“Think she'll be all right by tomorrow?” asked Kaleb, motioning to Alla.
“Possibly,” replied Minx through a yawn. “We're close to Pandling... If we can get her to one of the healers there she'll stand a much better chance. We just need to make sure she's stable enough to travel.” With a thin cloth, she dabbed the sweat from Alla's brow and counted her respirations. “She's doing better, but her healing has been slower than I expected. My magic... for whatever reason, it doesn't work perfectly on her.”
Kaleb cocked his head to the side. “You don't say...” He smirked. “Well, one thing's for sure. She's only still alive thanks to you. You brought her to safety after the attack, and you've been healing her hourly ever since. I'm sure she would have died if not for you. That's quite a power you have there.”
Minx was too tired to accept the compliment, and instead turned her bleary eyes from him to keep from blushing any harder. “Healing spells are basic. Any Fae worth their salt ought to be able to do this. We're a powerful people.”
The night was a blur. Kaleb slept with one eye open, canvassing the woods for signs of the dark Fae archers. Minx and Mau, dozing at turns, remained at Alla's side. Healing spells were cast, resulting in incremental gains in the patient's condition, but whether she would recover enough by morning to stand on her own two feet was uncertain. Hardly able to keep her own eyes open, Minx knelt beside the girl, channeling her energies. Don't get too cozy, she told the dozy Faelyr. If I have to keep this up all night, I might need you to start healing me. I feel exhausted.
The long night finally drew to a close, however, Alla's profuse sweating and labored breathing ceased, and she finally appeared to be resting calmly. The poison was still circulating in her veins—and would likely continue to do so for some days—but with the help of Minx's healing energies, her body seemed to be holding up well against the toxic onslaught. In the hours before daylight, it was decided that Alla could go a bit longer between treatments, and Minx capitalized on the opportunity to get some much-needed sleep.
The sun drew her back to wakefulness far too soon—as did the touch of an unexpected hand.
The Fae huntress sat up, bumping into Mau, and found Alla tugging at her arm from nearby. “Minx... water,” she muttered.
“Alla, you're awake!” Minx wiped the heaviness from her eyes and picked up one of the water skins that Kaleb had recently filled on a scouting run. The girl drank deeply before setting it aside and lowering herself back onto the grass with a sigh. “How do you feel? Any pains? Any strange sensations?”
Alla's energy had been fully expended in this search for water, but she managed to give a noncommittal shrug before returning to an uneasy sleep.
Kaleb had been awake for some time, and had just returned with a bit of kindling for the fire. “Good morning,” he said, snapping a handful of twigs and tossing them into the blaze. “How are things looking?”
Minx stood, stretching. “She's coming around.” She pulled a few blades of grass from her hair and looked up into the brightening sky. “She just asked for water. I don't think she's cured yet, but she's probably stable enough to travel. We'll have to carry her, I think.”
“No problem. We can set off in a bit. Pandling Grounds isn't too far from here. We can have your people looking after her by late afternoon, tops.” He turned suddenly, eyes narrowing in perusal of the treeline.
“What's the matter?” asked Minx.
Kaleb was silent for a time, then shook his head. “Never mind. I'm getting paranoid, I guess. I kept watch for most of the night—there was no one out there. I'm sure we're alone. The archers have certainly lost our trail.” He motioned to Mau. “Go ahead and get ready. The sooner we get moving, the better.”
The camp was cleared, the fire extinguished and their meager supplies gathered. Minx scarfed down a hasty ration and took up her weapon. “We're all set. Let's get moving.”
The dragon shifter took Alla in his arms and led the way, with Minx and Mau bringing up the flank. It was decided that Kaleb would take flight and carry them close to the boundary of Pandling Grounds. “Like I said, it shouldn't take us too long. We'll be there before you know it. Just... do me a favor and don't gouge my hide this time, Mau.” They set out from their camp and marched quietly across the field, looking to the horizon.
But Kaleb didn't get a chance to shift before trouble reared its head.
They had departed a few yards from the campsite, from the edge of the woods, when an arrow came zipping toward them from the dense growth. It had been Mau who'd first taken notice, her sensitive hearing having heard the pluck of a tightly-drawn bow. The Faelyr leapt into the air and knocked the arrow to the ground with a great swipe, then took a few paces toward the woods, growling. They found us.
A handful of doubtful shapes were visible between the trees—five, perhaps six silhouettes in total. Each of them held a bow.
“It's them,” spat Minx, nocking an arrow and preparing to let loose. “It's the Zuscha from yesterday.”
There was one among them, a figure at the group's center, who stood a full head and shoulders taller than the rest, and whose odd dress and bearing gave the Fae huntress pause. This one, ahead of his shadowed fellows, emerged from the brush and gave a deep chuckle that could be heard even from across the field. He marched purposefully toward Minx and the others, a densely-built bow clutched in one hand and an arrow in the other.
The man—a human, clearly—was tall and muscular. His shoulder-length black hair flailed in the wind, wild as the mane of a great
