Pursued - Entire book

Chapter 2

"Klair, Klair, Klair, what am I going to do with you?" a voice said in a tone of weary resignation.

He opened his eyes, finding himself in an unidentified room. Diagrams of the underground waterway to the wells lined the walls. His head throbbed and his body ached. Magic isn't worth this, Klair thought. His mother sat on his lumpy bed made of straw mats.

Oh great, he braced himself. Hello Mom.

Constable Trenny framed the door, arms folded, his gaze hard. A brass crest of imprinted crossed swords hung from his thick neck. Normally people wore their craft hall crests beneath their clothes letting the cords through braided hair signify their occupation. He was arrogant. Klair sighed preparing himself. He shifted and felt a strange pressure on his hands. Lifting them, he found them bandaged. Just as his mother opened her mouth-

"Is Tar okay?"

She paused. Her golden hair was in a rare state of disarray and her face shadowed from lack of sleep, she answered in a low murmur, "He'll live, Klair." Her voice hardened. "Whose idea was this?"

Klair pressed his lips.

"The boy needs a firm hand, Norah Lee," Constable Trenny said from the door. He tapped his riding crop against his leg.

Stop calling her that. Her name is Norah.

She slowly faced the man.

"Thank you, Constable, for your help. I will remain here for the night and will need no further aid." She forced a smile. "As I recall, you favor the woodchip soaps. Please come visit me at next market to obtain a bar."

He stepped over to the bed. "I can stay and help Klair. You need to rest."

"It is a mother's duty, Constable."

"I've asked you to call me Trenny."

She stiffened and Klair wanted to curse. Klair's foolery had forced her into indebtedness to the constable. "Your position demands respect." Her voice turned to a near monotone. "Have a good evening, for what remains of it."

"We still need to discuss Patches' recompense," the man warned. He eyed Klair with a cold gaze.

His mother nodded.

They both knew his nickname. Klair thought it the nickname existed only amongst his friends. Did Elder Maken know too, for when upon seeing Klair he immediately assumed they were in trouble again.

Klair stiffened.

"Yes, it is something Elder Maken and I have yet to discuss."

"A six-day with me and I would ensure he will never-"

"Good night, Constable."

Trenny murmured as he left the room.

Klair and his mother sighed with relief.

Norah's firm gaze settled upon him. "Are you suicidal?" she challenged. Sometimes, Klair thought.

Suddenly anger rose like a hot poker. "What else could I do, Mom? Tarrant fell in." His voice rose in a remembered panic. "The boat was going too fast and I didn't have anything to grab him. I had to jump in and swim us over to the wells. We-"

An abrupt tap on the door interrupted them. Maken's scowl matched Trenny's but wasn't quite as scary. The man was tall and well-muscled from his work as a smith. With the duties of helping govern Merrsain, managing the construction of the terraced water system and who knew what else, Tarrant's escapades probably added to the worry lines already accenting the sides of his eyes.

"Tarrant will live," he announced, "in spite of your foolery." His gaze hardened, centered on Klair. He waved a hand to indicate the ground below. "We have yet to determine what damage you've done to the water system."

Klair's heart settled a little at the news of his friend. "We didn't hurt anything," he said voice scratchy.

"Just nearly lost your lives." The Elder's gaze settled upon him. "This isn't the first time my nephew has led you into one of his campaigns. I thought you possessed more intelligence than you've shown."

"We didn't realize the water would be so cold," Klair admitted. "We had a boat and-'

"It's early spring, did you think you'd enjoy a steam bath?" the man countered.

Klair's body twitched at that reference. Definitely not steam, another secret he and his mother hid. Hot water stole his magic and threw his body into spasms.

Maken's gaze intensified and he folded his arms expectantly. "How did you get Tarrant out of the well?"

His mother stiffened next to him.

Klair knew their future depended upon how he answered. Tell him he was a bastard son of a Kapawn wizard and that would be the end of it. Maken was one of the senior Elders of the town council. He never liked Klair's willingness to participate in a number of Tarrant's 'stunts'. "I carried-he climbed out, I guess-I, I don't really remember."

"My nephew wasn't even conscious when I arrived. His hands weren't bloodied like yours. You may be strong but to carry him while suffering from hyperthermia and climbing a ladder, but I doubt it." The man waited.

"I don't rem-"

"Yes, most convenient, that." His fingers drummed across folded arms. "Whatever you did, your actions saved my nephew's life." He raised a finger. "I won't pursue how yet, but I'm watching you, Klair." He shook his head. "A ladder made of thorn rope? Was that the only thing my nephew could scrounge together? Tarrant's idea, too, I suspect. For being so smart, it's amazing how much of an idiot he can be." Maken's gaze intensified voice hardening.

Why would Tarrant's uncle make that assumption, about the rope, Klair wondered, though he was right.

"I ban the two of you from interaction for the next year. You may not even talk to one another. From this point on, you'll be working full shifts at the canals until they are completed, in addition to your apprentice work. Maybe if we keep you busy enough we won't have to constantly monitor what other pranks the two of you come up with." The Elder's gaze shifted to his mother. "I have yet to decide if I'll give Constable Trenny a turn with you."

"But Tar and I just-"

The elder's looked back at him. "Tarrant will be having his own punishments. Fortunately for him, gnu season is upon us. He will be absent, with the other hunters, from future temptation for the next season. Maybe Merrsain will be much quieter without the two of you working together to stir things up. It is unfortunate your actions must continually shame your mother."

Klair seethed, particularly defensive where his mother was concerned. Maken knew how to rile him. He'd gotten in fights defending his mother's honor when they first moved to Merrsain three years ago. He glanced over to her but she said nothing, attention centered on Maken.

Klair sulked instead, gaze centered on the floor.

"Now rest, you're going to be very, very busy for the rest of the season," The Elder said before leaving the room.

Alone again, his mother took a turn. "Not only that Klair, imagine how busy you're going to be at home. I'll keep you busy repairing the Kindreds' homes? Each night you'll drop in your bed from sheer exhaustion. It'll be amazing all the things you're going to be doing."

Klair sighed, Sands. He cursed.s