Thomas Reid - The Fractured Sky

She could hear the half-drow chuckle softly behind her. "I inherited my father's eyes, too, you know," he said. "But the ground was very soft there, and it was easy to make out."

"So who is it?" Aliisza asked.

"That is a question that will have to wait a while," Tauran said. "Until we catch up to Zasian."

"The important thing to remember is that he has allies," Kaanyr said. "Wherever Zasian is going, he could accumulate even more. We must be on watch."

"A fine point," Tauran said. "And one that we should…" The angel's voice trailed off and he slowed to a stop, a look of unease on his face.

The rest of the group caught up to him and peered where he stared into the gloom ahead. Aliisza could not make out much, but the air was filled with a cloud of gray, something slightly darker than the surrounding silver.

"What is that?" she asked.

"I don't know," Tauran replied, still staring. "But I fear it does not bode well for us."

"We should not all approach it," Kael said. "It could be dangerous, or even a trap laid for us."

"I'll scout it out," Kaanyr said.

The offer caught Aliisza by surprise. She stole a look at her companion and noted that his expression seemed genuine. He was frowning as he stared at the smudge of blackness in the distance, but he sensed her stare and turned to look at her.

"What?" he asked. "I can avoid being seen when I wish it. You know that."

"Yes, of course. But since when have you volunteered to do anything around here?"

Kaanyr's smirk was fleeting. "Since the three of you came back for me," he said. At Aliisza's widening eyes, he added, "I've come to figure that perhaps the best way to survive this escapade is to make sure it succeeds. Don't go thinking I'm getting all soft and caring, fool girl. I just don't want to spend the rest of my days trapped here."

Tauran studied the cambion for a moment. "Very well," he said. "Sneak up a little way and see what you can find out. But at the first sign of something dangerous, you slip away again and return. No exceptions."

Kaanyr's smirk returned. "Well, since you put it that way, I guess I have no choice, do I?" he said. "I'll be back in a moment. Make yourselves comfortable." With that, the cambion slipped away, quickly disappearing among the lush growth.

Kael led the three of them down into a partially concealed hollow surrounded by scrub brush and trees. He sat and pulled a bundle free of one of his satchels. He unpacked some dried meat from it and popped a chunk into his mouth. He held the bundle out to Tauran, but the angel just shook his head. Kael next proffered some of the meat to Aliisza. She took a couple of thick strips and nodded in thanks.

Tauran turned away and found an outcropping of rock. He plopped down on it and hunched over, placing his face in his hands. The weariness in his body made him wilt in the alu's eyes. He sat there unmoving for several moments.

"Rest, my friend," Kael said, rising to his feet again. "You've pushed yourself hard and need the respite."

"I'll be fine," Tauran mumbled. "Everyone else is tired too."

"Tauran, I mean it," Kael said. "The grief wears you down. I know. I've been there."

Aliisza started when she heard that. She looked up at her son's face. What have you grieved for? she wondered. Me, perhaps? That thought strangely comforted her.

"Please," Kael said. "You're no good to us exhausted. I'll keep watch for a while."

Tauran sighed. "Very well, but only for a few moments. Wake me when Vhok returns."

With that, the angel slid down from his rocky seat and stretched himself on the ground, using the stone for a pillow.

"I won't be far," Kael said to Aliisza softly. "I'll stay in sight. You can rest too, if you want." He turned and climbed out of the little depression and walked a few paces out from it, where he proceeded to begin circumnavigating in a casual stroll.

Aliisza watched her son for a few moments, but his gaze seemed always outward, away from their hidden haven. He was an enigma to her, and one that piqued her curiosity in new ways every day. For what do you truly grieve? she pondered again.

Aliisza turned her attention to Tauran. The angel lay still, and the alu wondered for a moment if he actually slept, but just when she decided that he must be dozing, he sighed and shifted around. In his new position, Aliisza had a better look at his face, and what she saw wounded her. Lines furrowed his expression, and his eyes seemed clouded and watery. He stared at nothing, sadness radiating from him.

Aliisza got up and moved close to the deva. She knelt down next to him and took hold of his face. He raised it up to look at her, and she leaned forward to kiss him on the forehead.

"Aliisza, I can't-"

The alu placed her finger upon her lips. "Shh," she said softly. She guided his head toward her and urged him to place it upon her lap. "Just rest," she whispered. "Close your eyes."

She began to stroke the angel's head, then, twining her fingers in his golden locks. Occasionally she would run her hand down the back of his neck, squeezing gently in a reassuring way.

At first, Tauran lay rigid, his body stiff and his muscles corded. He couldn't seem to get comfortable. After a time, and with Aliisza's gentle caresses, he began to relax. He let out a series of small sighs, and his body seemed to melt into hers and into the ground. In another few moments, his breathing had become the slow and even exhalations of one asleep.

I can't begin to imagine what you've sacrificed for this, Aliisza thought. Or even why you would do it. Nothing can be worth that, can it?

Thoughts of the lessons he had tried to teach her, when she had been his prisoner, crossed Aliisza's mind. The only way to truly know love is to give in to it, she recalled. You have to be willing to expose yourself, make yourself vulnerable, to reap the rewards.

Whom do you love so much? Tyr? Is a god worth loving like that?

A pang of jealousy hit Aliisza. She wasn't sure why she would be jealous of Tauran's love for Tyr, but slowly, as she dug deeper into the emotion, she realized that she wanted the angel's love for herself.

Why not me? she thought. Am I any less deserving of that kind of devotion and dedication? At least I'm not some lofty, mysterious, obscure being no one understands, she sniffed.

And I would love you back, she silently told the angel. I would give you everything you ever wanted. Let's just leave this place, find a home somewhere, and love each other.

"What are you doing?" Kaanyr asked, quietly entering the hollow. Kael stood right behind him, peering over the cambion's shoulder.

Aliisza started at Vhok's sudden appearance. "Nothing," she said as Tauran stirred and sat up. The angel looked first at Aliisza, then he followed her gaze to Kaanyr.

The cambion's stare was emotionless, and at the same time, his eyes glittered dangerously. He looked at Aliisza for a long time.

The alu swallowed, wondering why she felt guilty. What have I done?

Kaanyr turned his attention to Tauran. "It's smoke," he said, his voice a bit colder than usual. "There's some sort of village up there, and it's been burning. I see no signs of life."

"Oh, no," Tauran muttered, rising to his feet. "We must go there, see if anyone survives."

Kaanyr shrugged, then turned to look at Aliisza once more.

The alu shuddered beneath his pointed stare. At the same time, she felt herself growing cross with Tauran. He seemed oblivious to Kaanyr's displeasure. Why? Why does that bother me?

Because he wasn't thinking of you enough even to feel guilty, she realized. Damned angel. Damn both of you! she fumed.

The cambion turned and walked past Kael back out of the hollow.

The half-drow shifted his stare back and forth between the angel and the alu. His expression was grim, and he shook his head in disapproval. Aliisza climbed to her feet as Tauran pushed past Kael, his focus turned entirely on whatever was burning.