Back and forth they went. Eolisti lunged and her opponent jumped back. He swung and she spun gracefully out of his reach. It was almost like watching a performance, actors missing each other by inches to the cheers of spectators. Now that arrows were no longer flying at her, Eolisti looked more relaxed and focused.
Sophie stayed seated on the ground next to her singed blanket, unable to tear her eyes off of the duel. Eolisti feinted right, then turned and landed a kick in his side. The man, the same one who encouraged them to surrender, moved with the blow to reduce its impact and then jabbed his blade at the Anai in retaliation.
The strike grazed her shoulder, and Eolisti took the opportunity to close the distance. She stepped forward and elbowed him in the chest, making him stagger back. Then, she kicked hard at his knee. A crunching sound echoed throughout the night and he screamed in pain. In a panicked rage, he brought his sword down, but Eolisti ducked to the side and punched him hard in the face with her sword hand. That, combined with his crippled knee, sent him toppling to the ground unconscious.
Eolisti sighed and sheathed her sword. She winced and shook out her hand. “Like punching a rock,” she mumbled to herself, then turned to Sophie, a wide grin on her face. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”
Sophie blinked. Fun? Fun?! They almost died and Eolisti thought that was fun?! Was she insane?
The look of disgust must have shown on her face because Eolisti burst out laughing a moment later and said, “Calm down. Our supplies are still intact and we’re both fine. What’s the big deal?”
“What’s the big deal?” Sophie heard herself getting louder and higher pitched with every word. “I’m not fine! That guy”—she pointed to the man on the ground near them—“hit me on the head. I could have a concussion.”
Both of Eolisti’s thin eyebrows climbed her forehead. “But can’t you heal yourself with magic? I’ve seen my mother do it.”
Sophie rubbed her fingertips against her temples. “Magic isn’t a solution for everything. Yes, I can heal myself to some extent, but not if the injury is bad enough. Head injuries are tricky, and concentration is a huge part of working magic. But that’s not the point,” she fumed. It was unlikely that she was injured beyond what a few hours of rest would fix, but she needed Eolisti to understand what could have happened. The Anai seemed to be treating the situation like a particularly vigorous training exercise. “That was dangerous. We could have been captured or killed before we even reached Bardov.”
“That was nothing,” Eolisti replied unperturbed and walked over to where Sophie sat, offering her hand. “That’s why I’m here, to protect you.”
Sophie glared at her hand, but after a moment, she took it. With Eolisti’s help, she got to her feet. The nausea was fading, and though her head throbbed dully, it wasn’t as painful as it had been a few minutes before. “Thanks,” she said. “You’re very good, you know, at fighting and all that.” She sighed and gave the Anai a small, tired smile. “I guess it was a little exciting.”
A shape moved behind the Anai. The man Eolisti had hit with a rock stood, blood streaming down a face contorted in rage. He held a dagger in his hand and brought it down at Eolisti.
Sophie acted without a second thought, gathering in her focus and releasing energy in an instant. A spark as bright as a roaring fire ignited just over Eolisti’s shoulder, blinding her attacker. Sophie directed the heat away from her companion and back toward the man, blasting him in the face with superheated air.
Just as quickly as it appeared, the spark was gone. The man dropped his dagger and his hands flew to his face. He stumbled back, muffled screams coming from between his fingers.
Eolisti whipped around, drawing her sword and crouching. She paused for half a second, seeing the dagger on the ground, then lunged at him and drove her knee up into his groin.
The breath exploded from his lungs and he collapsed. He writhed in agony on the ground, one hand clutching his groin, the other still covering his face. The skin there was cracked and blistered from where the heat had seared it. Sophie felt a twinge of guilt, watching him lie there in pain and seeing the effects of her spell.
Sophie thought she heard the snap of a bowstring and instinctively raised her hand, drawing in her power again and forming it into a barrier. There was a flash of blue light, and the arrow that was speeding toward them stopped in midair, spinning slowly, as if it were suspended in water. She kept the barrier raised in case more arrows came at them, but no others followed the first.
The man on the ground stared at her with wide eyes through his fingers. “Witch!” he gasped, voice hoarse with pain.
“That’s right,” Eolisti said, earning a glare from Sophie, and prodded him with her foot. “Now, why did you attack us? And don’t lie.” She kicked the dagger away from him and placed the tip of her sword at his throat. “I’m tired and have little patience for fools tonight.”
“Why should I tell you anything,” he growled, looking up at Eolisti with narrowed eyes. “You Anai are savages. You’ll just kill me anyway.” He painstakingly got to his knees, Eolisti’s sword following him as he rose. The man leaned forward, piercing his skin on the point and spat on her boots. A trickle of blood dripped down his collarbone and into his shirt. “Go ahead, bitch.”
