He was wakened by a soft rapping on his door. Confused and groggy, he struggled to his feet and stumbled across the room to answer. A young woman stood in the hallway holding a stack of towels and a robe. She gasped when she saw him but held out the linens.
"For you, sir."
Baris realized that he had neglected to restore his Illusion. He took the articles from her with a tip of his head. "Thank you. What I would really like, however, is a decent place to bathe. The water runs foul."
A blush covered her cheeks. "I know, sir, and I am sorry for that. There are public bathing pools just a few blocks from here where the water is clear and clean. I could point you in that direction, but--"
"But?"
She fidgeted nervously. "I...there...well, there are better inns further into town, sir. Perhaps you would be more comfortable there."
He regarded her somberly. "And why would you suggest such a thing? Is your employer eager to be rid of me?"
Her blush deepened. "Oh, no, sir! That"s not what I...oh, no, please don"t think that! It"s just that you...never mind. Forget I said anything. I"m sorry." She backed away, her eyes shining with tears.
Baris reached out and took her by the arm, stopping her.
"It"s all right," he said softly. "I am new to Erster and I took the first inn I saw. Perhaps you are right. I would be more comfortable at another place." He hesitated. "My name is Baris. Yours is--?"
She paused, her gaze drifting to where he still held her wrist.
"Ella," she murmured, her voice suddenly soft and a little dreamy. Her tongue came out to caress her lips, though she kept her gaze averted. "I was told that you...well, Berg said that you might have--"
"Hack?" Baris interrupted, reading through her hesitation.
She brought her gaze up to his with a start. Only a slight nod of her head indicated her answer. Baris smiled and drew her into his room, closing the door quietly behind her.
It didn"t take him long to settle into his new life in Erster. Ella was more than happy to exchange her blood for his hack. It seemed an equitable partnership. Yet, each time he fed, he was reminded of another partnership, which seemed to be buried deep within his mind. He simply could not bring it forward. Faces and names swirled through his thoughts on a continual basis but he could not put them together no matter how hard he tried. Not that he made it a priority.
No, his main goal was to keep Ella well supplied with hack, something that was proving to be increasingly difficult. The more he imbibed of her drug-laced blood, the weaker his magic became. It was becoming harder and harder to convince others to answer to his needs without money being involved. And money was something he had none of.
Ella kept him supplied with food, clothing and company, but he refused to allow her a place in his bed. He couldn"t explain either to her or to himself why. All he knew was that there was a name attached to his reluctance...Anika. He could not clearly remember who she was but at the same time he knew she had meant a great deal to him at some point.
And there was another woman as well, a woman with dark hair and eyes, who figured prominently in most of his dreams, who seemed to continually overshadow Anika, to push her aside whenever his thoughts drifted there. The whole situation was uncomfortable enough that Baris attempted to sidestep it. Most of the time a larger share of Ella"s blood would do that for him. On occasion, however, there was nothing that could stop the intense heartache that gripped him, the despair that threatened to overwhelm him. At those times, he walked the dark streets, alone and in pain. Though he had been attacked twice during such walks, his attackers had not lived to brag about it. Baris had quickly learned that death in the tavern district was forgotten even before the warmth had left the body.
It was during one of these nocturnal strolls that he spotted a familiar face. At least, he thought it was familiar. There was enough sense of recognition that he followed the young woman, keeping to the shadows for fear of being seen. She had left a teashop and was heading with purpose back toward the nicer district of town...a place Baris had learned to avoid. Now, however, his curiosity piqued, he followed her. His filthy clothing and disheveled appearance garnered him numerous looks of disgust, though no one tried to stop him. He watched as the young woman skipped lightly up the steps of a fine hotel and disappeared inside.
For long moments he stood in the dark of an alley and watched the building. He knew he should turn around and go back to his own world, to Ella and her tainted blood, but something stayed his movements. He knew this woman, and he was determined to find out how. He had only enough energy to Illusion his face, not create a pleasant appearance otherwise. Drawing a deep breath, he pushed away from the wooden wall and crossed the street to the inn. He was stopped as he stepped into the foyer. Two uniformed men approached him, hands touching dagger hilts.
"Please, sir," one said. "You must leave at once."
Baris narrowed his eyes, his anger surfacing easily. "And why is that?"
They refused an answer, closing in on him from each side.
"Come, sir, let us escort you back outside," one said in a quiet voice. He took hold of Baris" arm.
Baris jerked away. "Do not touch me!" he snapped. "I came here to visit an acquaintance."
The guards glanced toward the desk clerk. He raised one eyebrow.
