“No.” He sighed. “You can’t see it because you—” He searched for words that wouldn’t antagonize the situation further. “Have a history with Icarus and want to believe the best.”
“I don’t just want to believe it, Siban. I feel it.” Her hold tightened on the reins. “I don’t understand why you can’t feel it as well.”
“Two years being tortured by the Bane. A lifetime of fighting the demons.” He bit the inside of his cheek. The Bane had taken much more than his life. “Watching my family being slaughtered by the demons.”
Rell’s head snapped around. “The Bane killed your family?”
It was difficult to keep the memory buried. He nodded. “Killed everybody but my sister.” He looked at her. “Would have been better if they had.”
“Where is she?”
“An abbey near Itta.” It had been nearly a year since he’d gone to see her. Seeing the once vivacious girl who now sat silently staring was more difficult than his own nightmares. “She doesn’t speak. Just stares out the window.” He swallowed hard. “The Sisters take good care of her and I send money to provide for her.”
“I’m so sorry.” Though Rell didn’t touch him, her compassion wrapped around him, soothing the bitter memories. “I didn’t know.”
“Nobody knows. You’re the first I’ve told.”
“Why did you tell me?”
“So you’ll stop jumping into the fray and trying to save the world.” He looked at her. “So you’ll understand everything I’ve already lost.” He reached across the space between them and caressed her cheek. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Rell.” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
She blinked several times but didn’t look away. “I’m not your sister, Siban. I’ve experienced the worst. Watched my father be killed, turned to a Bane. You can’t compare me to anybody else.”
If sharing his darkest memory hadn’t changed her mind, he didn’t know what would. “You’re right, you’re not my sister. There’s still hope for you.” He paused. “For us. I care about you and want to keep you safe.”
A grimace pulled across her mouth. “None of us are really safe anymore, are we?”
“No, but you don’t need to court danger.”
Her spine stiffened slightly. “I promised to be more careful.” She placed her hand on his arm. “I know you want to protect me. But like you said, I’m part of this group. Others are depending on us. You won’t be much help if you’re only focused on my safety.”
He shook his head. “You can’t ask me to stop worrying about you, Rell.”
“And you can’t ask me to ignore what I know to be true.” She nodded. “But I also promise not to take unnecessary risks.”
His hand slid to her waist and he pulled her to him. “If only I could believe that.”
She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Trust me.”
“I am trying.” He sighed. “You are as maddening as a woman as you were a demon.”
“But I’m prettier now, don’t you think?”
He knew she was trying to tease him out of his dark mood and with her body pressed against his it was working. “I don’t know. I liked your horns quite a lot.” His hand drifted downward and cupped her bottom. “Really did something for me.”
She scowled. “I don’t know if I should feel complimented or disturbed by that admission.”
His grip tightened on her rear end and he pulled her closer, capturing her lips with his. She wound her arm around his waist and opened to his assault. Their tongues met, sliding along each other.
“Your turn,” Meran said. “If you two can tear yourself away from each other.”
Rell broke the kiss and stepped away, blushing. “Right.”
They led their horses to the stream where they drank their fill. After a quick meal of jerky and hard cheese, the group remounted to continue their trek. Their conversation had alleviated some of Siban’s worries. If Rell did as she promised and tempered her propensity to dive into danger, perhaps they’d be able to work through their differences about Icarus. At least he hoped they could.
The day turned warm, making the normally cool and shaded forest an agreeable temperature. If the knowledge of where they were going hadn’t been looming over Siban, the trip would have felt like nothing more than a pleasant journey with friends.
The hours passed with no further excitement. By nightfall they’d reached the hot pool, where Luc and Jade had camped before entering the Shadow World. Though the entrance lay only a short ways ahead, Rell and Jade had both assured the group that the Bane rarely ventured to that side of the mountain.
They quickly assembled camp within the trees, keeping the horses and their gear hidden. Sleeping by the hot pool would make them an open target for anything approaching from above. No fire was set and dinner consisted of another cold meal from their provision packs, which was filling but not particularly satisfying after the delicious meals Willa and Delphina had spoiled them with.
“I’ll take first patrol,” Siban said, looking pointedly at Rell.
She stood. “Me too.”
“Okee and Odette, you take the south entrance. Rell and Siban patrol the north toward the entrance of the Shadow World,” Gregory said. “Go no further than fifty yards beyond camp. There’s no need to safeguard a larger area and that should be far enough out to give us time to rally should the need arise.” He turned to the group. “After your shift wake two who have not yet patrolled. The rest of you try to get some sleep.” He returned his attention to Siban and Rell. “Sound an alarm if you encounter any trouble. Stick together and stay alert.”
The four nodded. Rell and Siban headed into the forest while Okee and Odette walked in the opposite direction. With the mountain rising to the left of camp, only the east side remained unguarded.
“Let’s patrol in an arc to catch the eastern side.” Siban wove his way through the trees.
“Good idea.” Rell hopped over a fallen trunk. “There’s never been much Bane activity here, but with the increase of demon attacks, we can’t be too careful.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
They stopped approximately fifty yards from camp and walked a wide arc. Neither spoke, both sending their awareness out among the trees, using only their Tell for communication. Quickly they fell into a pattern of scanning and sending information to each other. After a while, the continuous psychic touch became more effective than speaking. Words only conveyed the message and the perceived feeling of the person, but by reading Rell’s Tell, Siban picked up on not only her mood, but her intent, the vibrations of the area around them, and how she appraised what she was sensing. Though they ventured no farther than ten yards apart, he became more comfortable increasing the distance between them due to their solid connection.
Temperatures dropped, turning the evening cool. A thin layer of mist slithered across the ground, slowly spreading out in all directions from the hot pool near camp. Chirping from the night hoppers whirred below the underbrush and an owl hooted in a tree near where they patrolled.
As they started their third pass a faint anomaly registered along Siban’s Tell. He stopped the same instant Rell did. She looked at him and gave a single nod. They crept closer together and stood several yards from the face of the mountain. The abnormality turned into warning, which mutated into the bite of the Bane presence.
He swore under his breath and tried to pin down the Bane’s location. The demons seemed to be moving quickly, making it difficult to isolate exactly where they were. The biting grew. He squinted, straining to see into the dark, but nothing moved.
Not halfway into their shift and already they had encountered problems. If they were lucky, the Bane would pass over and not realize that a Bringer party was camped in the trees below. The decision to sound an alarm warred with waiting to see if the Bane noticed them. No doubt Odette and Okee felt the presence as well, but no alarm had gone up.