Chapter Six

Kal

 

Over the next two days, everything went so according to plan, it almost made me more uneasy than if things had gone wrong. First, I managed to keep my conversations with Iris short and sparing. It helped that we were both so tired, we basically set up camp, ate, and went to sleep.

Second, we’d been knocking out almost double the number of miles I wanted to get through every day. The Farthing Mountains were no longer an idea on the horizon but looming sharply overhead. By tonight, we’d be within Winfyre’s borders and well on our way to the south gate.

Third, there had been no sightings of Sarrow or Excris. I’d been certain he’d come after us or at least alert those foul beasts we had Orion’s book. Of all the things I’d expected to go amiss, this last was the one digging into my brain in the middle of the night. I’d wake up and glance at my pack, wondering if I should even bring the damn book into Winfyre in the first place.

It wouldn't be the first time the Excris had tried to play our own hand against us. I only supposed I should be grateful it was leather, paper, and ink, rather than a flesh-and-blood shifter. Several hours later, too, it was no wonder I had a headache.

We were approaching a narrow path filled with rockfall scree. The Anklebiter, as my brothers called it, was a long, slippery, and steep climb into Winfyre. It was also the most direct.

The sun was slipping behind a tall, craggy peak to the west, and when the wind blew, you could almost smell the ocean. Usually, the scent of home, a mix of pine and salt, loosened the knot of tension in my back. Instead, it intensified, and I paused, my thoughts turning to the book.

Should I burn the damn thing? I wondered again, like I’d wondered repeatedly as I’d brought it closer and closer to Winfyre. Or do we need it?

“You’re worried, huh?” asked a voice at my elbow.

I jumped, more from the question than anything. “Uh,” I said slowly as I met Iris’s warm brown eyes. “Tend to expect the worst where Orion is concerned.”

“Yeah,” Iris said and hugged herself, frowning. “I’ve been thinking about that, too. We ignore his book at our peril—but who knows if we want to know what’s inside it?”

“Exactly,” I said, and now the damn knot in my back loosened. “It’s a double-edged sword.”

“Well, ‘the pen is mightier than the sword,’ and all that,” Iris said with a sweet smile.

I let out a bark of laughter. “You mean we can gut Excris with words? I wish.”

“Maybe the clue to that is in those pages,” Iris said. “Sarrow seemed pretty hellbent on getting it out of his possession as soon as possible.”

I stared at her, my brain whirring at her words. All this time, I’d thought the Excris had snatched Orion’s book back because it contained information on shifters, and I was sure it did. But perhaps it also contained, inadvertently or on purpose, information on the Excris. Or the Bloodfang.

“I could be wrong,” Iris said.

“No, I think you might be right,” I said. “We’ll find out soon enough.” Iris’s smile grew, and she tucked her hair behind her ears, looking pleased. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Dropping my gaze back to the path, I said, “Here, let me go first.”

“Okay, thank you,” Iris said.

Wet leaves clung to the edges of the path, drifting down from the trees lining the ridges above us. The smooth walls of the rock made for poor gripping, and I wondered if it would be better to go around to the Southern Pass. There was a reason this climb wasn’t popular.

And this wasn’t working. I sighed. Only one way that made sense.

“Actually, Iris.” I glanced back and held out a hand. “You should go first.”

“Okay,” she said, and her fingers looped around mine.

I swallowed, quickly pulling her in and ahead of me, then letting go. But the warm pressure lingered, and besides, wouldn’t it be prudent to keep holding hands?

Stretching out her hands, Iris sort of paddled as she walked up the path, laying her palms flat on the rock to steady and propel herself. It wasn’t something I would have thought of, and I followed her lead, both amused and impressed.

The steepness of the path increased, as did the number of wet leaves. A storm must have torn through here recently, probably hanging over the mountains before rolling off east. It was the rainiest season in Winfyre, the fall months filled with days of heavy storms. Usually, it didn't hit this corridor of the Farthing until later, though.

“We’re almost there,” I said to Iris, who’d paused as the path widened and no longer offered a decent handhold anywhere. “You want me to go first?”

“No, I like knowing you’re there,” Iris said, frowning. Then her cheeks flushed, and she shot me a sheepish smile, making it hard to breathe. “I mean, you won’t let me fall off this mountain.”

“Of course not. You’re safe.” I paused, struggling to focus and not smile. Why did Iris have to say disarming things like that at the worst times? “Go on.”

As we continued on, a cold splash of water hit my forehead, and I glanced up. There were patches of amber sky between the clouds, clouds that were thickening quickly. Another drop hit my face, and I suddenly realized where all the path's detritus had come from.

When it rained, this path turned into a sluiceway of mud, rocks, and leaves. I hadn't come this way in such a long time, I'd forgotten that.

