, and he would see that the news went to all the ælven realms.

Give Jharan my fond regards
.

He sends you his as well. He has many questions for you, of course
.

Eliani smiled.
Of course
.

So you must take care, love. Take every caution
.

She felt the tremor of fear in his khi. She did not answer, shaken by her own helpless dread as she thought of those she was leaving behind. Luruthin, her beloved cousin. Othanin, so gentle and patient. Vanorin and the escort and others she had not met who had suffered much already and were now suffering worse as captives of the alben.

“Spirits help them.” She scarcely dared to whisper, fearing discovery. “And spirits help me.”

I am going
.

Turisan stayed with her, a silent observer. She felt his presence at the edge of her awareness and was grateful. It was a comfort not to be alone.

She stood, steadying her sword at her hip with one hand. With the other she settled her makeshift pack. Looking up and down the narrow space that ran along the inside of the wall behind the outer row of houses, she saw no movement. She stepped out of her shelter and across to the wall, then began to climb slowly and carefully, trying not to let the sword clatter.

The rocks were rough volcanic stone, easy to find holds upon but sharp against her flesh. By the time she had reached the top, her hands and bare feet were bleeding from scrapes and cuts. She paused, raised her head just above the top edge of the wall, and looked toward the gate.

No one stood outside it. If there were alben inside, they were blocked from her view by houses. She began to pull herself up cautiously, listening with every small movement. The sword made a tiny clank, and she froze for a moment, then climbed onto the top of the wall. More water spilled from the ewer, soaking her back. She hoped at least a couple of mouthfuls would remain, for she did not know when she would find more. She crouched atop the wall and paused to listen again, but no sounds of alarm troubled the night.

Outside, the forest waited, dense and gloomy. The space between it and the wall seemed terribly exposed, but Eliani knew that only a few paces would take her across it. She shifted her position and began to lower herself down the outside of the wall, limbs trembling with the strain of moving slowly.

Perhaps she should have waited until daylight for this. The alben could not tolerate the sun. The forest blocked much of its light, though, and they might care more about capturing her than about their own safety. No, it was best to be gone from Ghlanhras as quickly as possible.

Her feet touched bare earth, and she sighed as she let go of the wall. She stood for a moment, trying to calm her breathing, wishing she could stop shaking.

All she need do was elude any alben who might be watching the outer wall and get to the road without being seen. She would go to Woodrun, summon help from there. It would take days, but it was the best she could do. She could not reconquer Ghlanhras alone.

She put a hand on her sword’s hilt and in three quick strides crossed the open space to the forest. Wedging herself through a tangle of vines, she stood just inside the woods, listening. No sounds of imminent pursuit came to her.

Good. Forward, then.

Within a few moments she realized the futility of trying to push through the undergrowth. It was so dense that she could not make her way through it. The ax shaft was useless. Only her sword would let her make any progress, and the sound of someone hacking through the woods would no doubt attract unwanted attention.

The ground was uneven, root-covered and vinetangled and full of dangers to her bare feet. She was forced to conclude this was not the way to get to Woodrun.

She turned and for a moment panicked, for she could not see the wall. Even this little way into the forest she was close to becoming lost. Taking deep, deliberate breaths, she noted the displaced vines and broken twigs that marked her passage and followed them back to the edge of the clearing.

I must take the road. It means passing the gate
.

Wait until daylight
.

Yes
.

Was it merely hopefulness, or had the sky brightened a little? She could see clear sky above the wall, and though stars still gleamed to the west, she thought perhaps the night was no longer fully dark.

She unslung her rope pack and took a swallow of water from the ewer, which was less than half-full. The silks she wore were now torn and damp and clung uncomfortably. She worked her way a little farther into the woods and leaned against the trunk of a young darkwood tree. She could still see the wall through a gap in the foliage but felt confident she would not be visible to a casual observer.

She sighed, trying to relax. Patience had never been one of her strengths.

Turisan?

Yes, my heart?

I am afraid for them. Luruthin and the others
.

I know, love
.

She felt tears gathering at the corners of her eyes and brushed at them angrily. This was no time for self-indulgence. Luruthin had given up his own freedom to preserve hers. She must use that gift to bring back help. She must stay alert.

Something crawled over her right foot. She gasped, jerked her foot away, and gasped again as she stepped on something sharp.

“Who is there?”

Eliani froze. Quiet footsteps came hurrying toward her from the direction of the gate.

A pale figure in dark leathers appeared, hurrying along the foot of the wall. Eliani shrank against the tree and tried to blend her khi with that of the forest, but these plants were strange to her and the darkwood’s khi was rather heavy and impenetrable. The alben stopped and turned, then returned a few paces,
frowning as her gaze searched the woods. She lifted her head as if scenting the air, and a sharpness came into her eyes.

Dark, dark eyes. Darker than Turisan’s and far colder. They traveled straight to Eliani, and the nostrils below them flared. Smelling blood.

Eliani swallowed as their gazes met, silently cursing the wall that had cut her hands and feet. For a moment they stared at each other, as if each disbelieved what she saw, then Eliani pushed away from the tree.

She stumbled toward the alben, trying to get clear of the woods so that she could draw her sword. The alben stepped back and reached to her belt.

No time for the sword. Eliani plunged forward, out of the trees and straight at the alben, who threw her net, but too late. It thumped half-unfurled into Eliani’s chest, and she carried it with her as she charged the alben.

The alben lost her footing and fell. Eliani landed heavily on top of her. Water splashed up her back from the ewer.

Eliani pushed herself up and grabbed at the net, shoving part of it into the alben’s mouth as she opened it to shout. One of the alben’s hands was caught in the net, pinned under Eliani’s weight. Eliani grabbed the other hand and tangled more net around it, then put her knee over both and fumbled at the alben’s belt.