"If you would tell me your acquaintance"s name, I will send a boy up to fetch them."
Baris frowned. "I...I don"t know her name. I was never properly introduced."
The desk clerk grimaced and flicked his hand at the guards. "Take him back to the gutters where he belongs."
The words sent anger boiling through Baris, but when the guards once again took hold of his arms, his rage exploded. He struck out at both men, flinging them across the large foyer as if they were mere toys. One landed hard on an ornately carved chair, reducing it to rubble. The other hit the desk and toppled over it, crashing into the desk clerk. Both sprawled to the ground.
The desk clerk s.n.a.t.c.hed at a whistle that hung about his neck and began to blow. Piercing shrieks split the air, searing through Baris" tortured mind. He brought his hands up to cover his ears even as the two guards regained their feet. They approached from both sides, weapons drawn. Confused and disoriented, Baris backed through the open door and onto the wide porch.
More uniformed men were approaching, weapons flashing. They were all yelling, gesturing wildly, and Baris realized that they were coming for him, attempting to surround him. He leapt from the porch to the street, sending citizens scattering with shrieks of terror. His gaze darted about, seeking an avenue of escape. He found it in the alley at the side of the inn.
Without another thought, he spun and bolted into the darkness, the pounding feet of his pursuers thundering through his head. He would never escape, not in his condition. He was running blindly, this area completely unknown to him. He stumbled to a stop at the road"s end, his breathing tight and painful. He had to shift, had to become something that could escape the men"s wrath. He closed his eyes and pulled forth the magic that he had not used for so long.
It came grudgingly, but it came. In the s.p.a.ce of a heartbeat, Baris the Vector became Baris the wolf and he tore away, seeking the safety and sanctuary of the forest beyond Erster. He ran until he could run no longer, then found a hollow tree and collapsed within, returning to his Vector form unbidden. His legs trembled, his body shook and his stomach upended numerous times before he lay still, beaded with sweat and shaking. His gaze swept past the forest canopy to the stars in the sky beyond. His situation was all too familiar. But this time, he vowed he would stay where he was and let death find him.
CHAPTER 17.
A gentle hand caressed his brow, brought a mug of hot liquid to his lips. He sipped at it tentatively, then gagged and coughed.
"Slowly," a soft voice said. "We want to keep it where it belongs."
Baris forced his eyes open, but his vision was so blurred he could not make out the face of the person hovering over him. Deciding it was only a dream, he closed his eyes again and relinquished himself to sleep.
He woke next in excruciating pain. His entire body seemed to be on fire. Every nerve sparked with agony, sending him into convulsions. Again, gentle hands held him, kept him from hurting himself as he thrashed blindly, trying to escape the searing pain. It seemed to be an eternity before the convulsions ceased, leaving him weak, dizzy and gasping for breath. And again he slept.
The cycle repeated itself several times, until Baris thought he could no longer bear it. He heard himself begging for first hack, and then death, anything to put an end to his torment. The soft voice rea.s.sured him, telling him that he would get through this, that he would survive. It would just take time, but the agony would end.
And, finally, it did. He opened his eyes to mid-afternoon light, able to focus for the first time in days. He stared up at the canopy of forest high overhead, at the blue sky beyond and thought he had never seen anything so beautiful. Birds chirped and called in the distance and he heard the skittering of squirrels as they raced along tree branches intent upon their own business. A soft breeze blew, bringing a fresh green scent and the pungent smoke of a campfire.
Baris took a deep breath, then turned his head. The action sent little waves of pain and dizziness through him but it was nothing compared to what he had been through. When his vision stabilized he let out a gasp of disbelief. Vail, Baul and the young woman he had followed to the inn at Erster sat near the campfire, talking softly and sipping tea. They glanced over at his gasp and smiled.
"Welcome back," Vail said quietly.
"How...?" Baris croaked. "Where...?"
"Don"t try to talk too much yet," Vail instructed. "I"ll explain." He poured another mug of tea and helped Baris take a small sip. "This should help a little."
It did, though it burned all of the way to his stomach. Vail sat back and gave him a wan smile.
"What happened? No, don"t answer that. I just told you not to talk." He sighed and raked one hand through his mussed hair, then glanced at the young woman as if seeking her help.
But Baris managed to croak out, "Hack."
Vail and Baul both started. "Hack?" Baul echoed. "That"s what you were mumbling about then? Hack? No wonder you were so sick. You almost killed yourself. Where did you get started on that?"
"Timmora. It was an accident."
