Kinked (Elder Races, #6)(72)

“She’s killer with a bow and arrow,” Aralorn said with a small smile. “A little like Hawkeye in the Avengers.”

Dear gods, he was talking about comic superheroes. They were so young.

Aryal rubbed her tired, gritty eyes. “Okay,” she said. “If I were Galya, I would have sent one of the shadow wolves back to the passageway to stand guard, so we have to expect that. I doubt it will try to follow you back over the passageway, because if there is one there, I think its purpose is to bring back word of someone crossing over. Plus it might not be able to travel that far away from Galya. There’s something that connects her and the wolves, and that connection might be a magical one. If it is there, it might not attack you. Then again, it might, so you need to be prepared. If you don’t know how to throw a simple repel spell yet, Quentin will teach you when he wakes up. You’re going to have learn it fast, because I want you out of here by midmorning.”

All three of them argued. They had heart, she’d give them that.

Aralorn said, “But you need us.”

She leaned her elbows on her knees and gave him a level look. “No, we don’t,” she said. She’d never been one to mince words, and now was not the time to start just to save this young man’s pride. “We need each other, we don’t need you. You need to leave so that you don’t become collateral damage. Two communities of Elves have lost enough. Your people need you, and you can’t forget it.”

Something happened then, a shift of their eyes, a change in the air. Even though she hadn’t heard anything, she looked over her shoulder.

Quentin stood behind her, arms crossed, leaning one bare shoulder against the frame of the cell door, and she was struck all over again by the differences between him and the others. He looked mature, muscled and mean, and his steady gaze met hers.

She didn’t know the words to describe his expression. All she knew was that his regard was so intent, it caused her to flush hot all over. He nodded to her. Then he looked beyond her to the other three.

“Who needs a magic lesson?” he asked.

Caerreth raised his hand. Aralorn said, “I know the spell.”

Linwe said, “To be honest, I won’t learn it fast enough. I’ll be of more use helping with something else.”

“Okay, Caerreth,” said Quentin. “It’s you and me, buddy. Let’s go into my office.”

He led the younger Elf away to the other side of the cell block. Aryal called after him, “Unlock the door as you go, will you?”

He raised a hand in acknowledgement just before he disappeared. She turned to the other two. She squinted at Linwe. “Weren’t you wearing battle armor back in January? Where is it now?”

Linwe looked at the floor. “Back home.”

“Ah,” said Aryal. As Linwe’s skin darkened, she said with a twisted smile, “I usually wear fighting leathers, but you know what? Leather tends to get squeaky in the cold so on this trip I decided to wear jeans instead. Who knew. Can you make the two-day run in full Elven armor?”

Both Linwe and Aralorn looked very sharp and alert.

Linwe said, “I can.” Aralorn nodded.

“Then here’s what I think,” said Aryal. “I think if Elven armor is magic resistant, then it’s very possible it’ll do a damn good job of protecting against those shadow wolf bites. We need to find a barracks and an armory, where we can get five sets of armor and weapons. You know that’s gotta be close by the palace. I’ll tell you what else I think. You remember that three-day feeding pattern you were talking about, Linwe?”

“Yes.”

“Yesterday was the day she was supposed to feed you and she didn’t, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I think Galya’s been traveling back every three days from the island to feed you. Bringing us down on the same trip yesterday was killing two birds with one stone.” Aryal rubbed the back of her neck. “And I think Quentin was right—she didn’t make the choice to stop feeding you until we showed up, and I recognized her. Anyway, the point is, if her search is focused on the island, I think she’s still over there now. And except for any sentry that she’s probably sent to the passageway, I think the shadow wolves are with her, or they would have attacked you and Quentin last night when you went to get food.” She paused to consider her own logic. “So I think it’s still a risk to go hunting for the barracks, but it’s a calculated one, and the odds are in our favor. Are you game to go with me?”

“Hell, yes,” Aralorn said. Linwe hopped to her feet in answer.

Aryal smiled. Galya Andreyev must want something pretty f*cking badly, if she was willing to be responsible for six people’s deaths in order to get it. And if she was willing to kill that many people, what she wanted was something she wasn’t supposed to have.

It felt good to take steps toward stopping her.

She stood too. “Let’s go.”

She walked around to the other side of the block where Quentin was teaching Caerreth the steps to throwing the repel spell. Caerreth wouldn’t be able to practice it until he left the cell block, but at least he would know how to do it.

“You need to practice this every time you stop to eat and rest,” Quentin was telling him. “If the shadow wolf attacks, it’s going to be wicked fast. You won’t have time to dither.”