Tyler's Story (Tales of Quelondain) (18 page)

John walked into Tyler’s room and grinned at the
scene before him. Heidi’s dress lay in a heap on the floor and she
lay on her back, covered to the waist by the blankets, her upper
half covered by the white tunic she’d borrowed from Tyler. Tyler
lay on his side, his arm across her chest, her hand in his, his
tanned upper body dark against the white of her tunic. She rolled
toward him with a sigh and Tyler moved so he could pull her
close.

“Tyler.” John whispered as quietly as he could. His
friend tensed, opened his eyes, and relaxed at the sight of the
older Maj. He glanced down at Heidi, kissed her softly, and managed
to get out of bed without waking her.

John closed the door behind them and raised an
eyebrow at Tyler. “You know, I’m not in the habit of getting
redressed when I’m lying with a beautiful woman.”

Tyler looked up from lacing his boots. “Nothing
happened.”

“In the name of the moons, why not?”

“I’ve already told you, John. I can’t get in any
deeper. She needs to go home.”

John growled low in his throat. “It may not be my
place to say, but I’m fairly sure you’re as deep as you can
possibly get.”

“You’re right. It’s not your place.” Tyler stood.

“If you’re so bound and determined that she’s not
supposed to stay here, then answer me this… what would have
happened to her had anyone else found her?”

“She’d have starved, been killed, or found a being
that would have taught her our ways.”

“And why is that?”

Tyler frowned. “Because once a human crosses, they
lose the little bit of magic they have.”

“Exactly. She’s not supposed to go back, Tyler.”

Tyler leaned back against the wall and closed his
eyes. “Why do you care so much, John? What difference does it make
to you whether she stays or not.”

“Because I see you. Because the only time you’re
relaxed and happy is when she’s around.”

Tyler took a deep breath. “I promised I’d get her
home and that’s what I intend to do.” He pushed away from the wall.
“We’ll be leaving today.” He went back into his room and left John
out in the hallway.

He sat on the bed and ran his fingers through Heidi’s
hair. Could John be right? Was she meant to stay here?

“Heidi…” He bent kissed her cheek. “Heidi, wake up.
It’s time to get ready.”

“Where are we going?” She wiped the sleep out of her
eyes smiled sleepily up at him.

“Home. It’s time to get you home.”

Her smile slipped a bit. “You’re right. It’s time.”
She watched as he pulled on a clean tunic and did up his belt.

“I was hoping I could convince you of something.” He
turned toward her, his deep brown eyes slightly squinted with his
frown.

“Hmm?”

“I know I promised you we’d never displace again, but
we could get you home in three days if we used the stone as opposed
to two or three months if we walk.” He sat on the bed and took her
hand as her eyes widened and her face paled. “Heidi, I know it
feels horrible, but it’s not dangerous.”

She took a few deep breaths and looked at her hand in
his. “I wouldn’t mind a few more months with you.”

“Heidi, please. The longer you’re here, the harder it
will be to let you go. The fact that you have to go home won’t
change. The sooner we get you home, the better.” As he said the
words, his chest tightened. He blew a breath out of his nose. By
the moons, he was already at a point where he was questioning if he
was going to be able to do it.

She nodded and his heart dropped. “Alright.” Her
response was barely a whisper. She blinked and tears ran down her
cheeks.

Tyler wiped them away and hugged her close. “It’s
best this way,” he said softly. He held her until she stood and he
stood with her.

“I’ll go get you some clothes.” He left and
reappeared with some clean clothes from her room. She pulled on the
pants, turned to change tunics, then did up her belt and laced her
hiking boots, the only clothing she refused to exchange for
Quelondain wear. He held his hand out to her and she took the green
bandana from him. She tied it around her leg just above her right
knee.

“Don’t forget your dagger.” He reached over and put
it in its scabbard.

“I can’t keep it, Tyler.” She touched the hilt
softly.

“Yes, you can. It was a gift. You’re supposed to keep
those.” He handed her her pack and stuffed the rest of his clothing
into his own. “Ready?”

Heidi took a deep breath and nodded. Her heart was
pounding in her chest and she couldn’t decide if she was ecstatic
or devastated.

