The Hungering Flame (21 page)

“
I recognize the work of an Astorran knight,
”
she said, reaching into the large leather bag open beside her on the ground. She pulled out a small brown crock and unstoppered it. She dipped the tip of her finger in and withdrew a dollop of orange goo.

“
What’s that?
”
Garrett asked, still marveling at the cool, painless tingling in his wrists.

“
The fat of stolen human babies,
”
Ymowyn said, rubbing it onto the crusted wound on Garrett’s forehead.

“
What?
”
Garrett yelped, jerking his head back.

Ymowyn flashed a sharp
grin.
“
Relax, boy,
”
she said,
“
I
t’s just rendered tree bark. Like you, though, I enjoy a certain reputation among the people of Braedshal.
”
She rubbed the paste gently into Garrett’s head wound, holding him still by grasping his chin in the V of her free hand.

A warm numbness spread through Garrett’s scalp.
“
That’s nice!
”
he said.

“
Thank you,
”
she said, smiling,
“
It’s my favorite recipe.
”

“
You made
all thish?
”
Garrett’s speech slurred as Ymowyn pinched his bottom lip between her fingers and rubbed the last of the orange paste into the crack in his lip.

“
Yes,
”
she said.

Garrett suddenly gagged, turning his head to spit. A bitter, acid taste filled his mouth.

“
It tastes terrible though,
”
she said with a shrug. She cradled the nape of his neck in her paw and wrinkled her nose.
“
You’re filthy,
”
she said.

Garrett’s cheeks burned.

“
Nothing to be ashamed of, boy,
”
she said,
“
Just get clean and move on.
”

Ymowyn closed her bag and stood up, looking around.
“
Where’s he got to now?
”
she muttered,
“
Warren!
”

“
What?
”
Warren called from the darkness of the forest.

“
Come here!
”
she said with a sigh.

“
I’m... busy!
”
he called back.

Ymowyn frowned.
“
Well
,
get your backside here as soon as it’s clean enough to present in company!
”

“
Hey!
”
Warren shouted.

Ymowyn winked at Garrett, a devilish smirk on her face.

Warren came loping out of the trees with half a rabbit stuck between his teeth. He pulled it out of his mouth with a bloody paw.
“
I was
eating
,
”
he said,
“
I saved you some too.
”

Ymowyn stared at the mangled rabbit.
“
Thank you,
”
she said, slowly,
“
perhaps later... when it’s been cooked.
”

Warren shrugged and tossed the rabbit onto a nearby pile of leaves.
“
What’cha need?
”

“
Take your friend to the stream and scrub him off a bit,
”
she instructed,
“
Just don’t touch his wrists or the top of his head.
”

“
What?
”
Warren whined,
“
Why do I have to do it?
”

Ymowyn’s emerald eyes narrowed, just a hint of fang glinting in the curve of her mouth.

Warren frowned.
“
C’mon Gar,
”
he said, helping his friend to his feet.

Garrett followed Warren toward the woods. Warren grabbed a pack from where it lay beside a nearby tree.

“
Is that my pack from Ghausse?
”
Garrett asked.

“
Yeah,
”
Warren said, pulling a wry face,
“
I figured the baby might want a fresh diaper after I’m done powdering his butt.
”

“
Hey!
”
Garrett laughed. A sudden coughing fit interrupted him momentarily;
“
I can wash myself just fine.
”

Warren looked back over his shoulder.
“
Well, do a good job... just don’t wash off any of that goop she put on you, or it’ll be both our hides.
”

“
Who is she?
”

“
I don’t know, really,
”
Warren mused,
“
After Cabre didn’t show up, I snuck into town to find you... I got kinda turned around in the sewers. Well, it was more like catacombs, you know, under the city. I turned a corner, and there she was.
”

“
I’m glad you found someone friendly,
”
Garrett said.

“
I don’t know about
friendly
,
”
Warren laughed,
“
but she did tell me what had happened to you and helped me track you to where they handed you over to the redjacks.
”

Garrett heard the sound of a stream, bubbling in the forest ahead. Garrett stepped out into the light of the newly risen sun while Warren hung back in the shadows of the forest. Garrett’s bare, bruised feet slipped on the cold, rounded stones of the stream, and he cried out when one of his feet went ankle-deep into the icy water.

“
Hey,
”
he said,
“
where’s Marla?
”

“
She and that other guy are sleeping it off under their gaunts,
”
Warren said, finding a comfortably shady place to sit.

“
What?
”
Garrett asked, a little more loudly than he intended.

