Legacy of Power

Chapter 4

Jacek rubbed his left hand with his thumb, trying to get blood to flow back into it. The blasted Wasting Sickness was regularly affecting his limbs now, particularly his hands. After the girl went to sleep, he dumped out the tea and put more snow in the pot to melt. He was going to have to get more of the bitter hedge leaves for the tea for the kid. It had kept her asleep each day so he could rest and not worry about her running away.

He did feel bad for drugging her, but it was for her own good. She wouldn't get far on her own, even if she was an elf. He had no idea how to make her trust him. He'd never had to inspire loyalty in anyone. Living a solitary life had its cons. Watching her now, the small form under the blankets rising and falling gently as she breathed, evoked pity in him. He had no idea what it would be like to be so small and vulnerable. Even as a child himself, ever since his parents had died, he had relied on his size to survive. Street kids he had briefly run with had used him as the bruiser. He was never the lookout. That job was for kids like Ham. A pang of loss hit his chest at the memory of his childhood friend. The only friend he'd ever had. It had been over thirty years but the pain still stung.

Pushing the feelings away, he noticed the pot was boiling again. He added a measured amount of medicinal herbs and stirred it, leaving it to simmer for a bit. When it was ready, he poured it into his own cup. The steam coming off it smelled foul, but he knew he had to take it. It did help with the numbness, and he hadn't had a leg cramp for a week now.

As he sipped the medicine, a great fatigue came over him. He had only been getting a few hours of sleep a day. And now it seemed it was catching up with him. He had wondered how long he could keep it up. Before he had gotten sick, he could easily keep up that pace for days, even weeks if need be. It was also true he was getting older too.

Well, if he slept now, he could be up before Aleni needed to be woken at nightfall. He told Bandur to be on guard. The dog would wake him at the slightest disturbance. He lowered his exhausted body down into his furs and fell into a deep slumber.

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 It was like swimming under water, but in a thick muddy substance. Moving his arms got him nowhere, and his body suspended in the muck like a dead sheep in a bog. His muscles constricted to the point where his lungs would not draw breath. He was drowning; he knew it. The mud filled his mouth and poured down his throat. He couldn't breathe...

With a gasp and a jolt, he awoke. Heaving in great big breaths of icy cold air, he lay for a few seconds, trying to get his bearings. Thank the gods it had been just a dream. However, the fear it evoked was real. He feared that was how he would die from this disease. His lungs seizing up and unable to draw breath. Focusing on his work was the only thing keeping the terror at bay. The trees above him, naked in the almost unending winter, poked their branches out into the air like broken fingers. He stared at them for some time before his breathing slowed and normalized. Then he noticed the shadows the trees made. Gods, what time was it? Late afternoon by his reckoning. He had slept too long. His treacherous body had let him down even in sleep.
He rolled to his feet, a maneuver that was getting harder and harder to do as the years went by, regardless of his health. His eyes found the girls' bed. Or where it should have been. She was gone. Along with the fur pelt and blankets.

He gave a sharp intake of breath and searched around for any sign of her, his movements hurried. The gray gelding was gone too. She had finally run away. How did she wake up from the tea? Had she even taken it? Maybe she had started to suspect.

Shit.

He had no way of knowing how long ago she left. He packed up his gear quickly, there wasn't much, and soon his horse was loaded up.

Whistling for Bandur, he launched himself onto the horses blanketed back. He waited, turning his horse around in a circle to look in all directions. Bandur didn't appear. Shit, had he gone with her? So much for all the years of companionship. It seemed even dogs could betray someone. Carefully scanning the area for signs of her flight, he soon picked up hoof prints leading off to the north. A smaller set of prints trotted alongside. Damn dog, following the elf without him. If he moved quickly, he could catch her before dark. It would be harder to track her then. He set off at a brisk pace, wondering what he would do with her when he found her.