The Brightest Shadow, page 31
Though she had just been sitting there with one arm raised, Tani felt tired. She got to her feet and stretched, staring out into the rain again. Now it just seemed drab and depressing. Best to go back inside and see what the others were doing, though it was always cramped.
Just before she turned to go back inside, Tani noticed someone approaching beneath a broad wooden umbrella. She felt a surge of fear before realizing that it was Efeinas. They didn't like him wandering outside and potentially getting them all caught, but they couldn't really stop him. He seemed a little more heroic every day and she constantly had to remind herself that he was just a man, and not a good man at that.
Normally she would avoid him, but this time she saw that he was walking with someone else. Peering closer, Tani saw that it was Laeri. Efeinas had his arm around her shoulder possessively. From a distance it was difficult to see how she was reacting, but it left Tani uncomfortable.
A few steps into the rain and her hair was plastered to her head. Tani tied one of the strings on her jacket closed to provide a little protection against the rain and otherwise accepted that she would be soaked. When she got closer, she saw that Laeri was laughing uncertainly.
Efeinas glanced up at Tani with a look of pure hatred. Sometimes his eyes held a simple purity, but at this moment she saw a mix of lust and anger. So she had been right. Tani moved under the umbrella and managed a smile.
"Laeri, you're needed back in the cave. Veron didn't hold back on Slaten and Melal again, so they need your help."
"Oh dear! I wish she wouldn't do that." Laeri sighed and then turned to smile at Efeinas. "It was... very inspiring talking to you. I hope we really can do everything you said."
"Of course we will. The enemy cannot stand before the army I'm gathering." In that moment, Efeinas did look more like the old Hero. Whatever else he wanted, he did seem sincere in his desire to kill Deathspawn.
Laeri stepped out from under the umbrella and gave a soft cry. Feebly putting her sleeves over her head, she ran toward the mouth of the cave, stumbling a little in the puddles.
Once she arrived, Tani stopped looking at her. Instead she turned back to Efeinas, who glared at her with none of the nobility from a moment before. The hand holding the umbrella's staff was very tight, while his other arm hung loosely.
"You're proving annoying, girl. I won't do anything to her that she doesn't want."
"Laeri is young and naive." And she had a suspicion that Efeinas might be able to manipulate her with more than just words, though she had never been able to say that aloud. "Leave her alone."
Efeinas growled. "Don't test my patience. I have many warriors much stronger than you now. You're not needed for the fight against the Deathspawn."
"Maybe not. But someone has to fight for Laeri."
He started to move and Tani defensively drew her sickle knife. Efeinas paused, but his expression twisted into one of mockery. "You really don't believe yet, do you? But you'll see. No one can stand against the Hero. The only question is how hard your lesson is."
Abruptly his fingers jabbed out, striking her shoulder. Tani desperately tried to circulate her sein against him like Celivia had taught her, but it wasn't enough, his skill was overwhelming. The numbness began spreading down her arm...
So Tani flicked her sickle knife out of it, caught it with her other hand, and brought it to his neck.
Efeinas didn't flinch, staring back at her. He wasn't afraid, she knew that - even if she'd tried to cut him, she wasn't sure it would have been effective. And though it was hard to remember, fighting through the haze in her mind she remembered that the old Hero had killed humans as easily as Deathspawn. But he hadn't killed any of them and she thought - hoped - that something held him back.
"Just don't bother Laeri," she forced herself to say. When Efeinas took a step backward, out of range of her sickle knife, Tani held it up a moment longer, then withdrew it.
"You're lucky I have higher concerns." With that, Efeinas walked away, taking the umbrella with him and leaving her in the rain. She watched him go, growing smaller in the distance. As the rain became more intense, the streams of water came down the sides of the umbrella like a wall.
Tani wrapped her arms around herself and realized how wet and cold she was. As she started to walk back, she began Veron's exercise again. Unfortunately, though it felt like burning, it didn't do much to actually warm her up because it was just an impression in her mind. Melal said that being able to truly perceive sein with the sense of touch was warmer, but she hadn't obtained that yet.
