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Chapter 30

Supposedly there were only two more days before we reached the castle. That brought the count up to twenty-one or twenty-two days away from home. Why did they need to wait so long to get Crisis anyway? I finally knew the answer; they thought – wrongly as it turned out for my sake – they needed a human, a “survivor”. Either way, I had been here far too long. My plan was to drop into a half dead sleep as soon as I had kissed my son and called Cody. I was tired. Ray and Chace had tried to coax me into sleeping part of the day since I was still worn from dealing with the fish the night before. “Blah,” I had said, “let me walk.” They hadn’t cared for that answer much, but with Crisis’s help they left me well enough alone. I really didn’t want to jog to keep pace. I wanted to nap, but last night brought nightmares, razor teeth and dissolving in digestive juices, and I was afraid that if I closed my eyes so soon after they would come back.
But at least I wasn’t dreaming about Crisis anymore. Those visions appeared to have vanished altogether. And at least he was no longer the man from my nightmares. He was a friend, I assumed. And hoped it stays that way.
My legs hurt. My head as well. It had been a few hours since we’d last stopped. So I was glad when they called for a break. Food was served. More fish of course, fruits, and even some vegetables we’d bought from a traveling merchant that passed early that morning. We broke some bread that we’d also bought from the merchant, and I showed the twins how to make a fish sandwich taste good without any condiments. They didn’t know the meaning of the word condiments, unsurprisingly. Not that berry and fruit juice made it too much better anyway, but Lance liked it more then Chace. At the risk of being proven wrong, Chace seemed much more normal then his brother.
I felt myself wobble as I jogged to keep pace with the group. Ray walked slowly for my benefit, though it seemed wrong that he felt he had to do it. It was close to evening with a few hours before the sun disappeared. Rods continuously looked to the sky, then back at me as if I was taking up time. I myself couldn’t help but stare at him. His hair was down waving behind him as he walked. Like a blonde vale, I mused, surprisingly he’s been able to keep it neat this long. He seemed to sense what I was thinking and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Tired yet?” he called to me. “You didn’t sleep at all last night.”
“Don‘t worry about me.” I lied. “I’ll be tired when it’s time to sleep.”
Rods whispered to Crisis. Reaching into a pouch, Deiman’s older brother put something in his mouth then fell back to walk a few steps behind me. He bent low, scooping me up without stopping.
“Breathe Mayla.” Crisis cradled my body in the palm of his hand, holding me close to his face. “Breathe deeply.” And Crisis blew in my face.
Immediately I felt dead sleepy, like his breath on my eyelids weighed a million tons. What did he do? My thoughts were slurred. I fought the urge for my head to fall back but Crisis puffed another cool breath into my face and my eyes fell shut.
*
I’m going to make Crisis pay for that was the first thing I thought when I opened my eyes. It seemed like all the evening light was shining in my face. But it wasn’t evening; the sun was up and bright. How long had I been out? I shook my head. Yawning, I sat up. I heard the twins laughing. Then the familiar tune of Trucker‘s lullaby. I groaned as my legs protested the act of standing.
“Mayla’s awake.” Crisis split open a piece of fruit. “Eat. You’ve been asleep much longer than I assumed.”
I ate human sized chunks of the bitter fruit. “What did you think would- what did you do to me?”
