Into the Fray: Volume 1 of The Sorcerers of Jhanvia Series (17 page)

“Thank you.”

Kidreyli turned to walk away.

Kaitra spoke up, “I really mean thank you, for making me see a part of myself that I may never have seen without you. The prissy little girl from the palace would have never been able to do such things.”

“You’re welcome. But may I say, you’re not so prissy as you want to believe. You are a deep powerful spirit that just needed a little room to grow.”

“And apparently we’re now famous,” Kaitra flashed a proud smile over the woman’s intent to tell others about them.

Kidreyli laughed and said with humor intended, “Yes, the legend of Kaitra and Kidreyli has begun.”

They both laughed as the fell together in a hug. Kaitra winced from the pain and Kidreyli had to adjust her arm to avoid the wound.

“Come,” Kidreyli said, “let’s go find a tavern and toast our success.”

As Kaitra sat in her saddle, she asked, “What do you mean ‘our success’? I was the one who did all the work.” With that, she pressed Sestru into a loping gallop.

Kidreyli laughed to herself as she watched her friend ride away, and then she suggested to Tyral, “Let’s go, my friend.”

t was approaching nightfall when they reached the small village of Jasdi. It was a tiny place on a road to somewhere better. Kidreyli negotiated for the use of a loft in an old barn as the night’s accommodations. Perfect for the horse and the Katrion, as it provided plenty of food and companionship. Perfect for the girls, as it was comfortable and private, save for Tyral, whose mind always seemed to be lurking. In exchange for a couple pieces of silver, they would get food, drink and a place to sleep…a pretty good deal in these times. They removed the saddles and supplies from the horses. Kaitra handed them up to Kidreyli who stored them in the loft.

The warrior took a few steps down the wooden ladder and jumped over the rest to the ground. “I’m really hungry, you?”

Kaitra nodded in agreement.

They walked the short distance over to the local tavern and sat across from each other at a small wooden table in the corner away from the other patrons. It was a very rustic place, darkly lit with lanterns
and candles, and with only a handful of customers, most of them taking only to drink.

A pudgy, middle-aged woman wearing a rather drab dress approached them. “What would you like?”

Kidreyli responded, “Can we get a plate of meat and vegetables to share, please? Oh, some bread too.”

“Oy!” Kaitra exclaimed. “I just got a splinter from the table,” she said, examining her finger.

“There’s no charge for that,” the waitress said matter-of-factly.

Kidreyli laughed to herself.

The waitress continued, “Anything to drink?”

“A pint of ale for both of us,” Kaitra replied as she sucked on her new wound.

The woman showed no emotion as she turned and went away to fetch the requested nourishment.

“I like her,” Kidreyli said. “A touch of local color.”

Kaitra placed her fingers gently on her bandaged wound and winced a bit.

“Don’t mess with that,” Kidreyli said. “You want it to heal, don’t you?”

“Will it leave a scar?”

“Yes.”

With great pride, Kaitra smiled, “My first battle scar.”

Kidreyli laughed at her and said, “I don’t understand why you’re so happy about that. The whole idea is to avoid injury.”

“How is it that you knew the proper herbs to treat my wound?”

“If you’re going to be a warrior, you better become a healer as well. The person you treat most often is yourself.”

“Makes sense. Something else you will need to teach me.”

The woman brought over the food and drink. Kidreyli was into the food immediately with great fervor. Kaitra smiled at her manner.

The woman paused for a moment watching the Valtyr voraciously inhale a mouthful of meat and then commented sarcastically, “If you
need more food, let me know. My husband saw a herd of deer earlier. I’m sure he could kill a few of them for you if needed.”

Kaitra laughed under her breath, “This will do, thank you.”

“Huh,” the woman grunted as she sauntered away.

Kaitra was suddenly inquisitive as she tore a piece of bread from a loaf, “Tell me, do the Valtyr have a deity?”

Kidreyli spoke through the food she was chewing, “Not as you understand the term. We have an underlying belief that influences everything we do in our lives. We see ourselves as a part of a larger surround which resulted from the order than brought about all life. We call it Kama, which, loosely translated means ‘spirit of order’. It’s a complex concept. We acknowledge and respect Kama, but we do not worship it like some do their Gods and Goddesses.”

Kaitra took a large gulp of ale and picked up the rest of the loaf and asked, “What do you think of Eirran and Cliona’s relationship?”

“They seem perfectly matched.”

“It just seems that Cliona holds sway in their bond.”

Kidreyli smiled at her naiveté, “The Clannya is a balanced culture. They hold equal influence overall. The men and women each have their own talents and abilities and sometimes there is overlap. But generally, the men take care of the village’s needs in the physical realm while the women fill the village’s needs in the spiritual realms. Cliona is one of the primary elders in the village, and what you felt was the influence she carries within their community.”

“Earlier when you mentioned that we could go back to Alondra, it got me thinking. When this is over, where do you see yourself?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t really looked that far forward.”

Kaitra pressed, “Please, indulge me. If you could fulfill your deepest desires, what would your life look like?”

Kidreyli thought for a few moments while chomping on a bit of bread. She gulped down a mouthful of ale and asked, “You want the honest truth?”

“Yes, absolutely, whatever that is,” she responded with eagerness.

“All right. I see myself in a safe and peaceful place, where I have no need to put up this warrior facade. The place I see is inhabited by good, meaningful friends who could help me to influence my two little girls in fulfilling their own destinies. And…I see you, with me through it all.”

