The Myatheira Chronicles: Volume Two: Beyond the Veil (31 page)

Kaemin stepped forward, a hesitance to his posture that Aiva wasn’t used to seeing there. “If we pressed onward after dark, could we close in on them any faster? At least make up for lost time?”

“I loathe to consider the option, but we have little choice.” Callum closed his eyes. Aiva didn’t need to look into them to know that he was aware of the dangers in giving the order. At the same time, she knew if they continued to stop at nightfall, the enemy would only gain more ground; dragging Shaelyn closer to Luquarr and away from any chance of rescue. “Let us move,” he announced suddenly, opening his eyes once again to stare firmly at the men, steadfast. “We will take a brief pause at dusk and then continue onward through the night. Keep your eyes open and ears alert. The desert is about to become far more treacherous.”

.

Chapter Eleven

Aiva wasn’t sure if it was fear or exhaustion which made the first evening so stressful. Everyone was on guard, tensed, jumping at any sound they heard. Their pace slowed to avoid drawing unwanted attention. If not for Callum and Gadiel guiding their directions, Aiva was certain the unit would have been lost to the darkness. Determining which way to go was next to impossible without the natural compass of the sun or landmarks to note their progress. At dawn they paused again to allow a slight reprieve from the journey; a chance to separate food rations and water in preparation of the impending daytime heat.

No words had been spoken between Callum and Aiva since the sandstorm. They kept their distance, Callum tending toward the front of the unit with Gadiel while Aiva lagged behind with Kaemin, watching the two men lead them along in silence. Occasionally Kaemin attempted conversation, the topics trailing off quickly at Aiva’s disinterest.

She had much to think on. Gadiel’s words stuck with her, mingled with those spoken by Callum before she’d ruined everything. Their opinions mirrored those of Kaemin’s from the start of their journey. Her friends had so much faith in her! So why did she feel as though she was letting them down? As if they saw something in her that she didn’t. Gadiel implied something was holding her back. But what? She’d received nothing but encouragement throughout her childhood. Prepared with special care for the day she would inherit the throne. Everyone expected greatness from her. Expectations so high that she didn’t believe she could live up to them. Could that be what Gadiel referred to? A lack of confidence in her abilities?

It was ridiculous to ponder what Gadiel believed she held against Callum. The answer was obvious, although pride prevented her from admitting the truth; that she hated the jealousy she felt toward Ireni. The intimacy she was said to have shared with the man Aiva was so smitten with as a child. But to confront Callum about it now would only complicate things. What if he denied intimacy with the pirate wench? Would she believe him? If he somehow provided proof of his innocence, it would only rub the accusations in her face. Somehow it felt easier to refrain from discovering the knowledge she’d so desperately sought in the beginning, simply to avoid showing weakness. An error of the extent a possible misjudgment would prove demonstrated a terrible flaw in her character. But her presumptuous behavior was equally flawed. She needed to be more like her mother. Leyna would never have simply assumed Dacian’s statements to be founded in truth. She would have investigated the matter thoroughly. A decision of guilt would never have been publicized until every detail – every side of the story – had been uncovered.

But Aiva couldn’t reflect her mother’s wisdom in this situation. Aiva was stubborn, yes, but she was also hurt. The matter was too personal to think logically. Callum had abandoned her. No one had ever caused her pain and misery the way he did. As a child her family had always been there for her. But Callum left her. It wasn’t his fault, yet deep down – she knew she blamed him. From the moment she awoke the morning after he left for training, running down to the courtyard only to find it empty. She’d spent weeks sitting there in the grass, watching the entryway in hopes that he would return. That it would all be revealed as some unknown game. A cruel joke he and Edric arranged to tease her. But he never came back. It cut her deeply in a way she hadn’t understood at the time, though now it made perfect sense. Every day they spent on their journey made it clearer to Aiva; and more frightening.

Eventually she would have to face him. She owed Callum too much to let her foolish uncertainties continue to hurt him. Many of the accusations had been explained already. If Callum had written letters only to have them intercepted by Faustine, Aiva couldn’t blame him for their failure to reach her. Nor could he be blamed for the tactics required of him in Siscal to apprehend Ireni. Absently Aiva wiped at her lips. It disgusted her to think that she had kissed him, knowing his mouth at one time had been against that of their enemy.

“You certainly are far away,” Kaemin mused, his green eyes pulling Aiva from her reverie to find them gazing down at her through the bright light of the sun. Squinting, she brought her hand up to cover her face, shielding her vision to see him more clearly.

