Promising Light (30 page)

Matilda stood by her stove, her
arms crossed, glaring at Sierra. When she saw Evan, her eyes
widened. “Good lord.” She looked at Dar. “It’s really
him?”

Dar nodded. “We’ve got Mahri magic
to prove it.”

Matilda stared at Evan, her hand
over her mouth. “Everyone… you’ve been dead for two
years.”

“Can we get on with it?” Sierra
said.

Matilda ignored her for a moment,
then nodded and said, “Get in a circle, join hands.” Dar took
Grace’s hand in one of his and Evan’s in the other. “No magic, no
trail, concealed conversation, right? About a week?”

Dar nodded in confirmation. He
looked down at Grace’s hand while Matilda walked around them,
speaking the Cosa language. Grace seemed to be holding his hand as
loosely as she could, and she watched Matilda, even as Matilda
brushed her chest up against Dar unnecessarily. Grace met Dar’s
eyes and glanced away.

“All right,” Matilda said a few
minutes later. “It’s done. How many Protectors should I be
expecting?”

“I don’t know,” Dar said as Grace
let go of his hand. “You’ll be all right?”

Matilda leaned on the table,
crossing her arms, pushing her bosom up. She opened her mouth to
speak, but Sierra said, “Of course, she’s probably still working
with them.”

Matilda glared at her. “You still
believe that?”

Sierra turned to Dar. “Can we
go?”

“And I see you’re still pushing
everyone around,” Matilda said.

“Stop it,” Dar said. He looked
from Sierra to Matilda. “Just be careful.”

“I should probably move again.”
Matilda motioned to Grace. “The Protectors want her a
lot.”

Dar narrowed his eyes; he felt
Sierra glaring at him, accusing him of telling Matilda
everything.

Matilda smiled slyly. “What? You
think I don’t keep up with things these days?” She approached him.
“You’re lucky I even helped you; they’ll be tearing this place
apart soon. But it was for old time’s sake.” She stepped even
closer. “Remember? Before Sierra ruined everything between
us?”

Sierra groaned. “I’m waiting
outside.”

“We’re leaving,” Dar said. “Thank
you, Matilda. Be careful.”

“It was good seeing you,” Matilda
said. She kissed him on the cheek, then caught Evan’s hand. “And
you.” She let go when she saw Sierra standing in the door, glaring
at her. “Really, I’m glad you made it.”

Evan just nodded and walked out the
door, taking Sierra’s hand. Grace went next, giving Matilda quiet
thanks, and Dar left last, looking over his shoulder at Matilda as
she shut the door.

“We better not regret this,”
Sierra said, mounting her horse.

Dar nodded. He couldn’t agree with
her more.

* * *

Chapter
Seventeen

The four of them moved their horses
to behind the church before joining hands. Dar looked at the group
around him, three of the people he cared most for in the world. He
thought he’d lost them all, but here they were on a blind mission.
“So, why the ancient texts?” he asked.

Sierra nodded to Evan. He told Dar
of his visions and dreams in captivity, staring at his horse while
he spoke. Dar and Sierra exchanged worried glances. That’s what
they were going off of? Evan’s dreams? Evan looked at him sharply
when he was done talking, as though daring him to defy
him.

“We don’t have anything more
concrete?” Dar asked carefully.

“We’ve known for
years that the ancient texts held secrets about our family,” Evan
replied. “And now I know what kind of secrets. They
will
help us, Dar.” He
motioned to Grace. “I saw her!”

“You saw blonde hair. We’re
risking our lives going after these—”

“I know that!” Evan shot at him.
He averted his eyes again. “And I wouldn’t—I swear I wouldn’t ask
you to do that unless I was completely sure.
Completely.”

Dar glanced at Grace, who was
studying Evan. She caught his gaze on her and cleared her throat.
“We all want to help the Avialies,” she said slowly, “and this
seems to be the best way.”

Evan lips moved in what Dar thought
was a smile. “Thank you.”

