Time thief, p.5
Time Thief, page 5
Leif stepped away from his conversation to head for me when Beast, juggling an armful of mugs with frothy ale that sloshed over the top, stopped right in front of him. Just as Leif tried to step around him, I saw his eyes shift to the left. Chief Kaid shook her head in disapproval. Worry clouded Leif’s eyes as his jaw noticeably stiffened.
Nash nodded at the barrels of ale. “Want to get drunk, Sharpshooter?”
Chief Kaid had turned her gaze to me. She was giving me approval to befriend Nash, showing me she trusted me, needed me. Leif didn’t want me to get hurt, but he should have trusted me, like the chief did.
With my focus on Nash again, I hardened my resolve. This man was my enemy and he could try to manipulate me all he wanted. I’d get to him first. “I really do.”
On our way to the center of camp, I quickly glanced down at myself and sucked in my stomach. It didn’t take very much for me to pack on muscle or fat. And I always had both, no matter how much I trained. I’d never been thin like Wren. Her long, graceful body looked built for dancing. I always thought I must have been born for war. Some men liked my curves. Some liked Wren’s long and elegant line. I wasn’t sure what Nash liked. Whether he was feigning interest in me to gain information or if he was different from the Prophet like he claimed.
Half a mug later, I had to remind myself to be worried about it.
“Your sword technique is beautiful,” I said. “I’d kill to face off against you.”
“Is battle all you think of?”
“I guess you’re still thinking only of your manliness.”
He ran his hand over his mouth, grin wide. “Such a ruthless woman. But I would love to shoot like you. I’ve spent so much time on sword-fighting. I need to work on other skills.”
“Well.” I settled my mug on my lap. “If you teach me a thing or two about your swords, I’ll return the favor.”
“Would you?”
“Of course.”
I was shocked when Nash hopped up, disappeared for a few minutes, and returned carrying two swords and my bow and quiver. A laugh slipped from my lips as he grabbed my hand and led me out to the grassy field beyond the tents.
“Someone’s going to fire on me if they see this.” I tugged on his hand and slowed our pace.
“You’ll be fine if you’re with me.”
“Why is that? Why do they listen to you?” Couldn’t waste a chance to get information from him.
“Same reason your people listen to you. Alright.” He tossed the swords on the ground and passed my bow to me. “This looks like a good spot.”
I hesitated. “You aren’t worried I’ll turn this on you?”
“You’re not careless. It would be too dangerous for your people if you attacked anyone.”
He had a point. “Well, that’s true. I also can’t kill you before I learn your technique.”
“Funny,” Nash said dryly.
I lifted my bow with an arrow nocked and drew the string back so my hand nestled against my pillow of hair. Released. “Feel the air around your bow. See how it will flow around the arrow.”
Nash moved closer, touching his fingertips to the bow, trailing down its spine until his knuckles brushed my shoulder. My breath caught in my chest.
“We fought together brilliantly today.” Nash’s voice lowered. “You and me together, we could kill him.”
A jolt of shock hit me. He was manipulating me. “Are you playing games with me?”
“This isn’t a trick.” Nash grabbed my shoulders, holding me firm. It shocked me to silence. “I’m your best shot at taking the Prophet down. Just like you’re mine. The woman I saw in battle today would never surrender. Fight with me.”
The air was shifting. Waves of heat swelling around me until my skin burned. I had to stop or I’d get sucked in. Would slip to that terrible place where the fire melted my skin.
I ripped away from his grasp. “Why would you kill the Prophet?”
“I want to be free.” Desperation laced his words. “Don’t you?”
“So stop fighting for him.”
“I can’t. He’s forced me to fight for him the same way he forced you today.”
I held my bow against myself. “You were captured?”
“He conquered my village years ago, just like all the others. Not everyone living in his village chose to be there. Some of us were forced to.”
“You’re a great fighter. Escape.”
