Entwined Courage by Lane Tracy

Author:Lane, Tracy [Lane, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2013-10-10T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Aurora felt the faint sizzle in the air dampen and then, at last, extinguish itself. The Squeakers had left, all six of them, waddling like giants through the forest, knocking down saplings and shrubs in their path, drooling and clacking their giant teeth as they departed in what amounted to a herd of massive, unholy beasts.

Kayne looked tired, spent, perspiration dotting his forehead and throat as he knelt, bending to catch his breath. She helped him down against a tree trunk, dousing a rag in water from the leather bladder and damping it across his forehead.

“Kayne?” she asked as loud as she dared, fearful the Squeakers might return at any second. “Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry,” he said, smiling weakly, skin ashen as his eyelids fluttered and his lips sputtered. “I… it’s just that I’ve never held a spell that long before.”

She looked down at him, humble in his borrowed work clothes, blond hair damp against his flushed forehead. He was so confident and mystical, she often forgot he was merely a squire.

“What can I do?” she asked, kneeling beside him, knife at the ready in case Kronos’ minions returned.

He nodded toward the knife in her hand and said, “You’re already doing it. Just be wary until I catch my breath. I just… just need a few minutes…”

His chin touched his chest and soon he was breathing heavily. Aurora sighed and stood, inching just past the line of brush to find the Squeakers nowhere in sight. Even so, her heart was still pounding.

Hers was a mortal world, free of beasts and fangs and spines and Squeaker tails as long as fence post railings. Up to now, Kayne’s visit had been little more than a distraction. Ythulia, the maroon cloaked mages, balls of fire and Kayne’s chiseled face had lulled her into thinking no harm could come to her.

But the sight of Kayne trembling and soaked after casting a spell left her confused and anxious. What if one of the Squeakers had seen them before he cast his spell, or strayed too close to their safe haven of white light? Could she fight off half-a-dozen savage beasts with her hunting knife? Could Kayne’s little puffs of fire do little more than annoy such vicious creatures?

She dabbed at his forehead with her free hand, feeling the heat from his glowing gently subside. His breathing steadied, his color returned and she was sitting, cross-legged, across from him when his eyelids, soft and tender, fluttered open.

“How long?” he asked.

She looked at the sun, then the shadows beneath. “Fifteen minutes?” she guessed. “Maybe twenty.”

He nodded. “Long enough for the minions to get a good head start,” he rasped, voice hoarse from the effort.

She nodded, then used her knife to point to a shady stretch of deep woods to their left. “It will take us longer that way,” she explained, “but we can’t just follow those… those… beasts. We can get to the Land of Morgi through there.”

He nodded, struggling to stand. She stood quickly and reached out a hand to yank him to his feet.

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