Blood Knot

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine:

Avoca's breath caught in her throat as she gazed across the landscape. Spirit was wading through patches of lavender that decorated the rocks in purple hues. Wild garlic plants and other leafy foliage gathered together, freshening the air. They became denser as the land dipped into a valley. It was as if it was closed off from the rest of the world, protecting the trees that lay within. The trees themselves whispered together, sharing their centuries of knowledge, preserving their wisdom for all who might visit. Moss and lichen coloured their branches and trunks, dappling the shades of brown. But within the trees, cascading down the cliff slope, was a ribbon of a stream. The water was purer than any Avoca had seen. It was transparent, revealing pebbles of all colours beneath. They were azure and faded green and bronze and burnt umber and even bruised purple, all swirling around in the current. A bubbling noise as the stream curved and frothed was sweeter than any music Avoca had heard. It was more lilting and mellow than a flute in the hands of a master.

The place had an almost magical quality to it.

Avoca dismounted Spirit and led her over to where a tree leaned protectively over the stream. She tied her sister's horse up by the reins and turned to Leif in awe. No, not awe, she told herself, she wouldn't feel awe at somewhere the elf had led her, she was simply... impressed.

'How did you find this place?' she said, with a little... fine, awe. Leif was taking his shirt off when he heard her. He strode over to her and leaned on the tree trunk, shirtless.

'Like what you see?' Somehow Avoca didn't think he was talking about the stream. But she had to admit he had a nice body. A divine body. His muscles were clearly defined and his stomach looked as hard as marble. It was as if he had been chiselled. How was an elf so muscled? It wasn't normal. If it had been anyone else, Avoca would have run her delicate fingers over his stomach, taking pleasure from the perfection, then laughed at him. But it wasn't anyone else. She shook her head, bringing herself back to reality and noticing Leif's smirk again. He chuckled at her distraction.

Angry at herself, Avoca turned away. 'Yes, this place is beautiful,' she said tonelessly.

A splash sounded behind her and she looked to see Leif wading through the stream to the other side. 'Isn't it freezing?' She asked.

'Join me and find out!'

Avoca wondered up the side of the stream for the moment then found what she had been looking for. Where there was a path there would be a way of crossing without getting wet: a few stepping stones travelled the small width of the stream. She took quick light steps over them to join Leif where he lay on the other side on a conveniently seat shaped rock.

The two suns were hidden behind the clouds, but a faint glow reached through. The tendrils of sun rays touched the burbling water, making it shimmer and glisten.

Avoca and Leif sat side by side in comfortable silence for some time. At one point the thick clump of cloud broke in two, revealing a little of the pale yellow sky beyond.

'They seem so far away,' Avoca said softly, gesturing at the suns.

'Feeling homesick?' Leif casually put his arm around her. Avoca jumped. She felt like electric was tingling all the way through her body, the way it did before a fight. Her stomach knotted; she didn't want Leif to make her feel like this. But she couldn't help relaxing back into his comforting arm. Her stomach muscles loosened as did her shoulders. She hadn't realised she had been so tense. 'No,' she replied. 'I just miss the weather. The heat, the purple dust as you gallop along, the fighting in the rings, the danger...'

'That's not exactly 'just the weather', is it?'

'No, I suppose not,' Avoca laughed. 'What about you? Do you miss your homeland?'

'No, they have better girls here.' He wagged his eyebrows at Avoca, who rolled her eyes.

'If that's all your here for you're going to be disappointed.'

'Why did you come here?' His expression was suddenly intense.

'To Jarathia?'

'No,' he said, leaning forwards, 'up here, with me.' Avoca shrugged, a controlled carefree expression on her face. 'I...was just frustrated how they were trying to control me, I guess. I wanted to do something impulsive?' She made it sound like a question.

'Are you sure it wasn't because of me? Don't you find me... intriguing?' He pressed even closer to Avoca, and she smelt his masculine elven scent rush her senses. It reminded her of damp earth and green; of a lonely dawn, and mulled wine. His aroma awoke parts of her that she didn't even know existed. Another shiver tingled her spine. The static between them made her chest thump with the heavy beating of her heart and her palms prickled. His face... his lips were inches from her own, warm, soft and inviting.

Avoca snapped back into reality and pulled away. She was scared. Scared about how he made her feel. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before; those green eyes held danger, but the soul behind them seemed to hold a promise of untold joy. It was not a risk she was willing to take. She stood up abruptly. 'Someone's cocky,' she said, joking with a strained voice. She walked over to the stream and picked up a pebble. Leif came up behind her and she threw it as hard as she could towards the city that could be just seen through the foliage. Leif copied her, picking up a flatter pebble.

'I have a right to be cocky!' he said. 'What's not to love?' He went into a crouch and tossed the pebble down the stream, where it skimmed five times before hitting a rock. Then it sank into the clear depths. Avoca didn't reply. She just looked at him levelly, studying him.

'You know,' he said. 'If you walk up the stream against the current, you'll come to a waterfall and a lake that's lovely to swim in when the weather's decent.'

'When the weather's decent? Will that ever happen?' Avoca smiled.

'I predict that the clouds will disappear the day after tomorrow. I might not be warm, but it'll be sunny.'

'It sounds fun.'

'Yeah.' He looked at her expectantly, like he wanted to ask her something, but wanted some help. She wasn't going to help him, so she just stood facing him, mirroring his own trademark smirk. She felt slightly better now she was more in control.

'Well, um,' he said. 'Shall we meet here as the second sun rises?'

'I'll think about it.' Avoca sighed and looked at the sky. 'I'd better go. They'll probably be worried.' She scowled as she thought of people wanting to know where she was, all the time.

'Off to apologise to your tutor?' he teased.

'Never! Wait, how the hell did you know about that?'

Leif's eyes darted to the horse, Beast, and back to Avoca again. 'I have keen ears.' He grinned. Avoca narrowed her eyes. Then she shook her head in bewilderment and stuck her tongue out at him. Without a goodbye, she lightly retraced her path over he stepping stones and made her way to Spirit.

They trotted out of the valley. At the top, Avoca looked down to see Leif skimming rocks again, still shirtless. His muscles rippled as he moved about agilely.

'Show off,' Avoca muttered to herself.