“It is a trick I picked up during my travels; Crush nushen berries in your mouth and blow into an already stressed animal’s face; it puts them into a short sleep. You’ll not have to worry about them attacking you. Of course, if you can get close enough to do it.”
“I. Am. Not. An. Animal!”
“The method should still apply.” he shrugged. “And did.”
So much for us being equals. I sighed. Chace set up a brunch for us. Even Lance seemed surprised that his brother could cook so well on his own. For a good thirty minutes Ray and Crisis sat high in the air, far over the tree tops. Rods made more firewood - just plain laziness, but admitting he didn‘t want to go searching for any - from smaller twigs. Garay came down to inform us that Aalexander’s castle could be seen from their vantage point. If we left within the hour we could make it there by tomorrow evening, if not sooner. The kiceka filled that time eating, resting. Ray and I practiced writing. I remembered the inscription on Aalexander’s hall walls and wrote it in English. Or at least I thought it was what was written on the walls. Possibly not knowing how long I had gone not thinking about it, but I tried. Then I wrote freely. Just random words on my part that I’d learned since arriving on the planet. Growing bored with that I decided to write out an old verse that a relative had published in a book. In cursive, of course, any other script just seemed unfit.
Hold thy friends. Care for thy enemies. Kiss the sword, cradle the gun. Watch for birds, steal their wings. Kidnap a cloud, form it to your hand. Cover the earth in white, haze the world with souls and spirits.
Ray leaned over the patch of ground. “What’s that?”
“It’s a phrase that’s been in my family forever.” I drew my last name under the words.
“What does it say?”
“What do you mean? It’s in English.”
“That’s not the same writing you showed me.” He sat next to me and wrote our names in the dirt. “Close but unreadable.”
I taught Ray cursive. It was easier than I had thought it would be. And just like the first time he got the hang of it in a snap. As thanks he was going to engrave the phrase into the wall of his chambers. It didn’t matter much to me, but it passed time. We didn’t have long to do much with the calligraphy, though, because Rods as always the decision maker of the group decided it was time to leave.
Not much of that day was eventful. Rods seemed to be the only one who made any effort to hurry on. He claimed to have no reason to rush when Crisis set a firm hand on his shoulder and slowed his pace a bit. To everyone’s relief, Crisis was able to maintain Rods’ subdued pace. The oldest guard would not be pushed by his own pupil.
We were attacked that night. Three men not bothering to cover in soot lead by Porin. It was a long battle, which because of Rods stuffing me into his pocket “for your own safety” I was not part of. They had no weapons except Abon’s dagger, but the warriors fought hard. None of them were too badly hurt in the end. Hardly a mark on any of the men unless a few scraps and cuts counted. After the fight we headed straight for the castle. Porin didn’t get the luxury to live this time. Neither did two of his comrades. And wrapped in cloth was one more tattoo and a hand (that person lived, to Garay’s great frustration). They left the bodies half buried in the trees, rung the little blood from their shirts.
Once far from the battlefield Crisis stopped to check wounds. Beneath his left ear Ray was growing a bruise, a cut on his bare chest and forearm. Rods was a bit winded, taking a hard knee to the gut that shook even me. Lance had a few scrapes, but nothing that actually hurt. The youth used cool water to sooth the sparse amount of pain. Chace was a tad worse than his brother with a large bump that was far too close to his temple and a jagged cut across his wrist. Crisis himself had a slight wound on his back from a sneak attack but nothing else. Considering Curston was no longer with us, they fixed themselves up very well.