There was a knock on the door and Trista poked her
head into the room.

“Oh, thank the moons! John told me you were leaving
and I was scared I’d missed you!” She pulled Heidi into a hug and
both women started to cry. Tyler slipped out of the room and headed
outside.

“You’re packed a bit light to be heading on a two
month trip,” commented John.

“I convinced her to use the displacement stone. We’ll
be in Sageden in a few minutes.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I
can’t make up my mind if I’m dreading sending her home more, or if
it’s the thought of being home myself that’s making me want to
throw up.”

Bird flew out of the trees, landed on John’s
shoulder, and gave him a peck on the cheek. He smiled and petted
her little head.

“Take care of them.”

She bobbed her head and flew into the pocket of
Tyler’s pack. Tyler raised an eyebrow at his friend.

“Of the three of you, she’s the one with the most
sense.” John was smiling but his eyes were serious.

Tyler rolled his eyes and adjusted his packs. Heidi
and Trista appeared.

“Don’t forget to keep your sparring up to par.” John
hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.

Heidi swallowed hard. “Yeah, you never know when I
might run into a tlarrison over there.”

Tyler gave Trista a kiss on the nose. “Thanks again
for everything.”

She hugged him.

“Come back and visit.” John frowned.

Tyler smiled and hugged his friend. “I will.” He put
his hand into his pocket and pulled out the displacement stone then
held his hand out to Heidi. She took it and promptly let it go so
she could wrap her arms around him.

“I think I’m going to throw up,” she mumbled into his
chest. He smiled and kissed the top of her head.

“Just think about Sageden.”

He felt the stone start to warm in his hand, Heidi’s
arms tightened around him as the heat passed through her, and the
ground disappeared. The ground reappeared and he stood still, his
eyes closed. Heidi was shaking against him.

“Are you alright?” He held her tightly.

She nodded and looked up at him. He opened his
eyes.

“Are we here?”

He looked around and frowned. “I… well, we’re not in
the town itself.” He let go of her and took in their surroundings.
“Oh. My fault. I think I thought Sageden, but I thought home as
well.” He took her hand and led her into the cave they had appeared
beside.

“You live here?”

“No, not really. This is my cave. This is where I’ll
live if I ever decide to stay.” He smiled sadly. “Trent’s is a
day’s travel to the east.”

“So how far are we from your aunt’s clearing?”

“A day to the south. There’s a crossing just ten
minutes from here. It’s a shame we don’t have a cross gem with
us.”

Bird chirped and he saw a picture of his aunt. He
frowned.

“You’ll go get a stone?”

She bobbed her head.

“Alright.” He watched as she flew out of the cave.
“She can fly to my aunt’s clearing and back in a half a day. It
will save us some time.”

He took another look around the cave. “I’ll go hunt
so we can have something to eat while we wait.” He stepped out of
the entrance and fell to the ground as something hit him over the
head.

Heidi screamed, pulled her dagger and scrambled
backwards at the sight of four men wearing bows on their backs.

Tyler rolled onto his back, slashing up with his
dagger. One man hissed as it slipped over his arm. Another managed
to kick the blade from his hand, the next kick connecting with his
side. He groaned and tried to roll away only to receive another
kick from the other side. His breath left his lungs in a huff.

Heidi managed to cut the third man on the leg and he
stumbled. The fourth one knocked her to the side, causing her to
trip. He bent over her then fell backwards, her elbow connecting
with his nose as she rolled and tried to crawl toward Tyler. She
looked up and saw him under two of the men. One had his arms pinned
over his head while the other straddled him and rained punches on
his face and chest.

“Tyler!”

Heidi’s voice registered under the noise of the
knuckles hitting his face. He had to get out of this. He had to get
to her. With a grunt that turned into a deep growl he heaved with
all of his strength and pulled the man holding his arms over his
head and into the man straddling him. He used the momentum to sit
up and roll away from them, shifting into his wolf in the
process.

