Chapter 5

As I gradually become aware of bright light bleeding through my eyelids and the sound of birds chirping around me, I can almost imagine that everything I went through among the humans was just a bad dream. Then the pain starts and I'm forced to accept the reality that my life has become.

At first all I can feel is a dull ache from my back, centered in my left shoulder, but as the haze clears from my mind the ache grows into a fiery, stabbing pain and is joined by what feels like hundreds of white hot stings all over my face and arms. I moan slightly as I force myself into a sitting position, relying heavily on my right arm and ignoring my body's pleas for me to stop.

I'm on the edge of a clearing about ten feet across, and surrounded by thick undergrowth on all sides. I had been lying in the shadows cast by a large blackberry thicket, and I immediately think of the Assassin bush I had used to block out the sun immediately following my transformation. Thankfully the thorns on these blackberries aren't anywhere near as long as those thorns.

I look down at my arms, trying to figure out what the stinging pain is from, and see that my arms are covered in little red dots. "It must be from the splinters," I think. The only thing covering my torso are bandages wrapped around my shoulder and chest to cover the wound from the crossbow bolt that had hit me as I ran for the gate. At this point I can only hope it wasn't coated in poison. Thankfully it seems as though the chainmail vest I'd been wearing had absorbed most of the impact.

As I think of that night I notice for the first time the almost total absence of human scent. What little there is is coming from the pants I'm wearing, and faint traces on the bushes around me. Judging by the strength of the scent I decide it must be at least a day old, which means that I've been unconscious a lot longer than I had originally thought when I awoke.

I'm not sure what to make of the situation. On one hand it didn't seem likely that Arath had left me here to die, not after taking such care to bandage my wound, but I did have to face the reality that he had been gone almost two days at this point. If I were in better condition I would immediately start out in search of my erstwhile rescuer, but in the shape I'm in there's no way I'll be able to catch up with him before the scent fades.

I quickly accept the fact that either Arath will be back for me or I'm on my own, and right now I very much hope the former will be true. If I had to I could certainly survive on my own, even as hurt as I am. What I really need right now is time to heal and, as my growling stomach reminds me, food to help fuel that process. I habitually reach for the pouch in my belt where I always keep some jerky for just such occasions as this. It's not there, and I remember that Tealith took it for herself when they captured me that night in the woods.

Thinking about Tealith reminds me of the comment that Arath had made to the guards at the gate. If it hadn't been for her sending Arath to break me out I would still be languishing in that cell, assuming that Grodun hadn't decided to kill me by now. I know she's smart, and she obviously still has some loyal supporters that would be willing to help her, so I can only hope that she'll be safe.

Of course, as long as they keep fighting the Lithilium none of the humans will truly be safe. It's only a matter of time before Bloquan decides to put an end to their resistance once and for all. The only reason I think he hasn't yet is that it hasn't been worth his time. There are more than enough Lithilium to take care of this small group, but so far they really haven't been more than a slight nuisance to us.

My musings are interrupted as I here the faint sound of something or someone moving through the underbrush, still quite a ways off. I look around carefully to see if there's anywhere better for me to hide than where I am right now, but unfortunately I don't see anything that looks promising for me in my weakened and injured state. I do my best to push myself deeper into the scant cover provided by the blackberries and then wait to see what comes.

I hold my breath as the sound of rustling underbrush moves right up to the edge of the clearing opposite me and then stops. Only now does it occur to me how exposed my position really is. If it's a member of the resistance with a crossbow I make a very easy target right now. I study the area I last heard noises coming from, trying to make out any sign of what or who might be there.

"Zaltath, It's me and Tealith. We're going to come into the clearing now."

The tension in my body ebbs away as Arath and Tealith step out into the open. They walk quickly to where I'm sitting among the blackberry bushes, both of them looking around warily clearly worried that someone might have found me here. Once they reach me they duck down and squat next to me in the meager cover the bushes provide.

"Arath told me about your injuries. How are you feeling?"