“I have people, too. You think you’re the only one with someone on the line?” Nash shook his head. “The Prophet will never let me go. Don’t be surprised when he spares some of your warriors and makes them fight for him permanently.”
“My people would sooner die than serve your Prophet.”
Nash snorted. “That’s why you battled for him today, then, isn’t it?”
I caught a hold of his collar and jerked myself up closer to his height. “We’ll free our people and then we’ll go after the Prophet. We’re not waiting around for years for someone to save us.”
“Will you?” He pried my hands off him. “If you can’t fight now, what makes you think you’ll be able to later? The Prophet conquered the entire Valley and forced us all into his service.”
“We’re only doing this until we can save our people.” The pity in his eyes only reflected how foolish I felt as I said the words. This was probably what the warriors of every village the Prophet had ever conquered said. But this was different. I was going to escape. “He has the children.” My voice broke. “Rune. He has Rune. Leif’s son.” I clawed at my throat as images of him tightened my vocal cords. I’d forced myself not to think of him, hadn’t I? Just as I forced myself not to see him in the village at first. “I promised him I would protect him.”
Nash nodded, looking heavy with the weight of the pain I carried, as though he truly carried his own as well. “The Valley is full of people who feel the same. You think we haven’t tried? That we all just gave up once he came for us?”
“We’re different.” I had no proof to back it up. Couldn’t even pretend to have a good argument. I just needed it to be true, because the alternative was unthinkable. Living in service of the Prophet like Nash was unthinkable.
“Your village held out longer than most. That’s all.”
My fury nearly got the best of me. The only thing that saved him was the truth of his words, because as angry as it made me, I couldn’t punish him for my weakness. I had failed so far.
I stared at Nash. “How do I know you’re not actually working for the Prophet right now?”
“I’m going to help you escape. That’s how you’ll know.”
The words could have been a punch to my gut. They hit me that hard. “What?”
“I searched the battlefield for someone who looks like you. I didn’t find anyone, but I’m going back before dawn while everyone in the camp sleeps. We’ll stage a death. You try to escape and I’ll pretend to kill you. I can talk the Prophet into not taking retribution for your disobedience.”
I crossed my arms, brows furrowed. There had to be some trick here.
Nash sighed. “I’ve had countless plans fall through over the years. Your people gave me hope. When I saw you in battle today …” He ran his hand through his hair. “We can do this.”
It wasn’t true. He didn’t understand the extent of the Prophet’s power. If he helped me escape, though, I could return to the Mountain of the Gods for my power and free my people, free the entire Valley, from the Prophet. So I wouldn’t tell him how hopeless his plans really were, or that I’d never be able to assassinate the Prophet with this bow, no matter how good of a shot I was.
“Okay,” I said.
Quiet settled between us, a stark contrast to the raucous noise of the camp. I couldn’t imagine how it would feel to have to fight for the Prophet for years. If Nash told the truth, then it only gave me more reason to fight. I’d been far too narrow-sighted while hiding amongst my people. There were so many stories in the Valley I’d never taken the time to learn.
I studied him. “Who is he holding against you, Nash?”
Pain burned in his eyes. Such deep pain that I couldn’t imagine he faked it. His voice sobered. “My daughter.”
Shock smacked me. Nash had a kid? I snapped my mouth shut when I realized I was slack-jawed. Nash was old enough for a kid. Of course, he was. I had no idea why it surprised me. Well, maybe because he hadn’t once mentioned one. And he didn’t seem like a dad. Not with all the flirting. That didn’t really make sense, though, did it? Dads could flirt. I just hadn’t expected this.
“You’re surprised,” Nash said.
“I … Yeah, I am.” If the Prophet had his daughter, then Nash was just like Leif. And Leif would do anything for Rune. Anything. This didn’t mean I could trust Nash, no matter how my heartbreak flared as empathy for him, or for how desperately I wanted to offer him comfort. If he truly suffered as we had, how could I treat him coldly?
“How old is your daughter?”
“Four. She lives in another village with her mother.”
