Walk On Mountains - Chapter Twelve

Grydin bolted upright in bed, his eyes darting around wildly until his brain caught up with where he was.  He tossed the covers aside and stood quickly, only to double over in pain just as quickly.  He fell onto the bed until the pain subsided, then slowly got to his feet.  He grabbed his tunic, painfully pulled it on, then ran his fingers slowly through his silver hair.  Think…think.1

It hung on the fringes of his memory, trying to make him notice it.  He glanced down at his bed, groaning as reality flooded in.  The residual pain from the energy blast made it hard to breathe and he had to sit down.  He had been in many altercations before, and had been injured more times that he could recall, but this was this first time he had ever been the recipient of such a powerful energy blast…and he wanted it to be the last.2

“Get up,” he whispered to himself.  His chest started to hurt again at the thought of what would happen to her.  He felt like crying, but took that emotion and channeled it into anger.  He knew it might be the wrong way to go, but at the moment he didn’t care.3

“What are you doing?”  a voice from his doorway asked.4

He glanced up as he stood.  “How long has it been?”  He waited for a reply but none came.  “How long!” he yelled, instantly regretting it as pain shot through his chest.5

Karro rushed into the room and eased him gently onto the bed.  “It’s been two days,” she told him.  “You have to rest, Grydin.  You can’t face him like this.”6

“I have to,” he said and tried to get up.  He frowned as she placed a hand on his shoulder to hold him down.  “Isiru said one week,” he whispered.  “I can’t wait until the last moment…I can’t lose Marienda.”7

“Five days left,” she pointed out.  “You need to rest for at least two of those.”  The look on he face left no room for argument.  She had been a paramedic before arriving at the mountains, and was the closest thing they had to a physician.  “Concussion, three bruised ribs, one dislocated,” she paused.  “Don’t make me medicate you again.”8

“You are right,” Grydin muttered.  “Ahh, that hurts,” he moaned as he gingerly rubbed his side, then stopped and looked at her.  “Again?”9

She nodded as she took a look at the large bruise running from his right hip up to past his chest.  “Yesterday.  You were having some sort of nightmare…and you were projecting energy everywhere.”10

“Really?” He sucked in his breath as her fingers gently probed.  He blinked as an image passed through his mind, and interpreted it as a phantom that was glowing with the color red.  He shivered slightly as the nightmare threatened to surface again…then he thought about what it was trying to tell him.  The phantom he knew was something that was always in the back of his mind, and once again someone he loved was taken from him.  His eyes grew wide as the meaning clicked.  11

“Who died?”12

Sadness crossed Karro’s face and she tried to blink back tears as she shone a light in his eyes.  “How did you know?”13

“Isiru’s pendant was red,” he whispered.  He reached up and took her hand in his, pulling it away from checking his injuries. “Who?” 14

“Dorran.”15

Grydin felt like he had been kicked in the chest again as he stared at her.  “No,” he whispered. “No.”  He shook his head.  16

“I’m sorry,” Karro began, then fell silent, not knowing what to say.17

You know I consider you as the younger brother I never hated.  The words ran through Grydin’s mind, and he clenched his eyes tight against them.  “Where’s Yanuia?" he whispered.18

“She’s closed herself off in their room.”19

He sat slowly and put his legs off the bed.  “I want to see her.”20

“Grydin…”21

He glared at her.  “Look, either help me out, or get out.”  He stood slowly, grabbing her hand as she offered it.22

They slowly walked the short distance to Yanuia’s room.  “I’ll get some warmer clothes for you,” she said.  “You’ll be able to make it to the other side to their entrance without freezing, but Marienda will need something warm when you bring her back.”23

“I’m not going that way.” 24

She stopped walking and faced him.  “Then how are you going to get there?”  She crossed her arms over her chest.  “And don’t say what I think you’re going to say.”25

He leaned against the wall as pain played across his face.  “The tunnel,” he said with a nod, referring to the tunnel that ran the entire length of the mountain.  26

“There’s a bottomless pit in the middle,” she reminded him.27

“It’s not bottomless,” he corrected her.  “It’s just really deep.”  He stood and walked the rest of the way to Yanuia’s quarters.28

Karro stared at him. “You can’t cross it,” she sighed in exasperation.  “It’s too wide.”29

“I can and I will,” he said as he raised a hand and knocked gently on the area beside Yanuia’s door. 30

