Foxwise: (A Legend of Vanx Malic Short Story) (The Legend of Vanx Malic Book 0) by Mathias M. R

Author:Mathias, M. R. [Mathias, M. R.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2013-12-04T16:00:00+00:00

Five

Thorn didn’t doubt her ability, but he had a hard time just jumping into the stairwell and leaving her. When the crackling power started gathering in her hands, though, he didn’t wait. He took three strides and leapt headlong, only to crash into the far stone wall, fall to the landing, and start tumbling down the fancy stone-worked stair.

Barb’s shadow met her at the same wall, and a flash of orange and yellow blinded Thorn so that he didn’t see her until she came rolling down and stopped right beside him.

“You alive?” he asked.

“Barely,” she sat up with a groan. “I think we’re closed in now.”

“Looks like it, but at least the rats all seem to be up there.” Thorn looked at the bites on his exposed skin. There were others that he couldn’t see. They were far from debilitating, but left untended they would fester and eventually blacken his blood. He dug a cork-stoppered vial out of his gear and stood before Barb.

“Let me tend your face before we go any farther.”

The claw slice was thin, but had bled enough that her neck and the collar of her belted robe were saturated.

She let him work, and he didn’t try to hide his admiration for her. He never said anything, but several times while he was cleansing her wound, their eyes met.

Another time and place, he thought hers said.

He had to agree.

Even though he wanted her at that moment, the weight of their quest and the loss of Bristle wouldn’t slip from the back of his mind. The way she shied away and batted her long lashes, though, told him she was indeed interested in pursuing the idea after they were home.

This time Thorn only took a tiny sip of the juice, then he unlaced his chest armor and removed his gauntlets so that he could apply the salve to himself. In the meantime, Barb searched the room with her magic and went straight to a cabinet similar to the one she’d just destroyed. After a few moments she opened a small panel and pulled the lever she found behind it.

There was the sound of what might have been a rolling marble, followed by a small splash, and then a hissing noise. After that, the wall sparkled and started disappearing, revealing a far cleaner and better-maintained stairway leading down.

To Thorn’s amazement, the torches ensconced on the walls came sputtering to life and a slight, yet noticeable, breeze of fresh-smelling air passed across his barely covered torso. He shivered and saw Barb smile at him.

“You’ve missed a bite or two, I think.” She came over, took the vial, and went to a knee behind him.

He wiggled and almost yelped as her finger slid through a hole in the back of his leather britches. She found three more bites that he’d missed as well. Thorn was thankful for her help and made a mental note to strip down to his skin and double-check again just as soon as he could. He knew a brownie that had been bitten on the earlobe once by a dire rat.

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