“All right,” Dar said. He’d go
along with this. What other option did he have? While Grace was
with Evan and Sierra, he would be, too. “So, where are we
going?”

“On the way, we decided that Evan
would go ahead to talk to Jeshro and Lisbeth,” Grace
said.

Sierra shook her head. “I still
think—”

“We need to tell them what’s going
on,” Evan said.

“And the rest of us are going to
go to Vin and Amina’s,” Grace said before Sierra could respond.
“Evan will tell the elders where we are and contact us when he
reaches them. Or we’ll contact him depending on how long we
wait.”

“Maybe I should go instead,” Dar
said, keeping his voice light.

“If anything happens, you’re a
better fighter,” Evan said. He stopped and really smiled this time.
Dar couldn’t believe the transformation, how much he looked like
himself. “Well, no, you’re not the better fighter, not by far, but
you are in better physical shape.”

Dar grinned back at him. “Whatever
you say.”

His expression sobered somewhat.
“And you’re a better liar if you run into the
Protectors.”

“Maybe I should go with you,
Evan,” Sierra said.

He shook his head. “You’ll slow me
down.”

She let out a huff of exasperation.
“Really? You don’t think I’m in better shape than you?”

“Not if I’m a horse or any other
quick animal.”

Dar could see the worry coming onto
Sierra’s face. “That’ll suck up a lot of your energy, Evan,” she
said.

“I’m not a child, Sierra,” Evan
replied with sudden fierceness. Dar exchanged an embarrassed look
with Grace, half-wondering when to jump in, half-hoping they’d work
it out among themselves. “I go to Belisha and tell them what’s
going on. Simple.”

Dar didn’t know if Evan would have
the energy to do it, but he had to have hope in his cousin’s
determination. It had gotten him plenty before; it had to work this
time. “And what about after you give the message?”

Evan paused. “Whatever gets me back
to Sierra the quickest.” He looked at her, and they shared a
smile.

“You remember where Vin and Amina
live?” Dar asked.

“Of course,” Evan said with a nod,
his eyes on Sierra.

“Be careful,” Sierra said. “I… I
don’t want to lose you again.”

Evan kissed her knuckles. “You
won’t.” He looked around at Grace and Dar. “So, that’s it then?
I’ll see you at Vin and Amina’s?”

“Yes,” Dar said. “If Jeshro asks,
you’ll have to tell him Grace and I still believe in the prophecy.”
He glanced at Grace. “Is that all right with you?”

She nodded. “That’d be
best.”

“Okay, then,” Evan said, letting
go of Dar’s hand. “I’ll change in the woods. Stay safe,
Dar.”

They went into the woods near the
village, and Evan and Sierra withdrew to say goodbye. Grace watched
them, frowning, and while her eyes were diverted, Dar changed into
a muscular blond man. She glanced at him and caught the last of his
change. Her mouth fell open, and she backed away a bit.

“What do you think?” Dar asked. He
shook his head and changed his vocal chords to a deeper
voice.

“That’s… amazing.” Grace smirked.
“Your clothes are a bit tight.”

Dar looked down at his chest, his
shirt stretched over his muscles. His Avialie abilities could
change clothes on his form, so he lengthened the fabric so they fit
over his broad shoulders.

“Do you wish you always looked
like that?” Grace asked.

Dar faked indignation. “How dare
you. Dar Silva is much more handsome than Ira
Herlonsen.”

“Is that your new
name?”

“What do you think?”

Grace shrugged, her eyes sparkling.
“Do you just make up people? Is that someone’s real face, or did
you… create it yourself?”

He nodded. “Once you get to a
certain age, you could look like anybody. A lot of the times you
end up looking more like someone who exists rather than someone who
doesn’t, just because of the way our minds work. Ira Herlonson is
completely my creation. Although I suppose someone out there could
look like him and I’d never know.”

She stared at him in fascination.
He almost enjoyed the attention. He liked impressing
her.

