Foxwise

Chapter Five

Five

Thorn didn’t doubt her ability, but he had a hard time just jumping into the stairwell and leaving her. When the crackling power started gathering in her hands, he didn’t wait though. He took three strides and leapt headlong only to crash into the far stone wall, fall to the landing, and start tumbling down the fancy stone-worked stair.

Barb’s shadow met her at the same wall and a flash of orange and yellow blinded Thorn so that he didn’t see her until she came rolling down and stopped right beside him.

“You alive?” he asked.

“Barely,” she sat up with a groan. “I think were closed in now.”

“Looks like it, but at least the rats all seem to be up there.” Thorn looked at the bites on his exposed skin. There were others that he couldn’t see. They were far from debilitating, but left untended they would fester and eventually blacken his blood. He dug a cork-stoppered vial out of his gear and stood before Barb.

“Let me tend your face before we go any further.”

The claw slice was thin but had bled enough that her neck and the collar of her belted robe were saturated.

She let him and he didn’t try to hide his admiration for her. He never said anything, but several times while he was cleansing her wound, their eyes met.

Another time and place, he thought her’s said.

He had to agree.

Even though he wanted her at that moment, the weight of their quest and the loss of Bristle wouldn’t slip from the back of his mind. They way she shied away and batted her long lashes though, told him she was indeed interested in pursuing the idea after they were home.

This time Thorn only took a tiny sip of the juice, then he unlaced his chest armor and removed his gauntlets so that he could apply the salve to himself. In the meantime, Barb searched the room with her magic and went straight to a cabinet similar to the one she’d just destroyed. After a few moments she opened a small panel and pulled the lever she found behind it.

There was the sound of what might have been a rolling marble, followed by a small splash, and then a hissing sound. After that the wall sparkled and started disappearing, revealing a far cleaner, and better-maintained stairway leading down.

To Thorn’s amazement, the torches ensconced on the walls came sputtering to life and a slight, yet noticeable, breeze of fresh-smelling air passed across his barely covered torso. He shivered and saw Barb smile at him.

“You’ve missed a bite or two I think,” she came over, took the vial and went to a knee behind him.

He wiggled and almost yelped as her finger slid through a hole in the back of his leather britches. She found three more bites that he’d missed as well. Thorn was thankful for her help and made a mental note to strip down to his skin and double check again just as soon as he could. He knew a brownie that had been bitten on the earlobe once by a dire rat. Three days later, the thing was swollen to the size of a gourd.

Thinking about that caused Thorn to draw his sword and use its shiny surface as a mirror. Looking over his shoulder he saw Barb shaking her head at him.

“What do ya think I’m gonna do back here?” she asked with a forced grin.

“‘Twas thinking about that brownie that lost his ear to a rat bite a while back.”

“They call him ’Whatter,’ now,” she nodded as she stood. “Says ‘what?’ every time you speak to him.”

This time her giggle was a little more genuine.

“I didn’t miss any of the bites, unless they’re under your skivvies. If you feel obliged, take it all off and look.”

Thorn blushed despite the battle-berry juice he’d been sipping. She gave him the salve and then took the flask of juice and downed its contents. After that she helped Thorn back into his armor, all the while his head was filled with a mixture of battle lust, embarrassment, and quite a bit of desire. But finally it was time for them to move on and Thorn took the lead, letting Barb advise him from behind.