Tyler's Story (Tales of Quelondain) (23 page)

“Did you think of crossing over?” Mina’s question
caused him to jerk.

“Damn it.” He stuck the finger he’d cut into his
mouth. “What makes you ask that?”

She shrugged. “I just thought you might follow her
over, that’s all.” It was the first time she’d brought up Heidi
since asking if she’d made it home.

He grunted. “No. I didn’t think of following her,” he
lied. He busied himself with getting the fish out of the fire. He
was glad when Mina decided to keep the conversation to a minimum
until they headed back to the inn.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The sun was warm, the quiet of the clearing only
broken by the sporadic chirping of the birds in the trees. The
breeze blew Mina’s hair into her face and Tyler tucked it behind
her ear. She lay in the crook of his arm, her arm lying over his
chest. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the still afternoon.

Mina chuckled. “Are you going to fall asleep?”

He cracked open one eye, flashed her a lopsided grin,
and kissed her forehead. “I might.”

She sighed and snuggled into him. “Tyler?”

“Hmmm?”

“Where’s home for you again?”

He frowned. “Sageden, why?”

“Are you going there?”

He opened his eyes and found her looking up at him.
“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I haven’t been there in over five
years.”

“Don’t you ever plan on going back?”

“Yes, no, sometimes…” He sat up. “It doesn’t matter.
I’ll go back when the time is right.

She watched him quietly for a moment. “Maddy insists
on leaving tomorrow.”

He nodded. “I was thinking of leaving tomorrow as
well.” He stood and pulled her up. “I should see what I need for
supplies.” He took her hand and they started back toward the town.
He glanced down at her. Could he do it? Could he leave her? They’d
spent the past three days together doing everything from eating,
fishing, and hunting. They got along well enough, they worked well
together… and yet, for as fantastic as his time with her had been,
he couldn’t see himself with her for the rest of his life.

She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “Stop
looking at me like that.”

“What? Like how?”

“Like you’re trying to think of a way to fall in love
with me.”

He stopped walking and took her other hand. “I just…
the past three days have been unbelievable, Mina, really they
have.”

“I won’t argue with you on that point.” She smiled.
“Tyler, stop feeling bad. It’s fine. You made it clear how you
felt, yeah?”

He nodded. “Yeah, but…”

“No buts. Will it make you feel better if I tell you
I don’t want you as a mate either?” She laughed at his frown.

“Really?”

“Really.”

He started to lead her back to town once again then
stopped. “Why not?”

Mina grinned. “You’re moody.”

“I am not!”

“Yes, you are. You get lost in these odd moments.
Certain things send you off on these little memory trips and it
always looks like it’s painful for you to come back.”

“Like what? Name one.”

“Your grey tunic,” she said without hesitation. “In
the three days you’ve been here you’ve never worn it and every time
you take it out of your pack to grab a different one, you get the
saddest look in your eyes.”

Tyler pictured of the tunic she was talking about and
his thoughts turned to Heidi. Mina put her hands on his face.

“That look,” she said softly and kissed him. “That’s
the one right there. There’s also the fact that I’m ready to settle
down and you, as you just told me yourself, are not. I want a mate,
Tyler; one that’s going to want to build a cabin with me, one
that’s going to want to come home to me every night for the rest of
my life.” She smiled. “I knew you weren’t that man when I threw
myself at you our first night here.”

“So why did you?”

She blushed. “Can’t a girl have a little fun? Well,
that, and I’ve had a thing for you since we met.”

He smiled. “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

She stuck her tongue out at him then reached up and
brushed the hair out of his eyes.

“Now,” she said as she took his hand and started
walking again, “let’s get to the inn. I told Maddy we’d meet her
there for supper.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tyler gave Maddy a hug and a kiss on the forehead.
“Have a good trip.”

She smiled. “You too. Try to keep out of
trouble.”

He grinned. “I should be saying that to you.” He
turned to Mina and his smile softened. He took her hand and pulled
her to his chest. “I…” He frowned and tried to think of what he
wanted to say. Not finding the words he needed, he held her face
softly and kissed her. She smiled and deepened the kiss.

