A Turn of Curses Page 2

  A day later, they reached the end of the valley. After a couple nights in Corrivale, they continued without an escort. The Hallor soldiers who had accompanied her from the temple were allowed no further into Vastorn.

  Barring any long stop, they would reach the Ivory Palace of the fay Renald family within a turn of the moon. Selina recalled stories of the brilliant white structure of marble stonework, which granted the palace its name, and couldn't wait to see it with her own eyes.

  A few days passed without sight of any feyquin or other creatures, and Selina wondered if the feyquin posed any threat or if it had all been a way to scare her.

  Five days out of Corrivale, they stopped for a midday meal between towns. Reen left Doxon hitched, since they hoped to push on and reach the next town by evening.

  The interminable riding in the carriage filled Selina with a restlessness to stretch her legs and see more of the country with its rolling green hills and scattered trees. Her life grew shorter each day. She wanted to experience everything before reaching the Ivory Palace. If only she had more time! She would explore every rock and crevasse, every hill and valley. Everything. Most people didn't stop to realize how fortunate they were, nor to enjoy each day as if was their last.

  Having snacked in the carriage on bread and jam, she took the chance to wander while the other two ate.

  "Stay close, Miss."

  She turned back and waved for Beth to join her.

  Beth shook her head. "I'll stay here."

  Selina shrugged and turned away to a nearby hill topped by a tight copse of trees. Your loss.

  Eager to see from the higher vantage and take in the landscape, she climbed the steep incline. While holding her covering robe out of the way with one hand, so it wouldn't tangle with her pants, and using the other to balance in some places, she reached the trees and crossed through to take in the scene beyond.

  Magnificent! Many of the hillsides had eroded away to expose the same layers of color as the Breach. The gold, red, and black colors stood out against the thick of green vegetation.

  "Selina!"

  Now what? She had only reached the vantage, from which the land stretched out, dotted with farms and livestock and sliced by a meandering river. They wanted her back already?

  Exasperated, she rolled her eyes, but she returned through the trees.

  "Selina! Hurry!"

  She frowned and caught the movement from the other side of the carriage. Reen struggled to keep Doxon calm. The felipar growled, its tail lashing and fangs bared.

  The creatures reached the carriage. By Y'dom! She ducked back into the trees, her heart racing.

  Five, all different colors and markings. But the dappled gray with its dark mane and tail caught her eyes and stopped.

  A long face stared at her, topped by small ears curved to a point at the top. A thick, arched neck connected to a muscular body supported by four long, lean legs renewed in their pounding race to her.

  She swallowed, wanting to join her companions but afraid of what this creature might do if she stepped into the open. Doxon slashed at the four surrounding the carriage, and Reen jumped into the driver's seat behind him. If only Reen could keep him under control long enough for her to reach them!

  First, to escape the creature, which stopped outside the trees. It flattened its ears and reared. When its round hooves landed, the ground trembled.

  Selina hid behind one of the larger trunks and peeked around for a chance to reach the others.

  Dark eyes glared from beneath a heavy forelock of gray and black hair. The creature resembled descriptions she had heard of the feyquin.

  "Why are you here?" The hard voice made her blink. The gray feyquin stepped towards her, his long face inches from hers and his ears flat against his neck.

  "Why are you here? You were warned to go back."

  "Who are you?"

  "One who intends to stop you from reaching the Ivory Palace."

  "Faldon!" She stared in awe of the rogue that several people in Breach's Pass and Corrivale warned about. It could only be him.

  At a piercing growl from Doxon, Selina noticed the four other feyquin circling the carriage. A red-orange with white marks on its face and legs rose up on its hind legs and struck out with its forelegs at the felipar. Doxon pinned his ears and growled at his attacker, his tail lashing nonstop as he backed away.

  "Selina!" Beth's worried voice carried to her from the door of the carriage.

  A heavy thud drew her attention to the gray within biting reach. From the folds of skin around his nostrils and the lips pulled back slightly to bare his teeth, he intended to bite. With his ears flat to his neck, the way Doxon did when upset, she knew.

  "Go back! Do not continue!" he said.

  "No." The word escaped before Selina could think.

  He reared up and slammed his forefeet down. "Don't argue, human!"

  Human? Her fear faded at the insult. How dare this creature speak down to her and interfere with her plans!

  "Go!" He snapped at her, and she jerked back. "Return to your lands and forget the White Prince."

  "Selina!"

  The clatter of the carriage froze her heart.

  "Wait!" She took a step and halted. Faldon stood with his ears pinned, his head turned to the four others who chased the carriage.