He didn’t offer any more information and I didn’t think I should pry. Except, I had to pry a little. “So what’s up with you and Flare if you have the mother of your child out there somewhere?” Or maybe I’d pry a lot.
He snorted. “The mother of my child is bound to another man.”
“Bound? Not just married?” In marriage, our people vowed their lives to one another, and breaking such a promise would dishonor life here. But being bound meant vowing the next life to one another, joining the gods in death as one soul and not two. It could not be broken. Doing so shamed the entire family, community, and the gods themselves.
“Her family is very pious,” Nash said. “As is his. Being bound absolves her of dishonoring the sanctity of life by creating it so carelessly.”
The words made my stomach ache for him. Nash was the sin from which the mother needed to cleanse from her soul. It was common to have children outside of marriage, but not for pious families. “What sin did the man she’s bound to need to absolve?”
“Choosing the Prophet of the Valley to swear his life to.” He shrugged. “No one will speak it plainly, but he clearly regrets this decision.”
I would want to absolve myself if I gave my life to the Prophet. Just as we could bind ourselves to another, we also bound ourselves to a community, and the most devoted did so to their leader as well. If breaking the bond between two lovers meant an eternal disgrace, doing so to your people or leader all but ensured damnation. And execution. No doubt about that.
Of course, I knew better than to believe any of it, but it was all my people knew. Though I didn’t share their faith, I respected their conviction.
“Anyway,” Nash said. “I’m not with Flare.”
“Only sometimes.”
“You sound jealous.”
“You wish.”
He smiled. “Maybe I do.” Nash nudged my bow. His attitude unnerved me. “Are you going to teach me or not, Sharpshooter?”
“Not for free.”
“I have lessons of my own to offer.”
My heart fluttered at his low voice. “So … You teach me a thing or two about your sword technique and I’ll fix your shitty bow skills.”
“Oh. That’s how you want things to be, then.”
Time passed almost as quickly as our ale. I guzzled the last of mine, threw my mug high into the air, and whipped my bow up. Even with the dizziness of drink, my arrow whizzed through the air smoothly, the iron tip glinting before striking its target. Glass shattered and disappeared.
I passed the bow to Nash. “Why is the Prophet working with a demon like Flare when he has disciples?”
He threw his mug and aimed. The shot went wide. “Damn.” He sighed. “Demon spies are better than human spies.”
I cringed internally at the words demon and human. The neural implant was the only difference between those with power and those without. It was dangerous to think of demons as more than human, even if they were hunted by Prophets. That was how it started, hurting people less powerful. I worked hard to watch myself for those thoughts that could be so hard to root out. “Why the demons, though?”
“Disciples are too well-known to do the job.”
Nash had spoken far more openly with me than I’d expected. “Do you know how many?”
He grabbed another arrow. “No. The Prophet doesn’t trust me. I only know because of Flare.”
“Has she told you much?”
“Just that she isn’t the only one. She controls information tightly. A keeper of secrets.” Nash’s mouth tightened into a line. “Flare carries the whispers of the gods. I’ve heard she can even share their dreams of what will one day come to pass. She’s learned how to steal powers from the gods that no demon ever has.”
My stomach twisted as he spoke. Rumors abounded but Nash didn’t strike me as the type to believe in silly stories. “She’s been right about the future before?”
“Several times that I know of.” He shook his head as if ridding himself of thoughts of Flare, and then settled my bow on the ground. He collected the swords he’d gathered earlier.
“Drunk sword fighting.” I snorted and accepted the weapon he offered. “What could go wrong?”
Nash stood sideways to me, blade at his side like an extension of his arm. “Well?”
I lunged forward, but Nash snapped toward me fast as a cobra. I scooped my sword and dodged his advance on the balls of my feet to avoid opening myself up to him.
His eyes caught mine through the snap of our blades.
“You know killing the Prophet won’t be enough.” I grunted with effort when I knocked away his strike. My world slid off-kilter. “The disciples have to go, too.”
