The Iron Seer

Chapter 7 - Still a Stranger

I didn't have time to draw an arrow to help Ash.

Everything seemed to freeze - Ash's sword in mid-swing, the wolf about to rip into him, and I acted out of instinct. My Winter glamour flickered to life, roaring out of me, and an arrow made of ice formed as I pulled back the string of my bow and it flew, glittering like diamond, and struck in the pupiless blank eye of the creature. It disappeared in a wisp of smoke and shadow.

My head spun and the forest tilted, the world fading to black before I collapsed to the snow-covered ground.

"Ari," Ash said, but it was muted as if by layers of snow.

Slowly, I came back. My whole body felt heavy, and I could barely hold up my eyelids up when I opened them.

Ash was kneeling next to me, his face the only thing I could see. There was dried blood spattered on his face, and his hair was messy, as if he had run his fingers through it multiple times.

When he saw me open my eyes, he let out a breath.

"What happened?" I asked blearily, staring up into his face, which had been hovering over mine.

Ash suddenly leaned back, his silver eyes unreadable, his voice blank and matter of fact, and I knew that he was hiding from me how worried he'd been. I felt a rush of gratitude. "You released a wave of your glamour when you killed that wolf with your ice arrow. It drained all of your strength and almost killed you."

"Where are we?" I blinked and tried to sit up, but Ash pushed my shoulders gently back down.

"We're in one of those caves that were on your map. After the attack, I found the horses and we came here."

I blinked again, this time in shock, and my head cleared a bit. "How long was I asleep?"

Ash's eyes were solemn. "Half a day."

I sucked in a breath.

The silver of his eyes flickered in that familiar way of his. "You saved my life," he whispered, eyes searching my face in the way that meant he was trying to figure something out. I'd been acquainted with him long enough to decipher that look, at least.

"Well," I breathed, "now we're even." Whatever his reason for refusing my life debt, I'd saved his life in return and the claim was canceled, which was a relief, if somewhat confusing.

He sat up. "You need to eat something." He handed me a summerpod, and I realized how hungry I was. My stomach ached, hollow and painful. I sat up slowly, my head spinning at the motion. I bit into the fruit, groaning at the flavor, and Ash passed me the whole bag.

I devoured all of them. When my stomach was finally full, my head light and warm from the intoxicating quality of the summerpods, which they made Summerwine from, I sat back against the cave wall, taking in my surroundings.

The stone of the cave walls was black and strangely smooth, with sparkling grains that caught the light of the blue globes faery fire Ash had made, reflecting it everywhere. The cave itself was only the size of a small room, and twice as tall as it was deep; the cave mouth was short, and curved, like an arched door for a dwarf.

"Are the horses outside?" I asked.

Ash nodded. "There's a pool and a waterfall outside, and we're well hidden. We'll be safe here for the next day or so while you recover." He started to sharpen his sword with a whetstone, the blue fire of it casting strange shadows over the angles of his face, enhancing the sharpness of his features.

"A day?" I stared, disbelieving. "No, we have to -"

"You used up all your glamour," Ash said, without looking up from sharpening his sword. "You're in no condition to ride."