had picked a trade and were actively engaged in it. What was he going to make of his life?
* * * * *
Arkin rode ahead of the others, trying to fight back emotion as he went. Yet again he had failed as a protector, first with Legon’s mother and now Kovos. He knew that the effect of his death would carry farther than anyone could ever understand. Most didn’t see the connections that all men have. Not only had Kovos’ life ended, but his brother, parents, and an innocent girl back in Salmont had been hurt as well.
“No, our actions are far reaching,” he said to himself. He kicked himself. He couldn’t afford to wallow in self-pity at the moment. There would be time for that later. Now he needed to get them all to safety and to the resistance. Legon had brought them to within a few days of the border. Never had he heard of someone using magic to that extent. Well, at least not a person. A dragon yes, but not a person. Still, a small part of him was happy. It must be true now that he was an Elf, wasn’t it?
The land that they were in now was far more barren than they had yet seen. Thankfully, the area was hilly so they could rest for the night. The sun was almost to the horizon when Arkin found an area for them to camp. Legon was still out cold on Phantom and Arkin instructed them to leave him in case they needed to leave in a hurry. Their camp was surrounded by trees but he still didn’t feel comfortable starting a fire or using magic to make light. It would be easy for scouts to see and infinitely worse, dragons.
No one was hungry or talking. Arkin walked to the edge of camp and knelt, projecting his consciousness out. After hours he finally felt something on the other end. It was a new person that he didn’t know, but he had the right passwords so he passed on his report. He didn’t leave anything out, but most important he told of Legon’s transfiguration. That one got his attention. The person on the other end was shocked; Arkin figured the man wasn’t high enough ranking to be in the loop on Legon. He was instructed to head straight south and to move fast. They would try to send help if they could, but it was doubtful. Arkin made it clear that he understood and broke the connection.
Something was nudging at his mind. It was Sasha. She was trying to reestablish the network. He allowed the connection, and the first thing she wanted was a damage report.
He returned to them. With Legon out it was going to be up to him to heal any wounds. He’d enhanced their bodies during the conflict only enough to stop major injuries, so only Sasha and Sara were spared from minor cuts and bruises. The cuts he would heal to prevent them from infection, but he couldn’t waste energy on the bruises in case there was another attack.
* * * * *
Sara was cleaning up Keither. He hadn’t been hurt all that bad in the fight, but the tree had left a nice cut on his head. Even with Legon healing it there was blood caked in his hair and on his face.
“Sara, I can do this you know,” Keither protested
“I know that, but you don’t have a mirror and you don’t want to miss any.”
She wasn’t just doing it to make him look more presentable for the horses, but more because she was worried about him. His brother just died, and Keither had killed for the first time as well, but there was no emotion in his eyes. Shouldn’t he be wailing or something? She would have been if it were her brother. Or was he in shock? That was more likely. She was having a hard time looking at him the way she did before. He was always a harmless boy, but now he wasn’t. He was like his brother in some ways, especially in the way that enabled him to go out of his mind with rage and kill. That trait was one that she didn’t like. Or did he kill indiscriminately? He didn’t hurt them when they had pulled him back to leave. Phantom snorted off to her right and she chanced a glance at the Everser Vald. As she looked, she felt warmth bloom in her chest.