Promising Light (54 page)

“How does it feel?” Evan asked
Sierra.

“A little painful,” Sierra
said.

Evan rubbed her on the arm. “We can
stop and rest.”

“No, I’m fine. I can hardly feel
it.”

“Should she walk on it?” Evan
asked Matilda.

Matilda hesitated. “You may want to
rest, Sierra.”

“I’m fine,” Sierra said
sharply.

Less than twenty minutes later, she
was shuffling her feet, lagging behind the others. Evan walked with
her, and whenever they offered to stop and rest, she refused. Her
words became less and less intelligible, and she finally stopped
walking completely. Evan eased her onto a nearby rock. Grace bit
the inside of her lip in worry as they stopped to drink. The water
in their skins was warm. Everything was warm: the air, Grace’s
clothes, the water.

Grace turned to Dar. “How’s your
stomach?”

Dar shrugged, pulling his hand away
from his stomach. She raised his shirt to look at the bandage and
frowned when she saw the blood stain had spread, nearly covering
the fabric.

“Oh, no,” she breathed.

“It’s okay,” Dar said, touching
her hair.

“Don’t do that.” She shied away
from him. “It’s not okay. Let’s put some new fabric on
it.”

As she changed his fabric, rain
began to drizzle down from the sky. She tied the bandage tight, and
he thanked her quietly. They joined the others. Sierra was
shivering in the falling rain, mumbling in slurred
words.

“Are you sure this is going to
work?” Evan asked Matilda.

“I’m sure,” Matilda said, though
she didn’t sound like it.

“Well, she can’t move like this,”
he said.

“Let’s set up a shelter and stay
dry while the rain falls,” Lee said.

They were soaked by the time the
shelter was up. Lee, Matilda, and Grace built a frame from fallen
branches and a roof of palm fronds, branches, and large leaves.
Evan watched over Sierra, and Dar leaned against a tree, his eyes
closed. Grace kept checking up on him to make sure he was still
conscious. When they were under the shelter, she pulled her boots
off and shook sand and dirt from between her toes. They huddled
together, waiting for the rain to let up and for Sierra to get well
again.

With each minute that passed, Dar’s
breathing became more laborious. Sierra soon had a fever, and she
was speaking nonsense.

Grace watched Dar’s face pale, his
eyes close, and she kept waking him up. “Don’t fall asleep,” she
told him.

The way to save his life would be
with the Protectors. As backward as it seemed, if William was with
the Protectors, if he could protect her as he’d said, then maybe he
could protect Dar, as well. It was such a small hope, but she’d be
willing to do anything to keep Dar alive. But how could she
possibly convince the Protectors and William to keep her and Dar
alive?

Evan asked Matilda if she was sure
about the potion at least six times before Grace said, “We have to
do something. Dar’s not going to make it.”

“What do you mean?” Lee asked. “I
thought it wasn’t that bad.”

“It’s deep,” Grace said. “It’s
still bleeding. It’s not just his skin; I’m sure my father injured
something inside of him.” She took a deep breath to fight off
tears. “If we can find the Protectors…”

“Grace, we came here to find the
ancient texts,” Matilda said.

“They’re probably near the ancient
texts. Maybe if I went and made some kind of deal—”

Matilda rose her voice. “You’re the
one we need!”

“You can’t believe that prophecy.”
She said this, yet the image of the waterfall from Lisbeth’s vision
lingered in her mind.

“Don’t do this now, when we’re so
close—”

“He’s going to die!” she yelled.
She looked at Dar, who was still conscious, but barely, so he
wasn’t even saying anything. “I have to go get help,” Grace said,
pulling on her boots. “We never should have come into this blasted
forest in the first place.” She started to leave, but Dar caught
her hand.

“Grace,” Dar said hoarsely. “Don’t
do this for me.”

“We have to find the ancient
texts,” Sierra whispered.