*

We passed right through the village the next morning. Stopping only long enough to restock on water. Getting to the bridge was nerve racking. Crisis had confessed before reaching it that builders had procrastinated with repairing it for over a year. It was currently being held together with an adhesive. I planted my feet into the dirt as soon as he said that. I knew from the first time we crossed it that that bridge was a deathtrap. The information slowed the twins down as well. Ray carried me across knowing how much I had hated it last time. By that time the sun was fading reminding me to leave Abon with some form of apology.
Because of leaving much later then we wanted - because of being attack in the middle of the night - the castle came to view late in the evening. Two high steeples stood on either side of the front of the palace. A tower sat between them. Aside from those three the rest of the fort-like, dark stone structure looked to be all on one floor, not counting the battlements. There were workers around a mile parameter of the castle, all working on the grounds or paving a new stone path towards the palace. The closer we came the more planters clustered the immediate area. But before we had even reached any of that Crisis placed me into his breast pocket. Apparently the Mentren warriors had a plan of their own. The spot was a nice vantage point, allowing me to see enough through the buttoned flap without really being seen myself. Even still, I ducked down when the group reached the castle door, fearful of the man who tried to have me killed.

Description
Chapter 30

Supposedly there were only two more days before we reached the castle. That brought the count up to twenty-one or twenty-two days away from home. Why did they need to wait so long to get Crisis anyway? I finally knew the answer; they thought – wrongly as it turned out for my sake – they needed a human, a “survivor”. Either way, I had been here far too long. My plan was to drop into a half dead sleep as soon as I had kissed my son and called Cody. I was tired. Ray and Chace had tried to coax me into sleeping part of the day since I was still worn from dealing with the fish the night before. “Blah,” I had said, “let me walk.” They hadn’t cared for that answer much, but with Crisis’s help they left me well enough alone. I really didn’t want to jog to keep pace. I wanted to nap, but last night brought nightmares, razor teeth and dissolving in digestive juices, and I was afraid that if I closed my eyes so soon after they would come back.
But at least I wasn’t dreaming about Crisis anymore. Those visions appeared to have vanished altogether. And at least he was no longer the man from my nightmares. He was a friend, I assumed. And hoped it stays that way.
My legs hurt. My head as well. It had been a few hours since we’d last stopped. So I was glad when they called for a break. Food was served. More fish of course, fruits, and even some vegetables we’d bought from a traveling merchant that passed early that morning. We broke some bread that we’d also bought from the merchant, and I showed the twins how to make a fish sandwich taste good without any condiments. They didn’t know the meaning of the word condiments, unsurprisingly. Not that berry and fruit juice made it too much better anyway, but Lance liked it more then Chace. At the risk of being proven wrong, Chace seemed much more normal then his brother.
I felt myself wobble as I jogged to keep pace with the group. Ray walked slowly for my benefit, though it seemed wrong that he felt he had to do it. It was close to evening with a few hours before the sun disappeared. Rods continuously looked to the sky, then back at me as if I was taking up time. I myself couldn’t help but stare at him. His hair was down waving behind him as he walked. Like a blonde vale, I mused, surprisingly he’s been able to keep it neat this long. He seemed to sense what I was thinking and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Tired yet?” he called to me. “You didn’t sleep at all last night.”
“Don‘t worry about me.” I lied. “I’ll be tired when it’s time to sleep.”
Rods whispered to Crisis. Reaching into a pouch, Deiman’s older brother put something in his mouth then fell back to walk a few steps behind me. He bent low, scooping me up without stopping.
“Breathe Mayla.” Crisis cradled my body in the palm of his hand, holding me close to his face. “Breathe deeply.” And Crisis blew in my face.
Immediately I felt dead sleepy, like his breath on my eyelids weighed a million tons. What did he do? My thoughts were slurred. I fought the urge for my head to fall back but Crisis puffed another cool breath into my face and my eyes fell shut.
*
I’m going to make Crisis pay for that was the first thing I thought when I opened my eyes. It seemed like all the evening light was shining in my face. But it wasn’t evening; the sun was up and bright. How long had I been out? I shook my head. Yawning, I sat up. I heard the twins laughing. Then the familiar tune of Trucker‘s lullaby. I groaned as my legs protested the act of standing.
“Mayla’s awake.” Crisis split open a piece of fruit. “Eat. You’ve been asleep much longer than I assumed.”
I ate human sized chunks of the bitter fruit. “What did you think would- what did you do to me?”
“It is a trick I picked up during my travels; Crush nushen berries in your mouth and blow into an already stressed animal’s face; it puts them into a short sleep. You’ll not have to worry about them attacking you. Of course, if you can get close enough to do it.”
