Chapter 4
A Hard Choice
Callie stood still, staring at the dim lights moving along the road she had run down just yesterday. “Why? I mean, how do you know?” She couldn’t pry her eyes off of the lights, but Callie saw the stranger watching her.
“You are a mystic.”
That allowed her to pry her eyes from the sight to look at the man. “I can’t be. I was born not too far from here in Falstone, and I am a citizen of Sumaria.” The stranger shook his head. “Look, I don’t know much about mystics, but I know that they can use magic, and I have… never…” Callie’s memories came flooding back. The basket weaving itself back together. The collection of roots and plants appearing unharmed. Then there was a memory that began to force itself into her mind, a memory that she had largely tried to forget because she had never had an explanation for it.
“I am sorry that it is coming so suddenly. I should have shown myself sooner, but I didn’t…” Again his voice trailed off as if there was something he didn’t want to consider.
Callie furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand any of this, but I feel certain that I can find some way—”
He shook his head, “The Tale of the Mystic and the Fanatics.”
Callie looked at him and tilted her head to the side. “You were in the troupe.”
The stranger nodded.
“Your name wasn’t Caden then.”
“It was, but I couldn’t use it and keep you safe.”
“You gave me that book. You know I had a—” Cutting herself off before she could admit having a crush on him, Callie tried to organize her thoughts. She ran a hand along her forehead. “You gave me that book as a way of letting me know about where I came from, but you never told me.” Callie knew she should feel hurt, but at that moment she couldn’t process everything, let alone figure out how she felt about it.
“I know it is a lot to take in, and it is compounded by your current situation. But right now, I need for you to decide if you want to take a stand now, knowing what they will do to you. Or we need to flee.”
Callie stepped out of the way as he closed the door, closing off the sight so that it was no longer a distraction. “I want to stay.”
Caden’s expression didn’t show any feelings as his eyes watched hers. “If that is what you want, I will try to take down as many as possible.”
His hand began to turn the handle. Callie quickly reached out and stopped him. “No, you don’t have to stay. I will face them.”
Caden’s eyes flashed, and for a second she felt afraid. “I have not left you in nearly two decades. I will not fail in my duties now.”
“What?” Callie felt certain she had misheard him. Realizing there wasn’t time to try to figure it out, she tried to pull him away from the door. “I want you to run. I will face them.”
Callie shivered at the way his eyes passed over her, and she could tell he was working out a strategy to deal with her. Half expecting him to simply pick her up and run out the back door, she braced herself for a fight. After all, if she could use magic, there must be some way to get out of this. The mystic in the story had managed it.
To her surprise, Caden took a deep breath. “Even if you don’t mind them slowly draining you of magic and life over the next 150 years, what good will it do your village? To never hear from you again? To lose the only place with medicines, herbs, and books that could keep their village going? How long do you think the village will last as people slowly die out? And how do you think Proseus will feel as the people he tries to help die? You won’t even be able to send instructions to help him as he struggles without any chance of success. Is that the state you want to leave them in?”
Callie squirmed. “Couldn’t you help them?”
“I will be dead.”
“I told you to run. You can come back and help them once they take me.”
He shook his head, “I am not a mystic, so even if I could be a traitor to my Order, I could not save your home or the village.”
Callie bit her lip. “You could try.”
There was a low growl from Caden. “I will be dead long before they reach you. I will not run. I will not betray my station. And I want you to take the time I buy you to consider how much the village will suffer for your pointless sacrifice.”
“How dare you call my actions pointless?” She stood as tall as she could manage, but she knew that she was still a full head shorter than Caden. “You do not know that I will lose.”
“Without my help, you have no idea how to use your magic.”
Callie opened her mouth to protest his words, but suddenly things started to click in place. Every time she had used magic, the voice had told her what to do. Every time she had been in danger over the last day, the voice had calmed her and made sure she stayed safe. “You are the voice.” It was almost an accusation.
“I will be dead before they reach you, and without training, you will not stand a chance. Apprentices never survive on their own. It takes years of training to be able to fight. That is not what your magic is meant to do.”
Callie leaned against a table. “What am I supposed to do?”
Caden looked at the door, then back at Callie. “You are supposed to make a decision because I cannot do that for you. I would prefer that you escape from here and return to a place where you can learn after your powers fully reveal themselves. If my life will buy you that, then I will gladly give it.”
Callie scowled, “Why are you so bent on sacrificing yourself? If you think I’m being absurd, listen to yourself.”