It was easier not to think about Efeinas these days. He was less casually cruel now, never bothering Eraes and mostly ignoring Tani. But he was focused in a way he had never been before. When that didn't take the form of wandering far from the cave, she worried that his focus would fall on Laeri.
Back at the cave entrance, Tani found Celivia standing and watching the rain. She didn't make eye contact, staring out through the crevice, but when Tani entered she spoke. "What did he do to Laeri?"
"Nothing, I don't think. Not as much as he wanted to. Is she okay?"
"Flustered. Not thinking clearly. Not that any of us really are." Celivia finally turned to look at Tani, eyes cool. "How many men does the Hero have now?"
"Efeinas."
"Efeinas, then. How many men does he have?"
"I'm not sure." Tani began wringing out her clothes over the short channel they'd dug to prevent flooding. "He talks like it's a great many."
"Are there that many just wandering around in the rainy season?"
"He may be finding groups hiding like we are. Thieves. Mercenaries. Village guards. I suppose we should be grateful that he's somehow managing to avoid being noticed. But it makes hiding out here seem stupid."
"I don't think the same rules apply to him." It seemed like Celivia might say more, but her voice trailed off. After a pause, she gave Tani a narrow smile. "On another note, I'm impressed with how fast you're learning. I feel like I need to work hard not to be left behind."
"That's kind, but you're exaggerating." Still, Tani smiled back. Celivia's smile cut straight through to her core in a way that still surprised her. "I'd rather keep working on the exercises we were doing before. Veron's technique may be effective, but it's boring doing the same thing for so many days at a time."
"Maybe after we get to safety, we can go back to old exercises."
Celivia soon seemed distant again, staring out into the rain. There were certainly many things to be gloomy about. Tani moved inside, wishing the air of the cave wasn't so damp. She found Laeri healing a slash across Slaten's chest, blushing and trying not to look at him. It was unclear if Slaten noticed, he just nodded to Tani as she entered.
Meanwhile, Veron and Melal lounged on the other side of the cave, trading a gourd between them. Melal seemed to be in a good mood and waved her closer. "Tani, come over here! We're celebrating!"
"What are we celebrating?"
"You kids aren't doing so bad," Veron said. She extended the jug in Tani's direction. "Go on, have a drink."
"Ah... sorry, but no."
Melal glowered. "No? You don't want to drink with us?"
"I can't handle it at all. I get flushed after just a little and after that I feel very sick." Some others in her tribe had been the same way, so she had always just avoided alcohol. Her master said that with training she could prevent the reaction, but it had never seemed worth it to her.
Veron grunted and took the drink herself. "Yeah, some Rhen are like that. Good to know your limits, I guess." After another swig, she looked at Tani thoughtfully. "You've been keeping up your exercises, right? But you haven't exhausted your sein?"
"Yes to both. I am ready for more training, if you want."
"I do want. Get over here, give me your hand."
Not certain what the older woman intended, Tani crouched down beside her and extended her hand. Veron handed the jug to Melal, then took Tani's hand with both of hers. One massaged her wrist while the other pulled back. It felt strange and there was no sein component that Tani could feel.
Abruptly Veron stabbed her in the finger with a needle. Tani jerked her hand back with a yelp, more surprised than hurt. Yet instead of fading, the pain of the sting seemed to be growing, spreading down her hand. She looked up at Veron in surprise.
"What did you...?" She had to cut off, gritting her teeth. Instinctively she tried to concentrate her sein against the pain, but it didn't seem to be doing much good.
"Jabbed ya with some poison." Veron sat back and extended her hand for the jug. Melal was staring in surprise, so she took it out of his hand. "Not normal poison, mind. Tries to move from your blood into the flow of your sein. Better fight it quick."