  Disbelief turned to anger at the feyquin.

  "You—" Selina growled, a proper curse stuck in her throat. "You chased them away! If you want me to turn back, that won't help."

  His nostrils pulled back into what she interpreted as a snarl. "It wasn't my fault. We're used to wild felipar, not your domesticated kits. They don't run. They fight." He tossed his head, his black and gray mane slapping along his neck.

  "If you would've let me out, I could've joined them."

  "I never forced you in there."

  Unsure what he intended, Selina stayed behind the protection of the trees.

  After some time, he pawed at the ground. "Are you coming out?"

  She crossed her arms. "Why? So you can chase me?"

  With his ears pinned flat, Faldon reared and slammed his forefeet down. The ground shook and split towards her, but the trees held. "Don't tempt me!"

  The feyquin had more strength than she thought. The trees wouldn't last long if he was determined. What use was staying there? Trembling with rage, she stepped out from behind the trees. Faldon backed away, staying out of reach.

  "Start walking," he said.

  "I am Na'Y'dom. You will show more respect."

  "I know what you are, and I would say the same about me." He stepped towards her and bared his teeth.

  She jerked away with a scowl and turned to the road. Instead of backtracking, she started in the direction of her carriage.

  Faldon stepped ahead of her, blocking her path. "Wrong way."

  "My friends are that way."

  "You're going back."

  Her anger boiled up until she slapped his large, round cheek.

  He stood stunned, staring at her with his ears up.

  Tears blurred her vision. She marched past him, determined to find her friends. "You'll have to kill me to stop me. I'm not going back."

  A steady pounding came from behind.

  "Irrational human," Faldon muttered.

  She lifted her head higher, pulled her green robe closed around her, and continued on the road. He wouldn't hurt her. By all rights, he could have reciprocated from her slap. He didn't, and he likely wouldn't. At least he had that much respect.

  A regular beat followed her. She risked a peek over her shoulder. Faldon followed.

  He pinned his ears flat and snapped his teeth at her. "Reach your friends and we'll chase all of you back to Hallor."

  She huffed and turned away. One way or another, she would complete her journey. He could try all he wanted, but she would not be deterred.

  * * *

  With the sun sinking to the mountains in the west, Selina wished she would catch up with the others. He
r stomach rumbled. She needed food and rest, and company, or at least better company than the gray feyquin a step behind.

  She glanced back. Faldon walked with his head low and ears sideways. Her lips twisted into a snarl. Leave me alone! If he hated her as much as she did him, why did he bother to stay with her? Was it his way of keeping track of her to be sure she would turn around for home? He might as well quit. She refused to let him intimidate her.

  The thunder of hooves interrupted her dark thoughts.

  Two feyquin galloped to them. They stopped around her, breathing hard and covered in sweat.

  "Where's my carriage?"

  The red-orange stallion with white on his legs and a stripe down his face spoke. "We tried to chase them down, but the driver couldn't stop the felipar."

  "He's never seen feyquin, and four to one would scare any creature." Everything from verbal stories or books described the feyquin as an intelligent species. Perhaps not. "I thought you were smarter."

  "How were we to know?" He pinned his ears flat for a moment but only for a moment. An instant later, he lifted his head and his ears, his eyes on someone behind her.

  "Where are they?" The calm voice she now hated came from behind her.

  "Dewel—" The dark feyquin with the black mane and tail and a crooked oval of white on his forehead motioned with his head to the red-orange. Like his companion, his nostrils flared with his heavy breathing. "—tried to take the reins to stop the felipar, but the driver swerved. The carriage crashed and the felipar ran off."

  Selina caught her breath. Beth. Reen…

  "The humans were hurt. Bastien ran to the nearest town to find help. Grem stayed with them."

  "How are Beth and Reen?"

  Dewel fixed his eyes on her. "The female can't walk and the old man has only a few cuts and bruises. He's helping the female."

  "Idiots!" Selina said.

  A hard shove from behind sent her sprawling into the dirt at the hooves of the two sweaty feyquin. Selina landed on her shoulder and rolled over, her anger inflamed with a pain beyond reconciliation. "How dare—"

  "NO!" Faldon stepped forward, his head low and ears back. He stayed out of her reach, like the others, who stepped back at his approach. "Never speak to us like that! You are no one here."

  "I am Na—"

  "I know what you are! But I am no follower of your 'god'. To me, you are another worthless human. Now, get up. If you want to help your friends, I suggest you walk."

