chuckled.
“Well, it has certainly done the job of wiping that massive sex
grin off both your faces before we return to the hut and your
brother.”
“ Sex grin?” I was about to protest,
but there was no point. Lana knew me better than anyone in the
world, and had seen my sex-grin for herself some years previously
when we were together. She yanked Kari’s headband off and tied it
around his neck.
“ You should hide that bite too, unless
Methar boasts insects with such teeth.”
Kari looked mortified but I gave him a
reassuring slap on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“ Promise me you’ll be careful,” Lana
said, tucking the pouch back into her pocket. “There are limits to
how long I can keep your brother talking, such are his
conversational skills. If it were not for his desire to guard that
box, he would have come looking for you himself.”
The thought of being caught in such a
position by Brin was a sobering one. As we made our way back to the
pilgrim’s rest, I considered the madness that had struck me in the
clearing. Lana was right. I would have to be far more careful. But
what lay ahead was thrilling all the same.
***
After leaving the Pilgrim’s Rest, our path
veered sharply upwards once more, diverging from the seemingly
well-travelled road beside the river. Our bellies were comfortably
full from the delicious stew Kari had managed to produce from such
innocuous ingredients. As dusk began to advance, Brin paused by a
stream to allow the donkey to drink. “Why are we taking this
detour?” he barked at Kari, who — since our encounter in the woods
— had been strolling along with a dreamy expression on his face and
saying little, which gave me a slight cause for panic. Brin was not
unobservant, although his mind was clearly focused on his own
troubles. I’d noticed more than once how his fingertips would trace
circles over the site of the brand on his chest as if he was trying
to brush it away, or check that it was still there.
“ We cannot sleep under the stars as
you had originally wished,” Kari said. “There is a temple at the
top of this mountain, where we will be safe.”
“ But it adds a half-day to our
journey.”
“ Better a half-day more than…” Kari
looked at his feet. “Perhaps you do not know it, Brindar. It is
rumored that the Night Walkers have returned, commanded across the
border from the un-named land by the remnants of the Blood
Red.”
Brin let out an exasperated noise. “Night
Walkers? The Blood Red? Bah! Nothing but superstitious nonsense and
fairy tales. Do you seriously expect me to believe there is still
necromancy in the world? Such practices have been unheard of and
proscribed this hundred-year, and those warlords are long in their
graves.”
“ I do not expect you to do anything
but trust me, tiyal . I know
this land, and you do not.”
“ You’ve barely ventured out of that
Temple.”
“ You’ve never been to Methar at
all.”
Brin looked furious, and Lana grinned. “I
think he has you there, Brindar. Telthor’s balls, let us move!
Perhaps there will be another bathing pool ahead where we can get
you naked again. My eyes are suddenly craving the pleasing sight of
man flesh, amidst all this wearisome greenery.”
“ Woman, I swear by the Thirteen…” Brin
began through clenched teeth, but Lana was already striding up the
path, daggers swinging jauntily at her hips.
“ Night Walkers, indeed.” Kel said, as
we brought up the rear. “I have read of such things in my
studies.”
“ What are they?” I had one eye on
Kari’s firm buttocks as he followed Lana up the path
ahead.
“ The living dead, raised by a terrible
spell which pulls a fragment of the soul back from Paradise, enough
only to animate the body. It’s said that they walk only at night
because if they were to catch their reflection in the light of day
the shock would send the fragment rushing back to whence it came,
and the spell would be broken. After the theft
“Well, it has certainly done the job of wiping that massive sex
grin off both your faces before we return to the hut and your
brother.”
“ Sex grin?” I was about to protest,
but there was no point. Lana knew me better than anyone in the
world, and had seen my sex-grin for herself some years previously
when we were together. She yanked Kari’s headband off and tied it
around his neck.
“ You should hide that bite too, unless
Methar boasts insects with such teeth.”
Kari looked mortified but I gave him a
reassuring slap on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“ Promise me you’ll be careful,” Lana
said, tucking the pouch back into her pocket. “There are limits to
how long I can keep your brother talking, such are his
conversational skills. If it were not for his desire to guard that
box, he would have come looking for you himself.”
The thought of being caught in such a
position by Brin was a sobering one. As we made our way back to the
pilgrim’s rest, I considered the madness that had struck me in the
clearing. Lana was right. I would have to be far more careful. But
what lay ahead was thrilling all the same.
***
After leaving the Pilgrim’s Rest, our path
veered sharply upwards once more, diverging from the seemingly
well-travelled road beside the river. Our bellies were comfortably
full from the delicious stew Kari had managed to produce from such
innocuous ingredients. As dusk began to advance, Brin paused by a
stream to allow the donkey to drink. “Why are we taking this
detour?” he barked at Kari, who — since our encounter in the woods
— had been strolling along with a dreamy expression on his face and
saying little, which gave me a slight cause for panic. Brin was not
unobservant, although his mind was clearly focused on his own
troubles. I’d noticed more than once how his fingertips would trace
circles over the site of the brand on his chest as if he was trying
to brush it away, or check that it was still there.
“ We cannot sleep under the stars as
you had originally wished,” Kari said. “There is a temple at the
top of this mountain, where we will be safe.”
“ But it adds a half-day to our
journey.”
“ Better a half-day more than…” Kari
looked at his feet. “Perhaps you do not know it, Brindar. It is
rumored that the Night Walkers have returned, commanded across the
border from the un-named land by the remnants of the Blood
Red.”
Brin let out an exasperated noise. “Night
Walkers? The Blood Red? Bah! Nothing but superstitious nonsense and
fairy tales. Do you seriously expect me to believe there is still
necromancy in the world? Such practices have been unheard of and
proscribed this hundred-year, and those warlords are long in their
graves.”
“ I do not expect you to do anything
but trust me, tiyal . I know
this land, and you do not.”
“ You’ve barely ventured out of that
Temple.”
“ You’ve never been to Methar at
all.”
Brin looked furious, and Lana grinned. “I
think he has you there, Brindar. Telthor’s balls, let us move!
Perhaps there will be another bathing pool ahead where we can get
you naked again. My eyes are suddenly craving the pleasing sight of
man flesh, amidst all this wearisome greenery.”
“ Woman, I swear by the Thirteen…” Brin
began through clenched teeth, but Lana was already striding up the
path, daggers swinging jauntily at her hips.
“ Night Walkers, indeed.” Kel said, as
we brought up the rear. “I have read of such things in my
studies.”
“ What are they?” I had one eye on
Kari’s firm buttocks as he followed Lana up the path
ahead.
“ The living dead, raised by a terrible
spell which pulls a fragment of the soul back from Paradise, enough
only to animate the body. It’s said that they walk only at night
because if they were to catch their reflection in the light of day
the shock would send the fragment rushing back to whence it came,
and the spell would be broken. After the theft
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