Tani had already been doing her best, the burning sein warring with the stinging sensation. At first it had been steadily advancing up her arm, yet as she concentrated she managed to push it back. It was strange, less spiritual than any sein exercise she'd ever felt, more like the sein was pumping through her veins. Though it hurt, the inside of her arm felt like it was being scoured clean.
Maintaining a balance around her wrist, Tani managed to look up and smile at Veron. "I think I understand. It's not poison, it's a teaching tool. The body instinctively fights the pain, so it forces you to use your sein more intensely."
"Nope, it's poison. You'd better fight it off or Laeri isn't getting any sleep tonight." Veron waved the needle around with her free hand. "So, who's next?"
~ ~ ~
When the bladed whip lashed out at him, Slaten had no choice but to take a step back and knock it aside. His boot sank into the muddy ground, throwing him off. Celivia didn't hesitate for an instant, jerking her whip back and sending those blades lunging at him again.
How could she put so much force into such a disconnected weapon? It had taken him enough work to use his sword fully and view it as an extension of himself. Using his sein with a weapon like that... it was possible that he was simply not built for it, just as he wasn't able to heal.
While he was distracted, the whip licked out again, this time biting into his shoulder. Even just practicing, it hurt. Celivia was very good at the exercise Veron had been teaching them, her sein always sharp and dangerous.
But after two months, Slaten wasn't bad at it either. He rushed forward, deeper into her range. As expected, she redirected the whip, which arched down toward his back.
His slash met it with enough force to knock the whip aside and still strike at her. He had expected Celivia to block with the duusha horn knife in her other hand, but to his surprise she smoothly stepped aside and stabbed out at his stomach.
She intended to stop her blow just before it touched him, ending the sparring match. Slaten didn't stop. He ran into the knife, ignored the pain in his stomach, and swung his sword against her neck.
They froze there for a moment. Slaten gasping for breath and trying to ignore the way his stomach was bleeding. Celivia with her knife still in his stomach and looking at the blade by her neck. After a pause, he caught a glimpse of her knife-like grin and she pulled her blade out.
"You're taking this much too seriously, Slaten."
"It was supposed to be a mock fight." He winced and dropped back against a nearby outcropping, trying to hold back the blood. "I knew I couldn't beat you, so I was aiming for us both to die from the beginning."
"Heh. Probably not wise to accept death from the beginning, but I can't fault your determination." Celivia turned away and caught Laeri's attention.
The Estronese woman hurried over, gasping at the wound. "Oh dear! Celivia, don't just stab someone like that, even in practice! Okay?"
"He threw himself onto it, actually."
Laeri's eyes turned on him, half stern and half surprised. "Slaten! That's not a very good thing to do. You aren't being reckless just because I'm here to heal you, are you?"
He stared back at her.
"Oh..." Laeri sighed and touched his stomach, her sein beginning to flow into him. In the beginning it had ached more, hindering him, but he was beginning to get used to the impact of having injuries healed. "You really shouldn't do that, you know?"
"She's actually right." Celivia stood behind her, arms folded. "Forcing your body to train constantly might help in the short term, but it will catch up to you eventually."
"Maybe," Slaten said. "But getting killed would hurt the long term a lot more. Are you telling me you've never gone too far because you needed to?"
She stared back at him, not responding except for her eyes, which were answer enough. Though it had softened since their first meeting, that hard intensity still lurked within her. Judging from that flat look, she definitely knew what it meant to go too far.
"Is that okay? Does it feel better?" Laeri pulled back, giving him a hopeful smile.
"It does, thank you." She beamed at his answer and stepped back, wrapping both hands around her staff again.
They stayed there for a while longer, not talking but not wanting to go back into the cave just yet. Now that the rains came in sporadic waves, the cave's stuffiness was even more unpleasant. While staying out in the breeze carried some risk, with Efeinas running around the entire region, excessive caution felt unnecessary.
