Last Messenger - Chapter 17

Chapter 17 – Mia

Mia hid in the idlewood trees and watched Aael’s front door. She wanted to vomit. She cursed Elu and the Council and their stupid obsession with prophecy. But she came, duty demanded it.

A cramp caused Mia to clutch her stomach. The lies consumed her, both physically and mentally. Her life revolved around the truth and this charade made a mockery of that. She twisted and touched her back. With her finger she felt the raised outer ring of her Di’Mun. The scar marred her, defined her, trapped her.

The Di’Mun itched, but she didn’t scratch it, fearing the stain that covered it might rub off. The Council had insisted she get a tattoo, worried without one she would give herself away.

Mia refused. You could only push a judge so far. Instead, she had used hotha beans which grew in the Mountains of Despair to the north. Hotha juice stained the skin for weeks, and clothes permanently. They had painted her Di’Mun and made the six rings look like a bullseye. She had colored her skin with a watered down concoction of the same. It made her skin look tanned enough to pass as a southerner.

Then Mia had almost killed Aael. She winced in pain as her stomach lurched. She closed her eyes and cursed Raln for her fate. She hated her life back home, but it was better than this.

The evening sunlight would soon disappear. What would she do then? Movement from the southern gate caught her eye. Saniel walked between Caden and Aael, holding their hands. The three strode to their house and disappeared inside.

Mia gritted her teeth. They hadn’t even been in the house. Where could they have gone? There was nothing south but sand. Should she go and ask for Aael? She wanted to avoid the mages though. The thought of real mages so close sent a shiver through her. There was no way she would knock on that door and chance a confrontation. She had no training to face monsters like that. She wasn’t like Elu.

Aael had never come back from lunch, and Mia needed to talk to him, understand him. Her judgment must be correct. Aael didn’t know it, but she held his life, and whether he lived or died depended on her decision.

The second-story window opened, and a figure dropped to the ground, landing a few feet to the side of the front door. Shadows protected the figure and she couldn’t see who it was. Why hadn’t they moved? Had they injured themselves? She cocked her head, listening for sounds of pain, not sure what to do.

The figure moved, crouched over, to the side of the house and out of sight of the door. They wore baggy pants, a long shirt, and a hood that kept their face hidden. The same dirty white cloth wrapped their hands and feet.

Mia frowned. The garb reminded her of home. She rubbed her arm and wished again for the comfort of her Ru’et. She had never gone this long exposed. How could these people spend their lives like this, skin bared for everyone to see? The figure stood.

Mia recognized Aael from his stance, his arrogance obvious even from here. In the shadows, he looks like one of us, she thought. After a moment, Aael ran. Directly at her.

Mia stood to avoid being caught lying in the sand. Aael had covered the open ground in moments and had nearly reached the grove. Shocked at his speed, she almost didn’t speak in time.

“Hi,” Mia said.

Aael jumped away from her and landed on the side of his foot. He tumbled to the ground and struck an idlewood tree with a thump.

Mia covered her mouth to hide her smile. After a few seconds Aael still hadn’t moved and she wondered if she’d hurt him again.

“Are you okay?” Mia asked.

Aael groaned and rolled to his stomach. He stood and faced her, his cheeks red under the hood. “You surprised me.”

“I figured,” Mia responded. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. “Where are you going?”

Mia had spent her life learning to detect lies and guilt, to decipher complex issues and parse words. She needed none it for Aael. He was the worst liar she had ever met.

Aael locked eyes with her for an instant and then looked at her feet. “I’m just out for a walk.”

“Good, I could use the company.”

Aael stared at her, eyes wide. He grimaced as if in pain.

“I, but, I, ah…” Aael’s voice died off.

“Where are you going, Aael?”

“I’m not…”

“Stop. Where are you going?”

Aael swallowed. “I’m going to the fight.”

“What fight?”

Aael’s brow furrowed. “The championship fight is tonight between Snapper and Washer. It’s the end of the festival.”

Mia clenched her hand at the blunder. She had forgotten about the city dwellers and their festival. She needed to cover the mistake.

“I know that! I meant there won’t be a fight, Snapper will win. I have twenty tin on it,” Mia said.

Aael’s confusion evaporated and he smiled. “You bet like you shoot, poorly. Washer is unbeatable.”

Mia shook her head at Aael’s confidence, relieved she’d avoided suspicion. “Is going into Hylt wise? After all that’s happened?”

Aael studied the ground. “It might be the last I ever see.”

“I’m coming.”

Aael looked up and locked eyes with her for a few heartbeats. “On one condition.”

Mia narrowed her eyes. “What?”

“You take me to them.”

“Who?” Mia asked, confused.

“The guys who attacked me. Your friends.”

“They’re not my friends,” Mia said too loudly. She took a deep breath. “Why?”

“That’s my condition.”