“Go away!” a voice yelled from inside.31

Grydin inhaled deeply, grimaced in pain, then grabbed the curtain and opened it.32

~~~~~~~~~~~33

Marienda’s eyes popped open at the sound of laughter, and silently listened to what the two outside her door were talking about.  She had heard many conversations over the past two days, and wished they would just shut up so she could sleep.  Since her room was at the intersection of two tunnels, there always seemed to be someone walking by at all hours.34

From what she had heard, she knew that Pontage planned on killing Grydin when he arrived, and most likely her as well.  She was undecided whether to sit and wait for an opportune moment to try to get away, or wait until Grydin came, and use that as a diversion.  She tried not to think of that, since it would be the same as running out on her mate, and leaving him to whatever happened.35

If she could get out of her room, and lose her guards, then she might be able to find some tunnel to hide in.  The possibility of getting hopelessly lost forever crossed her mind, but she dismissed it as irrelevant.  Dying while lost in a tunnel, or dying after they killed Grydin would result in the same outcome; she would be dead. And maybe if she died, Grydin would feel it and not come here, and he would survive.36

She closed her eyes against that thought.  She didn’t want to die anymore than she wanted to have someone else die because of her. Putting her closed fists over her eyes, she tried to concentrate through the laughter that was filtering through the door.37

She sat up on the small cot and stared at the light sneaking around the fabric over the door. She sighed in aggravation, stood quickly and walked to the opening.  She placed a hand on the wall as dizziness hit her, and closed her eyes as it passed.  Ever since she had been thrown across the cavern by the energy blast, she had been having some rather nasty headaches and dizziness.  It reminded her of the time she had been hit in the head during an altercation stemming from an arrest, and had to spend nearly a week in bed to recover.38

Shaking the feeling away, she reached out and quickly pulled the curtain back, taking a brief pleasure in the fact that the guards jumped in surprise.39

“Would you two shut up?” she asked with forced politeness.  “It’s bad enough that I have to be hear, but I shouldn’t have to listen to you two all night.”  She let the curtain fall on their shocked faces, and turned back to her cot as laughter erupted behind her.40

“That is it,” she whispered and whirled back to the curtain.  Grabbing the curtain, she pulled with all her might, silently smiling as it came loose and fell to the ground.  The guards outside stared in shock at the curtain, then at her.  She used those brief moments to her advantage as she jumped at the two men, cart-wheeling in the air and grabbed out to each as she passed between them.  She made it to the wall and used it to launch herself back in the direction from which she had come.  She whirled to face the two men, and held up her hands.  A pendant dangled from each.41

“Now we’re even,” she said and tossed the pendants out to the hallway behind her.  The men, now fighting without inner energy, advanced on her.  Suddenly, she was shoved from behind and propelled towards the men. Not worrying who had pushed her, Marienda used the momentum to continue around in a circle, her arms coming up and slamming against the big mans shoulders, pushing him off balance.42

She kicked a foot out, felt it hit someone else, then bolted down the hallway in the opposite direction.  She heard yelling behind her, and instinctively dropped to the ground a moment before the wall at head height exploded in a shower of rock chips.43

Adrenaline took over as she sprung to her feet and continued towards the maze of tunnels in front of her.  A brief flash on insight prompted her to turn left at the first tunnel, and the thought ran through her mind that she had to be totally and completely insane to do what she was doing.44

The tunnel twisted and turned every four steps or so, making it hard for anyone in pursuit to get a good shot at her.  She silently thanked the cosmos for that little favor, then took it back as she notice the tunnel floor disappear a few feet ahead.  Skidding to a stop, she glared at the wide chasm in the floor, then turned and headed back from where she came.  She had passed another tunnel a few turns back, and with luck would be able to make it before the others caught her.45

She was one bend away from the tunnel when she stopped running.  She put her hand on her hips, sighing and panting slightly as she stared at the person who blocked her way.46

~~~~~~~~~~47

Yanuia didn’t blink as she stared at Grydin.  She watched as he stood just inside her door, and as pain momentarily crossed his features, she was not surprised that she felt no pity.  She was aware that Marienda had been taken, and she was also bitter of the fact that this man in front of her had been the underlying reason that she had lost her mate.  48

“This is all your fault.”  She glared, daring him to object.49

“I know,” he said quietly.50

“He loved you like a brother and it killed him.”51

Grydin stared at her, part of him wanting to forget what she said because of her obvious grief, and part of him wanting to lash out at the nerve she struck with that comment. 52

“Isiru killed him, not me.”  He moved slightly to relieve the ache in his side.  “She had the code to get in here, so she didn’t have to touch him.  She did it to hurt you and to hurt me. Channel your anger onto her, because I won’t accept it.”  He turned to the door and put a hand on the curtain.53

“Grydin,” she said, stopping him before he could leave.54

“Yes?” he asked without turning around.55

“I miss him,” she said, her voice breaking.  She watched as Grydin’s hand slowly moved from the curtain and go to his eyes.  He bowed his head slightly, then turned to look at her.56