“None are as ruthless as the Prophet.” He pushed me into a defensive position. “Even if one of them takes over, it’ll be better.”
“That’s wishful thinking.” I smashed my heel against his diaphragm, forcing him back a step.
His brows raised but I didn’t waste time pretending. I was this competitive. This hardheaded. I brought my blade down hard.
Nash sidestepped, slipped behind me, and brought his sword up around me. Before he could get too close, I drove my own weapon up as a wedge between my body and his. He grabbed my hand over my hilt, carefully tilting my own sword to the vulnerable crook of my neck. Now he was just toying with me. I clenched my teeth.
His breath washed over the side of my face, heavy from our scuffle. One hand over mine, the other wrapped around me holding his sword, we stayed like that for a moment. The steel of my own sword faintly kissed my neck.
“I win,” he whispered against my ear. My skin tingled.
I broke free and turned on Nash. “Again.”
I’d never faced someone so skilled with a sword. Fire burned in my stomach. I threw myself into my offense.
“We can’t kill the Prophet and his disciples at the same time.” Nash deflected my strike easily enough that it shot a flash of anger up my spine. “Flare might help us make a deal with one.”
“Any disciple who works with the Prophet can’t be trusted.” I shook my head. “Same for demons.”
He caught my foot and knocked it out from under me, ripping my sword from my hand as I fell. On my way down, I twisted and slammed my leg into the back of his knees. He buckled and caught himself on his hands.
“Then how do we kill them all?” he asked breathlessly as he twisted for me.
I bashed my elbow into his side and wrestled for control of the sword he’d stolen from me.
“Shit.” He snorted as we both held on tight.
Dizziness had my head spinning. “Wait … I need a second.”
Nash tapped his fist against my shoulder in a teasing hit. “I think that means I’m winning, then.”
I slammed my knee into his side and shoved him hard with my forearms. We both toppled over, where I wrestled with the spinning world around me to push him back down. “Think again …” I pounded my fist against his chest.
He abandoned his swords on the grass, locked his arms around me, and flipped me onto my side.
I jabbed my thumbs into the pressure points below his collarbone.
“Ow.” He pushed my fingers away. “Okay, a second. At least one.”
His arms went limp and I dropped my hands, both of us falling onto our backs.
My legs were still tangled with his longer ones. Neither of us moved. I rolled my head to the side, opening my eyes to his. “I might be able to get help from some friends.”
“What kind of friends can kill seven disciples?”
“All you need to know is that if I can escape, I might be able to pull it off.”
He twisted my way. “I’ve been honest with you.” His voice was low. Eyes searching mine. “It could get me killed. I deserve answers, too.”
“Maybe. We don’t always get what we deserve.”
I expected anger, but a sly smile crawled onto his face. “Ruthless, again.”
My eyes fell to where his chest edged my arm. This man was definitely up to something. I just didn’t know whether it was the ordinary pursuits of a man or something more sinister, and I didn’t want to be played for a fool.
“I might just be drunk …” Nash said. “But I have that strange feeling I get sometimes.”
I swore I drew in water instead of air. “What?”
“I feel like I know you from a dream I can’t remember.” Serious eyes belied the twist of his lips in a smirk. “That sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Sometimes that feeling is so strong I swear it’s real.”
I breathed in deeply, heart pounding. Rune and our other innocents were held at the Prophet’s village, and I had no idea if my escape would work. Actually making it to the Sacred School seemed even more impossible. And I was laying here with this man as if I had any idea how to gain the upper hand in a battle like this.
“I do know that feeling,” I said. “I hope you don’t plan to betray me, Nash the Unknown.”
“I hope you don’t plan to betray me, Max the Sharpshooter.”
We looked at one another long enough that I knew I needed to get some distance before I made a mistake. Pushing myself up and then rising to my feet, I only gave him a furtive glance. “I better go back before Leif and Wren worry.”