Heidi struggled to get away from the two men holding
her. A cry of pain made her look toward Tyler once again. The large
grey wolf crouched low, his hair standing on end, his teeth bared
with his snarl. A low growl rumbled through the cave. One of the
humans held his hand to his chest, the blood dripping onto the
floor of the cave. The men holding her moved around and Heidi found
herself face first on the ground, her arms tied behind her back.
One of them sat on her to hold her still. She watched as the second
of her captors notched an arrow in his bow and pulled it back.

“No!”

The arrow cut through the air and Tyler yelped as it
dug into his hind leg. His opponents jumped on him, one of them
tying a rope around his neck. Tyler shifted back with a scream, the
arrow doing more damage as he changed shape. His hands went to the
rope around his neck just as his head rocked back with the impact
of another punch.

“Heidi!” The spots in his line of vision were
starting to take over. He couldn’t black out. If he did, they were
dead. A fist connected with his jaw and the rope tightened around
his neck as they dragged him from the cave. The combination of lack
of oxygen and the beating he was receiving started to take its
toll. He could feel the blood running down his face, down his leg.
The arrow caught on a rock and he screamed as it pulled against the
wound before breaking off. He tried to concentrate on keeping his
fingers between the rope and his throat. He doubled over and lost
his grip on it as a boot connected with his chest.

“Tyler!” Heidi pushed back against the man who had
brought her out to watch what was happening.

“No worries, girly, this is what freaks deserve.
You’re with your kind now.”

“No!” She struggled against him as the others tied
Tyler to a tree trunk by his neck then tied his hands backwards
around it. His head hung as much as the rope would let it, the
blood dripping onto his lap. His hair was wet with it. He groaned
and tried to pull against the ropes.

She stomped her foot onto the man’s and managed to
break free of his hold. She ran to Tyler, kneeling beside him. She
leaned into him and tried to hold his head up with hers.

“Tyler, oh, god, Tyler, please!”

“Heidi.” She barely heard her name leave his lips.
“Heidi, I…”

Whatever he was about to tell her was lost in the
breeze as one of the men hauled her away.

“No! You can’t just leave him like that!” She tried
to pull away. “He’s going to die out here! Please!” Her face
exploded with pain as the man slapped her.

“You’ll do best to learn to keep quiet.”

She looked back one last time before Tyler
disappeared from view. Sobs shook her frame and the tears streaked
down her face.

“Please… you have to untie him.” Her head snapped
back with the impact of the punch.

“I told you to shut it.”

“Shit, Steve, don’t knock her out. Then we’ll have to
carry her.”

“It’s only another hour to the campsite.” Steve gave
her a push to get her moving again. He laughed at his friend. “Why
do you keep looking back? There’s no way he’s getting out of those
ropes. If he moves too much, he’ll choke himself. If he shifts,
he’ll break his arms.” He grunted. “In a few hours, all of that
blood will have attracted something hungry and wolf boy will be on
the bottom of the food chain for a change.”

Heidi screamed in anger and threw her head back.
Steve’s nose broke with a sickening crunch. She turned and ran as
fast as she could with her hands tied behind her back. She caught a
glimpse of the tree Tyler was tied to before she was tackled to the
ground. Whoever had done so turned her and she looked into Steve’s
bloodied face.

“Bitch!” His fist connected with her face and
everything went black.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tyler was vaguely aware of something making noise
somewhere behind him. They’d got her. They had her. Everything
hurt. Every time he moved he came close to passing out. He pulled
against the ropes and the one around his throat tightened. He had
to get loose. Black spots invaded his vision. The noise came again.
What was that? It sounded like scratching against the bark. He
groaned as the rope choking him let go and all of his weight pulled
on his shoulders. He sat back, coughing.

“Who’s there?” It hurt to talk. His heart jumped at
the chirp that answered him. Bird landed on the ground in front of
him. Images of Heidi fighting, getting loose, then being tackled to
the ground flashed through his mind. He growled at the one of a man
punching her in the face.

“Can you get my hands?”

Bird bobbed her head and he heard her pecking at the
ropes that bound his wrists. A growl to his right made him look up.
His heart jumped in his throat. A blarnen stood by the cave. The
small wolf-like animal the size of a fox bared its teeth and licked
its lips. It sniffed the blood trail he had left from the cave to
where he was now tied.