“Sounds a lot like Alondra.”

“Maybe. A lot of things are standing in the way of that. I’m not sure I’ll ever get to it in this life.” Kidreyli was uncomfortable discussing this subject with anyone, probably because her true feelings would certainly have been scorned by her people, and if they became known, might result in banishment from her birthright. The pain felt in letting go of the only life you have ever known is unimaginable. The pain and suffering endured by pretending to be something you are not can shred your being into oblivion. Walking the line between the two, which was the option she chose at least for now, can tear your spirit in half. She took a large gulp of ale and said somewhat sullenly, “If you’re done eating, we should go.”

Kaitra understood the hint. She swallowed one last mouthful of her ale, grabbed what was left of the bread and followed her friend silently back to the barn. They crawled up the wooden stairs to the loft. Kidreyli laid out the bedroll on a deep, flat clump of loose hay while Kaitra pretended to tend to the supplies on her saddle.

Kaitra asked, “What is the bonding ritual in your culture?”

The Valtyr replied flippantly without thinking, “Nothing like all that pomp and silliness in yours. Why?”

“I just want to know.”

Kidreyli relented. “It’s a very personal act for those entering into the bond. Essentially, it’s a bit of ritual magic designed to bind together the lives and spirits of the participants. There is a little bloodletting involved. We are taught the ritual at a very early age.”

Kaitra continued to fiddle with the items on her saddle as she pondered through a short silence, and then she asked, “How much blood?”

Kidreyli laughed a little, “Just three little holes in the arm.”

“I want you to do it,” Kaitra commanded.

Kidreyli was stunned, “What?”

“I want you to do it.”

“Do you think
now
is a good time?”

Kaitra stated firmly, “I think now is the best time. With all that lies in front of us, the opportunity may never present itself again. We belong together. We have both known this from the moment you took me from that temple. You are a part of me now. Your smells, your touch, your laugh, I can’t ever see myself without them again. We should formalize our bond, and since my ways are ‘silly’, as you put it, we should do this using your ways.”

Kidreyli tried to walk her words back, “I misspoke when I said that the human bonding ritual was silly. It was rude and disrespectful, and I apologize. If we are to be joined, we should use your traditions.”

“In our ways, the marriage is a stated commitment between two people to love and respect each other. But when you speak of your ways, you describe a far deeper and meaningful bonding. Am I right?”

“Yes,” Kidreyli answered reluctantly.

“Then I see your traditions as our best option, and that is what I want,” Kaitra demanded.

Kidreyli stood motionless through a protracted silence. Tyral didn’t even interrupt. “The Valtyr bonding ritual is a very powerful act of magic,” she explained. “I have heard that its effects on outsiders can be very dangerous and in some cases deadly.”

“I don’t care.”

“Oh, Kaitra, maybe you don’t care, but see this from my perspective. What if something happens and I lose you? How could I live with myself? My heart would be lost without you. Is it so necessary to endanger the powerful, loving relationship that we already have?”

“I believe that it is. Maybe it was just the way I was raised, but it’s important to me.”

Kidreyli leaned against the wall of the barn with her hand, staring silently at the floor of the loft. The conflict within was under challenge
and an immediate resolution was imperative. The choice was to remain a part of her people, or to relinquish those ties to be with the one she had come to love so deeply. No matter what path she chose, something of her being would die in this place and in this time. She said, “What you are asking…the consequences….”

Kaitra’s tone softened, “My love, every day we continue on this journey, we place our lives at risk. Either or both of us could die at any time. That life you describe, with our two little girls, I want that too, and more than anything, I want to be with you for all time. I am most willing to risk everything for this.”

The warrior continued facing the floor with her eyes closed.

Kaitra posed, “Is it that you do not desire to bond with me?”

Kidreyli’s mind kept circling back to the words of her grandmother, which resonated most strongly within her. The Valtyr’s contemplation abruptly ended. She walked over and firmly took her lover by the hands. “Repeat what I say and do what I do. Yes?”

Kaitra nodded her understanding.

Tyral’s thoughts chimed in, “Kidreyli, are you sure you want to do this?”

She took a deep breath and paused for just a moment. She ignored Tyral’s words and stated determinedly, “I stand before you with the will and desire to be one with you.”

“I stand before you with the will and desire to be one with you,” responded Kaitra.

Kidreyli held up Kaitra’s left arm, and with the claws of her first three fingers, she began making small punctures on the inside of the young woman’s wrist. The claw of her index finger made the first one, about four inches from her palm, and as the blood came up from the wound, she said, “Your body.” The next puncture was made by her second claw about three inches from her palm, and as the blood came up, she said, “Your mind.” The next puncture was made by her third claw about two inches from her palm, and as the blood flowed upward, she said, “Your spirit.”

Kidreyli then motioned that it was Kaitra’s turn. The warrior started to make the punctures with her own claws on her arm, but Kaitra stopped her. She took out her knife, much to the Valtyr’s surprise, and used it to make similar wounds on her arm. She repeated in turn as instructed, “Your body…Your mind…Your spirit.”

Kidreyli held her left arm up in front of her. She took Kaitra’s arm with her right hand and positioned their wrist wounds firmly together. Kaitra placed her right hand on Kidreyli’s arm and pushed in similar fashion.