UNGLOVED

Chapter Sixteen Part two - People Change

Liriel held her breath. She closed her eyes and released the air slowly. She waited for her brother's answer. When she opened her eyes again, Valran looked completely different. His face had turned crimson as he glanced up to his men with a nod. Before Liriel had a chance to cry out, they were surrounded by soldiers. Several thrust Lorenzo to the ground and pinned him there. They stood behind Liriel and the others, but didn't touch them.

"Val, what are you doing?" Liriel. Val had betrayed her and she hadn't seen his deception.

"Liriel, I hardly know you anymore. You've completely changed. I blame him." He pointed to Lorenzo whose face was pressed against the earthen floor.

"Release him, Val! You promised you wouldn't harm them."

"I'm sorry, sister, but it was necessary to assess the extent of your complicity in this plan. I can see that you have been manipulated by these ridiculous, eccentric people into joining their cause. You were always a little bit odd too, but now you've broken completely with reality." He looked up at the ceiling and waved his hand about. "Did it ever occur to you, that you've started a hybrid race? Have you even considered that he couldn't possibly fit in anywhere-neither among the Hilliri nor the Trillas? Who will want to play with him as a child? What woman will want him for a husband? Liriel, sister...your child is a freak."

Stunned, Liriel could find no voice to rebuke her brother. He was right, in a way. It would be hard for her son to grow up so different. She hadn't given it serious thought. Yet this was no way to resolve anything. She looked at Ergin, who was sitting calmly, yet ready to spar, if only in words. Adina looked sad. Liriel felt much the same.

"Val, if you don't want to treat with us, then please just let us go. If you do anything else, there will be repercussions I can't control." She watched Lorenzo struggle with the soldiers who held him down. How undignified for such a noble man.

Valran took a spear from one of the guards in the tent. He looked at Liriel shaking his head. "Liriel, this man has killed my wife, Talora, and butchered countless soldiers in ambushes and in their sleep. He has defiled you, a Princess of Kalad. There's a price to pay for this."

He lifted up the spear and thrust in hard into Lorenzo's back. Horrified, Liriel dropped to her knees, watching as a dark red stain spread out from the centre of the wound.

"My love!" she croaked. She reached out a hand to make contact, to heal. She found exposed skin at his neck and wrapped her fingers around it. Her consciousness slipped into his body, searching for the wound on the inside. She found the place where ribs were cracked and blood vessels poured out their contents. She must staunch the wound, cauterize the blood vessels to stop the bleeding, and knit the muscles and bones back to whole. The bleeding was the first priority. She shaped the veins, closing them over where they were ripped.

Her hands began to tremble. The room spun about. She shook her head to clear it, but only made things worse. The puddle on the floor spread wider.

"Let me..." Adina was suddenly beside her on the ground, lifting her hands gently away. "Your maru is drained from giving birth." Liriel watched helplessly as Adina worked on Lorenzo. The damage was extensive, and it frustrated her to be unable to assist.

Valran turned to Ergin. "You and your wife may leave. If I ever see you again, though, I may not be so generous." Ergin, wisely, held his tongue.

Liriel glared at her brother. He said that she had changed, yet it appeared that he too, had been altered. The war had warped him, grief and death had maimed him as surely as a blade.

Adina lifted her head from her concentration. She looked pale in the dim light of the tent. "I've done enough that we can move him."

Valran shoved the spear in front of Adina and grasped her by the wrist. She twisted, hissing at the pain. "I believe I'll keep this one." Liriel could hardly believe what she heard. She rose up to her full stature, such as it was, and stared up into her brother's eyes. At least he wasn't much taller than her. Her anger radiated in waves from her face.

"Valran Godehera, you have changed more than I." She remained, staring; a fury building in her that brought her strength. "I demand you allow us all to leave now. All of us." Valran, though, didn't budge. Liriel was determined to leave with Lorenzo, even if she had to fight. She assessed her reserves of maru, feeling the weakness of depletion there, but was determined to use her last breath if she had to.

Instead, she reached out to the nearest soldier and touched him on the wrist. He stood, surprised but unconcerned by the contact. Liriel felt his maru swirling about within him. She hated what she had to do. She tried to think of something else, some alternative that would bring them out of the camp free and whole, but nothing came to mind.

She inhaled, drawing in the man's maru as she drew air into her lungs. She felt his strength fill her, like too much good wine, making her dizzy. The tent spun about her as she smiled at the glory of it. She felt taller, larger, stronger than she truly was. Maru throbbed through her, making her pulse with pleasure. She turned to Valran who stood staring, uncomprehending.

The soldier collapsed. In one swift movement, Liriel grabbed Lorenzo's hand and touched Adina who clasped Ergin's hand. She thought of their home back in Alterra, and, in a blink, they all stood in front of the house.

Liran began to cry the moment she opened her eyes to check her surroundings. She slipped him out of his carry sling and lifted him up to her shoulder. She rubbed his back and whispered sweet noises into his ear until he settled. Lorenzo was still on the ground. Adina had returned to his side to continue healing him. Ergin stared, unsure what to say.

"We're back at home," he said. He rubbed his head. "You did it again. You brought all of us back here." Liriel looked at him, wishing she didn't have to explain. It was horrible to trade a soldier's life for theirs, but she had done it. She would do it again if she had to.

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Cheers!

Rebecca