“Are you going to hurt them?”

Aael folded his arms. “You can’t keep up with me. You agree or you can stay here.”

“If you leave me, I’ll talk to your parents, and you can’t outrun them,” Mia replied, trying to gain some leverage on Aael.

“Great idea,” Aael said with a smile. “My mom has been anxious to…talk with you.”

Mia ground her teeth, her bluff called. “Fine.”

Aael’s smile grew into a grin. “I’ll meet you at the dead fig tree over the first dunes.”

Aael ran into the idlewood trees. She opened her Void and cast it out like a thin web, but just like this morning, the trees exuded a fog and she couldn’t feel anything.

Mia ran after Aael and emerged from the grove just as Aael reached the northern Abbey wall. Aael jumped and caught the lip of the wall thirty feet above. He pulled himself over the top and disappeared, all in a blink. She gasped in shock and a little fear. Mages, even crippled ones like Aael, were dangerous and shouldn’t be underestimated. She forced herself to relax and then ran for the gate.

Slowing to a jog, Mia left the packed sand of the Abbey and entered the desert. To avoid any surprises, she stretched out her Void. A rabbit and what might have been a fox, were a five minute run to the east, definitely not Aael. A dozen strides later she felt him, a dense vibration, like a struck tuning fork. She snatched her Void back, numbed by the contact with Aael.

Mia had no experience with mages, and hadn’t trained to fight them like Elu and the Messengers. For the hundredth time that day, doubts consumed her. Elu had wanted to take Aael to the clans and not bother with this ruse. But she couldn’t condone kidnapping. Elu had lost his perspective with the death of his wife, and the Keeper considered mages rabid animals. He wished to kill them all.

The dead tree appeared. Aael perched on a limb three quarters of the way up. He saw Mia, slid off, and fell like a dagger to the ground. A twenty-foot fall and he’d not even bent his knees to absorb the impact. Mia shuddered at the unnaturalness of it.

Mia stopped in front of Aael. She wiped some sweat from her brow before it could run into her eyes, but her breathing was measured, and her heartbeat steady. She could run at that pace for hours.

“You’ve spent time in the desert?” Aael asked.

The question shocked Mia, but kept it from her face. “Why?”

“You run well in the sand, not like a city rat.”

Mia had spent her life in the desert, the sand as natural as her skin. She opened her mouth, not sure what to say. Lying was difficult for her and she had been unprepared for the question. Aael was observant, and she needed to keep him off balance. She had too many secrets to hide.

“Were you staring at me?” Mia asked.

Aael’s cheeks flushed and he looked away. “No.”

Mia put her hands on her hips and stared at him.

“Can you keep that pace to Hylt?” Aael asked without looking at her.

“Yes.”

“Then let’s run.”

Mia followed Aael and soon regretted her words. Without the protection of her Ru’et, the bottoms of her feet were unprotected, and they soon burned. She hated to show weakness, but the pain, amplified by the hot grains of sand, was only getting worse. She slowed and then stopped. Sitting cross-legged, she peered at soles of her feet.

“What’s wrong?” Aael asked.

Mia looked up at Aael and pointed to her foot. “The sand is too hot. Can we wait for it to cool?”

Aael’s back faced the sun and his face, shadowed by his hood, remained hidden. But Mia had spent her life in a culture that hid their faces, and she was an expert in body language. Aael was frustrated, and maybe even anxious.

Aael removed his hood and dropped it. He pulled his shirt over his head and turned to the side, like he wanted to minimize what she could see of his body. He looked rested, no sweat evident on his clothes or body. He turned his shirt upside down and ripped a strip from the bottom, the natural fibers seperating with a loud tear. He dropped his shirt and then tore the strip in two.

Aael turned to her and held out a strip in each hand. “Wrap them.”

“Thanks,” Mia said.

“Begin at the arch—” Aael started but stopped as she wrapped her feet.

Mia stood, her feet covered, a lifetime of wrapping her body burned into her muscle memory. She realized her mistake and collapsed to the ground.

“Ouch! That hurts,” Mia lied, undoing the cloth.

Mia glanced up at Aael. He stared at her and she worried she’d given too much away, but instead of accusing her, he knelt and grasped her right foot. His hand brushed sand from the bottom of her foot. It tickled and she tried to pull back, but he gripped her foot firmly.

Aael smiled. He brushed her foot again, and then again. She tried to twist away but it was useless. She started to giggle, half strangled ones at first, followed by uncontrolled laughter.

“Stop! Stop!” Mia gasped as tears streamed down her face.

“What? I’m trying to wrap your foot,” Aael said, “Now stop squirming.”

Mia bit her lip and tried to relax. She was the most powerful woman of the Shade clans, only the Keeper or the Council could challenge her, and here she sat, acting like a little girl.

