Against the Empire: The Dominion and Michian (46 page)

                “
Not at the moment.  I’m out of energy,” he told them.  “Are both of you alright?” he asked.

                “
I think we’re both a little battered and bruised, but we’re fine.  Better than you,” Bethany said, and in her teasing words, Alec heard the old affection he had once upon a time always heard her express.  He looked at her with hope in his eyes, and she smiled shyly back.

                “
Cut it out you two!  No goo-goo eyes now,” Rief said with a brusqueness belied by the smile on her face.

                “
Rief, how do you feel?” Alec asked, wishing he could use his spiritual powers to sense her feelings.

                “
I’m breathless,” Rief replied.  “I went from fear to pain to wonder to excitement to surprise to relief to comfort,” she rattled away.  “But, it was good at the end.  Bethany is alive, and that’s what matters.”

                “
Well, so she is,” Alec commented, looking at the water ingenaire.  “I felt like I was reliving two events with Cassie just now; both the healing on the beach and the initiation of her powers.  I think this turned out as well as the first and better than the second.”

                “
I thought the same thing!” Bethany cried.  “I was just telling Rief about the time you ran away from me to be with Cassie!”

               
Alec looked at the carcass nearby, and thought in practical terms for a moment.  “I don’t think we’re going to ride any farther today.  Why don’t I carve some steaks off the cat, and we can try to scrounge up enough fuel for a fire.”  He looked around and saw a few bushes, and some scattered trees in the distance.  “You two go together to pick up firewood, and call if there’s trouble,” he told them.  As they left, he began butchering the carcass, regretting all the meat they wouldn’t be able to take with them because it would spoil too fast.  He finished cutting enough for dinner and breakfast, then went to tend Walnut.  He unloaded the horse’s pack and hobbled his legs, then laid out the sleeping blankets and cleared a space for the fire.  Satisfied that he had done all that he could, Alec sat and waited for the girls to return.            

               
Minutes later they returned with two meager armloads of wood.  “There’re a couple of big pieces over there we couldn’t bring because they were too heavy,” Bethany said.  “Would you come with me to go back to get them?”

           
Alec agreed, but first kindled a small flame for Rief to use in getting their fire started.  He and Bethany walked away from the campsite, squinting into the quickly setting sun, which sat on the horizon and glared directly into their eyes as they walked west.

            “
You are always going to do amazing things, aren’t you?” Bethany asked as they walked.

            “
I will always try to do what I can,” Alec replied.  “But it was so frightening this time.  My powers wouldn’t work at first, and I had to take Rief into the energy realm on a crash course.  Once I had connected her with my abilities, she got taken through everything I did – healing and spiritual.  She’s pretty resilient to handle all of it.  At least I hope she handled it,” he said.

            “
She told me something about it,” Bethany said.  “She is feeling fine right now.  I think it happened so fast she didn’t have time to react, and you apparently were very kind to her at the end of the trauma.”

            “
She deserves all the kindness I can give her,” Alec said.  “She was willing to trust me completely when I asked to use her power, not to mention how much she did for me back in the empire.

            “
I’m glad she was here to help when I needed her.  Without her I might not have been able to save you,” he continued.  “I didn’t even have time to feel panic from the time you screamed until the time it was all over.

            “
John Mark was surprised when Rief came back from Michian with me,” Alec said as Bethany pointed to the wood he was to carry.  “He didn’t expect her to be on this trip with us; it was just supposed to be you and me.  But if she hadn’t been here, well,” he didn’t finish his line of thought.

            “
I guess you know I love you Bethany,” he added as he gingerly picked up the log, favoring his injured hand.

            “
I felt it Alec, so directly and so completely, I know, I just know.  You have shown me your heart in a way that leaves no doubt about your love,” she replied.  “And you know I love you too,” she added as she leaned in and pecked him on the cheek while adding more wood to the load in his arms.

Alec felt it was one of the best moments of his life.

They took their time picking up pieces of fuel, and by the time they returned to the fire, Rief had a merry blaze going, and the meat was roasting over the flames. “That took a while; did you two go out looking for a priest to marry you?” Rief asked without malice. “You know, I was right there with you in that whole, incredible rescue of Bethany, so you don’t really have any secrets from me at this point!” she added brightly.

“Why would I want a priest to marry me? I’m sure there are other men available,” Bethany deliberately misunderstood.

The next day they resumed the journey at the rapid pace Alec wished for, and for the rest of the journey they continued to hurry along.  Within two weeks they had arrived in the area that acknowledged the rule of the leader of Sandyforks, and Alec took the opportunity to stop at the first inn they came to. 

                “
You know what we need to do first,” he said as he helped them climb down from the horse.

                “
A big meal with lots of sweets, bread and milk,” Rief said brightly.

                “
Wrong,” Alec responded.

                “
A long, hot, soaking bath,” Bethany insisted.

                “
Wrong, too,” Alec answered.

                “
A club to knock upside your head,” Bethany rejoined.

                “
And a gag to put in your mouth,” Rief added, as the two girls covered their smiles.

                “
Ladies, ladies,” Alec sighed.  “The first thing we do is make sure Walnut is taken care of,” he said as he led the horse into the stable yard.  “And I’ll see if there’s room in the hay loft for us to stay.”

