The Icon Unbound

Chapter Ten, Part B - The Icon

A few minor improvements here. This chapter contains one of my favorite few lines in the whole book. "Whatever Saiph did, however he tried to protect her, she would do her duty. She would die. She would be the perfect Icon." At this point, our Icon has given up trying to survive. She wants to go out with dignity. There is another mystery alluded too in this chapter: an old murder that our Icon and our new War Master had something to do with. Intrigued? Leave me a comment or a vote! --Elizabeth, UPDATED 05/21/2017

Finding a secluded place in the village would be difficult in this tumult. The Icon slipped through an alleyway and trotted as fast as she could toward the northern gate. Nadir grumbled at her side, but did not stop her, or ask her to speak. Once she stood on the cool grass, she lifted her skirt and toed off her shoes. When she felt his hand close around her arm, she yelped and flinched, covering her glowing feet under her skirts.

"Saiph!"

"You want to tell me what you were thinking? I've been scrambling to cobble together something resembling a scouting force. Now here I find you, standing out with a target painted on your back in full view of whatever is out there trying to kill us."

"I need quiet in order to do my work."

He pressed his face close to hers.

For a few giddy seconds she thought he would rip off her veil and stare her naked in the eyes. Moments passed and nothing happened, other than him visibly gaining control over himself. "You must not put yourself at unnecessary risk. If you need something outside the walls, ask me. I am replaceable. You are not."

If her heart had still been in her chest, it would have fluttered happily at his words. Instead, cold practicality filled the empty place where the flutter should have been. "What I need, only I can obtain."

He narrowed his eyes. "You're thinking to use your powers to locate a break in the shield? How? And why would it be necessary to leave the village?"

Amazing how he could read her even through the veils. "I need to go to the water source. It was where the shield was created, and where I can repair it. There is no other method. Perhaps I will be able to tell how it was torn, even who tore it."

"You're not going alone, Icon."

Nearly ten years had passed since the last time her will had been thwarted in even the smallest way. A thin tendril of frustration surprised her. "Why not? Unlike you or any other living thing in Waterwall, I am not susceptible to the twisting. Dark water cannot harm me, I could bathe in it without becoming infected. There is no need to endanger anyone else."

"That's never been tested; and being incorruptible is not the same thing as invincible. One of those spiders I saw tonight would be able to kill you without much effort."

"Nadir is with me."

Saiph frowned, and held up his hands. "Not good enough. We'll go in the afternoon. We'll take a boat up the Fathoms, it's the river that runs most directly to the water source, and the deepest. Half a day and we'd be there."

"We shouldn't wait."

"You're exhausted. The people need time to absorb what has happened, they need to realize the situation we're in, and there is no point in haring off until we have everything settled here."

"I can go by myself."

"You will do nothing of the kind. Now come on, let's get you back inside. Hot bath, food, and sleep are what you need."