Eolisti’s shoulders tensed at his words, and Sophie thought she really was going to kill him, but she only sighed and lifted her sword from his throat. His expression changed to one of uncertainty. “Not today,” she said and brought the hilt of her sword down, smashing savagely against the same side of his head that she’d hit with the rock. He collapsed again. “I told you I don’t have patience for fools.”
She sheathed her sword once more and turned back to Sophie, looking mildly annoyed. “We’re going to tie them up and start a fire. A campfire,” she added as Sophie opened her mouth in horror. “To draw out anyone looking for you. We’ll go back to the tree line and watch to see if anyone approaches. Do you know how to use rope?”
Sophie shook her head and Eolisti rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll do it. Just pack everything up.” Eolisti walked over to the packhorse and took a length of rope, that had been neatly looped, off the animal. Sophie followed and began digging through her pack. The Anai stared at her. “What are you doing?”
“There’s no point in letting him die when we went to all the trouble of keeping him alive.” She pulled a small leather sack out of the bigger bag and went back over to the unconscious man.
Sophie knelt and examined him. There was a large gash in his head from the rock, but it wasn’t bleeding much anymore. Most of the blood and vomit on his face had been burned away. He looked awful, but he was breathing steadily. From her perspective, it looked like Eolisti’s blow did serious damage, but she’d only hit him hard enough to knock him out. He would have a colossal headache and a lump the size of an egg in the morning, but he would probably survive.
Opening the sack, she pulled out a small bottle of greenish paste, a roll of linen bandages, and a clean white cloth. Uncorking the bottle, she smeared the paste over the gash on the man’s head.
“What’s that?” Eolisti asked, leaning over Sophie.
“It’s a paste made of ground yarrow leaves. It should stop the bleeding and keep his cuts from getting infected.” She hesitated, then added, “I don’t dare heal him with magic. The spells I used earlier could be tracked, but they were rather simple. Any hedge mage could cast them, given the chance.” Seeing Eolisti’s puzzled expression, she explained, “A hedge mage is an unsanctioned magic user, a highly illegal practice in Zo’rahn. So they have to avoid the attention of the magistrates.” Turning back to concentrate on the man, she added, “It takes a lot more skill than they typically have to heal wounds. If I don’t use anything complicated, they won’t know it was a trained wizard.” Unless someone who knows me comes to investigate. She thought with a chill down her spine.
She wrapped a bandage around his head and stood. “There. You can tie him up now.” Eolisti raised an eyebrow, and Sophie’s face suddenly felt hot. She looked away. “I’d rather not be hunted for murder, as well as running off, that’s all.”
Eolisti stared at her for an uncomfortably long time, then shrugged. “We use beeswax,” Eolisti said offhandedly as she knelt to tie the man’s hands and legs. “Elderberries work well too.” Without prompting, the Anai launched into an explanation of plants and their medical properties as they worked, Sophie treating their wounds and Eolisti binding their hands and legs. Some of the plants that she listed Sophie didn’t know, but assumed that they were just called by another name in Anaiian. She was surprised that Eolisti knew so much, but she must have traveled a lot being a Vendarii, and knowledge like that would be essential for someone who spent a lot of their time in the wilderness. Sophie only had basic medical knowledge. To be honest, she thought the study of medicinal herbs was a waste of time when she could heal with magic, but then again, she never thought she would be in a situation like this.
Sophie checked the other two men and bandaged them as best she could while Eolisti followed behind. Each had been hit on the head at some point, but they would all survive the night.
After the men were securely tied and gagged, Eolisti dragged them into a wide circle and then began gathering twigs and fallen branches. Sophie cleaned her hands on the cloth, put all her supplies away, then began folding their blankets neatly. She examined her blanket and sighed. It had a small hole burned into it and a large black stain from the torch. She would have to get a new one once they reached Bardov.
“Hey, since you’ve already magicked up the place, can you start the fire?”
Sophie waved her hand and focused. A spark flashed and caught on the kindling. Eolisti prodded at the fire while Sophie finished packing up their gear.
Eolisti left the dagger next to the fire then started examining the other weapons. “Garbage,” she muttered. “I guess they weren’t very good highwaymen, after all.” After finishing with the campfire, Eolisti mounted her horse and led them back toward the tree line.
They found a spot under the thick brush where the campfire was still visible. Eolisti tied up the horses to a few trees a little way away, “just in case,” and brought Sophie a couple of blankets, holding a long wooden bow in one hand.
