Tales of Vyscher Book 1

Chapter 17

Vic was extremely impressed by Alia, and she understood why Jondure had sent her. She was worried about getting Fehrys onto Maltia once Rek had taken off with Torple, but Alia cast the lightness spell on him, and used it to lift him instead of slowing a descent. Such a simple spell but in a new way, it was something she would remember for use in the future. Alia's next suggestion, however, gave her pause.

"You want me to fly Maltia? You can't be serious!" Vic stammered. "I don't even know how!"

"You have to, I have to sit behind you once we have your brother strapped down and make sure he stays alive the whole way home. Maltia is gentle, and I'll make sure he obeys you. If he knows I'm here he'll be fine" Alia was really taking charge in this situation, and Vic admired her for it. Normally she seemed so fun and giggly, but Vic had no idea what they would have done without her.

"All right, I'll give it a shot," Vic said confidently. If Alia could take charge, she could do her part too.

"Okay, get up there and get seated. I usually sit cross legged, but just get comfortable however you like. I'll get up behind Fehrys and then we can get going. Oh, and have this." Alia handed her up some dried apricots from a pouch at her waist. Vic ate them greedily, she hadn't even realized how famished she was, and they still had a long flight home. As she ate, Alia strapped herself in, with Fehrys laying lengthwise on his back between them, his legs over Alia's so he wouldn't be bent over.

Vic gave one glance backwards at him to make sure he seemed as all right as possible, and then gave Maltia a nudge with her feet. He bunched his haunches and launched himself up into the air, wings beating steadily. She pulled the reins a little to the right, she just had to keep him flying north along the river. Piece of cake.

Flying gave her too much time to think, and she could hear the breath rattling in Fehrys' lungs right behind her. There was so much blood on him, and she could still visualize what had happened to the side of his face. She wasn't sure what was even left of his ear, it was a mess. Could he still hear? Alia had tended to other wounds under his armor, but Vic couldn't tell how bad they were. They must have been serious though, as something had obviously damaged his breathing.

Don't think about it! But how could she not? What would she have done if it had been her and Rek? She shivered with the knowledge that had they not been injured on the attack of the slavers; it very well might have been them on this mission. She could still see him crawling towards the fire, as if to join Luce, and hearing him pleading to put the healing salve on Luce almost broke her heart. He won't be a Bishop any more she suddenly realized. She hadn't even processed losing Luce as a friend either, so great was her worry over Fehrys, but it was starting to sink in. Hrul she had only known briefly from their mission together, but even that was a dull ache that would spread. Everything was horrible.

She tried to distract herself. The pale-yellow moon was a crescent, high in the sky. They were flying towards it and the reflection of it and the stars in the river below were breathtaking. Were Rek here to share it with her, it would have been quite a romantic flight. Instead, it was a desperate mission to save her bloody brother. No more thinking!

The lights did help to guide her way though. Between the small towns with their flickering lights scattered along the riverbanks and the moon itself reflecting on the river, she always knew which way she was headed. She just hoped it would be in time. Every time she turned around, Alia had her hand on Fehrys' chest and her eyes closed in concentration. She had no idea what she was doing, but she hoped it was enough. When the lights of the city started to light up the horizon in front of her, she had to bite her lip to stifle a sob of relief.

It still took some time to get to the actual city though, the lights had been visible from much further away than she had realized. Once there, she started to circle the east tower. She realized guiltily that she couldn't tell which balcony was Fehrys' or even her own in the dim light.