Page 144 of Untempered
I dismissed that, focusing a majority of my attention on dressing as swiftly as I could. “Not aliveperson. This is to be used in urgent circumstances. Asmartpeople would have a system they could initiate quickly with low variability. You wouldn’t want to have to find a sacrifice, then make sure they were sacrificed at the right time in the right place.”
He was frowning. “No, you wouldn’t.”
I didn’t look to try to see whether he was laughing at me or not. “It makes sense, doesn’t it?” The One, the Wife, and the Son, I hoped I wasn’t wrong. “I want to try it.”
“I can tell.” He sat up. “We can try once, then we return here and warm up.”
I nodded, because he was right to be wary, and also because if I had another idea whilst we were there, I was going to try it regardless and he couldn’t stop me. “We’ll need a body.” I should’ve been more concerned about that. Mayhap it spoke to the levels of loss we’d endured, or mayhap I was not a kind person.
“Got one,” he said, straightening. “The owner of our magnificent lodgings.”
My heart twisted at the thought. I’d known, of course, but I hadn’t reallyknown.“It makes sense, though, does it not?”
“It makes sense,” he agreed. “It explains why there are no old burial grounds in the city, if you used to burn your dead. I believe it was a very common practice.” That bit of information hit me like a match into tinder. My hands started to shake. I couldn’t do my laces straight. “I’m going to ready the horses. If Storm’ll carry him, it’s probably best I tie him to your saddle. Bliksem can carry the both of us, whereas she’ll struggle to move me. And I’d rather ride with you than him.”
That made sense, too. So many things made sense. And while the thought of tossing the man who’d lived and died in this sweet little home over my horse’s saddle made me want to scream at the unfairness of the situation, it was a neat solution. And it had the benefit of Chay’s warmth.
And his touch.
I was a monster for thinking such things whilst organizing to transport a person’s remains.
“Unless you’re not comfortable with that,” he added.
“Of course. No. I mean, of course, I’m happy to ride with you.”
“I’ll see what can be done, then. Don’t rush those laces. I’ll be checking later.”
Delight skimmed over my skin, and I paused for a moment to watch as he let himself back out into the cold. Silhouetted for a moment against the winter sunlight, he looked like the hero I’d always wanted. Strong, long legs, sword riding comfortably at his side, well-worn boots, and shoulders wide enough for even the weight I brought with me.
Then the door closed, and I was jolted from my reverie, guilt rushing into the gap it left behind. He didn’t need to carry my weight. No one did. Those wide shoulders had many uses, but that wasn’t one of them.
The lace I was tightening snapped under the force of my self-disgust.
It took far too long for me to be ready. By the time I was, both horses were saddled, and Storm was grudgingly permitting Chay to tie the man’s remains to her.
He’d tossed a blanket over the body, and I was grateful for the kindness while also feeling like a coward for taking the easy out.
“Did you bank the fire?” he asked me from the other side of Bliksem. “It’s worth having somewhere to return to.”
I put aside my feelings on the matter and nodded, doing what he recommended and adjusting how he’d set the logs already to slow their burn. If this didn’t work, we’d have a safe hidey-hole. At least for another night. If we opted to stay.
Adjusting the scarf around my face, I returned outside to find we were now ready to go. He brought me over, standing behind me, and introduced me to his warhorse, who stood significantly taller than my Storm and looked at me with disapproving eyes.
I wanted to squirm. “I don’t believe he approves.”
“He’s just possessive,” Chay told me, taking my hand and offering our joined fingers to his horse. “She’s with us, friend,” he murmured as the horse snuffled at our fingers. He was a gorgeous beast. I’d expected him to be strong, and he had the deep chest, long legs, and wide back you’d expect from a ’Ban warhorse. But his face waspretty.“I wouldn’t ask you to carry just any old person, now, would I?”
He snorted at Chay, withdrawing his muzzle. Behind him, Storm nickered at me, and I looked over at her, feeling like a turncoat. “They must be hungry.”
“They’d happily have some chaff, but they’ve grazed well. I’ll give you a boost.”
I looked up—all the way up—to where I needed to climb, kilting up one side of my skirts quickly.
The loss of those layers increased the chill factor immediately. I didn’t dally, and I wasn’t proud, letting Chay give me a quick lift to save Bliksem from my attempts. Storm was fine, I knew how to mount her in both saddle types. But this fellow was a different shape, and while I suspected he was a tough old veteran, I didn’t want to ask him to use his strength where he didn’t need to.
Chay was murmuring to him and Storm both, and I just sat there as he made it all work around me.
The beekeeper’s hut looked so small from the outside, so plain. There was a part of me that wanted to climb back in there and curl up under the covers. Except the covers weren’t there anymore. They were all in use.
