The Soldier and the Thief

Chapter 14

"When I said somewhere warm, I didn't mean here." Willem said as he and Nik stared at the large animal occupying most of their temporary living space. Robin stoked up the fire and coaxed Phantom into lying down. He didn't take much persuading. 

"You said he needed to be somewhere warm. This is warm and dry." Sundance poked her head in through the door behind the two men, intrigued. She nickered, giving Nik a fright. Outside, the soft patter of rain began. On hearing it, Robin asked, "How much progress did you make on the ferry?"

"Well . . . we've stopped her from sinking anyway." Nik replied, finally allowing Sundance into the small cabin. Willem threw his hands up in frustration and went to sit at the table. The last of the Wetland Gargoyle was littered over the wooden top, and Willem stuck the cuts of meat onto a sharpened stick. He meant to roast them over the fire, but he looked at the horse and rider sitting comfortably in front of the fireplace and reluctantly set the meat back onto the table. 

"How long do you think before we're back on our way?" Robin asked, stroking Phantom's nose. He turned his head and nuzzled her against his body. She wasn't hiding her face from them, Nik noticed. Maybe she felt a little better about her scars because Willem looked so much worse than her? 

"We need to cut down a few trees and rebuild most of her. If this rain continues on it could take weeks." Willem replied with a shrug. Robin's face visibly dropped. Nik shrugged helplessly when she glanced at him. With Phantom injured, there was no way that they could just take off and travel by foot. They only had one choice; continue across the waters of the Lake of Ellan and hope they didn't encounter any more monsters. Nik knew there was no point in suggesting they shoot the horse. He wondered why he cared about what Robin wanted. She was his prisoner after all, a pawn in the King's game of chess. With a click of his fingers and a few words to the High Mage Nik could force her to do anything he wanted. 

Nik knew why he wasn't willing to do that. In the few battles he had fought under the King's orders, there had always been a tipping point. Once the scales fell the wrong way all empathy and reason disappeared, and a different Nik emerged. He didn't like that Nik. The one who killed like a machine, ruthless and unwavering in his assault was scary. That Nik didn't discriminate in his victims. Every now and then, when his emotions were too out of control and he got too angry, that Nik whispered in his ear. That Nik could solve the problem. That Nik could shape the anger, mould it into something callously efficient. 

Nik hated being so out of control, and yet that was the time when he felt most in control. He refused to become what the High Mage had become despite the respect (and fear) that he commanded from the King's servants. He would keep a part of himself, the part that his mother had always told him was most important. Never lose sight of who you are as a human being, she'd always prattered on. Back then his ten-year-old self had rolled his eyes and replied "Yes Mother" with a cheeky smile. Now he'd give anything to hear her voice just one more time. 

Nik looked at Robin leaning against Phantom, curled up in her aunt's cloak, stroking his neck. Even after making all of these promises to himself, his heart twinged when he remembered what would happen once they returned to Obaroth.

Outside, the day whiled away and the rain only grew heavier and more insistent as night fell. Holes in the walls and floor introduced themselves in the form of puddles appearing and soaking the already-cold cobblestone. Willem snored on one of the dingy mattresses, comfortable in the familiar smell of salt. Nik sat at the table, trying to ignore the lingering smell of Gargoyle and dozed as well as he could, unwilling to sleep on the cold stone. Sundance settled near Phantom, their combined body heat warming Robin's thin body inside Emmeline's cloak. She and Willem were the only two who slept fitfully.