I roll my shoulder a little, careful to keep my face clear of emotion so that they won't see how much pain it's causing me.

"I've been better, but then again I've also been worse. It will heal, that's what's important."

Tealith nods and then looks down at my arms.

"What are all of those little dots from?"

"When the spear shafts exploded as I dove through the gate. The wounds the splinters left healed, but unfortunately they healed with the splinters still inside so we're going to have to dig them out."

Tealith nods, and then glances quickly at Arath before turning back to me. "We can't stay here. Are you in good enough shape to travel?"

I nod. "I'm going to need some food first though."

Arath moves to pull something off of his shoulders and for the first time I notice that he has a knapsack on his back. He unties the strings holding it closed and then digs around inside of it for a moment before pulling out a paper package tied with string. Arath undoes the knot with a deft tug and opens the package to reveal a pile of venison jerky. He hands me a couple of strips, and I tear into them ravenously.

I can feel new strength filling my body as I eat, and by the time I finish the second piece of jerky I'm actually feeling up to the travel that I know we have ahead of us. I don't know where we're planning on going from here, but I do know we'll have to travel pretty far before we'll be safe from the hunters Grodun will no doubt send after us.

"I'm ready when you are," I tell Tealith.

She nods again and then turns to Arath. "I want you to scout the area before we move, make sure there's no one around."

"Yes, Lady Tealith."

He's only gone for a few seconds while Tealith and I wait in tense silence. As soon as Arath returns Tealith stands and Arath reaches down to help me up. As much as I would rather not have to depend on anyone else to take care of me I know that it would take to much of what precious little strength I have to try and push myself up so I take his outstretched hand and he pulls me to my feet.

We move at a snails pace, covering only a handful of miles before the sun sets. I would normally be upset, but I know that part of the reason we're moving so slowly is because of my injuries, and I'm sure I wouldn't be up to traveling much faster right now anyway. When we stop for the night I sway and almost fall to the ground in exhaustion.

"Are you okay?" Tealith grabs my arm to steady me as she asks the question.

I nod tiredly, to weak to even try and hide my fatigue. Tealith helps me lower myself to the ground and looks me over carefully, her eyes lingering on the bandage around my chest and the dots on my arms. I look down at my arms and sigh.

"We should probably get those out tonight. They'll only get more painful if we don't."

Tealith nods, though she looks worried. As I'm looking at her I notice that she is wearing my belt, the one she took from me when they captured me.

"If you'll give me my belt I can take care of the splinters," I tell her.

She hesitates slightly, and then reaches around to untie it. I hold out my right hand and she lays the belt across my palm. The familiar weight of the belt in my hand brings some reassurance. It's nice to have at least one thing that you can feel like belongs to you.

I check through the pockets quickly and am pleased to find that everything is still there. The humans had even put back the manacles I had used on Tealith when I captured her. I pull some jerky of my own out of one of the pockets, take a bite and then pull one of my knives out of another. Tealith had taken essentially everything from me when she took my belt that night, and it feels good to have all of my belongings again.

I finish off the strip off jerky and then set to work on my arms. It's an agonizing process, each cut sending a new lance of searing pain through my body, but I know it has to be done or the splinters may begin to fester and then I'll be in even worse shape. Some of the splinters that I pull out are almost an inch long. After what feels like hours, though in reality it was probably only a few minutes, I finally pull the last splinter out of my wrist.

I turn to Tealith and Arath who are sitting a few paces away from me by a fire that Arath had gotten started almost as soon as we stopped moving.

"This is where I'm going to need one of you to help me."

Tealith moves as though to come to my side, but Arath puts his hand on her shoulder and shakes his head when she looks his way. Tealith relaxes back in to her seat as Arath stands slowly and walks over to me.

I don't blame him for his caution. I'm sure I'm quite the sight, sitting just on the edge of the firelight holding a knife wet with blood and bleeding from the cuts I had just inflicted upon myself all over my arms. No, I don't blame him for his caution, but it still stings knowing that they don't trust my word. I try to push those thoughts aside as Arath squats down by my side.