“You go ahead and sleep. I’ll keep watch over the campsite,” she said, taking an arrow out of the quiver on her back and nocking it.
“Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“I’ll get a few hours in the morning and a few more when we stop at midday.” Eolisti grinned. “Don’t worry about me, Sophie. Just get some rest so we can get out of here quickly tomorrow.”
Without further argument, Sophie laid the blankets down and made herself comfortable. Well, as comfortable as she could be on the hard ground. She knew she should do as Eolisti had said and get some sleep, but a tiny part of her had to admit that the attack had been… exciting. It wasn’t just the danger of being hurt, killed, or captured. It was the thrill of letting out even just a trickle of the magic she’d been holding in since she’d left home. She even wondered to herself whether burning the bandit had just been an excuse to touch her power for a few more moments before sealing it away again. She tried to push those thoughts away, and calm herself with one of the exercises she’d learned long ago for clearing the mind, but she continued to shift and turn on her makeshift bed.
“What was your home like?”
The question was whispered so softly that she wondered for a moment whether she’d actually heard it or not. Sophie turned over to look at Eolisti and saw in the faint glow from their old campsite that the Anai was looking at her expectantly.
Sophie hesitated. Thus far she had kept key details about her life to herself. She realized it wasn’t that she thought any of the Anai would betray her, but because part of her felt shame. Shame about what she had done before she decided to leave, and shame that by seeking refuge with them, she may have put them in more danger. She chided herself mentally for the latter. The Anai and Zo’rahni had always been enemies, and her presence didn’t change that fact either way. Perhaps there wouldn’t be any harm confiding in Eolisti.
“I lived in a big manor house in the middle of the capital city, Tanzar. My room faced west, and I had the best view of the sunset over the city every evening. There was a garden of sweet-smelling flowers below my room, and when the breeze was just right, it was like my room was filled with blossoms.” As Sophie spoke, the memory of the sights and sensations of being back home flooded her.
“I actually loved going down to that garden when I first arrived in Tanzar. There were so many different kinds of flowers from all over the world, and each one had its own unique scent and beauty. I would spend most of my free time there until—” Sophie’s throat closed at the memory, and emotions threatened to overwhelm her. She had not thought of that day in years. She swallowed hard but continued.
“I wasn’t like the other Zo’rahni children. Most of the other apprentices wanted nothing to do with me at first. Some of them hated me and would go out of their way to make sure I knew I was unwelcome.” She felt tears spring to her eyes, and her words became shakier. “About a year after I moved to Tanzar, a group of older apprentices found me in that garden and said the most horrible things about my father and mother.” This time when she paused, she had to take a few deep breaths until she was able to go on.
“I told them they didn’t know anything about me or my parents, and one of the boys shoved me into a bush with huge thorns.” Sophie looked down at her palm and one of the nearly invisible scars she couldn’t see in the darkness but knew was there. “I didn’t go there alone anymore after that.”
She closed her eyes and fell into silence as she realized that she’d strayed far from what she intended to share with the Anai. That was over half her lifetime ago. What had made her think of it, let alone talk about it now?
“People didn’t like me much at home either,” Eolisti said softly.
Sophie was somewhat surprised at the Anai’s admission. Most of the time, she talked about the things she had heard about the world, or was asking questions about Zo’rahn, or how things worked. This was the most vulnerable thing Sophie had heard her say. Then she remembered how most of Eolisti’s sorties ended, punishment. Wondering if the other woman would say more, Sophie waited in silence.
“You probably noticed how boring everyone is back in Elasariin. Most of them just want to stay cooped up, safe in our little forest, and do the same things the same way every day because that’s just how it is done.” Eolisti’s voice took on a different tone as she mocked some nameless Anai, or, from the sound of it, several nameless Anai.
“I’m not like them. I want to see the world. I want to do more, to be more.” Eolisti paused, seeming overwhelmed with emotions of her own. She had been getting louder as she talked, but when she spoke again, her voice was so low Sophie had to strain to hear.
“People don’t like what they don’t understand.”
That simple statement resonated with Sophie. How much of the intolerance she had faced was because of that? It was a bit of a shock to realize that she and Eolisti had both experienced how that sort of ostracism felt.
“No, they don’t,” Sophie whispered back.
She was suddenly exhausted, and sleep was a welcome thought. She really was lucky to have Eolisti with her. Someone who knew what they were doing. And someone who understood something of what it was like to feel... other. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she wondered briefly who Zephan’s contact had been. They must be important if the Anai trusted them. A spy, maybe? But for who?
Sophie closed her eyes, the questions that were running around her head fading until they were barely a whisper. Then, even that drifted away.