“Kaevin, I’m so sorry; I lost my concentration. Did I hurt you?” Grasping the baggie of ice, Alora lifted it back to her temple, sighing with relief as the stabbing lessened.
“I’m uninjured, but I can only think of the pain in my head. And for some reason I’m worried about Jireo. I believe he needs me.”
“Okay, but this time we should wait until Uncle Charles gets home with Grandmother and ask permission.”
“Maybe my dad would let me go with you,” Wesley wondered aloud.
“No way your parents would let you go,” Beth declared. “I heard my mom and your mom on the phone yesterday, saying how glad they were we weren’t going to that dangerous place ever again.”
“The way I fight from a distance with my compound bow, it’s not really that dangerous.”
“Yeah, right.” Beth rolled her eyes.
“I mean, okay, it’s dangerous, but my dad is on my side. I told him everything that happened, and he was actually jealous. He’s dying to go back himself, if Mom would let him. And he’s as good as me with a bow and arrow.”
“There’s no battle to fight right now, Wesley.” Alora sensed Kaevin’s increasing agitation as he abruptly rose to his feet.
“Yet Morvaen expects Water Clan could launch another attack at any moment. He’s been preparing Laegenshire for the last two moons. We should go now. We can’t afford to wait for your uncle to return.”
“Nothing has happened for months, right?” asked Beth. “So why the rush?”
“I… I’m unsure.” Pushing his fingers through his long hair, Kaevin’s eyes filled with confusion, and he dropped back onto the couch beside Alora.
“Well if you decide to go, you should take me,” said Beth.
“First you gave me a hard time about wanting to go back, and now you’re volunteering to go?” Arching one brow, Wesley twisted his mouth in a smirk.
“They need my medical expertise,” Beth argued.
“You’re only a paramedic—not a doctor or even a nurse.”
“I still know more about modern medicine than anyone in Laegenshi
re or all of Tenavae. And I’m pretty good at triage—at least I can recognize when a patient needs to be transported back here. That counts for something.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And besides, once you’ve met a guy from another realm, the ones from here are just—”
“Don’t say it,” Wesley spat. “There’s nothing wrong with Montana guys, and I can hold my own with Kaevin and Jireo.”
“And you look more like Kaevin every day, with your hair growing longer and that scruffy beard on your chin.”
“It’s just easier not to shave,” Wesley muttered as his face glowed bright red.
Alora took pity on Wesley and changed the subject. “Our heads are better now. Right, Kaevin? And we really need to get back to studying, or Kaevin’s never going to pass that history test.”
“I can’t learn any more of your ridiculous history—I’ll just funk out.”
“Flunk out,” Wesley corrected.
“Funk, flunk, frunk…” Kaevin’s scowl deepened. “Whatever the word may be, I’m going to do it. I don’t enjoy wasting my time attempting to memorize worthless facts simply to pass tests at your school. There are so many more important skills to learn.”
Beth smiled on one side and raised a matching brow. “You can’t argue with that kind of logic, Kaevin. I’d bet most of the kids at Buffalo Springs High would agree with you.”
*****
With the moonlight once again illuminating the night, the remaining Water Clan warriors poured through the gate. Daegreth slid from his horse, approaching the opening on foot, his long sword in one hand and a sharpstop in the other. His blood was pounding in his ears such that he could barely make out the clanging swords and cries of battle. Inside the gate, a large numbers of bodies obstructed the entrance. Stepping over a figure, dead from an arrow to the chest, he felt a pang of recognition. The woman had been kind to him during the three-day journey, somehow connecting as a kindred spirit. He rejoiced that her trial had ended, wondering if she’d been longing for death as he had.
He felt and heard an arrow pinging from the metal sharpstop lashed to his left arm and wished he could toss it to the ground. Yet his bond and his training combined to make him move swiftly away from the entrance, crouching behind his shield. He heartened to find Laegenshire was defending itself well.
A loud roar drew his attention to a sizeable Stone Clansman wielding a heavy sword and cutting down Water Clansmen one after another as they attacked in waves. There. His target. Surely this man could best him in hand-to-hand battle. Testing his bond, he took a step toward the man and found he was free to attack. With a cry of exultation, Daegreth bounded toward him.