Eris Filleck, dressed completely in black, certainly looks the part of a criminal. Under the shroud of darkness, we meet in the night, just outside the city. He's leaning back against a tree, arms folded across his chest when I approach. I think of a different late night meeting in the forest at that moment, one just as unexpected, but not nearly as plagued with tension.
I hold in my hand, a scrap of parchment dictating the precise location, day, and hour to meet Eris. Eris' elegant penmanship spelled out a vague message. I know this must be about the favor I'd asked of him. He's found where the comatose boy is undergoing recovery. I'm to come alone. So I have.
The young man before me now straightens, standing without the trees support now. He takes long strides, meeting me halfway to his tree.
"You've come alone?" He asks, green eyes all but glowing in the darkness.
"Yes," I reply. My hands are sweating despite the chill. Nights are usually just as humid as the day, but not tonight.
Eris tosses a burlap sack at my feet. "Get dressed. Put your temple clothes in that and hide it in a bush."
"But you didn't say anything about–"
"Just do it," He snaps, narrowing his eyes. "You're not about to get us both caught wearing all white like some apparition."
"Fine," I grumble, grabbing the sack. "Turn around, then. And I swear to God, Eris– if you peek I'll gouge your eyes out in your sleep."
He shrugs, rolling his eyes but does as I've asked. "Just hurry up."
I pull the black garments out of the sack. He'd brought a pair of black breeches and a black long sleeved shirt. The material is soft and smooth in my hands. In a hurry, I untie and pull my sandals off, quickly putting my feet through the pant legs. They fit well enough, if a little long. Eris isn't the bulkiest of men, and they smell clean even if there is a lingering scent of smoke. I pull the top over my head, not bothering with the brass buttons. The shirt is well made, the silken fabric sliding coolly over my arms and torso– it is free of the smoky scent thus the undercurrent of bergamot and vanilla become more prominent. Masculine scents that they are, these are definitely Eris' clothes. My hips are wider than his, thus the breeches feel tight across my hips and thighs, but they will do.
"I'm done," I tell him. He spins around, appraising me with unreadable eyes.
"A little long, but you're not too short– it works. Let's go. We have to get there before the shift change." He's already walking away, his longer strides carrying him faster than mine can. I stash the sack under a nearby bush, hoping spiders don't find their way inside, and jog to catch up.
I want to ask why he's helping me. Surely there were other ways he could avoid blackmail— with his capabilities and all, but I keep my mouth shut. I don't want to test my luck.
"I was getting worried," I decide to say, coming up alongside him. "I hadn't heard from you in a week so I figured you'd forgotten about this."
"I have a good memory." Eris states without looking at me. "It does take time, you know. Searching the city isn't as easy as you'd think."
"What do you mean, 'search the city'?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. You think I just magically know things?"
"Well, no, I figured you'd ask your father or something of the sort. He would know plenty."
Eris laughs drily, "My father is a Lord, he doesn't have a big mouth or he'd lose his position. He doesn't tell us anything. That's his whole life." His tone is bitter. I guess I've stumbled across a sore topic.
"Ah, the Lord's son, afraid to fall into the life associated with such, so he pursues a myriad of ways to break all the rules." I'm only teasing, but Eris shoots me a killer glare that makes the words taste like lead in my mouth.
"Ah," He retorts in a mockingly frivolous tone. "The temple girl who can't stand the prospect of abiding by the rules so she sneaks out late doing God knows what, acting like she's tough shit. When really you just like to stick your nose where it doesn't belong– in other people's business."
"Whatever, you're just mad I'm right." I tell him, thoroughly pissed that he's right. The forest ends; grass and dirt is replaced with stone and pavement, trees and vines replaced with street lamps and large residential neighborhoods. I recognize this street, we are near Eris' house. This is a wealthier part of town. Most of the homes are devoid of light. There's not so much as a flicker of candlelight in the windows.
"Wow, rich people sure know how to sleep, huh?" I ask as we come up to the first row of houses
Eris puts a finger to his lips, hushing me.
"Oh, I see," I whisper. "Can't wake them from their beauty rest."
"More or less," Eris replies in an equally hushed tone.
We venture further into Naidrin City than I'd ever dared to travel myself. The streets soon become unfamiliar, and buildings become more sparse.
"Are you just trying to get me far enough away so no one can hear my screams when you murder me with an ax?" I ask him, only partly joking.