  Frustration boiled over into tears, which she wiped away with force. No one ever spoke to her with such disrespect. Because of her sacrifice and gifts, she should be honored.

  She couldn't wait to reach Beth and Reen; they would welcome her.

  Selina stood and dusted herself, her head high, and, despite her aching stomach, continued on the road. They would not break her spirit or see her weak.

  * * *

  By the time the sun reached the mountain peaks behind them, hunger pangs made Selina hold her middle. Her legs ached and she wanted only to sit. She hated it. "I'm starving, and tired."

  "Good. Rest here."

  She gave Faldon a dark look but found a place to sit on the grass along the wheel ruts of the road. The coolness soothed her, and bending her legs brought a relief that made her smile. Selina laid back and closed her eyes.

  At the temple, no one would have dared anger her, lest they incur the wrath of their god Y'dom. The priests and her attendants served her every need. She had gardens to stroll through in moments of peace and the reverence of the people, especially those who came for healing.

  By Y'dom! She missed home.

  "Be glad none of the robbers have found you," Dewel said.

  She opened her eyes but the feyquin moved off with the others, his muzzle in the grass to eat. Easy for them, but what about her hunger?

  Faldon walked away.

  Didn't they care about her needs? "Where are you going?"

  He stopped and looked back. "To find food for you. You'll need your strength."

  "Kind of you," she muttered and laid down again. About time he did something for her.

  With the sun setting, the warm, late summer air would cool. She tried not to think about how cold she might get without the heavy blankets of her carriage and let her mind drift.

  Exhaustion stole her away to strange dreams.

  Selina awoke to a crunching sound. She stretched and shivered in the cold air. When she opened her eyes, the stranger from Breach's Pass looked down on her, a half-eaten green fruit in his hand.

  "You!" She sat up. "Where'd you come from?"

  "Nearby."

  "Who are you? Did you know this would happen?"

  "Yes and no."

  Under the light of the waxing moon, she noticed the pile of fruits and edible roots on a cloth. Her mouth watered, and she snatched one of the clean roots away. The sweet crunch of it whet her appetite for more.

  "Slow down, unless you want to choke."

  She gave him a dirty look and ate hurriedly to satisfy her empty stomach, regardless of his warning. The man wore matching, fitting clothes this time. An improvement.

  With food no longer a worry, Selina looked around. Only one feyquin grazed nearby. Another lay stretched out on his side. She saw no sign of the gray.

  "Where's Faldon?"

  "Close."

  Suspicious, she studied the man, who wore a neutral expression. "Where?"

  "Watching."

  She shivered in the cool breeze and scanned the dark, strange land around her.

  "Cold?" he asked and took another crunching bite.

  "Yes, and uncomfortable."

  "Why?"

  "I can't stand the feyquin. They chased off my carriage and almost killed me."

  The man's expression darkened. "The feyquin do not kill, not even a human!"

  Why such vehemence? She hadn't insulted him. Better, what could she get out of him now that she hadn't that night at Breach's Pass? "Were you going to warn me about Faldon? Why didn't you stay?"

  He swallowed and leaned back against the tree trunk behind him. "I don't like soldiers."

  "Why didn't you meet us sooner on the road after we left Breach's Pass?"

  "I had business elsewhere."

  She stared at the half-eaten root in her hands, her patience worn thin. He made it a point to meet her and warn her about the feyquin, and tried to scare off Doxon to hold them back. Then he left? "But you decided to come back tonight. Why?"

  He took another bite and said nothing.

  "Damn you!"

  "I am already damned."

  "You're infuriating. You're no better than that Faldon."

  "Good."

  She growled and bit off another chunk. It gave her something better to do than argue with a man who wouldn't give her any answers.

  After a few minutes of silence, she finished the root. "At least give me a name."

  "Why?"

  She snatched a fruit from the pile and stood. He set her temper flaring the same way the feyquin did. "You know something? Stay away from me. I don't need this. I have enough problems."

  He looked up and bit into the apple.

  Selina gave him the nastiest glare she could and stomped away to where she could be alone. Part of her wished he would follow and was disappointed when he didn't. She didn't expect him to with that attitude, however. Who did he think he was? For that matter, who was he? Why was he there?

  "Don't stray far. There are creatures in the night you don't want to meet."

  She hesitated several strides away and looked back, but he sat unconcerned. Was he serious or was this a joke? No, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of manipulating her into an angry outburst. If this was a game to him, she refused to play.

  Instead, she sat on a cool patch of grass and ate the fruit, all the while glaring at him.

  When he finished, he laid down on the grass, ignoring her.