Everyone looked at her in surprise.
She was just as pale as Dar, perhaps more, as she slowly sat up.
“Grace, Matilda’s right.”

Evan chuckled. “You know
something’s important when these two are agreeing.”

Grace was fairly sure it was the
first joke she’d heard from him. Sierra smiled weakly at him. “We
should keep moving. I feel better.”

They moved out of the shelter, even
though it was still raining. Sierra was weak at first, but she
gained her strength back quickly, encouraging the others, letting
Dar lean on her from time to time. Grace was grateful she was all
right, but she couldn’t stop worrying about Dar. She couldn’t stop
thinking about how she might react if he died. What if he died and
the Protectors already had the ancient texts and it was for
nothing? But they were losing time; if they didn’t find the ancient
texts soon, then the Protectors surely would, and Dar’s death would
really be for nothing.

The river rushed ahead of them, and
soon Grace could hear a rushing noise. It grew louder as they wove
through the plants, then a small clearing stretched ahead of
them.

The water was flowing from a lake,
and coming from the hills was a roaring waterfall. The roaring rush
of water fell from a cliff and landed in the lake in a cloud of
mist. She could see the sky for the first time in hours, even if it
meant she was getting rained on harder than before.

Grace stared at the beautiful
sight. She’d seen this before. In Lisbeth’s vision. In her dreams
since then. In her mind as she read over what she’d written that
day in Belisha.

“I can feel…” Lee trailed off.
“The Protectors are nearby.”

“What? Where?” Grace
asked.

“Follow me,” he said.

He set off to the right, into the
vegetation. They fought through the plants. Grace held Dar’s hand,
helping him through the thick plants. He stumbled repeatedly, and
he and Grace nearly lost sight of the others, but Matilda stopped
and waited for them.

Lee led them to another creek that
had branched off from the lake. The rain was lessening. Grace
couldn’t wait to be dry again.

He pointed to a set of rocks ahead.
“There’s a cave up there. I’m not close enough to hear the tiger
himself, but I can hear the other animals referencing to
it.”

“How should we approach it?” Evan
asked.

Lee bit his lip, watching the area.
Grace thought she could see where a cave might be; the rocks ended
in odd places, dark spots yawning open. “But where are the
Protectors?” she asked.

“Somewhere nearby,” he said
breathlessly. “God, this place is giving me a headache.”

“We’ll be out of here soon,” Grace
said, touching his arm.

He gave her a weak smile. “I think
I’m going to just try walking over there.”

“What? That doesn’t sound safe at
all,” Matilda said.

“Look, George said they completely
left him alone. He said they kept him safe from the Protectors. He
was here for a couple months. As long as I make my presence known,
he won’t feel threatened.”

“But what if he does?” Matilda
asked. “If we lose you, we can’t communicate with him.”

“I’ll be fine,” Lee said, his
voice shaky. “I’ll be fine. Just wait here. Make some kind of
signal if you think the Protectors are nearby. A whistle or
something.”

“Be careful,” Sierra
said.

Lee nodded and set off through the
vegetation. They watched as he approached the rocks. He stopped
fifty feet from the entrance, raising his hands. Grace held her
breath. He slowly moved forward.

Just as he disappeared into the
gaps between the rocks, they heard human voices.

* * *

Chapter
Thirty-Two

Dar’s grip tightened on Grace’s
wrist, and she peered around.

“Up there,” Matilda whispered,
pointing to the edge of the lake.

A small group of men were gathered
around the rocky shore, about five hundred feet away. Grace counted
six; they stood next to the lake and seemed to be arguing. From
such a distance, she couldn’t tell if she recognized any. She
squinted her eyes. One might be Kilar, the man who’d shown up at
her house with Tisha to talk to her father. He’d suggested the love
potion and the Thieran magic.

“Where did they come from?” Evan
asked.

They obviously hadn’t come from the
river. Glancing around, Grace saw a spot to the left of the
waterfall. The vegetation was destroyed, a path forced through the
plants. She pointed it out to the others.

