Souls of Aredyrah 2 - The Search for the Unnamed One (29 page)

“Most have heeded the message,” Dayn said.
Then he grinned. “Some hunters returned from the forest today with
three bucks in tow. It appears the wildlife is returning. That’s
probably what you smelled.”

Reiv licked his lips in response to the
thought of venison.

Dayn laughed. “Alicine is roasting some on
the spit. You’d better get your share before it’s gone.”

Dayn headed out to spread the word about the
meeting while Reiv practically raced to the campfire by the
shelter. Just as Dayn had said, Alicine was turning a spit heavy
with venison. Reiv walked up quietly and stood at her back,
recalling the words he had said to her the last time they spoke.
Nerves clutched hold of his stomach, accentuating the hunger that
lingered there. He hadn’t given her a chance to react to his
unexpected comment before. How in the world was she going to react
now that it had sunk in?

“That smells good,” he said, trying to push
the other thought from his mind.

Alicine started at the sound of his voice and
spun to face him. Though bathed in shadow, her face seemed to
blush. She pushed a stray hair from her eyes. “Reiv,” she said.

“Did I surprise you?” he asked.

“Always.”

He walked toward the fire and eyed the meat,
glinting a savage desire to rip it from the spit. Alicine sliced a
piece for him and placed it on a chipped pottery plate, then handed
it to him.

He sat down, tossed the plate to the ground,
and held the meat with both hands as he sank his teeth into it.

“Careful, it’s hot,” Alicine said.

Reiv hadn’t really noticed, but dropped the
meat back onto the plate and accepted the utensils she thrust into
his hands. Based on the condition of his empty stomach, the fork
and knife would be too bothersome, but he used them anyway, more
for Alicine’s satisfaction than for the protection of his
fingers.

When he finished, he wiped the grease from
his mouth and glanced around. “Where is everyone?”

“Brina and Nannaven are with Mya. And Dayn…”
Alicine craned her neck. “Where did he go anyway?”

“Oh, he went to get a message to the clans.
Whyn has called a meeting for in the morning. It looks like the
agreement will be drawn up and signed. Hopefully there will be no
problems. Tearia is in a poor state. He would be foolish to
delay.”

“So your brother’s well then?”

“He survives. That is all I can say for him
at the moment.”

“And the rest of your family?”

Reiv stared into the fire, the heat of it
adding to the flush he felt in his cheeks. “Mother is dead…an uncle
missing…some distant cousins survived…but Cinnia did not.”

Alicine followed his gaze to the flames. “I’m
sorry,” she said.

Reiv rose to face her. “No, it is I who am
sorry, sorry for calling you by her name that time we…Well, anyway,
I did not realize what I was saying. Or what I was doing.”

“I didn’t realize what you were saying,
either, although I was pretty sure what you were doing.” Alicine
smiled awkwardly. “I thought you were saying we were committing a
sin. That’s what made me realize we were. I’m glad you said
it.”

“Is that what you thought we were doing?
Sinning?”

Alicine lowered her eyes. “It’s a sin for a
boy and a girl not married to touch each other like that.”

“I see. Well,” Reiv said, “I would never want
to lead you into sin, Alicine. You are far too important to
me.”

Alicine placed a hand on his arm. “Reiv, what
you said earlier. Did you mean it?”

“Of course.” He looked at the hand resting
upon his arm and felt a tingle. “Goosy bumps,” he said.

“What?”

“Dayn once said something about goosy bumps.
I did not understand what he was referring to. It was not an
expression I was familiar with.”

Alicine ran her fingers across the tiny bumps
blanketing his arm. “Oh, you mean goose bumps. So I give you goose
bumps, do I?” She had an unusually mischievous tone, leaving Reiv
feeling somewhat flustered.

“Yes, you do,” he said, pulling his arm away,
“but that must be as far as the bumps go until you no longer feel
it is a sin.” He turned and took a step. “I think I will go find
Dayn. The clans will have questions.” Then he disappeared into the
blur of the encampment.

****

The meeting between the Tearians and the
Jecta took place where the battle had been fought. All the clan
representatives attended, including Torin who had received the
message about the meeting in the middle of the night. He had
arrived with little time to spare, but the Shell Seekers would have
been represented even without him; Reiv would have stood in his
place if need be. All the conditions set forth by the Jecta were
met without protest. They asked for nothing more than the rights
the Tearians had always enjoyed. It was understood that the
adjustments would be difficult; old habits and prejudices were hard
to break. While they realized much work lay ahead, there was an air
of giddy excitement within both camps. A new age had begun for
all.

