Stuck With You

Chapter 8 - Etri

His impulse to protect and touch Adair was not only acceptable, it was fated. Yet he could not be sure... "You have many marks, yes? It may be one of them. Blythe, perhaps."

(This chapter of Etri's would take place near the start of book 1 [Colorweaver].)

Harsh light far more dazzling than daylight prevented Etri from seeing anything but Blythe and the six wooden targets lined up across the stage. This was intentional; Sol knew his fears and lit the stage lamps as blazingly bright as he could. With the audience out of sight, Etri could convince himself that this was merely another knife juggling practice with Blythe, one such as he shared in solitude with her each day. Performance never failed to set him on edge despite the presence of one who meant so much and the aid of the stage itself. In addition to the lamps, auditory weaving built into every stage prevented audience distraction by muffling their voices. While sound could pass through the intangible barrier, it became muted, making it nearly impossible to pick out individual voices unless they, too, were on stage. Etri would forever appreciate a country where weaving was so readily available.

It did, however, have its disadvantages. When one of the troupe's acrobats hoisted herself up onto the stage and passed through the barrier, her sudden shout of Blythe's name came without warning. As Blythe turned her head, Etri lunged with his own weaving at the knives he had tossed. The shadow caught them just as they reached her. He held his breath until the blades safely passed through Blythe and into the target behind where she stood. It was unlikely the audience would notice the split second of intangibility and would assume he had intentionally thrown the knives around her instead of to her for her to catch and throw back. It was always a risk to use his weaving in public, but the safety of Blythe mattered above all else. She was his soulmate and his best friend, and he would do anything in his power to protect her, up to and including telling off the girl for disobeying troupe rules and putting Blythe into unnecessary danger.

He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves at the thought of confrontation, only to have his heartbeat speed up when the acrobat spoke to Blythe. "Come quick! Your roommate's sick and Wysta wants you!"

Logic would have dictated remaining behind for further information. Logic, however, was irrelevant when the situation involved Adair. His condition must be serious if Wysta deemed it important enough to send someone to interrupt their performance in such a dangerous and urgent manner. Despite the message intended for Blythe, Etri dashed through the carnival and then the performers' camp at her heels. Adair had been in perfect health when they'd left him with Sol, so perhaps one of Sol's inventions backfired and caused him harm. If this were the case, surely the message would have stated an injury and not an illness...

If it was an illness, it was one entirely unfamiliar and, at least at first glance, not dire. Adair sat next to Sol on one of the cots in the lead healer's wagon and it was Sol's reaction, not Adair's, that first belied the normality of the scene. He clutched the hand of his friend so tightly he hid from view the rainbow mark designating Adair as a soulmate. However, it was Adair's complete lack of reaction to Sol's painful grasp, Blythe's touch to his forehead, or Wysta's repeated attempts at calling his name that concerned Etri most. Adair had proven himself much like Sol in that sitting still for any length of time should be an impossibility, yet here he was, still as a statue or one of Sol's sculptures made from garbage. His soft brown eyes, usually so warm and amiable, failed to notice the presence of his friends or their concern. Despite all effort to gain his attention, he continued to stare vacantly at the wall across the wagon.

Blythe grabbed Sol by the front of his shirt and yanked him off the bed. "What happened to him?"

Sol released Adair's hand so he could free himself from her grip. Adair's hand and arm hovered in the air for several seconds before slowly lowering to rest on the bed. "I don't know! We were just playing cards and I got bored and so we went to find you guys and then he started doing this thing where he just stares. I had to carry him here and it's like he doesn't see me. Why doesn't he see me? Is he mad at me? I was trying to let him win because he didn't know how to play the game and I wanted to teach him but I'm not very good at teaching and do you think he's mad because I was cheating for him? Should I-"