“So, they haven’t found the tiger
yet?” Matilda asked. “But if they came the way we did, what are
they doing over there?”

“There’s probably more than one
tiger,” Grace said. “George said he stayed with one or
two.”

“I’m going to whistle to let Lee
know,” Sierra said. She put her hands over her mouth and made a low
whistle. To Grace, it sounded just like an animal, but Lee would
know the difference. She glanced toward the group of Protectors.
Would they know? They had to have a Boren or they wouldn’t come
here seeking the tigers.

One of the men looked over. Grace
ducked quickly. She doubted they could see them through the thick
vegetation, but she heard shouts rise up.

Sierra swore, taking out her
dagger. Dar tried to get to his feet, but he stumbled. Grace caught
him, saying, “Just sit down, Dar.”

“They’re coming over,” Matilda
said.

“I’m sorry, I thought—” Sierra
began.

“You two take Dar into the cave,
we’ll hold them off,” Evan said.

“No,” Sierra said, her eyes
widening.

“Both of you need to go. Don’t
worry about us. Find out how to break the curse.”

“Evan, I’m not leav—”

He took Sierra’s face in his hands
and kissed her.

“Wait, Matilda,” Grace said. She
grabbed Matilda’s arm and whispered, “How does the love potion
work?”

Matilda stared at her. “Is this
really the time?”

“Please.”

“You say the name of the person
you want to fall in love with just before you drink it,” Matilda
said. “Don’t do anything stupid; love potions aren’t to be played
with.”

“I want to help,” Dar said from
behind them. He stood and swayed on his feet.

Matilda fought through the plants,
and Evan and Sierra broke away. Evan went after Matilda, and Dar
tried to, but Sierra and Grace took his arms and put them over
their shoulders.

“This would be a good time to
change,” Grace said in a weak attempt as a joke.

“Not enough strength,” Dar
said.

Matilda fired an arrow from her
crossbow, one she’d been sharpening as they’d walked. Grace had
hoped they wouldn’t need them, but now she was glad Matilda thought
of it. Sierra and Grace half-pulled, half-carried Dar across the
muddy ground to the rocks. Grace just hoped they weren’t running
from the Protectors to face a feral tiger.

“Lee!” Sierra called when they
reached the collection of rocks. The wall of rocks rose high,
trickles of water streaming down from the cliff above
them.

Grace saw an opening in the rocks,
and she motioned with her head. Lee came out of the opening as
Sierra and Grace brought Dar closer, and he called, “What’s
wrong?”

“Protectors heard us,” Grace said.
“Is it safe here?”

Lee nodded and came to help with
Dar. He led them into a dank cave. The light faded as they went
deeper. Fifty feet in, Lee propped Dar up against the wall. Grace
glanced around; the back of the cave disappeared into darkness; she
could hardly make out the opposite wall.

“Where are Matilda and Evan?” Lee
asked.

“Holding off the Protectors,”
Sierra said, looking over her shoulder at the cave opening. “Are
there tigers here?”

“Yes.” Lee motioned toward the
back of the cave. “He’s hurt. He was going to lead the Protectors
to the texts, but when he found out they weren’t Avialies, he
attacked their Boren. He has a few arrows in him, and he ran here
to protect the ancient texts.”

Grace stared at Lee’s dirty face,
her mouth falling open. “They’re here?”

“Yes,” Lee said, his blue eyes
wide.

What happened after the waterfall
in Lisbeth’s vision? She’d memorized the sequence of images over
their trip through the mountains. The hands clasping, then walking
out of the cave. Was this the cave?

Sierra had been fashioning a torch
from a branch and an old shirt. She lit the fabric with her flint,
and a dim orange light filled the cave. The flame grew, and Grace
saw the creature lying in the back of the cave. He was larger than
any animal she’d seen aside from a horse. His bright orange coat
was stained with blood from two arrows in his side, and he heaved
breath in and out.