Reiv, Torin, and Dayn arrived back at the
encampment in a festive mood. Brina, Alicine, and Nannaven had
prepared a simple, but in their minds lavish, feast of beet and
venison stew, flat breads, and wine. Dayn, who had once hated
beets, seemed to have forgotten his previous disdain for them and
was working on his third helping. Reiv sat beside him, staring into
a mug with distaste.

“What’s wrong with it?” Dayn asked. He leaned
over and peered into Reiv’s mug as if expecting to find a bug
swimming in it.

“Wine no longer suits me,” Reiv said.

“I’ll take it, then,” Dayn said, holding out
his hand. “I seem to have acquired a taste for it since becoming a
Jecta.”

“Perhaps we need to have a talk, little
cousin.”

Dayn laughed. “Some of us can just hold their
spirits better than others.”

Reiv scowled in playful irritation, then
shoved his mug into Dayn’s outstretched hand.

Torin plopped down beside the two boys with a
plate full of stew in hand. “Have you told him yet?” he asked Reiv
between chews.

“No, but I guess now is as good a time as
any,” Reiv said. “Dayn, I will be going back to Meirla with Torin
in the morning. Everything is going well here and I think it is
time I went home.”

Dayn choked on a swallow of wine. “Back to
Meirla? Tomorrow?” He glanced around for Alicine who could be seen
huddled with the women, chattering away. His face grew solemn.
“Have you told Alicine yet?”

“No, but I will. Perhaps after we finish
eating.”

“Well,” Dayn said, “if you tell her now, I’ll
be assured of another helping. She won’t have any appetite once you
tell her.” He forced a laugh, though he clearly did not find it all
that amusing.

When they finished eating, Reiv rose and made
his way over to the women. He stood there awkwardly then said,
“Alicine, may I speak with you privately?”

Brina regarded him with knowing eyes, for he
had told her earlier of his planned departure. She stepped aside
and hooked her arm through Nannaven’s, then ushered the old woman
away.

Reiv stared at the ground for a moment and
stabbed his toe at the sand like a boy having to confess an
indiscretion. He folded his arms. “I am going back to Meirla with
Torin in the morning,” he finally said.

At first Alicine’s expression seemed
strangely distant, but then a weak smile formed on her lips. “I
knew you would eventually. I wish it wasn’t so soon, but I guess I
understand.”

Her words put him at ease and he released a
slow breath of relief. “I was worried you would be angry.”

“I can’t be angry with you about that
anymore. Meirla is your home. We’ll see each other again…at least…”
She turned her face away in an attempt to hide the tears pooling in
her eyes.

Reiv took her chin and turned her face toward
his. “Of course we will see each other again. It is not so far
away.”

She lowered her eyes, giving him the
impression there was more to it. “Is there something you are not
telling me, Alicine?”

“Dayn and I will be leaving soon. I don’t say
that to spite you. Not like I did before. But it’s time for us to
go home, too.”

Reiv felt as though the wind had been knocked
out of him. He had thought of his departure to Meirla as a
temporary separation, but now…His eyes shot over to Dayn, who was
still seated next to Torin beneath the canopy. Dayn must have felt
his attention upon him because he looked up at Reiv, then swallowed
guiltily and turned his head away.

“When are you going?” Reiv asked, struggling
to keep his voice steady.

“Maybe in a week or so, when we’re sure Brina
is all right. Dayn hasn’t told her yet. I doubt she’ll handle it
well.”

“She must come to Meirla, then,” Reiv said.
He worked to draw some saliva into his dry mouth, then grabbed a
nearby mug of wine and swigged it back. “Come to Meirla before you
go,” he said after he had swallowed, “and bring Brina with
you.”

Alicine nodded and Reiv excused himself,
claiming the need for a moment of personal privacy. He didn’t know
where he was going as he headed away. His feet were moving one in
front of the other, but they were not in his control. His mind was
too wrapped up in other things to concern itself with
destinations.

