Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Keera

D aiti pranced happily, in perfect juxtaposition to my sour mood. Exhaustion tugged at me, as I had hardly slept the night before, dwelling on what a mistake I had made in following up on the Viper’s offer to train me. It was one of many mistakes I had made lately.

Every time I tried to close my eyes, tossing and turning to get comfortable in my rooftop nest, Oren’s face would appear on the back of my eyelids. I had only met him once, but I was responsible for his death, just as I was for the clansmen that had been swallowed by a gaping chasm at my feet. I had pointed Oren toward Izumi, thinking she was kind, and all she had given him was a blade through the heart. I clearly wasn’t a capable judge of character. I wouldn’t be sneaking out to see the Viper at night again.

At least Daiti seemed pleased today by the opportunity to venture out further after so long exploring only the plains around Kelvadan. Despite the simmering anger from my encounter with the Viper, I too found my mood lifting the further we rode.

All remaining competitors for the Trials had been instructed to prepare for a two-day journey, as we would be heading a day’s ride out of the city for the next event. Although we wouldn’t find out what the event was until tomorrow morning, it apparently required us to be able to spread out more than was possible just outside the walls of the city.

By now, it was late afternoon, and we had been riding since dawn. Horses less well-bred than Daiti were starting to flag, and the mountains beyond Kelvadan were just jagged peaks on the horizon behind us, the city itself invisible to the naked eye.

I rode at the front of the caravan, near Aderyn, who led the pack out of the city. Sitting tall upon Daiti’s back, the hairs at the nape of my neck prickled. Although I knew the Viper rode at the rear of the pack, where all the other competitors gave him a wide berth, I imagined the weight of his gaze on me often.

Finally, Aderyn held up a closed fist, and the group ground to a halt.

“We will camp here for the night,” she announced.

I looked around, but there appeared to be no distinguishing landmarks indicating this was a predetermined location. Then again, predetermining the location of anything in the Ballan Desert was nearly impossible, with distances morphing and shifting depending on her whim. Perhaps the only stipulation had been that the next event be held a day’s ride out from the city gates.

Everybody dismounted and began staking out a patch of ground in which to set up their camp. Nyra, one of my fellow riders in training at Kelvadan, had not yet been eliminated from the competition either, and I spotted her lifting the bundle that was her small tent from her mount’s back. I started picking my way toward her, but as if she sensed my approach, she looked up suddenly, stiffening as she met my eyes.

I stopped, biting my lips. I doubted she would feel comfortable sleeping near me after what happened with Dryden, despite her being one of the faces I recognized among the remaining competitors. Just as I was about to give up and slip to the edges of the make-shift encampment, a familiar green sash and a hesitant smile caught my gaze.

It was Axlan from my team in the group event. The cautious friendship in his gaze told me he hadn’t entirely noticed my intent to knock him from his saddle and eliminate our team from the Trials, which was likely for the best.

I led Daiti over to him, and he offered a nod of welcome as I began to unload my supplies .

“What do you think we are doing out so far?” he mused as I pulled my small number of packs off Daiti’s back. They held little more than a spare hood and my sleeping mat.

“I couldn’t say,” I admitted.

After that, we lapsed into silence, like the rest of the competitors scattered around the area. While the encampment had been brimming with excitement for the last two nights, the clans and the city dwellers taking the opportunity to trade and drink, now everybody stewed quietly in apprehension. While the Trials were far from over, most of the riders that had entered for nothing more than the right to say they had competed were eliminated. Everybody left sized each other up out of the corner of their eyes, wondering in what ways we were to be set against each other next.

By the time everybody had claimed their square of sand and pitched their tents, Aderyn hovered over a fire in the center of the circle. Around it bustled the two dozen citizens of Kelvadan that had accompanied the riders to aid in the organization of the next event. Notably, the queen had not come. Perhaps she was loathe to leave the city unattended at such a time.

All the competitors drifted toward the fires over which volunteers stirred pots of fragrant stew. We had been instructed not to bother with bringing food in our supplies as we would be fed from the communal fires. A few fruits and a strip of dried meat had still made their way into my saddle bags as I slipped through the kitchen though.

