Sleepless

Despite his seeming good nature, Silosyil couldn’t bring herself to trust the Light Bringer. And she was annoyed at how quickly Ayred had warmed to him. When they stopped for the night the two had started chatting like old friends about Malav and Charyic. But even she listened intently while Esus waxed poetic about Charyic and how she rescued him from Malav’s dungeon.

“My father said she was small.” Ayred mused. “To do all you claim she sounds as though she should be my brother’s size.”

Esus laughed, “My beauty is small, but don’t underestimate her.” He smiled at Silosyil, “She robbed a Light Bringer in Anykrocath, stole her armor, her horse, everything she had. And Miryil is one of the best.”

Silosyil grinned despite herself. “When grandfather steals her back I’ll make sure to introduce myself.”

The Light Bringer looked as though she’d stabbed him in the heart. He opened his mouth and closed it and then shook his head and looked down at his hands.

Ayred touched the man’s bare shoulder tentatively. “She’s just being spiteful. Silosyil is a lot like my brother that way.”

“I’m not!” Silosyil started to argue and then amended it, “I didn’t actually mean to be.” She took a breath before apologizing, “I’m sorry if that came out wrong.”

The naked man nodded and took a deep breath. “The thought of losing her, or having her stolen again is- I lost her once, when Malav took her. They were the worst months of my life since I had become a Light Bringer.” He raised his head and his mirrored eyes seemed to harden. “I won’t lose her again.”

After a long silence, Silosyil said quietly, “We should build our nests. We’re running out of light.”

“There’s no need.” Esus said with a shrug.

“Bugs.” Aramen sighed and Silosyil felt a moment of vindication.

“Not tonight.” The Light Bringer smiled his annoyingly crooked smile and shook his head. “And you’ll be warmer closer to me.”

It took everything she had not to glare at the man. “We’ll sleep in shifts.” She said coolly.

“I won’t be sleeping,” Esus said with a look into the woods toward Gaelel. “Rest. I want to be moving again before dawn.”

His concern made it difficult for anyone to sleep. Every time Silosyil would turn over she would see someone else looking up or doing the same. Well before dawn she sat up and looked Esus. There was a feeling in her stomach like the urgency she had felt trying to get back to Ayred. “It’s time to go.”

Esus looked at her curiously, “It’s only been a few hours, it’s too dark to travel and too dangerous for me to light the way.”

She shook her head, “That doesn’t matter. Stay close to me and we’ll be fine, I won’t lose my way. We have to go, now.”

Ayred was already getting up and Aramen looked at her with an unreadable expression. Esus checked on the half drowsing Lutius. “I can try to help carry him if the two of you would like to take breaks.”

“Fine.” Aramen rolled and came to his feet, “Ayred, you stick close to her.”

“Why does it feel like something is happening?” Ayred looked to Silosyil as if she would have the answer.

Heaving Lutius off of the ground with Aramen, Esus answered quietly as they began to walk, following Silosyil closely, “If I’m not wrong, Silosyil is being called back. Isemal will sometimes give his priests orders, they come like a wave breaking, a feeling that there is a specific thing that should be done. It’s only done in the presence of his altars.”

Making a gesture for silence, Silosyil looked to Esus, and balancing the statuette on her leg she brought her thumb to the base of her throat and up the side in a smooth gesture under her ear and out across her jaw. He nodded grimly. Charyic had taught him some Iskesh, that might be either helpful or a terrible mistake on her part.

Silosyil kept moving slowly taking care in her steps, the men behind her seemed to be doing the same, they moved more quietly than she had hoped they could. The danger was close, she wasn’t sure what it was but she could feel it. She knelt holding the statuette close to her chest, something…

Something sprang from the dark and Ayred met it with his sword. Hot blood gushed landing on her neck as she bowed her head, unmoving.

“A Sial.” Ayred hissed. It made a wet sound as he pulled his blade from it.

Esus risked light and Silosyil raised her head to see eyes glowing in the dark. “Teaching her young to hunt.”

Two nearly grown Sial lunged forward into the light and before Esus and Aramen could get Lutius to the ground and draw blades Ayred had made quick work of them. Silosyil looked up at him in surprise and he smiled proudly. Somehow, spattered in blood, he actually looked like a prince instead of a spoiled boy.

Esus stepped forward quickly and touched the creatures turning them to ash in three foul smelling bursts. “I don’t know if Malav can raise dead animals, and I would prefer not to find out.”