“Is it raining?” Iris asked and looked up.

“Yes,” I said, still staring at the sky and debating whether to turn back. “Iris—”

A terrified gasp interrupted me. In those brief moments, Iris had continued on, and we were now separated by a good ten feet of rock. And she was falling backward, her feet slipping and hands scrabbling at open air. I moved on instinct, leaping and landing, crashing my shoulder into the cliffside to brace myself as I caught Iris around the waist and yanked her against me.

Air shook from her lungs, and she trembled, hands clutching my forearm. Then she twisted back to look at me. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you’d stopped.”

“I should’ve said something.” My heart was pounding, and fuzzy shock filled the edges of my brain. “Are you—you're not hurt?" Voice low and harsh, I tried to get a grip as Iris shook her head, and her gaze went to my shoulder. "Don't worry about me."

“You hit your shoulder pretty hard,” Iris said.

I moved, pulling away from the rocks. Eyeing it, I realized I’d left an imprint of my side, I’d slammed into it so hard. A crack was spreading from it, and pieces of shale fell down.

“It’s not strong rock,” I said, not sure if that was true or not. All I could feel was the pulse of blood going around and around my head and heart. Stepping back, but keeping my hands on her shoulders, I looked her over. “You’re okay.”

“Yeah, I didn’t mean to test my theory on your jumping into action,” Iris said.

Relief slowly crept over me, so immense it couldn’t move any faster than at a glacier’s speed. She was okay. “Last time I ever take this stupid trail,” I muttered and went to pull her against me.

At that moment, the skies opened up and snapped me awake.

What am I doing? I yelled at myself.

I instead held onto her and began to climb towards the shelf of rock that led to a nice, flat trail. A nice, flat trail we got to in the nick of time as the wind began to howl, and the path behind us became a slushy avalanche.

While we’d escaped the avalanche, we still had the storm to deal with. Iris staggered into me, and I wrapped an arm around her shoulder, peering through the inked-over twilight. There was a good-sized if ramshackle old logging factory somewhere around here. Not a Northbane base, but it would have to do.

Rain slashed down, and lightning flashed. I sensed Iris stiffening at my side, and her fingers gripped my shirt. Without thinking, I swung her up and into my arms. She let out a startled noise, half surprise, half protest, but I kept churning forward.

Stupid, I raged at myself. I’d been so intent on pretending Iris wasn't here that I hadn't considered how dangerous this trail was for a non-shifter. What if we'd been climbing up that crack in the cliff when the rain had started? She could have gotten hurt.

Clouds whipped by so fast that shafts of sunlight snuck between them. One illuminated the building in the gully up ahead, the river beyond it snarling and raging, tumbling over itself as it coursed through the mountains. Racing down the hill, the wind screaming now, I stumbled a little, and Iris’s arms went around my neck.

“Are you okay?” she shouted.

I nodded, fighting down a burst of amusement and annoyance. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Someone has to.”

The words seemed to pop from her mouth, and I cast a look downward, an eyebrow rising. Her eyes were huge as though she couldn't believe she'd said that.

Before I could respond, the sunlight was gone, swallowed by a wall of black clouds, and I shouldered open the factory door. Squinting, my night vision taking a moment to kick in, I saw the place was even more dilapidated than I recalled.

“Damn,” I said and kicked the door shut. “At least the roof looks intact.”

Moving through the big, empty room, I debated going down into the basement, but this room was secure enough. There were only a few windows, and the walls were made of a thick, sturdy material that looked like it could withstand the test of time. However, there were plants creeping in the corners and the unmistakable rustle of mice.

“At least we’ll be dry,” I muttered and heaved a giant sigh. “My pack brothers are always on me to take a different and longer way into Winfyre. All my fault, Iris. I’m sorry.”

“You control the weather?” Iris asked, and her voice bubbled oddly in her throat as I walked farther in, searching for a clean corner. “What can’t you do?”

“We should’ve taken a safer route home,” I said shortly, trying not be pleased with her tone.

“Oh, Kal,” Iris said, and I glanced down. “It’s all right. I, um, I appreciate everything. I didn’t mean for—thunderstorms make me nervous. I don’t like high winds like that, but I’m probably pretty heavy, and you have that gear, you know…”

She was babbling, and a grin curved into my mouth as she trailed off.

“You’re not heavy,” I said. “I could carry five of you and not break a sweat.”

Iris let out a soft laugh. "I mean, I figured that. You're huge, ripped, so strong and—"

“And?” I asked, my voice a little strange to my ears.

“Oh, you—you know you can put me down,” Iris said hastily.

I don’t know what came over me as I heard myself say, “I know.”