"I think that's most of it." Eraes emerged from the crevice carrying a pack, which she set down next to them. "I don't know when Veron and Tani will get back, but we're ready to go. Wait, are you still training? Even now?"
Slaten nodded and Eraes rolled her eyes. Meanwhile, Laeri wrung her hands around her staff. "Are you sure we should go? I mean, shouldn't we wait for the Hero to get back?"
"We have no idea when that will happen and we can't afford to waste too much time. Traveling while there's still some rain, we have a slight element of surprise. But the drier it gets, the more soldiers will be out there. Sounds like it will get ugly out west."
He hadn't kept up with the newest information from outside, instead focusing on the one thing he could control. Now that they were going to travel again and face a dangerous environment, that felt slightly foolish. But even if he understood everything about the situation, what could he do about it?
Before they could talk for long, Tani and Veron appeared on the horizon. Despite the mud, they ran freely over the grasslands toward them. It looked like they were talking while they ran, though they stopped before they arrived. Tani looked cheerful, while Veron was dour and had a new jug at her waist.
"There's no one anywhere near!" Tani said. "I'm hopeful we can make it to the Nellanni River without running into anyone."
Veron nodded. "But you're probably going to have to fight after we split up, so you kids remember what you learned. Don't be fucking idiots and think you can take on a Catai now just because you trained a little."
They all nodded agreement, as they'd grown used to doing with Veron. Even if she didn't start pulling out poison needles, life was a lot easier when they agreed with her. Around that time, Melal woke up with a yawn and came to join them. Then they were ready.
Tani looked back toward the crevice, barely visible from their position. "I feel like we should say farewell to the cave somehow, after spending so long inside it."
"I never want to see that fucking cave ever again." Veron grabbed Tani's shoulder to spin her to face east. "Let's get out of here."
They started walking, but they hadn't gone far before they spotted someone. By now, Slaten was good at determining that it was Efeinas moving toward them, not a mansthein warrior. He had a unique run, especially with his long sleeves flapping in the wind. Though he wasn't glad to see him, Slaten would be glad for the new Hero's power if it came down to a fight.
When Efeinas stopped in front of them, he extended his hands to either side expansively. "We are assembling! This is your last chance to join us before we march!"
All of them stared at him, yet he didn't seem to care. Turning on his heel, he headed back east. They had no choice but to follow.
The longer they ran after him, the more the sunlight started to hurt Slaten's eyes. He had told himself that he would keep his head and remember who Efeinas was, yet the man seemed different now. Though Slaten didn't think about him as the Hero, it was getting hard to remember why that was important. They ran together, untiring but silent.
By the end of that day, they had been met by several other groups. Hard men who looked like they had been on the wrong side of the law, though now they followed after Efeinas, shouting in response whenever he called out.
That night they were joined by a larger group, including two women. Both of them went with Efeinas as the night wore on, his arms around their shoulders. Slaten just stared into the fire, trying to focus, but after a pause, Celivia kicked his leg.
"Hey. Did the old one ever do that? Goffoel, I mean."
"Huh?" You mean... with two...?" Slaten closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with one hand. "No. I don't think so. He didn't seem to care about anything except killing Deathspawn."
"I tried to talk to Veron about him. She said he was a normal, slightly simple-minded man, before... uh, before." Celivia stared into the fire without blinking. She hid it well, but he could tell that she was struggling to think clearly, just as he was.
"Whatever happens with... this, it's still them. The old one was still Goffoel. The Hero is still Efeinas." He winced as he unintentionally used the title, but Celivia nodded.
"I wonder how long it lasts. If he'll keep changing. The first one you saw... what was he like?"
Slaten's throat was almost too dry to answer. "Worse. Much worse. Like there was nothing else there, just..." Just that smile. That untouched blade. The purity within the violence.
Neither of them said anything else, could say anything else. After a while, Tani came and sat down between them, hugging her knees to her chest silently. They eventually settled down for the night, but he wasn't sure if any of them got any sleep.