"Yes." Eris doesn't so much as smile, looking deadly serious for a beat. My heart starts racing just as he says, "Kidding. We've got to pass into another part of town. There's a talented healer in a village nearby. The only thing is, we have to travel outside of the city. It is best to go by established roads for as long as possible. We can't have you getting mauled by a mountain lion, now can we?"
"I can't say that's at the top of my list of ways to die, no. But all I have to do is outrun you." He gives me a look as if to say, Really? We both know you wouldn't stand a chance.
"Hence why I accommodated for the duration of a longer journey in my calculations. We should arrive in time for the shift change if you stop walking so slowly." Eris tilts his head back, basking in the light of the moon.
"You said there was a healer, a seemingly reclusive healer. What do you mean by shift change?"
My inquiry is met with a blank look. "This man's life was threatened. Did it not occur to you that the Court might possibly spare some of the Naidrin Guard to protect him? That any information he might share is invaluable and can lead to the capture of an assassin?"
"Okay, sure, guards, so we have to get past them. Got it. But wait, how do you know there's an assassin? It could be a bunch of men, maybe they beat him up in an alley, or something." Eris eyes me suspiciously. He has a habit of narrowing his eyes at me, it's a tell I've quickly picked up on. His cunning mind is racing. "I'm just saying, there are other explanations."
"That makes perfect sense," He says after a moment of silence. Just as I was starting to get nervous. "You saw him. Your interest in this boy, your annoying habit of being in the wrong places at the wrong time, you definitely saw him the night of the attack. Didn't you?"
"What? No, that's ridicul—"
"Stop," He cuts me off mid denial. "I don't need you to answer. Your reply will do nothing to change my mind. I've already settled on an answer. This is much more interesting than I thought it'd be."
"Whatever, believe what you want, but you're wrong." I reply, doing my best to sound nonchalant.
"Oh yes, I'm sure." The stone path transitions into dirt, leading us briefly through the forest. We walk in silence, our pace brisk. In our battle against time, I'm grateful to be spared the action of running through the forest in my sandals. Boots would suit such an activity better, but I do not own a pair.
"We're almost there, in case you were wondering." Crickets chirp in nearby bushes, singing their song into the darkness. I don't mind the noise.
"Good to know." Torchlight glows in the distance, casting long shadows on the ground. Eris ducks behind a tree, pulling me with him. We peer around the trunk, and when the coast is clear, he directs me to run and hide behind another, closer tree. I wait for his signal, and when he gives it, I dart through the dark forestry running to cover. I watch the guards at their posts, waiting for them to turn the other way and signal to Eris. He sprints the short distance to me, his footsteps quiet on the forest floor. We repeat the process, approaching the guarded building in this manner until the moss covered stone walls are only ten feet away.
"The shift change should come any minute," Eris whispers so quietly I have to strain to hear him. I don't trust myself to reply aloud, so I simply nod in understanding. We're silent, pressed close together against the trunk of the tree. I imagine we're Mavros wolves, with fur dark as night, melding into the shadows. The legendary wolves are the subject of masterpieces, paintings and sculptures alike, standing faithfully alongside the warriors of old. The mythical creatures, similarly to dragons and the healing arts, have supposedly been lost to time. I'm not sure I believe they ever existed.
"Now," Eris whispers, just as the guard rounds a corner, disappearing from view. He darts out from behind the cover of our tree, pulling me along with him. We break out into a wild dash, crossing the glade to the brick wall where Eris kneels, knitting his fingers together into a foot hold. I realize he means to launch me up and over the wall and I stumble back a few steps.
"Are you crazy?" I hiss at him. There is no way I'm trusting him to lift me over that wall.
"We don't have time. Hurry up, place your left foot here and get ready to pull yourself over. Now!" His voice is a low growl and the look on his face tells me I'm not getting out of this."
"Fine," I snap. I hesitate for a moment before doing as he says. The moment my foot is in his palms, I place my hands on the wall to brace myself.
"Use your other leg to push up off the ground when I say go." Eris says flatly. "You'll have to stay up there and help pull me up. Three, two, one.. Go." On go, I use all my strength in my right leg to push myself up off the ground at the same time as Eris lifts me from my other foot. I feel for a moment as if I'm weightless, flying upward. The rough texture of the brick wall scrapes against my palms. I reach my arms up, catching the edge of the wall. With Eris spotting me, I hoist myself up onto the top of the wall, my stomach pressed to the sharp edges of the bricks. I swing my leg over, straddling the wall, and lay down flat on my stomach. I make sure to use the muscles in my thighs to keep myself in place, then reach an arm down to help Eris. He backs up a few paces, then with a running start, jumps into the air, hands grasping for the top of the wall. He makes contact, arm muscles straining to hoist the rest of his body up. I grasp him by the forearm, using as much strength as I can muster to help him. Slowly, he eases up and over the wall, panting for breath at the top.