“I. Am. Not. An. Animal!”
“The method should still apply.” he shrugged. “And did.”
So much for us being equals. I sighed. Chace set up a brunch for us. Even Lance seemed surprised that his brother could cook so well on his own. For a good thirty minutes Ray and Crisis sat high in the air, far over the tree tops. Rods made more firewood - just plain laziness, but admitting he didn‘t want to go searching for any - from smaller twigs. Garay came down to inform us that Aalexander’s castle could be seen from their vantage point. If we left within the hour we could make it there by tomorrow evening, if not sooner. The kiceka filled that time eating, resting. Ray and I practiced writing. I remembered the inscription on Aalexander’s hall walls and wrote it in English. Or at least I thought it was what was written on the walls. Possibly not knowing how long I had gone not thinking about it, but I tried. Then I wrote freely. Just random words on my part that I’d learned since arriving on the planet. Growing bored with that I decided to write out an old verse that a relative had published in a book. In cursive, of course, any other script just seemed unfit.
Hold thy friends. Care for thy enemies. Kiss the sword, cradle the gun. Watch for birds, steal their wings. Kidnap a cloud, form it to your hand. Cover the earth in white, haze the world with souls and spirits.
Ray leaned over the patch of ground. “What’s that?”
“It’s a phrase that’s been in my family forever.” I drew my last name under the words.
“What does it say?”
“What do you mean? It’s in English.”
“That’s not the same writing you showed me.” He sat next to me and wrote our names in the dirt. “Close but unreadable.”
I taught Ray cursive. It was easier than I had thought it would be. And just like the first time he got the hang of it in a snap. As thanks he was going to engrave the phrase into the wall of his chambers. It didn’t matter much to me, but it passed time. We didn’t have long to do much with the calligraphy, though, because Rods as always the decision maker of the group decided it was time to leave.
Not much of that day was eventful. Rods seemed to be the only one who made any effort to hurry on. He claimed to have no reason to rush when Crisis set a firm hand on his shoulder and slowed his pace a bit. To everyone’s relief, Crisis was able to maintain Rods’ subdued pace. The oldest guard would not be pushed by his own pupil.
We were attacked that night. Three men not bothering to cover in soot lead by Porin. It was a long battle, which because of Rods stuffing me into his pocket “for your own safety” I was not part of. They had no weapons except Abon’s dagger, but the warriors fought hard. None of them were too badly hurt in the end. Hardly a mark on any of the men unless a few scraps and cuts counted. After the fight we headed straight for the castle. Porin didn’t get the luxury to live this time. Neither did two of his comrades. And wrapped in cloth was one more tattoo and a hand (that person lived, to Garay’s great frustration). They left the bodies half buried in the trees, rung the little blood from their shirts.
Once far from the battlefield Crisis stopped to check wounds. Beneath his left ear Ray was growing a bruise, a cut on his bare chest and forearm. Rods was a bit winded, taking a hard knee to the gut that shook even me. Lance had a few scrapes, but nothing that actually hurt. The youth used cool water to sooth the sparse amount of pain. Chace was a tad worse than his brother with a large bump that was far too close to his temple and a jagged cut across his wrist. Crisis himself had a slight wound on his back from a sneak attack but nothing else. Considering Curston was no longer with us, they fixed themselves up very well.

*

We passed right through the village the next morning. Stopping only long enough to restock on water. Getting to the bridge was nerve racking. Crisis had confessed before reaching it that builders had procrastinated with repairing it for over a year. It was currently being held together with an adhesive. I planted my feet into the dirt as soon as he said that. I knew from the first time we crossed it that that bridge was a deathtrap. The information slowed the twins down as well. Ray carried me across knowing how much I had hated it last time. By that time the sun was fading reminding me to leave Abon with some form of apology.
Because of leaving much later then we wanted - because of being attack in the middle of the night - the castle came to view late in the evening. Two high steeples stood on either side of the front of the palace. A tower sat between them. Aside from those three the rest of the fort-like, dark stone structure looked to be all on one floor, not counting the battlements. There were workers around a mile parameter of the castle, all working on the grounds or paving a new stone path towards the palace. The closer we came the more planters clustered the immediate area. But before we had even reached any of that Crisis placed me into his breast pocket. Apparently the Mentren warriors had a plan of their own. The spot was a nice vantage point, allowing me to see enough through the buttoned flap without really being seen myself. Even still, I ducked down when the group reached the castle door, fearful of the man who tried to have me killed.