“Nonsense,” she mumbled, still distracted by her thoughts. “I am right here. No further away than any of the other men.”

Kaemin chuckled quietly. “Your eyes say differently.”

“Then stop speaking to my eyes.” Aiva forced a smile, not wanting to admit her thoughts out loud to Kaemin. She didn’t understand them enough herself to speak of them to others. “I was merely thinking about Calie and how much I miss her company. She is such a wonderful spirit. Even in the middle of this barren wasteland, she would find something beautiful about it which would make it somehow feel more bearable.”

The light in Kaemin’s eyes dimmed at the mention of Calie’s name. Wincing, Aiva regretted having spoken it. Of everyone there, he likely longed for her company more than Aiva did. “She has been in my thoughts more often, as of late. I see how dangerous this mission has been, and the lives already taken, and I start to worry. I should not have waited so long to ask for her hand. Had I known our time to be so limited, I would not have wasted any of it.”

Aiva’s heart ached at the pain she saw in Kaemin’s expression. Never had she witnessed a man show such genuine love for a woman. It ate away at Aiva to think that he was there now because of her. Had she not offered to seek his transfer, Kaemin would have been in the company of Cadell on the ships, having no need to set foot in the damnable desert. But it was impossible for her to have known how things would turn out. The transfer had been for the best at the time. Without it, his time with Calie would have been shortened significantly, seeing him sent to Siscal days prior to Aiva’s wedding, left without a chance to even seek engagement. “You did not waste it,” she whispered, lightly rubbing her hand along his back to comfort him. “She loves you very much. I’m sure you know that.”

“I do,” he nodded, a trace of a smile forming over his lips. “There are just so many things I should have told her before I left. I waited too long to tell her how much I loved her. No matter what happens, I hope she knows I always will.”

“You talk as if you will never see her again.”

“I talk this way because I recognize the harsh reality that such is possible.”

Aiva stared at him, heartbroken. How could he think that way? Yet Aiva couldn’t deny that he was right. They could all meet their fate just as easily as the other soldiers who had perished along the way. No one was immune to death. It was simply too painful for her to consider never seeing her loved ones again. To think that her friends might not make it through the journey with her. No. They would see the mission through to the end. She refused to accept anything less. “You will see her. Soon,” she smiled. “We cannot be more than a few days from the coast. Once we get out of this wretched country, things will feel less hopeless. I promise.”

He looked only mildly comforted by her reassurances. Tilting his head to one side, he peered down at her, curious. “Have you never considered the possibility of not making it back to Tanispa?”

Discomfited by the question, Aiva looked away. Reality wasn’t something she liked to consider when it held such macabre possibilities. Not when there was so much business left undone in her own life. “I nearly fell to my death in that ravine in Carpaen,” she replied, almost curt in her desire not to discuss the topic further. “I think we can safely say I considered it once or twice.”

“And the calynx, the sandstorm – the creature I removed from your person at camp. Fate is toying with us at a near constant.”

“Fate is always toying with us,” Aiva frowned, growing weary of Kaemin’s seeming insistence of imminent doom. “What would you have me do? Weep over the fact that I
might
have been killed? If we sit down and claim defeat because we
almost
died, then we may as well have let the desert do it in the first place.”

“No, I wouldn’t expect you to weep,” Kaemin laughed, the sound more pathetic than amused. “Tears have rarely suited you. I guess I’m more surprised that you continue to argue with Callum, despite this all. Usually the threat of death brings people closer together. Over the last few days, I have witnessed the two of you growing further apart. Call it wishful thinking, but I was hoping you two would let go of your differences and release the notion of annulment.”

“You should let me worry about that,” she sighed, unable to conceal her building irritation. She regretted her decision to confide in him at all. The annulment was none of his business, nor was anything else which transpired between her and Callum.

“Don’t be angry, Aiva. I mean no disrespect, nor is it my intent to involve myself in matters which don’t directly concern me.” Kaemin glanced toward the front of the group, drawing Aiva’s attention to Callum. He and Gadiel continued onward, deep in conversation, oblivious to the chatter of other soldiers around them. “I just want you to consider something; in regards to death. Would you be able to live with yourself if Callum were to die on this journey?”

