Майкл Салливан - Deep Magic. Fourth Collection

“You can travel with me to the nearest burgh,” she offered. “You should be healed enough by then to find work.”

He turned his head to peer past the fire, toward the distant lights of the Gray City. “What’s the point?” he asked softly. “I have nothing left to live for.”

She jabbed his shoulder with her fist.

He whipped his gaze back to her, clearly shocked.

“You have yourself to live for, you fool,” she chastised. “Do you think I have anything else to live for? At least you knew the love of a family for a time.”

He blinked at her, at a seeming loss for words. “I apologize. I wasn’t trying to insult you.”

She glared at him. “If you don’t want to insult me, then don’t be a fool. You’re young, and you have an entire life to live. You should not take such a gift for granted.”

He stared at her. “I suppose you’re right,” he said after a moment. “Though I still have no idea what I’ll do from here.”

She sucked her teeth. Why did she even care? She should have no interest in this young, lost, farm boy. “You’ll have three days to figure it out while we travel to the next burgh. Now get some rest.”

He watched her for a moment more, then nodded. He laid back down on the bed roll, then curled up on his side, turning his back to her. He was far too trusting of a stranger, but then again, she had rescued him. He had no reason to fear her.

Still sucking her teeth in irritation, she returned to her rock. She’d forgotten to ask his name, which irritated her almost as much as the fact that she only had one bedroll, and she’d told him to go to sleep on it.

With a sigh, she spread out her heavy black cloak on the forest floor, then laid down on her back. She stared up at the stars until sleep finally took her, smiling at her final thought before rest. Despite her irritation, it was nice going to sleep with the sound of someone gently snoring nearby.

KAI’S ENTIRE BODY ached. He’d known when he’d refused to work that he would be beaten, or worse, but truly, he hadn’t thought the consequences through. At the time it had seemed a good idea. Now the sun was rising on a new day, and he could never return home. He couldn’t risk what might happen to his family if he did. They were better off thinking he was dead.

He rolled over in his bedroll, then startled. The woman who’d rescued him the previous night was perched on a rock, staring at him. A bow was leaned against her thigh, and twin daggers rested at her slender hips.

He sat up, rubbing his aching head and coming away with dry flecks of blood.

“What is your name?” the woman questioned, her mood unreadable. For all he knew, she felt the same way about him as she felt about the rock on which she sat, but then, why had she saved him?

“It’s Kai,” he answered honestly. “Though perhaps I should change it now, just in case any guards from the city decide to search for me.”

She tilted her head, trailing her long, nearly black braid over the shoulder of her charcoal vest atop a loose, white blouse. Her black breeches hugged her legs tightly, tucked into knee-high black boots. A black cloak was flung back over her shoulder. What was this woman doing hiding in the woods with a man who was now on the run?

“No need to change it,” she said finally. “They won’t look for you so long as you don’t attempt to return. They’ll assume your body was dragged away by small predators.”

He shivered at the thought, knowing that would have been his fate had this woman not found him.

“I’m Anna,” she continued, rising from her perch. “Make yourself ready and we’ll be on our way.”

“Do you have a horse?” he questioned without thinking.

She smirked down at him. “No my lord , some of us have little choice but to get around on foot.”

He blinked up at her, not sure how he’d managed to offend her . . . again .

“Prepare yourself,” she said again. “Unless you’d rather venture off on your own. It is your choice.”

He immediately stood despite his body’s protests. He had no food, nor did he know the location of the nearest clean water, and he’d just lost the only people who cared about him in the entire world. He wasn’t about to lose the one person who now knew the truth about him, even if she seemed to scowl far more than she smiled.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, now with a meager portion of food in his belly, Kai started along the small trail through the woods with Anna walking a few steps ahead, her pack of supplies slung casually over her shoulder along with her bow and quiver. He watched her cautiously. He wasn’t used to people offering aid for no reason. In fact, he wasn’t used to people offering aid at all . The nearby trees shaded them from the murky sun, birds chattering in their branches. It would have been a nice walk if his body wasn’t screaming in agony. He limped along, favoring his right leg, and wincing at a sharp pain in his side with every step. He was quite sure the guard who’d beaten him had broken at least one of his ribs.

“What will you do in the next burgh?” he questioned, wanting to distract himself from his predicament.

Anna glanced back at him as she continued walking. “Resupply, then continue on. I’d hoped to find work on a ship at the coast, but none would take me. Not that they’re sailing right now regardless. The men still jump at shapes in the night, though the Faie have all but disappeared from the land. They fear Merrows in the shallows and Sirens in the deeps.”

Kai couldn’t help his smirk. He’d never seen one of the Faie himself, but he’d heard stories of the Faie War, which had ended roughly seventy years before he’d been born. No one knew why the creatures had vanished, and many lived in fear of them returning.

“So you’re a sailor?” he asked.

She snorted, not glancing back at him. “Sometimes. You’ll soon learn to do what you must to survive, whether it’s sailing, farming, or hiring out your sword.”

He glanced at the daggers at either of her hips warily. He’d never handled a sword in his life. “I can farm,” he mused, “but I’d likely drown if I sailed or stab myself if I tried my hand at swordplay.”

She whirled on him, her dark eyes wide. “You don’t even know how to use a sword!”

He blinked at her, stunned, then shrugged. “Why would I? I’ve spent every day of my life working on the farm to support my family. We could never afford a sword, let alone the time needed to become proficient at wielding it.”

She sighed heavily, then turned to continue walking. “You can inquire at farms in the next burgh. You wouldn’t last a day on the road on your own.”

He scowled at her words, but couldn’t exactly argue. Instead, he hurried to her side with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “ Or ,” he countered, “ you could teach me to use a sword.”

“You said it yourself,” she growled, “swords are expensive, as is the time needed to learn.”

Unwilling to give up so easily, his mind raced for something he could offer her, but he had nothing to his name, not even a single coin. “I’d do anything you asked,” he blurted. “I’ve lived my entire life as a slave to the city. I’m used to the work.”

She stopped walking, placed her hands on her hips, then looked him up and down. “What makes you think I’d want you? A farmer is of no use to me.”

He bit his lip, wracking his brain. “I can do more than tend crops. A life of farming has made me strong. Since you don’t have a horse, I could carry your belongings.” He eyed the pack she carried, containing her food, water, and bedroll. “And I’ve used a bow before,” he tapped the top of the weapon slung beside her pack.