Page 68 of Wraithwound

Cross looked both stunned and confused. Using his index finger, he pulled a thin, silver chain out of his shirt, holding it up so Lena could see.

“We all wear one of these, Lena, given to us on the day our service contracts are granted. It’s identical,” he said.

“I don’t give a fuck about your stupid medallion—” And then it all clicked. “You were asking that woman, Row, about the other soldiers, because you thought I—that I had killed one of them,” she finished, unable to keep the hurt out of her voice. “How long? How long have you suspected me of killing one of your friends?”

Cross stood and dusted himself off but maintained his distance. He scanned her face, his astute gaze lingering, and Lena suspected he noted the hurt in her eyes.

“The night you were attacked by the Nychtyra that medallion fell out of your bag, but it wasn’t until this morning that I got a good look at it,” he admitted.

She couldn’t hear anymore; she didn’t want to think about this anymore. Lena got down on the ground and picked up her discarded pack. She shoved her belongings back inside as the anger she felt banked, morphing into something else.

“I don’t know why the medallions match, and honestly, I don’t fucking care. I haven’t killed any of your friends. If the conversation you had with Row just now wasn’t enough to convince you of that, I don’t know what would. Stay away from me, Cross.”

With that, she went back inside the inn. She found the innkeeper sitting behind the desk. He looked up from his book and frowned.

“I—I was here willingly, but that is no longer the case. Do you have a horse I could uh—buy?” She stumbled over her words. Lena closed her eyes, steeling herself for what she about to say, “I don’t have any money, but I could pay you . . . with this,” she said motioning to the large emerald brooch on her cloak.

The man considered the offer, giving her a pitying look, and then accepted with a slow nod.

He led her back into the stables and towards a different section of stalls where a grey mare stood. Lena didn’t see any sign of Cross. Good. The innkeeper prepared the horse and briefed her on its temperament and care. It didn’t seem to be spooked by her, and Lena took that as a small blessing from the Goddess. Once she was astride the horse, she pulled the brooch from her cloak and handed it to him. He took it reluctantly.

“Thank you,” Lena said before the man could change his mind.

“Keep an eye out for beasts,” he warned. “You’ll find they wear many different forms.”

Lena rode down the center of the dirt road towards the main gate, passing the small shops still teaming with people. The crisp air dispelled the heat that had begun building underneath her cloak, and she breathed it in, willing it to cool the embers of anger that still smoldered within her.

A guard in the watch tower waved as she cleared the gates and turned her mare due east, a great weight lifting off her shoulders. At last, she was on her way to the one place that might offer her some answers.

She rode on into the day, thanking the missing Goddess it was overcast, the air retaining quite a bit of the morning chill. Occasionally, she heard a familiar screech from above, and her heart squeezed knowing the eleuth had chosen to accompany her.

She’d been so foolish to let Cross delay her. Despite having traveled together for weeks, the truth was she didn’t know him and couldn’t trust him. She couldn’t forget that he’d sworn an oath to kill her either, which she expected him to do after he’d “repaid his debt.” The illusion of safety and sometimes pleasant companionship had dulled her sense of urgency, but the truth was, she was better off on her own.

The terrain changed as she rode on, shifting from grassy plains with rocky outcroppings to sandy dunes with little shade and scarce vegetation. Lena stopped periodically to water and rest her horse.

Anger, hope, and adrenaline carried her through the first day of travel. Once night fell, she was painfully aware of her situation. Being alone overnight in the Sweeping Sands would test her resolve, so when she saw the protruding stone structure in the distance, she knew she wouldn’t find better shelter than that.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized the slabs of stone not only provided an elevated place for her to sit and room for her mare, but they also provided shelter to her back and from above.

Her grandfather had told her about the Sweeping Sands and the creatures that resided underneath the tiny granules. The area was also called the Living Sands or the Weeping Sands depending on the type of experience travelers had here. The creatures didn’t pose a huge risk, like some of the beasts found in the plains, but obtaining too many stings from the tiny pincers on the wriggling bodies of horned needleworms would cause excruciating pain. Lena wasn’t exactly keen on getting stung but worried more for her mare. Horses were more affected by the stings, which could be fatal to the animal.

She set up a small camp just before sunset, making sure her horse was secured close by. It was evident she wasn’t the only traveler to have camped on the stone as she spotted blackened logs and fieldstones. Adding some dried brush to the firepit, she struck two stones together and managed a small fire. She knew that both her grandfather and Henry would be proud, and in that moment, she didn’t feel so alone. Rather, she found that she felt capable. That was something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

With the small fire burning nearby and a small meal in her belly, she reached for the broach to lay down her cloak and found it missing. She couldn’t help the tears that threatened to overwhelm her as she realized her mother’s broach was yet another thing she’d lost.

I’ll find a way to get it back, she promised her grandfather.

Now that the events of the day had passed, the ache in her muscles returned, along with the throbbing of her wounds. While the cuts on her body and sprained ankle were healing nicely, they were still sore. Instead, she focused on repacking her belongings since they’d been shoved back into her pack haphazardly. In doing so, she found extra provisions and a few apples gifted to her by the Innkeeper. Lena smiled, looking up at her mare.

Leaning back against the stone, she drew the sheathed knife out and placed it at her side. It wasn’t long before the sands came alive, bizarre noises reaching her in the makeshift shelter as strange insects emerged to start their hunt for something to eat.

Stars slowly emerged to illuminate the night sky, joining the large planet she’d seen in the plains. Far in the distance, lighting strikes cut through the darkening skies but disappeared as quickly as they’d struck. Eventually, the dancing lights returned, casting radiant greens and blues along the existing canvas. She marveled at the beauty that still existed on Eteris despite the horrors that now plagued Reimar.

When she grew tired of watching the aurora, she turned her attention to the sands where she spotted hundreds, if not thousands, of horned needleworms trying to wriggle up onto the protruding expanse of stone she sat upon. Luckily, all manner of insect and creature seemed deterred by the fire.

A glimpse of bright orange eyes peering down from above set her at ease. The eleuth came down and sat on the other side of the fire. She reached out a hand towards it, but it did not come closer. Sighing, she set her arm down.

“What do I call you?” she asked it.