****

The next morning Reiv prepared to leave for
Meirla with Torin. The two of them didn’t have any possessions to
gather up, so preparations were more mental than physical. Reiv
made excuse after excuse to delay their departure. He hated the
thought of saying goodbye to Dayn and Alicine, even though he knew
it was inevitable.

Earlier that morning he had said farewell to
Alicine privately. The sun had not yet risen when he motioned her
from the tent and away from the sleeping others. He had not been
able to sleep at all, and apparently she hadn’t either. The two of
them slipped into the filmy gray of pre-dawn, but when they stopped
to face each other, their tongues grew still. To break the awkward
silence, Reiv gathered Alicine’s hands into his and mumbled
something. He recalled refusing to say the word “goodbye.” There
would be time enough for that when she and Dayn left for Kirador.
Regretfully, he did not attempt a kiss, and after some time Alicine
turned away, claiming the need to go check on the fever patient.
But Reiv knew the sadness in her eyes was not for the child.

The sun was high in the sky now, and Reiv
could come up with no more excuses to linger. Alicine had not
returned, he had not really expected her to, and Torin, having
already said his goodbyes to Brina, Dayn, and Nannaven, had gone to
bid farewell to Mya and her children. Reiv was to meet him at the
crossroads and knew Torin was probably already waiting for him
there. Reiv could risk no more delay; he was going to get a dose of
Torin’s temper as it was.

Brina was kneeling over the cooking stone,
scraping up the last of the flatbreads she had insisted Reiv take
with him. Dayn sat cross-legged nearby, quietly sharpening a knife,
refusing to meet Reiv’s eyes. Nannaven was rummaging in her bag of
personal items, muttering to herself, as was her habit. She pulled
out the tome she kept hidden there and hobbled over to Reiv. The
book and an old burlap sack were clutched in her hands.

Nannaven ushered Reiv from the tent, glancing
from side to side. Even though there was no longer a need to keep
the book secret, she clearly did not want anyone witnessing her
conversation with Reiv.

“You must take this with you,” she said,
thrusting the book into his hands.

Reiv ran his eyes over the strange runes
chiseled into the leather cover. “But, Spirit Keeper, I do not know
how to read it. It is written in symbols I do not understand.”

“You must learn the words, Reiv, but more
importantly, you must learn their meaning.”

“How? I will be in Meirla and you will be
here.”

“There is no time for doubt, boy. You have
work to do. Don’t forget, a serpent sheds its skin to be born
again.”

She drew his gaze to hers, her meaning clear.
Reiv nodded, swallowing hard.

Nannaven held out the bag to him, and Reiv
dropped the book into it. She smiled and wrapped her thin arms
around him. “Goodbye, Reiv,” she whispered.

“Goodbye,” he said. And he knew it was.

BACK TO ToC

Chapter 28: Departures

T
he morning sky was
brilliant blue, but Reiv would have preferred a rainy day. Not only
would it have better matched his mood, but it would have erased any
chance for visitors. It had been several days since his return to
Meirla, and with each new dawn he had awoken in fear that Dayn and
Alicine would arrive. He knew he should be happy at the thought of
seeing them again, but he also knew their arrival would mean only
one thing—departure.

He sat at the workbench inside the hut,
trying to keep busy with a drilling tool. He didn’t have enough
skill to make fine jewelry, the scars on his hands hindered his
dexterity, but the concentration required to drill holes and string
shells at least kept his mind off of other concerns.

Kerrik bounded in. “Reiv! Reiv! Guess who’s
here!” Even the boy’s splinted arm and bandaged ribs could not stop
his youthful gyrations.

“Who?” Reiv asked, but he already knew.

“Brina’s here, and Dayn, and Alicine!”

“Oh, are they now?” Reiv set the crafting
tool aside and rose from the bench. He wiped his hands down the
cloth wrapped around his hips. “Well then, let us go greet
them.”

Kerrik skipped out while Reiv took a calming
breath and followed him through the doorway. Dayn, Alicine, and
Brina could be seen coming up the road, all three of them on
horseback. Brina, Reiv noticed, was riding Gitta. He could not help
but grin. Dayn waved and Reiv returned the gesture as he advanced
to meet them. Alicine was dressed in her Summer Maiden gown, its
golden material clean, but wrinkled. Dayn had on his Kiradyn wool
bottoms and moss-green tunic, but was not wearing his boots.