"WHAT was that?"
"Quick, get the nightlamp on! Lord of the Sun, can you hear it?"
"Tish-tassine."
The camp was suddenly lit with warm light. Ella’s eyes reflected the yellow glow. Her face was pure white with fright.
Killian stood, shirtless, cudgel in hand. The snarling sound came again, from a different direction this time.
"It’s not far away."
"What do we do?" Ella asked. "Do we stay here or do we leave?"
"We stay here," Killian said. "Once we leave it can herd us or pick us off, whatever it is."
Something black passed between some trees, only paces away. Ella screamed.
"Here!" Killian threw Ella something. It was one of her enchanted stones. It fell to the ground beside her. He hadn’t thrown them all into the river after all!
"I can’t move my hands!"
"Oh."
The snarling sound came from the trees right in front of them. Killian quickly knelt at Ella’s back, cutting through the bonds in seconds.
She picked up the stone. "Tuk-talour," she activated the runes, she threw the stone in the direction of the sound.
"Look away!" she cried.
A great bright flash came out of the trees. Stars sparkled across Ella’s vision. There was a sound of crashing through the trees.
Then there was silence.
They both stood, panting, faces pale in the light of the nightlamp. Finally Killian spoke.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes. Yes, I’m fine. But if it’s ok with you, I don’t want to sleep with my arms bound anymore.
Killian chuckled. Ella laughed too; it had a slightly hysterical edge to it.
"Here," Killian said. "I’ll come and sit next to you. You catch some sleep."
"We’ll take turns keeping watch."
Killian nodded, "We’ll take turns."
~
ELLA watched his chest rising and falling as he slept. He tossed fitfully, his skin was clammy. Perhaps his wounds were infected. She decided to have a look at them when morning came.
She caught herself. What was she doing? She should be smashing his head in with a rock and running off in the morning with the Lexicon.
There seemed to be some kind of change coming over him though. She didn’t know what it was, but she could hope. And it was no time for her to be in the wilds alone.
There was a small amulet on a chain around his neck. Ella had seen it before, when he had been half-drowned in the Sarsen and the High Enchantress had removed his shirt.
She leaned forward, carefully watching his eyes and listening closely for a change in his breathing. The front of the amulet was plain, simply decorated with a pretty design. She could just make out the back. There were runes there.
She leaned her arm over him and, as carefully as she could, lifted the hanging pendant. She turned it over, her arm precarious over his body. There were runes inscribed on the back. She read the matrix; it wasn’t a common sequence, but it wasn’t uncommon either.
She frowned in puzzlement. When activated, the sequence would cause the amulet to disappear. It was a novelty trick, used for lovers to mysteriously cause their gift to appear out of thin air.
To add even more to her perplexity, the runes were dead. The essence had drained long ago. The amulet wasn’t even functional.
Killian breathed deeply. Ella froze. Her arm was still across his body. She let go of the amulet just as he pulled it away from her touch. He moved his body, nestling in to her. Her arm now lay across his chest.
Ella stayed motionless for a long time, then relaxed. She could feel his heartbeat under her arm. Her head was nestled in the crook of his arm. His breath came softly on her cheek.
She would wait until he was deep in sleep again, and then she would move. She would wait just a moment…
43
Reputation is the shell a man discards when he leaves life for immortality. His character he takes with him.
— Sermons of Primate Melovar Aspen, 540 Y.E.
ELLA and Killian both woke at the same instant. It was sometime before dawn. He looked about in confusion, noticing her cuddled up to his body. She could not read the expression he gave her.
"I… I don’t know what happened. I guess I fell asleep."
"Shh!"
At the edge of hearing, Ella heard a man’s scream. It was suddenly followed by a roar, a wild cry of triumph. The wailing sound rose and fell, as if a man was in deathly pain. "Do you hear that?" she said to Killian.
"It sounds like the beast found other prey tonight," Killian said.
The screaming continued for hours, until it was suddenly cut short. Ella trembled.
She felt a warm presence as Killian moved closer to her. She felt his arm go around her. It gave her a wonderful feeling of protection.