               
Rief looked at him with glum disappointment, taking him at his word, while Bethany took off her shoe and threw it at him.

           
As it turned out, Alec paid for three rooms in the inn, and hot baths for all of them as well.  “I remember when we took a bath together in Michian,” Rief said as Alec made the arrangements with the innkeeper.

            “
You two took a bath together?” Bethany asked, her eyebrows arching as she looked at Alec.

            “
Not exactly,” Alec began.  “I was feeling dirty and wanted to bathe.”

            “
In Michian, the bath houses are where men and women go to, ahem,” Rief explained with an arch look on her face.

           
Alec longed to be a water ingenaire, so he could dump a bucket of water on Rief.

           
The next day the trio left the inn.  Alec used his dwindling supply of money from Frame to purchase another horse, and they rode through the farmland and countryside to Sandyforks, and then on to Growerstown, and days later they reached the eastern side of Stronghold.

            “
This is where we begin our work,” Alec said as they pulled their horses up outside the gate in the city wall.  “The Locksforts will give us the start we need.”  They entered the city and took the long, slow walk down the cliff to the lower town, where Alec led them to the Locksfort compound gate.  “We’re here to see Durer and Johanna,” Alec casually told the guard at the gate.  “Would you tell them that Alec the healer from Oyster Bay has returned to town?”

           
The guard looked at Alec with a speculative glance.  “I was here when we fought Mooreen for control of the clan.  I’m a good friend of Noranda, and Brandeis and Delle, although I know he’s not here,” Alec patiently said.  “Or if you could even bring Circh out, I’m sure she’ll lead us in to the cousins.”

            “
I’ll send a message,” the guard said in a helpful tone, and soon a servant was carrying a note up to the family quarters.

Just minutes later Noranda came hurrying towards the gate, and as soon as she saw Alec she squealed with joy and ran to him, jumping on him in a hug of friendship and kissing him soundly.

“Look at your hair!” Alec exclaimed. “It does grow back after all.”

“How many girls does he have planted around your Dominion?” Rief asked Bethany.

“This is one of the ones he saved from dying. Strangely, he seems to save the lives of pretty girls most often,” Bethany observed in an audible aside. “There’s Noranda here, Cassie in Goldenfields, Imelda down in Bondell, now me.”

“Wasn’t there one named Annalea in Goldenfields too?” Rief asked.

Alec and Noranda had turned to face the two girls in their staged dialog.

“Yes, I believe there was, and maybe Yula as well. Has he saved your life yet and fallen in love with you?” Bethany answered.

“He hasn’t done either. Should I start choking now to win his heart?” Rief continued.

Noranda was smiling at the obviously good-natured jesting.

“I’ve never seen these girls before,” Alec said solemnly, only to be doused in a deluge of water seconds later.

“May we come in?” Alec asked Noranda. “We need a place to rest, and I need to speak to Durer with a request.”

“Come in, come in,” Noranda motioned them all. “I’m Noranda,” she said, introducing herself to Bethany and Rief. “Have we met before?” Noranda asked Bethany. “You look familiar.”

“My name is Bethany, an ingenaire from Oyster Bay. I’ve heard a great deal about you,” Bethany said. “But I don’t recollect having met you directly.”

“My name is Rief,” the other girl said.

“What a wonderful accent!” Noranda exclaimed as they reached the stables. She held out an arm to hold the other girls back. “Let Alec go in and muck the horse around on his own,” she suggested.

“Where are you from?” she further asked Rief.

The girl hesitated for just a moment. “I am from a far-away land, the Michian Empire.”

“I’ve heard the name, maybe from a trader,” Noranda thought out loud. “Did you all have a nice trip up the river?”

“We actually came down the river,” Bethany answered. We came through Growerston.”

Noranda looked puzzled. “Alec must be coming from the battles in Goldenfields, and you’re from Oyster Bay, so how do you travel here by way of Growerston?”

Alec was loaded down with bags as he returned from placing Walnut in a stall. “We’ll tell you all about that. It’s part of the story I want you and Durer and Brandeis and Johanna to hear.”

Noranda was now leading them to the family quarters. “Let’s put you in rooms first, and I’ll see if we can set up a meeting this afternoon. Durer is usually pretty busy, but a surprise visit from the crown protector is special. Should I call you sire or majesty?”

“May I offer other suggestions?” Bethany quickly asked, and Noranda winked at her.

“Here are the guest quarters,” Noranda opened a door and motioned to a maid in the hallway. “We have other rooms as well if you need more,” she suggested casually as they walked into the rooms. “Alec, you can have your old room back if you like,” she added.

Alec looked at the single bed in each room, then looked at his traveling companions. “Maybe I should stay in my old room,” he agreed. The maid entered the room and brought linens to prepare the beds. “I can find my own way,” he said as he laid down the girls’ bags on a table. “I’ll be back down in an hour, if you could send word here about a meeting time and place.”

He left the room and wandered upstairs and through the halls until he came to the room he had first occupied, and he stepped over to the window to look out at the panoramic view of the great waterfall and the city spread out below. It was an impressive view, and he felt a warmth in his heart towards the city. That was a surprise, after his very first experience had been an ambush at the Millershome wharf, and he had later been tortured in dungeons below the Locksfort compound. But a number of good people had fought with him to beat Mooreen and her forces, and had turned his heart around.