"A bad accident," Vail murmured. "You could have died here in the forest. You"re just lucky Baul and I were in Erster instead of Terska. We were waiting for you, as a matter of fact."
"Waiting?"
"Yes. Deirdre told us that you would meet us in Terksa. We waited for several days and when you didn"t show up, we decided to try to find you ourselves. We thought maybe we had misunderstood her. I guess we had."
Baris stared at him in confusion. Terska? No. She said she had told Vail and Baul to meet them in Nowles, not Terska, not Erster. He frowned.
"Where is Deirdre anyway?" Vail asked, with a grimace. "I have a few questions I would like to ask her."
"Gone," Baris mumbled, his eyes fluttering closed. "Just like Anika. Gone."
"Anika?" Vail asked. "What does she have to do with anything? What are you talking about?"
But Baris was too tired to answer and once more he slept.
He woke feeling much better, though he was chagrined to see it was now early morning of the next day. It didn"t seem that he had been sleeping that long. He looked over at Vail and Baul, who were just rousing themselves. The young woman slept on, wrapped against the cold.
"It"s your turn to get more wood," Vail mumbled to Baul.
"Well, it"s your turn to make breakfast," Baul grumbled back. "And this time, try not to burn it." He stumbled off in search of wood.
A small smile touched Baris" lips, surprising even himself. He had forgotten what it was like to be lighthearted. Vail caught the grin and smiled.
"Well, that"s a welcome sight. Feel like sitting up today?"
Baris nodded and, with Vail"s help, managed to get into a semblance of a sitting position, propped against a large rock. Vail folded up his blanket and placed it behind Baris" back.
"For extra padding," he explained, then busied himself with the morning tea.
Baris watched him for a moment. "I want to thank you, Vail. You and Baul. I have to admit that I"m very embarra.s.sed over the state I was in."
"How did you happen to come by it anyway? You said it was an accident. How?"
Baris hesitated, his gaze again sliding to the woman. Vail looked over at her, then smiled.
"It"s all right. Honey knows who and what we are."
"Honey?"
"Aye, that"s her name." Vail leaned closer to him. "And well-deserved it is, too."
Honey chose that moment to wake, rolling onto her side and opening her gray eyes. Eyes that Baris had looked into before. He gasped at the same moment she did. She sat up, the blanket falling aside to reveal an ill-fitting blouse that had shifted seductively during the night. Vail blushed and reached out to cover her b.r.e.a.s.t.s but her gaze was locked on Baris.
"Ye?" she breathed.
Vail glanced at Baris in surprise. "You know each other?"
Baris frowned, trying desperately to place her. It was Honey who answered Vail.
"Not really, no. He came to me father"s eatery in Terska. That"s all."
"Then you were there?" Vail asked.
Baris nodded. "For a time, yes." He suddenly remembered Honey"s words at the inn. How she had offered him honey with his bread. He wondered if she would have followed through with her offer. Somehow, he doubted it. The thought almost brought a smile. Almost.
Vail grimaced. "I don"t suppose you know anything about a man..."
"Yes," Baris interrupted. "I killed him. He attacked Deirdre. I reacted without thinking."
Vail exchanged a quick glance with Honey, who shrugged and brushed long, golden strands of hair aside.
"He was a thief and a swindler. He didn"t deserve ta live."
Baris did not miss the venom in the words and he looked to Vail. The young man gave a slight shake of his head, indicating he did not wish to discuss it further.
Apparently Honey did. She drew herself up, a flush on her cheeks.
"Aye, he attacked me as well. More than once. I was neh so fortunate as to have a powerful man come to my rescue against the foul citizens of that town." Her gaze slid to Vail and the hard look vanished from her eyes. "Until Vail."
This time it was Vail who blushed. He cleared his throat self-consciously. "I...I didn"t do anything spectacular, Honey."
"Yes, ye did, Vail," she gushed, then abruptly wrapped her arms about his neck and hugged him fiercely. "Ye rescued me from oblivion and I love ye for it." She planted a long, wet kiss on his mouth, only deepening his blush.
This time, Baris could not contain his smile at the genuine affection Honey held for Vail. At the same time it brought pain to his heart as his thoughts drifted to Anika.
"You never answered my question," Vail said softly. "How did you happen to get involved with hack?"
"I...fed on a person who had it in his blood. That"s how it started. Then, when he died, I continued to use it in its leaf form."
Vail looked over at him. "He died? How?"
"I killed him."
Vail started, nearly dropping the teapot. "You bled him to death?"
"No. Deirdre said he took too much hack. He had been severely beaten and was using it to ease his pain."
"Then why do you say you killed him?"