“You said you want to stay. If my life will convince you that is the wrong decision, then it will have been worth it. I will leave you with everything you need to return home to Solona, and the Order will know where to send my replacement. I apologize that I cannot break the connection, so you will feel my death, but I think that will work in my favor.”
Callie’s eyes went wide. “I’ll feel your what? No, I won’t let you go. I don’t want you to go running off to die just to convince me to do what you want me to do.”
“If you are resolved to stay here, I won’t have another choice.”
Callie glanced at the door. “But why? Why are you so bent on protecting me?”
“I cannot tell you that right now because I either need to go face them, or I need to get you out of here. These are my only options. And you are out of time.” His hand turned the knob as if to emphasize his words.
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t have to. You made your choice, and I accept what it means for me. There is no more time to waste. Pay attention to the connection because now that you know what you are, you should be able to feel it. If you aren’t prepared, it will hurt you, so when you feel—”
“No!” Callie was horrified and finally found her voice. “I am not going to stand by and feel you die because—” She took one look at Caden’s resolve and knew there was no way to convince him to run without her. Dropping so that she sat on the table, she looked at the ground. “What if I agreed to go with you? Can I still help the village?”
Caden looked at the door. It was obvious he was dealing with an internal conflict. “I think you are just trying to stall me.” His yellow eyes flashed as he looked back at her.
“No, if I agree to run now, I want a guarantee that I will be able to keep helping the people here. Proseus has not been doing this long enough to be an apothecary, and I know that he will run himself ragged trying. With his constitution, it will kill him.”
Caden released the doorknob and folded his arms across his chest. His eyes continued to flick toward the door as he spoke, “I know of a way to ensure that your instructions will reach him, and I may be able to supply an apothecary for them within a month or two. Proseus will be able to fulfill his training, and the village will be alright. Not as well off as if you were here, but better than they would be without anyone.”
“I don’t want you to just supply them with someone who can’t do the job right.”
A small smile flickered across his handsome face, and Callie found herself wishing that it had lasted a little longer. She was so distracted by the smile that she almost missed what he was telling her. “I know a couple of good apothecaries who need a change of location because they are about to lose their villages. I can even let you decide which one I bring in for the position.”
Callie wanted to protest having to determine who would live and who would be forced into service, but she also knew that apothecaries didn’t have it nearly so bad when they were forced into service. They just lost their abilities to experiment because they were monitored much more closely. Finally, she nodded. “Alright, but I want to start learning about them tonight.”
Caden narrowed his eyes. “Are you trying to trick me?”
“No, I am serious. I will leave the village if—” She closed her eyes, unwilling to talk about the other option. “I will leave with you, but I want to start finding the replacement immediately.”
“How do I know that you will follow through?”
“You can drag me away if I don’t.”
He blinked at her for a minute, clearly not expecting that response. “You swear that you agree to being forcefully removed?”
“Yes, but first, I need to—”
“We don’t have time for you to do anything else. There are men moving around to the back along the other road, and they will have the path blocked within minutes. We must be out before that happens.”
“I have a horse.”
He gave her a look of pity. “Your horse is gone.”
“No, I have another because—”
He shook his head, “He let it go before hunting you down in the village.”
Callie frowned, “How do you know?”
“I saw him. Now, come on.” He grabbed her hand and started to hurry her to the back door.
Callie was very aware of the feel of his hand on hers, and a shock of pleasure went up her arm as she watched his determined steps going through the hallway. It was only when they were about to go past her room that she pulled away. “Wait a couple of seconds. I have to get a couple of things.”
“Callie, we don't have—”
The apothecary disappeared into her room and grabbed the book Alexis had given her and the fairytales that Caden had given her many years earlier. Grabbing a few other objects and shoving them into a traveler’s bag she had thought she would never get to use, Callie hurried back out into the hallway. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Caden’s head whipped around and looked at her. “I mistimed it. They are already moving in, closing off our escape. I’m going to shift, and I want you to lean as far against my back as possible. Make sure you keep your head down and your eyes closed.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not—” Callie began to protest but she suddenly stopped as Caden began to change, his tall, lean body shifting into the long, sleek form that she had analyzed just outside. When he was done, the tiger looked at her, his yellow eyes telling her to get on his back. Without thinking about it, Callie pulled up her dress and climbed on the tiger like he was a pony. The feel of his fur under her hands was softer than any fur or hair she had ever felt, and she felt guilty about holding onto it as he charged toward the door.
“Head down,” the voice spoke in her mind.
“I need to open the door,” Callie began to protest, thinking she would need to dismount to open the door.
