Page 85 of Light and Shadow
Aside from a few stiff muscles from the heads, arms, and legs of children hemming me in, I’m myself again when the sun rises. Its heat and energy fuel my magic. I may need a few days to be at full strength, but I’m on my feet, and that’s a big improvement.
Most of the freed elves are well enough to walk on their own.
Some carry the children or corral them in the right direction as we cross the hill country on our way to the river.
Harper stays by my side. I feel her worry. When I was elsewhere, I still felt the connection to her, but I suspect she did not. “Have you been working on your sword skills while I was unavailable?”
The way her lips twist in that don’t-mess-with-me way makes me want to kiss her hard until she’s panting. “I trained while you slept yesterday. Jax knocked me on my ass twice, but I nearly got the drop on him.”
“You know he’s been training as a soldier most of his life. Perhaps besting him shouldn’t be your aim.” I love how ambitious she is.
Grinning like she has a secret, she says, “I’m happy with nearly, but I would love to beat him one time when a volcano isn’t distracting him.”
“Take that as a big win,mo chroi. I doubt I could win a sword fight with Jax, and I’ve been at it since I was eight suns.”
“Eight. We really do come from different worlds. At eight, I played soccer, with my father coaching and my mother screaming encouragement from the sidelines.” Her memory leaves a soft, sad smile in its wake.
“What is soccer?”
“A game where two teams battle for a ball. Without using their hands, they try to get the ball in the net of the opposing team.” She kicks her right foot out as if she has a ball.
“You’ll have to teach me sometime.” A little jealous of her energy, I send a revival spell to my legs since they’re already sore and we’ve only gone a few miles.
Green rolling hills stretch on for as far as I can see. As we climb the next ridge, the glimmer of sunlight hitting water gives me hope. Still half a day away, and then the ferry across. It’s going to be hard going with so many to get across.
“Tell me about the river?” Harper picks up Bor and carries him.
The child rests his head on her shoulder and toys with her braid.
Before I can answer, Nainsi says, “Dálock Abhainn. It means Two Lakes River. It’s wide, and at this end, there are only twoways to cross. The ferry above the first lake or the Dagda Bridge, a full day’s journey north.” She tightens the band holding her braid at the bottom and pulls her lips into a tight line.
“Why do you look so dour? Is the ferry a bad choice?” Harper is a keen observer of others.
Shrugging, Nainsi sighs. “We have little choice really. Sometimes the water near the first lake is a bit rough, and there are a lot of us. But the bridge would be a day north and then an extra day south on the other side.” She picks up Tor as he’s running by. “We don’t have the resources for the extra days.”
“We’re already long overdue.” Ignoring the fact that my muscles are weak from lack of use, I trudge up the next hill, and the next.
It’s a great relief when we’re past the hills, and all that lies between us and the river is meadowland and high grasses for miles. Not exactly easy travel, but at least it’s flat, and the summer has left the ground mostly dry.
Deep into the grasses, Harper stops. “I have something in my shoe.” She puts Bor down and takes a step back to kneel.
I lift my arms and stretch, then squat and try to loosen my leg muscles. When I look back, Harper is rising.
She cocks her head and looks for something across the grass. “Magic?”
There’s a dull popping sound, and a hole opens beneath Bor and sucks him away. I leap to try to grab his hand, but the hole closes just as the pain of a vortex hits my arm.
With wide panicked eyes, Harper hollers, “Bor!”
The popping sound comes a second time. I grab Harper before she can be pulled away by another opening in the ground. Pushing her forward, I scream, “Run!”
“But Bor,” she protests.
“You can’t help him now. They want you. Run!”
She does as I say and sprints northwest as I follow.
I call out over and over to the group. “Run. Portal magic. Run for the river.” I’m just behind Harper. “Turn right. Get away from the group.”