"What do you need?"

I hold out my knife hilt first.

"I need you to cut my face anywhere it looks like there's a splinter."

Even in the washed-out light of the fire I can tell that his face has gotten paler, but to his credit he reaches for the handle of the knife anyway. His hand is about to close around the handle when I suddenly remember something important.

"Wait!" I say forcefully.

Arath's hand freezes a hairsbreadth from touching the handle. "What?" He asks, the tension thick in his voice.

"You can't touch the handle with your bare hand. It's covered in my blood, and Lithilium blood has been known to do strange things to humans on occasion."

"Strange things like turning them into Lithilium," I think to myself, but I don't see a reason to worry him about it, especially since the link has never been proven. Arath looks annoyed, but he grabs a piece of cloth out of one of the bags and wraps it carefully around his hand before reaching for the hilt of the knife again.

I close my eyes and try not to think about what I'm letting him do as he raises the knife toward my face. The first cut hurts, a lot, and I suck air in sharply through my clenched teeth.

"It doesn't need to be particularly deep." I force the words out past my still clenched teeth.

"Sorry," Arath mutters.

I have my doubts about whether he's actually sorry or not, but I wisely choose to keep my skepticism to myself. Thankfully, whether or not he felt bad for the pain he caused me, he is much more careful on his next cut and I feel a lot less pain from it. Within a matter of a few seconds Arath finishes the last cut and hands me back my knife, carefully insuring that the blade never makes contact with his exposed skin.

With the knife back in hand I quickly finish getting the slivers out of the newly opened cuts on my face, and then wipe the blade of my knife clean with a little water and the strip of cloth Arath had wrapped his hand in. I stow the knife back in it's pouch on my belt and join the others by the fire. I notice that Arath scoots away from me a little as I sit down.

Trying not to let his actions bother me I ask, "Where do we go from here?"

Arath looks at Tealith, but Tealith just stares into the fire. As I watch the firelight dancing in her eyes I think about everything that Tealith has given up, all because she believes in me. If I'm honest with myself it scares me that anyone would place that much trust in me. That fear has always been one of the biggest factors that kept me doing Bloquan's bidding, despite my different opinions.

Tealith finally looks up and meets my waiting gaze. There's a haunted look in her eyes that I haven't seen there before, and I wonder what dark thoughts could bring up that kind of emotion in her. Then I remember what she told me about her parents and it seems a little less mysterious.

"I don't know."

She says the words so softly that if it wasn't for my enhanced hearing I wouldn't have been able to hear her. I nod slowly, deciding that it's best not to press the issue tonight. I pull another piece of jerky out of my belt and begin chewing on it thoughtfully, trying to figure out what my part in this puzzle might become.

I think of the ultimate task that lies before us, doing something to end the hatred between the humans and the lithilium once and for all. I know of other Lithilium who don't agree with Bloquan, some of them had even come and asked me to be more vocal in my objections to what he was doing, hoping I'm sure that my almost mythical status among the younger Lithilium would add credibility to their efforts to change the status quo. But I had no desire for that kind of responsibility, I also didn't want the kind of added bloodshed that I knew a schism of that sort would cause.

It might be possible to rally some of those lithilium to our banner, but even if we had all of them and the entire human resistance behind us we still wouldn't be a match for the forces that Bloquan could muster. Besides, right now there was no way we would possibly be able to get any aid from the humans, and that means that direct force is definitely out of the question.

Still at a loss I decide it's probably best that I try and get some sleep, I'm going to need all the strength I can get for traveling tomorrow, and these questions can be answered later. Bidding Arath and Tealith a goodnight I walk a few paces from the fire, lie down facing away from the light. As I close my eyes I try to push the image of Tealith's eyes out of my mind. I have little success, and those dark, fear-filled voids haunt my dreams all night.