“Down!” The voice was commanding, and her body did what it was told. Seconds later she heard a loud crack and felt something hitting her, and instinctively, she knew it was the door.
“Good. That took them by surprise, and they aren’t ready for us. Make sure to hold tight and stay down. They may be surprised, but they will start shooting before we are out of range.”
Callie squeezed her eyes shut, wondering what she had gotten herself into by agreeing to leave. Hoping that she wouldn’t regret it, she began to realize just how much was about to change. She knew next to nothing about Solona, and now suddenly that was where she was going. She had always wanted to travel, but she had never thought it would be permanent. If Callie were honest with herself, since her fathers had died, she had stopped imagining marrying anyone from the village. In fact, she had largely been living day to day, not entirely sure what she was going to do with her future.
The way the muscles moved between her legs was nothing like a horse. Feeling that she might slide off if she didn’t hold on, Callie’s fists bawled up and she clutched at the soft fur.
“It’s alright. I promise, you will not get hurt, and I won’t let you fall.” Caden’s thoughts entered her mind, and Callie was aware that she must be pulling on his fur.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She let her fists relax.
“I am not hurt. Just relax and we will be through this within an hour.” The voice almost calmed her down.
“An hour?” Her eyes opened and she almost lifted her head.
There was a roar beneath her as the thought went through her mind, “Down!”
Callie pushed her face into the fur just as she heard something go over her head.
“Hold on tight.” The thought was commanding, and her body immediately complied. Suddenly the muscles beneath her bunched up, and she felt them release like a bed spring. The steady rhythm of Caden’s movements suddenly changed, and it felt like he was flying. With a little gasp, Callie tried to press further into him just before she felt a shock go through her body. Too afraid to open her eyes, she tried to block out the sounds of screaming and crunching that she was certain was bone breaking. Her stomach lurched and Callie was glad she had not eaten dinner yet.
Callie lost all sense of time as the tiger continued at a rapid pace that felt much faster than she would have believed possible. Before that night, she had thought that only horses had been able to sustain long distances at such speed. Then again, she had never seen a tiger before that day.
A white flash and a mangled boar passed over her mind, and it was then that she realized Caden had been the one to stop the boar. He had saved her from the archer, and he had stopped the nobleman. Surely all three of those incidents couldn’t have been connected. Could they? It didn’t make any sense because the noblemen were not organized and only cared about entertainment. And even if the archer was somehow related to that incident (which was highly unlikely as there had not been enough time for the nobles to hire someone and locate her), there was no way that the boar could have been related. It had been rabid. Callie’s head started to hurt from trying to figure things out.
Almost as quickly as he had started running during the initial escape, Caden slowed down. Callie felt nauseous from the sudden shift in speed. He spoke into her mind in a tender voice, “Are you alright?” Without waiting for her response, Caden began to move a little faster.
“I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” Callie didn’t want to lie to him after everything Caden had just done for her, but at the same time she didn’t want to inconvenience him. “If you are tired, you can stop and I’ll—” She fought back against the urge to vomit.
“Here. I’ll adjust.”
Callie felt Caden shift from a slinky walk to something a little more like a human gait. She could still feel his fur, so she knew he hadn’t shifted. Daring to open her eyes a little, Callie realized that she didn’t recognize anything around her. It came as a completely new kind of shock. Of course, she knew that the world was different away from the village, but up until that time she had never experienced it and had relied on her imagination to create places.
Sitting up, Callie looked around her, trying to take everything in. Her stomach lurched, and she held it as her brain worked furiously to remember everything.
They were near the top of a small hill, and from where she sat, she could see a few buildings that looked much older than the village where she had grown up. They also looked a lot more durable. The voice was soft as it spoke into her mind, “It’s Enfeh.”
Callie turned to look at the woods behind them. They reached up all the way to the top of the hill. “You ran all the way here.”
“I’m afraid it won’t be far enough, but rest is going to be essential tonight. It may be the last night where you are able to sleep comfortably.”
“What? Why?” Callie felt her stomach lurch as Caden stumbled. “Oh, I am so sorry! You must be exhausted. I can walk.”
“No, it’s alright. The hill is steep, and you have no experience with how cruel gravity can be.”
“I have fallen down before.”
“Yes, and I was afraid that you had broken your neck. I prayed to the gods for days before I felt that I could resume my duties.”
“It wasn’t your fault, you know. I was the one who climbed onto the roof and tried to see the ocean.”