“I’m sorry.”  Ignoring his injuries, he crossed the room and sat on the bed beside her.  He put an arm around her and she melted into his embrace.  His eyes closed in pain, but he held onto his friend as she cried for the loss of her lover.57

~~~~~~~~~~58

Pontage stared at Marienda as she caught her breath.  He was secretly impressed that she had made it so far with such ease, and decided that he might just keep her around after he killed Grydin.  Although Isiru had her uses in and out of bed, she had become a little too power hungry for his liking.  He needed someone who would compliment his wants and needs instead of compete with him over them. 59

“You are more trouble than you’re worth,” he said calmly.  “I should just kill you anyway.”60

“You could do that, but it’s not very original, is it?”61

Pontage stared at her.  “You think I’m joking?” he demanded.  “I could kill you in an instant.”62

Marienda shrugged.  “You probably could.  But then I’d be dead and your bargaining chip you would gone, and you’d still be the laughing stock of the mountain.”63

Pontage approached in anger. “You, listen here…”64

“No, you listen here,” Marienda said firmly, using her old crowd control voice.  “I have been threatened more times than I can remember, that it’s lost its novelty.” She folded her arms over her chest and stared coolly at him.  “So either kill me and be done with it, or show me back to my lovely quarters and leave me alone.”65

Pontage nodded once, then motioned with his hand as he turned.  Marienda stumbled on the ground as she felt her body being pulled by an invisible grasp.66

~~~~~~~~~~67

Grydin stared at the curtain over his door for a long time after he left Yanuia. She had kept true to her words, and did not talk about what had happened, and most of his time there had been spent holder her as she cried.   Unpleasant memories surfaced, reminding him how that felt, and he hoped that she would seek him out soon if she had the need to talk.  With no desire to have the dreams that he knew would accompany his sleep, he decided to try to clear his mind with a long shower.68

His side hurt as he slowly got undressed and made his way to the small washroom.  He tapped in his personal code, then as the timer started, punched in another series of numbers.  The timer stopped, allowing him to take as long a shower as he wanted.  He stepped under the flow, grimacing slightly as the water hit his side69

“I can’t go through this again,” he whispered as he closed his eyes and leaned into the water, letting it hit his face and cascade down his body.   He wished the helpless feeling he was experiencing would go away.  If he didn’t do something soon, that feeling would turn into an aching pain.  70

It was a pain he could remember from long ago, a pain that had driven him to first come to the mountains.  And now he was faced with the possibility of having to experience it again.  But this time it would be different because Marienda was his energy mate, and they connected on a higher level than he and his first mate had.  He knew it was no insult to her memory to acknowledge that fact, nor was it an insult to say that they feelings he had shared with her was nothing compared to the love he had for Marienda.71

Hold me through forever, Love me for eternity, I’ll be there through all time, You can count on me.72

Grydin’s eyes opened with a start, and he wiped the water off his face.  He had no idea where the words that just appeared in his mind had come from, but the melody that accompanied them seemed to match a tune that Marienda often hummed.73

~~~~~~~~~~74

Marienda held herself upright as she was tossed into her room.  She whirled to face the door, and looked at the handsome face of the man who had deposited her there.  “So, what happens now?”75

The left side of Pontage’s mouth rose in a half smile.  “You stay here until Grydin comes.”76

“And after that?”  Marienda asked casually.  “Or should I even bother to ask, since it’s logical that I’ll probably be killed.”  She had the pleasure of watching mild curiosity cross his features.77

“And why would I kill you?”78

“Because if you don’t then I’ll more than likely kill you.”79

He laughed at her bravado.  “Do not make threats you cannot keep.”  He took a step and entered the room.  “I may just decide to keep you around.”80

Marienda raised an eyebrow at that.  “A permanent captive…how boring.”  She commanded herself to stay where she was as he slowly got closer.81

He stopped an arm’s length away as his eyes raked over her form.  “Boring?”  he asked as he reached out and ran a finger along her upper arm.  “I doubt it.”82

Trying to quell her stomach, Marienda snorted slightly.  “First Isiru, then me,” she mocked.  “Why would a man such as yourself feel the need to have that which Grydin has already had?”83

He looked at her in shocked anger, then pushed her against the wall as his pendant glowed white.  He stood in front of her, put a hand on either side of the wall by her head and leaned in close.84

“I am second to no one,” his low voice said into her ear.  “Especially to a coward like Grydin.”  He moved slightly, bringing his lips to her neck, nuzzling momentarily before taking a step back.  “You would do well to remember that.”85

Marienda stared coolly as he left and the curtain closed behind him, then leaned against the smooth wall and slid to the ground.  Her eyes never left the door as she allowed the emotion to finally surface and a tear rolled down her cheek.86

~~~~~~~~~~~87

The breath caught in Grydin’s throat as he stared blankly at the shower wall.  He reached a hand out and placed it against the cool wet surface as he tried to concentrate on the strange feeling that had flashed through him.  He knew it was from Marienda, but he couldn’t place a name on the emotion.  Part of it felt like revulsion, while the rest felt like loathing mixed with finality.88

“No,” he whispered as his fingers curled into a claw and scraped down the wall.  He looked at the indents in the stone as his amulet faded to normal.  “Not going to happen.”89