“I feel the same way,” she whispered. “Stay safe,
Tyler.”

“You too.” He watched as the sisters took the trail
leading south. Mina turned and blew him one last kiss. He adjusted
his pack and looked at Bird.

“Ready?”

She bobbed her head and the two of them headed west.
A chirp overhead made him look up.

“Bird, one of your friends is here.”

She flew up into a tree where she chirped a whole
conversation with the other bluebird. She looked down at Tyler then
back to her friend and gave one last chirp. The two birds parted
ways and she flew back down to him.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “What was that all
about?”

She flashed him a picture of baby blue birds
hatching.

He smiled. “Someone you know had babies.”

She bobbed her head.

“Did you want to go see them?”

He shrugged at her head shake. “Alright.” They
started off again. Bird saw him glance back.

He shook his head. “No, I don’t love her.” He blew a
breath out of his nose. “Do you know, I think I’m starting to tire
of being on our own.” He glanced at her and shrugged again.

She flashed him a picture of Sageden.

“Not yet. I really do want to see the coast. Once
we’re done exploring there, then maybe.” He frowned as Bird angled
off of the trail and headed north.

“Why this way?”

She showed him a picture of two bluebirds and the
picture of a flock of plearants they’d seen using the path they
were on.

He followed her. If the birds said there was danger
ahead, he wasn’t one to argue. He’d avoided trouble more than once
with their help.

“You know, I haven’t seen a flock of plearants in a
long time. They must stay close to the Wedelven River here in the
west.” He remembered the last run in he’d had with the five foot
flightless birds. They weren’t much to look at with their dull grey
feathers and thick black legs, but they could run just as fast as a
wolf and he’d made the mistake of getting too close a few years
past. He’d spent four days in a tree waiting for them to leave.

The day was quiet and uneventful, which was how he
liked it. It was taking longer than usual to put distance between
himself and civilization, but he wasn’t complaining.

“Let’s set up camp here. We’ll start west in the
morning.”

Bird bobbed her head.

“Hopefully the plearants will keep on their course.”
He’d had to go from north to south to north again due to the
bothersome birds changing their direction of travel throughout the
day. He smiled. “It’s a good thing we’re not in a hurry.”

He skinned the rabbit he’d caught for supper and
started the fire to cook it on. Once the food had been eaten, he
settled on his blankets, his arms behind his head, and closed his
eyes.

In his dream, he wandered into his room. He frowned.
It wasn’t the hotel he’d just been in, but it was definitely his
room. His pack sat on the chair, his green tunic on the back of it.
He gazed out of the window and smiled at the two moons rising just
above the trees. They were full and bright tonight. He looked at
the small form under the blankets on his bed and his smile
softened. Maybe he should go after them, he thought to himself.
Would it be so bad to settle down? He’d already thought of it; of
going back to Sageden, of fixing up his cave so it was
liveable.

He sat on the bed and brushed the dark hair back and
his heart jumped in his chest.

“Heidi.” She stirred at the whisper, her hand
covering the one that still lay against her cheek.

“What time is it?”

He glanced out the window again. “Late. Early.”

She frowned. “Are you ok?” She traced the scar on his
chest and he realized he was only in his pants. Why was he half
naked if he’d been wandering around the inn?

“I’m not sure. This seems like a strange dream.”

She smiled softly and moved over on the bed so he
could lie down. Her lips touched cheek softly. “Go to sleep.”

He pulled her close and she snuggled into his chest.
She gave a surprised cry as he sat up abruptly.

“What’s wrong?”

He looked around the room. “This is my room! This is
my cave!” He shook his head, blinked and lay back down at the pull
of her small hands on his arm.

Heidi screamed as four men came crashing through the
door.

Tyler jerked awake and sat up. He took deep breaths,
trying to slow his heart. Bird cocked her head at him.

