"No one," she said softly.
Killian visibly calmed. He gathered himself for a moment. He seemed less confident. More unsettled than the Killian she had known before. "I should kill you now, but perhaps you’ll be useful in case your High Enchantress shows up. Here," he tossed her a length of twine. "Tie this around your wrists."
Ella tied it loosely, but he came and checked it and then tied it tighter. He seemed strangely afraid to touch her skin. The few moments his hands touched hers his breath caught.
"Put your boots on," he said. "Here’s your shoulder bag. I’m taking you with me."
~
KILLIAN took them back onto the road. He said there wasn’t much point in keeping to the back country now; they would make better time on the road. Besides, he now had a bargaining piece in case any pursuers caught up to him.
Ella still couldn’t believe what had happened to her. To come all this way, to fight extraordinary beasts and cruel bandits, only to get caught so easily. It was heart-breaking.
Worst of all she’d lost her essence and her tools. She was in a strange land, being taken the Skylord-knew-where by a man she knew nothing about. She only prayed that the High Enchantress would catch them before Killian took her to whoever it was had sent that eldritch.
Killian was silent for a long time, a silence Ella didn’t want to break. He seemed lost in thought. His breathing was heavy. She noticed that he occasionally winced when he took a step with his left leg.
"Are you in pain?" she murmured.
He grunted in reply, "It’s nothing."
The continued on for some time more. The afternoon wore on. The sun cast its setting rays from behind them, illuminating the barren land. Rocks and boulders were strewn everywhere, and a haze of dust rose from the earth in all directions. The colours of rust and tan were prevalent, with every shade in between. Even the occasional copse of trees or distant forest was tinged red.
It seemed the Petryans’ chosen colour of red meant more to them than elemental fire. It was the colour of their land.
"How about you, are your hands tied too tightly?" Killian said suddenly.
Ella started; they’d last spoken so long ago.
"A little," she said.
"I will look when we camp for the night," Killian said.
The earth turned a deeper shade of red as the sky darkened. The moon rose above the horizon, tainted crimson by the dusty haze in the sky. Stars began to show, first one, then another, until there were hundreds of stars visible in the twilight.
"So many stars," Ella said.
"Your people use too many nightlamps in Sarostar, with your Crystal Palace radiating colours and all your enchantments. You miss the stars. You should see…" Killian trailed off.
"Should see what?"
"Nothing," Killian said.
"You don’t give much away, do you?" Ella said.
"We’ll turn off now and find a place to camp for the night. We won’t use any nightlamps. A heatplate would be welcome though. Is that one I saw, in your satchel?"
Ella had renewed the simple stone device, since the disaster at the waterfall. "Yes," she sighed.
They made camp in a clearing under the stars. Killian eased the bonds on Ella’s hands but would not free them, making all of the preparations for the camp and meal himself. He rested a small pot on the glowing runes and filled it with water, then added a few teaspoons of powder to the pot.
Ella smelled the aroma. "Cherl!" she exclaimed with a smile. It reminded her so much of home.
Killian smiled slightly, "One of the few Alturan foods I can’t do without."
While the water was heating he stretched and placed his travel bag against a tree. The edge parted slightly, and Ella could see part of a green cover.
The Lexicon! Her breath caught. Killian’s back was to her, she wondered if she had the strength to…
He turned and saw her gaze. "Don’t even think about it," he said in a grim voice. "You touch me, or steal from me, or try to escape, and I’ll tie you up here and leave you for dead."
It was spoken so matter-of-factly that Ella felt a chill. She wondered again about this strange man, his peculiar name and distinctive looks. She supposed he worked for the Emperor.
He handed her a mug of cherl, deactivating the heatplate. They drank together in darkness.
Then he came over to her, breathing heavily, and for a second Ella felt a qualm in her chest, but he just had a length of twine in his hands.
"Get comfortable," he said gruffly. "I’m tying your legs, so don’t expect to be able to move much."
He was surprisingly gentle as he tied Ella’s legs, before he went to sleep himself.
She lay still, listening to his breathing. He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable. She heard him moan in pain several times, as he rolled onto his back or his leg.