Sierra came out, Evan’s empty horse
now tied to hers. “He left,” she said quietly. “Let’s
go.”

Their morning was long and quiet.
Dar could tell the girls and their horses were tired, but they
pressed on until lunch. An hour after they ate at a small village,
they approached a cluster of trees, and Grace said, “Fine, I’ll be
the first one to ask for a break. Can we please stop?”

Sierra looked grateful, and they
all dismounted and sat under the shade. Sierra lay down on the
grass, turning her back to them.

Grace, on the other side of Dar,
yawned. “How long do you think we can rest?”

Dar looked up at the sky; the
position of the sun told him it was probably a little past noon. It
all depended on where the Protectors thought she might be. If they
thought she’d been kidnapped, if she’d set off for Shyra or
Belisha…

“A couple hours,” he said. His
deep voice still surprised him.

Grace lay down in the grass,
looking up at him as he sat down and leaned against one of the
trees. “Who was that Cosa?” she asked quietly.

“Her name was Matilda.”

Grace glanced past Dar’s lap; Dar
could see Sierra was asleep. “How did you all know her?”

“She lived in Shyra… she moved
there when we were eleven or so,” Dar said.

“Why doesn’t Sierra trust
her?”

Dar paused, looking at his bulky
hands and thick fingers. “That’s a long story. They were friends
once, but then…” He shrugged. “A lot of things
happened.”

“Then why do you trust
her?”

He looked down at Grace; her head
rested on one of her arms, the other hand playing with a loose
thread on Dar’s pants. Her eyes were drooping, but when he didn’t
respond at first, she met his eyes. “Well?” she asked.

“She hates the Protectors,” he
said, looking away. “They killed her parents… her dad when she was
young because he wouldn’t help them, and her mom later… when
everything with Sierra and Sashe happened.” Matilda blamed Sierra
for it, and Sierra blamed Matilda. He wished he hadn’t been the one
to reunite them, wished it could have just stayed in the past, but
her magic was invaluable.

“I thought Cosas only revealed and
hid things,” Grace said after a moment. “Why’d she have those
potions?”

He wanted to ask where she heard
that. She’d obviously learned things since they’d last spoken in
Belisha. “She’s both Cosa and Mahri.”

“Lisbeth said pureblooded Avialies
have more power.”

“That’s true. It might have been
true for Matilda, too, but her parents were both powerful. She’s
quite strong because of them.” Dar lowered his voice when she let
out a huge yawn. “You should get some sleep.”

Grace closed her eyes. Dar had the
urge to brush some of her hair away from her face, but he knotted
his hands in front of him and looked away.

“You’ll wake us up soon?” Grace
whispered.

“Yeah, I will.”

A moment later, she fell asleep,
her chest raising in steady moments. He was still hoping for a way
out of this, a way to assure their safety, but he hadn’t seen one
yet.

* * *

A couple hours passed, and Dar had
to wake the others up. As peaceful as they looked, they had to keep
going. “Sorry,” he apologized as Grace rubbed her eyes.

“It’s all right,” she
said.

He held his hand out to help her
up; she hesitated, staring at his wide form, then took his help.
This form was at least a couple inches shorter than Dar’s natural
form; it was odd to almost be on eye level with her.

After they woke, they galloped for
hours, stopping only to relieve themselves or refill their skins.
They talked little, saving their energy for their spurts of
galloping and coaxing Evan’s horse to keep up the pace.

Late afternoon, they reached the
village where Vin and Amina lived. It was a small settlement just
past the border of Shyra. The sun was low in the sky, and the
village was quiet. They dismounted and walked the horses through
the dirt road. Dar didn’t want to be in the open, but this was the
only way to Vin and Amina’s cottage without going through the
potato fields.

They approached the cottage, built
of wood, straw, and stone. Their garden on the side had a few
summer plants and flowers growing, red berries and purple flowers.
Sierra knocked on the door, and it took a few minutes for someone
to come.