"Come on, no time." He says. Without skipping a beat, he leaps down from the wall, landing with a light thud on the balls of his feet. "Jump, Malia."
I want to, I'm in the position to, but the ground looks so far and I know the impact is going to be painful.
"Shut up," I tell him, slowly easing myself down until I'm hanging by the length of my arms from the wall. I swear I can feel his eyes roll, even if I can't see it. Then his hands are at my waist, lifting me the rest of the way down.
"Eugh, I'm going to have to wash five times. I don't know where your hands have been." I complain, only partly joking.
"You'll have to wash regardless, smelling like that." His words earn him an angry glare, at which, a triumphant smile pulls at his lips.
"I do not smell," I say, nailing him in the ribs with an elbow.
"Follow me. I mapped out the layout of this place a few nights ago." Eris certainly did his homework.
"The property is too big for just one healer," I murmur, taking in the gray stone cottage. It boasts of two stories with a white trim. A well-kept garden is fenced off near the front door, with accompanying rose bushes meticulously clipped.
"It isn't just his house. The healer takes care of his patients, sometimes keeping them overnight if necessary. His apprentices also stay here for the duration of their contract."
"Oh."
Eris leads me around the back of the house. We're running through the yard as quietly as possible, using a series of large hedges for cover. We approach the back door, Eris leading us out into the open. A guard stands watch, looking directly at us and I grab Eris, my hand like a vice around his arm.
"We have to run! He saw us!" My muscles tense to take off in a sprint when Eris grabs me forcefully, dragging me toward the guard. I'm about to start kicking and screaming when he puts a hand over my mouth.
"Stop fighting me," His voice is a harsh whisper in my ear. "God, why do you have this incessant need to undermine me at every turn? I paid him off. He's going to take us to the patient's room."
Grabbing his wrist, I yank his hand off my mouth and pull out of his grasp. "Don't grab me like that, what the hell is wrong with you?" Incensed that he overstepped so many boundaries, I'm barely able to keep my voice down.
Eris says nothing, and I can tell his mood has darkened significantly in response to my chastisement. I don't particularly care, nor do I regret my outburst. The guard leads us in through the back door, and we move silently down the hall. Eris is still sulking by the time we stop outside a door, which the guard opens for us to step inside. Finally, we're here. My heart is in my stomach, fluttering like a million butterflies. A sleeping form lies upon a narrow bed, dark waves settling across his forehead. He looks so peaceful resting as he is, despite the bandage wrapped around his head and the yellowing bruises upon his defined cheekbones.
I'm frozen in shock and horror, gazing at the beautiful, wounded face belonging to that lighthearted boy who'd loaned me his sandals. I clasp my hands over my mouth, tears welling up in my eyes. I can't breathe, staring down at Malachi, the comatose Ciloxan boy who'd lead me to believe he was from Naidara all along. There is no smile on his face, no dimpling in his cheeks or crinkles at the sides of his brown eyes. I left him there, alone in a back alleyway. I'd just run away. I start forward, overtaken by regret, clasping his hands in my own. I can't help the urge and brush his dark hair back, my fingers light on his cool skin.
"Malachi," I choke through the tears that threaten to spill. Shame clamps its iron fist on my throat, making my voice hoarse. "Please wake up. God, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just— I ran. Like a coward." Long silent minutes pass, and I dare not move. My hand remains in his. I stroke the pad of my thumb across his knuckles, his skin soft to the touch. At long last, the silent Eris speaks.
"Malia," He sounds hesitant. "We have to go. We've run out of time."
My body moves of its own volition. Eris leads me out of the room, out of the cottage, and away from this place. I'm an empty vessel, I cannot bring myself to speak just yet. Guilt gnaws at me, but there's nothing I can do now. I force myself to speak, to be alright. I turn to Eris.
"Thank you. For bringing me here." I force myself to appear as nonchalant as I can muster, despite the shame that forces me to recede within myself. Silas will be returning soon, Jiera will be upset with me when she finds out I went to see Malachi without her. I have to stay on top of everything, I cannot let this emotion incapacitate me. All I can do is wait for his recovery.
God, please let him recover.