We all ate quietly from the portions that were dished out to us. While some lingered in the common area making stilted conversations, most drifted back to our own areas to eat and contemplate what might be waiting for us. Across the camp, my gaze caught on the dark figure of the Viper ducking into his tent with his bowl, presumably to uncover his face where nobody could see.

Maybe everybody was worried about being well rested for whatever awaited us in the morning, or maybe it was to escape the palpable nervousness in the camp, but everybody began retiring quickly after dinner.

My belly pleasantly full, I laid back in the sand where I sat, jaw cracking with a wide yawn. I would get in my tent soon, but for a moment, I wanted to stare up at the unhindered sky before it was hidden by a canvas roof. The quiet out this far into the sands was deeper, the darkness thicker. It fell over me like a blanket, soft and comfortable. There was nothing but the scent of horses and the dryness of the rapidly cooling air whispering over my skin, peacefully beckoning me toward sleep.

The overwhelming crush of loneliness woke me. Before I even opened my eyes, something told me I was completely and utterly isolated. It was apparent in the frantic pounding of my heart and the swish of the desert’s magic in my core as no life around competed with its hold on me.

I opened my eyes to the thin light and rising heat of late morning. Sitting upright, I clapped my hand to my forehead as my brain tried to batter its way out of my skull. It was the feeling of having drunk too much laka but amplified. I pushed that sensation down in favor of standing and turning in a circle, trying to get my bearings.

There were no bearings to get.

All that stretched around me was golden sand. No indentations marked this as a place dozens of riders may have camped last night. None of the others were in sight. Absent was the comforting wicker of horses nearby, and I couldn’t make out any sort of irregularity on the horizon that could signal the mountains. Even Daiti was gone, my first real friend in a decade.

Hot sand scraped my palms, but I didn’t remember falling to my hands and knees. One word echoed in my head in time with the pounding of my heart.

Alone. Alone.

Fear rose like bile in my throat, choking me even as I swallowed rapidly, hard won survival habits resurfacing. I’d had a taste of companionship in Kelvadan, and even if I hadn’t quite found my place among others yet, it still made the renewed threat of exile worse in my heart. I couldn’t go back to living like that.

I was startled from my panic by a shifting of sands too rhythmic to be from wind alone. I whipped around, rolling from my hands and knees into a crouch. I squinted at the shimmering heat over the next dune, which formed itself into a man. The first thing I recognized was a green sash.

“Axlan?”

I had fallen asleep next to his tent last night, and although the camp was gone, now he stumbled over the dunes toward me. A look of relief crossed his face, and he quickened his pace toward me as I stared in confusion. He stopped just before where I sat.

“Not how you expected to wake up either?” was his greeting.

I shook my head, hand drifting to my own sash warily, only to find my weapons had abandoned me too.

Axlan raised his hand in a gesture of peace. “I’m not here to harm you. I think this is the next challenge. A test of our survival skills.”

I glanced around. If Axlan had woken up the same way I had, it seemed likely that the other riders had too.

“The stew,” I thought out loud. We had all eaten from the same pots, and never before had I fallen asleep so quickly I hadn’t even remembered it. “They must have drugged us.”

Axlan rubbed the heel of his hand against his forehead. “It would explain the hangover.”

“So, what do you think we are meant to do?”

He peered around, squinting in every direction. “I would guess we’re meant to make our way back to the city.”

I nodded while contemplating the task. Not knowing how far out we might be, and with those who abandoned us not sure how long of a journey it would be for us either, my first priority needed to be supplies. Water was my first need. As well fed as I was these days, I could likely make it a couple days before hunger overwhelmed me. I wouldn’t say no to a weapon either. The sash around my waist and a few stones would be a passable makeshift sling.

Axlan’s feet shuffling in the sand reminded me that I had been staring sightlessly at the horizon for a while now.

“I’m going to pick a direction and start walking.” He cleared his throat awkwardly and his meaning was clear. I was still his competitor, even though we had been on the same team in the last challenge. He was hesitant to ally with me, and as much as I had feared the isolation just a moment ago, I wasn’t anxious to put trust in a near stranger. I had survived a decade on my own—I could do a few days.

