Patrulha shrugged. “He didn’t. He only wanted to see if the person who possessed the sword also had the fortitude to own it. Besides, I knew we needed it to fight Pestilence. This was about the time of the first outbreaks and Stellan had said it was likely to worsen. Obviously, his predictions were correct.”
“But…your eye! What kind of a trade was that? I mean, couldn’t Stellan have conjured up some kind of payment?”
Patrulha shook her head. “A sorcerer’s power doesn’t work so easily. Magick–well, true magick at any rate–requires time and preparation. It isn’t just a flick of the wand and there it is, as some might have you believe.” She chuckled. “This purchase was a spontaneous one anyway. The merchant took me to a back room. I sat down, he plucked out my eye, and I walked away with an enchanted sword.”
Clarysa held a hand to her mouth in an effort to suppress her rising nausea. “How barbaric!”
“Well, at least he threw in the patch for free!” Patrulha threw back her head and laughed.
The sound was unnerving, more like the squawk of a desperate vulture. “Didn’t he give you something for the pain? It must have been horrible.”
Patrulha’s laughter quickly faded. She regarded Clarysa solemnly, speaking in a low voice. “You have no idea.”
Clarysa regarded the gleaming weapon before her with a renewed respect.
They sat together for a while, heads bent so closely they almost touched, studying the weapon together. Clarysa wondered if she and Patrulha could overcome their differences enough to become friends. She hoped so.
Eventually, Patrulha brought the moment of intimacy to an end. “Go back to sleep, Clarysa. Eight more hours of riding lie ahead of us and we rise before dawn.”
But Clarysa stayed rooted to her seat. Another question nagged her, one swaddled in sympathy for the lonely woman next to her. She probably risked offending the Captain, but she was a close friend of Stellan’s. Clarysa wanted to understand her better.
“Patrulha, you said you wanted two things from losing your eye. One was the sword, the other ‘undying devotion.’”
Patrulha frowned. “What of it?”
Clarysa’s countenance softened. “One would have to be daft not to guess how you feel about Stellan.”
Patrulha stared into the fire, silent.
“Haven’t you told him?” asked Clarysa.
Patrulha stood. “That was a long time ago. Besides, he’s the happiest I’ve ever known him to be. You two should be together.”
“But, Patrulha–”
The Captain glared down at her. “I’m here to rescue him because he deserves a better life, and obviously that means one with you. I’ve accepted the inevitable. Now I’m asking you to do the same.”
“I… As you wish.” Before Clarysa could say another word, Patrulha turned and stalked away into the night.
Chapter 34
Clarysa rose with the others in the dark hours of the morning. They consumed a cold, meager meal in near silence. Afterward, they packed the saddlebags and resumed their trek. Clarysa held back, taking up the rear. Her position gave her the freedom to observe Patrulha, who rode point.
Clarysa reflected upon the information she had candidly given up the night before. Logic didn’t seem to apply to her–but perhaps that was the mystery of Patrulha. Clarysa wasn’t so sure the warrior woman no longer harbored certain feelings for Stellan. It would certainly explain her icy attitude toward Clarysa all this time. A twinge of guilt made her sigh. Patrulha deserves happiness, too. Unfortunately, she had no idea what would give her satisfaction.
The sun climbed higher in the sky as they traveled. Warm air carried aloft scents of honeysuckle and pine. Had Stellan lumbered through here in his bestial form? Clarysa searched about her as they continued, desperate for a glimpse of him. But only sprinting rabbits and butterflies appeared.
As the day edged past the noon hour, Patrulha held up a silent hand.
Everyone halted. She dropped from her mount and crouched low to the ground. She appeared to be searching for something.
“What are you looking for?” Clarysa asked.
“Patience, Princess,” Hunter murmured.
Whatever Patrulha was searching for, she found it. She motioned for everyone to continue down the serpentine path before them. The captain pulled Hunter aside for a few private words, words Clarysa could not determine despite her best efforts. Why wouldn’t these people tell her anything?
The road descended into a shallow valley, one with a sprawling stone-and-mortar building in its belly. It was buttressed by fenced lots of various plants and greenery. Dollops of every color exploded from fragrant blooms. Clarysa stared about her in wonder as they rode along a neatly lined path. Upon reaching a wooden gate, everyone dismounted. Clarysa followed their lead, securing her horse to a nearby wooden rail.
An intricately lettered sign hung from the entrance’s red awning. Highlighted with complicated symbols, it swayed back and forth in the light breeze. Apothecary, it read. What did the symbols mean?
Clarysa stepped forward to unlatch the gate, only to be stopped by Hunter’s burly arm. “You don’t want to do that,” he said.
She huffed. “Why not? Will somebody please explain where we are and how this is helping Stellan?”
Patrulha turned to her with a wry look. “Think I’m the rash one, do you?” She scooped up some pebbles from the path. “Well, think again.” She tossed the stones against the gate. They faded into spots of reddish gas that quickly blew away in the breeze. Clarysa took a step back in horror. Without a sound, each of the rocks had simply ceased to be.
Hunter nodded down to Clarysa’s hand. “That could just as well have been you, lass.” Clarysa swallowed hard, her gaze transfixed upon the venomous gate.
Patrulha unsheathed her sword. She proceeded to carve several intricate patterns on the gate’s surface. They glowed a bright green before quickly disappearing. After Patrulha carved the sixth glyph, however, the gate opened and beckoned them inside.
Patrulha instantly strode through. Hunter turned with a reassuring smile, his outstretched