“Nightmare,” he explained. He looked up at the moons
through the trees and noticed they were the same as the ones in his
dream. When he had his breathing and heart under control, he lay
back down. He closed his eyes and tried to think of anything and
everything other than those grey green eyes as he drifted back to
sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tyler pulled himself up the last few feet up the
rocky side of the cliff and lay on the grass, his heart threatening
to pound out of his chest. He glared at bird as she landed on his
bent knee.

“By the moons,” he huffed. “This was it? This was the
only way we could get around those damn birds? What in the name of
the moons is going on! And don’t tell me that flock of plearants is
still around!” His attempt to yell at her was seriously impeded by
the fact that he couldn’t breathe. “We’ve been avoiding the damn
things for almost a week, now!”

She flashed him a picture of home. He shut his eyes
and shook his head in disbelief.

“What? Why? What is so important that I have to head
home? No one is hurt or sick! You would have told me that!” He
looked up as another blue bird settled on his knee. This one
flapped its wings and chirped excitedly before taking off. Bird
showed him the image of a tlarrison.

He grunted. “Yeah, I bet. I suppose there’s a whole
herd of those exactly where it is I need to go if I still want to
head west.” He sat up and waved her off of his leg. “Is someone I
love in trouble?”

She shook her head.

“Then, go home, Bird. If you’re tired of wandering,
it’s fine.”

She showed him his angry face and flew away. Tyler
lay back down with a groan. By the moons, what had gotten into her?
He heard a loud distant squawk and he looked over the edge of the
cliff. He laid his head in his arms at the sight of a half dozen
plearants following the trail along the bottom of the cliff. He
didn’t bother looking around for Bird. He knew she’d have flown
away as fast and as far as she could.

“She wasn’t telling you to go home, you idiot. She
was telling you to double back so you could avoid the flock.” He
sat up and rubbed his hands over his face. Now what? He stood and
adjusted his pack. Well, he couldn’t very well keep on going when
he owed Bird an apology. Maybe if he hurried he could find her
before she flew too far. He shifted and started loping east.

Three hours later, he still hadn’t found her. He
shifted back and took a drink of his water while he looked around
in the trees and tried to catch his breath. He decided to make camp
for the night and start his search again in the morning.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tyler scooped the cool water from the creek and
washed his face with it. He glanced up into the trees and let out
an exasperated sigh. One week. He’d spent the past week trying to
find a blue bird half the size of his hand in the middle of a
forest. He was one week closer to home and he hadn’t found one clue
to suggest that Bird had even come this way. He sat and pulled the
last of his cheese out of his pack, cut a bit of mold off of it,
and stuffed the rest of it into his mouth. One week. Fine. He’d
look for another two or three days and that was it. If he hadn’t
found her by then, he’d head to the coast. It was more than likely
she’d make her way back to Sageden, but for as horrible as he felt
for his outburst, he wasn’t ready to go back just yet.

He froze at the sound of a grunt behind him. He
turned slowly, hoping he was wrong, and his heart dropped at the
sight of the tlarrison watching him with its beady eyes. He glanced
around, trying to plan his escape. Not seeing any real way to avoid
it, he shifted into his wolf, turned, and started to run, not
bothering to look back to see if it was following.

When he was sure the beast had been left behind, he
slowed to a walk and shifted back so he could have a drink of his
water. By the moons, what was it with his luck lately? Plearants
and tlarrisons, all in the span of one week?

“Look out! There’s three tlarrisons coming!”

Tyler groaned, found the tree he thought the voice
had come from, ran at it and managed to grab the lowest branch. He
hauled himself up with a growl and leaned against the trunk, trying
to see where the beasts were coming from.

“If I didn’t know you were a wolf, I’d think you were
a monkey.” There was laughter in the woman’s voice.

Tyler felt his heart stop. He pushed away from the
trunk and looked at the branch to the right and above the one he
was on. Heidi smiled at him, her dark hair pulled back into a
ponytail.

“Hi.”

He rubbed his hands over his face, blinked, and
looked again. “By the moons, I have to stop dreaming of you.” He
pulled himself up so he sat on the same branch and held the one
above him for balance.