Eryn
She was confused, looking up into the blackness so close above her, and then finding herself covered by a thick grey blanket.
"Where am I?" she whispered.
She put her hand to her forehead. She remembered being in the crevasse with Silas, and the creatures that were attacking them. Now she was here. Wherever here was.
She pushed herself to a sitting position. Her body ached from stiff and sore muscles, but she didn't complain. Looking around, she could see she was in a tent. That meant she was still alive. She wasn't bound in chains, so unless there was a guard outside the tent, that meant she hadn't been captured either.
Eryn threw off the blankets and got to her feet. Only then did she realize her clothes had been changed. Gone was the drab brown shirt and pants. It had been replaced with a long-sleeved black dress that was a little bit too long and a little bit too tight. She gasped when she saw the red eye looking out from the chest. Maybe she had been captured?
There was only one way to find out.
Her legs complained with every step, but she ignored it. She walked to the closed flap of the tent and pushed it aside. It was a bright morning, and her eyes burned while they adjusted to the light. She couldn't see anything.
"You're awake," Silas said, coming around the tent and scaring her. "It's a good thing. I was worried I would have to carry you all the way to Elling."
"Silas," she said, her voice dry.
He raised a finger and walked over to a pile of supplies he had gathered, finding a bladder of water and handing it to her. He was still wearing the same clothes she had last seen him in, although he now had a new black cloak to replace the faded old one.
She drank her fill and tried again. "I don't understand. What's going on?"
"We're leaving," he replied.
"Are we safe?"
"For now. We can talk while we ride. You do know how to ride a horse, on your own I mean?"
She smiled. He seemed to be in good spirits, and that put her at ease. "Yes. I've never ridden one as large as the chargers the soldiers use, but I have ridden."
He walked over to her and crouched so they were at eye level. "I want to apologize to you," he said. "Your clothes... they were covered in blood, and smelled awful. I tried to make you comfortable, and I have an idea."
It was obvious to her he was embarrassed. She reached out and put her hand to his face. "It's okay, Silas. I appreciate your apology, but you don't need to. I trust you."
He nodded and stood straight. "I'm sure you don't remember what happened with those creatures?" he said as he picked up the bags he had packed and brought them over to two of his soldiers' warhorses.
"No. I remember we were surrounded... I know I must have used my Curse."
"You did. You saved our lives." He walked one of the horses over to her. "Up you go," he said, offering her a boost. She put her booted foot into his cupped hands and he lifted. She put he legs over the horse, finding the dress had cuts in it to make such riding possible.
"Where did the dress come from?" she asked.
He went over to the other horse and mounted, then walked it over to her.
"A Mediator," he said. He snapped the reins, and started them moving back east. "She was waiting at the camp when I brought you back here. After you saved us, I knew we couldn't make the trip north like that. I couldn't stay ahead of them and protect you. So I fooled them into thinking we were somewhere we weren't, and doubled back. I had to leave your bow and quiver back there, to fool them, but don't worry. The things that were in it are in your saddlebag."
He made a strange face when he pointed at the saddlebag. One she didn't understand.
"Did you...?"
"Kill her?" he asked. His face was grim. "Yes. I didn't have a choice. She had a white stone that she used to shoot a cold light at me. The Mediators' swords, they can absorb the power."
Eryn wasn't expecting that. How had she killed Lia, when the Mediator could have stopped it with her staff?
"She was a little bit taller than you, but almost the same size, so I changed you into her clothes. I also have a cloak for you here. This is how we're going to get into Elling."
"How?"
"The Mediator. She wanted to speak to you, and convince you to join." He smiled. "She was very convincing."
Eryn understood what he was getting at. She looked down at herself, and at the red eye on her chest. "They'll know I'm not one of them."
"Who will know? The soldiers of Elling? If you put the cloak up to cover your bald head, you'll look like any other Mediator, and I don't think anyone will have the guts to question you. You'll bring me in as your prisoner. Once we're inside, we'll disappear."
She realized that meant they would both have reached their destination. That meant they would be going their separate ways. "What about everything you were going to teach me?"
Silas looked over at her. She knew by his face he had something on his mind. He drew his lips into a tight line, and then ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth.
"Whatever you want to say, just say it, Silas," she said. "We've already been through too much together for you to hold your tongue."
"I found a ring, in your quiver," he said at last. "Where did you get it?"
She was surprised by his question. Why would he care about the ring? "I found it near Watertown. I was with Master Lewyn, our woodsman. He brought me to this rock... the Giant's Ball, he called it. It was on the ground there, partly buried. I saw the sparkle of the clear stone when the sun hit it."
He didn't look pleased with the answer. As though he had a hope for something, and she had dashed it.
"Do you know who it belongs to?" she asked.
"Yes. I gave it to Alyssa on our wedding day. I don't know how it could have come to be in the forest near your home. I can't even remember when Alyssa lost it."
She could see the pain in his eyes. How much was from the fact that his wife no longer held the ring, and how much was from the fact that he couldn't capture the memory, she didn't know. She reined the horse to a stop and slid off, then reached for the saddlebag. She flipped it open, found the coin purse, and dug out the ring.
"This belongs to you," she said, reaching up to hand it to him.
He smiled and wrapped her hand in his, and then closed her palm over it. "Keep it," he said. "Alyssa is gone to the unknown lands, and the rest of my family is lost. I know we've only been traveling together for a short time, but you're the closest thing to family I've had in years."
Eryn was touched by the gesture. "Thank you, Silas. That means more to me that you'll ever know."
"As for teaching you," he said. "If we're both going to be in Elling, I see no good reason why we should part ways. We'll be much more convincing as father and daughter."
"Grandfather," she said with a laugh. "You're too old to be my father."
He started laughing too, a deep rumble that belied his slight frame. The sound made Eryn laugh harder. She was happy to laugh again, if only for a moment.
When she got back onto her horse, she looked up at the sky. "Thank you, Amman," she said. "I will survive, and I will succeed."