“Too late, Shaden. He’ll never know what happened to you.” Even Tomn’s eyes were pitiless. Beck and Hoth glowered at him.
“No,” Thealos whispered, too weary to move. He cradled his wounded wrist. Terror washed into him, deeper than any knife. Spots danced in his eyes as the shock settled into his bones. He was going to faint. What have I done! What have I done!
“Kill him,” Tannon spat.
A subtle movement flickered in the corner of Thealos’ eye. He collapsed as the killing began.
X
It was the pain that brought Thealos awake. Hungry, screaming, bone-throbbing agony. He shuddered and crouched beneath the folds of sleep and waking, fearful to slip too far to either side. The feeling of being alone, abandoned by the gods, was almost too much to bear. But he wanted to live, not die in the swamp like the Crimson Wolfsman had, his body left to rot with worms. Cautiously, he let himself drift closer to the source of his life, preparing for the damaged body he would meet. It hurt to move, to breathe. Light stabbed his eyes, and he wondered how he could be feeling the sun in the depths of a gully.
Something wasn’t right. Instead of damp mud with poking roots and hard pebbles, he was lying on a warm wool blanket. He smelled fresh cinders and the tang of a wood fire. It took a moment of struggle to open his eyes.
“You’re alive,” the man told him in a gentle voice.
Thealos blinked. He tried to move his arm to scratch his face, but it screamed with pain and wouldn’t move. It was bound tightly to his body by a cloth sling. Glancing around, Thealos saw a small grove of twisting oak, free of the death and ugliness of the scarred maple forest.
“Here, let me help you sit up,” the stranger suggested from behind. He felt strong arms cradle his neck and lift him up. He wanted to sob with pain. Looking down, he saw blood spattered on his clothes.
“Sweet Vannier. The blood! Is it all mine?”
“No,” the stranger chuckled, coming around in the light where Thealos could see him. With his tanned face and wider shoulders, the man was certainly human, but his eyes were classically Shae – grey with streaks of ice and green. His dark hair with gold tints was cut just above the shoulders. He was of medium build and had a handsome face with a cynical twist to his mouth. He was clothed only in black. A long tapered sword was belted across his hips with a curious symbol etched into the steel pommel. An identical symbol hung from the stranger’s neck – a bronze medallion of an offset cross within the borders of an octagon. Thealos looked from the stranger’s hands to his face. The cowl of the cloak was down. He gave off a comforting smell, something akin to a cedar chest and well-worked leather.
“Have you had a good enough look yet?” the stranger asked pointedly, aware that Thealos was staring.
“I’m sorry,” Thealos stammered. Distrust welled up in him instantly. “How did you find me?” He didn’t know whether Tannon’s Band had left him for dead or not. Something nagged at his memory, but it was hazy now. They should have killed him. Why hadn’t they?
Behind the stranger, near the fire, Thealos saw the polished blade of Jade-Shayler and the Crimson Wolfsman shawl. There was also the dagger, still stained with blood. He looked at the stranger warily.
The stranger followed his gaze. “I saved those for you,” he said. “You may need them where we’re going.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I saved you from those soldiers,” the stranger replied. “I think you owe me something for that.”
“They took all my money,” Thealos answered. His shoulder throbbed.
“It’s over in that pile.” The man pointed to another heap. He saw glittering Aralonian pieces, the hoppit doll from Arielle, even the gown that Tomn had showed him. “I don’t have any need of those things. I have need of you.”
“Who are you?”
The stranger smiled. “You ask that in the same way you’d ask a pirate. I’m not going to hurt you or ransom you. My name is Jaerod.” He looked deeply in Thealos’ eyes.
“Am I your hostage then? You said I was going with you.”
“I don’t take hostages,” Jaerod replied. “Have you ever been to the Shoreland?”
“Only to Jan-Lee. Is that where you are going?”
“No, I’m on my way to Sol.” He smiled, but Thealos didn’t trust him. “I’d like you to come with me.”
“And why would I want to go with you to Sol?”
Jaerod’s eyes said more than his mouth. He looked at Thealos as if he’d known him for a long, long time. It was a strange…familiarity. “Because I know something your Silvan queen would want to know. Information her council and the Sunedrion would value.” He smiled wryly. “But I don’t think she would believe it coming from a human, do you?”