“
Don’t worry, they’re not both under the same one,
”
Warren said,
“
They just sorta snuggled up under their wings and passed out.
”

“
Oh,
”
Garrett said. He looked around to make certain he was alone. Warren wasn’t watching either, so he peeled off his tattered clothes, finding more than one spot where the stained cloth had stuck to a crusted scab. At last, his disgust at his own filth overcame his fear of the icy water, and he stepped in.

“
Yah!
”
Garrett yelled, finding the water deeper than he had expected. Already hip-deep, his foot slipped and sent him all the way in, his sore tailbone smashing a divot in the gravel streambed.
“
Boneash!
”
he shouted.

“
You all right?
”
Warren called.

“
Y-yeah,
”
Garrett stuttered, his teeth starting to chatter.

“
Well, keep it down then, I’m trying to take a nap,
”
Warren growled,
“
I haven’t slept in a while.
”

“
W-Warren?
”
Garrett said.

“
Yeah?
”

“
Thanks... f-for coming to get me.
”

“
Ye
ah, Garrett. That’s what friend
s do.
”

****

Garrett started from a deep sleep with the sudden realization that he had forgotten something important. He looked around for a moment, wild-eyed, trying to remember where he was.

A cool breeze wafted the smoke of a small fire through the trees. His stomach grumbled at the smell of something cooking. The sky above glowed pink with the approach of nightfall.

Garrett pushed out of a pile of warm blankets, finding himself dressed in fresh clothes that he didn’t remember putting on. One of Jitlowe’s less garish hoods lay folded neatly beside him on the bedroll that served as his pillow. He tugged it over his head, feeling immediately better. A pair of long woolen socks lay on the grass next to his bedding. He pulled them on, grateful for at least some protection for his bruised feet.

Getting to his feet, he swayed a little at first, but stepped cautiously toward the fire where Warren and Ymowyn sat talking. They looked up at his approach.

“
Hi,
”
Garrett said.

“
Good evening,
”
Ymowyn said,
“
may I call you Garrett?
”

“
Oh... yeah,
”
Garrett said.

“
Would you like something to eat, Garrett?
”
she asked,
“
Warren has managed to catch us some lovely rabbits.
”

“
Yeah, thanks!
”
Garrett said, sitting down on the crumbling log beside Warren.

“
You all healed up yet?
”
Warren asked, cracking a bone open with his back teeth.

Garrett touched his head with his fingertips and pulled away quickly.
“
Not quite... but it doesn’t hurt if I don’t touch it.
”

“
Then I recommend against touching it,
”
Ymowyn said without looking up from ladling stewed rabbit onto a tin plate.

“
That’s the reason we were so late in catching up with you,
”
Warren said, pointing at Ymowyn with a leg bone,
“
She had to bring
supplies
.
”

“
One should always be prepared for any contingency,
”
Ymowyn said, passing the plate to Garrett,
“
and, in any case, I’d say we arrived just in time.
”

Garrett took the tin plate and spoon she handed him and ate.

“
Dunno what we’re gonna do about your boots,
”
Warren said.

Garrett looked down at his socks, already crusted with bits of dried leaves stuck in the wool.
“
Yeah,
”
he said,
“
I tried to grab ‘em before I ran for it, but my hands were... the scroll!
”

Garrett looked around frantically.
“
Where is the scroll?
”

Warren shrugged his shoulders.
“
You must have dropped it when you were huggin’ on Marla so tight.
”

Ymowyn bounced a rabbit bone off of Warren’s forehead.
“
Don’t tease him!
”
she hissed.

Warren snickered, getting up from the log to walk over to the supply stack. He pulled the long wooden tube from the pile and tossed it to Garrett.

It bounced in Garrett’s hands, and he juggled for it a second before he got a hold on it. He scowled at Warren as he worked at the silver stopper on one end. It popped free, and he fished around inside with his fingertips. With some effort, he was able to catch the edge of the scroll within and slowly pull it from the case.

“
What is that?
”
Ymowyn asked, her large eyes flashing in the firelight.

“
I don’t know,
”
Garrett said, unrolling the large scroll,
“
It’s something the dragon rider thought was a way to trap our army.
”

“
A map,
”
Warren noted, walking over to have a look.

The map of a city had been inscribed on the pale, faintly shimmering fabric that made up the scroll. Beautiful, circular runes of golden ink flowed around the outlines of towers and halls. Delicate line work showed the contours of the surrounding hills and river. Near the bottom of the map, where Graelle had marred the ancient map with smudged black lines, a long gilded path from the city seemed to end. The arrow that the dragon rider had drawn from the crude X ended at the faded depiction of some sort of ornate gate.