The question hit a chord in Aiva, deeper than she was comfortable with. She didn’t want to think about it.
And you shouldn’t have to
. Callum was a skilled fighter. The pirates were no match for him. Other men in the unit had fallen because they weren’t strong enough. She refused to even entertain the idea that anything would happen to him. “Callum will not die,” she stated firmly. “Nor will you or I. So let us cease this nonsensical discussion.”

Kaemin’s hand grabbed onto Aiva’s sleeve, stopping her mid-stride before she could say anything more. She gazed at the desert around them, confused by their sudden halt, realizing that everyone had ceased moving. Why were they wasting time just standing around? There was nothing there.

It was then that it hit her. Something wasn’t right about the area. At first glance it appeared normal. Upon closer inspection she could see tiny details which made her skin crawl with uncertainty. The dunes were irregularly shaped. Their smooth surface was distorted, bulging in odd mounds across the sand. As if something had been buried there. Callum and Gadiel retreated, each step deliberate and cautious as they moved backward, closer to the rest of the men. “Change of plan,” Callum stated calmly, motioning everyone to follow his lead. “Move slowly and quicken your pace to the west. The south is compromised.”

“What do you think it is, Captain?” Kaemin asked, his voice low. Callum stretched his arms out, forcing Kaemin and Aiva to move with him, pressing them back.

“From what I see, our surroundings suggest an ambush, though one arranged with far more stealth than the pirates are capable of.”

“Feh Noq?” Aiva breathed, her heart racing to consider the possibility. Callum’s expression was enough to recognize that he lacked the answer she sought. The Feh Noq were inherently nocturnal creatures. It was too early in the day for the desert dwellers to be on the prowl.

She gave no resistance to Callum’s urging. The further back they moved, the strange mounds became more noticeable, surrounding them on all sides. Had there been so many before? It seemed unlikely they would have missed something so obvious upon their approach.

From somewhere behind, Aiva could hear the scrape of metal come from one of the men, drawing his sword from its sheath. Callum wasted no time in chastising the action. “Put your weapon away!” he hissed. “If it is the Feh Noq, we cannot indicate a threat.”

Under Aiva’s feet, she felt something move, shifting beneath the sand. Frightened, she let her gaze angle downward, discovering her foot to be mere inches from one of the small bumps in the ground. In their slow, backward pace, she’d nearly stepped directly on it. Within the grainy surface she could see what looked to be eyes. Oddly shaped. Warped. They were wide, shaded by a strange bluish hue. Reflexively, she grasped Kaemin’s arm, hastening her steps away from it.

At her sudden movement, the dunes seemed to come alive, bursting open to reveal the strange creatures which had been hidden within. It was the eyes Aiva noticed before anything else. They resembled those she had seen at her feet only moments before, their wide blue stare coming toward them in waves. Their numbers were astonishing. Too many for any hope of a fair fight.

Just as Callum gave the order to run, a loud shriek filled the air, sending some type of signal amongst the enemy, their speed increasing at an alarming rate, quickly closing the distance between them and the soldiers. The size of the creatures only improved their ability to move swiftly over the dunes. No more than two or three feet tall. And their legs! They maneuvered the ground on four limbs, resembling giant spiders scurrying after their prey, faster and faster.

There was no time to scream. Heeding Callum’s command, Aiva turned from the terrifying sight of the beasts, forcing her legs to move. She couldn’t focus on anything other than getting away. To find somewhere safe. But where? They were in the middle of a desert. The expanse was open, providing nothing to serve as cover for miles. Their only chance was to maintain their speed and hope to outrun their enemy. Hiding was not an option. Behind her she could hear shouts from the men. The creatures were gaining on them too quickly. She was afraid to look over her shoulder in fear of what she would see. Soldiers – friends – falling prey to the hideous beasts. She couldn’t bear to think of it.

At her side, she was aware of Callum’s presence, keeping pace with her despite the cries from the soldiers. “Don’t stop!” he urged her, the words coming as nothing more than an exhale of breath from the exertion. His men were being overrun and all he could think about was protecting her? Aiva felt almost guilty; surprised by the loyalty after his behavior the past few days.

Lost in the tumult of fear and confusion, Aiva felt her leg move to take another step. Expecting the sensation of the sand beneath her boot, she was surprised to discover her foot seeming to fall
through
the ground, carrying her down with it before she could register what was happening. All around her she felt a sudden heat bubbling along her skin, scalding her through the thin fabric of her shirt. Liquid. But how was that possible? They were in the middle of the desert!