“Good luck.” I nodded to Axlan as I stood, brushing off my clothes as best I could.

He hesitated. “There is a hidden spring just over that rise.” He pointed toward the direction he’d come. “I just drank from it, but it might be a good place to start.”

I tapped my knuckles to my brow in a heartfelt thank you. He returned the gesture, and we walked our separate ways, me toward the rising sun, and him away. I would likely follow in that direction, considering the sun normally rose in the direction of the sea, not the city, but water was my priority now.

The acrid stickiness in my mouth took over my thoughts as I trudged in the direction Axlan had indicated. It served as a reminder that I was still working whatever drug had made me blind to the world out of my system. Any potential side effects would also be a concern in surviving the next few days.

Cresting the rise, I caught sight of a patch of green scrub, signaling I had found my target. I hurried toward it, finding a sluggish spring bubbling up from beneath the earth giving the plant life the moisture it needed.

I bent, using my cupped hands to gulp down water. I grimaced at the sulfuric taste that coated my tongue, but only hesitated a moment before swallowing another mouthful. While I had been lucky that the oasis where I resided was relatively free of the minerals that laced water from underground wells, it was not uncommon for desert springs to have a distinct taste.

Despite the mineral taste of this water being cloying strong, I downed steady sips that wouldn’t make me sick but would keep me well hydrated for the miles to come. I couldn’t afford to be picky.

I stood from the spring, taking a moment to take stock of my surroundings. Some small stones scattered around the edges of the small, bubbling pool. I toed through them, looking for some that might fit my makeshift sling. It wouldn’t seriously injure any larger predators, but a well-placed stone could serve as a persuasive deterrent. Once I had a suitable collection, I shoved them into my pockets.

Turning to the barren shrubbery, I put my hands on my hips in contemplation. While the wizened plants didn’t appear to bear any edible fruit, I was loathe to turn down any possible advantage. Perhaps if I could hack off one of the larger branches it could be used as a club or a small walking stick.

With a sigh, I set to work, yanking at the waist height bushes. After a minute of fruitless tugging, I pulled off my long leather vest and wrapped it around my hands, my palms already raw from my efforts.

A splintering sound signaled my progress. With pride, I observed a split at the base of the thickest branch. A few more solid tugs and it would come free. Then it would only be a matter of cleaning off the prickly twigs so I could hold it more comfortably.

Before I continued though, I paused to rub at my chest. Despite the heat of the sun suffusing my whole body, the skin there was filled with an awful burning. I clawed my hands, using my nails to scratch at it more determinedly. Still, the itch did not abate.

I glanced down to find tiny red dots adorning my bare skin. It was as if I had been pricked my hundreds of pins across the entire surface of my chest. I frowned as I scratched at it again, but the sight didn’t change except maybe to get even redder.

Perhaps I was sensitive to the shrubs, although it seemed an awfully inconvenient time to find out. I had lived among this flora and fauna my whole life and had never had such a reaction. I would just have to be careful to touch as little of my skin as possible to the leaves.

I turned to my work again, and the branch fractured further, hanging on to the main plant by the barest splinter. Before I could fully detach it, the itching came again, now spreading down my arms. I unwrapped my vest from my hands, finding the same odd red markings on my palms.

Heat flushed through my body as if I were suffering from dehydration even though I had just drunk my fill. More worrying though, was the taste of copper that coated my tongue. I brought my fingers to my mouth, bringing them away to find them coated in blood. I was bleeding from my gums .

Dizziness followed the heat, and I swayed. I would have toppled if not for the bush, which I grabbed as gravity threatened to bring me to the ground. Unfortunately, my hand closed around the branch I had been working on and it snapped after just a few moments of supporting my weight.

My breath came in short, frantic pants as I lay at the edge of the spring. Try as I might, I couldn’t slow it down to clear my head and figure out what could possibly be happening to me. Maybe it was a delayed reaction to the drug in my dinner the night before. No matter what had happened though, the outcome was the same. Unless I could recover quickly, I would die out here.

I needed a plan. My eyes slid shut. Maybe if I just rested for a moment and gathered myself, I could figure out what to do.