It felt good. Mia had tasted freedom here. Something she’d never felt at home. She studied Aael as he wrapped her feet. Half his mouth turned in a smile, like he’d remembered a good joke. The fading light hid the dark splotches on his body, and she blushed. He was handsome, she couldn’t deny it. He held her feet like they were tiny birds and she felt her stomach turn again, but this time it wasn’t from anxiety.

Mia pulled her wrapped feet back, away from Aael’s hands. She could still feel where he had touched her, the skin hot. She bit her tongue, hard, and the pain flushed her mind. Emotions interfered with her job and her duty. I might sentence this man to death.

“Better?” Aael asked.

Mia stood and took a few steps. “Yes. Thank you.”

Aael nodded at her and she watched him pull his shirt on, his muscles outlined on his lean frame. He picked up his hood but didn’t put it on. 

Aael looked at her. “I like your laugh. It suits you.” Then he pulled on his hood, turned, and ran.

Mia stood there, face hot, upset with herself for being happy. Why did it matter what he thought? She bit her tongue again but it didn’t help. She sighed and chased after him.

They made good time and before long Aael slowed. They were close to Hylt and the city lights bled into the sky. The Silent Sea filled the air with moisture and the scent of brine.

“I’m dressed like an unclean, and it will draw attention if you walk with me,” Aael said.

“I know that,” Mia lied.

“If we get separated, meet at the arena, sea side gate.”

Mia nodded.

“Now take me to them,” Aael said.

Mia clenched her hands. “What are you going to do?”

“We had an agreement.”

Mia shifted her weight. Elu and her had manipulated the boys in that gang. They weren’t innocent, but they didn’t deserve to die. She couldn’t let that happen. But she couldn’t explain that without revealing her true identity.

“Mia, you gave your word.”

Mia had to take him, to gain his trust. The boys would probably be at the match, the hideout empty. Maybe they had moved completely. There wasn’t a reason to worry, yet.

“Okay,” Mia said.

Mia walked toward the warehouse district that spread like a fungus from the harbor. She opened her Void and let it expand around her, the bubble a stone’s throw wide. She relaxed. It would be hard to surprise her now. She felt people, rats, everything around her, each a unique vibration. Behind her, Aael felt like an uncomfortable pressure, like she had sneezed with her nose pinched. She pulled her Void closer, away from him.

The streets were crowded near the city entrance, but the closer they got to the harbor, the sparser it became. The streets were wider here to aid the movement of goods off and on the ships. She walked past a tavern and pulled her Void close, the mass of people, dense and energetic, too much for her to handle.

Turning left, Mia abandoned the main road for a narrower side street. The gang squatted in the top floor of a derelict warehouse near here. As she drew close her hopes fell, light escaped from the edges of a blanket, hung poorly over an upper window.

Mia closed her Void as Aael approached. She couldn’t allow him to kill these boys. “There,” she said, pointing at the window.

Before Mia could say another word, Aael had disappeared. He’d taken two steps, leapt to the window, and pulled himself on to the ledge. He pulled the blanket back and peered inside. She watched him pull something from inside his shirt.

Mia panicked. If these boys died it would be her fault, and she couldn’t live with that, so she did the only thing that came to mind. She screamed a warning.

Aael looked down at her, and Mia heard him curse. He dropped a bag on the ledge and jumped down, landing next to her. He pressed himself against the wall and pulled her next to him.

“Are you crazy?” Aael whispered.

“You can’t kill them, they’re innocent.”

“Hardly, they almost killed me.”

“No, I almost killed you, I’m not—”

Aael covered her mouth with a hand as light flooded the street.

They were so close Mia could hear Aael’s steady breaths, a marked contrast to her terrified gasps. They faced each other, his dark blue eyes looked black in the diffused light from above. She had never met a Ki’Van, the clans had lost their only one around seventeen years ago. That made her think of Elu and she calmed down. 

Mia heard a gasp from above and then excited voices. The light faded as the blanket fell back into place, the gang’s attention consumed by something else.

“Good, they found it,” Aael said.

“Found what?”

Aael turned toward her. “I wanted to check on the one I hurt. I left the aln I was going to bet on the match for them. It will be enough for a doctor and medicine.”

“You didn’t come for revenge?”

Aael didn’t look at her. “No, I’m not a monster.”

Aael had spoken softly, as if to himself. Mia was here to determine that exact thing.

Mia didn’t know how to respond to Aael and she felt silly for her earlier scream. But that scream meant she hadn’t lost her way completely, and at least she knew she wouldn’t sacrifice a group of boys to keep her secret.

Aael pushed himself away from the wall. “Let’s go watch the fight.”

Mia nodded and followed Aael toward the main road.

Aael spoke but didn’t turn around. “I like your laughter better than your scream.”

Mia didn’t know what to make of Aael, her intuition clouded. She smiled, and enjoyed the warm feeling in her chest.