The alben kicked. A crunch and wetness down her back, then Eliani’s hand found what she had glimpsed and sought. She pulled the dagger from its sheath, putting the point to the alben’s neck.

“Be still.”

The alben blinked several times but ceased struggling. Eliani sat up with a small clatter of broken
pottery. She shrugged the tangled ropes off her shoulder, letting them fall to the ground.

The alben’s eyes were furious. She would fight. The easiest and safest course would be to kill her, but Eliani rebelled at that thought. There had been too much killing already. Taking life without absolute need was against the creed, and the creed was what separated her from this angry female. One of the things that separated them.

Eliani swallowed, leaned back, and with her free hand carefully drew her sword. The alben’s eyes widened with fear as Eliani laid the blade against her neck opposite the dagger.

“Do not move or I will kill you.”

The alben was still. Watching her, Eliani slowly got to her feet, keeping the sword blade at the other’s throat. Her flesh prickled with fear that at any moment another alben would come along.

“Turn over.”

The alben rolled awkwardly onto her stomach, the little leaf-shaped metal weights of the net tinkling together. Eliani frowned, wondering what to do next. She mistrusted the alben, and if she tried to control her, they might end up struggling again. Biting her lip, she bent and withdrew the ax shaft from her tangled ropes.

“I am sorry for this.”

She aimed a blow at the back of the alben’s head. A soft grunt followed, and the alben went limp. Eliani knelt to examine her, hoping she had not struck too hard.

Heat rose in Eliani’s hands as she touched the alben, startling her. No time for a healing, though she knew through the glow in her hands that the alben was not badly hurt. The female’s khi felt peculiar, an
uncomfortable prickling sensation, but Eliani did not pause to explore it.

She rolled the alben onto her back and pulled the net out of her mouth, then quickly bound her hands with a length of rope. The alben did not wake. Eliani unbuckled the black leather belt and put it on over her silks, sheathing the dagger again. The belt also held a small flask that gave a reassuring splashing sound. She considered it her rightful prize after losing the ewer.

Boots. She pulled the soft leather footwear off the alben’s feet and onto her own, wincing a little. They were slightly too large, but it was better than going barefoot.

Perhaps she should take the leather armor as well. No, it would be too difficult to strip the unconscious alben, and the leathers would be no use as concealment, for her dark hair would betray her. Better to move fast and light.

Eliani glanced toward the gate, listening, fearing some friend of the alben’s would come looking for her. She had been on patrol, walking the city’s perimeter, and no doubt would be missed before long.

Eliani no longer had the choice of waiting for sunrise. She picked up her ropes, shook pieces of the broken ewer out of them, coiled them, and tucked them into her belt.

The net. Take it
.

I cannot throw it
.

It might be of use, though. Take it anyway
.

Eliani picked up the net, frowning as she gathered it into an awkward bundle and shoved it through the belt. She shoved the ax shaft through it, too, beginning to feel rather bulky about the middle. Her sword she kept in hand. She might have to run, and it would
be less awkward running with it in her hands than having it bounce about her legs.

She stood back, looking at the alben. She had struck this female, injured her, and taken her possessions. All against the creed. She would have to find some way of atoning.

Her heart suffered a pang as she realized that this enemy was yet an honored being in her view. This was the first alben she had been near, and she had felt no overriding horror. They were kin; that was obvious. There must be a way out of the strife between their people.

Eliani—

Yes. I am going
.

Keeping close to the wall, she started toward the gate. She walked slowly, cautiously searching both before and behind her with khi. No one came in pursuit.

Ahead, she saw a figure above the wall. She froze.

A male alben, alone, a dark silhouette against the night. He seemed to be watching the road. Eliani saw that she was not far from the gate, twenty paces, perhaps.

Oh, for a bow. But that would mean killing or wounding the watcher. She preferred not to do that.

What had come over her? She had killed countless kobalen with no more thought than a few words of regret and atonement. The alben were enemies only because they, too, killed kobalen, albeit for different reasons.

Eliani gritted her teeth. She was beginning to think the Bitter Wars had been a terrible mistake, one for which she and her kindred were now having to atone.

She edged forward, staying close to the wall and moving silently. Ten paces from the gate, she dared go
no farther, fearing to attract the watcher’s attention. The road was only a few paces away but beyond her reach.

Distract the watcher? She wished she had kept a piece of the broken ewer to throw over the wall. The path before her was beaten earth and clear of any loose rock. All she had were ropes and the net and the ax shaft. She was not about to part with her sword or the alben’s dagger.

The ax shaft, then. She drew it out of her belt with careful slowness, watching the alben all the while.

A sudden burst of shouting made her tense. She flattened herself against the wall.

Blows, more shouting—the clash of swords. A fight, just inside the city gates! Some citizens of Ghlanhras seeking escape?

“Mihlaran! To me!”

Eliani gasped. Vanorin’s voice!

The watcher on the wall had raised a bow. Eliani drew a sharp breath, then flung the ax shaft at his head. It struck him a glancing blow and fell with a clatter onto the slate tiles of a nearby rooftop, but it was enough to distract him. His head turned toward Eliani.

She ran.

Just before reaching the gate, she flung herself against the wall, peering upward. Stars in a velvet sky above the pale-headed alben watcher. She saw him raise his bow again, taking aim. Clenching her teeth, she fixed her khi on the bow and closed her eyes, reaching into the slender wood, setting a spark there, willing it to grow.

A cry of alarm indicated her success. She glanced up in time to see the alben fling the flaming bow away from him.

Pleased, she looked for something else to burn. The watcher had disappeared, gone to join the fray below. Eliani laid a hand on the darkwood of the gate, wondering if she might burn it, but no. Too hard to set alight, and her folk were trying to come out this way.