The tiger moved in a different way and let out a strange purring noise, and Callie instinctively knew he was laughing. Finally he responded, “It was my job to keep you safe, and I very nearly failed. After that, I stayed much closer. I was just lucky that your fathers were so good, it is almost difficult to believe you weren’t related by blood. Come on. I’ll need to shift, but I will carry you down.”
“I am sure I can handle it.”
“Just trust me.” Caden slowed down. Callie carefully slid off his back and stared down at the large town below them. She had heard of Enfeh for years. Her fathers had been there to collect supplies a year or two before they had adopted her, and they had always told her stories about it. Now she was standing there looking at it and wondering if this was how it had looked when they had visited.
She heard a voice beside her, and she turned for a second to see Caden kneeling. “Climb on. It will be easier for you to hold on and for me to keep my balance.” Callie wrapped her arms around his neck and her heart skipped. Frowning, she tried to ignore the way he moved under her and turned her attention back to the town. The way he moved as a human was very graceful, and she could feel each of his muscles moving as he began the descent.
“It’s… huge. I thought that my fathers had been exaggerating.”
“Just wait until you see the city where you will live. I would have loved to have heard your thoughts on it.”
They hadn’t gone very far before Callie understood why he had insisted on carrying her. Something in his words seemed wrong, but she couldn’t analyze it for the scene before her. It was unbelievable, but much more treacherous than she would have believed. Periodically, she was reminded that they were in a somewhat precarious position. As graceful as Caden was, he stumbled several times, and her eyes were drawn to rocks and other items rolling down the hill. It was much steeper going down than it had looked from the top.
The descent was slow, but it gave Callie time to really appreciate the size of the town and some of the buildings. None of the places at home was bigger than two stories. Some of these were over ten stories high. She could only imagine what it had taken to construct them.
When they reached the gates, he put her down. “I think it is best if you walk now. Carrying you will just attract attention.”
Callie nodded and let go of his neck.
A guard called down from the wall, “Two lovebirds, huh?”
Caden didn’t even look at her as he spoke, “Yes, and my future wife is with child. I know it is after closing, but we were slowed down by the morning ailment. Could I pay you to let us in?” Callie tried not to look shocked by anything that Caden said. Turning her eyes to the guard, she didn’t have to act as her stomach lurched again. She very nearly threw up right there at the gate.
“Open up!” the guard shouted and disappeared from view.
Less than two minutes later the door opened, and a pair of guards looked at them expectantly. Caden pulled a small purse out and handed it to one of them. Callie watched as the guards’ eyes widened and they immediately began to fight over the purse as Caden took her hand and led her through the gates.
Callie’s head seemed to be on a constant pivot, and a couple of times she spun around trying to take everything in. The whole time, Caden walked calmly by her side, gently holding her hand and making sure they didn’t get separated. They arrived at a huge building with writing across it.
“Enfeh’s Bliss?” she read the sign.
“Yes, that is the name of the inn. We won’t stick out as much here.”
“Why is that?” The building looked gaudy, and she felt a little uncomfortable.
“Because it is for the elite. They won’t say anything about their guests here, so you will be safe for a day or two. Then you will need to head on.” He pulled her through the door.
Something about what he said again struck her as odd, but Callie could not stop trying to look at everything. There were more colors in the lobby than she had ever seen in a home, and the furniture looked luxurious. Caden was speaking with someone at the front in a language she did not understand.
“Come, darling. Let us get you to bed.”
Callie was only partially aware of being directed down a hallway and up a flight of stairs. When they finally reached a door, Callie wasn’t sure what to say. Caden turned a golden-looking key in the lock and pushed the door open. He gently tugged her hand, pulling her into the room before him. Callie entered and looked around. “This is a bedroom? There is a small bath facility!”
“Yes. If you need to wash up, go ahead. I know that you will find success in your new home.”
Barely hearing what he told her, Callie stepped into the bathroom and marveled at everything. There were a couple of strange-looking handles on the basin. Turning one of them, she stepped back as water sprang from it. “Water!” She put her hand in it, and noticed red beginning to flow into the sink. Startled, she looked at her hand. It was almost covered in blood. Immediately, her mind started trying to determine where she was hurt, but a few things began to make sense as she stared in horror at the blood washing away without any injuries.
Quickly turning to leave, she knew it wasn’t hers. It was from the hand that had been holding hers since the gate.
I would have loved to have heard your thoughts on it.
… you will be safe for a day or two. Then you will need to head on.
I know that you will find success in your new home.
Caden had been saying goodbye, knowing she would understand that after he was gone. He had been so adamant about not leaving her, there was only one reason that he would have changed his mind now. Callie rushed into the bedroom in time to see Caden collapse on the floor.